After a week three loss to Noxapater, the Union football season stood at a crossroads.
The Yellowjackets had won just two games the year before in Breland’s worst year as a head coach. After a 43-35 win over Choctaw Central to start the year, the Yellowjackets were shut out by eventual 1A champion Nanih Waiya 42-0 the next week.
“We really didn’t know how the season was going to turn out,” Breland said. “We had a new quarterback and we were still really young. I didn’t know how the kids would handle adversity and at the start of the year, we didn’t handle adversity very well. It really could have went either way.”
Adversity showed its head on Labor Day following a 20-7 loss to Noxapater as the Yellowjackets were 1-2 on the season. When it came time for practice, 17 Yellowjackets didn’t show up for practice.
Breland was forced to sit those 17 players in the first quarter against J.Z. George that Friday night.
“I would say the turning point of the season was that J.Z. George game,” Breland said. “We had lost to Noxapater the week before and really didn’t play very well. Then we had 17 people that missed practice that Monday, almost half of our team. If you miss practice, you have to sit out. So there we were with a lot of starters sitting on the bench in the first quarter. J.Z. George went down and scored and was driving against and got it inside our 5. We made a goal-line stand with a lot of backup kids on the field. We then took the ball and drove 95 yards in like three plays. From that point on, the kids started playing with a lot of excitement
From there, the Jackets won four straight games, including a big 28-7 in over rival Lake that confirmed the turnaround for the Jackets. The Yellowjackets went on to finish 8-5 on the season, making the second round of the playoffs.
For his efforts, Breland has been named The Newton County Appeal’s Coach of the Year.
“First off, any awards I might receive is a reflection on our players and our coaching staff,” Breland said. “I’m thankful for those guys and how hard they work. I couldn’t do this without my assistant coaches. We would’t be where we are at if it wasn’t for them. They deserve more credit than I do.”
One of the reasons for the Yellowjackets turnaround was quarterback Colby Ferguson, who finished the year with 1,062 yards rushing and 801 yards passing. For his efforts, Ferguson was named The Newton County Appeal’s Player of the Year.
“He came a long way through the season,” Breland said. “After two or three games, he had thrown seven or eight interceptions but ended the season with just 10. He really improved a lot in the passing game, knowing when to throw it and when not to throw it. That’s always hard. He had played really well in seven-on-seven but when the bullets started flying at him, he didn’t play well. But he had never really played quarterback and had to work in it. But there’s no doubt, he made us go and was the straw that stirred the drink. If he played well, we were going to play well. If he was off, we were going to be off.”
Breland said Ferguson deserves any rewards to come his way.
“He spent a lot of time watching film,” Breland said. “At the first of the year, his footwork was really bad. But as the season went on, he started to figure it out and learned from his mistakes. The line started to block better and he started to trust them more. He’s the kind of kid you want at quarterback. He’s a tough rascal and he wants to win.”
