Football Banquet

November 13, 2014. Thursday. Football Banquet. I've always loved banquets, for any sport.. even if they're not mine. It's a time to look over the entire season and appreciate all of the memories that were made. To be honest, while they are very fun and exciting they are also very sad. It's a time when the underclassman have to say goodbye to the departing seniors. And unfortunately one of the departing seniors is my besets friend and also boyfriend (ew I hate that word).
To start off the banquet everyone got lined up to get dinner. As always the freshmen get last pick so there really wasn't any food left when we finally got to the front. After everyone got comfortable the coaches played a slideshow of the games with some pump up music. After that it was on to awards. For the freshmen team there were two possible awards: defensive player of the year and offensive player of the year. The entire team basically knew that Beau would get offensive player and Joey would get defensive player.
The coaches finally got up to the podium and they said they were starting with defensive player. After a couple seconds of suspense our coach called out my name.. wait what? I was shocked. It took me a couple seconds to actually get out of my seat because I thought he confused my brother and I. Once I stood up and started walking on stage I heard everyone start to chant "Preston" (best friend) because they think it's funny to give us a hard time. After the big scene Beau got called up for offensive player as expected. We got plaques and got our pictures taken.

Beau and I after receiving our awards:)

I felt bad for my brother, I felt he deserved the award more and he looked disappointed, but there wasn't anything I could do.
After JV it was time for varsity. The first award was Most Improved. What do ya know, Preston gets it. Right when he started to walk up to the stage all the boys started chanting my name. Just the boys giving us a hard time again. After Preston walked off the stage he said jokingly that it was a big slap in the face getting Most Improved.
The funniest part of the banquet was when the seniors awarded the coaches with their coaches gifts (which were meant to be a joke). For example, the freshmen assistant coach ended up getting a coloring book because we're the babies in the group.

Kaybree (manager) and I after the banquet:)

Overall it ended up being a memorable first banquet, I'll definitely miss my senior boy(s), but I'm looking forward to another memorable year the everyone else.

The Hamstring Bowl

November 27, 2014. Thanksgiving. The one day where everyone is basically required to be thankful for everything they are grateful for (this should happen everyday anyway, I don't know why we have to have one day devoted to it) and there is usually a big dinner. On Thanksgiving my family is always involved in a Thanksgiving football game, now known as the Hamstring Bowl. You may be wondering why it is named that. Well, every year one of the adults either pulls their hamstring or tears it, hence the name. But anyway, every year the games get pretty competitive.. but this year got a little out of hand..
To start the day off my two brothers (Coco and Joey) and my dad woke me up and told me to get ready. We ended up leaving the house around 10:50 to get to the game by 11:00. We showed up and there were about 6 families there. Easy. The teams were split up 3 and 3. The game started and everyone was slipping and sliding because there was still some snow on the ground. The other team ended up scoring a touchdown and we were down by 7. Every time a team got a possessions they scored (the defense was pretty bad). The game kept going and then things started getting out of hand..
My dad and his friends on the other team were getting REALLY into it. They all started pushing each other around, and take in mind my dad is a big guy with a fairly short temper, AND he is very competitive (I think that's where I got it all from). What happened was one of his friends started hitting him, and him being the big guy he is cannot hit back. Anyway my dad started yelling at him and ended up walking off the field and driving home because he knows his limits and didn't want it to get out of hand.
Of course this ruined the mood and upset my bothers and I. After the game, our team ended up losing and I honestly just wanted to go home and sleep.

I was too annoyed to be in the group picture.

Aside from the game my Thanksgiving was a good one and I had a lot and still do have a lot to be thankful for. Quick reminder- tell people how grateful you are for them, you never know the last time you'll see them.

The Little Kid That Could

We are going to venture off from my football life and take a look at my little brother's. My younger brother is 11 and has played football for 4 years. His team, going into a game against South Summit, was 42-0 and had won 3 championships. This game wasn't any ordinary game, it ended up being a game that would change people's perspective on youth football.
The playoff game against the South Summit Wildcats started at 9:00 sharp. The first half was a complete blowout. Park City was beating them by multiple touchdowns. The third quarter was the same deal, Park City was shutting them out. The turn of the game happened at the start of the 4th quarter. The Park City coaches gathered the team up and explained to the kids the situation of the other team. The kids were informed that the other team had a kid with autism. The kids dream was to score a touchdown and everyone was willing to make it happen.
First play of the fourth quarter. The ball was snapped. The other team handed the ball to the autistic kid and he started running. The Park City boys were diving at him and trying to catch up, but they had no chance of catching up the kid was just too good. While running he stepped out of bounds a few times, but the refs kept it going. He was 20 yards from the end zone, 15, 10, 5. He had made it. With everyone's help and unselfishness they had helped a little kid achieve his dream. It was very heart warming. Little acts of kindness can end up meaning the world to someone. *note to self*
After the game parents and coaches sent their gratitude towards the Park City boys, coaches, and parents. They also said they were rooting for them to beat Granger in the Championship Game. They wanted to see Park City with a 4-peat.
The last and final game. The fourth championship game in a row. On Park City's home field. The boys started the game strong, but Granger was definitely bigger and stronger. The half ended with Park City up 7-6. The score stayed the same until the very last seconds. Granger was driving and was extremely close to the end zone. They had a run that made it inches from crossing the line, but there was a penalty. After explaining the penalty the ref informed the sidelines and teams that time had expired. Park City had won their fourth championship game in a row and went 44-0. You don't see many teams do that.

