Varsity Insider: The thrill of victory
Editor's Note: Reed Spiller is a senior at Portsmouth High School and a fullback/defensive lineman on the PHS varsity football team. He helped the Clippers reach the Division III championship game in 2006, the program's first season in Division III. Reed's Varsity Insider column will appear each week throughout the season.
Final score: Portsmouth 20, Merrimack Valley 0. Boy, what a difference a week makes. After two straight losses, there are few things in life that feel much better than a hard-earned victory.
I have been a part of dozens of football games throughout my nine years of playing, games that range from championships to blowouts. As a sophomore, I was part of team that had one win all year, only to come back the next season on a team that played for the state title. The win on Friday night, even though it only brought us to 2-2 on the year, was one of the most satisfying victories I can ever remember -- our backs are against the wall as far as playoffs are concerned, it was Merrimack Valley's homecoming, and MV has an explosive running back that can take it to the house any play, but we persevered and not only came out with a "W", but a shutout as well. On top of that, Kennett helped the Portsmouth cause by beating John Stark over the weekend, leaving us tied for fourth with three other teams.
Saturday morning, as the soreness in my body slowly disappeared, I celebrated the victory at a college football game at the invitation of the school's coaching staff. Although the final score was several touchdowns from close, I was able to go down on the field for pre-game and get up close with the team. But the best story from the weekend came on Tuesday in the form of recruiting mail.
My dad was lucky enough to attend a prestigious university, where he played football and graduated in three-and-a-half years. Throughout my recruiting process, I had received only one or two pieces of mail from his alma mater, despite the fact that bigger and better schools were recruiting me. I sent a highlight film to this school, but got no response. My dad sent emails, and even spoke with several friends from college that are still involved with the school and football program, but still no action. We had essentially given up hope and focused our efforts towards other schools until I watched them play this weekend. I drove down to a recruiting day for a different school, which jokingly lambasted both the football program and its alumni, also known as my father. We sat on his alma mater's sideline for the game, only to cringe with embarrassment and disbelief as mistakes and penalties led to a six-touchdown halftime deficit. "Well, maybe it was a blessing in disguise that I am not being recruited by them," I told my dad as we walked out of the stadium.
We were still talking about Saturday early this week, when Tuesday evening, I arrived home from practice to find recruiting mail waiting for me. Inside were four personalized, hand-written letters from my dad's alma mater, one even from the head coach. My first thought was "Wow, I was literally two feet away from these coaches on the field," but they had no idea who I was. I immediately called my dad, laughing hysterically about the ironic situation. The worst part was that every letter had my name wrong -- they were all addressed to Chris Spiller, my father, telling him to attend their school. Sorry, but after last week's performance, they're a day late and a dollar short.
On the high school front, this week's opponents are the Kingswood Knights. It's another home game for Portsmouth, the second to last of the season, and second to last time playing in front of the home crowd on a Friday night. We must execute in order to win this week, and stop the trend of a loss after a win. Another win would give us momentum and needed confidence. In the words of our defensive coordinator, we must "LEAVE NO DOUBT" and show both the critics and ourselves that we are better than a 2-2 team.
