By Dency McClure
I made it to Throckmorton a few minutes early and decided to take a little trip down memory lane. I actually lived in Throckmorton when I was little. My dad was the Methodist preacher there and served the Throckmorton and Woodson churches. I attended Kindergarten and first grade here. Great memories! The church still looks fantastic and the parsonage too. It’s so heart warming to see things still loved and cared for. If you haven’t seen them the Methodist and Baptist churches in Throckmorton are glories to behold. Beautiful architecture and massive structures. It's funny how things can seem so different when you are small. I walked to school with my older brothers and it seemed so far. In reality, it was less than a block. I doubt the trail is still there but we used to take a well-beaten path through the middle of the block so we weren’t ever on the street. It weaved through people’s yards, and at that time, all the owners were fine with the school kids using it to make their way to and from school. I made my way up the steep hill and found the boys on the practice field. It was actually under 100 degrees so it was a great weather day in my book. I parked by the travel buses and got to work. When there was a break in activity, Coach Hantz greeted me. I do my best to never be a distraction to coaches. I stay out of the way and take my photos and let them greet me when they have a moment. I’m not one to charge up and announce myself and need attention. I was taught by Coach Storey, of Newcastle, how to behave on a field, and I honor that. Throckmorton has a wonderful practice area. Plenty of room for whatever they need. Standing on the practice field, at the top of the hill, you have a nice view of the stadium. I’ve always liked how it's a bit of a sunken field. It’s dug out of a hill a bit to make the flat playing field. The grass is green and the stands were glistening in the afternoon sun. It is ready for the first game of the season. I was very thankful for the cold water bottle offered by the coaches. Coaches always want to know where I’m going next and where I’ve been. I think this is the most asked question I get. Sometimes they even ask how a team I’ve seen is looking. Don’t worry coaches I answer truthfully but in generalities. I don’t give away secrets! I want to be invited back. The practice field has a very nice long sand pit. I only see these occasionally. There are definitely something almost all coaches want but for one reason or another don’t have. The boys ran through the pit on whistle commands a couple of different times while I was there. I always love to see the dirt fly and try to capture it in my photos. One of my absolute favorite things to see is coaches taking an active part in practice. Running plays, being the quarterback, or working the line. I saw all of this today. The assistant coaches were in the thick of it getting a workout. Don’t worry, they have plenty of players that can do these things. This just helps control variables so they can work on certain aspects easily. Hantz was right there watching every move and giving hands-on advice as needed. I enjoyed watching him direct the show. He was watching every single thing in everything they did. He didn’t just see the kids on one end, he saw the whole picture every time. He then addressed any issues and gave praise where earned. I was fascinated by Coach Hantz. He had his paper and his notes that he would pull from his pocket and study. He would then check the time on his phone and plan accordingly on what to move to next. At water break, he was proud to say they were on schedule to get everything he wanted done today. I know he has enjoyed coming home and coaching where he played. I feel for him a bit. Having been a player on their state team, I’m sure there is a pressure and a personal desire to take Throckmorton back. I have to say, I always enjoyed seeing the purple santa hats the cheerleaders had for those state trips back then. I bet if they make it back someone could find some new ones. It was definitely a fun thing to see. I had to head out to make it to Moran, the next practice on my list. On my way out, I saw the Hotel Lazy T. It’s a big, beautiful, older home that is now a hotel. It is located right next to the school and football field. I googled them when I got home, and it is definitely a fascinating place. They have a Hotel Lazy T facebook page if you’re interested. We may just need to come cover a game and stay there. We could easily walk to and from the game. See you on the sidelines!
