By Joe Alberico | Staff Writer
Four losses.
Thirty-six years later, it’s a number Tommy Roberts dwells on when he’s feeling regretful over his departure from Port Isabel High School.
“Why did I leave? That’s a good question I’ve asked myself a lot over the years,” he admitted. “I can’t even give you a good answer.”
During Roberts’ four seasons as the Tarpons’ head football coach (1978-81), opposing teams were often left the same way — answerless.
Roberts led Port Isabel to a four-year stretch of Rio Grande Valley dominance that saw the program post a 47-4-1 mark during his reign, including a sparkling 30-0 record in district contests. It culminated with a 13-1 showing in ‘81 that ended when the Tarpons fell short to eventual Class 3A state champion Cameron Yoe in P.I.’s first-ever state semifinal appearance.
And despite what some may consider an abrupt exit for Roberts, the 47 victories that preceded his last defeat in Tarpon blue helped cement Roberts as a Port Isabel legend and furthered a program tradition that is still present on the field all these years later.
Following his graduation from Texas State University in 1962, Roberts, a Leander native who turns 77 on Tuesday, earned his coaching chops at Aldeen High, Round Rock and Freer before landing in P.I. in ‘78.
Roberts, who later became the All-Valley football coach of the year in 1978 and 1981, took over for Elmer Harbour (19-3 in two seasons with the Tarpons), and wasn’t shy about the state of the program he was inheriting.
“I just inherited a great situation at Port Isabel,” Roberts recalled. “They already had some success in the past, and they had some athletes. I just had to call the plays.”
It wasn’t just Roberts on the sidelines, as the coach will gladly confess.
“My assistant coaches, they played a big part in the success we had,” Roberts said. “I had a great group of football minds that really kept the kids focused and ready to play each Friday night.”
Behind offensive coordinator Chuck Seidler, the Tarpons scored 418 points with the help of speedy quarterback Don Guillot, who commandeered a multi-headed monster of a rushing offense. Guillot was named the All-Valley football player of the year in ’81 after passing for 637 yards (seven touchdowns) and rushing for 580 yards (eight touchdowns). He was also a formidable defender, snagging 17 interceptions for the season. Behind Guillot in the backfield were also potent rushers Terry Roberts (coach Robert’s son and a 1981 All-Valley first team running back and linebacker) and Poncho Herrera.
“I always preferred to run it rather than pass it, because after you threw the ball, someone would have to catch it,” Guillot joked. “Coach Roberts really installed that run-oriented offense, and the tradition just kept going from then on.”
Guillot, who is now 53 and lives in Splendora, was a three-year varsity starter under coach Roberts, finding time at defensive back and QB. When asked if his coach’s evaluation of the Tarpon program prior to his arrival and his impact in the coming years was 100-percent accurate, Guillot had a slightly different take.
“Coach Roberts was always like a father figure to us. He instilled in us that if we had anything, whether it be on or off the field, he was going to be there for us,” Guillot said. “He gained everybody’s respect. We were all like a family, so to speak. We were never the biggest guys; we were always the smallest guys, but we always had the biggest heart. That — and coach Roberts — is what got us where we went.”
No one is likely to argue with Guillot. Well, maybe Tuffy Martinez, who has his own recollection of the memorable ‘81 campaign.
When contacted for an interview to discuss the ‘81 team, Martinez, a former Tarpons safety, fired back a quick response.
“Best defensive team from that year ever assembled in the Valley,” he sent via text message. “Forty-six interceptions and like six shutouts. Come on. Get some better figures than that and you might change my mind.”
Martinez’s pride in the ‘81 Tarpons defense is justified. But in fairness, he was actually underselling a nearly impenetrable unit. Behind P.I. defensive coordinator Eliseo Villarreal, the Tarpons defense, affectionately dubbed the “Seawall Defense” by P.I. fans, was ruthless.
The Tarpons blanked their first four foes of the year by a combined score of 95-0 before finally allowing a touchdown in a 34-6 rout of La Feria on Oct. 2, 1981.
“It was several weeks into the season, and we hadn’t been scored on. We were playing La Feria, and they scored on us right before the half, and the score was 30-something to 6,” Roberts remembered. “(La Feria’s) fans started chanting ‘We scored on you.’ So I guess you’re doing pretty good if that’s the best they can say.”
La Feria’s six points were practically a fluke. The Tarpons went on to slap Santa Rosa and Hidalgo with zeroes over the next two weeks, and in total, P.I. held opponents scoreless in 10 games, including two in the 3A playoffs. The defense surrendered just 53 points on the year.
“We took pride in not getting scored on,” said Martinez, who saw time as an assistant football coach at Port Isabel, Sharyland High, Hidalgo and Los Fresno before serving as head coach at Santa Rosa for one season.
“Our defensive coordinator was an excellent coach. We can’t talk about coach Roberts with out talking about coach Villarreal. He lived and breathed defense.”
But Martinez will admit that Villarreal was there because Roberts knew he needed to be.
“We were surrounded by great men, great tutors and great mentors,” Martinez added. “Coach Roberts assembled a staff that helped us excel. He was very stern. He demanded a lot from his athletes and his coaches. And he put in a lot of time and effort in continuing our tradition there at Port Isabel.”
Behind Monty Stumbaugh’s 124 victories and Tony Villarreal III’s 60, Roberts’ 47 wins are third most among Tarpon football coaches. However, his winning mark of 90 percent is far and away the best in program history.
