August 23, 2018
VENUE CHANGE
DENHAM SPRINGS HS SEASON OPENER ON FRIDAY, 8/31 VS HAMMOND HS HAS BEEN MOVED FROM STRAWBERRY STADIUM TO HAMMOND HS.
JACKETS ON THE AIR
Catch DENHAM SPRINGS HS FOOTBALL in 2018 on FAMILY RADIO 91.9 FM AND ON THE NET AT JON FINE PRODUCTIONS. COM. This is our 23rd year announcing Denham Springs Football. Josh Ward will call play-by-play with Andy Duckworth on color commentary for Coach Bill Conides’ team… First broadcast is Friday, 8/31, when the Jackets open up their season vs Hammond HS. Sport N Center Jackets Warmup comes on at 6pm.
BRUSLY BACK IN BUSINESS
Lionel Franklin/KBRS will be producing Brusly HS Football radio broadcasts in 2018 on KBRS, 106.9 FM.…
Lionel Franklin will be calling play-by-play, with Jason Manola on color commentary for Coach Hoff Schooler’s team.
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THE WIZARDRY OF OS
Assistant Basketball Coach and Head Swimming Coach at Central High
It’s just preseason. Preseason is meaningless. The best players aren’t playing. You can’t base anything off preseason. I have to keep repeating this to myself as a Saints fan because the preseason has not been very fun to watch so far.
It is hard to take encouragement from winning the second half of preseason games when most of those players won’t make the 53 man roster. On the other hand, the first half doesn’t tell much when Drew Brees, Cameron Jordan, Alvin Kamara, and the like barely step on the field if at all.
Still, there are a few things I don’t like to see no matter who is on the field. Defensive backs that are unable to find the ball in the air and interfere with the receiver out of panic is not a good sign. Watching Arizona push the defense into the end zone from the 7 yard line is also not fun to watch.
If you are wondering why I am no mentioning Taysom Hill, it is because the promise of a great season ends with the need for anyone but Drew Brees to play quarterback. Still, it is clear Hill’ best contribution will be on special teams.
Speaking of the offense, like most preseasons, I have only two concerns. First, that Drew Brees stays healthy. Second, that the offense is able to start the season in rhythm even though the first offense will only play together for 5-6 possessions the entire preseason.
For that reason, there is some suspense going into the first half of the Chargers game. If the offense goes out and does its thing, then it will help everyone relax heading into the regular season.
Of course, the offense can only be so good. How good will the Saints defense be this year? Will it give the offense short fields with three and out and turnovers? The answers the these questions will determined the success of the season like most seasons under Brees and Payton.
In preseason games, the defense probably suffers the most from vanilla schemes and a lack of game planning in preseason games. Still, I was hoping to see some sign indications of improvement from this group. There are a number of reasons to be disappointed so far.
The secondary has not made any plays to make anyone stand up and take notice. I have been cautiously optimistic about Lattimore, Crawley, Williams, Coleman, and Robinson. Lattimore is already mentioned as one of the best corners in the league. Crawley stood up last year as the #2 corner. Robinson was the top slot corner in the league last year. Coleman is a veteran that brings swagger from Carolina. And reporters have been raving about Williams and his progress off of the disappointment from the end of last year. One headline mentioned him with Ed Reed. In two games, admittedly with bland coverages, none of the defensive backs have done nothing of note.
For years, the Saints have tried to improve their pass rush. Jordan, Okafor, Davenport, Hendrickson, Rankins, Onyemota, and Davison have exciting potential. To this point in the preseason Jordan hasn’t played, Okafor and Davenport have been hurt. Rankins, Onyemota, and Davison have not made a mark. Hendrickson has made a few plays against the run. The only defensive lineman to make plays have done so against backups who may or may not make their teams.
Still, it is preseason. Okafor and Davenport should return soon. Jordan is one of the top five players on the team. All the other guys could and should make more of an impression once the Saints start blitzing and doing other things schematically to get after the quarterback.
After all, it’s just preseason. Preseason is meaningless. The best players aren’t playing. You can’t base anything off preseason.
