Crosby rewards faith new coach showed in program
Cougars’ run to state final shows Prieto was wise to take over at difficult time for school
Uncertainty surrounded the Crosby football program in 2019.
Crosby ISD saw mid-year layoffs and dozens of resignations amid a financial crisis in October 2018, stemming from overspending on construction projects and bloated payroll costs, among other issues.
One of the most notable employees to leave: Jeff Riordan, the head football coach. Riordan, who is now at Tyler Chapel Hill, led Crosby’s most successful run, including a 2014 state semifinal berth.
Everything happening off the field was certainly noteworthy for Jerry Prieto. It wasn’t a deterrent, though. In fact, Prieto didn’t have to look far for everything he needed to know about the viability of the job.
“After a couple of interviews in town I drove around,” said Prieto, who was hired in April 2019 from Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial. “During the interviews, I saw a town that looked like it had the ability to bounce back and I had heard a lot of great things about the community. I didn’t have any reservation that this community would bounce back from where they were at when I got here.”
Two seasons later, Crosby is on the state’s biggest stage.
Crosby (12-3) meets No. 2 Aledo (12-1) in the Class 5A Division II state title game at 1 p.m. Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Crosby is playing for a state championship for the first time since 1960 when the school was a 3A program. The Cougars were shut out in that game, falling to Albany 20-0.
Crosby is the underdog — again — against Aledo, which is going for its 10th state title. It’s nothing new. Texarkana — fifth in the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football state rankings — No. 4 Huntsville, No. 3 Fort Bend Marshall and No. 7 Liberty Hill were undefeated before running into Crosby. Ending it against Aledo seems fitting.
“We have accepted that we’re going to be the underdog and we relish that role,” Prieto said. “So, it does add a little chip on our shoulder every week as we go out and prepare and hear all the naysayers. We have proven them wrong so far this long in the playoffs and hopefully we can do the same thing Friday.”
Perhaps Prieto, 37, is an underdog himself in the coaching ranks.
He’s still in some ways putting his own imprint on the program. He didn’t get the full benefits of an offseason his first year because he was hired late in the spring. Then in 2020, everyone’s offseason was impacted by COVID-19.
And yet, Crosby is one of the two Houston-area teams left standing along with Katy. The Cougars are led by quarterback Reggie Branch and receiver Deniquez Dunn, who will try to match receiver JoJo Earle and Aledo’s potent offense.
Upon his arrival, Prieto built his staff and kept two coaches over from Riordan’s staff, Troy Fox and Chuck McKeon.
Fox and McKeon also were on Kevin Flanigan’s staff at Crosby as well. Flanigan, now at Tomball, coached at Crosby from 2004-2011 and preceded Riordan.
Fox, who has been at Crosby for 11 years, recalls those troubling times for the district. McKeon has been at Crosby for 20 years and was the defensive coordinator for the 2014 state semifinal season.
“There was a little bit of a letdown,” Fox said. “Nothing that the kids saw, and we saw as coaches. We saw a little and a lot of good people leaving. It was something that the school district had to do, and it sucked. Some decisions had to be made. That winning attitude and grinding has been here since coach Flanigan was here. We had some fun runs with Jeff and Kevin. Jerry has done a good job here, and you’re always worried when a new coach comes in that you may not be here. I’m glad to be here and I love everything about Crosby.”
McKeon added: “That wasn’t your ordinary coaching change. I think (Riordan) and the community very much thought of the program long term. It was a shock in that way. Most communities expect coaching changes, but we did not. Jerry has come in here and done a great job of focusing on both sides of the ball and spreading the athletes around on both sides of the ball to make an impact.”
Helping Crosby compete for a state championship was always in the cards for Prieto. Doing so two years in may surprise some, too. He simply believed in the process.
“I don’t know if you ever plan on going into a program and say, ‘This year we’re going to state, or anything like that,’ ” Prieto said. “We just came in with the plan to get to know these kids and to continue to get better. We thought going into the summer that this group had a chance to be pretty special and to do some special things, and they have so far.”