PILOT POINT -- All season, Pilot Point players and coaches have given many reasons why they should and will win the Class 2A Division I state championship this year.

They want to win for their town, which hasn’t held a state title banner since 1981.

They also want to win it for past Pilot Point players, including last year’s seniors who lost in the state semifinals.

But recently, something more personal and serious gave the Bearcats even more of a reason to want to call themselves champions.

They want to win Saturday’s championship game against Kirbyville for Henry Melvin Davis, the father of Pilot Point running back Jarman Johnson and defensive back Willie Davis.

Davis died of cancer two weeks ago, and a few days before he passed, he gave Johnson and Willie Davis a wish.

“Before he passed he told me that we have to make it to state,” said Johnson, Pilot Point’s all-time leading rusher. “But not only make it to state, to win state. So that is what I want to do. That is what we want to do. We want to win it for him.”
Johnson’s teammates are with him.

“We want to win this for him -- for Mr. Davis,” quarterback Seth Tilley said. “We dedicated the rest of this season for him. And we are going to play our hearts out.”

On Monday, the team took a break from its normal routine of putting pads on or watching film. Instead, the players put on suits and ties and attended the funeral.

Johnson said the support of his teammates has helped him deal with his loss.

“It is pretty good feeling to have the support from my teammates,” he said. “It made me and my brother feel good that they are behind us.”

Pilot Point head coach Blake Feldt said the recent tragedy has brought a close-knit team even closer, adding how impressed he was with how the team is handling the loss emotionally -- especially Johnson and Davis.

“To me it has been phenomenal with how both Willie and Jarman have handled this,” Feldt said. “Their focus and preparation has really been amazing to watch. They are handling this tough time with a lot of strength.”

Last week, during Pilot Point’s first game since the death, Johnson and Davis both shined on the field. Johnson scored three touchdowns and rushed for 238 yards and Davis made key defensive plays in the Class 2A Division I state semifinal win against Brady.

Johnson, who has rushed for a school record 2,736 yards this season, said he is trying not to let the death of his father affect him on the football field.

“Football is football,” he said. “I am not thinking about [his father’s death] when I am at school, at practice or on the football field. I’m dealing with that when I am at home when I have spare time.”

Johnson and Pilot Point (14-0) will face their toughest test today when they come face to face with Kirbyville (12-2) in San Marcos.

The Wildcats have steamrolled their competition in the playoffs and are playing in the state championship game for the second year in a row. Last year they lost in the title game to Muleshoe.

“We know Kirbyville is hungry,” Feldt said. “But ever since we lost last year our kids have been very focused on coming back. They have worked very hard to get to this point. But at the same time we have talked about having to finish. We are 14-0 right now and we have to keep that focus for one more game.”

Kirbyville, which is located near Beaumont, is a team full of speed, Feldt said.

“They aren’t bigger than us,” Feldt said. “But they are faster than us. They are better than they were a year ago. Their team speed is outstanding. They run like the wind.”

The Wildcats are led by junior LeFrederick Ford and his 2,291 yards rushing. Quarterback Kael Jones is also a threat with his arm and wide receiver/safety Caleb Cucanic is who Feldt called the team’s best player.

“He is phenomenal,” Feldt said. “He an outstanding athlete and he can really fly.”

Even though Kirbyville has many weapons, the Bearcats are confident they can bring the state championship home to Pilot Point.

“Playing in this game is the best feeling in the world,” Johnson said. “We all worked for this. We all came together as a team all season. We want this so bad.”

For the town.

For the team.

And for Henry Melvin Davis.