June 24, 2010
Cody Pastorella
The Port Arthur News
GROVES — Texas football and Dave Campbell go hand in hand. After all, the name of his extremely popular magazine is Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. While autographing copies of his magazine at Larry’s French Market in Groves on Thursday afternoon, Campbell said Port Neches-Groves High School football and Texas also go hand in hand.
And that is a major reason why the Indians were invited to San Antonio for the Texas Football Classic where they will play Gregory-Portland in the Alamodome on Sept. 28th at 3:45 p.m. The Texas Football Classic was started in 1999. This is PN-G’s first invitation.
Campbell said PN-G meets all the criteria factored into choosing what programs he wants to participate in the annual event.
“Obviously, we want teams with fans that travel well,” he said. “You’re not going to find a school that does that better than Port Neches. We want programs with tradition and Port Neches has such rich tradition. You can’t find a school with more tradition than what they have here. And they have had it here for many, many years.”
Another reason for Cambell’s decision to invite PN-G is Indian chief Brandon Faircloth, who was named the magazine’s Class 4A coach of the year for the Indians 11-1 rebound season. Fans can find Faircloth on page 190 in this year’s edition of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.
“Coach Faircloth’s track record speaks for itself. What he has accomplished and the time he has accomplished it in is to be very much admired,” Campbell explained about Faircloth’s work as both an assistant and head coach.
Campbell’s visit to Groves is part of the yearly tour he makes to all 10 schools elected to play at the Texas Football Classic.
“It’s an honor he would choose us,” explained Faircloth, who has met with Campbell on two other occasions. “The biggest programs get invited to play there, you know. It’s an honor that he thinks of us as one of those schools. It’s honor that he is here today. It (game in San Antonio) should be a wonderful experience for the kids and fans. The Alamodome is a great place to play.”
About the coaching award, Faircloth said that is a special honor as well.
“I know it’s my name on there and I am honored, but any time you get any kind of coaching award it is a reflection of the school, the coaches, the kids and the fans. That is a reflection of everybody buying into what we’re doing as coaches and as a program. It’s a reflection of hard work from everyone involved.”
Faircloth said he first met Campbell at a coaching convention while working with quarterbacks at Highland Park. That same year, Highland Park won the state championship.
The Indian boss met Campbell again at the Texas Football Classic while coaching as an assistant for Austin Westlake, who beat San Antonio McArthur in that matchup. Austin Westlake went onto claim a perfect record in the regular season.
Faircloth, who was also signing copies of the magazine, said that tickets for the game against Gregory-Portland will be sold all summer at the administration building in Port Neches.
Campbell has picked PN-G to finish second behind Central in District 20-4A action this year.
He said those picks are made in the spring and are based off of the successes of the previous season and how many starters each school has returning.
“That is mostly guess work. There is a lot that can happen between March and November,” said Campbell. “It’s really a blind man’s bluff. But I have no doubt that Port Neches-Groves will have a great year.”
