It was a bittersweet moment when the Farmers lost to the district champion Coppell Cowboys [49-6] last week. It was the last game, and with only minutes left in the game, head coach Gregg Miller and the rest of the coaching staff decided to make a decision.

“We had fifteen minutes left and for those seniors that haven’t played a lot this year, [the coaching staff] made a commitment at half time to each other that we were going to let those kids play, and we got them in there and let them play, and they didn’t give up,” Miller said. “I was real proud of them.”

Senior outside linebacker Carlos Jimenez, who sat out with an injury for the last two games of the season, still felt the intensity of the game with his teammates and coaches.

“We decided to play differently because we knew we were down and we knew we could come back, but if we couldn’t then either way we would have fun doing it,” Jimenez said. “We started to have fun because if not we would remember our last high school as boring, sad, and a waste of time. So we did what we always do: had a positive attitude, and played the game we love.”

Miller said he had a different view of how the game was to end when they stepped onto the field.

“When we walked out of that locker room, every coach and every kid was fixing to beat Coppell,” Miller said. “We really did think we were fixing to beat them. We worked hard all week, we focused, we were very intense and they just outmanned us.”

Miller said the way district is set up, the most challenging competitors come last, but he couldn’t be more proud of his boys.

“It was so hard to tell our seniors goodbye,” Miller said. “Those guys have worked for me since the day I showed up. I hated to see them go. It was pretty emotional here Friday night. I always let the seniors stand up and talk, and say something at the end and then I pray after that but I actually couldn’t pray because I had to stop. I nearly started crying.”

Junior quarterback Adrian Villarreal, despite still having one more year, felt for his senior teammates.

“It was my last time playing with them, and it was sad to see them go because they’ve all worked hard,” Villarreal said. “Just to see them not make playoffs was heartbreaking because that’s your last game and you never wanna have a last game.”

Miller said that compared to last year, this year’s team was harder to say goodbye to because of the trust that was built.

“Last year we were trying to build some trust, because we push our kids really hard and we make them do a lot,” Miller said. “And when they don’t trust you, they’ll do it because you tell them to. This year they started doing it because they love to do it for us and they know it’s our best interest for them. Last year we talked about finding the wall and hitting the wall, and they did it because we were the coaches and they were the players. This year they did it because they believed in what we were telling them.”

One of the proudest wall breaking moments was for senior running back Jeffrey Abanaka, who left the Coppell coach in confusion.

“Jeff Abanaka, hadn’t got to play much all year, works real hard,” Miller said. “Just a little guy, so we put him in the game and we told him we’d throw the ball to him and we threw it to him and they smash him, but he catches the ball. And we’re just over there hooting and hollering, and [the Coppell] coach called me and he was like ‘Coach, what did we do? Did we do something wrong? Why did y’all get so excited, I thought we smashed that kid,’ and it was just a neat moment for Jeff. Jeff caught the ball and took a big hit and got a few yards on the field and we were just excited for him. We forgot about the scoreboard and we were enjoying our last few minutes as coaches and kids.”

Abanaka said his first catch felt good, despite the hit.

“I mean the tackle hurt, but it felt pretty good because it was my first time and everyone was cheering,” Abanaka said. “I can’t believe it’s over. I’ve been doing this since I was 10. I’m really gonna miss football, and I’m really going to miss my coaches and my teammates.”

Miller said that it was a bittersweet moment to watch his team, making it hard to not choke up.

“A kid comes by and high fives you, and you think ‘God, that might be the last time that kid high fives me, and I love that kid,’” Miller said. “It’s hard. It’s one of those things about coaching. You know it’s coming, just like when your dog dies. You know you’re going to outlive your dog, and you know it’s just an animal and you know you’ll get another one, but it’s irreplaceable. Our kids know that, we tell them all the time.

“You don’t get your identity from the score. You don’t get your identity from how much you play, because you are irreplaceable, regardless of what you do or bring to the table. If you leave, we can’t fix that. We love our kids a lot, as far as making sure they’re good young men.”

Despite his injuries, Jimenez looks back on his senior year in football with approval.

“It’s sad since it’s our last game,” Jimenez said. “And since I didn’t get to play I was pretty upset with my second injury of the season. But I was just happy that Coach Miller allowed me to suit up and ‘run’ out the tunnel with my teammates, be beside them, [see] players being coached, coaches yelling out plays, pads hitting pads one last time. My senior year of football was the greatest year of my high school football career. It was the most exciting, sad, joyous thing I have ever been a part of.”

Miller apologized to the team for not being able to get them into playoffs, but commended them for their hard work and for the mark they left on the field.

“They left a tremendous legacy on this,” Miller said. “When we do get into the playoffs, it’ll be because of the guys that came before them.”