In football, it's difficult to go through the regular season undefeated. It's even harder to win a state title.
The Shiner St. Paul Cardinals have a chance to do both on Saturday when they take on the Colleyville Covenant Christian Cougars in the TAPPS Division IV State Championship game in Killeen.
"These kids have a chance to do something very special," said St. Paul head coach Jake Wachsmuth. "Not only to be a state championship team, but an undefeated state championship team."
A win would give St. Paul a 14-0 record and their fourth TAPPS football state championship, which means a great deal to second generation Cardinal Dustin Adamek.
Shiner St. Paul's Dylan Barton, right, and running back Adam Hollenbach embrace after their team scored a touchdown against Hallettsville Sacred Heart. The Cardinals face the Colleyville Covenant Cougars in Killeen on Saturday at noon. photo by Marie De Jesus, Advocate Photographer
"It'll be great because my dad never did it and I never did it, it would be great to do that," Adamek said.
Before hoisting the championship trophy, the senior center knows the Cardinal offensive line must first find a way to keep the Cougar defense off of quarterback Devin Pesek.
This season Cougar defense has averaged more than three sacks a game led by Seagal Douglas and Darryl Parker, who have six sacks each this season.
Their ability to put the heat on opposing quarterbacks is one of the reasons the Cougars come into the game with a 10-2 record.
Wachsmuth knows the Cardinals have faced similar defensive fronts this year.
Adamek said communication among the Cardinal blockers would be extremely important.
"They impressed me by how well they run their stunts, how well they line up on defense and how well they execute," Adamek said.
St. Paul knows how they're going to counter the aggressive Cougar pass rush.
"We just need to keep a good eye on where their defensive line will be rushing from and find a good hole and run through them better," said sophomore running back Adam Hollenbach.
The Cardinals certainly have the personnel to exploit the Cougar defensive rush.
A quality offensive line has paved the way for a deep backfield as Hollenbach has rushed for 1,919 yards this season and Martin Kennedy has 1048 to date this season.
This season Hollenbach has scored 46 rushing touchdowns and Kennedy has 14 of his own coming into the game.
TAPPS Div. IV State Final
Shiner St. Paul Cardinals vs. Colleyville Covenant Christian Cougars
Noon Saturday, Leo Buckley Stadium, Killeen
Radio Broadcast: KTXM, 99.9 FM & KYKM, 92.5 FM
The St. Paul offensive line won't be the only front to have their hands full, as the Cardinal defense must find a way to contain Cougar senior quarterback Chase Stewart, who has thrown for over 2,000 yards and rushed for over 1,000.
Last week the Cardinals won a rollercoaster of a state semifinal game against Lubbock Christian.
After taking an early 14-0 lead the Cardinals struggled in the second quarter and Lubbock Christian took a 21-20 lead into the locker room at the half.
After halftime the Cardinals played what Wachsmuth called their best half of football all year as St. Paul won 41-28.
"Hopefully we'll play two halves on Saturday," said the third-year head coach.
Wachsmuth said the challenge of preparing a team for a big game like this is acknowledging what's on the line without changing the team's focus.
After all that, focus won them the first 13 games of the season.
"It's definitely not another game, but if you start changing and going about things differently I don't think you're going to be prepared to play," Wachsmuth said.
Wachsmuth has never won a state championship as a player or a coach and although he said winning a state championship has always been a goal, he didn't worry about the time frame for winning a state title.
All Wachsmuth, like many high school football coaches, worry about is the team's daily improvement that can lead to a state title.
"Hopefully we'll be 14-0 after Saturday afternoon," Adamek said.
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