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By Dency McClure
I made it to Oglesby today. I got there early and drove around town. What a fantastic city park. They even have a splash pad there. I can honestly say that’s the first 1A town I’ve seen with a splash pad in their park. There are also nice homes and churches. The downtown has a little going on as well. All in all a great 1A town. The road to the school was clearly marked. The school speed zone lights were flashing and all around the school was busy with kids getting picked up. I saw the stadium lights and meandered around the side of the school until I saw boys dressed in red headed over to an open area. I had found the place. Now all I needed was to park in some shade. Just down from the yard full of chickens was a nice deep shade. Yes, you read that right. I don’t think any 1A town is truly 1A if there aren’t some chickens about. These chickens had it made. Nice shade trees, excellent feeder set up and wait for it...a pool. Yes, a beautiful blue wading pool in the shady yard. I was starting to wish I was a chicken in that amazing yard after a little time in the 108 temperature on the practice field. I was greeted by Coach Dixon. I have known Jeb for a while now. I met him when he was coaching in Jonesboro. He is one of those people that makes you smile when you visit with him. He always has something funny to tell you. I noticed there is a bit less of Jeb. I gave him a new shirt that I hope fits him better than his old Six-man ones. He told me it may not fit just yet but he would take it. Today he was wearing one of those clear face shields. He told me he knew he looked ridiculous, but that he needed the kids to see his face. I totally get that. I’ve had the teacher face. I can’t imagine teaching or coaching without the kids seeing that face when you need to play it. I met the assistant coaches and practice began. There wasn’t much of a breeze and the 108 temp was physically crushing. You could tell the boys had acclimated to the heat. They did a couple of passing drills, ran some plays, worked on tackling etc. Not sure why but every time I see the tackle donut roll out, I can’t help but chuckle. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you can literally google “tackle donut” and see one. Coaches roll them and players tackle them as they roll. Lots of coaches use them. It’s fun to see the kids jump and lift them etc. I could quickly tell these boys had perfected the donut. I was extremely impressed. I think I got some great photos of their talent. During a quick water break, Coach Dixon pointed out an area next to the football field where new weight room facilities are going to be built. He told me how excited everyone is and how the future is looking bright. I noticed the number of players this year was way more than the numbers I saw last year. They have a great returning assistant coach and a new one that just finished his college football career at ASU. The boys were working together and doing well with their drills and plays. It definitely looks like the future has good potential. I realized that the heat was doing a number on me and I’d better get out of it. I said my goodbyes and told Coach Dixon I better get off his field before he had to deal with a passed out woman. He chuckled and told me he didn’t blame me one bit for getting out of it. I was extremely glad I had parked in the shade. I said my goodbyes to the happy chickens and got back in the air conditioning. See you on the sidelines! By Dency McClure My morning started off like a royal disaster. I left on time, meaning I had a 15 minute cushion so I should arrive early. The GPS powers begged to differ. I realized pretty quick that I was on the wrong road, so I pulled over to take a look. Wouldn’t you know it, no service. So, I headed back the way I felt was right. Just as my GPS was coming back and I was glancing at it, I see the very nice officer that pulled me over the other day coming over the hill. I glanced at my speed and figured I was probably in for more than a warning. He turned and I disappeared over the hill. I won’t get into how I disappeared because it wasn’t dramatic like the Dukes of Hazzard. I then found the right road and was off. By this time my time cushion was gone and I was feeling rushed and frustrated. I absolutely despise being late, even if only a few minutes. Once I was on the right path, I started thinking that I hoped nothing else went wrong before I got there. Yep, right at that very moment a bird dove directly into my windshield like a Kamikaze pilot. Luckily, all it took was a swipe of the wipers and a spray of washer fluid. By this time, I was laughing at it all. I got to the field, and as I was gathering up my equipment I was greeted by Coach Earl in a hefty golf cart. He had seen me drive up and was there to give me a ride to the field. From that point on, my morning was like a luxury vacation. We got to the field, and I immediately noticed the thick lush dark green golf course grass. A ride and now this grass! I was informed the boys only get to practice on the real field on Fridays as a treat. I could see why. I learned that it has taken at least three years of extremely hard work to earn that beautiful field of grass. They have a special mower, and I was told when it’s freshly mowed it looks like a fairway. It was so lush and thick, I left footprints as I walked. At one point in practice, a bit of the grass was disturbed. Coaches Espinosa and Earl jumped down on the ground and yelled out about the hurt field pounding a chunk back into the ground. It was quite the comedy routine and everyone was laughing including them. There was one drill they did called “Get the Dummy.” Best drill I’ve seen all year. Everyone was working hard, laughing, and enjoying the cool morning together. At one point, the dummy got hit so hard, it lost its air. Coach Espinosa yelled out to hold up a minute because the dummy had died and needed time to inflate. This, of course, had us all in stitches. During a water break, I had