By HARRIET PROTHRO PENROD

They walked onto the field at Independence Stadium Friday afternoon in below-freezing temperatures wearing green blazers emblazoned with the “Secret Squirrel: Crusader Against Evil” emblem.

Fans in the stands for the 46th Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl were bundled under heavy winter coats, blankets, gloves, and face-coverings.

But not these guys, who were being honored with the 2022 Omar N. Bradley Spirit of Independence Award.

“Yeah, it was cold,” says Col. Trey Morriss, “but we’ve been under worse conditions.”

In the early-morning hours of Jan. 16, 1991, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) deployed seven B-52 Stratofortresses crews from the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base (AFB) to Iraq in a single, secret mission that would mark the beginning of Operation Desert Storm.

The Stratofortresses took off heading toward Iraqi targets and launched 35 AGM-86C Conventional Air Launched Cruise Missiles, annihilating Saddam Hussein’s forces and striking key points of communication infrastructure – and returned in secret. The 35-hour mission marked the first time GPS had ever been used to guide a missile toward a target and was the first combat use of the CALCM.

“I was first informed of the mission in August 1990 and then had six months to train on the new weapon. We couldn’t tell anybody anything,” explained Warren Ward, Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) deputy chief of programming division and 596th BS B-52G Stratofortress co-pilot. “The 62nd BS and part of the 596th BS were largely deploying forward yet a large portion of the 596th stayed at Barksdale. We were watching our brothers in arms going forward, yet we were staying back. We had to work under a veil of secrecy.”

While Operation Senior Surprise was the official name of the classified mission, aircrew and maintainers creatively came up with the name “Secret Squirrel” so they could track schedules and discuss the mission in unclassified areas.

“The Secret Squirrel mission was used to blind Iraq by eliminating certain power and communication nodes throughout the country,” said Morriss, who was a new captain when he served as a B-52G electronic warfare officer.

“This severely hampered their response in the initial phase of the war. We proved to U.S. citizens, our allies, coalition partners, and even to our enemies that we will do what we say we’re going to do. In doing so, we solidified the B-52 in the realm of long-range strike capability.”

Twenty-five years after “Secret Squirrel,” the aircrew members that kicked off Operation Desert Storm reunited at Barksdale Air Force Base on Jan. 15, 2016.

And, almost 32 years to the day of the historic mission, those brave airmen were honored with the Omar N. Bradley Spirit of Independence Award on Dec. 23, 2022. Four of the 57 airmen have passed away since the mission, and 18 were present to receive the award.

“We defended freedom, which is a big honor in itself,” says Morriss. “To be recognized for that is thrilling. When you look at the list of previous recipients — to stand with the Tuskegee Airmen, the Berlin Airlift Veterans, Bob Hope, to name a few – it is humbling to be part of that exclusive club.”

The Omar N. Bradley Spirit of Independence Award was established during the bowl’s second year (1977) to honor an outstanding American citizen or organization which symbolizes the spirit of freedom upon which our country was founded.

“To be able to honor these men was spectacular for us,” says Independence Bowl chairman Rob Rubel. “When I look at the name of the award, two words come to mind – ‘I’ll go.’ The people that defend our nation consciously say that every day.

“I grew up in a veteran’s household, so it means a lot to me. These are the guys that left Barksdale Air Force Base and went to the Middle East to defend our freedom. They are indomitable Americans.”

Contact Harriet at sbjharriet@gmail.com

By TEDDY ALLEN, Journal Sports

The temperature was colder than your ex-girlfriend’s heart. One elevator didn’t work for a few hours because hydraulics froze. Same with some pipes that made press box flushing nothing more than a dream.

But the hit taken by Shreveport-Bossier in a memorable national winter weather event — 25 degrees at kickoff, “feels like” 12 degrees, and 15 miles-per-hour winds — made little difference in what happened on the field under clear skies Friday afternoon at frigid Independence Stadium. A touchdown favorite, Houston trailed at half, 16-6, but pitched a shutout in the second half and got hot at the right time to beat the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, 23-16, in the 46th Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl.

