9/30/2011

Homecoming at Canadian

Homecoming Pep Rally at Canadian High School. There will be a packed house toningt as Panhandle High comes to town.

9/29/2011

Your Paper Is Ready

In Canadian, TX on Thursday when you come to town, you look for the flag. At the Canadian Record, it has been a tradition for over 50 years, back to the days when printers used real ink and editor’s slaved away at paste up boards,  hell bent on meeting that always imposing deadline. As everyone in Canadian knows, if the flag on Main Street in front of the office is red, then this week’s edition of the paper is not ready yet. If a green flag flies, then park that pickup and come on in, your copy of this week’s paper awaits. It may be closer to smoke signals than cyber space; but it does work.

The Flag


Chris Koetting drug his computer mouse down the menu projected on the large screen attached to the wall in the coaches' meeting room. It is 7 pm on Wednesday and the last long practice before the Panhandle game is in the books. “Let me see if I can find this play,” says Koetting.

When it comes to the latest in media technology in the world of high school football, Canadian High School is in the front of the line. Every game is filmed from two angles, from the line of scrimmage and from the end zone. Computer software the district has purchased then sorts each play so that a click of Koetting’s computer mouse will show the play back to  back from each angle. The coach has stated many times that the computer programs the Wildcats utilize are invaluable as he prepares his team for the weekly wars of Texas High School football.

“It is the time factor,” he relays. “With this program, we can have everything ready to go by Monday morning. We have the whole game plan for that week’s opponent, plus we have broken down our preivious game, graded each of our players on every play and go over that with the team on Monday.”

Koetting wants to show me one particular play from last year’s thrilling last second win over Albany in the state quarterfinals. “Here it is,” he says,” you are going to love this.” Canadian is driving to the red zone in a tie game. The Wildcats have reached Albany’s 20 yard line, but only 12 second remain in regulation time. Koetting decides to take one last shot at the end zone. If that fails, he will then send out his FG team.

Braden Hudson lays a perfect pass to the back left corner of the end zone where Canadian reciver Jacob Ramirez makes a game winning over the shoulder catch. Koetting is however not focusing on the clutch throw and catch. He barks, “watch the corner of the screen.”

As the official in the back of the end zone raises his arms to signal touchdown, a huge man, dressed in Canadian school colors, explodes from the darkness to the middle of the end zone, where he joins in with the on-field celebrating Wildcats. As he repeatedly leaps in the area - no small task for a man whose shoulders appear to be as wide as the goal posts - he triumphatally punches the air with both fists flying. “That,” said Koetting, “ is how I will always remember Kirk Morrow.”

The father of Wildcat star senior lineman, Ty Morrow, Kirk died in a car accident three weeks ago.
Morrow was a single parent raising two sons. His house became the favorite hangout for youngest son Ty and his friends. “If we wanted to know where our kids where,” one  parent told me, “we just drove by Kirk’s house.”

“It did help,” Ty says in a low voice, “that I got to the hospital to say goodbye. The nurses said he kept asking, ‘how far away are they.’ I think he was just hanging on, waiting for me to get there. His heart stopped five minutes after I got there.”

For the current group of Senior players, when they began with orgainazed football in the 5th grade, Kirk was their first coach. For many, he was a second father figure.

Two days after his death, a dispirited Canadian team lost on the road to Perryton, 33-32, on a last second field goal. Not playing the game was never even considered. Kirk would not have liked that, said Koetting. The next day, an emotionally spent Canadian team buried Kirk Morrow.

Ty admits that everything has yet to set in, admitting he still to some degree is in denial. “It is the little things,” he said after Wednesday’s practice. “My uncle lives in San Angelo and he called me at lunch today to say he had talked to the coach at Angelo State and they really liked the film on me that Coach Koetting sent them. I was really excited. The first thing I thought was, ‘I got to call me Dad and tell him.”