Coco, Kirby, and I after their championship win.

The End Of It All?

I experienced my last two football games of the season. Or maybe ever. We played Stansbury on the 14th and Juan Diego on the 23rd. These past couple of weeks have been hard, football has always been apart of my life and I didn't want it to end so soon. I really wanted to make the most of the last couple of days and kick ass in the games.

First game: Stansbury. We drove an hour after school and arrived. The guys took what seemed like an hour to get dressed, but after around twenty minutes we were all suited up on the field. We finished our dynamics and AJ got the team pumped up by doing his traditional speech in the huddle. We started the game and it was already off to a bad start. NO ONE could tackle, NOTHING was happening on offense, and special teams was TERRIBLE. Oh, and during the game this kid thought it would be funny if he helped me up (after I tackled him) and hit my butt. I thought it was hilarious *sarcasm*. I ended up getting a few tackles but not my desirable amount. The game ended a lot to a little (no need for the score, it was bad). 

Playing *posing* during the Stansbury game

Second game: Juan Diego. Rivals. We all knew we had to leave it all on the field because it was our last game of the season. It was a home game and we knew parents, friends, and family would be there watching. The game had begun.. and it was off to a good start. They scored, we scored, they scored, we scored. There were five seconds left in the first half and JD was up by a touchdown. They threw a pass and Tyler intercepted it and dove into the end zone to put six on the board. Now the second half is when it went down hill.. We couldn't make a stop on defense and we couldn't get anything started on offense. Unfortunately we ended up losing the game by eleven. I was not pleased with myself and you can never end on a bad note. I wouldn't be surprised if I end up playing football my sophomore year.

After our last football game as freshmen(woman)

Can Guys Actually Hit Girls?

October 8 Park City vs Bear River.
To be honest this turned out to be the worst day ever. I went to bed late the night before because I didn't have a good night, at all. I decided it would be a good idea to take first period off and sleep. Once I finally got to school the front desk lady said I wasn't eligible to play since I missed first period. I was completely taken off guard, I freaked out and called my dad. He was able to sort it out with the athletic director which meant I would be able to take the long bus ride down to Bear River.

I was disoriented the whole day and was delighted when it was finally time for us to get checked out. The whole ride there all I was thinking about was the night before, I couldn't get it off my mind. I was in such a bad mood, I was extremely excited to go hit some boys.

After a couple hours we arrived at Bear River. We all unloaded the bus and made our way to the field. Our coaches were still trying to figure out the locker situation so we all kinda dicked around for a while. While we were waiting Bear River showed up and since I didn't have my pads on I got a lot of stares (the usual). All of the boys looked like farmer boys and I swear half of them had mullets. At first glance they didn't look very big and they looked like nice boys, I came to find out that was definitely not the case...

Our coaches finally got our locker room situation down and the guys all went to change while I went into the girls bathroom. I always am the quickest person to change so I was left sitting by myself for  a little while. All I could think about was the previous night, I was getting so much adrenaline and anxiety mixed together. I literally could not wait to go on the field and hit someone.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, the boys all got dressed, we finished dynamics, and the game was about to start. The first play of the game I realized it was going to be a rough and tough one. The lineman I were up against were stocky and very strong. The kid who was lined up on me said, "I got the girl" one of the plays which really ticked me off. I replied with, "Oh really?" and hit him as hard as I could and knocked him to the ground. He got up and made some nasty comments and told me to look at the score board because we were getting out asses kicked. At that point I was so pissed that he was mouthing off that I grabbed his shoulder pads and took him with me to the ground. He got up and punched me, got a personal foul, and the ref separated us. Guys like that ruin my football games.

The final score was 50-0, the kid was right we did get our asses kicked, but I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of knowing I was disappointed. We left immediately after the game and decided to go to Wendy's because honestly food makes everything better. It was a tough game but that's when you know you'll just have to work hard the next week.

Me enjoying my comfort food at Wendy's ;)

Stay tuned for next week when Park City takes on Stansbury!

October 2, Park City vs Highland Junior High

No bus ride. Home game. Highland Junior High. All the guys were looking forward to being at home and playing on our field. Immediately after school ended we all walked to the high school together. Everyone got taped, dressed, put in their headphones, and focused. Personally, I always get nervous before games, but I was especially nervous for this one because my grandparents flew in to watch me. After the nerves finally subsided I was able to start talking about the game with coaches and the guys. Our defensive coordinator had a play where the defensive line (me) switched to go to linebackers during the cadence, that was the only big change we had. Other than that we were ready to play our game of football.

