Let's see here.
Starting right guard, shot. No longer in school.
Starting linebacker, shot, no longer in school.
Two players fighting right in front of the coach when he's
trying to make things work out.
Starting center, arrested for shooting somebody in the face with a BB gun.
Most coaches, that would be pretty much
a career's worth of crap to deal with.
I think that sums up the last two weeks for me.
And you know what?
I know damn good and well what I sign up for every year.
And I keep coming back, because I love this program,
and I feel very responsible
to make sure that you guys have a football season
that you can be proud of.
And I will kill myself to make that happen.
This is our season. I don't care what happens.
Back in the day, when the Firestone plant
was up and working, the North Memphis area used to be a booming place.
There was industry and there were people in homes.
Since the plant closed, that neighborhood just went to heck.
I mean the people moved out, the jobs were gone.
As a result the football program fell off the map.
When I came, the winning scores
were very, um...
I don't remember winning.
For almost ten to 14 years,
we never won a football game.
We'd play ten games.
And we ended up 0-10.
Oh, you know when you see Manassas on the schedule,
oh, we gonna beat them.
We don't even gotta practice hard.
Bookie, come say hello to me!
Are you actually here to work out today?
- I am! - I am so proud of you...
What's up? A freshman... 15 years old.
If it hadn't been for Coach Courtney,
I don't know where we would be right now.
He's what got the kids so excited
about the opportunities... and the possibilities.
He's the one that's got them headed in that direction.
The foundation has got to be a solid platform
that you can stand on and speak to these kids and say,
"This is the way you build yourself.
If you build yourself this way
and handle yourself this way and have character.
You get to play football."
And winning will take care of itself
because young men of character and discipline and commitment
end up winning in life.
And they end up winning in football.
Well, when you flip it,
and the foundation of what you're doing is football,
and you hope all that other stuff follows...
Well, then you think football builds character.
Which it does not. Football reveals character.
All right, shut up and listen up.
Where's Big Kenneth?
Has anybody seen Big Kenneth?
Huh? All right, listen up.
Everybody imagine the state of Tennessee on a map. OK?
Way over in the corner, you got Knoxville and Chattanooga.
Toward the middle you got Nashville.
And you come on down here.
Everybody outside of Memphis, do you know what they say
the biggest city in Mississippi is?
Memphis.
The rest of the state, doesn't even claim us when it comes to football.
We're viewed by people outside the West Tennessee area who've played us...
Undisciplined, not very well coached,
running around acting a fool before the game.
About everything other than football, and about ourselves,
rather than about the team.
You have a responsibility this year, guys,
just like the teams that came before you.
You have a responsibility to play hard.
You have a responsibility to take care of yourself in the classroom.
And you have a responsibility to show Memphis
what Manassas Football is about.
As you all know, we got work to do today.
Lots of learning. Everybody's head right.
When I got there...
...there was 17 kids for a varsity football program.
First team, offensive line right here.
Joaquin and Robert on defense, let's go. Let's move!
There are good athletes in the neighborhood.
But they weren't gonna play for Manassas.
And do you blame them?
Not only was Manassas one of the worst programs in the city,
it was arguably one of the worst programs in the entire state.
Let's go, hustle up.
Tre, you're a safety.
Sills, tight end. Receiver, down there. Hit it!
Hot Pocket, do you know the freakin' routes? Go, go, go!
Our first year there, we won four games. And...
...people were opening their eyes, saying...
...you know, Manassas isn't the worst team in the city anymore.
I mean, they're beating a few people.
There it is, that's what we want.
The next year, there's this group of 8th graders...
That's O.C., and Julius and T.O. and JP and all these guys,
that all showed up to the weight room one day,
and said, "We see y'all getting better, we hear what you got going on."
and I said guys, all of you, as a group, come to Manassas.
Just stay here and let's build this thing.
Hike!
They were talking it up in the neighborhood.
We're going to Manassas, we're going to make Manassas good...
And in their first year, they're 1-9.
And got hammered.
Instead of laying down, they continued to try,
and they continued to believe. And they continued to work.
You better win that ball, Will!
And now this is their senior year.
And my biggest concern is
that it doesn't end up as great as it should be for them.
And I don't mean they have to win a state championship
to be successful.
The one thing that Manassas has never done
is win a playoff game.
Everybody to Coach Coleman, let's go!
Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!
Guys, you're playing a football game Friday.
We got work to do.
We just gotta keep getting better.
I like their chances this year, I do.
And it starts with that offensive line
and with Mr. Brown.
Come on, O.C., come on, let's go! Come on, O.C.!
We get just hordes of film coming into the office
and to be totally honest, most of the film we get
gets thrown in a pile, never to be seen again.
So this link came across my desk, and the first play,
you knew O.C. was special.
From Manassas High School, number 77, O.C. Brown!
That's what I'm talking about, O.C.!
O.C. was one of those kids from Loomis Junior High,
- in that class. - Hike!
Mike noticed in O.C.,
he said, Bill, this kid is... for his speed and size,
he's just a big athlete, he's really good.
We were thinking this kid can play
some college football somewhere.
But no one had ever heard of him.
Nobody. So, I pieced together this grainy YouTube clip...
It had thousands of hits in the first 48 hours.
And that's where it went nuts.
♪ Under the bridge Asleep in the shade ♪
♪ All of the terrible... ♪♪
Just to see him sometimes turn the corner
and nobody'd be there and he's running with the back,
you think oh my gosh, this is scary.
That's a big dude running that fast.
Got some mail.
Auburn, Arkansas,
North Carolina State,
Louisville, Mississippi State,
Southern Miss.
Nah, these ones I got these in one day, I think.
O.C. is a perfect picture of North Memphis.
Raised by his grandmother in a very small house,
mother's deceased, father's kind of in and out.
If he can have a good senior year and get
a Division I scholarship. You know, the sky's the limit.
I don't want to say football is everything to me. But...
This is a very good friend of mine.
And when you find out who he is and what he's about,
and where he comes from, you'll find out anybody
can do anything.
So, just to speak to you for a few minutes,
is my buddy, Aaron Hayden.
Thanks Coach.
I always ask two questions when I speak,
and I'm going to raise my hand and answer the questions myself.
Raise your hand, anybody in here, that has a parent,
that graduated from college, in this room,
raise your hand.
You'll notice I put my hand down.
Anybody raise your hand if you have two parents
that graduated from college.
Mom and dad, graduated from college.
Is there anybody in this room who has two parents?
I've got another question.
Raise your hand if you've had a close relative,
a brother, uncle, cousin, anybody, that has served time in jail.
I have my hand up as well, and that's...
...that's the thing, when I talk to kids, from where we come from,
is that you got to think outside your circumstances.
I didn't have a dad in the home.
Loved my mama to death, but she had a new man,
you know, every month.
Some dude was sleeping on the couch.
And I walked by him as I went to school.
And I could have went to school, I could have stayed at home.
It really wasn't like anybody forced me to do anything.
But it's not where you start.
It's what... what is it? It's where you finish.
Thanks for having me. And I appreciate being here.
Release, Julius!
Stop!
Stop, back, back, back, back, back.
Get on the ball. This is so easy, y'all.
You block.
When you hear the thud, you get in your lanes.
And you got to hustle into your lanes.
But you don't go anywhere until you hear the thud.
Do you hear me?
When you look around this program...
Not a lot of equipment. They pretty much had to do with what they have.
You know, they have a nice school here at Manassas,
a brand new school, but unfortunately
they got that built and didn't get the rest of
the school built, which is the athletic part of it.
All right, let's go.
O.C., you have to block first.
There was nobody over there!
Damn it...
The city schools really are...
They play on a different level
in terms of support and in terms of funding...
When you address that thing, is the minute it hits his right hand.
That's the landscape that we have in athletics today.
It's kind of like America, the haves and have-nots.
Get it in there.
Oh, my God, Kevin.
The City of Memphis school system
is always just way underfunded.
There's just no money, and if you don't have a booster club,
the only other way to pay for the program
is to play what they call pay games.
We would bus out to places
like Ripley, Haywood, Milan, Westview...
We're talking big, powerful 3 and 4A football teams.
They'd beat our ass, they give us a check
and send us back on our way.
And those five or six games would raise 15-20 thousand dollars
and that's what would fund the football program.
The problem is, by the time you got to your district games.
Your 19 kids were beat up,
and pretty much accepted that they were horrible
and couldn't win any games.
Well, Jim and I started Manrise for the soul purpose
of raising money to give to Manassas like a booster club.
It's a program now,
it's not having to go up the road to play these
huge schools that are going to destroy us, and an opportunity
to tell kids in the hallway, "Come play football."
