robanadana

They're gonna take offense to that whuppin' they're about to get one week from today!

Tough day after a playoff loss like last night but I just wanted to express how proud I am of you guys this year. A few things to remember about this season: You broke a 35 year drought at PuppyPoo Stadium (Anybody not believe in home cookin'?) and we should get the next two years at home. You broke a 38 year drought on District Championships. No one can say "Vidor, what have you won lately?" You guys slew that Dragon. Haylon Leckelt is the greatest running back in Vidor history. Not a small feat coming from a running football team. I remember watching Tim Hagler and he was a beast. Haylon ran just as tough. I sure hope I get to see this young man playing ball next year on Saturdays for someone. For a team with no supposed "D1" caliber athletes (Manny Netherly committed to LSU; PAM too many to list), you beat Memorial for a share of the title and gave Crosby all they could handle last night. We, your fans thank you for a stellar year which you should look back on in pride. You underclassmen, 2017 football season starts today. We expect the same from you.

Good luck tonight Purple Indians! I'll be there tonight with you...but not wearing purple. It is not in my color wheel.

I'm gonna try to make it to the hospital this weekend to see him and I'll update everybody on his status once I do. Shocker last night when I found out...Bobby and I are close. One of the best people you would ever want to meet.

Good job Ponies! Who's the next victim?

Keep it to football. Game is over...good luck to Crosby in the playoffs.

Congratulations Crosby on a great football game and deserved victory. Good luck in the playoffs and represent us well. I will be there to support you on the road as long as you don't throw stuff at me for sitting on your side with my black and gold gear on. The best team won tonight but no shame to be found from my kids. 14.2, Red Dawn and you other Crosby fan / posters on here...mad props to all of you and I understand your love and support for your team. Again, good luck and represent! BTW, you're left side linebacker gets player of the game in my book. He shot the gap three times and made plays when we were in your red zone that saved the day. That kid gets the game ball.

OK, OK. We got the memo about our field. Turf is on the way...working on the rest. But, our scoreboard is nice and as long as I run it we are always in the game.

I'll be there Friday night with Indians. Good luck to y'all too Matt. Take it to Barbie's Hill!

Good luck to both teams tonight. Coaches coach, teams play, officials officiate and no one gets hurt.

Keeping it at the top until this afternoon!

You have all exceeded the expectations of us family and fans. Not supposed to make the playoffs, picked in the bottom third, IH10 - Vidor 0. Too small, too slow. We heard all of that this year. Read the Vidor vs. Crosby (Stallworth) thread...you might as well not show up. After the first 10 games of the year you're 8 - 2, you won at Bulldog Stadium for the first time in 35 years, you won a district championship for the first time since 1978 by beating the #11 team in the state rankings. I'm reposting the Kenny Chesney video from the Nederland pump up not because of the song but because what some of the coaches on there have to say. Listen to them, in particular, one of the last coaches at the end. He says and I'm paraphrasing, "for a lot of you this might be your last game of football. How do you want to be remembered?" You've made the playoffs, do you want it to end now? 2011 went 3 rounds deep, 1964 three rounds took them to the state semifinals. After the video is an article about the 2011 Pirates compared to the 1964 Pirates. Read the article!!!! How about adding the 2016 Pirates to that list? Win, lose or draw, we love you guys and are extremely proud of you...how do you want to be remembered? Play every play like it's your last boys, PLAY HARD! BEAUMONT — Ivan Sellers gently rests the green Army uniform he wore during his two tours of duty in Vietnam on his couch, pointing out a brown badge on the right pocket that he won for expert marksmanship. With the touch of his hand, he notices that one side of the badge has come loose — he doesn't see it because his eyesight has deteriorated to the point that he's legally blind. Next, he opens up a gray box holding the Bronze Star he won for superior performance as a teletype and cryptographic repairman, helping the Army break down Morse code to keep track of where the North Vietnamese were located. It's one of his proudest accomplishments, along with his wife, 11 children, 28 grandchildren and being a starting defensive tackle on the 1964 Vidor football team that reached the Class 3A state semifinals. That team is well-known in the small Orange County town for being the final Pirates team to reach the third round of the playoffs. That is, until this year's team, which lost 55-30 to Angleton on Friday in the Class 4A Division I playoffs. Related Stories Vidor's playoff run conjures up memories of 1964 team The untold story of the 1964 team has been somewhat of a lasting legacy for the players. Some have gone on to success in the corporate world and other fields. And then there are four, like Sellers, who served their country in Vietnam, and one — Don Minton, a Marine — who never came home from the war. At 5-foot-8 and 140 pounds, Minton was undersized as a fullback but was great at running one of the team's favorite plays that year — the quick trap. His talent was enough to impress the coaches at McMurry University in Abilene, who offered him a spot on the football team after he graduated. “They told him they'd make him bigger,” said Beamon Minton, Don Minton's uncle. Minton never got the chance to play college football. He was drafted in 1965. His induction group for the Army was told they needed two people to volunteer to be Marines. When no one volunteered, Army officers decided to pick from the group of close to 100. Minton was selected — a decision that would put him on the front lines. A photo on the Oct. 28, 1966, cover of Life Magazine showed Minton helping a wounded fellow Marine. In May 1967, Minton was shot in the leg by a sniper and bled to death. Word spread quickly to his former football teammates. While most found out by word of mouth back home, Sellers got the news in a letter from his wife. A large crowd attended Minton's funeral that year at Memorial Funeral Home in Vidor. “He was very likable, a best buddy, friendly and cheerful,” said Sellers, who couldn't make the funeral because he was still in Vietnam. “That whole senior class (of 21 players) was very close, so it was hard on us.” Beamon Minton named his son after Don as a tribute. His son's birthday is the same day Don Minton was scheduled to return from the war. Sellers, 65, is the only surviving Vietnam veteran from the team. Johnny Olsen, a guard on the team, died in a crash in California on his way home from his first tour of Vietnam with the Navy. Starting center Mike Gilbreath, who served in the Army, died at 41 of lupus. Many of his former teammates, however, speculate that his death was caused by exposure to Agent Orange. Sellers said Agent Orange, which was widely used where he was stationed in Da Nang, may have caused his blindness. Doctors diagnosed him with retinitis pigmentosa, a hereditary eye condition, but Sellers said he has a hard time believing that diagnosis because no one in his family has ever had the condition. He said he had perfect vision before he entered the Army in 1965. After he returned from Vietnam, Sellers said, his vision deteriorated until he became legally blind and had to leave his job as an electrician at Mobil Oil in 1987. Sellers, who now lives in a spacious home north of Vidor, hasn't kept in touch with many of his teammates aside from class reunions. The last time they all reunited was during a 30th anniversary gathering in 1994, when they were honored at a football game. He hasn't been to any of Vidor's games this year but has followed their success. Sellers hopes the team had as much fun on its playoff run as his crew did back in '64. “When you're that age, you're not thinking about the future; they should enjoy life as it presents itself,” Sellers said. “They're all going to grow old and get health issues. These are going to be some of the best times of their lives." Players from the 1964 team see several similarities between their team and the 2011 Pirates. “I've gotten phone calls and emails from them telling me how much our team reminds them of their teams,” said Vidor football coach Jeff Mathews. Both teams are small and quick. Vidor's defensive line in 1964 featured the 156-pound Sellers, 160-pound Ricky Wardwell, 175-pound Sparky Robinson and 182-pound Mike Gentry, who went on to become the superintendent of the Orangefield Independent School District. That 1964 team had three running backs in its wing-T offense, just like this year's team in its slot-T, although the 1964 team threw the ball a lot more. Wingback Jerry Wheeler still is in the Texas record books, tied for fourth in touchdown receptions in a game with five and tied for eighth in receiving yards in a game with 280. And as Mathews has made a point of trying to use his football team to change the perception of Vidor as racist, the coach in '64, Edgar Payne, also had a reputation he was trying to change — that Vidor was a “hick town.” Payne had the booster club buy the team gold blazers with black ties that said “Pirates” in gold letters down the front. The players wore the blazers and ties when they traveled to games. “It was to show class,” said James “Sparky” Robinson, an offensive guard and defensive tackle who was one of the 1964 team's captains, along with Tommy Rainbolt and quarterback Larry Tilton. “A lot of teams dressed up on game day back then.” Both teams played their first playoff game at Lamar University in front of a packed home side — the 1964 team drew 14,000 for its opening round game against Cy-Fair. When the 1964 team returned from its state semifinal loss against San Marcos, fans packed Main Street awaiting their arrival. The team actually had to get off the charter bus and walk the rest of the way to the high school because the streets were so crowded.

