June 16, 2009
Orangefield Will Announce on Monday
The list of 21 is down to four with Troy Bolton, Brian Huckaby, Josh
Rankin, and Dwayne Dubois getting interviews this week.
Bolton and Huckaby are still the favorites in my opinion but we’ve
witnessed heavy favorites fall off the bargaining table for one reason or
another before so Dubois and Rankin still have a good opportunity to wear the
Orange next season. The good news is I think any one of them would do a job.
Huckaby is the only one of the four with head football and A.D.
experience. He also has two acquaintances on the selection committee.
Bolton was once an assistant coach at Orangefield and left on good
terms.
Rankin is an LCM graduate and spent last season on the Haltom High
School staff as the defensive coordinator. Haltom is a 5A school just north of
Fort Worth.
Dubois is from Bridge City and has worked in BC and is currently the
offensive coordinator at Vidor.
An announcement is expected on June 22.
Vidor head football coach Jeff Matthews would hate to lose Dubois
after saying he was extremely happy with the group of coaches he has and is
ready for a run at the playoffs this year.
And there’s a bigger buzz over in Vidor since Dave Campbell’s Texas
Football Magazine picked the Pirates to win district this year.
It’s apparently such a big story that the Beaumont Enterprise ran it
as their lead when the magazine was released last week, only three months before
the season starts.
I don’t know the circumstances surrounding his retirement but I
thought sportswriter Rush Wood deserved a little bigger story from his former
employer than a few paragraphs that he worked here, here, here, and here.
The man spent 42 freaking years covering sports for a host of papers
including The Orange Leader.
Maybe I’ll get a chance to do one on him this summer. But I can say
now that he was always a gentleman in the press box and full of information. I
always enjoyed our visits and listening to his stories.
Is West Orange-Cove Superintendent O.Taylor Collins trying to do his
best Jerry Jones imitation?
Collins basically told Athletic Director Dan Hooks “I got this” when
it came time to hire a new boys basketball coach.
Collins, a big basketball fan from Kentucky, handpicked Don Newton who
has had success as a basketball coach in North Carolina.
The good news is Newton is a WOS graduate. He wanted to be closer to
his parents who still live in Orange. He also has experience as an Athletic
Director.
This isn’t the first time Collins has stepped in to hire a basketball
coach. He hired Charles Thrash, who barely made it through one season as the
girl’s basketball coach during the 07-08 season. Hopefully Newton will be able
to continue and expand on the success set by Zach Quinn who left WOS to take
over the Vidor program.
Big “Show Your Love” congrats to Shon Landry who was drafted in the 31st
round by the Texas Rangers last week.
The shortstop who graduated from Little Cypress-Mauriceville and
McNeese will begin Class A ball in Spokane, Washington this week. He said all
he wanted was a chance.
"I just wanted the opportunity. That's all I've asked for. I love
this game and wouldn't want to be doing anything else right now."
Also former BC standout Kevin Angelle was selected by Philadelphia in
the 32nd round and is already in Clearwater, Florida playing for the
Class A Clearwater Threshers.
A junior at Lamar, Kevin said he didn’t want to pass up the
opportunity a second time after being drafted out of high school. Leaving home
will be doubly tough for Angelle who will also be leaving his baby girl Paisley.
But he says they plan on bringing her to Florida for a visit after he settles
in. "It'll be tough at first but I'm getting a webcam for my computer so I can
see her."
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The Orange print
is now available in
sizes 11x17 at the KOGT Studios on
Meeks Dr. for just
$15.
Other sizes are also
available.
Out of towner's can
also purchase online
by clicking the Buy
Stuff button in the
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