TGIF-Prep Football Thread

Biggest rivalry in our area was Friday. The 50/50 was a tidy $1,260. Anyhow, Defending state champs take a seven-point lead on a niftily designed fake field goal. Arch rival, playing with its second string QB (who should probably the be the starter, but the coach is a crusty bastard who believes in only seniors starting, yada, yada) engineers his second TD drive to cut the the lead to a point.

QB also doubles as the kicker... and he promptly doinks the extra point off the upright. DSC wins 21-20, extending its winning streak to 16 games.

 

That sounds like my night last Saturday...

Anyway, me on Friday night: Saw one very rusty team (or maybe they just aren't very good) and one very young team in a matchup of two small schools.

Not a pretty game. Even the warm-ups were ugly: visiting team was discussing formations (think they'd have that down by now), and fumbled at least three center-QB exchanges. Then the game started...

Visiting team gashes home team on the ground. When visitors go to the air, bad things happen. They ran their TB for like eight straight plays on one drive; went to the air twice, the second time it was picked. Another drive, TB opens with a 6-yard gain; they pass, it gets picked. Home team with a freshman QB looks very uneven on both sides of the ball; particularly disappointing was a 6-3, 290-pound senior OT/DT; he should be pushing folks around but was an absolute non-entity.

It wasn't pretty, and I think I reflected that pretty well.

 

I miss going out for prep games. Maybe my role will change, but right now my best thing is to work as "floor boss" in the office. I wasn't able to do that last year, so this should be a significant improvement for us. Still, I may sneak out and watch a couple of first halfs this year after we get rolling.

 

I do that every week. Never have a problem, even on the road.

 

I'm with you CU... never been to a high school game where they've wanted to see credentials. Every now and then they make me sign in, but I think that's just so they know who's there so they don't have to call in stats.

 

so you went to a HS football game, ate free food and didn't write a story?

and you're proud of this?

 

you're asked why, then you bury the lede! (grin)

 

Where does pride enter into it? But I did help our staffer who was covering the game by compiling the box.

 

You don't need to apologize for it; that's the only reason I have anymore to hit high school games. And I like it.

 

Food in the press box? I haven't seen much of that at a high school football game.

While we're on this subject, how many of you are aware of reporters who go out drinking with the home team coach after the game? I had no idea this happened until a reporter told me that his coworker did this with a certain coach.

 

This is a jerk move considering it's my first post, but I recently got out of the biz (as many fellow young journalists are doing) and for the first time in four years I didn't have to cover a prep game and I spent my Friday having dinner and drinks with friends and relaxing. And much to my surprise I didn't miss Friday Night. Though I am a bit nostalgic about the chicken wings at a local school. But even tremendous wings with hot sauce can't compare to a nice steak washed down with bourbon, and the complete lack of idiotic parents and jerk coaches. Not to mention the only deadline I had to worry about was last call.

 

I am just suprised you have time to eat during the whole thing. Maybe I am doing something wrong, but I am busy from about 20 minutes before the game starts and about an hour after. Everything in between is a haze.