VIDOR — Drive down Main Street in Vidor for a few miles and you'll see something a little out of place. Grown men practicing on a pee-wee football field. They are the golden triangle Seminoles. A semiprofessional football team playing in the Texas United Football Association, a minor football league.
“(It costs) between 20 to 40 grand,” said Wilford Scypion, Owner and head coach of the Seminoles. “Between the jerseys the field, you have to pay for everything basically.”
It is safe to say Scypion is invested. After playing for the Austin vipers, another semi-pro team, in his 20's he wanted to bring his love for the game back to the southeast Texas area.
“I wanted to do my own thing,” said Sypion, now head of security at Beaumont’s Baptist Hospital. “I want to start my own team. And I wanted to be involved in the community, the football, is the biggest part, but the community comes first. And I wanted to establish that with my own team and that's how you got the Seminoles.”
So every week grown men averaging in their mid-twenties, travel around the state, lace up the cleats, strap on the shoulder pads and go and hit. But why? For some it's the love of the game. For others it's the adrenaline rush. But for many it's in hopes of getting noticed and getting signed to a professional contract.
“It's what I worked hard for my whole life, to be able to play for a professional team,” said David “Trey” Green, the Seminoles Quarterback.
Trey Green was a star quarterback for Beaumont Ozen High School graduating in 2012. Unfortunately he tore his ACL before his senior year of high school and most of his scholarships were revoked. All except Prairie View A&M. He tore his ACL in the same knee again his sophomore year at Prairie View, but was able to rehab. He became the starter in 2015, breaking school records for the Panthers in passing yards and touchdowns, but on homecoming in his senior year, this promising prospect tore the ACL in his right knee. For most, this would be enough to never pick up a football again, but trey is giving it one more chance with the Seminoles.
“I got healthy enough to do a pro day for the Houston Texans,” said Green, 23. “And that's why I’ve been trying to play this so I can get a CFL, Arena (contract), whatever I can to get to the next level.”
However, not all of these guys want the shot. Some just play for the love of the game. Russell Dycus, a 31 year old offensive lineman says, he just loves to play football. For reference, the average age of an NFL football player in 2017 was 26. And the average number of players on rosters above 30 is seven. But Dycus just loves to hit. After ending his football career at Tyler Junior College to become a cheerleader to help pay for the remainder of his education, he understands what another chance can mean for some of these players.
“This is that bridge that they would take to hone their skills and hopefully earn that second chance,” said Dycus, a crane operator by trade. “Because it is a very difficult thing to get up to the next level not because of talent, but because there is so many people. There are so many good people, you really have to stand out. So that's the reason I see these guys trying to do it like that.”
Dycus does have a point about the sheer number of people trying to go pro. According to ncaa.org, over a million high schoolers participate in football nationwide. Of those million just over 70,000 participate in NCAA football, Division I, II, or III. That's only 6.9 percent. Of those 73,000 who go to college like, Green or Dycus, only 16,000 are draft eligible and only 253 are drafted. That's 1.6 percent. A longshot to say the least.
Despite those lofty goals, the Seminoles are thriving, at 6-2 on the year, they are leading their division, and look primed for the playoffs -- another chance to get noticed. But what happens when your team isn't doing well? Do you still get that attention? Is the drive still the same? Go down the road to Port Arthur, and you will find the Titans. Playing in front of a crowd of about 10.
Despite being 0-8 on the year, a handful of players are still striving for that goal. Just like the Seminoles these men are, not being paid. If they did, they would not be allowed back to college should the chance arise. Still these men grind on.
“It's been a struggle, but every game we've played we've been in,” said Glen White, owner and coach of the Titans.
White was a former player on the Dallas Cowboys during 1989 and ’90 seasons, so he knows what it takes to get to the next level, but despite owning the team that's been around for the longest in southeast Texas, the Titans may have hit a wall. White's goal is to get the players who are on the team, 17 of them at last Saturdays game, one more look.
“It's not about winning or losing, it's about getting better,” said White. “Each week we are getting better and better.”
One of the players who is living by that motto, Nick Gouthie, a former walk on at the University of Houston back in 1999. He couldn't afford to go to school any longer and had to come back home to southeast Texas, now a nurse, he has a shot at trying out for the New Orleans Saints in a month.
“What playing on this team will do, it helps you to stay refined, keeps you in the game, keeps your strength up, and it just gives you an opportunity to keep playing ball, stay in the game,” said Gouthie.
Even though times are tough for the titans of Port Arthur, don't underestimate the passion of a football player.
“It's a toss-up,” said D.J. Ballard, who travels from Houston to play. “I want to get that burn out of me, that desire to keep playing, I don't want to stop playing football until I’m completely done, but I would like to go to the next level. I would like to get paid for my passion.”