Nic Beitel

LINDALE — Whenever you ask teammates or coaches about first-year varsity senior Nic Beitel, two things happen. First, they smile and explain how much they enjoy being around him. Next, they mention Beitel’s love for the Dallas Cowboys.

On Friday night, Beitel will walk onto the field at AT&T Stadium — home of the Dallas Cowboys — wearing his white Lindale No. 66 jersey as the Eagles will play for the Class 4A Division I state championship against Argyle.

“It’s going to be awesome,” Beitel said. “I’ve been a die-hard Cowboys fan for a long time ever since I was a little kid. I’ve always wanted to play football. And my all-time goal was to play for a state championship game, and now it’s here.”

Beitel said the best compliment he has received from Lindale fans has been, “You add heart to this game.” He has seen some game action this year and cherishes his role being a positive supportive voice on the sidelines.

“You can tell his passion and love for Lindale football is unmatched,” Lindale head coach Chris Cochran said. “He loves his teammates. He loves this school. And he loves this community.”

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Beitel says that love is from the respect he receives from the players and coaches.

“I always tell them that this is like a second family to me,” Beitel said. “If I never played football, I would just be a regular kid probably. I’m thankful these guys and the coaches let me come and play football with them. There is no doubt I’m going to miss them.”

That feeling is mutual. When Lindale running back Jordan Jenkins signed with Baylor on Wednesday, Beitel was one of the speakers. He said Jenkins, who wears No. 22, reminds him of former Dallas Cowboy great Emmitt Smith who also wore 22.

“He’s an amazing guy really,” Jenkins said. “He’s brought a lot of experiences and memories to this team. Everybody loves him, and everybody enjoys having Beitel around. He brings so much joy to all of us.”

Lindale defensive back Airik Williams said, “He means a lot to us. He has a lot of energy. His excitement and his love for the game really get us going. And then when you hear him talk, he really means it from deep down in his heart. It makes it even more special for us, because we can feel it from him and it really gets us going.”

How important is Beitel? Junior quarterback Sam Peterson said they won the semifinal game for him (a 31-28 win over Austin LBJ) so he could play on the Cowboys’ home field.

“He brings a lot of joy and happiness into the locker room,” Peterson said. “Last week, we were all playing trying to give him the best Christmas gift ever. He’s the biggest Cowboys fan I’ve ever met. He knows every game and every score.”

Cochran said thinking about Beitel running on the field Friday night gives him chills.

“Nic is special,” Cochran said. “He is a really neat young man. He’s our energizer. He always brings the energy in the weight room and on the sidelines. And he’s probably the biggest Dallas Cowboys fan I’ve ever met. The fact that he’s getting to go play at AT&T is pretty stinkin’ cool. It gives me chills to think about. He’s an awesome young man that we’re for sure going to miss.”

Beitel has memories of many past Cowboys games and said overtime games and beating division rivals are his favorites.

“I would remember all of these games from 2014 and 2015 and 2018, and everyone would be surprised that I could remember all of those,” Beitel said.

When watching Lindale play, you will often see Beitel on the sidelines trying to pump up the crowd.

“I feel like a Dallas Cowboy, I’m not going to lie,” he said. “When I get up there on the bleachers, everybody is just loud. People come up to me and say I’m like a No. 1 fan.”

“It’s always good to beat a division team,” Beitel said. “One of my goals was to go undefeated in district. The last game when we beat Kilgore, it was a really big one for the district title.”

Beitel said that game against Kilgore, the 70-56 second-round playoff win over Needville and last week’s 31-28 win over Austin LBJ are now among his favorite football games.

Beitel — an offensive lineman — has found his way onto the field a few times this season.

“The games I’ve been in, I’ve done really good,” he said. “I’ve got one pancake this year.”

Now, Beitel and the Eagles want to add one state championship to that.

“It will be really good when we win this,” he said, “which I know we will. I have really good confidence. It will be sad when the season is over, but it will be a good way to end the season.”

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