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Post by whoofhearted on Apr 1, 2021 9:34:18 GMT -6
Matt Middleton will be the new head coach at Cedar Creek. Heck of a hire in my opinion!
Source: Cedar Creek's Facebook page
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Post by sensualtrucker on Apr 1, 2021 9:59:20 GMT -6
Man....and I really believed him when he said WO was a sleeping giant.....
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Post by deadman318 on Apr 1, 2021 10:13:43 GMT -6
Everyone has their reasons, but I'll ask the hard question... Going from a 5A public to a 1A private? Gotta be a heck of a back story on that...
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Post by Seabiscuit on Apr 1, 2021 10:28:31 GMT -6
Man....and I really believed him when he said WO was a sleeping giant..... Makes two of us. He did start to slowly change the atmosphere, but either way great hire for CC
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Post by oldcowboy on Apr 1, 2021 11:02:32 GMT -6
All he “did” was schedule 1a and 2 a schools he could beat. WO is WO
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deez
Varsity
Posts: 66
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Post by deez on Apr 1, 2021 11:44:23 GMT -6
All he “did” was schedule 1a and 2 a schools he could beat. WO is WO Gonna be hard for Cedr creek to schedule down the way he's done at every school he's ever coached at. Quick question, how many playoff games has he won as a head coach? Can anybody provide that?
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Post by longbomb on Apr 1, 2021 13:06:16 GMT -6
West Ouachita has promoted oc Mike rainwater to head coach.
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Post by blutoblutarsky on Apr 8, 2021 9:44:41 GMT -6
Have never understood the attraction with this guy.
He keeps getting hired like he's the next big thing. Gets everyone excited. Schedules down to get a few cheap wins. Loses games he should win. Is non-competitive against top teams. Then leaves and takes another job and the cycle repeats itself. Wash, Rinse, Repeat.
Cedar Creek will be good because of the staff that they have put together there with retired coaches like Stone, Ware and a couple of others. Middleton was hired as a "name" although it makes no sense.
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Post by sensualtrucker on Apr 8, 2021 9:57:18 GMT -6
Have never understood the attraction with this guy. He keeps getting hired like he's the next big thing. Gets everyone excited. Schedules down to get a few cheap wins. Loses games he should win. Is non-competitive against top teams. Then leaves and takes another job and the cycle repeats itself. Wash, Rinse, Repeat. Cedar Creek will be good because of the staff that they have put together there with retired coaches like Stone, Ware and a couple of others. Middleton was hired as a "name" although it makes no sense. Yeah I am interested to see how his "coaching style" and my perspective of cedar creek families mesh. But definately a highly hyped coach with no LHSAA playoff wins. Never seems to stick anywhere very long either.
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Post by blutoblutarsky on Apr 8, 2021 10:49:31 GMT -6
Have never understood the attraction with this guy. He keeps getting hired like he's the next big thing. Gets everyone excited. Schedules down to get a few cheap wins. Loses games he should win. Is non-competitive against top teams. Then leaves and takes another job and the cycle repeats itself. Wash, Rinse, Repeat. Cedar Creek will be good because of the staff that they have put together there with retired coaches like Stone, Ware and a couple of others. Middleton was hired as a "name" although it makes no sense. Yeah I am interested to see how his "coaching style" and my perspective of cedar creek families mesh. But definately a highly hyped coach with no LHSAA playoff wins. Never seems to stick anywhere very long either. Good point. About that 4th F-bomb during the Spring Game and there will probably be some board of director meetings.
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Post by football123 on Apr 8, 2021 13:41:56 GMT -6
I think this is a great hire. You obviously don’t know Matt, if you still think he is that guy.
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Post by nodiggedy on Apr 8, 2021 15:33:22 GMT -6
Which guy, the one who drops f-bombs or the one who has no Lhsaa playoff wins?
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Post by Southplaq on Apr 8, 2021 16:43:07 GMT -6
Which guy, the one who drops f-bombs or the one who has no Lhsaa playoff wins? Attachment Deleted
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Post by georgejetson on Apr 10, 2021 9:34:40 GMT -6
Which guy, the one who drops f-bombs or the one who has no Lhsaa playoff wins? A few things to note here ... 1) Middleton is overrated yes 2) who cares in 2021 that a football coach curses 3) Haddox was the coach at cedar creek at one time and he’s the most vanilla, underachieving coach you could ask for
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Post by nodiggedy on Apr 10, 2021 9:52:58 GMT -6
Has there ever been an “overachieving” coach at CC? Ever consider it’s not the coaching?
