We arrived in Camp Wood after passing several animals on the road side that had met their fate trying to cross the road. We had left my little Fiat at home for this trip knowing it would not fair well if it had to fight with a deer or hog. Thankful for our truck to navigate the dark roads home we parked under some trees off to the side and walked up to the stadium.
We saw the boys warming up on the field and were greeted by the referee team who were looking for the coaches too. Coach Fletcher soon appeared and warmly welcomed us all to Camp Wood. We had a few chuckles and then got to work getting our gear and bearings. I ventured over to the concession stand in hopes of finding the restrooms. I found the restroom door padlocked and was about to head back to the field when two cheerleaders came up behind me. One of them walked up to the door and began doing the combination on the lock. I smiled and thought to myself how normal that was at a 1A school for a student to know the bathroom lock combination.. Everywhere we went people would welcome us and tell us to let them know if we needed anything. There was a sense of excitement that we had come to town and that made us even more excited to be there.. Before the game started the cheerleaders and their sponsors surprised me with a welcome package and asked me to take a photo with the girls. I was very honored. I’m usually the one taking the photos; not the person in them. I had a nice visit with the cheer sponsors before getting to work. There was more excitement than normal as not only was it going to be a full moon but it was also Friday the 13th and their 9-11 tribute. Nueces Canyon was honoring the fallen of 9-11 by recognizing their sheriffs, an EMS member, and a firefighter as honorary captains during the coin flip.. Yes, I said sherrifs with an “s”. Nueces Canyon school is a consolidated school district. The junior high and high school are located in Barksdale and the elementary and football stadium are located in Camp Wood. Barksdale is in Edwards County and Camp Wood is in Real County. When someone mentioned the Real sheriff I was trying to figure out who wasn’t real. Then I remembered seeing the Real County sign on our drive in and realized they were referring to the country name not the authenticity of the sheriffs. The game was full of excitement and hard hits. Very fitting of the full moon and it being Friday the 13th. Marfa played hard but the game still ended at half. Nueces Canyon knew the emotions Marfa was enduring as just the week before they had been 45ed by Balmorhea. In Six-man the tables are often turned from one week to the next. Even though the game ended at half everyone stayed to watch the band perform. The football players and cheerleaders in the band quickly grabbed their instruments and joined the others on the field. Those not in the band settled where they were on the sidelines to enjoy the performance. 1A kids are stretched thin doing many things so they can have more opportunities for everyone. They also show respect to their peers doing activities they themselves have opted not in which to participate. 1A schools make well rounded responsible adults who are good at balancing multiple responsibilities. Marfa had traveled 5 hours one way by bus to play. We had traveled only half that. Even with the game ending early the Marfa team would not be getting home until 2:00 am or after. We stopped in Junction for a bit to help us stay awake and get an evening snack. We saw lots of deer and one hog along with other wildlife. We were very blessed to make it home un scathed by any wildlife. See you on the sidelines! Dency
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The Zone
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September 2023
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