The paid crowd was 23,410. Only about 4,000 attended, a number cut at least in half by the time 2:59 remained in a 16-16 game. Those shivering brave souls were rewarded by a suddenly scorching Cougar offense that also chose to stick around.

Houston drove 92 yards in seven plays and scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Clayton Tune to his favorite target, junior receiver Nathaniel Dell, with 20 seconds left. Kyle Ramsey, who’d missed an extra point try in the first half, made this one for the 23-16 final score.

An interception of a desperation Ragin’ Cajuns pass and a Cougar kneel down ended it.

Noteworthy is that the winning pass was semi-unrehearsed.

“I gave Tune a look,” Dell said, and his quarterback understood, as he has all season. The nation’s leader in touchdown catches — he has 17 after Friday’s two-TD night — Dell turned a corner route into a quick out, made the catch at the 5, planted and quickly turned inside as the defender flew by, took two steps and dove into the end zone.

“Knew he was gonna score,” Tune said.

Ballgame.

ULL will remember the winning drive as something that should have never had a beginning but did because of two plays, each nauseating for the Cajuns, nothing short of splendid for the Cougars.

First, after two straight holding flags produced a typically insurmountable first-and-30 at the UH 21. Tune hit wide receiver KeShan Carter, waaaay behind the Cajun secondary, for 41 yards.

“The kick-start we needed,” Tune said, “the big play to get us going.”

The big play that kick-stopped the Cajuns came five minutes earlier. Freshman quarterback Zeon Chriss, in the game for the fourth quarter’s three drives in place of injured starter Chandler Fields (17-25, 169 yards, 1 TD), helped his team go 75 yards on 10 plays, including a 25-yard rush to the Cougar 9 with nine minutes to play and the game tied at 16.

But Cougar linebacker Jamal Morris forced Chris Smith, ULL’s leading rusher, to fumble and the Cougars recovered. After the teams traded short possessions, Houston got the ball on its own 8 with 2:59 left and mounted the winning drive.

“We made a couple of mistakes late,” ULL coach Michael Desormeaux said. “They didn’t.”

ULL controlled the first half. It started with an opening drive of 75 yards in 15 plays that ended with a somewhat spectacular 4-yard touchdown pass from an on-the-run Fields to senior tight end Johnny Lumpkin in the back corner of the end zone. Sophomore kicker Kenneth Almendares added field goals of 42, 42, and 32 yards — harder than it looks on a bitterly cold afternoon — for the 16-6 lead.

But field goals against high-scoring Houston, a team that averaged 37 points a game, 13^th-best in the nation, don’t often age well.

“The bottom line is that you’ve got to put points on the board when you have those situations and you can’t settle for field goals,” Desormeaux said. “We settled for field goals a couple of times in the first half. Those are things, especially when you play an offense like these guys where you know they have the ability to score pretty quickly, you’ve got to continue to put a little pressure on them.”

Both teams are in semi-rebuilding modes after recent success. ULL of the Sun Belt finished 6-7 but has won 40 games in the past four seasons. The Cougars, who move from the American Athletic Conference to the Big 12 next year, finished 8-5 and have won 20 games in the past two seasons; Houston was 12-2 last year.

“I just commend our guys for having a never-quit attitude,” Houston coach Dana Holgorsen said. “They were resilient in creating a pretty special memory, winning a bowl game like this.”

“We had a chance to win in the end,” Desormeaux said. “Make a couple of mistakes down there in critical situations and it costs you a win. But, I’ve never been more proud of this group than I am right now.”

Contact Teddy at teddy@latech.edu or Twitter @MamaLuvsManning

When the date of the Radiance Technologies 46^th Independence Bowl was announced, the schedulers didn’t seem to notice the significance of the date. But you can’t play a bowl game on the date Festivus is “celebrated” and not expect it to lend itself to some obvious parallel lines.

And there were plenty in Houston’s 23-16 win over Louisiana-Lafayette Friday at Independence Stadium.

(For those of you who aren’t up on your Seinfeldia and thought December 23 was nothing more than Christmas Eve Eve, try to play along.)

