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Waterloo Columbus
Sailors take Wind out of Tiger Sails
November 21, 2004
by Helen D. Gunderson, Gazette editor
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Many people have called the 2004 Gilbert Tiger football season
awesome, if not miraculous, perhaps even a Cinderella story. However,
the headline
story on the sports page of the Ames Tribune on Saturday says the
Tigers are tired of wearing the Cinderella tag. They believe that they have proven
they are for real. |
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Tiger tailback Brian Schmidt on run |
Regardless of how the players or coaches view the
Cinderella label, their program has gone through a delightful
turnaround. Their success has excited many people — diehard fans and
lots of other folk who have gotten caught up in Tiger fever and the
team’s mantra, "Believe." |
| It’s hard to know what words to
use except the ones listed above that have been said over and over, even
if they don’t adequately describe the perspectives of the people inside
the program. And to say that a season is awesome, miraculous, or like a
Cinderella story is not meant to take any credit away from the Gilbert
program and the achievements that the coaches and players have made.
Be that as it may, at 1:00 pm on Saturday, the Gilbert football team
faced Waterloo Columbus in the Iowa Class 2A Championship Game. The
Tigers had not been in the state football play-off series since 1979.
They had a 26-109 record in the 15 years prior to the 2004 season and
won only four games in the last three years. They went into Saturday's
contest with a 10-2 record.
According to the Tribune, the Sailors were a powerhouse football team
in the 1980s and won the state championship in 1986. They had a mediocre
season a year ago but rallied this year and won three games in a row in
October. However, they went into a skid, losing three out of their last
four regular season games. But the Sailors, too, had their share of
surprises and went on a winning march through post season play. Their
record was 9-3 heading into the big game at the Dome. They left the Dome
with a 10-3 record and the championship trophy. Their leader, Aundra
Meeks, who is graduate of Columbus, is the first African-American coach
to win an Iowa high school football championship game.
Fox Television Network televised the game. During the pre-game show,
the commentator talked about how Waterloo Columbus has a great passing
game balanced with a good running game. He said, "The Gilbert defense
has a tall task today." |
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Tiger quarterback Dan Clark |
Gilbert received the opening kickoff, and
Gilbert was indeed a "for real" contender with a chance to take home the
championship trophy. The team master-minded
a series of 15 rushing and passing plays to move the ball 71 yards. |
| Unfortunately, with a fourth down and two yards to go,
the Columbus defense threw Gilbert fullback Adam Weber for a loss. Then
on the Sailors’ opening play, quarterback Brad Schmit completed a pass
to split end Ben McMahon, who was running a post pattern, for 84 yards
and a touchdown. It was the longest touchdown pass play in an Iowa 2A
championship game. The Sailors kicked the extra point and took a 7-0
lead. Waterloo’s big play on defense (i.e. stopping the Tigers on
fourth down) and then the big play on offense (the 84-yard touchdown)
could have sucked the wind out of any team. However, Gilbert looked as
though it would recover, moving the ball 50 yards in nine plays. The series was cut short when the Sailors intercepted a Dan Clark pass.
Waterloo then moved the ball 78 yards in 10 plays and upped their lead
to 14-0 in the second quarter. There was no more scoring in the first
half.
A two-touchdown lead at half-time is no assurance of victory nor does
it mean a team is sinking to defeat. On Saturday, the Iowa State
Cyclones were down 23-9 against Kansas State but scored three touchdowns
in the final three minutes of the game to win with a score of 37-23. As
the Des Moines Register said this morning, "Iowa State clinched at least
a share of the Big 12 Conference's North Division title —
giving the Cyclones their first league crown of any kind since 1912."
There were some positive signs for Gilbert in the first half
statistics. The Tigers had 58 yards rushing while the Sailors had eight
yards on the ground. The Tigers had 10 first downs while the Sailors had
six. And the Tigers had only one penalty for five yards while the
Sailors had three for 34 yards. But there were troubling statistics. The
Sailors passed for 180 yards while the Tigers passed for 58. And on
defense, the Sailors made eight tackles that caused Tiger losses. The
Tigers made only one tackle for a loss. |
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Adam Gregorson chases Sailor QB |
Unfortunately, Waterloo Columbus simply
increased its momentum in the second half, and it seemed there was
little that Gilbert could do. The Sailors scored their final touchdown
with 10 minutes left in the game, making the score 41-0. They kicked the
ball to Gilbert, who took a touchback and began play on their own 20
yard line. |
| The Tigers tried to run the ball. On first down, they lost one yard. On second
down, they gained nothing. And on third down, they lost another seven
yards.
