This one’s for Jared

As I watched Houston head coach Glenn Nelson and defensive coordinator Jared Barrett clinch to the championship trophies as they posed for pictures with their players following a 41-8 win over Barrow in the Division III state championship game at Anchorage Football Stadium, I couldn’t help but think of an iconic moment in NFL history.

In January of 1998, after the Denver Broncos scored a win over the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXX11, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen stood with the Lombardi Trophy with legendary quarterback John Elway to his side.

“There’s one thing I want to say here tonight,” Bowlen said as he lifted the Lombardi. “There are only four words. This one’s for John.”

After covering Houston football for the past 18 seasons, I have only four words.

“This one’s for Jared.”

As I connect these two moments, ironically it’s a die-hard Denver Broncos fan who presented Barrett with the opportunity to coach football at Houston High School. Houston activities director Norm Bouchard, a former Houston head coach and Barrett’s mentor, added Barrett to his staff 16 years ago, and Barrett has been a staple on the sidelines ever since.

Barrett has played a major role in the evolution of Houston football, and holds a special place in the program’s history. Barrett was a member of the first Houston team to hit the field in 1997. He is the first Houston graduate to play college football. Barrett even married his wife Tami on the turf of Houston High School’s field.

That one’s hard to top.

There are many who deserve credit with helping the Houston football program become what it is today. Bouchard and fellow former head coaches Mat Bredburg and Todd Whitehurst were a part of building the foundation. Nelson has built a staff that has pushed the team to the next level. The Hawks have found an appropriate home in Alaska’s Division III level, and have established themselves as the team to beat. Houston is 29-8 since 2016.

There are so many storylines you can take away from the state championship game and the 2019 season. Houston beat Eielson for the first time and scored a win at Barrow for the first time during the season. The Hawks earned their first state title and finished undefeated at 10-0 for the first time. The Hawks are only the second Valley team to win a state football title. Palmer did it in 1995. The Hawks averaged 42 points per game, which leads Division III teams. Houston allowed only 7.1 points per game, which is the best at any level in Alaska. The Houston seniors, who were freshman when the Hawks lost in the state title game in 2016, found a way back to the championship and capped their careers with the title.

And there’s Jared Barrett.

Elway is who you think when you think Denver Broncos football. It took a fourth crack at the Super Bowl, the win over Green Bay, for the future Hall of Famer to get his ring. In most cases in sports, there is that person that’s synonymous with a program. On the local level, when you say Palmer High football, former longtime head coach Rod Christiansen is the first name that comes to mind. When you say Wasilla High girls’ basketball, you can’t complete the thought without a mention of the best to have ever done it in her sport in our state, head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax.

When I think Houston football, I think Jared Barrett.

After six 16 years of ups and downs, 16 years of long nights watching game film, 16 years of giving back to his alma mater, Barrett finally had the chance to celebrate a championship with his players and fellow coaches.

“This is everything to me,” Barrett told me after the game.

Congrats Jared and the Houston Hawks.

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