Last REGULAR SEASON Monday.

 

Javonte King :  This kid is a Player. 

 

 

Zach Finnegan- Center/Defensive Line

 

These are two of our finest.  I have been touting Javonte King all year long, and I will continue to tout him until he signs with a major college somewhere.  Javonte is a FIERCE hitter, a great team leader, and a fantastic athlete....best of all, he is a great kid.  Javonte has the grades and test scores to go anywhere, and a college would be lucky to have this kid.  He is just special student/athlete. 

 

Zach Finnegan is a Junior Lineman on our team, and he has grown up to be a real beast.  Built like his Dad, Zach is a POWERFUL young center with great feet and great speed for a lineman.  I have always like this kid, and I have watched him turn into a "little-bit-nasty" force on our offensive line.  I often ask him: "Zach, help me out a little with the snap"  when we are having QB/Center exchange issues.  I am sure there is no love lost between him and Hakeem, but Zach always works with me with no questions.  I am sure he gets tired of hearing this, but Zach is Nikko's little brother, so now you understand how great athletes run in this family.  Zach has certainly paved his own way onto our football team.  I am hoping he will stay in-state for college so I can watch him play on Saturday. 

 

Well, it's time to move on.  We won the district outright, so we will host the first round of the playoffs against Palm Bay Heritage.  But first, we have some unfinished business.  We are preparing for our last regular season game against East Lake HS out of Clermont.  Truthfully, we do not know much about them, but they look very big and athletic on video.  Again, we will have our hands full.  Even though this game means nothing to us right now, we must finish the regular season on a high note before entering the playoffs.  Hakeem is a little beat-up right now, so we are trying to rest him for a couple of days.  Austin Hatch took a majority of the snaps today, so we will be just fine.  He came into Friday's game (completely cold) off the bench when Hakeem got hurt, and he drove the team down the field for a touchdown to set the tone for the rest of the game.  We are very lucky to have Austin as our back-up QB. 

 

My leg is feeling a little better right now, but I am still fighting the swelling issue.  I wish I could just prop up the leg and relax for a few days to allow it to heal.  But I can't do that right now.  So, I must suffer the consequences. 

 

I am going to call it quits for tonight. 

 

GZ

 

VICTORY 41-30

 

Great Victory Pose in Endzone

 

 

Raising The Trophy 

 

 

Endzone Banner (Sorry So Blurry)

 

WE WON!  The score was 41-30.  I am just now starting to come down from our emotional victory.  It is amazing how exhausted you become from being on edge the whole week.  Maybe it's the lack of sleep, or maybe it has something to do with all the video I looked at, but the hard work payed huge dividends for the whole team.  I have been getting text messages from everyone I know...from Kentucky, South Carolina to Florida.  We have all worked so long and so hard for this District Championship, and I plan on reveling in the victory until 12 pm tonight.  Then, we must start preparing for East Ridge High School. 

 

Randy stated all week long for the players and coaches to enjoy the big-game atmosphere.  Truthfully, I was just not feeling it.  I was worried sick all week long, and I kept myself awake asking the same questions:  Was this going to be our last chance to win a district championship?  How will our kids respond?  How am I going to handle Hakeem on game night?  How well does Coach Lavelle know us?  How well do we know them?  Did I charge the water cows?  Did I plug in the headphones?  By Friday night, I was in a piss-poor mood.  I was absolutely ready to play ball. 

 

We jumped on them really early.  The defense set us up with a turnover, and we went ahead 3-0 on a 43 Yard field goal (having a quality kicker is awesome.)  Before long, we were up 10-0.  The defense was playing well, and we were moving the ball at will.  We completely gutted their defense with a powerful running game and nice play-action passing from Hakeem.  Our defense was outstanding.  Javonte, Bookie, and James each had an outstanding night.  Big Pork Chop dominated the middle of the line.  I can't mention everyone on the blog, but the entire defense played a fantastic game.  Frankly, we just kicked their ass all night long.  We were well prepared, and this was a quality victory over a quality football team.  Here is a link to read more about the victory.  http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2012/nov/03/sebastian-river-41-south-fork-30-sharks-win-first-/

 

Funny thing.  Now that we are winning, everyone want to be part of the football celebration.  We had all sorts of strangers on the sidelines...many of whom I have never seen before.  Where were all these people when we were 0-3 (including preseason) and struggling?  No one wanted to help me carry my equipment then.  Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the support; however, don't be one of those band-wagon jumpers who only support these kids when we are winning.  If anything, we need MORE support when we are struggling.  It's amazing to me on how many ALABAMA supporters there are in this area.....or any area for that matter.  I love to ask these band-wagon jumpers to name a few of the starters on their "favorite" team.  LOL.  That's life I guess.  Another "Lesson in Life"  People love a winner. 

