A Texas-sized show of support on Highway 287 has the Bearcats rolling into Thanksgiving week believing in more than football.
HENRIETTA, Texas — You might be more likely to find a cowboy than a football player in Henrietta — a small town where horses, hats and hard work are part of the uniform. And last Friday, on the road to round two of the playoffs, you could find both.
As the Henrietta Bearcats’ team bus pulled onto Highway 287 bound for Coppell, a group of parents appeared on horseback — American and Henrietta flags in hand — pacing the bus so closely the players erupted inside. The moment, captured on video, didn’t just go viral. It went full Texas.
But the men in those saddles? They want to make something clear.
“We’re not trying to get any fame off of this video stuff or any of that,” said Ross Coleman, one of the dads who organized the sendoff.
The spotlight wasn’t the goal. The support was.
“You could see how pumped up the football players were,” Coleman said.
“The boys loved it so much,” added fellow dad and cowboy Coye Cody.
A postseason spark
Henrietta didn’t make the playoffs last year — coach Jay Jones’ first season at the helm. But a possible deep run this fall lit something in town. And among parents, it sparked an idea that needed saddles, horses and a stretch of 287.
“We were brainstorming on what to do, over the top to do for these boys because they’ve worked so hard this year,” Cody said. “I was like, you know what? I saw a friend’s dad do something on horseback that was pretty cool in the Panhandle years ago. Let’s do that.”
Coleman and Cody are cowboys by trade, football dads by heart. Coleman’s son Cruse — a top-10 rusher statewide — ran for four touchdowns and 108 yards in last week’s win. His other son, Cooper, is the team’s leading receiver. Cody’s son, Pate, catches passes, too. All three are marching into the regional round together.
“This just shows what our community is about, embracing that cowboy side of things,” Jones said.
A Texas sendoff that gave people chills — and a win
Last Friday’s ride was no small gesture. As the bus rolled toward Coppell for round two, Ross and Coye wrangled together a sendoff straight out of a Texas highlight reel — flags snapping, horses sprinting, players pounding the windows in disbelief.
“That’s me leading the charge there in the tan jacket — Coye has got the American flag,” Coleman said.
And yes — the video spread fast.
“All over Facebook and Instagram and all that fancy social media,” Coleman said with a laugh.
It seemed to work, too. Henrietta beat Callisburg 48–21 in the Class 3A Division II area round — their toughness on full display. Jones credits that to how his players were raised.
“You get kids that are already tough-nosed, because they’ve had to work hard for it,” the coach said. “We’ve got a couple of kids, their dad is in professional bull riding. They’re cowboys. Being tough — that’s something our kids are bought into.”
Another sendoff is coming Friday
The Bearcats now meet powerhouse Gunter on Friday in Denton — and the dads say the horses aren’t staying home.
“We’re going to do somewhat of the same thing,” Cody said.
Because to them, the saddle and the sideline share a truth that stretches far past football.
“If they actually put in the work like they have all season, they get results from it. The same way in the world of cowboying,” Coleman said. “You reap what you sow.”
And in Henrietta — this Thanksgiving week — they’re reaping belief.
