San Jose St. 12/5/09

Oh no it is here! I have been dreading this week. It will be our last game of the season. Am I disappointed? You bet I am! Am I proud of this team? You bet I am! If we can beat San Jose St, then the seniors will go out with a win. I don't know too much about San Jose St, so let’s take a look. A Spartan is a group of elite warriors from ancient Greece, located on the island province of Sparta. Spartan warriors are trained from infancy to be nothing but soldiers. They are to be perfect in every respect and aspect of war, and nothing else. Weaklings perish soon after birth; youth are taught to thieve and terrorize the slave class to harden them; young men are taught to nothing unless it has something to do with the arts of war - Even music and dance are there only to help keep step when marching and obeying orders. The result is a man who thinks nothing of danger, expects to win, and creates a sense of dread in his opponents. If all of this is true then, San Jose St has not lived up to their definition. Ok, that is enough about a fake Spartan! The travel business has been a little up and down. Some last minute holiday travel, spring break and the 2010 summer are the hot topics of the week. Who knows maybe one day the La Tech Alumni association might want to put together a group cruise or something. I bet that would be a hoot! I guess it is time to jump right in the middle of the last week of football for the Bulldogs. Matt had a full week to rest his ankle during Thanksgiving and would test it on Monday. His practices went well. His field goals were spot on. They broke down file on the San Jose St kick return team. Coach was working on the number hitting thing again. I just wish they would let him kick the ball. What difference is it going to make? His critics already think he can only kickoff to the 25! If you ask me those people do not know crap when it comes to kicking a football. They just want a line drive into the end zone that looks like a wounded duck. It’s not going to happen! The young man only kicks where the Coaches tell him to kick. Oh, I forgot, wounded ducks only fall out of the sky in McKinney, Texas. Ok enough on the venting! I just wanted to see if I could get some feathers ruffled! HaHa! Matt said the rest of the week went well. They really wanted to send the seniors out with a victory and that was the only thing on Matt’s mind. We were going to have a lot of family and friends attend the game. My sister and her family would be attending their first game. With the game starting at 1:00PM we would arrive at the stadium around 9:30AM. Our tailgate would be a liquid tailgate and it would consist of beverages for all ages. We met the bus at 11:00AM as the team drove in from Monroe. Matt looked sharp as he got off the bus. Mom & Dad got a big old hug and off he went. We head back to the suburban for a few more cold ones. We made our way into the stadium around 12:15PM. We saw Matt warm up for a few minutes, but we really wanted to be there to applaud the seniors. It was their day and time for them to shine. Gentlemen good luck to your future and lot's of success to whatever life brings you. I have to give a very special shout out to Thomas Graham. He has taken Matt under his wings and shown him the ropes in college football. I know Matt has the utmost respect for him and Janet and I could not have asked for a better mentor than Thomas. Not only is Thomas a great deep snapper, he is a great person and he will be missed on this team. Game time is here, so let the butt kicking begin. We started off a little rough as San Jose St would score first and at the end of the first quarter the score would be tied 14 - 14. This is not the start that we need. I need to give a special shout out to Matt for making his first touchdown saving tackle. It looked like a take down in a calf scamble. Awesome tackle Matt! Something has got to kick in real quick! Wow did we kick it into gear. We score 31 points in the second quarter. Matt got to attempt a 53 yard field goal and he toed it missing it left. Matt would end the 2nd quarter with a 40 yard field goal. Are you kidding me? Where has then type of explosion been all year? San Jose St would score on a 80 yard pass and Matt would make a 32 yard field goal as the 3rd quarter comes to an end with the score 48 - 20. San Jose St would drive mid way through the 4th quarter, but oops they throw an interception at the six and we return it 96 yards for a touchdown. The final horn sounds and the Bulldogs run away with this one 55 - 20. Matt was good on all of his PAT's and ended up with 13 points for the day. What a way to send the seniors out with a victory. We met Matt up by the locker room after the game. He hates taking photos but with new family in attendance more pictures need to be taken. It was pretty cool when his cousin came up with a mini helmet and asked Matt for his autograph. It really was classic! We were very proud of Matt's efforts in this game as well as the whole team. We are very sad because the season is over and we are not bowling, but on the other hand we are excited Matt will get to join us on the cruise we are taking to celebrate my parent’s 50th anniversary! Our evening would end with a family meal at the Log Cabin. Matt was going to hang with his older brother Saturday night and we would meet up with them Sunday morning for breakfast before we head back to Dallas and then myself to San Antonio. The Caribbean was now in our future! What a season it has been. We have met some fantastic people this year. Everyone we have met has been so kind to our family and we truly appreciate your open arms. We really appreciate everyone’s support during the season and look forward to meeting many more of you in the upcoming seasons! I will be writing an overview of the season before the end of the year. My goal is to write every 2 to 3 weeks on Matt's football happenings leading up to the spring game. I really appreciate those of you who have followed my blog and I hope I have not offended anyone. I write from the heart and apologize if I stepped on someone's toes. I want to give a special shout out to Mr. Tom Morris for allowing me to use his pictures for the games I did not attend. Until our paths cross again, have a blessed week! College Football Dad!