Willie Bans says: Grandfalls-Royalty gets wins despite lack of depth

Yes, it’s called six-man football because you need just six players to play it.

But depth helps, like the kind they have at Fort Davis and Rankin, whose preseason rosters listed 25 and 21 players, respectively.

Before the season, we took the annual Odessa American football tour to Grandfalls-Royalty and found five.

Five.

A couple were taking care of off-the-field matters, but the sight on this Wednesday practice in early August was of a five-piece band, not a football team. A celebrity entourage, not a full squad. A 2-3 zone defense, let alone a 3-3 stack.

But it was indeed a team, a family, one that welcomed new members during practice: community members and ex-players from the town of fewer than 500 people stopped by to hold bags or run scout plays.

“It brought us together as a team,” Cowboys head coach Art Rodriguez said. “We’re a more cohesive group. I’m very proud of these kids because they’ve worked hard from day one. We knew numbers would hurt … but we’ve been able to overcome those with these kids. Even though we’re 3-4, that’s success for us because of numbers and youth.”

It’s success because last year’s team didn’t win a single game, the closest to it a 66-62 loss to Westbrook.

Last Friday, Grandfalls-Royalty, with eight players because two were academically ineligible, defeated Westbrook 69-16, stopping the District 6 Division II game at halftime because of the 45-point mercy rule.

Westbrook had 10 players, not many, either. But this was Grandfalls-Royalty’s second win over a varsity squad, the other against a junior varsity team.  More importantly, Rodriguez said, the Cowboys are “learning how to win.”

Learning to do more with less.

Learning to not use it as an excuse.

“(Senior fullback and defensive end) Joe Spann said, ‘This is a great win, we expected it — but we’ve been inconsistent,’ ” Rodriguez said of a postgame speech more satisfying than his own. “He said, ‘Great job, great win. But we gotta win more games to make something of ourselves.’ ”

I’d argue they already have.

The last time senior spread back Roy Ramirez had played a full season was two seasons ago, when he was an all-state sophomore receiver.

He broke his collarbone the first game last year and didn’t play the rest of the way.

Going into this year, he was the best the Cowboys had, though they didn’t exactly know what that would be. All they knew was they were going to be short in numbers — awfully short — and Ramirez would have to take on a bigger role.

“Everyone in the district knows it,” Rodriguez said. “He will touch the ball 95 percent of time and make sure something will happen.”

Ramirez, who has six interceptions and 37 tackles, tasked himself to do as much.

“I had to step up my senior year and come out and be positive every practice, Monday through Thursday, get them fired up,” Ramirez said. “The responsibility is unbelievable, but I stepped up.”

Friday’s starting lineup consisted of two seniors — Ramirez and Spann, who’s rushed for 448 yards and five scores and made 32 tackles — one junior and three sophomores.

Though the team maxed out at 11 players and then the roster decreased because one quit, the starters are all guys who’ve been there since the beginning.

For the players to organize for the team photo that day in August took a few seconds, required no shuffling and resulted in no smiling.

It reflected the moment: it was the beginning of a difficult year, understaffed and inexperienced.

Yet they believed success was possible, with a little help from each other.

Yes, you can count the number of players on two hands, one depending on the day.

But they can count on each other.

“We kept our heads up,” Ramirez said. “Friendship-wise, it’s all around, everybody. That’s what helps us. Our friendships, keeping each other up.”