~The Boys of Fall~

Never Let it Rest, Until Your Good is Better and Your Better is Best.


















Taylor had an amazing season this year. He played linebacker and tight end on the high school football team. Football is really almost a year round sport with the conditioning and strength training added in, but they also started practicing as soon as school was out last year. Or was it before? Then it goes until fall.

I am just happy we escaped serious injury. He did come home almost every day from practice with bruises, cuts, and ice bags covering various body parts. He needed stitches on his head after one of his practices and drove himself to the clinic to get them. He didn't even tell me when he got home. I don't think he was even going to say anything. I finally noticed. Whenever I would question him about his battle wounds, he would just reply, "It's football Ma." No big deal to him. Sigh...

According to the Deseret News, Taylor ended the season as the leading Defensive player on the Varsity team with 90 tackles, 2 sacks, and 2 interceptions. He also had several fumble recoveries and blocked punts. It appears he is number two in our region and in the top five in the division. Not bad for a junior.

When the season began he wasn't even starting Varsity until game two or three. He worked hard and earned his spot as starter. He was also playing JV at the beginning but once he became a starter he no longer played JV. I am sure those numbers would be even higher had he started as a starter. I do have to admit that was sometimes hard to watch him out there against all those 300 pounders (one 400! on Highland's team!) hoping that his bones (and brains!) would stay intact. I always breathed a huge sigh of relief as soon as the game ending buzzer went off. He had no fear... just his mother did.

It was an exciting season as we were tri-REGION CHAMPIONS with Mountain Crest and Logan. Two of the games we lost were only by one point, and the reason for both of those losses is questionable. We also beat Spanish Fork who is not in our region, but one tough team. We were not predicted to win that game. We shut out Ogden High 49-0 and beat Logan for the tri-region win. It was intense! But oh so fun! I loved each and every minute I was able to spend watching and cheering on the Bees! The Bees haven't gone to the state playoffs in a long time so this was an especially exciting year. I am having withdrawals now that the season is over.

But... one of my favorite parts of each game was when the song--- "Start Wearing Purple" would come over the loud speaker. It's on here on my playlist for YOUR listening enjoyment as well. ☺ There is nothing like a purple song to really get your spirit up!

A "few" (haha) highlights of the season...

At Box Elder after the Purple and White pre-season game.

Copper Hills JV game

My cute little Jaida bug came and sat by me for the whole game at one of our home games! LOVE HER!

*Spanish Fork JV game*

Taylor is somewhere at the bottom of that pile

We were playing at Spanish Fork and so stopped inProvo and picked up Bryce and Chris on the way.

My VERY supportive parents made the journey too.

The little guy is my friend's little grandson. He wanted to be in the picture! Cute...

Taylor and Tyler #4 (my sixth son - he calls me Mom) were only allowed to play the first half since they were going to be playing Varsity.

JV Team

We hit IN & OUT on the way home! Taylor and Tyler heard we were going and so got permission to ride with us instead of the bus.

Gotta love the grass stains!

We also stopped off in Salt Lake to say hi to Skyler. Luckily he just got back from the gym and so we caught him home!

And his roommate the hilarious Jeremy.

Spanish Fork on OUR turf now! Varsity game. Taylor was no longer playing JV, but starting defense for Varsity.

What an intense game! We beat em' 28 to 25!

The students went wild and ran down on the field to sing the school song to the players.

~Playing my Alma Mater the Bonneville Lakers. And YES I wore purple NOT blue and gold- though it WAS tempting! We killed em! ~

Taylor's awesome INTERCEPTION against Sky View!!! It was one of the highlights of the season for him.

Game against Mtn. Crest at their Homecoming...

Game against Morgan High in Morgan.

We had lots of family at this game. Have no idea who the guy in front with the Binos is. But he seems to enjoy being part of the fam! lol

Me with my cute nieces and new nephew! He loved the game!

Amazing game against Logan!

McKay's version of this tackle:










I like his version better! Especially the dynamite and arrow!

~ BIG WIN!!! ~ Our win meant we were tri-region champs if we beat Ogden the next week. Which we did. We shut them out 49-0.

These boys were excited!!!

They only look calm in this one. Inside they were doing the ~victory dance!!!~

What an exciting win! It came down to the last 2.2 seconds of the game. We were behind 14-17 with only seconds left in the game and we scored a touchdown!

