Sometimes life sucks doesn't it?
Five months later and were sitting in the back of the bus again after playing a game with the defending state champion Adna Pirates, only this time nobody is laughing and very few words are said. Our hearts were broken, we couldn't hear any more screams, we felt cold inside and out, and I know I felt as alone as I've felt in a long time. And of course, we weren't going to be wearing Championship rings while we put up our Christmas trees this year. I feel like this year we all took our own one step forward and two steps back. I made it as far as second team all-area in the preseason on defense, but by week 6 I was just second team. We lifted from the day after basketball finally ended to the day that football finally started and had probably one of the best lines in the league, but got shut our by the Menlo Midgets (Willapa Valley Vikings) 30-0 on our own field. We had the best FB/DT in the league, but he injured his hamstring half way through the season and never fully recovered. We had high hopes to sweep the league this year, most notably beating both South Bend and Valley at home. Instead, we lost to both teams back to back by an average score of 22-3 and finished in the lowest spot in our league since 2006. As far as us winning the state tournament? We're not even going.
Stewert Field in Aberdeen has got to be the best field I have ever played on, besides the Tacoma Dome our freshman year and Oregon State University's Reser Stadium that me and DE/OL Nick Zimmerman went to for camp this past summer. The wooden stands go across both sidelines and one endzone. I joked to Nick before the game, "This looks just like what we created on Madden, and the Comets always win on Madden." The only blemish I could find in the complex was the giant "A" in the middle of the field. It didn't seem appropriate, and it only fueled the flame that was burning inside us. We knew that we had faced a lot of adversity this year, from external and internal conflicts. Robert was able to return after a 4.5 game absence, but only on defense and even then only on one leg. RB/OLB Kai Leach was suspended 4 weeks ago and was also missed in our wishbone offense. RB/FS Leonel Mendoza had to become an OLB again after we lost Kai, which wasn't hard for him after playing the spot all of last year. What was hard for him was the ankle he injured at the beginning of the year that constantly was slowing him down. TE/DT Jesse Lopez was academically ineligible to play the last two games, forcing us to start Tanner Hovan at TE. Tanner loves football and he filled Jesse's shoes as well if not better than anyone could expect him to. But we still missed Jesse.
All in all, I think we responded well to all of the adversity. With both Rbs and FB out of action, we did something I doubt anybody expected us to do and adopted the shotgun offense, leaving our traditional wishbone offense forsaken. Not only did we discover the "passing" concept of football, but sophomore QB/OLB Dustin Eaton not only rose to the challenge, but excelled beyond any of our expectations at the beginning of the year. He became a legitimate passing threat to the other teams with a plethora of WRs Chris Walkowiak, Chase Chapman, Chandler Chapman, Brenden Greenfield, and Nick Strange (to name a few). As i said before, we replaced our traditional wishbone with a new shotgun-based offense. We utilized our depth chart as efficiently as anybody could. A lot of our adaptability has to come from our coaches perseverance. I don't know how they put up with us sometimes, with all of our "matriculating" across the field (Coach Wirkkala will be so proud i was able to use that six-syllable word in a sentence).
The game against Adna last Saturday didn't go how anybody wanted. Nobody had a perfect game, it seemed to me like on every play i either did what i was supposed to do well, or i failed my assignment. there was no middle ground. Our Defense was very successful for most of the game, keeping them from crossing midfield until the second quarter. A few key mistakes were made such as fumbling the ball inside the redzone, dropping a sure 60+ yard gain through the air, a blown punt coverage that gave great field position to the pirates, and who knows how many missed blocks our line had. Nobody was guilt free of mistakes, and I'll admit that on the last touchdown that Adna scored, i had the ball carrier wrapped up at the line, and had I followed through with the tackle like our coaches have taught me, I slipped off of him, and he crossed the goal line a few yards later. I know what i did wrong, and the cost of my mistake was allowing the last seven points that would be scored against us in 2010. I have to live with that. The referees did miss one significant call that I'll mention. Chris Walkoiak stripped Bubba Lara of the football and recovered the ball inbounds, but the referees were focused on the pile surrounding Lara that quickly forced him out-of-bounds. The only people in Aberdeen that didn't see chris recover the fumble inbounds were the men wearing the black and white stripes. They made the only call that they could in their position, and declared that Bubba's forward progress was stopped before the strip. Everyone knows that this wasn't the right call, but in the officials defense, it was the only option they had. Other than that, I think the officials did a very good job, probably the best we've had all year.
A 21-0 loss doesn't reflect Comet Football in my opinion. I think the game was a lot closer than that and I hope we all know it. It's always hard to deal with ending a season, but the people that its hardest for are the seniors that will never experience Comet football, or really any football, again. Most other sports can still be played when your older, but you can never really play football again, unless your one of the lucky few that make it to college. RB/FS-OLB Leonel "Leo" Mendoza and RB-WR/DB Chase Chapman will not walk onto Rueban Pentilla Field as a player. They will be in the crowd, cheering on the Comets with the rest of the town. Thank you, Chase and Leo, for the memories. I miss you both already and you both mean the world to our team and that doesn't change after the season is over. COMET PRIDE FOREVER.
As for everyone that's left, we have work to do. Like me and nick were talking about on the way home, were the new seniors. Its our last chapter, chapter four. It's finally Mine, Seth, Robert, Nick, Trevin Jesse, Tanner, Jesse, and Beau's senior year. We know what we want, and we're going to do everything in our power from today until next September to make sure that we are fully prepared physically and mentally to do what we've been dying to do since our freshman year, to go back to the dome and this time win! But we cant do it alone, we need the entire team working just as hard as we are. The new Juniors and Sophomores and even the new Freshman need to be in the weight room where they belong. Next year we wont be facing suspensions or academic ineligibility, because they Naselle Comets of 2011-2012 are better than that. Next year, I don't want to be writing a novel in November on how we didn't make it to state, I want to be writing a novel on how we won state in December fopr the first time in over 40 years. And I'll upload a picture of our rings and the trophy by a Christmas tree. But it's not enough to want it, you got to earn it. And i for one am ready to earn our rings! COMETS- WHAT IS YOUR PROFESSION?!?!