Who cares? I'll give y'all an old soccer trophy if it makes you feel better. Put a piece of duct tape over the names and there you go.

I worked with Ernest a few years back. He was the lead safety guy for a contractor company. Outstanding person and a pleasure to be with discussing football, of course.

Was Ernest Anderson on that team as well?

You guys just need to get your heads straight and smoke Porter's butt!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ What this young man said! Saturday Sam Rayburn Fish vs. Whopper Plopper.

I voted Mrs. NDN. If there was a second it would go to Kolbie Humble. 206 yds and 4 TDs against PAM.

Vidor WOS Lamarque Woodville Tenaha Westbrook PA Memorial PNG Bridge City Henderson Carthage Jasper Shepherd Kirbyville Buna Newton Evadale Hull Daisetta New Caney Bellville

Gonna be a really fun football weekend...gotta support my kids over here east of the Trinity. When you work with fathers and grandfathers from every team in the Golden Triangle, you have to be a fan of the other teams. Once bi-district is done, I'll move over to supporting area. It sorta ends for me after that.

OK guys, I'm tired of hearing all of the mouthing and brain dead statistics from the West Chambers / Liberty County Garbage Monitoring District (i.e. 21-5A) and I'm ready for a 22-5A PUMP UP THREAD to get our kids ready to play this. So, here are my predictions for the week and my call to arms: VIDOR MIGHTY FIGHTING PIRATES 35, Cosby 24. We've been trashed by these guys like 14.2 and Code Dead all year and we are done messin' around. The Pirates are firing on all cylinders and I see us by 11. CENTRAL SUPER JAGUARS 24, New Candy 21. Jags playing up to expectations and get it done!!! Late field goal on a turnover. PAM NUCLEAR TITANS 50, Poor-ter 7. Smoked Trojan from some Superior knights. More speed than Richard Rollins has at Grease Monkey Garage. Not even close. PNG on the Freakin' Warpath INDIANS 42, Barbie's Hill 28. You can't stop Roschon Johnson, you can only hope, and I do mean hope, to contain him. Indian defense steps up, scalps the Eaglets and tacks feathers onto their totem. GO 22-5A, Clobber the clowns from 21-5A! Black Pearl party this weekend!

Not letting this die because I want our kids to see it this week if they haven't already. PUMP UP!

I TOTALLY BOMBED that last week. I think Vidor was the only one I got right. Even my grandson's team lost in the playoffs. Bummer.

I ain't talking about 2011, I'm talking about RIGHT NOW! I got 22-5A to win it...you guys in or out? Want some Pirate booty?

All or nothing. 21-5A vs. 22-5A. I'll pay up to a New Candy Eagle on district vs. district. You guys hold on to early season too much. It's how you're playing right now, not at the first of the year. I like our collective chances.