High school football. I was about to start my first high school year of football. I was so nervous that I was puking every morning for the last week! I didn’t  even know why I was so nervous. I guess it was because I was going to playing on the number one football team in the state of Texas. That is a really big deal in Texas.
    

I talked to the coaches in the beginning of summer and they said I had a good chance to start on Varsity at middle linebacker. The starter last year graduated. That is a big deal for a freshman to be a starter on a varsity team especially on the number one team.
   

The year before, We had made it to the the final four teams in the state. Our new coming rivals The Yoakum bulldogs beat us by two in the final couple of minutes of the game.  If we had just took care of the ball. We had the ball driving down the field. All we needed was one more play to get in the end zone. Out of nowhere are star running back loses the football. He tries to get it back with a lung toward it. He fails, the bulldogs recover.  Everyone was heartbroken, It was a very sad time for The Tigers.
  

If we had won that game we would have been in the state championship, which our school has never done that before. The other team in the championship was Mineola. This team was not better than us. They had an easy run to the championship playing very weak teams that they beat like a drum. The thought of this makes me sick to my stomach knowing that if we didn’t fumble we would probably been state champions. My job this year was to change that. I was here for one reason and one reason only, to win a state championship. It would be tough but if we work hard, listen to our coaches and just believe that we can it is very possible.
     

When I heard that I was going to most likely be on varsity, I started to hit the weight room almost everyday in the summer and running around my neighborhood. I started to see the results about a month into the summer when I was getting in shape. Before I knew it I was almost as strong as most of the varsity players. The coaches were really excited that I was getting strong and fast. I also studied our plays every night before I went to bed. I knew if I wanted any chance to be on varsity this is what it would have taken. The thought of playing varsity football was unbelievable!
    

Tomorrow is the first day of two a days and I was starting to get anxious. So I tried to calm down to go to sleep so I could have energy for tomorrow . I finally fell asleep. When I woke up, I was filled  with excitement. I went to the shower, got out, brushed my teeth and ran to the car where my dad was waiting on me. We drove to the school.When I got out and walked inside all the nerves were gone and it felt sort of weird not to have them anymore. The coaches talked to me and then handed me a jersey. The color of it, white. The jersey of a varsity player. I was so excited! I went to go get dressed. I looked at my jersey and I was just amazed! I thought how proud my dad was going to be when I tell him after practice.
  

The coaches talked to us for a little bit about how this year could be a really big year. The practice was long and hot but it was a very good practice. After practice we got undressed, put our normal clothes on and headed out to the parking lot where my dad waited on me. When I got to the car I jumped in and started to explain everything. After I explained he just smiled at me. So I asked him why he was smiling so much. He just looked at me with that same smile, then told me that he knew that I was going to be on varsity the whole time. I asked him how so he told me that my coach had told him at the beginning of summer. I asked my dad why he didn’t tell me and he said that if I would have known I wouldn’t have worked as hard. It was true, I most likely would have just sat on the couch watching T.V. my whole summer. When we got home I was tired, I didn’t even make it to my room. I just fell on the couch and went to sleep. That was my routine for the next two weeks, until we started school.
     

My first day of school was good. I met all my teachers and got my locker. When I went to athletics, I went in with the varsity players. Then Coach came in. We talked the whole period about greatness. Also about how the team was meant for greatness The last thing we talked about was how we came up short last year in the playoffs.  He then said that this year should not be like last year. His words were “ we will win it all this year.” I believed him, I trusted him. He will be there for us, so I had to be there for him.
       

Once the season got going, it was exciting! Our first five games we won by at least 20 points each game. I was really enjoying the varsity life. I was leading the district in forced fumbles, also fumbles recovered. The best part was when I picked up a fumble and scored! It was so nerve racking. Everyone was jumping on me excited. I was having the best time I have ever had in my life.
     

The next three games were really close. The first game we won by three points. We had to hold them from scoring at the very end. Then the next game we only won by one point! That was scary. We played our hearts out that game. The team we played was our rivals The Teague Lions who were ranked number two in the state. They were big and fast. The third game was against another ranked opponent. The West Trojans who were ranked 7 in the state. We also only won by one point. Those three weeks were very scary. The last game was a breeze for the win. We played our rivals the Eustace Bulldogs. We won by a score of eighty to zero. It was an embarrassing rival game. I ended up runner up in the district for defensive player of the year. I also was on second team all state.

Playoffs. My very first playoff game. Our opponent was The Troy Trojans. They ended up fourth place in their district. The town was very excited about the game. We have a lot of support from The Cedar Creek area.  I was ready.
    

The first half we were up by two touchdowns. We were playing good but not the best we could have been. When we got into the locker room, Coach was very calm. He explained to us what we needed to do. When we went back out we did exactly what he told us to do. We ended up winning by twenty points.
    

The next two weeks we beat Kirbyville and Rockdale by two touchdowns each. We were playing great football. This football team turned into my family. The whole community was at every game. I had my first interview on our local radio station. That was the coolest thing ever! They asked me about the game and about how I am enjoying it. It was awesome.
   

The next week we were tied with Cameron Yoe in over time! They were about to push it in to score. If they scored we would lose. It was fourth down on the five yard line. I told myself if he ran the ball to me I would hit him as hard as I possibly could. The play came and sure enough he ran the ball right at me. I lowered my shoulder and hit him with all I had. Fumble. He lost the ball and our defensive end Parker Busch picked it up. He ran it ninety nine yards for the touchdown! I was so excited. We were going to round five!
     

The next week we beat Yoakum the team that beat us last year by three touchdowns for an easy win to send us to the state championship! We had a big parade when we got back. I had never had so much fun in my life. I was ready to play in the game everyone has been waiting for all year. We were playing Mineola.
     

The game started and we scored on the first drive. We were feeling good. At the end of the first half we were winning fourteen to ten. When we went into the the locker room we talked about how we could throw the game against them. I had seven tackles in the first half. I was feeling good. When we went back out they scored on the first drive. The score was sixteen to fourteen. We scored late into the third quarter to make it twenty one to sixteen. We had the momentum when we held them from scoring when they were on the two yard line. The next drive we went down to score and only got a field goal. The score was twenty four to sixteen. There was two minutes left on the clock. They were driving down the field. The clock got down to five seconds and they were on the ten yard line. One last play. They snapped the ball and the quarterback threw the ball to their best player. He went up and caught the ball in the endzone for the touchdown. No time left on the clock. The score was twenty four to twenty two. They still had one more play to tie the game. A two point conversion. I was ready. I thought they would run the ball. They snapped the ball and the running back came but without the ball. The quarterback had and saw the tight end open and threw it too him. I was in position. The ball came and I caught it. Ball game. We were state champions.