One of the tenets of Festivus, in which no Christmas tree is involved, is the aluminum pole because Frank Costanza found that “tinsel was too distracting.”

As it turned out, the most distracting thing (in the best way) might have been watching Houston’s rather large kickoff tee retriever guy do belly flops and stop-drop-and-rolls whenever the Cougars would kick off.

The problem Houston had for much of the game was getting THAT guy on the field, who seemed to have his own Festivus celebration going on.

“Feats of strength” — With the game on the line, the Cougars apparently wanted to prove that they could make a first down from anywhere, so they went ahead and took a bunch of holding penalties so they could set up a 1^st-and-30, with less than two minutes to play. That’s when quarterback Clayton Tune muscled up a 41-yard pass to KeSean Carter.

The Cougars were in business, until they almost weren’t. Hence …

“Until you pin me, it’s not over” — After that play and with less than a minute to play, Houston was basically just looking to get in position for a game-winning field goal. But in a game that featured both teams doing just about everything they could to NOT win the game, the Cougars almost struck again when Ta’Zhawn Henry fumbled on an otherwise harmless play. There was the ball, sitting by its lonesome on the 27-yard line. That’s when 305-pound left guard Cam-Ron Johnson pinned the 15-ounce football on the ground before anybody in a different color jersey did.

Two plays later, Tune threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Nathaniel Dell for the game winner.

“It’s another Festivus miracle!” — It may not have been reflected on the scoreboard, but the first half was dominated by the Cajuns and they were clearly the team that seemed far more excited to be playing in this game. But after things tightened up, it looked like ULL was about to take care of business late in the game.

With a quarterback who hadn’t even played all day (and presumably still not yet frostbitten), the Cajuns were well on their way to taking the lead late in the game behind freshman Zeon Chriss. He had a 25-yard run to put the Cajuns in prime scoring position at the Houston 9. But instead of Chriss carrying the ball again, they gave it to Chris (Smith) and the running back fumbled it away.

The Cougars had the miracle they were looking for.

“Aluminum has very high strength-to-weight ratio” — In case you were curious, football goal posts are made of Dense Schedule 40 Aluminum, and the uprights are made of a lighter 1/8-inch wall aluminum. It’s not like Houston would even get close enough to know that for almost all of the first half. When Carter caught a 33-yard touchdown pass from Tune with three minutes to go before halftime, Carter landed right underneath the Dense Schedule 40 Aluminum to finally get a good look.

The problem is that the extra point by Kyle Ramsey didn’t go between the 1/8-inch wall aluminum pipes and went around them instead.

Of course, Louisiana-Lafayette then took the ball and marched down the field in 13 plays and 83 yards and watched Kenneth Almendares kick (another) field goal to close the half and give the Kickin Ragin’ Cajuns a 16-6 halftime lead. It was the third field goal of the half by ULL, but they would not sniff any more aluminum the rest of the day.

“Airing of grievances” — Frank Costanza famously said, “I got a lot of problems with you people,” and Houston coach Dana Holgorsen must have said something along the same lines (with perhaps a few more adjectives) at halftime.

The Cougars came out and marched straight down the field for a score to make a game out of what didn’t seem like much of one until that point.

However, Holgorsen had a lot of problems getting his team into the end zone on the next two possessions. With two marches that both reached inside the ULL 5, the Cougars got a total of three points to show for it.

But when the time came, Houston went 92 yards in seven plays to win it. You may not have been one of the few to brave the conditions to witness it, but for those who did, it was “a Festivus for the rest of us.”

Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com

By JERRY BYRD, Journal Sports

With nine minutes left in the 46th Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl, it looked like the game’s MVP award may go to the University of Louisiana-Lafayette kicker Kenneth Almendares, who hit three field goals, all in the first half as the Ragin’ Cajuns built a 16-6 lead.

He was one shy of the bowl record, and it appeared he might get an opportunity to tie the record and break the game’s 16-16 deadlock.

