Missed opportunities cost Tiger's championship berth

LAMAR— When the final seconds ticked off the clock at Lamar High School’s stadium last Friday night, the Hemingway Tigers’ remarkable run towards a state championship painfully slipped away with them.

“We blew a lot of opportunities,” head coach Ken Cribb said following the loss. “We had every opportunity in the world to win the game.”

Cribb’s team was indeed given many chances to put a dagger in the heart of the Silver Foxes, making several trips to the red zone throughout the night. However, their offense was held scoreless for the first time all season, the team’s lone four points coming from two errant snaps by Lamar’s special teams on punts. Each would result in safeties, leading to the final the resembled a baseball score rather than a gridiron matchup.

Troubles started early when Hemingway’s star sophomore running back LaMichael Pushia and the rest of the Tiger running attack were stalled time and time again by the tough Lamar defense. Pushia himself coughed up two fumbles in the first half, two of the teams five total turnovers, making things extremely difficult on their defensive unit.

However, as was the case all year long, the hard nose defense held the Silver Foxes’ potent offense, led by quarterback Trevor Norris, to only six points all game. What made that feat even more impressive—and the loss somewhat more heartbreaking—was the fact that the score came with just under six minutes left in the first quarter.

For the remaining three quarters, the Tiger defense rendered Norris and his squad scoreless.

After an intense halftime discussion between coach Cribb and his assistants, Hemingway’s offense began making headway against the Silver Foxes, even managing several times to achieve big gains and multiple trips to the red zone. But each time they would come close, a costly turnover would pull them abruptly away from finishing the job.

One interception came off a Justin Pressley pass to Jarbil Soloman in the end zone, and another at the ten yard line with under a minute to play in the game. Either would have nearly sealed a Tiger win, given the defensive stand coach Marty Avant and his crew were known for making throughout the season.

But in the end, it was not meant to be.

While the season is over for 2009, it is difficult not to glance at the promise 2010 holds. While several impact players will not return after graduation, several weapons will be back at Tiger Field next fall, including quarterback Pressley and running back Pushia. Coach Cribb said he wasn’t thinking about next season just yet and commented that the team would be losing a very good senior class.

“We’re losing a lot of good players,” he said. “But right now I’m just focused on this year, but I’ve got the feeling we’re going to be pretty good every year from now on, year in and year out. I’m real proud of my guys and what they’ve done. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”