PrairieMan

Man you got some bitterness going on with the Prairie. Did some ole country boy whoop your *** or did some cowboy from there steal "your" girl? You never even have anything of value to say, just some random broad stroke dis that I'm assuming you have dialed up for all of your "most hated" areas. Feel free to put some thought into your comments from time to time, assuming you actually know how to.

Yes sir. One of the best high school coaches in the state!

Amen to that!!! One of the best coaches I’ve ever had. But you have to admit, todays kids couldn’t handle that Snelson.

bullets13, Calling Tarkington's kids or the people that live there names doesn't bother me. I'm not a part of the "offended" crowd. What gets me is the people on here that think or run their mouths like they truly know anything about the team or community. People that think that a certain coach was "run off" when they don't have a clue. I love how the group consensus is that ALL of Tarkington thinks their kids are D1 kids or that Tarkington parents are running coaches off in general. First off, every school and I mean EVERY from Chester to Duncanville has that one parent or set of parents that think the coach there is doing a horrible job. They could have won state last year, but wouldn't have lost that 1 game during the season if their kid would have played more downs, minutes, innings, etc. Even the guy that supposedly worked with Snelson in the 90's using him as the rarest example possible to prove that Tarkington parents from then didn't have a clue. I was around then and if there was anybody there that said that, I never heard it. The one thing I can tell you is I believe that was one of his early gigs and although I haven't had the chance to talk to him in forever, I promise you that the 2022 parents and kids could not handle a 90's Coach Snelson. He's a great man and I have nothing but respect for him, but I guarantee you even back then he rubbed somebody the wrong way and they were popping off at the mouth. If you guys want to have a discussion about things that are wrong at Tarkington, no problem, I'm in line to air my grievances as I've already done. But doesn't mean I going to sit idly by and watch some dude run his mouth about how they will never win and that they better schedule whatever school to ever get a victory just so he can get his jab in, then you are mistaken. I'm going to defend it EVERY time when it comes to that kind of thoughtless chatter (post).

idk, I would say your question is a very fair one. I think it's situational dependent but I will give you my take it on it. First of all, I don't know the actual numbers but from the outside looking in Tarkington, doesn't have the money or isn't willing to pay well compared to other schools. Handcuff that with either the inability or unwillingness to invest in athletic facilities and that's a start as to why coaches who have any success would not want to stay long. I mean just the mention of spending money on just a fieldhouse to upgrade the dilapidated one that's probably been there since my father was in school there, certainly was there when i was there and that's been a while, and people lose their minds. I mean 30-45 miles down the road, assistants are making close to or more than the AD/HC of the entire program. Considering just the normal headaches and additional responsibilities that comes with, who would want to deal with that for long unless you have some sort of ties to the area, school, etc??? The other scenario is you finally get a guy from the area to coach. Whether he does well or not, there is situational issues that have to be dealt with. People that you know well have kids in your program and you have to look those friends in the eye and tell them their kids don't deserve to start or worse don't belong on the team. People that you know don't like the play you picked or whatever and are now hollering from the stands, calling for your head because you didn't make the "right" decisions in their mind. I mean that's happening no matter where you go or who you are but it's likely a different feel when it's people you go to church with on Sunday or were at their house a couple weeks ago sharing your favorite beverages. Now you're getting paid less money, fighting the issues of less talent as a whole and having to look these people in the face day to day. Finally, the last and worst situation which doesn't typically include any success is you hire a guy from somewhere else who comes in with a big stick that's going to shake things up. Comes in and wants to clean things up but starts rubbing everyone the wrong way and nobody knows who you are you. You start running kids off because their attitude isn't right or they aren't putting forth the effort. One or two of those kids have some talent but because of the small town, they've always been catered to and they aren't used to somebody holding them accountable so they leave. Then the program in general can't compete so you lose a few other good players and now everyone is calling for your head because nobody knows you and you "ruined" their kids senior or junior year. Nobody wants to go through a rebuilding year or two or three in high school. 99% of these kids will never play a down after high school so no parents of or kids that are seniors want to be a part of decimation of a program even if it does benefit the future of the program. They can't look past the fact their high school kids career was a total waste. I mean what can we say we can't all be superstars like everyone on these forums. From all the high and mighty comments on this page, I'm sure everyone here played college or pro ball. Most were probably the best players to ever come through their program, just ask them........so I'm sure it's hard to relate to these issues.

Negative

Because seeing him perform his job first hand, I was impressed with the way he handled himself and what he accomplished. I think you're looking strictly at his football record at Tarkington and that's not fair to him. He was handed nothing thanks to the previous regime. A bunch of kids who never wanted to play football again. In two years, he made kids excited about playing again. He earned a ton of respect from his fellow faculty, staff and the athletes. I think with the backing of a bigger program he will accomplish alot.

I wonder if Bass put's in for this job. I know he's only been at WB for a year, but this feels like a good fit for him. Great guy who deserves to be an AD at a bigger school and it's fairly close to home.

