Jerald Temple remembers the exact spot on the Ball High court — right where the half-court line and sideline meet — where La Marque’s James Francis delivered a dagger to the Tors in 1986. He still can hear the buzzer, the swish and the pandemonium that ensued.
Temple, in his senior year at Ball, stood just beyond the 3-point arc and watched Francis’ half-court shot as time expired giving La Marque a 1-point win. Temple didn’t move as a standing-room-only crowd rushed the floor.
Twenty-three years have passed since Francis’ miraculous shot. Temple now coaches Ball and has won his last two games against La Marque.
But he rolls his eyes and shakes his head about 1986. He still agonizes about the contest. He wants the game back, his last one against the Tors’ biggest rival.
“This is the biggest game — no, it’s not a game, it’s an event,” Temple said. “Everyone comes. Records don’t matter, and people talk about it for at least another year.
“It’s funny. I think people ask me about that La Marque game more than our district title or playoff run that year. But this rivalry, this game, it’s what ultimately counts in peoples minds, including my own.”
“It’s bragging rights.”
The Clash of the Causeway, boys basketball style, will add another chapter today at 7 p.m. in La Marque.
Bragging rights may not be the only item on the line. This will give an early indication of who the best basketball team is in Galveston County.
Both teams sit at 3-1. La Marque carries a No. 7 ranking in Class 4A. Ball has won the last two District 24-5A titles and back-to-back Clashes of the Causeway.
“This is a statement game,” La Marque coach Cedric Mason, who is 0-2 against Ball, said. “It’s what you play for.”
Mason will get a huge reinforcement as he tries to win his first Clash of the Causeway: University of Texas commit Julien Lewis. Lewis did not play in last year’s game, and, at one time, was a Ball High student.
“I don’t think they can stop me,” Lewis said.
But Ball will have something to say about that.
“He’s good,” Tors senior Mike Evans said. “But we’ll find a way. These games always end up close.”
