Friday Night Lights 2013: Week 7
Tonight’s Battle for the Boot between West and City was an epic nail-biter.
Yep — I ended up going. Earlier this week, I coyly asked my dad, “Which game do you want to go to Friday night?” He looked at me and cocked one eyebrow, as if I had said something crazy. Both Lone Tree and Solon were playing games at home, but he said we might as well go to the City–West game. Both teams were playing good football and a good game was expected.
[Sigh.]
Honestly, I cannot stand the thought of watching West beat City High in football. I saw it happen three times when I was in high school and do not care to see it again. I know, I know: it’s probably pathetic and stupid for a man my age to be so anxious about a high school football game. But for some reason, after all these years, the Battle for the Boot still gets me worked up. Perhaps I bought into the allure of the rivalry, with its symbolic golden boot, a little too much when I was younger — and I suppose it was easy given the hype and the game’s magnitude when I was in junior high and high school. Things have changed since then, and for years I was oblivious to which team won. But things are different when I am there, at the game. My emotions are running high and I want a win. And that is thankfully what I saw tonight at Bates Field.
West received the opening kickoff and the Trojan offense was quite flustered at first. The Trojans needed to burn a timeout early because they could not read the City High defense on third down. They eventually punted — a shank of eight or nine yards — and the Little Hawks took over inside West’s 40, eventually running in for a touchdown. West High kept their next drive alive with rollout passes, then pounded the ground with their bruising fullback to tie the game, 7–7.
And that is what the score remained for much of the game. West High had a promising drive at the end of the first half but missed a field goal. In the second, third, and fourth quarters, City High drove the ball inside West’s 25 on four different occasions and came up empty. The Little Hawks turned the ball over on downs twice, missed a field goal, and fumbled. City High was moving the ball on the ground and chewing up a ton of clock while West High’s offense sputtered.
After the City High fumble in the fourth quarter, the Trojans fumbled and the Little Hawks took over with about six minutes left. It was do-or-die time. After a fourth down conversion, City High’s running back broke free and rumbled into the end zone. After the extra point, the score was 14–7 with over three minutes left.
This year’s West High team is no stranger to late-game adversity. The Trojans have won two close games this year, but both were tied toward the end. Could West High equalize in the waning seconds of this game?
The end was agonizing to watch. West converted two fourth down situations and reached the City High 1-yard-line with less than eight seconds left. After a spike, a false start penalty, a City High timeout, and a few referee conferences for who knows what, the Trojans were on the City High 6-yard-line with around five seconds left. West’s quarterback dropped back for a pass and rolled right, then left as he was being chased, and eventually overthrew a receiver in the end zone.
Phew! Afterward, my dad said, “I don’t need any more games like that.”
I know what he means.
Yep — I ended up going. Earlier this week, I coyly asked my dad, “Which game do you want to go to Friday night?” He looked at me and cocked one eyebrow, as if I had said something crazy. Both Lone Tree and Solon were playing games at home, but he said we might as well go to the City–West game. Both teams were playing good football and a good game was expected.
[Sigh.]
Honestly, I cannot stand the thought of watching West beat City High in football. I saw it happen three times when I was in high school and do not care to see it again. I know, I know: it’s probably pathetic and stupid for a man my age to be so anxious about a high school football game. But for some reason, after all these years, the Battle for the Boot still gets me worked up. Perhaps I bought into the allure of the rivalry, with its symbolic golden boot, a little too much when I was younger — and I suppose it was easy given the hype and the game’s magnitude when I was in junior high and high school. Things have changed since then, and for years I was oblivious to which team won. But things are different when I am there, at the game. My emotions are running high and I want a win. And that is thankfully what I saw tonight at Bates Field.
West received the opening kickoff and the Trojan offense was quite flustered at first. The Trojans needed to burn a timeout early because they could not read the City High defense on third down. They eventually punted — a shank of eight or nine yards — and the Little Hawks took over inside West’s 40, eventually running in for a touchdown. West High kept their next drive alive with rollout passes, then pounded the ground with their bruising fullback to tie the game, 7–7.
And that is what the score remained for much of the game. West High had a promising drive at the end of the first half but missed a field goal. In the second, third, and fourth quarters, City High drove the ball inside West’s 25 on four different occasions and came up empty. The Little Hawks turned the ball over on downs twice, missed a field goal, and fumbled. City High was moving the ball on the ground and chewing up a ton of clock while West High’s offense sputtered.
After the City High fumble in the fourth quarter, the Trojans fumbled and the Little Hawks took over with about six minutes left. It was do-or-die time. After a fourth down conversion, City High’s running back broke free and rumbled into the end zone. After the extra point, the score was 14–7 with over three minutes left.
This year’s West High team is no stranger to late-game adversity. The Trojans have won two close games this year, but both were tied toward the end. Could West High equalize in the waning seconds of this game?
The end was agonizing to watch. West converted two fourth down situations and reached the City High 1-yard-line with less than eight seconds left. After a spike, a false start penalty, a City High timeout, and a few referee conferences for who knows what, the Trojans were on the City High 6-yard-line with around five seconds left. West’s quarterback dropped back for a pass and rolled right, then left as he was being chased, and eventually overthrew a receiver in the end zone.
Phew! Afterward, my dad said, “I don’t need any more games like that.”
I know what he means.
