By Thomas Jones, Sports Editor

The words spoken by Derek Long after his Chaps dispatched of Bowie could have come verbatim from any coach’s handbook.

This win is big, sure, but they’re all big, he said. Even if we had lost, we would still be OK, he declared.

Long’s right, of course. Friday’s win was just one of 10 regular-season games, and it did just give the Chaps one District 25-5A win. Plenty of games remain on the schedule, including this week’s tilt against Pflugerville.

But actions speak louder than words, and what happened on the field after Westlake’s victory over the defending district champions testified to the importance of the Chaps’ win. Linebacker Ellis Glaw whooped like a fourth-grader on the last day of school, his exuberance fueled by the excitement of the Chap support at Burger Stadium. Coordinators Sul Ross and Lane Grigg exchanged a firm handshake and a meaning glance, both knowing that the win offered some 2008 validation for a system that has worked so well for so long.

And Long? After the interviews and accolades, he swept up his wife, Nancy, in a big bear hug full of joy and more than a little relief. This one was real big, and no amount of coachspeak could diminish what this victory meant.

In the most important regular-season win this program has had since battling 4A powers LBJ and Reagan in the early 1990s, Westlake accomplished several pivotal feats.

The Chaps garnered a healthy dose of confidence after three lopsided defeats in nondistrict play. They beat a 5A team that ended the season with a winning record for the first time since 2006. They unleashed an offensive assault that resembled that of the 2006 state finalist team.

Most of all, they showed that Westlake football remains relevant. The Chaps stood tall against a barrage of criticism – from inside and outside the community – and a barrage of points from a Bowie team that smelled blood, and they responded with a gut-check win. Friday’s victory certainly doesn’t equal a playoff triumph, but it’s the next best thing.

“I’ll probably be able to sleep tonight for the first time in six weeks,” Long said after the game. 

He smiled as he spoke those words, but the truth lurked a little deeper. The losses had hurt Long, a career Westlake coach whose pride in the program runs deeper than the waters of Lost Creek. Friday meant more than a notch in the win column or a leg up in the district race or a good night’s sleep. 

It meant that the Chaps could overcome adversity. When it comes to football – and life, as Long always says – nothing can be more important than that.