Well, the Hutto Hippos did not win the state championship. They sure played well against a team that seemed loaded with more speed, size, and talent (did I mention speed?) at several skill positions. Somehow the Hippos found a way to move the line of scrimmage, several times springing a run right up the middle for several yards (a few of which were long touchdowns, of 41 and 51 yards). At the end of the second quarter we punted to Tatum (you see I've left the objective journalist angle far behind) and it bounced into a player and one of our guys picked up the punt and ran into the endzone, increasing Hutto's lead. But the refs for some reason called it a dead ball. The problem with the call, I guess, is that I think the refs blew the play dead as the Hutto player was picking up the fumble. When that happens, if even if it's a terrible mistake like a ball becoming live after it touches a player's foot, the play is over. When the ref blows his whistle, you can stop running. Hutto's defense, however, stopped the team from scoring, though, and they got the ball again and scored. Hutto put together a drive that seemed to show them back in control, leading 19-10. They kicked off to one of Tatum's skill players, who ran it back straight up the middle for an 87-yard touchdown. Then, in a brilliant coaching move, Tatum kicked a pooch kick that our player fumbled, giving Tatum the ball near the 30-yard line. In a few plays, Tatum has put up 14 points, making the half-time score 19-25. Hutto came out in the third quarter and scored on another run by Shiloh Wampler (21 yards). This kid lost his dad midway through the season to a heart attack suffered on a police training course during an academy tryout. The local paper ran a real heartwarming story on the front page of the sports section yesterday about how this kid played his heart out this year, often looking up in the stands and expecting to see his dad. Many fathers in the community had taken to wearing big black cowboy hats like Wampler's dad as a way to show support. This kid deicated the game to his dad and he sure played like it, running through tackles like he refused to go down. Late in the fourth quarter, after seven (yes, 7) lead changes, Hutto had the ball with just under 3 minutes to go and about 80 yards for the state championship. I happen to know the offensive coordnator (who was the husband of one of my wife's close buddies from Nursing School), and while he called a terrific game with good strategic moves all night, I'm not sure why he changed to a passing-only strategy after a whole game of running the ball. He must've thought the pass was the only way to win this game at this point. It's hard to blame him when you've got a shorter Vince Young kind of player at quarterback. Jeremy Kerly is one of those competitive players that practically refuses to lose. An important first down was made early on in this final drive on a key third down scramble. Perhaps with few timeouts and so much yardage to make up, it seemed like the passing game was the best way to go. I would have loved to have seen the game put in the hands of another player who wouldn't give up, though, one Shiloh Wampler on a draw play. The Tatum defensive line was able to pin its ears back and rush the quarterback, and the last two plays of the Hutto 2005 season were quarterback sacks. The last snap was rushed and barely got off as the clock went down to zero seconds. After a mad scramble, he was down, the Tatum bench was on the field, and the game was over. It was shocking and numbing to watch as spectators (one can only imagine living the moment as players). Just like that many of these senior players' football playing days were over. This was a 3A class title game, and while some of these players had enough talent to possibly compete on an NCAA Division I level, for most high schoolers at this level, this is as far as they go.
All in all, it was fun to watch our local high school chase the dream of a state championship. It was cool to pack into 3 school buses with many of the small town's population (which is growing exponentially; and at one time this year was the #1 fastest growing city in all of America) show their support by trekking all the way to Irving, TX for this matchup. High school football is truly a phenomenon in our culture. It makes for great memories. I enjoyed looking over at my daughters, ages 7 and 9, and seeing them chanting and shouting along with the stands as we cheered the Hippos on.
I hope our local Texas Longhorns do better in their pursuit of a national championship. It's funny, but the Hippos have UT burnt orange as its school colors, and even co-opt the Texas fight song as its own.
Tomorrow morning we'll walk the property of the land we're trying to buy to move the office building onto. One of the owners will be there to show exactly where the boundaries are, etc.
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at December 18, 2005 02:38 PM