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Alto As an Alto fan, I think our team has a great chance to do something special next year. In no way at all do we think just because we dropped that we will "win-it-all" so don't get that impression about us. We have a great coaching staff lead by Coach Keith Gardner and amazing athletes/talent. I know our kids have been working hard since November and are ready to go! We are playing a brutal non-district schedule with two 3-way scrimmages against Elysian Fields/Harleton and Corrigan-Camden/Palestine Westwood and non-district schedule which consists of: San Augustine, Timpson, Burkeville, Hemphill, and Huntington. We can't wait for the season to start and I hope to talk good football with you guys throughout the year!

WOS John Patterson gets the start against Houston Astros Monday at 1 PM for Washington Nationals. Seen Patterson many times during high school and talk about throwing gas. What a treat during district back then, you could see 3 current professional players battle it Tuesday and Friday as Nederland Brian Sanches, LCM's Beau Hale and WOS John Patterson let it go.

heres the story HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) -- Driver Paul Dana died after a two-car crash Sunday during the warmup for the season-opening IRL IndyCar Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The other driver, Ed Carpenter, was awake and alert at a Miami hospital, IRL officials said. Dana, 30, a former motorsports journalist with a degree from Northwestern, was a rookie who competed in three IRL races for Ethanol Hemelgarn Racing last year with a best finish of 10th in the race at Homestead. The Toyota Indy 300 race was expected to be run as scheduled. Bobby Rahal, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Racing for which Dana was to race this season, said the team's other two cars -- driven by Danica Patrick and Buddy Rice -- will be pulled out of the race. Dana's wife, Tonya, was in Indianapolis, where the couple lived, and was notified of her husband's death while attending a church service. "Obviously, this is a very black day for us," Rahal said. "This is a great tragedy." Carpenter spun and hit the wall moments after the practice began at 10 a.m. EST. As Carpenter's battered car slid to a stop, Dana slammed into it at almost full speed -- about 200 mph. Dana's car nearly split in half. The chassis flew about 6 feet off the ground and pieces were strewn down the track. It nearly turned over, but landed on its wheels before sliding to a halt. Buddy Lazier said Dana passed him and Scott Sharp after both slowed because of the accident. "He carried way too much speed in and wasn't aware of what was going on around him," Lazier said. There was no immediate explanation for Dana's failure to slow down several seconds after the yellow lights came on around the track because of Carpenter's crash. "That's just the first time of the weekend that we got all 20 cars on the track at the same time," said IRL president Brian Barnhart. "Ed had his problem in turn two initially. The yellow lights were called immediately and all systems functioned properly. It's just a busy time out there, with a lot of cars and a lot of traffic." Rahal said the team knew of no problem with communications. "The spotter made clear the incident," Rahal said. "From what I could see, there was a car on the outside. Paul was just passing or had just passed, but I think it would be conjecture and probably very irresponsible for me to try to dissect as to why what happened, happened. But there was no problem with communication." It took track safety workers about 15 minutes to get both drivers out of their cars. The practice session did not resume. Rahal, who co-owns the team with television talk show host David Letterman, said the plan was to field cars for Patrick and Rice at next Sunday's race in St. Petersburg, Fla. He said any future plans for the No. 17 entry, the car driven by Dana, "are unclear at this time." Dana and Carpenter, the stepson of IRL founder Tony George, both were airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. IRL officials said Dana died shortly before noon. Vision Racing team general manager Larry Curry said he was told Carpenter "would be fine." Dana is the first IRL driver killed since Tony Renna died in a crash during testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in October 2003. The last NASCAR driver killed was Dale Earnhardt in February 2001, and the last driver to die in Formula One was Ayrton Senna in May 1994. It is the third racing death at the Homestead track -- John Nemechek was killed in a NASCAR truck race in February 1997 and Jeff Clinton died in a Grand Am sports car event at the track in March 2002.

Sensitive Crowd. Ok, instead of Trash Talk how about this. I was hoping to create an enviroment in which competitive banter between the antagonist and protagonist of the previous mention contest, can be exchanged.

No need to trash talk......This going to be a great game....No ifs ands or buts about it. Hardin is a good baseball team with a good coach, and so is Deweyville.......So this is all up to who shows up to play.

Trash talk????

In an effort to continually improve our site, we have now added a place where we can all talk about hunting, fishing, etc....I personally know how these things are in Southeast Texas, and I look forward to seeing how this turns out...thanks

Thanks for your input bobcat, you know I am here to set you OF people straight on any topic we talk about, hahaha. As for 3amagic, it just seems funny no matter how you beat a team, whether it be errors, hitting, bad calls from an ump, or whatever there are always people like you who want to get on here and play the blame game. If the score had been closer then your already ridiculous comments might have had more merit. BUT and I say BUT, it was a 10-0 game. Were you hoping for a music city miracle, or maybe you could bring in Kirk Gibson to try and win it for ya, give me a break. Do you want some cheese for your whine, while you and your investigators go to work. '''fyh Lets hear somemore excuses I am sure you have plenty in your bag.

football has nothing to do with baseball. I have seen great football players not even make the baseball team. You want to talk about speed. Joey Johnson is one of the best I,ve seen at running down the ball.

u wanna talk about stacked outfields...look at WOS...Earl Thomas (running back)...Jacoby Franks (wide reciever)...Tim McClelland who's just as fast and has a cannon for an arm...not taking anything away from HF of course i think the winner of this game will determine who comes in 2nd for district

Its really not fair to these kids to talk about D1 players as sophomores.Their alot of good young players out there but they are still light years away from D1 status.JaCovan has tons of talent and he will grow up.He will probably have the best shot eventually at a D1 school.

IRL driver Paul Dana dies after crash HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) -- Driver Paul Dana died after a two-car crash Sunday during the warmup for the season-opening IRL IndyCar Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The other driver, Ed Carpenter, was awake and alert at a Miami hospital, IRL officials said. Dana, 30, a former motorsports journalist with a degree from Northwestern, was a rookie who competed in three IRL races for Ethanol Hemelgarn Racing last year with a best finish of 10th in the race at Homestead. The Toyota Indy 300 race was expected to be run as scheduled. Bobby Rahal, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Racing for which Dana was to race this season, said the team's other two cars - driven by Danica Patrick and Buddy Rice - will be pulled out of the race. Dana's wife, Tonya, was in Indianapolis, where the couple lived, and was notified of her husband's death while attending a church service. "Obviously, this is a very black day for us," Rahal said. "This is a great tragedy." Carpenter spun and hit the wall moments after the practice began at 10 a.m. EST. As Carpenter's battered car slid to a stop, Dana slammed into it at almost full speed - about 200 mph. Dana's car nearly split in half. The chassis flew about 6 feet off the ground and pieces were strewn down the track. It nearly turned over, but landed on its wheels before sliding to a halt. Buddy Lazier said Dana passed him and Scott Sharp after both slowed because of the accident. "He carried way too much speed in and wasn't aware of what was going on around him," Lazier said. Asked about Dana, Tony George, who founded the IRL in 1995 and is Carpenter's stepfather, said, "I really don't know at this point what happened or who was at fault. It's just a real shame. I don't know that it was inexperience. I don't want to say anything about that." There was no immediate explanation for Dana's failure to slow down several seconds after the yellow lights came on around the track because of Carpenter's crash. "That's just the first time of the weekend that we got all 20 cars on the track at the same time," said IRL president Brian Barnhart. "Ed had his problem in turn two initially. The yellow lights were called immediately and all systems functioned properly. It's just a busy time out there, with a lot of cars and a lot of traffic." Rahal said the team knew of no problem with communications. "The spotter made clear the incident," Rahal said. "From what I could see, there was a car on the outside. Paul was just passing or had just passed, but I think it would be conjecture and probably very irresponsible for me to try to dissect as to why what happened, happened. But there was no problem with communication." It took track safety workers about 15 minutes to get both drivers out of their cars. The practice session did not resume. A moment of silence was observed before the start of the 300-mile race. Otherwise, the prerace ceremonies, including the introduction of the remaining 17 drivers, went according to schedule. Rahal, who co-owns the team with television talk show host David Letterman, said the plan was to field cars for Patrick and Rice at next Sunday's race in St. Petersburg, Fla. He said any future plans for the No. 17 entry, the car driven by Dana, "are unclear at this time." Dana and Carpenter, the stepson of IRL founder Tony George, both were airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. IRL officials said Dana died shortly before noon. George, who owns the Vision Racing team that fields cars for Carpenter and Tomas Scheckter, returned from the hospital about one hour before the start of the race. He did not disclose his stepson's injuries, but said Carpenter was still awaiting a CAT scan, adding "He's the lowest priority, so it looks like he will be fine." Dana is the first IRL driver killed since Tony Renna died in a crash during testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in October 2003. The last NASCAR driver killed was Dale Earnhardt in February 2001, and the last driver to die in Formula One was Ayrton Senna in May 1994. It is the third racing death at the Homestead track - John Nemechek was killed in a NASCAR truck race in February 1997 and Jeff Clinton died in a Grand Am sports car event at the track in March 2002. The IRL also had a tragedy in May 1999 when a wheel from a car sailed into the grandstand at what was then Charlotte Motor Speedway, killing three spectators and injuring eight others.

I know yall dont mainly talk about JV but i believe that the wos Jv is trying 2 make a turn around season after losing 2 kirbyville 5-4 in kirby's last at-bat. they have hj in hj wut are yalls prejections??

ok lets quit all of this arguein and talk bout wut this topic was made for? who do yall think are truelly some of the elite freshmen?

first of all, to the retiredoldcoach, cody has other options. And he does not have to go to the state capital. Second, i can assure you that what happened with the catcher interference is definately NOT taught and will be reprimanded. IF you watch this on video, you will see Cody going over and fussing at him. And third, when Cody came out to talk to the ump the first time the ump told him that he needed to go to the dugout. He did. After that inning was over, he jogging out to his coaching position and the ump said "I told you you were suspended to the dugout". Misunderstanding. But it was already enough to set him off even more. Cody has NOTHING to be ashamed of. by the way bearbacker, i like how you can honestly put 2 runs scored on passed balls. Nice!

from what I heard I think 1 of them was walked and the second one reached on a hit before the hit that drove them in, but I could be wrong. Nonetheless it sounds like it was a great game. I should have made the drive to watch it. I also heard that HJ had many chances as well. Supposedly in the 2nd inning Sparks walked the first 3 to load the bases and then struck out the next three. Talk about working out of a jam!!!

LCM got out play , the bulldogs won't let it happen at home .the only way they can win is by the umpires help.all yall can talk about is the LCM PLAYER WHAT about the nederland player .they get no credit soph. Aaron McFarland hit a double off the wall in right center to score there first run.The LCM player and fan are bad sport.they argue every call until they got some lucky call. the batter in the last inning didn't get hit by the pitch because if he did he would have went to first on his on . he went after the umpire told him to .so that tell me he didn't get hit.the other one was a foul tip that the umpire said it wasn't (lucky for LCM)

Well I agree things happen for a reason. The reason is so we can talk about it on here.............Just kidding. Yes in the GRAND scheme of life it does not matter. Kids will move on and do whatever they want to do no matter what happens, I do not think them making or not making a team for that matter will be the catalyst in them being good people. All that good stuff starts and home, and is only fostered by good coaches, teachers, ect. There is a better way to do things, maybe we will never see it, but there is nothing wrong in talking about it, and voicing ones disagreement over things that happen. Whether it be a kid or adult writing a post on here, it does promote thinking, and standing for what you believe in. Good, bad, or indifferent. CANT WE ALL JUST GET ALONG!haha

Angry???????? How do you get angry out of me stating that the picks were a little in a favor of one team or another. That is not anger my friend that is FACT! And I have never bashed any kid on here EVER. I would like you to find a post where I have mentioned anything like that. So in that fact you are WRONG. I have no feelings towards these kids one way or another, I am speaking of the coaches who picked these teams, and how the process is. Its ridiculous like I have said before counteless times. I know the facts of how these teams are picked and it is biased, and if you do not want to believe that, then live in ignorance. But do not come on here and try and paint me as some angry person, who has bashed kids because that is ridiculous. I am not a YES man to whatever people tell me is so called "the way it is." Nothing ever gets changed if no one speaks of it. From the number of posts that are on this topic from me stating how unfair it is, I would imagine that it is a good thing to debate the process how fair or unfair it is. This is my opinion, just like you have yours. I understand that people are not always going to agree on something like this, especially when you people from OF think yall are Gods greatest gift to girls basketball. If you really understand what I am saying than you would know that I would not care if BC girls had won state. I would not be promoting them to be all first or second team all district. I am for spreading the wealth. Whats wrong with that. YOU do not like it because that would mean losing one of the OF girls off of first or second team. If it was vice versa I am sure you would be on here defending them to be on the team. Lets just use a little common sense here when these picks are made is all I am trying to get across, however in the mist of that, people want to read in ALL kind of other crap, like anger, jealousy, STUPIDITY, and so on. Just read the post for what it is worth, and quit always trying to compare picks and stuff to football, baseball, and softball, talk about jealousy, I wonder what that is??????