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Post by GUNSLINGER on Apr 10, 2021 20:37:53 GMT -6
Which guy, the one who drops f-bombs or the one who has no Lhsaa playoff wins? A few things to note here ... 1) Middleton is overrated yes 2) who cares in 2021 that a football coach curses 3) Haddox was the coach at cedar creek at one time and he’s the most vanilla, underachieving coach you could ask for Actually, Haddox has the best win percentage of the most recent coaches in CC history. Aldredge was 54-35 (60.67%), but not discounting he's the one that got things turned around at Creek. Brown was 17-15 (53.13%) and Haddox was 60-35 (63.16%). Creek also made it to the quarterfinals twice and semifinals twice under Haddox, so not sure your "underachieving" comment holds water.
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Post by brprepfan on Apr 10, 2021 21:12:53 GMT -6
All those percentages are not great. Tripe.
I would think next year Cedar Creek will go 6-3 no matter who the coach is.
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Post by gridiron on Apr 11, 2021 8:25:14 GMT -6
All those percentages are not great. Tripe. I would think next year Cedar Creek will go 6-3 no matter who the coach is. [br I think Evangel made a blueprint for what can happen at a private school with the right coaches!!!
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Post by masterblaster on Apr 11, 2021 14:39:02 GMT -6
Evangel have the blueprint for what can happen with the right players. Those “right coaches” moved on and did zero elsewhere!
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Post by gridiron on Apr 11, 2021 15:40:23 GMT -6
Evangel have the blueprint for what can happen with the right players. Those “right coaches” moved on and did zero elsewhere! The players came because the coaches were there.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2021 16:40:22 GMT -6
Evangel’s success was a “perfect storm.” They had the right coaches and players at the right time. That happens everywhere...very few programs can sustain that kind of success long-term after coaching turnovers. That’s why programs that do are so special. Now the self-implosion that they are experiencing? That’s another interesting animal.
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Post by masterblaster on Apr 11, 2021 19:10:45 GMT -6
The players didn’t come because of the bastion of educational opportunities offered? So they came for athletics. Well, there you go. And still, they don’t come to where these “great coaches” are now. Funny how that works.
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Post by georgejetson on Apr 14, 2021 11:53:15 GMT -6
A few things to note here ... 1) Middleton is overrated yes 2) who cares in 2021 that a football coach curses 3) Haddox was the coach at cedar creek at one time and he’s the most vanilla, underachieving coach you could ask for Actually, Haddox has the best win percentage of the most recent coaches in CC history. Aldredge was 54-35 (60.67%), but not discounting he's the one that got things turned around at Creek. Brown was 17-15 (53.13%) and Haddox was 60-35 (63.16%). Creek also made it to the quarterfinals twice and semifinals twice under Haddox, so not sure you're "underachieving" comment holds water. Yes, he underachieved. Expectations are relative. When OCS and Oak Grove are in your district winning championships then Championships are the standard. This is similar to LSU fans being happy winning 10 games and going to the peach bowl when Bama is in your division winning it.
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Post by brprepfan on Apr 15, 2021 18:42:26 GMT -6
Cedar Creek being as good as Oak Grove and OCS?
Can't see that happening. Just because you are in the same district does not mean you will have the same talent. That is like saying Denham Springs should be as good as Zachary. Or Mckinley being as good as Catholic.
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Post by Sixpack on Apr 15, 2021 20:51:50 GMT -6
Evangel’s success was a “perfect storm.” They had the right coaches and players at the right time. That happens everywhere...very few programs can sustain that kind of success long-term after coaching turnovers. That’s why programs that do are so special. Now the self-implosion that they are experiencing? That’s another interesting animal. Being a long time Evangel fan myself I think what you said is pretty accurate. But I think there were two perfect storms at Evangel.
The first was a perfect storm that built one of the best football programs the state has ever seen. The second was a perfect storm that caused the decline of that program. I understand the first one but not the second one.