Dickens?
You weren't in practice yesterday were you?
- No. - Huh?
- Yes, sir? - You weren't there Monday, were you?
- No. - You going to be there today?
- Yes, sir. - Get your grades right.
You need to be on the football field!
What a shame.
Why'd you fly the coop on me?
Rarely do coaches come back and go through all the stress,
the headache, and the tired and everything else,
for all the kids on the team.
It's typically one or two that matter
so much to you that you're willing to put up with it.
I'm not supposed to be showing my project,
but I'm going to show you.
This is the one I spent four hours in the early morning doing.
I'll show you my other project.
This is the egg in a bottle.
I'm the smallest lineman.
Like, I was the smallest linemen on the offensive line last year.
When I first noticed, I'm like,
I'm the littlest thing on the line.
Everybody else is all big and wide
and I was just small. But I feel like a giant.
But when you standin' next them.
I'm like a little pee-wee.
Coach, put me in, put me in there!
He's completely undersized to play right tackle.
He has no business being a right tackle.
He's always out-manned physically.
And he always wins.
And that's not because he's some physical specimen.
It's because he's so mentally tough.
I think of him as preacher boy...
...like, he's so serious. He's so young, but like,
Money got like everything mapped out.
I'm pretty sure he can tell you everything,
that's gonna go on in his life, and he gonna go by it.
This... I be lookin' at this all the time.
This tells me like, the top colleges to go to.
Uh... getting accepted.
You got to have a high school GPA, of a 3.7, I have a 3.8.
I'm living with my grandmother.
And you know, we stay in North Memphis.
All my family has been in Memphis.
They've never been outside of North Memphis.
Even if I don't make it out of Tennessee,
I'm gonna get out of Memphis.
Good morning, Manassas.
Would you please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance
and the Manassas High School Pledge?
Let's go!
Come on. Come on.
Very nice.
Good pitch Will!
We got it right the third time, that's impressive.
Huddle up!
Trying real hard to get this team prepared.
Now I had to come off the hook, three times yesterday,
I had to cuss way too much.
I have to go home and pray for forgiveness for the way
I talked to these young guys.
And I don't want to be driven there again.
Please do not make me act a fool out here
to get you all motivated.
Your first football game is in two days.
All this bullshit we've been doing is all about tomorrow.
Call it again and let's get off the ball
and be excited about being here.
Thirteen... on one, ready?
Break!
On one, ready?
Let's go, offense.
Hustle up!
A lot to be nervous about.
It's the first game out, starting off with a loss,
I worry about the team's psyche.
I want them to rise above the inner city knock.
The knock on inner city football teams
if you score on 'em first or get up on 'em 14-nothin' early,
they'll lay down.
You know, they don't have the discipline
to keep themselves together and come back.
That's the knock, I mean.
Whether you like it or not,
that's the knock. That's what people say.
The sun is setting in the western sky, right now.
The field lights are coming up here.
We're just excited about seeing another great night
of high school football action.
Manassas has a rich history of
sports and athletics, in the Memphis area,
they've had some great basketball teams.
Football... it's been some lean years.
I want you to hear me.
Ever since I've been at Manassas,
it's been building every year. One year to the next,
to the better, to the better, to the better.
The group I'm standing with right now, is the best team
I've ever coached at Manassas.
Not only are you going to prove tonight that you are disciplined,
not only are you going to prove tonight that you are well-coached,
you're going to prove tonight you're the better program.
And leave no doubters about who we are and what we are.
Yes, sir.
Here to kick it away will be the Manassas Tigers out of Memphis, T-N.
Going to be gathered in at the 15, to the 20, to the 30.
He's still on his feet, dashes his way to the middle of the field.
Forty! Forty-five!
Thirty! Twenty-five!
Inside the ten!
Down to the five! Into the end zone!
- Touchdown! - Coach Raymond!
We had ten men on the field!
They have the back ten yards, going to run the offense.
Pitches it and has running room.
Inside the ten! He's going to go in!
And it's 14 nothing, just like that!
Manassas struggling here defensively.
They got to get something going here to get that confidence,
especially on the offensive side of the ball.
Listen to me!
We can come back, man!
It's two touchdowns and a whole quarter.
- Let's go kick their butts! Let's go! - Make it happen!
Second down at eight. The ball at the 36.
Back. Looking. Throwing.
They got a man open! And it's caught!
Inside the ten! Down to the five!
And into the end zone! Touchdown!
That is a devastating play for Manassas.
Redmond into shotgun, fourth and 11...
...throws...
Man open! And he dropped it!
Redmond hands it off this time.
Running back, nothing, and we get him down.
Receiver seems wary. Redmond the quarterback under center.
Play fake, running for his life.
Caught on the backside, fumbling the ball, it's loose.
Yes, that really hurts there.
Clock running and Manassas about to fall to 0-1.
The character of a man is not measured in how
he handles his wins,
but what he does with his failures.
And tonight, we failed.
And everybody says,
"When you get these inner city kids down, they'll lay over
and you'll beat them by 40." Not us!
Everybody'll say, "They're 0-1.
They're going to fold up camp.
They'll be 2-8
by the end of this thing." No! Not us!
You walk with your chins up...
I am proud to be a Manassas Tiger on this field tonight,
because my guys didn't lay down, they got heart.
Now let's put our mind with our heart and bodies
and let's finish this thing this year!
"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread..."
I never knew Manassas existed.
And then I started a business in 2001
and bought an old dilapidated,
crappy piece of property on the North 7th Street
in North Memphis.
What are they doing over there, Cliffy?
- Pardon? - What are they doing over there?
The wall in front of the chain.
Oh, I've got some welding to do.
Remember I brought that up yesterday in the meeting?
- Taking care of that right now? - Right.
I need that basswood in the kiln.
- OK. - All right, Cliff.
He sold cars for several years
and he knew it was a steppingstone to something else.
Um, he was a great salesman, you know?
Um, he could talk anybody into anything.
At 7:45, Scrappy.
Well, why are you asking me what time it is?
I'm your boss, dumb-ass.
You're supposed to not ask me what time it is.
If somebody walked in this afternoon and said,
'I'll give you whatever for the business.'
And he's got enough money to cover
his expenses and kids for the rest of his life,
and he gets to go coach. That's a no-brainer.
You know, he's gone.
You know, that's what he wants to do.
He wants to coach.
Dantre, get them out, let's go.
Hey, how are you? Pleasure to meet you.
So, how you doin'?
Look at you. You're starting to grow up a little bit.
What happened to my little Chavis?
Now you're big Chavis. Good to see you.
You going to hang around practice or are you leaving?
Can he stay for a little while?
- Yeah. - OK?
Yeah, what time y'all normally be finished?
- 5:30. - OK.
- Can he stay? - Yeah, right here...
Chavis played for us as a freshman.
Confidentially, if you want to talk to him
and he wants to talk to you about it, you can find out.
But he missed his last year. And he's back as a Junior.
Chavis has serious anger issues.
And it's one of those things that I don't think he can help it.
Back up! Back up!
Chavis is loud.
Chavis is big, and he aggressive.
One minute he could be laughing
and the next... ten seconds he mad or something.
I can't hear.
He went to jail and had a rough life.
And you know, it's hard for him to get to know people
or trust anybody.
I think it's really hard for Chavis
not to have his father around. And he has never been around.
I think that where a lot of Chavis' anger come from.
He's real fast.
That's my favorite animal actually.
'Cause it's like...
Tortoise is like a human being to me.
'Cause it's like they gotta be hard on the outside,
but they really soft on the inside.
Just look at...
...at the texture of them.
See on the outside, everybody want to be hard
and show their strength.
But on the inside it's like all flimsy,
you know, just skin and bones.
Money, I need that VCR!
What time are we supposed to be in here?
2:20.
At 2:23, I walk in and everybody's late...
This is exactly what I'm talking about.
It's exactly what I'm talking about.
This is how we lose games, 'cause y'all can't follow simple directions.
All right, so here's what we got, go ahead, I got it from here, Money.
First thing we're gonna do. Do not watch your play books.
Watch the film.
All right, here's the deal...
Stop! Stop! What is y'all's problem?
Better stop playing me, bro.
What is y'all's problem? You go over there, Money.
- Better stop playin'. - Go over there, Money.
- Stop playin', boy! - What?
You shut up.
I just told him to shut up. You go sit down. Sit.
Money! Sit.
Go sit down over there.
Go... Don't touch one another.
Shut up.
Did you hear me?
Money! Money!
Y'all killing me.
You're sucking it right out of me.
I got four children at home and a wife.