HEY REF
Hey Ref 8 23 18
If you’ve read my column anytime in the past few years then you know this official prides himself on calling things for what they are. Maybe I should just say that I call ‘em like I see ‘em and have never been afraid to point the finger at myself when I’m wrong or have made a mistake which happens very infrequently.
But last week was one of the very few times that I’ve been wrong and will correct my mistake at the earliest possible time. This week just happens to be such a time. Last week I wrote that I felt the High School Federation rule makers had made a mistake by allowing blind side hits that would be legal in some circumstances. I still believe there’s no room in the high school game for any of these types of hits.
What I read and what I thought was that the Federation was somehow instigating this style of blocking and giving their blessing in the Friday night games. Well, that isn’t exactly right. The Federation is well aware that their game is being played by bigger, faster and smarter kids. So, they took upon themselves the tough job to define what a legal block from the side is and what they’ll expect their game officials to penalize.
Basically the four things officials will be looking for when/if they call a blindside block are 1) any block from the side that the player being blocked does not see, 2) the block isn’t in the free blocking zone, 3) the block is forceful such as the blocker launching himself into another player. Now the big one 4) The Federation once again writing a rule to help protect the players requires the contact by the blocker to be with his hands and delivered below the head and shoulders. Crack back blocks and clipping remain 1,000% against the rules.
I’m always asked “what makes a football official good”? And I always answer that the person must have thick skin. You’ve got to be able to handle people criticizing you at each turn. You’ve got to be firm in the choices you make as to what is legal and supported by the rulebook. You must be able to separate book sense and common sense. And the biggest thing you must possess is a willing to LEARN! Early on in my career I was asked if I thought I called a perfect game which of course I said “HELL NO”! My mentor replied “Good, cause when you think you’ve called that perfect game you better retire and stop officiating simply because no one will ever call two perfect games in their lifetime”!
Each and every time I walk out onto the field to work a game I tell myself “At least one thing”. Again I had a great mentor that always asked me on the ride home if I’d learned anything that night. After a couple times being asked the question and not having the right answer he expected I started finding at least one thing I’d learned that night. It’s something he never stopped asking me because he’d look me in the eye and say “if you didn’t learn something tonight then you’re in the wrong business”. I find too many of today’s officials going an entire season without learning at least one thing. When you stop learning you fall behind.
I also want to share part of a “Best of Hey Ref” so there won’t be any doubt where this official stands when the subject is clean vs. dirty football;
Once again I find myself wondering how someone cannot see the forest because of all the trees in his way. One of the main traits an official must have is his ability to be impartial when calling any sport. This past week during a high school football game in Nebraska a player was penalized and ejected over a very CHEAP shot he dished out to a defenseless player on a pass interception.
As I watched the replay over and over I couldn’t figure out where the controversy came into play. The film shows an Omaha Central defensive back stepping in front of a receiver close to the goal line and returning it back up the field when out of the blue Brandon Wagner lays out Greg Hauge during the return. Then as if that wasn’t bad enough he, Wagner, stands over the motionless Hauge and taunts him.
For a split second I thought this was a training tape because it was very evident to everyone with eyes and common sense that the hit was uncalled for since the action was nowhere near the P–O–A, aka Point of Attack. I commend the crew for throwing multiple flags and ejecting Wagner. Hauge was unable to get up and had to be loaded onto a stretcher and taken to the hospital.
Now here’s where things turn idiotic, Wagner’s father Robert claims that the Federation needs to redefine “defenseless” since, in his eyes, Hauge was running toward the ball so he’s not defenseless. Are you F*KN kidding me? When a player is 20 yards away from the action there is no way you can defend putting a shot like that on anybody. This is where officials earn their pay. It is our job to try and keep the players safe and when we need to, penalize and eject those players not conforming to the rules.
I’ll repeat myself again when I write that high school rules are written to make the game as safe as humanly possible for all the players and not allow anyone to intentionally injure an opponent. Officiating football games is an easy thing to do as long as you don’t have to make any tough calls. But you’ll never be a good official unless you make the tough calls. Good officials can separate book sense and apply common sense to the game on the field. And that’s what makes a good official a great official, standing strong and not hesitating to make the tough calls.
