You need not worry about Klein Cain coach James Clancy taking the COVID-19 pandemic seriously.

“I’m on a boat on Table Rock Lake,” the coach chuckled as he picked up the phone. “I’m definitely socially distanced right now.”

The family vacation is well-earned for the 37-year-old coach — in two hard-fought years, Clancy helped build the young Cain program into a force.

It didn’t always look like that, though; when Klein ISD opened the school in 2018, the Hurricanes opted to immediately play varsity football instead of playing a JV tune-up schedule. It was much more difficult, but all part of Clancy’s trial-by-fire approach.

“The thing I told our kids in the beginning is that we only know one way to coach, and that’s at a varsity level,” Clancy said. “We’re never going to play the victim. We took our fair share of lumps that first year.”

Those lumps — a 2-8 inaugural season — forged the program as a group of talented youngsters began to emerge. As the 2019 campaign progressed, the Hurricanes notched a signature win: a 28-14 upset win over perennial power The Woodlands. But that progress was soon undone by a disappointing loss to The Woodlands College Park, setting the stage for a must-win Week 11 tilt with mainstay — and Clancy’s former employer — Klein Oak.

“It was almost cinematic,” Clancy said.

It’s true: hard to write the script wherein Cain withstands the cold and rain, rallies to take the lead late, and blocks a would-be game-winning field goal to clinch the program’s first playoff spot. It was a moment of deep satisfaction for Clancy, and for his squad.

“It was neat to see the kids who had courage to open a school get that... [read the full article at TexasFootball.com]