The season ends for Bruce

All good things must come to an end. For the Bruce Trojan football team, it happened last Friday night at Trojan Field. As the Trojan fans desired another playoff game, many will say is was quite a ride. None more entertaining than watching the 2008 seniors this season.

The “dynamic duo” of Richard Freelon and his brother, Cleveland Freelon were equally as entertaining. Throughout the season, I would receive a request from their mom to correctly announce the ball carrier. Each of the brothers ran with desire and heart. Not to mention running style. It was commonplace this season. I admit, not I, or the support staff in the press box would cause an uproar. The correction would often be overshadowed due to the roar of the crowd. Either of the youngsters were readily obtaining first downs. After they carried, most times the outcome was joyful.

The city can be proud to all these young men we cheered each Friday night. The roster is full of seniors this year, as many of our young athletes have taken off the helmet the final time.

I was there, like many of you, to see the Trojans win and lose this season. Thankfully winning much more than losing. With grace each time, no less. I had faith they would respond to the losses the following weeks. My faith was always restored. The Trojans never quit. Even in the loss to Simmons, when the stands were very sparse late in the game, they didn’t quit.

I had numerous conversations with head coach James Ray throughout the season. Very few times, if any, did we discuss x’s and o’s. Mostly, it pertained to the kids themselves. How the schoolwork was going. Morale of the team. Injury reports. In two words, real life.

The inner workings of a head coach reach far beyond that of an on the field coach. To many of the players on the team, he or she is viewed as a mentor, companion, disciplinarian, teacher, or family member. I can safely say, all of my coaches encompassed those values ten-fold and this administration seem to echo my sentiments.

I was fortunate enough to address the team before a game this season. I spoke of how teams are truly defined of how they respond when faced with adversity. I spoke of how each day, we have situations in our life that we solve through situations we were taught by our predecessors on the gridiron. For those that played athletics of any sort as a youth, you, too, can relate.

While this team had aspirations of a long playoff run and a trip to Jackson for the State Championship, so did the 1995 Bruce Trojans. We fell short, just as the 2008 Trojans did. One underlying factor remains. We are better people because of Bruce High School and our time on the gridiron. In time, the 2008 seniors will understand that. As for this season, it was a great ride. I thank you for allowing me to be a part of the successful season. I will never forget it.