Post by brophy on Nov 2, 2007 8:47:42 GMT -6
www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071102/SPORTS0101/711020316/-1/prepsports&sport=
Cavaliers go for first win over district rival, state power Evangel
By Joel Anderson
joelanderson@gannett.com
Conjured up out of a religious rift and the dream of a spurned football savant, Calvary Baptist Academy's football program has been on the fast track since its humble start.
Four years ago, Calvary Baptist Church leaders reopened their long-closed high school and tabbed renowned local football brain John Booty to build its fledgling athletic program.
The only thing more remarkable than the school's on-field success over that stretch is the haste with which it all happened.
"We never had a timetable," Booty said earlier this week. "And we haven't even scratched the surface of what we're going to do."
The fruit of all that labor and all those dreams will be on display tonight, when the Calvary Cavaliers — the state's top-ranked Class 2A team — play host to big-brother rival Evangel for the District 1-2A championship.
Whether those on the field, the sidelines or the stands admit to it or not, tonight's game will be about much more than similar spread offenses, district crowns and bragging rights over a crosstown rival.
Because, of course, Calvary's football team would not exist were it not for the fallout between Booty and Evangel.
Booty was one of the founders of Evangel's football program, which started in 1989 with few players and fewer facilities but eventually claimed eight state titles over nine seasons, including one in 2001 when he served as interim head coach.
An acclaimed offensive mind, Booty also supplied Evangel with the strong arms and nimble feet of three of his sons — record-setting quarterbacks Josh and John David and star receiver Abram.
But Booty was fired in April 2003 from his job as assistant pastor and quarterbacks coach at Evangel by Denny Duron, the pastor of First Assembly of God and former offensive coordinator for the Eagles. The split was called "a ministry matter" by Duron at the time and neither man has talked much about it publicly since then.
As a result, John David graduated a year early and skipped his senior season at Evangel for a freshman year at USC while Booty started working at Calvary only months later.
"I would have never in a million years dreamt of that scenario," Booty said during an interview with The Times earlier this year.
Duron didn't immediately respond to a pair of messages left at his Evangel office seeking comment.
Booty wasted little time funneling his energy and resources into building the Calvary program, first working for a middle school team that included son Jake, an eighth-grade quarterback.
The next year, Calvary debuted a varsity football team that didn't have a district and was ineligible to compete in the 2004 playoffs. The Cavaliers went 4-5 during that inaugural season, showing signs they would be ready for competition in LHSAA sooner rather than later.
"We all knew we were forming something special from the beginning," Jake Booty said. "We were special kids who wanted to do something special."
The program really got its foundation the next year, however, when Booty convinced retiring NFL quarterback Doug Pederson to take over as head coach. That enabled Johnny Booty to focus his efforts on building the school's overall athletic program, including ambitious plans for the on-campus stadium.
"We just knew he was the guy that we'd like to build this program with," Booty said of Pederson, who spent much of his career backing up Brett Favre with the Green Bay Packers. "He was everything everyone told us he was."
The Cavaliers went 5-6, including a 56-3 loss to Evangel, and lost in the first round of the 1A playoffs in 2005. Calvary really announced itself as a wunderkind program the next season, putting up a surprising fight against Evangel before losing 20-19 on two missed field goal attempts in the final seconds.
But Evangel handily won the rematch in the 1A quarterfinals, 42-6, a score that reaffirmed the local powerhouse pecking order despite the gains Calvary had made in the past three seasons.
The Cavaliers' only two defeats in the past 21 games have come against Evangel. That fact isn't lost on the Eagles (7-1), who haven't lost a district game in 17 years and come into tonight's game ranked No. 3 in Class 2A — two spots behind Calvary (8-0).
"People are trying to create some sort of rivalry," Evangel senior defensive back Zach Summage said. "A rivalry is when two teams have great games and every time they play, it comes down to the wire. But the last time we played them it was 42-6. To me, that's not a rivalry."
Pederson — at least publicly — agrees, ceding the advantage and the favorite's role to the Eagles.
"We're chasing Evangel," Pederson said. "Until we beat the big dogs, we haven't really accomplished anything."
Calvary will get another chance to make its mark tonight at 4,500-seat Jerry Barker Stadium, which will likely be overrun with a sellout crowd some school officials expect to reach 8,000.
Even if the Cavaliers falter in this highly anticipated showdown, many signs point to an eventual changing of the guard. Calvary has seen a recent spike in attendance while Evangel's numbers have leveled off and, Tuesday night, the Cavaliers' middle school team rolled to a 32-0 win over Evangel.
And Booty, the football program's chief architect, dreams of nights even bigger than the one before him and his new brood tonight.
"The truth is Calvary is very well known no matter what happens Friday night," Booty said. "We don't think this game puts us on the map. We're already on the map."
[/ul]
While there are a LOT of factors going into the meteoric rise (factors that could lead to arguments....ahem)
I just thought it was interesting to see a program go from Nothing to SOMETHING in a very short period of time, because there a quite a few coaches on here who are with programs that are just introducing football as a sport (or are a new school altogether).
