ARLINGTON - Larry Hill was thinking about one of his father’s favorite sayings after winning the Class 5A Division I State Championship, 32-20, over Highland Park.
Before this season, Hill’s legacy as the ninth winningest coach in Texas High School Football history had a caveat with the one game he hadn’t won - a state championship. He’d been four times and lost them all. Most didn’t see the pain this caused him. His father knew. And every time Larry confided in his dad about the frustration that the biggest game was always someone else’s turn to win, his father had the same reply.
“You know, son, it’s like pitching and washers,” he’d say. “You got to get it around the hole enough and one of these times, that sucker’s going to flip over and roll in there.”
Glenn Hill Sr. died at the age of 93 this past August. His son raised the trophy he never could four months later.
“Dad, today it did,” Larry Hill said.
Smithson Valley out-physicaled Highland Park on Saturday afternoon, maintaining over 30 minutes of possession time and outrushing the Scots 297-49 behind quarterback Cade Spradling and running back Bradley Sowersby.
Sowersby, who missed last year’s state championship loss with a broken collarbone, made the most of his opportunity with 22 carries for 152 yards.
But Spradling took home Offensive MVP honors with 208 total yards and two touchdowns. He ran into the teeth of Highland Park’s defense 25 times and also played the majority of the game at outside linebacker, tied for second on the team with five tackles and a sack.
As time expired, Spradling walked off the field with blood dripping from his throwing hand onto his white pants, a modern day Texas High School Football folkhero. His performance, combined with Defensive MVP Julian Colunga returning an interception for a touchdown in a full arm cast, illustrated how a team with no players signed to play college football won Hill his first state title.
“It’s just a bunch of grunts that play for a grunt head coach,” Hill said. “I think there’s just still a place for old school football.”
Hill’s favorite saying was different from his father’s. He used to tell people to look at his fingers and count his non-existent state championship rings, evidence that his program was still a work in progress. After Saturday, he’ll have to end that bit.
But the ring is worth it.
“I’ll have it on when they put me in the box,” Hill said.
BOX SCORE
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smithson Valley | 13 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 32 | |
| Highland Park | 14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Team | Qtr | Clock | Score | Type | Play | Drive | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HP | 1 | 10:16 | TD | PASS | C.Bozman 49 yd reception thrown by B.Randall (PAT KICK by S.Stock GOOD) | 7/75/1:44 | 7-0 |
| SV | 1 | 06:21 | FG | T.Amaya 27 yd Field Goal | 8/51/3:50 | 7-3 | |
| SV | 1 | 02:58 | FG | T.Amaya 35 yd Field Goal | 6/16/2:10 | 7-6 | |
| HP | 1 | 02:19 | TD | PASS | B.Owens 73 yd reception thrown by B.Randall (PAT KICK by S.Stock GOOD) | 2/75/0:39 | 14-6 |
| SV | 1 | 00:37 | TD | INT | J.Colunga 23 yd interception return (PAT KICK by T.Amaya GOOD) | 14-13 | |
| SV | 2 | 08:58 | TD | PASS | B.Day 24 yd reception thrown by C.Spradling (PAT KICK by T.Amaya GOOD) | 5/40/2:07 | 14-20 |
| HP | 2 | 04:29 | FG | S.Stock 40 yd Field Goal | 14/52/4:29 | 17-20 | |
| SV | 2 | 00:47 | FG | T.Amaya 24 yd Field Goal | 9/56/3:35 | 17-23 | |
| HP | 2 | 00:07 | FG | S.Stock 42 yd Field Goal | 5/50/0:40 | 20-23 | |
| SV | 3 | 02:42 | FG | T.Amaya 30 yd Field Goal | 14/70/5:24 | 20-26 | |
| SV | 4 | 03:39 | TD | RUSH | C.Spradling 4 yd rush (PAT RUSH by C.Spradling FAILED) | 5/55/2:06 | 20-32 |
| STAT | Smithson Valley | Highland Park |
|---|---|---|
| Total Yds | 361 | 365 |
| Pass Yds | 64 | 316 |
| Rush Yds | 297 | 49 |
| Penalties | 1-5 | 0-0 |
| 1st Downs | 21 | 16 |
| 3rd Downs | 4-13 | 3-12 |
| 4th Downs | 1-1 | 1-4 |
| Total Plays | 68 | 59 |
| Avg Yds/Play | 5.3 | 6.2 |
| Avg Yds/Completion | 10.7 | 17.6 |
| Avg Yds/Rush | 5.8 | 2 |
| Sack-Adj Rush Yd(Avg) | 305 (6.1) | 64 (3) |
| Red Zone | 5-6 | 0-0 |
| Time of Poss | 30:16 | 17:44 |
| Turnovers (Def Pts Off) | 0 (0) | 2 (7) |
| Fumbles-Lost | 2-0 | 0-0 |
| Sacks (Def Yds) | 3 (15) | 1 (8) |
| TFL (Def Yds) | 3 (15) | 6 (13) |
Comal Smithson Valley Passing
| # | PLAYER | C-A | YDS | TD | I | C% | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | SPRADLING,C | 5-12 | 61 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 111.9 |