“My take on coach Roberts is this: You have all the parts for an engine, but if you do not piece that engine together correctly, if you don’t have the right mechanic, that engine is not going anywhere,” Martinez said. “I always thought this about coach Roberts: Come Friday night, wow.”
The consensus from Roberts and his former players was a lack of physical size for P.I. on the field was overpowered by sheer will. The Tarpons’ closest victory of the season was a 10-0 tipping of Rio Hondo in the playoffs, and many contests were virtually decided by halftime.
“When we walked on the field, I never felt like we were going to lose,” said Hank Etheridge, Roberts’ senior starting center whom both his head coach and Etheridge’s teammates affirm weighed in at a frail 135 pounds during the ‘81 season. “We had always put in the work, — and worked hard — and we were going to win.”
Etheridge, a 1981 All-Valley first team center who now serves as commander for the Brownsville Police Department, said a majority of the ‘81 Tarpons took the field just as he did — undersized. Yet, Etheridge says that granted opposing teams no advantages where it counted most: The scoreboard.
“If you had looked at our size you would have said ‘Man, this team is going nowhere,’” Etheridge said. “All of us were small, but we all played with a lot of heart. But I think a lot of that was the good coaching staff that Roberts put together.
“He was a very passionate coach. He was a coach who cared. It wasn’t just about coaching, but developing the players as young adults and young men. I think a lot of the work ethic he brought to the team attributed to the success, both on the field and later in our lives.”
Port Isabel’s ability to play beyond its physical limitations was likely on no better display than during its showdown with Refugio in the regional round of the postseason. Heading into the matchup, the two teams traded No. 1 and 2 state rankings in both the United Press International and Associated Press polls, and would finally get a chance to settle the debate on the gridiron.
The Tarpons apparently weren’t in the mood for a lengthy discussion.
Behind another smothering effort from its defense, Port Isabel drubbed Refugio 36-0 to reach the state semifinals.
“There’s talent, and then there’s people that work harder,” Guillot said. “And (coach Roberts) made us work hard. He made us want it.”
Unfortunately, that desire wasn’t enough to carry the Tarpons for another week. The magical run ended seven days later, as Cameron Yoe turned an 18-14 halftime edge over P.I. into a 25-14 win en route to a berth in the state championship game.
Port Isabel reached the endzone in its first possession of the game, prompting Roberts’ cousin — Tarpons running backs and wide receivers coach Buddy Roberts — to proclaim the outcome of the game would be ‘just like all the rest.’
“But it wasn’t,” Tommy Roberts lamented. “Cameron Yoe was a tough team and they got the better of us that day.”
Cameron Yoe went on to defeat Gilmer to capture the Class 3A title.
The loss has done little to tarnish the greatness that was the 1981 Tarpons football team. Two P.I. teams have since reached the state semifinals, with Villarreal III (1994) and Stumbaugh (2003) sharing the feat with Roberts.
Roberts and Seidler’s run-heavy offensive attack has also stood the test of time, as Port Isabel remains a stout, run-first program to date.
“I think future coaches at Port Isabel just understood that the running game worked and P.I. produces athletes that can be successful running the football,” Roberts said. “If you can come in and say ‘We’re going to whip you (on the ground), and you know we’re going to whip you,’ it just shortens the game if you can get the job done. And ultimately, I think you just dance with the one that brung ya.”
With all of his success, the only detractor Roberts still faces today is himself. The choice he made to walk away from a growing powerhouse may forever pull at him.
“That was a special team,” he said. “You go through the business for years and years, and then some special things come together, and you stay injury free and this sort of thing, and good things just sort of happen.
“So, I don’t know why I left. Port Isabel is the greatest football community in the state of Texas — there is no doubt about it. Nothing is expected short of winning. If you coach in Port Isabel, you better win. There’s nothing that solves anything like winning. I love Port Isabel to this day. I can’t think of any downside.”
And yet, Roberts finally offered up one possibility as to why he walked away all those years ago.
“I guess I thought I was burned out on coaching,” he said. “It took me a couple of years to realize I wasn’t. And I have a lot of regrets about that sometimes.”
The one regret Roberts and his players will never have is the standard they set for future Tarpons teams — and RGV teams in general. The ‘81 season showed future generations that football success in they Valley does not have to be defined by district championships.
“We still carry that flag proudly,” Martinez said. “We’re proud of what we accomplished, and we want these newer generations to know that what we did can be done. The talent is here.”
Added Etheridge: “There’s a sense of pride that comes with being the first in P.I. history to reach that level of the playoffs, but it’s an even bigger honor to see that future teams reached that same level and that it’s known that things can be accomplished when you come together and work hard for it.”
As Roberts’ players finished their prep careers and moved on in their professional lives, Roberts returned to football in 1984 as the running backs coach for the San Antonio Gunslingers of the now-defunct United States Football League. When the league collapsed in ‘85, Roberts used it as a platform for a reunion with the high school game, and spent the next 10 seasons rebuilding the San Benito program.
In his third season, with Seidler once again by his side running the offense, Roberts transformed a floundering Greyhounds team into a district champion. By 1995, San Benito had become one of the top teams in the RGV. Two years later, Roberts left the program and retired from coaching.
“I think the art of high school coaching — ya know, the pros, I coached there, too — there’re some similarities. It’s not talent because you know (the pros) wouldn’t be there if they weren’t talented,” Roberts said. “In high school, talent isn’t the thing. You have to take that little ol’ kid who’s bony and clumsy, and find the qualities that he has and put him in the right place to be the best player he can be. And if you can put all of those players in the right spot, and instill in them to improve every day, you’ll have a chance somewhere down the line.”