Latest / The Craig Way Show / Lifetime Longhorn and Lovejoy head coach Todd Dodge on Texas-OU memories with Craig Way

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Lifetime Longhorn and Lovejoy head coach Todd Dodge on Texas-OU memories with Craig Way · The Craig Way Show

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Speaker 1: Craig Way with they alongside the producer Cameron Parker. So
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glad to have you with us. There's so much excitement
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about this Texas how You Gain And it's kind of
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weird too because I've found and i'll talk more about
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this later in the program, an almost equal amount a
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balance of excitement about the game the following week against
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the Georgia Bulldogs. And it's going to be just a
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zoo and a circus around here with a Formula one race.
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Have one going on down here next week, but that's
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next week. This week stands alone, as it always does,
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the Red River Rivalry, the one hundred and twentieth playing
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of the Red River Rivalry. And it'll be this Saturday afternoon,
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two thirty the Cotton Bowl on the fairgrounds of the
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State Fair Texas in Dallas, and our coverage will actually
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begin from the fairgrounds eleven thirty in the morning and
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the kickoff at two thirty. I'll have a lot of fun,
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as I always do, calling that football game. But I'll
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tell you what I've loved calling the football games for
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the University of Tech here, you know, twenty four years
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of play by play in thirty four years in the
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booth overall and doing that, and I have also his
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folks know, have gotten a great deal of pleasure out
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of calling Texas high school football games, including the state
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championships at all levels from six man all the way
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up to six A. And it was a distinct pleasure
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to get a chance to call all three of the
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three consecutive Westlake State title games just a few years back.
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And then, of course, the head coach of that team
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was Todd Dodge and stepped away from the game for
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retirement and came back this year where he is coaching
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the love Joy Leopards up in the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex.
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But we wanted to have Todd Dodge on for another reason.
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You see, As I mentioned, this is the one hundred
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and twentieth edition of the Red River Rivalry. The eightieth edition,
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some forty years ago in nineteen eighty four, was the
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last time the Texas log Hoorns entered the Red River
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Rivalry as the number one ranked team in the nation
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like they are this year. The quarterback of that team
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was Todd Dodge, who joins us on the hotline right now.
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All right, So I got to ask it first. It
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doesn't seem like it's been forty years since you were
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taking the snaps at quarterback for Texas.
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Speaker 2: Yes, it does, Craig, it seems ever been. It seems
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ever been of forty years.
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Speaker 1: Well, I appreciate you take you the time to join us,
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because I know it was a long time ago and
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a lot of water's gone under the bridge and a
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lot of things have happened since then. But I did
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want to have you on for a couple of reasons.
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First of all, I wanted to ask you about your
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football team. Right now, I want to ask you about
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the love Joy Leopards, because I've been asked a lot
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by folks saying, hey, coach Dodge retired, he went out
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on top. Why did he decide to come back? And
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I'm sure you probably got the answer to that, and
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I tried to explain it from what I heard from
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you in different interviews and soundbites and when we've talked,
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But I know you have the best explanation for all
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of why you were to learn why you returned where
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you returned to the game.
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Speaker 2: Well, yeah, and when I retired from west Lake, those
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those two years off, there was absolutely no grandiose idea
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of just being out two years, but I did go
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watch a lot of football with Riley's team playing and
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playing gosh, you know, fourteen to fifteen games a season.
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I went to watch them play every two weeks. Got
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a chance to go see many of my former players
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at West Lake play in college. Had had a real
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fun two years in that go and play golf and
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then watching college football. But about mid about this time.
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Speaker 3: Last year, you know, I really felt like.
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Speaker 2: I still had some juice left to think and it's
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the right job came open at that that I would
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look into it.
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Speaker 3: And Elizabeth and I knew.
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Speaker 2: That we would be moving back up here to the
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Dallas Forth area, so that was a given whether I
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coached again or not, to be closer to family, closer
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to grandkids. We live in mckennie now, which is only
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eight miles from the field house here at Lovejoy. So
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everything worked out really well and it was a perfect fit.
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And I'm just absolutely loving these kids and loving this.
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Speaker 3: Job I've got.
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Speaker 2: I've got a boss, uh named Katie Cordell, our superintendent,
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who is as good a leader as I've ever been around.
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Speaker 4: So it's everything's.