The students went wild and were ready to run on the field as soon as the buzzer sounded. They had to hold them back until the team shook hands with Logan. It was crazy exciting!!! There is NOTHING like high school football!

And they're off!!!

The team running into the crowd. Taylor is on the left - the one with his helmet on... ~#42~

VICTORY!!!

State Playoffs

Two of my favorite pictures ↑ ↓

"You Mess With One Man, You Got Us All"

Since it was a three way tie for the Region Championship they resorted to a coin toss to determine who went to State ranked as what. Mtn. Crest got #1, Box Elder #2, and Logan #3. That, of course, determines what team seed you play against. We were up against Highland High. They had a 400 pounder and many over 300 pounders! Wow!

Taylor is the one tackling the ball carrier almost on the ground.

That's a lot of tackling going on!

Taylor is the air-born horizontal one

He almost has the ball ....

He also got a great sack in this game.

An intense game...

They were pretty equally matched but we made some stupid mistakes that ended up costing us the game. :(

Far left on the ground - he has him...

Got em!

All of our boys made it and both the grandparents and Taylor's Aunt and Uncle.

This may have been the sack. Not sure. He's the one touching the QB.

He always seemed to have at least two guys trying to block his tackles.

He's gonna get him!

A sad ending BUT a great season!!!

The Highland Rams went on to win the STATE CHAMPIONSHIP and so we didn't feel too bad since we played so well against them!

Way to go BEES! You played your hearts out and gave it your all!

~Thanks for an amazing season Bees!~

Dave and the boys...

Love the intense look in Taylor's eyes in this newspaper photo!
This was just before the sack I think.

None of us wanted to see this season end. These boys gave us so much to be proud of this year. They were all amazing and were all great team players. They were so fun to watch. A lot is to be said of the great coaching as well. The coaches are focused on character development as much as (if not more so than) muscle development. And that is what they will take with them when they can no longer run a football. Luckily Taylor has one more year and I am looking forward to that with great anticipation.

As for now.... he just made the Varisty Basketball Team and so no time to breath or mourn the end of football!

"The reason women don't play football is because eleven of them would never wear the same outfit in public." ~Phyllis Diller

This is WORTH watching!!! To turn off my playlist before watching, scroll to bottom to purple playlist and hit the button that looks like an = sign to pause it.


Never Let it Rest, Until Your Good is Better and Your Better is Best...

The Boys of Fall lyrics:
When I feel that chill and smell that wet cut grass
I'm back in my helmet cleats and shoulder pads
Standin in the huddle listenin' to the call
Fans going crazy for the boys of fall

They didn't let just anybody in that club
Took every ounce of heart and sweat and blood
To get to wear those game day jerseys down the hall
King of the school man we're the boys of fall

Well it's turnin' to face the stars and stripes
It's fighting back them butterflies
It's call it in the air alright, yes sir we want the ball
And it's knockin heads and talkin trash
It's slinging mud and dirt and grass
It's I got your number, I got your back
When your backs against the wall
You mess with one man you got us all
The Boys of Fall

In little towns like mine it's all they got
Newspapers clippings fill the coffee shops
The old men will always think they know it all
Young girls will dream of The Boys of Fall

Well it's turnin' to face the stars and stripes
It's fighting back them butterflies
It's call it in the air, alright yes sir we want the ball
And it's knockin heads and talkin trash
It's slinging mud and dirt and grass
It's I got your number, I got your back
When your backs against the wall
You mess with one man you got us all
The Boys of Fall

We're the boys of fall...

~ Start Wearing PURPLE! ~

McKay had a great FOOTBALL SEASON this year! This was his last year for playing Little League Football since he will be a Freshman next year. (Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! That isn't happening! NO! Not my baby!!! A Freshman! --- DEEP ~ DEEEEEEEEEP GROAN!!!) He had awesome coaches and they even went to the playoffs! That hasn't happened in over two years straight! And best of all, they even shut out Mountain Crest our arch rivals!!!

His coach was ALWAYS positive. And when I say ALWAYS, I mean ALWAYS! Even when he had reason to be negative and harsh, (and he did many times - trust me!) he never was once. Something that was more than lacking before. He took over this team and from there on out things changed because these boys experienced an attitude change. And that made all the difference. They improved by leaps and bounds. Or I guess I should say by tackles and touchdowns! He always had something good to say to each boy and even when they lost a game. He never dwelt on the loss, and it was amazing how hard they came back the next week to play and win.

