Armchair Quarterback: Hard work key to end of streak
Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow.
Not only was the streak broken Friday night at Nunley Stadium, but the boys in red put an old-fashioned butt-whooping on the visitors, who, by the way, expected the goal posts to come down next week.
Yep, there were some surprised looks on the faces of the Bradley Central Bear faithful as they filed out in the third quarter, perhaps seeing another 0-10 season in their future.
“We didn’t think the goal posts would come down this week,” said one depressed Bear fan as he watched the student body rip down the south goal post following the Pioneers’ 34-12 win Friday night, breaking the 39-game schneid.
Hey, I don’t feel a bit bad for them. There was a lot of talk going into the week about how Bradley Central would have a “confidence builder” at our expense Friday night. Of course, this all became bulletin board material and fuel for the fire, a fire which burned the Bears in the biggest butt-whooping the Pioneers have given out since the Nurseryman’s Bowl of 1991.
So, how’d this happen? How did the Pioneers not only snap the state’s longest active losing streak but also field what appears to be a competitive team? It’s called hard work and dedication. I know first hand because I’ve seen a lot of these guys working hard in the city weight room throughout the summer, on top of their regular training regiments. It’s one thing to do something with the coach standing over you, it’s another to go out on your own and go above and beyond.
Folks, if you weren’t at Nunley Friday night, you missed a treat. Our guys hit hard and they ran faster than their opponents. Yes, heart has something to do with it, but without skills, heart will just get you hurt and beat at the same time. These guys showed skills.
“No he didn’t. Tell me I didn’t just see that,” one of my friends exclaimed as quarterback Josh Paz made an ankle-snapping cut in the open field.
And, while I’m handing out game balls, let me say Paz did something I haven’t seen at Nunley in a long time, that being, he was hitting receivers coming out of their cuts and in stride and the receivers were hauling them in. Heck, Nick Cantrell made the greatest catch I’ve ever seen a Pioneer make when he ran under what appeared to be an overthrow, dove and caught the pass for a touchdown.
“Ouch, now that’s going to leave a mark,” said another friend of the shot Jevon Ramsey put on some defender late in the game as the tailback not only ran well, but he also broke many a tackle Friday night.
If you didn’t make it to Nunley Friday night, make your plans for this Friday as we host DeKalb County, because these guys can play. Remember all those years of depression? It appears it may be time for payback.
Now I’m not yelling playoffs or anything, yet, but, to me, it appeared the Pioneers were more good than the Bears were bad, and, the score was actually closer than the game would suggest since the home team, unlike some visitors at Nunley Stadium (cough, cough, Riverdale) did not try to run up the score.
When you’ve got a good balance of pass and run, as do the Pioneers this year, with the ability of the quarterback to move around, you’re going to be in a lot of games.
How impressed am I? Well, not only am I going to see them play Smithville here this week, I’m talking about driving down to Fayetteville in two weeks to catch them on the road.