November
29 - "A team that
defeats a far inferior team has accomplished nothing."
Rip EngleSCENES FROM 2002 CLINICS- ATLANTA - CHICAGO - SOUTHERN CALIF - BALTIMORE - DURHAM - TWIN CITIES - PROVIDENCE - DETROIT - DENVER - SACRAMENTO - PACIFIC NORTHWEST - BUFFALO - E-MAIL ME GAME REPORTS, AND
I WILL ONCE AGAIN MAINTAIN A WEEKLY "WINNER'S CIRCLE"
PAGE -
PLEASE KEEP
GAME REPORTS SHORT AND TO THE POINT - GAME DESCRIPTIONS
WILL BE LIMITED TO ONE PARAGRAPH OF REASONABLE LENGTH
(THIS
WEEK'S "WINNER'S
CIRCLE")
- A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: Dick Bass was a solid pro.
He was one of the greatest high school runners in California history as a high schooler in Vallejo.
From there, he went to Pacific (known then as College of the Pacific, or COP) where be became one of the great names at a school that no longer even plays football. In his senior year, 1958, he led the nation in rushing, total offense, and scoring.
He was selected first by the Rams as a "future" while still at COP.
He played his entire career - 9 full years and a small piece of one - with the Rams, and played in three Pro Bowls.
He had two 1000+ yard seasons rushing; in 1966, he rushed 248 times for 1090 yards and eight touchdowns, and he caught 31 passes for 274 yards. In 1961, he led the NFL in kick returns, bringing back 23 for 698 yards - an average 30.3 yards per return.
Dick Bass had six seasons with 500 yards or more rushing, and five seasons with 27 catches or more.
- Correctly identifying Dick Bass: Joe Daniels- Sacramento ("this is too easy... My family is from Vallejo. Mom, Dad , Uncles and Aunts all went to V-Town High. All I heard growing up were stories from my Grandpa about how great Dick Bass was.")... Kevin McCullough- Culver, Indiana... Mike Framke- Green Bay, Wisconsin... Adam Wesoloski- Pulaski, Wisconsin... Mike O'Donnell- Pine City, Minnesota... Dave Potter- Durham, North Carolina ("I had no idea that Pacific (COP) no longer had football. Makes sense now that I think about it, because I hadn't heard anyone come from Pacific in a long time.")... John Zeller- Sears, Michigan... Scott Russell- Potomac Falls, Virginia... Mark Kaczmarek- Davenport, Iowa... Greg Stout- Thompson's Station, Tennessee... Eric Heckman- Rockville, Maryland... John Bothe- Oregon, Illinois... David Crump- Owensboro, Kentucky... Keith Babb- Northbrook, Illinois... Ross Woody, Vallejo, California ("My mother attended High School in Santa Rosa during the same years that Bass was at Vallejo High. As I was growing up, she spoke of the great games he had as a High School RB for Vallejo.")...
*********** Mr Bass is still listed on Sports fans of America for his High School accomplishments. He is in the top 5 for points per game (27.4), this was back during 9 game seasons (256 total), and top 6 for touchdowns per game (4.2) which is 37 TD's for those 9 games -- that means that 34 of those points that he scored were for PAT's. That's right, Dick handled the kicking duties! I figure he would be an acceptable kicker on a Coach Wyatt dream team! Cal Hi Sports rated him as the top High School player in 1954. (http://calhisports.theinsiders.com/2/30212.html)
At Pacific, in 1958, he led the division 1-A, as well as the nation with 205 carries for 1361 yards, 1878 all purpose yards, and points scored (18 TD's, and 8 extra points). .
His Pro career wasn't one of the all time greatest, although a career 4.4 rushing avg, and a 9.0 receiving avg for his career is pretty darn good.
- His High School accomplishments still live on in Vallejo. Ross Woody, Vallejo, California
*********** I watched the Lions-Patriots game on Thanksgiving, and I'm still waiting for the National Anthem. Some woman came on just before kickoff and sang something and hit a lot of high notes.. I don't know what it was she sang, but it sure as hell wasn't the Star Spangled banner.
*********** The NFL made a big deal of having its Thanksgiving-Day teams attired in "Throwback uniforms"
Throwback uniforms, my ass. Yeah, right. Detroit Lions - Leon Hart, Joe Schmidt, Bobby Layne, Doak Walker, Lou Creekmur, Jim Martin - tippy-toeing around in knees-to-shoes blue stockings. Like some of the jive-ass high school teams you see today. Take it from someone who grew up during the "Throwback" days of the 1950s - a real football player wouldn't have been caught dead on a football field - would have been laughed off the field - wouldn't have been allowed on the field - without white sweat socks over their stockings. Oh- and the Lions of those days wore white shoelaces.
And while we're on the subject. Not only did the Dallas Cowboys look bad, wearing those goony-ass jerseys with the big star on each shoulder, but they were "honoring" one of the worst professional football teams that ever took the field. Not only did that first Cowboys team have to bear the burden of being laughed at for those ridiculous jerseys, but it sucked besides. Not that little kids plunking down money for Reebok "Throwback" jerseys will give a rip, but the 1960 Cowboys were 0-11-1, with only a 31-31 tie in the next-to-last game marring their otherwise perfect winless record.
*********** To all you "fans" in Detroit who booed a rookie quarterback Thurdsay - look, you ***holes, the amazing thing is that there the kid is, in the ***hole of the NFL, a place where nobody outside of the Red Wings ever wins, with a general manager who wasn't even a good TV announcer and receivers who can't catch - and there's never a negative word out of him. Not a one. Maybe nobody remembers that Elway passed up a year of NFL ball because he wouldn't play for the Baltimore Colts, who drafted him first. So who could have blamed Joey Harrington if he'd said, "no thanks," and sat out a year rather than play for that sorry team, in front of that sorry bunch of fans? But, God love him, he's a better man than I am - he didn't piss or moan about having to go there and play. He's been nothing but positive about Detroit right from the start. But now, it's obvious that he isn't going to single-handedly take the Lions to the Super Bowl in his rookie year, so BOOOOO! GET THAT BUM OUTTA THERE! Amen, Joey. Get your ass outta there - now. There's all sorts of NFL clubs a lot better than the Lions that would love to have you. And you Lions "fans" who booed the kid? Piss on you all. You're losers now, you've been losers since 1953, and you deserve to remain losers for another 50 years.
