Boerne High approaching state title contest like any other game

The biggest football game in Boerne ISD history is taking place Friday when the Greyhounds meet China Spring for the 4A DI state championship.

Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. Friday at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys.

Yes, it’s for the state championship and yes, it’s at “Jerry World” as AT&T Stadium is called, but the Greyhounds are doing their best to treat it like any other game.

“1-0, that’s the goal for this week like always,” BHS senior Houston Hendrix said.

One week at a time has been Boerne’s approach all year and Coach Che Hendrix said that’s the thing that has surprised him the most this year – how well they’ve handled each week. 

“It’s been their ability to really focus on the task at hand,” the coach said. “There’s a lot of things that happen in the course of a year, positively and negatively, and for them to focus and concentrate on the task at hand and buy into each other and to do it for 15 weeks at such a high level.”

Coach Hendrix said their one-week-at-a-time approach is the best approach anyway.

“You can focus on a ring and championships, but that doesn’t do anything to win this game, so why would you switch up everything?” the coach asked. “We focus on today and stay in the present. It’s not easy to do, but we’ve been able to do it. We have been able to focus on what matters and do it again. I know it’s going to sink in that we’re playing for a state championship but it hasn’t felt any different so far this week.”

China Spring (14-1) is the defending state champs, but Hendrix said he doesn’t feel that gives them any kind of advantage even though they’ve played in this game before and have been in that atmosphere.

“You have to play football,” he said. “There will be nerves but it’s whoever handles it better.”

China Spring’s only loss this year came against Parish Episcopal, 24-16. Their closest contest in their 14 wins occurred in a victory over Stephenville, 38-36.

Just like the Greyhounds, the Cougars have pretty much rolled past everybody up until last week when they edged Decatur, 33-27, for the right to go to state.

Coach Hendrix said that China Spring and his Greyhounds are very similar.

“I feel like I’m looking in a mirror,” the coach said. “They have great quarterback play and skill players. Defensively, they’re a 4-3 like us, they tackle very well and are a disciplined, good team. Overall, they have good players that play as a team.”