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Third & Short
Statue Salutes Sang
A life-size statue of legendary Huntington High School (W.Va.)
head coach Bob Sang (pictured below) was unveiled on Sept. 19
during halftime of an HHS football game nearly a year and a half
after his death. The statue was dedicated to his players and
former co-workers — both coaches and teachers — at
the HHS football stadium that bears his name. The statue is prominently
placed so that any person that visits the stadium will understand
the impact Sang had on high school football in the tri-state
area.
During his 50-year career, Sang coached at five schools in West Virginia, including
Ashland, Gallipolis and the old Huntington High before becoming head coach at
Huntington East, where he stayed for 29 years until the two schools consolidated
in 1996 to form the new Huntington High. He became the new HHS football coach
and served there five years before retiring in 2000 with a 34-year head coaching
record of 166-184-2.
Transactions
Head Coaches
October: Savannah State named Richard
Basil as interim head coach after releasing
Ken Pettiford ... Army named defensive line coach John
Mumford as interim head
coach after releasing Todd Berry. Duke released Carl
Franks ... Delaware State
fired football coach Benjamin Blacknall and named Butch
Posey as interim head
coach.
September: Ohio Northern named Stacey
Harrison as interim head coach ... North
Alabama awarded Mark Hudspeth a one-year contract extension through 2005 ...
Shaw named Deondri Clark head coach ... Toledo agreed to terms with Tom
Amstutzon a two-year contract extension through 2007.
Assistants
October: La Salle named John
Gambone defensive line coach, Jesse Gambone as inside
linebackers coach, Larry Szabo as outside linebackers coach, Josh
Zagorski and
Pat Hughes as graduate assistants and Adam Nigrelli as a student assistant.
September: Klea
Armstrong was hired as assistant director of football operations
and Jim Fortune was hired as audio/video coordinator at Penn ... Davidson named
Ryan Crawford as quarterbacks coach.
Sullivan Fights Cancer, Returns to TCU
UAB’s offensive coordinator Pat Sullivan returned to the field during the
Blazers 27-24 loss to C-USA rival Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas,
on Saturday, Oct. 18.
Sullivan, who captured the 1971 Heisman Trophy as quarterback for Auburn, was
diagnosed with throat cancer at the beginning of the 2003 season after doctors
discovered malignant growths at the base of his tongue and in the lymph nodes
of his neck. UAB officials, including head coach Watson Brown, believed Sullivan
might be lost to the staff for three months. But when the treatment schedule
changed and Sullivan got through the first round of chemotherapy with no ill
effects, he immediately returned to practice. Sullivan’s return to TCU
was a homecoming of sorts, as he led the Horned Frogs to back-to-back winning
seasons and a berth in the 1994 Independence Bowl.
Football Movies
Ed Harris portrays football coach in ‘Radio’
Radio is a dramatic and uplifting tale inspired by true events
that focus on the mentoring relationship between a high school
football coach (Ed Harris) and Radio (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) and
how their unique friendship ultimately transforms the entrenched
attitudes of a small South Carolina town.
Ed Harris read the script and was intrigued by the role of
coach Harold Jones,
but it wasn’t until he met director/producer Tollin that he committed.
Tollin remembers, “We spent an hour and a half talking about the parallels
between being the head football coach and being a filmmaker. That’s the
challenge of having a passion that extends way beyond working hours.”
Harris, who had recently made his directorial debut with Pollock, recalled how
difficult it was balancing his family and the all-consuming nature of film directing. “That’s
the challenge of having a passion that extends way beyond working hours,” says
Harris. “Your family supports you and they understand your commitment,
but at some level they can’t help but feel somewhat excluded. Coach Jones
went through the same emotions with his family.”
Here’s our list of other football movies that may or may not be worth your
while:
Remember the Titans (‘00) - 3
Helmuts
Rudy (‘93) - 5
Helmuts
The Longest Yard (‘74) - 5
Helmuts
Brian’s Song (‘70) - 5
Helmuts
Jerry Maguire (‘96) - 4
Helmuts
Necessary Roughness (‘91) - 1
Helmuts
Any Given Sunday (‘99) - 2
Helmuts
Varsity Blues (‘99) - 3
Helmuts
The Replacements (‘00) - 2
Helmuts
The Best of Times (‘86) - 4
Helmuts
Wildcats (‘86) - 3
Helmuts
The Program (‘93) - 3
Helmuts
All the Right Moves (‘83) - 3
Helmuts
Junction Boys (‘02) - 2
Helmuts
North Dallas Forty (‘79) - 3
Helmuts
Quarterback Princess (‘85) - 2
Helmuts
The Waterboy (‘98) - 3
Helmuts
Everybody’s All-American (‘88) - 5
Helmuts |
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