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| 5/4/2009 12:14:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article | Chessher honored, McKissic still a Tiger
MHB nabs lineman of year Armstrong from SP
JON GARRETT
Sports Editor
High school sports have come to a virtual standstill in Texas thanks to the advent of the swine flu, but that has not slowed down the good news for one Central Texas team.
Just a couple of weeks after learning that defensive tackle and District 16-5A lineman of the year Darnell Armstrong has chosen to continue his football career at the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor, state football semifinalist Stony Point continued to be the recipient of good news.
First, the Tigers capped a season that began with high expectations and ended with most of them fulfilled, with head coach Craig Chessher being named the 2008 Class 5A Dave Campbell's Texas Coach of the Year.
Stony Point's coach since 2004, Chessher has led Stony Point to consecutive district titles and the school's only playoff appearances since the school began fielding a team in 2000.
Chessher took over the job after acting as defensive coordinator for a Galena Park North Shore team, known for its defense, that won the state title in 2003. And defense has continued to be the staple of his approach at Stony Point.
After a 0-10 start followed by a pair of 3-7 seasons, Chessher had laid the foundation for successes at the nascent football power and in 2007 it paid off. The Tigers' cruised to an 8-2 regular season finish, the school's first district title and first playoff berth.
While improved defense was a huge part of the transition from district patsy to strongman - Armstrong was the anchor of a defense that allowed just 12.7 points a game during this year's playoff run, which ended with a last-minute loss to eventual state champion Allen - it was the arrival of quarterback Nyk McKissic on the scene that gave the Tigers the edge they needed to move from good team, to great.
After throwing for 1,853 yards his junior year to spark the team's first postseason run, McKissic came into the 2008 campaign heavily lauded, but without one of his biggest weapons in all-state running back Ryan Nunn.
It didn't matter. McKissic threw for 2,216 yards and 18 touchdowns his season to finish among the top quarterbacks in Central Texas.
After much consideration the phenom, known as much for his production on the field as his intelligence off, signed a letter-of-intent to play football for Mississippi's Jackson State University, whose most notable football alum is Walter Payton.
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