Centre College

Football this year has been rough.  To be completely honest, football this year has been the most depressing thing to happen in my sophomore year of college.  Sitting at a 3-5 season, Trinity football is on the brink of having its worst season in 19 years.  I feel ashamed to have contributed to this disaster, but in my pride I tell you that I have given it my all, and came up short.  But, I have to move on, and after losing to the undefeated DePauw by 1 point and Huntington by a whopping 20, the only thing I can do is keep on keeping on and prepare for this weeks matchup.

tigerturfworld.com

Centre college has been a very consistent team, and will be a difficult competitor.  Schoolwork has taken its toll, with a course long project for marketing and a second midterm in economics due tomorrow, I have a lot of work on my hands.  Unfortunately, its even harder for some of our other players.  Our current starting receiver won't be with us these next two weeks, so that he can try to manage his grades and pass for this semester.  Its hard to hear that a perfectly healthy athlete will be out the rest of the season due to GRADES... I can't imagine if that were myself.  Regardless of whose playing and whose not, our team needs to be resourceful and work together these last two weeks to fight off a losing season.  I will practice up to my ability, with enthusiasm, and pray that success comes with it.  In three days, I will be on an airplane once again, fully dressed coat and tie, with one thing on my mind: "Leave No Doubt".

Headed to the Mountains...

Taken from my Iphone

Since playing a great game against the undefeated Birmingham in Alabama, we had somehow managed to fall apart completely and lose to TLU 42-14.  Frustrated and confuzed as to how that happened, the team and I could only move forward.  We were headed to Tennessee the following weekend to play the University of the South in a battle between the two tiger teams. Even though the rough loss to TLU motivated me to work hard on the football field, unfortunately in didn't provide the same motivation towards my schoolwork.  I had managed to finish and edit a paper for my history class that week in good hopes of getting an A, but couldn't muster up enough energy to really focus on my marketing test on that Thursday. With all the rigorous work my body has been putting in these past three weeks, I felt like I needed a short break.  After completing the test right before Fall break, I left the classroom feeling helpless and a bit pissed off.  Fortunately, we were leaving the next day to fly up to Tennessee to play at Sewanee's beautiful looking campus.
     When we finally arrived on to Sewanee's campus, it was just as I had imagined.  The trees were perfectly in season, reflecting the orange and yellow leaves all across the campus.  I was excited, as was the entire team, to cap off another away victory.  The defense did all it could in stopping Sewanee's offense, holding them to just 3 points, and scoring a touchdown of their own to help our offense out which was much needed.  The offense we brought to Sewanee resembled a bunch of middle school kids trying to get a brown leather football down a field to score. It was awful.  Luckily, we still won 17-3, putting our season record at 3-3.  We were happy, but at the same time already axious to improve, as we had a much bigger tiger to beat the following week- the 6-0 Depauw Tigers.

Next Stop: Alabama.

beyondthebottle.org

It had be three weeks with constant home games, with one meager win and two losses.  We were more than ready at this point to get our act together and play like a team, whether it be at our own field or anywhere else.  It just so happened that this week, we were up against a strict undefeated opponent on their own field: Birmingham Southern.

Practice this week went very well, the only problem was none other than Trinity's school work.  I had a paper and a test due on the same day, with still three quarters of a book left to read for the paper.  It was Monday, and so I began.  I spent nearly the whole night reading chapter after chapter, taking notes as I went along.  I gathered enough information to begin writing my first page, and before I knew it I was done with the entire paper by Tuesday afternoon.  I figured that left ample time to buckle down after practice and study my notes for two whole days before my test for Marketing Thursday.  All this, and still my mind was focused on my team's preparation for the Bulldogs. Once Thursday arrived and had gone; my test, paper, and last day of preparation for Birmingham were done and I never looked back.

By Friday afternoon, and around 6 pm, our team had flown and arrived to Birmingham, Alabama.  We stayed at the Sheraton Hotel, eager to rest and focus on tomorrow's game. When we bused over to the team's campus, the college football atmosphere was already in full swing.  People were tailgating, cheerleaders dancing, and families and friends were having conversation all around.  We headed to the locker room, suited up once again, and went to the football field for our first away game.

With the fans buzzing, and 52 of our finest athletes surrounding our every move, we played up to our fullest potential with passion in our hearts and motivation in our minds.  We let those undefeated Bulldogs know who the Trinity Tigers were with every snap, marching down the field for two hundred and fifty yards rushing!  We ended our second victory with an impressive score of 38 points to 28, beating Birmingham for the fourth year in a row.  The only thing left to do now was head home, luggage in hand, and prepare for another week of football!

First Game





eteamz

After the treacherous two week journey going into school, we felt ready and eager to play our first game against Howard Payne.  Expectations were high, and things were looking good.  On Saturday (game day), the day began with the usual breakfast and consumption of water, water, and more water.  I felt well rested and ready to take it to HPU.  At around 3 o'clock, I headed to the locker room to prepare.  We went over our script, and before we knew it, the lights were on and I was in my pads ready to go.  When we entered the field, the crowd was ecstatic! Their Trinity Tigers had returned for another exciting year of college football.  The game began with our own Tigers driving down the field and scoring. Things were going as planned.  But, with a myriad of fumbles, and botched play calls, we found ourselves down by a point at halftime.

When we came out in the second half, we got our act together, and, along with the defense, we were coming back.  It was fourth quarter now, and we were down by a touchdown.  I was extremely exhausted by this point, but ready for anything.  We came back and tied the game, sending it into overtime.  This had been my first collegiate overtime game, so I wasn't sure what to expect. They had the ball first, and put it through the uprights for a field goal to start things off.  The offense thing did what they had to do, matching a field goal as well, causing us to go into yet another over time.  Our team was revved up, and determined to put this one away.  The defense forced another field goal, and when their kicker missed, we knew it was our time to shine. We drove down the field, and on a 3 and 4, BOOM! Touchdown!  All the players rushed the field in jubilation; we had just won our season opener in double overtime.  We went wild, and knew it time for yet another great season as a Trinity Football Player

photo citation: http://www.eteamz.com/TexasSlam/news/index.cfm?cat=491192

Road to Glory

August 12th.  It began as a normal, hot, sticky summer day entering the Bell center of Trinity University.  I had begun my journey for another shot at the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship title for the Trinity Tigers football team.  Being a sophomore, I had already learned the ropes from last year, so I wasn't just another first year recruit experiencing another home away from home. In other words, it wasn't "my first rodeo", by any means.  The excitement and anxiety flowing through my system was more than enough to get me going for the new year.  It was two weeks before school, and all the football players were moving into their new dorm rooms.  My roommate, James, was there as well as the lead student athletic trainer for Trinity.  Another chapter of my life had just begun.
We started camp with athletes puking their brains out, sweat racing from our bodies, and a strong goal set in mind- "leave no doubt".  Players were conditioning their bodies and getting their farmer tans preparing for our first game against Howard Payne University.  We were bonding as a team, singing songs in the lunch room and making the freshman do their infamous "freshman skits" at the end of the two weeks. I'll be honest, I didn't enjoy the monotonous day-to-day itinerary we had for the two weeks, but I was more than willing to give everything I had for our team.
Classes were closing in, and students were piling in faster than I had realized.  Camp was ending, and I had to start preparing my mind for yet another very important goal: my future.