Wrapping Up Aaron's Football Career

Our annual fall sports awards banquet was last night, the final wrap up of Aaron's football career. To be honest, we weren't expecting anything in the way of awards. He did well this season, but not necessarily outstanding. But we were all pleasantly surprised. Here's a rundown of Aaron's final football awards:

Team: Christian Character award

District: 2nd team kicker, 1st team cornerback

State: honorable mention cornerback, academic all-state

The state honors were huge, especially the academic one. It requires a junior or senior to have received a first team all-district award and to have at least a 90 average in school. Aaron works so hard in his classes but always feels he doesn't quite measure up. Thankfully his elective classes brought up his average enough to qualify for this honor. It is such an accomplishment for him! But beyond the hardware around his neck, we so appreciated the things said about his character and his leadership by the coaches. It was a lovely end to his career in a sport that was never his first love but that he worked to do well. We are so proud of him!

One Round Down

After our dismal performance in last year's playoff game, this team redeemed itself with a decisive win, 54-7. The game ended at halftime.

Aaron played almost the whole game, with another solid performance on defense. He caught a touchdown pass (thrown by our other quarterback) and had a pass from his brother knocked out of his hands almost in the end zone. He hit 6 of his 7 PATs, with the last one hitting the upright and bouncing back. (That's the third time he's hit the post this year. What's with that?)

Nathan got to play a bit. He threw four beautiful passes, the only one not going for a completion was the one to his brother. :)

Next round the opponent gets much more difficult, so we'll see what happens!

2nd in District!

Tonight we had a big win. Not just in points, 68-28, but big in the sense that it gives us 2nd place instead of 3rd in our district. These boys have made a HUGE turnaround since last year!

Aaron had another great game on defense, including a knocked down pass in the end zone in the last couple of minutes of the game. He had a couple of passes thrown his way on offense, but neither was catchable. He kicked 7 for 9 on PATs and he had kickoff duty tonight as well, hitting his long ones and his on-sides ones very nicely.

And I realized that tonight was his final Friday Night Lights, which was kind of sad. But at least we still have two more years of Nathan.

Oh--Nathan actually got to play a bit again tonight. He did very well, but he didn't get a chance to throw the ball. Hopefully this means he'll get a bit of playing time in the playoffs, too.

All in all, it's been a great season. We'll see what happens next!

Big Win!

Today we beat our arch rival Greenville Christian 16-30! It's been three years since we've beat them!

Aaron played great--one interception, nine tackles, and 3 of 4 PATs. (The miss was a bad snap/hold. Nathan felt bad he couldn't get it down for him.) He didn't have any passes thrown his way, but they had him covered pretty well.

We are just so excited. This win insures at least 3rd place in our district. Next week's game will be a battle for 2nd place. Then it's off to playoffs!

JV Loss

JV played their final game last night and Nathan finally got to play an entire game! But I think he would have traded playing time for a win.

They lost, 16-20 on the final play of the game. Heartbreaking. And yet they beat themselves with three fumbles and an interception. It just wasn't going right for our freshmen and sophomores last night!

A Hard Loss

We lost tonight to what might arguably be the best team in our classification in the state. The frustrating thing was the we really beat ourselves with penalties and poor execution. The final score was 16-32.

Aaron hit both of his point after attempts, with Nathan holding for him. Aaron also had some good tackles on defense, too, including running down a player and stopping him just before the end zone. (Not good they called a penalty on his tackle, but it only cost a yard since he stopped him on the two yard line.)

The good news is that know we know if we play our best, we really can play with this team. In fact, if we play our best, we might even be able to beat them!

In the Presence of Royalty!

Yes, Aaron and Lana were named Homecoming King and Queen last night. It was very sweet and very fun. Of course Aaron was even more glad that they won the game 48-0 in the 4th quarter! He scored the final TD at was a perfect 5 for 5 in PATs with his brother holding for him. (Nathan hasn't played much since his injury.)

The pep rally earlier in the day was fun, too. But homecoming is a bit bittersweet with a senior. Somehow it really signifies the beginning of the end of high school. They'll be off to the dance tonight, so I'll post pictures of that tomorrow, but here are a few other ones from the pep rally and game. Enjoy!

