Outcome determines if call is right or wrong
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You won't find a better youth football coach than David Hartman.
Hartman's a great teacher, an outstanding motivator, he's passionate about the game, and he cares about his players. I can't think of a better ambassador for the game.
What Hartman's done for football in the Victoria area with his involvement in the Crossroads Youth Football League and coaching 7-on-7 at Memorial cannot be understated.
As much as I respect Hartman and his knowledge of the game, I was not the only one who thought he might have temporarily lost his marbles a few years back.
My son, Ethan, played for Hartman on the CYFL senior league Tigercats.
I might have disagreed with a call or two, but I always figured Hartman had a sound basis for what he was doing.
At least until a Saturday morning game at the practice field inside the track at the Memorial senior campus.
The Tigercats were trailing a Yoakum team by less than a touchdown in the fourth quarter and were facing a fourth-and-long from deep in their own territory.
If ever there was an obvious punting down, this was it.
Except the Tigercats didn't line up in punt formation. They were going for a first down.
My first, second and third thoughts were what is Hartman thinking and my fourth was is there any way the defense could keep Yoakum out of the end zone.
I figured, and I was not alone, that the Tigercats faced certain doom.
My mood quickly changed as I watched my son snap the ball to quarterback Nic Wallace.
Wallace dropped back and a threw a perfect pass down the sideline to receiver Seth Christian.
Christian had gotten behind the defender and proceeded to run for the game-winning touchdown.
The murmurs of doubt on the sideline turned to cheers and laughter as we shook our heads and shrugged our shoulders.
After the game, I asked Hartman why he had decided not to punt on fourth down. He explained that the punting game was so bad, he figured to have just as much chance going for a first down.
The play comes to mind in light of New England coach Bill Belichick's decision to have his team go for a first down instead of punting on a fourth-and-two at its own 28-yard line against Indianapolis.
The Patriots held a six-point lead with just over 2 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
New England came up a yard short and the Colts went on to score the winning touchdown, leaving Belichick open to second guessing.
Belichick's terse response that he thought his team could make the 2 yards - as if we didn't already know that - did nothing to end the controversy or defuse the criticism.
Belichick apparently doesn't subscribe to the Bear Bryant philosophy of coaching. When things go right, credit the players. When things go wrong, take the blame.
I was reminded of Cuero's 2004 regional playoff game against Wimberley. The Gobblers had tried a bootleg on a third-and-short that resulted in lost yardage. They had to punt before hanging on for the win.
After the game, the first words Cuero coach Mark Reeve said to me were, "I'm the idiot who called the bootleg."
I suppose the outcome of a play or a game determines whether a coach's call is right or wrong.
But a little humility can produce a lot of forgiveness.
Mike Forman is a sports writer for the Victoria Advocate. Contact him at 361-580-6588 or mforman@vicad.com, or comment on this column at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com.