Our job is not one where success is measured in the friends we make on the field. Success to me comes after the game by the number of kids that are able to walk off the field. Officials take pride in keeping all the players safe and making sure neither team gains an advantage by going outside the intent of the rules. As simply as I can put it; that is our only job.
Till next week…
Press Release
School officials and title sponsor Sport-N-Center are pleased to announce the Denham Springs High School Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2018 will be enshrined on September 6 at Forrest Grove Plantation in Denham Springs. Tickets for the popular banquet are on sale at the school office on August 6.
Headlining the event as keynote speaker will be LSU head basketball coach Will Wade, an entertaining and colorful spokesman entering his second season at the helm of the Tigers. Given the smaller size of this year’s class, planners seized this occasion to introduce a high profile speaker into the format for the first time.
Two All State athletes and one selectee in the joint category of Athlete/Supporter, plus one member from the Class of 2017, will be inducted this year. All four enjoyed their time as celebrated Yellow Jackets in the 1960s.
Maurice Cockerham Durbin and Jimmy Tullos were outstanding All State athletes during their glory days at DSHS. Durbin was a tenacious competitor and defensive star in an era when girls’ basketball teams played on a divided court, with three offensive forwards at one end and three defensive guards at the other. She complemented her high scoring teammate Celeste Gully, a fellow All Stater, making the Lady Jackets regular playoff contenders.
Tullos was a versatile three-sport athlete who occupies a prominent place in local football lore with 16 career interceptions from his defensive safety position. His senior campaign was shortened by injury, limiting him to 17 games in two seasons, but he still produced a remarkable average of nearly one interception per game.
Selected in the dual role of Athlete/Supporter, Jim Spring was a hard-hitting center and linebacker in football who was a two-time All District and All Parish pick for the Yellow Jackets. He was also an All Regional selection at a time when this all star category existed between All District and All State. Spring was the first in school history to earn a four-year football scholarship to an SEC university.
Sharing the spotlight with this year’s class will be Tom Kelly, a carry-over member from the Class of 2017 who was unable to be inducted last year. Kelly was a four-sport letterman and All District quarterback who led the first great DSHS football team of the modern era. He was also the first Jacket to play football at LSU during a walk-on season with the Baby Bengals freshman team in 1960.
Below are the highlights of the athletic, scholastic, and civic achievements of these honored sports figures:
Maurice Cockerham Durbin (Athlete)
Class of 2016
A four-year letterman in softball and basketball at DSHS, Maurice Cockerham was a Class A All State basketball star in 1960. She was the defensive counterpart to offensive phenom Celeste Gully, also an All State choice.
With Cockerham’s hustling, shut-down style of defense and Gully’s prolific scoring, the Lady Jackets were perennial District Champions. Cockerham was selected to a number of all star teams including the prestigious Livingston Parish Tournament which showcased several of the state’s best teams.
As a spirited first baseman, she helped the Lady Jacket softball team to a state runner-up finish in 1960. A well-rounded campus leader, Cockerham was named DSHS Best Defensive Player in basketball and was a two-time Class Favorite and Most Beautiful choice by her classmates. After her high school sports career, she later played in an independent women’s basketball league for the local team sponsored by Varnado Plumbing.
Following her graduation from LSU, she taught elementary school for two years, earning Bachelor of science, Masters of education, and Specialist in education degrees. She then founded Maurice Durbin & Associates and launched a successful 25-year career as a political lobbyist at the parish, state, and federal levels.
During this time, Durbin was the first Livingston Parish resident appointed to serve a six-year term on the Louisiana Board of Regents, the supervisory body that oversees Louisiana state colleges and trade schools. She was also elected to serve on the Democratic state central committee and then on the Democratic state executive committee for eight years. She was a past board member of the Livingston Parish Chamber of Commerce as well.
Durbin has been a devoted community leader for nearly three decades, having founded Pet Aid, Inc., a non-profit that spays and neuters dogs and cats within Livingston Parish. In 2000, she began a vital and ongoing role in city beautification through the founding of Denham Springs Green. Perhaps her most passionate contribution has been as a volunteer leader at the Denham Springs Animal Shelter, a relationship that has spanned 30 years. In 2003, it became the first no-kill municipal animal shelter in the state. Durbin was also instrumental in securing the property for the construction of an animal shelter in the town of Livingston.
