Football Game Notes

These notes are unusually long as I was taking them for an NCS game and needed a lot of detail to form my story. What you will take Friday does not need to be this in depth (yet you may want details).

NCS Quarterfinal: #6 Acalanes @ #3 Encinal (11/17/07)

Pre-Game
• “Its alright, take it easy” playing on loud speakers as fog billows over uneven grass field
• Alameda Willie Stargell field
• Worn out goalposts, aged scoreboard
• Encinal Jets flag under US flag- as if school football only comes second to the entire nation
• Fog thickens for kickoff
• Encinal hosting first playoff game in school history
• Encinal 9-2, AHS 6-5

1st Quarter
• DONS- first drive- Malley stuffed twice, failed Turner sneak? punt on 4th and 7
• JETS- run all over dons on first drive
o 57 yard run (Jeff Owens)
o JETS 6-0
• DONS- 1st signs of progress- completion to Baker (1st down)
• DONS- back to normal
o Failed run
o Turner completely overthrows Caldwell
o Malley failed run
o Pestal could only watch in pain
o Way overthrown again? Encinal takes over on downs
• JETS- QB throws up rainbow right in front of Dons sideline? Owens snags it, tiptoes inbounds for a 25 yard completion to sum up first quarter
• QUARTER SCORE: JETS 6-0

2nd Quarter
• JETS- 30 yard run (Kelly Portis)
• JETS- short 1 yard run (Owens)? TD
• JETS- 13-0
• DONS- mud stained white jerseys, silenced sideline
• DONS- 3 and out capped off by another overthrown pass? 4th and 9 punt
• DONS- Fillmore shuts down punt return- breathing life into gasping Dons
• JETS- (Kelly Portis)?18 yard run
• DONS- finally stopped Owens? forced turnover
• DONS- 7 yard Malley run? 2nd and 3
• DONS- 8 yard Malley run- 1st down
• DONS- shut down for 3 plays- then on 4th and 6- completion to Malley for 1st down
• DONS- 5:07? fumble, Jets recover
• JETS- QB runs for 47 yards, looking like all but a quarterback
• JETS- 13 yard TD reception (Tyronne Duckett #15)
• JETS- 20-0 (2:07)
• DONS- dead silence falls over sideline
• DONS- 4 and out? Encinal takes over
• JETS- lobbed pass into endzone- finally incomplete? broken up by Baker
• DONS- Avery interception (1:03)? Dons ball on opposing 35
• DONS- 2 consecutive completions to Baker
• JETS- (#10- Jonathon Brown) interception- putting end to any momentum
• DONS- Howard lights up #10
• JETS- wide open reception- broke open for 30 yards (0:08)
• DONS- timeout with 8 seconds left in half- players walked to huddle heads down, jerseys turned brown, sweat beading from rejected faces- looked for last stand of half
• DONS- Sheldon takes down QB for loss of yards to end half
• HALF SCORE: JETS 20-0

3rd Quarter
• JETS- started things like they ended- 17 yard run, followed by 48 yard Owens TD run? coach yelling for perfection 26-0
• DONS- Caldwell told to warm up (10:29)
• JETS- Kelly Portis? 57 yard run, Xavier Milton nine yard reception
• JETS- 33-0 (8:20)
• DONS- Caldwell subbed in- began to move lines, converted for a first down (the first in awhile)
• DONS- however, jitters set in for young QB- fumbled @ 6:24? Jets ball
• JETS- finally fail to convert? punt
• DONS- Baker calls fair catch on punt, Encinal charges through, hits Baker, ball bobbles, Howard recovers and gets knocked out- concussion (3:54)
• DONS- don’t even look like they want to play- run onto cold, muddy, foggy field? losing fight
• DONS- story of night- fail to convert, Jets ball
• JETS- continue to run through team- Owens 19 yard TD run (40-0 under 1 minute)
• DONS- pull in receptions just to get run into the ground? muddy jerseys, bloody legs- Dons convert on long completion to conclude 3rd quarter
• QUARTER SCORE: JETS 40-0

4th Quarter
• Run out to Hells Bells- can’t see from endzone to endzone
• DONS- ball on Jets 9 yard line? closest to endzone yet- like they don’t know what to do when they got there
• DONS- finally TD 9:59? Quinn 2 yard run- 40-7
• JETS- #24 (Joshua Johnson) breaks open 51 yard TD run 46-7
• DONS- Howard and Malley find their seat on the trainers bench- abused all night long
• DONS- frustration, sweat, mud
• DONS- failed Warren FG
• All laughs for Jets
• JETS- 4:47 break open another 25+ yard run
• DONS- struggle through every play
• JETS- take final knees, fans countdown
• FINAL SCORE: 46-7

Post-Game / Stats
• Howard, McSwine, Plesha? all in tears to end season
• Malley 57 yards rushing
• DONS- 91 yards total rushing (22 plays)
• JETS- Portis- 140, Owens- 135, Johnson- 83 rushing?513 yards total on the ground (41 plays)
• Turner 5-22 for 59 yards passing, Caldwell 6-11 for 47 yards? 11-33 for 106 yards total
• Encinal- 8-11 for 104 yards total (Brown- 101 yards)
• Baker- 49 yards receiving