*********** Did you catch that halftime show at the Cowboys-Redskins game? If it were a college marching band, we'd see 30 seconds of it before we went to the talking heads in the booth. But when it's some bimbo lip-synching a song, with assorted other bimbos leaping in the background, we are treated to four or five uninterrupted minutes of it. I was reminded of a description by the late humorist H. Allen Smith of a dance routine he'd seen: "Fire in a Whorehouse."
*********** With all Jerry Jones' money, you'd think he could have afforded a better face lift than one he got - the one that makes him look like a guy who sells his own blood to keep enough Sneaky Pete on hand.
*********** Speaking of Redskins-Cowboys, and the injury to Redskins' punter Bryan Barker... Wasn't it about time one of those kickers with their stupid-ass little-league helmets and their single-bar face masks got shown why real men wear real face masks? As long as kickers are going to play a man's game, they've got to expect to get hit in the face. Here's my real question, though: so he broke his nose? Why didn't he come back?
*********** More of the wisdom of Penn State's Rip Engle
Many values can be derived from playing football - values that are going to help make the young athlete a better person and thus a better citizen.First, football teaches the value of work. The football player not only learns how to be a part of a team, but he also learns how to work on his own. Each individual is soon aware that he improves in direct proportion to the amount of work that he does, no matter how much natural ability he has.
The football player also learns the importance of sound preparation. A football team must prepare for the coming season in a very short time and must make weekly preparations during that season. Knowing the value of sound preparations can be carried over and put to good use in later life.
And, of course, the football player learns the value of giving - the giving of himself and the giving of his time. He soon begins to realize the many sacrifices one must make in order to do well.
If football does not have these values, if the only importance is in the winning of games and in the amount of money that is put into a program or gotten out of it, then football cannot be defended as a worthwhile part of an educational institution. More must come out of football than just a winning season or making a few dollars.
from Championship Football by 12 Great Coaches, Tom Ecker and Paul Jones, Prentice-Hall, 1962
*********** I will hold Anheuser Busch apart from the fray, because some of their ads are pretty good - I laugh like hell whenever I the guy who tells about the time he was playing touch football and he found himself suffering from "parched throat" (the prescribed treatment for which was ice-cold Bud Lite) - but otherwise, if you're pushing an alcoholic beverage on TV these days - Miller, Coors, Smirnoff Ice, Jack Daniels Hard Cola come to mind - the advertising formula seems to be Nuts 'n' Sluts. Take a bunch of bosomy babes (look in the Yellow Pages under "Escort Services"), and a bunch of post-adolescent-type losers whose only prior contact with women like that was looking at their pictures in the magazines they hide under their beds. Add alcohol. Spray women liberally with water. Enjoy.
*********** Ron McBride was fired at Utah. He must have pissed somebody off, somebody powerful who was just looking for an excuse to get rid of him, because otherwise, his firing is hard to justify. He did a good job at a place where it is not easy to win. His record in 13 years at Utah was 88-63. The Utes were 8-4 last year, with a 10-6 win over USC in the Las Vegas Bowl. (Are you kiddin' me? Utah beat USC?) They finished 5-6 this year, although they had to win their last three to do it, but they did win the state, defeating Utah State in the season opener and BYU in the finale.
Just listen to what the mealy-mouthed AD at Utah, one Dr. Chris Hill, had to say about the firing: "We are disappointed in how we have fared in league play over the last three seasons." (In the last three years, the Utes were 10-11 in the Mountain West Conference and 17-17 overall.)
"Our expectations, given our facilities and support system here at Utah, are for us to win our share of conference championships and be ranked with some regularity in the top 25 at the end of the season. While we appreciate Ron's efforts-and he has certainly done some great things here-I feel like our football program has stagnated and it is time to look to someone else to take us where we want to be."
Uh, Doctor Hill... Your facilities and support system? Finish in the top 25? With some regularity?
Excuse me. Utah?
Doctor Hill, you're either delusional or you're kidding. You've just been through the stressful experience of having to fire your football coach and you're not thinking straight, right?
I can close my eyes and recite more than 50 programs with better "facilities and support systems." Let's see - 10 in the Pac-10, 11 in the Big 10, 12 in the Big Twelve, 12 in the SEC, six in the Big East (omitting Temple and Rutgers), six in the ACC (omitting Duke and Wake Forest). And Notre Dame, of course.
Oh, yes. And Air Force and Colorado State, in your own conference. And BYU, right in your own state. Lucky for you Lavell Edwards retired and you got a bit of a break, but they'll be back, and you will be sucking hind tit in your own state.
Actually, in terms of "facilities and support systems," I would put you about on a par with a few of the teams in Conference USA. But not all of them, by any means.
As for your chances of finishing in the top 25 "with some regularity" - my expert prognosis, Doctor, (you are a medical doctor, aren't you, and not one of those phony "doctors of education", who get their thrills making underlings kiss their rings and call them "Doctor?") is that you might just as well raise your sights even higher. Why not say that your expectations are to earn a BCS Bowl bid every couple of years? That would be just as realistic for Utah as top-25 finishes "with some regularity."
*********** Mississippi State has got to have some of the dumbest defensive backs in the USA. On third-and-short, leading 7-3, Ole Miss beat a Mississippi State corner for a 70+ yard TD, and it ain't a minute later and we see the victimized corner, sitting on the bench and laughing. he was f--king laughing!
No more than a couple of minutes later, Ole Miss threw deep, and all the world could see that the receiver was interfered with, but as the official was throwing the flag, the guy who interfered - who had his back turned to the QB and his face in the receiver's face - was celebrating his play, arms out to his side, like he was an airplane.
*********** Discussing the beating that NFL quarterbacks are taking, and the part being played in those beatings by the ever-increasing "athleticism" of defensive players, Sean Salisbury sees the answer in a new, improved quarterback: "The next level after Michael Vick is someone getting a LeBron James-type athlete to play the position in eighth grade. Don't laugh, but in our lifetime we'll see a 6-7 quarterback who can run a 4.4, jump 50 inches and throw 85 yards."
