It was gray and dreary. It had rained all night and the field was a mudpit. The wind was relentless and the temperature was in the mid-40′s. It was football weather and our boys came to play…for a half, at least.

We dominated the first half. It wasn’t even a contest. It was as perfect as our team has been all year. At the level they were performing I have no doubt we’d have made a run at the championship against anyone. Not a single kid was off. There were kids who hadn’t done crap this whole year making key blocks and tackles. They were a machine and went into halftime with a 14-0 lead. I’d be lying if I said the parents weren’t already discussing the Sunday game. It was a sure thing. It was our game to lose.

Then in the second half, we stepped down a notch. I think the wet, the cold, the wind, the mud – it was slowly eating away at our boys. We held our own, but couldn’t quite reach the end zone. We played well, but couldn’t quite stop them. With 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter we had the ball on our own 35 and had a 14-12 lead. All we had to do was a clock eating drive and a score and we would have stood tall against the onslaught. We drove down field slowly, but steadily. 5 yards here. 3 there. 2 more for a first down. 6 yards around the end. 3 up the middle. Another push from the line and we got a first down. We drove all the way to their 10 yard line and were facing a 4th & 5 with well less than two minutes on the clock. It was intense.

We moved the ball 24 of the needed 25 feet on that fourth down play and turned over the ball on downs with little time left on the clock. It was up to the defense.

1st down. Stuffed. Offense hurries to the line.
2nd down. Stuffed again. Offense runs back to line up with just 14 seconds on the clock.
3rd down. Handoff. Sweep to the right. Nowhere to go. Ohh! A couple missed tackles. Runner cuts back all the way across to the right dodging and weaving – our kids slipping in the mud and sliding off the runner. He turns the corner near the sideline as the clock ticks down….7….6…5…there’s a pile of players on that side of the field…out of the confusion busts their back with everyone behind him. He crossed the goal line just as the clock hit 0:00 – a 90+ yard run.

We lost 18-14 on the final play of the game – a 90-something yard run where at least half of our team had their hands on the ball carrier for at least a moment.

Heartbreaking.

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Sigh.

2010 practice starts at the end of July. (smile)