One of my favorite Justice stories had to be the one he told about dealing with bullies. It went something like this:
"Growing up, I was very poor. We didn't have indoor plumbing until I was 14. When I was 11 though, they sent me up to the big county school in Fulton for the 5th grade after going to a one room school for the first 4 grades. Back in those days, lunch was a quarter at school. It was all my family could do to afford that $1.25 a week to buy my lunch. Also in my grade was a bully who was 14 years old. That son of a bitch stole my lunch money everyday and would kick my ass doing it. My teacher was worried and sent a note to my mom telling her about it. She wouldn't give me any extra money to pay for lunch and told me to stand up for myself. So, one day I came in early from recess and I got a chair and put a dictionary in it. As soon as that mother fucker walked in the door I hit that son of a bitch right in the damn nose. Now he whooped my ass......but he decided that hit in the face wasn't worth 25 cents."
I still laugh about that one.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Preseason Family Dinner- 1999
Our senior season, Justice arranged a covered dish dinner in the fieldhouse for all players and families to attend. This turned out to be a great idea and was alot of fun, and I got some great pictures from this event that I still have today. However, in the middle of this thing, Justice called all the parents upstairs to talk to them. In the car on the way home, my parents told me the speech went something like this:
"Moms, Dads, I just want you to know that we're gonna take good care of your boys. I really appreciate you all being here tonight, you know the one thing that I regret in life is that mother is no longer here. I would give anything to have her walk through that door right now. She always told me to watch my language, and she was embarassed to come to my games because of the way I talked. Parents, believe me, I know I cuss too much, and honestly I'm ashamed of my language, but where I come from, you can't get somebody's attention by singing Kumbaya."
Unbelievable.
"Moms, Dads, I just want you to know that we're gonna take good care of your boys. I really appreciate you all being here tonight, you know the one thing that I regret in life is that mother is no longer here. I would give anything to have her walk through that door right now. She always told me to watch my language, and she was embarassed to come to my games because of the way I talked. Parents, believe me, I know I cuss too much, and honestly I'm ashamed of my language, but where I come from, you can't get somebody's attention by singing Kumbaya."
Unbelievable.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Big Hit
I remember on a rain day once, we went Oklahoma in the turf room. Like most little receivers did, we would always try to match up with the other little guys on defense. After seeing my opportunity come with William Ogle, I jumped to the front of the line. However, after getting the handoff, Phillip Muzzi, not only missed the block, he missed Damien Wilson COMPLETELY. Damien hit me so hard all I saw was my feet go over my facemask and I had a pain in my neck for two days. I know this hit was ferocious, because two private school guys came to watch that day because they were "starters" at MRA and Canton Academy and wanted to come play with the big boys. In the middle of practice, not long after my hit, one of them looked at Buckles and said "I don't believe I want none of that", and left. Never saw his fat ass again. I also believe that was the same day that Sharegus drilled Ben Strain and the day that Keith got laid out too- that was a memorable practice.
"30 Hinge"
In preparation for Clinton in 1998, Justice had us down on the dry erase board in the turf room drawing a new draw play called "30 hinge". I knew the second he told us it was going to BoBo and not Artha we were in for it, because why would a play have 30 in it but go to the tailback? We aren't dealing with two rhodes scholars as our tailbacks, so I knew this would be fun. After drawing the damn play up and explaining it for what seemed like an hour. Justice attempted to write "30 hinge" on the board. He got "h". Then, after erasing both e and i, he goes "well shit, how the hell do you spell hinge?". Afraid to speak up and trying to keep from laughing, I wasn't ABOUT to open my mouth. Justice looked at the other coaches, and they seemed to be the same way. Finally, Justice goes "fuck it, let's just call it the Clinton Special". He has a master's degree, seriously.
Coach Justice Random Tradition #3- "Calling us out of class for no reason whatsoever".
How many times did we here Mr. Kent, Mr. Lucas, Mr. McGehee, or one of the assistants say over the intercom, "can I have all the football players report to the gym immediately please." Always excited by this, we were always greeted by Coach Justice. However, the reasoning behind these meetings sometimes were confusing. I remember once he called for all MALE athletes. He spent the entire 15 or so minutes were there talking about "being tough" and how the soccer team was playing well because they were "bowing up on folks", and how the basketball team lost to Warren Central because "they weren't very tough". So, with PE period under an hour away, he simply ended his "toughness" speech with, "oh shit, you guys better get back to class."
