'Fight ‘em until Hell freezes over, and then fight ‘em on the ice.'

-- TCU’s Dutch Meyer

'Three things happen when you pass, and two of them are bad.'

-- Texas’ Darrell Royal

'Never been licked.'

-- Movie about Texas A&M's Corps of Cadets

'I didn’t think anything of it at first. Then I thought to myself, ‘My God, he’s coming out here to hit me.' ’

-- Rice’s Dick Maegle before Alabama’s Tommy Lewis came off the bench to tackle him in the 1954 Cotton Bowl.

'He could take his’n and beat yours’n, and then he could take yours’n and beat his’n.'

-- Former Oilers head coach Bum Phillips on Don Shula

'I've found that prayer works best when you have big players.'

-- Knute Rockne, Notre Dame

'They beat us like a tied-up goat.'

-- Texas Tech's Spike Dykes

'Always remember that Goliath was a 40-point favorite over David.'

-- Shug Jordan, Auburn

'Football is not a contact sport, it is a collision sport. Dancing is a contact sport.'

-- Duffy Daugherty, Michigan State

'In Alabama, an atheist is someone who doesn't believe in Bear Bryant.'

-- Wally Butts, Georgia

'Football is only a game. Spiritual things are eternal. Nevertheless, beat Texas.'

-- church sign in Arkansas before 1969 Shootout

'Son, you've got a good engine, but your hands aren't on the steering wheel.'

-- Bobby Bowden, Florida State

'Gentlemen, it is better for you to have died a small boy than to fumble this football.'

-- Bobby Dodd, Georgia Tech

If these phrases get you thinking about great football moments you have experienced, then maybe the

Touchdown Club of Houston

is for you.

Community-Service Projects

The TD Club assists area high schools through community-service projects. The Club has awarded more than $180,000 in scholarships to almost 250 high schoolers in Greater Houston in the past 13 years, and have given out about $170,000 in weights and weight equipment to 34 Greater Houston high schools in the past eight years. The high schools receiving weights are Booker T. Washington, Forest Brook, Reagan, Smiley and Houston Sterling in 2002; Kashmere, Madison, Scarborough, Wheatley and Worthing in 2003; Milby, Northbrook and Westbury in 2004; Furr, Sharpstown and Houston Austin in 2005; Willowridge, Jones, Sam Houston, Aldine and Yates in 2006; Eisenhower, Houston Lamar, Pasadena and Scarborough (again) in 2007; in 2008, Dulles, Furr (again) South Houston and Spring Woods; in 2009, Booker T. Washington (again), Hightower, Spring and Waltrip; in 2010, Alief Hastings and Jeff Davis; and in 2011, Alief Elsik, Reagan (again) and Bellaire.

Sean's Shoes

The TD Club has teamed up with the Houston Texans' Sean Washington, the team's director of player development, to distribute excess cleats and tennis shoes to high schools in the area. The Texans players receive multiple shoes that they cannot use each season, and the TD Club funnels those shoes to needy high schools. So far, schools assisted are in HISD, Fort Bend ISD, Lamar Consolidated ISD, Anahuac, C.E. King, Goose Creek ISD, Bridge City, Pasadena ISD and Spring Branch schools Northbrook and Spring Woods.

Upcoming Program

Seven Greater Houston high school football teams were named Touchdown Club of Houston sportsmanship winners on Jan. 25, at the 2012 Comerica Bank Sportsmanship Luncheon, presented by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
First place in Class 3A/Private Schools was Stafford High School. The other finalists in this classification were Columbia, Houston Christian, Lutheran South and Saint Thomas.
There were three places for the Class 4A division, which had 15 finalists. First place for the Class 4A Division went to New Caney. Worthing named as the second-place winner and Terry and Magnolia tied for third. The other 4A finalists were Galena Park, Jones, Lamar Consolidated, Montgomery, Santa Fe, Scarborough, Spring Woods, Houston Sterling, Summer Creek, Wheatley and Willis.

In the Class 5A division, there also were three winners. First place was Cypress Lakes, with Dickinson finishing second and Bellaire third. The other finalists were Brazoswood, Clear Brook, Cinco Ranch, Cypress Creek, Cypress Ridge, Dulles, Katy, Katy Taylor, Klein, Lamar, Sam Rayburn and Westbury.
The voting for the awards was done by the referees from the Texas Association of Sports Officials, Houston football chapter. The referees filled out postcards after each game and mailed the postcards to an accountant representing the Touchdown Club. The referees graded on actions of the head coaches; actions of the players; actions of the support personnel, such as the band, parents and pep squads; and respect for the American flag.

JOIN THE TD CLUB ON FACEBOOK

Go to Touchdown Houston on Facebook and ask to friend us, and we, of course, will say yes. Then you can see the photos from the Sportsmanship Luncheon, as well as photos from the High School Awards Dinner and the Texas-Texas A&M Luncheon. You also can find out about upcoming TD Club events via Facebook. Join us, because we think this Facebook thing is going to be around for a while!

GREATER HOUSTON SENIOR SHOWCASE

Sat., Feb. 18, 2012 - Methodist Training Center at Houston Texans facility.
More than 385 student-athletes representing 120 area high schools participated in the showcase in 2011, which provided an opportunity for local area high school seniors who did not sign Division I scholarship letters to showcase their skills and academic prowess to Division II, III and NAIA colleges to receive scholarship offers to continue their education. The event is free of charge to the student-athletes and to the colleges and universities. In 2011, there were 27 colleges/universities who attended and 208 participants received scholarship offers.

To register for the Senior Showcase, Click Here:

About The National Football Foundation: The Touchdown Club is the Houston chapter of the NFF. Founded in 1947 with leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame -- a non-profit educational organization -- runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 121 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind.; the NFF Hampshire Honor Society; the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Alumni Association; the NFF Gridiron Clubs of New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas; Play It Smart; and scholarships of over $1 million for college and high school scholar-athletes. The NFF presents the MacArthur Trophy, the Draddy Trophy, presented by HealthSouth, and releases the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings.
For more information, please visit www.footballfoundation.org.

Seven schools took home trophies for the 2012 Comerica Bank Sportsmanship Awards, presented by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Winning first place in the Class 5A division was Cypress Lakes, with second by Dickinson and third to Bellaire. In the Class 4A Division, the first-place winner was New Caney, with Worthing second and Terry and Magnolia tying for third. Stafford won the Private School/Class 3A division, where only one award was given. At the luncheon where the awards were presented are, from left, FCA's Eric Anderson, TD Club president Benny Pace, Cypress Lakes coach Robert Blackshear (first place, Class 5A), New Caney coach Brady Pennington (first place, Class 4A), Stafford coach Bill Wilson (first place, Class 3A/Private Schools) and Comerica Bank VP Pamela Lovett.
Photo by Neal Farmer