BY NOLAN RUTH
X – @RealNolanRuth
The football program at Peaster High School is barely five years old but already has aspirations of making it to Arlington sooner rather than later. In just its second year as a part of the University Interscholastic League (UIL), 2021, the Greyhounds already found themselves in postseason play before falling to defending state champion Tuscola Jim Ned. They made another postseason appearance in 2023 where they fell to Clyde in the final minutes of the Bi-District round.
However, something happened in between those playoff berths. In the offseason before the 2023 season former head coach Gary McElroy announced his departure from the program after being the one who led Peaster into UIL competition and to its first playoff appearance. This opened the door for Trevor Owens to come in and stake his claim on the new fledgling program.
In just his first season, Owens was quick to turn the Greyhounds into his team, and one that people would remember no matter how far they went. After the first round loss to Clyde in 2023, Owens was quoted “Do you think Aledo and Brock were built in a day?” This lone question showed exactly where he expects his program to be, as both Aledo and Brock have played for a combined five state titles since Peaster started its football program.
In the second year under Owens’s leadership, the Greyhounds got off to a fantastic start but got shaken up midseason with the coaching staff. After the first two district games, which Peaster won, a coach was let go for undisclosed reasons. Owens knew exactly where to go to fill the vacancy.
“We had a coach leave and I knew exactly where I wanted to go,” Owens told GM Sports Media before a crucial district game against Paradise.
Before taking the helm at Peaster, Owens had been on the staff at Lubbock-Cooper when the Pirates fell in a tight contest to Aledo in the semifinals. That day Aledo’s quarterback was none other than Jake Bishop, who is now a coach at Weatherford ISD.
But it was not Jake that was offered the job, nor his brothers Matthew or Luke who also quarterbacked at Aledo. It was their father Lee Bishop, who was the offensive line coach for the Bearcats from 2009 to 2022 before retiring.
“We had the opportunity with a coaching spot opening up to bring in some experience,” Owens said in his official statement about the hire. “We happened to have a connection to Coach Bishop and he was interested in joining our staff. He is [officially] helping us out with the defensive line, but his overall coaching experience is going to help us across the board.”
Because of the experience Owens had going against the Aledo program, he decided to go with the old saying “If you can’t beat them, join them.” Or in this case, have them join you.
Bishop was on staff at Aledo for ten of the Bearcats’ 12 state championships and oversaw several Division One lineman who went on to top college programs.
Owens pulled Bishop out of retirement to head up both sides of the ball on the line. This is a move that many believe will bring great success to the Peaster football program.
“He’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever been around,” Aledo head coach Robby Jones stated. “He helped Aledo get to where we are now and if he sticks around long enough, he will help Peaster win a lot of football games.”
Jones and Bishop worked alongside each other for many years as offensive coaches before Bishop retired and Jones took over head coaching duties at Aledo. But it was also a former defensive Aledo coach that had much praise for the hire. Current Brock head coach Billy Mathis also had words of admiration to give about Peaster’s hiring of Coach Bishop.
“What I believe that makes Coach Bishop so great is his consistency,” Mathis said in a written message. “You knew he would be at the fieldhouse before anyone, doing his Bible study to start the day right. The O-Line knew exactly what their job was. He is technical with each step and hand placement. His guys were going to work together like a well oiled machine.”
But it is not just the game aspect that Bishop brings, it is the human aspect.
“Most importantly, the guys knew he loved them,” Mathis reminisced about their time coaching together. “He pushed them hard and expected perfection. The standard is championships.”
It could not be said any better. Owens knew exactly what he was doing with this hire. Granted, 3A ball is much different from 5A ball. But the expectation is still the same. That is why former Aledo head coach Steve Wood had just a few words to say, but it spoke volumes.
“Peaster is lucky to have Coach Bishop,” Woods stated. “He is one of the best in the business. He is a tireless worker and a great leader of young men.”
Woods also added a line the Bishop loves to say to his athletes, which explains how he can coach them so much, but they have to be the ones to execute.
“He will help them be as good as they can be.”
The Greyhounds still have a long road ahead to establish themselves as one of the great programs. However it is safe to say that the addition of Lee Bishop on the coaching staff will not only speed up the process, but it might just be the next step to get Peaster playing under the dome before they know it.
