OLPH Football: 'A Tradition of Excellence'

EAST RIDGE -- For more than 60 years, the Our Lady of Perpetual Help junior high football program has been a tradition of excellence – recording 336 victories, 21 championships and too many bowl victories to remember since 1948.

In addition, the Rams brought home a National Pop Warner championship from Philadelphia in 1955.

OLPH defeated Valley Stream, N.Y. 13-0 and Fairless, N.Y. 12-0 to claim the title. When the team returned to Chattanooga, a large crowd and a police escort awaited the champions. The players spent the next week with personal appearances on Chattanooga radio and television stations.

The Dearing brothers, Billy and Bucky, coach OLPH today and are proud of the school’s tradition.

“One of the first things we explain to new players is what it means to be a part of OLPH Football,” Bucky said. “We want them to appreciate the history.”Billy Dearing said the school’s tradition refers to the storied past.

“But it also is a continuing goal,” he said. “It’s vital that our young men not be satisfied with mediocrity.”

Billy Dearing began coaching youth football in 1992 and the brothers joined to coach OLPH in 1998. The players refer to them simply as Coach Billy and Coach Bucky.

Barry Courter was on the 1976 OLPH championship team, and his son Carson Courter played on the 2002 champions.

“In both cases it was a good training and proving ground for high school football,” the father said. “Through all six decades, when Notre Dame High School did well, it probably meant OLPH did well in years prior.”

Xan Martin played football at OLPH in 2000-2001 and was team captain his second year. He was the only lineman in school history to be named most valuable player.

“Playing at OLPH always felt like a team,” Martin said. “Billy and Bucky taught us to have fun, not get all stressed out and work together as a team.

“And they always talked about the tradition and wanted the current team to uphold it and carry it on to the next team.”

The Dearing brothers were recognized in 2005 by the East Tennessee Chapter of the College Football Hall of Fame for their contributions to youth football.

In 2006, OLPH Football was honored as the area’s Youth Sports Program of the Year by a Chattanooga television station.

“We ingrain in the boys football fundamentals, which usually results in victories,” Billy Dearing said. “However, more importantly, we want them to learn valuable life lessons like teamwork, discipline, and hard work, which can help pull them through tough times in years to come. On top of that, we want them to enjoy the experience.”

Those who have played and coached at OLPH during the 60 years of the program have contributed to building the tradition of excellence.

In honor of the Rams tradition a custom cover was created for the 2008 OLPH team. The special cover is pictured in the upper lefthand corner of this story.

The SEC Media Days in Hoover again created many storylines that the Southern-Fried football fans can take home or to work for debate.

A little more than 70 of the 850-plus media members who showed up in Alabama took time to vote on which teams would play for the SEC title.

Nonetheless, I have to take time to disagree with the small number who voted Auburn and Florida to win their respective divisions.

Those picks are justifiable.

However, I don’t agree.

I have a hard time wondering how anybody could pick against the LSU Tigers to capture the SEC West again.

I know, the media likes Tommy Tuberville more than Les Miles.

Not only does Miles wear a baseball cap worse than any SEC coach in history, he will never grade high in a course of how to win friends and influence others.

Okay, back to why I originally decided to speak out.

LSU is the best team in the west.

The question in Baton Rouge is who is going to play quarterback. With the abundance of talent the Tigers have it’s obvious that a quarterback who doesn’t make mistakes will be able to lead the charge.
So, why not the defending national champs to win the SEC West?

And yes, Auburn will be the runner-up.

The SEC East is crazy.

Georgia, Florida and Tennessee are all very good and capable of getting on a winning streak.

Tennessee has to have a strong performance from Jonathan Crompton at quarterback.

Of course, Georgia has Matthew Stafford and Florida has "Superman" Tim Tebow at quarterback.

I think Tennessee will beat Georgia or Florida, and the Dogs will get the Gators again. I also believe LSU will beat Florida.

But, I believe Georgia will survive the East and play LSU in a rematch of the Oct. 18 game.

STUMP SAYS:

LSU
Auburn
Miss State
Alabama
Ole Miss
Arkansas


EAST
Georgia
Tennessee
Florida
South Carolina
Kentucky
Vanderbilt

Tebow Inspired Meyer To Take Mission Trip

My friend Ron Bishop, who founded SCORE International, a sports-related mission organization that provides the means for athletes to go abroad and introduce people to the gospel of Jesus Christ, has touched many with his efforts.

This week, at the SEC Media Days in Hoover, Alabama, there was more proof that Bishop’s passion for teaching people about Christ was hitting the mark.

Florida football coach Urban Meyer talked about his mission trip to the Dominican Republic with SCORE.

