Last season is history to this year's Douglass Trojans

Chris Compton looked good in spring practice (pictured here) and summer workouts as he tries to take over the quarterback job for defending Class 4A state champion Douglass.

Back in the middle of the summer, I asked Douglass coach Willis Alexander if he ever worried that his team would relax, or lose its edge, after winning a state title. The year before, the Trojans had lost in the title game, and that loss seemed to be the driving force behind everything they did.

Once they won it all, would they still have that fire?

Alexander said he that was his biggest fear shortly after the victory last year. But then, his players lessened that fear.

“The kids wanted to get right back to work,” Alexander said then. “It wasn’t hard to motivate them and keep them motivated.”

Alexander was prepared. He had things to hold up in front of his players, particularly his seniors — like the chance to be the winningest class in school history over a four-year period. Then came the opportunity to play on national TV against DeSoto, Texas, at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, which provided yet another motivating tool.