Scatright

A truer statement has never been made. Race is discussed regarding BISD all of the time, and those threads are never pulled.

You are comparing a female basketball player to a football QB. Those are two completely different animals when it comes to college recruiting. Alexis is one of the best players we've seen come through this area in ages, and one of the best players in the nation. the QB in question is not. If you put Hunter Johnson, or Dylan Mccaffery at Legacy, they'd get looks like Alexis. This kid is not those guys. If he plans to get the "looks" he is not getting at Legacy, entering the public school system is the way to make that happen. As someone above stated, if he joins this Silsbee team and is a great player there, he will get the looks that he desires.

Then he needs to move. Playing at a private school like Legacy is a death sentence for talented kids college chances. He needs to get in a public school.

There has to be more to this story. I wonder what has been going on behind the scenes?

Westerberg is changing that culture. I promise, within 3 years, BH wins that district and makes a deep run.

Way too much travel, but that would've been a nice game.

I still can't imagine building that gem of a stadium and not adding turf. I played a first round playoff game there the first year it opened, and the grass was terrible. I keep hearing that it hasn't improved at all.

That's ridiculous if true.

Oh please. Do you think they're going to stop practicing outside?

False. People who continue to perpetuate that myth are part of the problem. Those kids can get out with hard work in the classroom, despite what happens on the field or court. I know plenty of kids from impoverished backgrounds, and terrible neighborhoods who sat next to me in classes at a Baptist university in East Texas and never paid a dime. They took advantage of the government programs that were available to them, and only available to them because they focused their time and effort in the classroom. Also, athletics have not changed a lot of kids lives. The correct statement is "athletics have changed a few kids lives". Look at the statistics on how many kids parlay their HS athletic success into a 4 year college scholarship, then look at the numbers of how many have gone pro. We have to quit telling these kids that they can get out of the hood with athletics and start reminding them that their chances are better to get out of the hood with academics.

I keep waiting for Joubert to decide to move on. As long as he was basketball only, I thought he'd stay forever. Now that he is venturing into football coaching, why in the world would he want to be in Kountze? Someone will give him a shot because he is a heck of a coach.

It happens all of the time all over small town texas. It is not as big of a deal to get done as you might think. If Dale is their guy, they will move heaven and earth to ensure that it happens.

His family will gladly resign from the board to bring him to HF. It happens all of the time..

