By Bruce Darrow
Is there a better way to spend a fall Saturday afternoon, then watching your favorite team play? To most people this would sound like a dumb question, while others it is considered a no brainer.
As a parent you watch your child grow from a cute little \”T\’ Ball player to a young man playing in front of playoff crowds and cable television. A boy who once turned to the sidelines for reassurance from their parents, now glare into the stands to find that special girl.
Five hours after a stinging playoff lost to Woodbury, I still find it hard to believe the Lion\’s lost. Only one minutes and twenty three seconds stood between another round of playoff football as the Lion\’s held a 21 -20 lead. These \”Cardiac Kids\” were once again in a full 32 minute battle.
This time unlike the other five times when the game was on the line and our Lion\’s walked off with the victory, the tide was turned on the Lion\’s when Woodbury marched 8o yards in 30 seconds to take a 26 – 21 game winning lead with 53 seconds
Trailing in the fourth 20 – 7, Gloucester\’s Adam Dick scored from 3 yards out narrowing the score 20 – 14 with under 5:00 remaining. The Lion\’s defense forced a Woodbury punt on their next possession and with under 3 minutes remaining the Lion\’s took over.
Quarterback Steve Steve Goad hit Brian Collins at the Woodbury 11. The Lion\’s push the ball to the Herd\’s 2 yard line with 1:30 remaining before Goad took a sneak into the end zone giving the Lion\’s a 21 -20 lead after the PAT.
Still the Herd with 1:53 and three timeouts remaining and QB Brian Purnell making his start for the injured Donte Harvey, guided the Herd down field after a VERY unpopular call on a fumble recovery by the Lion\’s Mike Becker was turned back over to the Herd.
Purnell hit running back Sheldon Jackson in the back of the end zone for the winning score.
After this devastating loss I watched the reactions of the parents, fans, players and coaches. Many saying I can\’t believe what just happened. Of course some fans put the blame on a dropped pass, some say WE recovered that fumble, some blame it on an interception. But, many parents wore the loyalty and the passion of this Lion\’s team in their facial expressions. Sadness was the order. Each parent felt worse about their little boy and his team than anything else at the moment.
As I picked up my own son after the game and after a VERY brief conversation, I realized how important the term \”FAMILY\” meant to this team. Fans must realize that NO pass was thrown with the intention to have it intercepted! NO receiver decided to drop a pass! NO player missed a tackle on purpose! NO runner fumbled for no reason. And every player gave 100% effort. The coaches did not make a call which was intended to harm our Lion\’s.
These boys from the starters to the bench players have been together since early August and have been through some tough situations. On the sidelines you see how each player encourages the player who is playing in front of him. You realize that this team is Gloucester City, a hard worker with a strong family unit. This is a testament to the coaching staff.
Gloucester High School Sports is the only diversion many players and parents have in life. This team is responsible for much of the community pride. Football in Gloucester is more than a sport. Saturday football in Gloucester is about unity. It is about young men fulfilling their few dreams. It is young players who face daily struggles, making the best of an opportunity only to please a community. To many this is their only sense of pride.
In Woodbury Saturday parents realized that they have 36 children playing not just one. They felt sorrow for ALL these players. Remember this same quarterback threw many important touchdowns this season, the receivers made many important catches this season, the same missed tackle was made hundreds of times this season and YES we did recover many fumbles this season.
Every March college basketball starts March Madness with 65 teams. By the end of March, 64 teams go home in defeat. Remember that most of these 64 losing teams are conference winners. Champions! Many teams are the most elite programs in the country.
It may be hard to forget the end result of the Woodbury game, but look at the six times this season when Gloucester walked home with the victory. Remember when many families were vacationing, when others were home eating a family dinner, these young men were giving all of Gloucester everything they had Monday through Friday in the heat, in the cold and darkness, then going home to fulfill their educational responsibilities just so Gloucester City can have that Saturday Morning pride each week.
Tomorrow your hurt will be gone, it will be another week of work and the players will begin preparing for next week and in the end the Lion\’s will enter the field on Thanksgiving Day with the same will and desire to walk off with a victory.
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