Sometimes high school football is about the game.  Sometimes it is about the players.  Sometimes it is about the cheerleaders or the band, when your team sucks.  It is always about heart though.  Win, lose, suck or be destined for greatness, these are kids who take to the field week after week in all sorts of weather and play through it for love of what they do.  As a Missouri boy and a father of a special needs kid this story hit me and had to be shared in its entirety.

www.kansascity.com | 11/01/2008 | Enthusiasm like this can’t be confined to the stands

Enthusiasm like this can’t be confined to the stands
By DONALD BRADLEY
The Kansas City Star
Raymore-Peculiar High School cheerleader Kaylee Young (foreground) finally got one of the things she wanted most during the last home game of the season, Thursday’s game against Belton High School.
JOHN SLEEZER
Raymore-Peculiar High School cheerleader Kaylee Young (foreground) finally got one of the things she wanted most during the last home game of the season, Thursday’s game against Belton High School.
Seeing his daughter Kaylee among the Raymore-Peculiar High School cheerleaders on Thursday was an emotional experience for David Young, who drove 14 hours to be there.

Kaylee Young, a cheerleader for the Raymore-Peculiar High School Panthers, kept glancing toward the stands during the first quarter of Thursday night’s football game.

Her mom was sitting there. But where was her dad? This was the night he finally was supposed to see her cheer. It was her first year on the squad, and Thursday’s game was the final home game of the regular season.

Then midway through the second quarter, David Young arrived. He had spent the past three months trimming trees and removing stumps in hurricane-ravaged south Louisiana.

Kaylee, 16, looked up and saw him standing beside her mother. She pursed her lips and put her hands on her hips as if to say, “You’re late, mister.”

But she couldn’t hold the scowl. Her face broke into a smile, and David Young’s eyes filled with tears.

He’d had mixed emotions when he first heard about Kaylee wanting to be a cheerleader. Hopefully, things had changed since his school days when it came to students like Kaylee.

“When I was a kid,” he said, “people pointed fingers.”

Kaylee Young has Down syndrome. For years, she sat with her parents in the stands at football and basketball games. Mainly, Kaylee watched her older sister, Chloe, who had been a cheerleader since middle school.

Kaylee loved seeing Chloe and the other girls do the routines and pyramids, waving pompoms and dancing to the pep band under Friday night lights as the crowd cheered.

And that was as far as it went — until the start of this school year, when Kaylee was sitting in class and an announcement about cheerleading tryouts came over the school’s intercom.

Kaylee, without talking to anyone, went to the office and asked for a tryout form.

At first, her mother, Kathleen Young, didn’t know what to think. Kaylee, a junior, takes some mainstream classes but spends part of her day in special education.

Kathleen had watched Chloe for years and knew the memory, precision and physicality demanded by cheerleading.

“Oh, you don’t want to be a cheerleader,” she told Kaylee. “You want to be in the stands with me.”

But, as Kathleen would say later, “Kaylee wasn’t hearing any of that.”

Kaylee told Chloe what she wanted to do.

“I thought it was great … sort of like she wanted to carry on a family tradition,” said Chloe, a senior who is graduating at semester and who had decided not to cheer this year.

Cassidy, a younger sister, plays volleyball.

So Chloe talked to Melinda Young, the cheerleading coach, who then talked to the school’s athletic director and football coach, Tom Kruse.

At a meeting with Kaylee’s special-education teacher, they decided that Kaylee could hold a special spot on the squad. She would, though, have to try out like other girls because cheerleading at big high schools can be as competitive as sports.

Not all parents understood at first.

“We got some complaints that Kaylee took a spot that should have gone to someone more deserving,” said Young, the cheerleading coach. “They all know now, and everyone seems to be fine with it.”

Same for the other cheerleaders.

“No resentment,” Christina DeCarlo said. “We all love Kaylee.”

There are special rules. Kaylee doesn’t travel to road games. For safety, she doesn’t do stunts or tumbling or participate in pyramids and other complex routines.

The plan started bumpy. At an early pep rally, the squad took the floor for a somewhat

Kaylee’s coach, watching through the viewfinder of a camera, thought: “Who is that in the back?”

