The Luau Bowl

We went to East Forsyth's opening home football game of 2022 tonight, one where students were all encouraged to show team spirit by dressing up as if going to a luau!  You can see Maddie ready to cheer her team on here, and it just might have been that aloha spirit that drove our team on in its battle against 

East Forsyth Broncos came charging out, ready to do battle with the Seckinger Jaguars, a school that much like East Forsyth last year, is just getting started.  I believe it was their first year, so they are what we were all last year - struggling mightily just to get a first down.

The kick-off ensued, and what followed was what we saw a lot of last year - a blowout.  This time, however, it was our team doing the blowing out.  It wasn't a bad way to start out the season.

We have some empathy for the other team, as we were in that same position last year.  But still, the points just kept racking up on our side, as if the team was trying to get whatever touchdowns they could for the season now. 

I like this shot because of the mustang on the field there, but you can see a rusher carrying the ball right through the gap to get some major yardage.  We did nothing but rush to begin with, and they couldn't seem to figure it out, and if it ain't broke...

We took a lot of photos tonight, just as always.  I brought the camera just to take pictures just to keep myself busy in case it was a boring game.  But this happened to be a more entertaining game, and there was a lot to take a picture of all throughout.

Our kicker kept busy too.  I believe he scored as much as any rusher scoring a touchdown tonight.

The skies were threatening elsewhere, but here over Half Mile Stadium, it was a warm and beautiful night as the sun and towering clouds created a gorgeous panorama.

Kicking off the ball, over and over again.  Our kickers kept busy, hardly ever for punting the ball away.  Although that did happen from time to time.  The Jaguars showed some promise here or there, and in fact there was this one moment - one moment that will haunt player #88 for a long time - one moment where a receiver almost caught a ball with the end zone in sight.  So close.  But as you are probably figuring out while reading this... they never scored on us.

A team huddle.  This was early in the game after a time-out call.  At the time it seemed a big deal.  I think we were trying to stop them from gaining three yards for the first down, which I'm fairly sure we did.  

Maddie was enjoying the game, and learning a bit about it too as we went along.  A little!  She admittedly knows little about football compared to baseball and hockey, but she was learning, and cheering too. Although she was probably cheering louder for her friends in band!

Ah, the face-down on the ground player there.  That happened a lot.  I don't think we made too much of a gain with this play, as his prone body lying on the ground there presented too much of an obstacle.

I love the kinetic nature of a lot of these shots, all the parts of this football machine working at once, everyone with their own assigned tasks, slamming into each other, reacting as best they can to the sudden changes in strategies.

The sun dipped lower in the west.  I'm not entirely sure if the Jaguars were anxious for time to move a little more quickly tonight.  Trust me, Seckinger High School.  We've been there.

Ah, a punt.  We did those a few times too, so the Jags can be proud of themselves for holding us to the line a few times, preventing us from getting that first down.

But inevitably there was a failure to capitalize, and we just kept rushing...

...and rushing...

...and rushing...

...and rushing.

Occasionally a pass....

.And that worked out too.  This guy caught the ball right in front of coach, which had to be a thrill.

And then he got past the first blocker, which was even cooler!

Amazing clouds tonight.  Maddie and I spent a lot of time taking pictures of clouds tonight, and I'm sure football purists were scratching their heads at us!

Ah, the breakaway.  If he can just get by this one defender here, he's got a pretty good shot of...

Oh yeah, he did it!  You can't see him yet, but that poor guy immediately to our rusher's right?  

He gave it a good try. 

Having failed at tackling, he too is attempting the face down on the ground technique.  

Meanwhile, there was celebrating, and much to celebrate.  At one point, we were penalized fifteen yards for celebrating too much, in fact.  The rules are a little fuzzy on that, of course, and it was one thing I couldn't be too clear about with Maddie.  I think it's a judgment call.  In the case above, the refs are watching closely for ...something.  Nothing was called, but it's kind of funny regardless.

Amazing clouds and sunset tonight.  Just beautiful!  And the temperature was perfect outside too as the heat of day cooled off.

One more picture of the game here, and then one more picture of Maddie ready for a luau.

She looks great.  I didn't even need the flash for this picture as I thought I would with the sunset behind her.  

The sun was going, going, gone. 

Just like our players were.  They were relentless, and you almost felt sorry for the other team.  Okay, I did.  There were a few of us that groaned out loud when that receiver missed his catch, as it wouldn't have been a shut-out completely.  Because by that point, the score was so incredibly lopsided.  I might be wrong on this, but I believe that's the most East Forsyth High School has ever scored in a football game.

Okay, and now for the part that Maddie came for - the band.  She has a lot of friends in band, and she wanted to see them play and cheer them on.  Here is a bit of choreography before the game.  The performers emerge from that big chest, creeping out like... well, I'm not really sure what's going on here.  

But they get to playing soon enough, and they sounded great!

There was a lot of choreography, of course from dancers, but also from the players too.

They did so great, and have showed so much growth from last year.  We genuinely enjoyed their playing, and we enjoyed the other band's performance too.

It was a great night.  This isn't the final score below - I forgot to get a picture of that.  But it's close enough.

This was just before the kicker got another extra point.  That made it 48-0.  Seckinger had a long drive home.  Before wrapping up, here are a few pictures that Maddie took with her phone tonight, including some great panoramas that show the beautiful skies as well.

It was a good day today.  We got a new plate for Nana's car, and now we can drive that one around and return the rental.  We had taekwondo tonight too - and for dinner, we ate East Forsyth food at the game.  I got some Bronco Street Tacos, which were good, and Maddie got a hot dog.  It was stadium food, but there's something almost a little better about that sort of food when you actually eat it at a game.

We got home tonight, and we had time to read, and we made sure we said our prayers too.  It was a nice night, but we're all rather tired, rushing, rushing, rushing off to sleep.