A Win to Open District Pla

We played our first district game of 2010 and came up with a win. It ended at half with us up 74-16. Nathan didn't play much. I guess they are going to ease him back in? Aaron didn't have any catches, and only one ball thrown his way at all. He did make 7 of 10 PATs and made a good tackle on defense. And did I mention he was chosen as one of the two captains for this year? Yes, we're pretty proud.

Rehab Assignment: JV Game

Nathan played in the JV game since Varsity has a bye this week. He played two or three series at QB, throwing one TD pass to his friend Garrett. He also got to play a little on defense and made a tackle. It was a good night for the freshman and sophomore boys, who won 34-6 and loved that they actually got to play!

Another Trouncing (Them, Not Us)

We played a Thursday night game this week, and I felt so sorry for the team we played. They used to be a football powerhouse among 6-man private schools, but then a couple of years ago couldn't even make a team. They are returning to the gridiron this year, but they were no match for our boys. The game was over early in the 3rd quarter, 46-0. (And we even played many of the guys that don't often play!)

Nathan was still sidelined, of course, but he is planning to practice next week and even run a couple of series in the JV game since varsity will have a bye. He's ready to get back at it!

Aaron had a beautiful touchdown reception in that it was a good catch, but he also juked the defender in order to make it in the end zone. He had some great tackles on defense, too. Where he struggled was--surprisingly--kicking! He missed 3 of the 5 kicks he attempted. Not sure what happened there, but he has two weeks to get it figured out!

The next game will start district play, which means that this is when the season REALLY starts!

Another Win--and a Nathan Update

We won again tonight against a small public school team, 58-13, just after halftime. Of course Nathan didn't play, but Aaron had an awesome interception on the 8 yard line which he ran back for a touchdown (72 yards). (Six man plays an 80 yard field.) He also made five of seven extra points.

Nathan's hard splint should come off on Monday. He'll be able to practice again--and probably play piano--but I don't know if he'll play next weekend or not. After that, we have a bye week, so he should be doing very well by the time district play starts in October.

A Rough Night

We lost a heartbreaker last night: 45-38. But it was a rough night in more ways than win/loss.

Deep into the third quarter Nathan came out of the game. I watched him talk to the trainer. Watched the trainer tape his left thumb. Watched Nathan take a few snaps on the sidelines. Watched him talk to a coach and the trainer again--this time swiping his good hand across his face beneath his helmet.

Tears. Not good.

Next thing I knew, he'd taken off his pads and had his hand in ice. At the end of the third quarter I got the text from his dad on the sidelines: probably broken hand.

Ugh. For Nathan, a hand injury will not only sideline him from football, but from his greatest love: piano. He goes for x-rays today and we'll know more. I'm praying hard that it won't be as bad as they thought last night!

As for the game, the boys played with such great heart. The defense held on several back to back goal line stands. They were amazing; they just fell a bit short.

Aaron had probably his best defensive game ever. Usually his tackles involves wrestling the other kid to the ground. Last night all three solo tackles were hard hits. He also had a couple of assists and several hard hits on guys just after they missed catching a pass.

In kicking, he made 4 of 5 PATs (one blocked). He did catch 2 balls for 27 yards, including one touchdown early in the game--thrown by Nathan.

Before his injury, Nathan was 6 for 12 with 104 yards and 1 touchdown. His best stat through these 2 3/4 games is that he hasn't thrown an interception.

Our team is very deep this year except at two spots: quarterback and center. Our backup QB, a senior, usually plays center. So those key roles will get interesting. I know Nathan's just hoping he can get back in there before the season ends. We'll know more in the coming days.

Win number 2!

This season is already way more fun than last season! Not only are we winning, but the kids at every level of our school have discovered school spirit!

We won against a public school team, 60-13 in the 3rd quarter.

Nathan's game: He did much better this week, but took a hard hit and sprained his shoulder. Fortunately we have a doctor on the sidelines who gave him exercises to do and told him to keep it iced for a few days. But even that didn't hinder his play much. He completed 5 of 8 passes for 92 yards and one touchdown--to Aaron!

Aaron played well, too, although he didn't touch the ball much. He had the touchdown reception, kicked 6 of 7 extra points, and had an interception hit him in the chest, but he dropped it--though that wasn't a bad thing since it was 4th down!

Thankfully, Nathan has some time to recover with the long weekend. Then we'll get back at it again!