My kid's... my own son's first football game
is in an hour and a half and I'm here with you.
My business isn't making any money
and I'm still spending my money on you.
Y'all ain't givin' nothing back.
You're just taking.
You ain't giving me shit.
You're just taking.
Now, you... You're going to apologize.
Well you know what's going to happen?
Oh course he's going to say something, 'cause he's pissed.
No, you're not.
Listen to me. No, you're not.
You know why? Because I just asked you to.
You think I want to deal with this shit right now?
I'm trying to get y'all prepared.
He is not gay.
OK, then keep your thoughts to yourself.
He ain't gay.
Chavis...
...you, for the betterment of somebody other than yourself,
need to do what I'm asking you to do.
It's not part of the job description.
Of course, I don't know really
what the job description is, frankly.
You want to tell me you're sorry for not coming when I called you?
Sorry, Coach.
I know you are.
It pissed me off, too.
I appreciate you getting away from him and not screaming when I told you not to.
You backed off and did what you did and left because you were hot.
You're not going to turn back on the team.
You're gonna come back with me right now.
Listen to me. Listen to me.
Look at me. You're gonna come back with me right now
and you are not going to get in a fight with him...
Hey, listen to me.
And he is not going to get in a fight with you.
And you're going to put the team before yourself.
- And you're going to be a man. - Yes, sir.
And you're going to put it behind you.
And he's going to be a man, and he's going to put it behind you,
and our team is not going to be torn apart by stupidity.
Because we're not going to let it.
Yes, sir.
- Will you do that for me? - Yes, sir.
What were you, arguing over the arm rest?
I don't know. He up there playin'.
He shouldn't have moved me.
- Just don't sit next to him. - I thought we was friends or something.
OK, listen, can you say that to him?
Why not?
I don't know, I...
Say Chavis, "Yeah, I'm mad, but it hurt me
because I thought we were friends.
I thought we were just friends.
Get your shit, let's go.
Hut!
Hut! Hut! All the way through.
Hut! Hut!
Don't send him back until I say something.
Hut! Hut!
All the way through.
Trezevant is full of a bunch of jackasses!
A bunch of rogues! A bunch of talkers!
Trezevant it's our first district game.
We've got guys who have not gotten along in the past.
Ever since they were young.
And there's an enormous amount of hype about the game.
If you lose Friday night,
you're going to hear about it for a year.
And I'm tellin' ya, Friday night is won today!
Let's have a good practice, let's get on with the haul!
Don't underplay what this game's about.
I want you guys just to base block.
It's about the up and coming Manassas program,
fighting the established program that's willing to do anything
to keep you down.
Now! Let's go, on the hop.
We got Trezevant's ass to kick!
This games about what we've been building to do right
and what they've been doing wrong for years.
Y'all gotta wanna get better!
You gotta want to!
Friday night you have an unbelievable opportunity to say,
"Yep. We are... we are the class of North Memphis!"
There it is!
Golly! Golly!
That is sick!
Trezevant is trying to punk them guys out.
And they wouldn't even let 'em get none of them
because they had their heads on right, because they're tight.
That's what we're going to be!
I had to have a meeting with my boss, the director of security.
The reason they called me into a meeting
is about the rumors that is going around about Trezevant,
sending messages to you guys.
That if they don't win the game, they gonna win the fight.
- What school do we go to? - Manassas.
- What school do we go to? - Manassas!
How do we act in public?
We act like we have home training, correct?
Yes, sir.
When you guys take that field,
I don't care what's said.
I don't care if somebody puts their hands on you.
I have enough people there to handle whatever situation comes on.
I got your back, man.
Nobody's going to do anything to you.
You're all big boys, I know you can handle yourselves,
but let me do my job, please. And win this game tonight.
First and ten, the ball at the 23-yard line.
The quarterback has the backs in the I,
hands it off to the running back, turns the corner,
coming out of the pack, he has running room. He's gonna go in.
That is going to be a 23-yard scamper and just like that,
it's 6-nothing.
Pull up! Let's go! Pull 'em up!
Second down and eight.
Here's the play-fake in motion
near the near side of the quarterback.
Dashing inside, outside! To the ten! Down to the five!
He stretches into the end zone!
Touchdown!
Come on, man!
The Manassas Tigers need to do everything that they can
do to get some points on the board before we end this half.
All we gotta do is get a score!
First and ten. Here's Redmond under center this time.
Here's the handoff.
He spins and boy, he's popped hard as he hits the 45.
Here's Redmond on the quarterback keeper, trying to get loose
and will be sacked in the backfield.
The only thing that occurred there was about a five-yard loss.
Boy, those guys have taken some beatings here, haven't they?
That's bullshit!
He tried to break his damn neck.
Then they get up clapping about it.
The game's not over yet, but it looks pretty dire for Manassas.
About to fall to 0-2 unless they can stage a miraculous comeback.
Get in tight!
All right, listen up!
We've done all the things that we told you
you had to not do.
And you're down... 20, nothin'.
That's it.
Now, here's the deal.
This is an unbelievably good opportunity.
You come back from that.
Now you're talking about something.
You lay down on that.
Well, then you forgot what we're about.
I do not want to see anybody dropping their head.
I want to see us get a stop and score and see what happens.
- Can we do that? - Yes, sir!
Hey, you got to believe in yourselves, fellas.
You can come back. You just gotta go to work.
We're coming back!
- Let's go! - Let's go, man!
Manassas trying to do again, five-man front.
Drops, looks... throws.
Got a man open and it's caught! Inside the five!
Touchdown!
Defense!
Defense! Defense!
First and ten.
Here's the handoff. Fumbling the ball.
It's loose and Manassas has come up with it at the 25-yard line.
You got them mashed, they're laying down!
You got to keep mashing!
Redmond. The backs in the I again.
Redmond drops straight back, looks, throws!
It is caught! Touchdown!
20 to 14, Manassas in the midst of a comeback.
We just won the third quarter!
If we win through fourth quarter, we win the freakin' game!
Let's go get 'em guys!
We thought Manassas was going to get blown out of here.
And right now, they've got all the momentum, down by six and with the ball.
Manassas trying to take the lead.
They have the back ten yards. Redmond. Here's the handoff.
Powers his way into the end zone.
Touchdown Manassas!
Credit the Tigers, they really played a great second half.
Let the clock run, baby, run!
Run, baby, run.
I would be shocked if Redmond doesn't do anything,
other than down the ball and get this one over with.
Take the snap, take a knee, game over.
If they swing at you, run to me like I'm your Daddy.
I will take care of it. Let's go.
Holy moly.
Everybody! Helmet's strapped!
Do not take them off until you get to the bus!
Get your damn helmet on, helmet strapped!
They come with everyone right at the line of scrimmage.
Toe-to-toe!
Redmond's just going to fall on one knee I would think.
Takes the snap, that's exactly what he does.
Manassas wins the ball game!
Coach! Coach! Coach!
No... The cops don't... Uh-uh!
The cops don't want us to shake hands.
- Let's go! Go to the bus! - Go to the bus!
Hey, good job, Manassas!
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
Let's go! Report cards! I don't get a report card, no play!
You got O.C.'s?
O.C.!
Who's your teacher in journalism?
I got three different teachers, this is the third teacher...
Well, how're you going to have a 60?
I don't know, Coach. We had Miss Wells at first.
Then we had a... a old lady, but now we got a young teacher.
That's what I'm saying.
How do you get a 90 in precalculus
and a 70 in keyboard?
You got good grades in all your normal classes
and you got crap ones in these stupid classes.
We had told Coach Bill that we was going to stop
O.C. from playing football.
Because his grades wasn't up like they was supposed to be.
Mike and I started talking about O.C.'s
academic struggles.
And we said, you know, if this keeps going on
He's going to lose an opportunity to play college football
and get out and go do something with his life.
So, the coach done come in and they talked to us
and they say, "Well,
we got a solution if you'll let us work with him."
We ran through a lot of different options
and talked about getting tutors, and then we thought
"Well, we can't get a tutor to go over there."
Mike said, uh,
"Well, he can just live with me for three days or four days a week, at my house.
And the tutors can come to my house."
The whole idea was I would take him home from school, leave him at Mike's,
get him tutored, take him to school. That's how it went.
What we said was he'd pay for the tutor,
if we'd pay for the groceries.
And I promise you, we got the short end on that deal.
Your favorite show!
- Are you serious? - Yeah.
See, there's three going into the 22 right here.
The school has not prepared him for college or even close.
They advanced him a grade because he was big.
You know how to do long division?
All right, all right. We'll go over it.
You're going to look at the first number
and three goes into six twice, right?
So, you're gonna write two right here, and then...
