Cook's journey: From Rayne to Hall of Fame

CROWLEY –At an early age, Lewis Cook knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life.
He recalls writing a paper in the sixth grade during the early 1960s in which he spelled out his desire to one day be a coach.
Fast forward to this week, when Cook will be inducted into the Louisiana High School Sports Hall of Fame, and it all seems like such a blur what has transpired since that day so long ago.
“I’m excited and very thankful that they considered me for this honor and voted me in (the Hall of Fame),” Cook, the 63-year-old head football coach at Notre Dame of Acadia Parish, said Monday. “As you get a little older and you get to the age that I’m at, you look at the guys that went in (Hall of Fame) before or coaches that you admire and respect and you see them getting in there, it crosses your mind (being inducted) because it’s pretty neat.
“And you start to wonder: Maybe one day that could be me!
“I’m very happy that I’m one who was selected and it’s certainly an honor. I appreciate them honoring me in that way.”
Cook will be formally inducted tonight at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Baton Rouge, along with former coach and LHSAA Assistant Executive Director Rhonda McCullough Dreibelbis, former LSU and NFL standout Kevin Mawae, former Alexandria Senior High football coach Butch Stoker, long-time Natchitoches Central girls basketball coach Emma Boozman, veteran administrator Gerald Cobb, former West St. John Football coach Laury Dupont and softball standout Candace Arnahan Jackson of Barbe.
The induction will be one highlight of a distinguished career for Cook, that has so far spanned 41 years and has seen him win state championships at two different high schools, excel as an offensive coordinator on the college level and become one of the most respected coaches in Louisiana – high school or collegiate.
And to think, it almost didn’t happen.
The truth be known, Cook almost wound up behind a desk.
“Yeah, I majored in accounting for a year and a half,” he laughingly recalled. “My dad didn’t want me to be a coach.”
Cook said he had actually filled out all the necessary paperwork to begin his freshman year in the College of Education at Southwestern Louisiana University (USL, now Louisiana-Lafayette).
But he was forced to change his plans prior to his enrollment.
“My dad said I didn’t need to coach,” he said.
Fortunately for Cook and all those many players and coaches he has mentored over the years, things changed after about a year and a half.
“When I started my third semester, I realized that (accounting) wasn’t for me,” he said. “I joined the football officials and I refereed football games for five years while I was in college.
“One day, I went home to referee a jayvee football game in Rayne and I told my dad I was switching. It was a knockdown-drag out, but I ended up switching.”
That decision wound up being a life-changing event that has touched thousands of lives over the last four decades.
That spring semester during his sophomore year, Cook switched back to the College of Education and the move helped launch a distinguished coaching career that has lasted to this day.
And it will likely last for some time more, although Cook won’t commit past “two or three more years.”
“My son Stu is about to get in coaching and I’d like maybe one day to help him,” said Cook. “But who knows. I love what I do; I love the preparation.”
Whatever the cases, Cook’s resume’ speaks volumes.
Consider:
1) He has racked up a mind-boggling record of 307-80 at stints at Rayne High School, Crowley High School and Notre Dame;
2) He has won three state titles, one (1989) at Crowley High and two (2000 and 2009) at Notre Dame;
3) He has had teams play in 10 state title games and five others that have lost out in the semifinals;
4) His teams have advanced to postseason play 28 times;
5) Included in his career are seven 10-0 regular-season records and a pair of 15-0 seasons.
And those are just the highlights of what his teams have done.
Individually, there are also the thousands of players he has inspired by his presence and guidance, not to mention the hundreds of players he has coached who have been selected to All-District and All-State teams and/or gone on to the collegiate and some, the NFL. Most notable among the latter are former Crowley High safety and Minnesota Viking All-Pro Orlando Thomas, who passed away last year, and former USL players Jake Delhomme (Carolina) and Brandon Stokley (Baltimore/Denver), each of whom played in Super Bowls.
And the legacy continues to this day as he prepares his Notre Dame Pios for another season this fall.
“I love coaching,” Cook said. “I love being able to help influence young lives. I had one player tell me not long ago that I saved his life.
