Disappointment

I was all pumped today to write a post about my Triad Knights beating Highland in 3 consecutive post-season sports this weekend. We started out strong, beating them handily in 2 volleyball games on Thursday night. Then last night (Friday) in soccer, we managed to shut them down 1-0. This ended the post-seasons for both of those Highland teams. Next up: football. We played Highland this afternoon on our field at 3:00. I went to school early so to go up to my classroom and make a sign on posterboard. It was a sweet sign too. It looked something like this: at the top, it said "Bulldog Checklist." Then under that were 3 boxes on the left side and the first 2 of them were checked. The first 2 lines said "End Volleyball Season to TRIAD" and "End Soccer Season to TRIAD." The third line said "End Football Season to TRIAD." I didn't have that box checked though because we hadn't beaten them yet. But I took my marker with me to the game. The Triad people who saw the sign while I proudly displayed it in the stands before the game thought it was pretty neat.

Problem is.....we lost today. It was a well played game by both teams, but they were simply better than us today. We were winning first 7-0, then 7-6, then 14-6, then 14-12. Then they scored again and made a 2-point conversion so they went ahead 20-14. We managed to score and went ahead 21-20 with 4 minutes left. That was enough time for them though and they scored again with only 16.5 seconds left on the clock. This wasn't enough time for us to come back and the final score was 26-21. I would have posted a picture of my sign that I was so proud of, but I ended up putting it quietly into a trash can as I left the game. I had also planned to display it in my classroom, had we won the game. Oh well. Bummer.

The worst part of a day like this is watching the seniors on the field after the game. The whole team went out like they always do and for the last time this year, yelled their "We Love Football" chant in the middle of the field. Then everyone slowly headed towards the locker rooms, but the seniors and a few of the juniors took their sweet time leaving that field. It's nostalgic for me to watch them. I know how much their hearts are into that game and how much it must hurt to know that their days of high school "Friday Night Lights" are over. I hate watching the seniors play their last game in ANY sport. It's just so bittersweet.

Our soccer team is going to the super-sectional game on Tuesday in Jacksonville. Triad boys' soccer has never been this far in the post-season before. I get to help chaperone a fan bus and we are leaving school right after 5th hour. The game (for whatever weird reason) is at 3:00pm. I am excited about it!

Great season, football Knights. And thank you for the memories........