Last Words

"Life is a journey, not a destination" - Ralph Waldo Emerson Another season has come to an end, and unlike the past 3 years, there is no next year for me and my 9 senior teammates. We are 10 brothers who worked together, fought together for one prize- the state championship. 3 times we came up short, yet we were determined to make our final year, the year that we would walk awayu from the game as champions.



However, once again we were unable to reach the highest of our goals. There was much grief and bitterness on the sidelines friday night after realizing the clock was ticking quickly on our season and our careers. Several thoughts and emotions were racing through my mind. What is happening? Where did we go wrong? How is this happening? Why? The truth hit us all hard. In only minutes our high school football careers would cease to exist and we would never put on our pads and fight with our brothers again. Writing this even now brings back the pain that I felt that night. In the days following the game, i was surprisingly able to find peace. When I look back on the time weve all spent together, I know I wont think of shattering my knee in June, or lying in a hospital bed for a week while my brothers are practicing and playing our homecoming game, or standing in defeat on our sideline at the end. I'll recall the awe of playing in the Tacoma dome, being the first team to raise the KM trophy in who knows howmany years (TWICE!!), weightlifting at 5:30 in the morning veacause of afternoon basketball practices, and leading the Naselle Comets to their first undisputed league championsship in decades. And those are only a few. Looking back, I am a thousand times more thankful for our successes than I am bitter towards our shortcomings. To my fellow 2011 Naselle Comets, I love you all and I am proud to have been able to fight with you. I thank God for the gifts we were given this year. I wouldn't have been able to overcome the obstacles I faced this year without his strength. So for the last time, leaving not in bitter defeat but in satisfying victory, Ryley Queener #71 Comet Pride Forever "The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the LORD." -Proverbs 21:31