Hastings Andrew Hastings Mr. Neuberger Eng Comp.

101-137 6 September 2011 Narrative Essay Senior Season If you have ever played football in high school or even from the time you were in Pee

Wee, you have dreamed about your senior season and winning the state championship. After my junior year at Oakland High School ended, I thought about one thing that entire summer, and that was football. If you played football you went to summer school for workouts, and we also had a couple of camps. Early in the summer, there would be a team camp at the University of Texas, and you would be in full pads scrimmaging teams all day. All you did was football all day for three straight days. On Saturday, the camp would have what they call Saturday Night Live. It felt just like you were in a real game with referees and even an announcer. Its one of the highlights of the summer. Well, not all highlights are good highlights because our teams best player tore his ACL that night. His name was Bobby Jones, and he was the number one player in the country and our leader out on the field. With him our team was supposed to win the Texas high school 5A state championship. We were ranked the number one high school team in the country. Oakland football expectations are very high. At least getting to the state championship game is a must to make that season a success. My senior year the expectations were higher than ever. We were supposed to be the best team Oakland ever had. The only way this season would be a success is if we had a perfect record and a state championship. We could not fail because

Hastings we would not just let ourselves down but our entire town as well. As everyone knows that in Texas football is a way of life. Everyone in the town has been talking about this season ever since my class was freshman. We had a lot of characters in my class. Bobby was the all-star athlete and got all of the girls. I was a lineman who was all work and no glory. Blake was a running back who was the roughest and the toughest. J.T. was an all-state linebacker who was the nicest guy on the team but would knock you out when he tackled you. Eric was the best receiver in the state. He is a really cool guy and the jokester. He was a little too into himself like most receivers. My senior season had finally arrived, and we had a good week of two-a-days. We were

still very confident in ourselves that we would have a perfect season even though we didnt have Bobby. I assumed the role that Bobby played in keeping everybody in a positive mind set when things went wrong. We started off with our crosstown rivals the Midland Tigers. They were a pretty good team that year, but we smoked them. Blake had two rushing touchdowns, J.T. sent a guy to the hospital, Eric had three touchdowns, and I had a pretty good game myself. The very next game we had a close call. Nobody played very well, but we managed to pull it out. We won on a 40 yard field goal that just barely went in. The next couple of games we dominated. We won 35-0 and 49-7. J.T. had two monster games with 15 tackles in each game. Eric had three touchdowns in each game and thought he was the best that ever lived. Blake had two very tough games and rushed for over 250 very physical yards each game. I played great along with my fellow offensive lineman allowing no sacks. The town was buzzing about our fifth game against the second best team in the state. This matchup would probably be the state championship game. They were the Austin Eagles, and they were the one team that could beat us on our best day. That week in practice there was

Hastings no joking around. We practiced harder than ever. The game finally rolls around, and we start off really well. The only thing was Austin was playing with us the whole time, and every time we scored they answered right back. The score was tied at halftime 21-21. We had to dig deep

for the next two quarters. I got hurt in the third quarter, and we were really in trouble. We were down by seven with eight minutes to go. We drove down the field and scored on a 50 yard run by Blake to tie the game. We kicked off and the Eagles drove down the field and got within field goal range. They were about to take the lead with two minutes left except J.T. blocked the field goal attempt, and the crowd erupted. That momentum carried us down the field to score on a 30 yard pass to Eric for the win as the clock went to zero. With that amazing win we had all the momentum and won our next five games with relative ease. We made our run through the playoffs and made it to the state championship game. The team we had to face was the Austin Eagles. Oakland wouldnt have it any other way. We wanted to have to earn the rings and the trophy. All the work that you put into a season from summer school, all the practices, and the fifteen games you played to get to this point comes down to 48 minutes. I had never been so nervous and ready to go in my entire life. Getting to play in the Astrodome in high school is an undescribable feeling. I had one last game in high school and had to leave on a good note. The championship game had finally come. It was the hardest and most physical game I ever played. I was bruised and cut all over my body. I had never had so much fun in my life. Oakland High School set out to accomplish one goal, and we accomplished that goal. We won the Texas Class 5A State Championship and made all our dreams come true. The ideal senior season is what my friends and I had. You dream of it but dont think its ever going to come true.

Hastings We will never forget our senior year. It is something that will be a part of our senior class the rest of our lives. My friends and I went off to separate colleges. Bobby went to play for Texas and eventually went to the NFL. J.T. went on to play at Baylor where he graduated and went on to coach football at Oakland High School. Blake went on to play at a small time college and graduated with a business degree. Eric went on to play at Texas A & M and he did very well. After that Eric got a coaching job at Texas A & M. He coaches the receivers and he feels right at home because his players are all into themselves to. I went on to play at Boise State where I had a decent career, and after I graduated I became a trainer for the St. Louis Rams. My time playing football shaped who I am today. Football gave me all the tools I need to succeed in life. All the players on my high school team my senior year and the entire town will never forget my senior season. I got to live the dream that anyone who has ever played football has had. It was an experience that many people will never have and I am thankful that I got to have it.