WACO—Wearing a suit and tie instead of his usual coaching garb, Jeff Miller may have been out of his element as far as fashion goes, but talking about his football team will never be out of fashion.
Miller was joined by 20 Tiger players and coaches and a large contingent of friends and family in front of a packed house at the Ferrell Center on the campus of the University of Baylor Saturday evening as Rockdale was presented the Gordon Wood Award by the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame.
Each year the Gordon Wood Award is given to an especially noteworthy high school football team that displayed good sportsmanship, the ability to overcome challenges, had the support of the community and experienced success on the field.
In capturing the 2017 Class 3A title, Rockdale checks all those boxes.
The award is named for legendary high school coach Gordon Wood, who won nine state championships.
Bruceville-Eddy shared the award with the Tigers after making the playoffs for the first time in 35 years.
Notables who were inducted into the Texas Football Sports Hall of Fame on the evening were high school and college quarterback standout Kliff Kingsbury, who is currently the head coach at Texas Tech, Calallan coach Phil Danaher and retired Hays coach Bob Shelton.
“This is my 17th year as a head coach,” Miller told the crowd. “Coach Danaher, I’ll be able to catch you in total wins just shy of my 103rd birthday.”
Miller also gave a shot out to his alma mater Cypress Fairbanks, which also captured a state championship this past year in Class 6A.
“The TFND (Tiger Fight Never Dies) is not original. Bobcat Fight Never Dies—that’s where that came from, from my playing days.”
Miller then recalled the Tigers unique story that captured the hearts of football fans across the state.
“This is a very special gift for Rockdale. We’ve gone through a whole lot the last several years. Our two largest employers have closed down. The day before two-a-days, losing one of the best friends of our program. We’re sitting there at 1-2 and trying to figure out how we’re going to make the playoffs. As things started coming together, we were blessed with a such special group of young men.
“They became great teammates and the unselfishness took over. The adversity they overcame, it became much bigger than any individual. Once they believed in that and saw how cool that was, it became obviously a reality.”
Miller would be remiss if he didn’t mention the final play of the game in which his son and cancer survivor Gunner, entered the game on the final play to take a knee and seal the victory.
Gunner was in the audience Saturday.
“If you were watching that game and saw that last play and didn’t have a tear in your eye, you’re not human,” said master of ceremonies David Smoak. “Obviously the final play was really special, most importantly because anytime you take a knee in the state championship game means you won the state championship,” Miller said. “I think every high school kid deserves to be part of a state championship because it’s such a special deal.”
“Thank you for these young men for giving us coaches something that we will never forget.”
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