The low point for Ty, he says, was after the Perryton game and the night before his dad’s funeral.  “My teammates were crushed after we lost that game. They felt like they had let Dad down, that they didn’t honor him as they should have because we lost. My Uncle Dave came into talk to the team and he told us not to let my Dad’s death be a burden we had to live up to, but an inspiration to be the best team we can be, win or lose. That helped.”

Morrow says that football has been a great release for him and he is grateful that the community has shown such a great out pouring of support. “I couldn’t go on without all the help,” he says.

The players have dedicated the remainder of the season to Kirk Morrow’s memory. They wear his name printed under their game jerseys. “Even winning a state championship is not going to bring my Dad back,” says Ty. “But we all want to show him that he has inspired us to play as hard as we can. That is all he would ask, if he was here.

One of Kirk Morrow’s favorite duties was carrying the Canadian Wildcat flag for pre-game introductions. As the team lined up, ready to storm the field, Morrow would  hand over the flag to a captain, to carry into battle. The day of the Perryton game, that same flag had to be retrieved from Kirk Morrow’s mangled pickup truck.

9/27/2011

And Kicking for the Wildcats this week is......

Salvador Escamilla

Football coaches have to have something to worry about. It is in their nature. But when you lead 61-0 at halftime, such as the case for Canadian Wildcat coach Chris Koetting last week, in his team's home encounter with Clayton, NM, what do you fret about?

"Our extra point kicking has me at a loss," he said Monday. "We have always had someone step up and fill that role. Last year our kicker was 84-88 and he never kicked before his senior year. But this year...," Koetting shook his head as his thoughts tailed off.

The Canadian PAT kicking results of last week – 4 out of 7 - by the winner of the weekly kicking sweepstakes contest, Salvador Escamilla, was a huge improvement over the 0-6 performance of the previous week against Fritch. “Big Sal gets another chance his week,” said Koetting, after Wednesday’s practice.

His newly claimed kicking throne aside, Escamilla is perhaps the Wildcat’s most formidable lineman. A 6’1, 250 Senior, Salvador has attended the Canadian schools since half way through his kindergarten year. Amazingly, he never played football until his sophomore year of high school. “I had to have help and be taught just how to put on my pads. I knew nothing,” Escamilla now admits. "But everyone here has been so helpful to me. I am so glad I got the chance to play."

A young man who tips the scales at 250 pounds as a freshman walking the hallways of Canadian High School and is not out for football in a school where football is king? “The coaches were always on me to come out, but my parents didn’t want me to play. I had a bad accident to my leg when I was little and they were afraid I would hurt it again.”

Salvador gives the majority of credit for his meteorical rise as a football player to former teammate and All-State Canadian lineman Kyle Alexander. “He got me in the weight room in the off-season of my freshman year and he really made me work.” With Alexander, who is now a cadet and freshman football player at the United States Military Academy Prep School in West Point, NY, serving as the task master, Escamilla’s football stock soared. “I weighed the same back then as I do now,” Salvador says. “But back then I was fat. I am not fat now.”

Escamilla would like to continue his development as a football player some where in college next year. The coaching staff feels he is still a work in progress and will become a more complete player as experience helps him grow into the game.

Have mom and dad changed their mind about football, the muscular lineman (and now kicker) was asked? “Oh yeah, they come to every game. They are learning. They grew up in Mexico and know nothing about football. When I get home from the game now, they ask me all kinds of questions about why this and why that."

Escamilla has a 9 year old brother. Will he wait until he gets to his sophomore year to put on the pads for the Wildcats? “No way,” says Escamilla with a wide grin. "He is already playing. You just wait until he gets to high school. Now he is going to be good!"





