Splendora might not be done after school gets long-awaited first playoff win.
After UIL realignments, Wildcats’ best team in 71 years savors school’s first playoff victory
A 32-year-old Marcus Schulz takes his first steps as a head coach in Splendora in 2014.
It’s a great fit. Splendora is likened to his previous stops in Andrews, Hillsboro or Gainesville.
It’s rough at first, of course, with a combined four victories in his first two seasons. But the Class 4A program is building a foundation.
Then, the gut-punch that the University Interscholastic League’s realignment cycle sometimes delivers found its way 37 miles northeast of Houston, and Splendora is moved up to District 21-5A in 2016.
The school’s enrollment of 1,106 is the smallest in the district by 389 students. Humble, one of its district counterparts at the time, now is in the state’s largest classification in 6A. Actually, Splendora was one of the smallest Class 5A schools in the state during that 2016 realignment cycle and painstakingly missed out on being one of the largest Class 4A schools.
“We missed that 4A-5A cut by six kids,” Schulz said.
Splendora would win a combined five games the next two seasons, even producing some notable performances in the process. But the difference was as wide as the ocean.
For two years, a Splendora team of 33 players would meet a Barbers Hill or Kingwood Park team of 60. At Splendora, twoway players were a necessity. At Crosby, not so much.
None of that was likely running through Schulz’s mind in the final seconds of a 47-19 win over North Forest last week, only the overwhelming feeling that the red side of Barnett Stadium witnessed something it had never seen — a playoff win.
Shadow Creek’s first playoff win in program history — a 37-30 triumph over Porter — might be met with a collective shrug. The 11-0 Sharks quickly raised the bar in their varsity debut and are instant contenders in Class 5A Division I.
Tompkins continues wrestling out of the shadows of its Katy counterparts with its first playoff win last week. The 4-year-old Falcons defeated Elkins 35-20 and have nine wins. They were 0-10 four years ago.
Then, there is Splendora. Seventy-one years of existence, 11 playoff teams since 1958 — some toting district titles — and zero playoff wins until that Friday night against North Forest.
The bus ride back wasn’t without some long-overdue singing.
“We’ve tried,” said defensive line coach Chase Reneau, a Splendora lifer who played for the school from 2002-05 and whose father and brothers came through the program. “We’ve done the right things, worked hard. Done a bunch of good things around here. But it finally came into fruition a little bit this year.
“It was nice to see that reaction.”
When Splendora made the jump to Class 5A two years ago, Schulz didn’t want his players visiting Texan Drive Stadium or other top-notch facilities around the district only to come back home to something that could be improved.
The team used to get dressed at the junior high school. That changed with a new dressing room. New turf was installed, a new scoreboard was added and stands were expanded.
Splendora may be a slice of small-town living tucked between Humble and Cleveland, but Splendora isn’t lacking.
Perhaps some uptick in wins was inevitable in Class 5A. The way this year’s Splendora has performed indicates that much. But last spring’s realignment placed Splendora back in 4A, where it faces teams that also primarily use two-way players.
This Splendora team scored a school record 87 points against Lumberton. This Splendora team finished with an undefeated district record. This Splendora team now has 10 wins — another feat no one before them had accomplished.
“It’s crazy to believe that my senior year coming around, all of us, we’d be the ones that take part in that,” senior safety Justice Mosley said. “I don’t know it it’s really sunk in or not, but I think about it. It’s just an awesome feeling.”
Senior running back and defensive end Kyle Weber notices the changes.
“It was a lot harder to wear a Wildcat on your chest,” he said. “It’s a lot easier when you’re winning. It feels good. We’re very proud of what we’ve all accomplished.”
The notoriety is amplified in an area of Greater Houston where everybody knows everybody.
Splendora senior running back Jessie Paris said he can’t walk through a grocery store — or anywhere really — without someone wanting to talk about the team with him.
“No more,” Paris said. “It’s fun.”
Maybe more history awaits these Wildcats. They meet perennial contender Van on Saturday at Stephen F. Austin’s Homer Bryce Stadium in the area round.