Now, it is time to talk about 2012 High School football season.
I can’t believe the O’Connor Panthers and the Steele Knights won the 5A Division I and II state championship games yesterday in Arlington, TX at Cowboys stadium!!! Dude, those games were awesome!!
Man, that would’ve been a great beginning to an article, but unfortunately, O’Connor and Steele both lost last week in the state semi-finals. So, instead of doing my brilliant stat work yesterday in Arlington, I attended my wife’s holiday work party (if you get sick, stop by one of the clinics and they will be make you feel a lot better). It also gave me a full week to gather my thoughts and write down a bunch of words about the 2012 High School football season!
I really expected at least one San Antonio team to make it to Arlington. Steele got us there in 2010 (they won) and 2011 (they lost), so yeah I was a bit disappointed. But, I wasn‘t going to breakdown and check myself in to a “football rehab!” Well, maybe a little bit on Friday evening when I unpacked the football backpack full of supplies and put everything in a box in the closet.
Besides the Steele Knights in 2010 and 2011, the Alamo Heights won the state state championship in 2006 and the Judson Rockets won the state championship in 2002; those are the only 4 state championship games that I had the privilege to be at! I did work another state championship in 2002 but it wasn’t for a San Antonio team.
Two teams that did make it to Arlington this weekend for the state championship were the Cedar Park Timberwolves and the Houston Lamar Redskins. I saw the Cedar Park Timberwolves play in Week 14 against the Brennan Bears and in that article, I said, I wouldn‘t be surprised if they won the state championship!! Hey, guess what? The Cedar Park Timberwolves won the 4A Division II state championship on Friday evening!! On Saturday evening, the Houston Lamar Redskins (I saw them play in Week 15) played in the 5A Division I state championship game; they lost to the Allen Eagles (the team that has a 60 million dollar football stadium).
It was an awesome season and I am so lucky that I got to witness it, work it, and write about it! I got a great gig!!!
I worked 34 games (which included 2 games on 11/17 and 12/8 at the Dome) and drove over 1,300 miles to stadiums all around San Antonio and out of town stadiums in New Braunfels (they have a red turf), San Marcos, and Austin. My GPS worked perfectly to guide me to East Central, Boerne, and Austin.
Sigh of relief that I had no car issues, no incidents with police officers, and no accidents (I have had all that crap happen to me in previous seasons)! The only issue I had was the fact that my feet hurt after each game (I am serious)…I stand when I do stats, so next year, I will look for a better and more comfy pair of shoes to wear!
I am gonna tell you something that I should probably keep it a secret, but it was a first for me and it also happened during a high school football game so I feel obligated!! I am very good at managing my bathroom breaks so I don’t miss anything on the field. But, man, at one particular game at Farris stadium this season, nature was calling so I had to answer it and I missed a few plays and a touchdown!!! Bobby and Tony were looking for the drive summary so I wrote on my little dry erase board, “???? NO CLUE NATURE CALLED.” That got a good chuckle out of Bobby and Tony!!
Looking back at all the games I worked and each blog post I wrote, I am going to pick the upset game of the year, the almost upset game of the year, the weather game of the year, the weirdest game of the year, and the game of the year.
UPSET OF THE YEAR
Super easy choice as it was a Week 4 game between Monterrey Tech and the Wagner Thunderbirds at Rutledge stadium. Wagner had a commanding lead of 24 to 0 going into the 4th quarter, but Monterrey Tech never gave up and they scored 27 points in the 4th quarter and won the game 27 to 24! It was an unbelievable collapse by Wagner.
ALMOST UPSET OF THE YEAR
I gotta pick a Week 2 game between the Judson Rockets and the Steele Knights at Lehnoff stadium. Even though Steele won the game by a score of 42 to 35, had Judson not had 5 turnovers, I know the Rockets would‘ve won the game.
WEATHER GAMES OF THE YEAR
I worked a game in Week 2 at the Spring Sports Complex between the Lanier Voks and the Pleasanton Eagles. Luke Walters, the Pleasanton quarterback, was having a great game…15 for 21 passing for 240 yards and 5 touchdowns. Unfortunately, Luke was stopped as the game was called with 9:37 left in the 3rd quarter due to lightening. The only negative was since this was a television game, we had to stay on the air till 10pm!
