SAN ANTONIO -- Around this time most Texans start counting down the days to the first high school football game of the year. 

What You Need To Know


  • Fall football in Texas remains up in the air

  • O'Connor High School team practicing via Zoom as if season is on

  • Many seniors had no resolution to season 

“As a coach, I still get chills when I’m out there in front of 10,000 people in pregame, getting ready for a football game," said Weston Heiligman,  Sandra Day O'Connor High School linebackers coach. 

Three times a week, Heiligman leads his players through Zoom practices, acting as if football will be played. The UIL has not made any announcements regarding fall sports. 

 “That’s not our decision so we’ve got to be prepared any way we can, any way possible," Heiligman said. "You know, I like to say ‘control the control-ables; we can control what we can control,’ and that’s what we’re doing right now.”

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Heiligman already knows what is feels like to lose half a season. He’s also the Panther’s head baseball coach, and is just getting past the emotional toll of telling his players last month that the year was over. 

“You know, I struggled with a coach to put it into words. I sent a message to our guys, real quick," Heiligman said. "I said, ‘I’ll get with all of y’all, but I’m processing this. It’s going to take me a little bit to process.'”

And for seniors a canceled season means never suiting up for another high school football game ever. 

“I’m just glad that I got to play that last season as hard as I did because you never know when your last game will be," said rising O'Connor senior Gavin Mack. 

“I’ve had conversations where I’ve said I’d give up, maybe my college [baseball] career to go play one more high school football game because it’s that big of a deal and it’s really something that’s unique and special," Heiligman said. 

Sure, they have thought about the prospect of a canceled season but say the only way to stay motivated is to operate as if it were any previous season. 

“I see other people working from like other schools, like on social media and stuff like that, and I don’t want to be like outworked," Mack said. 

“I just really don’t think about not having a season, like I’m just pretty determined that it’s going to happen," said Conner Martinez, rising O'Connor junior.