Yeah, right. Play pro football. Get his brains beaten in. If a kid is 6-7 and can do all that and he has any brains at all, he'll stick to basketball
***********
I mentioned to Greg Stout, of Thompson's Station, Tennessee
that if anybody ever tried attacking America, I'd feel
safest somewhere east of the Mississippi, south of the Ohio,
and north of Broward County, Florida. In the South, in other
words. Certainly, in one of those "Red Counties" from the
last election - the ones that went for Bush. Greg, a native
Michigander, put in a bid for his home state: "If they ever
attack Michigan, Wisconsin or Minnesota on the opening day
of firearm deer season, they're in deep sh-- also. When I
lived in Michigan they used to say that the approximately 1
million hunters in the woods on opening day were the 'Orange
Army.' Lots of schools in Michigan don't hold classes. It is
a most revered holiday." And no sooner did I hear from Greg
than confirmation of Michigan's claim came from Adam
Wesoloski, who lives in Pulaski, Wisconsin but is a "Yooper"
(a native of the "U.P." - Michigan's Upper Peninsula). He
sent me this photo, taken through a car windshield in the
U.P - Kingsford, Michigan, to be exact - on November 17.
Look closely. It's a classic.
*********** Lansingburgh, New York High made it to the state semifinals before finally losing, but the season isn't over a week and Coach Pete Porcelli is already excitedly looking ahead to year. Sounds as if things went well in the middle school: the Lansingburgh 7th-8th grade team, running the Double-Wing, was 6-0, and outscored opponents 250-33. A-Back Mike Hepp gained 1150 yards and scored 18 touchdowns.
*********** Coach Wyatt, I saw you mentioned Jim Leonhard in your news today and just thought I would drop you a note about him. He played for a little school called Flambeau in Tony, Wisconsin. It so happens that Flambeau is in our conference, so I had the privilege of coaching against Jim Leonhard in 4 regular season games and 1 play-off game. He is an amazing athlete. In 5 games against us he carried the ball 30 times for 600 yards and 11 TDS. That doesn't include the interceptions, the kick and punt returns, and the punishing tackles he put on. His senior year he averaged 20 yards per carry as the QB of a wishbone team; he also passed for over 1,000 yards. Needless to say, they didn't pitch much. I have never been so happy to see a kid graduate in my life. It is unfortunate that division 1 schools overlooked him but he had some things going against him- he is short, he played for a small school, he was far away from the major media coverage, etc.. . If he had played for a large school powerhouse around Milwaukee or Madison he might have gotten a scholarship right away. I think it is a great story, however, of a kid who had a dream and followed it even though he didn't get the scholarship most people now realize he deserved. The next time we hear about some big name kid who cheated or got cash from a booster maybe we should think about Jim Leonhard and the heart of thousands of kids like him who walk-on with a dream. Of course it helps if you have 4.3 speed, a forty inch vertical, and superhuman hand eye coordination. The kid is a great story and everyone in our conference is excited for him. Coach Keith Lehne, Grantsburg, Wisconsin
*********** Coach Wyatt, My name is Bo Berry and I am the head coach at Chapmanville Middle School, in Chapmanville, WV. This was my first year as a head coach (30 years old) and my first year with the double wing. My brother (Lonnie Berry) and I ordered your playbook and tape this past summer and I would like you to know I absolutely love the system.
My team went 4-4 this year, which, under the circumstances, was a big success. My entire backfield had never played before and the team only had one starter returning from the previous year (that went 4-3-1).
My principal told me before the year we'd be lucky to win a game with the talent we had (or lack thereof?) and the schedule we played.
To make a long story short, we won 4 games and absolutely killed teams with the wedge, 3 trap at 2, and the 47/56 criss-cross. We moved the ball well in every game, we just had trouble stopping some very good teams.
I'd appreciate the information on the no-huddle if you care to share it with me. I enjoy reading your site and will continue to do so regularly. Hopefully, we'll be able to attend one of your clinics next year, if there's one close to WV.
Thanks for all that you do for football, Bo Berry, Chapmanville, West Virginia
*********** Rich Central High, in Olympia Fields, Illinois, finished 7-4 this year and made it to the second round of the playoffs. For what it is worth, one of RC's losses came when their starting B-Back was knocked out of the game early in the first quarter. A second loss was avenged when RC defeated the team in the state playoffs. The other two of RC's losses came at the hands of Driscoll Catholic and Providence Catholic, both of whom are playing this weekend in the state finals, Driscoll in 4A and Providence in 5A.
***********
Speaking or Rich Central High, maybe you remember back in
August, when I wrote about Idris (ih-DREESE) Amao. I was
helping out at Rich Central, in suburban Chicago, and
noticed Idris, a big strong kid, sitting watching practice.
Turned out that he was the goalie on the school's soccer
team, and he wanted to kick on the football team. I asked
him to come catch a few passes while I worked with the QB's,
and he was goalie, all right - he had great hands. He didn't
know the first thing about football, but he really seemed to
be enjoying himself in our drills.
The kid told football coach Jon McLaughlin that he wanted to continue to play soccer and basically turn out on Friday nights and kick in the football games. Nothing doing, said coach McLaughlin. No specialization - you have to do everything that every other football player does - and no jumping back and forth between soccer and football.
While the kid mulled it over, the soccer coach saw him working out with the football team and put the kid on the spot - right in front of Coach McLaughlin and me, he told him he had to make a choice. He really put the pressure on him by reminding him that he'd been the all-conference goalie in 2001, and he was a lock to be all-conference again. By then, though, the football players were already working on 'Dreese to be a football player. And when he made a long field goal in practice, and the football players mobbed him, excitedly pounding him on the back, there was no chance he'd go back to soccer.
To make a short story of it, 'Dreese decided he was going to play football - told the soccer coach so to his face - and put on his pads and did the same grunt work as everyone else. But there was no question that he would be doing some kicking. The kid had a leg. At the far left, that's Jon McLaughlin simulating a center snap to Idris to get him ready to punt.
Fast forward to the end of football season. He did all the place-kicking and punting for the football team. Coach McLaughlin actually relented a bit and let Idris play soccer one day a week. Sadly, he didn't make all-conference in soccer.
He did, however, punt 26 times for 1150 yards - a 44.2 average. That was good enough to make him the punter on the Chicago Tribune's All-State Football Team.
*********** I suspect that the Big Ten may be weaker than a lot of people think, and that a lot of the Big Ten's premiere teams padded their records with lesser non-league opponents. Nothing wrong with that - every major college does that - but Big Ten teams had their problems with those supposed pushovers: Michigan beat Utah only 10-7 - and Utah's coach, Ron McBride, was just fired; Ohio State should have been beaten by a Cincinnati team that is now 5-6. Penn State had trouble with Central Florida. Wisconsin barely beat the weakest Fresno State team in years. Minnesota was 4-0 at one point, but that was after opening against SW Texas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Toledo (okay, not a bad club) and Buffalo. Yes, Iowa played Iowa State, but the Hawkeyes also picked up a couple of easy wins against Akron and Utah State.
