gdickert

The reporter, being new, did not have the credentials on hand that she needed. But when she called me, and I talked to this security person, he admitted that he knew me and that he knew I was the editor of The Bee. He then said, in a very Area 51, UFO conspiracy sort of way ... "How do I know this is really you?" We are a member of the Texas Press Association. They provide us with credentials that get us on any high school field in the state. There are rules we are required to follow regarding intermingling with players during the game and we abide by those. My son is a senior offensive lineman in Kountze. I stand within feet of him, but we don't speak. It's just a rule between he and I and a rule that I always try to follow. We don't want to be a distraction.

Sorry for the shot about the Hardin County News, Will ... I was just really frustrated last night when I got home and was letting off some steam. I know exactly who was responsible for this, but I'm not naming names ... until Monday when I speak with the principal and/or the superintendent. We try very hard to be a part of the communities in which we circulate and when we have things like this happen, it's very disheartening. I just think the kids deserve better. I'm particularly disappointed that we won't have a picture of the queen. We run those from each school every year. I guess there's a fear that the people of Lumberton could possibily photocopy that photo for their personal use and soomeone won't get that extra dime for having exclusive rights to the likeness of the Lumberton High School homecoming queen. Last I heard, Lumberton was a public institution of learning. Like I said ... this isn't over with yet.

I don't take anything away from the basketball program in Kountze. No doubt they have earned the trophies and medals. All I'm saying is that the football team this year will prove that Kountze is way more than a single-facet sports program. By the way ... The Lionettes volleyball program is kicking butt this season. They won state titles in the not so distant past. Maybe Kountze is really just a volleyball school?

I was at the Evadale game tonight, shooting photos on the sidelines ... Evadale is a very solid football team. Any team that can't defend the pass is going to pay bigtime against the Evadale offense. Once they fine-tune their running game to match that passing attack, they're going to be really, really salty...

If what Lumberton and Kountze have done so far this season doesn't prove something, then I don't know what will. You really have to see Kountze to believe it ... their defense is as good as I've ever seen and the offense is just killing people. If they stay healthy, anything could happen. But I'm certain folk will continue to call Kountze a "basketball school" regardless.

Different rules apply for newspapers. We are a bona fide product. UIL allows us to be there. We don't compete with Provine ... we're two different animals. I know the lady you speak of ... she received a special thank-you in our special section for all the help she offered us. Believe me, this was just a security guy who was flexing his muscles. Sadly, this was the first-ever football game this new reporter was assigned to shoot. I've been to NFL, WNBA, MLB, NHRA, NCAA, and high school games over the past 23 years and have NEVER been asked to leave a sideline. I shot Lumberton for the Hardin County News for seven years and was NEVER asked to leave the sidelines. I can't imagine that this security guy would believe that some random woman from off the street would try to put one over on him just so she could stand on the sidelines tonight and shoot Lumberton football. I told him on the phone who I was and that she was a legitimate journalist trying to do the job I had assigned her. By questioning my identity, he all but called me a liar to my face.

Are we now qualifying scores by listing school classifications? Because Kountze is 2A and Evadale Class A, does that somehow make this less of a win for the Lions? I keep reading this stuff about how Kountze only wins because these teams are tiny ... I know for sure that Hull-Daisetta was ranked in the top 25 in the state in Class A and the Lions beat them. I believe Tenaha was ranked in the top 25 and Kountze beat them. Evadale is a good football team and has shown much improvement over last year, when they advanced to the playoffs. So why is it so hard to believe that Kountze might actually just simply be good this year?

After shooting pictures of two scrimmages during the preseason, taking team photos and running cheerleaders, band, and volleyball photos in the Fall Sports Special in The Silsbee Bee earlier this month, our reporter/photographer was unceremoniously escorted off the field Friday night ... Not only will we not have football photos, but we won't have a photo of the homecoming queen. My reporter, Kelly, was told that because she didn't have credentials, she would not be allowed to stay on the sidelines. She called me and I talked to the person who was escorting her out. In spite of admitting that he knew me and knew what paper I worked at, he still refused to let her stay. "How do I know that you are who you say you are?" Of all games to pull this BS and this guy has to pick homecoming. I apologize to all the Lumberton fans who read our paper. I know that The Beaumont Enterprise isn't going to take pictures of the game because you're not West Brook, Central, Ozen, WOS, Nederland or PNG. I guarantee no one from the Hardin County News was within 20 miles of the stadium. We were there. But then we were made to leave. We'll have pictures from Silsbee, Kountze and Evadale games this week ... the other three schools we cover in our circulation area.

The injury that you see in my picture was a freak accident. Honestly, youth sports gives kids an outlet for their energy, teaches them teamwork and goal-setting and gives them a sense of ownership for something that is bigger than themselves. If you think youth sports is a hazard to a child's health, then take away their skateboard and bicycle, swimming pool and trampoline too. I'd rather have my kid fully padded on a football field than riding down the street on a skateboard with shorts and a tshirt. My two boys have done all sorts of things. My oldest is a varsity football player in Kountze. He comes home bruised and achy and ready to go to bed. But he wouldn't miss a moment of it. He's a Kountze Lion ... just ask him. I wouldn't take that away from him.

Yeah ... Kaila and Lauren both told me they beat WOS in three games. They had Anahuac last night ... heard they won that one too. GO LIONTETTES!

