Vikings at Home!

It was one year ago today that I took a little road trip down Duncanville way to watch a little high school football. My first watching of any sort as a fan in almost two years. My buddy the coach has an alma mater that has a huge fan base. Speaking of Arlington Lamar, I rode down with Coach and his Dad while getting a rundown on what to expect. A close game in the first half saw the Panthers pull away 23-10 at games end. 364 days later, the scene would switch to Arlington, four miles from my house...

A new turf had been installed at Craven Field. I knew that the Vikings had a big win over Irving Nimitz on September 1st. I also knew that their style of offense was to run first. It was Homecoming Night for the Arlington Lamar faithful which meant a packed house. I looked forward to seeing a sea of maize and blue. The eyes would not be disappointed. The game itself began ominously enough as Duncanville ran back the opening kickoff some 79 yards for a score. The Vikings played catchup the rest of the way. All 16 first half points came by way of the turnover.

The second half was another matter entirely! Lamar would amass 355 total yards, hold Duncanville to a mere 155, ran well between the 20's yet still come up short by a 23-12 count. One INT at the one foot line was costly. Numerous procedure penalties (slow snap from center to QB) didn't help either.

The bands were outstanding, the track was fast. I had an added thrill when I saw Steve Buechele in the stands, a former Servite High grad just like his buddy Steve Buerlein from back in the day. Imagine my surprise when I learned that a classmate of mine from El Modena days was the son of one of Steve's classmates at USC. Rex Moore's Dad Rob has known the Buecheles a long long time. Got a picture with him. That was good enough for me!

A warm breeze blew heartily throughout the autumn night as the final week of September ran it's course across Texas gridirons and all points east and west. I was unofficially adopted to be an honorary Viking by Dave Jr and Sr. Looks like I'll be back at Lamar in two weeks for another great showdown, possibly against DeSoto or Cedar Hill.

Red Sox and Cubs clinch their divisions. Yanks and Tribe will battle one another while the Halos will take on the Red Sox. It will be a fun October all around! Congrats to the nation of Bean and Chi-towns. May destiny finally give you your due!

Over and out in Big D

Mr Will