This past decade, for the most part, was one to forget for the Yellow Jacket faithful of Cleburne… specifically 2017.

From the outside looking in, the cause for this embarrassment seems straightforward: the school’s football team finished with an 0-10 mark, losing its regular season contests by an average margin of 24 points – including a 66-13 defeat to Everman. It was the program’s worst campaign in recent memory.

However, the dysfunction that took place each Friday night of that woeful season wasn’t what made it infamously unforgettable for Cleburne.

Instead, it was the drama that succeeded it, which started with then-head coach Jeff Merket’s surprise resignation – which claimed ‘bullying and harrasment’ by the district’s athletic director and other higher-ups – made its way to the public eye in an explosive article from the Star-Telegram.

With that, it was clear: the Cleburne football program was in desperate need of a culture change. And once the dust was settled, the school board began its hunt for a new leader – specifically one who could cultivate off-field relationships and restore the program’s identity back to a place of respect and dignity.

After sifting through a reported 53 applicants, they landed on their target: Grandview’s Casey Walraven.

Walraven, a Johnson County native, had just completed his fifth year with the Zebras, bringing his record as a head coach at the school to 43-15. He had spent a considerable stint as the team’s offensive coordinator before taking over, and was recognized as a young, up-and-coming offensive mind in the world of Texas high school football.

On April 14, 2017, Walraven was named the next Yellow Jackets head coach.

“I think the No. 1 thing I saw was a need for a culture change off the field, first and foremost,” Walraven told TexasFootball.com. “It was a situation where I knew some people [in Cleburne] and they contacted me about the job and told me the situation. I wanted to look at my career one day and know I didn't take every job anticipating how many wins I could get.

"Instead, I wanted more of a legacy of making decisions based on what kind of character we can help build – and really make a difference that way.”

It’s a thought process that was music to the Cleburne school board’s ears. Although it’s not lost on Walraven that on-field success is also a priority for a town that hasn’t experienced it in quite some time, he’s become aware that properly building a winning program takes time.

“It starts with relationships off the field and ensuring that coaches, players, and everyone involved understand that before we can be successful on the field, we've got to build the off-field things successfully," he said. "I think we’ve laid that foundation, and as a result we expect to improve considerably each season.”

Following back-to-back 5-5 campaigns in 2018 and 2019, Cleburne finished over .500 in 2020, going 6-4 on the season and barely missing out on the playoffs.

“One of the things we came up with as a team to improve on is making up that last bit mentally – being able to close out games,” Walraven said. “We want to be the first Cleburne team in 20-plus years to win a playoff game.”

Entering his fourth year at the helm, he’s aware that a trip to the postseason is crucial to his program’s development.

“The kids we’re coaching weren't even born when that happened, so it's not like they've experienced it or even seen it," he said. "So, obviously, we must build those things with them mentally – to get them to believe, have confidence, and be able to overcome and adjust with adversity.”

With the expectations relatively high for 2021, the head coach maintains a focus on what got his team to this point.

“We're not going to waver from [our values]," Walraven said. "We're going to stick to whatever we feel we have to do to achieve our goals as a program – and we're going to demand it on a daily basis from our players and continue to promote the culture that we've built.”

When Cleburne went on the hunt for its new head football coach in 2017, some in the Texas high school football world deemed the job one that many high-profile coaches should steer clear of.

“Considering the negative press Cleburne's gotten, to bring in a guy with Casey Walraven's pedigree is big,” Dave Campbell’s Texas Football’s own Matt Stepp said via Twitter of the hiring following its announcement.

And while the on-field results seem to be on their way slowly but surely, the off-field improvements that Cleburne was in desperate need of have made an immediate impact on the town. And with the 2021 campaign – which will begin with an Aug. 28 showdown in Waco against Houston Heights – on deck, it’s clear that if nothing else, the Cleburne school board made the right choice four years ago.

“I feel like we're in a position where the community is proud of these guys now,” Walraven said. “I'm really proud of our coaching staff for what they've done and what they continue to do in helping build winners and elite people – both on and off the field – our way.”