How One Paragraph Turned a 2-4 Season into a State Championship

Most coaches think they have all the answers. They make their plans and expect to win. But what happens when those plans fall apart? In 2016, I learned this lesson the hard way as the head football coach at Blacksburg High School.

We were 2-4. Our season was falling apart.

The Painful Memory

The year before, we got destroyed 61-21 in the playoffs. The team that beat us was Staunton River. They had an All-State running back who would eventually break Virginia’s all-time scoring record.

I took a picture of that scoreboard. I promised myself it would never happen again.

The Off-Season Changes

We worked incredibly hard that off-season. We decided to try something new. We adopted Kevin Kelley’s “no punt” philosophy. This meant we would kick onside every time. We would almost never punt.

We thought we were being smart. We thought we were ahead of everyone else.

We were wrong.

The Season Starts Poorly

Despite all our hard work, we started 2-4. Nothing was working. Players were playing positions they wanted instead of where they belonged. We were following someone else’s system instead of building our own.

I started doubting everything we were doing. The season was slipping away.

The Book That Changed Everything

During this tough time, I was reading a book called “Serial Winner” by Larry Weidel. One paragraph stopped me cold:

“If you want to win, the one decision you can’t make is to not choose, to not do something. The only way you can lose is to not move forward”

Those words hit me like a lightning bolt. I knew what we needed to do.

The Monday That Changed Our Season

That Monday, I made a huge decision. We were going to change everything.

I moved players to their best positions. I threw out strategies that weren’t working. I basically started over with a new plan.

It wasn’t easy. I had to convince the players and coaches to trust me. After all, I had been telling them the opposite all season. But sometimes leaders have to admit they were wrong.

The Results Start Coming

The changes worked immediately.

Week 7: We beat a team a classification bigger than us, 17-13.

Week 8: We dominated a conference opponent, 35-23.

Week 9: We barely lost to a big 5A team, but we competed hard.

Then came Week 10. Something magical happened.

The Rivalry Game

We were playing our biggest rival. Winner makes the playoffs. Loser goes home.

From the first play, our team was different. We were playing at a level I had never seen before.

We won 70-7.

Seventy to seven.

The Playoff Run Begins

We barely made the playoffs as one of the lowest seed. This meant we had to play on the road every game. Nobody expected us to win. Our school hadn't won a playoff game since 2002.

First Round: We faced a physical team known for being bullies. Our running back had the game of his life. He rushed for 436 yards and 6 touchdowns. We won 56-34.

Second Round: We played another strong team with a lot of tradition. But our players were unstoppable. We won 63-35.

Third Round: We traveled hours away to play a team with one of the state’s top running backs in the state and their coach is a lock for the Virginia hall of fame. It was a tough, back-and-forth game. But we found a way to win, 24-17.

The Semifinals

We had to travel across the state to play the Phoebus Phantoms. One of the most successful high school football teams in Virginia history.

Early in the game, we faced a big decision. It was 4th down and 1 yard to go. We were on our own 28-yard line. And even though we had abandoned a lot of the new special teams thoughts…

We went for it.

Our running back broke free for a 72-yard touchdown. We never trailed after that. We won 26-12.

After starting 2-4, we were going to the state championship.

The Revenge Game

Our opponent in the title game? Staunton River. The same team that destroyed us 61-21 the year before.

They had broken the state scoring record that season. In their last five games, they scored 75, 87, 68, 55, and 62 points. They were unstoppable.

The game was a battle. We traded scores early. They took a 14-7 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, we scored on a long screen pass. Then our defense forced them into a rare passing situation. They almost never threw the ball.

We intercepted the pass and scored again. We led 28-14.

They fought back and made it 28-20. Late in the game, they had a chance to tie it up.

But we intercepted another pass to seal the win.

We were state champions. It was the school’s first title in over 30 years.

The Lesson

That season taught me something important. Sometimes you have to be willing to change course. Too many coaches fail because they’re too proud to admit their plan isn’t working.

Your ego is not your friend. Your willingness to change is.