By Neil Robertson
MaxPreps.com
Inaugural Panhandle Gridiron Classic
The Amarillo ISD Athletic Department will be hosting its inaugural Panhandle Gridiron Classic with six games in three days.
The idea of an opening weekend with multiple games in Amarillo has been around for some time, Amarillo ISD athletic director Tex Nolan said. But the renovation of AISD's Dick Bivins Stadium, completed last year, made the three days of doubleheaders possible.
Newly arrived to 1-2A on the heels of a 2005 1A state championship, Stratford takes on Levelland in the opening game of the Classic at 5 p.m. Thursday, followed by 1-2A Canadian meeting Texico, N.M., at 8 p.m. Friday features two cross-town rivalries and three schools in their home stadiums, as 3-4A Palo Duro and 2-5A Tascosa meet at 5 p.m., followed by 2-5A Amarillo High and 3-4A Randall in an 8 p.m. nightcap.
4-1A Nazareth and 1-1A Sunray kick off Saturday at noon, with 3-1A Wellington and 5-1A Hale Center bringing the curtain down on the weekend at 4 p.m. At the end of that game, six games will have been played at Dick Bivins in a little over 48 hours.
A New Era Begins at 2-5A Amarillo High
For the first time in 32 seasons, the Amarillo High Sandies will have someone besides Texas coaching legend Larry Dippel at the helm.
Follett native and three-sport all-district star Brad Thiessen will guide the Golden Sand Storm into a new era. The 42-year-old Thiessen earned his early head coaching legend at Class 1A Stratford from 1994-2003 with a 95-26 overall record, including seven playoff seasons. Thiessen's 2000 Stratford Elks won the 1A state championship while also setting a Texas Panhandle football record of 16-straight victories.
The transition from 1A to big school 5A? According to Amarillo ISD Athletic Director Tex Nolan, Brad Thiessen was the only candidate given a job offer - a no-brainer.
The Dawn of Football at Bushland
The first flight of the Falcon is set for Friday night - the 2-2A Bushland Falcon that is.
Two-year-old Bushland High School fields its' first-ever varsity football squad - all freshmen, sophomore and juniors - at Sanford-Fritch. The junior varsity squad of the past two years under head coach David Flowers will have to wait for the 2007 season when the enrollment pipeline is complete to field the first crop of senior varsity players. Expect great things to come though - the Bushland junior varsity squad went 9-1 last season.
Pampa Has That Cavalier Attitude Again
They say you can never come home? Andy Cavalier, Pampa native and son of that town's football coaching legend, the late Dennis Cavalier, has come home.
Andy was an assistant coach under his father before following his Pampa coaching associate Heath Parker to 2-5A Amarillo Tascosa in 2005.
"I feel like at some level, I will always be compared to my dad - and not always in my favor," Cavalier said. "But at the same time in all of America, there is no better place I could find a support system like the people that supported myself and my family when my dad passed away."
That continuing Cavalier coaching legacy steeped in Pampa Harvester football tradition will be chronicled around the clock, literally, by NBC's "Dateline" program. According to Amarillo KAMR-4 (NBC), co-anchor Andy Justice, Dateline NBC host Stone Phillips and a network production crew will be in Pampa beginning this weekend to follow Andy Cavalier and his Harvester football team from dawn to dusk in meetings, the locker room, practices, and onto their season opener at Perryton Sept. 1. The footage will be edited into a feature segment for network broadcast mid-October on Dateline NBC.
Anthony Scott Anchors Amarillo Tascosa in Two-Way Roll
Remember this name and that number: Anthony Scott - number 20 - of the 2-5A Amarillo Tascosa Rebels.
2005 All-State senior linebacker Scott, the 6-0, 220-pounder made 129 tackles last season as a two-year junior letterman. He also played two-ways as the Rebels starting running back, rushing for 1,080 at 7.6 yards per carry while scoring 15 touchdowns.
"Anthony is by far the best high school athlete I have been around as a player or coach", said second-year Rebel head coach Heath Parker. "That includes my years with Zach Thomas at Pampa. I'm talking about just pure athletic ability. If Anthony would have played (in 2005) on a team that went a couple of rounds deep in the playoffs, I think he'd be a Top 25 recruit in Texas currently."
Also, look for the Tascosa Rebels to finally win District 2-5A for the first time since 1988. If Coach Heath Parker's enthusiasm is any indicator, I'd bet the house on that outcome.