| 2 | KNUTSON,T | 1-5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 25 |
| PASS TOTALS | 6-17 | 64 | 1 | 0 | 35 |
Comal Smithson Valley Rushing
| # | PLAYER | ATT | YDS | TD | LNG | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | SOWERSBY,B | 22 | 152 | 0 | 25 | 6.9 |
| 18 | SPRADLING,C | 25 | 147 | 1 | 24 | 5.9 |
| 7 | DAY,B | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| 12 | MOELLER,P | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| TM | TEAM | 2 | -11 | 0 | 0 | -5.5 |
| 4 RUSHERS | 51 | 297 | 1 | 25 | 5.8 |
Comal Smithson Valley Receiving
| # | PLAYER | NO | YDS | TD | LNG | TGT | YAC | DR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | DAY,B | 4 | 52 | 1 | 24 | 10 | 12 | 2 |
| 87 | BAKER,P | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| 12 | MOELLER,P | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
| 3 RECEIVERS | 6 | 64 | 1 | 24 | 16 | 26 | 2 |
Dallas Highland Park Passing
| # | PLAYER | C-A | YDS | TD | I | C% | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | RANDALL,B | 18-35 | 316 | 2 | 2 | 51 | 134.7 |
Dallas Highland Park Rushing
| # | PLAYER | ATT | YDS | TD | LNG | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | LANCASTER,J | 9 | 36 | 0 | 11 | 4 |
| 34 | WHITE,M | 5 | 16 | 0 | 7 | 3.2 |
| TM | TEAM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | WALL,A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | RANDALL,B | 8 | -3 | 0 | 5 | -0.4 |
| 4 RUSHERS | 24 | 49 | 0 | 11 | 2 |
Dallas Highland Park Receiving
| # | PLAYER | NO | YDS | TD | LNG | TGT | YAC | DR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | OWENS,B | 8 | 162 | 1 | 73 | 14 | 65 | 1 |
| 37 | BOZMAN,C | 6 | 113 | 1 | 49 | 7 | 72 | 0 |
| 97 | NIX,C | 1 | 18 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | LANCASTER,J | 1 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 0 |
| 43 | OLMSTEAD,C | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| 18 | LILLY,B | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 RECEIVERS | 18 | 316 | 2 | 73 | 31 | 154 | 1 |
Comal Smithson Valley Defense
| # | Player (Starter) | TotTk | Solo | Sack | TFL | Int | BrUp | QBH | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | C.Hornsby | 6 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | H.Haug | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | C.Spradling | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 92 | H.Woods | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 95 | C.Barrow | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | C.Peagler | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 12 | P.Moeller | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 99 | J.Roberts | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | D.Davila | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 90 | K.Bierman | 3 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | J.Colunga | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | B.Camacho | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | L.Magee | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 48 | 26 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
Dallas Highland Park Defense
| # | Player (Starter) | TotTk | Solo | Sack | TFL | Int | BrUp | QBH | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95 | A.Elahmadi | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | A.Corn | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | J.Morse | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | L.McMurray | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 90 | B.Jones | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | A.Wall | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | J.Boyanovsky | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | J.McGinley | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | B.Ray | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 93 | D.Turner | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 94 | H.Leigh | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | R.Tiffany | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | H.Lyons | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 46 | L.Withers | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 57 | L.Wagner | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 63 | T.Cook | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 68 | H.Phillips | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 83 | G.McKellar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 81 | 29 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
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