Before I write about the football game, I need to address the National Anthem; it will take you less than 2 minutes to read my rant.
I will always stand, remove my hat if I am wearing one, and put my right hand over my heart. I really don’t care what you do. All I ask is for you to show respect.
I have covered private schools a lot this year and last year and I don’t believe in what they believe in, but when they say a pregame or postgame prayer, I don’t turn my back and tie my shoes, I show respect by bowing my head and saying my own little prayer. When I was the manager of the Clark high school basketball team, the team always kneeled and said the Lords Prayer; I always respected them, bowed my heard, and said my own little prayer.
Lastly, it shouldn’t be anybody’s business what you do, but yourself.
On Friday, I made my first visit to San Antonio Christian and it was my first time seeing the football team. One of the main reasons why I enjoy private school football is the tremendous support of the fans; it felt like a huge family at San Antonio Christian. I was really impressed with the San Antonio Christian band; they played lots of familiar rock and roll songs and several times throughout the night, I was dancing and singing.
According to FieldTurf.com, an anonymous donor funded a new artificial turf for San Antonio Christian School’s football and soccer field, named in honor of school supporter Greg Hotchkiss. Hotchkiss, whose son Austin will start his senior year as an offensive lineman passed away suddenly last year. “We had a donor who wanted to fund this field because they knew that if Greg Hotchkiss had the ability, he would’ve done it in an instant,” Brandon Parrott, the Athletic Director said. In remembrance, the school named the stadium Greg Hotchkiss Memorial Field and installed a new synthetic turf.
Man, that is such an amazing and inspiring thing that donor did.
Although I didn’t get the chance to run around barefoot or fall down on that new turf, it sure did feel nice on my New Balance sneakers.
The stadium itself wasn’t spectacular or fancy, but it was very adequate for a football game; it had stands on both sides, a small press-box with no elevator; I climbed up the home stands with no hand rails to see the Texas Sports Radio Network crew, there was a concession stand, there were bathrooms, they had some food trucks. and lots of tents with different classes of San Antonio Christian high school. Several fans brought their own chairs and sat just behind the chain linked fence.
Normally this is where I would talk about the game and provide stats, but that won’t be happening for this article. It’s my anniversary weekend and I am looking forward to spending time with my wife and 17 month old son.
So, I guess I have to tell you who won the game; well, the final, score was San Antonio Christian 24 and Austin St. Michaels 14. San Antonio Christian is now 3-1, 2-0 in TAPPS 3-II; they play Holy Cross on Saturday at Harlandale Memorial stadium. Austin St. Michael’s is now 2-4, 0-2 in TAPPS 3-II; they play Austin Hyde Park at home on Thursday.
On Friday, I will be at Comalander stadium as the MacArthur Brahmas play the Madison Mavericks. MacArthur’s senior quarterback is Tyler Vitt and he has 1,339 passing yards and 420 rushing yards with 16 total touchdowns. Madison’s junior quarterback is Dante Heaggans and he has 655 passing yards and 748 rushing yards with 18 total touchdowns. I got 2 dual threat quarterbacks and I can’t wait to see them both live and up close.
If you want to share my photos, all I ask is for you to either give me credit or tag me on Twitter @statmanspeaks or Facebook @ The Statman Speaks. The entire photo galley for the game can be found here: https://thestatmanspeaks.smugmug.com/High-School-Football/Football-Games-2017/Austin-St-Michaels-at-SA-Christian-10062017/.
Here are some photos from the game:
