Getting Some Kicks From Football Memories
by Karen Williams | September 14, 2006 - Seminole Chronicle
Every autumn I recall with goose bumps the year our town's high school football team went from zeros to heroes.
The previous year's team, with the coach's son as quarterback, had oozed with talent, but most of those players had graduated. The Ashland, Oregon, Grizzlies were left with three returning starters, so it would be a "rebuilding" year for my son Joel and his teammates.
I vowed to attend the games, no matter how pitiful the outcome. Maybe I would at last learn the fine points of football - such as touchdowns or whatever.
In the first game, Joel as fullback scored three of those touchdown things, and our team won!
Somehow the Grizzlies managed to win a second game against Grants Pass, usually a formidable foe. Joel's picture was in the paper with his quote, "Those hogs up front did all the work." I was exhilarated yet worried: Did he suffer a concussion and thus saw farm animals on the field?
Next came three more surprising wins against fairly good schools.
Then it was time to meet Roseburg - previous state champs. It was David vs. Goliath, and when the Grizzlies somehow prevailed, the newspapers termed it a miracle of biblical proportions.
Two more jaw-dropping wins ensued, bringing the Southern Oregon Conference title. But could the Grizzlies win their final game against Crater High and boast a perfect season?
Yes! And I learned another facet of football when Joel mentioned he'd had "conversations" with a certain Crater player during the game.
"That's nice, honey," I commented. "What did you two talk about?"
"It wasn't that kind of conversation," Joel rolled his eyes. "I was urging our team on, and this Crater guy told me to shut my mouth. I said, 'Look at the scoreboard. You should take notes when I talk!' "
Hopefully that pencil-and-paper idea caught on.
Then it was state play-off time, with miracle wins against two burly teams from Portland. Next came the surreal experience of buying turf shoes for Joel and heading to the University of Oregon field for wins against Sunset High School and then a private school, Jesuit, that supposedly selected its students based on football prowess.
Thirteen wins, no losses. Our town of 22,000 people wasn't merely exhilarated. Our town was in shock.
Joel basked in media attention, giving interviews where I learned that he could say more than, "Mom, I need money" or "Why did you buy that stupid health food brand of cereal?"
Then came Dec. 12 and the state championship game in Eugene. While a small plane flew overhead pulling a "Go Grizzlies" banner, the bleachers filled with rabid fans. But our quarterback had injured his shoulder, various players had battled the flu, and we faced Roseburg, a team that had gotten tougher all season.
Well into the second half of the game, the Grizzlies were down by 13. Then somehow Joel plowed through a wall of defenders to make a touchdown, thanks, no doubt, to a breakfast of health food.
The tide turned, the Grizz scored again, and later - in overtime - came a mind-boggling catch in the end zone by a scrawny kid named Jay who had suffered leg cramps all season. The rest, including our coach's Gatorade shower, was history.
I learned many football terms that season, including "Boo ref!" And I also learned a thing or two about small-town pride and small-town magic.
Copyright 2006, Karen Williams
