THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Houston High School Athletics

Hays Adams remembers one of the first Houston boys soccer scrimmages of the season. Houston was scrimmaging a team from Jackson and fell behind 1-0 early. He remembered overhearing a few of the players on the other team say, "Is this really Houston?" Adams, a sophomore defender for the Mustangs, and the rest of his team took that as an insult. It became personal. They respect the winning tradition that has been established within the soccer program. Since then, it has used that moment in the scrimmage as motivation this season. Even if the team is largely different than last year. No matter how many players return from the previous season, the expectation for the Houston boys soccer program remains the same: play for a state championship. “Our coach, he demands everything from us,” Adams said after Houston’s 3-0 win against Germantown in the Region 8-AAA semifinals. “I feel like each game we start hard and keep pushing to get that next win. I feel like that tradition has helped us a lot this season to keep winning.” The Mustangs are one of the most successful public school soccer programs in Tennessee. And they’re a season removed from the seventh state championship in program history and first since 2015. They don’t overlook winning, nor do they overlook opponents, but they know the program is known for winning state championships. Inexperience or new faces within the program isn’t going to halt their ultimate goal. "It’s the culture of Houston,” said Mustangs coach David Wolff. “They’re not just playing for themselves, they’re playing for the past and for the people that played before them.” The Mustangs (10-1-2) play Collierville on Wednesday as it attempts to win its sixth consecutive region championship. Wolff said this season is vastly different than last, primarily with a lot of players graduating from the 2021 team. This season, senior Cage Warmuth has played a big role in anchoring the defense as one of the four returners from last year’s team. He said a lot of the younger guys on the team play on different select soccer teams in the offseason, so building unison amongst the team has been the biggest challenge. “One of the things this year that we focused on as seniors is getting everybody together and play as a team,” Warmuth said. “It really helps you play better, even if you’re missing some of the incredible talent that you had some other years.” Houston doesn't look like a team of new players trying to learn how to synchronize with each other. They communicate constantly throughout the game. They congratulate well-played through balls and pick each other up after minor mishaps. They look like a team ready to defend its state championship. “Yeah, we’re confident, I think we have a good team this year,” Warmuth said about the possibility of back-to-back state titles. As it seeks a sixth straight region championship and return to tournament host Murfreesboro, Houston knows the target on its back is getting increasingly larger. But rather than focusing on what could be awaiting them next week, the Mustangs are focused on winning against Collierville and then the sectional game on Saturday. Only then will they shift their focus to the Class AAA state soccer tournament. “That’s what we do here,” Wolff said. “Make sure that we are concentrating on what’s next. If you start projecting beyond that, then you’re going to fail miserably.”

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Houston High School Athletics

HOUSTON BOYS SOCCER FOCUSED ON DEFENDING TSSAA STATE TITLE, ONE GAME AT A TIME

WYNSTON WILCOX

Commercial Appeal | 5/18/2022

PHOTO CREDIT: Christine Tannous