Married to former three-term Denham Springs mayor, Jimmy Durbin, she served as the city’s First Lady for 12 years, helping transform the quiet town into a vibrant small city. Throughout these years Durbin worked to improve the city’s landscape and image, while championing programs at the local animal shelter.
She is the mother of a son and daughter.
Jimmy Tullos (Athlete)
Class of 2016
Jimmy Tullos was a talented athlete who was a stalwart of the gridiron, earning Class AA All State honors as a defensive safety his senior year (1968) and honorable mention All State as a junior. He was twice named to the All District and All Parish teams as a safety (1967, 1968).
Tullos was a rare, instinctive defensive back who was a magnet for the pigskin, having stolen nine interceptions as a junior and seven as a senior, a stunning performance believed to be the school record. During his senior campaign, abbreviated by injury, he intercepted seven passes in seven games, including three in one game. Not only was he a tenacious ball hawk, Tullos was a hard-nose tackler that punished Yellow Jacket opponents for two seasons.
He played for Hall of Fame football coach Louis Carlisle, advancing to the Class AA state semi-finals as a junior and defeating Covington in the Jaycee Bowl as a senior. He earned the DSHS Best Defensive Back award twice.
Tullos was also a three-year letterman for Hall of Fame basketball coach Alton Leggette, reaching the Class AA state semi-finals his junior year.
Upon graduation from high school, he served seven years in the U. S. Army as a medical corpsman, including a tour of duty in Berlin, West Germany, where he and nine other soldiers set a world record for Marathon Basketball. Playing five-on-five, full court, with no substitutes, the teams competed for 48 non-stop hours, breaking the old record by six hours.
As a civilian, Tullos worked 17 years for Peavey Electronics in Mississippi, performing computerized tests on circuit boards, before returning to Louisiana where he served as a Deputy Sheriff in Caldwell Parish. Beginning as a road deputy, he would eventually retire as a lieutenant at the Caldwell Parish Correctional Center, having received a host of awards for superior performance.
In 2014, Jimmy Tullos, the former Yellow Jacket football star, married Patricia Morrison, his homecoming queen and DSHS Most Beautiful honoree. They now live in Denham Springs.
He is the father of a son and daughter.
Jim Spring (Athlete/Supporter)
Class of 2016
The last of three brothers who were rugged athletes at DSHS, Jim Spring was a two-time All District and All Parish football center and linebacker (1961, 1962), and a 1962 All Regional pick. He was the first player in school history and in Livingston Parish to receive a four-year athletic scholarship to play football at an SEC university.
A student of the game who called defensive signals for the Jackets, Spring was named DSHS Best Lineman, Team Captain, and Most Valuable Player, and also received recognition for Most Minutes Played in 1961 and 1962—all but one minute in two seasons. He was a two-year track letterman in the discus as well. Spring was an Eagle Scout, Vice President of his senior class, and represented the school at the State Literary Rally.
At the college level, he was a three-year letterman at Tulane University and, as a sophomore, was the smallest starting center in the SEC at 190 pounds. In 1966 against LSU at old Tulane Stadium, he played before the largest crowd (82,567) to witness a night college football game in NCAA history at the time.
Spring spent 30 years as an active duty Army officer (1969-1999), retiring as a full colonel with 10 years of overseas assignments in southeast Asia, the middle east, and Europe. Among his duties at the colonel level were Post Commander of Oakland Army Base, CA; senior U. S. officer in the UN peacekeeping force in Iraq; and senior Military Advisor to the Ambassador at the American Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, during the period when the Islamic nation became a nuclear power.
At the lieutenant colonel level as a battalion commander, his battalion was selected Unit of the Year for its type in a geographic region west of the Mississippi River to the Indian Ocean. As the commander of Oakland Army Base, his command was awarded $40,000 in the Army’s Most Improved Installation competition.
A devoted Yellow Jacket fan and supporter, in 2011 Spring proposed the creation of a DSHS Athletic Hall of Fame and arranged the initial meeting between DSHS and the Denham Springs Athletic Association. Butch Wax and he were tasked to plan and organize the many guidelines and protocols that have culminated in what today has become a community treasure, now in its eighth year.