a brief visit with Coach Ball who was enjoying the day and the kids. I was offered a coke or water at one point during my stay. Like I said before, luxury vacation. The weather was cool, there was an excellent breeze that had the flag pole chains clinking. There was good music for a bit but apparently, the power gave out. In my high school days, the songs would get slower as the batteries ran down. Prince would slowly become more like Willie Nelson. Today, however, was the day the music died. At one point, the coaches pulled out some jerseys for the boys to wear so they could split up. Coach Espinosa told the boys to be careful with them because they were vintage from some past year. One of the boys questioned him about it and then he told them they were really old jerseys from the junior high. One of the lineman was having a hard time getting his on. One player stepped in to help out. It ended up taking a couple of coaches and some strategic moves. This bunch of kids and coaches really do enjoy spending time together. They all were laughing, and the lineman was, too. Eventually the jersey was on, and it didn’t even look too small. Not only did the boys have a fantastic time with their coaches, they were working hard and looking good. Tackling was on point and coaches were jumping in quickly to correct some little things. Definitely got some defense in Aquilla. Sometimes you hear the negatives about football and I know it can be dangerous, but I can tell you extreme amounts of practice time go into teaching safety and self protection. Learning to tackle safely takes time and good guidance from coaches and all three of these coaches were on it. I didn’t stay to see the offense show its full talent, but I’m betting it was as good as the defense. It should be a good year for Aquilla. When I said my goodbyes I was escorted away on the hefty golf cart. My luxury mini vacation had ended. I drove away from Aquilla with a smile and still chuckling a bit. See you on the sidelines! By Dency McClure I made it out to Evant today. They are the school with the cannon that fires during games. Only school I know with one. Now you are all wondering about it aren’t you? I’ll just let those of you who haven’t been to an Evant game make plans to go to one to see their cannon. It will be worth the trip especially if you talk to the operators and find out how it all works. As I was waiting on the field the boys were meandering out of the locker room. Usually I get the odd looks and hear whispers about who I am. I always like to hear who they think I am. You just never know what they think. Today however was a bit different. One after another of the boys spoke to me with a simple hello or how are you? It was extremely nice to be greeted warmly. They have plenty of kids playing this year. Maybe not enough for a full JV as well but definitely enough for a good team. There were just a few not in pads yet. It has been interesting going to so many practices and seeing some schools with lots of kids not in pads and some with everyone in pads. Once the coaches hit the field we exchanged greetings and practice began. The boys led off with their stretches. Then some good old passing drills. Which by the way they had a great catch rate. I’ll just say I’d be a bit worried if I was in their district with only a running game. Then on to running some plays. Plays are good practice for me too. It helps me get ready for shooting real games again. Coach Johnson headed up to the press box and started an amazing playlist. A little Queen, a little country, a little bit of every style there is I think. It was perfect. I caught myself moving to a few. I especially felt the country songs fitting as the field is on the edge of town and at least two roosters kept crowing the entire practice. I bet the kids and coaches don’t even hear them anymore. It was fun to watch assistant Coach Helms on the field. I have shared the sidelines with his father, also a six-man coach, many times. I was shocked how much their body language on the field is the same. I’m betting if you put some of my photos of the two of them coaching side by side for comparison it would be a match. I’ve been doing this long enough now to be watching men I used to shoot as players be coaches and referees. That happens faster than you think. Just a few years can make that change. It gives me a good feeling when they know who I am and are excited to see me. Around 5:00 a man pulled up and came to watch from the shade of the concession stand. If he isn’t a dad I bet he is a big fan. He never disturbed or said anything but he was watching intently. I glanced at him a few times but I don’t think he ever noticed me until I walked by him to leave. As I headed to the car, I spoke to him. When I went to put my camera up I saw the stack of shirts I have. I only have one size left and after sizing up the coaches I knew they wouldn’t fit any of them. But, I realized the man watching was most likely the perfect size. I grabbed one and walked back and gave it to him. He thanked me and as I walked away I could tell he had unfolded it and saw Six-Man Crazy and the 40 yard line because I heard a very pleased, “Well I be danged!” That made my whole day, and I think it made his. I headed out and made sure to stop at The Elk Stop. The staff is always friendly and everything is nice and clean. I could have waited until Hamilton to stop and gas up but I’d rather give my dollars to a 1A business. By the way they still take cash! That’s an added bonus right now. See you on the sidelines! By Dency McClure
