ARLINGTON, Texas — I love the smell of football in the morning.

Especially when it’s Texas high school football.
Come September, you can sense it in the air, that feeling of excitement, of anything-can-happen, Friday night danger.
If Texas high school football came in a package, it would carry a Surgeon General’s warning, just like cigarettes, so out-of-staters would know what they’re getting into if they dare to venture across the state line.
“Enter at your own risk. Texas high school football can be hazardous to your health. Here there be Tigers.”
And Bulldogs, and Wildcats, and Panthers and Wolves and all sorts of other ferocious creatures.
So it came as no surprise to those of us who have grown up around Texas high school football that the Trinity Trojans out-muscled, outran and absolutely out-haired the visiting Bingham (Utah) Miners, 42-21, in the Breakfast Special Monday morning that kicked off Kirk Herbstreit’s Varsity Football quadruple-header at Cowboys Stadium.
“They picked us for a reason to play in this game,” said Trojans’ junior running back Tevin Williams, who led the Trinity offense with 210 yards rushing and three touchdowns on just 22 carries. “Me and my team just wanted to show that Texas has the best athletes and we play the best football.”
Understand, Bingham is no slouch. The Miners are fast building their own legacy, having won the Utah state championship in 2006 and losing in the finals last year. Coming into the 2009 season they were on a 55-9 run over the last five years. They came in already 2-0, averaging 33 points a game and with a victory last week over the team that had beaten them in the title game last season.
This, Bingham head coach David Peck stressed to his team, would be the biggest game in Utah high school football history.
“Oh, I think so, because I don’t think anybody’s ever played in a venue like this and playing one of the top teams out of Texas,” Peck reiterated before kickoff Monday. “This is a great opportunity, not only for our school and our community, but our state, to show that we can play a little football, too.”
Around here, a little just isn’t enough.
Peck’s approach was exactly the opposite of Trinity coach Steve Lineweaver, whose young team — only two starters returning from a team that was ranked No. 1 nationally for several weeks in 2008 — was playing its season opener.
“I don’t want to disrespect anyone from Bingham or Coach Peck,” Lineweaver said after the game. “He had to do what he had to to get (his team) ready.
“It scared us, though, the way they were talking about this being the biggest game in the history of Utah (high school) football. I didn’t want to pass that on to our kids. I was afraid that might have been a little too much for our youngsters.”
Both teams faced pressure. Bingham wanted to prove that one of the best — maybe THE best — high school football teams in Utah could hold its own with one of the best in Texas. Lineweaver didn’t want to put that kind of pressure on his team, but you can’t fool the kids. They knew they were playing for Texas pride.
Winning, for the Trojans, was important on a personal, team and state level. This was a statement game, with both teams trying to prove something.
“I think we did that,” Williams said. “We could have played better, we had a lot of mistakes, but we still showed what Texas can do.”
Memories were made Monday. The Trojans and Miners became the first high school teams to play in the $1.2 billion Jerry Dome, providing another potential worry for the coaches involved. Would the players be so bowled over by the venue and the 22,000 fans in the stands that they would be distracted from the task at hand?
“When I saw their eyes when we came out and walked around, I didn’t see that ’Gollll-llly’ look there,” Lineweaver said. “We kind of got that out of our system with a visit (earlier).
“I was real pleased with what I sensed before the game, and we got off to a good start, so they were obviously ready to settle down and play.”
Then there was the fact that while Euless boasts the largest Tongan community in the country, Bingham is second in that department. Some of the Bingham players even had Texas relatives in the crowd.
Thus, the competition actually began before the game, with dueling “Hakas,” the war dance that prepares warriors for battle.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life,” said elated Trinity senior linebacker Paul Olie, whose Tongan-style hair blankets his shoulder pads.
No high school player ever had. That’s what made it all so special. It was a day to remember, but Lineweaver didn’t want to consider all the implications. He knew that in the end, it had to about football.
“All I know to do is tell our guys to go as hard as they can for seven seconds, then reload and go to the next play,” Lineweaver said. “We never even talk about winning the game, we just talk about playing hard and earning the respect of our opponent.
“The only ones we want to impress are those 11 guys (on the opposing team) out there. Two ways we want to impress them: we play hard and we play with class.”
It’s Texas high school football. There’s just no other way.
Welcome to Texas, Bingham, Utah.
Ya’ll come on back and see us sometime.