Cardinal Supporter

I know Dishon and Casey Jackson are power hitters. How did they do at the plate and are there any other longball hitters on this team?

How long has Troy Bolton been at BC? BC was loaded with tallent a couple of years ago and they did very well. Do you think he can produce a team that is competitive every year even with average tallent? I am not sure any of the coaches that are in the finals can. I hope so because I would like to see BC get the reputation that WOS has across the whole state. I would like to know who the board turned down. I hope they did not give sole consideration to only the candidates within a 50 mile radious. If Bolton gets it then I hope he is the best that applied. :-\

I wrote the SRA Louisiana about the lake level and why they were still generating. The lake level this morning is 170.24 feet. This is the response I received from them. At least now I know. They are still generating 24 hours a day. February 8, 2007 Toledo Bend Project Joint Operation Operating Guide The current operating guide was adopted in October, 1976. It is the fifth guide adopted by TBPJO based on experience operating under the first four guides. This guide has proven to be the best for all considerations in the basin. This guide calls for the controlled filling of the reservoir in the January through May time frame. It provides for a target elevation for each month to allow filling of the reservoir to full pool by May and minimize spillway releases. Toledo Bend is not a flood control reservoir, i.e. it does not have a high storage capability above full pool. The above mentioned target elevations are listed below. January – 168.50 February – 169.00 March – 169.50 April – 170.00 May – 172.00 When the reservoir rises to a level above the target elevation in a given month, we will initiate some generation and will increase that generation as the rate of rise of the reservoir increases up to both units 24 hours per day. As the reservoir begins to fall, we will make adjustments (or not) depending on upstream and downstream conditions, weather forecasts, and how far we are from our target elevation. Hydro units are designed to operate based on the smallest cross section of the river downstream. At Toledo Bend, that section coincides with the USGS gage at Ruliff, near Deweyville, Texas. What this means is when both units at the power house are running, the river at the Ruliff gage is bank full just from our generation. Any additional rainfall downstream will result in some flooding. The Spillway Operating Guide for the reservoir calls for initiation of spillway releases when the reservoir reaches an elevation of 172.50 (giving us only 6 inches of storage). This season, the reservoir rose 11 feet in 13 weeks to an elevation of 172.15 causing generation to start when the elevation exceeded 168.50 in January. Precipitation has been above normal and this is forecast to continue both upstream and downstream of the reservoir, and we are above our target elevation for February and March. Again, we are not draining the reservoir, we are trying to control the filling of Toledo Bend. Mike Rankin – Project Engineer

Try using shrimp or chicken liver. I have done well with chicken liver on lake Conroe using a rod and reel. I use shrimp when I am noodle fishing.

BC was in 4A in the 1996 football season. That is the year that they almost won district under coach Johnson when they lost to PNG in the last minutes of the game. Chuck Young was a great baseball coach, probably the best at BC up to that time. Not taking anything away from Billy Bryant because he is a great coach also. Chuck Young left because baseball was his thing and he did not like whatever he had to do with the football program. Probably the straw that broke the camel's back was when Johnson used the baseball field for football practice. I'm sure coach Young had trouble sleeping at night when that happened and couldn't wait to leave. It was ashame we lost him because he really knew baseball and the kids loved him. I never said coach Johnson was a first class kind of guy I just said he knew how to coach football and I think, imo, he would have beaten WOS in a few years had he stayed. But he is history now. Let's hope the board hires someone that everyone will be proud of. Someone like PNG's Doug Ethedrige in the 70's. Coach Etheridge took care of the kids first then turned them in to winners. He probably was the best coach and first class gentleman that PNG has ever had.

