Photo: Cleburne celebrates a undefeated district championship (Cleburne ISD)
By Brian Gosset
X – @gosset41
X – @gmsportsmedia1
Cleburne opened the playoffs on Monday night with the game’s first 39 points against FW Arlington Heights at Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center. You read that right, a 39-0 start in the Class 5A D1 bi-district round. Making its first playoff appearance in five years, the Yellowjackets (#16 in the latest TABC 5A state rankings) won the game 80-15. It was the program’s first playoff win since 2019.
The team’s magical and historic ride continues – now with a second round matchup with defending 5A D1 champ Denton Ryan, which is coming off a 51-19 victory over Granbury on Monday. Ryan, #2 in the state, is 32-4 while Cleburne improved to 26-8.
The Yellowjackets extended their win streak to 12 games.
They’re also fresh off a 14-0 record in District 8-5A – winning their first district championship since 2014. Cleburne finished the regular season outscoring opponents by 16 points per game and holding teams to under 40 a contest.
Both numbers increased after the route on Monday.
At the helm is head coach Tiffany Hill, in her second season with Cleburne. In her first campaign during the 2025 season, she led the Jackets to a 20-15 record and 7-7 in district. They missed the playoffs by one game – coming down to the final night, a 35-33 loss against Everman.
“Last year, being a first-year head coach and brand new to the scene, I had to learn a lot,” Hill said. “We were young. We had nine sophomores and one junior, and I felt like being a young brand new coach, we had to figure things out. It was important for us to jump in and see what this game was all about.
“Figure out what we do well, our strengths and weaknesses, and improve on it in the off-season. I spent about three months in the off-season – looking at what it took to require us to go to the next level, to take this team from missing the playoffs by two points to going to the playoffs and solidifying a spot. We spent a lot of time growing and building, and probably doing things that were uncomfortable to our players, but now they get to the see the benefits of it.”
Against Heights, Cleburne started with 39 unanswered points and its defense made it difficult for Heights to even make it past half-court. Cleburne led 55-9 at the intermission. Another run to begin the third quarter, 11-0, pushed the lead to even bigger margins at 66-9 midway through the frame.
Cleburne led 71-10 going into the final period (going 16-1 in the third stanza).
Hill mentioned the buy-in from her kids which has been a big component to this success. “Talent will only get you so far. It takes everyone to buy-in and do the little things to see your season become successful.”
Another factor was a tough non-district schedule.
The Yellowjackets played in the Dallas Mavericks tournament, Allen Hoopfest and Mansfield ISD Spring Creek Invitational. “I wanted to find the best competition I could so the kids could say even though we’re not winning, we’re competing against the best. That’s the only way to grow, when you’re not afraid to play the best.”
What makes Hill unique compared to most of her colleagues, especially her fellow female coaches – she played football and coached football. Prior to Cleburne, Hill worked with Johnson County neighbor Burleson ISD and got the opportunity to coach on the gridiron alongside a former Dallas Cowboys quarterback.
Jon Kitna, who was Burleson’s head football coach at the time, reached out to Hill and gave her a chance to coach football. Hill coached for two seasons, her first year with the running backs and her second year with the wide receivers.
As a player, Hill played both positions but was primarily a running back.
Hill spent 10 years playing women’s tackle football. She was also named to the USA Football Coach Advisory Council. Hill played with the Dallas Diamonds, Arlington Impact, Dallas Elite and Texas Elite Spartans. She won the Women’s Football Alliance (WFA) Championship in 2017, and then began playing in the Women’s National Football Conference (WNFC), winning league championships during the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
She spent seven years with Burleson ISD before Kitna made the call.
“I wasn’t really interested. I thought I wanted to be a principal,” Hill said. “When Jon Kitna reached out – I thought to myself, wow someone of that capacity wanted me on their staff, it was pretty encouraging. It was a cool opportunity. I am grateful for him thinking outside the norm and outside the box. He gave me a chance and we did some great things.”