After we all got onto the field we started dynamics and ended with miner-jacks. The captains were called up, we differed, and the game had started. The game was going well, we had scored a couple touchdowns and I realized I had met the refs prior to this season. One of them had ejected my dad from a game the previous year (my dad gets very competitive and usually argues multiples times with the refs). The other ref was an old, but very happy ref. They were both making conversation with me during the game which I thought was pretty funny. Sometimes I thought (not trying to be conceited) they were focusing on me more than making the actual calls. Also, during the game I tackled a kid who I later found out was Devante. He asked my name after a play and kept saying ,"Good job Morgan!" after I got a tackle.

The game ended and the final score was 39-0. We had finally won a game!! That sounds terrible knowing we were so happy for winning a single game, but baby steps are always a good thing.

Sage, Kris, and I after the game :)

We had a talk with our coaches in the end zone, they congratulated us, and right after I made the guys take pictures. The guys have gotten used to me acting like a girl at certain points and they always agree to take pictures. Once pictures were done and the boys left I ran and hugged my grandparents, I was so happy they were able to watch the game we actually won! Preston also came over and gave me a hug and introduced himself to my grandparents.

Preston and I after the game :)

I said my goodbyes and went to leave for the locker room. On the way down I saw four of the guys we had just played against. One of them introduced himself as Devante (the kid that kept saying good job to me during the game) and told me his name was one to remember. I always enjoy guys that are nice to me and accept me as a player in the game, not just a girl.

Stay tuned for next week when the freshman team takes on Bear River!

September 26 Park City vs Uintah Utes

Throwing it back to two weeks ago. Park City Freshmen (and woman) travel to Uintah to face the Utes. Obviously, the point of being on the football team is actually playing in the games, but the bus rides always add an interesting and always fun aspect to the season. The bus ride to Uintah is 2 1/2 hours. Most "normal" people would sleep their way through the ride, go over plays, snack on some food. Not our team. The entire way to the field the team piled to the back of the bus and had rap battles. I'm sure everyone has heard the term "white guys can't rap" and that point was definitely proven correct that day. None of the guys were rhyming, all it consisted of was raunchy, inappropriate jokes.

Polaroid of the rap battle crew.

7Once we finally got to the field we immediately got off the bus and went to the locker rooms. I was super excited that I actually had a locker room to change in this time (I had to change in a utility closet the last away game). Everyone got change and the specialties went on to the field first. After 10  minutes the rest of us walked out. The stadium was nice, music started playing, and we started our dynamics. The refs called the captains and we were notified we were kicking off. The game had started. We started off okay and then it started going down hill... The offensive line wasn't giving Joey and Tyler (our quarterbacks) enough time and our defense could not contain or make any tackles. The final score was 51-21.

After the game our coaches gave us all the choice of staying for the varsity game or going home. Half of the team decided to stay. We had a while until varsity so our coaches took us out to Wendy's. Although our game did not go as planned, the rest of the night was fun. It was Uintah's homecoming game so there were tons of people, it was decorated, and there was a really cool halftime show. 

Polaroid of Kaybree and I at the varsity game.

We made the best of the day and it ended up being fun. Stay tuned for the news about our next game when we face Highland Junior High.

Girls Can Play Football Too?

Hello fellow football fanatics, my name is Morgan. I was born in San Francisco, California, hence the reason I love the Forty Niners. I have a little sister, a little brother, and a twin brother. My dad played football for CAL Berkeley and Rugby for CAL Berkeley, in which he won three national championships. Both of my brothers started football in 3rd grade and have continued until now. As you can probably tell, we are a big football family.

My dad, little bother (Coco), and I at his opening football game.

Since I have been surrounded by football my entire childhood, I decided I wanted to indulge into it myself. It took months to try to convince my parents. The funny part is, my mom was the one who agreed to it first. After my dad finally gave in, I signed up for my first season of football. Now you may be thinking, a girl paying tackle football? Many people believe football is strictly a male dominant sport, I decided I wanted to take on the task of changing peoples' perspective.
My first three years of playing football were for the Park City Miners Youth Football teams. Now, in present day, I play for Park City High School Football  on the freshman team.

Park City High School freshman team picture.

I often get asked, are the boys mean to you, do they support you on the team? Obviously football is a very competitive sport and sometimes I do get in fights with boys from other teams. As for my team, we're like a family. We fight like brother and sister, but we are always there to pick each other up. We've been through some really rough games and tough times, but that's what has made us stronger and created an even tighter bond.

Sage Doman, Chris Krebs, and myself after a football practice.

Next week the freshman team takes on the Uintah Utes. Stay tuned for news from the game and the 3 hour bus ride!