 

I actually had to ask Marty if the band played on Friday night.  I have to wear the headphones all night long, so I do not hear anything except for the coaches talking or yelling into the headset.  It funny.  All the noise in the stands almost becomes 'white-noise' on the field.  I rarely hear the band, or fans, or cheerleaders during the game.  Most coaches are ultra-focused on the task-at-hand.  I won't hear the band, but I will sure as hell hear Randy as he is screaming for us at the other end of the field! Marty says I have 'Selective Hearing"   I guess she is right. 

 

I know we had a great crowd last night.  The stands were packed.  The atmosphere was electric.  I saw several of our former players hanging around, and it was great to see them all.  Every single one of them had something to do with our victory last night.  They all paved the way for our player's today, and I think it is important for our kids to understand that.  It was good to hear the "Good Jobs" or the "Congratulation Coach" coming from everyone who greeted us after the game.  It has been a long haul for me.  I came to this school when Randy was first hired as Head-Coach, so I have been through all the trials and tribulations with him.  This single victory lifted a huge monkey off our backs, and it has proved to EVERYONE that we know what the hell we are doing.   Hearing "Good Job Coach" sure beats the hell out of "You Guys Suck" 

 

GZ

 

 



 

 

Practice Time is OVER

 

 

Just some random thoughts tonight.  I am nervous as hell.  I just can't watch any more film. I think I know South Fork as well as our own team; however, I feel like I am cheating the team if I don't study some more.  I just got finished with the wrist bands and coaches play call sheets for tomorrow night.  I am absolutely all set to go.  I feel like crap right now.  I want to throw up already. 

I am trying to write something interesting here, but my mind is just not into it.  I feel like I have something to say, but I can't concentrate. 

I know Coach Miller is having a tough night too.  We exchanges a couple of text messages earlier, but it all ended abruptly.  I know he is about to chew his arm off, and he does not want to text either. 

I don't know what the hell is wrong with my damn leg.  It LOOKS better, but it does not FEEL better. 

Talked with Kelsey this evening.  Tried to talk with Kirby, but she was not into it.  I think she was hungry.  I felt better after talking with all three of my girls. 

Funny.  Kristin KNOWS when not to bother me.  She knows I am stressed out and worried about the game.  I will hear more from her after we win tomorrow night.  Kristin has to be the perfect coach's daughter.  She understands me. 

Marty is out of town this week, but she plans on returning tomorrow afternoon before the game.  I have tried to keep the house clean and in good shape, but I am not very good at it.  Its not too bad though. 

That's it.  I can't stand it any longer.  I have to quit writing for tonight.  I am going outside to throw up. 

GZ 

VICTORY 40-6.

 

Hakeem Rainey Feeding The Ball to OJ Jefferson 

 

 

Locker Room Before Game

 

I am pretty proud of the photograph above.  In this photograph, Hakeem is showing near perfect form

in the handoff process.  Look at his eyes.  See the concentration?  See how he is looking the ball into OJ's open pocket?  I call this "Delivering the Mail"  It is a chore to keep the older QB's from taking this process for granted. Notice OJ's open pocket and his arm placement.  We teach the running backs to place their top elbow to the handoff.   OJ's bottom arm is curved like a cradle forming a large pocket to receive the handoff.  All this sounds pretty silly doesn't it.  On the contrary, we try to emphasize the little things, so the big things take care of themselves.  The little things prevents fumbles in the QB/RB exchange. 

 

Have you ever wondered what happens in the locker room before going out onto the field?  In this photograph, #42 James Clark is leading some sort of chant to fire the players up.  #96 is Pork Chop who is really getting into it.  I can't name all the kids, but I heard it from the outside, so I opened the door to take this photograph.  Generally speaking, this is the player's time alone in the locker room, and a coach rarely in there with them.....but we are always close by.  Loud music, hollering, banging on lockers, chanting is all part of it.  Hey. whatever it takes to get fired up right? 

 

We destroyed Forest Hill last Friday night 40-7.  With this victory, we clinched our spot in the playoffs, and the victory also sets up a big showdown with South Fork this coming Friday night.  This game was not even close.  In fact, it could have been much worse.  We jumped on them early and continued to press the gas well into the third quarter. The defense was smothering, and the offense was really clicking.  

