High School Sports Live Special Coverage

Willowridge Football Team's Amazing Turnaround

At Willowridge, there's a renewed sense of enthusiasm since the Eagles have won more games this season than the previous three seasons combined.

They've been able to do it thanks to a new coach and a lot of hard work.

"We've got a great group of kids who have at some point started believing in us and trusting us that what we were telling them was going to work," Coach Keeath Magee said. "They've worked hard."

The hard work has paid off with a four-game win streak for the Eagles, including last week's final minute win over Kempner as wide receiver Twaski Wilson hauled in a deflected pass for the game-winning score.

"Next thing you know, the ball just popped loose, and I caught it and ran it into the end zone," Wilson said.

That win earned the Eagles a berth in next week's District 23-5A championship game – an amazing turnaround considering they entered the season with only one win in the last 28 games!

"The fact that you were 1-27 only says that you were 1-27," Magee said. "It doesn't speak to your character. It doesn't speak to who you are. Let's just go to work and see if we can win a few football games and learn life lessons as we go and we have so far."

"It's been a great turnaround," linebacker Delas Lancelin said. "As a unit, the team has bonded more. Everybody's thrilled coming to practice. Everybody's thrilling about winning."

And the Eagles' impressive season seems to have restored the sense of pride for the tradition-rich program.

"The community is getting into everything," quarterback Reggie Smith said. "Everyone's coming to the game. It's a big thing for us having support from our fans so it makes us play even harder."

That hard work and play has paid off as they're now playing for a district championship and having already earned a berth in the post-season playoffs!