Gritty

I'd have to say our Wildcats are gritty. Despite alot of offensive fireworks from both teams - and from the scoreboard(!) (pretty cool at a HS game, by the way) - neither team could finish the deal down close. No one would've guessed that 38-yd field goal would be the difference when we hit it. We can certainly say that this team doesn't give in to the situation - slow starts have taught this team how to engineer comebacks and keep their composure with a short clock. To be able to win with a running attack and a resilient defense when points are tough to come by is huge!

With each year that I've been a dad watching the seasons unfold - they're all unique - I continue to marvel at Coach Kyle's system that gradually works contributions in from more and more players - and more underclassmen. It was great to see some of the younger guys called on and to see them respond. We know how much work all these kids put in - it eventually is rewarded! No team goes deep into the playoffs without depth and experience - it's what these tough regular season games prepare us for.

On to the TailCat:

Ed Martin and Pat Ryan were VERY anxious to let everyone know that THEY were the first ones to the Harding TailCat. Which breaks their string of embarrassingly tardy arrivals but -hey, it's a start. What they DIDN'T relay to everyone was their confusion and complete panic upon arrival. The conversation went something like: "Hooo boy! We're first! Take THAT, TailCatters!! Uuuh, OK - where the heck do we set up? HOW do we set up? How does a TailCat actually start, anyway? Does someone blow a whistle?! Fire a gun?! Recite a chant?!"

So despite the outdated satellite shot on GoogleEarth and the early arrival of Ryan & Martin's Laugh In things got off the ground.

"Tubular Meat" seemed to work quite well - lots of varieties of sausages and dogs were had by all. Joe Carozzoni struggled - there's an understatement - with the theme, however: he brought rice krispie squares. Oookaay - other than being non-tubular and meatless it worked. He was seen trying to grill a few and stick 'em in baggies...

Please send a note of sympathy to JoAnn Ross. She'll be listening to games on the radio from here on out. With each week's declining temperatures she's adding layers to her cold weather gear that would already outift a run to the North Pole. And it's only in the 50's - the forecast is for the 40's this week; I don't think Frank fits her into the family car anymore...

Sue "I-don't-want-any-attention-in-the-TailCat-recaps-but-secretly-I-do-cuz-I-keep-providing-such-good-material-each-week" Ryan was caught - on film - upgrading from sipping wine to chugging Johnnie Walker from a paper bag. Man, I'll bet she's a lot of fun at the Christmas party, huh?

Inkster. St X. St Ed. Playoffs. No rest from here on out. We TailCatters have to do our part in what promises to be slowly deteriorating conditions the rest of the way. And since tailgating is an outdoor activity the challenges will be many - but not insurmountable! It's only another 8 weeks...

GO CATS!!!