Pick6
12-18-2008, 09:50 AM
Holy steamrollers: Celina’s football program uses faith as cornerstone
BY BILL SPINKS
HERALD DEMOCRAT
CELINA -- One who says Celina football is like religion isn't all that far off the mark.
At the end of last Saturday's state semifinal playoff game against
Liberty Hill, football players from both schools formed a circle at
midfield, held hands, and recited the Lord's Prayer. And nobody blinked
an eye about it.
Acts of faith such as this in a public-school setting is considered
taboo in a lot of places. But not so in Celina, where players, coaches
and fans talk openly about their Christianity and churches still
outnumber gas stations by about a 4-to-1 ratio.
"In our community we stress God and Jesus very, very much, and I'm
very thankful to live in a community like that," said senior running
back Troy McCartney. "I've never lived anywhere else in my life, but
people who move in say there's no other place like Celina. I'm very
thankful to live where I live, have what I have and do what I do, and I
just want to give all the glory and thanks to the Lord."
Religion and winning championships have gone hand-in-hand in Celina
since the days of avuncular taskmaster G.A. Moore, who had considered
entering the ministry before becoming the school's football skipper in
1972.
Moore, who retired in 2004 as the winningest coach in Texas history,
always emphasized Christian values and sought to instill them in his
charges. Occasionally, though, his staunch beliefs would lead to
controversy.
In 1999, a U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling banned the
practice of public prayer before games, and the American Civil
Liberties Union began monitoring Celina's use of it.
In defiance of the court ruling and the watchful eyes of the ACLU,
Moore -- with the permission of the Celina school board and with
encouragement from clergy within and without town -- personally led a
pre-game prayer before a home game against Denton Liberty Christian. A
number of fans and students wore orange T-shirts that read "Celina
Bobcats Pray Before They Play."
"I decided that somebody needed to take a stand, and that somebody
needed to be me. I prayed about it, and I told the principal that I
felt like somebody needed to lead the prayer, and since I didn't want
anybody getting in trouble, it should be me," Moore later told the
Houston Chronicle in a 2001 interview. "I told my coaches what I felt
... I needed to do, and if they arrest me, y'all are in charge.
"(It was) the only time in my life I thought I might go to jail,
but, shoot, it was exciting. It was awkward, too, for a lot of people.
But I made the decision, and I did what I felt I should do."
Of course, Moore never went to jail. In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court
upheld the lower court ruling, and Celina agreed to observe it.
A lot has changed in the eight years since, but Moore's long-time
protege and successor, Butch Ford, continues his philosophy today.
"We preach it," Ford said. "When you get God to consider in your
life, you're in pretty good shape. Good things happen. All I know is,
He's allowed us to experience a lot of things this year. Not all of
them were good. But without those experiences, I don't think we'd be
where we are."
It's hard to argue with the results. After a rocky 4-3 start due to
injuries and a tough schedule, the Bobcats have won eight games in a
row, averaging exactly 50 points per game in the postseason to reach
the state game for the fourth consecutive December -- and the eighth
time in an 11-year span.
"Our goal (against Liberty Hill) was to play with the joy of the
Lord in our heart so we'd play excited all of the time, and we wouldn't
be down no matter what happened," Ford said. "We want our kids to play
the game with joy. That was what we wanted to do, and I think we did a
good job of that. We played up all of the time."
Balancing act
School officials everywhere walk a fine line when allowing students
to express their faith without running afoul of the U.S. Constitution,
as interpreted by the courts. This is no less true even in Celina.
Opposition to school-sponsored prayer is a bedrock principle for the
ACLU, which argues that the First Amendment of the Constitution
prohibits religious activities sponsored by public school systems.
"The ACLU believes that any program of religious indoctrination --
direct or indirect -- in the public schools or by use of public
resources is a violation of the constitutional principle of separation
of church and state and must be opposed," says its national board
policy.
