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It has been 10 years since we played a playoff game at Trinity, our opponent this week. It was the semi finals of the 2000 playoffs and we were in our state championship run. It was an amazing season filled with a lot of memorable moments. But when I think about that time ten years ago I always think of "the Twins".
At least that's what I called them.
When the season started we knew that we were short on linemen and we didn't block anyone in preseason practice. It was pretty rough. We played Atmore the first game and we got some pretty good information that they were good on defense and had two big LBs that they liked to send on stunts. (I refuse to say where the information came from). Plus we had to play in Atmore. We had one QB (Pat Byrne) and we all prayed that he would make it through the game.
When the game started they began sending LBs and we could barely slow them down. Pat literally ran for his life the entire game. And to make things worse we got OT Ty Samuel hurt during the game. Our best play was to let Pat drop back to pass, we wouldn't block anyone and he would take off running and we would make 10 yards. But somehow we won the game.
Now I am not proud of what I am about to tell you. But it is part of the story and it is completely true. Our coaches met the following Sunday afternoon and the discussion came up who would play guard and tackle for us on one side of our line. Jack Whigham was our offensive line coach and I looked straight at him. I had already come to the conclusion that Ben Raulerson would have to play the guard. I had already described him in the same meeting as "the slowest guard" in the history of T.R. Miller football. No one argued. But I knew that Jack would have a creative idea about who might play tackle since Ty would be out for a little while. So I asked, "Who do you think should play tackle?"
And he said, " Lloyd I guess." The room went silent.
By Lloyd he meant Chris Lloyd, another senior on our team. And I said, "If we line up with Raulerson and Lloyd on one side of our line we might as well not even go to the game. We won't have a chance to win." No one disagreed. "So what is your thinking behind playing Lloyd?", I asked. "I'm thinking we have absolutely no one else," he said. Thus the twins, Lloyd and Raulerson became official starters.
Now let me say that I liked both of them and they were great kids ten years ago. The two always had a smile and something funny to say. They had never played much for us but had shown in their sophomore season that they had a little toughness. We had a big senior tight end named Brandon Burkett. And Chris and Ben played on the defensive scout team and Burkett was literally killing them. He would block down on them and bury them in the dirt and get up and laugh at them. Ben was so slow and Chris so weak they could do nothing about it.
They were scared to go around Burkett's locker. Just in case he wanted one more hit that day. Neither of them looked like a football player. Ben at least had a little strength about him but he had little athletic ability and just running looked like a chore for him. If Chris had been a wide receiver (he would have been but he couldn't catch) your first thought would be that he needs to gain some weight.
Amazingly we stared winning some games. I can't say that they made a lot of blocks but we were just proud to win. We lost to UMS and Clarke County at mid season and with a victory over Neal finished 8-2. I hoped we could win a couple of playoff games and end up with another good season. When we won the second round game against Coosa County it was our tenth win. I was so happy I made the team take a picture after the game. ( I still have a copy of it somewhere). I wanted proof that miracles still happen. Gradually the twins got a little better. Ben always seemed to have an ankle or some other kind of lower body injury that made him even slower. Chris just got blown up sometimes. I still remember some of his blocks. The guy would run over him and then trip over him and fall. We decided to declare that as a new blocking technique. Ben would pull out on a play and stumble just before he would make a block. He would grab the guy and hold. The back would bounce it a little wider. First down.
We finally figured out some things they could do. We put in this screen pass to the split end where Chris would run out (he was pretty fast for a tackle) and block the corner. He was pretty good at it. Ben would pull and we would tell him "just get out there and get in his way...the back will cut off of you." And it would work.
The funny part is they started thinking they were good. We were winning and they started getting this confidence that they could block anybody. (They didn't really block. They would run into the defender real hard, stun him and by the time he got off of them the runner would be gone.) When you play next to a guy you end up around him a lot off the field as well. I would see them at school and they would be in the hallway with these big smiles. "You guys going to block anybody this week?" I would ask. "Yes sir...we got 'em coach." "They are pretty big," I cautioned. "Good, we like 'em that way." I remember asking Jack one day if he thought Chris and Ben could block their guys that week. "No, they shouldn't be able to block them, " he said. "But the backs will run hard and they will tie them up some and we will play good defense."
Rayvon Howard got hot at tailback and suddenly we were in the semi finals at Trinity. And I think that the Twins played their best game. I watched the video and I was amazed. We were in the state championship game the next Thursday night. Another Sunday meeting.
We were covering positions. "Who is playing quick guard and tackle?" I asked. Coach Whigham barked out "Raulerson and Lloyd". I thought back to the meeting some three months earlier. "They better be," I said. Because without them there is no reason to go. We won't have a chance to win." The room was full of smiles.
Lloyd drew a tough assignment in the championship game. The Fayette County defensive end was quick and strong and he was causing us some problems. About end of the first quarter I told Coach Whigham to "tell Lloyd to just hold the guy." "He's been doing that since the game started," Jack said. But we would win the game running the sweep for big yards in the the fourth quarter. The twins were champions.
I can still see them standing in the locker room at Legion Field....same big smiles. Winners of 13 games....unlikely champions. I have this picture of Rayvon running the sweep with Chris and Ben blocking in the game. It's a classic.
I have never known two guys who enjoyed playing or enjoyed a season more than these guys in 2000. They were the guys who played with heart and confidence, courage above their ability and motivated only by team success. They were what you preach about, what you want your team to become. These two guys were not a physical presence during the games. But their emotional contribution was huge. To see two guys take on the best the other team has to offer each week and never flinch was impressive.
It has been ten years. Occasionally I will see one of our linemen get run over or our guard pull and fall down and I will immediately think of Chris and Ben. There are pictures of them in the fieldhouse. One year we had a young lineman who was tall and skinny and kind of weak. "Do you think he has a chance to make it?" one of the coaches asked. I saw this vision of Ben and Chris standing by each other in the huddle. "Depends on what he has got inside of him," I said. "I've seen guys come further than that."
The following spring we moved into our new fieldhouse. By the front door I put a sign. The sign says this:
This building is dedicated not to the great athlete, but to the player who was too small or too slow but always played his heart out for T.R. Miller.
It's their sign.
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