YOU GOTTA HAVE HEART ...
WH coaches honor teams' dedication

All-District player Cody Brown, junior, reacts to his introduction at the fall sports banquet. Below, senior volleyball standout Melany Perez enjoys dinner with her mother, Balbina Perez, and brother, Ivan. See more banquet photos and a listing of honorees on page 6B.

No matter the sport, no matter the individual skill level, no matter the final record, the athletes and trainers recognized at last Thursday's fall sports banquet have at least one thing in common, according to their coaches … they all have heart.

A large crowd turned out to honor their dedication, braving cold, wet weather to attend the Athletic Booster Club's annual event.

Attendees enjoyed a barbecue dinner in the high school cafeteria before moving to the auditorium for the introduction of trainers and athletes.

Head football coach and athletic director Randy McFarlin served as master of ceremonies and introduced senior Chris Leonard, who gave the invocation.

In the absence of Coach Jay Ramsey, who was at the junior high boys basketball game, coach and trainer Jane Tschetter introduced the group of student trainers and thanked them for their reliability in per- forming an important support service.

Next up, Brad Jones presented the boys and girls cross country teams.

"It was a privilege to work with such fine athletes who are dedicated to a hard sport that a lot of people don't know about," said Jones, who spoke of the athletes' rigorous training and competition schedule.

The girls cross countr y team won district and members of both the girls and goys teams advanced to regional competition.

Assisted by freshman and JV head coaches Stacey Hendrix and Jon Sheppard, varsity volleyball coach Cheryl Till reported on the success of all three programs and extended a special thanks to parents and fans. "The support this year was just tremendous - it made us want to succeed even more," said Till.

The freshman Lady Cats went 14-0 in district and 27-0 for the season, including three tournament championships; the junior varsity recorded 10-4 district and 17-11 season records, said Till, highlighted by victories over Longview and district rival Hallsville in the last game of the season.

Chelsea Culpepper presents varsity volleyball coach Cheryl Till with flowers at the sports banquet. Football coach Randy McFarlin also received gifts from his players, including a signed and framed jersey (below). In presenting one of the gifts, senior Luke Shivers (right) told McFarlin that the team would never forget him, and they hoped he wouldn't forget them.

Of her varsity team, Till said the "fans got their money's worth" at their matches, especially the playoff victory over Lindale. "The high level of character and heart showed in the bi-district match with Lindale was a high point," said Till. "The girls fell behind early but fought hard to come back and pull it out in the fifth game."

Till's varsity Lady Cats finished with a 23-9 season record and 11-3 district mark en route to being area finalists.

Prior to introducing the varsity Wildcats, McFarlin complimented the freshman players on steady improvement during the course of the season and said they were "going to be a good group." The Maroon squad compiled a 4-5-1 record, while the White group finished at 2-2-2.

The junior varsity had a 5-5 record, though their impact was more significant than their record indicates, said McFarlin.

"The JV's purpose is to support the varsity, and there's no better example of that than this year," he noted, citing the many key roster changes made throughout the year. "I look forward to having them on varsity."

Standing in front of a table displaying the trophies earned by the 10-3 Wildcats, McFarlin said, "This was not a Cinderella story. It's the pinnacle being realized by the abundance of hard work by a lot of people."

McFarlin thanked the school board for its support and the commitment made three years ago to having a winning team, and he acknowledged the leadership and contributions of his coaching staff.

"The head coach always gets too much credit when a team wins, and he gets WAY too much credit when they lose," said McFarlin, drawing laughter from the audience. "Call it chemistry, call it karma, but whatever you call it, this coaching staff has it."

McFarlin also thanked the community for their acceptance of him and for their support.

Photos/Charlotte Smith

"Whitehouse arrived early, stayed late and thoroughly enjoyed the '06 season," he said before turning his attention to the most important element of this year's success, the group of players who played with "Power, Passion and Pride."

"This year's seniors began this journey as eighth-graders and never lost sight of their goal," he said. "Across the state, people know the accomplishments of the 2006 Wildcats."

Before turning the podium over to his assistant coaches to introduce their groups, McFarlin told his team, "You will never forget this season. No matter what you do, you'll always remember it."