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.