LH Panther Mom
08-29-2008, 05:47 AM
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
A new school, a new program, a new start for Monzingo
Former Connally coach building anew at Canyon Lake
By Rick Cantu
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, August 29, 2008
FISCHER — Matt Monzingo stood before his Connally High School football team before the 1997 season opener, confident that his young Cougars would scratch and claw their way to Friday night glory.
Instead, the new school weathered a severe case of varsity blues. Playing a pickup schedule, the Cougars "took it on the chin" with a team of freshmen and sophomores.
"As a coaching staff, we didn't know any better," said Monzingo, who was 39 when he helped baptize the Connally program.
"We went into the season thinking we were going to beat everybody, and we were rudely disappointed."
Eleven years later, Monzingo is older, wiser and more realistic about his new team at Canyon Lake, which plays its first varsity game tonight against regional rival Blanco.
Sitting in his office on Wednesday with the door closed, Monzingo could hear the hootin' and hollerin' of giddy Hawks football players roaming the halls inside the school's athletic complex.
"The kids don't know what's fixin' to happen," Monzingo said. "They don't know that the battles they're going to face will be extremely tough."
Canyon Lake, Central Texas' newest high school, is nestled in the heart of the Hill Country, some 45 miles southwest of Austin. It is a visual masterpiece. A carpet of trees covers the hills as far as the eye can see. Canyon Lake is a two-minute drive from campus. The only outside noise comes from FM 32, which cuts in front of the school.
The opportunity to coach a new team and live in such natural splendor were two reasons Monzingo and his wife, Sharon, relocated to Fischer in 2007. He also was encouraged by Connally assistant principal Cheryl Koury, who had been hired as Canyon Lake's first principal.
"To work in an area as pretty as this is worth the challenge," Monzingo said.
Monzingo grew up in Memphis, Texas, a town of about 2,500 located in the Panhandle. An avid golfer, he played two years at Southwestern Oklahoma State in Weatherford, Okla., and graduated from West Texas State in Canyon.
His passion, though, has always football, and he has amassed a 124-59 record in 15 years as a head coach — five at Memphis, 10 at Connally. Speaking of Memphis, he won the Class A state championship in 1991, his first season as a head coach.
Dressed in green uniforms — the same color as Connally — Canyon Lake players describe Monzingo as a no-nonsense, hands-on coach who rarely screams. None of them had heard of the coach when he was hired in February 2007.
"Coach is always positive, and he wants us to work as hard as we can every day," junior safety Christian Pena said.
"He's as tough as he needs to be," junior receiver Eric Nelson said.
Canyon Lake will not have a senior class until next season and enters tonight's game without much depth. There are talented players on the roster, Monzingo said, but many will be forced to play two positions, a problem he didn't have at Connally.
Canyon Lake showed offensive firepower in a recent scrimmage against Lehman. Nelson caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ross Wagliardo, while sophomore running back Todd Pippin bolted 70 yards for a touchdown and junior halfback Cole Seitz caught a 47-yard scoring strike from Pena, the backup quarterback.
Canyon Lake — a Class 3A school, with an enrollment of 906 — is enthusiastic, but also realistic about the season. Nelson remembers how Blanco "killed us" last year in an exhibition between Blanco's varsity and Canyon Lake's JV.
"We're probably going to be the underdog in every game we play," Pena said. "They'll be thinking, oh, this is Canyon Lake. They'll look at it as an easy victory."
The UIL did the Hawks no favor by placing them in District 8-3A, home of two-time defending state champion Liberty Hill and 2005 champion Wimberley. With Burnet and Fredericksburg dropping from 4A to 3A, the Hawks will be tested every week.
Still, it's a new season. And a new program.
"I'm as fired up about this game as anything in my whole life," junior tight end Jake Phillips said. "I know I'm only 16, but this is exciting."
After muddling through meaningless scrimmages in 2007, Wagliardo is also looking forward to tonight's game.
"You want to play like you're a little kid again," he said.
Monzingo said he and his wife have settled nicely into their home in the country, which sits on two acres about a 10-minute drive from school. They have two grown children, Ben (25) and Whitney (22).
Sharon Monzingo, who teaches English at the high school, took the move in stride, earning Comal school district Teacher of the Year honors last year.
What does coach Monzingo think about his wife's big achievement?
