Chapel Hill coach Thomas Sitton was hired in the spring of 2009 and on Friday will lead the Bulldogs into their second straight state championship game. (Jaime R. Carrero | Tyler Morning Telegraph)

NEW CHAPEL HILL — Thomas Sitton was born and raised on football in East Texas, from his time at Cushing High School to his playing days at Stephen F. Austin State University.

He was an assistant at area powerhouse programs Alto and Jacksonville, but before taking his first head coaching job at Chapel Hill prior to the 2009 season, had never experienced the atmosphere of a championship game.

Now, Sitton is preparing for his second state title game in as many years.

“It’s been a blessing for our coaching staff to get a chance to coach this bunch of kids,” he said. “They’re great kids, they’re very unselfish, they work hard for each other, they love each other and the best thing about them is that they love playing football.”

The feeling is mutual for his players.

“Coach Sitton, honestly, is more than a coach; he’s probably like a dad,” Bulldogs senior quarterback Avery Saenz said. “He’s taught me a lot as far as how to become a man, how to control yourself in situations. It’s that fatherly influence. If you’re not getting it from home, I’m pretty sure you’re getting it here.”

Ironically, it’s that same fatherly influence that led Sitton to apply for the Chapel Hill job after serving as New Braunfels’ defensive coordinator the previous four years.

He and his wife had just adopted their oldest son.

“My wife’s folks were living in Athens and my folks still live in Cushing,” Sitton said. “We loved it down in New Braunfels, but we wanted him to grow up around my family.”

And with Sitton spending most of his life in East Texas, he was quite familiar with the area’s football programs.

“I coached at Jacksonville and played Chapel Hill when I was there, and they always had good athletes,” he said. “When the job came open, I thought it might be a good opportunity.”

Sitton met with the district superintendent and high school principal among others during his interview, where he hoped his success as an assistant would serve him well.

“My worst year in coaching as an assistant was 6-4,” he said. “I’ve just been at some good places and I’ve been around some good football teams. I just wanted to let them know who they were going to get.”

And Chapel Hill got him, offering him the job in the spring of 2009. Among the first people he called was his college roommate at SFA, Jason Holman, who had spent the previous six years as defensive coordinator at Jersey Village High School in Houston.

“We’d always talked about having the opportunity to be on the same staff together and we just felt like we could do some really good things if we were both together,” said Holman, who is now the defensive coordinator at Chapel Hill.

Holman and Sitton spent many days back in college discussing the game they loved.

“I think we both had an interest (in coaching),” Holman said. “Thomas was a kinesiology major and I was a kinesiology minor, and I think it was always in the back of our minds.”

The two defensive-minded coaches are nearing the end of their third year on the same staff.

“I have a lot of respect for him as a defensive coach and the feeling is mutual there,” Holman said. “It’s a lot of fun week-in and week-out to get to sit together and game-plan. I feel like we can be really thorough as a defensive staff because of his experiences and my experiences.”

The offense is left to Chris Taber.

“It’s awesome,” Taber, the Bulldogs’ offensive coordinator, said about working with Sitton. “I couldn’t work for a better guy. He allows me to do my job and is very supportive of all the coaches. He loves all the kids and gives them opportunities to be successful.”

Sitton and his coaching staff struggled to a 5-5 season in their first year.

“We had to learn the kids and the kids had to learn us, that was the toughest,” Sitton said. “We came in with brand new offensive and defensive schemes, and it’s always hard to teach that first year.”

But there was reason to be optimistic.

“I knew after that first year that we needed to play some good folks in non-district to get us where we were playing at a high level,” Sitton said. “Fortunately, I was able to schedule some tough football teams around East Texas, and they helped us learn how to play the game right.”

Chapel Hill broke through in 2010, going 13-2 and finishing as the state’s runner-up in Class 3A Division I. This year, the Bulldogs began the year ranked No. 1 and are one win away from completing an undefeated state championship season.

If the players’ perceptions are a reality, the recent success hasn’t had a major impact on Sitton. Rather their coach has had a profound impact on them.

“He’s the most humble dude you’ll ever meet,” senior receiver Nelson Onwuzu said. “He teaches us every day to be thankful for what we have and what we can do. And without him, I don’t think we’d be as far as we are right now.”