Please nominate player(s) of the week here... we need as much info on the player and what they did this week as you can give... Player will be featured on KOLE AM 1340, 1380 during Sports Talk Southeast Texas with Joe Casas Wednesday's at 5:30 and will be noted under the player of the week section of the website located here- www.setxsports.com/Playeroftheweek.html

Johnson passes Kenseth for last-lap win at Vegas LAS VEGAS -- It took Jimmie Johnson 270 laps to get to the front Sunday, but that was soon enough. Johnson took advantage of a late-race caution flag Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, catching and passing Matt Kenseth in a two-lap overtime sprint to the finish in the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400. 1. Jimmie Johnson Chevy 2. Matt Kenseth Ford 3. Kyle Busch Chevy 4. Kasey Kahne Dodge 5. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Victory LaneJimmie Johnson celebrates his Las Vegas victory Final lapsJohnson passes Kenseth in the last turn to take the win Runner-upKenseth disappointed with his second-place finish Rough racingThings get heated between Stewart and Kyle Busch Early cautionsNewman and Sorenson both smack the wall hard Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836 Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet surged past Kenseth's No. 17 Ford on the outside after the two sped side-by-side through the third and fourth turns on the 1.5-mile oval for the final time. The winner crossed by finish line 0.115 seconds -- about half a car-length -- ahead as he led a lap for the only time in the 271-lap event. Johnson said he sympathized with Kenseth for getting beat that way, noting he lost to Carl Edwards on the same kind of move last spring in Atlanta and then edged Bobby Labonte with an outside pass on the last lap in May at Charlotte. "I was slowly catching Matt before that last caution," Johnson said. "I think we could have got up there to race with him but, if it stayed green, I believe Matt had it in the bag. Then we got that last yellow. "I thought long and hard about what I would do if I was protecting the lead. I knew I wanted to be on the outside. I faked kind of to the bottom and he kind of bought it." Asked if he thought about trying to block Johnson's move to the outside, Kenseth said, "I was running in the groove where my car was the fastest. If I had to redo it right now, I don't think there was anything I could have done different." Johnson is off to a great start in 2006, winning the Daytona 500 and finishing second two weeks ago in California before taking his 20th career win on Sunday. And he's doing it without crew chief Chad Knaus, banned by NASCAR for the first four races of the season after making unapproved modifications to Johnson's car in Daytona qualifying. With lead engineer Darian Grubb stepping in for Knaus, Johnson will head to Atlanta Motor Speedway next week with a 52-point lead on Kenseth in the standings. It was Johnson's second consecutive victory at Vegas, but this one was a lot harder than 2005 when he led 107 laps. It appeared through most of the race that Kenseth was going to get an easy win after being handed a victory two weeks ago in California when front-runners Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart encountered late-race engine problems. ENGINES EXAMINED LAS VEGAS -- NASCAR spent Sunday night examining the motors from five of the top-running cars in the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400. NASCAR tore down the engines of race-winner Jimmie Johnson and runner-up Matt Kenseth in the garage area at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The engines of Mark Martin, Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch were taken by NASCAR and will be torn down at the NASCAR Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C. NASCAR takes engines, often with little notice, to measure their horsepower and gauge parity between teams. The sanctioning body selects engines that represent all three manufacturers, sometimes taking up to 10 motors from the 43 finishers. Kenseth, who won at Vegas in 2003 and 2004, led a race-high 146 laps and was out front and almost assured of victory before a collision between rookie Denny Hamlin and Kenny Wallace brought out the last of seven caution flags on Lap 264 of the race scheduled to go 267 laps. A dejected Kenseth told his crew by radio his engine didn't feel strong for the restart, but he was able to hold off Johnson for a lap-and-a-half after the green flag waved for the final time on Lap 270. "Sorry, you guys won a race and I lost it," Kenseth said to his crew. "Can't do no more, I don't know." All three Cup races this season have gone into overtime because of late-race cautions. After getting out of the car, Kenseth said, "Nobody likes to run second. We led all day. ... If I tried any harder, we were going to wreck. I just got beat." Local boy Kyle Busch, who ran second to Johnson last year, finished third, followed by Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin. Two-time and reigning Cup champion Stewart had his second consecutive disappointing finish after running fifth in Daytona. He led 54 laps Sunday and stayed in the top five until the last few laps when he had a tire rubbing and fell back into the pack, finishing 21st. Stewart became angry at Busch late in the race, reaching out the window and shaking his fist at the younger driver and bumping the rear of Busch's car at one point. The defending champ is 19th in the standings, already 236 points behind Johnson. The 20-year-old Busch, who was criticized by Stewart at Daytona for being too aggressive on the racetrack, said he didn't feel he was doing anything wrong but would be glad to talk with Stewart about it. "With about 40 laps to go, it's time to race and time to get after it and that's what I was doing," said Busch, last year's top rookie. "If I did something and aggravated Stewart, well, I'm sorry."

