When the playoff brackets were finalized in Class 6A Division 1, most saw Region 3 as the toughest bracket to break through. It was a treacherous road with two defending state champions (Katy and Galena Park North Shore) and other strong teams (Houston Lamar, Dickinson, and Pearland) to name a few.
The team who emerged victorious was Humble Atascocita, who went on a historic run that ended in the state semifinals against eventual state champion Lake Travis. For many, it was a surprise to see the Eagles go that far but their coach goes all the way back to the end of the 2015 season to explain his team’s success.
“I saw it in them,” said head coach Craig Stump, “The year before, we made it to the regional finals before losing to Austin Westlake. I feel like that spurred a lot of our guys coming back. Once you get to play in December, any coach will tell you that the expectations go up and those kids want to play that long again. I think that the game changes a little bit.”
It’s a game that’s changed for a program that has been around for just 11 seasons. Now, those aspirations of winning that elusive first state championship have been fueled even more by the team’s recent success. At the end of they day, Stump says it all falls back on his team.
“I think there are a lot of places that have great players but you also have to develop them, they have to buy in to what you’re doing and they need to be selfless,” Stump said, “It comes down to the work ethic and accountability that you instill in them every day.”
One thing that’s not in question with Atascocita are the number of great players. Quarterback Daveon Boyd was the headliner, but he also a strong supporting cast of backs, receivers, and talent up front that helped spark the Eagles run. Many of those seniors are gone and Stump now has the task of replacing Boyd, his top three receivers, and other solid starters. However, it’s a position that Stump is very familiar with.
“There are certain years in a program where you may not have the player of the year in Houston or three Division 1 receivers but that’s where the expectations and the kids you develop in your program take over,” Stump said on replacing key players. “You still end up winning with guys that maybe two years ago aren’t as well known as the guys that just left but they still perform because they expect to win also.”
The Eagles do have a lot of talent coming back, including cornerback Travion Blaylock and offensive tackle Kenyon Green among others. One of the big questions will be who replaces Daveon Boyd under center and Stump says they’ll have a competition to determine that spot.
Atascocita will also have to balance the youth on offense with the experience on defense, a unit that Stump says will be even better than last year. Stump says he’ll learn a lot more once spring football is done, but he likes the potential for his team in 2017.
“Every year, you end up having new guys that happen to play that are a little bit unknown but I think the guys that we have now are going to be good as anyone else athletically,” Stump said of his team next year, “It’s just a matter of how they perform.”
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