CHaD football game one more shot for Lavignes to share a sideline

Tucker Lavigne had heard stories about what kind of coach his grandfather was, but he never thought he'd have the opportunity to experience it for himself.

But before the start of Lavigne's senior year at Bedford High School, a coaching change lead to the addition of a "new" coach to the Bulldogs staff.

All of a sudden, Bedford had a defense full of Lavinges - Tucker, who started at defensive back, along with his father, Andy, and grandfather, Paul.

"People had told me stories about him (Paul), but I'd never lived it," Tucker said. "I'd seen him coach from the sidelines, and he'd never coached me in person, so seeing that different perspective of him. Living through his coaching is pretty cool. It surprised me at first. The first day or two of him coaching me was a little eye-opening, but I really enjoyed it."

The trio will have one more shot on Saturday in the CHaD East-West All-Star Football Game, in which Paul will serve as head coach for the West for the second time, Andy will be one of his assistants, and Tucker will assume his familiar role at defensive back. The game kicks off at 5:30 p.m. at Saint Anselm College.

"It's fantastic," Andy said. "I was saying to my wife the other day, there are a million coaches who could say they coached their son or they coached with their father, but I don't know many who were able to coach their son while coaching with their father. The nice thing about both of them, (Tucker) is so easy to coach, and (Paul) is so easy to coach with."

For a while, Paul wasn't sure if they'd have the opportunity, as Tucker's senior season ended with a broken leg just before Bedford started the postseason. It was his third major injury in four years - he suffered two shoulder injuries as a freshman and sophomore - and neither coach knew if Tucker would want to come back for one more game.

"I was a little afraid at first," Paul said. "He's gone through three major operations in four years, and I thought maybe he was going to say no. But when he said yes, that made my year. I've coached I don't know how many games in my 44 years of coaching, but this one will stick with me for a long time. I hope he has a great game and I hope he has a healthy game.

"To coach with Tucker and Andy, in this particular game, one more time, you know this is going to be the last time this ever going to happen for us, I'm so excited about it. I think I'm so excited about it that I'm actually nervous."

But playing in the game was never a question for Tucker, so long as he was picked to be in it.

"For me, it was mostly mental," he said. "Coming back physically wasn't as bad as I thought, but staying with that positive attitude and staying encouraged to get back on the field, to have the experience to play again, that was the biggest part for me. Having another chance to end my high school career on a high note was pretty exciting for me."