A lot of people look up to O.C., like I be tellin' him all the time,
I wonder where we're gonna to be after football.
I picture O.C. playing football in college
and going pro. And I picture me being like ex-football player,
slash manager, lawyer of a football player.
I see myself as that guy wearing a suit everyday.
Y'all know y'all can't go that way.
Montrail is a very sensitive person,
especially in dealing with the death of his father.
I was 13 when my dad died.
I didn't know what to do without my dad,
because my dad was my protector.
When he died, I knew I was on my own.
And that's when I just really started being on my own.
You know, being a man and working through my problems.
He told me before he died,
he said, "Take care of your grandmother
and get an education. As high as you can go with an education."
Yeah, I was going to say...
See, if I want to go get the Tennessee money, I wouldn't go to school.
He talked to me about it earlier this week.
He was concerned about going to college.
And, that's horrible because he is...
...he's very intelligent.
He might be able to receive
a little money for computers and things like that...
I hope he goes to college.
I don't know how he's going to do if he doesn't.
Dad, you know what Maggie said in the car on the way home from the zoo?
No telling.
She told us that when she
listened to two different songs at once, it made her bones hurt.
- Maggie... - You're making me nervous!
- Shut up. - Did you say shut up to me?
- I love you. - Oh...
She said something else funny, I can't remember.
He strives to be a good daddy to his kids.
And I believe that stems
from him not having a father growing up.
He was four years old when his dad left.
So, you know, he doesn't remember a lot about his dad.
At all.
My ninth-grade year,
it was 0-0,
going... like two minutes left in the game.
I took a handoff and we scored,
we won 8-nothin' at the very end of the game.
And you know, it's ninth-grade football.
Wasn't that big of a deal.
But you know, you score the winning touchdown,
that's a pretty cool thing.
And I remember looking up
and seeing...
...there were four or five of my teammates,
and every one of them were walking with their dads,
and their dads were carrying...
They put their helmets through their shoulder pads,
they were carrying their gear for them.
And they're talking about the game and everything else
and I was walking off the field by myself.
I remember thinking, "Why ain't my Dad here with me?
What do those kids have that I don't?
Why do those kids have what I want?"
Which is a father in my life,
and somebody to share these kind of experiences with.
You start feeling like you're not very valuable.
Because you must not be if your own father
doesn't want to spend time with you or do anything for you.
You must be valueless.
You must not really have much worth.
So... fast forward to Manassas.
I know some of those kids feel that way.
And I will never be their father.
But, I can sure as heck tell them
it's nothing you've done.
You didn't ask to be born into this,
but you were. There's nothing fair about it.
But it also doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you.
There's something inherently wrong with that guy.
You know, if he say anything...
Will you just tell me what happened?
Chavis! Chavis!
I am driving my truck over there. Would you please don't walk away from me?
You're about to hurt my feelings.
Thank you.
I didn't ask you what's wrong with you...
My truck's over here. I gotta go this way.
I'm trying to ask you what happened?
Well, then what is it? What is it?
No, don't. You wanna ride with me?
- Nah, Coach. - You wanna ride with me?
- No, sir. - Why not?
- No. - Is that it, Chavis?
Hey, Chavis.
Listen to me.
Do you really wanna bring the team down, right now?
Oh man, you know better than that.
I need you to think about what you're saying, and just chill for me, please.
Look at... look at me.
- Yes, sir. - All right?
Oh, at what point...
At what point do you quit trying?
Chavis, please come here.
Come here. Chavis.
Chavis.
Chavis!
Everybody, in there.
Everybody in that square.
That's that.
That's over. That's through.
And we're just about ready for football action Bolivar and Manassas...
Picked it up on the 30-yard line.
Runs around the corner, he's got some running room,
nobody's gonna be able to get an angle on him
and going all the way for a touchdown...
One thing and one person will not bring this program down.
And we give and we bend,
and we give and we bend, trying to bring folks right.
When folks don't get right, that's that.
That's all.
He gets across the 15! Across the ten!
Touchdown Manassas!
It will not be spoken of and it will not be talked about.
The coaches will handle that. You will handle yourselves.
We have a football game to win.
We have a season to go kick everybody's butt.
Clock is just going to run, as we enter the mercy rules.
Manassas with an easy win.
- Now, y'all ready to go play some football? - Yes, sir!
Everybody knows why we're in here and there's no need
to tippy-toe. Quit dressin' and listen in.
Yesterday was not a good day.
Chavis failed us.
What you got to say? I heard you mumbling twice.
Well, now you need to speak up.
I ain't got nothin' to say.
Chavis, you've got nothin' to say?
Speak up.
I ain't got nothing to say.
Do you think what you did was wrong?
Well, I guess it's time to man up.
Does this team mean anything to you?
You're lyin'!
Where would you be?
It was our judgment that
a long suspension was better than a termination.
And the reason was, we didn't want to lose him.
We felt like if he didn't have football
that he would really fall off the edge.
That he might transfer,
and if he transferred,
that would not be a good thing for him at all.
I don't know when enough is enough.
I mean, you care about these kids a bunch, right?
So, consider... maybe not your own family, but some people
that are very close to you.
And let's say they're abusing drugs
and continue to get off drugs, get on drugs, get off drugs, get off drugs.
You know, at what point do you take someone you love
and care about that you want to make better,
at what point do you turn your back on them,
and say "I'm through screwing with you. Goodbye. Lose my number"?
I mean, I don't know.
And I'll tell you one last thing.
If you don't remember the past. History will repeat itself.
And that passion you have right now is going to become overwhelmed
by anger, hate... and then you gonna snap.
But if you will allow it,
football will save your life.
Allow yourself to be coached.
Allow yourself to be criticized.
Allow yourself to learn how to be a leader.
And then learn how to lead.
It's in you, but you got to allow for that to happen.
When it's all said and done,
how do you want Chavis to be remembered?
See you, O.C.!
Oh, I don't know about gettin' him off.
Some people try to say
"Well, you know there's gotta be something in it for them."
And I said, "Well, no, I don't believe that."
I said, "They were doing that to help O.C.,
because they wanted him keep up with his football career."
Yes, ma'am. You worry about them. And that's good.
Can you give her that sheet that y'all showed me?
I'll bring that. I'll bring the graduation rate stuff to you.
Any time you're dealing with a story
that involves both races,
it can always be a lighting rod here in this town.
Mrs. Hayes was about to make him quit football before...
- No, it was me. - Oh, it was you. That's right.
Yeah, it was Rachel.
That's kinda when we decided...
Mm-hm. Gotta do somethin',
that's when y'all came to the house and talked to us about it.
That story, when you have this black kid...
going out and living with this white family,
uh, when you read some of the comments of what
people said afterwards when they read it,
it was like, "Well, they wouldn't be doing that for this black kid
if he didn't have any athletic ability.
They only see dollar signs."
There's like 67 posts here.
"It's really a shame that it's always the superstar athlete
everybody is after and everyone is willing to help."
But, it just so happens
that I know a little something about football, same with Bill.
If you see someone that's really pretty good
and has a chance to do something, yeah, you're gonna wanna help them.
It would be like if you were going out there, giving them
piano lessons, and you saw that this guy could be a concert pianist someday.
So I'm going to try to help him get better at it.
Homecoming tickets are on sale.
Tell your mama, your daddy, your grandma, your granddad,
aunt, uncle, sister, brother and cousins
to buy your tickets from the school and the school only.
Let's have a safe weekend and everybody's planning on being at the game.
All right, listen up.
- Everybody paying attention? - Yes, sir.
Everybody awake? Thinkin'? Head's on.
Fellas?
We're going to talk a lot about football,
but I'm going to take five minutes to tell you something I want you to hear.
I purposely, until we got past this game,
have not discussed the playoffs with you. But now I'm going to.
If you win your district...
...we make the playoffs.
Now, you ready for the good news?
You have an unbelievable,
that I couldn't have even dreamed of,
opportunity in front of you.
Because this school, was founded
in 1899, and has never won a playoff game... ever.
And this group is going to change all that.
110 years, folks.
Not one.
Seniors.
Don't let the last four years,
don't let everything we've worked for slip through your fingers.
Does it mean that much to you?
Yes, sir.
It's what you've got to be asking yourself right now.
Does it really mean something?
To win a playoff game, just one playoff game,
I mean, it is big to me.
I just feel like, you know, this is my last chance to do it.
Like, I don't want to have no regrets.
Good job.
Dexter, that's a pretty sweet block right there.
Field goal!
Let's score here. Let's go.
22 right, motion right, dart left.
Good job, D!
Money! Money! Let's get it right here, come on!
