Another Saturday, another youth football game for
the Jordan Maroon Gremlins. After three straight weeks of getting shellacked, the boys from Jordan were looking to make
some noise. and #91 was no exception, He brought his 'A' game to the field on this day..
This was a breakout game for #91.
Saturday he was a difference-maker. He created two turnovers, one on an interception and the other on a forced fumble.
In addition, his kickoffs were strong and created challenges for the Riverton SilverWolves return team. His physical
play on the defensive side of the ball improved significantly over previous weeks
If you read my previous football game
post you will understand that I am well aware that the 'highlights' I've been posting each week are somewhat thin
at best, and fabricated at worst. My son is just learning the game and has been a bit tentative in his play. He
has, at times, been unsure what his assignment is certain plays and hesitates somewhat on defense. Still, he is the
starting tight end, starting left cornerback and kicker, so he must be doing something right.
This game was different. He was confident,
more sure of himself and more aggressive on both sides of the ball. It was a great game for him.
Despite the improved play of #91 the Jordan
Maroon Gremlins went down to defeat 20-7. Still, the entire team played better, including the inspired play of #91.
Click on the video at the top of this page to see some real game highlights!
For the last six weeks I have posted in this space about the youth football
exploits of my eight-year old son. This is his first year of playing organized football after years of throwing the
ball around in the yard with me. For the past two years he has been asking me when he could play football, just as he
did when he was three years old, and as we drove by a local park on Saturdays he would ask, "When can I be on a soccer
team?" In that case he only had to be four years old, and as soon as he was old enough we signed him up for soccer.
He never looked back. He played
both spring and fall soccer and loved every single second of it. It turned out that he was pretty good, and was usually
one of the better kids on his team.
Fast
forward now to this fall. In our city you have to be eight years old to play full pads tackle football. He turned
eight this summer, so as we promised we signed him up. He was chosen for a team and started practicing. He did
well enough in practice, but at least half of the kids on the team are nine years old and played last year. Let's
just say football has not come as naturally to him as soccer did.
Okay, there is a big difference between running and kicking a soccer ball vs. running set plays on a football team.
If not apples to oranges, it's something similar. And I did not expect him to be the star quarterback and lead the
team to victory. If you've watched any of the previous clips of his games, you realize he certainly isn't the star
of the team.
Let me be perfectly
candid here. #91 is my son. This is his first year playing organized football. He is a decent athlete, a
really good kid and he tries really hard. But for anyone who has played football, let's be honest - unless you are
supremely gifted that first year is tough. So when I create these highlight reels, as I have done for each of his games,
it can be hard to find actual 'highlights.' Mostly I put these together so our extended family can see what
he has done. Are they true 'Highlights'? No. Are they reflective of his performance in the games?
Yes. Is he getting better with each game? Absolutely.
Most importantly, is he having fun? Without question.
So if you're not one of my extended family, watch the clip below in the context for which it was created, and
ask yourself, "If this were my son, cousin or nephew, would I be proud?" If the answer is yes, then don't
judge my son too harshly. If the answer is no, maybe you should look somewhere else for your entertainment.
With that said, if you enjoy sports, if you ever played sports as a kid, these
little clips should put a smile on your face. It's about kids having fun, competing, learning a sport and maybe
most importantly, being part of a team. I have no delusions of my son getting an athletic scholarship or playing in
the NFL. I just want him to be active, make friends, and enjoy sports for as long as he wants to play.
Someday he'll look back at these tapes I made and smile. Maybe he'll
show them to his kids. Maybe he'll forget all about them. But I won't. And one day when I am old
and gray, the kids moved away, I'll pull out these tapes, along with all the other ones we've made on our camping
trips, sit back in my chair and relive what I will no doubt look back upon as the best days of my life.
No, not football.
Fatherhood.
I have a feeling that if you’re reading this, you’ve never been to Williston, North Dakota.
How can I say that with any certainty?
Well,
first of all, this website does not have many readers, so it’s a reasonable assumption that hardly anyone from Williston
has visited this site. With a population of 12,303 at the 2006 census, it would be amazing that
someone from Williston, North Dakota would have found this post.
In fact, if I had not bought a farm in North Dakota, I never would have been to Williston either. But I did
by a farm, and to get to it I had to drive through Williston, and that's how I came to find this place.
Speaking of found, Williston was founded in 1887. It was named
for Daniel Willis James, a board member of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. Is there a town in North Dakota that isn’t
named for something to do with railroads? Take Grenora, North Dakota for example. Grenora
is about an hour or so northeast of Williston, although it seems like it’s in another country compared to the bustling
metropolis that is Williston. The name allegedly is derived from the GREat NOrthern RAilroad.
GRE NO RA. Now that’s genius.