The first perfect storm was having the right coaches and players at the right time plus having a legal open atendance zone and a legal sit out rule that helped them build a winning tradition and continue to draw in more and more good players. There was also an almost fanatical drive to win by the school, the coaches, the players and the community.
I don't understand the second perfect storm at all but only a perfect storm could bring such a powerful program down in such a relatively short period of time. I am not sure anybody on this forum can explain it. The best guess I can come up with is a combination of....Calvary's program getting stronger and getting many of the athletes Evangel would have gotten COMBINED with Evangel losing some important coaches COMBINED with financial problems COMBINED with an inexplicable loss of interest in the football program by school master Denny Duron.
If anyone has a better explanation I wish you would clue me in because, as I said before, I would really like to know what happened on Broadacres Road.
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Post by Fast Eddie on Apr 16, 2021 10:15:08 GMT -6
Everyone has their reasons, but I'll ask the hard question... Going from a 5A public to a 1A private? Gotta be a heck of a back story on that... Creek has money, so salary is probably a wash. You can win at Creek, REAL hard to win at WO.
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Post by deadman318 on Apr 16, 2021 10:43:30 GMT -6
Evangel’s success was a “perfect storm.” They had the right coaches and players at the right time. That happens everywhere...very few programs can sustain that kind of success long-term after coaching turnovers. That’s why programs that do are so special. Now the self-implosion that they are experiencing? That’s another interesting animal. Being a long time Evangel fan myself I think what you said is pretty accurate. But I think there were two perfect storms at Evangel.
The first was a perfect storm that built one of the best football programs the state has ever seen. The second was a perfect storm that caused the decline of that program. I understand the first one but not the second one.
The first perfect storm was having the right coaches and players at the right time plus having a legal open atendance zone and a legal sit out rule that helped them build a winning tradition and continue to draw in more and more good players. There was also an almost fanatical drive to win by the school, the coaches, the players and the community.
I don't understand the second perfect storm at all but only a perfect storm could bring such a powerful program down in such a relatively short period of time. I am not sure anybody on this forum can explain it. The best guess I can come up with is a combination of....Calvary's program getting stronger and getting many of the athletes Evangel would have gotten COMBINED with Evangel losing some important coaches COMBINED with financial problems COMBINED with an inexplicable loss of interest in the football program by school master Denny Duron.
If anyone has a better explanation I wish you would clue me in because, as I said before, I would really like to know what happened on Broadacres Road.
Here is my best and only shot at an explanation. In six parts. First there was the split - and I don't mean the LHSAA. I'm talking about the Booty-Duron split that took half of the talent from Evangel to Calvary in 2005-2006. Booty and Duron were crossways on some "out of church" issues and that lead to Booty leaving Evangel for Calvary... 1/3 to 1/2 of the parents went with Booty. That is how the Calvary High School practically came to be. It had been closed for many years - That's all common knowledge now - it's not like this is a big town... Seems like forever ago, but there it is... That was the beginning of the end... Second was the coaching turnover. I know what you're thinking, Evangel won the state championship multiple times since then. Bachman Sr., Deas, and Dawson all won state championships. However, Bachman Sr. had a great thing going, Pastor Duron and he got cross ways and a week or two after winning the state championship, he was out. Deas resigned. He wasn't forced out by any stretch of the imagination and was loved/respected as a coach there, but his church was a more important calling so he left for his church (no one will fault him for his calling, actually I respect the heck out of the guy). Dawson had the super team from 2015 - 2017. In those three years Evangel lost twice in the state semis to Catholic-BR. The first loss on a fluke fumble and the second loss where Evangel's defense I don't believe gave up a first down. It was a blocked punt and a pick 6 that sealed Evangel's fate on the second loss. Of the three Dawson was the worst one, which kind of isn't fair, but it is what it is. He definitely wasn't the most popular of the three. He saw the writing on the wall after the super team graduated and bolted for Tulane. No one will fault him for that, either. Evangel pays their coaches horribly and work them like dogs. At one point Coach Dawson and Coach Curry, the secondary coach were the only faculty coaches on the staff. The latest one, Coach Kreamer, bless his heart, was fired halfway through the 2020 season. It has been said that he didn't see it coming that he got the job as Head Coach just as he didn't see it coming when he got fired. Third would be facilities. The facilities at Evangel today would be considered "dated" at best. It's the old Country Day school and a lot of T-shacks. There has not