First and ten, Tigers.
Redmond hands it off to Parker.
Parker scooting his way, Parker still running,
Parker has a first down as he gets inside of the 30
and is driven back.
And there's a Manassas player down.
Can't tell who that is right now.
That's not good.
The coaching staff is coming out.
Talk to me, Money.
Money, talk to me.
Just talk.
Put your leg flat for us.
- It hurts. - Put your leg flat.
Hurting? Put your weight on this one.
Put your weight on your right one.
Oh, you got it.
Just take your time, you'll be all right.
Thanks.
God, I hope we didn't just lose him.
Are you going to put them up on there?
- Mm-hm. - I get to see it?
- Mm-hm. - OK.
Wow. Is that my brain?
- No, that's your leg. - Ah... Oh.
- Montrail, how are you? - All right.
- Good, good to see ya. - So, you looked at the pictures already?
- Yeah, took a peek at them. - Looks good?
Well... Let me sit down and talk to you, here.
- OK. - Um...
Um...
Your anterior cruciate ligament has been injured.
Now, what it looks like is a high grade partial injury.
It doesn't look like all the fibers have been torn.
But, it looks like a large number of them have been torn.
Um, I know you're dying to continue to play football here.
- Mm-hm. - But the bottom line is that...
...even if we don't end up operating on you,
you're probably going to be out of football at least for eight weeks,
and probably 12, while we allow this to heal.
I know that's not what you wanted to hear, but that's the case.
And I'm sorry about that, I know you're having a big year this year.
It's a pretty significant injury.
- All right? - Yes, sir.
OK, we'll get you through this.
You know, when you come from North Memphis...
Oh, boy.
Yeah!
When you come from North Memphis.
- Hard times... - Yes.
See, I ain't have no good life all my life.
- You know, I had some hard times. - Amen.
Just to be standing here...
Praise you Lord! All right!
We're just calling on you, Lord.
We just ask that you just bless O.C., Lord.
We ask that you bless him, Lord Jesus,
on the football field, Lord.
Just continue to bless him, Lord Jesus.
Just give him the strength that he needs, Lord Jesus.
Let him still keep his focus on you, Lord.
Please clear your desk of everything
except for a number-two pencil.
You're about to take the ACT test,
which is composed of multiple choice tests
in English, math, reading and science.
If you've already taken the ACT writing portion,
you will then take a writing test for which...
He's kinda on the borderline of qualifying right now.
So, if he kept his GPA upward...
If he makes a 16, he'll be in.
All right, here we go.
- Hi, I'm Ashley. - Hi, I'm Montrail.
- How you doin'? - Nice to meet you.
OK, what happened?
We lost him...
Oh, I hope there's some way we can get him back.
But, it's probably not likely.
You usually tear this inside ligament when you tear your ACL.
So, you're going to be doing some stuff. Let's get on the bike.
I know what he feels like right now as far as the injury.
'Cause, you go from being in the inner circle,
to where no one cares about you.
So?
You need to be in school. You gotta get your grades, Money.
Did you hear what I just said?
You can't be not coming to school because you're not playing football.
- Hello? - Coach...
- Huh? - It's... it's just school.
I understand your frustration,
but you don't quit because you're frustrated.
You just keep goin'.
You're better than that.
I expect this shit out of some of these idiots, but not you.
Yes, sir.
So, you be at school tomorrow.
- Yes, sir. - Do you hear me?
All right.
I'm gone. See y'all later.
Yeah.
That's his commitment.
That needs to be y'all's commitment too.
Help each other out.
This is the beginning for me,
for the rest of my season.
And really, for the rest of my football career.
I really don't care, do not care at all,
because once he put his hands on me,
I have no feelings for him.
None whatsoever.
You know, it was like they say,
three strikes and you're out.
This man probably got about 50 strikes
and he's still in the game.
Hey! You act like you've never been in a game before.
You're not playing together on defense.
I need to know what the hell's going on in the defensive huddle!
Tell me right now!
If somebody makes a mistake, everybody hollerin' at him.
- Yes, sir. - Shut up!
How many times do we gotta talk about discipline and team first?
See, it doesn't mean anything to you!
Rock!
You've heard it 50 times from me!
How do you measure character?
Somebody tell me how to measure character!
Somebody tell me somebody has listened to me!
Who said it?
Not how you handle your successes,
but how you handle failure.
Character!
Six freakin' years!
And I can't get 11 so-called leaders to have a little bit of character!
It has nothing to do with adjustments on defense tonight, fellas.
It has to do with heart and character.
Put yourself aside, put the team first
and have a little bit of character.
Now, I'm thinkin' about putting you at defensive tackle for... dude's a doofus.
I'm serious.
What do you think?
Line up over the guard and just go through them...
Huh?
Go do it! Get Kenneth out, go do it.
Thank you, thank you.
You want Chavis in at two, or here in the shade?
I told him to get wherever he wanted to and get to the backfield.
Just give him a second.
He'll figure it out. I'm gonna trust him.
Defense! Defense! Defense!
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!
Where's Chavis?
I'm proud of you.
"In what..." Are you listening? Good.
"In what will go down as one of the best
performances in the history of Manassas Tiger football,
the Tigers went out east and wrecked the homecoming for St. Benedict.
The Tigers came into this game
with key injuries in the offensive line,
the defensive line and the backfield.
To take matters worse, they found themselves
in a 28-13 hole with less than one minute to go in the first half.
That's when things changed in a hurry.
Chavis Daniels inserted defensive tackle,
formed a very tough defensive line.
This made it easier for the rest of the defensive unit
to run around and make plays.
The Tigers would go on to outscore St. Benedict
27-nothin' in the third quarter, put the game away.
After the 54-41 victory, the Tigers now found
themselves at 5-1 in the midst of a five-game winning streak.
This might be one of those games the Tigers
look back on as a pivotal point to their season down by just...
Down by two touchdowns, just four half and on the road.
They could have thrown in the towel,
but if we've learned anything about this team after six weeks,
it is that they are resilient and never give up.
The Tigers next test will be Thursday night.
Manassas travel to Green Hill to take on Frazier at 7:00."
What was the word I said we were going to
talk about for just a second?
A hurry, a snap, quick.
All right, watch this.
- Ready to do some math? - Yes, sir.
Good. How old are you Joaquin?
- 18. - 18.
That's 936 weeks he's been alive.
I'm gonna clap to 900.
You ready? You ready?
Count with me.
How long will it take me to clap to 900?
A while.
That was just 18.
Watch this.
- Four? - Four.
That's what's left of your football season.
It ain't nothin' but a snap. It's over in a hurry.
Ask Money. It could be over, just like...
...that. In a hurry.
So, let's do this again, right?
If I have to clap, as many times as most of y'all have been alive.
It's gonna take me forever.
If I have to clap as long as football is, it's this.
And you're done.
Unless you win.
Then what's it sound like?
If you win...
And if you win...
Let's go do what we're supposed to do,
which is beat Frayser, beat Douglass, beat Northside, beat Kingsbury,
get in the playoffs, and do our thing.
And let's surprise everybody in Tennessee,
cause there's other folks out east of here,
that don't think we belong.
- Y'all ready to get it done? - Yes, sir.
Wiggle.
Coach Courtney, we appreciate you callin'.
You guys are gettin' on a roll.
Is it fair to say that it's an improvement week by week?
Yeah, it's real fair to say.
It's discipline, it's coaching, it's teaching.
We're just trying to coach them up a little bit.
♪ I got so much to do now ♪
♪ And a short time to do it ♪
♪ So much to do Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
♪ And a short time to get it done ♪
♪ I realize... ♪
One of the premiere players, number 77 O.C. Brown.
He's just vicious any way you look at it.
♪ Got to get out and take it ♪
- ♪ People have said ♪ - ♪ Whoa ho ho ho ♪
♪ That a change is soon gonna come ♪
- ♪ Some people have to make some changes ♪ - Whoo!
♪ But I have yet to make one ♪
♪...being down so low... ♪
♪ I got to raise myself a little higher ♪
♪ And build my faith up strong ♪
- ♪ 'Cause ♪ - ♪ Get that, get that ♪
- ♪ Oh, baby ♪ - ♪ We're making it better ♪
- ♪ Oh, no, no, every day ♪ - ♪ Get that, get that ♪
♪ We're making it better ♪
♪ Just keep on I wanna try ♪
- ♪ Making it better ♪ - ♪ A little bit harder... ♪♪
Stay Smudge.
Stay. Stay...
You're a good boy.
Come on, big boy. I'm outside.
- Good mornin'. - Good mornin'.
Which one of those big-booty girls is your girlfriend now?
