Friday, Saturday, Sunday in Texas Page 6

  Such was the case with the Wildcats’ second game of the season against MacArthur High School of Irving, Texas. With a Thursday night game, the biggest change was that Tuesday practice got cut short. For Thursday games, the game plans were usually a bit more simplified, which sometimes could become a good thing. And to top it off, kickoffs on school nights were typically at 7 p.m., which got the team out of the field house a little earlier than normal.

  On this Thursday night, the Wildcats arrived in the Dallas suburb of Irving with hopes of a 2–0 start to the season, while also knowing that this would be the last real tune-up before district play began. So far, everything this team had wanted to see had come to fruition, albeit just one game into the year. Matt Keys handled his first start with moderate success, Brandon Stephens scored three touchdowns and showed signs of dominance, and the defense appeared to have some playmakers. Even a couple of unproven contributors such as Nic Melson and Darion Foster were pleasant surprises.

  But just six days later, the Wildcats were again under the hot Texas sun, this time donning their traditional white jerseys with maroon pants and, of course, their white helmets, which now featured a few stickers on selected helmets after last week’s win.

  Plano had beaten MacArthur in each of the last five years, dating back to a loss to the Cardinals in the 2009 season opener. Since then, the Wildcats had largely dominated the series.

  But the coaching staff had more of an uneasy feeling about MacArthur this time around. They had a game-changing wide receiver in Joshua Hodges, a big-time recruit who at the time was looking at schools such as Texas A&M. Throw in a running back that had played varsity since his sophomore year in Artiss Henderson, and the Cardinals had quite a one-two punch at the skill positions.

  But in the week before the game, assistant Plano coach Chris Fisher couldn’t stop thinking about MacArthur’s quarterback. It was not that Kane Hardin was an all-state player, but every time Fisher watched him on tape he saw someone else—someone that was like a brother to him.

  “He’s Tanner,” Fisher said when describing Hardin. “They’re not the biggest guys in the world, but are just tough as nails and will do whatever it takes to make the play.”

  Tanner would be one Tanner Craven, who meant much more to Fisher than just being his cousin. They basically grew up together in the Amarillo area. Craven had a few college stops, including the University of New Mexico, before finishing at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas, where Fisher spent two seasons on the football squad himself and eventually got his degree. Tanner also spent nine years on the Plano staff, serving mostly as the quarterback coach before leaving in 2014 to run the offense at R.L. Turner High School in Carrollton, Texas. Thankfully, Tanner and Chris hadn’t had to face each other as coaches, but they saw each other and talked football all the time, each pursuing his own role in the small world of big-time high school ball in Texas. The bond between Chris and Tanner was stronger than oak, and the respect they shared was even greater. So when Chris compared a player to Tanner, it was a big deal.

  The combination of a gritty quarterback in Hardin with the playmakers in the backfield and on the outside was enough to get the coach’s attention. The Wildcat players, on the other hand, well, they were a little more confident.

  Bopping around with their headphones, a loose group exited the bus. They weren’t exactly overconfident because McCullough would never allow that, but just six days removed from a big win over John Tyler, they could smell a 2–0 start.

  For the majority of the first quarter, though, any stench they could sense was probably theirs. It was a foul start for the Wildcats, who struggled in all three phases. The offense could barely muster a first down, while the defense had trouble with Hodges, who had two 36-yard catches on one drive, the latter resulting in the game’s first touchdown. And to make matters worse, even though MacArthur botched the extra point, Plano would then mishandle the kickoff return, eventually falling on it in the end zone for a safety.

  Just like that it was 8–0 in favor of the Cardinals, and that confidence and swagger on the faces of the Wildcats had faded.

  But Plano has some playmakers as well, especially Brandon Stephens. Even before kickoff, the all-state running back had already scheduled a press conference for the following day at the school to announce his college decision, having narrowed his choices down to Texas A&M, Texas, Alabama, and Stanford, among a few others. It was a decision that both Plano fans and college scouts had been anticipating eagerly for a long time.

  Stephens’ father, Tim, said the first inkling he ever received that his son could be special occurred about nine years earlier.

  “When I signed him up for football in third grade, I couldn’t see the talent,” Tim admitted of his son. “Other people saw it. But to me, he was just my son. But this third-grade coach told me that he’d been coaching kids a long time and never saw anything like Brandon. I brushed it off. But when he got to the fifth grade, that’s when I started believing.”

  Now, seven years later, Tim and his wife, Charlotte, never could’ve imagined the type of attention placed on their son, simply for his athletic ability. The phone calls from college recruiters began around his sophomore season but increased to about “four to five every night” during his junior season, Brandon recalled. During his 2014 season, several college coaches, from both inside and outside the state, would line up on the sidelines, proudly wearing a colorful team polo, pullover, or cap to show what institution they were representing.

  Stephens was a laid-back kid with a serious side that he got from his father. So publicly, he never let the attention get to him. Instead, he’d put up solid numbers, becoming one of the standout elements of the team’s 2014 season. It was a strong sign to all those who came to see him play: through the pressure of his biggest year, he only seemed to get better. In Texas, the lights are already bright—any player that can succeed on this stage will be walking into the pressure of college ball with an advantage already.