I turned off the main highway, took a major curve, went past the new sports complex, crossed the double railroad tracks and a creek to be greeted by the Blum population sign that read 444. I am always fascinated by the entrance to 1A towns. I’d say that is an amazing one. So many big trees and great views all around the area. I made my way up the narrow road to the campus at the very tip top of the hill. I didn’t see anyone on the old field, so I found some helpful people and was taken to Coach Thornhill. Even though it was the first day of school, he was more relaxed than I ever saw him last season. Now, you have to know the three times I saw him last season were stressful situations. One was at the state championship game he was coaching and won, another was when he was scouting a semi-final game, and the other was when he was coaching a semifinal game himself. I can’t even begin to imagine the focus needed for all three of those tasks not to mention the stress level. Today, he cheerfully greeted me and told me when the boys would be practicing and where. The new field isn’t ready for them to practice on, but the baseball field is a go. So, they are practicing on the new baseball field to get used to the turf. The new football field is supposed to be ready to be played on in September. I can’t wait to see it all under the shining lights. He told me about their new facility and explained the 50 yard line being present. Their goal isn’t to play 11-man, like so many have thought, but to be the host with the most. They have great expectations for hosting track meets, play-off baseball and softball games, and last but not least, Six-man and 11-man football games. It is like no other facility in the area and is definitely a jewel. The new field has very visible Six-man markings. I know you can play Six-man on an 11-man field, but you can’t play 11-man on a Six-man field. So, with a clear goal in mind, I feel they made the wisest choice for their buck. I drove around town a bit to see what I could see. I always like to get a feel for a town when I cover an event there. I eventually started looking for some good shade to park in to wait out the time left before practice. I ended up in front of the Masonic Lodge. It wouldn’t be a 1A town, if people had just zoomed past me. I got some slow drive-bys and long looks. I expected nothing less! I had a great view of the school zone lights so I knew when school was letting out. I drove out to the baseball field and waited for the team to make its debut. I was very excited to see the old yellow dawg make the turn followed by a cloud of dust. I waited a few more minutes in my car with the AC running while they unloaded. My car thermometer indicated 104 in the shade earlier, so I knew it was hot and I knew the turf would be giving off heat waves. There looked to be about 20 boys all in good condition and not struggling in the heat. They ran some tackle drills, passing, stretching etc. They worked well together and already had good speed on their ball handling. It will be fun to watch how their season progresses this year. They were definitely a thrill to watch from the sidelines at AT&T stadium. After a water break, they spread out into a big circle area probably more spread than normal because of Covid. Then it got quiet and I realized they were about to pray. One boy took the lead and prayed a perfect prayer in the moment. I have to say, I’ve seen lots of prayers on fields but none quite like this. It wasn't’ before or after practice but right in the middle of it all. Making it a purposed focus in the busy. The boys were so quiet and respectful getting in their places and taking the moment. It left me with a feeling of calmness. Which is definitely not what is usually going on during a practice. After that they gathered back up and got back to tackling and catching balls. I enjoyed watching the quick snaps and hand offs as well as the line stance drills. Every coach and team does their own thing that works for them. I have seen many new things this August that I like. The new turf sparkled in the sun and a tiny shade had formed against the back fence. The water boy and anyone else that got the chance jumped in the little three foot shade for a moment of reprieve from the harsh sun. I was no exception. I did keep good distance from the players, so I could keep my mask down as much as possible. If you think the heat is bad, try wearing a mask in it. I honestly don’t know how so many coaches do it now like it’s nothing. I guess it’s all about conditioning, as they say. See you on the sidelines! By Bobbie Brown
One thing that makes me happy is six-man football. I was eager to get on down the road to Whiteface this morning. Although it was a 45-minute drive, I arrived before the sun came up. I drove into the small parking area behind the gym and adjacent to Antelope Stadium. There were a lot of kids everywhere! Not one of them had pads or helmets. I sat in my car looking for the telltale signs of football practice. It finally dawned on me (hey, it was early, and I had only one cup of coffee), all the kids wandering around were the cross-country teams! They finally wandered to the track and assembled in the grass to stretch. There were A LOT of them! There were seven or eight boys and so many girls, I couldn’t count them – didn’t help that they were moving a lot. I finally heard the sound of cleats on gravel. It is a distinctive sound. The Antelopes had exited the dressing room. Coach Adam Cline brought up the rear. Last season Texas 1A Fan was scheduled to broadcast a Whiteface game in Antelope Stadium. The day of the game, the broadcaster had to take care of a family medical emergency, and we weren’t able to make the game. Coach Cline was so gracious. We are hoping (finger’s crossed) to broadcast an Antelope game this season. Coach Cline saw me and sauntered over. He welcomed me to Whiteface. He is such a nice guy, and we had a great conversation in the cool morning air. What a difference between 7AM and 3:30PM temps in August. Several things happened during practice… there are 11 varsity and 14 junior varsity players. Varsity wears blue and junior varsity wears gold. They started out with individual drills and graduated to team drills. There was one drill that I thoroughly enjoyed watching. Each group lined up as if for a kickoff. Coach Cline booted the ball and they had to run all the way downfield to the ball. LOTS of running. The drill looked like it separated the boys from the men. I heard several awesome phrases during this drill.
