The Jayton Jaybirds brought home their first state title in 39 years in December with a 54-8 win over Oakwood in the 1A Division II State Championship Game.
TexasHSFootball.com CEO David Phillips caught up with Jaybird head coach Josh Stanaland in the weeks following the big win to discuss everything from coaching with his brother to bringing back a state title to the town he grew up in.
(Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity by Adam Ogburn)
DP: Hey Coach, thanks for taking the time to jump on the phone with me. Everything getting back to normal or are y’all still on a high?
JS: Oh no, we’re still on a high but we’ve got a stock show today, so no school. We’re just enjoying the day off.
DP: Well, let me ask you some questions. After years of coaching separately, your brother John joined the Jayton coaching staff this year. How’d that influence your coaching methods and the team’s performance?
JS: Coaching methods? Probably not a lot. He and I were so similar already. But I’ll tell you what, team performance, it was a big deal. He was able to be in the press box for us this year, and when you can take a guy who was a head football coach and put him in a situation where he’s helping us out, telling us what he’s seeing, there’s just something a little different about that bird’s eye view that helped us tremendously.
DP: IN 2018, you and your brother faced each other (Jayton at Rotan) in a game dubbed the “Brothers Bowl.” What was that experience like?
JS: It was really cool, but at the same time, it wasn’t much fun. Rotan was already on our schedule and so he took that job and we were kind of locked into that game. We were able to get the win, and his kids, as always, were well prepared, but it took a toll on my parents. So we said we weren’t going to do it again. Then he takes the Valley job and we play them in 2021 and that game was a knockdown dragout. We were up [one score], and we turned the ball deep in our end. They’re getting ready to try to go score to win or tie the ball game, and luckily we sacked the quarterback in the end zone and jumped on it and recovered it and won by two touchdowns. It was one of the best games I have been a part of.
DP: I know you’re a Jayton alumnus and you played football there. How did your experience as a former player shape your approach coaching the current Jaybirds?
JS: It makes it so personal. I grew up in that locker room. It’s more than just bringing a state title to a town. When I’m getting to do it in a place that raised me, it’s special. I’m a third generation Jayton Jaybird and my roots run deep here. I was born in 1984, so I don’t remember the 1984 and 1985 state championship teams. My dad in 1970 got to be a part of Jayton’s only undefeated 11-man team. Those were the teams we grew up hearing about. So as a coach, it’s so special to be able to come back and do that [win state]. Now, for our kids to know that they’re a part of something that’s going to be remembered forever is pretty awesome.
DP: Jayton’s football program has such a rich history. Before this season, you talked about how you believed this year’s team had a shot at winning state. What made this group of Jaybirds stand out?
JS: “We’ve seen it coming for a little while. They’re a very talented group, and that’s where it starts. It kind of started last year. We go 12-1. We kill pretty much everyone, and then we don’t have an answer for [Benjamin running back] Grayson Rigdon [in the regional final]. Season ends. We feel like we’re cose. And then the work our kids did in the spring and in the summer was incredible. They’ve always been in the weight room, and they’ve always been committed, but it was different this year. We saw some boys begin to become men. They added a lot of size naturally to their frame. We step onto the field week one, and we’re a much bigger, much faster, much stronger football team, and that was with us already believing we were maybe the second best team in the state the year before.”
DP: We talked about how Jayton is a tight-knit community just like in Bronte where I grew up. How do you engage with the local community to foster support for the football program?
JS: I don’t have to do anything intentional. That’s what our people do. They support us. And with my roots here, everybody knows who I am. I’m out in the community all the time and our kids are too. In a community like Jayton, that community revolves around the school. Our people live to support our kids. We played Benjamin at McMurry this year [in the regional final], and McMurry’s home bleachers are filled. There’s nowhere to sit, and it’s all people in black and gold. I know people who flew in to the state championship game. Being a Jayton Jaybird or a Lady Jay is a special thing and it doesn’t leave you.”
DP: Well, I want to congratulate you on an amazing season and the state championship. I know you’ve been coaching for 18 years, and it may be a little early to ask this, but what do you want your legacy to be as a coach?
JS: Someone asked me about it, and I said, a state championship is awesome, but winning or losing a state championship is not going to define me or these kids. The sun would have come up Thursday morning [if we lost], and we would’ve moved on. My life wouldn’t have been worse because of it. I don’t know if my life is going to be better because we won it. But that’s not going to define me because so many other things define me. Specifically as a coach, the legacy I want to leave is that I loved kids and pushed them to get better. I had coaches that loved and pushed me, and I want to do the same thing for these kids. That’s what it’s about for me. Some day when I’m no longer around, I won’t answer for how many wins or losses we had. I’ll answer for did I point kids to Jesus and how did I treat them. I hope that’s what I’m remembered for.
DP: That’s awesome Coach. Thank you for your time.
JS: Yes sir, I appreciate you.