been any noticeable upgrades other than the fieldhouse that was built way behind schedule. Fourth would be that there is another private school athletics program option available, that isn't way out by the airport. Calvary was the underdog that finally earned their spot in the winner's circle. Everyone loves an underdog who has finally "made it". And, people are jumping on the bandwagon and paying full price to send their kids there. And why not, they have some pretty good things going on there. Elementary and the middle school are full and busting at the seems. I mean, they really aren't the underdog. They have had a lot of competitive teams that were really loaded. Bachman Sr. did wonders and won back to back state championships there in 2013-2014. But, they have been in the quarterfinal nightmare from 2015-2019 or what I called the curse of Shea Patterson. When Shea Patterson left in the summer of 2015 for IMG, Calvary didn't make it past the quarters. But..... Through player development, keeping the coaching staff (for the most part) together, and having a positive increase in enrollment over the years, it has definitely helped them. Winning it all in 2020 and getting rid of the "curse" will only continue to help them. Newsflash.. Lyddy is back next year so watch out for them to make another run. Oh, and their facilities aren't dated either. They are in the process of building a new fieldhouse. Yeah that football field needs some TLC, and make sure you wear shoes with traction on the bottom when it rains for the bleachers, but its not the mud pit that is over on Broadacres Road. People like Calvary, people like the way they do things, McDowell bringing everyone doughnuts for no reason whatsoever (I wonder if he gave the powerlifting state championship team doughnuts or the football state championship team doughnuts - but anyway... I digress), and if you are not a fan of Rodney Guin then something is definitely wrong with you. My son Christian graduated from Calvary in 2018 and to this day I bet he calls Coach Guin every once in a while. Five, the years of having players go there for free finally caught up to them I would imagine. I don't know about the elementary and middle school enrollment but I can only imagine that there is No new money coming in and no alumni support. Just ask Redemptorist people about those awesome football teams they had, but unfortunately because of low attendance and the athletes going to school for free, it had to close its doors. Calvary had a lot of players that were sponsored or free or whatever you want to call it there too back in the day and it did put them back a little bit. However, McDowell fixed that quickly. Also, Calvary's daycare program alone is the golden egg there and they probably have a waiting list years long. Six, and probably one of the most important reasons for the downward spiral would be the hatred. Evangel was and still is hated in this town. It probably always will be hated here, and I would argue that jealousy has nothing to do with it. Sure you can argue jealousy and envy but when You beat down teams and run up the score like the way Evangel did the teams in this area from the youth football - middle school football to high school football level for a number of years, you will be hated. I'm a coach as well, so I get the "you have to play your 1's and get them the reps", but when its 70-0 in the fourth quarter and you're still scoring at will, it doesn't matter. People will hate you. Perception IS reality. My other son Ar'Darius played on the super team from 2015-2017 and all he would say after every game is "wow, I still cannot believe that we are this hated around here." So, from 2006 - 2021. It wasn't a short time and it didn't just sneak up on them. It took about 15 years for the bottom to fall out. It's too bad that they always had a win at any cost attitude but Camelot was alive for at least 15 years or so. Nothing lasts forever though and in the end, no one gets out of here alive, and you can't take anything with you. Anyway, that is my take, not that it means much.
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Post by Southplaq on Apr 19, 2021 17:45:44 GMT -6
Being a long time Evangel fan myself I think what you said is pretty accurate. But I think there were two perfect storms at Evangel.
The first was a perfect storm that built one of the best football programs the state has ever seen. The second was a perfect storm that caused the decline of that program. I understand the first one but not the second one.
The first perfect storm was having the right coaches and players at the right time plus having a legal open atendance zone and a legal sit out rule that helped them build a winning tradition and continue to draw in more and more good players. There was also an almost fanatical drive to win by the school, the coaches, the players and the community.
I don't understand the second perfect storm at all but only a perfect storm could bring such a powerful program down in such a relatively short period of time. I am not sure anybody on this forum can explain it. The best guess I can come up with is a combination of....Calvary's program getting stronger and getting many of the athletes Evangel would have gotten COMBINED with Evangel losing some important coaches COMBINED with financial problems COMBINED with an inexplicable loss of interest in the football program by school master Denny Duron.
If anyone has a better explanation I wish you would clue me in because, as I said before, I would really like to know what happened on Broadacres Road.