As a parent, I truly appreciate it when a coach or mentor realizes that it's not all about the game, or whether you win or lose, but it's about building character in extremely impressionable young men. There is nothing like going to a game and feeling like a success even if you didn't win it. That is what this coach instilled in these boys. And to me, that is more important than teaching them all the secrets and strategies of the game.

~~~So KUDOS to great coaches everywhere!~~~

Here are some photos of the season:

McKay on the tackle. He's the one falling parallel.

































The big Mountain Crest game.

It was a great game! We shut them out 27 to ZIP! Oh that felt good after three years of that NOT happening!!! The boys AND coaches were so psyched! And the Gatorade shower was inevitable!!!

McKay, Cooper, and Justin.
They have been football teammates (and buds) for many years.

Unfortunately Cooper is on crutches BECAUSE of football. At the game at Ogden High, he broke two ankle bones and was carried off on a stretcher and ended up having surgery on his ankle just a few hours after he was injured. It was a bad break. He was laying on the field and held up his leg and it looked like his ankle was no longer where it should be. You could hear the crowd gasp. Dave happened to be at the game and was able to help relocate it for him before he was taken to the ER. Poor Coop! He is such a trooper. And I feel even more so for his mom. It is so not fun when your son is injured while playing this crazy game, but even worse when after they get injured they STILL want to play again! Been there...

We made it to the playoffs! This is the playoff game in Clinton.

US MOMS...↓ We take this serious! lol














It was a great playoff game but we got beat out. Still the boys were happy with the season.

McKay and his coach. ↓

Football Banquet

Dave was right in the middle of all the action. He thinks he is still a young whippersnapper and he has been paying for it ever since. Those knees aren't what they used to be! haha (he's the one with the dark glasses)

Click to enlarge

GO McKAY!!!

It's not over 'til it's over and it's NOT over...yet. The coach signed them up for the Thanksgiving Tournament played on Thanksgiving Day and the Friday and Saturday after. Oh joy...

Pictures below ↓

~The Brayden Christofferson Memorial Tournament~

aka----> "The FREEZE your buns and toes off Tourney!" Or maybe the "What?!!! I actually paid $20 for my son to play in this INSANE COLD Tourney!" Or possibly the "There is no sanity in the things parents will do for their kids Tourney!" Or the "Toes are way over-rated Tourney!"

Yes it was a flippin' blizzard for the first game! And yes, we went and sat in the flippin' blizzard while the game went on and on and on! Brr...

Luckily they had some propane heaters for the boys. I think the parents deserved them more, but that's just me. ☺

Check out #15's uniform! It was a muddy and wet mess! I had to soak McKay's jersey in Oxyclean for a week to get the stains out!

We took Hot Chocolate and lots of blankets and we were still freezing!

The bros bravely came and supported him too...














The second game a few days later was even colder. We were supposed to play on Thanksgiving Day but it was too cold (sub zero temps!) and so those were cancelled thankfully! BUT we went back out on Saturday and played a team from Pocatello and it was the coldest I have been in at least a year... maybe more! I had to go to the car at half-time and thaw out my toes. Bryce went home to get an extra pair of socks. I felt SOOOOO sorry for those boys out there on that frozen field hitting and tackling each other on that frozen and icy field. I was afraid someone's arm was going to not only break, but actually break off and go flying, it was so cold! ☺































Taylor, me, Kristen, and Bryce. Somehow Dave lucked out and had to conduct a funeral during the game. He was at a funeral but WE were the "stiffs'! Brrr............














McKay knocking out the catch ↑

McKay trying to tackle the QB↓













We lost the last game 33-38...though we were ahead by two touchdowns the whole game and there were some rules that were not followed and if they had been it would have ended in a tie...BUT I must admit I have never been happier in my life to lose a game! Had we won, we would have had to freeze through another one! I actually think the team was thinking the same thing. Okay, maybe not. I admit I now feel bad for having those thoughts, but at the time, when you can no longer even feel your toes or fingers, trust me, you would have too! ☺


NOW it's over! And not a minute too soon! I think I lost a couple toes at that last game! Brr...