Sunday, December 19, 1999
By Ted Dunnam
HOUSTON — The Briles and tribulations of playing Stephenville.
Port Neches-Groves saw just what can happen when a son perfectly orchestrates what a father has designed.
If there were several heroes (which there were) in Stephenville’s 28-18 win over the Indians for the Division II Class 4A state football championship Saturday in the Astrodome, Kendal Briles was the foremost standout.
It appeared nothing could silence the more than 25,000 Port Neches-Groves fans that packed half the Astrodome. Certainly not Stephenville’s raucous crowd which more than holds its own against most spectators.
That left someone on the field to be responsible for quieting the opposition. Enter Kendal Briles.
The junior quarterback completed 14 of 20 passes for 148 yards, rushed for 95 yards, scored three touchdowns and intercepted two passes. He left a dizzying effect on an Indian defense that looked like it was trying to tackle Barry Sanders.
“The quarterback was the difference in the game,” Indian head coach Matt Burnett said of Briles. “He’s as good as we’ve played. He made some incredible plays.”
Even Briles’ own teammates are amazed by his wily maneuvers. Linebacker Cal Jillson, who came up with a crucial interception in the second half, applauded Briles’ ability.
“It’s amazing what he can do out there. He’s really dangerous,” Jillson said. “Not just on offense, but on defense, too. It doesn’t surprise me with his athletic ability. But so many people made so many big plays for us.
“The defense came up with big plays, the offensive line was huge, and T.J. (Douglas) had the great catch.”
If the younger Briles is suffering from some equilibrium problems today, it’s all attributed to his 15-yard touchdown run that put Stephenville on the scoreboard first, giving the Yellow Jackets a lead they would never relinquish.
Briles zigged and zagged, reversed his field, and probably left 12 Indian defenders searching for their athletic supporters on a scoring scamper that covered in the vicinity of 50 yards.
“I was plenty exhausted after that run,” Briles said. “I didn’t have anything left after I got to the end zone.”
But instead of commenting on his Houdini-like antics, Briles preferred to lavish praise on his teammates.
“The offensive line did a tremendous job. They just pounded and pounded away all day,” he said. “I knew if I could keep my composure, we’d be all right. That was a great football team we played out there. But we had a lot of guys step up and make big plays.”
Father Art was quite reserved when asked to comment on his son’s play. In the end, though, Kendal’s contributions were impossible to ignore. His other scoring runs covered 3 and 15 yards, and he completed a 21-yard strike to Douglass on a third-and-20 play.
Briles also made a nifty 7-yard run when he should have been thrown for a loss to set up a fourth-and-1 play that Stephenville converted. Two plays later, Briles scored his third touchdown of the game.
“I… I really don’t know what to say or how to describe him,” Art said. “You guys are the sports writers, y’all come up with something. He’s exciting to watch, to say the least.”
And even though his son engineered a surgeon-like operation on a stout PN-G defense, Briles wouldn’t say that his fourth state championship with the Yellow Jackets is any more special than the previous three.
“There’s just such a feeling of satisfaction. I put them all on the same level. I guess you never know when or if you’re going to get the first one, but they’re all equally nice,” Art said.
“After seeing all their (Port Neches-Groves) fans, I thought ‘You did something really smart.’ But all I know now is that we’re 2-0 in the (Astro)Dome, baby.”
