The Richland Springs Coyotes completed their “Drive for Five” last Saturday night with another “mercy rule” victory, defeating the Motley County Matadors 76-28 with 8:31 left in the third quarter at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene. The undefeated Coyotes have been dominant, mercy ruling 27 of their last 30 opponents, including the last two State Final games. The game was web-cast live by Fox Sports Southwest and had all the hoopla expected of a Texas State Championship football game, complete with play-by-play and color announcers and even an ex-pro football player as a roving sideline reporter, explaining (learning?) the intricacies of the six-man game. The Motley County Matador fans were loud and rowdy prior to the game and cheered every positive play enthusiastically to the very end. Their sound system was equal to the Coyotes’, and the “Battle of the Bands” kept the place rocking and was enjoyed by everyone. The game itself held little drama, after stopping the Matadors on 4 downs at the Coyote 10 yard line, Denim Reeves weaves 70 yards in one play to make the score 8-0, with the Corey Bessent kick. Another stop and another score....16-0. The Matadors score and the Coyotes answer right back. At the end of the first quarter the score is 24-6. The Coyotes have scored on 3 of 4 plays from scrimmage. The Coyotes outscore the Matadors 44-22 in the second period and close out the game due to the mercy rule at the start of the third period. The Matadors simply had no answer for the Superheroes in Coyote uniforms. Offensive MVP Denim Reeves ran the ball 12 plays and scored on 8 of them !! His cape was hidden but the top of the “S” could be seen peeking out from under the jersey of the mild-mannered spreadback. He was able to leap tall defenders and ran faster than a speeding bullet, rushing for 290 yards in a little over one half of play. Denim scored on dazzling runs of 70, 42, 8, 41, 37, 26, 41 and 25 yards. A super performance by a super young man. It seemed the webcast announcers were astonished to find a runner of this caliber in the six-man game. Chance Bush, (“Wolverine”) Defensive MVP, and protector of the line of scrimmage was ferocious, recording 15 tackles and slashing for 53 yards and a touchdown. Big Danny Tillery wielded the hammer of “Thor” to secure the line of scrimmage, and caught one of Reeves’ passes, thundering in for the score. “The Flash” Ben VanCleave used his quicksilver speed in lead blocking for Reeves and tracking down the Motley County runners on defense. The versatile VanCleave tossed a completion for 14 yards and added a catch for 20 yards. Defensively, Ben had 5 tackles including 2.5 drive-stopping tackles for losses. “Iron Man” Tra Williams, hobbled early in the first quarter, was still a powerful force on offense, relentlessly blocking for the Coyote runners and was a beast on defense. The “Fantastic Four,”Gunner Mann, Patrick Phillips, Thomas Fowler and Chris Munoz were persistent in their pursuit of the Matador runners. Patrick had a nice catch for 18 yards and Gunner had 5 tackles including one for a loss. “ThunderFoot” Corey Bessent hit 8 of 9 PAT attempts for 16 big points and added a couple of tackles on defense. The coaches graciously allowed some of the JV players to play on special teams and Jacob Cohn responded with a blocked kick on a PAT attempt. Their fifth State Title puts the Coyotes tied with Fort Hancock for the most State Championships in the history of Six-Man Football. Head Coach Jerry Burkhart gets his “one for the thumb” ring, while Offensive Coordinator Shawn Rogers adds a fourth ring in only 6 years to his impressive accomplishments. Coach Michael Brand is a perfect 2 for 2 since joining the Coyotes at the start of 2010. Student/Coach John Greenwoods’ contributions were a huge asset for the Coyotes this year. Congratulations to the Coyotes for another fantastic year. The back to back undefeated Championship Seasons will go down in the record books for all time. Seniors, Denim Reeves, Tra Williams, Ben VanCleave, Danny Tillery, Winston Poe, Joe Avila, Wyatt Ramsey, and Justin Trevino will leave an undefeated legacy that will never graduate. Congrats, you really know how to go out in style. The following is an excerpt from Head Coach Jerry Burkharts’ pre-game speech to the boys: There comes a point in each persons’ life when he asks himself: HOW DO I WANT TO BE REMEMBERED? The reality is, so few people have the chance that you have tonight. You have the chance to affect the answer to that question. The moment is at hand. It is not about tomorrow. It is not about yesterday. It is not about ten minutes ago, but part of your future and how you’ll be remembered, will be shaped BY YOU over the next 3 hours!!! Look around this room and look at the person next to you. How do want that guy to remember you? How do you want him to remember the way you played in this game? How do want your parents, family, and friends to remember your performance on this night? Will you be remembered as ordinary or extraordinary? I know in my mind, these young men will be remembered as typical boys, with extraordinary drive and heart, who put forth the necessary work and effort to transform themselves into Superheroes under the lights on Friday Nights!!