Crowning Kings, Queens and Cinderella

Last season, our football program made it all the way to the big dance, finishing their season 13-3 overall and as the TAPPS Division II State Runner-Ups. On the heels of a state championship run, those familiar with the sense of loss that comes with the departure of eleven seniors and a head coach will understand the unique challenges Second Baptist School’s football program faced this year. But after a challenging start to the season, Friday’s Homecoming game showed this program isn’t one to bench this year. Two games into district play, these student athletes are hitting their stride and reclaiming the spotlight in a big way.

Walker Lott, a Student Recruiting Analyst with TexAgs and host of TX Private School Podcast was on the sidelines Friday night. He was there to watch Fort Bend Christian Academy, who he projected to win easily, but his Twitter feed was quickly dominated by SBS players. Footage he captured of senior and captain Kyle Kollmorgan scoring one of his three touchdowns was picked up over the weekend by Maxpreps and shared with their over 1 million followers on Instagram.

Via Twitter, Lott called Kollmorgan “unstoppable,” urging colleges to “just turn on the tape.” He also tapped Bryce Butler ‘25, JD Crisp ‘23, Reginald Lee ‘25 and Turner Murdock ‘24 as ones for colleges to watch.

Lott wasn’t the only one paying attention, VYPE Houston and KPRC also picked up Kollmorgan’s touchdown. As of press time, the footage KPRC shared had been played more than 55,000 times on Instagram.

A rebuilding year will always be hard, but Eagle football has a unique advantage in its coaching staff, which includes Interim Head Coach Tony Levine, Defensive Coordinator Keith Page and Offensive Coordinator Cecil Shorts III. Levine brings over 25 years of coaching experience, including stops at Auburn, Louisville, the University of Houston, Purdue and the NFL Carolina Panthers. Coach Keith Page has passionately served as the defensive coordinator at SBS for several years, during which time the Eagles have won 8 of the last 9 district championships, advanced to the TAPPS final four and the TAPPS state championship game. Coach Cecil Shorts was the NCAA Division III offensive player of the year and helped the University of Mount Union claim the Division III national championship. Shorts III went on to play six years in the NFL, where he led the Jaguars in receiving yards and touchdowns during the 2012 season.

Coach Levine shared, "I'm very proud of our players and staff. Our coaches had an outstanding game plan, and our players gave tremendous effort and executed the plan extremely well. The homecoming atmosphere in our stadium with our families, students, alumni, cheerleaders, Golden Girls dance team and band was electric and significantly contributed to a night that our players and coaches will never forget. We'll continue to keep our focus on one game at a time and improving each week, as we look forward to the remainder of our district schedule."

Just when it matters, things are coming together for Eagle football. With their 2-0 start to district play, we’re seeing the hard work, grit and perseverance of these young men that’s been building up for a larger stage the entire season. Behind them, our SBS family remembers the thrill of last year’s postseason run and asks “why not us?”

Go Eagles - take state!