I don't know how anybody knows who is being interviewed. Maybe they know the individual and he told him he applied and did not get a call for an interview. Have they started the interviews yet? Just because someone taught or coached there does not make them qualified if they have served only as a speciality coach and not a head coach or densive or offensive cordiantor. Maybe the school board does not want to interview someone they know they will not hire anyway. I know BC has had a lot of good coaches in their system both past and present. But I hope the school board will not hire someone just because the individual is a good guy. If someone with more qualifications applies then why waste time on an applicant that does not have a chance of being selected. Just because someone was a past student or player or is from Bridge City does not make him qualified. Let's hope the board will hire the best qualified person. That should include not only good football savey but also a "good guy" with good morals and character. All the eggs in one basket. As to the person who asked how Les Johnson turned around BC's program don't just look at won loss records. Before he came to coach in Bridge City we were the whipping boys of the district. WOS used to have a first down inside the 20 yard line and kick a field goal to keep from running up the score more than they could have. Coach Johnson was the first coach to put BC in position to whip WOS in the 1996 football season. His teams were fun to watch. The games they lost were close except for the LCM game. They took PNG down to the wire and if they won that game they would have won district. If BC had made one more first down before PNG's winning drive they would not have had enough time to conduct a long drive. The only problem with that team was the defense was not strong enough. To fault coach Johnson he would not let any players go both ways. If he had used some of his big offensive linemen on defense when he needed to he probably would have beat PNG. He changed the pholosophy of the coaches that were already in place when he came here and they hated him for it. He made the practices tougher and some of the kids that could not cut it quit but others joined the team to play for him. I was at a board meeting when some teachers and students involved in other sports were bashing him. I was sitting only a few chairs from him. Many of the football players came up to him and showed their support. I know he was a tough old buzzard and I probably would not have liked working for him but he did make the changes that needed to be made and turned the program around. I sat in the stands and watched a very meager team play for 8 years when my kids were in school. Only the last year that my kid was in school before graduation was when the program turned around and the team was fun to watch. Some of the things coaches of other sports were complaining about was that Johnson refused to let the players have their names on the back of their jerseys. He did this to create a team consept rather than individuals. In my opinion this was a petty thing to complain about. Perhaps if he were the head coach and someone else was the AD as someone else suggested then everything would have been all right. In my opinion he was a better coach than Fred Bolton or Terry Townsen. I am not talking about what kind of person either of these men are because I did not know either of them personally. I wouldn't comment on their character in a negative maner even if I did know them. The only reason I said he was better in my opinion is because someone rated the past coaches and placed them higher than coach Johnson. I just think coach Johnson was a good football coach when it came to teaching the kids how to play the game and instill a winning attatude.

The lake level at Toledo Bend has finally gotten back to where it should be at this time of year. The power companies have been running both generators 24 hours a day. The level has already gone down about 4 + tenths of a foot. How long are they going to keep running the generators or how low do they want to get the lake before they stop generating? I thought they could only generate from May to September. I know they are saying the only reason they are generating now is to keep the lake from over filling. It seems like if they are getting to get profits now that they normally do not get then come the generating season they should have to quit generating earlier to give back, in some way, what they made this winter. Just a thought. I know that will never happen.

It is a bigger deal. BC has not hired nearly as many head coaches as Dallas has in the same alloted time.

I remember that Vidor has had success against WOS a couple of years and played them close a time or two. However, I am not sure that BC played WOS the same years that Vidor beat them. BC has had some success against WOS also. On the 1996-1997 football team BC was in good position to beat WOS that year. There came a monsoon rain storm and all games in the area were delayed because of the rain. Coach Hooks had the game suspended and finished the next day in spite of coach Johnson wanting to finish the game. It was the only game suspended in the whole area. BC played well against WOS about 3 seasons ago and lost in OT. Two years ago BC lost by a touchdown in a high scoring game. But those are past teams and who knows what Mathews could do with next years team. I think he is a good coach and has done a good job at Vidor and I hope he continues to stay in Vidor. I just would like to see BC get someone new to this area. I know that many did not like Les Johnson, and if I were a teacher there I probably would have a lot of things negative to say about him. I will say however, he did turn BC's program around. BC was a whipping boy like Vidor used to be when coach Johnson took over the job. He turned things around and BC has been competive and been in the playoffs a lot of the years since he was coach. He changed a lot of things that probably needed to be changed. Enough about coach Johnson. I am not saying that I would like someone like him to take over the job. I am saying that I would like to see someone take over the job that can change the things that need to be changed. Programs like WOS, Nederland, and some of the successful programs around the state should be studied and BC should try to implement similar tactics. I think it would take someone new to this area to do so. If they promote from within, not much will change. Just look at PNG. They have a coach that played on their state championship team in the mid seventies. They have become very predictable. Coach Tarver was a good coach and a man with fine character. He had good teams the past few years. However, this last year he fielded a team with very little varsity experience. WOS every year has a team with a lot of varsity experience from the previous year. So does Nederland. Some how these teams have underclassmen that get developed and play on the varsity then become the leaders on the team the following years. That's developing and using the players you have to the fullest. I don't know all who applied but I am hoping the school board will be open minded and hire the best possible coach that did apply. Not someone just because he went to school there or is now a coach there.