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Speaker 2: Going really good, and most importantly it Liz was happy.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, well, yeah, that's important.
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Speaker 4: How well, let me ask you this then, Todd. How
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was it.
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Speaker 1: An absolute must that the job had to be in
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the Metroplex because of the proximity to Riley and the grandkids.
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And was it an absolute must that it needed to
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be a one high school town or a one high
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school situation?
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Speaker 2: Pretty much? Yep. You know. I had some you know,
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get friends at here.
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Speaker 3: And I'm just, you know, don't know how you know,
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if you.
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Speaker 2: Hear something, if you hear something that's that's coming open,
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you know, give me, give me a holler.
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Speaker 4: I wanted it to.
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Speaker 2: Be within a fifty mile radius of the Dallas Fort
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Worth area. I wanted it to be a four A
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or five A job, and I would like for it
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to be a one high school town. And so about
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mid January, when I was traveling down to South Texas
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to go deer hunting for the first time in my life,
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the job at Lovejoy came open in that kind of
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in about mid January, And next thing, you know, myself
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and and Miss Cordell are talking, and next thing you know,
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I'm in love Joy interviewing for the job.
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Speaker 3: And it went pretty quickly. After that.
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Speaker 1: There was a famous story Todd about John Wooden, the
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legendary basketball coach at UCLA, that when he was at
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Indiana State, he was about to take the job Minnesota,
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and the Minnesota, the athletic greator, said let me get
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mo with my president. I'll call you back, but it's
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almost certain that it's going to happen. He said, okay,
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And he didn't get a call back that night because
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there was a blizzard up there and the phone lines
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were down, and UCLA had called and offered, and he
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took the job, and the Minnesota called back and he said,
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I'm sorry, I've already taken it. The reason why I
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bring this up is I heard a tale that there
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was someone who was interested in you for another position
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and it kind of matched some of the things. And
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I don't know how much of this is apocryphal and
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how much of it is reel, but that there were
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certain elements of that job that would kind of fit
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what you were looking for, but they either didn't get
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back to you in time or whatever, and then the
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lovejoy thing came up and boomed.
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Speaker 4: It just fight. Is there any true to any of that?
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Speaker 2: Yeah? There is, there is, and really it it the
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the timing of everything with all of that came about that,
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you know, to be very simple, is that the love
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Joy situation just really fit what Elizabeth and I were
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looking for.
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Speaker 3: With family and getting back closer family.
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Speaker 2: And it's it's it's interesting the this time last year,
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you know, we were in retirement. We were come to see
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Riley's team play. We were traveling out to Clemson, we
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were going out to we went to Notre Dame. Last year.
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We went to Pullman, Washington to watch Nikkia Watson play
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at watch Stage. Just going everywhere and having a great time.
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The head coach at Melissa Matt Aally. What a wonderful
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guy is and great coach. But I get a call
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from Mattnally about late July of summer twenty twenty three
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and he invites me to come visit with his team.
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You're in their training camp in early August, and so
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I said, you know I can do that. I'm going
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to be up in the Dallas area. You know, I'm
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up there quite.
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Speaker 3: Often to see grand kids and everything. So it Liz
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and I went up and the team that I played
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last last.
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Speaker 2: Friday night, we we we played a forty one to
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thirty eight game. That we kicked a thirty three yards
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field go with three secondslipt that it was an amazing game.
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But I talked to that team literally a year ago
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in their field health.
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Speaker 4: That's that.
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Speaker 1: I think the grand irony that you talked to that
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team and then at their state rank top ten and
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you beat them on a walk off field goal last week,
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and now it's now it's three in a row for
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you after the two game obviously, I got a chance
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to see and call the first game against a really
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good Love at Cooper team and that went down to
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the wire as well. How about what it's taken for
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your team through those first couple of weeks, the adjustment
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to everything, all of a sudden, the switch didn't start
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to really come on for them to turn it now
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into the stree game winning streak.
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Speaker 4: Well, it's starting to be.
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Speaker 3: That.
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Speaker 2: Our defense against Town Park played well enough to win,
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no doubt. Our offense against Love at Cooper the first
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game played well enough to win. Neither one of the
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other side of the ball played very well in those games.
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So after two weeks, the biggest thing we had to
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do was put it together and then improved big time
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in the kicking game. So we are starting to get there.
