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Industrial Cobras: Small-town school, BIG-town pride

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  • BY J.R. ORTEGA - JRORTEGA@VICAD.COM
  • Originally published September 4, 2009 at 9:06 p.m., updated September 5, 2009 at 12:29 a.m.

  • WHY DO YOU ENJOY COMING OUT TO SUPPORT THE INDUSTRIAL COBRAS?

    "We are partnering together in educating our children. I love it."

    Tim Garcia, retired, Vanderbilt

    "We're always going to the games. We support them whether they are ...

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    • WHY DO YOU ENJOY COMING OUT TO SUPPORT THE INDUSTRIAL COBRAS?

    "We are partnering together in educating our children. I love it."

    Tim Garcia, retired, Vanderbilt

    "We're always going to the games. We support them whether they are home or away."

    Jeri Garza, accountant, Vanderbilt

    "I play football, too, and I kind of learn from these guys."

    Collin Smith, student, Inez

    "We've had team spirit all these years. I graduated from Industrial in '77. There is a big following."

    Rhonda Stastny, Golden Crescent Regional Planning Commission, Inez

LOUISE - Koogzie stepped off bus No. 122 ready with a maroon Industrial High School Cobras shirt on her back and Cobra pride in her heart.

"We love you," shouted a band member to Koogzie as she settled outside the bus.

"I know it," said Koogzie in response. "I love y'all."

Kathy Dzorak, who is better known to the students as Koogzie, has been the lunch cashier for more than 20 years and follows the band, cheerleaders, football team and any other student organization wherever they go.

"I'm just a big Cobra fan," Koogzie said as a sea of band members got ready around her. "I'm there for the kids when they need me. They know they can come up to Koogzie and ask me for something, and I'm there for them."

Though Koogzie has never been one to paint her face or show an over-spirited passion for the team through outerwear, she has always had pride in the school, she said.

Despite her involvement, Koogzie is not the only Cobras fan.

Three hours before game time, the spirit of Industrial had already been evident in the small community of Louise.

Plastic booster seats branded with white cobras sat empty in the visitors' section of the bleachers where die-hard fans like Connie Foster would soon cheer their team on.

Foster and her family have been with the Industrial school district for the past four years and she said she has never seen spirit quite as alive as with the Cobras.

"This is one of the most extreme football games I've ever experienced," said Foster, whose son, Caleb, plays defensive end.

Foster goes to all the away games and said the consistency of the fans, no matter how the team is doing, is a great morale booster for the team and school district.

Parents, grandparents and even people who don't have students in the school district go to all the games and keep the small-school spirit alive, she said.

"It's just amazing to see," she said. "Good or bad, we're still here."

Darlene Stanley has been witness to the undying spirit the school has had for the past 40 years.

Stanley has taught, been affiliated with the high school and been coming out to the games for the past few years with her husband and their good friends and neighbors.

"I have always liked to watch our kids perform," she said. "We love our kids."

With the amount of spirit in the stands, Koogzie said, she is not the biggest Cobra fan, but rather the biggest student fan.

"I like keeping busy," she said. "The kids help me do that."


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Comments

  • dawn dawn Report a ViolationReport a Violation Permalink

    i get all warm inside when i see an article on industrial (they come far and few between).
    it's a small school, were almost every parent is involved, not just in sports like koogzie said, but in education, and anything industrial. we have school spirit, and this counts a lot when you are encouraged by your community :)

    they won their game 20 to 3 :)
    GO COBRAS! :)

    September 5, 2009 at 11:26 a.m.