Travel and experiences lead to extraordinary and unique experiences, which is the whole reason people take that first step through the front door. I have no idea what’s going to be there or what’s going to happen. It’s better to tell people what you see and have them empathize with the story you’re telling than to hear crazy stories from others and not believe them.
The absolute glory of sports is that each moment matters to tens, hundreds, thousands, or millions of people, depending on the team and point of view (even if it is an event that changes nothing). (even if) you were there to see it. So how strange… hundreds of games and experiences have been told in print… to see something sportswriters have never seen before?
Honestly, I know you want to know what that miraculous second was, but that’s the whole point of storytelling and why I love this job. Do you remember a singular event that only you saw, but wish someone had been there to watch it with you? Would someone have believed you? Well, look, buddy… it happened, so you need to be honest while living on the front end so others can trust you on the back end. That way others can believe you when you explain things.
Second, no matter what you say, everyone believes you (although the context may disagree). When it’s all said and done, it’s tempting to say, “I’ve seen it all,” but when that’s true, it’s no boast.
Look, this isn’t like a “fishing story.” The whole thing is nonsense, both figuratively and literally, without eating the filet mignon or gaffeing the beast with a friend.
This story is simply true.
I have evidence of this matter from start to finish. And you just have to watch it play and trust Bowman County athletic director Ronnie Stewart, the Bulldogs fans and the people of Heart River who traveled to see it. .And someone probably put the unmodified game on YouTube to get me off my feet.
Yes, I’m still pushing this can/story forward and am grateful to the readers of The Dickinson Press, but it’s not set up yet. It’s fun to see an 0-5 team with nothing to lose and a coach like this: Chris Johnson is such a great guy to fly it and watch it work out. At the time, the Dawgs were losing 14-6, and the shadows were long as the hosts took up position around the 10-yard line of the field.
It seemed like a rudimentary punt, but then something happened…
To be honest, when Bulldawg “punter” Dylan Hedge took the snap to punt, about six minutes into the first half, I thought he was going to punt as hard as he could.
no!
He treated that sucker meanly, like my dad did to tease me playing catch in Miramar, Florida, in 1975. But it soared high and fell into the capable hands of a freshman (yes, I said “freshman”) Paxton Jerner, who got a first down around 30 points.
Coach Stewart asked me for that photo, so here it is. But what an amazing, courageous, painstaking game of pretend.
It’s the kind of thing that Florida State coach Bobby Bowden pulled off in the mid-1980s (some old timers here might know what I’m talking about), and no one expected it. It was a strange event that never happened.
I have never seen another play like this…ever. It wasn’t a Hail Mary, it was just “That was cool.”
Now, I’d like to end this story by saying that Bowman County used that play to win the game, but as a home run hitter, I wasn’t rooting for Bowman or Heart River in that game. I just wanted to see a good match. That being said, this play shocked everyone, was great, and added some tension to the game between a Class A team that was 1-5 at the time and another team that was 0-5 at the time. Ta. , which one to read, The Dickinson Press more often) But say what you will, folks. It might not mean much in the grand scheme of things to anyone other than Bowman, Southhart, and Belfield, but…
How wrong you are!
Just saying: It meant something to me. That brought Bowman County fans to their feet. It made for a fun game and encapsulated the mayhem that sometimes occurs in high school football. It was one of those moments in life where it’s so great to walk out the door and see “what happens.”
Honestly? I know little about how dust settles, and I don’t care, but I enjoy watching the feathery shards of light drift in the sunlight. That subtle magic allows me to embrace the moment, too.
Either way, that play made it clear why sports fans get up off their couches, cheer, hope for the best, and be thankful for everything.
It took me a while, but yes…I’ve seen it all.
Gaylon is a sportswriter from Jensen Beach, Florida, and his column appears weekly. He can be reached at gparker@thedickinsonpress.com or 701-456-1213.
Gaylon is a sportswriter from Jensen Beach, Florida, but has lived all over the world. Raised in an athletic background, his love of sports led him to pursue a career in journalism starting in 1998 in Enid, Oklahoma, Alamogordo, New Mexico, Pascagoula, Mississippi, and Viera, Florida. His main passion is small towns. Community sports, especially baseball and soccer.