 

The whole day was weird if you ask me.  Travelling on a Monday was a big ordeal for us...especially to a school almost two hours away.  Miller and I agreed that the kids looked a little flat during pre-game, and it worried both of us.  The stadium was quiet as a morgue, and the only noise to to be heard was the roar of the cars travelling up and down Hwy 95 in Palm Beach County.  I warned the coaches and players that this was a noisy field, and we all expected to lose our voices trying to holler over the cars, trucks, and jet aircraft landing at Palm Beach International.  I think Forest Hill had about 10 people sitting in the stands, and like I said, the stadium was quiet....except for the ambient noise I just spoke about.  We went down there, did our job, and came back home.  I think I finally arrived home at midnight. 

 

We had a pretty good practice today.  The kids were tired of course, and we had to shake them up a little.  Coach Miller and I started jawing at each other early on during practice.  This jawing got progressively worse as the practice wore on, and it finally came to a head during scout team.  He barked at me, I barked back, and a couple of punches were thrown.  This little escapade definitely got everyones attention....including the coaches.  Then, we both turned around and laughed.  It was all a big set-up that we planned last night during pre-game.  We both agreed that the kids no longer took our jawing seriously, so we had to shake it up a little.  LOL.  Funny as hell.  We both got a big kick out of it.  (If it did go down, I would have pulled out his insulin pump hose, and waited for him to fall out.  He would have kicked my sore leg and waited for me to fall out.)  I love that dude. 

 

This Friday night we are facing South Fork for the District Championship.  This is the biggest game in SRHS history, and it is also one of the biggest games in the area as well.  We deserve to win this championship.  We have paid our dues.  We have worked like dogs to overcome adversity.  Someone has to win it, so why not us?  Our Victory on Friday night will not be an upset.  We EXPECT to win this championship.  It is our destiny.  All of the "Lessons In Life" we have been teaching this year will finally pay off. 

 

Don't miss this game!

 

GZ 

Eventful Day.

 

 

I have just discovered how to post videos on my blog.  Uh-oh.  This may add a whole new dimension to my blogging.  Of course, I will start the videos with the THE NATURE BOY doing what he does best.  WHOOOOOOO!   I am going to have some fun with this new toy. 

 

I had a long day.  Remember last week when I told you about running into my trailer hitch and messing up my knee?  Well, I am paying the price today.  A huge grapefruit-sized lump quickly formed on my knee.  Of course, I put Ice on the lump for about 30 minutes; then, I went about my business and cut my lawn as usual.  It was sore all week long, but I refused to let anyone see the knee or see me hurt.  I mean, I never really study my feet or my knee, and I knew that my foot and ankle was sore.  I just thought the soreness was just part of my normal ankle-reconstruction pains which I have suffered for years. I noticed my shoe was fitting tighter.  I looked at my foot and ankle, and the damn thing was purple and black with swelling up into my calf. 

 

 

Ankle Swelled

  

Wow.  This leg looked pretty bad.  In my mind, I figured the swelling had ran down my leg, but I was getting a little worried now.  Worst of all, how was I going to hide the injury from the coaches?  How was I going to hide the extent of the injury to our players?  Naturally, I just kept going and walked it off.....like a man!  I am so stupid sometimes.  Marty started nagging my butt on Thursday about seeing a doctor.  Did I listen to her?  NO.  I never do.  I am NOT the type of dude who visits the doctor very often.  If Hilary can't fix it, then I will suffer with it. 

 

Today at practice, I was limping on the field.  I took off my shoe and sock to show Coach Willis.  He about fell over.  He immediately called Hilary (unknown to me) and told her about it.  All the players saw my ankle, and just shook their heads.  Tracy Wilborn (Mason's mom) saw the ankle and pretty much called me out about it.  Other parents and coaches saw my (foot -ankle) and freaked out saying I had a blood clot and it could kill me.  Hmmmm.  I started to worry a little.  Hilary called me on the phone and wanted to see me immediately at the community swimming pool where she was working.  After practice, I went to the pool and showed Hilary.  Again, she was very concerned about the injury.  I decided to go and see the doctor.  Dr. Maes (our team doctor) was not available, so Marty (who is in Georgia) told me to visit the Emergency room at her hospital.  I walked in the Emergency Room and showed them the injury.  They took me right in.  I had a Ultrasound (to check for blood flow and obstructions) and X Rays to check for breaks. I really lucked out. Blood flow was good, so I was out of immediate danger.  As I suspected, the un-checked swelling in my knee drained to my ankle and foot and settled.  The doctor gave me some antibiotics to clear up infection, and released me to go home.  It was scary for a minute.

