High school football season wrapped up and the big names in UIL got their shine, but the program at Harvest Christian Academy Lantana has quietly become a six-man powerhouse.
The Saints of Bartonville became back-to-back state champions after beating the Lubbock Titans by a score of 34-28 in the 2025 TAIAO State Championship.
It was the final game in HCA Lantana’s perfect 12-0 2025 season.
Head coach Scott “Brick” Reeves said the success comes from the players developing together and playing fast-paced football.
“It’s amazing, the players have really developed, improved and come together to play well as a team,” he said. “Six-man football is very high-paced and exciting and we scored a lot this season, but I think the reason for our season for our success has been our defense.”
The Saints held teams to single digits four times this season, including a shutout in the regular season and the playoffs. They gave up an average of 13.42 points per game while scoring about 47.67 points per game.
HCA Lantana’s success didn’t come out of nowhere in 2025, it was a continuation of what the program has been doing since it was started in 2020.
The Saints beat the Titans 70-49 in the 2024 TAIAO State Championship and also won state titles while playing in the Texas Christian Athletic Fellowship conference in its inaugural 2020 year and again in 2021.
HCA Lantana Athletic Director Tyler Schweigert said the success of the program has been encouraging and it has given the campus a chance to make a name for itself.
“In the five year’s the campus has been open, we’ve been very successful on the football sides of things,” he said. “With four state championships, having a top-notch six-man football team is becoming somewhat of an identity for our athletics program.”
Schweigert said Reeves did a great job of meeting the high expectations of coaching a team that won a state championship the year before.
“He really pushed them to work as hard as ever,” he said. “To get to a perfect 12-0 season and fight hard in the championship game is quite the accomplishment.”
Reeves said the key to the team’s success was consistency.
“Some don’t understand how hard it is to actually get to the state championship game, much less win it, and then how impossible it is to do it two years in a row,” he said. “It all goes back to the players: their work ethic, persistence and consistency.”
With such a new program, Reeves said the support from the community is a huge help to the team’s success.
Whether it’s meals for the players or travel accommodations, Saints parents were there.
“The school, the community, the atmosphere and the culture at Harvest has really encouraged us to do well,” he said. “The parents of the players stepped up to help with all kinds of stuff and we’ve really felt it.”
Reeves said every player did their part and more, including changing positions and sometimes playing offense and defense in the same game.
He couldn’t point out a single player that helped the team more than any other, which goes to show how bought in the players are to the program, not just individual performance.
“It’s definitely a team effort and it’s grueling, it’s a lot of work, but they bought in and every win led to more confidence,” said Reeves. “To single out one player would be a disservice to the others because they all came together to play well.”
Friday Night Lights covers every square inch of Texas, and Reeves said being a part of it is special, no matter the size of the team on the field.
“Texas high school football is the best and to be a part of it is great,” he said. “To be a state champion makes it even better.”
