Five-year plan builds a Nine-man power

History buffs should be familiar with the concept of a five-year plan, a name given to a series of economic development schemes in the Soviet Union during the 20th century.

When it comes to modern implementation of a five-year plan, though, few can claim to have laid out and carried through a blueprint better than Houston football coach Jason Freed. In 2004, he took over a high school program that hadn't made it to state in a generation. His approach was simple.

"I sat down with who I thought were the best leaders in each class and made out a five-year plan," Freed said. "I told them the traditions we wanted to put into this program. We started to slowly build things up, realizing we could only take so many steps each year."

The first two years were a struggle, including a 1-8 record in 2005. But that was followed by a 6-4 season, then an 11-1 campaign and a berth in the state quarterfinals last season. This year? Houston is a perfect 13-0 and one game away -- in Friday's Nine-man championship against Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley -- from its first Prep Bowl title.

A plan is nice; the means to implement it is essential. As is often the case in small communities, the resurrection has come on the backs of a special class that folks have seen coming for a while.

For Houston, that is this year's senior class. Many of them have played on the varsity since their freshman years, the aforementioned one-victory season. But coaches and players recognized a greater good would come from that experience.

"The seniors right now got a lot of playing time, and that definitely prepared us for the years ahead," senior Kevin Lindh said. "I think the most important thing was our work in the offseason, our weight room work. That goes hand in hand with how fast and strong you are, and the stronger and faster team usually wins."

Lindh and quarterback Andy Sires, another four-year starter, have been key players all season. In Houston's semifinal victory over Ada-Borup, Lindh rushed for 195 yards and three touchdowns, caught a 30-yard pass and returned a kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown. The lopsided 56-14 final score was nothing new for the Hurricanes, who have been steamrolling opponents all season.

"What's been fun this year is we have lots of weapons," Freed said. "Thirteen different guys have scored touchdowns. That's just been fun to watch, and it's hard for defenses to key in on one person."

The town of Houston, in the extreme southeast corner of the state, has rallied around the team's newfound success. Freed and his assistants have seen a resurgence in football interest at the youth level -- an example of how a five-year plan can be extended to a model for sustained winning seasons.

The attitude has changed. The players they've been waiting for have arrived. What's left?

"It's like we're climbing a mountain, and there are all the different summits," Freed said.

The final one, then, is Friday.