Season Opener: Outlaws 14 - Rams 12

"Fierce fiery warriors fought upon the clouds,
In ranks and squadrons and right form of war,
Which drizzled blood upon the Capitol;
The noise of battle hurtled in the air,
Horses did neigh, and dying men did groan,
And ghosts did shriek and squeal about the streets.
O Caesar! these things are beyond all use,
And I do fear them."

I'm pretty sure Shakespeare knew that he was laying it on a little bit thick, when he had Calpurnia say all that stuff in Act II Scene II of Julius Ceasar. But the point is, there are some things that just don't happen every day, and some people get a little freaked out when they do.

After building up a 14 - 3 lead in the first half last night, the Outlaws held off a hard-charging Rams team in the second half to win their first game of the season. In the process, they handed the Sherwood Park Rams their first loss ever in Midget football league play. The victory did not come easily - a critical timeout by Parkland helped our guys regroup after the Rams scored their only touchdown in the fourth quarter. (It also may have taken some wind out of the Rams' sails at a time when they seemed to be building momentum.) After that, Brayden's huge "911" block helped to keep Parkland's final offensive drive going, so that we could eventually run out the clock.

Other game highlights (for me) - electrifying passing plays from our offense that seemed to catch the Rams by surprise at times. Awesome defense (not a surprise for Parkland fans!), with our guys shutting down the Rams several times inside the Red Zone, and disciplined play with Parkland taking very few penalties.

To sum up - what a great start to the season!