Tier I Semi Final: Outlaws vs. Ravens

Entertaining? Yes, I'd say that game was entertaining!

The Ft. McMurray Ravens are big, and strong, and - considering their size - surprisingly fast. And trick plays? They ran some stuff that the Old Blogger has never seen before - some of those plays probably don't even have names! In the end, the Parkland Outlaws came out on top, and our guys never really did look like they were in serious trouble, although the Ravens kept it close until the last few minutes. We definitely needed our "A Game" against this team.

There were a lot of amazing plays, and one of my favorites didn't even count for anything, but it was a jaw dropper. It was a play where Garrett was being chased down by a swarm of McMurray players. It looked like a jail break as four of the big defenders broke through, just as Garrett was dropping back and looking for a receiver. He escaped the rush by outrunning the first of the Ravens, then he made a sick juke move, and another one missed. Another Raven defender appeared to have him wrapped up for a big loss but he spun away and escaped toward the sidelines. And then he spotted Colton 25 yards down the field, and fired the ball to one of his favorite receivers. The ref seemed to blow the whistle just as the ball was arriving, probably because it was angling out of bounds, and I mean it was waaaaaaay out of bounds. No way anyone was going to catch that pass. Except, from where I sat, it really looked like Colton kept his feet in-bounds and he definitely did catch the ball. I don't know how he did it, but I swear he did! Of course it was waved off - incomplete. And that's when it got a bit weird. Nobody bitched at the refs about the call! Colton just sat there on the sideline for a few seconds, with his feet still in the field of play and the ball in his hands. I heard a couple of parents in the stands who said that it should have been ruled a catch - they too thought the ref had blown the call. But I didn't hear anybody screaming abuse at the officials and it was absolutely beautiful. Colton got up and flipped the ball to the ref. Garrett ran up and congratulated Colton on a great catch. And the Outlaws went back to the huddle.

And there were other plays, and these ones did count...

There was the run that Kevin made off tackle - 80 yards for our first touchdown, on the Outlaws second offensive series of the game.

There was the TD that Devo scored near the end of the first half. He took a pass from Garrett and then turned on the afterburners - even Parkland fans were a little shocked at the speed. I'm sure the Ravens were asking themselves "What just happened there?".

Of course, there was the play that is sort of becoming a favorite - at least with Parkland Football fans. Our offense ran it on the last play of the first half. Brayden was involved even though he didn't touch the ball. If you were there, you know the play I mean. ;-)

Joey had a huge game on defense and on special teams - he was all over the field making those bone rattling tackles.

Kirk also stepped up huge for the Outlaws defence.

And really, the entire Outlaws defence had a solid game. They pretty well iced the win when, late in the fourth quarter, they stripped the ball and forced a turnover on the Ravens four yard line. That led to the Outlaws third touchdown.

Outstanding effort Outlaws. Great win. And kudos to the Parkland players, coaches and fans. In the Old Blogger's opinion, you guys showed a ton of class.

Midget Tier I Semi Final Result: Parkland Outlaws 20 - Ft. McMurray Ravens 7.