Ho Hum, Yet Another State Title...

Wylie won its fifth straight state title in the Class 3A team tennis state this weekend. It was also the Bulldogs' 10th in 12 years. The only difference between this year and what they've done in years past is this year the team tennis tournament was held in Abilene. I thought it was kind of funny, probably the last thing the state's most dominant 3A tennis program needed was a home court advantage.

We've had really nice weather in the area the last couple of weeks, but of course this weekend with a baseball and tennis tournament scheduled it was cold and rainy. Not a great start for the first year the team tennis tournament was held in Abilene. Though it didn't really matter where it was held there was a black raincloud over the whole state this weekend, so even if it were held someplace else it would have been wet. Luckily there are a bunch of covered courts at the two local country clubs and at ACU. So, even in the rain they were able to get matches in, but instead of playing 19 matches they played nine, and they played pro sets (one 8-game set) instead of regular matches. Well, it wasn't ideal, but at least the teams got to play.

Wylie's run in the match was pretty much what was expected. They blew through all of the early matches and faced Lucas Lovejoy in the championship match. one thing about Lovejoy was they were at least expected to give them a decent match. And, a couple of them were. There were a couple good doubles matches and one good boys singles match, but again, Wylie ended up winning rather easily, only losing one match, out of the six played. Well, that was one more that they lost then last year, but still a pretty dominating performance and they won't be playing Lovejoy next year who will be moving up to 4A. Well, despite being the overwhelming favorite, there was still a nice celebration after the clinching win.

State Volleyball, Championship Day, Game 2...

I'll be honest, after seeing Lucas Lovejoy the day before I didn't expect Wylie to have a much of a chance in this game. I was thinking this would be three quick games and Wylie being "just happy to have made it there." I mean, Lovejoy had 5 players over 5'11, most being 6'1-6'2, and they could just KILL the ball. Wylie on the other hand, has no one taller than 5'11 and only one that tall. Wow, I must say the humble pie that I ate at the end of the match was rather bitter. Watching them play was sort of a David vs. Goliath moment. It was really good to see they went down fighting, and Lovejoy was a lot more sore than they had expected.

Given the way that Wylie started out slow in their previous two matches I'd seen them play at state, I thought it would happen again. But the Lady Bulldogs came out swinging and played one hell of a match. The first game they ended up losing very close. Then, they came back and won the next one. I must say, as much as I've complained about volleyball in the past, this may have been one of the best matches I've ever seen. Much like the way my views on soccer changed last year, I think I may be coming around on my views of volleyball (at least the well-played types of games).

They ended up going back and forth and Lovejoy's size difference was mostly being negated by Wylie playing really great and using the great fundamentals that got them there, the good passing, setting and digging that many teams take for granted. In the fourth game Wylie game out guns blazing, taking a big lead quick and while they nearly lost the lead there at the end, they pulled it off and forced a fifth game.

Game five, however, didn't go as expected. Lovejoy took a quick lead, and when the final game only is played to 15, a quick lead is a high mountain to climb. They ended up losing the match, but they did prove they were the second-best team in Class 3A, and with a few breaks the results may have been a little different, but they showed a lot of heart in going down fighting and since the core of the players on the team were juniors or sophomores, I may be making another trip to San Marcos next year. Though I doubt it will be kicking and screaming like I have in the past when given volleyball assignments.

Deja Vu...

So, a week after Wylie blew a lead in the second half they played Lucas Lovejoy and... did it again. For the second week in a row they played really well in the first half and just couldn't get things going in the second half. A lot of this has to do with injuries, it seems like every week another lineman goes down to injury, that makes it tough when it comes down to chemistry, constantly changing personnel makes it tough. That problem leads to holes in the line and the quarterback spending much of the game running for his life. So, when you put all those factors together you can hide it for a little while, but by the second half after you put all the halftime adjustments together, things just seem to fall apart... again.

By the skin of their teeth...

After spending the night in Arlington, Saturday was a trip south to Waco to cover Wylie to cover the Class 3A state semifinal football game against Lucas Lovejoy. The winner of this game would play in the Class 3A Division I state championship game the following week. This was Wylie's third straight trip to the state semifinals. The previous two years they lost, once being stopped on the three yard line losing by four, then last year they gave up a 2-point conversion to lose the game by 1. Well this year, I guess the third time's a charm. In what was probably the most exciting game of the year (I think I'd give this one the slight edge over the Brownwood/Graham game since this was a playoff game).

The game didn't start out all that great for Wylie, the defense was playing well, but the offense was making all kinds of mistakes, bad decisions, bad throws etc. But, the second half was a different story. One thing I've always noticed about Wylie is that they always seem to make great halftime adjustments, and this game was no different. Lovejoy went down the field and scored a touchdown with 2:24 to go. Then Wylie got the ball, down by three and made a great drive down the field scoring a touchdown with 8 seconds left on a really nice play. After this, I don't even pay attention to the field. The shot of the game is going to be reaction. Since the kid who caught the winning touchdown was playing defense I found the starting quarterback who threw the pass. My camera was pretty much trained on him for the kickoff and final play of the game. I have no idea how the game ended, the play didn't matter. But I go the reaction shot I was looking for of the players running on the field as time expired. I can read about the last play of the game in the game story.