SAN ANGELO –There's a small line tucked in the district preview pages of Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine calling this season undoubtedly one of rebuilding for the three-time defending Class 2A state champions out of Daingerfield. The Tigers have lost seven players to college programs from last year's team and saw their head coach leave for Paris.
Former Angelo State running back Aric Sardinea is only optimistic about the Tigers. He sees a senior class with three championship rings on their fingers and players who grew up watching and hearing brothers, cousins, uncles and fathers talk about being a part of Daingerfield's winning tradition. Sardinea had only heard about it from an outsider's point of view until March. Now he's the one with the opportunity to lead the Tigers to their fourth consecutive state title.
“Everyday our kids have been challenged to work hard at the little things, to be persistent at having the high expectations and to be their best in everything that they do,” said Sardinea, who was named the Daingerfield head coach and athletic director in March. “We will always have tradition here. Winning here is reality and it is in the air. We do not want to maintain expectations. We have been working to exceed expectations and this comes with controlling 'us' and by not becoming complacent, staying hungry and setting higher goals.”
Sardinea, who grew up in south Texas, graduated high school from Tidehaven and from Angelo State with a bachelor's in special education/kinesiology in 1997 and a master's degree in education in 2001. He has spent the last 10 seasons as an assistant football coach at Rowlett High in the Garland school district. His roles with the Eagles included offensive coordinator under head coach Kiff Hardin (ASU, 1981). Rowlett, which has made the playoffs for six-consecutive years, went 9-3 last season before falling to Mesquite Horn in the area round of the Class 5A playoffs at Cowboys Stadium.
Daingerfield received many applications to fill its head coaching vacancy, but saw the dedication and passion it desired in a coach and educator when Sardinea arrived for his interview. He says that his philosophy is that his primary mission is the academic and personal development of the students. Extracurricular activities, even at a football powerhouse, serve in a supportive role to that mission according to Sardinea.
“He is inspired to develop student athletes into successful men and women, on and off the field,” Daingerfield superintendent Sandra Quarles told the
Daingerfield Bee. “We believe that Coach Sardinea will be an asset to our schools and community.”
Though this is Sardinea's first year as a head coach and the Tigers are losing seven players who signed with the Air Force, Baylor, SFA, Texas A&M, Texas, Texas State and Tulsa from last year's team, Sardinea believes the Tigers are ready to make another run to claim a championship trophy. Despite losing those players and the idea of rebuilding being used, the Tigers will still enter the 2011 season ranked
No. 3 in Class 2A, Division I. That's when you know you're talking about a school and community that expect to win.
“There is no pressure,” he says.
Sardinea ranks 12th in all-time career rushing at Angelo State with 1,421 yards. He played all four years for the Rams and led the team with nine rushing touchdowns in 1996 and eight in his senior season. Staying around ASU after earning his bachelor's degree, he served as a student assistant and a graduate assistant for the Rams and also taught for two years within the San Angelo school district. He credits the near decade he spent involved in the program as one that has established him personally and professionally. Former coaches he played for and former teammates from ASU have extended their congratulations on his new job. He said he has felt nothing but support from the Ram family.
“At Angelo State, as a player and coach, I was taught to work extremely hard every day and to be the best that I can be as a person and as a coach,” he said. “To set goals and to always have a plan to attain them then set new ones. As a high school coach I understood the impact of being unselfish and to always think of others, to smile and to have fun working even on the difficult days.”
Daingerfield is 44-3 in the past three seasons and also has two other state titles in its trophy cases from the 1980s and one from the 1968 season. Sardinea is replacing
Barry Bowman who accepted the head coaching job at Paris High. The Tigers, who go to school about an hour north of Tyler and Longview, return five starters on each side of the football this season. Sardinea and his new coaching staff take over a team which is 51-6 since 2007.
“What you hear about Daingerfield and the greatness of its athletic program is true,” said Sardinea, who is joined by fellow ASU graduate and Daingerfield head girls basketball coach Kenneth John Rush in the town of about 2,500. “I'm excited about continuing what we have here. The opportunity to build on the dynasty that has already been established is hard to describe.”
Special thanks to the Daingerfield Bee, Longview News-Journal and Dave Campbell's Texas Football for their work which contributed to Aric Sardinea's story.
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