At the end of the season, we
finally had a chance to meet the Panthers again. This game had a lot riding on it. If we won, we would be champions of the Czech Republic. If we lost, we would have to play a
tiebreaker game two weeks later.
The Lions came out flat. We started terribly slow. The Panthers quickly grabbed the lead, scoring the first
touchdown. We fumbled the ensuing
kickoff down to the five yard line, where we finally corralled it, only to be
stuffed for a safety and a 9-0 Panther lead. After that, our guys finally woke up and started to play
football. We scored our first
touchdown, and then scored again.
We had two solid drives, with guys stepping up and making plays. After the second touchdown, the
opposing defensive coordinator called a time out to argue the call. We are of the school of thought that if
the opposing team gives you time to put in the fake extra point, you should do
it. We did it and went up 15-9,
which was the score at halftime.
After the break, both teams traded possessions, with the
Panthers scoring the first touchdown of the half just into the 4th
quarter. With the extra point,
that put us down 16-15 with the clock running. At this point, I was thinking, “If I have to coach two more
weeks and a tiebreaker game because we lose by one point, I’m going to be quite
upset.”
Our guys responded with the best two drives of the
season. We scored very soon after
the Panthers scored, behind some great blocking and a great individual effort
by our running back. After that
score, we elected to go for two in order to go up by 7 points. Zach asked me if we should try a short
pass or some other misdirection to get the two points or just line up and run
it down their throats, a silly question to ask an offensive lineman or coach. They
blitzed, our linemen covered their gaps well and established a new line of
scrimmage two yards deep in the end zone.
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| Prague Lions Junior Offensive and Defensive Lines |
(Side Note For those who are not as acquainted with
football, when it comes to short yardage situations (where the offense needs to
get 3 yards or less) the offense, especially the line, has to bet on their own
skills, strength, and indeed their own manhood itself to get those yards. It is a battle of wills between two
virtually immovable forces. You
have to decide that you want those yards more than the guy lined up across from
you. The offense has more riding
on the play because any stalemate is a win for the defense.)
That made it 23-16.
The Panthers kept the ball on the ground on their next drive but could
not get a first down, turning the ball over on downs. That Panther drive took a lot of time off the clock. We got the ball back and went right
back down and scored again, this time kicking the extra point to go ahead
30-16. The Panthers got the ball
back with under two minutes left and stalled. At that point, we took a knee and it was over.
The celebration started almost immediately. After last season’s frustrating loss in
the championship game, our guys were back on top. The Panthers were a good opponent who improved greatly over
the course of the season.
Some final thoughts on the season: We had a good team.
The guys who came to practice consistently improved a lot over the
course of the season. I do feel we
could have improved more as a team, but in the end, we were champions. Guys really accepted the coaching that we offered. That was evident on those final two offensive drives. Overall, I was happy with the way the season turned out.
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| Championship After Party |
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