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The Texas School For the Deaf football team won a historical state championship on Friday, beating its crosstown rival, Veritas, to secure the program's first ever state championship. And the victory came during a season that almost didn't happen, according to the school's superintendent.
"I seriously considered cancelling the whole football program [3] this year," superintendent Claire Bugen told Today before the game. In addition to the pandemic, the team's depleted roster couldn't field enough players for an 11-player team. In order to have a season at all, the program dropped to a lower division to play six-player football. And with all the players and coaches being deaf or hard of hearing, the team uses a giant drum to call plays the snap count; the players can feel the vibrations and avoid jumping offsides.
"To win a state championship would be huge [5]," head coach John Moore told the Austin American-Statesman before the game. "To win during a season like this, where every single football program in the country has been affected by COVID-19, would be outstanding. Knowing our boys put in the extra work on the field and off the field to stay safe really makes my staff and I proud."
The Texas School For the Deaf beat Veritas 63-32, a victory that was especially sweet after losing to their formerly-undefeated rival earlier in the season. It's the Austin-based school's first state championship in its 164-year history.
"This is an honour [6] to be a part of this team," one player told Today after the game. "There are other schools out there that have deaf kids. They can do it too."