However, a ULL fumble inside Houston’s 10 with 8:32 to go opened a window of opportunity for UH quarterback Clayton Tune, who ultimately guided the Cougars on a decisive seven-play, 92-yard drive in the final three minutes.

It started with 2:59 remaining, opening on a 33-yard run by Tune and ending on his 12-yard touchdown pass with 20 seconds left to Nathaniel “Tank” Dell to give Dana Holgorsen’s team a 23-16 win over the Ragin’ Cajuns.

And it earned Tune the Independence Bowl Offensive MVP award.

“I was telling this guy right here we needed to get the ball in the end zone on this last drive,” Holgorsen said, pointing to Tune as he walked to his chair in the postgame press conference. The Cougars had missed a third-quarter extra point kick in the windy conditions and with the outcome on the line, Holgorsen was all-in with his senior quarterback, not the shaky kicking game.

“I told ya’ll a couple of days ago that he (Tune) was going to call a lot of the plays based on his familiarity with what they do defensively,” Holgorsen said. “He changed that (touchdown) play. That’s what makes this relationship so special. He saw leverage and they got these goofy looks and signals and stuff that makes it work.”

Holgorsen’s call on the touchdown play was a corner route, but Tune saw the ULL defensive back playing off, therefore getting leverage on Dell if he went with his coach’s initial plan.

“We had a corner route called,” Tune said. “We want that versus a specific leverage, but they actually showed something different. The corner was playing off so he could’ve gotten under that corner route, so I changed it to a quick out. I knew that he would beat the guy — he had outside leverage on the safety guarding him. I knew he would just run up, pat his feet, break out, and it would be an easy touchdown.” 

It was, making voters’ choice for the offensive award easy, too.

“As far as winning the MVP, it’s really special,” Tune said. “Happy to do it. Happy to be here, and play with the guys. I couldn’t do it without them. I couldn’t do it without the offensive line, receivers, running backs, tight ends, and coaches just calling plays so, it’s really special, but I really owe it all to them to put me in that position.”

Tune, whose next game will be the Senior Bowl in Mobile, finished with 19 completions on 28 passes for 216 yards and three touchdowns.

The game-winner was Tune’s second touchdown pass to Dell, also Senior Bowl-bound. The first came on a 2-yard pass to cap the Cougars’ opening drive of the second half that got them within 16-13.

While the last drive won the game for the Cougars and sealed the MVP deal for Tune, it also gave Dell the title of national leader in touchdown receptions for 2022 with 17. He came into the game needing one. Tune dialed his number twice.

After Tune wrote the final chapter for his time at the University of Houston, he reflected on what it has meant to him and what he will take away.

“It’s been awesome,” Tune said. “I’ve grown so much and learned so much and been around so many great people. Just the experiences I have had, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. So, I’ve learned a lot. I think the biggest thing is how to deal with adversity, just keep pushing forward, keep moving forward. I’d say that’s the main thing. We have had some adverse times this year. The best way to handle it is to keep your head down and keep moving forward.” 

ULL finished 6-7, Houston 8-5.

“Coming off a 12-win season and you got Tune and ‘Tank’ coming back, the expectations are going to get shot through the roof,” Holgorsen said. “College football is competitive. It’s hard. There are a lot of good teams. For us to get our eighth win, for these seniors to get their 20th win in the last two years, I’m very proud of them.”

Houston has given up lots of points this season — but not Friday; the Cougars held ULL to 12 points below its season average.

Much of the credit goes to the Defensive Player of the Game, senior cornerback Art Green, who tied a season-high in tackles with nine, eight solo, and a pass break up. Green, 6-2, 200, is a native of Chesterfield, Mo., and played at Hutchinson (Ks.) Community College before arriving at Houston, where’s he’s played in all but one game in the past three seasons.

