To say this season has been a roller coaster would be an understatement. Yet the 2014 Waves were given a second chance in the form of a playoff berth. Though they had to travel 2+hrs to middle Tennessee on a Friday to play, they left Red Boiling Springs with a big win and the opportunity to keep the season alive. This Friday night, the Waves are again on the road as they travel to Monterey to face the 7-3 Wildcats. Monterey started the season 0-3 before rattling off 7 straight uncontested wins and earning a 1st round bye in the playoffs.
We sit down with a couple members of the Green Wave to get their perspective on the season, the upcoming game with Monterey and school-ground littering.
SORSN: 4-6 is probably not how you expected to finish the regular season of your senior year but the playoffs offered a sort of “do-over” button for you and your fellow teammates. Tell us what having a playoff berth meant for you.
Mason Woody: This year has been crazy, but making the playoffs was an early Christmas present and I hope we can make the most of our opportunity.
Hayden Hester: Playoffs this year is an extra chance for us and another opportunity for us to be remembered for greatness.
SORSN: After giving up the game-opening kickoff to a TD return, the defense pitched a shutout against RBS. What turned things around for a defense that had been given up an average of 35 points in their last 6 games?
Mason Woody: We had a good week of practice and a good game plan our D-line took care of us.
Hayden Hester: We had a great week of practice on defense and we said to ourselves that we were not gonna give up another TD and we are not gonna lose this game.
SORSN: Based on our record books (which are buried beneath a pile of Junie B. Jones books), this is the first time since 1983 that Monterey and Midway have played each other (that game in 1983 was won by Midway). What can you tell us about the Monterey Wildcats?
Mason Woody: They are an old school team and run the ball. There O-line fires off and their backs run hard. We need a good week of practice and we will be fine.
Hayden Hester: Monterey is a good team and they get off the ball hard but if we play like we did against Red Boiling Springs we will win this game and we will keep on rolling on through the playoffs.
SORSN: Red Boiling Springs had some fiery fans and coaches that made folks from the Emerald Forest appear rather tame. Tell us what goes on in the huddle when you see the opposing team’s fans and coaches lose their cool?
Mason Woody: We love it when they get fired up. We usually sit back and laugh and send Beason over to escalate the situation. You never know what he might say or do but it is always pretty awesome.
Hayden Hester: We would not pay attention to the fans but when some of them got thrown out we would get fired up and just laugh about it.
SORSN: A 3-legged dog, who we’ll call Lucky, has been terrorizing the school grounds by knocking over every single garbage can around the field following ball games – leaving a path of destruction of empty coke bottles and nacho trays. This dog was rumored to have been rescued from the Blount County Animal Shelter and dropped in the area by members of the Greenback football team. Do you know if these rumors are true and more importantly, what’s being done to stop Lucky? Should Coach Minton adopt him?
Mason Woody: This is an ongoing operation. We have had several of Kingston’s fine animal control officers try to take care of the problem but they have failed in every attempt to capture the dog. Coach Minton is afraid that the Minton kittens (“his two sons”) would beat the dog to death so he is not an option for a Lucky’s new home. So after a meeting with the team Sunday we have come up with a solution. The most famous deer hunters in SOR: the father and son combo of Coach Lewis and Zach Edwards. We are not going to ask any questions just that the job is complete. We have also worked out a deal that they will be paid in Dr. Pepper and hunting rights to the land surrounding the High school. We expect that the problem will be taken care of in the next few hours.
Hayden Hester: I’m not sure of all the details surrounding the dog but Coach Minton should definitely adopt it and treat it as his 3rd child.