Not sure if everyone saw the pictures of the YMBL small-school tournament I took last Thursday .... Pictures include girls from Kountze, Hamshire-Fannett, Kelly, Hardin-Jefferson and Sabine Pass. Go to my photo web site and click on Kountze High School 2007-2008 and then click on volleyball and you'll find it. Gerry www.gld-designs.smugmug.com

I've only seen an ambulance on the field twice and I've been covering sports for newspapers for over 20 years ... Both times the kids were ok, thank goodness. ... More a precaution, I suppose. The kid in the picture dislocated his elbow, was in a soft cast for a while and has recovered fully now ...

I've seen lots of injuries in my days, but when I caught this one on film, I couldn't believe it when I saw the final image. It was at the Silsbee-Hamshire Fannett youth Senior Super Bowl last year at Kelly High School. If you have a strong stomach ... take a look ... [Hidden Content]

Funny how Buna not only dropped to 2A when they are very, very, VERY close to being 3A, but they also got moved into a district that did NOT have Newton ... Thanks Uncle Chuck! :-)

Kountze Lions Thomas Wolcott, RB, 13 carries, 171 yards, 2 touchdowns; TD runs of 83 yards and 21 yards. Also had 12 tackles on defense.

Here are photos from Friday night's game between Kountze and Hull-Daisetta ... www.gld-designs.smugmug.com

You can find photos from the Kountze-HD game at this web address ... www.gld-designs.smugmug.com

So ... what about Kountze vs. Evadale? Any guesses on that one? And then Kountze vs. West Hardin? Last year, the Lions only won four games. Think they can match that win total in the first four games of the season?

For those who saw the Kountze-HD game last night, this is the "incomplete" pass reception by Kyle Johnson ... ironically, these were taken by his little sister Kaila ...

OK ... here's one for Aunt Cindy of Scotty ... :-)

Hey everybody ... here are a few pictures of our buddy "WreckinMachine" in action last night ... Lions did a fantastic job ... the defense gave up a few big plays, but nothing they can't adjust to for next week ... and the offense flat out smoked HD ... with four or five backs who can run the ball, how can you lose?

Kountze wins 31-14 ... Gilmore left the game in the fourth quarter with what looked like an ankle injury, but looked like it was more of a tweak than an all-out injury ...

Click the link below to see photos from Day 1 of the small-school pool play at the Beaumont Young Men's Business League volleyball tournament, including teams from Kountze, Hamshire-Fannett, Kelly, Sabine Pass, and Hardin-Jefferson. www.gld-designs.smugmug.com

Thanks ... It's a real pleasure to deal with Dana and Megan has a lot of her Mom's media savvy ... I'm leaving right now to head to Beaumont to take pictures of the Lionettes in the YMBL tournament ... They played at 10:30 and will play again at 1:30 and 2:30 ... Gerry

Silsbee High School volleyball coach Dana Thornton, faced off against her daughter Megan (Thornton) O'Quinn, the new Kountze High School volleyball coach, for the first time. Click here for a slideshow of photos from that game ... [Hidden Content] [shadow=red,left]Mom, daughter face off for first time on volleyball court[/shadow] By GERRY L. DICKERT The Bee There have been many emotional moments on the volleyball court for Silsbee coach Dana Thornton. Friday’s moment nearly brought her to tears. Thornton and her Lady Tigers teed it up against the Kountze Lionettes this past Friday night in a game that pitted the mother against her daughter, Kountze coach Megan (Thornton) O’Quinn. “As a mother, I was proud,†said Thornton. “As a coach, I was proud, too.†The Lady Tigers took care of business in three games, defeating the Lionettes 25-17, 25-15, 25-12. But the impact this game had on both of its coaches will be more important than a non-district final score. “It’s going to be interesting,†said Megan prior to the game. “I had never really thought about playing against my Mom until now. It’s kind of weird.†Just prior to the match, the two women shared a few words and posed for photos. After warmups, the two sat on opposite benches for the first time. “You have to remember, I’m not just a mother,†said Coach Thornton. “It feels good to know that as a coach, I helped her become someone she wanted to be. “I have such pride for her and what’s she been able to do,†she said. “It really made me want to cry.†Megan, along with her little sister Miranda, played for their mother at Silsbee High School, both earning top honors during their volleyball careers. Megan just recently finished her degree at Lamar University in Beaumont and coached freshmen for a year at West Hardin High School before winning the varsity coaching job at Kountze this year. “Everything I know about coaching, she taught me,†said Coach O’Quinn of her mother. “She taught me about goals, about keeping everything together, about hard work and about winning.†And while winning is important in the overall scheme of a coach’s career, Coach Thornton explained that her real concern for Megan is that she keep her personal life in perspective as she dedicates herself to her new career. “When she played for me, she learned that volleyball is over when you go home,†she said. “A coaching career can consume you if you’re not careful ... it does anyway. “Sometimes people are really hard on you. I think that most coaches would like to be liked, but you’re not always liked ... and that’s tough.†While Coach Thornton hopes her daughter can control her career, rather than the other way around, she also knows there are some aspects of her job that cannot be controlled at all. “She’ll find herself fighting for her program,†said Thornton. “You have to stand up for what you believe in and you’re going to fight people. You really don’t like battling all the time, but sometimes the battle is constant. “Now that I see her heading into those battles, I guess when it’s your kid, you start worrying about how she’s going to face those things. “It’s such a rewarding profession, I would never tell her not to do it.†With two different teams on the court Friday, there were two styles of play, each fashioned especially for the talent available on each squad. But there were still similarities, some which weren’t lost on Thornton as she watched her daughter coach. “Things that she said, I can hear myself saying those same words,†Thornton said. “She told me that she’s already had officials tell her ‘Sit down, Dana,’ so I know she’s got some of my fire. “Yeah, I think she’ll be OK.â€