Contact Jerry at sbjjerrybyrd@gmail.com

Houston 23, Louisiana-Lafayette 16

UL-Lafayette | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0 | – 16

Houston | 0 | 6 | 7 | 10 | – 23

First quarter

ULL – Johnny Lumpkin 4 pass from Chandler Fields (Kenneth Almendares), 15 plays, 75 yards, 7:21

Second quarter

ULL – Almendares 42 field goal, 7 plays, 39 yards, 5:25

ULL – Almendares 42 field goal, 4 plays, 3 yards, 0:58

UH – KeSean Carter 33 pass from Clayton Tune (kick missed), 9 plays, 80 yards, 3:59

ULL – Almendares 32 field goal, 12 plays, 83 yards, 2:51

Third quarter

UH – Nathaniel Dell 2 pass from Tune (Kyle Ramsey kick), 13 plays, 70 yards, 5:33

Fourth quarter

UH – Ramsey 19 field goal, 8 plays, 31 yards, 4:02

UH – Dell 12 pass from Tune (Ramsey kick), 7 plays, 92 yards, 2:39

Team Statistics

Individual statistics

Rushing

UL-Lafayette – Chris Smith 14-48, Chandler Fields 6-32, Zeon Chriss 4-26, Dre’lyn Washington 3-11, Terrence Williams 5-8, Peter LeBlanc 1-4.

Houston – Ta’Zhawn Henry 12-45, Clayton Tune 11-45, Brandon Campbell 8-45, Stacy Sneed 6-12.

Passing

UL-Lafayette – Chandler Fields 17-25-0, 169 yards, 1 TD; Zeon Chriss 4-6-1, 25 yards.

Houston – Clayton Tune 19-28-0, 216 yards, 3 TDs.

Receiving

UL-Lafayette – Lance LeGendre 5-56, John Stephens 3-47, Neal Johnson 3-19, Errol Rogers Jr. 2-21, Pearse Migl 2-15, Johnny Lumpkin 2-14, Terrence Williams 2-3, Dalen Cambre 1-15, Chris Smith 1-4.

Houston – Johnny Dell 6-44, 2 TDs, KeSean Carter 4-104, 1-TD, Joseph Manjack IV 4-35, Matthew Golden 2-4, Ta’Zhawn Henry 1-14, Matt Byrnes 1-13, Stacy Sneed 1-2.

DEFENSE

Tackles

UL-Lafayette – Kam Pedescleaux 5-2—7 ; Kris Moncrief 4-3—7; Jourdan Quibodeaux 3-4—7; Bralen Trahan 4-2—6; Tyree Skipper 4-2—6; Zi’Yon Hill-Green 2-2—4; Trey Amos 3-1—4; Tyrone Lewis Jr. 1-2—3; Courtline Flowers 2-1—3; KC Ossai 1-2—3; Ja’Marian Peterson 1-1—2; Mason Narcisse 1-1—2; Kendre’ Gant 2-0—2; Dalen Cambre 2-2-0; Caleb Anderson 1-1—2; Tyler Guidry 0-2—2; Sonny Hazard 0-2—2; Cameron Whitfield 2-0—2; Jasper Williams 0-1—1; AJ Riley 0-1—1; Pearse Migl 1-0—1. TOTAL 39-30—69.

Houston – Thabo Mwaniki 7-3—10; Art Green 8-1—9; Mannie Nunnery 6-2—8; Jamal Morris 4-4—8; Donovan Mutin 3-3—6; Atlias Bell 5-0—5; Gervarrius Owens 4-0—4; D’Anthony Jones 1-2—3; Jayce Rogers 2-1-1; Nelson Ceaser 2-0—2; Jamaree Caldwell 1-1—2; Chidozie Nwankwo 1-0—1; Sedrick Williams 1-0—1; Noah Guzman 1-0—1; Laine Wilkins 1-0—1; Trimarcus Cheeks 1-0—1; Dante Wynn 1-0—1; Ja’Kori Morgan 1-0—1; Zykeius Strong 0-1—1. TOTAL 49-18—67

By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports

Although they scored just 23 points winning Friday’s Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl, the Houston Cougars brought the heat and left a lasting mark at Independence Stadium.

The Cougars brought in portable heaters for players in their bench area. The heaters were great for UH but not for the brand new artificial turf, which was slightly damaged in four spots in the UH bench area when the plastic grass and rubber pellets melted and briefly created some smoke as the game kicked off. That was more heat than the Cougars offense produced until just before halftime, but the problem was quickly resolved.