Talk about getting screwed-has anyone seen the boys 24-3A all district picks? Those cardinal fans should be happy!!!

1981 Bumblebees set gold standard -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Dave Rogers - The News staff writer Posted: 03/12/06 - 12:47:03 am CST -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AUSTIN - They were kids and they did what kids do. "We were all pretty close," Kirk Jones recalls. "We would call one or another up, go play at TJ's gym, or go play at the park near McDonald's off Savannah." But these kids were special. Hindsight makes it oh-so-clear. Jones and his boyhood pals grew up to play basketball at Port Arthur's Lincoln High School and on March 21, 1981, at the new Frank Erwin Center in Austin - aka the "Super Drum" - Jones' group of Bumblebees defeated San Antonio Marshall 92-84 to win the Class 5A state basketball championship. It was Lincoln's first UIL state championship. And it was so much more. Coach James Gamble explains: "It was very important, not only to me and the kids and assistant coaches who participated, but it was important to our student body, it was important to the community that supports the school and it was important to the city. "It put us on the map. And it started a tradition for us. From that, our younger kids realized they could accomplish some things a lot of people just talk about and dream about." The 1981 Lincoln basketball team gave birth to a tradition. It was the first of four Gamble-coached teams to win state championships and it was the first of seven Lincoln state championship squads in a span of 15 years. Port Arthur, where high school football had long been king, gained a whole new place in the state's collective basketball consciousness. Regulars at the state tournament had to check the newspapers to see who Lincoln was going to play, but they could count, year after year, on Lincoln being there to play. Overall, the Bees made 10 state tournament appearances in 15 years, 11 in 19. Jones, a 5-foot, 4-1/2-inch point guard, and Michael "Juice" Jaco, a 6-1 forward, were the spiritual leaders on Gamble's 1981 team. The squad included 12 seniors and was led, physically, by the often dominating performances of 6-foot-9 center Leonard Allen. Other starters included 6-6 Barron Prevost and guard Darrell Thomas. Point guard Tracy Smith, 6-5 post Mecheal Jackson and off-guard Frank Neal were usually the first off the bench, and guard Terry Ceburn, a senior-year move-in from Houston also routinely saw a lot of action. Rounding out the team were seniors Warren Trahan, Nolan Nurse and Patrick Barnes, juniors Alvincent Comeaux, Tim McKyer and Greg Joubert and 6-6 sophomore R.C. Mullin. That squad, along with Gamble, assistant coaches James Knowles and Melvin Getwood, was honored at halftime of Saturday night's Class 5A state championship game on the 25th anniversary of their breakthrough win. Jones, the team captain, said the 1981 state championship team was created the night Houston Madison eliminated Lincoln's 1980 team from the Region III tournament. "After the 1980 team lost to Madison, on the bus going back home, we said 'We're going to win it next year. Next year is our year,' " Jones recalled. "We knew because of our past records from the eighth grade on up. In the eighth, ninth and 10th grade, we were undefeated. Our junior year (on the JV team), we lost one game. From winning, we knew we would go far." But Port Arthur's winning basketball tradition started much earlier. Gamble arrived in Port Arthur in 1962 and began to put his polish on a basketball program that had brought home the 1956 state title in the segregated Prairie View Interscholastic League. Six times he coached Bumblebee teams as far as the regional tournament. The 1981 players came from the "east side" and the "west side" of Lincoln's attendance zone, with Houston Street then the dividing line. Jones and his best friend Jaco lived on the east