A pregame dove release will take place at Polk County’s football game tonight in memory of longtime Wildcats supporter Jim Bell, who died on Aug 22.
“This will be our first home game since he passed away,” Polk coach Derrick Davis said. “Jim had become a very special member of this football program and the community in general over the last few years.”
Bell, a retired sports writer and sports information director, had worked specifically keeping Wildcats statistics but also was around to handle other errands or issues as they arose.
“Freshman players and junior varsity games made him nervous. You could see it,” Davis said. “He developed this nervous twitch of touching his hat three or four times in a row. They did a dove release at his funeral, but one of the doves took off in the wrong direction and never came back. We laughed afterwards and said that was probably a jayvee dove.”
Montgomery vs. mentor
In Central’s game at Hixson tonight, an underlying story will be the matchup of Purple Pounders head coach Sam Montgomery against the man who influenced his career the most.
When Montgomery played on the defensive line for one year at Cumberland University, Charles Weems was his position coach. Weems now is an assistant at Hixson.
“The biggest thing I learned from Coach Weems was to show another side of you off the field,” Montgomery said. “He pushed us to the limit that we wanted to quit every day at practice. Then when we would walk off the field he would switch and become more like a father figure and encourage us.
“I talk to him at least once a week, and it’s about more than just football. We talk about family and God and life, and he always encourages me. He taught me how important it is to be more than just a coach to kids.”
‘Chief’ stepping down
Veteran Bradley Central coach Bill “Chief” Robertson is retiring as an assistant after the 2010 season, signaling an end to 33 years of service to the Bears football program.
Robertson was presented with a Bears rocking chair at last Friday’s game. He also received a declaration signifying the renaming of the stadium’s south entrance as the Chief Robertson Bear Walk. Robertson served as the Bears’ head coach from 1983 to ’90.
Bucs don’t stop here
Boyd-Buchanan was state runner-up in football and baseball in 2009. And if anyone thinks the football team is feeling the effects of graduation, wait until the spring.
Defensive coordinator Steve Robbins, also the Buccaneers baseball coach, has two returning starters among his 11 starters this season. Eight of last year’s nine baseball starters are now on college athletic scholarships.
Matthew and Andrew Crowe, Jess Smith and Trey Tallent are at Tennessee Wesleyan. Trey Ferguson is at Bryan College. Trey McCalla is at Tennessee Tech, and Eric Tompkins is at Freed-Hardeman. Another of Robbins’ baseball players, Zach Allen, signed a basketball scholarship at Lee.
The Crowes, Ferguson and McCalla were also football Bucs. So were Devin Caldwell and Taylor Shull, who are continuing their football careers at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Maryville College, respectively. Shull also was a key member of the state-winning soccer team.
“We had three more people that didn’t want to play sports anymore that just wanted to go to school,” Robbins said. “All these kids are outstanding students, too. They did so many good things for us. It was really a special bunch. I really enjoyed being around them.”