 

  I want to thank everyone who cares about me.  Marty is out of town, so I was alone for all of this.  Tracy Wilborn checked on me many times; in fact, she was coming up to the hospital (to be with me) until I reassured her I was OK.  My Coaching buddies were very concerned about me.  I  passed the time texting with them during the five hours I was in the hospital.  Thanks to Hilary and her guidance.  I really love the people I work with.  We do care about one another. 

 

Back to football.  We had a GREAT practice today.  The coaches reported to work at 10am to officially begin our preparation for South Fork.  The kids came in at noon for a short (Thursday-style)

workout.  The team was on fire, and we were very sharp.  This really pleased the coaches, and we got off the field quickly.  We are ready to play on Monday night.....and Friday night.  Coach Miller seemed a little more at ease today.  We tried to spar verbally a little, but we were not fooling anyone.  The kids were pretty much laughing at our pathetic attempts to appear angry with one another. I was able to give him a decent look on scout team this week, so that alone kept him calmer.  I WAS the one who was on edge, for I was worried about giving HIM a decent look on scout offense.  Without a doubt, the defense is ready to play Monday. 

 

I am done.  More tomorrow. 

 

GZ

Day of Turmoil.

 

PawPaw, Did you see that?  (Grice)  I love his colors! 

 

 

PawPaw, I tried to cut block him!  (Grice)

 

Queens of my Heart: Kelsey and Kirby 

 

 

Kirby wearing PawPaw's colors. 

 

Well, the hurricane has thrown everything in a turmoil.  All after-school activities were cancelled today, and school was cancelled tomorrow as well.  Originally we had planned to have a normal pre-game practice today even though we knew there would not be a game on Friday.  However, when the school board cancelled everything, it threw a wrench into those plans.  There was a chance that the game could have been played on Saturday morning down at Forest Hill, and we all were hoping this was going to be the case.  No dice Chino.... did not happen.  The game will be played on Monday afterall.  This is really going to suck.  Last week we did not get home until 2am or so, and the kids still have school on Tuesday.  Going to be a hectic week.  This may push Coach Miller over the edge.  Hmmmm.  I wonder if I can get his motorcycle? 

 

We are planning on bringing the kids in to practice on Saturday.  This will be a helmets and shorts type of practice, but I expect it to be quite intense.  Afterall, when we win, we guarantee ourselves at least a spot in the playoffs; then, we control our own destiny.  Beat South Fork and we are the district champions.  Unfortunately, we MUST start preparing for South Fork even though we play Forest Hill on Monday.  But, what choice do we have?  What choice do they have?  They are in the same boat as we are.  I respect their program.  Coach Levelle has always run a clean program, and I am sure he will have his kids ready to play as well.  Luckily, this year we play them at home.  This will be a battle of two evenly matched teams.  It could come down to coaching.  Like I have always said, NO ONE will out-work our staff to get the kids prepared.  Big games bring out the best in well prepared teams. 

 

Bethel will be pretty intense this week, and he will be miserable to work with.  However, Randy has a lot of experience in playing big games from his Miami days.  Miami vs Florida State.  Miami vs Nebraska.  Miami vs Notre Dame.  The list goes on and on.  So, I am curious to see how he verbally prepares our kids for this big game.  Will he draw on his experience with Jimmy Johnson?  Maybe he will draw on his experience with Dennis Erickson?  Maybe the experience will be from all his coaches, I don't know.  However, Randy is very good at coming up with the right words for the kids.  I admire that.  However, he may be a little short with the coaches.  So, I warned him that he better learn how to talk to me, because I was about to put his ass in a RIC FLAIR Figure Four Leglock and make him tap out!! 

 

 

WHOOOOOOOO!  

 

 

 This is going to be a long week for all of us.  I will do my best to keep everyone up-to date with what is going on.  If you see me in Walmart or Home Depot, and I don't speak, please forgive me.  I get sort of zoned out and I do not see anything else but opposing defenses.....until the game is over.

 

Later,

 

GZ

 

 

 

Game Cancelled Until Monday!