An Easy Win

One game, one win. A much better start than last year! In fact, this team is such a change from last year's team it is mind-boggling to realize that many of the same kids are out there! They've grown taller and stronger. They look like a varsity team now. So much so that I kind of felt sorry for the team who opened our season today.

We won 48-0 just after halftime. Our guys ran hard and hit hard. They seemed to know what they were doing more so than last year. And even though a few didn't perform as well as they thought they should have (that would be Nathan), in the end, it didn't matter. Others picked up the slack. And that shows me that we have a team.

As for the boys' individual stats for this game:

Nathan struggled a bit, but he didn't turn the ball over. He was 1 for 5 passing, but that one completion was for a touchdown. He wasn't happy with his performance, but it wasn't as bad as he thinks it was! With so many on the team this year, he is not having to play defense or special teams. He's not even holding ball for Aaron on extra points anymore! He is concentrating solely on quarterback.

Aaron didn't catch a pass, but he didn't have one thrown to him, either. But he played very well on defense, making three solo tackles and nabbing an interception. He also kicked 5 of 5 extra points. All in all, a very good game. He was happy not to have to take the field on kickoffs or kick returns this year, either!

Next week will be a true test--a public school 6-man team. Should be interesting!

2nd scrimmage

Second scrimmage went well. In fact, we are getting excited for that first game next weekend! Nathan and Aaron hooked up for one touchdown and Nathan threw several others as well. Aaron had solid defensive play, too. In fact, I'm not sure either of the other two teams' defense scored on us all day long!

1st Scrimmage

It was a scorcher at the scrimmage today--but they played well, so I guess it was worth all the sweat!

Nathan took all the reps at quarterback, so I guess he's secured that spot. Aaron had a touchdown catch and a beautiful play on pass defense that would have been a touchdown had he not knocked it away.

Next week is another scrimmage, but this time against a little bit more challenging teams, so we'll see how that goes!

Football Accolades

Although this season didn't afford as many high spots as seasons past, we did get some bright news recently. When the district awards were announced (and remember, of the four teams in our district, one was state champ and the other one state runner-up), my boys were honored as follows:

• Aaron was named 2nd team all-district wide receiver, cornerback, and kicker.
• Nathan was named 2nd team all-district quarterback.
• Nathan was named the District 2A Freshman of the Year. 

Wow! I was blown away! Congrats to them for their hard work during a tough season!

On to Basketball

The season is over. We kind of knew it would be after this game, but we didn't expect this game to be so--well, ugly. Our team just didn't look like itself. We lost 56-8 at halftime. Aaron did have one nice, long catch from a pass by Nathan, but everyone had some uncharacteristic mishaps, too. Like Nathan's three interceptions. And two fumbles by running backs. And Aaron jumping off-sides. And the other team just had it all together.

So football ends for another year. By the time we do it again, it will be Aaron's last season on the gridiron. But while the boys are sad it ended this way, they are happy that it is on to basketball. We're looking forward to a season of hoops!

Last District Game

We played our last district game today--against the #1 ranked private school 6-man team in the state. Of course we lost, 54-8 in the 3rd quarter. But that's okay. We are in the playoffs!!! The top three teams from our district go and we are #3. So off we go to the bi-district game next weekend.

On the upside of today's game: Nathan threw a touchdown pass to Aaron, who then kicked the extra point. Aaron actually caught a few passes and made some good tackles.

We're glad this game is over!

Showing Our Stuff

Last week we played the #1 ranked team in the state. Next week we play the #2 ranked team in the state. Tonight we got a chance to show our stuff instead of being pounded into the ground. We won, 64-16 just after the beginning of the 4th quarter. It was a very fun game. Two of our scores were kick returns. We also scored a safety.

Aaron pulled in two touchdown passes, one from his brother, one from the running back. He also made one really great tackle, helped with a couple of others and made all 7 of his PATs!

Nathan had a great passing game. He did get picked once and he had a couple of balls hit the receivers in the hands and get dropped (and a couple of those drops were by Aaron!), but he threw a total of four touchdown passes and, except for the interception, really didn't throw an awful pass.

It feels kind of like ending on a high note being that it was the last home game of the season. In reality, the season will probably end with two really ugly losses. But we are a young team, and tonight's game bodes well for the future.