Comet RT #71 Ryley Queener
Stewert Field in Aberdeen has got to be the best field I have ever played on, besides the Tacoma Dome our freshman year and Oregon State University's Reser Stadium that me and DE/OL Nick Zimmerman went to for camp this past summer. The wooden stands go across both sidelines and one endzone. I joked to Nick before the game, "This looks just like what we created on Madden, and the Comets always win on Madden." The only blemish I could find in the complex was the giant "A" in the middle of the field. It didn't seem appropriate, and it only fueled the flame that was burning inside us. We knew that we had faced a lot of adversity this year, from external and internal conflicts. Robert was able to return after a 4.5 game absence, but only on defense and even then only on one leg. RB/OLB Kai Leach was suspended 4 weeks ago and was also missed in our wishbone offense. RB/FS Leonel Mendoza had to become an OLB again after we lost Kai, which wasn't hard for him after playing the spot all of last year. What was hard for him was the ankle he injured at the beginning of the year that constantly was slowing him down. TE/DT Jesse Lopez was academically ineligible to play the last two games, forcing us to start Tanner Hovan at TE. Tanner loves football and he filled Jesse's shoes as well if not better than anyone could expect him to. But we still missed Jesse.
All in all, I think we responded well to all of the adversity. With both Rbs and FB out of action, we did something I doubt anybody expected us to do and adopted the shotgun offense, leaving our traditional wishbone offense forsaken. Not only did we discover the "passing" concept of football, but sophomore QB/OLB Dustin Eaton not only rose to the challenge, but excelled beyond any of our expectations at the beginning of the year. He became a legitimate passing threat to the other teams with a plethora of WRs Chris Walkowiak, Chase Chapman, Chandler Chapman, Brenden Greenfield, and Nick Strange (to name a few). As i said before, we replaced our traditional wishbone with a new shotgun-based offense. We utilized our depth chart as efficiently as anybody could. A lot of our adaptability has to come from our coaches perseverance. I don't know how they put up with us sometimes, with all of our "matriculating" across the field (Coach Wirkkala will be so proud i was able to use that six-syllable word in a sentence).
The game against Adna last Saturday didn't go how anybody wanted. Nobody had a perfect game, it seemed to me like on every play i either did what i was supposed to do well, or i failed my assignment. there was no middle ground. Our Defense was very successful for most of the game, keeping them from crossing midfield until the second quarter. A few key mistakes were made such as fumbling the ball inside the redzone, dropping a sure 60+ yard gain through the air, a blown punt coverage that gave great field position to the pirates, and who knows how many missed blocks our line had. Nobody was guilt free of mistakes, and I'll admit that on the last touchdown that Adna scored, i had the ball carrier wrapped up at the line, and had I followed through with the tackle like our coaches have taught me, I slipped off of him, and he crossed the goal line a few yards later. I know what i did wrong, and the cost of my mistake was allowing the last seven points that would be scored against us in 2010. I have to live with that. The referees did miss one significant call that I'll mention. Chris Walkoiak stripped Bubba Lara of the football and recovered the ball inbounds, but the referees were focused on the pile surrounding Lara that quickly forced him out-of-bounds. The only people in Aberdeen that didn't see chris recover the fumble inbounds were the men wearing the black and white stripes. They made the only call that they could in their position, and declared that Bubba's forward progress was stopped before the strip. Everyone knows that this wasn't the right call, but in the officials defense, it was the only option they had. Other than that, I think the officials did a very good job, probably the best we've had all year.
A 21-0 loss doesn't reflect Comet Football in my opinion. I think the game was a lot closer than that and I hope we all know it. It's always hard to deal with ending a season, but the people that its hardest for are the seniors that will never experience Comet football, or really any football, again. Most other sports can still be played when your older, but you can never really play football again, unless your one of the lucky few that make it to college. RB/FS-OLB Leonel "Leo" Mendoza and RB-WR/DB Chase Chapman will not walk onto Rueban Pentilla Field as a player. They will be in the crowd, cheering on the Comets with the rest of the town. Thank you, Chase and Leo, for the memories. I miss you both already and you both mean the world to our team and that doesn't change after the season is over. COMET PRIDE FOREVER.
As for everyone that's left, we have work to do. Like me and nick were talking about on the way home, were the new seniors. Its our last chapter, chapter four. It's finally Mine, Seth, Robert, Nick, Trevin Jesse, Tanner, Jesse, and Beau's senior year. We know what we want, and we're going to do everything in our power from today until next September to make sure that we are fully prepared physically and mentally to do what we've been dying to do since our freshman year, to go back to the dome and this time win! But we cant do it alone, we need the entire team working just as hard as we are. The new Juniors and Sophomores and even the new Freshman need to be in the weight room where they belong. Next year we wont be facing suspensions or academic ineligibility, because they Naselle Comets of 2011-2012 are better than that. Next year, I don't want to be writing a novel in November on how we didn't make it to state, I want to be writing a novel on how we won state in December fopr the first time in over 40 years. And I'll upload a picture of our rings and the trophy by a Christmas tree. But it's not enough to want it, you got to earn it. And i for one am ready to earn our rings! COMETS- WHAT IS YOUR PROFESSION?!?!
Comet RT #71 Ryley Queener
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