Native American game to feature different styles

Dominic Bramante doesn’t see any reason to flip the switch on the board with all the lights in the east end zone at Haskell Stadium tonight.

“There’ll be a scoreboard, but it won’t make any difference,” Bramante said. “It’s immaterial because every Indian kid in this game is a winner.”

Bramante will coach the East squad in the second annual Native American All-Star football game. Kickoff will be 7:30 p.m.

Bramante, head coach at Riverside Indian School in Anadarko, Okla., comes in with a different philosophy than West coach Carl Madison, a high school coaching legend.

“Carl is all about winning,” Bramante said. “Their team will be very disciplined and very effective. But this isn’t the Super Bowl. This is an all-star game.”

Madison, 72, came out of retirement in Milton, Fla., last fall to coach at Jackson, Ala., Academy. That school had been 0-10 in 2001 and won the state title in 2002 under Madison.

“Some of the people down there told me they didn’t think any school had ever gone from being winless to the state title,” Madison said.

Madison will return to the Alabama school this fall, he said, then retire for good … unless, of course, somebody asks him to coach in a all-star game.

Madison guided the West to a 27-10 victory over the East in last year’s inaugural contest. Herman Boone, another retired coach who was the protagonist of the movie “Remember the Titans,” coached the East last year.

Native American All-Star football coaches Carl Madison of the West, left, and Dominic Bramante of the East, center, talk with announcer Jerry Hill Friday night at Haskell Indian Nations University.

Boone didn’t return this year and was replaced by Bramante, who served as a Boone aide last season.

“Carl and Herman really went at it a couple of times last year,” Bramante said, “but we just want the kids to have fun. That’s why we’re using a chuck-and-duck offense. We’re going to throw the heck out of the football.”

Chuck-and-duck, run-and-shoot, the spread … call it what you want, it’s what Bramante feels his players want to do.

“Carl will run the veer with winged-T principles, but we’re not about that,” Bramante said. “We’re wide open. American Indian kids like that. It’s fun for them and fun for the fans.”

Bramante thinks he has a quarterback who can make it work in Lee Laster, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound southpaw from Oneida Nation School in Wisconsin.

“He’s a big, strong kid who can throw the ball through a wall,” Bramante said. “Without a doubt, he’s college material. If he gets with a full-time quarterback coach, he’ll play some ball.”

Laster’s primary targets will be wide receivers T.J. Smith of Winnebago, Neb.; twins Konan and Kenan Swimmer from Broken Arrow, Okla.; and tight end Crandell Casey of Riverside Indian School.

Madison will counter with a more conservative offense led by quarterback Anselm Henry, a 6-1, 200-pounder from Choctaw Central School in Mississippi.

Madison is also high on 6-3, 195-pound tight end-wide receiver Brigham Bert of Crooked Oak, Okla. “He has,” Madison said, “the best hands I’ve ever seen on a kid.”

Overall, Madison believes this year’s squad is better than the West squad he coached to that 17-point win last year.

“We’re not quite as big, but I think we’ve got better athletes,” Madison said. “Last year we had several kids who couldn’t move.”

High school seniors from nine states are represented on the two teams. By far the most — 20 — are from Oklahoma.

Tickets to tonight’s game will be on sale at the gate. All seats are $7.

This could be the last Native American All-Star game at Haskell. Jeff Bigger, a Tulsan who runs OKscouting Inc., instigated the game last year, but withdrew his support this year after a dispute with HINU officials. Bigger has vowed to move it to another site, probably in Oklahoma, next year.

— Sports editor Chuck Woodling can be reached at 832-7147.By Chuck Woodling

cwoodling@ljworld.com

Dominic Bramante doesn’t see any reason to flip the switch on the board with all the lights in the east end zone at Haskell Stadium tonight.

“There’ll be a scoreboard, but it won’t make any difference,” Bramante said. “It’s immaterial because every Indian kid in this game is a winner.”

Bramante will coach the East squad in the second annual Native American All-Star football game. Kickoff will be 7:30 p.m.

Bramante, head coach at Riverside Indian School in Anadarko, Okla., comes in with a different philosophy than West coach Carl Madison, a high school coaching legend.

“Carl is all about winning,” Bramante said. “Their team will be very disciplined and very effective. But this isn’t the Super Bowl. This is an all-star game.”

Madison, 72, came out of retirement in Milton, Fla., last fall to coach at Jackson, Ala., Academy. That school had been 0-10 in 2001 and won the state title in 2002 under Madison.

“Some of the people down there told me they didn’t think any school had ever gone from being winless to the state title,” Madison said.

Madison will return to the Alabama school this fall, he said, then retire for good … unless, of course, somebody asks him to coach in a all-star game.

Madison guided the West to a 27-10 victory over the East in last year’s inaugural contest. Herman Boone, another retired coach who was the protagonist of the movie “Remember the Titans,” coached the East last year.

Boone didn’t return this year and was replaced by Bramante, who served as a Boone aide last season.

“Carl and Herman really went at it a couple of times last year,” Bramante said, “but we just want the kids to have fun. That’s why we’re using a chuck-and-duck offense. We’re going to throw the heck out of the football.”

Chuck-and-duck, run-and-shoot, the spread … call it what you want, it’s what Bramante feels his players want to do.

“Carl will run the veer with winged-T principles, but we’re not about that,” Bramante said. “We’re wide open. American Indian kids like that. It’s fun for them and fun for the fans.”

Bramante thinks he has a quarterback who can make it work in Lee Laster, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound southpaw from Oneida Nation School in Wisconsin.

“He’s a big, strong kid who can throw the ball through a wall,” Bramante said. “Without a doubt, he’s college material. If he gets with a full-time quarterback coach, he’ll play some ball.”

Laster’s primary targets will be wide receivers T.J. Smith of Winnebago, Neb.; twins Konan and Kenan Swimmer from Broken Arrow, Okla.; and tight end Crandell Casey of Riverside Indian School.

Madison will counter with a more conservative offense led by quarterback Anselm Henry, a 6-1, 200-pounder from Choctaw Central School in Mississippi.

Madison is also high on 6-3, 195-pound tight end-wide receiver Brigham Bert of Crooked Oak, Okla. “He has,” Madison said, “the best hands I’ve ever seen on a kid.”

Overall, Madison believes this year’s squad is better than the West squad he coached to that 17-point win last year.

“We’re not quite as big, but I think we’ve got better athletes,” Madison said. “Last year we had several kids who couldn’t move.”

High school seniors from nine states are represented on the two teams. By far the most — 20 — are from Oklahoma.

Tickets to tonight’s game will be on sale at the gate. All seats are $7.

This could be the last Native American All-Star game at Haskell. Jeff Bigger, a Tulsan who runs OKscouting Inc., instigated the game last year, but withdrew his support this year after a dispute with HINU officials. Bigger has vowed to move it to another site, probably in Oklahoma, next year.