COMANCHE — In Class 3A Division II, one can count themselves as fortunate if they can suit up 60+ players in the entirety of their high school football program. Many do not have the numbers to field a freshman team and 10-15 seniors are the norm.
Yet somehow, the norm isn’t applicable in Comanche. At least, not lately.
There, where coach Jake Escobar enters his third season with the Indians, an astonishing level of participation has suddenly pushed CHS’ overall numbers to nearly 80 total players, with 19 of them being seniors on a varsity roster of nearly 40.
“Well, first, I’ve hired good people who do a good job with our kids,” said Escobar, whose team improved from 1-9 in his first season to 10-2 last year. “I’ve always felt that if you have a lot of energy and enthusiasm, it’s going to attract kids.
“And if you try to do things the right way, kids will want to come out and play and our coaches have done a great job of building relationships with our players.”
I believe Escobar is underselling himself a bit.
Let’s not forget that he was stepping into a very difficult situation in 2021, when he replaced highly successful former coach Stephen Hermesmeyer under the most trying of circumstances. Not only was he inheriting a very young team, but he was replacing its effective wing-T offense with a polar opposite: a spread attack.
From the outside looking in, it had the appearance of fixing something that wasn’t broken, with a group of kids who lacked the varsity experience to pull it off. And sure enough, Escobar’s first team struggled with sophomores who were learning a new system.
Year 2, however, served as a wake-up call for the entire area.
Not only did Comanche post double-digit wins, but it knocked off eventual 2A DII state champion Albany on the road. It swept Distict 5-3A DII with a 5-0 mark and whipped league favorite Jacksboro 55-33 at JHS.
Along the way, Comanche football had suddenly become very fun and students wanted to become part of it. They have even willingly submitted to several community aid projects that Escobar has mandated they take part in.
Have you ever tried to get a group of teenagers away from their video games in the summer to clean up debris on someone else’s property?
Hmmm….talk about a recipe for failure. Take over a young team, ditch the system it was winning with, then tell the players to burn large portions of their summer picking up garbage around the community. Yep … this new coach is going to fall flat on his face. Right?
Wrong.
At Comanche, Escobar’s approach may have appeared to be insane to some. But there was a method to the madness.
A heightened sense of togetherness, both as a team and as a community was his aim from the beginning. Once that was achieved, the performance on the field would be easier to maximize. And directly under everyone’s nose, it began to work last year.
“Last season was a lot of fun,” senior Diego Gutierrez said. “It was great to see the hard work paying off and everyone having a good time playing football and enjoying winning some games.”
The eye-popping numbers we’re seeing now are a natural byproduct of the unity Escobar was aiming for. And the large senior class of 19 isn’t an anomaly. Next year, Comanche will have a senior class of around 21. And with a total current enrollment of 355, it’s not impossible for the Indians to stay in 3A DII, though it will likely be close.
Regardless, even if Comanche does move up, its numbers will still be well above average in Division I.
“I think the culture change has inspired people to play — people who probably wouldn’t have played originally,” said senior Pierson Sorrells, who was part of the group who endured the 1-9 record as sophomores. “There’s all kinds of people coming out now who like to lift and like to run and who want to play.
“They see football as a fun thing instead of a chore.”
This is worth keeping an eye on.
Because if this trend continues, we’ll be looking at one of the truly amazing stories in the annals of Big Country football history, and that’s not an understatement.
Participation rates of this magnitude may not guarantee on-field success. But they are indicative of a student body fully taking pride and ownership of a program. That isn’t easy to achieve these days and Escobar deserves credit at this stage for creating that culture in a remarkably short period of time.
You’re not going to hear that from Escobar, but you’ll hear it from Big Country Preps.
“The guys who came here before me have done a great job,” Escobar said. “I just latched on to what they did before I got here. And for me, Comanche has always been that type of community — real supportive.
“So I just latched on to what they did and keep on (rowing) the boat.”