Interesting facts

Well, I learned some interesting facts while at the saturday football practice. I was visiting with Steve Gowen, who is the father of Beebe QB Scot Gowen, and I learned some interesting things. Steve, who graduated from BHS in 1982, played under former Beebe coaches Doug Scheel and Mickey Billingsley. He was a QB himself. He and I talked about some of the history of the Beebe program during the late 1970's and early 1980's. For example, in 1979, the Badgers finished 8-2 and were conference runner ups, however, at that time, only 8 teams went to the playoffs from each classification and those were conference champs. The two losses that Beebe had were to McCrory and Pulaski Oak Grove, who coincidentially, played for the AA state championship that same year. Also, in 1980, the Badgers were co-champs of the 2AA South, however, they did get to go to the playoffs. After defeating Corning in an epic three overtime thriller, the Badgers faced Greenbrier, a team they had blown out earlier in the year. However, the quarterfinals of the AA playoffs were a different story as the Panthers ended the Badgers season 16-7. Doug Scheel would end up leaving Beebe for Booneville where he helped lead the Bearcats to a state championship while there. Going back to Scot, I saw some nice things out of the junior at practice. Not only is he a good leader, but he's also a good punter. The Badgers worked on special teams today. I also had the pleasure of talking to Scot for a few minutes after practice today. He is a very polite, confident young man. I bet if you ask most coaches, those are the qualities that they are looking for in a quarterback. Another interesting fact I learned today, and the reason for this post, is that Steve and Scot Gowen may be the first ever father/son to play quarterback at Beebe. I was very impressed with Steve and his excellent memory, especially on specific plays and players. All that goes to prove that you learn something new every day.