Result from Friday September 7, 2007:

Lone Oak 41- 0 Tom Bean

Tough Road Trip for Cats

Sees Injuries Dealt to Key Players

            What a night. After a tough game in Lone Oak which saw the Buffalo come out on top, the Tomcats returned tattered and torn. Multiple sources say the buses didn’t come back until nearly twelve o’clock Saturday morning, capping a long road trip for Sanders’ squad.

            One couldn’t have asked for a better night to play. Both sets of fans were ready to see what kind of fight the Cats would put up under the direction of their new coaching staff. The effort was certainly there for Tom Bean. They didn’t let up for one second as they fought to get something out of the game. Unfortunately, the offense just couldn’t find the momentum, and the defense gave up 41 points which could’ve been worse had it not been for their resilience. It took some magnificent plays for Lone Oak to get anything from a Tom Cat defense that wouldn’t cease to give in.

            Amongst the stories that came out of this game were those pertaining to injuries. Starting quarter-back Nathan Parish was seen limping to the huddle early in the game and was later side-lined with his injury just before half-time. Parish did return to the field for the second half, but with tape wrapped around what appeared to be his knee. So, just how bad is it for our quarter-back?

            “We’re going to have to determine that on Wednesday. We’ll let the doctor look at it tomorrow, but if I had to say right now, he probably will not play on Friday.” Those were the words directly from the mouth of Coach Sanders when he was asked about his star player. This alone would certainly be a blow by itself, but it gets worse. Matt Van Sickle, Chris Nash, and James Sanchez, three prominent line-men are all out. This will certainly make things even more difficult for the next game. How will the Tom Cats cope?

            Coach Sanders said, “The great thing about a football team is that there’s always someone there ready to step in and take the place of an injured player. Yeah, we’re going to cope. We won’t be quite as good, because some of those kids are good players. However, somebody may step up and do something we’ve never seen before, and that’s what is great about having that opportunity. We’re just going to have to step up and be better.”

            Certainly promising words for football fans in the wake of losing so many starters. That is definitely something needed after yet another crushing loss. We just have to do what our players must do.

            “The coaches are just trying to keep our heads up. We’ve been doing pretty good with all of the injuries dealt to us. We just have to try and get ready for this week and try to forget about last week,” said Drew Hodge who has performed quite well on both sides of the ball in the past two weeks.

            So, now we just have to press on and look forward to another exciting week. And although the wounds cut by Lone Oak might have been deep, they cannot fully puncture the spirit and drive of this strong group of players.