9/22/2011

Economic Survival on the High Plains

Has this slice of Americana on the High Plains, from North Dakota to Texas, been swallowed up by a world economy that demands global solutions? At a time when thousands of American jobs, many formerly in rural communities, are disappearing overseas, can rural America ever swing back the pendulum of population shifts that has seen most small towns  on the High Plains lose half of their population in the last 20 years? Has the monster that began as just another five and dime store on the town square of a small Arkansas burg in the 1950’s, forever doomed the commercial survival of the independent  rural merchant? Does the construction of a new Supercenter hasten the boarding of store fronts in countless small towns, not long ago vibrant with the life of Main Street America, but now mere ghost towns, as dead as the summer weeds  that spring from every crack of their neglected pavement? To put it in simple terms, can rural communites on the High Plains survive in today’s global ecomonmy?

A lot of questions.

9/19/2011

Linton, ND: The Hill

Coach Imdeike supervises a Hill workout


The record for reps on The Hill is legendary amongst current and former Lions. “About 15 years ago,” Imdeike recalls, “I had a boy who lived out on a ranch. One morning, he didn’t come to 7 am practice during the summer. He called me and said, ‘Coach, I was just too tired. I will take my punishment tomorrow.’ That was the kind of kid he was. He could have lied to me, but he didn’t. The next day, I asked him, like I often do, ‘how many do you think you should do to make it right.’ He said, ‘what is the record.” I said, ‘15’. He said, ‘then I think I should do 16.’ Just to make sure he did 17, and that was at the end of a four hour summer practice. Nobody has been crazy enough since to offer to break 17.”

9/18/2011

Coaches

Teams will take on the personalities of their coaches. It the coach is a quitter, the team will quit. It the coach is a excuse maker,  the team will find excuses.

A great part of this Highway 83 project has been the chance to meet three outstanding coaches: Jeff Gross at McCook, NB; Chris Koetting .at Canadian, TX and Dan Imdeike at Linton, ND.;

Trying to portray all threes personalities and how they lead their young men is a challenge. In many ways, they are similar, but in more ways, they are unique.

I am sending three youtube clips of three great coaches who my Highway 83 coaches remind me of. Take a look and enjoy the clips. Coaching is a great profession.

Jeff Gross, the great communicator: Lou Holtz   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ez24t1b1oA&feature=related

Dan Imdeike, the throw back coach:  Bear Bryant    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PtIaWpysSI


Chris Koetting, the mentor:  Dick Vermeil   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FviDdyRKHXA&feature=related  

JEFF GROSS

CHRIS KOETTING


DAN IMDEIKE


9/14/2011

Homecoming Roalty, Linton, ND Style

LISTENING TO AMERICA:
ROLLING DOWN HWY 83
I have a friend, whom by any social measurement of her life’s accomplishments, would be labeled an unqualified success. Still a few years on the sunny side of 40, she can look back at a life that has displayed across the board achievement. In particular, her school days are a resume that would make anyone jealous. A widely decorated athlete and an accomplished scholar, she won it all. All-State on the courts and track, combined with top academic standing in her class, she was the quintessential golden girl every parent dreams of.


Ms. Samantha Gross, Linton, ND 2011 Homecoming Queen

One night, in a rare moment of vulnerability – perhaps due to inhibitions loosened by the lubrication of a few malt beverages - she made a startling revelation to me about herself. All of her high school awards and accomplishments, she told me in a whisper, she would have gladly traded for the one honor that eluded her in her high school days of glory; “I always wanted to be Homecoming Queen, ever since I was a little girl” she admitted in a sad voice, little tempered by the passing of 20 years, “I dreamed about it, but I didn’t make it. I would gladly have traded every other honor I won to just be Homecoming Queen.”

The celebration of Homecoming in small town high schools across this vast nation is a community rite of passage and the social event of the school year. It is a time of not only celebration, but of amazing transformation. A farm wagon, used 364 days a year for the mundane chore of  hauling hay, on one magic Friday night each Fall, becomes –with the generous application of crape paper - a throne worthy of royalty, a setting for the Queen and her court. A sleepy town square, dusty and empty on most days, is now a “parade route,” lined with the town’s young and old; those who dream of what will be and those who remember what once was.

