ORANGE, Texas — Within the Golden Triangle of sports in the 409 lies a program that helped bring that name to Southeast Texas.
West Orange-Stark and it's legendary Head Coach Cornel Thompson ran the game of football for decades.
Once Coach Thompson's time came to hang up the headset and ride off into the sunset of retirement, he wanted to do something special to commemorate the many illustrious ballgames the Mustangs had over the years.
From that idea became the history novel about the historic program dubbed "West Orange-Stark Football, A Way of Life."
The book became an instant success.
On the afternoon of July 20, Coach "T" set up shop at Granger Chevrolet in Orange, Texas to sell copies and supply autographs to those who desired it.
Little did he know the sheer amount of people who were ready to take home a piece of Mustang history home with them.
"I'll tell you what, I really think we opened up a can of worms! I didn't realize so many people knew about football that I've been meeting," Coach T said when asked about the overflow of love and support for his book.
Inside of the novel you will see the many seasons of West Orange-Stark football put to paper for your reading pleasure.
Also within the pages you'll begin to get to know the heart behind the greatest Texas High School football coach in history.
"I've always been interested, other than just football players, I'm interested in them as people. That's how we won," Coach said when asked about the legacy he hopes he not only left behind, but sowed into the pages of his book.
Southeast Texas is no stranger to having some of the greatest overall athletic talent, not just in the state, but in the entire nation.
However, you can argue the backbone of what gave birth to the major success seen in this great area began years ago when Cornel Thompson was named Head Coach of West Orange-Stark football.