The Briefing Room
State Chapters => Texas => Topic started by: Elderberry on December 21, 2018, 12:54:51 pm
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By: Cam Smith, USA TODAY High School Sports | December 21, 2018
The Newton (Texas) High School Eagles captured their second straight Class 3A state title with a 21-16 victory against Canadian Thursday. While the performance was a lift in itself, the speech that came after from Newton head coach W.T. Johnson was an entirely new level.
As noted by 247Sports, Johnson’s postgame speech put football in perspective. The coach contracted graft-versus-host disease following a double lung transplant in 2015, a condition that deteriorated in the lead up to the 2018 season. In August, Johnson was told he had eight months at most to live. The coach was forced to tell his players he might not live through the season, and that he was taking a back seat on game days.
Then, something amazing happened. Newton kept on rolling, winning week-after-week, and Johnson survived. Eventually, after Newton captured a second-straight state title, Johnson was given the platform to stress how the preceding four-plus months had put football and life in perspective. He didn’t disappoint:
Video at link: https://usatodayhss.com/2018/video-newton-texas-football-coach-gives-most-inspiring-championship-celebratory-speech-ever (https://usatodayhss.com/2018/video-newton-texas-football-coach-gives-most-inspiring-championship-celebratory-speech-ever)
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Very inspiring.
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Thanks for sharing that.
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Thanks for sharing that.
Most East Texas folks are pretty solid folks.