ARLINGTON – There’s a formula for a football game to be remembered by the average fan years later. The ingredients often include a mixture of a chance at making history, turnovers, tough decisions on fourth down, a comeback, an onside kick, a late drive, and possibly a questionable officiating call or two. 

Saturday’s 20-17 victory for Port Neches-Groves over South Oak Cliff had every ingredient listed above, making it a game that will be remembered in the following years. 

However, this game had one element not typically seen in a great game. The winning head coach is the son of a legendary high school coach. Joseph’s father, Gary, is a member of the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame after leading Katy to four state championships and eight appearances in the title game. 

Jeff is now one title closer to matching his father. Jeff has quickly established himself as one of the top coaches in the state, leading PNG to the state championship game in each of his first two seasons as a head coach. However, Jeff wasn’t interested in talking about his family’s legacy. Instead, he wanted the focus to be on the players.

“It’s awesome that (Gary) is as supportive as he is, and he’s as happy as anybody that we were able to win, and that’s special,” Joseph said. “But it’s more about these guys right here and getting to share this with them after everything we’ve been through over the last two years.”

Joseph and the Indians players also wanted to share the school’s first state championship since 1975 with the multitude of PNG fans who made the trip to AT&T Stadium. 

“It’s great to bring it back home, especially for us,” cornerback Reid Richard said. “We haven’t won a state championship in nearly 50 years, so it’s great to bring the trophy back to the Golden Triangle.”

By avenging last year’s loss to SOC in the Class 5A Division II title game, PNG kept the Bears from joining an elite group of only 21 schools in Texas history to win three consecutive state championships. Listening to Joseph and his players, it’s apparent what they accomplished this season hasn’t set in yet.

“This is one of those things that we will reflect upon during our six-hour bus ride home,” Joseph said. “It hasn’t hit us yet that we won the state championship and are the best team in Texas. This year has truly been incredible.”

Joseph has already set a high standard during his first two years at PNG, and he believes the foundation for future success begins on the defensive side of the ball.

“This all started two years ago with a mentality, and the defense sets that mentality with how they play. It’s extremely fast and aggressive in practice,” Joseph said. “We had to convince our players that playing defense was cool. Our town has bought into the toughness side of things, and it’s made a huge difference in who we are and what we’ve been able to do.”