Tom Westerberg has been part of countless big games in nine seasons as head football coach at
Allen (Texas).
He’s led the Eagles to six district titles, two regional crowns and, of course, his crowning jewel, a 2008 state title.
But there was probably no game of greater national interest than his team’s season-opening showdown with defending 5A state champion and nationally ranked Southlake Carroll on Friday.
Not only were the Eagles out for the upset, but they also had some history to settle. Southlake had eliminated Allen from the playoffs three times since 2003. Add to that, there was all the hullabaloo surrounding the opening of Allen's $60-million state-of-the-art stadium.
Allen coach Tom Westerberg
Photo by Neil Fonville
So, when Allen not only came out victorious,
but with a lopsided 24-0 victory, Westerberg was more than a little pleased.
It was in all likelihood his finest regular-season victory ever. It was played in front of a standing-room-only crowd of 21,778 and a regional television audience.
For it all, Westerberg was named the initial MaxPreps Dallas Coach of the Week presented by Comerica Bank.
As usual, the Texas A&M graduate pointed to his players – not himself – for the team’s credit.
“Our guys played with a lot of emotion all night,” he told the
Plano Star Courier. “They wanted to win the opener at our new stadium and then, of course, we’ve had trouble with Southlake in the past, so we talked about some of the history with these guys during the week.”
It was a thorough victory in all categories, especially on defense and special teams. Allen forced the high-powered Carroll offense to punt on four of its first five possessions, according to the Star Courier, and
Cameron Hartsfield blocked a punt that set up a 2-yard touchdown drive.
Marcus Davis,
Nick Cobb and
Mayomi Olootu all registered big plays up front.
Jeff Harris had two short TD runs and
Oliver Pierce added another and the defense limited Carroll to less than 250 yards of offense. The victory broke a 16-game Carroll win streak and it was the first time Southlake had been shut out since 1997.
“Our guys on the line of scrimmage played fantastic,” Westerberg told the newspaper. “This game is a really big win for us.”
But Westerberg, in his 12th season overall at Allen, said the Eagles would celebrate for only a night.
“Our guys played really well in game one,” he said. “But we’ve got a pretty big one coming up in game two, so we’ve got to keep improving.”
Dallas Morning News columnist Matt Wixon called it one of Allen’s biggest wins in school history.
“This was a huge victory for Allen,” he said. “On a very proud night in which the Eagles opened their new $60-million stadium they shut out the defending state champions…The atmosphere Friday night was amazing.”