The Antelopes have a fairly young team. They have only six Juniors and Seniors on this year’s squad. They will contend with Borden County, Meadow, O’Donnell, and Wellman-Union in DI Region 1, District 4. While this might be a year where experience may not be quite there, the Antelopes may jump up and surprise some folks. They will be 26 players strong when the season starts. Thank you, Coach Cline, for making my visit a pleasant one! Good luck, Antelopes. Work hard and go get ‘em! Always remember… go forward and do GOOD! By Dency McClure It’s been a while since I had seen the Three Way field. The last time I saw it there was still construction happening. It was nice to drive up and see a beautiful green field, big nice stands, large press box etc. Very nice, fully finished stadium. My favorite part of the new facility is the big covered porch connected to the weight room and dressing rooms that faces the end of the field. It’s like siting on a nice front porch and enjoying the view with a breeze. Whoever designed it must be a porch sitter like I am. I got there a bit early so I was able to enjoy the porch and watch the junior high practice for a bit. It was definitely hot at 4:00PM. The last bell for the school day rang, and Coach Sparks was rushing kids along to get to their buses. With Three Way being a country community school, I imagine most of the kids ride buses. I didn’t see very many cars there to actually pick students up. Coach Sparks seems to enjoy life in general and love the kids. One girl walked up and he told her she better be behaving or he’d be contacting her parents again. She stopped, looked at him and said “You are my parent!”. From that moment on I knew this was going to be a fun place to be for a while. Once all the high school boys made it over from their last classes and got suited out practice got underway. They started with the normal stretches and then quickly jumped into tackle practice. It looks like Three Way will have a nice number of boys to make up their team this year. There were still a few not able to be in pads yet. Once they are all ready to play, he should have a good group with plenty of backup on the sidelines. Coach Sparks is a very hands on instructor as well as animated. He had the boys and I chuckling off and on as he explained visually what was and wasn’t legal in tackling. Flashbacks to Karate Kid came to mind. Don’t worry no one was hurt. He didn’t actually do the illegal hits on anyone. It was nice to watch the tackle drills and see Coach Sparks energetically jump in and show the kids how to do it right. Coach Sparks was on the field in jeans. I honestly don’t know how he managed the heat in jeans. The heat eventually let me know I needed to head back to the air conditioning. I had a nice visit at Three Way. I can’t wait to catch a game in their beautiful stadium. I might have to get there extra early with a lawn chair to enjoy that porch. See you on the sidelines! By Bobbie Brown
I drove down the road a bit. It was so hot you could see the heat waves coming off the road, but I needed to go visit the Anton Bulldogs. I pulled up behind the school and found a tree outside the stadium and promptly parked. The tree was definitely a bonus! The bulldogs were wandering around and joking with each other. Coach Hoover blew his whistle and stretching started. The practice field grass looked really nice. And the water was shooting out onto nice green grass next door at the Dog Pound. I learned later that the maintenance guys on staff at Anton ISD take care of the fields. Shout out to them! They do a great job! The managers had the right idea. They were in the shade of the side of the gym prepping water and making sure everyone stayed hydrated. The Bulldogs are 16 strong. Coach Hoover anticipates a few more to get back in town soon and believe they will have 20 out for Anton this year. I had to laugh about one player. He kept losing his mouthpiece… in the grass. I counted how many times… at least four. He didn’t seem too concerned about it, but his teammates were. That’s what you call teamwork… keeping up with a mouthpiece on a field with lots of grass. I was impressed. I am a firm believer in fundamentals. After warmups, the bulldogs worked drill after drill working on fundamentals. During one blocking drill with the dummy, I finally found a place and just stood waiting. They blocked and pushed that dummy all over the practice field. They didn’t care which direction it was facing. The players jumped around to the side and took the dummy for a ride across the field. I was able to have a nice conversation with Coach Hoover. We talked about COVID (of course) and the summer and all things related to football and school. I always enjoy