Green, Finley, Rushing to coach Texas squad
Nick Gholson, Times Record News

Even though his high school coach was picked to coach in the 1979 Oil Bowl, Bill Green didn’t get an invitation to the game.
“I wasn’t good enough,” Green said, reflecting back on his high school days as a two-way tackle in Duncan, Okla.
So Green had to watch from afar as his high school coach, Ray Hall, and his best friend, linebacker Kenny Sutton, helped Oklahoma beat Texas 14-6.
Now 25 years later, Green has finally received his own invitation to the Oil Bowl -- only this time he will be trying to help Texas beat Oklahoma.
After leading Windthorst High School to the Class A state championship this past season, Green has been chosen to be one of the three Texas coaches in the 67th annual Maskat Shrine Temple all-star game on June 19 at Memorial Stadium.
Mickey Finley of Cleburne and Gary Rushing of Azle will join Green on the Texas sideline.
Last year Green was critical of how Texas Oil Bowl coaches didn’t give Ross Harrison of Petrolia a chance to showcase his skills. Harrison was the Class A player of the year in 2002 and was a star running back and linebacker on the Pirates’ state championship team.
“I’d rather have my sons not play in the Oil Bowl and have great careers than have them stand on the sidelines at that game because they come from 1A,” said the Windthorst coach, who also won a Class A state title with the Trojans back in 1996.
Green’s twin sons, Chad and Kyle, are seniors and eligible to play in this year’s Oil Bowl.
“Our job as coaches is to pick the best players to beat Oklahoma. I’m not going to put my sons in the game just because I’m Daddy,” Green said. “I couldn’t have one of them chosen for the game and then get less than six plays. That would kill me.
“I am going to let the other coaches evaluate my kids to see if they think they are good enough to play in this game. If they don’t think they deserve to play, then they won’t play.”
One of Green’s sons will be selected to play in the Texas High School Coaches Association All-Star Game this summer. Since the coaches’ game limits only one player per school, the other Green twin will most likely be picked for the Oil Bowl.
Texas owns a 41-16-1 edge in the series, but Oklahoma won 24-21 last year.
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Oil Bowl chairman Ronnie Awtry said Pro Football Hall of Famer Raymond Berry has accepted an invitation to be the guest speaker at the annual Oil Bowl banquet on Friday, June 18 at the Maskat Shrine Temple headquarters.
Berry played for the Baltimore Colts from 1955 through 1967 and was Johnny Unitas’ favorite receiver. He caught 631 passes for 9,275 yards and 68 touchdowns.
In 1985, Berry was the head coach of the New England Patriots team that made it to the Super Bowl.
Awtry also said that this year’s Oil Bowl will honor Jay Wilkinson and Billy Bookout .
Wilkinson, the son of legendary OU coach Bud Wilkinson, was an all-state quarterback at Norman High School who played in the 1960 Oil Bowl. He went on to be an All-American quarterback at Duke University and was the Atlantic Coast Conference’s player of the year in 1963.
Bookout was a star running back on Wichita Falls High School’s state championship team of 1949. He played in the 1950 Oil Bowl and went on to play college football at OU and professional football with the Green Bay Packers.
Sports Editor Nick Gholson can be reached before 4 p.m. weekdays by calling (940) 720-3447 or 1-800-627-1646 (ext. 447). Or you can email him at gholsonn(at)timesrecordnews.com