In Week 5, I worked an O’Connor and Jay at Farris stadium where it didn’t get called early, but instead it rained all game long. On the drive to the stadium, I had to stop at 2 gas stations to fill her up (the first gas station had computer issues and the pumps were down) and as I left the 2nd gas station, it was raining so hard, that I couldn’t see the lane dividers…this was also the first time that I actually thought I was gonna be late to the game.
WEIRDEST GAME OF THE YEAR
I worked a Brandeis Bronco and Warren Warrior game at Gustafson stadium in Week 2. When these teams play, you don’t expect to see 36 total penalties for 224 total yards, but that is exactly what happened at this game. In my article, I complained about the officiating and well, guess what happened? The head official found my article and emailed me…he found my comments offensive. After several email exchanges, he told me he works the replay booth at UTSA Football games. Wait a minute, our Spanish radio booth for UTSA Football games is next to the replay booth…oh, shit, I am gonna have to meet him!! When I did finally meet him, he was super nice and friendly and we talked football…never even bought up the Brandeis/Warren game.
GAME OF THE YEAR
How can I not pick a game that had 5 players over 100 yards of offense, 14 touchdowns, 45 first downs 101 points, 122 plays, and 1,027 yards? One of the teams got there first win in 11 games against the opponent and it was also a state quarterfinal playoff game!! All this happened just 3 weeks ago in Week 14 as the O’Connor Panthers finally defeated the Madison Mavericks by a score of 52-49! Gosh, this was an awesome game to work and is definitely one of the top 10 games I have ever worked. There were a ton of big plays by both teams.
I kinda got caught-up in the O‘Connor fever every time they scored and saw myself cheering for them; I mean this was my 6th Panther football game so I was very familiar with the team and they are a really fun team to watch.
The Judson Rockets are the only team that I saw more than O’Connor this season. Rutledge stadium is my home away from home and it is very nice that the athletic staff and press-box officials know who I am. Going to a Rocket football game is something that everyone should experience at least once in there lifetime…atmosphere is electric, goose-pimply, and MOJO is always in the air.
Expectations are always set high for the Rockets and they have won the state championship 5 times; that is pretty awesome; the most recent coming in 2002 and I was there! I will always remember the play that won it like it happened yesterday…Dustin Quinney to Andre Williams for a wide open 76 yard touchdown reception. Wow!!!
I am really interested to see what Judson quarterback, Rayjohn Austin-Ramsey does in the offseason with coach Mark Smith. Can Ramsey become a Johnny Manziel protoype?
I saw one particular player make his debut on a Thursday Night Lights television game in 2010 as a freshman. His team won the state championship in 2010 (I was there), lost in 2011 (I was there), and in 2012, they lost in the state semi-finals. What will happen in 2013? Oh, I guess, I should tell you who he is; cause trust me folks, he will be the best player in San Antonio next season and you will hear and read his name a lot! It is Steele Knight running back, Justin Stockton!!! I think he is better than Malcolm Brown
I am excited to see Alamo stadium next season after it finally gets some much needed renovations.
See, I am already getting myself ready for next season. I can’t wait till August!! My High school football blog will return next summer; it will be better, bigger, and bolder!!!
Thank you Ernie Zuniga, Wane McGarity, Dave Ostmo, Ralph Lopez and the rest of the TNL crew members for 10 electrifying weeks of football games.
Thank you Bobby Stautzenberger, Tony Franklin, Mark Kusenberger (I worked with Bobby, Tony, and Mark for the majority of the TSRN football games), and the rest of the TSRN crew members for 15 unbelievable weeks of football games.
Thank you Lorne Chan and Blake Hurtik from the San Antonio Express News.
Thank you Carl Padilla from the Padilla Poll.
Thank you to all of my Inside the Huddle guest bloggers…Mark Kusenberger, Virgil Peterson, Derrick Hayes, Dave Parker, Mark Thomas, and Texas Bob.
A HUGE THANKS to my sweet wife, Nina.
Last but not least, I want to THANK YOU.
Next season marks my 5th year for TNL TV games and my 17th year for TSRN radio games. Wow!!! Is there a Hall of Fame for statisticians?
On Wednesday, I will share my New Years resolutions/blog expectations.
And, on Friday, January 4th, I am going to debut a High School basketball blog for the St. Anthony Yellow Jackets.