- Onika. - Who?
- Onika, coach. - O, what?
- Onika. - Onika?
Yeah.
Onika.
You do?
- You wanna smell good for Onika? - Yes, sir.
Oh, that's cute.
That's adorable.
You put on too much, you're gonna stink
and nobody's gonna wanna be around you.
One squirt... Look at me.
You put one squirt, maybe two in your hands.
- Yeah? - Rub 'em together.
And do like this...
And you'll smell good all day.
You'll have Onika and everybody else just following you around in the hallway.
There you go...
Now you're going to smell good... Yes.
Now you're runnin' hoes, and slammin' Cadillac doors.
Set, hut!
Hut!
He's been doing this for five, six, seven years now,
and, um...
I love it.
I love that what he's doing,
I love that the children need him.
And, you know, honestly he needs them too.
At the end of the football season, yeah...
...I mean, honestly? I'm, I'm tired.
You know? And he's tired.
And I'm ready for him to be home.
Um... You know, 'cause he has four children here
that need him as well.
They let us fake the dive.
It's the end who caught the pass, I think.
No, he dropped it.
- Who was going... - Shh.
Don't get on my nerves right now.
I mean, I'm exhausted all the damn time.
It's not a hobby to me. I mean, it's a responsibility.
How the... Those slots are...
- Shh. - ...like wingbacks.
Shh.
What I give up is emotional capital
that I can't spend on my own family.
You know, it's 10:45 on Saturday night,
and I screamed at 'em two hours ago to get out of the house.
It's a lot. My family gives up a ton for this.
A ton.
Damn!
They say "We would like to congratulate...
...congratulate you for being nominated
for consideration to play in the 2010, U.S. All-American Bowl.
We have completed our roster, and unfortunately
you were not selected to play in this year."
When all this happened,
it seemed like he might get offered by everyone,
which that hadn't happened.
I think the word's probably out.
In fact, the guy from Colorado, he goes,
"Well we understand there's some academic issues
and he may have a hard time doing college work out here at Colorado,"
which is evidently a pretty tough school.
Most of these kids think
they're going to play college football.
Until, of course,
Saturday's over and they're standing around with a 2.0 GPA
and a 14 on the ACT and no football scholarship and nowhere to go.
And you watch them go from playful little boys,
to very concerned young men
over the course of a month.
'Cause it all dawns on them, what do I do next?
- Thank you. I'm fine. - You got a smile on your face.
I know the first couple of times you come in,
you weren't smiling too much. But you can have a seat in here,
wherever is comfortable, and Dr. Wolfe will be in in just a minute.
- OK. - Thank you.
OK, now that feels pretty solid right there.
Um, all right, you can go ahead and sit up.
Let me grab a stool here.
I'm very pleased with your progress, but I'm still...
I think it's not appropriate to be playing.
- And... - What if I just put a brace on it?
- Well, I agree 100 percent... - 'Cause I'm not gonna, you know, do nothin' stupid.
- You know, I play smart. - Right.
How much of your season's left anyway?
It's the last game.
- The last game? That's it? - Yeah. This Friday.
This Friday. That is it? That's the end of the season?
- Yes, sir. - Ah, jeez...
And I missed every last one of 'em.
Well... I still, I think it's too early to play.
Please, this is killing me. You know I've been depressed?
- Sad... - I know.
- I, look.. - Are you a senior, too?
Yes, this is my last year. Close to being my last time...
I'm not going to play football in college 'cause I'm too small anyway.
Right... I think I just do not want you on the football field,
playing competitively.
I really don't.
It's just not the right thing to do.
I'm sorry I didn't give you the news you wanted.
- OK. - OK.
Good to see ya.
- She'll be right with ya. - OK.
All right.
I'm still gonna play.
Just get on my nerves.
Wasting my time.
- So, you saw him yesterday, right? - Yeah.
What'd he say?
- Another two weeks. - I think that's a good thing.
This way, you'll feel really confident when you go back to playin'.
That's the thing.
Season's over with.
You know, it's either you win or you don't.
- Yeah. - You don't win, you're gone.
Well, make sure your team
wins that game, right? And then you can play the next one.
All right. Get dressed. I'll meet you out here.
- Hey man, I got a jersey. - Ah, OK.
Let me see.
Seventy-one... I got a jersey, man. Look good on you.
When did he say that?
Of all the losses,
I gotta hang onto one or two pluses.
And...
...I gotta keep telling myself that, to keep myself up,
because it does...
I mean...
...of all people to think that Money is on the cusp of being
lost is...
You know, it kills me.
But, in the same respect...
If you had looked at Money at the beginning of the season
and Chavis at the beginning of the season,
if you had to put all your money on who was going to blow up
and not handle it all,
would you believe Chavis would be the one in here still
trying to get right, and Money be the one not at school today
and not doing what he's supposed to?
Perhaps some of you are seniors.
Your goal is to graduate.
And once you graduate, you're going to be going out into that big world.
And, we want you to know that.
In addition to that, I am very encouraged...
...to know that in this day in time it is most important
that you get a good education.
On my way over to the pre-game meal, drove by his house,
I said, "What is wrong, Money." I said, "You know you're close."
And he said, before he screamed at me,
and he just looked at me
and he had tears rolling out of his eyes and he said,
"You know... Can you hug me?"
And he started bawling like a child.
He feels like he's not part of the team anymore.
You know he looked out on the practice field on Thursday
and some freshman was wearing 54 practice jersey, he said,
"I couldn't help it, it just, it killed me."
Hey guys.
Hey.
Tonight, you have a chance to win a district championship.
You have a chance to secure a position for our team, in the playoffs.
It's a huge game.
Let's get it done.
Coach, you got men... Ahh, a Most Uncommon Man.
All right guys...
The Uncommon Man of the week, very proud of this individual.
Um, I'll have to admit at the beginning of the year
I had my doubts as to whether he'd even be a part
of this football team. Um, but I'm going to let Coach Bill finish this one.
Um...
The reason we're here, y'all,
is not just to win football games,
but to reach your hearts through something you love.
We wanna make you better.
And then, as individuals,
if you get better, then you get better as a team,
you might start seeing that
if you do something for somebody other than yourself,
that you might be better for it.
And every once in awhile, problems come up.
Money.
Two things that mean most anything to him in the world
is his father and football.
His dad's dead, and he's scared to death his football's dead.
That's tough.
And we gotta make sure we're there for him.
Uncommon Man of the game was clearly Chavis.
He had an onside...
He had an onside kick recovery.
He had an interception he should have scored on.
He was all of the field on defense,
and he stepped up and led.
And Chavis has done some stupid crap this year.
That stunt he pulled at Bolivar was off the hook.
But, yeah, he was the Uncommon Man of the game.
But, most importantly, he's the Uncommon Man because
he has tried to put a whole bunch of demons aside,
to be a part of something bigger then himself.
So, Chavis, you're the Uncommon Man.
I love you.
There you go. All right, y'all...
Let's beat Kingsbury tonight.
Bow your heads.
Father God, I lift up this team to you.
I lift up tonight to you.
I'm gonna lift up each of these kids to you.
Ease Money's pain. Stay in Chavis's life.
Back in the E.H. Crump Stadium,
and we got a doozy for you here tonight.
The Manassas Tigers taking on the Kingsbury Falcons,
for the district title
and also for playoff seeding as well,
so this should be heck of a ball game.
Help us as men, Lord,
to continue to help these kids.
Open their ears and hearts, so they listen to us and to you.
Give us strength tonight.
Win or lose, let us play with discipline and heart
and put the team first.
Win or lose, keep us healthy.
Win or lose, keep our heads right,
and let us know that you've graced us
with another week, at least.
And as long as we do what your will is,
you'll probably grace us with another.
Teach us to believe in a life of love,
to walk in honor, and to serve you in truth,
in your son's name we pray.
- Amen. - Amen.
The Manassas Tigers
have shown a valiant second-half effort tonight
in this ball game. Final score, Manassas 27, Kingsbury 16.
With the game, they win the district championship.
And more importantly, probably,
they also have home-field advantage during the playoffs.
"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day, our daily bread...
...and forgive us our trespasses...
Lead us not into temptation..."
Team first!
Now, let's go to Coach Bill Courtney at Manassas.
Tell me about your playoff situation, Coach, as much as you can.
Uh, who we picked up in the playoffs?
Westview.
I'm on the way to trade tapes with the coach.
I'm just going to go bury myself somewhere in a hole with a VCR.
- How good are you? - Oh, we're not very good.
Coach you just won six straight...
Yeah, but look, we had a tough first four games.
- And starting 0-4... - You can "Aww, shucks" all you want,
but I'm scared to death of you guys.