*********** Hello Coach, I get a great deal of help viewing your tips and videos over and over throughout the year as different situations come up. Thanks. We just completed the season 10-0. Dan Peters, Antioch, California
*********** A new category of life's losers for Al Gore to promise he'll fight for... While stopped at a light in Portland Wednesday, I noticed a young woman standing on the corner holding a cardboard sign. It read, "ALMOST HOMELESS."
*********** Maybe it was just alphabetical order, but... while browsing through the "football" section in Powell's Books in Portland, I was struck by the sad irony that only one thin book separated the story of Darryl Stingley, the NFL player left paralyzed by a "Big Stick," and that of Jack Tatum ("They Call Me Assassin"), the guy left him paralyzed.
*********** Used to be NBA players honored assorted dead children, grandparents and homeboys with tattoos and various things written on their sneakers (with a Sharpie, of course). Tuesday night, Rasheed Wallace honored a registered sex offender who'd just been arrested for felony assault of his wife, by wearing a sweatband on his arm that read, "Rube 21."
"Rube" is Ruben Patterson, Wallace's teammate, who was arrested Monday night for hitting his wife, apparently while his kids watched. She called the police, who on finding there were suspicious marks on her body consistent with her claims, arrested him on charges of felony assault. Later, in true battered-wife tradition, she begged to withdraw the charges.
The Trail Blazers' absentee general manager Bob Whitsitt was so concerned about this latest atrocity (Wallace and fellow Blazer Damon Stoudamire were picked up by Washington State Police for smoking and possessing pot last Thursday night) that he actually flew in from his home in Seattle to talk with the news media. He said the team was "embarrassed." He also said, with a straight face, that the only really important thing right now is for Mr. Patterson to get his family affairs squared away. (Sure, Bob. That's much more important to you than those thousands of seats left empty Tuesday night by people pissed off at you and the thugs you've brought to Portland.) To show how important he believed it was, he even gave Rube a few games off to spend a little quality time with his family.
That's not technically possible at the moment, since he's been ordered by the court to stay away from the wife and kiddies for the time being, but once he's allowed back, and he's hangin' out at home for a while, I would advise the Patterson's nanny - if there was a young woman in Oregon stupid enough to take the job - to look out. Let's just say that if Mrs. Patterson ever goes out to the store for a loaf of bread (of course, when your husband's being paid $6 million a year, you can afford to have your own bakery) the nanny had better lock herself in the bathroom.
That's because this guy is evil. Ruben Patterson, Portland Trail Blazer, is a registered sex offender in Oregon. In May 2001, he entered a "modified guilty plea," a legal oddity in which the guy doesn't plead guilty but admits that there's enough to convict him, to forcing the family's nanny to, uh, Lewinsky him. That was when he was playing with the Seattle Sonics. The Sonics' owner got rid of him. Like that. Character counts, he said. But Bob Whitsitt, who never saw a bad actor he wouldn't sign, brought him in. Of course he should have known better.
But, then, so should his wife. She forgave him that one, too.
*********** A friend of mine who is a stockbroker happened to mention the term "f--k you money" one time, and when I asked him what he was talking about, he said it was the amount of money you had to have so you could walk in and tell the boss what to do. It takes a long time and a lot of hard work to set that kind of money aside. I don't know too many high school coaches who can do it.
I was thinking about that the other day when it suddenly occurred to me that that's what's wrong with professional sports. You wonder why those guys are essentially telling us to go f--k ourselves? It's because the instant an athlete signs his first professional contract, he is already set with "f--k you money."
Take Ruben Patterson. Please.
He signed a contract with the Portland Trail Blazers calling for $33.6 million over six years. That's FIVE AND A HALF MILLION F--KING DOLLARS A YEAR! Apart from the obscene fact that that money being paid to that moral imbecile could pay the salaries and benefits of the entire faculty at a medium-sized high school FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR, it means he doesn't have to listen to anybody. It means there is no way he can effectively be punished for any misdeed.
What are they going to do - throw him off the team? Somebody else will pick him up.
Throw him out of the league? With his signing bonus, he had his f--k you money.
*********** The Portland Oregonian, in an editorial, referred to the three members of the Trail Blazers who made the news recently as Damon "Stashamire," "Rashweed" Wallace, and Ruben "Batterson."
*********** Hello Hugh, Scott Roberts reporting in from Clarence, NY. I just wanted to let you know we had another great year running the d-wing with our 9&10 year old team. We finished the regular season 11-1 and made it to the championship game of a year ending tournament losing 27-19 to finish 13-2 for the season. In 2001 I relied heavily on two backs, this year I had major contributions from about six different boys. We pretty much stayed with the core youth plays you recommended and rolled over everybody. Even in the championship game we scored 3 out of 5 possessions. Next year I am moving up in age and would like to add just a little to the play book. We have run Super Power (88 & 99), xx47-c, 6-G, 3 Trap 2, Wedge, 5-X, 38 & 29 G-O, Red-Red and Blue-Blue. I have heard good things about Rip 77 and may add that next year. Anyway, thanks again for all you do for the youth coaches out here trying to teach this great game. I look forward to seeing you again this year.
*********** Coach, Well, we lost our game last Friday night to UMS Wright (a private school from Mobile and the defending state 4A champs). The final score was 35-18 UMS. We had over 300 yards of offense as our A back and C back had over 100 yards rushing in the game. Also, our QB, Alfred Pettway was 12 for 20 passing for 124 yards and a touchdown. We only punted twice, but we just couldn't solve their offensive attack. We finished the season 10-3 after losing here in the 3rd round of the State Playoffs. But, it was a great season and fun to see the DW work so well (again). The UMS defensive staff expressed a great level of respect for our team and the way our kids showed the class that Coach Moton our head coach has instilled in them. They also expressed respect for the output versus their defensive unit that had given up very few scores all season. We had some fun using motion late in the year that gave us a boost I think.
Also, it's been nice to have one group of boys to connect with - the offensive line- (nicknamed the 'breakfast club' by the local newspaper because they have been rewarded with so many "pancake" stickers for pancake blocks). Assistant coaches sometimes don't realize that they often get to do the 'true coaching' that a head coach often doesn't get to on a large school staff. There are benefits in not having many of the headaches associated with that position. But again it was fun. It made it fun to coach again.
Happy Thanksgiving! Look forward to seeing you again in Atlanta this spring at your clinic.
