By Jim Irish
Courtesy photos
Dispirited, demoralized, dejected, and downcast are not strong enough adjectives to describe the current state of affairs at the Cedar Creek High School football program.
Crushed or broken would be far more accurate.
Head coach Josh Thomas was mercifully reassigned in mid-November after four disastrous seasons. Here is the harsh reality:
Thirty-five consecutive losses
1-39 overall record.
The program would be far more competitive today if certain members of the Bastrop ISD Board of Trustees hadn’t interfered and kicked former head coach Jon Edwards to the curb.
Edwards is only Cedar Creek coach to advance to playoffs and to defeat Bastrop
Before his termination, Edwards had guided the Eagles to a 5-5 record in the 2019 season, the best in the school’s history. His son, Cade, was an all-district, All-Central Texas and all-state linebacker on that squad. Cade would frequently tackle running backs and then extend his hand in a gesture of sportsmanship. He was later on the roster of UTSA with plans to enter the coaching profession. Like his father, Cade was a class act.
Edwards is the only Cedar Creek head coach in its 14-year history to advance to the playoffs in 2015 and to defeat crosstown rival Bastrop High School in 2019.
For those achievements, he was discarded like yesterday’s newspaper.
Lord John Acton, a British historian and politician, famously said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
In this instance, Bastrop ISD appeared to succumb to retaliation and then cronyism. They decided one individual was more significant than the program.
Every decision has consequences, either positive or negative.
“For they sow the wind, and they reap the whirlwind.” (Hosea 8:7)
This decision amounted to shabby treatment of a competent coach and a black stain on the school district.
"Jon was one of the hardest-working players on the team. He had a competitive drive that was infectious.
-- former Bastrop teammate Rob Watson
Raised in Bastrop, Edwards himself was a starting offensive guard on the 1988 Bastrop team coached by Les Johnson that won district, had a bye in bi-district, beat New Braunfels in the area round, and lost to Uvalde in the third round. He played for a championship team. He knows football and how to inspire.
James Fidler, a wide receiver on that 9-3 team, described Johnson as a “no-nonsense, demanding coach, but the best there ever was.”
Edwards was selected all-district and All-Central Texas after the 1988 season.
“Jon was one of the hardest-working players on the team,” said Rob Watson, a linebacker on the team. “He had a competitive drive that was infectious.”
After a stint as an assistant coach at Katy Cinco Ranch, Edwards returned to his hometown as the head football coach at Cedar Creek. Fidler and Watson were assistants under Edwards.
In his final season, Edwards won more games than the next five combined
In his fifth and final season, Edwards won five games, more than the following five seasons combined.
Yet, he was dispensable. The school district made a colossal error, one it should regret.
After his termination, Edwards was shipped to Siberia — some back room in the bowels of Memorial Stadium — where he counted the plastic Gatorade bottles for months until the end of his contract.
This season, Cedar Creek almost defeated Lehman in the penultimate game, only to lose 41-38 on a pass in the final 19 seconds. It was Lehman’s sole win of the season. In Cedar Creek’s season finale, it was annihilated 77-0 by Hendrickson. The losses became more lopsided after losing consecutive games to Weiss and College Station by the identical score of 63-0.
Cedar Creek chose to play Del Valle and Akins — both 1-9 last season — in its non-district schedule in hopes of grabbing a win. The strategy failed.
At the same time, Cedar Creek dropped Bastrop in the annual crosstown rivalry match. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to decipher the reason behind that decision.
"I'm trying to change the culture here.
-- Jon Edwards speaking about Cedar Creek
Will the Cedar Creek program continue to be a doormat? An easy win on everyone’s schedule?
It need not be so.
Edwards has the wherewithal to inspire young athletes
Edwards, currently an assistant coach at Cinco Ranch, possesses the tools to resurrect a program clamoring for a glimmer of hope. He knows how to motivate young athletes.
During his tenure at Cedar Creek, he said more than once, “I’m trying to change the culture here.”
He realized that it was a struggle for a new school with no tradition, but he persevered.
Some members of the school board should contact and exhort Edwards to submit an application. That, however, will require humility and courage. The parents at Cedar Creek could add a groundswell of support.
No one is more qualified than Edwards to raise Cedar Creek from the ashes.
Jim Irish is a freelance writer in Bastrop, Texas
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