2011 Game 3 vs Excel

We lost our game to Bayside last Friday night by one point and we were all disappointed. Disappointment is a part of football and a part of life.  The only people who are never disappointed are the ones who never put their heart and time into a worthwhile endeavor.  If something is really important to you and you aren't successful, it will hurt.  The most important thing about disappointment is what happens immediately afterward. Does it drive you harder or do you allow it to destroy you?

A few weeks ago Yancey Jernigan lost his battle with cancer.  Yancey's sister Elizabeth and I were classmates and close friends and I had known him for many years. I was an assistant coach at Miller back in 1985 when Yancey was a senior player on our team. His class was a close group and several of them came back to the funeral.  I thought of them this week as we worked through our disappointment to get ready for this week's game. Few senior classes endured disappointment to the extent they did in 1985. Yet when their season ended I could only think of one word to describe this group- CHAMPIONS!

They were juniors in 1984 when we came from no where at midseason to win the 1984 4A State Championship. Several of them were good players on that team but some of them had waited until they were seniors to start or play very much. We started the season playing like the champions we had been the year before.  We beat a good Jackson team badly in the first game and won a tough game in Thomasville against a very good team.  We won a couple of other close ones before losing to big, strong Atmore team at midseason.  We did not have the size and strength of the '84 team but we played incredibly hard.  By midseason our opponents were starting to find some of our weaknesses.  I was the defensive coordinator and countered our lack of size with a little more aggressive linebacker play.  Willie Stallworth who had never played before his senior year became a great player on one linebacker stunt.  After wins over Opp and Evergreen we were faced with our biggest game of the season. Alba High School from Bayou La Batre was undefeated and we played them in Brewton for the Area Championship.

Now we all make plans in life and our plan in 1985 was to make the playoffs and make another playoff run.  But when Alba came to Brewton on October 25th and beat us 18-6 our hopes and dreams of another championship run took a blow. The loss was very disappointing and I felt like I had not done enough as the defensive coach to give our guys a chance to win. But our disappointment was about to more than double.

The following week we went to East Brewton to face a Neal team that we had beaten badly the year before. Neal entered the game with a 2-7 record and had scored only 55 points the entire season.  It rained most of the week and was raining during the game.  Offensive football was tough and we played as though we were waiting for them to lose rather than trying to win. We lost 6-3.  I remember standing in the dressing room at Neal after the game talking to Mike Sasser our head coach.  He took the loss hard.  We went from a 6-1 season playing for the area championship to utter disappointment in a week.  We had made the playoffs but the bad news was we had to go back to Thomasville to play again.  Thomasville had won 7 games in a row and had given up only two touchdowns in the last 4 games. They were on a roll.  To make matters worse, we got news that our center Thad Moore had broken his snapping hand. When it rains disappointment sometimes it pours. Thus it becomes a test of character.  This group of seniors were short on some things, but character was not one of them. It was time for the men on this team to stand up and be counted.  Thad Moore was the first to stand up. He showed up at the stadium on Sunday afternoon and announced that he couldn't snap but a broken hand would not keep him from playing guard. We could move Mark Ward in to play center. His act of courage inspired everyone.

When we went to practice on Monday we gradually started to rebuild our offensive confidence.  We fumbled, drop passes and missed blocks all week.  It didn't look like we would score many points so I spent extra time on our defensive game plan.  I really admired this team and I hated what was happening to them.  I spent much of the week trying to convince our defense we could shut out Thomasville.  But when we loaded the buses to go to the game no one knew what was about to happen.  Once you have been a champion it is hard to give that up.  True champions refuse to give in, refuse to give anything but their best effort.  They refuse acknowledge that another may be stronger or better even when common sense may say other wise. Champions believe in themselves and their teammates. They believe that today is the day that the magic returns. To them disappointment is just a temporary setback. These champions still had greatness in them.

We played an unbelievable game against a terrific Thomasville team.  It was late in the game and we held a 7-6 lead. Thomasville was driving and we were holding on like an old champion does.  They were in field goal range and it was a big 3rd down play. I took a chance and sent Willie Stallworth on a stunt. I can still see him now turning sideways to try and get through the line and get the QB who was passing. Somehow he did and sacked him for a big loss. They tried the field goal and when the ball went off to the left we had won an impossible game. I cannot describe the emotion in that tiny locker room that night after the game. No Miller team ever displayed more courage.

Our next playoff opponent was the same Alba team that had started our tumble three weeks earlier.  They were 11-0 and came back to Brewton to dispatch us once again.  But you should never under estimate the resolve of a team with character.  We won 14-0 because we played with the courage of a champion. The following week we went to Elba to play a truly great Elba team coached by former Miller coach Mack Wood.  They broke a run early and took a lead but we kept coming back. It was like two champion boxers trading blows the whole game.  I remember telling Donnie on the sideline at the end of the 3rd quarter, "I don't know if we are going to be champions, but we sure are playing like champions right now."  We lost 28-21.  As I left the field and traded hugs with each of these seniors I don't remember being disappointed. I really remember being proud.  That a group if guys took a huge disappointment and made it into something terrific. It was truly an honor to coach them. I believe that they are what T.R. Miller football is all about.

Woody Hayes, the legendary Ohio State coach once said, "There can be no great victories without great adversity." If the Miller Tigers of 2011 have the strong character to withstand the disappointment of an early season loss, they may too get to celebrate great victories in the days to come.  Just like the a group of seniors did in 1985.