gdickert

Coop, You said that "he's not done with it ..." Does that mean the final list is not complete? We're wanting to go to press this week with all-district, all-region and all-state and would like to include your all-area team, but wanted to make sure it was complete. Will you also name superlatives? MVP, Coach of the Year, etc.? Gerry The Silsbee Bee

Here a link to the story about Kountze basketball player Fred Boykins who had a seizure of some sort during the Bagg Insurance Tournament in Fort Worth recently .... [Hidden Content]

That's where I know Coach Carter from ... I used to cover small-school basketball for The Enterprise back in the 90s and the teams in Brookeland and Spurger were always really good ... As I recall, he's a pretty great guy beyond being a fantastic coach. G

Where has Coach Carter been before? Seems like his name is real familiar over Hardin County way ...

Back in the late 80s, early 90s, Larry Haynes had the Raiders 7-3 and 8-2 in consecutive seasons when they dropped to Class 3A for two years. In the 8-2 season, they lost to Hamshire-Fannett and Liberty in district. At that point, only two teams advanced to the playoffs, so Lumberton stayed home as the third-place team.

Hey, Coop ... Dana Thornton, the varsity volleyball coach in Silsbee, won her 500th career match tonight ... She almost had it this past Friday, but Bridge City got in the way. ... That was one fantastic match. There were several volleys that would have college recruiters drooling. Both are VERY good team ...

You guys realize that Remember the Titans almost completely mimics the 1982 West Brook story ... without the Motown dancing on the field ...

I grew up in Kirbyville, graduated Class of 1985 (which means ... good grief ... I turn 40 this year!) ... I can attest after having spent 20-plus years as a newspaper sports writer dealing with high school football fans and coaches from all over Southeast Texas, Kirbyville is among the classiest. It's a shame a few bad apples can cast a dark hue over an entire program. For those who know better, Kirbyville is a great place to live and a fine place to attend school. For those of you who don't know Kirbyville, you should give it a second look.

Once in high school, we traveled from Kirbyville to Anahuac for an away game. It seemed like it took us four days to get there and back again ... especially since we lost. The only thing that made it bearable ... since I was part of the Jasper radio stat team at the time, we got to ride on the van with the cheerleaders. Life was indeed tough ... :-)

I worked several years as a sports writer and sports editor for The Enterprise, so I had the opportunity to travel to quite a few stadiums around the area ... I've been in some AWFUL press boxes. The one in Kirbyville used to sway back and forth when the Wildcats made a big play. The boudain balls are THE best at HF. We used to fight over who got to go to Vidor because the moms there made the best spread of food in the press box. The plexi-glass in the Anahuac press box was fogged from being too old and you couldn't see through it. The press box in Newton? I actually carried a hammer with me one time to nail down one of the boards that served as a desk to work on during the game. Silsbee's old Kirby Memorial Stadium had the best grass in Southeast Texas. After Hurricane Rita, it hasn't been kept up and the weeds are waist-deep. The new Silsbee stadium is first class. Used to be that you could stand near the back wall of the press box at Cardinal Stadium and see straight down to the ground. I only did that once! WAY afraid of heights.

I was there ... Evadale won its homecoming 20-13 ... good defense at the end preserved the win. Way too many turnovers ... by both teams. ... Humidity was just hanging in the air and the footballs were slick. Good win for the Rebs.

West Hardin did a great job last night. They balanced their offensive attack and Kountze just couldn't seem to find an answer in the secondary to the passing game WH was throwing at them. The Oilers will do well this year, I think. As far as the Lions ... we're still 2-2 and getting better every week. The defense is doing a fantastic job, but the big offensive plays last night really showed that Kountze can score some points. Thomas Wolcott broke a kickoff return for a touchdown and Trey "Night Train" Howard, a big kid who can flat out punish linebackers, showed that he can move the ball in short yardage situations. When you transition from 0-7 to the next season, there are some wrinkles along the way. But we're beginning to get some of this stuff put together. It's really evident on the field. And if you want to see an athlete in transition, take a look at Kountze QB Neal Batman. He went from a part-time starter to full-time dominator. He scored a running touchdown last night late in the game. It was a run where he wasn't going to be denied. Great job, Kountze. It's only going to get better as each week goes by!!