Coach Emory Latta, Offensive Line/Offensive Co-ordinator, Daleville High School, Daleville, Alabama
*********** From a dear friend with a son in high school... "Finally, one last story to illustrate that Political Correctness hasn't been totally shoved down our school children's throat. My son ----------'s high school, in their infinite wisdom, decided to perform a play that tells the idealized story of Matt Shepherd - the gay man killed in Wyoming. The administration required all of the juniors and seniors to attend a performance during the day last week. By the way, ---------- never tells me anything, but I saw the AD of the high school and he told me to ask ---------- what happened at the play - so I asked. ----------- told me that the play was long and boring. After it was over, the director (a teacher) asked if any of the students had any questions. Apparently there were some, and ---------- figured all of the questions were kissin' up to the director. Finally, the director said there was time for one more question and up shot -----------'s hand. (He was more than fed up with the subject matter by now.) So his question, in his loud, booming voice heard by 1100 of his classmates was, "so, am I a bigot if I think butt sex is gross?" I guess he brought the house down with laughter. I know I was convulsed with laughter when he told me." NAME WITHHELD (Does that story remind you of the little kid in "The Emperor's New Clothes?", the only one in the parade who hasn't been brainwashed - the only one who dares to say what he really sees?HW)
*********** Coach, Just wanted to let you know how we ended up this year in Avon, NY. The Varsity made it to the sectional semifinals before losing to LeRoy (who made it to the state semifinals). My youth team (10-11 year olds) went 4-4. The C team (8-9 year olds) went 6-0-2 this year. The JV team did pretty well. I think the junior high team might have went undefeated. As you can tell, there were a large number of happy parents in our town this year. Thanks for sharing you offense with us. We have had tremendous success with it over the last 2 years. Jim Lochner, Avon, New York
*********** A lot has been made about Warren Sapp's hit on Chad Clifton, which, it now appears, could cost a fellow professional the rest of his season, and his team the services of a starting player. The league has ruled that what he did was not illegal, and it won't cost him money, but in my eyes at least, it has certainly lowered his professional image. I would classify his vicious hit from the side - on an unsuspecting victim far removed from the play - as "legal but unprofessional." It was a cheap shot, a sucker punch unbecoming a guy who has become a media darling and seems to pride himself on his toughness. Just as real hunters have no respect for someone who would should an animal tied to a stake, real football players can't respect someone taking a shot like that and needlessly endangering a fellow professional.
I personally would like the rulesmakers to clear up the gray area that currently exists regarding the hit from the side - to draw a clearer distinction between the one that "could be" or "couldn't be." Rulesmakers pay a lot of lip service to the principle of protecting the players, but they leave plenty of room for destructive hits like Sapp's. The point is that if a man can't see what's coming, he is essentially defenseless. Furthermore, recent studies showing that a high percentage of concussions result from hits to the side of the head certainly merit a closer look at "blind-side" hits.
*********** Coach Wyatt, I wondered about Lou Holtz' hat, too. I'm still chuckling!
Yes, Theismann's is TV Football's premiere ass. And that buffoon Paul McGuire isn't far behind.
I thought Pat Summerall (yuck) split from John Madden (yuck) so he could retire. Why's he still "broadcasting?"
Couldn't agree more with you pointing out that the media calls a "sweep" a "reverse" and calls a "reverse" a "double reverse." Goofs. My girlfriend knows better than them!
Dave Potter, Durham, North Carolina
*********** I saw your reference to Chip Hilton. My boys and I are huge fans of Chip, Soapy, Biggie and the rest of the Valley Falls and State U. gang. I have a couple of the originals from the 50's (Championship Ball, and Ten Seconds to Play), and have gotten the entire set in the updated version for the boys (although they sometimes have to fight dad for them). Great books for young boys.
I couldn't agree more about the halo rule. Punt returners have learned how to get into the defenders' space. It seems to me to be kind of an obvious judgment call, either the catch gets interfered with or not. Whether or not the defender is within a certain distance seems to be irrelevant.
I made a timid prediction on the Michigan-OSU game, but didn't share it with too many people. It was 14-11 Michigan. I thought it was a wonderful game, it just was too bad that Michigan couldn't pull it off. I'll have to review my tape of the first touchdown, I don't remember the motion. But I sure thought the offensive pass interference penalty was a bad call. John Zeller, Sears, Michigan
*********** Coach Wyatt, Were the postgame melees in Pullman, Wash. (Washington-Washington State), Columbus, Ohio (Michigan-Ohio State) and Honolulu (Cincinnati-Hawaii) sponsored by Coors Light and Jack Daniel's? As a Washington State alum, I am embarrassed as hell by the display of the ones who threw bottles and other debris at the Washington players and fans following the Huskies' three-overtime win. David Maley (WSU class of 1993) Rosalia, Washington
I'm sure that alcohol played a major role in all of those melees.
I'm sure, also, that a permissive society that tolerates misbehavior in general among students (can you say "demonstration") helped make them possible.
Add to that a culture of entitlement in which kids are told that they have a right to the outcome of their liking.
Sprinkle in concert mentality - the game is not a spectator event, it is an interactive thing. The fan as participant.
Throw in the fact that colleges and pro teams instigate a lot of fan rowdiness by appealing to them ("we need your help if we're gonna beat ------ this week!") to be the "Twelfth man." Fans take those appeals seriously. If the players sometimes don't know when to stop, is it any wonder that the Twelfth Man doesn't?
If the players celebrate wildly, why not the fans?
Don't forget the ESPN factor. If you look and act crazy enough, maybe the sideline camera will catch you, and you'll be on the Jumbotron. SportsCenter, even.
And, of course, there's that loveable bunch of losers at the Coors Light STD Ranch, modeling the appropriate party behavior.
Brace yourself for more. (By the way, not to excuse the conduct, but I don't blame Cougar fans for being pissed.)
*********** NEVADA DOUBLE-WING TEAM IN STATE SEMI-FINALS - I got a call Tuesday from Coach Darwin Rost, at Palo Verde High in Las Vegas. He was calling, as he'd promised he would when we talked earlier in the season, to update me on his season. When I asked him how he did, he said, "We're still playing."
Palo Verde is now 9-3 and headed for a state semi-final game this weekend in Reno, against perennial power McQueen High.
Palo Verde's three losses are deceiving. They were by a total of six points, and they were early. One was by 22-20, another 7-6, and the third by 7-3. The latter two defeats were avenged in playoff games, with wins of 39-0 and 28-14.
