A proud grandmother to witness second grandson's playing time on national TV

It's a proud moment when a grandmother can watch her grandson play sports on national television. Eighty-year old Lucille Shipman will be twice blessed and twice as proud on Sunday when she tunes in to ESPN for a very special game of high school football.

The Bernie woman is the grandmother of Brandon Shipman, who was featured in The Daily Statesman earlier this year for having worked to overcome tremendous obstacles, eventually earning a playing position on the Mizzou Tigers football team. Brandon traveled to Dallas last winter to play for the Tigers as they matched up with, and conquered, the Arkansas Razorbacks in the Cotton Bowl. The game was aired nationally and was the talk of the town for months.

Athleticism apparently runs in the Shipman family and now it's another grandson's turn to show his ability on the gridiron. Travis Shipman, the son of Lucille's son, O.J., and his wife, Teresa, is the Jaguars' starting offensive right guard and second string noseguard on defense at Blue Springs High School near Independence. In a game to be featured on ESPN this weekend, Travis will be front and center, as his cousin was just a few months ago.

The featured game, to be broadcast at 11 a.m. on Sunday, has all the makings, according to Blue Springs Coach Greg Oder, to be a great game. Referring to the Jaguars and Sunday's opposition, the Rockhurst High School Hawklets, Oder said in a recent interview with the Independence Examiner, "Last year, we had two of the best teams in the state, but we lost some very talented players.

"It's a credit to the players the past few years who put us in this position. We aren't on ESPN without the guys who made the program what it is today."

What it is today, by all accounts, is a superlative team that will no doubt make for an exciting duel with the Rockhurst bunch on the football field come Sunday morning.

The initial ESPN high school game that is broadcast between two top teams in the country consistently draws a sizable audience and this Sunday's live telecast will, no doubt, include a few newcomers to the scene; Lucille Shipman for one, along with a multitude of Stoddard Countians who will be chairside, cheering for their Bernie son.