Jasper88

That tie with Hebert in '80 was an absolute heartbreaker. . .back then only one team made it to the playoffs. Jasper lost on first downs.

I heard from a credible source that Jim Goldman (former asst. coach at Jasper) got this job.

Yeah, Coach Barbay and Coach Walkoviak have forgotten more football than most coaches will ever know. They love the game and the kids--they're old school.

1980 8-0-2 261- 63 Gene Walkoviak 1981 7-2-1 255-152 Gene Walkoviak 1982 12-1-0 356- 57 Gene Walkoviak 1983 12-1-0 399- 73 Gene Walkoviak 1984 10-2-0 419- 99 Gene Walkoviak 1985 4-5-0 137- 82 Gene Walkoviak 1986 11-2-0 373-120 Gene Walkoviak 1987 8-3-0 230- 92 Gene Walkoviak 1988 8-2-1 R 281-146 Gene Walkoviak 1989 9-2-0 362- 98 Gene Walkoviak 1990 7-3-0 188- 72 Gene Walkoviak 1991 7-4-0 208-158 Gene Walkoviak 1992 9-3-1 397-210 Gene Walkoviak You can call it whatever you want. . I think Jasper would be happy to have these numbers any day, and I hope they get them. Good luck to the builldogs and Coach Brooks.

I am talking about a winning tradition year in and year out that the entire community of Jasper supported. For years, only one team from the entire district went to the playoffs, and it was always Hebert. Then, two teams from each district made the playoffs (and from the first day of the season people expected Jasper to be one of them), and finally, it has become so watered down that three teams make the playoffs. Anyone who was around in the eighties and early nineties knows what a successful teams came out of Jasper (state championship finalists or not) and the pride the community felt. Year after year the teams won, be it good coaches or players and we all loved it. A team going 2-8 would be unheard of.

It was a very different time back when I was there. We had virtually the same coaches year after year. It was like a dynasty--there was very little turnover in Coach Walkoviak's staff. Coach Pickle, Coach Ratcliff, Coach Weatherspoon, Coach Willoughby, Coach Brack--they coached a lot of our older and younger siblings. It was like a football factory; we knew what do to and we practiced it and played it. I don't know if it will ever be duplicated again.

Me too. . . it was sooo much fun!

That's embarrassing.

Rudy and Friday Night Lights

Jasper - Reggie Davis and Chris Hunt

You've got some great assistants on Newton's staff.

Just to put how much the "playoff" experience has changed into perspective, there was a time back in the seventies or early eighties when Jasper went undefeated 8-0-2, they tied one non-district game, and tied their district game against Hebert, and did not make the playoffs. It used to be the best of the best went. Now, the UIL rewards mediocrity.

As a former Jasper alumnus, I have been truly saddened by the state of Jasper athletics in recent years. It is hard for me to believe the drop in numbers, ranking, success, etc., that Jasper has experienced. I really don't understand it, especially when their neighbor, Newton, which I consider a smaller Jasper has succeeded. Is it the coaches, talent, support? When I attended school there in the mid-to-late '80s, it was automatically expected that the Jasper teams would make the playoffs, it was just a matter of how far we would go. I truly hope that with the new coach Jasper will experience success and return to its glory days of winning. Good luck DAWGS!

Newton. . . they've got some legends on that staff--they've forgotten more football than most of us will ever know.

I mean, were any other finalists named, or will they start over from scratch?