Here is my best and only shot at an explanation. In six parts. First there was the split - and I don't mean the LHSAA. I'm talking about the Booty-Duron split that took half of the talent from Evangel to Calvary in 2005-2006. Booty and Duron were crossways on some "out of church" issues and that lead to Booty leaving Evangel for Calvary... 1/3 to 1/2 of the parents went with Booty. That is how the Calvary High School practically came to be. It had been closed for many years - That's all common knowledge now - it's not like this is a big town... Seems like forever ago, but there it is... That was the beginning of the end... Second was the coaching turnover. I know what you're thinking, Evangel won the state championship multiple times since then. Bachman Sr., Deas, and Dawson all won state championships. However, Bachman Sr. had a great thing going, Pastor Duron and he got cross ways and a week or two after winning the state championship, he was out. Deas resigned. He wasn't forced out by any stretch of the imagination and was loved/respected as a coach there, but his church was a more important calling so he left for his church (no one will fault him for his calling, actually I respect the heck out of the guy). Dawson had the super team from 2015 - 2017. In those three years Evangel lost twice in the state semis to Catholic-BR. The first loss on a fluke fumble and the second loss where Evangel's defense I don't believe gave up a first down. It was a blocked punt and a pick 6 that sealed Evangel's fate on the second loss. Of the three Dawson was the worst one, which kind of isn't fair, but it is what it is. He definitely wasn't the most popular of the three. He saw the writing on the wall after the super team graduated and bolted for Tulane. No one will fault him for that, either. Evangel pays their coaches horribly and work them like dogs. At one point Coach Dawson and Coach Curry, the secondary coach were the only faculty coaches on the staff. The latest one, Coach Kreamer, bless his heart, was fired halfway through the 2020 season. It has been said that he didn't see it coming that he got the job as Head Coach just as he didn't see it coming when he got fired. Third would be facilities. The facilities at Evangel today would be considered "dated" at best. It's the old Country Day school and a lot of T-shacks. There has not been any noticeable upgrades other than the fieldhouse that was built way behind schedule. Fourth would be that there is another private school athletics program option available, that isn't way out by the airport. Calvary was the underdog that finally earned their spot in the winner's circle. Everyone loves an underdog who has finally "made it". And, people are jumping on the bandwagon and paying full price to send their kids there. And why not, they have some pretty good things going on there. Elementary and the middle school are full and busting at the seems. I mean, they really aren't the underdog. They have had a lot of competitive teams that were really loaded. Bachman Sr. did wonders and won back to back state championships there in 2013-2014. But, they have been in the quarterfinal nightmare from 2015-2019 or what I called the curse of Shea Patterson. When Shea Patterson left in the summer of 2015 for IMG, Calvary didn't make it past the quarters. But..... Through player development, keeping the coaching staff (for the most part) together, and having a positive increase in enrollment over the years, it has definitely helped them. Winning it all in 2020 and getting rid of the "curse" will only continue to help them. Newsflash.. Lyddy is back next year so watch out for them to make another run. Oh, and their facilities aren't dated either. They are in the process of building a new fieldhouse. Yeah that football field needs some TLC, and make sure you wear shoes with traction on the bottom when it rains for the bleachers, but its not the mud pit that is over on Broadacres Road. People like Calvary, people like the way they do things, McDowell bringing everyone doughnuts for no reason whatsoever (I wonder if he gave the powerlifting state championship team doughnuts or the football state championship team doughnuts - but anyway... I digress), and if you are not a fan of Rodney Guin then something is definitely wrong with you. My son Christian graduated from Calvary in 2018 and to this day I bet he calls Coach Guin every once in a while. Five, the years of having players go there for free finally caught up to them I would imagine. I don't know about the elementary and middle school enrollment but I can only imagine that there is No new money coming in and no alumni support. Just ask Redemptorist people about those awesome football teams they had, but unfortunately because of low attendance and the athletes going to school for free, it had to close its doors. Calvary had a lot of players that were sponsored or free or whatever you want to call it there too back in the day and it did put them back a little bit. However, McDowell fixed that quickly. Also, Calvary's daycare program alone is the golden egg there and they probably have a waiting list years long. Six, and probably one of the most important reasons for the downward spiral would be the hatred. Evangel was and still is hated in this town. It probably always will be hated here, and I would argue that jealousy has nothing to do with it. Sure you can argue jealousy and envy but when You beat down teams and run up the score like the way Evangel did the teams in this area from the youth football - middle school football to high school football level for a number of years, you will be hated. I'm a coach as well, so I get the "you have to play your 1's and get them the reps", but when its 70-0 in the fourth quarter and you're still scoring at will, it doesn't matter. People will hate you. Perception IS reality. My other son Ar'Darius played on the super team from 2015-2017 and all he would say after every game is "wow, I still cannot believe that we are this hated around here." So, from 2006 - 2021. It wasn't a short time and it didn't just sneak up on them. It took about 15 years for the bottom to fall out. It's too bad that they always had a win at any cost attitude but Camelot was alive for at least 15 years or so. Nothing lasts forever though and in the end, no one gets out of here alive, and you can't take anything with you. Anyway, that is my take, not that it means much. AWESOME POST, BRO!
