Beyond the Lights: Football Across Texas

From the resort community of Marble Falls to the dirt roads of Dawson, Logan Simmons and his family are making the move back to small town Texas. Both he and his wife grew up in Little River so small towns are nothing new, but running a program is. Coach Simmons has his first head job as the head football coach and athletic director for Dawson ISD and he has had to hit the ground running. Getting a late start at end of April, he had to hire most of his staff, get to know the athletes, start implementing his offense and defense and move his family! But his excitement for what's going on at Dawson far outweighs the heavy load he will carry for the next few months. The Bulldogs and their staff are excited for big things to come in Dawson!

From the panhandle of Texas, to the metroplex and now to the hill country, Ben Speer has seen a variety of programs and worked for some strong leaders in Texas High School football (including my co-host for episodes 6 and 7, Mike Fuller). These leaders have helped shape him into the coach and leader he is today for the Bulldogs. With his family at his side they have made the moves necessary to accept his first head role in Burnet, taking over for the retired Bryan Wood, one of his long time mentors. Here he hopes to sink his roots deep in the town he has called home for the last 5 years.

Pete Hart has spent almost 40 years positively influencing young men and women through coaching. One of those young men was me. My classmates and I were fortunate enough to have him arrive in Bridgeport our 8th grade year and follow us through high school. Coach Hart has influenced and inspired many young men and women to go into the education field and many with great success, such as Carl Abseck of Lufkin and Jeff Riordan of Chapel Hill. His passion, not just for the game of football, but for seeing students grow and develop into good people is noticeable to anyone who has spent time with him. Thank you coach Hart, for all you have done for the young people of the north Texas area!

John Penn has been officiating for over 30 years and is following in the footsteps of his father, Percy. He has a deep understanding of the game, which allows him to tolerate a lot of the things that go along with officiating at a high level of play. This understanding allows him to see intense situations through eyes of the players and coaches which helps him manage and sometimes de-escalate potentially volatile situations. Randy Jackson joins me for our second episode of the officials series.

Jeff Riordan, head football coach and athletic director for the Chapel Hill Bulldogs, lives out his motto of Code Blue for his program. With the backing of the district administration all the way to the top, they put character and life before all else and keeping priorities straight has led to high levels of success for the Chapel Hill program.