318 CAJUNS: Four former area prep standouts were in action Friday for the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns, including two offensive starters:  senior receiver John Stephens Jr. of Logansport and sophomore left guard AJ Gillie of Natchitoches Central. Stephens, expected to get into an NFL training camp as an undrafted free agent, made three catches for 47 yards. His late father, a former Springhill and Northwestern State record-shattering running back, was the 1988 Rookie of the Year and a Pro Bowl pick for New England as a highlight of his six NFL seasons.

Haughton’s Jake St. Andre was in on special teams action but the redshirt freshman linebacker did not record a tackle. Many running back Terrance Williams, a second-teamer as a sophomore, netted eight yards on five carries.

SUBTLE TRIBUTE:  With everyone but players and officials bundled up in layers trying to ward off the cold, Dana Holgorsen’s gesture honoring one of his mentors didn’t stand out as intended Friday, until the trophy ceremony. The Houston head coach and two of his offensive assistants wore black sweatshirts with “STATE” across the chest to honor the memory of Mike Leach, whose sudden death Dec. 12 shocked the sports world.

Holgorsen played receiver at Iowa Wesleyan College, where Leach and head coach Hal Mumme unleashed the “Air Raid” offense that has greatly influenced the sport at all levels in recent years. Holgorsen worked for Leach after his playing career ended and was his offensive coordinator in Leach’s head coaching debut at Texas Tech, where Cougars offensive line coach Brandon Jones played for Leach from 2004-06.

Holgorsen flew to Starkville, Miss., Tuesday from Shreveport to attend Leach’s memorial service at Mississippi State.

OT AVERTED:  As the Houston offense took the field with 2:59 left backed up inside its own 10 in a 16-all tie, overtime loomed. A game-winning 92-yard drive averted only the second OT in I-Bowl history. The first and only? The 2000 “Snow Bowl” when Mississippi State prevailed 43-41 over Texas A&M.

DEUCE WATCH:  Nobody wanted to avoid overtime any more than former Saints standout and 2006 Independence Bowl Hall of Fame inductee Deuce McAllister, who starred in Ole Miss wins in 1998 and 1999. He was the color analyst for the ESPN telecast but also kept close watch on the status of his flight from Shreveport Regional to Cleveland, where he will resume his regular role as analyst on the Saints Radio Network for New Orleans’ noon game today against the Browns.

McAllister’s flight took off at 6:17, about 40 minutes after the game ended. Aside from no cancellation (as of halftime) of his flight, he had the advantages of the airport’s location just four miles from Independence Stadium, and not having any traffic woes at game’s end. Only a few hundred fans, at best, hung around in the sub-freezing conditions for the finish.

His backup plan — a private charter by a friend, departing New Orleans early this morning.

TUNE UP:  Houston quarterback Clayton Tune tossed three TD passes to rise into a tie for No. 1 nationally this season with 40 scoring strikes, matching Austin Reed of Western Kentucky.

CAJUN COWBOY:  UL-Lafayette and McNeese State, like Louisiana Tech and Northwestern State, were for decades bitter rivals before the Cajuns and Bulldogs departed the Southland Conference for Football Bowl Subdivision membership in the 1980s. While the highly-successful head coach at McNeese, Matt Viator was twice in the mix when a downtrodden ULL program was seeking new leadership, but each time the Cajuns went with somebody else.

Now Viator is on the ULL staff as a senior analyst. He left McNeese after 10 seasons and was head coach at ULM from 2016-20, before getting fired.  Former Cajun coach Billy Napier, who left after last season to take over at Florida, had brought Viator on as an unpaid analyst, but new coach Michael Desormeaux elevated Viator’s status and put him on salary.

