Howe Bulldogs Offensive Coordinator Dale West played his high school football games for Quinlan on the very field the ‘Dogs will play tonight. However, it is the first time West has ever been on the visitors sideline.
West grew up in Quinlan, Texas and graduated from Quinlan Ford High School in 2003 where he played quarterback in the slot-T offense under offensive coordinator Paul Kilby and Head Coach Billy Butler. West credits Kilby as the biggest influence in his life. Not only did he teach West the slot-T, but also became a father-figure to him. At 15, while in high school, West’s father passed away which led him to move in with his grandmother and then later his aunt. With both of them also soon passing, West found himself going from house to house without a place to call home. It was Kilby who took West under his wings and made sure he was okay.
“After I bounced from friend to friend’s house, I went to live with him for a little while. As I was going into college, they did a thing at their church to make sure I had money to start college with. He’s just a great guy. I don’t know where I’d be without him.” said West.
After West’s graduation from Texas A&M Commerce, he landed his first coaching position at Mathis High School as the offensive coordinator under his mentor and father-figure Paul Kilby, who was the head coach.
“We were 8-4 our first year there. They had lost multiple games the year before.” West said. “We went two deep (in the playoffs) and lost to Devine. The second year we went 10-3 and ended up getting beat by Navarro by a field goal in the third round.” With the success at Mathis and completely turning that program around, Kilby and West took their talents to Lockhart. They had also been a perennial losing football program and had gone 1-9 before they arrived. In the second year, Kilby’s coaching staff, including West, took them to the playoffs.
Coach Kilby then put his name in the hat for the head coaching job at Sweeny because they have the reputation of being a higher echelon football program. Kilby got the offer and West followed him there.
“We were there for a year and went 8-4 and went to the second round of the playoffs and got beat.” West said. “It was a fun year, but I had the opportunity to come here and here I am.”
West has run the slot-T offense ever since high school. He says that he would be a fool to try and run anything else.
“I don’t know anything else. From high school to all of my career of coaching.” said West.
It was actually Billy Butler at Quinlan who brought the slot-T to North Texas from South Texas by way of Orange Grove and Gregory Portland back in the 1980s. When Butler arrived at Quinlan, he brought Kilby with him and they turned the entire program around by using that offense.
“Coach Kilby taught me the offense when I was in high school and then I coached with him ever since.” said West.
2014 in Howe was West’s first year to not have Kilby to fall back on.
“It’s a learning curve for me because he’s the slot-T guru. He knows everything there is to know about it.” said West in an August 2014 interview.
It all started in Quinlan and now the slot-T son will return tonight to the field where it all began.
Tonight’s game will be broadcast live on HoweEnterprise.com and can be heard in real time (inside the stadium only) on 95.5 FM.