Trust me, I absolutely hate agreeing with OldSchool, especially in matters involving HD, but he is right. I was a part of the first of those Barbay teams, and while we had a big turnout for 2-a-days, we ended the season with 16 players on varsity. I was also a part of a senior class that had 50 people in it, which means that we almost double the amount of senior boys you are saying are available today. That alone makes his point. Barbay and Slack also coached at HD when our enrollment made us a 2A (new 3A) school, and we were able to compete at that level. Slack ushered us into 1A (new 2A) when we were one of the biggest 1A schools in the state of Texas. Frankly, if there was a chance to return to glory, that was our chance. Those teams Slack had in our first two years of 1A were loaded, and we just missed our chance. I do not know how to verify your Finney summer numbers, but I find it hard to believe that Finney turned out 50 kids in his first year at the helm. Maybe the second year because the excitement over the close playoff game with Alto had grabbed a few outliers, but not that first year. Apart from the transfer of the Lavallais boys, that first year team was in deep trouble. Finney did a great job, but I also remember him dealing with several undisciplined knuckleheads that I believe Hodges would not allow to play for him. I have a cousin who was a JV player during the Finney years, and I remember him not having a game that often. The reason wasn't that we didn't have a team, it was because the other schools we were competing with didn't have a team. The Sabine Passes, High Islands, and Colmesneil's of the world couldn't get the numbers together to have a team. Truth is, the enrollment of those schools in 2012-2013 is close to what we are fielding now. My question now shifts to your comment that there is and always will be interest in coaching at HD. I agree with you, there are always guys looking for that first head coaching job and they will apply. I ask you to go back in time with me to the resignation of Russell Roberts. We are talking 1997 (or somewhere in there). I was finishing up my freshman year, and I was very interested in who they were going to bring in to steer the rest of my high school career. They hired a defensive coordinator from Alto named Randy Copeland, and that was an excellent hire. He was a great coach, a better man, and led the only team out of HD to win a playoff game in recent history. He also hired Darrell Barbay to be on his staff, and that proved profitable because after two years when Copeland took the job at Arp, his predecessor was waiting and willing to take the reins. Barbay was the coach my senior year, and it was great. Barbay was there for several years before leaving for Anahuac, and the powers that be hired home town boy Joe Slack. This was a very anticipated hire and most everyone was excited about it. It didn't go as well as planned and he eventually moved on allowing for the hiring of Josh Finney. Finney came to HD because of his relationship with the Huckaby family and because, by most accounts, he had worn out his welcome in East Texas and needed a fresh start. He was/is a great coach and brought instant credibility to the program, but due to family tragedy (which only expedited the exit because everyone is aware he was trying to get back to ETX), after two years he was gone. After that there was a groundswell of support drummed up for the returning Coach Hodges and after missing out on the job when Finney was hired, he was handed the keys to the vehicle, and we are now two years in. This is why I recounted all of that. You have to go all the way back to the exit of Russell Roberts to find the last time that someone with no ties applied and made the conscious decision to move their family to HD to pursue coaching football here. That guy was Copeland (although some could argue that he might have been persuaded by Lucky Gamble to accept the HD job that Gamble accepted, then turned down for Alto, when Roberts was hired) and since then it has been a slow progression to get to the place we find ourselves now. When both Finney and Hodges were hired, the finalists were not guys with pedigrees, they were guys looking for that first shot any way they could get it. My point is, if Hodges leaves, what is our plan to get a better coach? This is a guy who was been a head coach before, been a coordinator at high level schools in the triangle. A guy who has history with the town and really desires to be invested in the kids and community. Who replaces that? There are no Randy Copelands or Darrell Barbays knocking on this door anymore. We will start from scratch with the next guy and just pray he is better. Giving Hodges the time he needs is what I truly feel is the answer, not running him out of town for the next guy. Also, I hear there is an old coach from the 80's talking about coming back if this job opens. I know that some people truly love him, but he is not a better option than Hodges. These are just my opinions and I do not mean to be offensive or upset anyone but I just think that the approach being taken against Hodges is not fruitful, and this petition could really be something that comes back to bite the entire community and the football program.

This actually may be the best post I've read in a while.

There are many many colleges on every level in the US looking for players of all skill levels. A guy like Coach Mann can make all the difference for your program. The D1 guys will obviously be found, it's the guys that sign with the UTPB's and Southern Nazarene's of the world who benefit from having a hustler like Mann around the school. I am still a little surprised that GCM didn't give him a serious look, but I"d assume that his time will be coming in the next season or two.

GCM had the chance to make him yours!

I am not sure about that. Almost everyone I have spoken to on the topic are supporters of Hodges. Lots of people like the way he is leading the program, and simply believe that it will take more time. I keep asking one question that no one can answer. If Hodges is run out of town, will HD be able to find anyone better? At least Hodges wants to be in HD, and it feels like he has an investment in the community. HD won't be able to go out and land another coach like Finney. Case in point, look at the other finalists when Hodges got the job. It will always be a first year head coach that doesn't intend to invest, and may not even be able to coach. The reason the band is so large is because our band director has chosen to invest and build relationships in the district and with the kids. No one tried to run him off when during his first few years when the band was small and unimpressive. That is the reason for the band's success, and will also be the reason for further football success. If we keep a two year revolving door on the position, and keep running off coaches because they don't run the offense we think they should run, we will never achieve the level of investment that it takes to build a program. At the end of the day, after all of this petition stuff, Hodges may choose to leave for his own good. When that happens, I am really hoping the next guy is a home run. If not, lots of people may be looking back and wishing they would've left the man alone.

Have you seen the dysfunction that is Tatum's coaching search? No chance the compete.

So HD has decided that it is in their best interest to play up a classification against a old rival? The worst way to build morale for the Bobcats is to lost by 50 to Hardin. That loss will sink any hope of having a successful season. The kids and the town will be downtrodden after that beat down. Not very wide IMO.

Jasper rollllllssssss

I am glad he chose to stay. He has a long history with Barbay, and I'd like to see that continue as long as possible. Having said that, Barrier's day is coming.

Wow. Ok thx

Where did the OC go?

Welp. This just got interesting.