Reunion Photo Gallery
POCATELLO, Idaho- For the past several months former Bengal star wide receiver Sale' Key has been looking forward to Homecoming weekend. This weekend members of the 2002 Big Sky Championship team returned for a 10-year championship reunion.
“It feels good,” Key said. “It brings a lot of memories and emotions because I was so close with these guys even though I might have been younger. I have never looked forward to being at something in the last couple months as I have looked forward to being at this.”
That same sentiment shared by Key, who is still playing Arena Football in San Antonio, was shared by all members the squad who returned to Pocatello. According to members of the team a big key in why the team was so successful was the friendships that were on the team.
“From Compton to Long Beach to Pocatello we all got along,” former Highland High School star Brett Fowler said. “Friday night was the first night we have seen each other for the first time in seven or eight years and the friendships that we still have is what made us good. Our coaching staff put us in positions to win and we bought in. This group of guys bought in to Larry Lewis. He was a great at what he did and deserves a lot more credit than he probably gets.”
Doug Baughman, quarterback of the 2002 team who is now teaching and coaching high school football in Phoenix, added, “This was a team that did anything for one another whether you were a starter, redshirt or walk on. We were a close knit group and that pulled us through a lot of close games.”
A big key in the success of the 2002 team started at the end of the 2001 season.
“We just got crushed by Montana State,” Fowler said. “The 2001 year we had 17 sophomores starting and a lot of us starting from middle of our freshmen year on. We were not really prepared to be good at that time. On the offensive bus coming home from Montana State we had a long conversation coming home that it was time to make things better. We made a commitment and stayed all summer long. Nobody went home.”
Fowler, who caught 46 passes for 741 yards and six touchdowns in 2002, is currently living in Philadelphia selling medical devises. Fowler and many members of the team still keep in touch threw facebook, phone calls and texting.
The 2002 team and members of the 2003 team are proud of the fact that they never lost in Holt Arena during the two seasons.
The only disappointing part of the 2002 season was that the team was not invited to the post season playoffs.
“We were a very good team, still strong and healthy,” Fowler said. “It was very disappointing. We were expecting an opportunity to place a McNeese State or a Georgia Southern. We could have played them. For a team to get in that we beat made zero sense. We lost to Montana 13-9 at their place but beat Montana State here. But they got in. It was pretty tough.”
The 2002 team finished the season 8-3 and 5-2 in Big Sky Conference play. All three losses were by five points or less. The 2002 team had 14 players earn all-conference honors, seven on the first team and seven on the second team.
“The cool thing personally was when it came time to play together we were a tight knit group,” Key said. “Our attitude and how we fed of each other, we just wanted it more. We wanted it more so we played up to our expectations.”
Emery Beckles, who had remained in Pocatello since finishing school in 2003 added, “When we got together we were one. We did something special in 2002 and it hasn't been done since.”
We Are Your Bengals
