Race After Practice

Well we've managed to have a good week of practice despite the crappy weather. As I mentioned in the previous blog, our team was in good spirits at the beginning of the week, and it carried over into Monday night's practice when we all stayed on the field for an extra few minutes to settle the dispute as to who is the fastest player on our team. Corey Watson and Sanchez Deschamps were arguing that each could out-run the other, so naturally, they had to race. Some of the defensive guys felt like we needed a representative in the competition, so we nominated Devaughn Harper to step up. 

So the three of them set up on the goalline to run the 40 yard dash, and they all stripped down to their Reebok tights to try and reduce wind resistance (serious bragging rights were on the line).  The rest of the team was lined up on either side of the hashmark, and everyone was cheering for one of the guys; I don't know how many actual bets were made, but some of the guys were really getting into it. Then, once the runners were ready, we had to call them back twice due to false starts. We finally got an even start and Sanchez had a quick jump on Watson and Harper. The two traillers almost caught up once they got to full stride, but Sanchez pulled away in the last 10 yards, separating himself from Harper by about 2 yards. 

So I guess Sanchez is the fastest Stinger on our team. Perhaps the smartest though is Watson, as because just before we 'broke it down', someone yelled out that he had bet on Sanchez.  

It's been a busy week, and though I mentioned last week that I wasn't stressed about midterms, I did end up spending a lot of time writing a midterm essay. This week has gotten off to a great start though, as we were at the Concordia sports complex yesterday to watch film and take our team picture. The complex was the busiest I've ever seen it, as soccer, hockey, rugby and wrestling were all going on, and everyone was in a good mood after our win against Sherbrooke the day before. How we play on the weekends has a great effect on our team's frame of mind, and this week at practice should be a positive one. 

Beating Sherbrooke had a big impact on the final standings in the conference; they are our opponents again next week in round one of the play-offs, and since we both finished with a record of 5-3, our win against them gives us the tie-breaker and we will host the game next week. 

The elements were a huge factor on Saturday, and the heavy rain definitely altered the offensive play-calling. Still, the conditions were equal for both teams, and we feel like we outplayed them in all 3 phases of the game. We're not sure yet what the weather will be like this weekend, but looking ahead at the forecast, it looks like we'll be practicing in some pretty cold temperatures; so between the cold and the rain, we should be prepared to play in whatever Mother Nature throws at us. 

Mid-Term Anxiety

Experiencing it for the fifth year now, I can undoubtedly say that this time of the season is the most stressful and taxing for university football players.  This 'time' in mid-October is when most classes have their mid-term exams.  Thankfully, in my case, I've already graduated, and will be receiving the diploma that proves it next month.  Not to say that I won't make an effort in the classes I'm currently enrolled in- I'm just not as stressed out as I would have been in previous years.

For the rest of the team though, this mid-term anxiety is all going on while we're preparing for the final 2 weeks of the season, and we're expected to be putting an increasing number of hours into studying our opponents game films, and learning our game plans.  Football never gets neglected, but I can see the effects of the stress on the guys who are trying to balance this while studying for school. Guys can be heard in the locker room asking each other if they've started their essays yet, or if they're up to date on their readings; topics which normally wouldn't exist within the locker room walls during other times of the year.  

Although it is not always the case, most of us are in school to get our degree while playing football. Those that manage this feat will have to succeed in their mid-terms; and the football teams who peak at the right time and excel throughout the end of the season must not get overwhelmed by them.  It wouldn't be completely accurate to say that the best university football teams are made up of the best students, but they do have the ability to balance their academics and athletics efficiently, and get good results out of both. 

After the Break

After a couple of days off for Thanksgiving, we're back at practice tonight.  Many of our out-of-town players had gone home to their families following our 66-13 defeat of Mount Allison on Saturday.  I expect that everybody will be fresh and ready for the final two weeks of the regular season. We've got two big games ahead of us, and must win both to be able to assure second place, and a home play-off game. 

Bishops is our next opponent, and we won't overlook the fact that they are in desperate need of a win.  So far, this season has been full of upsets and surprises across the CIS.  Some teams with high expectations like Ottawa and Manitoba have struggled, while perennial basement-dwellers Toronto and Mount Allison each have two wins.  It's proof that the competition has been high throughout the whole season, and no team will win a game merely by showing up.

The W is All That Matters

The last 3 minutes of this Saturday's game versus Universite de Montreal seemed like the longest last 3 minutes I've ever experienced. After leading 10-2 at half-time and completely shutting down their offense, we allowed them to take the lead early in the second half, and they were seemingly in position to win the game. It became even more discouraging when, what I thought would be our last possession failed, and we had to punt the ball away. Montreal picked up a first down, and ran the clock out as much as they could, but were forced to punt the ball back to us with about a minute left. 2 penalties on the initial punt, an illegal substitution and a no-yards penalty, forced the referees to a lengthy conference to figure out the result of the play. At this point, I had pretty much abandoned hope, and was just waiting for the fourth quarter to expire. Montreal ended up having to punt again though, which would have pinned us deep in our own end had it not been for a personal foul that advanced the ball fifteen yards. Liam and the offense took the ball with less than a minute left and no time-outs. Time was running down when Liam connected with Mike Donnelly over the middle for a first down, leaving 1.8 seconds on the clock. With only 1 play left, Liam took the ball at midfield was forced from the pocket. After hurdling a Montreal defender who had forced him to the sidelines, Liam threw a pass that was much shorter than expected, to Sanchez Deschamps who was underneath most of the coverage. Deschamps turned upfield though, and cut across the flow against all of the Montreal defenders who had completely over-pursued. I had lost sight of the play at this point, standing behind some of my teammates on the sidelines, only to see Deschamps re-emerge into my vision with a clear path to the endzone in front of him. Never before had I experienced such an immediate change in emotion, from a feeling of pure disgust to a feeling of pure exhilaration. After scrambling to get our whole team off the field, we kicked the convert to win the game by a single point. I can't wait to see the play again on film, as I'm still in shock over how we were able to win that game.

O-LIne vs. D-Line Touch Football

On Monday night, we reconvened to watch film and run, as per our usual day-after-game routine. It is never an intense practice, as our bodies always need a day to recover from the game, and we usually just do a stretch-run. This week however, the O-Line had the audacity to challenge the D-Line to a game of touch football. Now, to put this into perspective for anyone who isn't close to our team, this is a big deal for our O-Line. They play touch football, it seems as often as possible, while the rest of the team is in special teams meetings. Though it doesn't exist in tangible form, they practically have a touch football playbook that they recall from memory.

Regardless, we as a D-Line were still confident in our ability to win, especially since some of our bigger guys sat out to nurse their aching bodies. This created match-up nightmares for the O-Line all over the field, as their bulk was no match for our speed. Still, the O-Line managed to post the first score of the game, on a go-route no less, on a beautifully thrown ball to Christian Matte, who reeled in an over-the-shoulder catch for the touchdown. Needless to say, this took us by surprise, and we stepped up our game from that point on. Despite questionable quarterbacking from JP Binette and Sasha Palatnikov, our D-Line managed to move the ball up the field with ease and put up points. Will Miller and myself proved to be legitimate deep threats, while Nate Agadzi was a menace on the defensive side of the ball. The O-Line made a late push to make it respectable, but the D-Line prevailed with a 5 scores to 3 victory. Will there be a rematch? With the egos on our team- most definitely.