What more can you say about the Kennedale Wildcats of recent that has not been already said.It is a program that has to be one of the best coached and most effective programs in Texas.It is true that it lacks that one signature of success, a state champion trophy but it is consistently produces winning teams year after year. {{more}}
Consider the last two years. Kennedale has won 24 games and lost only one. It is currently has a 25 game regular season winning streak. The Wildcats have won 4 straight district championships. It is now in its second straight region semifinal playoff game (Friday night at SMU vs Argyle, 7:30 p.m.)
Head Coach Richard Barrett in his 15th year at Kennedale
At the center of this success is Head Coach and Athletic Director Richard Barrett. This is Barrett?s 15th year at Kennedale and the Wildcats have never had a losing season under him. During this same time, the Cats have won 7 district titles and were runner-ups 7 times. The Cats have had four 3 loss season, four 2 loss seasons and one 1 loss season with the current season still in play.
While at Kennedale, Barrett has gone 142/38 for .789 winning percentage and his teams have never missed the playoffs. As for active coaches, Richard Barrett is ranked 25th in the state in the number of wins.
But as often happens at this level of the playoffs, teams face their counterparts who are equally successful if not more so. For Kennedale, it is Argyle, the very same team that stood in Kennedale?s way last year. Argyle is not a storied program, such as Odessa Permian, since it only started playing football in 2002. But, the Argyle Eagles hav been one of the top performing teams almost from the beginning.
Todd Rogers is in 13th year at Argyle
Argyle has only had two coaches. The first coached Argyle maiden?s season and recorded their only losing season at 1-9. Todd Rodgers took over in 2003 and has been the coached ever since.Argyle, benefitting from the metroplex sprawl and the flight from big city problems, has grown in population size and in football prowess. It has captured 7 district titles along with 2 runner-up finishes in the last 12 years and has made the playoffs every year. It has had 4 undefeated seasons and, then in 2013 with a 16-0 record, it won a state title.Last year after beating Kennedale in the quarterfinals, Argyle was denied another title when it lost to Navasota in the championship finals.
As it was last year, when the two undefeated teams faced off, the winner of the Kennedale/Argyle game Friday night is thought to have the inside track to the state finals.
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