There will be plenty of state champions walking the hallways of Barbers Hill High School next year. After its baseball and softball teams won state titles earlier this month, the Eagles’ football program made a splash hire on Monday afternoon, announcing 2015 state champion coach Carl Abseck as the school’s next head coach.
Abseck will take over at Barbers Hill after a wildly successful stint at Cedar Park. He had a 71-10 record in his six years as the head coach, which included winning the 2015 state title in his first year as a head coach and leading Cedar Park to the 2020 state title game where they were defeated by Denton Ryan. He fills the open position left by Tom Westerberg, who left to take over as the athletic director at Hays CISD back on May 24.
After sixteen years at Cedar Park, Abseck said he is excited to take on another challenge.
“We talk to our kids all the time about attacking challenges, stepping into the unknown, putting yourself out there to see what you can accomplish, [and] not letting fear dictate what you attempt to accomplish,”
Abseck said.
“I feel like I am practicing what I preach.”
Barbers Hill will become just the third school that Abseck has coached at. He began his career at Wichita Falls High School in 1997, coaching there for seven years total and as the offensive coordinator for two years, before heading to Cedar Park in 2005. He helped guide the Timberwolves to the 2012 state title as an assistant coach under the lead of Joe Willis before being handed the top job in 2015.
“Cedar Park is an amazing place, and I was here for 16 years helping to build it into what it has become,”
Abseck said.
“I firmly believe that Barbers Hill can be the same type [of] program.”
The potential is there for Abseck to take the Eagles to the next level as their head coach. The Eagles have made the playoffs six of the last ten years with a third round run in 2019 the farthest they have gone during that span. This past season, Barbers Hill finished 6-5 and earned a 51-14 victory in the bi-district round against Galena Park before being knocked out by Huntsville in the second round.
The Eagles did graduate eight players who earned all-district honors in 2020, but starting quarterback Brent Holdren and running back Garret Hagler are back offensively while District 12-5A Division II co-Newcomer of the Year defensive back Theron Pierre also returns to bolster the Eagles squad this fall.
With a deep district slate that includes 2020 state runner-up Crosby, defending district champion Nederland, and annual playoff contender Port Neches-Grove among others, Abseck is excited to get to work with his players.
“I appreciate the opportunity,”
Abseck said.
“I am excited about the challenge of molding another group of young men, challenging them in every way that we do things to create success and [building] upon that each year.”
And with the community still full of pride from its baseball and softball state titles, Abseck believes his football team can use that momentum to propel itself to new heights.
“I believe the community [is] energized to see that success come to fruition,”
Abseck said.
“They had an incredible ending of the year with softball and baseball, and I believe that success is contagious.