Not sure how this topic became a West Hardin-HD smackdown ... But here in Kountze, we're proud of our two wins ... we're a program on the upswing. Last year we were 0-7 and now we're 2-1. Hull-Daisetta is a good ball club, no doubt. But Kountze was dealing with some personnel problems on the field that took care of itself by the end of the game. Sometimes losing a player is the best thing for a team. The Lions are a unified force now and win or lose, they will do it together as a team. I suspect they'll be a much bigger challenge for everyone this year than people expect. Coach Stan Hodges is in his second year as head coach and his offense is finally taking shape. Kountze is more balanced offensively as each week goes by. But, I'll have to tell you ... Kountze's defense is what separates these men from the boys. Chet Deaver is defensive coordinator over here and he's got these guys thinking they can stop the Texas Longhorns if need be ... A lot of any success is about having the right attitude. And the Lions defense believes it can win games for Kountze this year. Personally, I think they're right.

"We call it The Battle for Wal-Mart," Newton coach Curtis Barbay said. "You lose, you don't want to show your face in Wal-Mart the next week." When I worked as sports editor at The Enterprise, I knew I could always count on Curtis for a colorful quote. I think it was him who was talking about some stud running back up there, said "he's so strong, he has muscle in his crap." I hope Curtis coaches forever!!

DP ... does that stand for Deweyville Pirates? Even if you're a fan of the Pirates, or not, you have to admit that running up the score on hapless little teams like Cathedral and High Island doesn't teach the Pirates players anything beyond the idea that it's ok to humiliate your opponent. As far as I understand the sport, that's against all the tenets of Texas high school football. As far as Deweyville playing Kountze, the Lions will play with heart and do their best. I expect that the Pirates will do the same. The players themselves are not to blame for their own exploitation. I hold the coaches responsible. Again ... Bickham won't make many friends among his peers with this "crush them" mindset ... eventually, someone will come along (East Chambers, perhaps?) and set the record straight on what it's like to play a real opponent.

Bickham in Deweyville must be kidding. He's talking smack in The Enterprise about wins over Evadale and Cathedral Christian and how the Pirates are going to man-handle High Island. Deweyville made the playoffs last year. Shoot, they should hold these little teams to no points. I watched High Island play Kountze two weeks ago. The Cardinals ran the game clock to 0 on every snap ... from the very first series of downs. In the second half, the HI coach requested that the clock simply continue to run. Kountze didn't win a game last year and still beat these guys 42-0. What do you think a returning playoff team like Deweyville is gonna do? If Bickham is true to form, he'll run them off the field. He's averaging 55 points a game on offense. Great job, coach! This will look great on your resume'! It takes a bigger man to realize that sometimes a game is won by the time the third quarter rolls around rather than going full-bore for four full quarters before calling off the dogs. Bickham needs to take a lesson from guys like Coach Curtis Barbay in Newton, Roy Harper in Burkeville or Dan Ray Hooks in West Orange-Stark. They know when enough is enough and they allow their opponents to leave with some level of dignity. There is no pride to be had in beating the little kid on the block. It's only a matter of time before someone comes along and sends you running home with your tail - and ego - tucked firmly between your legs. And forgive us all if we don't break out the crying towels on your behalf when it happens.

I'm uncertain as to the final score because I had to leave at halftime to make the Silsbee-PNG JV game, but there are photos of the Kountze-Evadale junior varsity game at www.silsbeebee.com/KHSvsEVAjv

It was back in the mid-70s that Orangefield beat Kountze 99-0 ... and that was the final game for that head coach. It was mid-season and former head coach Ted Tate was called back into action after the head coach was fired after OF beat the crap out of the Lions. And that was the start of the losing streak that put Kountze in the record books for a very long time. I interviewed Coach Tate for a story in the Silsbee Bee football preview section and he said that the losing streak was one of the hardest times he's ever seen as a coach ... even though he was only head coach for a short time during that stretch. Don Elliff was coach when Kountze beat Kirbyville in 1982 (I was a freshman in Kirbyville that year, by the way) ... Wally Whisenant kicked a field goal to end the streak. He was on the school board in Kountze until just recently.

I was proud of our guys Friday night. They showed some real strength on defense ... seems like nothing really got into the secondary, and very little got into the linebacker corps. Offense still a bit uneasy, but I can see it getting better already... last year was a tough season and they really needed to win early this year to get the team pointed in the right direction. We go to Hull-Daisetta this week, which should be a much better indicator of how well Kountze will do as the season progresses. My son is one of Kountze's linebackers and he and his teammates are already talking playoffs. And that's exactly the way it should be.

You're all correct ... should have checked my facts before ranting ... seriously think that a lower ranking would actually do Silsbee girls better ... make them more hungry, I think. They looked great against Buna on Friday night ... Boys too.

How the heck can Silsbee be eighth behind WOS and Orangefield in the girls' ranking? Hasn't Silsbee beaten both of these teams? Where was Silsbee ranked last week? Wasn't it in the top 5? Gerry