Kaylee.

She was supposed to watch from the side, but she thought she was needed.

The coach asked afterward if she had fun. Kaylee looked worried, like maybe she had done something wrong. Then she smiled and nodded.

“You did great,” Young told her.

Now, as football season winds down, Kathleen Young said Kaylee seems different. She’s less shy, more confident.

“I think she feels like she’s living more of a typical high-school lifestyle,” Kathleen said.

Example: At the football game on Oct. 3, the whole cheerleading squad joined Kaylee in singing “Happy Birthday” to her boyfriend. Before the song was over, the crowd had joined in.

A cool breeze whips across the football field just before kickoff at Ray-Pec’s game against Belton.

The crowd pours in. The band takes the field and drumbeats fill the air. The loudspeaker blares.

“Here come your Raymore-Peculiar Panthers!”

This is Kaylee Young’s favorite time. She gets to hold the rope that is connected to a big banner that the team blasts through.

On this windy night, the banner acts like a sail and nearly lifts Kaylee off the ground.

Later, on the track in front of the packed grandstand, she cheers with the others as the Panthers score four quick touchdowns.

At halftime, the cheerleaders get a short break, and Kaylee makes her way to her parents.

Her dad, who had arrived in town earlier in the week, extends his arms to her. She shakes her head.

“I got three minutes,” she tells him.

Before the game ends, David, wearing a Grandview Tree Service jacket, has to leave to make business calls. He will head back to Louisiana late that night or early Friday morning.

It is a great night for Raymore-Peculiar football. The weather is perfect, and in front of a packed house the Panthers doubled up next-door rival Belton 56-28.

But the best part for Kaylee — her dad made a 14-hour drive to get there.

“My dad finally got to be here to see me. I love him so much.”

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Post 59 of 100 of Brad’s Tiny World Scribefire Challenge.

Virgin Islands, Virgin Islands Newspaper, A Pulitzer Prize Winning Newspaper, Virgin Islands Guide, Virgin Islands Info

ST. THOMAS - The Charlotte Amalie Chickenhawks continued their impressive start to the 2008 season on Friday with a 36-14 win over the St. Thomas Private Schools.

CAHS, led by a strong running game for the second week in a row, were able to hold off a late Arawak Warriors comeback try in the second half.

“Well, we knew it was going to be like this,” CAHS head coach Francisco Jarvis said. “We knew we would be in a dogfight with them and we definitely were.”

The Chickenhawks (3-0) were able to jump out to a 22-0 lead thanks to great performances by quarterback Ryan Mills and running back Devin Pruitt, who combined for all 243 rushing yards for CAHS.

Pruitt got Charlotte Amalie on the board first with a 1-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion failed, but with 6:18 left in the first quarter, CAHS had taken a 6-0 lead.

The Warriors (1-1-1) looked as if they were going to answer right back on their first drive, but 13 plays and 52 yards later the drive stalled. After a touchdown was called back for illegal procedure, St. Thomas Private Schools failed to convert on fourth-and-goal from the 8-yard line.

“It was minor things that turned into big plays against us,” Warriors head coach Michael Burke said. “Just when you think you’ve got a little momentum you run out of feet to shoot off.”

CAHS took advantage of the momentum swing, and on their first play of the ensuing possession Mills broke off a 93-yard touchdown run. On the keeper he ran right, cut left, threw in a couple of juke moves and stiff arms and found pay dirt for his second longest run of the year.

Pruitt ran in the two-point conversion and CAHS had a 14-0 lead with 9:13 left in the half.

“We knew they had the big play capability,” Burke said. “The first thing I had on my defensive key sheet was that we have to tackle, and when we didn’t that’s what happened.”

After another stalled drive by the Arawak Warriors, the Chickenhawks took advantage again with a four-play scoring drive. Mills completed 3-of-4 passes on the drive, the last of which was a screen pass to Pruitt for a 24-yard score.

Mills ran in the two-point conversion and with 2:24 left in the half CAHS had a 22-0 lead.