This is his first year running the Double-Wing. He said he installed it because he knew they'd be very tough on defense, and he wanted to control the ball, but he was surprised at some of the things he discovered. Right way, he noticed, "you can find defensive weaknesses so fast."
He bought my "A Fine Line" tape several weeks ago, looking for drills and techniques for his linemen. "That line tape," he told me, "really helped us out."
Oh- I thought I should ask Coach Rost, just to make sure: Palo Verde is in Class 4A, Nevada's largest. Palo Verde has 3400 kids. I would call that a large high school.
*********** Coach, I failed to mention that I have been selected by the IFCA to be the head coach of the North team in the annual North/South Iowa shrine game. The game is played in late July. Needless to say, I am a little excited. Steve Staker, Fredericksburg, Iowa
*********** Did you see Terrell Owens "muscle pose" after he scored a TD last night on MNF? What an a**hole. Mike Framke, Green Bay, Wisconsin (I also think he's an a**hole, but he sure is good. How would you like it if your career depended on a guy like that? By the way, the 49ers still lost. HW)
*********** I never took the whole idea of "hate crime" very seriously. I figured, are we really supposed to believe it's less serious if a guy just walks up to someone on the street and blows him away than if he says, "take that, faggot!" as he's doing it?
But then I read about the huge increase in "anti-Arab hate crimes" in just one state, Oregon. Listen to this - in all of 2000, there wasn't a single "anti-Arab bias crime" reported in the entire state. But in 2001, there were 29. All of them occurred after September 11. Hmmm.
"The most serious of Oregon's anti-Arab hate crimes in 2001," reported the Portland Oregonian with a straight face (read on - you'll wonder how) "occurred five days after the Sept. 11 attack. An Anglo woman uttered a racist remark at two Arab men at a highway rest stop in Douglas County. When one of them stepped forward to challenge her remark, she shoved him."
Said an employee of the Oregon State Police, whose job is tracking such crimes, "She told them to go home, because they weren't wanted here."
I read on, expecting to read about the heinous crime she went on to commit, but that was all it said. Evidently the serious crime that the woman committed was so unspeakably bad that the newspaper didn't think its readers could handle a detailed description.
What's that? You say that was all there was? That's all that happened? There was no beating, no robbery, no arson, no mugging, no destruction of property? The "serious hate crime" was something she said?
And so it is that the First Amendment protects the "free speech" of pornographers and flag burners. But not of that woman. She is, after all, far worse than a pornographer or a flag burner. She is - a hate criminal.
*********** Coach We went 8-3 this year and 5-1 in league. The clinic you had at my school at Orange High in CA was great. The turnaround has been pretty amazing here since I took over two years ago when the school was 1-29 and been outscored by the avg. score of 44-6 and not made the play-offs since 1992. It took me two years to get the team in the play-offs and we averaged 36 points a game and had the A back get 1,950 yards the C back 1,200 yards the B back had 400 yards and we passed for 500 yards and had 10 TD passes. Coach thanks for all the help, you do a great service to many of us coaches throughout the country and I really appreciate it. I remember our conversation by our cars after the clinic and were talking about people who say the offense is outdated and one dimensional and boring. What a laugh we must have had over 30 plays of over 30 yards. Also we had 10 TD passes. By the way our A back is heading up your way to play football. He committed to the University of Washington during the season. Thanks, Greg Gibson, Orange, California
*********** Coach Wyatt, Just wanted to update you on our season here in Brandon, Florida. We finished the season at 6-4 and we qualified for the playoffs. When we looked at the tapes of each loss, the losses could be attributed directly to our lack of execution on offense. A missed block here and there. So the last few weeks of the season we concentrated on having our B back and pulling guard learn to adjust to making a block on the run and not necessarily concentrate on one guy who may or may not be there. We more or less changed their assignments to heading to that area where that guy is supposed to be, don't chase him, instead block the guy who is there now. I believe you mentioned that in one of your tapes and somehow that thought or instruction got lost in the shuffle. That thought process changed the complexion of our offense over that last few games.
The results really paid off in the first round of the playoffs. In the first round of the playoffs last Saturday we scored 34 points on a team that no one had scored more than 7 points against all year. We are excited as we roll into the Super Bowl on December 7th. This will be the first ever Super Bowl appearance for this organization at this age group.
Thank you for your help and I hope you and your family have a great Thanksgiving.
Thanks, Burke Bomar, Brandon, Florida
*********** Pro wrasslin' comes to high school football... and gets sent home with its tail between its legs.
When two northern California high schools exchanged game tapes prior to their playoff game last weekend, one of them found that its opponent had given it the key to the game.
At the end of the tape sent by Ponderosa to upcoming opponent Granite Bay, the entire Ponderosa team was shown flexing for the camera, chanting "WE WANT GRANITE BAY!"
What a godsend for Granite Bay coach Dale Mortenson.
"By Week 11, we're running out of things to get us fired up," he told the Sacramento Bee. "We love it when we get that kind of motivation."
Final: Granite Bay 24, Ponderosa 7.
*********** Coach, I just wanted to send you a note to say we completed our season at 13-1 and won the league championship 18-0 last Sunday. 10 year old boys (4th grade). Of course we ran the DW using the materials I purchased from you. It has been a lot of hard work the last two years but it has paid off. Last year we went 11-4 and lost in the championship game 12-6. We ran a lot of unbalanced plays, 88/99 keeps, 29/38 reach, 27/36 b lead counter plays, and ran what I called a Tight Right 66 or Tight Left 77. On those plays the bback would lead the a or c back -- they were especially effective out of an unbalanced set such as Tight Right Tackle Over 66. I also ran a Tight Right 66 Lat in which the C back would come back across and carry the ball after the QB faked the handoff into the 6 hole. We never pulled or trapped however I used your basic idea of getting the most players to the point of attack by leading with either one, two, or three backs. I ran what I called a Tight Rocket End 88 in which the Left TE carried the ball and was lead by the A, B, and C backs. Of course I ran it the other way as well. It was also effective from the unbalanced set. It would typically take the defense a little while to determine how was carrying the ball. We also scored many 2 pt conversions with the Rip 6 pass. All in all we scored 321 points in 14 games, my A back carried for over 1,650 yards and 28 TDs. Regards, Greg Cazzell, Centerville Wee Elks 4th Grade Gold, Centerville, Ohio
*********** Coach, I had to contact Coach Jim Dooley from Doherty High School in Colorado Springs about our lineman's challenge, and I got his answering machine. The voice on the tape said, "I'd rather be on a losing football team than a winning soccer team any day." I think he taped it from a movie or something, but it was worth a smile. Take care, and I will update you on how our lineman's challenge turns out. Coach Greg Koenig, Las Animas, Colorado
*********** WRAP UP THE TEAM PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD. WE HAVE A WINNER. Barry Bonds, when asked if the loss of Game 6 in the World Series would haunt him in the off-season, was quoted in Sports Illustrated as answering, "Why would it haunt me? What does that have to do with me?"