SPEAKING OF CAJUN ANALYSTS:  Former LSU head coach Ed Orgeron was on the ULL sideline throughout Saturday’s game. His son Parker is in his first year as an analyst for the Cajuns. Another son, Cody, is in the same role at Miami, where the elder Orgeron has a residence on the 38^th floor of a beachfront hotel. “Coach O” has made several visits to watch the Cajuns and visit his son in 2022, and drove up from his south Louisiana home Thursday, stopping to show his girlfriend his old college town, Natchitoches, where he played for Northwestern and started his coaching career in 1983-84.

Coming from sunny Florida, Orgeron and companion purchased winter wear Thursday night at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Shreveport. Among those he visited with on the field were former Demon teammate Dr. Stan Powell of Shreveport and retired NSU president Dr. Chris Maggio, who was a track athlete for the Demons while Orgeron played and coached there.

Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com

JOURNAL STAFF

The Shreveport-Bossier Journal’s lineup of veteran sportswriters had great fun this fall covering local high school football.

Considering who stood above the rest was extremely challenging as those writers pared down the abundant list of candidates to an elite group selected for the Journal’s first All-Metro Football Team.

The squad was presented earlier this week in three parts beginning Monday. With the area’s biggest football game every year getting a special edition of the SBJ, here’s the chance to celebrate the top performers in the local high school ranks one more time.

The All-Metro offense and special teams standouts:

SBJ All-Metro Offense, Specialists:  Tough choices, worthy winners

The All-Metro defensive roster:

SBJ All-Metro Defense: Performance easily identified standouts

The All-Metro Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Coach of the Year:

SBJ All-Metro Individual Awards: Spotlighting the best of the best

And as Teddy Allen points out, there’s more to a championship season than just the players and the coaches.

Behind every good Metro Coach of the Year …

Enjoy the read, and Merry Christmas!

This is a magical time of year. We are kinder. We smile more. We give and love to see the joy our gifts bring to those we love. We say Merry Christmas freely and without fear of offense. I do at least. I’m telling people Merry Christmas at 12:01 am after Thanksgiving Day. We stop being so consumed with our work and put family and friends first if only for a little while.

During this time of year, we are more than our jobs and what the government and our bosses, and a fickle society tell us to be. Rather we are the best of what we can be. We are men and women who want to see good in the world, and for a little while, just a sliver of a moment in the seemingly eternal struggle, we say there is more to the world than work and money and arguments and deadlines and commitments.

There is good and there is God and in the smiling faces of our friends, our husbands, and wives, and our children, we can see Him beaming back at us.

I’m reminded of my favorite Christmas song:

Silent night! Holy night!
All is calm, all is bright
round yon Virgin Mother and Child,
Holy infant so tender and mild,
sleep in Heavenly peace!
sleep in Heavenly peace!

Silent night! Holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight;
glories stream from Heaven afar,
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia,
Christ, the Saviour, is born!
Christ, the Saviour, is born!

Silent night! Holy night!
Son of God, Love’s pure light
radiant, beams from Thy Holy face,
with the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord at Thy birth,
Jesus, Lord at Thy birth.

That last bit – the part about Love’s pure light – resonates with me. God speaks directly to our hearts every day. But it seems like it’s only at Christmas that we take the time to listen. On that Silent Night, after the redeeming grace, we can truly know that our hope and faith in humanity can be reborn, just like hope for the world was redeemed 2,000 years ago with the birth of the Once and Future King.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence we hear Him a bit more this time of year. I don’t believe that at all. Peace on Earth and goodwill toward men during this time of year.

So, if I have one hope for this Christmas it would be the same hope I have for every Christmas. I hope that more of us can carry on the spirit of Christmas throughout the year. I hope that the people in charge will care a little bit less about power and more about what’s right. I hope the people with the money will care a little bit less about profit and a little bit more about humanity. And I hope the people with hate in their hearts will smother those flames under a blanket of love from the one above us and the ones around us.

Hate in the heart poisons the soul. I’ve been there. And I never want to go back, so I try to live every day like it’s Christmas Day. I fail a lot. But the point that matters is I keep trying. I won’t let the difficult people in this world – the cruel, the greedy, the politicians, the panderers, the schemers, and the fake folks who surround us – keep me from trying to make this place just a little bit better than it was before I entered it. I hope you too can find yourself working toward that goal. Stop worrying about gaining political points in a world that’s rigged against you. Stop worrying about what others think of you. God doesn’t care. So, neither should you.

