When Tigers Streak

Book excerpt: In the mid-1990s, the Onondaga Central Tigers were on the brink of extinction. Contemplating retirement, coach Paul Taylor faced the low point of his career. After years of decline, the football program at Onondaga Central High School in Upstate New York had so few eligible players that they couldn’t finish the season. It took grit, commitment, and inspired leadership for the team just to hang on and start the long climb back. And then, in 2000, the miracle they needed arrived: an undersized ninth-grade transfer who already had a reputation as a standout running back—Michael Hart. Seven years later, Hart was on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a contender for the Heisman Trophy, college football’s most coveted award. Through the eyes of Hart’s coach and mentor, When Tigers Streak follows the young running back as he sets more than a dozen state and national records during a stunning high school career. Along with Hart’s rise, the memoir chronicles a coach’s path from despair to victory, the resurgence of a football program in a tight-knit blue-collar community, and the individual triumphs, heartbreaks, and tragedies that unfold along the way. When Tigers Streak makes a case for Michael Hart as the greatest running back in the history of high school football—and serves as an inspirational tale for any young athletes aspiring to be their best.