The Notre Dame Experience

"Outlined against a blue-gray October sky. the Four Horsemen rode again .  In dramatic lore their names are Death, Destruction, Pestilence, and Famine.  But those are only aliases.  Their real names are Stuhdreher, Crowly, Miller, and Layden.  They formed the crest of the South Bend cyclone before which another fighting Army team was swept over the precipice at the Polo Grounds this afternoon as 55,000 spectators peered down upon the bewildering panorama spread out upon the green plain below."

These words, written by the immortal Grantland Rice in 1924, are what many have called the greatest lead-in to a story in sports-writing history.  I do know that they found their way into the library of Raymond Jr. and Sr. High School in Raymond, Washington where a budding football fanatic found them.  I could picture the Four Horsemen as they sat astride their mounts in full football gear, and I memorized the names:  Harry Stuhdreher, Jim Crowley, Don Miller, and Elmer Layden.  And, then I read everything Notre Dame related.  I knew of Gus Dorais playing catch with Knute Rockne and how they brought the forward pass into football offenses.  Notre Dame has always been a mythical place for me, a place of legend.  And then, nearing 70, I had the opportunity to go there.

Dick and I traveled, at our own expense, to South Bend, Indiana to witness the biggest recruiting weekend in Notre Dame history.  The Irish were recruiting KeiVarae Russell, Mariner High School's celebrated running back as well as three of the nation's other top running backs, and we got to tag along.  We sat behind parents like Zach Banner's mother, an extremely nice young lady, and I was in the midst of extolling the many virtues of her son (whom Dick and I had interviewed for a profile on our site) when he stood halfway up and in a mock-glare (at least I pray that it was a mock glare), said, "Don't you go interviewing my Mama".  We heard the head coach Brian Kelly tell the recruits that the kind of person they were looking for was the kind that loves the game of football,  the kind of guy that, if the stands were empty, would play the game anyway.  Since I had played semi-pro football until I was forty in mostly-empty stadiums, his words resonated with me.  We had the opportunity to hear one of the assistant coaches speak of the kind of people Notre Dame wanted to attract.  They wanted hard-working young men who were also school leaders.  Since KeiVarae (like Lakes High School's Zach Banner) maintains a near 3.9 grade point average, and since he has been president of the junior class and the Student Body, he has more than filled that requirement.  The main thing about KeiVarae, as well as Zach, is that they are so easy to like.  On the ride to Notre Dame (we took the same shuttle) all he talked about was the offensive line (Martin Martinez, Derrick Meyers, Justin Blunk, Hector Ruiz, and Andrew Santos)  and the amazing holes they had opened up for him and the other backs, and he spoke of QB Gabe Dye's leadership as key for their victory over Jackson the previous night.  It wasn't "Me" he was talking about, it was "Us".

I took KeiVarae's picture as he stood next to the statue of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame, and I thought back to his freshman year when I was still teaching as well as coaching.    I have had the opportunity to work with other kids who had made it to D-1 schools and then into the pros.  I had never seen anyone quite like him.  His work ethic has been unequaled in the fifty-seven years I have been around this game.  He is truly deserving of any and all good fortune that comes his way. 

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Glenn Smith and I went to Edmonds Stadium yesterday after our Voyager Middle School practice, because we wanted to see what looked like a barn-burner of a game.  Two undefeated teams, Meadowdale and Oak Harbor squared off in what looked like an epic battle.  Our appetites were whetted when we saw the fourth quarter of the Lynnwood, Mountlakae Terrace game which was decided with Lynnwood blocking a PAT with 51 seconds remaining on the clock and preserving a 21-20 victory.

The Meadowdale/Oak Harbor contest was a test of wills, to see which one would blink first.  At the end of the first half Oak Harbor was ahead, and then, in the third quarter, they punted the ball and it rolled on the Mavericks' two yard line.  Unfortunately, the Wildcats were hit by a devastating penalty: this penalty moved the ball back to the point of the infraction and then the penalty mark-off...a total of 32 yards.  Meadowdale got tough, really tough, and forced another punt.  This time the Wildcats used an exceptional runner to line up to punt the ball. Obviously,  they were hoping to catch the Mavericks out of position, and they ran the ball.  Mark Stewart's teams do not play out of position.  The run attempt on 4th down was snuffed out at the line of scrimmage, and Meadowdale immediately scored.  They scored again and made the final score 34-17, but it was a much closer game than that.  It was, indeed, the barn-burner we had come for.

At the game I found myself sitting behind a gentleman who looked vaguely familiar.  When he stood up and turned around, I saw that it was Kim Wilson, a long-time football coach and administrator in the Edmonds School District.  Kim's knowledge of high school football in the state is extensive and profound.  That is why it was not surprising to me when he confessed his admiration for John Ondriezek, Mariner High School's head football coach.  John, he said (and I am loosely paraphrasing here) does more in a difficult situation (transient student population, lack of financial resources, lack of administrative support, an inner-city school in a suburban setting) than almost any other coach in the state.  I have always believed that.  His teams are always competitive, and that is due to his incredible organizational skills, attention to detail, coupled with a caring nature.  His players and their success are really important to him.  I knew that, but it was nice to know that others could see the same thing.  Jim Olsen