‘Underdog’ PN-G proves picks wrong
By Avi Zaleon
Published 1:09 pm, Tuesday, November 5, 2013
A middle-aged man wearing a whistle around his neck and purple cap with “PNG” written on it approached Port Neches-Groves head football coach Brand Faircloth Monday afternoon.
Indians football practice had ended, and the field was beginning to fill with a youth flag football tournament.
The man was with his son and explained to Faircloth that he was hunting Friday night and missed the last-minute, comeback win against Ozen.
“I don’t know how you did it,” the man said. “But I’m glad you did.”
For this man and many others, it is much easier to enjoy the 2013 Indians’ success than explain it.
“Nothing ever comes easy,” junior wide receiver Kaleb Sparks said.
Nobody on the football team has a college scholarship offer. Faircloth, coach of a playoff-bound squad, says this with a
smile.
His players are not the tallest, fastest, strongest or biggest. They were picked to finish in the bottom half of District 20-4A and miss the playoffs in every publication.
A winning tradition wouldn’t help the Indians recover from a 2-8 season, was the agreed-upon rationale.
“Told you so,” is on the tip of every team members’ tongue and most will be more than happy to remind those who doubted them.
“Being picked as an underdog gets to us,” junior running back Brant Halfin said.
On Friday, PN-G overcame a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win and secure a playoff berth. It represented the fourth game this season decided by four points or less – three of which PN-G has won.
“We don’t try to make it that close,” junior quarterback Ky Walker insisted.
The Indians are the only team to beat West Orange-Stark and Silsbee this season. They are the only District 20-4A team to beat Central this year and did so in triple overtime. After being outscored 21-7 through three quarters against Ozen, the comeback kids scored three times in the fourth quarter, including a game-winning field goal.
“There’s a lot of plays that I will remember forever,” Faircloth said. “This team has been able to accomplish some special things through perseverance.”
Some teams meet expectations by winning while others surprise.
“This team ranks towards the top,” Faircloth said. “Aside from last season, this is really the first squad I’ve had here that wasn’t picked to make the playoffs. We talk about being an underdog every week and to see them respond and prove people wrong, that’s what makes this a special season. This is by far the most proud I’ve been of a team.”
This year’s squad found itself in an odd spot.
Many of the team’s leaders were sophomores on the squad that won one district game last season.
In 14 years of coaching, Faircloth said it was his first losing season.
“The support on Friday nights (this year) has been great,” Walker said. “Last year, we had a lot of people leaving at halftime or the end of the third quarter, but this year they’re staying all the way through.”
The failures forced Faircloth and his staff to work even harder, drawing up new plays and schemes.
He still uses those plays, but now, they produce touchdowns instead of first downs.
“Sometimes in life it’s good to get knocked down,” Faircloth said.
If gloom is in PN-G’s rearview mirror, sunny skies are ahead.
Faircloth said the school’s freshman team went undefeated last year and is 9-0 so far this season.
The eagerness to see those players in varsity uniforms puts this year’s team in a unique position.
“When you’re having a tough season, people are going to try and find something positive to talk about, so that’s what they went to and it probably caused some people to overlook us,” Faircloth said.
Some people included magazines, polls, newspapers and opponents at the beginning of the season.
“It feels great to make the playoffs, but it feels even better knowing we were picked fifth,” senior wide receiver Jeremiah Rose said.
Before every home game, Walker, Sparks, Halfin, junior receiver Avery Murdock and senior defensive back Brandon Bryan walk around the field at The Reservation and then pray together at the 50-yard line.
Appropriately, they do so before anybody shows up because at times, the only people who believed in the Indians were themselves.
