This Friday there will be a battle in Texarkana between the Sulphur Springs Wildcats (6-2, 4-0) and Texas High (6-3, 4-1) to determine the 13-4A championship. A Wildcat win could give them the title outright. Sulphur Springs has already secured their fifth consecutive playoff berth.  

All season long odds have been against Sulphur Springs. Their 5-7 running back has been injured most of the season and missed two games. Their wide receivers average 5-8. They have had to juggle several players along the offensive line because of injuries and they don’t have a strong armed quarterback. Yet they keep winning.

Maybe the reason they keep winning is Head Coach Greg Owens son, Justin Owen, QB, 6-2, 190, 4.7. He understands all the negatives surrounding the team, tries to avoid them, doesn’t let them distract him from the task at hand and plays to the team’s strengths.

With the shuffling of offensive linemen, some schemes can’t be used. His receivers are short so his passes have to be to a space where his receivers get the ball and not to where the taller secondary can knock them down or intercept them. What is important is he plays within himself and the team that surrounds him. He does not possess a strong arm but throws powerful and accurate passes. He doesn’t possess a lot of speed so when he decides to run he knows he has to be smart about it.  

Owens has received interest from North Texas, Memphis, Central Florida, Arkansas State, Stephen F. Austin Sam Houston and Texas State. According to Head Coach Greg Owens, several teams are close to offering. Justin is in the second wave of prospects for the schools.  

So far this season Owens is throwing for an average of 212.3 yards a game with a season total of 1698 yards. He has thrown for 16 touchdowns to nine interceptons and has rushed for 225 yards. In district play, he has kept the scorekeeper busy by putting up 40 points per contest.  Last year he passed for 2,844 yards, 237 yards per game with 31 passing touchdowns leading the team to a 9-3, 5-1 record.

Coach Owens stated that his son played 7 on 7 football this year and the team was about average. When you consider they had a lot of undersized receivers they held their own. The experience playing 7 on 7 has help Owens and the team translate what they have do to be successful in the passing game.  Looking at their record, they must have learned a lot.

Part of the success of the team comes from the coaches. Coach Owens said his staff understands what they have and use schemes that play to the strengths of the players. Sulphur Springs runs the spread offense which they call the NASCAR offense. It has a controlled no huddle offense that is up paced, fast on the snap trying to catch the defense unprepared yet it isn't really a quick strike offense because the use the passing to control the clock and move the ball down the field in order to keep their defense rested.  They do not ask the kids to play outside themselves but rather use the talent the player has and form it to the offensive scheme.

North Texas fans have seen Owens in action during the first game of the season. Sulphur Springs, a 4-A Division II (small school) faced 4-A Division I and last year’s Texas State Champions Denton Ryan to open the season on ESPN. They battled the bigger 4A school, even holding a lead, before falling 9-25. Their second lost was against a bitter rival in Paris High 14-21.