How do you feel going into the playoffs?
I think we've got the mentality, you know.
We're going to take one day at a time and...
We can beat 'em, but they can beat us.
I mean, you know, it's playoffs.
How's the health of your team going in?
Our right tackle is out with a knee.
Um, we may or may not be getting him back.
You know, I'll see him Sunday night at 7:00
in the auditorium at the school for film.
And we'll be on the practice field Monday,
and we're gonna do our best
to try to represent District 15 playoffs.
All right, listen up.
Everybody, listen up.
I did not spend the last 15 hours of my life,
driving to Westview and doing this
for you to sit here and not pay attention.
It's gonna take some time, and we're gonna take all the time that it needs.
Because at 9:00, in Martin, Tennessee,
Westview High School shows up and they go film from 9:00 to 12:00.
So, if they can do it, we can do it.
I can remember four and five years ago and them saying,
"Man... Manassas in the playoffs?"
I mean, comments like, "I never thought I'd see the day."
Now, Manassas not only won a playoff game,
but a playoff game from one of these schools...
You got to understand, this school used to pay us
$3,000 to come up there and get our asses beat.
Be their homecoming queen, give us a check, some pizza,
and send us right back to Memphis to where we came from.
How amazing would it be to take one of those schools and
turn around and that be the first team we beat in the playoffs?
Ever.
- Anybody seen Montrail? - Yeah.
Where? Damn.
My bad.
Now look, there's going to be limited contact today
- until we get the brace. - OK, Coach.
- Hey, Coach! - Hey!
Pick it up, pick it up, pick it up!
Hut!
Hut! Hut!
That's amazing.
Is he serious?
Dead on. And he's a multi-multi millionaire.
You know, he's probably worth 30, 40 million.
Will he really do that?
Hey, Mike. The minute they break,
I want first team spread and pro huddled up.
Eleven on defense, and I'll be there in a second.
Hey, this is Bill Courtney. How're you doing, bud?
So, that's a bona fide, tried and blue,
for-sure offer you just made.
Uh, tears are in my eyes. I appreciate you very much.
OK. Bye.
- How about that? - Um, wow.
I thought that was pretty cool.
Houston get in at right tackle next time for Money.
- Dang, man. Damn. - Come on, man.
You're goin' back in, man. Don't worry about it.
Come here, Money.
You remember when you decided you didn't want to go the physical therapy?
- Yeah. - And I told you
that you were going to physical therapy?
You kept saying no... You remember why I told you
you were going to physical therapy?
Because, if you do the right thing,
- people will... - See me... notice me.
...continue to help you.
And when you quit doing the right thing,
they'll go away, as fast as they come.
Do you remember that conversation?
- Yes, sir. - You remember that, right?
All right, well now look at you. You went on to therapy,
you put your little selfish feelings aside,
you're crying, and your bitchin', and moanin'.
Now you're on a football field.
Hopefully not playing your last game, but at least,
you're a part of what we're doin'.
Starting again, leading us like you're supposed to and everything else.
It's a further testament to doing the right thing,
you'll be shocked at what will happen for your life,
if you stay right.
Coach Germany has a friend who's been very blessed,
- he's done very well. - OK.
- And he knows about your story. - OK.
And yesterday?
- Last night. - Last night, they were having dinner
and they were talkin' about you.
And he said, you know what?
This man doesn't know you.
Doesn't have any idea who you are, but he knows about you.
He is going to pay 100 percent of every dime for your college education.
Absolutely 100 percent taken care of.
Everything.
Oh, God.
So, if you can go to Austin Peay,
away from Memphis, it's taken care of.
You can go to UT Martin, middle of Tennessee, taken care of.
Somewhere in Mississippi, taken care of.
Somewhere in Arkansas, Alabama, wherever.
Wherever you can get into school.
Wherever you can go, you'll get your Pell grant money,
and stuff for your spending money.
But, you just basically got a 100 percent all paid,
all-expenses-paid, four-year scholarship to get your degree.
And you ain't got to worry about a dime of where it comes from.
Nothing.
You keep doing the right thing,
and good things will happen to you.
It's a big world out there, Money
and it's your chance to taste it.
I'm so happy for you I could cry.
Now get yourself together, get your ass back in the huddle.
All right, everyone in this room
will be taking the ACT.
Which is composed of multiple choice tests
in English, mathematics, reading and science.
Your answer document will be scored by a machine.
Make all marks heavy and black...
88.5 the voice of MCS.
There are a lot of kids around town that are
picking up scholarships to go and play football.
Right now, we have Carl Coleman
on the phone, talking about what's going on at Manassas today.
Right now, Mr. O.C. Brown
is going to sign with Southern Miss down in Hattiesburg.
Everything worked out for him and he's going to sign today.
So, now you're headed to college.
What are you going to study? You know what you're going to study?
Well, I kind of want to study education.
Be a coach. Come back and be a coach.
Like I said, like I said...
Coach... We got caring coaches and that's what I want to be.
Maggie's 14, Miley's 13.
Will's 12 and Max is 11 right now.
And for the last six and half years,
I've spent more time with kids in Manassas than I have my own kids.
I want you to stand that big man up,
find the ball and jump on him. Go in for James.
Not having a father, has made me better for the kids at Manassas,
but it's also made me kind of realize that my time
at Manassas has to be up. Because... How ironic would it be
if I did so much for these kids at Manassas, trying to teach them
from my life experiences and help them as best I can,
and then my own kids experience some of the same hurtin' that I have?
I want my kids to know that... no matter what,
they're the most important thing in the world to their father.
And right now, they probably are wondering if it's them or Manassas.
And so, that can't happen.
Well... it's time.
There's really nothing else for me to say, except one thing.
Don't quit.
We've won nine games, we've played ten.
Do you understand in five of those games,
this team in the third quarter was losing by seven points or more?
Up to 20?
And still won.
Be there for one another tonight.
Play for one another tonight.
One heartbeat.
Together.
And do something that no Manassas team has ever done.
- Y'all ready? - Yes, sir.
Me, too.
The score is 7-7!
The Westview Chargers of the football game have just tied
Memphis Manassas with 5:48 to go in the first quarter of play.
Talk to me, Will. What's happening?
You told me watch the center, I'm watching the center.
- You too close... - Relax, relax, relax.
- I know... - All right, forget that.
Forget watching the center. I want all linebackers backed up
to five and flow to the ball. Back up to five, and see the ball and react.
Out of a five-man front again.
Here comes the handoff. They're giving it to the running back.
And there he goes, ladies and gentlemen.
Omar Williams across the 35, the 40, the 45.
Finally tackled by Will Thompson.
Manassas has it on the Westview 23-yard line.
He fumbled the ball, they pick it up and they are getting free.
Amis has the ball and he is going to fight
and he may drag a man into the end zone and he does!
Here comes the snap as he calls for it.
It's down and here comes the kick
and it's blocked by Westview!
So, the Chargers have held on the extra point and it's 13-7.
Westview goes back on its offense here.
Spencer under center.
Hands off, running around the other way to the nearside!
Inside the ten! The five!
He's in! Westview tied it! 13-13!
It's all locked up!
The kicking game, God said, might be the difference.
Westview tries to point after, here comes the kick, it's up!
And the Chargers have taken the lead!
14-13 Westview!
Fellas, how many games have we come back from this year?
A lot.
It's 14-13!
Relax. Take a deep breath.
Remember who we are.
Remember we're a second half team.
You've been here before.
Please remember... character. Please remember discipline.
Please think about team first.
And let's go kick their ass.
They'll start with the ball
out of the end zone. Redmond with the ball
as he goes back up under center.
Hands it off, gives it to Williams, Williams and...
They're going to try and grab the ball, he's got O.C. Brown
pulling him forward and pulling him forward.
Holy cow! Brown does everything he can to drag his man
ahead of the line of scrimmage.
And here comes Omar Williams, running with the ball.
He takes it off the left side, inside the 30, 25, 20, 15, ten,
five. End zone.
Williams scoring off of the left tackle, that is O.C. Brown.
Defense! Defense!
Westview with the ball, here comes DeMarcus.
He's got it inside the three, the two, the one!
DeMarcus spins into the end zone,
and the Chargers score again!
And now the score, 21-21.
4:05 to go, all tied up here in the third.
This may be the tightest game in Tennessee.
All right, here we go. Pro left, lead right.
Keep doin' what you're doin', you're doin' great.
Manassas will come up with the ball,
they start with Redmond, calls his own number,
runs to the far side, he's had some success,
he's inside the 30, 35, 40, 45,
50 he's going to go all the way and score.
