The Southlake Titans, abrflag football team comprised of players from Durham, Eubanks and Westlake,brsecured their third Texas State Championship in Burnet, Texas. Under thebrdirection of Coach Carlos Reyes and Assistant Coaches Russell Maryland and JeffbrBlanchard, the Titans competed against the best flag football teams from acrossbrthe state in the Texas Amateur Athletic Federation (TAAF) tournament.
The Titans formed in 2010brwith six core players: Max Reyes, Eric Blanchard, RJ Maryland, Avyonne Jones,brBen Estis and Carson Wert. All six are still on the Titans after fivebryears. Seventeen athletes compete regularly with the team, and 13 made the tripbrto this year's tournament.
Coach Reyes has coachedbrthe Titans since their inception. “Our motto for the team is P-R-I-D-E. Ibrbegan teaching them these five directives when we started in 2010. Pullbrthe flag. Run till the whistle blows. Intensity...no mentalbrmistakes. Defense wins championships. Expect the ball to come tobryou every play,” says Reyes.
The Titans have also wonbrnine Southlake Parks and Recreation (SLPR) City Championships, winning everybrseason except for Spring 2013. This fall, SLPR began a new flag football formatbrof 6v6 through Under Armour. It became an all-pass league, and though Reyesbrsays it took the Titans some time to get accustomed to the passing, it ultimatelybrhelped the players improve their game and win state.
“The keys to our successbrare each player has to be versatile … playbroffense and defense. They must play different positions. They must be mentally tough and execute,” Reyes says. “They are tremendous ‘ballbrhawks.'”
The Titans' overall flagbrrecord since 2010 is 99 wins and 12 losses. Since 2012, they have only had fourbrlosses. Eight losses came in the first two years of playing flag football, whenbrthe players were still learning the game.
“These boys arebrtremendous competitors and do whatever it takes to win,” says Reyes. “I am verybrproud of them for working hard every practice and growing mentally tougherbrevery day. They are becoming young men and students of the game.”
To the parents and fans,brReyes says: “I want to thank all the Titans who have played with us and their parents for bringing them to games and practices. It takes a village to keep a team together, and we are all unitedbrin our common goals … to learn the game, get better every day and put the teambrfirst.”
The Titans were named bybrReyes' oldest son, Kyle, when he played flag football. His inspiration? ThebrDisney movie, “Remember the Titans.” The Titans not only play flag football;brthey play basketball together in the off-season as well.
“These boys have playedbrtogether season after season. They allowed us to pick up the next season rightbrwhere we left off. They have formed tremendous friendships and won severalbrstate championships together,” says Reyes. “It is tough to win a statebrchampionship; they have won three. They are a special group of Titan boys andbrTitan families. They will remember these times the rest of their lives.”
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