Another one of my favorites was the time I was in 9th grade and he called us out of class early in the day to talk about "the relationship between a coach and a player" all he talked about was how if we played hard for him, he'd be there for us no matter what. My favorite line was "if Derrick Garner comes to me and needs something, then by god that's the LAW!".
However, my favorite was when I was still in 8th grade. After beating Mendenhall for our first win of the season (the game where Artha threw up all over the field after an 80 yard TD run), Justice walks in, INTERRUPTS Coach Breland and says. "Fellas, don't it feel good to come to school today as winners? I mean Mendenhall is always one of the better football schools, and you went down there and beat their ass. Now Coach what play did you score that first one with?" After being told it was 30 base, Justice goes. "Well by god, Artha, I guess you was just too rough! See guys, you have to line up every play with the attitude that "this is the one". You have to think you're gonna score every play." Then he left. Add any more impromptu speeches we got from the man.
Another one of my favorites was the time I was in 9th grade and he called us out of class early in the day to talk about "the relationship between a coach and a player" all he talked about was how if we played hard for him, he'd be there for us no matter what. My favorite line was "if Derrick Garner comes to me and needs something, then by god that's the LAW!".
However, my favorite was when I was still in 8th grade. After beating Mendenhall for our first win of the season (the game where Artha threw up all over the field after an 80 yard TD run), Justice walks in, INTERRUPTS Coach Breland and says. "Fellas, don't it feel good to come to school today as winners? I mean Mendenhall is always one of the better football schools, and you went down there and beat their ass. Now Coach what play did you score that first one with?" After being told it was 30 base, Justice goes. "Well by god, Artha, I guess you was just too rough! See guys, you have to line up every play with the attitude that "this is the one". You have to think you're gonna score every play." Then he left. Add any more impromptu speeches we got from the man.
Pigott is Honored as Sophomore of the Week- October 24, 1997
Right before our game with Lanier, (which was the second game of the aformentioned two game bad stretch), Scott Perkins came to me and offered me the opportunity of a lifetime. Carrying his XXL pants and his pads and belt, he simply said "stuff me Pigott". Extremely excited that I was presented with such a wonderful opportunity, I took my time just in amazement of the sheer size of not only the pads, but of the pants- how could a human being be this large and still be smaller than Mako? After a flawless stuffing job, I returned the pants to Perk, who was very impressed. The reason the stuffing was so perfectly done is because in my early days of varsity football, my goal was simply to look good on the sideline because I knew I'd spend the whole game there. So Perkins, for just one night, was blessed with not only the talent of a starting tackle in 5A, but of the look of a superstar on the sideline- which is a great combination.
Anyway, after a completely forgettable half, which saw Lanier lead us 14-7, Justice was so angry he couldn't argue. I mean seriously, he had a look of shock on his face, because he had just said the previous week that "we ain't a very good football team". *Sidenote- the most ironic thing here is that Lanier also scheduled us for homecoming, which explained the HUGE crowd that night- I think the paper said 10,000 (second week in a row), and the halftime program at Newell Field that night took forever! We always played one game a year there and this had to be the worst!* We pulled out a 27-14 unimpressive win against the doormat of the division that night- but a fire was lit the very next week.......
The Monday we returned to practice in SHOOOOOOOOOOOORTS and SHOULDER PAAAAAAAADS, Perk presented me with a certificate of "Sophmore of the week". Yep, that's right folks, he misspelled sophomore. However, I DO still have the certificate because Perk himself put on the certificate to keep it for future job applications. I haven't needed it yet, but it's there just in case. *Another sidenote- Perkins spelled my name right, which is rare, but misspelled sophomore- wow.* However, I think that moment in which I received that certificate lit a fire in our ass like no other. Not only did we dismantle Greenville that week, in a game where Pigott saw his first ever on field action, we got hot despite losing to Clinton in the season finale and made a run all the way to our first ever North Half Championship Game berth, in which Perkins made his famous "can't you just smell the gold on your finger" speech.
I'm a big believer in fate, and I like to think that my stuffing of Perkins's pants made us a new team. Pigott becoming sophomore of the week, is not only the turning point of that season, but it's the turning point of the PROGRAM.
Anyway, after a completely forgettable half, which saw Lanier lead us 14-7, Justice was so angry he couldn't argue. I mean seriously, he had a look of shock on his face, because he had just said the previous week that "we ain't a very good football team". *Sidenote- the most ironic thing here is that Lanier also scheduled us for homecoming, which explained the HUGE crowd that night- I think the paper said 10,000 (second week in a row), and the halftime program at Newell Field that night took forever! We always played one game a year there and this had to be the worst!* We pulled out a 27-14 unimpressive win against the doormat of the division that night- but a fire was lit the very next week.......