"It's job security," he said, laughing. "In coaching, the coaches' wives usually follow the coaches. Now I'm going to have to follow her."
rcantu@statesman.com; 445-3953
AAS link (http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/highschool/08/29/0829canyonlake.html)
A new school, a new program, a new start for Monzingo
Former Connally coach building anew at Canyon Lake
By Rick Cantu
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, August 29, 2008
FISCHER — Matt Monzingo stood before his Connally High School football team before the 1997 season opener, confident that his young Cougars would scratch and claw their way to Friday night glory.
Instead, the new school weathered a severe case of varsity blues. Playing a pickup schedule, the Cougars "took it on the chin" with a team of freshmen and sophomores.
"As a coaching staff, we didn't know any better," said Monzingo, who was 39 when he helped baptize the Connally program.
"We went into the season thinking we were going to beat everybody, and we were rudely disappointed."
Eleven years later, Monzingo is older, wiser and more realistic about his new team at Canyon Lake, which plays its first varsity game tonight against regional rival Blanco.
Sitting in his office on Wednesday with the door closed, Monzingo could hear the hootin' and hollerin' of giddy Hawks football players roaming the halls inside the school's athletic complex.
"The kids don't know what's fixin' to happen," Monzingo said. "They don't know that the battles they're going to face will be extremely tough."
Canyon Lake, Central Texas' newest high school, is nestled in the heart of the Hill Country, some 45 miles southwest of Austin. It is a visual masterpiece. A carpet of trees covers the hills as far as the eye can see. Canyon Lake is a two-minute drive from campus. The only outside noise comes from FM 32, which cuts in front of the school.
The opportunity to coach a new team and live in such natural splendor were two reasons Monzingo and his wife, Sharon, relocated to Fischer in 2007. He also was encouraged by Connally assistant principal Cheryl Koury, who had been hired as Canyon Lake's first principal.
"To work in an area as pretty as this is worth the challenge," Monzingo said.
Monzingo grew up in Memphis, Texas, a town of about 2,500 located in the Panhandle. An avid golfer, he played two years at Southwestern Oklahoma State in Weatherford, Okla., and graduated from West Texas State in Canyon.
His passion, though, has always football, and he has amassed a 124-59 record in 15 years as a head coach — five at Memphis, 10 at Connally. Speaking of Memphis, he won the Class A state championship in 1991, his first season as a head coach.
Dressed in green uniforms — the same color as Connally — Canyon Lake players describe Monzingo as a no-nonsense, hands-on coach who rarely screams. None of them had heard of the coach when he was hired in February 2007.
"Coach is always positive, and he wants us to work as hard as we can every day," junior safety Christian Pena said.
"He's as tough as he needs to be," junior receiver Eric Nelson said.
Canyon Lake will not have a senior class until next season and enters tonight's game without much depth. There are talented players on the roster, Monzingo said, but many will be forced to play two positions, a problem he didn't have at Connally.
Canyon Lake showed offensive firepower in a recent scrimmage against Lehman. Nelson caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ross Wagliardo, while sophomore running back Todd Pippin bolted 70 yards for a touchdown and junior halfback Cole Seitz caught a 47-yard scoring strike from Pena, the backup quarterback.
Canyon Lake — a Class 3A school, with an enrollment of 906 — is enthusiastic, but also realistic about the season. Nelson remembers how Blanco "killed us" last year in an exhibition between Blanco's varsity and Canyon Lake's JV.
"We're probably going to be the underdog in every game we play," Pena said. "They'll be thinking, oh, this is Canyon Lake. They'll look at it as an easy victory."
The UIL did the Hawks no favor by placing them in District 8-3A, home of two-time defending state champion Liberty Hill and 2005 champion Wimberley. With Burnet and Fredericksburg dropping from 4A to 3A, the Hawks will be tested every week.
Still, it's a new season. And a new program.
"I'm as fired up about this game as anything in my whole life," junior tight end Jake Phillips said. "I know I'm only 16, but this is exciting."
After muddling through meaningless scrimmages in 2007, Wagliardo is also looking forward to tonight's game.
"You want to play like you're a little kid again," he said.
Monzingo said he and his wife have settled nicely into their home in the country, which sits on two acres about a 10-minute drive from school. They have two grown children, Ben (25) and Whitney (22).
Sharon Monzingo, who teaches English at the high school, took the move in stride, earning Comal school district Teacher of the Year honors last year.
What does coach Monzingo think about his wife's big achievement?
"It's job security," he said, laughing. "In coaching, the coaches' wives usually follow the coaches. Now I'm going to have to follow her."
rcantu@statesman.com; 445-3953
AAS link (http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/highschool/08/29/0829canyonlake.html)