Harold Wilson

When Allen Wilson walked away from his job as head football coach at John Tyler in the spring of 2002 in favor of Dallas Carter, the highly-successful Lion program went in reverse — winning only four games total over the next three seasons.

Following three consecutive losing campaigns from 2002-04, the Lions logged progress but remained in neutral in 2005 and 2006 — making the playoffs each season but losing in the first round on both occasions.

The 2006 season featured two losses to Wilson and his new team, Dallas Carter, including one in the playoffs last fall.

After beating Wilson and his Cowboys 21-14 in an overtime game Friday night sure to be remembered for quite some time, JT can finally quit looking back and get to focusing on the future and perhaps a new legacy.

The JT victory proved the Lions can be successful — or at least as successful as Wilson — in the absence of the coach who led them to more than 100 wins, nine playoff trips, one state title and another championship game appearance in his 11 seasons on the sideline from 1991-2001.

For years, JT was known as the school that produced storied Hall of Fame running back Earl Campbell, the former Heisman Trophy winner at Texas and a three-time NFL MVP from his days with the Houston Oilers.

Campbell’s legacy loomed big around the JT halls, and even more considering the school failed to win a playoff game for 18 years straight after he led the Lions to the 1973 title.

Wilson entered the picture in 1991 and JT commenced to make the playoffs nine out of the next 10 seasons and in the meantime create a new image — one which came to be known as Cujo.

Just like JT’s lack of success in the playoffs kept Campbell on the minds of Lions fans, the absence of Wilson did likewise during the recent down cycle. And although Campbell and Cujo continue to be synonymous with JT football, something different may have been in store for a school always looking to roar.

While Campbell dominated the headlines during his playing days at JT, Wilson’s Lions prided themselves on not being a one-man show.

Although on the other sideline, Wilson should have been proud of his old school’s effort — embodied by guys like Adren Dorsey, who played a big role on the defensive line and helped out at tight end; and Chris Ratcliff, who recorded a team-high 11 tackles and added a key 17-yard run to help set up JT’s first TD in the third quarter.

On offense, JT looked like the Lions of old, giving a heavy-dose of its two-back offense, which senior Romonté Hampton led with 98 yards and all three of the team’s touchdowns on runs of 11, 5 and 10 in overtime.

Defensively, the Lions swarmed like their old selves as well, holding Carter to 34 yards of offense and one first down in the first half and only 229 yards for the game.
JT’s special teams struggled in a season-opening 38-7 loss against Texas High with one turnover and allowed the Tigers an average starting field position at midfield, but turned it around against Carter.

Devan Dewberry averaged more than 43 yards on his first four punts. Special teams proved the turning point following JT’s first touchdown when Joe Bayonne forced a fumble on the Carter kickoff return, which landed right in Brandon Norman’s hands and set up a one-play scoring drive after the Lions started at the Cowboy 5.

“We kept telling them you got yourself into a fight,” said JT head coach Dereck Rush of the halftime talk that occurred after the teams went into the intermission deadlocked at 0-0. “They came out and answered the call. We’ve been working on some of our two-back offense since spring ball. We knew it would be an opportunity for us to run. We just found our niche in it.”

Rush, his staff and his team turned around quite a bit in one week, as the motivated bunch soothed bitter memories from last year’s defeats to Carter, and the embarrassing loss to Texas High.

The breakthrough win against the former school icon allowed JT to finally look the other way and escape the Wilson shadow.

After all, the past showed JT can win — no matter who lines up in the backfield or wears the headsets.

Although Rush stopped short of saying JT had arrived, at least the Lions have moved on. The Lions need not look back now. Especially with perhaps bigger fish to fry in the form of DeSoto, Plano East and Copperas Cove in the coming weeks to close out non-district play.

“I know the kids we’ve got, the heart they’ve got,” said Rush when explaining his confidence following the 31-point loss to Texas High. “They fight hard and do things right. We still have a long way to go. But we’ll be OK.”

Harold Wilson
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