Shari Johnson, Publisher
For the sports enthusiasts, I would gladly take your perspective of the game and run it on the Ridgeview, but there’s currently nobody sending me that information. So last night, Ridgeview News traveled to Gilmer County to ”attempt” to live feed the game. But something happens at half time almost every week and phone service goes down the tube. #SprintNeedsToImprove. And in addition to the live feed, I took a reporters notebook to take a few notes. (Novel concept right?). The problem with my notes is, I don’t understand football. But what few notes I took, I’ll try to enlighten you on what I saw.
Less than 3 minutes into the game Owen Taylor missed a touchdown by just a few yards when he was ran out of bounds at the two yard line. Jayton Gibson attempted it on the 3rd down with a loss of one, Ian Persinger on the carry on the 4th down, with a the touch down finally coming in by Owen Taylor with 6:33 left in the 1st quarter. The two point conversion doesn’t happen.
Gilmer County’s first touch down came with 1:21 left in the first quarter when Caleb Hall of Gilmer scored. The two point conversion was once again a fail.
The second touchdown for Gilmer came shortly before halftime with the halftime score – Gilmer 12, Calhoun 6.
My personal, favorite time of any football game is the halftime show. It’s why I am was so adamant about the band supporting the team. I miss them when they’re not there. I’m sure that’s the case with many fans. Some may think that the band isn’t a vital part of a football game. After all, it’s a football game. People come to watch sports. But the truth of the matter is, there’s a lot of people in the game, who are not on the field, but they are a huge part. The sports announcer can make or break a game, yet there’s nobody cheering them on. The referees, as Ridgeview is well aware, can make or break a game. When they do a poor job of calling plays, people notice and do an adverse form of cheering for them. But if they do a good job of making the calls, few people are bragging them up after the game, they just did their job. And then there’s the cheerleaders, that I listened to last night as they cheered their little hearts out with voices getting raspier and raspier by games end. But other than parents, they receive little recognition from their efforts at the game.
But then the half time show.
Calhoun County’s Marching band took the field and commanded it. They did an outstanding job! Even though their backs were toward Calhoun because it was a Gilmer game, and they are small in number, they still had great volume and played extremely well. The majorettes and flags should get a special merit award for their ability to perform in frigid temps. They all did very well, but the flag performance I especially took note of. They’re a very talented group of girls and added so much to the show with the change of flags and performing techniques. I really took note because of Gilmer County’s Band.
This is the difference between a band geek perspective and a football perspective. Not one time last night when Gilmer County made a touch down or made a great play did I hear the team say, ”Wow, did you see that, that was awesome!” And we wouldn’t expect it, that’s not the nature of the game. But the band… as Gilmer County’s band stood on the sidelines awaiting their turn they cheered Calhoun’s band on all the way through. They were as much fun to watch on the sideline as our band on the field. Because they truly appreciated the band’s efforts. They were not the opposition. They were friends.
Gilmer County Band had a total of not more than seven kids on the field. My heart broke because I wanted more for them. I want more kids to experience and enjoy what I did as a youth in the band. I expected to barely be able to hear them. I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect them to do well, just because they were so small. Boy, was I wrong! They did a great job and had extreme volume for so few. I enjoyed their performance every bit as much as Calhoun’s! Well done Gilmer and Calhoun Directors!
Now that the station break is over back to the game…
Third quarter brought no change in the score, but Calhoun’s Jayton Gibson took a hard hit in the 4th quarter. He was down on the field several minutes before getting up to walk to the sideline where medical staff attended to him. He left the game with concern about a concussion due to a helmet to helmet hit. The concussion was confirmed this morning but he seems to be doing well was the news reported.
Gilmer scored the final touch down of the night with just 2 minutes left in the 4th quarter. The game ended 18-6, Gilmer’s favor. But as always our favorite is the home team. Good job Calhoun! I’m clueless as to what you’re doing out there, but your passion for the game does not go unnoticed.