talking with Coach Hoover. He’s excited about this year and hopes it starts and keeps on going without any stoppage due to the pandemic. I think we are all right there with you, coach! I commented on the really awesome helmets this year. They are yellow with a chrome stripe and purple bulldogs inside the shape of Texas. Seriously… really cool helmets! With all the gold and purple, the Bulldogs look a little bit like a team from Louisiana we all know. He indicated that the new uniforms were coming. He had received a call and the jerseys had been found. Seems they were in one of four thousand boxes shipped to Dallas. People were working overtime to find uniforms for teams and get them shipped out to schools. Today they were looking for the pants. Hopefully, they will get them as I will probably see the Bulldogs in week two. They have a Thursday night game at the Dog Pound. Invitation accepted! The Bulldogs bring back all of their team from last year’s playoff squad. Yep... that's right... every last player. Last year they slid under the radar. Anton wasn’t picked to do well in 2019 and yet, they made it to the second round of the playoffs and ran into a very talented and eventual State runner-up Motley County. This year the Bulldogs have only two seniors. Experience from last year will definitely give them a leg up in District 3. In district, they will face Amherst, Cotton Center, Lazbuddie, and Whitharral. I see them making a run into the playoffs again this year in DII Region I. After an hour and a half in the 100+ temps, it was time for me to take my leave. As I was passing the front of the school, I glanced at the electronic sign in front of the gym. It read 105. Woo. That’s hot. I really enjoyed my visit with Coach Hoover and the Bulldogs. Good luck, guys. Week one is right around the corner! Always Remember… go forward and do GOOD! By Dency McClure I got up before the sun this morning to get ready to head out to Jonesboro for their 7 am practice. When I double checked the GPS, I realized I would be traveling heavily animal populated roads again in the dark. All I could think was when will it be light outside? I braved the roads in the dark again in my little Fiat. Wouldn’t you know it, I hit a skunk right out of the gate. Thankfully, the smell was probably as light as it gets after hitting a skunk. I made the rest of the trip just fine. Pretty sure a player running a bit late zoomed past me a few miles out from Jonesboro. The school was easy to find because I just followed the row of older pick up trucks down the road and behind the school to the field house. I was greeted by a friendly group of town dogs that had a great time sniffing the skunk smell on my car. I waited with the group of boys for practice to start. One was asking everyone what they wanted to listen to and getting the music playing. He also gave a regular countdown for the moment they were to start their workout. When he announced the start time all the players began moving in mass toward a maze of hurdles and began making their way through the maze. I had no idea the hurdles were set up in that area for them. I had to move back from where I had been standing to stay out of the way. It was impressive to watch them go over and under etc with such uniformity and routine. I followed the boys and coaches around to different areas set up for drills. Everything was very organized. They had plenty of room to have multiple drill stations. Coach Gallegos took time out to come visit with me for a bit. I always enjoy our talks. We grew up not too far apart. I graduated from Newcastle and he from Strawn. Our schools played each other often. I have to admit I am older than he is so we weren’t in high school at the same time. The Jonesboro stadium sits on a flat area on a hill. You walk down from the parking area then down the bleachers on the side of the hill to the field. If you go behind the visitor stands to a practice area, you could walk even further down the hill to an area where there are lots of trees and some goats. It was a very pleasant and peaceful setting in the early morning. The field grass was green and had a heavy dew. The footballs had to be dried often because of the dew. I had to get a photo of one of the younger coaches’ socks. They were very colorful with Big Bird on them. They made me chuckle, and he wore them proudly. The Superintendent was there helping run practice. He liked one song that played on their little portable sound system so much that he kept singing it loudly even after the song was over. He told everyone he wished that song would just play continuously as it’s a great upbeat song. Everyone was relaxed and having a good time even if it was a workout. I got to see passing