10/28 Hamilton 27 - Lincoln 24 OT - Level 2

One last time...

Well, that happened.  The Ships were on the wrong side of a thriller for the first time this season, but they did not go gently into that good night.  Down 21-7 with 7 minutes left in the 4th quarter, the Ships did not hang their heads.  They did not feel sorry for themselves.  They raged.  Oh, indeed, they raged.  Tanner stepped up on his biggest play of the season, completing a huge 4th down pass to Pistol by stepping up and GUNNING the ball for a 10-ish yard gain and a first down.  Suzuki later ripped off an 18 yard touchdown run, led by a great block by the Island of Austin Morreau.  On the ensuing kickoff, The Mayor leveled a hit so vicious, the Charger (who fumbled immediately) was down for 7 and a half minutes (somehow, he returned to the game - how his ribs weren't cracked, I'll never know).

While the Ships failed to score on that drive, Lincoln got the ball back after an excellent three and out, plus a failed punt-fake by Hamilton.  After a false start (thanks student section), the Ships had to pass on 1st and 15.  Interception.  But all was not lost.  The defense bore down, again, forcing another three and out.  After an actual punt, Lincoln went to their best play - HB option pass.  The Swiss Army Knife completed a rainbow to Pistol for 40 yards (Pistol - you were even held coming out of the blocks... how'd you get so far behind them!?!)  After a couple of failed runs from inside the 5, Suzuki, led by another fantastic block by the Island of Austin Morreau, scored a touchdown to seemingly tie the game.

Now, I say "seemingly" because an extra point isn't a sure thing and the coaches may have wanted to go for a 2-point conversion.  The coaching staff, correctly, played the percentages and opted for the extra point.  Mr. Vance's kick, however, was the lowest line-drive PAT I've ever seen make it through the uprights.  I swear, that ball was almost under the crossbar when it ricocheted up and over, clearing the sticks for the extra point.

Sure, OT sucked.  You'll hear no argument from me.  Just remember that only one team in Division 1 ends the season with a win.  The odds were against you.  You had a great chance but, really, a coin-toss was all the difference.  You had a great season, one that you will remember for the rest of your lives.  Heck, I saw two former Ships from the 80's wearing their old jerseys this weekend, and they don't have rings, either.  So, congratulations on a great season.  Let's get to the pictures.

According the the coaches in the FRCC, those are the best QB, ILB, G, and DB around.

Well played, students.  Well played.

Don't worry, Paige.  He's a beast, but he won't hit you.

I just wanted another excuse to write "The Island of Austin Morreau."

The "other" blackout student section looks on.

Justin Timberlake brought sexy back.  Suzuki brought the stiff-arm back.  All. Year. Long.

Everyone on Hamilton's sideline screamed "PASS" when Eli entered the game. Didn't matter here, though, as he took a TE screen pass 67 yards down field, thanks, in part, to that excellent block by the Island of Austin Morreau.

The Lil' Captain played very good football all night, bringing it on defense and special teams.

I don't know where the other half of that guy's body went.

While I'm glad they blew the whistle, this guy never hit the ground.

The Soph ran hard all night.

This is worth watching - check out the Soph's acceleration on this one.  It's like he was holding down the Right Trigger for a turbo boost.  (Click on the picture to animate).

Indeed.

There just wasn't any electricity in the offense in the first half.

I was really proud of that defense in the first half. They just kept hitting and hitting.

It was a dogfight in the trenches the whole game.

Mr. Vance.  Looking for a Ships touchdown that wouldn't come until the second half.

Despite his older brother being the better player, Hamilton designed their game plan to get the ball into the youngin's hands as often as possible against our defense, where the hole between the ends and the spurs was exploited again and again.  And, yes, I know that was a terrible sentence.

Suzuki picked some great moments for big runs, taking advantage of The Island of Austin Morreau's big lead block here and an excellent kick block by the Short Order Cook, resulting in a long touchdown run.

Man, that Suzuki is fast.  I'm sure Ethan will do Just fine next year, but we'll miss him all the same.

Mr. Vance's leg was clutch all night.

I still don't understand the mechanics of kicking off.

Happy Halloween.

Mr. Vance played up to his reputation.  Excellent coverage all game long.

I want to say this return was Devin Hester-quality return, but I couldn't.  Hester would have made the end zone.  It still was ridic, though.

It's OK.  There's only one Devin Hester.

You know, the thing that hurt the Ships the most was the minus-3 turnover ratio.  When you consider that minus-3, it's really amazing they forced OT.

They just killed us in that "hole" all night.

The Soph averaged 6.8 ypc while Suzuki averaged 7.7 ypc.  The running backs played very well.

Suzuki's legendary deuce with 6:44 left in the game.

One of the Mayor's final acts during his reign was one of charity: he removed cleats or, rather, "de-cleated" (as he put it), any and every Charger he could find.  In all seriousness, that was a sick hit.  And it may not have been his best stick of the night!

That's inappropriate.  Get a room.

One, two, three, four Ships hats.  One Charger hat.

The Mayor.  Doin' what he does.

A great throw by the Ships' new starting quarterback fell right into Pistol's hands, right when they needed it.

He didn't get in, but it was only a matter of time...

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

OH $#!^ OH $#!^ OH $#!^ OH $#!^ OH $#!^...

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

(All photos of overtime have been destroyed lest this happen to a reader)

Aw crap.  Well, there's always next year, right coach?

 Hmmmm.  How bout you, Bongo?

Yeah, I guess this one will take awhile to get over.  But we're still proud of that amazing season, Ships.  And, as fun as football was, Seniors, life only gets better year after year, until you have kids.  I hear kids suck.  Until they're old enough to play football or pom, that is...