The Very First Warrior Home Game Ever

The first ever home game for our Skipstone Warriors is in the books and it was spectacular. Our sincerest thanks to Chip and Shondi Moody, Dr. Napier, Randy Freeman, Coach Eric and Coach Jonathan, the Warrior Athletics Booster Club, and the fans and families of Skipstone. The atmosphere was electric and the hard work and dedication of all those involved is simply AMAZING. You all are the heart ans soul of our Warrior Football team.

Huge thanks to our Warrior neighbor, Leonard Hatcher, and our very own John “the Turf Whisperer” Blaine for all their hard work and dedication to making our facility absolutely perfect for opening night. We have the greatest facility anywhere. And I might add, we have the coolest scoreboard anywhere (another Chip Moody masterpiece). Everything was simply perfect… well, except that we lost, but our Warriors played their hearts out and left everything on the field this week.

Our thanks to Heritage Christian for being such a class act. Great sportsmanship, solid team and a bright future. Wonderful coaching staff too. At half time, Skipstone organized a game of bombs away. It was great fun and all involved had a real big time. I cannot wait to see what happens next week!

As far as the game goes, our Warriors played even better than last week. Our boys keep learning and just keep getting better and better! We had more stellar performances. There were several first downs and more than 170 yards rushing, spread evenly across our four guys that carried the ball. We averaged about 4.5 yards per carry. That’s awesome! No completed passes this week, which is one of the things we will be focusing on in the coming weeks. Tommy Couch scored our only touchdown – but it was a fantastic run - fourth and goal, from about 9 yards – Ty Reeves lead the way, making two, that’s right, TWO critical blocks to get #24 in the end zone. That was followed by Dustin Barnett scoring Skipstone’s first ever two point conversion! It was a tremendous run, as it looked like Dustin was going to be sacked in the backfield, but he broke loose, sensing the end zone, he jumped from about 2 yards out to cross the goal line. Great job!

Defensively, our Warriors held Heritage scoreless in the second half. We had two players with 9 tackles (Braxton “the Beast” Pryor and Ty Reeves – terrific performances). Tommy Couch and Troy “Tank” Tankersley had six tackles each, two others with four, another with three – amazingly, every single Warrior had at least one tackle for the night! That is just phenomenal! Everybody played and EVERYBODY contributed! Tommy C. had an interception, which also set up our TD. It was a great effort – Tommy was tracking the receiver and put himself in great position and just when the very well thrown pass looked like it was going to hit the receiver in the hands, Tommy accelerated and reached out and snatched it away – it was a perfect pick and I had the best seat in the house! After he gathered it in, he sprinted 50 plus yards down the sideline. It was the best play of the night… The second best play included me doing my Joe Paterno impression…. A Heritage running back was trying to round the corner and our middle linebacker (#70 – Ty Reeves) had a bead on him. I had the best seat once again and just could not pull myself away from the play… no way was I going to miss this hit!… and Ty dropped the hammer on this guy and, well there were body parts flying everywhere, most of which were mine… it was AWESOME!!! I got leveled… clipboard flying… and I was cheering the whole time. Warrior defense, you held your opponents scoreless in the second half – way to go!!

Another notable performance came from Ethan Bonds. Ethan filled in for injured center Chris Seibert. Ethan has never played center before and he learned how to snap a ball this week. He did it all, including shotgun and long snaps. His performance was nearly flawless and inspiring and I am so proud.

We do have some bad news. We lost a Warrior Friday night. Josh Kilcrease hurt his leg late in the game, but he hung with us until the end. Mr. And Mrs. K. took him to the hospital after the game and x-rays showed a broken Fibula. Josh goes to the doctor Monday to see if he will need surgery, so please, please keep Josh and his wonderful family in your prayers and let’s all pray for a speedy recovery. Josh has shown tremendous progress. His dedication and work ethic have been inspirational and he has been an exceptional example for his team mates. We are with you Josh, so keep the Faith. And on that note, Kyle Cupp is heading back to the doctor Monday too. Seeing a surgeon to discuss options for his knee. Please keep him in your prayers. We will keep you posted.

Next week is Homecoming. We will be playing Faith Christian and it will be another exciting game. So, plan on coming out and cheering on the Warriors next Friday. Kick off is at 7:30.

Needless to say, once again I am overflowing with pride and joy for these young men. We made some mistakes early on in the game, but our Warriors battled back, kept fighting and kept pouring their hearts out on the field. These Warriors will not quit. They are truly coming together as a unit… and when they get there, lookout! So Warriors, heal your wounds and sharpen your minds, for our next battle is just a few days away.

Once again, thanks to my most beautiful and amazing wife. You are my rock. I love you.

Coach

My helmet will produce Warriors
Psalm 60. 7