Strike One
at
West Virginia Mountaineers (2-2) at Syracuse Orange (2-3)
Woy's Word
The battle for the Schwartzwalder trophy brought a whole new meaning to the Carrier Dome's nickname, "The Loud House." Despite both teams being at and below .500, fans packed the dome to see some of the Big East's biggest stars play in their annual rivalry game.
Coach named me a captain for this one as myself and Delone walked out to meet with Mountaineer captains Noel Devine and Jarrett Brown. Some friendly trashtalk enused as we won the coin toss. I chose to kick the ball off and we made our way off the field as the kickoff team went on.
The first drive was hell for our defense. Jarrett Brown looked like Pat White out there, pitching and keeping the ball on option plays to perfection. Noel got some carries as well, and they ended up driving down the field in seven plays before Deion Sanders' godson was in the endzone, making it 7-0 WVU.
Greg hit Mike on our first play, then Delone got the bulk of the load. Five yards to the left, seven to the right, and eight up the middle brought us to mid-field when the drive stalled. However, Brown couldn't get any offense going for the visitors as they punted the ball back to us.
The corner covering me wasn't the greatest I've played against, and I got open a lot. However, Greg didn't even look my way once during the first quarter and instead forced passes to Mike. That, in turn, added another interception to Greg's stats and a number of knockdowns for the Mountaineers secondary.
I could tell that Greg was still upset about the whole fight Thursday afternoon, but that couldn't get in the way of winning this game. When the horn sounded signaling the end of the first quarter, I made my way over to the sideline. Greg was on the bench talking to the coaches upstairs about the defensive looks, when I hung up the phone and grabbed the neck of his shirt.
...
"What the fuck are you doing out there!?"
"What does it look like I'm doing..."
"Avoiding me and throwing even more interceptions..."
"Now don't start ag..."
"...I know we don't get along, but seriously, forget what happened Thursday. We're here to win this game, and I don't want you sacrificing that over some stupid argument."
"You punched me..."
"That's because you don't bring up my personal life. What I do off the field is none of your buisness, right?"
"Yeah I guess so."
"Good. Now one more question."
"Hurry up, it's fourth down for them right now."
"Check your crotch."
"What!?"
"Do it."
"Okay, what's that about?"
"You got balls?"
"Yes..."
"Well it doesn't seem like it out there. Play balls to the wall and let's get this win."
...
The second quarter was all ours. Paulus started looking my way in the first drive, hitting me four times to get the team into the redzone. From there, it was all Delone, running through Mountaineer defenders to a touchdown. The rest of the half wasn't exciting and the game was tied at seven going into halftime.
Every drive in the third quarter was promising but it ended up in either a punt or turnover. From there, West Virginia got two field goals in the fourth quarter to make it 13-7. But just like last week against South Florida, we started driving near the end of the game.
...
"Paulus hits Woy for 12!"
"Delone Carter up the middle for 11!"
"Paulus will keep it himself for a first down!"
...
With ten seconds left, we were 15 yards out of the endzone with two shots to score. Greg had me split out by myself on the right in single coverage and gave the signal to run a fade. I smirked as he called out the cadence.
...
"Paulus takes the snap, pump-fakes left, has Woy in single coverage on the right...and overthrows him! Incomplete, tough break for the 'Cuse. They'll have one more shot to score, it looks like."
...
Paulus patted me on the back, blaming himself for the missed opportunity. I just shook my head and made my way back to the huddle. Greg called another play with me split out by myself on the right, hoping to get single coverage again.
...
"Trips left, Woy split out to the right. Looks like double coverage on him...and here's the snap! Paulus stares down Woy, and fires..."
...
"Catch it, catch it Ethan..."
...
"...it's in his hands..."
...
"Bring it down, come on!"
...
"...and oh no! The hit caused Woy to drop it, another tough loss for Syracuse. The final score from the Carrier Dome is West Virginia 13, Syracuse 7."
...
As the young freshman lays face down to the ground, crushed about blowing the game, a cell phone starts to vibrate in the home locker room.
"Strike one."
West Virginia 13
Syracuse 7
9 catches, 122 yards