Commentary: White Deer at McLean

I made my way North to McLean, Texas. It sits along I-40 about 74 miles East of Amarillo. I particularly enjoyed the downtown portion of McLean. Cool, old buildings butted up against each other with a brick road separating each side of this neat little main street town. I found my way to the football field at the North end of town. Although I arrived an hour and a half before game time, there were already people parked around the field and milling about. White Deer was on the field for initial warm-ups, and I could see smoke broiling out the top of a wood cooker.
 
I stopped at the entrance and spoke with McLean Superintendent, Oscar Muniz. Very nice man. He welcomed me to McLean and told me I could park anywhere I wanted around the entire perimeter of the stadium. Now that’s awesome!  I parked about 2 feet from the field on the south end.
 
I finally stepped out onto the field and spied Coach Justin Rucker. It’s always good to see Rucker! Young coach with a good head on his shoulders. He loves sixman football and more so his players. We talked about the match-up with the Tigers. He was cautious but said his guys were ready to go even after the tough game against Happy last week. And everyone was healthy. We talked about alignment, a subject on everyone’s mind. I wished him luck and went to find Coach Linman from McLean.
 
I couldn’t find him. I didn’t get a chance to talk to him. He was right in among his team during warm up and as soon as the game was over, he ran to the dressing room. Perhaps I’ll get the opportunity to speak with him at a later game.
 
I can tell you that the concession stand ladies were awesome! I was on the hunt for some coffee. It was percolating. They even gave me a free cup of coffee to test that it was good. It was. Throughout the night, I had two more cups. I always appreciate when a concession stand has good coffee, especially in November.
 
The battle that commenced between White Deer and McLean had been brewing for a while. Both in the north panhandle region and both undefeated. This district match-up did not disappoint. Both teams were all business and played with great effort each down of the game. I saw no giving up from either side. I do believe that given a little more time, White Deer may have tied it up. The Bucks started coming on strong in the 4th quarter. But it was not to be and McLean came out on top. McLean secured a playoff spot with the win over the Bucks. McLean plays at Happy next week for the District championship and White Deer takes on Miami.
 
Observations from my visit to McLean:

1. Google Earth is my friend. Especially when a school’s football field is nowhere near the high school in a town I’ve never visited. Thank you, Google Earth, for your assistance getting me to the McLean/White Deer game in a timely manner.
2. The White Deer victory bell is quite something! They have a full-sized Buck on the font of the Bell trailer. Very impressive. It might be my favorite Team Bell!
3. The McLean horn is interesting. It sits on the ground and is connected to an actual car battery (see picture). I believe it might be handheld – if you wanted to! Not to take anything away from the horn. It is very loud. You definitely don’t want to be standing in front of it when it goes off!
4. A Boaster Coaster was found and three very nice ladies from White Deer posted their picture with it on Texas 1A Fan. It’s the first one to show up in a picture, so I think it definitely deserves a mention.
5. The McLean student section was off the HOOK! They were loud and it was constant! They also accessorized their section with cool hats. One girl donned a very ornate sombrero. The Tigers should be very proud to have such a great student cheering section!
   
6. White Deer’s band performed at halftime. They did a great job! They also played very well in the stands during the game.

 
Remember to go to a sixman football game! This next week is the final week of district play. The playoffs are going to ramp up very soon. When you head out, travel safe and always
Go Forward and Do GOOD!