This will be a 75-yard touchdown run by Redmond.
He goes from one end to the other.
And with 5:38 to go on the clock they have just taken the lead.
Hey! You got the lead. What you gonna do about it?
Hold it!
Defense! Defense!
Leading the charge... gives to the running back
and Westview's Chevy Taylor
has made it to the 43 and that is all.
Let's go! Now is the time, let's go!
Third and nine. Spencer with it, gives it to DeMarcus,
he needs somebody to go to, the big O.C. Brown,
single-handedly brings DeMarcus and he had some helpers.
Manassas on the move right now.
Westview needs to make something happen.
Huddle 'em up!
Pro right...
- Pro right, dive right. - Dive...
- Dive right? - Yes!
Pro right, dive right, tell Julius to go get the linebacker.
Pro right, dive right.
They're slamming the nose guard to the short side.
I-formation again,
got a mix-up on the line of scrimmage.
He fell on the ball,
but the Chargers say they've recovered it.
Westview pulls a Sneaky Pete
and comes up with the football after the fumble.
That was a big turnover by Manassas.
Fuck them, fuck them!
And it's stopped the adrenaline from flowing.
Westview goes back on its offense.
Great field position to start.
Here comes Spencer under center.
Gives it to... Taylor.
Taylor takes it inside the 15,
to the ten, all the way down to the seven-yard line!
And the Chargers are seven yards away from scoring a touchdown.
3:28 to go!
Manassas defense has been unable to stop the Chargers on this drive.
Big play for Westview. Spencer under center.
Gives to again to DeMarcus, he found a little hole, inside the five!
The three! The two!
He is in the end zone!
Tying up Westview!
Chavis! Block it!
Block it!
Here comes the snap,
Westview take the lead on this one!
It's up and it is good!
Westview takes a one-point lead!
28-27!
Three minutes to go in the football game!
All right, let's go! We've got this thing!
Season comes to a close for somebody here tonight.
- Let's go! - All right, we gotta go.
- All right... - Let's go win it.
Let's go win it.
Let's go!
At the 20-yard line,
Redmond, who had the last touch down,
takes the ball and he's going to run with it!
Looks, scrambles from the right, now back to the left!
Runs out to the right! He comes out across the 30!
The 35-yard line!
Out near the 42.
Oh, my goodness, to get 22 yards on a first carry
and only eight seconds left on the clock.
That's Manassas football.
Clock, the biggest factor right now.
They come out of the shotgun, here's Redmond.
He gonna call his own number.
He is stopped, dragged, and now gets across the 45.
- It's not over yet. - Did he get it?
28-27, we're getting closer to field-goal range.
Let's go!
Redmond the quarterback.
Antonio has the ball, he runs to the far side.
Westview needs to hit him, oh! And he goes out of bounds!
Charger Jake Vincent, walking to talk to the official, the captain.
It's a holding call.
It's a 10-yard penalty, it's a penalty against Manassas.
- Oh, my! - What happened? What'd he call?
The ball is marched back
across the 50 to the 47-yard line of Manassas.
It is third down and about 20.
Thirteen pass right. Hurry up.
This is it, y'all! Let's go!
1:03 to go, Westview leading 28-27, Manassas with the ball
back on their own 47.
Third and 20.
One, two, three, four receivers.
Here's Redmond. He's going to throw it, he pulls the trigger.
Westview's got a chance to knock it down!
They intercept it! They intercept it!
Coming up with the football. The Charger...!
Kevin Evans!
1:03 to go in the ball game!
Evans down on the 23-yard line!
Time's up!
Westview leading it by one. Chargers have the football.
Spencer takes it. Rolls to the right.
He's gonna try to run the football. Here he goes!
Twenty, 30, 35, fights his way up there to the 50-yard line
and he is dragged out of bounds...
Westview looks like they have come to Memphis,
and upset the Memphis Manassas Tigers.
Six years. We've gone from slaw...
...to one of the best teams in Memphis.
Throw your chest out, and hold your chin up.
Remember the things that carry you
are the things you've been taught.
Character, discipline.
And remember, please remember if you remember anything from me
in the last six years.
The true measure of a man's character is how he handles this.
Anybody can be a champ.
It takes a man to stand up when this thing hits
you in the mouth, 'cause it hurts.
I am proud to be a Manassas Tiger.
And I'm proud of you.
- Y'all ready to stand up? - Yes, sir.
- Guess what. - What, Coach?
- You got to end it on the field. - Yes, sir.
- I did, seriously. - And you gave it all you had.
- Yes, sir. - And now you get to go have a life.
- I'm proud of ya. - Thanks Coach.
That's correct. It is.
O.C.!
Hang on.
I'm going to try and say something, just give me a minute.
OK, these four years don't happen without you.
It has been my honor and my privilege.
I was the luckiest guy in the world to have coached you the last four years.
We don't do anything, we hadn't accomplished, anything without you.
Yes, sir.
- I love you. - I love you too, Coach.
Now you go from here, and you go make a life for yourself.
You go play ball somewhere and you make a life for yourself.
- You hear me? - Yes, sir.
- You do not look back. - Yes, sir.
- I love you, buddy. - I love you too, Coach.
I'm so proud of you.
♪ Let the redeemed of the Lord say so ♪
♪ If you know that you been redeemed ♪
♪ You ought to let the world, world know ♪
♪ Let the redeemed of the Lord say so ♪
♪ If you know that you been redeemed ♪
...if you're returning for next season,
we need you to report to the gym.
Thank you.
I think you all know, but I'm gonna make it official,
I will not be coaching next year.
I've been here six and a half years.
I have never made a tackle. I've never scored a touchdown.
Never made a block.
What I'm trying to say to you is guys...
Players win games.
Players. All coaches do is try to get them headed in the right direction.
I'm so proud of these kids, and I'm so proud of this program.
Um... I can't say "no regrets,"
because I regret we didn't win the playoff game.
But, in terms of personal relationships,
and in terms of what I think we've done...
I'm certainly gonna say there's no looking back.
We uh... we, and when I say "we," I mean the kids and us,
we did a great job.
We did a great job.
And the kids lives are...
The kids and my life are enriched from it.
And I'll take that.
We gotta go to practice.
♪ There's a brighter tomorrow ♪
♪ Just around the bend ♪
♪ Some will fall along the way ♪
♪ While others will win ♪
- ♪ But if you have the faith ♪ - ♪ If you have the faith ♪
- ♪ Oooh, and the will to keep trying ♪ - ♪ Trying ♪
♪ Oh, I would be so rich ♪
♪ Mm, and very rewarding ♪
♪ It's a brighter tomorrow ♪
♪ For those who have dreams ♪
♪ Don't get discouraged ♪
♪ Just do your thing ♪
- ♪ It's an outta sight way ♪ - ♪ It's an outta sight way ♪
♪ Mmm... Don't let it pass you by ♪
♪ Don't let it pass you by ♪
♪ Take a good look at yourself ♪
♪ Yeah, and put blame where blame lies ♪
♪ Ohhh, not just the boys but the girls ♪
♪ Have got to better themselves ♪
♪ Pick up your pace ♪
♪ Go out and better your race ♪
♪ Mmmm mmmm ♪
♪ Don't let your friends or your neighbors ♪
♪ Make you too weak to fight it ♪
♪ Only the strong survive ♪
♪ Be mighty mighty There's a brighter tomorrow ♪
♪ There's a brighter tomorrow ♪
- ♪ Show appreciation ♪ - ♪ There's a brighter tomorrow ♪
♪ Yeah, a brighter tomorrow ♪
♪ There's a brighter tomorrow ♪
- ♪ Have some inspiration ♪ - ♪ There's a brighter tomorrow ♪
♪ Ohhh, not just boys but the girls ♪
♪ Have got to better themselves ♪
♪ Pick up your pace ♪
♪ Go out and better your race ♪
♪ Don't let you friends or your neighbors ♪
♪ Make you too weak to fight it ♪
♪ Only the strong survive ♪
♪ So be mighty mighty There's a brighter tomorrow ♪
- ♪ There's a brighter tomorrow ♪ - ♪ Yeah, show appreciation ♪
♪ There's a brighter tomorrow ♪
- ♪ A brighter tomorrow ♪ - ♪ There's a brighter tomorrow ♪
- ♪ Have some inspiration ♪ - ♪ There's a brighter tomorrow ♪
♪ Yeah A brighter tomorrow ♪
♪ There's a brighter tomorrow ♪
- ♪ A brighter tomorrow ♪ - ♪ There's a brighter tomorrow ♪
♪ A brighter tomorrow ♪
♪ There's a brighter tomorrow ♪♪