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.