Jack Pardee is the most famous name to emerge from six-man football in Texas. He played at Christoval, 1949-52, and then continued his linebacker duties for Bear Bryant at Texas A&M; the National Football League would follow for a 14-year career. Tyler Ethridge is a long way from matching Pardee's accomplishments, but no one has matched what Ethridge did in his four remarkable years at Richland Springs, a community of 350, not-too-many, 80-yard football fields west of San Saba. Before listing numbers which would make the Dow Jones Industrial Average quite proud and a skyscraper above average, it's best to point out that Ethridge, a quarterback and spread back in six-man language, led the Coyotes to state AND national championships in 2004, 2006 and 2007. There was one loss--72-58 in the '05 state semifinals to Throckmorton--in Tyler's high school days. "I did drills for my dad when I was in the fifth grade and I began playing a year later," the recent graduate relates. In a modest, but convincing tone, he declares: "I would put in hours when most kids were asleep or on vacation. Some of us would be at the school football field at midnight working on pass patterns." (Don't forget your cell phone, and let your parents know those not-so-standard, late-night plans!) In Ethridge's freshman year, 2004, he threw for a state-best 53 touchdowns and he ran for 19. He amassed more than 3,300 yards of total offense. Some of the scores? Richland Springs mauled May, 52-6; Cherokee, 80-44; and Rochelle, 72-8. The unbeaten campaign concluded with a 58-38 triumph over Valley in the six-man title game."We knew in the eighth grade he was far above everyone," Coyotes head coach Jerry Burkhart says. "His work ethic was outstanding, throwing the ball in the summer, going to the weight room, studying films. And even though we were beating teams badly for four years, I never had to worry about Tyler becoming complacent." Lometa's Wendell Bradley has been coaching for more than two decades ...

Read the entirety of this article in the print edition.

Subscribe online — it's quick and easy