He also prepared the proposal and negotiated with Sport-N-Center to become the title sponsor which underwrites many of the expenses associated with the Hall of Fame. To build community support and promote the Hall of Fame and DSHS athletics, Spring has written over 75 press releases for area newspapers.
In 2008 Spring formed the first Board of the area Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), serving as President for three years. He organized the annual FCA Variety Show for five years, raising $25,000 for the spiritual welfare of students, athletes, and coaches at DSHS and throughout Livingston Parish.
In 2012 he proposed that “Yellow Jacket Sports” be showcased during a four-month public exhibit at Old City Hall sponsored by Denham Springs Main Street. He borrowed historic DSHS trophies, plaques, photographs, and sports memorabilia; publicized the event in the press; and organized an opening ceremony for the community.
In 2015 he proposed to the City of Denham Springs that the Yellow Jacket logo be prominently displayed on the water tower closest to the interstate. He prepared the formal documents, presented the proposal at a public meeting with the Mayor and City Council, and coordinated with Forte & Tablada Engineering until project completion.
During the Great Flood of 2016, the Hall of Fame display case in Hornsby Gym was destroyed, and funding for its replacement was a low priority for the school district. While the plaques were saved, it was unlikely they could be displayed there again in the near future. Spring proposed the Hall of Fame be relocated to Big Mike’s Sports Bar & Grill. He prepared and coordinated the Memorandum of Agreement between DSHS and Big Mike’s and organized the recent grand opening.
Spring is a graduate of Tulane (English) with a master’s degree from Ball State University (psychology). He is married to the former Kathy Brummett and is the father of a son and daughter.
Tom Kelly (Athlete)
Class of 2017
As a three-year starter at quarterback (1957-1959), Tom Kelly ran for 865 yards and scored 73 points while passing for 1,350 yards and 16 touchdowns in a backfield that boasted two-time All State running back Randy Rushing. Kelly was such a fierce tackler that head coach Charles Borde elected to also play him at linebacker on defense, a rare decision to expose the team’s quarterback to injury at such a rugged position.
A spirited athlete and natural leader, he was selected the team Most Valuable Player not because of his size or his statistics, but because he led by example and had a gift for inspiring his teammates. Kelly was also a star second baseman on Yellow Jacket softball teams that won State Championships in 1958, 1959, and 1960.
He embodied the student-athlete ideal as President of his sophomore and junior classes and Vice President of his senior class. Voted Most Energetic Student three times, he also served as FFA president and Key Club president. Kelly would eventually earn an athletic scholarship to play football at USL (ULL) after a walk-on season with the LSU freshman team. He is believed to be the first DSHS athlete to play football at LSU and to have played four years of collegiate football.
The leadership ability Kelly developed on the playing fields of his Denham Springs youth would later distinguish him as a leader on the football field at USL and the battlefields of Viet Nam. Having played quarterback in his formative years, and during his freshman season at LSU, he was at heart still a hitter who was called upon by legendary USL coach Russ Faulkinbery to play linebacker once again.
Though small in stature for the position, he nonetheless became a three-year letterman, a two-year starter, and defensive captain as a senior. In 1963 he would receive the USL Most Valuable Back award and recognition as an honorable mention NAIA Little All-America linebacker.
Kelly continued to be a campus leader off the football field, cited as a member of the 1964 Who’s Who in American Colleges & Universities, serving as a member of the USL student council and Blue Key Honor Society, and receiving an award as the USL student contributing the most to the College of Commerce.
Upon graduation he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the USMC as an armor officer, serving as a tank platoon leader in Viet Nam at age 24, an assignment for which he received the Bronze Star medal with “V” device signifying valor, a rare award for a second lieutenant to receive. He would later return to Viet Nam at the rank of captain as a tank company commander at age 27.
Between those tours he had the unenviable assignment as the Marine Recruitment Officer in the San Francisco Bay area during two volatile years of unrest on college campuses.
After 26 years of active duty service, Kelly retired as a full colonel before spending another 18 years with General Dynamics working as a contractor on military programs. His overseas tours were in Viet Nam, Okinawa, and Panama. He is a graduate of USL (business) and is married to Meredith Kelly.
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