The Memory Behind Austin Eastside's Miracle Playoff Run

Austin Eastside is the most unlikely playoff team in Texas high school football.

The Panthers endured 51 straight losses from 2017 through 2023, one of the state’s longest streaks. Head coach Luis Becerra was hired in the midst of that streak on July 9, 2018. At his first team meeting, four faces stared skeptically back at him. He had to hit the hallways to recruit his own students to the football team, miraculously convincing ten others to join. Austin Eastside scored 14 combined points in those first two seasons. The lack of numbers forced the coaches to field one football team across all four grade levels, creating a harrowing cycle of varsity teams composed almost exclusively of freshmen. Most would quit after one season.