The Monday we returned to practice in SHOOOOOOOOOOOORTS and SHOULDER PAAAAAAAADS, Perk presented me with a certificate of "Sophmore of the week". Yep, that's right folks, he misspelled sophomore. However, I DO still have the certificate because Perk himself put on the certificate to keep it for future job applications. I haven't needed it yet, but it's there just in case. *Another sidenote- Perkins spelled my name right, which is rare, but misspelled sophomore- wow.* However, I think that moment in which I received that certificate lit a fire in our ass like no other. Not only did we dismantle Greenville that week, in a game where Pigott saw his first ever on field action, we got hot despite losing to Clinton in the season finale and made a run all the way to our first ever North Half Championship Game berth, in which Perkins made his famous "can't you just smell the gold on your finger" speech.
I'm a big believer in fate, and I like to think that my stuffing of Perkins's pants made us a new team. Pigott becoming sophomore of the week, is not only the turning point of that season, but it's the turning point of the PROGRAM.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
The Mighty Jaguars 9th Grade Team Goes 0-7
This was the most surreal school year of my life. Alot of weird shit went on that year just at the school. This is the year that we had 1- a bus driver strike, 2- a teacher fired and then suing and getting rehired over a skit written about a girl in class, 3- a gang riot which caused 17 expulsions, and 4- an 0-7 football team. People all over that school made fun of us and said shit like "man we're gonna suck here in a few years when those guys get up there playing." But, here's what people forget:
Fact- we went 12 games in 8th, 9th, and 10th grade between wins. We lost 3 in a row and then tied our last game in 8th grade, lost all 7 in 9th, and then lost our varsity opener to Louisville.
Another fact- Freddie Lee said the first day of practice that he doesn't cuss and that "we could say anything he says"- that lasted real long.
- JJ played the ENTIRE season with a hip pointer, basically taking away our option attack with Ne Ne.
- Buckles missed 3 games with a deep thigh bruise.
- Alot of the games we lost were flukes or on weird plays. Warren Central beat us 6-0 and 12-6 that season. Pearl beat us 23-22.
- We had the worst coach ever. Freddie Lee had no continuity whatsoever on that team. I was taking snaps with the first team defense all week in practice and then not playing. Then, I would take snaps on second team defense, and play offense. We had 5 starting secondaries that season.
- Alot of players quit- good for the long term in varsity, but it's hard to replace starters in midseason no matter what level you're playing on.
- We played 5 road games and 2 home games. We had a home game with Warren Central cancelled due to a tornado warning, and those mother fuckers made us go there TWICE.
- Will Davis- that's all I have to say.
- Calvin jumping offsides against Pearl when Cody called gap. Buckles threw his hat on the field. We had to punt and they scored the winning TD. I had the biggest hit of my life in this game on a kickoff- it was kinda an accident but I drilled the ball carrier.
- Never having matching helmets. I remember Chad and Logan played the whole season with black helmets.
- One of my favorite Justice moments ever. After Ne Ne had a long TD run called back on a holding call on Brad Welch, Artha broke one for about 70 yards. Again, it was called back for holding. When asked the #, the official said "number 39"- Artha's number. (I could be mistaken on that) Lee, Liles, McLain all went ballistic. At this time, Justice came busting out of the press box and ran onto the field and said "that mother fucking son of a bitch is never gonna ref a game on this field again!". Justice got into the act and lit that poor guy up for all he was worth, and coached the rest of the game on the sideline- remember the coaching when it's convenient thing? Plus I think he was mad it was Sammy Dantone on the opposite sideline.
- Like I said, the starters would never practice.
- Here were all of our coaches to some extent that season- Lee, McLain, Bradberry, McCune, Liles, Justice, Rosamond. I think that's all of em- we sucked, but we didn't need that many coaches. Maybe we were "over coached".
- Random guys like Jeff Case, Brad Welch, David Brown, and David Hogan who were actually seeing playing time quit out of nowhere and for no reason. THAT was weird.
- The damn 8th grade guys talked so much shit about how they could beat us. Well, we never found out because all the guys talking shit went to MRA because they couldn't cut it on the 5A level
Fact- we went 12 games in 8th, 9th, and 10th grade between wins. We lost 3 in a row and then tied our last game in 8th grade, lost all 7 in 9th, and then lost our varsity opener to Louisville.
Another fact- Freddie Lee said the first day of practice that he doesn't cuss and that "we could say anything he says"- that lasted real long.
Friday, March 2, 2007
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