The policy states further that the ACLU "opposes the infusion of
other types of religious practices and standards into the public
schools. These include such practices as baccalaureate exercises in the
form of religious services, prayer meetings at athletic events, the
taking of a religious census of pupils ... and the profession of
religious observance or belief as a consideration in the evaluation and
promotion of teachers."
But since the 1999 dust-up over prayer at Celina, nobody else has
ever voiced an objection over the school's activities, and the prayers
continue.
"We do what we do, and one of these days something may happen where
we can't do that," said Celina school board member Choc Christopher,
who wasn't on the board during the 1999 incident.
"But until that happens, we've been rewarded for the things that we
do. That's what the town wants, and that's what the town stands for."
Faith also unites the team and builds a high level of camaraderie in the Bobcat dressing room.
"We're all Christians on this team," said junior inside linebacker
Caleb Lavey. "It helps us come together. We really get to know each
other. I love everybody on my team. I play my heart out for each
individual, and I expect the same for everyone else."
The Bobcats pray before and after every practice, and hold a team
meeting and a devotional every Thursday night, followed by a team
dinner.
Usually, Ford picks an assistant coach to lead the prayer before and
after each practice, and normally a member of the team will lead an
invocation before the Thursday get-togethers.
"I think it's one of the greatest things we do," Christopher said.
"Our coaches are men of faith. Not only do they teach them about
football, but also they teach them about life.
"I know the Lord doesn't bless us because we win, but I think He
honors the things that we do. It's such a blessing to live in the town
of Celina and have the kids be able to experience something like this."
One more game remains for McCartney and the other 17 seniors on the
team. Perhaps it's appropos that they play that game under the hole in
the roof at Texas Stadium -- to make watching easier for a certain
entity, as the saying goes.
"Everything in life is not about winning," McCartney said. "It's
about bringing glory and honor to the Lord, and that's what we plan to
do. We want to win, and it's awesome to win, and we've been blessed
very much. No matter what, win or lose, we're gonna say that prayer."
Link (http://www.heralddemocrat.com/hd/Sports/12-18-Celi-story)
BY BILL SPINKS
HERALD DEMOCRAT
CELINA -- One who says Celina football is like religion isn't all that far off the mark.
At the end of last Saturday's state semifinal playoff game against
Liberty Hill, football players from both schools formed a circle at
midfield, held hands, and recited the Lord's Prayer. And nobody blinked
an eye about it.
Acts of faith such as this in a public-school setting is considered
taboo in a lot of places. But not so in Celina, where players, coaches
and fans talk openly about their Christianity and churches still
outnumber gas stations by about a 4-to-1 ratio.
"In our community we stress God and Jesus very, very much, and I'm
very thankful to live in a community like that," said senior running
back Troy McCartney. "I've never lived anywhere else in my life, but
people who move in say there's no other place like Celina. I'm very
thankful to live where I live, have what I have and do what I do, and I
just want to give all the glory and thanks to the Lord."
Religion and winning championships have gone hand-in-hand in Celina
since the days of avuncular taskmaster G.A. Moore, who had considered
entering the ministry before becoming the school's football skipper in
1972.
Moore, who retired in 2004 as the winningest coach in Texas history,
always emphasized Christian values and sought to instill them in his
charges. Occasionally, though, his staunch beliefs would lead to
controversy.
In 1999, a U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling banned the
practice of public prayer before games, and the American Civil
Liberties Union began monitoring Celina's use of it.
In defiance of the court ruling and the watchful eyes of the ACLU,
Moore -- with the permission of the Celina school board and with
encouragement from clergy within and without town -- personally led a
pre-game prayer before a home game against Denton Liberty Christian. A
number of fans and students wore orange T-shirts that read "Celina
Bobcats Pray Before They Play."
"I decided that somebody needed to take a stand, and that somebody
needed to be me. I prayed about it, and I told the principal that I
felt like somebody needed to lead the prayer, and since I didn't want
anybody getting in trouble, it should be me," Moore later told the
Houston Chronicle in a 2001 interview. "I told my coaches what I felt
... I needed to do, and if they arrest me, y'all are in charge.
