The Alamodome is one of my favorite stadiums for high school football. No matter what the attendance is, it is always loud! I have seen the Dome full of 60,000 screaming college fans for an Alamo Bowl game and 35,000 screaming Spurs fans for a basketball game; man the energy and atmosphere is unbelievable when the Dome is rockin! No need to worry about the weather since it is a Domed indoor stadium and the temperature year round is 70 degrees. As I was approaching the loading dock of the Dome last night, I could feel the a/c blasting and it felt great since it was super hot outside. The Dome was also my home for 3 years when I worked for the Spurs, so I am very familiar with the building. Plus, I never have had any issues parking or getting past security.
I worked a game at Southwest stadium and the ticket lady at the gate wouldn’t let me in! She was asking for my credentials, which I have never had one issued! I was like, come on lady, I can show you my markers, my stat board, or just look at my t-shirt (it had the TSRN logo on it). I was almost gonna say why else would a 30 year old male come to Southwest stadium (which was a nice long drive to begin with) on a Friday evening with a backpack full of supplies, duct tape, and wire ties? Maybe I had another purpose!!! She was gonna make me buy a ticket and I just happened to be running very low on cash that week. Luckily, a Southwest basketball coach saw me and let me in; he said she was just on a really high ego power trip!!!
Back to the game last night. I couldn’t hear a word the broadcasters said even though I was standing right next to them! It was an awesome game to work and kinda sad since this was the last game they get to play as High School football players.
The majority of the players involved in the game last night will be playing collegiate ball and a select few may get the chance to play on Sunday’s! That is really cool! I saw Vince Young play in the US Army All American bowl in 2002 at Alamo stadium when he was a Senior at Houston Madison High School. He had a brilliant career at UT Austin where he won a national championship in 2005 and is currently playing for the Buffalo Bills. I actually found myself in a Best Buy parking lot listening to the NFL Draft on SiriusXM satellite radio so I could know what team picked him up; I am serious!!!
Besides the kids from San Antonio, I didn’t recognize any of the other names. I know I won’t be able to mention every player, so I am including a link to view the roster for the south and north squads.
We were provided with rosters and starting line-ups. But, the starting line-ups only had the players name. So, Bobby and I had to write in the jersey number, school, weight, and height for both teams.
Several years ago, I worked a Judson Vs San Benito with Bobby Stautzenberger in San Benito. The San Benito coaches did provide us with rosters and a starting line-up, but all the numbers were incorrect. The scouts had the same problem! We literally had to get the numbers for the San Benito team during the first few plays of the game. That sucked and I think the coaching staff did it on purpose. That was also the only time we stayed overnight at a hotel! San Benito is far away!!!
All star games are always challenging for me since I am not familiar with the players. I was talking out loud to myself the entire game; basically it was the name and number of the player that had the ball. As the game went on, I got more familiar with the players. Some players wore there jerseys so high that it was impossible to grab the jersey number. When that happened, I had to rely on the broadcasters, the replay screen, or one of crew members who was sitting behind me.
The south team was coached by Mike Jinks from Cibolo Steele High School. Several San Antonio players were on the South. Rex Dausin, from Warren High school, was the starting quarterback. He was 9 for 19 passing for 85 yards with 2 interceptions and 1 touchdown; he didn’t look sharp. Rex will be attending the University of Houston. Jake Wilcox, from Reagan High school , was the kicker. Jake suffered a very early concussion last night after he was tackled by an opposing player. I would have liked to see him showcase his leg; last season he nailed a 58 yard field goal and that tied a record. He will be an Incarnate Word Crusader.
I was really impressed by Trent Mormon from Hempstead High school. Trent caught the touchdown pass from Dausin on a 4th down with 3 defenders covering him. He has great hands for the ball and will be talking those impressive hands to Aggieland!
Nineteen players touched the ball for the south team. But, they really struggled in all facets of the game.
The north team was coached by Hugh Sandifer from Abilene Wylie High school. Aiavion Edwards, from Stephenville High school, was one of the running backs. He had 9 carries for 77 yards and 1 touchdown. He will be a Baylor Bear! Matt Bishop, from Aledo High school, was the starting quarterback. Aledo has won 3 consecutive state championships and he had Jonathan Gray in the backfield. Gray had 1,209 carries for 10,881 yards and 189 touchdowns. I didn’t have the opportunity to see him play in high school, but I am sure I will see him play for the Longhorns and the NFL!
Seventeen players touched the ball for the north team. They looked faster and more prepared.
The north defeated the south by a score of 30-16, but it wasn’t that close.
Usually, I am one of the last people to leave the stadium so when I left to grab our TSRN banner, I glanced up at the press-box and laughed; there were several members of the media all typing on there laptops writing there particular story of the game.
Officially, the 2011 High School football is completed. Wow!!!
Start the countdown for the 2013 High School football season….29 days!!!!
My next game is on August 30th at Heroes stadium for Thursday Night Lights as the MacArthur Brahmas host the Warren Warriors.
Oh my gosh, I almost forget something. Broadcasting the game last night was an ALL STAR crew from San Antonio, Houston, and Ft. Worth. It was me, Bobby Stautzenberger, Mark Kusenberger, Lynn Michaels, Jimmy Montomery, Chris Tiller, Dan Morgan, and John Frow. Lynn is the Houston TSRN guru and he bought this up during the post game show. Wow. Pretty cool and I was apart of it.
Tomorrow night, I will have my thoughts on the East Central Hornets, the number 5 ranked preseason team by the Express News.
On Friday night, I will share my story of how I got started as a television statistician.
I am going to write about each game I work this season and they will appear on my BLOG on Saturday’s and Sunday’s.