Meyer took his wife and three children along with two other families to visit orphanages and feed the hungry in villages where SCORE is planting churches.

“Probably, the impact of Tim Tebow inspired Meyer to take the trip,” Bishop said.

Meyer told the media gathered at the Wynfrey Hotel Wednesday that Tebow had done a lot of things that opened his eyes.

“It was a life-changing experience,” Meyer said of his trip to the Dominican.

Bishop said that Chris Mayberry, a basketball coach at First Academy in Orlando, gets credit for getting Meyer and his family to take the trip. First Academy is a ministry of the First Baptist Church.

“A year ago, Chris took his boys team on a sports mission trip to the Dominican Republic. One of the players took his dad along,” Bishop said. “That dad happens to be a good friend of Urban Meyer. Thus, the idea of a “family” mission trip was born and three families spent July the 4th week doing mission work.”

Mayberry is a former basketball player at Bryan College in Dayton, Tenn. who went with Bishop on a SCORE trip to Jamaica to do missions years ago.

Bishop said SCORE International honored the request of Meyer to keep the trip a quiet, low-key event.

However, Bishop said when the Tampa Tribune and the Associated Press ran the story last week, he and his organization were happy to confirm it.

“It is so neat to have a person like Tim Tebow on the national scene,” Bishop said. “Teenagers (and adults) need positive role models and Tebow is one of the best. He went on three mission trips this year, kept a 3.68 GPA, and won the Heisman Trophy. What a kid!”

Nevertheless, Bishop said the biggest impact Tebow might have had on anybody was the spiritual impact he likely had on his coach, Urban Meyer.

Your Mag Is Almost Here

The 2008 edition of Varsity Sports Media’s Tennessee Football magazine is dedicated for those who help make football special across the state.

A tremendous amount of effort goes into making football possible at every level.

The same type effort from many different people has gone into making this magazine the one you want to pick up off the shelves and take home.

The Tennessee Football magazine staff began planning for 2008 when the first edition was rolling on the presses in July of 2007.

The staff took the suggestions from the fans who read the 2007 magazine and from the players and coaches who play the game.

Then it was time to go to work.

Like football teams, injuries can make a difference. This year the Tennessee Football magazine team refused to allow injuries to stop us short of our goal.

Out of necessity, the team learned to play hurt.

One writer broke his leg. However, that allowed him to sit at home and write many of the high school previews.

A photographer broke both of his elbows in a softball game. Thankfully, he had his mishap after he had his picture day with the Vols.

Another photographer broke his arm.

Nevertheless, the Tennessee Football magazine team rallied together and played through pain to present another winning product.

This is the first year of “The Great Divide.” The staff split the state high school teams into East, Southeast, Middle and West Tennessee regions.

Each region is represented with a high school feature story.

In the staff’s travels across the Volunteer State, many stories were told.

In West Tennessee, the Memphis Melrose football team is featured in a story about “Legend of Orange Mound.”

In Middle Tennessee, “Third Time’s Charm” tells of likable David Lipscomb coach Glenn McCadams and how his Mustangs defeated Knoxville Fulton to capture the Tennessee Class 3A state crown after losing to the Falcons the previous two seasons.

The trip to Southeast Tennessee took the staff to South Pittsburg where the town folks claim to have the best cornbread in the world and the “top thoroughbreds” in the state when it comes to high school football players.

It’s hard to argue with the Pirates 15-0 record and a state 1A championship in 2007. But in South Pittsburg, the supporters expect another title this season.

Staff members enjoyed the trip so much that photographer Matt Ledger and writer Scott Herpst couldn’t resist returning to South Pittsburg a week later for the famous “Cornbread Festival. There, the two caught up with Pirates coach Vic Grider sprinkling hot sauce on a skillet of cornbread.

In East Tennessee, writer Marky Billson visited Kingsport to learn of the history of Dobyns-Bennett football.

The Indians have won more games than any team in the state by hitting the 700 mark last season.

John Brice is back again this year writing the University of Tennessee stories you won’t find anywhere else.

Tennessee Titans beat writer Terry McCormick again gets up close with Jeff Fisher and the state’s only professional football team.Meet the 2008 Reebok Phenoms, an all-classification team featuring the best prep offensive and defensive players in Tennessee by position.In addition, learn about the top prep high school football players in the state in the Power 279. And read about your favorite teams and their opponents in profiles of 326 Tennessee teams.Whether you’re a player, coach, fan, parent or business supporter the message is simple, it’s all for you.

For more of the same check daily at www.TennFB.com for everything football in Tennessee.

Stump Martin
Managing Editor
Varsity Sport Media’s Tennessee Football