How Damon Sisa kept his cool to help Houston end Oakland's TSSAA football title streak
CHATTANOOGA — Damon Sisa just wanted a photo with the state championship trophy, but he patiently waited as it made round after round with his teammates.
The Houston running back managed to stay calm all night Saturday, even after the Mustangs took down three-time defending Class 6A champion Oakland 24-9 for the school’s first TSSAA football championship.
“I cried for a little bit, like five seconds after the game. I’m just even-keel. It definitely helps in a game like this,” said Sisa, who was named the championship MVP after rushing for a game-high 179 yards and one touchdown on 30 carries. “My coaches tell me my job and I get the job done, I guess.”
That attitude came in handy when Houston hitched its championship hopes to the 5-foot-7, 171-pound senior on a slick night at Finley Stadium. Rain fell in sheets and saturated the turf. Oakland fumbled three times, losing one, and Houston recovered its lone fumble.
Sisa didn’t drop the ball once, even though he says he hates playing in the rain.
“He might not have one fumble lost all year,” Houston coach James Thomas said. “If it’s more than one I’d be shocked, but it might be zero.”
Sisa played two of his best games to help the Mustangs close out their first championship. He rushed for 148 yards and a season-high three TDs in a 28-0 win over Brentwood in last week’s semifinal.
He enrolled at Houston as a sophomore after his family moved from Marion, Arkansas. Thomas was intrigued by the quiet kid who began showing off elusive moves in practice.
“He’s a warrior, man,” Thomas said. “He’s not big in stature but he’s got a big heart, and when he’s got the ball he’s electric. We put it on his shoulders and he showed us what he’s made of.”
Sisa helped sustain drives in the first half as Houston (13-2) took a 10-6 halftime lead, flipping the script by outrushing an Oakland (12-3) team that has controlled Class 6A with a dominant run offense.
More: Houston wins first TSSAA football championship with win over three-time defending champ Oakland
His 2-yard touchdown put Houston up 17-9 with 11:43 remaining in the fourth quarter. Those were the Mustangs’ first points since a field goal early in the second quarter.
Sisa finished the season with 1,449 yards rushing and 20 touchdowns on 211 carries and has scholarship offers from Middle Tennessee State, Arkansas State and Austin Peay. He said he plans to visit MTSU soon.
But Saturday, he was just looking for the gold ball so he could have a photo of himself holding it.
Finally, he got one.
“It’s crazy,” Sisa said of his team making program history. “It’s hard to even think about right now.”
Reach sports writer Tyler Palmateer at tpalmateer@gannett.com and on the X platform, formerly Twitter, @tpalmateer83.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA football championship: Damon Sisa leads Houston in win vs Oakland