drills, tire roll tackles, and some fox and hound plays. I left before practice was completely over. The friendly dogs escorted me back to my car and enjoyed sniffing the skunk smell again. One was very fluffy without much of a tail. One appeared to be a German Shepherd and the others...I’m not sure about. A very friendly bunch though. I have covered many Jonesboro football games, but for some reason, never actually in Jonesboro. I decided to drive around town a bit and see what was there. Like most 1A towns, it didn’t take very long to see most of it. Jonesboro is a very attractive little town with a lot going for it. I headed back to Meridian turning at the sign pointing to Fairy. Now I don’t know about y’all, but after seeing multiple signs to Fairy over the last few days I decided I must go see this Texas Fairy town. It was a bit out of the way but I couldn’t be that close and not go. It was about what I expected. Beautiful, tiny brightly colored flying fairies greeted me and buzzed all around my stinky skunk car. Nah, it was a very pretty little town though. Glad I went, for now I know what is in Fairy and where it is. According to the Texas State Historical Association website, Fairy was named after a Confederate Army Captain's daughter. I made it back to my base camp safely without hitting any more animals. See you on the sidelines! By Dency McClure
I received a message from Coach Guereca shortly before leaving for Iredell. He was telling me where to enter the campus, and that I needed to have a mask on, and that he would have to check my temperature. All pretty standard things in this day and age. I have just learned to stay prepared and go with the flow. Once I got out of my car, I could hear the music and the sound of weights clinking. Coach Guereca was watching for me and signaled me in to the gym to take my temperature. I have to admit I was a bit worried, as it was very hot outside, that my body temp might be up and he would need to send me packing. Thankfully, I passed the test, and we went on with our plans. I watched the boys finish lifting and I have to say they have a very nice weight room. I followed one of the younger boys who was taking supplies to the field. I was immediately struck by the huge oak trees set back from the end of the field. I can’t even begin to imagine how old they are. It may have been the heat more than their beauty that drew me to their shade. At 4:30 in the afternoon in August, it is hot. The school has put nice tables under them for people to enjoy. Yep, I set myself and my water down under the biggest one while I waited on the boys and coaches. Every precaution possible was taken for keeping Covid away at Iredell ISD. The waterboys wore gloves and masks. All the coaches and any kids watching were also in masks. Not to mention me, too. It was definitely hot in a mask with the heat. But I wasn’t about to miss taking pictures. Luckily, I was able to stand in the shade of the big trees and take photos of the boys on the practice field. The shade actually extended onto the practice field a little bit. Plus, there was a glorious breeze that blew every now and again. The stadium field backs up to the practice field. All that separates them is a field goal. All the grass was a beautiful green and a creek runs alongside both. I walked over to look and there is a bit of a sharp drop to the water. Definitely not the dry area of Texas I live in now. There is a nice playground with a sun cover as well as a covered area with tables and chairs for the concession stand. The area is well laid out and impressive. As I enjoyed my shade for taking photos, I wondered how on earth the coaches kept their mask on in the direct sun and heat. They really didn’t seem too bothered by it. I’m guessing they have gotten used to it and are more concerned with what is going on in the practice. During a water break, they asked me where I had been so far and where I was planning to go. I have so many on my list it took me a moment to think of any. I finally was able to name a few after my short brain lapse. Iredell has a nice number of players. Enough to play with a few extra for rotation and support. Even though it was hot the boys did well and worked together. Defense and tackle drills were the main event for the day. I had told Coach Guereca not to worry about me. That at some point he would look up and I would be gone. With not too much longer left in practice, I decided to head for the car and get the AC going. See you on the sidelines! |
The Zone
We all have a story... a funny story or a serious story. This space is for those stories that make us laugh or cry or feel motivated. Archives
September 2023
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