By
now I assume you have gathered that Williston is located in North Dakota. Most of you have probably never
been there either, if you can even find it on a map (hint: it’s due north of South Dakota). If for
some strange reason you’d like to know exactly where Williston, North Dakota is, plug this into Google Earth:
48°9′23″N,
103°37′41″W . Or simply pull out your North Dakota state road map
(oh, that’s right, you don’t have one of those either). If you have a Road Atlas, find the
North Dakota page (right after North Carolina). Williston is located at the crossroads of US Highways 2
and 85.
So why am I talking about Williston, North
Dakota? We’ve already established that no one from that city (I use that term generously), let alone
that state, visits this site.
Well,
altruistic person that I am, it is my mission with this post to educate you about Williston, North Dakota, since I HAVE in
fact been there, and you haven’t. And didn’t your mom tell you that you should learn something
new every day? Of course she did . So read this and learn, young Padawan.
Williston is the County Seat for Williams County.
For all intents and purposes, it might as well be the County Seat for all of northwestern North Dakota, as it is 10
times as large as Crosby, the county Seat of Divide County, about 40 miles to the north. And yes, I’ve
been there too.
But of course, if you’ve read this
page before, you’d know that, because I’ve written about Crosby as well. As you can see, this is the Divide
County Courthouse in Crosby, North Dakota.
Williston is, according
to the United States Census Bureau, has a total area of 7 square miles, give or take. 6.9 square miles is land and 0.1 square miles is water.
I looked around when I was there and couldn’t figure out where, exactly, the .1 mile of water was.
Williston is, however, sort of near the confluence of the
Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers. Yes, that is the confluence you're looking at. You know, the whole Lewis
and Clark thing. But you can’t see it from Downtown Williston.
Did I saw DOWNTOWN Williston?
Why I believe I did. And yes, there is a Downtown Williston, complete with tall buildings and everything.
Well. Almost everything.
You can see pretty much all of Downtown Williston from the corner of
Main and Broadway. Why, it might be fun to stand right here, pull out your phone and call a friend. Say, "Guess
were I am - here's a hint - I'm at the corner of Broadway and Main!" It would take the person on the other
end of the phone several days to work all the way down to Williston, North Dakota. If they even got that far.
There it is, The Plainsman. The center of it all in Williston.
Why, you can see this landmark from, well, if not miles around, at least several yards around.
After you've craned your neck and gawked at the tall building, you can stroll the downtown area
and shop at all of Downtown Williston's fine retail establishments.
And after walking the long Miracle 1/10th of a mile, you
can rest assured you will be thanked for spending your money by the local city fathers.
Since you're in a touristy mood, you might as well stop and
see the only known alien spaceship to land in an American city and pass for a bank building.
Since you've spent so much time here, you might as well
relax and take in a movie. And what do you know - they have movies in Williston! Actual first run movies!
They probably even have popcorn in the theatre.
At this point you think you've seen everything there
is to see and done everything there is to do in Williston, and by gosh, why wouldn't you think that. But as hard
as it is to believe, you've missed seeing the tallest building in town.
Yes, this is the dominant structure in Williston. And how appropriate
is that? Williston is, after all, the cultural, retail and government hub for all of Northwestern North Dakota.
Everything outside of Williston, from the Canadian Border to the Montana Border, from the South Dakota state line to Bismarck,
is farm country.
Okay, by now you are hungry and tired. So
where to you eat in this town?
Well, you'd start by driving down the main commercial drag, where
you'd find all manner of fast food chain restaurants. But if you're smart, you'll bypass these and head
to the place where the locals eat.
You'll want to go here - Gramma Sharon's restaurant. This
is where the waitresses still call you "Hon" and the homemade food is delicious and affordable. You won't
go wrong at Gramma Sharon's place.
And when it's time to
call it a night, here is where you don't want to stay:
Mel's Motel looks like some place out of a bad B movie. But
even if you wanted to stay here, you couldn't. Despite the fact that the place looks deserted, a closer look at
the sign lets you know there no vacancy at the 5 star Mel's Motel.
Enjoy your visit to Williston. Or better yet, after reading
this, you can skip the trip and call it good. After all, about an hour to the Northeast is Bowbells, North Dakota.
You could always go there.
This was the second to last game of the season, and to this point
the Jordan Maroon Gremlins sported a record of 1-6. The players had been working hard and wanted to close out the season
on a positive note. 
Viewmont would get the ball first in the overtime session. Starting
on the 10 yard line, they would have four plays to make a score. On third down they called a pass play, but #91 was
there to tip the ball away.
The incomplete pass would bring up fourth down for the Vikings.
As they came to the line of scrimmage, the Jordan defense was ready. 