*********** Mr. Wyatt, My name is Perry Bell. I am hoping to coach a Little League Football team, here in Lexington OK. next season. The age group will be 10 & under. I have never coached before so this will be a challenge. After reading your website, I am curious if this system is too advanced for kids this young. Thank you, Perry Bell
Coach Bell- No, it is not. Unlike, say a wide-open passing attack or an option running game, there is nothing that requires skills they don't have or you can't teach.
I think as a "rookie coach" you will find this system very comforting. It gives every kid a clear assignment. It attacks anyplace you want. It spreads the ball around so there is no one star. It keeps the linemen involved.
If you will put the time into learning it, and then to install it and run it by the book and make all the corrections, you will be surprised at yourself.
- In some ways, you are at something of an advantage, because at least you know that you need to learn and you are (I assume) open-minded. The guys who seem to have the most trouble are the ones who know a little - but only a little - and don't realize how little they do know, but they know just enough to think they know everything.
- *********** A GREAT CHRISTMAS GIFT -- Order form (or go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/ and click on "Publications and Products")
For
years, General Jim Shelton, one of my Black Lions
friends, has been at work on a book on his experiences in
Vietnam, with special emphasis on the bloody Battle of
Ong Thanh, in which so many Black Lions died, Don
Holleder along with them. - He's shown at left at West Point, at a book signing. Entitled, "The Beast Was out There," by James M. Shelton, its subtitle is "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" and it is published by Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois. (630-668-5185; Email: fdmuseum@tribune.com) Order form All monies generated after costs go equally to the Black Lions and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, (sponsors of the Black Lion Award).
- Great Christmas idea: the General might get pissed at me for saying this, but if you send him a check for $25 per book, and tell him who the books are for, he'll personally autograph them and mail them back to you. His address is General James Shelton, 6610 Gasparilla Pines Blvd #118, Englewood FL 34224
- I just received my copy of the book. It is worth the price just for the "playbooks" it contains - "Fundamentals of Infantry" and "Fundamentals of Artillery," as well as a glossary of all those terms that military guys throw around that might as well be Greek to us civilians.
Jim has been kind enough to provide me with early drafts, and I have read most of it with great interest. It provided me with a very interesting look at the inner workings of an Army under combat conditions, and although Jim would eventually rise to the rank of Brigadier General before retiring, it is not written in the jargon that military people often seem to use when communicating with each other. In the interest of complete authenticity, the description and the dialogue can get gritty. Here's an excerpt (If you can't deal with the way real people sometimes talk under less than ideal conditions, consider yourself forewarned.)
A one year tour of duty had been established for all US forces in Vietnam, causing the turnover phenomenon, and very few men would volunteer to extend. This was not surprising. The tempo of operations in the 1st Infantry Division was phenomenal, and the work wasboth physically and mentally exhausting. Asoldier who spent a year there, particularly in an infantry battalion, was worn out. There were exceptions to this, but the grueling pace in a grueling environment took its toll on the stamina of all men.It is difficult to put this into perspective. Sleep normally came from exhaustion -and many nights were as exhausting as the days. The oppressive heat and boredom of army food did not help. Men did not eat nourishing, complete meals with regularity. Hot food was normally delivered in mermite cans (insulated food containers) in the early evening by helicopter. Many men were so tired they didn't bother to eat. A can of C-ration fruit, usually peaches, pears, or fruit cocktail would eliminate stomach gnawing. If you took hot chow you could usually count on the rain to drown your mess kit or the paper plate while going through a jungle chow line.
In my personal case, I joined the 2nd BN, 28th Infantry on June 20, 1967 weighing approximately 215 pounds. When I left the battalion on October 3, 1967, some 100 days later, I weighed 167. Most people who knew me then (and now) would say a 48 pound weight loss in 100 days probably was good for me. I may have been overweight, but I had played varsity college football at 200 pounds in the 1950's. I also know that, in spite of the heat, heavy daily physical exertion requires three good meals a day. And few men in infantry battalions got them.
Additionally, on Wednesday of each week every man was required to take a malaria tablet. This was not a pill. It was about the size of a penny in diameter and about four or five pennies thick. Everyone hated them. Imagine for a moment swallowing something like that - and we really enforced it. We should have enforced the three square meals a day as firmly as we enforced the taking of malaria tablets. The food was available but men were generally averse to eating much, and the malaria tablets didn't help. Three or four hours after taking a malaria tablet, your intestines would start to knot. Stomach cramps were followed by overpowering churning of the bowels, and in many cases, nature would be faster than the time it took to drop your pants and squat.
Fortunately, we wore no underwear. We would just hang on until the next rain (six or seven times a day in the wet season), then pull our pants off and wash them. Unfortunately, it was not over. Diarrhea could normally be counted on for up to 24 hours. In spite of friendly comraderie, it was always embarrassing to drop your pants within everyone's eye view and squat like a dog with a problem.
It also helped to keep officers in infantry battalions from being too officious. There was something levelling about the process.
As long as I'm on that subject, let me also point out that we did also use latrines and cat holes in the field. As time permitted during the construction of our DePuy bunkers and command post bunkers, we usually managed to dig a hole in the center of our perimeters. When our resupply came in at night by chopper, you could normally count on the battalion supply crew to include a two-hole box along with ammo, water, sandbags, food (mermite cans) with evening chow and sufficient C-rations (canned food) for breakfast and lunch the next day.
The two-holer box was then, normally ceremoniously to include mild cheering, placed on the latrine hole. This latrine represented, to some extent, our acknowledgement that we were, afterall, the highest species known in the animal kingdom - homo sapiens - the species that could decipher right from wrong - and held modesty and bodily functions as primarily a private affair.
Actually, the latrine was never really used that much. Cat holes were easier, and squatting in front of your peers became acceptable practice. In addition, at night, no one liked to move from his position. From time to time, leaders might move from position to position to check their men, but roaming around the perimeter in the black of night looking for the latrine was no one's idea of fun. I did it once or twice because I thought using the latrine sounded somehow civilized - I wanted to sit, not squat, and let my mind wander as nature took its course.
