4th & Long: SV Freshmen Declaw The Panthers
With another football season underway, it was great to get out to the fields to experience America's sport. What better way to start the season than to take in, quite possibly, Smithson Valley’s favorite team. We are of course talking about the Freshmen Blue Rangers. Local attention surrounding the Rangers, Freshmen Blue team, has created quite the buzz around the gridiron. So, we decided to take in a couple SV Rangers games this weekend to see if the preseason buzz we were all hearing was warranted. Oh boy was it. The tags from local tweets have been flooding the X, formerly known as Twitter. Tweets like this one from @GrillCheez4Life after the Rangers recent 28-0 win over the Panthers "I see you @SVRangers(FreshmenBlue) Struttin’ out there like you own the joint boyz! 100". Another one saying " dem boyz be grindin out winz n da typhoon (fire emoji) @SVRangers(FreshmenBlue)” from @BigFootballHomie and @SupaFlyGata says "best game I watched all week! even though it was the only game I watched.” @SVRangers(FreshmenBlue).
The Rangers got off to a slow start. Unable to break through the team banner pre-game, that same energy carried on offense with punts on their first two possessions trying to attack the edges of the Panthers defense. With little success running wide, Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator/Defensive Coordinator Scott Shepperd made some in-game adjustments in the offensive attack and ran it right up the middle. That small adjustment resulted in 350 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns from Tripp “I Only Sprint For Glory” Shepperd reminiscent of Mike Alstott. Tripp also recorded a sack and fumble recovery on defense earning him the coveted JYD (Junkyard Dog) belt comprised of remnants of a used Halloween costume, duct tape, and Elmers’s glue.
We were able to catch up with Tripp who broke open the scoring with his 50-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter. "I don’t really like to run sprints during practice. That’s why I make those weird noises when we condition." Tripp said. "But when it’s gameday, I run as fast as I can with no weird noises." he continued. "I can’t really explain it. Doctors can’t explain it. I’m just happy to be able to help my team win.” He may have quietly run his way to new career highs, but the result was a very loud message to rest of the league.
Another bright spot for the SV Rangers, Freshmen Blue team, was the dominant play of Beau “Breaux” Bailey. Bailey feasted in the Panther’s backfield all from the defensive end position. He recorded 12 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 lost mouthpiece that the Panthers coaches are still looking for. When asked about his thoughts on the game, Bailey responded with “I was born to do two things, fire off the ball and hit people hard. Luckily, those two things make Beau Bailey a really good football player.” Bailey said. If you are wondering if that was a misprint, it wasn’t. He spoke in third person.
After the win, the team gathered as they always do to get the post-game pep talk from head coach Scott Shepperd. "I like what I'm seeing out there." says coach Shepperd. "It’s good to get out there and hit somebody else for a change, isn’t it?” he continues before being interrupted. "Coach, who do we play next week?" asks Dylan Butz. Coach Shepperd says “Hold on. I’m talking about this game.” before he starts back into addressing the team. "We have to keep working hard." he said. Chastin Wiatrek chimes in "Coach, we brought snacks today." he said. "I hope everyone likes Goldfish." Wiatrek continues. "Can I run the ball next game, Coach?" asks John Barna. Overwhelmed by the players participation in his prepared words, Coach Shepperd just says "Hands in." , leaving the John Wooden inspired speech for another day. "1!...2!...3!...JYD!" they shout in a somewhat unified voice.
We're all hearing the chatter. I was able to witness it myself, and I can tell you the hype is real. The sound of the social media attention is deafening.....and it's reached fever pitch.
(Note: Our statistician was slightly distracted by constant questions from players on the sideline which may have resulted in slightly skewed statistics.)