Until someone can dethrone WOS I have to go with them. 1. WOS 2. K-vill 3. Jasper/Silsbee :-\

I'm not sure of this quote. I guess as long as an individual is following all the rules set down by the school district then his job is safe as long as he/she is under contract. However, there is no rule by any school district's board that says it has to renew a contract. Most districts will reassign a coach if he is not producing in the capacity that they think he should or would like to see. I went to a Bridge City school board meeting several years ago and there were two teachers that did not get their contracts renewed. I don't know why one of them was not renewed but the other one was becaue the teacher would not turn in paper work on time or did not turn it in at all. This fact was not known by the board members and one of them wanted to know why they should not renew the contracts. Another school board memeber said that if the principal did not want the contract renewed then it should not be renewed because the principal had a problem working with this teacher and his request should be honored. The whole discussion probably should have been in a closed session but it was not. The board voted unamioulsy not to renew the contracts. If a contract is not renewed for any reason, and apparently that reason can be kept quiet if the principal chooses to, and the job is awarder to another person isn't that like fireing someone? My wife is a teacher and she used to teach in Orangefield years ago. She is now in a different district but when she was in OF we went to a banquet and was seated across from one of the school board memebers. He told us that at the last board meeting contract renewals came up. The principal and superintendent recommended to renew all the contracts. They were on a one year contract at that time. He said that all the contracts were renewed but there was one no vote on each contract. He said he voted no on every teacher's contract because he just wanted the teachers to know that it was not a shoe in to get their contracts renewed every year. I thought he was an idiot and should not be on a school board. He must have been a "good ole boy" that everyone knew and liked so he was elected. It certainily could not have been for his brains. In some cases if a coach has a year left on his contract he can be bought off and then his contract would not be renewed. He would have a years free salary and that amount of time to search for a new coaching position elsewhere if he chooses to do so. Now I am not saying everything I typed here is gospel but this is the way I think it is. I guess if any school board memeber is a member of this web site then they could shed some light on this subject. I do not know coach Matthews, only when I see him on TV, but he seems like a true first class guy. I am sure he is a good coach. He probably should have won 3 or more games this year than he did. The PNG game in particular. Vidor outplayed PNG badly but still lost. I hope he stays in Vidor and does well next year. I personally hope BC gets good applicants from outside of the golden triangle and hires one of them. I think BC coaches need to be more agressive than they have been. They have been real good for a few years but when they go through a period of less talent or lack many experienced players they need a coaching staff that can help them develop better and quicker.

Tallent is important, don't get me wrong. Some talented kids don't know how good their talent is. That's where it takes a good coach to bring out that tallent by motivating them to work hard and get the winning attitude. I don't want a coach that wants to win at all cost. That would be more for his own ego and not for the good of the kids. The kids on this last team had a winning attitude but did not have enough playing experience to compete with the top three teams. I do think a closer look at what WOS, Nederland, and some of the other successful teams programs are doing would be worth the effort. I too liked coach Tarver. His record speaks for itself. He just did not have enough experience on this years team. If he stayed here for ten to fifteen years then who knows what his record would be. Maybe good? :-\

I am not sure who or how the school board will choose the next head coach at BC nor does anyone else at this point. However, I hope they will be open minded and not hire anyone just to fill an opening. I do not know the coaches at the high school or other schools in the school district so I will not make a comment about them. I do know Briggs but not personally. He taught my two kids when they were in school and is a super guy. I hope the school board will recieve many applicants and will give all an equal chance. If the best applicant is one of the present coaches then so be it. If we get a good applicant outside the district then I do not think the school board should be hesitant about hireing him. We all want what is best for our kids. The athletic programs at BC are good charicter builders and builds pride and spirit in the school. Bridge City needs a guy that can compete with WOS and Dan Hooks. Let's face it, every year they are the team to beat. So why can't BC have a team of that caliber? It's not the pool of talent to choose from that makes WOS a winner. They are a small school and compete with much larger schools. Dan Hooks has a program in that can win with just about any athelets he has to work with. So does Barclay in Newton. Coach Newman in Nederland gets his team in the playoff's every year yet just across the tracks is PNG and though they are competive they are not in the playoffs nearly as much and I am sure their talent pool is about equal with Nederlands. Ozan probably has as much talent, or more so in some opinions, yet they had the worst season in their school history. I could go on abouth Doug Ethridge of the PNG era of the 70's and Todd Dodge at SouthLake Carrol of the present but the point is that some coaches can win no mater what talent they have. No, not a championship maybe with kids with no athletic ability but at least could be competive. Actually I think these coaches take kids and develop the athletic ability that they have and turn them into winners. It would be nice to see Bridge City compete with WOS year in and year out and win some of the games. There are good coaches out there and I hope the school board will hire a person that wants to give the effort to bring BC to the elete level.