On the third play of the game, Coach put the ball in the hands of the Senior Fullback, Clayton Young. Young gashed the Raiders for nearly 80 yards and the Ranburne TD. But, the Center snapped the ball over the holder's head on the failed PAT attempt. And even though we were up 6, this was a sign of things to come.
The Raiders answered with a touchdown drive of their own. Their PAT attempt fell short, leaving the score knotted at 6 all. Then, PV took a 7 point lead in the second quarter. The Dogs matched their score, going in at the half tied at 13.
The second half was as equally hard-fought. Ranburne was able to find the end zone again to take the lead. Again, they failed to convert on the PAT. In the 4th, the Raiders score 7.
Ranburne has the ball on their 21 with exactly ten minutes remaining in the game. A penalty moved them back making it 1st and 15 from the 16. They marched down the field, eating up yards and clock, all the way down to the PV 19. A miscue on first down brought up 2nd and 10. We lost a yard on the next play. Another mistake on the third down play set up 4th and 11 from our 18. QB Edwards scrambled for seven yards, and that would be the last chance for the Bulldog Offense.
Our guys played hard, but fell 20-19 to the Raiders. Mistakes, penalties, dropped passes, alignment problems, etc. proved to be too much to overcome. That's how it goes for teams that are young and rebuilding. They have to be perfect. The execution has to be spot on. They can't afford mistakes.
Not to take anything away from PV. They were big and strong and played hard. They definitely weren't the same team that woodland used to beat a hundred and fifty million to six. But, we should have won.
It was hard to watch. I found myself remembering Coach's first few years at Woodland. Those days were even worse. After finishing 5-6 his first year, the Cats were an abismol 2-8 in 2003. And they didn't lose by a point or two. They were hammered weekly by scores of 55-6 and 48-8. We survived that. We'll survive this too.
Again. It was hard to watch, and I walked down to the fence after the game feeling as defeated as the guys in purple and white. But, as I stood there with Coach, someone walked up to offer some encouragement to him saying, "...hang in there. We are proud to have you and we love you."
That reminded me what were doing here, in Ranburne. Teams don't wake up one day and suddenly can't lose. It's a process. It takes time. And they'll get there if they're willing to put in the effort and the hours.
As bad as I hate losing, I walked out of that stadium feeling pretty good about things. It's such a blessing to get to see that not only can Coach make a difference, but some people actually appreciate what he's doing for those kids. There are things more important than winning. So...yeah. It's great to be a Ranburne Bulldog.
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| Coach and the Ranburne Quarterbacks |
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