The highlight of the week’s long celebration, the one moment no one will miss and the most breathtaking transformation for the town to witness occurs during the halftime introduction of the Homecoming Queen candidates. Girls who come to school each day sans makeup, dressed in their normal attire of jeans and tee shirts, or after school in their volleyball practice gear; now take the spotlight. Wow. They are, for that one shining night at least, the best the town has to offer, the fairest maidens in the land. Dressed in total splendor, hair done just right, evening dresses, elaborate makeup and stylish shoes; no expense spared, they command attention. A proud but nervous dad, searching but failing to find the right words to confront what he has long tried to ignore; the reality of his little girl maturing into a women, will awkwardly offer, “cleans up nicely, don’t she?”

Linton, ND High School crowned its 2011 Homecoming Queen at halftime of the football game last Friday, September 9. The protocol for selecting the Queen varies slightly from school to school, but Linton’s method is typical and common. Each class, plus the Athletic and the Co-Curricular clubs, will each choose a candidate from the girls in the senior class; a total of six nominees. The entire student body will then vote for their choice.

The winner in Linton for this year is Ms. Samantha Gross, daughter of Sam and Missy Gross. Samantha’s has four siblings, including her twin brother, Jayden, a star receiver on the Lions’ football team. Samantha shared with me, during an interview the week after her coronation, that she is presently undecided on a future career, but does plan to attend college next fall. She has good memories of growing up in the small North Dakota town and would like to raise her family, someday, in a similar nurturing environment. Her large family has deep roots in the area, her father is a second generation farmer and her mother works at the local medical clinic. Sam, or Samantha, according to her -doesn’t matter and either is fine - is also a valued member of the Lion’s volleyball team, who finished last season as the state of North Dakota's Class B runner-up.





9/12/2011

On the Road Again with the 3-0 McCook Bison

The Bison rebounded in the fourth quarter with two long drives to put the game away. It was an alpha male type statement to Alliance, driven home with old school smash mouth football: you have improved, you made us work, but when the bell rang, with the game on the line; we answered. We are still McCook - and you ain’t there yet.

The only satisfaction Gross found in the long day was in the way his team responded in the 4th quarter. “That was McCook football the last quarter,” he said as the two bluebird school busses hauling his subdued and quiet team rolled east across the late night Nebraska prairie. “Nothing fancy. Just do your job. Without that, this would have been a really long ride home.”

Off to a 3-0 start, the Bison are on the road again next week as they travel to Gering, who will also bring an undefeated mark into the showdown. “Three of our first four games are on the road and if you take away the game with us, our first four opponents have a combined record of 9-0. If we can get Gering next week, well, that would be a pretty good start to the season,” Gross deadpanned.

At 4 am on Saturday morning, the team buses, barely ahead of the rising eastern sun, rolled up a deserted Highway 83 into the middle of McCook, made a left on 7th Street and deposited the undefeated Bison at the back door of the school gymnasium.

9/09/2011

Tough week in Canadian

WEEK 3

(Photo)
It has been a very tough week in Canadian, TX. On Wednesday evening, Senior Captain Ty Morrow’s father was tragically killed in an automobile accident. Morrow decided to play the game, as reported on the radio, because that is what his Dad would have wanted. 

This evening, The Wildcats traveled to play their traditional Panhandle  rival, Perryton. The Rangers entered the evening holding  a 37-20-3 advantage in this series that goes all the way back to 1920. Perryton also has a 3-1 advantage in enrollment over the Class 1 Wildcats. Down by 12 at the half, Canadian scored 20 consecutive points to open the third quarter before the Rangers responded with the game’s last 9 points, culminated by a 25 yard field goal, pulling out a thrilling 34-33 win.

It will be an emotional week ahead for the Wildcats. A funeral of a father of a teammate, who many commented was one of Canadian football’s biggest boosters, will have to be endured. The tough loss tonight on the football field will be secondary. It is often said the one of the main values of high school athletics is that it teaches young people to deal with adversity. Coach Koetting and his staff will now have to deal with a level of adversity that none two weeks ago would have ever envisioned, but when a steady hand of adult leadership is needed, the mourning Canadian community can take solace in that their young people are in good hands. I expect the entire community of Canadian, as small towns will do when tragedy strikes, to circle the wagons around their boys. It would be a mistake, as many of the state pundits are already doing, to write this team off. Next week the Wildcats will play their third consecutive road game as they travel to Sanford Fritch.


