JOURNAL STAFF
For 48 minutes on Friday nights each fall, they are fierce competitors, but throughout the year local high school football coaches and administrators are always colleagues sharing the same motivations and challenges.
Wednesday evening, Origin Bank hosted a second annual appreciation supper at its downtown Shreveport location on Market Street for Bossier Parish high school football coaches and related personnel, coordinated by the Shreveport-Bossier Journal, which is preparing for another season of award-winning, comprehensive prep football coverage – free for everyone to read.
New Bossier Bearkats coach Gary Smith, defensive coordinator at Haughton for the last seven seasons, said he was among plenty of friends.
“The camaraderie is great. I call (Haughton’s) Jason (Brotherton) every day. I call (Parkway’s) Coy (Brotherton) every day. I call (Benton’s) Reynolds (Moore) all the time. I have a ton of respect for all of these coaches. They run great programs. I want Bossier to be part of what they are doing.”
The coaches, administrators and others shared plenty of fellowship, laughs and eager anticipation for the fast-approaching season. The affinity among the “coaching fraternity” was evident – especially with brothers Jason and Coy Brotherton as veteran head coaches at Haughton and Parkway, respectively.
“We look forward to events like this,” said Parkway’s Brotherton. “It’s fun to kid and joke around with each other. We are all friends except for one night a year. We are each other’s fans. It’s a good group of guys who have all been through the same thing and fight the same battles.”
Second-year Airline head man Justin Scogin, who was the Journal’s All-Metro 2022 Coach of the Year, noted those battles are intense.
“There’s no easy weeks, there’s no easy games. The kids and the coaches around our district are good. If you’d told me last year at this event we would go unbeaten in district, I would have said ‘sold,’” said Scogin.
Principals, assistant coaches and staff members thoroughly enjoyed the outstanding food and hospitality provided by Larry Little and his Origin Bank staff, and mingled with Journal writers Teddy Allen, Jerry Byrd Jr., Lee Hiller and John James Marshall, along with photographer Kevin Pickens. Veteran SBJ scribes Doug Ireland and Tony Taglavore will join another gathering this evening.
Caddo Parish head coaches and administrators convene at 6:30 today for their SBJ kickoff supper. If questions, text Ireland at 318-471-2086.
