With names like Danny Joe, Jerry Tom and Dan Ray, they came from a close-knit small town in north Texas where football was king. The Pilot Point Bearcats hadn’t lost in their past 42 contests and were back-to-back defending Class 2A state champions. On Thanksgiving day of 1982, the biggest obstacle in their path to a third straight title was the top-ranked Eastland Mavericks. As the dust settled on a wild fourth quarter, Eastland would rally in the final seconds to emerge wit

Ten years ago. Nathaniel “Nate” VanLinder was greeting his father, who surprised his family by coming home for Christmas from active duty in the Army. This year, the surprise was Nate got to come home between his training and being stationed in Europe. “I got really lucky and kind of unlucky as well because I got quarantined in AIT, so if I didn’t get quarantined, I’d actually be in Germany right now,” Nate said. That quarantine was because of a sinus infection that led to Na

Angel Tree distribution pivots to continue serving area families By Abigail Allen Managing Editor Volunteers from Shepherd’s Storehouse and Midway Church did angelic work on Monday morning. As families served by Shepherd’s Storehouse drove up, the volunteers loaded up the vehicles with bags of Christmas presents. “There’s not enough room at Shepherd’s Storehouse right now with everything because of the pandemic,” said Tona VanHook, one of the coordinators of this year’s progr

By Abigail Allen Managing Editor When the Pilot Point bands took to the field at Massey Stadium on Tuesday night, more than just a holiday concert was about to unfold. The band, band boosters and athletic boosters worked together to incorporate a special moment for Brad Nesbitt and his sons, band member Garrett Nesbitt and football player Ryan Stewart, who missed out on having him with them during the senior night in September. “It was amazing,” Brad said. “I was crying in th

By Abigail Allen Managing Editor Three FFA teams at Pilot Point High School have been competing at the state level this week, but this year’s competition has had a twist—the competitors haven’t left town. The Career and Leadership Development Events competitions have happened remotely. “For district and area, everything was — our speeches and our performances — were recorded, and then we’d do live Zoom call questions,” Piper Brownlee said. “And with state, we’re given the opp