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December 18, 2020.
Sacred Heart Catholic School, Hallettsville, TX
Football Coach
David Husmann, a two-sport athlete at the University of Houston in the early 1970s who went on to become one of the winningest coaches in Texas high school football history, died on Friday. He was 67.
His death, at South Austin Medical Center, was confirmed by his daughter, Angie Ebrey, who said the cause was complications from COVID-19.
Husmann spent parts of three seasons as the backup and eventual starter at quarterback for the Cougars, including Bluebonnet Bowl appearances and final top-15 rankings in the 1973 and ’74 seasons.
As the backup, Husmann scored the final touchdown for No. 14 Houston in a 47-7 win over Tulane in the 1973 Bluebonnet Bowl at the Astrodome, completing a then-school record 11-1 season. The following year he led the run-based UH offense in passing with 524 yards as the Cougars finished 8-3-1 and tied North Carolina State 31-31 in the Bluebonnet Bowl.
Husmann later played catcher for the Cougars for two seasons from 1975-76.
After several stops as an assistant coach, Husmann built a dynasty in the early 1990s at Schulenburg, a Class 2A school about 95 miles west of Houston. During a five-year stretch from 1990-94, the Shorthorns went a combined 69-6 with two state championships and three perfect regular seasons.
Schulenburg won back-to-back state titles in 1991 and 1992. Under Husmann, Schulenburg won 139 games and made the state playoffs 11 times in 13 seasons from 1985-98.
He coached eight seasons at Gladewater, making a trip to the state semifinals in 2001, and five seasons at Weimar. He coached the Weimar girls golf team to a state title in 2011.
Husmann was never away from football for long, coming out of retirement on at least three occasions, his daughter said, including in August when he was asked to become athletic director and head coach at Hallettsville Sacred Heart.
Entering this year, Husmann had a career record 217-91-1 and 16 playoffs appearances in 26 seasons.
“He was his happiest on the football field,” Ebrey said. “He kept a sketchpad under his chair in the living room while he watched football on TV. He would write down plays and talk about them. I picture him in Heaven calling plays or walking up and down the sideline. It was his gift. He was definitely meant to do it. He loved football.”
A 1971 graduate of Madison High School in Houston, Husmann is survived by his wife and junior high sweetheart, Karen, and three children – Angie, Kristin and Bonnie – and 10 grandchildren. His father, Edward, played 11 seasons in the NFL with three teams, including the Dallas Cowboys (1960) and the Oilers (1961-65).
Funeral arrangements are pending.