The momentum continued to be on the side of CAHS to start the second half as they scored again to extend their lead. This time it was Pruitt again, with a 5-yard run to make it a 28-0 game.

Pruitt finished with 122 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries.

But just when the game looked like it was getting out of reach for the St. Thomas Private Schools, they decided to put up 14 unanswered points.

With just 1:28 left in the third, quarterback Cruiser Wilkinson capped off a 8-play, 73-yard drive with a 1-yard dive into the end zone. The two-point try failed, but the Warriors had cut the lead to 28-6.

On the first play of the Chickenhawks following possession, Kyle Richardson forced a Pruitt fumble which was scooped up and returned 34 yards by Spencer Consolvo for a touchdown.

Daniel Rosey ran in the two-point conversion and with just 1:00 left in the third quarter the lead was cut in half, 28-14.

But the comeback was short lived as Mills dashed the hopes of the Warriors with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Jawanza Hillaire. On the play Mills was nearly sacked - twice - but eluded defenders and found an open Hillaire in the middle of the end zone.

Mills ran in the two-point conversion for the final two points of the game as CAHS held on to win 36-14. He finished with 121 yards on three carries and 7-of-12 through the air for 125 yards and two touchdowns.

“We won, I’m happy, that’s all there is to it,” Coach Jarvis said.

As for his former defensive coordinator and current head coach of the Warriors, “We’re just going to build on the heart and willingness of these kids,” Burke said.

For CAHS, Rique Ashby came back from a week off with a game-high seven tackles and the game’s only sack. Ricky Gumbs had a team-high three catches for 60 yards. The Chickenhawks had 368 yards offense, seven first downs, and 18 penalties for 125 yards.

For the Warriors, Jelani Foy had a team high five tackles. Manny Santana had 79 yards rushing on 14 carries. The team combined for 160 yards offense, 117 came on the ground, nine first downs, and seven penalties for 41 yards.

- Contact Chris Walsh at 774-8772 ext. 310 or e-mail cwalsh@dailynews.vi.

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Trinity set to welcome 5A power Mainland | Ocala.com | Star-Banner | Ocala, FL

OCALA — Regardless of what anybody says, this one has been circled for a while.
DOUG ENGLE/STAR-BANNER

When 5A No. 4 Daytona Beach Mainland rolls into Ocala tonight to face second-ranked 2B Trinity Catholic, the state will be watching.

The Bucs are clearly one of the top 10 teams in Florida — grabbing the No. 10 slot in the current Beef’O’Bradys non-classification poll — and the Celtics would like to make a similar claim after tonight’s showdown.

First-year head coach John Brantley remembers when the Celtics could work on fine-tuning pass protection or polishing up a defensive scheme with non-district dates against the likes of Baldwin and St. John. Those days are now officially over as powerhouses like Tampa Catholic, North Florida Christian, and now 5A Mainland, occupy the Celtics between district games.

“That’s what happens when you make a two-year run and you win 27 games in a row — it’s hard to get teams of a similar talent pool to play you,” said Brantley, citing the Celtics’ run from 2005-06. “So we’ve had to bump it up this year. Our kids have been up to the challenge every week, and it will be interesting to see if they’re up to it this week.”

The Celtics will have to slow down a Mainland team that has had its way with the opposition, including a 28-14 win at Nease. In all, the Bucs have outscored opponents 198-41, dominating traditional powers with a healthy dose of team speed Brantley says he’s rarely seen.

The Celtic staff has tried to prepare quarterback Rob Henry for an intense Bucs pass rush, led by undersized rush end Antwone McGuire (5-7, 150), who has seven sacks and 78 tackles on the season. “I’ve enjoyed watching their tapes; just athletes everywhere on the field,” Brantley said. “It’s hard to compete with their speed. Their defense is very quick. Our strategy will revolve around things that are quick — Rob can’t sit in the pocket for 3 and 4 seconds and wait for receivers to break open. We’re going to have to make it happen in a hurry.”

The Bucs offense features a solid stable of running backs, a quarterback who is a run/pass threat and a wide receiver in O.J. Ross who averages 25 yards a catch.

