By Tommy Wells
sports@mineralwellsindex.com

If the old adage “if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best” is true, the Strawn Greyhounds have nothing left to prove.

During a historic playoff run, Strawn rolled over everyone in the path, including two of the greatest six-man powers in the history of the sport in Richland Springs and Gordon.

Fresh off a 58-29 win over the Follett Panthers that solidified its claim as a Texas superpower, almost everyone agrees the Strawn Greyhounds are the best six-man team on the North American continent. Strawn was officially recognized as the national six-man champion by Six-Man Illustrated magazine earlier this week.

"It's pretty amazing to see what this team has accomplished," said Six-Man Illustrated co-publisher John Armstrong. "It is with great pleasure that we declare the Greyhounds the national champions."

By being named the SI national champion, Strawn joins Richland Springs, Panther Creek and Gordon as the only other six-man program to be named the top team in North America more than once. Richland Springs was selected the nation's top program in 2004, 2006 and 2007. Panther Creek won the honor in 1992, 1993 and 2000.

Gordon earned the title in 1996 and 1999.

Strawn, which had put together an amazing 14-1 record this season, received eight of the nine first-place votes cast by coaches and members of the media from throughout the United States and Canada.

The Hi-Plains Patriots received the only other first-place vote, and finished sixth in the overall final rankings. Hi-Plains finished the 2008 season with a 12-0 record and won the Colorado six-man state finals.

Amazingly enough, the team Strawn edged out in the national title poll was its biggest rival - Gordon. The Longhorns finished second in the final balloting. Gordon, 11-2, was the only team to deal Strawn a loss this past season, claiming a 60-30 win at home on Halloween night.

Ironically, Gordon was the only team to beat Strawn during its last national title season in 2003.

The Abbott Panthers were ranked third in the poll. The Panthers finished the year at 13-1 - their only loss was a wild 102-70 loss to Strawn in the state semifinals.

Richland Springs finished fourth. The Coyotes' quest for a third straight national crown came to an end in the first round of the Division I state playoffs when Strawn rallied to claim an 83-72 win.

The Coyotes ended the year at 10-1.

The Calvert Trojans, the preseason favorite to win the SI national crown, were fifth overall. Calvert went 9-1 this past season, their only loss coming to Abbott in the state quarterfinals.

Greenville Christian turned more than a few heads this past season. The Eagles put together a 12-0 run that culminated with a win in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools' large-school title game.

Greenville Christian was sixth in the SI poll, finishing just ahead of Hi-Plains and Borden County, the Texas Division II state champion.

The Coyotes were the only undefeated public school in Texas in 2008. Borden County rolled to a huge win over Woodson in the small-school title game.

Follett, 11-3 overall, and Throckmorton rounded out the SI top 10.

Throckmorton is the only team other than Richland Springs or Strawn to win a national - or Texas state title in the past six years. The Greyhounds won the 2005.

According to Armstrong, Strawn will be presented the SI national championship trophy later this year.



SI National poll

The following is a look at the final 2008 Six-Man Illustrated Top 25 poll, according to coaches from the United States and Canada and members of the U.S. and Canadian media. First-place votes are in parenthesis.



No. Team (First-place votes) Record

1.Strawn, TX (8) 14-1

2. Gordon, TX 11-2

3. Abbott, TX 13-1

4. Richland Springs, TX 10-1

5. Calvert, TX 9-1

6. Greenville Christian, TX 12-0

7. Hi-Plains, CO (1) 12-0

8. Borden County, TX 14-0

9. Follett, TX 11-3

10. Throckmorton, TX 8-3

11. Fort Davis, TX 13-1

12. Garden City, TX 10-3

13. Greeley/Wolbach, NE 12-0

14. Vernon Northside, TX 8-3

15. Meadow, TX 10-3

16. Paducah, TX 8-2

17. Rockwall Heritage, TX 11-3

18. Highwood, MT 10-2

19. May, TX 7-3

20. Ira, TX 7-4

21. Geraldine, MT 11-1

22. Woodson, TX 10-5

23. Idalia, CO 10-2

24. Highland, TX 12-1

25. Hondo, NM 9-2