side, along with Smith, Trahan and Neal. "We were always together," Jaco recalls. "We played football, baseball, basketball games at the local park, 503 Park we called it, because that's the number on the railroad engine out in front." Nurse, a quarterback on Lincoln's football team, recalls that Thomas, Allen and Jackson lived on the west side. And because he lived so close - on 10th Street - he joined them in going to Lincoln in the ninth grade. The east side boys went to Woodrow Wilson in the ninth grade. "My bunch," says Comeaux, "was a little different, the underclassmen, Greg Joubert, Tim (McKyer), Mullin, people like that. One of the places everybody would go was right there at Lamar Elementary School. "Coach Gamble would open up the girls' gym every summer. It wasn't anything that was organized, but we played a ton of games in there during that time. That was one way we got to be real close. “When they said it was a team, it was actually a team in every sense of the word." Still is. Neal says those who remained or returned to Port Arthur passed into adulthood playing in rec leagues and pickup games at neighborhood gyms. "After we graduated, in the 80s and early 90s, we all just played together," he says. "We had a team and we went five or six years without losing a game in city league. We used to play against James Gulley and James Nance and those boys from Lamar. They ain't never beat us. "Now, probably Juice is the only one that's still playing. Everybody else got big. Huge." A huge decision was the one made by a core of the players during their ninth grade year to give up football and concentrate on hoops. "It didn't seem like the football athletes were focused like the basketball athletes," Jaco said. "We just decided to focus in." A lot of focus in Southeast Texas fell on Lincoln's 1980 Bumblebees. "Athletically, the '80 team was probably the best, but I think we had better basketball players on the '81 team," Gamble said. The 1980 team was built around 6-8 Rueben "Too Tall" Prevost and included standouts like Barry Ford, Bernard Whitaker, Milton Benson and Bonnie Hall. Michael Jaco was the only full-time underclassman starter. Darrell Thomas was a sometime starter at point guard. Barron Prevost and Leonard Allen logged a lot of minutes backing up in the post. The 1980 JV team featured a starting lineup of Kirk Jones, Tracy Smith, Warren Trahan, Frank Neal and Mecheal Jackson. Those players joined the varsity for tournaments and late-season action. Lincoln's 1981 season ended with a 36-3 record that included a 15-1 push to the District 22-5A championship. It included two close wins over Houston's Booker T. Washington (70-68 and 60-59), both won on late shots by Jaco; and it included no less than four meetings with longtime rival Beaumont Hebert. The Panthers, who would go on to win the 1981 Class 4A title, the centerpiece of three straight state titles for Hebert, split the 1981 games with Lincoln 2-2. The Bees won 72-62 on their homecourt, lost 57-54 in the YMBL tournament, won again (48-46) at the Nederland tournament and, lost 53-45 in the finals of the TJ tournament. "What really made that year special to me," says Andre Boutte, a two-time state champion coach at Lincoln who was on the 1981 Hebert team, "was we battled so many times that year. "To both end up in the state tournament, staying at same hotel, and both of us end up champions was pretty special." Lincoln's only other loss in 1981 came at the hands of West Orange-Stark, 72-68 in 22-5A play. The Bees swept two games each from Beaumont-Charlton-Pollard, Beaumont French, Beaumont Forest Park, Vidor, Port Neches-Groves, Nederland and Thomas Jefferson in district. They played several of the teams additional games in area tournaments, going 4-0 over PN-G that year. But the players respected their foes. "I remember one time I was supposed to be guarding Monte Wainwright and he hit a shot on me," Neal said, mentioning the PN-G star