2A juggernaut Schulenburg at peak of its power in ’92

All roads to the UIL state football 11-man championships lead to Houston. With the announcement that the 2015 title games will be at NRG Stadium, the first time they have been held in the city since 2008, the Chronicle will look back each week at some of the best games, moments and performances from past championship games here.

In the 1990s, about 95 miles west of Houston, there was a Class 2A program with a workmanlike approach to winning.

David Husmann’s Schulenburg teams had only one identity: tough. And all it did was lead to wins.

“It got to where it was expected,” Husmann said.

The Shorthorns’ rise during that decade culminated in back-to-back state championships. The second came in a 35-20 win over Goldthwaite in the 1992 Class 2A state championship game at the Astrodome.

69-6 run

In a five-year stretch from 1990-94, Schulenburg went a combined 69-6 with two state championships and three perfect regular seasons.

Stretching it out even more, the Shorthorns went on to have two more double-digit win seasons in 1995 (11) and 1996 (10).

Losing was a rare occurrence, and when it did happen, it only pushed Husmann’s team more.

“I felt like my senior year in ’92, maybe we weren’t as physically talented. But every time we stepped on the field, we were mentally stronger,” said Casey Taber, the former Shorthorns quarterback. “I don’t think we ever expected to lose any time we stepped on the field my senior year.”

Like most 2A programs, Schulenburg had players who contributed on both sides of the ball. What Husmann didn’t have heading into the 1992 season was a running back.

It was such a concern that expectations wavered ahead of the season, even after the Shorthorns had won state.

“I think they kind of tapered off because we didn’t know who was going to play running back,” Husmann said. “Then all of a sudden, Jason Houston — Casey Taber goes and gets him and recruits him out of the halls. And then Wes Deagen moved in, and I don’t know if anybody played any running back besides those two.”

Then the Shorthorns proceeded to do what they did best: overpower opponents. They were all about being physical at the line of scrimmage and ball control. And it worked at a near automatic rate. Even the one loss in 1992 was by just three points to Yoakum.

In the title game, Houston had 22 carries for 203 yards and scored twice. Quarterback Taber found the end zone twice.

Husmann noted a handful of players who exuded the team’s tough personality: linebacker Calvin Klesel, safety Shane Hollas and defensive lineman Ricky Hernandez.

“The two years we won state, to describe what kind of teams we had, the quarterbacks were linebackers,” Husmann said. “And they weighed 200 pounds. That’s pretty good size for 2A.”

That 1992 state title game is still a vivid memory for Husmann, who remembers playing a 10 a.m. game.

Magic bus

The Shorthorns brought a little luck with them, too. The varsity traveled to Houston on a greyhound bus, but things didn’t feel right without the same school bus the team was used to. So the junior varsity rode in the “yellow dog.”

“We always took the yellow dog with us,” Hussman said. “We were kind of not superstitious, but we always like having our yellow school bus with us.”

Judging by the results — two titles and a third finals appearance — it worked.