"(It was) the only time in my life I thought I might go to jail,
but, shoot, it was exciting. It was awkward, too, for a lot of people.
But I made the decision, and I did what I felt I should do."
Of course, Moore never went to jail. In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court
upheld the lower court ruling, and Celina agreed to observe it.
A lot has changed in the eight years since, but Moore's long-time
protege and successor, Butch Ford, continues his philosophy today.
"We preach it," Ford said. "When you get God to consider in your
life, you're in pretty good shape. Good things happen. All I know is,
He's allowed us to experience a lot of things this year. Not all of
them were good. But without those experiences, I don't think we'd be
where we are."
It's hard to argue with the results. After a rocky 4-3 start due to
injuries and a tough schedule, the Bobcats have won eight games in a
row, averaging exactly 50 points per game in the postseason to reach
the state game for the fourth consecutive December -- and the eighth
time in an 11-year span.
"Our goal (against Liberty Hill) was to play with the joy of the
Lord in our heart so we'd play excited all of the time, and we wouldn't
be down no matter what happened," Ford said. "We want our kids to play
the game with joy. That was what we wanted to do, and I think we did a
good job of that. We played up all of the time."
Balancing act
School officials everywhere walk a fine line when allowing students
to express their faith without running afoul of the U.S. Constitution,
as interpreted by the courts. This is no less true even in Celina.
Opposition to school-sponsored prayer is a bedrock principle for the
ACLU, which argues that the First Amendment of the Constitution
prohibits religious activities sponsored by public school systems.
"The ACLU believes that any program of religious indoctrination --
direct or indirect -- in the public schools or by use of public
resources is a violation of the constitutional principle of separation
of church and state and must be opposed," says its national board
policy.
The policy states further that the ACLU "opposes the infusion of
other types of religious practices and standards into the public
schools. These include such practices as baccalaureate exercises in the
form of religious services, prayer meetings at athletic events, the
taking of a religious census of pupils ... and the profession of
religious observance or belief as a consideration in the evaluation and
promotion of teachers."
But since the 1999 dust-up over prayer at Celina, nobody else has
ever voiced an objection over the school's activities, and the prayers
continue.
"We do what we do, and one of these days something may happen where
we can't do that," said Celina school board member Choc Christopher,
who wasn't on the board during the 1999 incident.
"But until that happens, we've been rewarded for the things that we
do. That's what the town wants, and that's what the town stands for."
Faith also unites the team and builds a high level of camaraderie in the Bobcat dressing room.
"We're all Christians on this team," said junior inside linebacker
Caleb Lavey. "It helps us come together. We really get to know each
other. I love everybody on my team. I play my heart out for each
individual, and I expect the same for everyone else."
The Bobcats pray before and after every practice, and hold a team
meeting and a devotional every Thursday night, followed by a team
dinner.
Usually, Ford picks an assistant coach to lead the prayer before and
after each practice, and normally a member of the team will lead an
invocation before the Thursday get-togethers.
"I think it's one of the greatest things we do," Christopher said.
"Our coaches are men of faith. Not only do they teach them about
football, but also they teach them about life.
"I know the Lord doesn't bless us because we win, but I think He
honors the things that we do. It's such a blessing to live in the town
of Celina and have the kids be able to experience something like this."
One more game remains for McCartney and the other 17 seniors on the
team. Perhaps it's appropos that they play that game under the hole in
the roof at Texas Stadium -- to make watching easier for a certain
entity, as the saying goes.
"Everything in life is not about winning," McCartney said. "It's
about bringing glory and honor to the Lord, and that's what we plan to
do. We want to win, and it's awesome to win, and we've been blessed
very much. No matter what, win or lose, we're gonna say that prayer."
Link (http://www.heralddemocrat.com/hd/Sports/12-18-Celi-story)