AUSTIN – Looking upon a handful of shellshocked faces Friday, Hays Rebels head coach Les Goad instilled upon his players that football, as in life, is often filled with hard knocks.

A 70-14 loss at the hands of the state-ranked Westlake Chaparrals, which abruptly ended the Rebels’ seven game win streak and possibly their district title hopes, hit that point home.

But for Goad and his staff, challenging players to respond is imperative with two more regular season games left. As an im...