whose long curly hairstyle rivaled Neal's Afro for adding inches to his height. "They didn't have the three-point shot back then, but if they had, that would have been good for four." Lincoln played Aldine MacArthur in bidistrict and won easily 67-50 to qualify for the Region III tournament at the University of Houston's Hofheinz Pavilion. Hofheinz had become a graveyard for the state tournament ambitions of every good Southeast Texas team playing in the state's highest classification (Class 4A until 1981, when it became 5A). Beaumont South Park won the Class 4A state title in 1960, but after school integration in the late 1960s, Houston Wheatley and Houston Kashmere came to dominate the state tournament (winning five and three titles, respectively), and no team from the Triangle succeeded in getting "through Houston" to the state tourney in Austin. Making matters tougher was the fact that Lincoln, the No. 4-ranked team in the state, had to play No. 1-ranked Clear Lake in the regional tourney opener. The Falcons were coached by the legendary Bill Krueger, who already had 600 wins to his credit by then. Also, they had the advantages of being from a well-to-do Houston suburb, advantages that included wearing flashy new white leather Adidas shoes. "Clear Lake had those very nice sneakers, and we had (canvas) Chuck Taylors," Jaco recalls. "Someone wrote a story about (Clear Lake's shoes) and that got everybody's attention. I know they were really nice." A few years later, one of Spike Lee's TV commercials for Nike included the line "Must be the shoes." At Hofheinz that year, Chuck Taylor ruled. The Bees dispatched Clear Lake 78-63 and then blew out Madison 63-46 in the regional final. They beat the Hofheinz Curse and were headed for Austin. But it wasn't as simple as that. Jones recalls Gamble's speech at a pre-tournament pep rally in Lincoln's auditorium. "Coach Gamble said he was interviewed and a reporter asked him 'How was it to draw the No. 1 team in the state?' Coach Gamble's reply to him was 'I didn't draw the No. 1 team in the state. I coached the No. 1 team in the state.' "When he said that, we could have jumped to the moon. That set the tone." In the two regional games, Allen had combined for 32 points, 21 rebounds and 14 blocked shots. And the Bees' reward for finally getting past Hofheinz? A date with No. 2-ranked Fort Worth Dunbar in the state semifinals. Dallas Roosevelt played Marshall in the other semifinal. "I think they wanted Fort Worth Dunbar or Roosevelt for the finals," Neal said, "but we balled there. I think we were destined. It was coach Gamble's time." Comeaux said "Dunbar was the cockiest bunch of guys I ever saw in my life. They were talking a ton of trash. We just played the game." Lincoln beat Dunbar 60-59 in overtime. Jaco hit a free throw for the game-winner and finished with a game-high 27 points. The Bees had to sweat a last-second three-quarter shot by Robert Hughes, Jr., the son of the legendary Dunbar coach. "He threw the ball from the free throw line on the other end of the court and that ball almost went in," Prevost recalled Wednesday. "I would have died if it had gone in." In the championship game, Lincoln led by 12 points midway through the third period only to trail by four, 84-80, with 1:27 left in the game. In a 73-second span, Allen scored 11 consecutive points, grabbed two rebounds and blocked a shot as Lincoln outscored Marshall 13-0 down the stretch. Allen balked Saturday when asked to recall the big finish. “It was a blur, to be honest with you,†he said. “I didn't realize what happened.†None of the game's participants had any way of knowing the importance of their run to the top in 1981. But a quarter of a century of hindsight changes things. “I love the fact that I have kids that will share in this,†Jones said of Saturday's tribute. “I never thought it'd be this big. I thought it'd be something that was swept under the rug. I'm just so thankful.â€

