VICTORY! Moving On!

 

SRHS Senior Football Players: Special Group 

 

 

Little BIG Man: Zach Perkins 

 

 

Big Brad DeMarco (Baseball) 

 

Here are a few photographs I took with my cell phone on Friday night.  This was our last home (regular season) game, and it was actually SENIOR NIGHT as well.  Every senior football player (and their parents) were honored on this night.  It's funny, I always thought this class was special,  but some of these kids have surprised even me.  Brad DeMarco started out being soft as cotton, but this kid turned out to be a real beast, and I hope to watch him at the next level someday.  Zach Perkins is not going to over power anyone, but there is not a finer long snapper in all of Florida.  We depend on Zach for ANYTHING dealing with our kicking game, and we are really going to miss him.   Mr. AUTOMATIC on every snap.  Amazing.  As you can see from the above photograph, we have a very large senior class, so all these kids will be moving on.  It is always bitter sweet for me, because I remember each of these kids coming into our program.  However, we hope that the "Lessons In Life" we try to teach the kids will stay with them the rest of their lives.  This is when all coaches get paid.  If any of you guys have followed my blog for any length of time, you will completely understand this statement.  Coach Wilson was PAID IN FULL on Friday night.   

 

Last night I promised I would tell you more about the game.  Truthfully, we did not know much about East Ridge (ER) High School, for I think Randy picked up the game late in the scheduling process.  We had some video on them, so we prepared for them just like we would for any opponent.   ER arrived to our stadium very late as far as we were concerned.  I think they finally arrived at around 6PM....and we played at 7PM.  By then, Coach Miller and I were well into our usual pre-game for skill kids.  I greeted the other team with a nod as I usually do, and I noticed the opposing coach walking towards me near the center of the field.  He asked me if they could borrow a couple of balls to warm up with, for they had accidentally forgot to bring their footballs.  Of course, I obliged with a couple of our Spalding balls knowing full well Randy would not mind at all.  I was thinking to myself: "Bethel would FIRE me if I forgot our footballs")  We finished our warm-ups and everyone went inside as usual. 

 

 

Pre-Game Prayer.  Don't like it?  Tough! 

 

Randy surprised us all and asked Coach Wilson (DANK) to give the players their pre-game speech before taking the field.  This has never happened before.  Usually, this is a time for Randy (alone) to address the players before the game.  So, the rest of us coaches decided to crowd into our locker room to witness Dank address the team on this special night.  The room was deathly quiet as Dank began speaking.  He started out slowly and his voice quivered slightly as he spoke to the kids for the last time in his career.  The room was so full of emotion, for all of us were witnessing a life-changing event as the hall-of-famer was speaking.  Tears filled my eyes as Dank slowly explained that it was his time to move on, but he wanted to leave them with one last story.  (Dank told this story, and I will have it posted on You-Tube by the end of the week.)  After Dank finished speaking, I was ready to play myself. 

 

We began the game a little flat truthfully.  However, we quickly gained control and kicked the shit out of them.  Their players were a little mouthy, and baited our players into altercations all game long.  They had nothing to lose, and we had EVERYTHING to lose.  If a player was thrown out of a game Friday night, that would mean they were through for the rest of the season, and it almost happened......several times.  In fact, my boy Mason retaliated against one of their players, and had a flag thrown on him.  I jumped his ass pretty hard as he came off the sideline, because we cannot afford to lose ANYBODY from our already thin lineup.  Once he cooled down, I am sure he saw it my way.  I was glad when the final seconds ran off the clock, and we got off the field clean.

 

At halftime, we honored Dank at mid-field.  Mr Stutzke pre-recorded a long message in honor of Coach Wilson listing all of his accomplishments.  Dank was surrounded by all his family, current players and former players from both Sebastian and Vero Beach.  Stutzke presented Dank with a special plaque, and allowed him to speak to the crowd one last time.  When it was over, Dank led our players in one special chant for the crowd.  It was a beautiful ceremony, and I was so happy for him.  It must be a special feeling to have so many people love you like that. 

 

We have continued our preparation for Palm Bay Heritage.  They seem to have a lot of athletes at every position, and we have our hands full.  I will keep you filled in all week long. 

 

Later.

GZ