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Speaker 3: Now.
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Speaker 2: We're playing really good, complimentary football. Last Friday night, a
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really good Melissa team. Well they get they are beautiful
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getting off the bus. I mean, they're just a really
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good looking football team. Our defense caused.
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Speaker 3: Four fumbles, I mean four takeaways, got three interceptions in
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a fumble. The defense presented the football to us three
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other times inside the fifty yard line. Our kicking game
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was nearly flawless. Is one of those those.
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Speaker 2: Saturday mornings Craig in the in the barbershops across the
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state of Texas that the Lovejoy Special.
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Speaker 3: Teams was not talked about, and that was that was good.
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Speaker 2: That means that means, that.
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Speaker 3: Means that they executed and.
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Speaker 2: They did well.
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Speaker 4: There was nothing really to remember except for the walk.
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Speaker 2: Off the walk off field go. And so that's that's good.
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That's goods things.
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Speaker 4: Yeah.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, we put it all together.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, we put it all together. And uh so we
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are in a league that's got five teams. Not throwing
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shade at anybody else, but we've got five teams in
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our league which is Walnut, Grove, Emerson, Melissa, Anna and
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Us that all five are pretty stinking good teams and
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getting better every week, and whoever wins this league is
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going to be really battle tested.
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Speaker 3: Uh So, we've.
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Speaker 2: Had four games between those five teams so far, and
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all four of them have been decided by four points
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or less.
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Speaker 1: And wasn't the you know, if you're wasn't the Anna
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game like sixty six to sixty two or something like that.
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Speaker 3: Yeah?
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Speaker 2: Yeah, our game against Anna was sixty six sixty two.
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There was about thirteen hundred yards of total offense innet game.
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Speaker 1: Wow, it's amazing Todd Dodge pinning us here on the program.
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I know obviously you're keeping close tabs on Riley and
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what things are going on at Carol. Do you get
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a chance to visit with Tony Salazar and get his
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thoughts on how things are going for him at Westlake?
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Speaker 4: Absolutely?
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Speaker 2: Talk with Tony, you know, probably every couple of weeks,
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sometimes every week, you know, they you know, I mean,
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Westlake plays tough people in the non district, always has,
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always will, whether you want to or not. Just kind
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of like here at Lovejoy. You're not going to get
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a play people who were five and five a year before.
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You're gonna play tough people, you know. I talked to
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Tony after the attack to see the loss, and I
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told him the sun did come up this morning, I think,
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I know he thought maybe it wasn't, but it did.
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And you're probably going to be better off. You don't
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realize it or no, this loss will make you better
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in the long run. But they are playing at a
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very high level. They got their quarterback back healthy again.
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And of course defense with that defensive line is tell
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on wheels.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, no doubt about all right, So Todd dodgers with us.
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The other reason I wanted to have you on was
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to get your memories of this game that was played
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forty years ago and my recollection. And I was a
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student in North Texas at the time, in young broadcaster
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and working with Bill Mercer in the North Texas games,
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and we had a game that night against McNeese. But
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I was in my apartment watching that fifteen to fifteen
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rain soaked tie between the top two teams in the country,
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and I know it had to be miserable for everybody,
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and uh, you know, for for coach Acres and the
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coaching staff as well. But let me get your thoughts
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on if you can take me back through that, what.
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Speaker 4: What was all going on that day?
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Speaker 1: And what you went through and what the team went
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through and what was an epic football game with Oklahoma.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, well, always an early wake up. My memory is
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the Texas so you gave even back in my day
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forty years ago, was always played right around in Doon
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and kickoff, so we got up early. It was raining
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straight down in Dallas, got to got to the game,
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kind of let up. Had you know the the pregame
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warm up was it was I always couldn't remember back
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It's just when I can't believe how many people are
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already here and it's reigning, uh in pregame warm up,
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it was like it just boggled me. Of course, I
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you know, I had only been in college for three
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years and came from sheltered port arch of Texas, so
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that that was something I always remember. How many people
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were there. But the game, the turf that at the
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Cotton Bow back in the day, everything was astra turf.
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But the turf was always really good to play on
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when it was dry because it was really soft, uh
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and and not brittle. And so we all anybody who
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played the Coton Bowl in Texas and Oklahoma places, players
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would would share that information with each other that they
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really liked playing it because of the turf. Well, well,
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it was wet that day. That labeled there, it's the
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sliickest thing you've ever played on when it's wet. And
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uh so, I know we got off to a good start.
