THE THRILL OF VICTORY, THE AGONY OF DEFEAT
Waldorf, MD. (AP) April 22nd -- The Semi-Pro Packers showed up to Wade Elementary field Saturday with their chests out, still riding the high of their week one victory over the Chiefs. Little did they know that they were in for a wet and wild adventure in what turned out to be the best game of the year so far in the short SMYFFL season.
The coaches and parents realized right away that they had their work cut out for them. The Broncos were big and fast, very intimidating at first glance. �If you lined our guys up next to theirs, you�d think it was the big kids against the little guys. They just towered over our guys and just looked older�, said Coach Craig. The Packers� coaching staff quickly realized that the Broncos were worried about the elements. They were practicing various running plays during warm-ups, with several misdirection plays and a seemingly endless core of tall, fast players. �I have faith in our kids and our quarterbacks. We�re going to stick to our �bread and butter� of running sharp routes and our pin-point accurate QB�s and try and pick their defense apart�, Coach Chris said.
The game started out rough for the Packers. The defense allowed an early score on a long run. The offense struggled with everything, including handoffs, routes and catches. As Coach Craig said, �We looked VERY out of synch. I couldn�t figure out if it was the weather, the nerves, the other team or what, but we looked slower, more confused and just not into it. We weren�t having any fun.� That is until the Packers� high powered offense finally got it going. Alex "Zander Bomber" Hodge finally got the offense in synch and then Jonathan �sweet feet� Campbell put a scare into the Broncos when he broke a long run that shot some much needed life into the Packers. Then, like the well oiled machine that they are, the Packers offense attacked with a long TD catch from Alex to Jalen Barnes. �Now they can see they�re in for a fight�, said Coach Craig of the Broncos� sideline. �You could see at that very moment that their players, coaches and fans knew this was going to be a battle�, he added.
The Packers never led in this game. Yet they answered every time the Broncos scored. �It was like a heavyweight prize fight out there� said Coach Chris. �Blow for blow, we hung in there. They threw powerful punches at us, but we stood there toe to toe and wouldn�t back down and that�s what I�m most proud of�. The Packers were led on offense by Jonathan, Jalen, Curtis "Rocket" Dockett and Alex . It is quite a sight to watch the Packers offense when the are operating on all cylinders. They may look small, but they run very precise, accurate plays that you would expect from much bigger, older kids. The Packers showed no let up and never got down on themselves as the game continued in it�s back and forth, see-saw like feel.
Nathan �what can�t he do� Corsey, Chance "Captain Crunch" Bikowski and Vincent �the flag man� Brunson all showed a lot of energy as they worked primarily on defense in an effort to get the ball back to their offense. �I didn�t know what to expect this season� said Coach Craig. �I had no goals or expectations other than that the players learned and got better each week. But now, they have forced me into a few goals and expectations. Chance got us an INT in our first game, and Vincent got us another this week. So now, our goal is to get at least one INT a game. That is the type of thing that can change a game. Anytime we get out offense the ball back without giving up a score, I like our chances.�
The Packers have a good mix of talent. They have 2 outstanding QB�s in Alex and Jalen, a �TRIFECTA OF FEAR� on offense with Jonathon, Jalen and Curtis. On defense, again, the Packers have a �TRIO of BEASTS� in Vincent, Nathan and Chance. Then, the team is rounded out by the league�s top 3 ROLE PLAYERS. Aaron Garcia, James "The Quiet Assassin" Brown and Evan Aragon reflect what this team is about, heart, dedication and the willingness to do whatever the team needs. �We are so lucky to have our �Three Rocks�. We can have Aaron and James go from snapping the ball to our QB�s to rushing the QB on defense. Evan has shown that he can rush and cover anytime we need and also fill in on offense whenever Coach Chris comes calling�, added Coach Craig.
The Packers defense defended the pass well again and for a second week in a row, giving up minimum yardage against the pass. However, they are still struggling with stopping the run. When asked about this, defensive coordinator Coach Craig said, �I don�t get it. We stop the pass with regularity. And we have the run seemingly stopped when all of a sudden, they break out of the pack and continue to make long runs against us. And this week, they had ONE PLAYER who scored 4 times. They just kept handing him the ball and he outran us every time.� The Packers definitely showed again a more diversified offense, as several players contributed on big plays, but the Broncos kept handing the ball to their �go to player� which proved to be more than the Packers could handle.
�It�s a shame ANYONE had to lose this game�, said Coach Craig. �Our parents were into it, our players were into it and the Broncos showed the same amount of fight. Our offense leads the Semi-Pro league in scoring, and we haven�t even hit our stride yet. Our defense is very stingy and gets better each week. We will continue to practice the basics and fundamentals and always go harder than any other team. We will practice our flag grabs, and if we face another team with one dominant fast guy, we will get his flags before just one player hurts us. And we are playing out the rest of this season with the hopes that we get to face the Bronco�s again in the post season. We will not let ONE PLAYER beat us next time!�
Although the Bronco�s outlasted the Packers in overtime 30-24, the Packers still had SEVERAL chances to win. �We need to work on converting our extra points�, said Coach Chris. �We dropped an extra point at the end of regulation and we failed to convert any others during the game, and that proved to be the difference. But all I can think of is the heart of our kids. Each and every one of them had tears flowing after the game. That shows how bad they wanted it, and it�s contagious. Our fans and coaches can�t help but be amazed at the fight these kids show. If we get that level of effort every time out, I don�t care if we win another game, cause these kids continue to leave it all on the field, and that�s all we can ask of them.