A collective sigh of relief swept through the stadium in Dublin and all around the viewing community as the final seconds of the game against Strawn ticked down. The final minutes of the game brought back nightmares of the game we lost against Strawn in the final two seconds. A mental mistake that kept quarterback from Strawn scrambling away from Jayden Bryant and a determined push out of bounds at the five-yard line saved the game. There is no doubt Strawn is a well-coached talented team. Their go-to guy, Eli, was everywhere there was a play. All we viewers appreciate watching the games online, but whatever camera issues they had Friday night made it difficult, to say the least. At least we could hear the plays, even if we couldn’t always see them. According to Russ, if they had continued doing the short passes behind the blocker, they could have changed the outcome.
Instead, they kept opting for long passes that repeatedly overshot their receivers. I’m fine with that choice given the outcome of the game. Although our players are celebrating and preparing for the big game, I feel for all the young men and coaches from Strawn that have worked so hard only to come up 3 points short of their goal. We have been there, and it is not a good feeling. Double digits showdown in Arlington, here we come. Let’s get some fans there and make some noise for our boys.
We will be playing Balmorhea at state. For those of you who follow the six-man game, the coach of the Groom team that was beaten by Balmorhea was one of our ex-coaches Tony Dodson. He was justifiably proud of his boys, but it’s hard to tell young men to keep their head up when they’ve just lost an important game. They have a team about the size of ours, and it would have been good to meet them on the field. The thing I like about Coach Dodson is that he is confident in his abilities and hasn’t ever stooped to make petty comments about Richland. I wish I could say the same for some of our other coaches. I know it is hard when you must leave a school. I wouldn’t be a coach for anything. There are so many critics and even more dynamics to keeping your job. All I can say is take the high road, gentlemen. Hats off to you, Coach Dodson and the Groom Tigers.
School is back in session. We will have Monday Church on the 7th and 14th, but then not again until January 4th. School will be out on December the 18th for the Christmas break. If you want to call it the winter break, you are more than welcome, but for me, it is the Christmas break. I would like to really encourage all students and parents to make sure we don’t miss any school days. We all know by now that virtual schooling is not particularly good. So many students don’t do well with the virtual learning. I keep watching all these videos to help my students, but there are never enough videos to cover the many problems. So, the result is parents, students, and teachers all end up frustrated. So please, keep everyone in class, and let’s get this awful 2020 year wrapped up. Having said that, there is the game in Arlington on Wednesday.
The quilting ladies annual Christmas party is this Tuesday. If you haven’t been a part of this, you have missed a crazy night out. We always have far too much good food, and the white elephant/Chinese Christmas gift game is worthy of any group of piranhas. There is no mercy given when it comes to stealing someone else’s gift. Fortunately, we all love one another and forgive even the most heinous of thefts. It’s made easier by the fact all the gifts are amazing. Look out Tuesday, here we come.
There is a long prayer list to cover. I want to welcome Sherry and Marlon Winters to the community. We have all watched their progress as they moved in their barn/workshop and mobile home over the past year. What a great time to move to Richland Springs with a tenth state championship on the line. The funeral for Gerald McKee and Johnny Reeves' aunt will be Monday morning. We have a half dozen in the community who are working their way through cancer treatments. We pray for successful treatments. We are praising God for the successful operation that Floyd and Susan Gossett’s grand-daughter Nicole went through. She is getting better every day. We pray for all the families who have lost loved ones during this COVID pandemic. Holidays are not joyous when you have just lost a loved one.
Please pray for our country, our President, and the integrity of our election. Whatever the result, the American public must be confident that our elections are fair and untainted by fraud. Pray for peace around the world, for our medical personnel as the COVID cases rise.
Most of all, pray for our precious troops and their families. Thank you to all our brave police officers who protect us and risk their lives.
Please, Lord, send us a threeinch gully washer. Don’t forget to look at the Christmas Star; have a great week.