Four days, eight games -one great way to kick off fall
Call it the perfect beginning to football season. Eight games in four days, a new personal record.
Sure, anybody with a remote control and comfy couch can catch eight games any autumn weekend. But we`re talking live and in person. All it took was an understanding wife and considerate schedule-makers.
So before the Labor Day weekend fades from memory, a few favorite moments from the ultimate start to a new season ...
* OK, things begin slowly. A Thursday night NFL exhibition between the Vikings and Seahawks. For the first defensive series, I train my binoculars on the right side of the Seahawks` line, enjoying the energy brought by new high-priced free agent Grant Wistrom, who`s finally seeing his first action.
But then he goes to the bench, joined by the rest of Seattle`s starters. Which means the next 2 hours and 50 minutes are left to study players who`ll have little to do with the success or failure of the upcoming season.
Never one to waste an opportunity to scout the new talent, I smartly move my binocular focus to the left side of the line. The Sea Gals` dance line, that is.
Oops. Scratch that. Wife isn`t quite that understanding ...
* Friday means high school football and a new treat, the chance to watch my son make his gridiron debut. Yeah, his team loses. And, yeah, there is much work to be done.
But what a roller coaster ride. There`s nothing quite like being emotionally invested in a player. I`m sure I speak for parents everywhere when I say that when the final horn sounds, I feel as drained as if I`d played the game myself. Only without the bruises ...
It`s 10 o`clock Saturday morning and I`m joined at Qwest Field by a couple hundred followers of the Kennedy Lancers and Tahoma Bears. It`s the first of five straight high school games in the Emerald City Kickoff Classic.
What a deal for these kids, playing in a gorgeous 67,000-seat stadium used by NFL players. And what a deal for fans, with a $15 ticket offering a chance to sit in 50-yard line charter seats that cost $280 for Seahawks games.
Sure, it`s not NFL-quality play. But then again, I was watching a preseason game in this stadium 37 hours earlier that wasn`t NFL caliber, either. But that didn`t stop the Seahawks from charging full ticket prices. And not to oversell the beauty of high school sports, but these $15 tickets are good for all five games ...
* Forget about NFL quality. Tahoma`s Daniel Ulrich makes a gorgeous touchdown catch, just getting one foot down in the end zone. Then, Kennedy sophomore Nate Williams unleashes a terrific punt return, weaving through traffic for 40 yards. Ulrich follows with another leaping grab for a touchdown with four seconds left in the half.
Yeah, there are missed extra points and muffed snaps. But when it comes to entertaining football, it`s all here.
In the second game of the day, Mead rips off an 82-yard kickoff return to set up a 5-yard touchdown. Camas answers by taking the ensuing kickoff back 86 yards for a score. How often do you see this sort of action in the NFL?
Camas, a 3A school out of southwest Washington, calls itself the Papermakers in honor of the paper mills that provide industry in the region. You`d think they`d have little shot against 4A power Mead, a Spokane school that comes out in Notre Dame colors and brings an offensive line the size of a college squad.
Camas has just 41 players on its roster and a tall, skinny quarterback named Alex Lovell who throws with a funny motion that makes you laugh. Until he keeps finding open receivers. Hey, awkwardly effective isn`t a bad way to go.
Final score: Camas 27, Mead 14. Nobody`s laughing now ...
* The games start blurring together. Maybe it`s the lack of food. Not that there`s nothing to eat, but at $6 for a mini-pizza and $6 for a ``commemorative`` cola, the Qwest Field folks are definitely sticking with their NFL concession prices.
I start noticing the kids in the stands. The teenage girl with the ``I do naughty things`` T-shirt and the boys who can`t stop turning around to flirt with the group behind them, then quickly swirl around and clap crazily whenever the crowd erupts, even though they have no idea what just happened.
High school football is a social event for most kids. I wonder if they have any idea how serious the coaches and players take this stuff ...
* Five hours later it gets about as serious as you`ll ever see for a high school game. Bellevue and De La Salle kick off in the featured game. This is the one everybody came for.
By now the crowd has swollen to 25,000. Concession lines are packed. Ticket booths are overwhelmed. The place is buzzing.
De La Salle, the legendary California program ranked No. 1 in the nation, looks like a machine on its first drive, marching downfield with precision and power. Uh-oh. Obviously Bellevue is in over its head. What are we thinking? 54-14 or something like that?
But then, the Wolverines get the ball. And running back J.R. Hasty busts a 74-yard touchdown on Bellevue`s first play.
The battle is on. And a first half that feels like how a heavyweight boxing match plays out. Back and forth. Trading offensive punches. A pleasure to watch. How rare is it to see a much-hyped event actually played at such a high level, particularly with high school kids in their first game of a season?
I`ve taken in a lot of sporting events in my days, but this one ranks up with anything I`ve seen. I`m guessing these kids will never forget it. And neither will I ...
* I`m down on the field, grabbing some postgame interviews following the stunning 39-20 defeat that snaps De La Salle`s 151-game winning streak. There`s Bellevue center Jordan Hebert, a 230-pound senior whose long hair flows down to the middle of his back. If you think Bellevue kids all fit some clean-cut stereotype, check out Hebert. All around him, teammates are jumping and screaming. Hebert pauses and tries to put emotions into words.
``I`m just afraid,`` says Hebert, ``that I`m going to wake up or something.``
Just 20 yards away, cameras encircle Hasty, the highly recruited running back. There`s a guy the Huskies need to land. And in a smaller circle stands sophomore quarterback Eric Block, fielding questions like an old pro. The kid is 14. I`m trying to think what I was doing at age 14, but I can`t remember. I hope Block saves the videotape and newspaper clippings ...
* It`s Sunday. The Sabbath. A day of rest. Except the Huskies are playing their opener, so it`s off to Montlake for an afternoon Dawg show.
Woof-woof. This could be a lo-o-o-ng season. Not that there weren`t positives for the Huskies. I`m impressed by middle linebacker Joe Lobendahn and new safety Dashon Goldson and converted linebacker Evan Benjamin.
UW`s defense is faster and more athletic than recent years, which is a big step in the right direction. But one step forward, two steps back with the offense. Just hours after watching the 14-year-old Block flawlessly run a precision Wing-T attack and commit nary a turnover in his high school varsity debut, it`s mind-boggling to see two Washington quarterbacks commit five turnovers and look as if they`d just been introduced to their teammates. What the heck have the Huskies been practicing the past six months?
* As the game ends, Fresno State players gather in the end zone to celebrate with their fans. I used to take note of these post-game parties. It once was significant when other teams danced in Husky Stadium.
No more. I`ve seen it too often in recent years. Apparently, others have, too. The stadium is nearly empty as the teams depart the field.
Maybe everybody is tired. It was a long weekend. I know I`ve seen enough football to last me awhile. At least, I think, until this coming weekend when the high schools play again and the Cougs come to town to face Colorado, and the Seahawks gather in New Orleans for their season opener.
Ahh, praise the Lord, it`s football season. And we`ve only just begun.
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