The Tigers won the toss and chose to receive. The kicker tees it up,
waiting, looking and then… BOOM. Brian Schmidt (14) and Mike Oppald (9)
were waiting for the kick. The ball bounces on the Gilbert twenty and
takes a huge bounce over Mike’s head and rolls into the end zone.
Touchback.
First and ten from the twenty. Dan Clark (7) in at Quarterback. Here
we go. Dan waiting, looking, and then he starts the count. Blue, fourty-two
set, Hike, Dan drops back to pass, Blitz coming … WHAM. Dan is dropped
for a big loss. Second and fifteen from the fifteen. The handoff to
Schmidt, busts through the line… and he sees daylight, the twenty,
twenty five and almost to the thirty! Third and one for the Tigers.
Hike, Dan drops back to pass…and he has Chris Oberrender (19) wide open!
First down Tigers!
Over the next few downs Tigers can’t do much. They’re definitely in
field goal range — especially with Alex Bowers as their kicker. Here’s
the snap, the hold, he missed it! So West-Lyon gets the ball on their
own twenty. As a fan I was thinking, "Oh man what a bummer" especially
when West-Lyon scored on an eighty yard touchdown run. So the kicker
tees it up and BOOM. Touchback.
Gilbert gets the ball. Dan looks to pass…fires down field…for the end
zone… TOUCHDOWN TIGERS!!!!! Dan Clark to Mike Oppold!!! I got so
excited! Alex Bowers made the extra point. That’s the end of the first
quarter the score tied at seven.
Both teams got two more touchdowns. That’s the end of the first half.
West-Lyon will get the ball to start the second half. I just can’t wait
for the second half to start. I am not the kind of kid who has a lot of
patience. If you ask my dad, he’d probably say I was quite annoying
during half time. (I guess I was pretty annoying because he finally went
to get a snack.) I was a little quieter after that. Then the second half
started.
West-Lyon got the ball. They marched down the field like it was as
easy as preschool. Later they found that wasn’t true after we blocked
the field goal. Both teams kept scoring touchdowns. It went down to the
wire, and it ended in a tie — off to overtime.
Gilbert went ahead 28-21, and West-Lyon got the ball on the Gilbert
ten. West-Lyon QB drops back to pass… receiver open…tipped and
INTERCEPTED!!!! Chris Oberender!!!! Oh No!!! The ref called pass
interference on Gilbert!!! West-Lyon has four more downs!! Oh rats!
West-Lyon scores a touchdown. They decide to go for two points…Hike…
QB looking to throw… (Over on the sideline, the Gilbert fans are pulling
our hair out) fires in the back of the end zone and… TIPPED BY BRIAN
SCHMIDT!!!!!!! NO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!! I was sitting with a friend, and we
were jumping up and down. We were so excited!!!!!!!!!!
Gilbert couldn’t have won without their key players: Dan Clark 13 of
14 completions, Brian Schmidt rushing 25 times for 134 yards and a 51
yard pass reception, Adam Weber rushing 4 times for 64 yards and a
touchdown carry that put Gilbert ahead in over time, Chris Oberender 10
catches for 85 yards, Mike Oppold rushing for 135 yards and a touchdown
catch of 50 yards. That’s the story of Gilbert’s victory.
Joseph Battles is a fifth-grade homeschooler, son of Joe and June
Battles, and brother of three sisters. Joseph played on the 2004 Titan flag football team
under the direction of his dad and Rich Herrington. Joseph loves sports
and is an avid Tiger fan. We look forward to more of his reports and
perhaps even some of his commentary.