  Stephens had ridden the wave of last season into a bidding war of coaches looking to bring his talent to their top-tier college programs. During the run-up to the season, speculation was rampant about where he was going to end up. Now, after years of courtship, it seemed he’d finally settled on a university. That announcement, however, would have to wait until the next day. If he didn’t carry his team to victory on this night, he knew it would definitely sour his moment.

  And so he did just that. Stephens had runs of nineteen and twenty-eight yards to set up Plano for its first touchdown, a strike from Keys, who was absolutely blasted on the play before heaving a pass to Kaleb Macaway, the receiver making a leaping grab in the end zone. Down 8–7, Plano then used big plays from Stephens again, who ran through the Cardinals’ defense for twenty-seven yards to set up a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Keys, which put the Wildcats on top.

  But as good as things were looking offensively, the defensive coaches were scrambling on the sideline. Senior cornerback Obale Enoweyere went down with a broken leg, ending his prep high school career on the spot. Considered a raw athlete that still needed to understand the ins and outs of the game as a freshman, Enoweyere had worked his way up through Plano’s program, from a talented sophomore with skills, to a serviceable junior on the varsity who got extended playing time, to now a senior starter the team was counting on.

  Fisher, his position coach who had told his peers just earlier in the day how much progress Enoweyere has made from last season, typically didn’t go on the field for injuries, but he made an exception this time.

  “When I got there, tears were rolling down his face,” Fisher said. “Immediately, I had tears rolling down my cheeks, too. I just knew how hard he worked to be a guy we could count on. He had a chance to have a special season and in the second game of his senior year, he breaks his leg. He’ll never play football again, and it just breaks your heart.”


  Fisher wiped away both Enoweyere’s tears and his own, kissed the fallen cornerback on the forehead, and said, “We’ve got you.”

  With the teams exchanging touchdowns to put Plano up 21–15 going into halftime, the shootout continued into the third quarter as Henderson gave his team the lead on a 35-yard reception when he weaved through half of the Wildcats defense, which had now lost yet another starter in safety T.J. Lee. A fearless, hard-hitting senior who was one of those “glue” players, his high-ankle sprain wouldn’t just keep him out for the rest of this game, but eventually half of the season.

  But again, the focus had to remain on the present, and the Wildcats kept finding answers, even from the unlikeliest of sources. Just moments after another false start penalty on his offensive line had him visibly frustrated, Keys calmed himself just enough to make a huge play. Fighting off a would-be sack by a rushing Cardinals defender, the big-bodied Keys stayed on his feet and heaved the ball to wide-open receiver Daniel Rodriguez, who had somehow slipped past the entire secondary, for a 62-yard touchdown, giving Plano the edge again, 28–22.

  The sideline erupted, including the coaches this time around. This back-and-forth game might have been just a Week 2 non-district affair that was more of a tune-up for the rest of the season, but the intensity level was sky-high. McCullough nearly tackled Keys as he came off the field, giving his quarterback a forearm to the chest, in approval of course.

  Gasping for air, and needing a serious break, Keys had no time to rest. This was a shootout, remember? After Henderson busted up the middle for a 41-yard MacArthur touchdown, Plano answered with a 70-yard kickoff return, setting up a field goal to take the lead, 31–29.

  All night, the offense had found one answer after another, but deep into the game, now the defense finally had to take a stand. Senior defensive tackle Darion Foster watched the next series from the sidelines, still reeling from a mistake he’d made on MacArthur’s previous possession that had led to Henderson’s last touchdown. He’d been caught out of position on the inside, leaving a gaping hole for Henderson to exploit all the way to the goal line. As he watched MacArthur move the ball once more, he knew he had to make up for it.

  Going in on MacArthur’s next set of downs, Foster stayed in his lane this time and stuffed the Cardinals’ running back for a short gain on first down. On second down, he chased the quarterback to the sideline and swarmed him for a 2-yard loss. And on third down, he held his own at the line of scrimmage while the pass went incomplete. Three plays and off the field with about seven minutes left in the game. Little did Foster or his defensive teammates know that they wouldn’t return to the field.

  In just his second start for Plano, Keys looked like a pro, squeezing every second from the play clock as the Wildcats managed to grind out yard after yard and first down after first down. Stephens was slicing and dicing with runs left and right, but the pivotal play occurred on a fourth-and-five at the Cardinals’ 17-yard line with 1:45 on the clock. McCullough had faith in his kicker, Blake Mazza, who had booted a 36-yard field goal earlier in the quarter to give his team the lead. But in a game this back and forth, the head coach wasn’t interested in upping the advantage to five points and then having to kick off. After calling a timeout to think about the situation, he sent his offense back on the field to finish the job.

  As the offensive line walked to the line of scrimmage, the chatter from the hometown MacArthur crowd grew louder, while the Plano fans, clustered together in the stands behind the Wildcats bench along with a constellation of banners in support, held their breath. This was a win they expected for their team, and while this game certainly didn’t lack entertainment, the possibility of a loss hung in the humid air. This was a game they were supposed to win—and now the team had to do just that.

