Bayou bound
St. Joseph lineman ready to take his place in family tradition at LSU
St. Joseph senior Clarke Brockman takes a dive during linemen drills. Brockman has stepped up his game as defensive tackle according to coach John Mares. Brockman has also been accepted to LSU, which will make him the fourth generation to attend the school.
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Clarke Brockman and his brother Chris like to have a friendly competition every week.
Since they both typically play on the defensive side for the St. Joseph Flyers, they will measure each other's performance to see who played the best and improved the most that week.
Clarke reluctantly gave Chris the nod last week in the Flyers' 27-11 victory over Austin Hyde Park on Friday. Clarke is fine with that, because he's already ahead in a more important category.
Clarke was accepted to Louisiana State University in June, and when he heads there next fall, he will be the fourth generation of Brockmans to be a Bayou Bengal.
Brockman said the legacy comes from his mother's side, which all came from Louisiana. It's become an important family tradition to attend LSU, and the senior defensive lineman said he was proud to be taking his place in the tradition.
"My grandparents, my great grandpa, I'm just another in the line," he said with a smile. "I was so excited when I got it. I'm all set and ready to go."
None of his predecessors played football for the Tigers, but they are as hardcore as any fans.
Despite having a down year in 2008, the Tigers made it to the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta and dominated No. 14 Georgia Tech 38-3. Brockman and his family went to the game. He said he tries to make it to at least one or two games a year.
"As far as I'm concerned, that's the only place to go to school in Louisiana," he said.
Brockman is set for college, but he said he has unfinished business at St. Joseph. The Flyers have clinched the TAPPS Division II, District 3 title, something they were unable to do a year ago, but Brockman wants more in his final season.
The Flyers have San Antonio Christian on the road on Friday, the team that halted the Flyers' bid at a district championship a year ago. Brockman said he remembers how tough the loss was, and that he wants to get revenge in preparation for the Flyers' playoff run.
"We all really want to get them back for last year after they kept us from winning," he said. "We're both different teams this year and hopefully it will be a good game to get ready for the playoffs."
Brockman also has something to prove in the classroom. While he was already accepted, Brockman said he is still working hard in his classes in hopes of receiving more scholarship funds. He's also retaking the SAT and other tests to try to gain an edge.
Also, at St. Joseph, a school that he said decidedly favors Texas A&M, Brockman wants to prove to his classmates that he's also worthy of the title "Aggie." He figured it would only be right, since he plans to major in mechanical engineering at LSU.
"I'm in the process of applying there too, and I'm sure I'm going to get it," he said. "Just to prove it to everyone here that I can do it. This school is very A&M-centric."
