Tournament Game 1: Double-Double

We played our first of three games in a tournament today and won, 54-33. We even did it without one of our best players. But the most significant thing about this game for our family was that Aaron got his first ever double-double. 11 points, 14 rebounds. He was our high scorer and ended with 6 steals and 5 assists, too. (We won't talk about his number of turnovers!)

Nathan played quite well also, finishing with 9 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal.

Tomorrow we play a small public school, one that beat us soundly last year. But they graduated 6 basketball seniors, so maybe it will be a real game. We shall see!

On the Winning End

For the past three seasons, our basketball team has often been on the losing end of a rout. Last night, we got to be on the winning end. The final score: 72-36. I'm not sure we scored even close to 70 points in a game last year!

The boys all played well. Aaron and Nathan didn't score much, but Aaron had 9 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 steals and 5 points (1 of 2 from the free throw line). Nathan had 8 points (including a 3-pointer and 1 of 2 free throws), 5 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal.

Tournament play this weekend will be interesting. I'm expecting them to at least compete with teams that slaughtered us last year, but we shall see. At least it is exciting!

A Decisive Win

Our boys played their first home game tonight and came away with their second win of the season. This was a decisive 56-39 win. And this was against a respectable team. They just played basketball like they knew how to play!

Aaron was awesome. He led the scoring with 21 points, was second in rebounding with 8 boards, had 3 assists, and 1 steal. He was 6 of 8 from the free throw line.

Nathan didn't do too badly, either. He played all but a couple of minutes of the game, scored 3 points--all from the free throw line, grabbed 5 rebounds, made 2 assists and came up with 2 steals.

I sure hope this is an indication of things to come. If so, it should be a fun season!

Beginning with a Win

We started basketball season tonight, after only one practice. Eight of our eleven players have been focused on football until last week, so their basketball skills were a bit rusty. And in the first half of the game, that was quite apparent. But the boys came out for the second half and turned it on a bit. At the end of the 3rd quarter, we had pulled to within 5. With less than 5 minutes left in the game, we went ahead by 1--and managed to hold on. We won 41-35.

Our boys did well. Aaron finished with the third highest rebounds but also tied for most turnovers (all coming in the first half). But he led in assists (including one to his brother!) and even had a few steals. He ended with 2 points. All in all, pretty good considering that coach sat him halfway through the 2nd quarter when he got called for his third foul. (He didn't pick up his forth foul until there were 11 seconds left in the game, in spite of playing every minute of the 2nd half.)

Nathan did well, too. He scored more, ending with 5 points. He also had a couple of rebounds as well as a couple of turnovers.

Now if we can get some practices under our belt, this might be a much better season than we've seen in the past couple of years!

The Final Football Game

Here are my boys one last time, after their last game on the same football team.

We ended our season with a heartbreaking loss, 36-24. Heartbreaking because we hung in there so long and finished so close. Our opponent was undefeated, ranked number one. They hadn't played an entire game all year long. We took them to the very end and, in truth, we just had one too many mistakes. We could have beat them, but we beat ourselves with mistakes.

Still, it was quite a season. To watch this group of seniors who stepped onto the field as juniors, most with zero experience in a varsity game, compete at this level was quite amazing. I'm so proud of them for how far they came in such a short amount of time. And the younger guys who played will walk into next season with confidence, experience, and a hunger to go deeper into the playoffs.

Aaron ended with a good game. No catches. Some good tackles. One missed kick due to kicking into the swirling wind. Nathan played well too, cool under pressure, though throwing a very uncustomary for him interception. He tried to connect once with Aaron, near the end zone, but it just didn't quite happen. It was too bad, too, for it would have been a game-changing play.

We cried many tears afterward. I'll miss watching them on the field together next year. After all, they started playing on the same soccer team when they were 3 and 4! But of course there is still basketball, which will begin next Monday.

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!

Homecoming Dance

Pictures from before the Homecoming dance. I think everyone had fun.

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!

Thumb update

We went for Nathan's final follow up appointment today, this time with the doctor who was out of town when Nathan was originally injured. He said it wasn't the ligaments--that his thumb was broken after all!

So kudos to the trainer, who suspected it all along and who insisted Nathan be in that hard splint for 10 days. The doctor did say the break has healed and Nathan is cleared to play again, he just has to tape it for practices and games for the rest of the season.

And since he's been playing piano for a week now without pain, I'm thinking we are good to go all the way around!

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.

Injury Update

Home from the doctor, and the news is much better than we anticipated!

Nathan has a ligament tear and a slight fracture in his thumb. He is in a hard splint (like a temporary cast) for about 10 days, then he'll move to a regular splint. Three or four weeks from now, he should be back on the gridiron and in front of the piano.

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!