Lloyd Alexander was a junior defensive end at Texas Lutheran when we first "met" 36 years ago. He was a starter on a defense that included linebacker D.W. Rutledge, and I was a freshman flanker on the scout team.
In other words, I was among the players who simulated the opposing team's offense for the Bulldogs' defense each week. We took our lumps, to say the least, but we also took satisfaction in giving the defense a "good picture," as coaches like to say.
Now back to Alexander, who is in his eighth season as head football coach at Clark. I thought about him and his days at TLC as I watched the Cougars beat Warren 27-17 Friday night at Farris Stadium.
In a nutshell, Clark reflects its coach. The Cougars play with a controlled intensity and do nothing fancy. They just line up and execute.
Playing before a crowd of 3,874, Clark improved to 8-0 overall and 6-0 in District 28-5A, while Warren fell to 1-6 and 1-4.
The Cougars led 7-3 after one quarter and 17-3 at the half, but Warren cut it to 17-10 after recovering a fumble at the Clark 12 on the opening kickoff of the second half. The Warriors just missed recovering an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, or things might have been a lot more interesting.
Warren was ahead 20-10 heading into the final quarter and went on top 27-10 on a 1-yard run by running back Tevin Glasgow with 5:37 left. But the Warriors refused to go quietly into the night.
Warren cut the deficit to 10 points again when sophomore Rex Dausin, the son of Warriors head coach Bryan Dausin hooked up with junior wideout Marcus Smith for a 57-yard TD with 1:39 left.
The late rally ended when Warren's onside kick rolled out of bounds before it went 10 yards, giving Clark the ball at the Warriors' 41 after a five-yard penalty.
"Warren is going to have a good team," Alexander said. "We knew they would be tough."
We figured as much, too, considering Dausin's stature. Remember, this is the guy who guided Roosevelt to the Class 5A Division II state title in 1995 and Marshall to the state semifinals. And just two years ago, Warren gave regional champion Madison all it could handle in the playoffs before falling short.
Anybody who thought Clark would have an easy time with the Warriors on Friday night was way off base. To Clark's credit, it stepped up and kept its composure when it was challenged. No doubt, the Cougars reflect their coach.
"He's got so much experience under his belt that we respect him and model ourselves after him," senior quarterback Hayden Greenbauer said. "He's always encouraging us and staying on us."
Said senior center Robert Chapman: "Coach Alexander believes in discipline and we try to play like that."
That's the Lloyd Alexander who embodied the spirit of Jim Wacker's undersized Texas Lutheran teams. A 1971 Marshall graduate, Alexander played defensive end at 5-foot-7 and was nowhere near 200 pounds.
But Alexander was gritty, fundamentally sound and would knock your block off. As I noted earlier, I know this from experience.
"Really, a defensive end?" an obviously amused Greenbauer said, looking in Alexander's direction. "Maybe back in the day."
Kids these days.
Alexander was a senior starter on the 1974 TLC team that won the first of back-to-back NAIA Division II national championships, finishing 11-0 and outscoring its opponents 421-42. Thirty-five years later, Rutledge says Alexander is one of the toughest teammates he ever had.
Now 57, Alexander has coached at Clark for all but two seasons since the school opened in 1978. He was at Southwest High School in 1988 and 1989, but returned to Mike Robbins' staff in 1990. He never has been a head coach anywhere else but Clark, where he is 65-28.
Alexander is such a big part of the Cougars' tradition that he has been on the coaching staff for 19 of their 21 playoff appearances. His best season was last year when Clark advanced to the state semifinals for the first time in school history and finished 13-2.
What keeps him going?
"The guys in there," he said, pointing to the team bus with a smile.
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