Well....ahem.....
As great as the Patriots performed last Monday night against Atlee, they were as bad on Friday night in the 46th Tomato Bowl.
I couldn't believe what I was witnessing. I certainly expected a much closer game than 55-0, but I really thought Patrick Henry was the better team. Reasons for the beating (and it was a beating):
1) Battle on the line of scrimmage: L-D's offensive line created holes, Patrick Henry's did not. L-D's front seven swarmed around RJ Waters and stopped the sweeps, plus negated Bruce Mines' carries up the middle. Brandon Randolph ran at will for the Confederates.
2) Attitude: In hindsight, it's easy to believe the team came into the game thinking they already had it "in the bag". That 55-0 win four nights earlier actually, in my opinion, hurt them more than helped. The reason I say this is, with the exception of a short burst to start the 2nd half, there was little fire, little emotion being shown by a team playing their biggest rival. Kinda reminds me of Super Bowl XXXVII (and as a Raider fan, I don't care to remember it), when the Raiders looked like they were playing an exhibition game, not the World Championship.
When Lee-Davis scored to make it 17-7 early in the 4th (it was 10-7 at half; no scoring in the 3rd), you could see it on the looks of the Patriots' faces.....they were both stunned and defeated. I told my broadcast partner Stubby, "It's over". And it was....but not without some last-minute controversy.
So, Lee-Davis recovers an onside kick with :49 left, and they lead by ten. They have the ball at midfield. They call a timeout. I figured it was to decide which knee the QB would kneel on. Kneel twice, the game's over.
Think again.....first down, and they hand it off to their tailback, who runs through the defense for a 49-yard touchdown. A needless touchdown. You know PH's kids thought they were gonna kneel and call it a night. On the air, I conjectured this might add some new controversy and fire to this long-standing rivalry. Stubby reminded us L-D might still smart from last year, when R.J. Waters broke the school season rushing record on their field the final night of the season, so maybe Brandon Randolph was close to some single-game school record or something. Today at church, someone reminded me that how many points you score counts in terms of the VHSL Point System used to determine playoff teams, so, in essence, the point system encourages you to run up the score....
I just want to know Coach Charlie League's reasoning for doing it. I would think that query crossed Coach Long's mind, too. That was the closest I came to be a "homer" on the air in my three seasons. I would hope if PH did the same thing to someone else, I'd be just as critical.
On anothe note, we were plenty critical of the team, especially recapping the game near the end. It simply was a very disappointing performance. Now they start Colonial District play and still can guarantee a playoff berth if they do one thing, win their last seven games. They won't win three more if they play the way they did Friday night. I hope the Monday night team returns for next Friday's game......:)
In the end, I try not to be overly critical of a high school football team, they're still kids for heaven's sakes. But this was the most critical I've been on-air for them. They've shown so much potential; I saw it as a loss mentally and emotionally much more than physically.
OTHER NOTES:
---I know I've promised the "PTA/PTO Report" and I will as soon as I can; it's a hilariously interesting story.
---I got my two new CD's in the mail from EBay; the latest Avalon CD, and Sheryl Crow's "C'mon C'mon", which I got solely for "Steve McQueen", and I had no idea she dropped the "S-Bomb" in the song (I'd only heard the part in the Wrangler TV ad and it hooked me.) It's still good, and, if I'm singing, I substitute "crap".
Much more to come, but for now, my wife is calling, and I think I'm gonna like why she's calling me.....:)
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