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I think I threw a wheel route to to billboard
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Brian for a touchdown and then yeah, just back and forth.
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You know usually you know we were number one, uh
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they were number two. You know when we all kid
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each other today, you know, they talked about nil and
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you look, you look, and some kid is making them
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two point five million dollars in nil and everything. Tell
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the only the only.
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Speaker 3: Nil we ever had was our tickets, you know, back
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of the day.
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Speaker 2: Limitations up, but they were they people were people were
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pretty pretty interested in being at that game against the
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number one and the number two teams.
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Speaker 4: No doubt.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, you know you and I talked before.
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Speaker 3: I'll share it with the listeners.
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Speaker 2: You know, there was a you know with uh I
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got I got hit by bosworth sprint out past and
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I hit about the about the numbers, and I started sliding.
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I'm literally sliding on my belly like I was sliding
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in the third base or on the slippy slide and
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I am hauling tail into their bench and I get
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and I clip a bunch of people falling on top
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of me, and you know, I'm getting kicked and I'm
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getting need and you know, just the typical stuff in
15:46
that game.
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Speaker 3: If if you get on the other team's sidelline and.
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Speaker 2: There's a there's a hand that reaches out from.
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Speaker 3: All of this, and I look up.
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Speaker 2: And it's coach Switzer and he said, t D He said,
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you ain't looking too good. And that's the coach. I've
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been better. I've been better. And so he helps me up,
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kind of pass me on the butt and sends me
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back to well. In one one.
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Speaker 3: Hand he was helping me up, but on the other hand, he.
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Speaker 2: Was cutting a cigarette, you know. And I was always, uh,
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you know, I always thought that was that was interesting
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that Coach Switzer was was smoking a cigarette on the sideline,
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and uh so I always tell that, I tell that
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story that I and I told my team that in
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the huddle is like a time out.
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Speaker 3: Not too long after that, I go caych.
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Speaker 2: Help never believe and I got when I got the
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hell knocked out of me on their sideline, I want
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to go, coach switcher is smoking cigarette.
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Speaker 3: They go, you're full of crap.
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Speaker 2: That's time, you know, and all that, and I go, no,
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I'm serious, I'm serious. And so the game's over with
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and it's a fifteen fifteen.
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Speaker 3: Time and it's just I mean, it was you know, I'll.
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Speaker 2: Never forget this. Keith Stanbury and I we went on
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recruiting business together. I knew Keith in Mount Pleasant, Texas,
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and so he you know, he's the one who who
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intercepted part the oukle will say it was a yeah,
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we will say we will say he landed out of bounds.
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Obviously it was ruled that way. I'm glad that there.
17:08
I'm glad that there wasn't any uh replay looking at
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looking at looking at replay that we may not get
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the best end of that one. But anyway, so I'm
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talking to uh, I'm talking to Keith, and I said, hey,
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you got to tell me. I said, he smoke a cigarette.
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See he goes, yeah, he goes, man, when the game
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gets tight, you'll alway see him will get down and
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come by himself. He thinks, he thinks nobody knows what
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he's doing. Yeah, just a far up a heater down there.
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Speaker 1: I was going to ask you if you'd ever gotten
17:40
any grief from anybody other than Oklahoma fans about that
17:43
Stansbury play in the back of the end zone there
17:46
that it was and it's been pointed out to me
17:49
that the back judge who was right there on it,
17:50
will say Southwest Conference official in a split crew and
17:53
ruled it didn't complete and all that other stuff.
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Speaker 3: Uh.
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Speaker 1: And I'm meant to ask you if there if you'd
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ever gotten any grief from in anybody who wasn't Crimson
18:01
and Cream about this.
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Speaker 3: No, no, no, all all the.
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Speaker 2: All the horns, all the horns people are still to
18:10
this day.
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Speaker 3: It was he was out of bounce and me included.
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But and if he.
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Speaker 2: Wasn't out of bounds, he was passing interference on him
18:19
before the ever cup the ball. So that that's my
18:21
other deal.
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Speaker 4: There you go, there you go. That's a good story
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to stick to. Absolutely. Uh. You still sake to say.
