August
26, 2004
LET THE BIG BULLDOGS RUN
Fontainebleau running backs give opponents
double trouble
By
Tammy Nunez
IIt's
six hours driving through the South each Friday night for Alisha Dorsey.
Interstate signs blur by and billboards seem to run into each other
boasting of the best barbecue, fried chicken or lowest gas prices.
But
when Dorsey hunts a spot in the Fontainebleau High School parking lot and
sees the harsh glare of the Dawg Pound Stadium lights, she can smile at
last. The drive from Atlanta to Mandeville is over.
Her
son will do the driving now. He and his touchdown tag-team partner Steven
Korte, that is. Christian Ducre (6 feet, 200 pounds) and Steven Korte
(6-1, 235) are the Fontainebleau senior running backs who accounted for
more than 2,000 rushing yards last season.
As
Dorsey finds a seat for the season's first game, she will think about how
long this trip has been.
Ducre's start in life was bumpy. Dorsey was a Mandeville High student
dating the school's star running back when she became pregnant with
Christian at 15. Brad Ducre, who went on to play at Tulane, is Christian's
dad.
Dorsey's thoughts at the time were what any child pregnant with another
child would think.
"How
the hell do you get out of it? I don't know," Dorsey, 32, said. "I would
never regret it though, because of Christian. That's a blessing on top of
everything."
Christian has made his mom and dad see what is important, they said. A
family effort that included his grandparents raising him, has turned
Christian into a polite, soft-spoken, but quietly confident kid who
happens to blaze with a football cradled in his arm.
"I'm
just so proud of him," Dorsey said. " Not just with football, but just in
general, he's such a good kid."
With
Brad playing in college and bills needing to be paid, Dorsey entered the
Navy at 17 and served four years before becoming a business woman when she
finished her military stint. She owns a toy store in Atlanta and works as
a real estate agent.
"He,
me, and Brad have had such a good support system ever since he was
little," Dorsey said. "He's really everyone's kid."
Growing up, he was better known as Brad's son. Brad was a pug-style
running back who accomplished much at Tulane and at Mandeville.
But
nowadays Christian is less noticed for his dad. He has carved his own
niche after rushing for 905 yards on 145 carries and 10 touchdowns in the
2003 regular season. He also returned kicks last season and caught 20
passes for 376 yards for three touchdowns.
It's
an output that was overshadowed slightly by his friend and backfield mate
Korte, who has committed to LSU, but still needs to qualify academically.
Korte's dad is Steve, who played for Arkansas and played center for the
New Orleans Saints from 1983-1990 before retiring with a career-ending
knee injury. The elder Korte was the 38th overall pick of the 1983 NFL
draft.
Steven
Korte, Jr. is the one grabbing spotlight now. He rushed for 1,228 yards on
110 carries and scored 13 touchdowns in 2003. He also caught 10 passes for
199 yards and four touchdowns. Korte transferred from St. Paul's following
the 2002 season.
When
Korte arrived, the Bulldogs had an answer when linebackers would swarm
Ducre.
"It
was kind of hard because everyone was keying on me, but it opened up
things for Steven," Ducre said.
Both
backs are capable of breaking long runs at any time. It was impossible to
keep both surrounded so most teams chose one, and most of the time it was
Ducre.
"People are going to be on me now," Korte said. "But I just think that
will make things better for Christian. If they're going to key on
Christian, then I'm going to break away. If they key in on me, then
Christian's going to break away."
It's a
scary sight for opposing teams.
"I
think Korte is phenomenal," Ponchatoula coach Scott Martin said. "I
watched him in seven-on-seven's (this summer) and he's obviously better
than he was last season. He just glides for a big guy, he could play tight
end, fullback . . . He could play anything he wanted to."
And
Ducre?
"He
can just flat go," Martin said.
The
combination is rare, Fontainebleau coach Larry Favre said. Favre coached
at O.P. Walker for 10 years before coming to Fontainebleau.
"I've
never had a fullback and a tailback that were both Division I talent
before," Favre said. "Steven Korte is the best physical specimen that I
have ever coached."
Favre
said LSU coaches spent 15 minutes simply digesting the numbers Korte put
up this summer at the Tigers' camp. He ran 4.52 seconds in the 40-yard
dash, vertically jumped 34 inches and had a standing broad jump of 9-10.
Ducre
ran 4.49 in the 40 at that same camp.
The
brunt of the Fontainebleau's hopes fall on these two players. The Bulldogs
are the district favorites in large measure because of the duo. But
Fontainebleau is strong throughout the lineup.
But
the proof will come in the fall Can all this talent can translate to
victories and a district title?
"We
want the whole thing," Korte said.
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