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Post by unbiasedobserver on Apr 19, 2021 18:06:17 GMT -6
Being a long time Evangel fan myself I think what you said is pretty accurate. But I think there were two perfect storms at Evangel.
The first was a perfect storm that built one of the best football programs the state has ever seen. The second was a perfect storm that caused the decline of that program. I understand the first one but not the second one.
The first perfect storm was having the right coaches and players at the right time plus having a legal open atendance zone and a legal sit out rule that helped them build a winning tradition and continue to draw in more and more good players. There was also an almost fanatical drive to win by the school, the coaches, the players and the community.
I don't understand the second perfect storm at all but only a perfect storm could bring such a powerful program down in such a relatively short period of time. I am not sure anybody on this forum can explain it. The best guess I can come up with is a combination of....Calvary's program getting stronger and getting many of the athletes Evangel would have gotten COMBINED with Evangel losing some important coaches COMBINED with financial problems COMBINED with an inexplicable loss of interest in the football program by school master Denny Duron.
If anyone has a better explanation I wish you would clue me in because, as I said before, I would really like to know what happened on Broadacres Road.
Here is my best and only shot at an explanation. In six parts. First there was the split - and I don't mean the LHSAA. I'm talking about the Booty-Duron split that took half of the talent from Evangel to Calvary in 2005-2006. Booty and Duron were crossways on some "out of church" issues and that lead to Booty leaving Evangel for Calvary... 1/3 to 1/2 of the parents went with Booty. That is how the Calvary High School practically came to be. It had been closed for many years - That's all common knowledge now - it's not like this is a big town... Seems like forever ago, but there it is... That was the beginning of the end... Second was the coaching turnover. I know what you're thinking, Evangel won the state championship multiple times since then. Bachman Sr., Deas, and Dawson all won state championships. However, Bachman Sr. had a great thing going, Pastor Duron and he got cross ways and a week or two after winning the state championship, he was out. Deas resigned. He wasn't forced out by any stretch of the imagination and was loved/respected as a coach there, but his church was a more important calling so he left for his church (no one will fault him for his calling, actually I respect the heck out of the guy). Dawson had the super team from 2015 - 2017. In those three years Evangel lost twice in the state semis to Catholic-BR. The first loss on a fluke fumble and the second loss where Evangel's defense I don't believe gave up a first down. It was a blocked punt and a pick 6 that sealed Evangel's fate on the second loss. Of the three Dawson was the worst one, which kind of isn't fair, but it is what it is. He definitely wasn't the most popular of the three. He saw the writing on the wall after the super team graduated and bolted for Tulane. No one will fault him for that, either. Evangel pays their coaches horribly and work them like dogs. At one point Coach Dawson and Coach Curry, the secondary coach were the only faculty coaches on the staff. The latest one, Coach Kreamer, bless his heart, was fired halfway through the 2020 season. It has been said that he didn't see it coming that he got the job as Head Coach just as he didn't see it coming when he got fired. Third would be facilities. The facilities at Evangel today would be considered "dated" at best. It's the old Country Day school and a lot of T-shacks. There has not been any noticeable upgrades other than the fieldhouse that was built way behind schedule. Fourth would be that there is another private school athletics program option