School Spotlight: Hightower High School

Hightower High School is a school located in Missouri City, Texas, a city in the southwestern region of the Houston metropolitan area. Playing in the 6A Region III District 20, the Hurricanes had a successful season in which they ended district play with a single loss and were able to win two playoff games in the postseason, knocking off Morton Ranch and Heights, before a valiant effort against King High School fell just short. After a run of nearly a decade without a playoff win, Coach Cornelius Anthony has done an incredible job in turning around the program with consecutive years of multiple playoff wins, and I was able to discuss a little about the magic of the program and what inspired this quick turnaround.

Coach Anthony cited the reputation of Hightower as a football powerhouse in the area as a major reason for his initial desire for the head coaching job. Seeing it as an upgrade in his coaching career, he was ecstatic to be the chosen hire of a number of candidates for the position.

“I’m a huge character guy, I’m real big on character, I’m real big on discipline, I’m real big on character development.”

-Cornelius Anthony

Watching Hightower from afar before becoming head coach, Coach Anthony saw the potential in an incredibly talented and skilled roster but noted the lack of discipline as holding them back. In a win against Hightower while coaching B.F. Terry in his previous position, he was able to pull out a win despite the obvious talent difference because touchdowns repeatedly got called back on Hightower. This merge of talent and discipline is what he believes fueled their recent successes.

The coaching staff at Hightower dedicates a tremendous amount of time towards getting to know the athletes and teaching them life skills, as well as how to be productive young men. Coach Anthony’s mindset is that if he has to entrust the amount of hours it takes to formulate a game plan into his athletes that sometimes requires sacrificing his time away from being with family and loved ones, then has to trust that everyone on the roster is someone about the team. He has to make sure they are trustworthy and reliable to execute his game plan and so the team spends a lot of time preparing in order to shine on game days.

“What makes us stand out, and any kid in our program will tell you, we treat each and every one of those boys as if they’re our own sons. And I’m not saying other coaches don’t do that but we are intentional about that.”

-Cornelius Anthony

The biggest highlight for the team this year was being able to experience their second consecutive ten win season. Coming into their first ever season in the 6A division, the most competitive level of football in Texas at the high school level, they were able to carry the momentum from last season and finish with a 7-1 record in district play to finish second, an incredible accomplishment. The biggest learning lesson for the team this season was ironically being able to learn the lessons from situations when things did not necessarily go the teams way. Not only learning but also being able to put those setbacks behind them and move forward with a strong mindset. Coach Anthony cited the dominance of the Hurricanes in regular season play as one of the reasons they found it so difficult to handle the adversity of their playoff loss. However, this is one of the things the team has decided to focus its attention on in the offseason, creating adverse situations on purpose and making sure the kids respond the right way. Learning, making the adjustments, and moving forward is the mentality they want to establish.

Doing things outside of football and school is what really helps seal the bond between teammates at Hightower. An example that Coach Anthony was able to give me was their group trip to the movie theater to watch the newest movie “Creed III,” a great example of a sports movie about overcoming adversity. The team also does a lot of community service work, at places like their feeder elementary school or around the campus. Game nights and tailgates are a few other things he listed, but creating those memories and bonding experiences above all is the most valuable thing taken from these experiences. All previous teams that he had been successful on had established a brotherhood with a close tight-knit bond, and this Hightower team to him is no different.

“When the relationship extends beyond football, now I’m playing for my brother as opposed to my teammate. I’m willing to do more and lay it all on the line more than I would for a co-worker or a teammate.”

-Cornelius Anthony

When asked to name some prospects to watch for the 2023 season, Coach Anthony respectfully declined to name any specific players due to the team-effort nature of the game. In his opinion, every single player is equally important to the success of a team, and as successful as some people are no one is above the rest and would not enjoy that success without the other parts of the puzzle that are the rest of the team.

Coach Anthony is eyeing another ten win season as a goal for the program as a start, but every objective for the school is to be 1-0 every week. Building towards being a state-caliber team, the team eventually hopes to become contenders and bring the first state title to their district since 1982. From a micro standpoint though, that starts with being 1-0 in every play, every assignment, every call. Those small victories, according to coach, contribute to big-picture winning in the long-run. With this type of mentality, there is not doubt Hightower will continue to succeed in the coming years and cement its stature in Texas high school football.