Time to open the gifts

03/19/03 Shawn "Buckaroo

Remember when you were a kid?  That’s a long trip for some of us.  How excited you were on Christmas Eve.  Or the way you felt as you watched you friends a relative arrive for you birthday party, watching all the presents stack up, guessing at what they might be, what you hoped they’d be.

Then when the big moment finally arrived and you started opening presents, the mixture of disappointment, when you opened that first present and all it was, was clothes.  Then as you moved on, the presents got better and better, until finally you got to open the big one form your folks and it was exactly what you wanted.

 Your day was complete.  Even the disappointing gifts were fantastic or forgotten now.  You wanted nothing else.  You had everything you ever wanted.  Until next Christmas or Birthday that is.

That is what a football season seems to me.  Each game is a present, and you don’t know what it’s going to be until its all unwrapped, but you hope for the best until the end.  Saturday’s game was the first of 14 or more presents the Bucks will give their fans.  Hopefully all just as exciting as this one.

Was more than a little worried that the first present would be the dreaded “clothes” by the way the offense failed to score on the opening drive.  We move the ball down the field pretty good, but ended up having to try for a field goal and missed.  Then Myrtle Beach gets the ball and scores.  On their first time touching the ball in a real NIFL game.   At this time it didn’t look good for Bucks.

It didn’t get to feeling much better for the rest of the first quarter and into the second either.  We just kept on coming up short, couldn’t get it into the end zone, or connect with the field goal.

When it finally happens, scoring that is, the whole place seemed relieved.  Then it was on.  Myrtle Beach might have still had the lead, but that was ok.  The Bucks were on the rebound.  By half time the score was narrowed to 14 Stingrays 10 Bucks.

Second half was a whole other story. This is when a big present was given, and the fans responded by getting loud for the team.   The Bucks team that played the first half was not the same team that came out in the second half.  What ever Coach Jack told them in the locker room really worked.

 The defense pitched a no-hitter in the second half, keeping the Stingrays from scoring any points.  If they didn’t get the Rays’ quarterback Jerome Weaks, for a sack, they were in his face.  It’s pretty hard to complete a pass while lying on your back.  And when you do complete a pass, it’s tipped or picked off.

Offense was starting the click on all cylinders too, racking up an unanswered 19 points in the second half.  Will Burch, the quarter back for the Bucks didn’t seem like his shoulder was bothering him at all.  He was zipping passes all over the field and taking a few shots at the end zone.  Though in one play he went down hard and had us fans a little concerned.  Coach took him out due to a stinger, but put him right back in after it cleared.

The Bucks offense ended the night with a pretty impressive 94 yards rushing and 115 yards passing.  Defense racked up 6 sacks and fumble and a key interception to stop the Stingrays and give the Bucks fans the present they were hoping for.  A winning start to the 2003 season.  GEAUXXXXXXXXX BUCKS!!!!

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