Rod Thompson was on jury duty this week. He walked through the Sacramento courthouse and paused for a moment at the sight of so many teenage boys about to be sentenced for any number of transgressions.

He then called his son, Kiare Thompson, a Burbank High School graduate attending college in Louisiana. They talked of pride and growth. Kiare is a junior at Grambling State, blessed with the sort of speed that allowed him to race for seven touchdowns as a wide receiver in 2008 and makes him one of the country's top return specialists this fall. Mostly, Thompson and son talked of a path to real-life opportunity.

"I'm so proud because when your son goes to college, he's becoming a man," Thompson said. "I hated to see all those boys in the courthouse.

"We're in a generation where kids are being raised by kids. There's no moral compass. So many of those kids don't get it, don't care, and you lose them. You feel good about the ones who stay the course, do the right things."

Thompson, for years an area youth coach, recalled how Kiare was part of the Rosemont Junior Warriors football team that, as 13- and 14-year-olds, made back-to-back trips to the state championship. Teaming with Kiare then were Brandyn Thompson (Franklin High), now a starting cornerback for unbeaten Boise State; Asa Jackson (Christian Brothers), a starting corner for Cal Poly; Armond Armstead (Pleasant Grove), a starting defensive end for USC; and Tony Gobern (Del Campo), a defensive back for Washington.

Shots in the arm – The kids have done their dad proud. Steve Shotwell was a star player for Elk Grove High 30 years ago and was named Cal's offensive lineman of the year in 1983. Now a general manager for a lighting systems company in Ventura, Steve and wife Cindy fill their weekends with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo football, including today with a game at UC Davis. Oldest son Kyle won the Buck Buchanan award in 2006 as a top defender and is now on the Cal Poly coaching staff. Younger brothers Ryan and Troy are linemen for the Mustangs. Steve attended his 30th class reunion over the summer and assured friends of one thing: His body is shot, but the Shotwell name lives on.

CRC Hall of Famers – When I met Archie Dunsmoor in 1984 at Cosumnes River College, I inquired about his earlier coaching stops. He coached football in a faraway place he was sure I never heard of. I told him to try me.

Eastern Oregon University, nestled next to the Blue Mountains. I know it well, having spent my high school years 100 miles away in Enterprise. Dunsmoor and I laughed at how my high school mascot was Savages, a doomed tag in this era of political correctness. He said the same about CRC's mascot of Chiefs. Neither mascot exists now (my old school switched to Outlaws, and CRC now goes by Hawks).

Dunsmoor will be inducted into the CRC Hall of Fame tonight, in memoriam – he died in 2007, at 84. His good nature made him an impact tennis coach at CRC. Other inductees are: Andrea Guijarno Zarate (soccer, tennis); Travis Parker, who coached track, cross country and soccer; and the 1997 softball team that won 50 games under coach Cheri LaDue with 11 players.

Around the region – Steven Seaton, owner of "The Buzz" barber shop on J Street, will donate all of today's proceeds to the family of Will Barker, the Valley football player who remains hospitalized with a neck injury sustained during a game last month.

Seaton is a 1987 Valley graduate who said, "Will is a stand-up, straight-A kid that is enrolled in the ROTC program, and this is the least I can do to help."

• In a twist of irony, Thompson, father of Grambling State's Kiare, will have a toast for his brother Sunday when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers honor the 1979 team that reached the NFC Championship Game. That outfit included Thompson's brother, Morris Owens, a receiver for Doug Williams, one of the greats to come out of Grambling State.

• Matt Davis has his own program now, and if work ethic counts for anything, he'll have Menlo College men's basketball competing for league championships before long. Davis is the new coach at the small Bay Area school that played Sacramento State this week. Davis was a longtime assistant coach at American River College under Hub Morphew and then Mark Giorgi.

Call The Bee's Joe Davidson, (916) 321-1280.