Merry Christmas, my friends, my family, my brothers and sisters in Christ. Find peace in the promise and excitement of your own chance to be reborn.

Josh Beavers is a teacher and a writer. He has been recognized five times for excellence in opinion writing by the Louisiana Press Association.

Just for kicks and giggles, let’s pretend that Santa Claus became a touring bass pro. What would that look like? Who would be his major sponsors? What would be his favorite technique? What brand boat would Santa run, or would he just transform his sleigh into a fishing machine?

First, Santa would probably have to lose a few pounds in order to compete at the highest level. Fishing the tour is a grind and it’s not for someone carrying 50 to 80 pounds of extra weight. But the extra weight would come in handy for insulation on those cold early-season boat runs. He would definitely have to give up the cookies and gingerbread that he so dearly loves, while joining the North Pole Fitness Center. 

Now that we have a much slimmer Santa, let’s look at who would sponsor Jolly Ole Saint Nick. Obviously, it would have to be the best sponsors in the industry on a global level. When it comes to what rod and reel line he would choose, I think his first choice would be 13 Fishing. Since 2012 this company has risen to the highest ranks in the fishing industry. Of course, Santa would want nothing but the best and I think he would choose 13 Fishing’s Concept A3 series as his reel of choice.  

What kind of fisherman would Santa be? More than likely a power fisherman. A guy of his stature and physical presence would probably like to chunk and wind a spinnerbait or crankbait, or maybe he would like to flip and pitch a jig. Either way, he would be an angler who would never pick up a spinning rod, or as some pros call it, a Fairy wand. 

What kind of fishing line would he spool on his reels? Well, that’s an easy answer! Only the best will do for the man in the big red suit, so that would be Seaguar fishing line. They carry the best fluorocarbon and braided lines made on the planet. As for hooks, what would he use? Again, it’s a no brainer! He would choose a Japanese brand, Gamakatsu Hooks, the number one brand used by the best pros in the world. Not even his elves could produce a better hook from scratch.

What about a boat? What brand of boat would fit Santa and fulfill his every need? One thing we’ve made clear, Santa likes the latest and greatest when it comes to product and has nothing but the highest of standards. There are lots of boats that would be okay, like Ranger, Skeeter or Bass Cat, but today he would choose Caymas. This would give him the best combination in terms of speed, ride, comfort and fishability. Caymas truly is not only a great boat, but one of the newest brands on the market today and becoming very popular among tournament anglers. Don’t just take my word for it, stop by The Boat Shop in Shreveport and see for yourself why so many anglers are switching over. 

Can you imagine how his boat would be wrapped? There would be all the colors of Christmas and every sponsor would be displayed proudly all the while paying homage to Rudolph and the other eight reindeer with their photo image on the wrap. Obviously, there would be a grand display of red and green Christmas lights from bow to stern that would light up an entire body of water. No one would have a better-looking boat than Santa with his heated boat seats and automatic hot chocolate dispenser!  Oh, he’ll also need a truck to pull that Caymas boat with. How about a new Ford F150 4X4 pick-up truck from Jimmy Granger’s Natchitoches Ford! This would complete Santa’s fishing rig and have him hitting the tournament trail in style.  

Christmas is a special time of year and the fact that Santa is real makes it even more special. Like I still remind my kids — who are now in their 20s and 30s — when you stop believing, he stops leaving the gifts you so enjoy. But at our house, we know the true meaning of Christmas and celebrate it honoring the birth of Jesus by making a fresh batch of cinnamon rolls and placing a candle in the middle and singing happy birthday to our Lord and Savior.  

I hope you’ve enjoyed considering what kind of fishing pro Saint Nick would be if he chose to change his profession. ‘Til next time good luck, good fishing, and Merry Christmas! Here’s hoping your stocking is filled with some great bass catching lures and plenty of sunscreen!

Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahool.com