{"id":121363,"date":"2020-11-26T18:02:11","date_gmt":"2020-11-26T15:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/texas-6-shines-light-on-small-town-high-school-football\/"},"modified":"2020-11-26T18:02:11","modified_gmt":"2020-11-26T15:02:11","slug":"texas-6-shines-light-on-small-town-high-school-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/texas-6-shines-light-on-small-town-high-school-football\/","title":{"rendered":"#’Texas 6′ shines light on small-town high school football"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#’Texas 6′ shines light on small-town high school football<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n For the people of Strawn, Texas, high school football is a religion deserving of feverish devotion. But \u2014, their congregation is much smaller than many others in the Lone Star State \u2014 so they practice their faith a little differently.<\/p>\n

In Strawn, they play six-man football: a variation of the sport embraced by a group of rural Texas schools that don\u2019t have enough kids to field a regulation 11-man squad. The game<\/a> originated in Nebraska in 1934 and is played in a handful of other states including Colorado, New Mexico and the Dakotas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest difference [from 11-man] is the speed and the kids are playing both ways, which is an endurance feat,\u201d said documentary filmmaker Jared Christopher, whose riveting six-part docuseries, \u201cTexas 6<\/a>,\u201d follows the Strawn squad\u2019s 2019 season. \u201cThe hits can be more violent in six-man because they pick up so much speed. They are hitting, running and catching, but the field is 80 yards instead of 100. It still feels very much like football.\u201d<\/p>\n

The show, which premieres Thanksgiving Day on CBS All Access, chronicles the team\u2019s quest to capture their third consecutive state title while bringing attention to life in a tiny, blue-collar town without even a stop light. Christopher, who lives near Fort Worth, didn\u2019t know six-man existed until he went looking for an idea for a new project. He discovered Strawn through word-of-mouth.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Strawn Greyhounds meet and greet sign pictured in Strawn, Texas.<\/span>CBS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe whole point was to find a football story I hadn\u2019t seen before,\u201d said Christopher, who is also behind the award-winning web series<\/a> \u201cTitletown, TX,\u201d about Aledo High\u2019s perfect 2016 season.<\/p>\n

He drove to Strawn, met their hyper-competitive coach Dewaine Lee and immedia<\/a>tely knew he\u2019d struck gridiron gold.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a documentary filmmaker, you are looking for access and characters. It was app<\/a>arent he was going to be magnetic.\u201d Christopher was even more convinced after Lee introduced him to their star player, J.W. Montgomery, who is only 5-foot-6 and 145 pounds \u2014 the human embodiment of the small but powerful Strawn Greyhounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe lives about 50 yards from the school, and I could see him with his dogs. But when I got closer, I realized he was playing with pigs,\u201d said Christopher.<\/p>\n

\"Coach
Coach Lee of the Strawn Greyhounds.<\/span>CBS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Christopher also focuses his lens on mild-mannered quarterback Blaze Duncan, who never met his father and is being raised \u2014 along with his siblings \u2014 by his devoted grandmother.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t just about football. This is about family. It\u2019s about meaning something to this town, and the town shows the kids they matter. I think that gets lost in these bigger schools. In Strawn, it\u2019s so intimate,\u201d said Christopher.<\/p>\n

Intimate is an understatement. In 2020, Strawn \u2014 which is equidistant between Abilene and Dallas \u2014 had only 16 kids in their graduating class. The school\u2019s principal also drives the school bus and teaches two algebra classes. Residents work at the local cinderblock factory, in ranching or at Mary\u2019s Cafe, famous for its chicken-fried steak. There isn\u2019t much to do beyond sports, and the kids know that they\u2019re unlikely to play another down of football after their senior year.<\/p>\n

\u2018This isn\u2019t just about football. This is about family.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u00a0–\u00a0Jared Christopher<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And then there\u2019s the team\u2019s beloved, passionate coach: \u201c[The story] is football, but at its very heart is Coach Lee,\u201d says Christopher.<\/p>\n

Or as townie and series regular Jim Elmore said of Lee: \u201cHe\u2019s the best thing that ever came to Strawn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee grew up in Crane, Texas, which is adjacent to Odessa, the town featured in the 1990 H.G Bissinger best seller, \u201cFriday Night Lights<\/a>.\u201d The book \u2014 and later the popular television series, which ran from 2006-2011 \u2014 introduced the particular brand of Texas high school football fandom to the world.<\/p>\n

He played Division II ball at Eastern New Mexico University and stumbled into six-man football after being hired in his early 20s as an assistant at a small high school in Texas.<\/p>\n

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\n \"Texas<\/div>\n

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\n Blaze Duncan, Matthew Garcia, JW Montgomery, Speedy Lopez, Marco Lopez and Lorenzo Garcia of the Strawn Greyhounds. <\/p>\n

CBS\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\n \"Texas<\/div>\n

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\n Coach Lee and the Strawn Greyhounds. <\/p>\n

CBS<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\n \"Texas<\/div>\n

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\n Matthew Garcia and team of the Strawn Greyhounds. <\/p>\n

CBS<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\n \"Texas<\/div>\n

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\n \"Texas<\/div>\n

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\n Matthew Garcia, Blaze Duncan, Marco Lopez, Lorenzo Garcia, JW Montgomery and Speedy Lopez of the Strawn Greyhounds. <\/p>\n

CBS<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\n \"Episode<\/div>\n

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\n The Strawn Greyhounds championship signs pictured in Strawn, Texas. <\/p>\n

CBS<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\n \"Texas<\/div>\n

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\n JW Montgomery of the Strawn Greyhounds. <\/p>\n

CBS<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\n \"Episode<\/div>\n

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\n Coach Lee and the Strawn Greyhounds pregame prayer. <\/p>\n

CBS<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\n \"Episode<\/div>\n

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\n A fan looks on at The Strawn Greyhounds home field. <\/p>\n

CBS<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\n \"Episode<\/div>\n

\n
\n \"Episode<\/div>\n

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\n The Strawn Greyhounds <\/p>\n

CBS<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\n \"Texas<\/div>\n

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\n Lorenzo Garcia, Marco Lopez, Blaze Duncan, JW Montgomery, Matthew Garcia and Speedy Lopez of the Strawn Greyhounds. <\/p>\n

CBS<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\n \"Texas<\/div>\n

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\n JW Montgomery, Blaze Duncan, Marco Lopez, Speedy Lopez, Matthew Garcia and Lorenzo Garcia of the Strawn Greyhounds. <\/p>\n

CBS<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\n \"Episode<\/div>\n

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\n The Strawn Greyhounds <\/p>\n

CBS<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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