The Beat Goes On
Sorry for the late notice but if you don’t know by now, we, the Oak Ridge Wildcats got another win last Friday night 49-14 against the Cookeville Cavaliers to advance to the quarterfinals of the division 6A TN State Playoffs.
We took our show on the road yet another week, leaving right after school to take an hour and some change bus ride (chartered during playoffs, sweeeeeeet) to Cookeville, TN which included an hour time change to the Central Time Zone of the world and put us in position for our game. Therefore, the game started at 7 Central/8 Eastern Time and it seems as though that’s how we played. Our team came out flat as if an hour had already passed fumbling on the first play of the game, throwing an interception for a touchdown on our 3rd drive and being down 14-7 at the end of the 1st quarter in our game. It was quite the wake up call on the road and facing possibly the end of our season in the 2nd round. Nevertheless, our players fought back and had a lead at halftime 21-14 despite (not the greatest) field conditions, cold temperatures and a time change that took effect on our football team. We went into the locker room at half, made some adjustments, refocused our team and put our team goals into perspective on how this 2nd half would develop.
After coming out after halftime with even colder temperatures, a more focused team and a great supporting community that travelled with us, we put everything on the line to keep our season alive. Our defense decided to leave it all on the field causing 3 three turnovers and our offense came alive scoring on 4 out of 5 possessions in the second half including a fake punt that gave us momentum mid 3rd quarter which resulted in the final score of 49-14 Oak Ridge.
THA THRILLA IN MANILA PART 2
If you know a little bit about boxing you know about the “Thrilla in Manila” was the third and final boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier for the Heavyweight Boxing Championship of the World which took place in the Philippines.
I have tagged this football game in comparison to this historical event because of its proportion to each respect school, the teams, the rivalry and the season. Today the Oak Ridge Wildcats will be on the road facing the Riverdale Warriors (12-0, #1 in the mid State and #2 team in 6A). Other than the respective records on these two teams for the year, there is an immense amount of rivalry, bad blood and competition between the two schools. Historically, Riverdale has had Oak Ridge’s number bouncing them out of the playoffs numerous times in the late 90’s and early 2000’s up until last year where we went on the road as underdogs and pulled out a 28-21 victory to make a school record 2-5 against the Warriors in playoffs. Needless to say it was unexpected by most, appreciated by some and completely enjoyed by us as we went on to the state semifinals from there.
Now, in this 2011 season, all leads up to a rematch of the same teams, at the same place, with the same goal in mind and all that separates them is 48 minutes of war. There have been words exchanged by them via newspaper articles from last year’s game and there has been a different sense of focus on our part as we prepared for this game. We know what is at stake and know the importance of this game on our season, our community and our goals.
THESE WERE SOME OF MY CLASSROOM DECORATIONS FOR THIS WEEK'S PLAYOFF GAME. THEY GET MORE AND MORE EXTRAVAGANT WITH THE FARTHER WE ADVANCE. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SUPPORT.
48 MINUTES OF WAR
The week of preparation for this week’s game has been a little up and down. With two straight days of rain we were inside the gym for Tuesday and Wednesday, which are considered the hardest workdays. Riverdale is a mostly Wing-T offense which can create some trouble from a defensive standpoint, but can also line up in a spread look as well. The defense has worked extremely hard, so has the scout team on giving a look similar to what they do for the support of our defense. They have had a good week of practice. From an offensive standpoint, with veterans all over the place, we feel as though we can move the ball in a variety ways and have looked sharp this week. It will be on the offensive coaches (including this guy, Coach Rosser) to figure out how they plan to stop us and call plays, which will help our offense be successful. It will be a hard fought game, intense, exciting and will go to the team that executes more efficiently. At this point in the playoffs, there will be very few teams that will win by scheme. It will come down to the players that are more discipline, have a stronger focus, play together and make the fewest mistakes. Needless to say, I will take it back to when I was in high school and use what we called a game, “48 MINUTES OF WAR”. After a two and some change hour bus ride there, I will once again do everything in my power to have our boys excited, pumped and ready to play in what will be the biggest game of the year for us.
We have gone through a tough schedule, this being our 3rd undefeated opponent that is ranked in the top 3 of our district or state, but we are battle tested and battle approved to go into war tonight and leave everything we have on the field. We took our lumps and bruises midway through the season and came out fine. Now we look to click on all cylinders, play as a team and let the cards fall where they may. We will be ready, we will play with heart and passion and we will never give up.
I will be excited travelling back to middle TN where I started my teaching/coaching career and look forward to seeing friends that will come to our game and see the community of Oak Ridge support our team. These are exciting times in the program and just another opportunity to continue to MAKE MEMORIES for these boys, the coaches, the people and the season. We ask for grace and travelling mercy and God’s blessings on our game tonight.
Stay tuned for an update from this great battle in the coming days. Thanks for checking out the blog, stay blessed and keep smiling.
B. Rosser Signing Out
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