How does everyone see the district 24-AAA panning out? I mean Ive been hearing a lot of talk about HF and I havent seen them play yet but is there a possibility of an upset involving HF and BC?

Dodge's 5A dynasty leaves area coaches shaking their heads -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: 12/20/05 - 11:54:32 pm CST -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bob West column for Wednesday, December 21, 2005 Count football coaches in Southeast Texas among those who have difficulty putting into perspective what one of their own - Todd Dodge - has accomplished at Southlake Carroll. From West Brook's Craig Stump - Dodge's sophomore backup QB on TJ's 1980 state finalists - to West Orange-Stark's Dan Hooks, to Nederland's Larry Neumann, to PN-G's Matt Burnett, there was a tone of disbelief after Saturday's 34-20 thumping of Katy gave Dodge's Dragons their third title and a 63-1 record in four years at the 5A level. “It's amazing,†said Stump, whose Bruins were overpowered by Katy in the third round of the playoffs. “I don't think we'll every see another team dominate 5A the way Southlake has. That school had a great tradition when Todd went there, but he's taken it to another level. He's a step ahead, a play ahead of everybody else. “Plus, he's built a great organization and has the kind of administrative and community support on all levels that can make a difference. I remember going in there as a recruiter for Mississippi State. The Southlake football team was such a huge deal. Kids in the fifth and sixth grade can't wait their turn to be Dragons.†“It's impossible to explain,†said Hooks, whose Mustangs won back-to-back 4A titles and played for a third from 1986-88. “They don't just win, they dominate good programs. With the parity and quality programs in 5A, it's just incredible. You say it can't go on forever, but I wouldn't be surprised if he wins the next two with his son (Riley) playing quarterback.†“He's way ahead of everybody else, it's not just talk,†Neumann declared. “I watched the Katy game just shaking my head at the things they did. To move up a classification and do what they've done is a truly amazing feat. There have been some remarkable programs in Texas, some dynasties, and Carroll is at the very top. “It just seems like that program and that town are in a different zone. They had a great tradition when Todd went there, but it's like he's taken a fire and thrown gasoline on it. What jumps out is the confidence those kids play with. Katy made a run at them and had momentum in the third quarter and they answered with a three-play, 80-yard drive. They just seem to be in a different league from the rest of 5A.†“It's mind boggling,†declared PN-G's Burnett, who as a player was part of an Indian program that went to the semifinals or finals four consecutive years in the mid 1970s. “As a coach, if you win one state championship it's an outstanding feat. Just winning a district championship is hard. You really can't relate to what he's done. “He's got a system going that's just phenomenal. What's so incredible is the way he keeps turning out great quarterbacks. They all seem to have height, strong arms and throw the ball with amazing accuracy. It would be like us having Dustin Long playing QB every year. Obviously, he's developing them and that's a key to their success.†Ronnie Thompson, who created the Frankenstein monster Dodge has become in the coaching profession, chuckled when asked for a perspective on what his star pupil has accomplished. “I don't think you can put it in perspective,†he said. “It's off the charts, in terms of dominating the highest classification. I've thought about it. Abilene in the 1950s and Midland Lee at the end of the ‘90s had great runs. So did Austin Reagan in the late 60s and Judson in the early ‘90s. “But none of those teams were in the finals four straight years. Todd's one-point away (16-15 loss to Katy in the 2003 finals) from winning four straight. The one he lost, his defensive coordinator was in the hospital dying of cancer and his all-state kicker missed a chip-shot, game-winning field goal. “He's not doing this with a bunch of kids headed to the NFL, either. Year in and year out there are numerous 5A programs with more Division 1 signees. But he's just way, way out there with what he's doing. He's taken a real good system and tweaked and tweaked and tweaked it until it's beyond good.†Thompson said that even as a high school quarterback Dodge had a remarkable grasp of what the offense was all about, and a unique ability to simplify it for players around him. “We were trying to coach a high-powered offense and a lot of kids couldn't understand it,†Thompson related. “Todd, with two or three words or a couple of gestures could straighten them out and make it so much clearer for them than we were able to do. “Now, you watch his team play and you see everybody out there really understands what's going on. A lot of people probably think what they are doing is complicated, but he's made it so simple for them it's like shooting fish in a barrel. “Todd, of course, with his play calling, gives them the ultimate advantage. He finds you defensively, locates you, then knocks you out. And, while from the outside it looks like it's all about offense, he's put a high priority on defense. Without a great defense, they probably wouldn't have beaten Katy.†Stump, who sent Dodge his Katy game tape and told his former teammate what he thought would work against the Tigers defense, remembers Todd's ability to help other TJ players grasp the offense. But he said Thompson deserves more credit for that than he's taking. “Ronnie made his quarterbacks have their head in the game, otherwise we'd have been like most other high school kids. Once a practice or a game was over, you would have other fish to fry. But not with Ronnie. He made sure you put extra time into studying the offense, so you knew what we were doing and why. “I do think, dating back to our days at TJ, that one of Todd's greatest strengths is being able to communicate. Winning coaches are almost always great communicators. You have to be able to tell somebody how to do something in different ways until it clicks.†Stump said he also believes Dodge is as good as anybody in the profession at developing and coaching quarterbacks. “His QBs have been the 5A Player of the year four straight years. I'm sure those kids would have been good no matter who coached them. But Todd coached them up to another level. People like to say great players make great coaches. Well, great coaches can make great players. Without Todd, I doubt any of those guys is the player of the year.†Sports editor Bob West can be e-mailed at [email protected]. His Sportsrap radio show airs Wednesday at 8:05 p.m. on KLVI (560-AM).