One night while in this position a sniper decided to throw a few rounds in our direction. Fear immediately dominated the scene. As I crouched down behind the two - holer box with my feet in the hole - and contemplating placing the rest of my body in the hole if the firing increased - I imagined the telegram to my wife - "Dear Mrs. Shelton. The Secretary of the Army - or the President of the United States - or somebody like that - regrets to inform you that your husband was killed in action while hiding behind the battalion two-hole sh--- er. He was last found cringing in a pile of sh-- donated by himself and his fellow soldiers."
I think it was the last time I used the two-holer.
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COACHES WHO SIGNED UP FOR THE BLACK LION AWARD : WHEN YOUR SEASON IS OVER AND YOU HAVE SELECTED YOUR BLACK LION (ONE PLAYER PER TEAM) PLEASE E-MAIL YOUR LETTER OF NOMINATION (explaining why you believe your nominee represents the spirit of the award - leadership, courage, devotion to duty, self-sacrifice, and an unselfish devotion to the team) to: coachyatt@aol.com. AFTER YOUR LETTER OF NOMINATION IS RECEIVED, YOUR AWARD CERTIFICATE WILL BE MAILED TO YOU. BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR ADDRESS. THE CERTIFICATE WILL BE MAILED TO YOU, AND NOT TO YOUR PLAYER. BE SURE TO ALLOW ENOUGH TIME FOR MAILING. THERE IS NOT MONEY IN THE PROGRAM'S BUDGET TO OVERNIGHT AWARDS. CERTIFICATES WILL BE READY FOR MAILING SOME TIME IN MID-NOVEMBER. |
The
Hanover Park Hurricanes, of Hanover Park, Illinois, are once
again a Black Lions team! Last year's
Black Lion
Award winner, Jeff Ball,
is shown at left with his coach, John Urbaniak. Jeff holds
the trophy he won for being named MVP of last weekend's
Hurricane Bowl. Note the
Black Lions regimental
patch that he proudly
wears on his jersey!
TEACH YOUR KIDS ABOUT REAL HEROES -
AND HONOR THE PLAYER ON YOUR TEAM WHO MOST REPRESENTS THE VALUES OF OUR REAL HEROES (ALL TEAMS, FROM THE YOUTH LEVEL ON UP, ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE) (SEE THE LIST OF TEAMS REGISTERED THIS YEAR) - *********** Coach: I am sorry to inform you that ------ High School will not be participating in the Black Lion Award this year. To be honest, we do not have anyone that meets the qualifications. I feel that it is better to not have the Black Lion awarded than give it to someone undeserving.
It is our intention to continue with the Black Lion Award next year.
Thank You - NAME & SCHOOL WITHHELD
I appreciate your taking the time to write. I imagine it was not the easiest of years if you don't have a worthy nominee.
I appreciate your honesty. It is people like you who recognize the importance of high standards that help make this the sort of award we envisioned when we established it.
- See you next year! HW
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(IF YOU WERE ENROLLED IN 2001, YOU MUST RE-ENROLL) BE SURE TO E-MAIL ME - coachwyatt@aol.com - AND ENROLL YOUR TEAM FOR 2002! |
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inscribed on the wall of the 1st
Division Museum, at Cantigny, Wheaton, Ilinois
November
26 - "ALL GOOD GIFTS AROUND US ARE SENT
FROM HEAVEN ABOVE / THEN THANK THE LORD, OH THANK THE
LORD, FOR ALL HIS LOVE" Chorus of "We Plow the
Fields," Christian Hymn of Thanskgiving
For
years, Jim Shelton, one of my Black Lions friends, has
been at work on a book on his experiences in Vietnam,
with special emphasis on the bloody Battle of Ong Thanh,
in which so many Black Lions died, Don Holleder along
with them. 
The
Hanover Park Hurricanes, of Hanover Park, Illinois, are once
again a Black Lions team! Last year's
Black Lion
Award winner, Jeff Ball,
is shown at left with his coach, John Urbaniak. Jeff holds
the trophy he won for being named MVP of last weekend's
Hurricane Bowl. Note the
Black Lions regimental
patch that he proudly
wears on his jersey!
A
LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: At the time of this photo, taken in
1975, Ralph "Shug" Jordan preparing for his last year of
coaching at a school which he built into a power. He is
kneeling on the turf of a stadium which was named for him
while he was still actively coaching.
A
LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: When Penn State decided that it was
time to actually begin awarding athletic scholarships,
and University president Milton Eisenhower (brother of
General Dwight D. Eisenhower) said it was time to hire "a
big-time coach for a big-time college," they found this
man at Brown University, an Ivy League college. He is Rip
Engle, the coach who started Penn State on its way to
national prominence.
***********
The Black Lions' annual pilgrimage to West Point - known
among their membership as the November Nightmare - took
place this past weekend. Shown at far left is General Jim
Shelton, autographing copies of his recently published book,
"The Beast Was Out There"; in the photo at near left are
Black Lions Tom "Doc" (he was a corpsman in Vietnam) Hinger,
Joe Costello, of Utica, New York (Doc calls him "My Hero,"
and honorary Black Lion David Maraniss, whom many of you
will know as the biographer of Vince Lombardi in "When Pride
Still Mattered." David is currently working on a book about
the battle of Ong Thanh, in which Don Holleder and more than
50 Black Lions were killed by a force of North Vietnamese
and Viet Cong ten times their number.
A
LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: LaVell Edwards had just been hired as a
college assistant - his first college job - when this photo
was taken. It was 1962, and it was in the Brigham Young
football press guide.
***********
Two weeks ago, Senior Marcel Youngs (Left) , of
Lansingburgh, New York, dedicated his game to his
grandmother, who had passed away just five days earlier.
What a game it turned out to be. Marcel, a 5-7, 175-pound
senior at Lansingburgh High, tied a New York state record
with eight touchdowns - five rushing, one receiving and two
on returns. He carried 12 times for 215 yards, and had 482
all-purpose yards, as Lansingburgh defeat Ravenna, 68-8.
***********
The idea at left was sent to me by Greg Cotharn, a youth
coach in Fort Worth, Texas, in the belief that it might be
of interest to other Double-Wing coaches.
A
LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: This is from a 1964 Baltimore Colts'
program. At the time, Jim Parker was considered to be one
of the greatest linemen ever to play the game. He may
still be.