Go Friday Night

Jim Ned Kicks Coleman, 3-0...Barely

By Suzie
October 26, 2004

Barely. Barely, this time. No doubling up on opponents. No rolling down the field on every series. No endzone celebrations. Just a kick. One field goal midway through the first quarter off the left foot of Peter Schiessler put the Jim Ned Indians over the Coleman Bluecats for a 3-0 win.

The weather set an ironic stage for the game. Cold, hard, just plain nasty. Just like the game appeared to coach Brad McCoy. It wasn't a pretty game.

The Indians seemed sluggish from the opening kickoff, with Colt McCoy leading the offense barely managing a little more than 100 yards -- mostly in the first half. The receivers were only able to handle 4 of 15 passes, picking up 102 yards. Cam Holson was able to harness two of those throws, but on a later attempt came down hard, straining his right ankle, which would sideline him for the remainder of the game. Even the running game was useless, as players slipped, slid, and splashed for what little yardage they could.

It was the same way for Coleman, except for one thing.

They came to win. The Bluecats pushed with all they had at the Indians' defense, who was barely able to keep them from creeping past the goalline. Play after play, the Cats would get themselves into the redzone, only to be stopped when it mattered most. The Bluecats played their hearts out, and they just could not pull it off.

Postgame didn't reflect the scoreboard. The Cats' fans smiled broadly and congratulated their players on a hard-fought effort and nearly celebrated the game.

For the Indians, that hard-fought effort was an eye-opener. Not every team is going to be easy. Even the 0-6'ers with small players. Even the teams who aren't ranked aren't to be forgotten. The bigger you are as a team, the easier it is to forget that your opponents are still worthy of respect, and the easier it is to forget you're a respected force. It's something that comes with any kind of competition, whether high school football or life itself. But this is high school football, and for Jim Ned, the big team from a small town, it put reality on their road map.

You are this good. You can win 10 in a row. And you always have to do your best. You can win 11, 12, 13, 14 in a row. You are that good. But you have to be that good every day. Not perfect. Just that good.

This Friday, the Indians are out of town to face the San Saba Armadillos.

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