“He said ‘Coach, when I went to high school, there were people telling you ‘Don’t let that guy anywhere around your program. But you gave me a chance and that saved my life.’
“It’s those kinds of things that make me love coaching. It isn’t all about winning and losing.”
Highlights
Cook has enjoyed tremendous success during his coaching career and it seems that the most memorable experiences would be the state championship appearances and victories.
And while those are some fond memories, those games that were played a week prior to the state championship games are the ones that stick out in Cook’s mind.
“When we beat Broadmoor in 1989, when I was at Crowley High, to qualify for the state championship game, that game right there was something,” said Cook. “And then when we beat Breaux Bridge in 2000, which set up Notre Dame’s first trip to the Dome….
“Those two games, getting through those games and seeing the kids and the coaches and knowing we were going, those were something.
“It’s funny that the semifinal games stick in my mind more than the finals actually do. Obviously, when we beat Wossman and we won those (other) championship games, those are highlights as well. But I think the journey to get there is what actually sticks in my mind.”
Cook on the hardwood
One thing unknown to most people is the fact that Cook was actually a basketball coach during his early days at Rayne High.
After starting his career at Rayne in 1974 as a linebackers coach, Cook also took on the head coaching duties of the Wolves’ basketball program.
“The Wolves had never won a district championship at the school and, man, I had some talent,” said Cook of his squads over the 1975 and ‘76 seasons. “We had some athletes on the team. We tied for the district championship with Oakdale and had a one-game playoff at Westlake, which we won on a shot right at the buzzer.
“We won a playoff game that year as well. I remember coaching that game like it was yesterday. That was pretty neat and that was two years before I was the head football coach.”
Ragin’ Cajuns
Cook’s ultimate goal was to earn a job at the collegiate level, which his did twice during his career.
After leaving Rayne High, Cook’s first opportunity presented itself.
“When I got out of college, my goal was to be a college coach,” said Cook. “And to get there, because I didn’t play college football and I wasn’t a GA (graduate assistant), I figured I’d have to be a head (high school) coach, win a state championship and maybe they’d notice me.
“It didn’t go in that order. I was the head coach in Rayne for four years and we didn’t exactly set the world on fire. But I got to know Sam Robertson and he called and gave me a chance. That was just a really nice experience and a great learning experience.”
Although the experience was special to Cook, he yearned to get back into high school football, which he did after four seasons with the Cajuns.
“After being there for a short time, I realized that I would probably go back to high school,” said Cook.
So he did the unthinkable. He took the head job at Crowley High, a school that had been on the slide prior to his arrival.
“I took the job at Crowley and people thought I was crazy,” recalled Cook, who inherited a team that was on a 22-game losing streak. “Here I am a full-time college coach and I’m giving that up to go to Crowley.
“But having played and coached in Rayne, I knew Crowley had players. I wasn’t sure if we could win or not, but I told myself, ‘I’m going to take a shot at it.’ And I’m glad I did.”
Cook guided the Gents to a state title in 1989 and a state runnerup in 1991 before jumping back to USL for another four years as the offensive coordinator. His offenses, featuring former NFL standouts Jake Delhomme and Brandon Stokley, set records that still stand.
“It was really nice when I went back (to USL),” said Cook. “It was kind of a financial thing as much as anything else. But when Lew (Cook’s eldest son) went into high school, that’s when I went back to Crowley High in 1996.”
Cook also has two other sons. Jeff was the quarterback for Notre Dame in 2000 during their state title run and Stu was a tailback/receiver when the Pios won the 2009 championship.
Giving credit where
credit is due
Cook’s induction into the Hall of Fame is a great honor and he is quick to point out that he had plenty of help along the way.
“It’s not just me going into the Hall of Fame,” said Cook. “It’s all the coaches that I have ever coached with and all of the players that I have ever coached…all the people that have ever helped me along the way.”
That includes his wife, Faye.
“The biggest thing is marrying the right woman,” said Cook. “A coach’s wife is a special person, especially those who stay in it for 41 years like I have. Faye is the biggest reason why I’ve been successful because she’s made the sacrifices to allow me to stay and do it. Having her around me to chase my little dreams around in order to do what I wanted to do, that’s a big plus.”