Photos courtesy of Michael Uhl
By Gaylen Duskey
realfang@citlink.net
Two stories: One the facts, the other the observations.
First, the facts: Williamstown crushed Calhoun 78-8 Friday night at Mount Zion.
Tyler Bennett caught a 25-yard pass from Logan Moore in the fourth quarter for the Red Devils only touchdown. Moore hit Dillon Mefford with the extra point pass.
The Red Devils, now 1-4, play South Harrison at home in the annual homecoming game next Friday night.
Now, the observations: Calhoun fans ought to be proud of this team. Very proud.
Why? Despite being totally out-manned by virtually every "team" Williamstown ran out there the Red Devils never quit.
The Red Devils were no match for the Williamstown first team as a 47-0 halftime score would indicate.
They were actually not a physical match for the Billville Bullies' second team. Or maybe even the third since Williamstown's last touchdown was scored by a third-team running back that weighed more than all but two of the Red Devil players.
It wasn't a question of who was going to win the game. It was a question of how they were going to win the game: Was Williamstown going to beat a Calhoun team that rolled over or was it going to beat a Calhoun team that fought back?
The answer was the latter.
Photo courtesy of Michael Uhl
This plucky group of Calhoun players did not quit even though they were pounded on virtually every play by a bigger, deeper and, yes, more talented bunch.
This Calhoun team came into the season with high hopes even though the deck was already being stacked against it.
First it lost a ton of talented players to graduation. Then there were players - probable starters - lost to transfer and just not coming out for the team. Then there were the injuries that sidelined player after player ⦠all being counted on to start.
Friday night Calhoun had nearly as many players wandering the sidelines on crutches or with some kind of injury keeping them inactive as it had players on the field. Overall only 16 or 17 players were dressed for the game and one of them had to be pulled out after suffering an injury.
That player was Bronson Clark, the Red Devils leading rusher on the season.
When asked how bad he was injured he said he "had his bell rung" and hurt his back. He didn't mention the two ice packs he had on his knees. He said he expected to play next week.
The game was not close: Not on the scoreboard and not on the talent on the field. But when it came to heart and effort it was every bit as close as it could have been because every player that Calhoun ran out there gave it everything he had.
This team will not run into another squad like Williamstown this year.
However, it may not win another game this year either. But this is the time for Calhoun backers to come out and cheer this bunch on ⦠if heart counts for anything.
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