Devine football is based on one word; tradition. Last Spring, we lost Dean Bates, who was known to be the Godfather of that very tradition. However, in a little community, anyone who passes will never be forgotten.

“Coach Bates was really the founder of the success that Devine football has had in recent years. He brought us his program, and to this day we use his coaching tactics and philosophies. There is not one coach on our staff that wasn’t affected when we lost him. We will always have our special stories about Coach Bates,” Coach George Villa said.

So as a way to honor and remember Coach Bates, the Warhorse coaching staff came up with the idea of “pride stickers.” Every varsity football player has two pride stickers. One that has DB, for Dean Bates, and the other with BB, standing for Bates’ Bucks. Buck was Coach Bates own little nickname for all of his players.

“We decided on the idea of pride stickers last Spring when we lost Coach Bates. We thought they could be a way to honor him and continue the legacy that he left behind,” Head Coach Chad Quisenberry said.

After every game, single B stickers, standing for “buck”, are awarded to the players for certain things. Such as touchdowns, 150 yards rushing, “pancakes”, “laying the wood” or big hits, forcing turnovers on defense, recovering fumbles, every five tackles, every five broken tackles, and every five chop blocks; but all of these can only be earned with a win, which is a sticker for every player.

“I think the pride stickers are a really cool thing, it’s something new for us. It’s somewhat of a competition in the locker room to see who has the most after every week. I have 29 stickers after four games, but I’m hoping I can fill up my whole helmet by the end of the year,” runningback Jordan Fraga said.