As I mentioned previously, I had not attended a high school football game since I was a freshman in college (14 years ago). I have wanted to do this for some time, but since I’m not from the area, I had a limited knowledge of the local sports scene. Finally, an opportunity presented itself when Daniel Carr invited me to come see his alma mater play their county rival in the season opener (and his sister-in-law knows how to put on a good tailgate party). This weekend is being called week zero of the prep football season.
The weather is a bit warm for football still (upper 90s), but otherwise the atmosphere was very similar to the high school games of my youth -- Air horns, cow bells, and angry parents (although I don’t believe I heard any profanity directed toward the referees). The crowd was enthusiastic. Someone handed out inflatable clapper sticks (my girls have already figured out that they can use them as swords). I also remembered, too late, why so many people bring cushion seats to use on the hard concrete bleachers. My tush still hurts.
The game itself was a close one. The Smyrna Bulldogs started off strong, but fumbled in the red zone. They managed to score the first touchdown, but missed the extra point. Later they would fail in a two-point conversion attempt. Overall their offense was plagued with conservative play calling – too many unsuccessful run plays up the middle. Luckily for them, their defense was up to the task especially in the final minutes of the game. The LaVergne Wolverines had a pretty impressive passing attack and kept the game close. They trailed by 2 points in the final minutes remaining of the game and just fell short of pulling the upset.
Prep football is big in Tennessee (although not as big as in Texas) and is definitely a cultural experience.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment