FERRIDAY &8212; The 14th annual flotilla offered floating decorative works of art and fun for all, but sparked old memories for the king.

Bobby Marks and daughter Lisa, selected as this year&8217;s king and queen, sat with family while reminiscing with two special guests to his lake home of 61 years.

The guests &8212; the first quarterback Marks ever coached and the most recent one &8212; talked with the storied football coach Saturday.

&8220;My wife and these two guys here were very close and you can&8217;t write a story any better than this,&8221; Marks said.

Bobby&8217;s wife, Neet Marks, was chosen as last year&8217;s queen, but fell ill and didn&8217;t serve. She died last year. Lisa, Bobby&8217;s daughter, was picked as this year&8217;s queen and said she was &8220;just trying to fill her mother&8217;s shoes.&8221;

Rusty Smith, quarterback under Marks the 1968-69 season, and Timmy Foster who played quarterback last year, competed in seasons both ending with a 7-3 record. Smith is now an area nurse anesthetist and Foster recently signed a baseball scholarship at USM.

&8220;It was one of the most remarkable things I remember,&8221; Smith said of the high school game over 30 years ago.

The game, featuring Ouachita High School and Ferriday High School, was one against a scheduled opponent who had &8220;beat them bad the last time they played and shouldn&8217;t have been playing anyway.&8221; Marks&8217; team offered a &8220;skilled quarterback&8221; in Smith in 1968-68 and at the time a LSU signee running back, Ronald Ferguson.

&8220;It wasn&8217;t right or ethical I don&8217;t guess but we switched his jersey and he was running around in a jersey that wasn&8217;t his,&8221; Marks said of the trick his team played to win against the larger school. &8220;We beat them and beat them bad and sent all those people home sucking eggs.&8221;

The events of that game taught the larger schools two lessons, Marks said. A lesson on picking on smaller schools and another on jersey swapping, he said.

&8220;It&8217;s great, it&8217;s just fun being around him. He was a great coach that inspired us and was there not only for football but other things too,&8221; Smith said.

Last year&8217;s team, led by Foster, was one the coach had difficulty coaching after the loss of his wife, but didn&8217;t affect the way his players felt about him.

&8220;It was the best year I have had,&8221; Foster said on playing for the coach who came out of retirement for Foster&8217;s senior year. &8220;He coached me my last year and I just wish he had come along a little earlier.&8221;

The parade, memories, food and stories were all a part of the festivities at the lake home, queen and lake house organizer Lisa said. Bringing them all together as a smooth success was just special, she said.

&8220;I couldn&8217;t have done it without my family and friends,&8221; she said. &8220;My mother would be so proud. Family, friends and the lake community coming together are what the flotilla is all about.&8221;