available, that isn't way out by the airport. Calvary was the underdog that finally earned their spot in the winner's circle. Everyone loves an underdog who has finally "made it". And, people are jumping on the bandwagon and paying full price to send their kids there. And why not, they have some pretty good things going on there. Elementary and the middle school are full and busting at the seems. I mean, they really aren't the underdog. They have had a lot of competitive teams that were really loaded. Bachman Sr. did wonders and won back to back state championships there in 2013-2014. But, they have been in the quarterfinal nightmare from 2015-2019 or what I called the curse of Shea Patterson. When Shea Patterson left in the summer of 2015 for IMG, Calvary didn't make it past the quarters. But..... Through player development, keeping the coaching staff (for the most part) together, and having a positive increase in enrollment over the years, it has definitely helped them. Winning it all in 2020 and getting rid of the "curse" will only continue to help them. Newsflash.. Lyddy is back next year so watch out for them to make another run. Oh, and their facilities aren't dated either. They are in the process of building a new fieldhouse. Yeah that football field needs some TLC, and make sure you wear shoes with traction on the bottom when it rains for the bleachers, but its not the mud pit that is over on Broadacres Road. People like Calvary, people like the way they do things, McDowell bringing everyone doughnuts for no reason whatsoever (I wonder if he gave the powerlifting state championship team doughnuts or the football state championship team doughnuts - but anyway... I digress), and if you are not a fan of Rodney Guin then something is definitely wrong with you. My son Christian graduated from Calvary in 2018 and to this day I bet he calls Coach Guin every once in a while. Five, the years of having players go there for free finally caught up to them I would imagine. I don't know about the elementary and middle school enrollment but I can only imagine that there is No new money coming in and no alumni support. Just ask Redemptorist people about those awesome football teams they had, but unfortunately because of low attendance and the athletes going to school for free, it had to close its doors. Calvary had a lot of players that were sponsored or free or whatever you want to call it there too back in the day and it did put them back a little bit. However, McDowell fixed that quickly. Also, Calvary's daycare program alone is the golden egg there and they probably have a waiting list years long. Six, and probably one of the most important reasons for the downward spiral would be the hatred. Evangel was and still is hated in this town. It probably always will be hated here, and I would argue that jealousy has nothing to do with it. Sure you can argue jealousy and envy but when You beat down teams and run up the score like the way Evangel did the teams in this area from the youth football - middle school football to high school football level for a number of years, you will be hated. I'm a coach as well, so I get the "you have to play your 1's and get them the reps", but when its 70-0 in the fourth quarter and you're still scoring at will, it doesn't matter. People will hate you. Perception IS reality. My other son Ar'Darius played on the super team from 2015-2017 and all he would say after every game is "wow, I still cannot believe that we are this hated around here." So, from 2006 - 2021. It wasn't a short time and it didn't just sneak up on them. It took about 15 years for the bottom to fall out. It's too bad that they always had a win at any cost attitude but Camelot was alive for at least 15 years or so. Nothing lasts forever though and in the end, no one gets out of here alive, and you can't take anything with you. Anyway, that is my take, not that it means much. I just re-read this. Ar’Darius Washington is your son? That’s awesome man. Best of luck to him and your family on draft day!
