Published: May 14, 2008 05:44 pm            

Track had a good'run', now it's 'Cardinal' time

It always seems like another sports season is winding down with the conclusion of the State Track & Field Championships.

Well, Southeast Texas did us proud, especially our Orange County kids.

Our area walked away with a gold, a silver and two bronzes — a pretty fair haul.

Vidor junior Jared Parker was certainly a favorite going in to the 4A pole vault, after all, he had already vaulted a state-leading 16-6 earlier in the year. He became golden last Friday with a 15-9 effort.

The West Orange-Stark relay teams almost nabbed two medals. The 800-meter relay of Trey Franks, Josh Gloston, Seth Thomas and Nick Reed ran their fastest time of the year in 1:27.02 as they pushed state champ Cuero to the limit before nabbing silver.

The Mustangs’ of Franks, Gloston, Thomas and James Haynes just missed bronze by a photo finish in the 400-meter realy, placing fourth with a 41.78 as Atlanta placed third with a 41.77.

Congrats to Deweyville’s Joe Dooley, who made state for the second straight year and this time came away with a bronze medal around his neck by taking third in the 800 meters with a 1:57.62.

Perhaps the best story was the bronze-medal performance by Bridge City senior Corey Smith in the 3A 800 meters. Smith ran a season-best time of 1:58.67. Not bad for a kiddo that had not run track since his eighth grade year.

The two biggest Southeast Texas winners came from Beaumont Ozen and Hull-Daisetta.

Ozen Lady Panther A’Lexus Brannon won both the 4A long jump (20-0 1/2) and triple jump (40-4) and just missed a bronze in the 100-meter hurdles. Meanwhile H-D senior Adrian Anderson won the 1A 100 meters (10.78), was third in the 200 meters (22.20) and ran a leg on the Bobcats’ silver-winning 400-meter relay unit (43.50).

Congrats to all.

Of course, there is one team that lingers in Orange County and that is the Bridge City Cardinal baseball team.

If you’re new to this area, get use to that feeling.

Coach Billy Bryant has had a huge run at his alma mater. He led the Cardinals to back-to-back 3A State Tournament appearances in 2005 and 2006 and made the Region III Finals in 2007. You can’t beat that with a stick.

The Cardinals will try to escape District 21-3A rival Jasper in the 3A Region III quarterfinals in a one-game encounter Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Nederland High School. I would advise folks to get there as early as possible because it won’t take long to fill the stadium up.

It was Jasper that ended the Cardinals playoff run last year in the Region III Finals by winning that series two games to one in front of nearly packed hose at Lamar University’s Vincent-Beck Stadium as the Bulldogs went on to win the 3A state crown.

This year the Cardinals, District 21-3A champions, slipped past the Bulldogs 4-3 and 7-6 in district play as Jasper went on to finish third.

So how tough was 21-3A this season?

The district has three of the final eight competitors in Region III. That includes a very formidable runnerup Hardin-Jefferson squad that will take on Giddings in a one-game regional quarterfinal Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Woodlands College Park.

Good Luck to those Redbirds.

Also, good luck to the Nederland Lady Bulldogs softball squad and head coach Sissy Yeaman. Coach Yeaman was quite a treat to work with when she was the Bridge City Lady Cardinals head coach and she has the Lady Bulldogs rolling as well as they take on the Huntsville Lady Hornets in the 4A Region III semifinals this week.

Speaking of softball, the All-Orange Leader Softball Team will arrive on Sunday. It may be the youngest team we’ve ever had but that only proves that the future is even brighter.

Another event coming up that will certainly do damage to the “old belly” is the Peveto Boil out in Orangefield.

The 16th annual event remembers legendary Orangefield coach Ed Peveto and two scholarships are awarded to Orangefield students.

There is so much crawfish, that the little critters are usually crawling out my ears by the time it is over. Plus, there are those fun auctions and tall tales to be had.

For more information about the event contact Keith Little (409) 735-9318 or Paul Peveto at (409) 898-0888.

        

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