ARLINGTON – Seth Parr raised eyebrows when he left Lubbock Coronado to take the head coaching job at Anna. He was a West Texas native who began his coaching career with stops at Amarillo Caprock and then Coronado. Parr was 12-1 in 2020 – his last with the Mustangs. His dad, Steve, spent 31 years as the head coach at West Texas programs Slaton, Plainview, and Amarillo Palo Duro.  

"This is unreal," Parr said of winning state. "For my family, this has been a dream for a lifetime." 

Anna wasn’t a powerhouse. Far from it. The Coyotes last won a district title in 1981, which was also the last year they made it past the first round of the playoffs. Anna was 77-129 in the 20 years before Parr took over ahead of the 2021 season. After the dominating win over Tyler Chapel Hill in the Class 4A Division I championship game on Friday morning at AT&T Stadium, Parr is 35-4 in three seasons at Anna. This was the first time the Coyotes reached a state title game. 

"I had never heard of Anna before in my life," Parr said after the game when asked if he saw this type of potential in the job. "Everyone seemed like they were hungry to win. We had no idea what would happen, but Anna is a competitive town that loves winning." 

Parr gambled on the growth. He won. The U.S. census says that Anna’s population in 2000 was 1,225. That grew to 8,249 by the 2010 census and 16,899 by 2020. The census.gov estimation for the population on July 1, 2022 was 23,558. The old farming community was replaced by suburban growth, and that led to wins. It’ll also lead to a new chapter when Anna moves to Class 5A starting in 2024. If the growth continues at this rate, the Coyotes could be 6A by the end of the decade. 

But that is a tomorrow problem. Today, Anna celebrates its crowning football achievement. The Coyotes scored more points in the first half (26) than Chapel Hill had yards in that span (19). Chapel Hill entered the game averaging 45.6 points but were shut out in the first half. Anna won each phase of the game, including special teams with a long punt return to set up the game’s second touchdown. They also didn’t commit a penalty in the first two quarters of the game. 

"I was that the Air Raid offenses couldn't win championships because we don't play defense," Parr said to finish his press conference. "I wanted to prove that theory wrong. And we won."