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Post by deadman318 on Apr 20, 2021 6:50:37 GMT -6
Here is my best and only shot at an explanation. In six parts. First there was the split - and I don't mean the LHSAA. I'm talking about the Booty-Duron split that took half of the talent from Evangel to Calvary in 2005-2006. Booty and Duron were crossways on some "out of church" issues and that lead to Booty leaving Evangel for Calvary... 1/3 to 1/2 of the parents went with Booty. That is how the Calvary High School practically came to be. It had been closed for many years - That's all common knowledge now - it's not like this is a big town... Seems like forever ago, but there it is... That was the beginning of the end... Second was the coaching turnover. I know what you're thinking, Evangel won the state championship multiple times since then. Bachman Sr., Deas, and Dawson all won state championships. However, Bachman Sr. had a great thing going, Pastor Duron and he got cross ways and a week or two after winning the state championship, he was out. Deas resigned. He wasn't forced out by any stretch of the imagination and was loved/respected as a coach there, but his church was a more important calling so he left for his church (no one will fault him for his calling, actually I respect the heck out of the guy). Dawson had the super team from 2015 - 2017. In those three years Evangel lost twice in the state semis to Catholic-BR. The first loss on a fluke fumble and the second loss where Evangel's defense I don't believe gave up a first down. It was a blocked punt and a pick 6 that sealed Evangel's fate on the second loss. Of the three Dawson was the worst one, which kind of isn't fair, but it is what it is. He definitely wasn't the most popular of the three. He saw the writing on the wall after the super team graduated and bolted for Tulane. No one will fault him for that, either. Evangel pays their coaches horribly and work them like dogs. At one point Coach Dawson and Coach Curry, the secondary coach were the only faculty coaches on the staff. The latest one, Coach Kreamer, bless his heart, was fired halfway through the 2020 season. It has been said that he didn't see it coming that he got the job as Head Coach just as he didn't see it coming when he got fired. Third would be facilities. The facilities at Evangel today would be considered "dated" at best. It's the old Country Day school and a lot of T-shacks. There has not been any noticeable upgrades other than the fieldhouse that was built way behind schedule. Fourth would be that there is another private school athletics program option available, that isn't way out by the airport. Calvary was the underdog that finally earned their spot in the winner's circle. Everyone loves an underdog who has finally "made it". And, people are jumping on the bandwagon and paying full price to send their kids there. And why not, they have some pretty good things going on there. Elementary and the middle school are full and busting at the seems. I mean, they really aren't the underdog. They have had a lot of competitive teams that were really loaded. Bachman Sr. did wonders and won back to back state championships there in 2013-2014. But, they have been in the quarterfinal nightmare from 2015-2019 or what I called the curse of Shea Patterson. When Shea Patterson left in the summer of 2015 for IMG, Calvary didn't make it past the quarters. But..... Through player development, keeping the coaching staff (for the most part) together, and having a positive increase in enrollment over the years, it has definitely helped them. Winning it all in 2020 and getting rid of the "curse" will only continue to help them. Newsflash.. Lyddy is back next year so watch out for them to make another run. Oh, and their facilities aren't dated either. They are in the process of building a new fieldhouse. Yeah that football field needs some TLC, and make sure you wear shoes with traction on the bottom when it rains for the bleachers, but its not the mud pit that is over on Broadacres Road. People like Calvary, people like the way they do things, McDowell bringing everyone doughnuts for no reason whatsoever (I wonder if he gave the powerlifting state championship team doughnuts or the football state championship team doughnuts - but anyway... I digress), and if you are not a fan of Rodney Guin then something is definitely wrong with you. My son Christian graduated from Calvary in 2018 and to this day I bet he calls Coach Guin every once in a while. Five, the years of having players go there for free finally caught up to them I would imagine. I don't know about the elementary and middle school enrollment but I can only imagine that there is No new money coming in and no alumni support. Just ask Redemptorist people about those awesome football teams they had, but unfortunately because of low attendance and the athletes going to school for free, it had to close its doors. Calvary had a lot of players that were sponsored or free or whatever you want to call it there too back in the day and it did put them back a little bit. However, McDowell fixed that quickly. Also, Calvary's daycare program alone is the golden egg there and they probably have a waiting list years long. Six, and probably one of the most important reasons for the downward spiral would be the hatred. Evangel was and still is hated in this town. It probably always will be hated here, and I would argue that jealousy has nothing to do with it. Sure you can argue jealousy and envy but when You beat down teams and run up the score like the way Evangel did the teams in this area from the youth football - middle school football to high school football level for a number of years, you will be hated. I'm a coach as well, so I get the "you have to play your 1's and get them the reps", but when its 70-0 in the fourth quarter and you're still scoring at will, it doesn't matter. People will hate you. Perception IS reality. My other son Ar'Darius played on the super team from 2015-2017 and all he would say after every game is "wow, I still cannot believe that we are this hated around here." So, from 2006 - 2021. It wasn't a short time and it didn't just sneak up on them. It took about 15 years for the bottom to fall out. It's too bad that they always had a win at any cost attitude but Camelot was alive for at least 15 years or so. Nothing lasts forever though and in the end, no one gets out of here alive, and you can't take anything with you. Anyway, that is my take, not that it means much. I just re-read this. Ar’Darius Washington is your son? That’s awesome man. Best of luck to him and your family on draft day! We have been together since he was nine years old. Amazing football player and even better young man! Very proud of him!
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