Houston football team earns Alaska Hall of Fame's Trajan Langdon Award

Months after its storybook season, the Houston Hawks football team continues to earn acclaim. The latest honor is the Trajan Langdon Youth Award, given by the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame.

“Pretty honored. Humbled and excited,” Houston head coach Glenn Nelson said. “Pretty much in awe.”

Nelson’s Hawks put together a historic 2019 prep football season and capped it with their first state title in program history. Houston used 34 unanswered points to beat Barrow 41-8 in the Division III state title game in October of 2019.

The Hawks spent the 2019 season making school history and rewriting the program’s record book. Houston beat Barrow on the road for the first time ever and scored its first win over Alaska small-schools power Eielson. Houston, which first fielded a team in 1997, finished 10-0 and undefeated for the first time.

The Hawks finished the season averaging 42 points per game, while allowing only seven per game, by far the best in the state.

Houston is also only the second Valley team to win a state football title joining Palmer, which won it all in 1995.

The award is named after Trajan Langdon, one of Alaska’s most notable and successful homegrown athletes. After staring on the basketball court at East Anchorage High School, Langdon was a standout at Duke University and was selected by Cleveland in the first round of the NBA draft. Langdon is currently the general manager of the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans.

“Such a heavily respected, well known guy from Alaska,” Nelson said of Langdon. “That fact he lends his name to the award makes it more special to us.”

Nelson said that there are many things that stand out about the 2019 Hawks as a team.

“You mostly look back at how unselfish the kids were,” Nelson said.

Nelson used the team’s wishbone offense as an example. Some days a running back would get 20 carries, other days four.

“They never complained,” Nelson said.

Nelson said the 2019 season has produced more excitement in both the school and the community.

“There are a lot of Houston sweatshirts and hats being worn around town,” Nelson said. “It’s something to have pride in, rally around. It means a lot to the community that the football program did well.”

Contact Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz at editor@frontiersman.com.