Sweet Water’s Friday night win over Speake not only hands the school its first back-to-back-to-back state championship run, it also caps the playing days of a senior class who ends its tenure with an overall record of 50-5.

“Overall our record is 50-5 and it’s a good feeling,” senior Antonio Landrum said of the accomplishment.

After the final win, Sweet Water head coach Stacy Luker said the group’s success came as a product of their response to the leadership of the classes which have preceded them.

“They’ve always had somebody to model after,” Luker said.

“I feel like all the seniors that I’ve been with in the past couple of years have showed us how to handle ourselves,” Landrum explained.

Those examples helped the program’s next graduating class overcome a series of adverse events en route to winning the school’s eighth state championship. The Class of 2009’s final on-field accomplishment may have been its most impressive as it put the cap on a season in which the Bulldogs had to replace five starters on the offensive and overcome early-season injuries to key personnel such as senior quarterback Damaraquis Williams.

“Our seniors this year really had a positive attitude,” Landrum said.

While the current group of seniors was intent upon continuing the school’s long-standing tradition of winning championships, it also made sure it continued another legacy that has proven vital to the success of the program.

“They were great leaders,” junior Johnny Lockett said of his senior teammates. “The seniors did a great job of helping us and guiding us.”

While Luker understands that he will have considerable holes on both sides of the ball to fill when his team takes the field in 2009, he is more focused on the intangible traits that will follow his current seniors out the door.

“These guys epitomize Sweet Water football,” Luker said of one of the most decorated classes in school history.