Gilbert Head Coach Scott Auderer called a time out and walked onto
the field to huddle with his players. There was fervor in his voice, and
a photographer, who was not far from the conversation, said that Auderer
told the team words to the effect that he, the rest of the coaching
staff, and the players had worked too hard during the season to give up.
It would have taken a miracle for the team to overcome the 41 point
deficit with only eight minutes and 16 seconds left in the game, but Auderer seemed to be suggesting that the players put some fire in the
belly so they could hold their heads high when they went off the field.
An observer has to wonder if, how, and when the mantra "believe" came
up in the huddle or other coaching situations on Saturday at the Dome. The mantra is not
magic, and it is certainly one of many factors: physical aptitude,
conditioning, learning and perfecting plays, good scouting reports,
playmaking intelligence, sports psychology, people skills, teamwork,
trust, morale, and a bunch of other things, including luck. However, the
mantra has been the most heralded factor in the Tiger's turnaround
season. It would be a cheap shot to ask if the team forgot its mantra
yesterday and lost its essential focus of believing, but it is natural to be
curious about what happened.
This whole matter of "believe" as an avenue for wholesome living and
success is an intriguing one. It is something that spiritual
leaders, psychotherapists, Twelve Step programs, human resource
coordinators, coaches, parents, and many other sages have tried to
fathom and facilitate. Life is an eb and flow. To tap into the spark of
believing that a person is of intrinsic value and can be successful is
hard enough. To maintain contact with that vision 100 percent of the time doesn't seem realistic. Life has
its off moments. Besides, Gilbert is probably not the only team that
possessed
a sense of believing but lost a key game.
Believing is something that carries a person through highs and lows
and the plateaus of life. I suppose I could expound further. For
instance, I could lament that in my years of majoring in physical
education and teaching, I never had a course on sports psychology. Or in
my own life's journey, I hunger for the kind of mentoring that it
appears the coaching staff has given the players. But I better avoid blathering too much about
this whole sphere of thought that fills the shelves of many a library,
bookstore, or personal bookshelf.
I only have inklings from what I have observed at games and what I
have heard from parents and students about what Coach Auderer means when
he talks about the need for the players to believe. I have only a few
clues as to how he has worked with athletes to instill a sense of
believing in themselves, their peers, and their leaders. Perhaps Coach
Auderer could
teach a continuing education workshop for the community on Sports
Psychology 101. Then again, to think of it, he and his staff and team
have already provided a pretty good lesson for those of us who have
gotten inspired by the success of the Tiger football season that ended
yesterday.
There were no more plays of consequence in the game, and the score
stood at 41-0 when the final buzzer sounded. The Gilbert players
maintained their composure. Some even turned to the crowd and raised
their helmets in the air in an attempt to rally themselves and the
Gilbert fans and remember the successes of their season.
OK, OK. The Cinderella metaphor probably isn’t a good
one. And it is not wise at this point to talk about a magical spell
being broken when the clock strikes midnight and the coach reverts to
being a pumpkin and the horses revert to being mice. How about some
fable that involves sailors on the
high seas who bring their vessel alongside another and clamber aboard,
taking control? As the television commentator said after Waterloo’s
first touchdown at 4:45 in the first half, the big play on defense
followed by the 84-yard touchdown pass was a devastating turn of events
for Gilbert. Sports commentators don’t always know what they are talking
about, but the one on Fox Television apparently did and had an apt
premonition about what would happen. To use the high seas metaphor, the
Waterloo Columbus Sailors commandeered the Gilbert ship.
In the final statistics, the Sailors rushed for 295 yards compared to
the Tigers who ran for 83 yards. The Sailors passed for 258 yards
compared to 60 for the Tigers. And the Sailors made 12 tackles that
resulted in lost yards while the Tigers made only one.