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Speaker 1: I think I remember from our visits when I was
18:31
over at the across town, when you would come over
18:33
and visit, that that you still had a real abiding,
18:38
rooting interest in the in the the welfare and the
18:41
benefit of the Loghorns.
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Speaker 4: And you've got to know Sark really well.
18:44
Speaker 1: Is that is that still hold for you, that you
18:47
you still have that abiding, rooting interest in your alma mater.
18:50
Is getting ready to take the field for a game
18:52
like this.
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Speaker 3: Absolutely absolutely.
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Speaker 2: I've got five former players at Westlake that are playing
18:59
for the Orange now, you know, with Connor Vassik and
19:03
Ethan Burke and Connor Robertson and Mookie Taff and Bryce Chambers.
19:09
All those guys just love him. I'm so proud of him.
19:11
Did get to know coach start his first year year
19:15
and a half. I was really a fan of his
19:18
before he ever got the job, and I was thrilled
19:21
when he got the job to.
19:22
Speaker 3: Be our coach at University of Texas.
19:24
Speaker 2: And he's such a savant as a play caller does does,
19:29
in my opinion, the best job of being head coach
19:31
and play caller of anybody else in the country. And
19:34
that's tough to do.
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Speaker 4: But he manages it wonderfully.
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Speaker 3: And but no, I'm not going to the.
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Speaker 2: Game we play at the Star in Frisco on Friday night,
19:48
and even though it's gonna be a two thirty o Connor.
19:51
Connor Robertson offered his old coach a ticket, but I
19:54
told him to go ahead and give it somebody else.
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I'm gonna I'm just gonna watch it at home. Done that,
20:00
done that whole deal enough, and I'll enjoy I'll enjoy
20:03
it more watching it from home.
20:05
Speaker 1: I got to ask you one more thing, and this
20:06
is something you brought up Michael Taff and Mooki the
20:10
other day at the media availability, and he tells this
20:13
story of when he was just going to the game.
20:18
Speaker 4: I think he said his junior year, and his.
20:21
Speaker 1: Family knew Sam Ellinger's family really well, and he said,
20:24
a couple of us actually sneaked down onto the field
20:28
because we wanted to see Sam, and I wanted to
20:31
say hi to Sam because.
20:32
Speaker 4: We knew each other.
20:33
Speaker 1: And we're right there and then there's this tap on
20:36
my shoulder and it's a security guy and he actually
20:38
threw us out of the stadium.
20:40
Speaker 4: Did he ever tell you that story?
20:43
Speaker 2: No, he didn't.
20:45
Speaker 4: We all got a good laugh out of that.
20:46
Speaker 1: He said, you know, the whole point, we had this
20:49
great design and we got down on the field and
20:50
the team's starting to come out. We're gonna and I'm
20:53
going to talk to Sam, and then all of a sudden,
20:54
this guy goes, hey, you can't be here, And not
20:57
only did he not let me go back to the seat,
20:59
he said he threw him out of the stadium.
21:01
Speaker 4: So he couldn't even do that. So well, it does.
21:05
Speaker 2: It does not surprise me that that mookie got himself
21:09
down on the field. He has always been.
21:12
Speaker 4: He's always been very resilient.
21:15
Speaker 1: Quite resourceful as well, no doubt. Hey, it's always great
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to visit with you. I appreciate you taking the time.
21:20
It's great to see your team doing well. And obviously
21:23
with with what I do on Friday nights, we'll be
21:25
keeping up with you as well.
21:26
Speaker 4: So I appreciate the time.
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Speaker 1: And tell Elizabeth and Riley and the grandkids high and
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I'll look forward to seeing you around the corner.
21:33
Speaker 4: No, well, thanks, Craig Hooking, Thank you.
21:36
Speaker 1: That's Todd Dodge, the asqua mentioned Hall of fame, iconic
21:41
high school football coach, seven times state championship winner four
21:46
times at South Lake Carol, three in a row at
21:48
Westlake and and just and has done a great job
21:54
everywhere he's gone. But it was the quarterback that day
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forty years ago in the pouring rain, Texas and O
22:00
you fought to that fifteen fifteen time we're gonna hear
22:03
from the current head coach, Steve Sarkishan coming up when
22:07
we continue on Sports Radio AM thirteen under the Zone.