Back to Football Doubleheader, game 2...

The nightcap of the Arlington football doubleheader between Abilene and Arlington was Abilene High playing Arlington Lamar. On paper this game wasn't going to be close at all Abilene was coming in with an unblemished record and Lamar had a .500 season and barely squeaked out a win in their previous playoff game. But, like they always say, that's why they play the game instead of just playing it on paper.

Lamar came out in the game swinging. With their two big wide receivers they were able to move up and down the field. The Abilene High defense was playing well and the Eagle offense was moving the ball pretty well too. But Lamar was making it a game. A few key turnovers were what was keeping the Eagles in the lead at halftime, but Lamar didn't look out.

On the opening kickoff of the second half Abilene High took the kick and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown to open things up. That pretty much turned the tide of the game. After Lamar got the ball back they didn't look the same. Abilene then started to move the ball really well both with short passes and grinding the ball out on the ground. The final score was 53-34 with AHS winning the game pretty easily. Looking back the game never really felt in doubt, but up until the latter half of the third quarter Lamar never seemed to be out of it either. It made for a really entertaining game.

Back to Football Doubleheader, game 1...

So, after taking the first week of the football playoffs off to cover state volleyball I was itching to get back to shooting football. The playoffs are six weeks long, but they always seem to fly by, probably because of all the travel and how busy I am. With Thanksgiving coming earlier than normal this year, we were in the second week of the playoffs and most of our 11-man games were being played on Friday. The great part about the Friday after turkey day is since there is no school there are usually afternoon games to cover as well, which means nice light.

Cooper and Abilene High (they're a later post) were playing a doubleheader against a pair of Arlington schools on Friday in Arlington. Cooper had pulled the harder of the two draws playing a good Arlington High team. It was back and forth the whole game and it never looked like the Cougars were able to get into a decent groove. However, they did make quite a few nice plays, which made for some nice photos as well. One of the biggest problems with these games is the light. On one side if the field it is fabulous, then going the other way it is awful. Going into the nice light I didn't have to do much work at all. though when I was looking into the sun, it took a while to get the photos toned right and there were a couple areas of the field I just couldn't shoot at all, that's a pain, but something that needs to be dealt with.

Even though Cooper ended up losing the game 27-20 it was back and forth the whole time, which always makes for a more entertaining game than a blowout, going either way. They had the lead for a lot of the game, but a few stalled drives just couldn't make it work out of them in the end.

State Champs...

After Wylie's 5-set thriller of a volleyball match to make the state finals the day before, it was a wonder how they could top the match they had just played. And, going into the game against #2 ranked La Grange, it was obvious that Wylie would have to play a lot better then they had the day before.

Once again, they came out looking good and winning the first game. Then the two team just went back and forth trading games. Back to another game five. It wasn't looking real good for Wylie from the start. La Grange would jump out to a couple-point lead then Wylie would reel them back in an tie the score. But, the Lady Bulldogs were never able to get the lead. Finally, at the 11th point Wylie took its first lead of the match. A few hitting errors by La Grange and key blocks by Wylie gave the Lady Bulldogs' the school's first state championship in volleyball, which they had only started playing varsity volleyball five years ago.

I've always said it is a lot easier to cover the winning side of the game than the losing side. And, after covering the losing side the past two seasons, this was certainly a lot easier to do, however, I wasn't sure it was going to happen until the final point. The good part about that, is I knew no matter the outcome the emotions were going to be running very high and there would be no shortage of great photos to be made.

State Volleyball Semifinals...

For the third straight year Wylie was playing in the state volleyball tournament. This year was different though. First Wylie was going in as the favorite, being ranked #1 all season long and the team that had beaten them, Lucas Lovejoy, had moved up to Class 4A. On paper this was the Lady Bulldogs' year. And second, the tournament was being played in a new venue in a new city. In the past the tournament was in San Marcos, however with F1 making its return to America in Austin, the state tournament was moved to the Cutris Culwell Center in Garland.

Wylie first game was against Argyle in the semifinals. On paper this should have been a pretty east match for Wylie. But, that's why they don't play the games on paper. Wylie came out pretty strong building a quick lead winning the first two games. Then things started to get tough they lost the next two games and went to a fifth set. Going 5 wasn't unfamiliar for Wylie who had had a 5-set match in both of their state tournament appearances. The problem is, both of their 5-set matches in the past they had lost. This time though, in dramatic fashion, and being only a point away from losing they were able to pull it out. It was an exciting match, to say the least.

State Bound... Again...

Well, after being ranked #1 all season long Wylie was playing for its third straight trip to the state volleyball tournament. What makes it even more amazing is that Wylie has only been playing a varsity volleyball program for five years. So, if they won this match they will have gone to state more than they haven't in the team's history.

However, they were going to have to beat a pretty good Stephenville team, one who they had already beaten twice this season. This was going to both help and hurt the team. The more you play a team the more you learn their strengths and weaknesses. The problem, though, is it happens for both teams. Wylie came out and won the first game pretty easily and I was thinking even Stephenville had played them close both earlier meetings this one may not turn out that way. Then in the second game Wylie lost to tie it up at one game a piece and all of the sudden it was looking like a dog fight.

Half way through the third game it was still looking like a dogfight. But, then Wylie went on a 9-0 run. That pretty much sealed Stephenville's fate and the Lady Bulldogs capitalized on a lot of of mistakes in the fourth game to take the win and qualify for their third straight trip to the state tournament.

Honoring Those Who Serve...

While I never served in the military I have a great respect for those who have. I guess having so many members of my family who currently or have served makes me realize how important members of the military are and how much they are appreciated for all they and all veterans have done for this country. So, despite my often complaining and cynicism as well as my hatred of shooting parades. I'm not going to complain about having to cover the annual Veteran's Day parade.

This year, shooting the Veteran's Day parade was especially humbling. while trying to get some shot of the Dyess airmen marching by while framing them around people waving flags and cheering as they marched by I got a nice shot of a lady and her family waving flags. After checking the LCD screen on the back of my camera I liked the photo and went to get names for my caption information. After talking with her I found out her son had been in the Army and was killed in Action in Iraq four years ago. She told me she was out there to both support the veterans as well as honor her son. Over 13 years here I've dealt with plenty of people, but there are a few that I won't soon forget and Aurora Fernandez is one of them. I couldn't imagine losing a child like that and she was out there with her family honoring him, it was touching.

Busy Day Evening Edition...

So, after finishing up at volleyball I needed to hop in my car and quickly make the 90 mile trip back to Abilene to shoot Wylie's final regular season football game of the season. They were playing Sweetwater in a game that probably wasn't going to be close so showing up last wasn't going to work. I ended up getting to the game about 15 minutes before kickoff which gave me just enough time to fight through the traffic and drop my computer off in the press box and be on the field for kickoff.

The game wasn't that bad, but it was obvious early on that Sweetwater was over matched. Wylie is just damn good this year. In the first half though Sweetwater had a good game plan and was keeping things from getting totally out of hand. But, in the second half the Bulldogs blew things wide open and left no doubt who was the district champions.