The Trinity defense, which has been solid except for the 42 points allowed in a 21-point victory over Williston, will get its toughest test tonight.

The Bucs, like most high-school teams, are a run-first bunch, but Brantley has been impressed with quarterback Greg Ross and expects two or three shots downfield to keep the Celtic defense honest.

“They’re a complete football team,” Brantley said. “The bottom line for us is, we don’t see their speed on a regular basis. We’ll see spots of it here and there, but when you look across the board — [Mainland] has speed all the way across.”

With all the excitement surrounding the game, it will ultimately have no bearing on postseason aspirations.

But it could represent the best way for the Celtics to figure out how they stack up against the state’s elite programs.

“I look at it as another big game for Trinity,” Brantley said. “We get everybody’s best shots, and I know [Mainland’s] been talking about it. They felt like they should have beaten Trinity a lot worse last year than the 14-6 final.

“It’s a real challenge for our program. We’re looking forward to it. We’ve known it was going to be probably our biggest game of the year, aside from hopefully playing in the playoffs. There’s definitely a motivation there to meet the challenge.”

Adding to the festivities, the Celtics will retire the No. 12 jersey worn by record-setting quarterback John Brantley IV, who owns the state record for touchdown passes with 99. Brantley, now a back-up quarterback at Florida, will attend the ceremony.

Kickoff for the Mainland-Trinity game is set for 7:30 p.m.

Post 24 of 100 of Brad’s Tiny World Scribefire Challenge.

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I like seeing The Dallas Cowboys lose every time they take the field, except maybe to the Raiders, who I dislike even more. Yes folks, I am from Northwest Missouri and genetically a KC Chief’s fan. However this is not about my abnormality as my neighbors who are enthralled with the Browns or the Bungles call it. This post is about the ever hardworking Terrell Owens and his candy assed quarterback, Tony Romo. After a loss which both Tony’s girlfriend Jessica Simpson attended and Tony’s mind no so much, it was well decided by both the fans and the loquaciously fair T.O. that she should just stay away. Of course they felt this way when Tony’s previously worst game was caused by his former girlfriend, Carrie Underwood. Since Tony is such a wonderful player, I mean expensive quarterback, without which no team could ever hope of winning a single game it is obviously someone else’s fault.

Let’s dissect this a bit into why it is his girlfriends fault that he plays bad.

• Carrie Underwood has a wonderful voice is extremely hot.
• Jessica Simpson isn’t hideously homely and looks like she would be a good fuck.
• Carrie Underwood is a fairly sedate normal seeming woman.
• Jessica Simpson is an OTT kid who just never grew up, even as her breasts filled out.
• Carrie Underwood is a star and doesn’t need to be around the famous to be noticed.
• Jessica Simpson is famous for needing to be around other famous people, since they are the only ones that could understand or appreciate her.

After a little detailed analysis the evidence says it all. The two women are so much alike that they bring bad luck into the stands causing total chaos. They should be slapped with a professional sports star restraining order, banning them from not only associating with people in the industry but also from dreaming about their penises, a ball shrinking activity that deprives players of enough testosterone to make winning possible.

Poor Tony what is he going to do. His girlfriends cause referees to make bad calls since the instant replay cameras are trained on the famous women instead of the field. The coaches call for bad plays or dangerous offensive lines for Tony, since without him they might just score with the bereaved girlfriends. The pair cause other players to lose focus out of jealousy wondering when it will be their turn to fuck something famous. They cause Tony to show off and leave his mind in their unmatrimonial bed wondering if he will have to pay child support. The water boy gets a stiffy every time he thinks about Tony’s luck with two famous girls distracting him from duties. Last but not least they keep Terrell Owens from scoring which just makes him run his mouth. As we all know, T.O. is good at finding the right person to blame, and couldn’t be wrong here. With all that playing against Tony’s girlfriends we can only have one solution, Tony Romo should go gay! This is the solution that will improve everyone’s chance of getting lucky with Tony and keep his eyes where they are suppose to be at every snap, right on the center’s ass. The team will undoubtedly give him fully erect support for his decision to come out the locker room.

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