Football is a funny game

As you probably know by now, the Ennis Lions, a team that we produce for 106.9 The Ranch, will miss the playoffs for the first time since the 1995 season.

It's been a funny year for Ennis. They started the season as a favorite to not only reach the playoffs, but have a long run towards their 5th state championship. The year started well, with a very convincing 62-16 win over Crosby, a playoff team from Region III, that lost to eventual state runner-up Dayton. Follow that with a hard-fought 36-32 win over a scrappy Lancaster team, and things were looking good.

After a week off, it was a trip to Mesquite to meet the Horn Jaguars. Ennis didn't look very good in that game, and lost a couple of key players in the first half, as both wide receiver Kyle Guinyard and Jyavon King went out with torn MCL's. Guinyard was lost for the season, and King didn't come back til week 8. Ennis went on to lose that game in overtime.

With key starters out, Ennis was unable to win their district opener at Waco, losing 38-25, and then losing the next week to eventual district champion Waxahachie.

Ennis, despite all the injuries, had a chance to make the playoffs in week 10, but lost to Waco University 27-21 to end those hopes. Ennis had lost two more starters before that game, this time on the defensive side, and it was just too much for Ennis to overcome.

A couple of thoughts. First on Crosby. Ennis absolutely dominated Crosby, and we wondered how they could have ever been considered a playoff contender. Crosby lost in week 1 to Port Neches-Groves, but then won 8 in a row to win their district, and advance to post season.

Lancaster was another team that had high hopes, and after a close loss to Ennis on the road looked primed to go, but something happened to this team, and they finished 2-4 in District 15-4A and missed the playoffs.

Mesquite Horn started the year 5-0 against some very tough opponents, but then couldn't win in their district, going 0-4, until the season finale against Mesquite, which they scratched out a win, and advanced to the playoffs with a 1-4 district mark.

Corsicana started 0-4 under new coach Phil Castles, but the team continued to believe, and earned a post-season bid, defeating another surprise team, Cleburne, to advance to post season play.

As for Ennis, its time to reload. D.J. Betik and Kyle Guinyard had been playing catch since grade school, and really thought they would be having a lengthy post season. Alas, that is not to be. Guinyard continues to recover from knee surgery, and hopefully will still get a good scholarship where he can show off his skills next year. Texas Tech already pulled its offer, but guaranteed that another school will pick up a major find.

And then there is coach Sam Harrell. The coach made public his fight against MS just prior to the season starting, and one wonders if he can continue to take the rigors of coaching, while fighting his health. But if you saw Coach Harrell on the field this fall, you could see the spark in his eye, the strength in his handshake, and the drive to continue to be the best. I think Coach Harrell will return next year.

Congratulations to all the teams that will play in the post season. Enjoy it, relish in it, and fight to play the next week.

This is a special time of year.