 

 

Hurricane SANDY Official Forecast 

 

Who gets a hurricane in late October?  Can you believe this?  Most of the games this weekend  (with Palm Beach County Schools) have been cancelled until Monday.  This storm will not give us any problems because it is forecast to remain well offshore; however, the bands of weather surrounding the storm will dump some rain on us, and gusts of wind (above 30MPH) are expected on Thursday and Friday.  Unfortunately, school buses are not allowed to operate when wind gusts are above 30 MPH, so transportation is impossible.  I hate this because we are ready to play.  One never knows what will happen between now and Monday night.  At least all schools are playing within the same rules. 

 

I am so tired of dealing with the weather down here.  We have got more than our share of boiling weather and more than our share of rain and lightning storms.  Now, we have to deal with hurricanes right in the meat of our season.  It really sucks.  When I was in South Carolina, it was great to enjoy the colder weather during football season, and climbing or sitting in that deer stand was just a little easier when you were not drenched with sweat before you got there.  I have just about had it with this place some people call "Paradise."  Paradise my ass. 

 

For what it's worth, we are ready to play.  We had a great few days of practice, and the kids are primed and ready.  We are healthy for the most part.  I am happy to get some of the JV kids to help us practice.  They (we) sure have some nice looking kids.  I was able to work with a few of their skill kids directly this week, and I came away pretty impressed with their athleticism.  Surprisingly, we have some nice receivers in the bunch, and I really like the young QB (Cameron) too.  He is becoming my right-hand man on the field. Cameron is willing to help me with anything I do (off the field) and he seems to work hard on the field.  I will say this:  The kid is not afraid to compete against the varsity,  and he will take a hit and do what he is supposed to do when playing scout QB. 

 

Miller is just about ready to blow his top.  All this uncertainty about the game just drives him crazy.  Billy is one of those dudes who has a set routine for everything he does.  He is very organized on and off the field, and breaking his weekly routine on game week is going to keep him on edge.  I think I may find some ways to pick at him a little bit just for fun.  I may hide his ball bag, or I may steal his binder with all the (opponents) offensive plays written on them.....all in fun of course.  Miller and I say some god-awful things to each other (all week long) during practice.  Sometimes we sound like the arguing is very heated, and even the players and coaches look at us funny like we are really going at it.  Every now and then we will lock eyes and sort of grin at each other.  WE KNOW it is all in fun, but the kids and coaches are not really too sure.   Miller is one of my best friends on the staff, and I enjoy working with him.....even if he is an ass.  (I will hear something about this tomorrow! LOL) 

 

I have always had fun with the other coaches....sometimes at their expense.  We had a young-buck coach name Roger T on the staff at one time.  He was a former Vero Beach Fighting Indian  Linebacker who went on to play ball at Troy University.  He came back to Indian River County to teach and coach on our staff.  Roger was a young cocky dude, and he was not exactly known for his work habits while he was here....fact is that he was just plain lazy at times.  Of course, the coaches picked up on this, and we were constantly messing with him.  Roger used to argue with (Coach Kris) our defensive coordinator about the defensive calls or linebacker positions.  Roger would say: "I PLAYED THE POSITION, I KNOW!!"  More than once, it came back to bite him in the ass.  I would do all sorts of things to aggravate Roger...like hiding his ball bag, or hiding just one of his practice shoes, or fill his whistle with mud...anything to piss his off.  However, he always thought it was someone else doing it.  Roger would say: "Zaleuke, you the only one man, the only one!"  meaning I was the only one who never messed with him.  On the contrary, I was the main one who messed with him.  I used to say: "Roger, I am going to help you find who did this!"  I did not have to look too hard.  I was standing directly in front of him.   Roger had a habit of forgetting his game gear on game days.  More than once, Roger coached the game in blue jean shorts and a polo shirt.  During one span, Roger forgot his stuff two weeks in a row.  Randy warned Roger not to forget his stuff the following week during an away game.  We travelled in a motor coach back then, and I noticed that Roger neatly hung up his game shirt and khaki pants in his seat area.  We arrived at our destination and got off the bus.  Later, I got back on the bus and stole Roger's clothing and hid it all in the bathroom.  Randy said: "OK Fellas, let all get dressed for the game.  Roger, you got your stuff?"  Roger went back to the bus, and all his clothing was gone.  I could hear him telling Randy: "Coach, I SWEAR I had the clothes when I got on the bus!"  I said:  "Hey Roger, why don't you wear a poncho?"  Coach Wilson said: "You can't wear on poncho if its not raining!"  I laughed and laughed that day.  Finally, I FOUND his clothes in the bathroom and swore I was going to bring the stealing culprit to justice!.  Man, that was funny.  Roger did not last another season with us. 

 

Later:

 

GZ