Reading threads like this make me lose my mind. There are a few comments on here that make sense but some of you have no clue what you're talking about, yet you run your mouth as if you do. If Tarkington is so awful then why waste your time and words running down their kids and their community just because you're used to doing so on this site because nobody calls you out or will say anything. First off Carpenter didn't "get run out" of Tarkington. He left for better opportunities because he had a goal to be a 6A head coach. This just in, there is probably no football coaches that aspire to do great things that want to make a career out of coaching football in Tarkington or insert any 3A program, even if it is your hometown. Second, Newton even though his kids go to school here isn't leaving his gig because he loves where he's at and what he has going on. He hasn't applied so NOBODY has "turned him down". So you can stop beating that dead horse. Third, Belt is currently at Tarkington helping with offseason and softball for whoever put that he's at Anahuac. Fourth, Howard got ran off because kids just kept quitting. I personally liked him but my kid wasn't in high school at the time so I can't give 100% accurate statement as to what was the final straw but talking to other parents, not many people cared for him or his coaching style. Which is similar to the current situation. Coach A was ran off because him and nobody else could get along. That went for coaches, kids, parents, etc. Again my kid isn't in high school so I don't know what really went on, but let's just say, I've heard the list of reasons people didn't like him. Lastly, Bass didn't leave because he got ran off. There were other factors at play, including he got a 6A OC job, one of the better talent pools recently was graduating and some that didn't have to do with football at all. The thing is, the reason Bass and Carpenter were some of the more successful coaches here didn't have as much to do with X's and O's as it did with the type of people they were. They were people that kids wanted to come out and play for. I think some of you don't understand the reality behind how important it is for schools like Tarkington to get the "right" kids to come out and play all the sports. Tarkington wouldn't have success at anything if they didn't have some athletes. Which isn't the case as they've been fairly successful at basketball and baseball throughout the years. But just like any other small school, talent is cyclical. So even if you get the right kids out, they may be younger as is currently the case and you're right they need consistency. They need consistent coaching that pushes to get the best out of them and keeps the fire burning to want to play sports vs other things such as work, hunt, etc. There is a reason that most of the people love it out here so much. Their kids don't grow up on the streets or somewhere that they don't have a back yard where they have to have sports to be entertained. They have land and the ability to ride four wheelers, hunt, play outside in general with their friends and many other things to do. That doesn't make them "inbred" or "rednecks" like some dumb*** said. It makes them fortunate. Rant over. Go back to gloating about your school's "greatness" and everyone else's downfalls.

Not the whole story though. If GCM doesn’t have 20+ bad turnovers things could have been different the other way. They probably had 12 or so in the first quarter alone. Threw it out of bounds or to BU or lost the dribble. They were very sloppy with the basketball at times. Who knows what they could be if they had a real ball handler. #4 was forced to control the basketball a lot because their guards struggled with pressure defense on them.

Tickets at the door or mobile?

Well not really. The PG wasn’t there and he was solid. Also I’m pretty sure they graduated another big kid but maybe I’m mistaken. 10 or 11, maybe both. I’m just here to tell you now after watching both games, last year‘s and this years, both of those teams look dramatically different.

Yes but both teams were much better last year.

Diboll up 42-39 end of 3rd

Diboll 33 - Tarkington 29

CE King 60- Dobie 46 I got that upset alert right…

No, I’m pretty sure I’m remembering correctly. #2 was very good and near the end he was certainly carrying the team. But right before that kid walked off after the timeout was called, he had some good plays. I remember him pretty well, he was an athletic kid. Very quick. I remember the person beside me pointing out how quick he was earlier in the game.

Hmm, I don’t know man. That kid was crazy athletic and there was time when everyone else was in foul trouble that he was their only offense that night in Dayton. I was shocked when he walked off the court. I get where your coming from based on chemistry but I find it hard to be better collectively when your less athletic as a team.

Don’t want to start anything, just wondering if the kid that walked off in Dayton played tonight?

My understanding is winner plays Tarkington in Livingston on Friday night

Tarkington wins 46-42

Oh wow, I knew last year's HJ situation wasn't due to injury (I was at Dayton for that one) but I did not know that this year's situation wasn't either. I certainly don't want to dive into that topic either. I will adjust my statement then. It's a shame that injuries and "other" factors have to play a part. ALWAYS want to see the best of each team line it up.

That's a good one. They do seem to matchup well with HJ. It's a shame that injuries have to play a part. Always want to see the best of each team line it up. That being said, it's rare that HJ doesn't show up prepared to play no matter who is available. I'm thinking CE King over Dobie. That's totally from the outside looking in as I've not had the chance to watch either of them play this year. Just going based off of the district's each are coming from.

I look at a lot of these games and I see so many mismatches when it comes to this round. I think it's the downfall of letting four teams in. But I get it for the kids, it's always a great experience to go to the playoffs and a chance to maybe upset a team. I love high school basketball but don't always get a chance to follow all the districts. Just thought this might be a fun topic and a chance to learn about a #4 team that has a chance to move on.

In a district that already struggles with new hires, this puts the AD even further behind by not letting him get in and start working with the kids and scheduling games.