Most memorable Vernon games I've seen

A lot of dynamic running backs have called Vernon home. photo by Zach Duncan

Author’s note: I’m wanting to feature an area football team every week where I reflect on an aspect of the program and then list the top five most memorable games I’ve covered of that team. Last week I wrote about Nocona. Now it’s Vernon’s turn.

I’ve written this before, but when Vernon football is good, the area football scene is a lot of fun.

The Lions are one of the most tradition-rich teams around Wichita Falls. Its Golden Era was under Leo Brittain in the 1980-90s, but Vernon was also regionally relevant under Keith Hall in the early 2000s, making two state semifinals.

They’ve had stretches of quality football since – Mark Bateman had a strong run in the early 2010s, and Kevin Sherrill has the Lions relevant again. But just short stretches, not continued success like our best programs.

Case in point: From 2003-07, Vernon went 11-4 in the playoffs with those two semifinal trips and another to the quarterfinals. In the 16 years since, the Lions are 7-10 in the postseason.

When I think of Vernon football, I think of thundering fullback Aston Whiteside and the Lions’ run to the semifinals in 2006.

And when I think of Whiteside, three memories come to mind. The first was how he took over the 2006 postseason, gaining almost half of his 1,934 yards in five playoff games. The 230-pound fullback was heavily featured later in the season on a Lion team that had to win its finale just to make the playoffs. They rode Whiteside until a semifinal loss to Celina.

The second is how Midwestern State felt confident about landing Whiteside – who was tagged as a defensive end at the next level – and then found out in the afternoon of signing day he was headed to Abilene Christian, where he shined before playing in the Canadian Football League.

But my favorite memory was from a Thursday night district game against Hirschi at Memorial Stadium.