  With the defense focusing on Stephens, Keys was able to juke up the field on an option play, keeping the ball for fourteen yards to the 3-yard line. Mission accomplished. Stephens, standing twenty yards behind, went down and slapped the turf with two hands in excitement, knowing his work was done as well.

  All that was left was a couple of kneel-downs from Keys, who not only improved to 2–0 as a starter, but also won a little respect from his teammates and coaches.

  “All I know is that Matt Keys is as tough as they get,” said Fisher, who entered the game praising the toughness of MacArthur’s quarterback, but hopped on the victorious bus raving about his own.

  After the game, McCullough couldn’t say enough about his signal caller. “Matt just found a way to win. That’s really all you can ask your quarterback to do. He made plays in the passing game, and when we needed him to run, he did that. He showed a lot of heart tonight.”

  The players were absolutely exhausted. The emotions of the game, coupled with the ninety-degree heat and then a very joyous locker room that included more chants and a few dances, took everything out of the Wildcats. And to think it was a school night.

  The players had class on Friday morning, but one of them had an announcement to make.

  With a few teammates, some faculty and staff, some media members that included a couple of Dallas TV stations and Plano’s local beat writer, Matt Welch, the do-it-all reporter for the Plano Star-Courier, a handful of coaches, and several members of his family, Stephens sat at a makeshift table set up in Plano’s indoor practice facility.

  After a few deep breaths, proving just how much this decision had been weighing on him, Stephens finally announced to the anxious onlookers his collegiate choice.

  “I’m going to Stanford.”

  Applause came from the crowd and handshakes all around.

  “This was the right opportunity,” Stephens said to reporters after the announcement. “If I get it over with, I can just focus on school and football, of course, and not have that extra stress on my shoulders.”

  While moving to the West Coast would undoubtedly be quite the journey for anyone, especially a soon-to-be nineteen-year-old, Stephens made it clear that he had work to do with the Wildcats before he became a member of the Stanford Cardinals.

  With Stephens’ announcement made, it put to rest one of the questions being asked by everyone outside the team, but it did little to change what was happening in it. While everyone was happy for Stephens, they were focused, not on the story of next year, but on the story of this one. And right now, all anyone could seem to think about was the unexpected brilliance of Matt Keys. Through two games he’d already shown himself to be a consistent playmaker, someone whose presence could help alleviate the pressure on Stephens and open up new possibilities for the offense.

  It was almost enough to make you forget there had ever been doubts about him. Almost.

  Saturday

  Heat waves in Texas have a way of spreading to cover the entire state. But the heat is never the same everywhere. Houston’s heat isn’t like Austin’s heat, and it certainly isn’t like Dallas’ heat, especially in August when rain is often a hard thing to come by. This is the case in the best of times, but during a heat wave, it takes on new significance. For the last couple of weeks, much of Texas had been consumed by temperatures hovering in the triple-digit range; and as Art Briles stepped off the bus in Dallas, he felt it immediately.

  But considering what had been going on behind the scenes surrounding their campus, Briles and the Baylor coaching staff didn’t need to walk outside of any bus to feel the proverbial heat. The Sam Ukwuachu conviction in August led to weeks of questioning, from both the media and Baylor’s administrators, on not only the number of incidents that had been occurring on campus but the process in which they had been handled. Sadly, this wasn’t the first time in recent years Baylor had dealt with this type of situation. Former defensive end Tevin Elliot was sentenced to twenty years in prison in 2014 for two counts of sexual assault from a 2012 incident. While Elliott was removed from the football program immediately after he was charged and was kick
ed out of school, he did finish his playing career at Central Arkansas in Conway. Still, the rape trial not only led to a conviction but also brought out testimonies from other victims who claimed they had been assaulted but never reported the incidents to the police. Some of the alleged incidents with Elliott occurred at a junior college before he transferred to Baylor in 2009.

  The Elliott case was seemingly closed in 2014 but resurfaced again after Ukwuachu’s conviction. While it might have been premature to call this behavior a pattern at Baylor, the incidents certainly weren’t isolated. And that had Baylor officials somewhat scrambling to get a better understanding of these situations—and figure out if there were more that hadn’t been reported.

  After one of the school’s law professors finished an internal inquiry on how the school dealt with these prior allegations, Baylor’s president, Ken Starr, decided to take a proactive approach in the matter and hired outside investigators to look into incidents involving sexual violence, both on campus and especially within the athletic department and the football team.

  On September 2, two days before Baylor’s first game of the season, the school hired attorneys from Pepper Hamilton LLP, a Philadelphia-based firm that has over a dozen locations, mostly in the northeast area of the country. Attorneys Gina Smith and Leslie Gomez arrived on Baylor’s campus in the days leading up to the first game, quickly becoming a fixture in the hallways of the football offices, as they interacted with coaches and staff members. Before too long, the investigation dug deep into records of cell phones of the coaching staff and email history over the previous eight years.

  While no one likely enjoys dealing with an investigation into their own records, there wasn’t great concern from Briles and the coaching staff. Sure, there were some incidents involving players but nothing that they felt was handled improperly. The Baylor coaches and football staff were asked to cooperate in full with the investigators, who, from the start, began to make some findings.