The Texas High Tigers continue their reign of district championships, undefeated for the 2024 season so far, by taking on the Jacksonville Indians at Tiger Stadium at Grim Park on Nov. 1, 2024.
The Tigers proved their agility and resilience in the first play of the game, with offensive tight end Knox Pilgreen scoring a touchdown immediately after receiving the pass, putting the Tigers in the lead 7-0.
“We came into the game pretty confident off of our bye week, and we were all healthy,” Pilgreen said. “The first play of the game was amazing, it sparked us and our aggressiveness towards the other team.”
It was evident that after the first play of the game, the Tigers did not come to mess around with their opponents, regardless of their playing history, and channeled their strengths to combat any tactic the Indians had planned.
“I think a lot of when you look at the team from comparison [point of view], a lot of the overall strengths was just the depth that we’ve got,” Head Coach Gerry Stanford said. “Also the overall team speed compared to what they had; since we did that show pretty early.”
Despite the Indians blocking one of their kicks at the conversion, the Tigers went into halftime with the lead of 34-0, leaving the Indians scoreless for more than three-fourths of the game.
Because of the newfound pinnacle in the Tigers’ game, the team managed to grant second-string players more time on the field as well as practice in a real game, resulting in the playing strategy becoming more experimental throughout this game when compared to previous ones.
“It’s just letting [the others] get to play as much as they can, letting them get out there and experience [the game]” Stanford said. “We’re getting ready for the playoffs and there are a lot of things we were working to get better at. Anytime you win, there’s gonna be good things and bad things to work on, especially in a game like this one, when we’re already up in the game.”
Upon concluding this game, the Tigers received their trophy of District Championship for the fifth year consecutively.
“It’s not easy to do; I mean, wins are not easy,” Stanford said. “To win a district championship is not easy. So to do that five years in a row is even [more difficult]. This is a group [where] all they’ve seen are district championships.”
As a result of being undefeated for the season, and maintaining the number one spot in the state’s 5A-2 division, the expectations for playoffs are high.
“We don’t have any losses under our belt,” running back Tradarian Ball said. “[I] Just know we’re going into playoffs with that number one [reason] to dominate.”
