San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Bulldogs’ 22nd straight win delivers first state title
As Chris Jordan-Foster sat down in front of a microphone for his postgame news conference, he donned a white T-shirt with a simple statement scribed across the front.
The words “Just a kid from Hitchcock,” revealed the coach’s pride in red cursive letters.
Back when Jordan-Foster was a basketball player at Hitchcock High School, he dreamed of winning a state championship. While that never came to fruition for the 2001 graduate, what he accomplished Saturday was perhaps even sweeter.
Jordan-Foster coached his alma mater to its first state crown as the Bulldogs earned a 68-45 victory over Childress in the UIL Class 3A title game at the Alamodome.
The triumph filled a void left by state tournament shortcomings by the program in 2003 and 2004 and provided redemption for the returning players from the 2022 squad that lost in the semifinals.
Hitchcock finished its season on a 22-game winning streak and brought home the first title for the Houston area since Cypress Falls captured the 6A crown in 2017.
“We did it,” Jordan-Foster said. “We’re back, and we got it done this time. I might not seem excited, but I am, and I know when I get back in the locker room, those kids are going to be pretty excited. Just being from Hitchcock, playing at Hitchcock, and now coaching and having one of my old high school coaches on my staff, it’s a surreal feeling.”
Hitchcock (31-7) was lightsout on defense, particularly in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs held Childress (28-8) to 31 percent shooting for the game and forced the Bobcats into 19 turnovers.
It was another big day for the Bulldogs on the glass as they beat Childress 45-32 in rebounding after a 42-19 effort against Hooks.
“I thought we played really hard,” Childress coach Wayne Parker said. “That’s a really good Hitchcock team. They’re athletic, they’re big, and we knew we would have to do all the little things right to have a chance to be successful today.”
Junior guard Damien McDaniel led the charge for Hitchcock with 19 points, six rebounds and five assists. Sophomore forward Elijah Sherwood added 17 points and three rebounds, and sophomore forward Lloyd Jones III had 14 points and 21 rebounds.
“I have never had anybody on the team that could rebound like that,” Jordan-Foster said. “I’ve had some guys that were pretty athletic that could rebound, but for some reason, he just finds a way to get in there and get a rebound.”
After rolling to a blowout victory against Hooks on Thursday, Hitchcock had an entire day to prepare for its matchup against Childress, which was making its first state appearance since 2015.
While the Bobcats’ zone defense gave Hitchcock some issues in the early stages, the Bulldogs settled into the game and used a strong second quarter to establish an eight-point halftime lead.
The Bulldogs pulled ahead by as many as 10 points in the third quarter and entered the final frame with a 42-36 advantage. Hitchcock turned up the pressure in the fourth and started the period with a 14-3 surge. The Bulldogs easily held on from there to secure the victory and hoist the championship trophy.
“My seniors, man, I love them so much,” McDaniel said. “I’d do anything for them, and this was one of our goals. They said at the beginning of the season they wanted to win a state championship, so I put that on my list, I wanted to scratch it off for them. Even if they don’t touch a basketball again, they can say in high school they won a state championship.”