On the Saturday evening news on KCCI Channel 8 TV, Coach Auderer said
that he would have preferred to play the game anyplace else than the
comfortable UNI-Dome, perhaps in rain or snow. He claimed that the
Tigers and Sailors simply didn’t match up well. Apparently he thought
that inclement weather would have leveled the playing field. For sure,
he probably has a lot more to say to his players and staff that he
does not want to be broadcasted on the air or printed in the newspapers. And there is a lot of
other talk that will go on. There will be discussions in the inner
circles among the coaching staff and players. There will be the buzz of
fellow students, parents, and the public at large. But it probably will
be many, many years before Gilbert is ever called a Cinderella football
team again. That should be one consolation to the coaches and players. |
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score 41-0, Tigers have a 4th and 12 on
their 18 yard line, 3:06 left in the game |
| The Gilbert football staff and players
should not need consolations, even though it is understandable that they
might have some heartache and grief about being shut out by such a large
margin. However, the Tigers left the Dome on Saturday with a 10-3 season
record and a second place trophy from the state championship game. In
addition, Trevor Schwartz, a senior offensive lineman and linebacker for
Gilbert, was presented the Iowa Class 2A award, sponsored by the
Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company, for being an all-around outstanding student athlete. Members of the Gilbert squad were also
selected to the Des Moines Register all-state team. Junior tailback
Brian Schmidt is on the first team offense. Junior place kicker Alex
Bowers is on the second team offense. And Schwartz is on the second team
defense. It seems that Coach Auderer would make a great candidate for
the Mid-Iowa Coach of the Year. That designation will most likely be
published in the Ames Tribune this week. |
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IHSAA officials hold top two trophies |
That’s plenty of exquisite
treasure from the high seas for one year. Next year, the team will set
sail again. About a dozen players will graduate, but there will be a good
number of young and experienced talent returning to constitute the 2005
crew. As Coach Auderer said in the Ames Tribune on Saturday, "These kids
are trying to establish a tradition. They’re not out for one big year
and done type of thing." |
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The wind may have been sucked out of the Tiger sails in the short
term, but there is tomorrow. It is a new day. The Gilbert ship is seaworthy, the sails
will be trimmed, and there will be new currents of wind when it is time
to venture out of the harbor again. Of course, there is the question
about who will captain the vessel.
This is Auderer’s first year at the helm. Prior to this season,
Chad Cook coached the Tigers for four years. Chad is a military
captain, having served in the National Guard for 18 years. Early in
2004, he was called to active military duty in Afghanistan but is
currently on a two-week leave that coincides with the birthdays of his
young son and daughter. He apparently attended the Tiger games at the
UNI-Dome but sat in the stands.
Certainly there will be private and public discussions and
speculations about the future of the team’s leadership, considering that
the players' morale was high this year and they won 10 games this year under Auderer while losing most of their games under Cook. It’s not an easy
dilemma. But there is wisdom in taking one day at a time. Experience the
grief of losing. Experience the joy of what went well. Tomorrow is a new
day, and 2005 is a new season.
Thanks to the Gilbert coaching staff and players for the excitement
they have added to the lives of their followers. It’s been a great
voyage. Members of the community near and far will savor the memories.
Let the people say, "Hallelujah and Amen."
latest corrections and
revisions December 3, 2004
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Note: three seniors on the Waterloo Columbus team were selected to the
Class 2A first team offensive football squad. They are: end Ben McMahon,
quarterback Brad Schmit; and place kicker Nathan Rausa.
Article in the Des Moines Sunday Register. For more coverage of the
season, go to the
Ames Tribune
and use the search tool to look for the word "Gilbert." For official
announcements, go to the
web site for the Gilbert
school district.
Register article about Chad Cook and the Gilbert football program archived
Gazette interview with Chad when he was called to active duty
The Story of Cinderella
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Click on any photo above for a larger view.
Photos from the championship game:
01. pre-game
coin toss
02. Gilbert
offensive lineup
03. Gilbert
offensive backfield
04. Gilbert QB
Dan Clark passes
05. Tigers
up against Sailors' pass machine
06.
Sailor quarterback passes
07. Coach
Auderer talks to Tigers on field
08.
Gilbert sideline crew
09. post
game hand-shaking line up
10. Coach
Auderer congratulates Trevor Schwartz
11. IHSAA
representatives hold top two trophies
12. the Tiger
fans
The photo images are by
Helen Gunderson, editor of the Gazette. As per the terms of service of
this web site, she reserves all rights to the photos. Gazette visitors
may reproduce the images for personal use. For further information,
contact Helen.
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