2007 GFNCC Features Top Coaches

The GoFridayNight.com Champions Classic features some of the best teams in Texas, so it figures that the teams have some of the most successful coaches in Texas as well.

On Thursday night when Graham plays Midland Greenwood, it will be a home coming of sorts for Coach Brad McCoy of Graham.  As most folks from around here know, Coach McCoy graduated from Merkel High School, played football at Abilene Christian University and coached Jim Ned to four playoff appearances.  With three sons currently playing football, Colt McCoy, the University of Texas starting quarterback, Chance a freshman wide receiver at Abilene Christian University and Case starting quarterback for Brad at Graham High School, it is safe to say the McCoy’s are a football family through and through.

Midland Greenwood is coached by Steve Taylor, who learned his football at Spur and Angelo State.  A 29 year coaching veteran, he has taken his teams to the playoffs 10 of the last 12 years and has been named coach of the year six times in his district.

Friday night will match up two teams whose coaches are no strangers to the area or to each other. The Frenship Tiger and Coach Brad Davis will face the Wichita Falls Rider Raiders, coached by Scott Ponder, for the fifth time in three years, three of those games having been played at Shotwell Stadium.  Frenship is ranked #3 in the Texas Football pre-season poll, while Rider is ranked #5, so this will be a great match up of two of the top teams in Class 4A in Texas.  Buckle up your seat belts for this one!!

Coach Scott Ponder, Rider’s Head Coach played college ball at Midwestern State in Wichita Falls and has brought success very quickly to the Rider Raiders.  A head coach since 2001, he has been leading the Rider program since 2003.  In that short time his teams have won five district championships, five bi-district championships, four area championships, three regional championships and a state championship at Petrolia in 2002.

Brad Davis is entering his 2nd  year as Head Coach and AD at Frenship.  A graduate of Texas Tech, Coach Davis has spent the last 21 years as an assistant coach at Frenship High, before leading the Tigers to the Regional Championship in 2006.

The final game of the Champions Classic weekend will feature Abilene High School and Austin Westlake in the feature game of this year’s event.  The AHS Eagles, pre-season ranked #17 and picked to repeat as District Champs, will bring a wide open offense and hard-nosed defense that Coach Steve Warren has made the trademark of the AHS program.  Coach Warren is beginning his 12th year as the Eagle’s Head Coach.  His career has taken him to Sweetwater, Grapevine, his first head coaching stop at Wall, Texas, then to Rockwall and Rotan before coming to Abilene in 1993, then taking over as Head Coach in 1995.  Coming off three consecutive District Championships, the Warbirds are used to playing the top levels of competition in the state.  #16 ranked Westlake certainly is included in that category.

Coach Derek Long is beginning his 4th year as the Head Coach of the Westlake Chaparrals, and the current Class 5A Division I State Runner-up, falling to Southlake Carroll in last year’s State Championship game.  Westlake has a long history of being one of the premier programs in Texas, having been to the State Championship game five times, winning in 1996, when they defeated the Cooper Cougars in Texas Stadium, in a game that featured New Orleans Saints starting quarterback Drew Brees for the Chaps and Oakland Raiders running back Dominic Rhodes on the Cooper side.

Make your plans now so that you will not miss West Texas High School Football at its best.  The 3RD annual GoFridayNight.com Champions Classic at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene will begin Thursday, Aug. 30, and the thrills last through Saturday, Sept. 1.  Tickets will be available for each game at the gate.  Also sponsored by the Texas Chevy Dealers.