Linton, ND notched a big homecoming win over Milnor, the team that ruined their undefeated season last year with a playoff upset, 14-7. A third quarter TD gave the Lions the lead and a stout defense, as they did last week, rebuffed a late 4th quarter drive deep into Linton territory, to seal a big regional win. Linton has now knocked off the two teams picked behind them in the Regional Pre-Season coach’s poll. Next week the Lions will hit the road and travel to Fargo to take on Oak Grove Lutheran.

McCook, NE made the four hours bus ride to Alliance to take on undefeated and up and coming Bulldog team. The Bison trailed 20-17 with 8 minutes left in the game, but rallied to pull away for a 31-20 win. Coach Gross’ team, coming off an emotional double overtime win last week over Aurora, showed a great deal of poise, not taking lightly a team they have dominated for many years. Off to a 3-0 start, the Bison on the road again next week as they travel to Gering.


9/07/2011

Homecoming in Linton, ND

Linton will host Milnor-North Sargent for their homecoming game. The contest will be the third consecutive home game for the Lions to open the season. Last week’s 12-7 come from behind win against Oaks was big, as the visitors were picked to finish third behind the Lions in the pre-season Regional poll. The task will get no easier this Friday as Milnor-North Sargent was picked 2rd in the same pre-season poll. Minor started their season playing up one class and suffered a 28-13 home field loss to Lisbon. Week two saw another home game as the Bulldogs hosted Cass-Northern. They proved to be poor hosts as they destroyed the visitors by a score of 63-0.

Adding to the meaning of the game is that it was Milnor that knocked the Lions from the undefeated and state wide #1 ranking last fall in the second round of the playoffs, pulling the upset over Linton, 17-14. “We beat them in the regular season,” remembers Imdeike. “We have not forgotten. We had a four hour coaches meeting this morning (Labor Day) and we fill we have a good game plan. They have a great quarterback, but our defense is playing well. We got to get it going on offense. 

Adding to the meaningfulness of the game will be Homecoming festivities at Linton High. September 9 seems early for Homecoming. “We only have one more home game on the regular season schedule after this week, and that is Senior night,” explained Imdeike. “We didn’t have a whole lot of choice, with our schedule starting off with three straight home games. It (homecoming) can be a distraction if you let it, but our kids will not let that happen. They know this is a big game and they remember what happened last year. We all do.”

9/03/2011

The Bison Fury

Bison Fury
Although not school sanctioned ("don't know those guys," one administrator told me), for the last six years the McCook Bison football team has had  a motorcycle escort for their team bus as they travel from the school to the stadium on game night.

The guy on the right seemed to be the leader, but would not give me his name - something to do with warrants or statute of limitations - something  legal, he said. The number of bikes for the escort is between 6 and 10, "depending who is in jail already by 6 on Friday," said the leader. "We never know till we get here."

They claim to be in charge of security for the officials, in a way. "If we win we protect them to get them out of town, if we lose, we are the ones who chase them out of town," the third guy on the right said.

I am sure he was just kidding. They seemed like nice boys just supporting their team. But then who in McCook does not support the Bison?

9/01/2011

Painting the M

Painting of the “M”

A tradition in McCook, NE:  the day before the first home game of the season, the senior captains paint the large block letter “M” in the center of the field at Bison Stadium. Pictured carrying on this tradition are this year’s captains.

Football is a game of tradition and small town high schools’ are steeped in just such community rites of passage. In McCook, NE the painting of the “M” signifies “game on.’ State power Aurora will visit tomorrow night and expected is a huge crowd, a festive atmosphere and a great game. Small town high school football at its best!


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