Cavaliers go for first win over district rival, state power Evangel
By Joel Anderson
joelanderson@gannett.com
Conjured up out of a religious rift and the dream of a spurned football savant, Calvary Baptist Academy's football program has been on the fast track since its humble start.
Four years ago, Calvary Baptist Church leaders reopened their long-closed high school and tabbed renowned local football brain John Booty to build its fledgling athletic program.
The only thing more remarkable than the school's on-field success over that stretch is the haste with which it all happened.
"We never had a timetable," Booty said earlier this week. "And we haven't even scratched the surface of what we're going to do."
The fruit of all that labor and all those dreams will be on display tonight, when the Calvary Cavaliers — the state's top-ranked Class 2A team — play host to big-brother rival Evangel for the District 1-2A championship.
Whether those on the field, the sidelines or the stands admit to it or not, tonight's game will be about much more than similar spread offenses, district crowns and bragging rights over a crosstown rival.
Because, of course, Calvary's football team would not exist were it not for the fallout between Booty and Evangel.
Booty was one of the founders of Evangel's football program, which started in 1989 with few players and fewer facilities but eventually claimed eight state titles over nine seasons, including one in 2001 when he served as interim head coach.
An acclaimed offensive mind, Booty also supplied Evangel with the strong arms and nimble feet of three of his sons — record-setting quarterbacks Josh and John David and star receiver Abram.
But Booty was fired in April 2003 from his job as assistant pastor and quarterbacks coach at Evangel by Denny Duron, the pastor of First Assembly of God and former offensive coordinator for the Eagles. The split was called "a ministry matter" by Duron at the time and neither man has talked much about it publicly since then.
As a result, John David graduated a year early and skipped his senior season at Evangel for a freshman year at USC while Booty started working at Calvary only months later.
"I would have never in a million years dreamt of that scenario," Booty said during an interview with The Times earlier this year.
Duron didn't immediately respond to a pair of messages left at his Evangel office seeking comment.
Booty wasted little time funneling his energy and resources into building the Calvary program, first working for a middle school team that included son Jake, an eighth-grade quarterback.
The next year, Calvary debuted a varsity football team that didn't have a district and was ineligible to compete in the 2004 playoffs. The Cavaliers went 4-5 during that inaugural season, showing signs they would be ready for competition in LHSAA sooner rather than later.
"We all knew we were forming something special from the beginning," Jake Booty said. "We were special kids who wanted to do something special."
The program really got its foundation the next year, however, when Booty convinced retiring NFL quarterback Doug Pederson to take over as head coach. That enabled Johnny Booty to focus his efforts on building the school's overall athletic program, including ambitious plans for the on-campus stadium.
"We just knew he was the guy that we'd like to build this program with," Booty said of Pederson, who spent much of his career backing up Brett Favre with the Green Bay Packers. "He was everything everyone told us he was."
The Cavaliers went 5-6, including a 56-3 loss to Evangel, and lost in the first round of the 1A playoffs in 2005. Calvary really announced itself as a wunderkind program the next season, putting up a surprising fight against Evangel before losing 20-19 on two missed field goal attempts in the final seconds.
But Evangel handily won the rematch in the 1A quarterfinals, 42-6, a score that reaffirmed the local powerhouse pecking order despite the gains Calvary had made in the past three seasons.
The Cavaliers' only two defeats in the past 21 games have come against Evangel. That fact isn't lost on the Eagles (7-1), who haven't lost a district game in 17 years and come into tonight's game ranked No. 3 in Class 2A — two spots behind Calvary (8-0).
"People are trying to create some sort of rivalry," Evangel senior defensive back Zach Summage said. "A rivalry is when two teams have great games and every time they play, it comes down to the wire. But the last time we played them it was 42-6. To me, that's not a rivalry."
Pederson — at least publicly — agrees, ceding the advantage and the favorite's role to the Eagles.
"We're chasing Evangel," Pederson said. "Until we beat the big dogs, we haven't really accomplished anything."
Calvary will get another chance to make its mark tonight at 4,500-seat Jerry Barker Stadium, which will likely be overrun with a sellout crowd some school officials expect to reach 8,000.
Even if the Cavaliers falter in this highly anticipated showdown, many signs point to an eventual changing of the guard. Calvary has seen a recent spike in attendance while Evangel's numbers have leveled off and, Tuesday night, the Cavaliers' middle school team rolled to a 32-0 win over Evangel.
And Booty, the football program's chief architect, dreams of nights even bigger than the one before him and his new brood tonight.
"The truth is Calvary is very well known no matter what happens Friday night," Booty said. "We don't think this game puts us on the map. We're already on the map."
[/ul]
While there are a LOT of factors going into the meteoric rise (factors that could lead to arguments....ahem)
I just thought it was interesting to see a program go from Nothing to SOMETHING in a very short period of time, because there a quite a few coaches on here who are with programs that are just introducing football as a sport (or are a new school altogether).
