Varsity Insider: The game I won't forget
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.
It was warm for Veteran's Day. The bright sun shone down on an immaculate setting. For the last game of the year, the field looked like a pristine golf course. The crowd was three rows deep behind the bench and fans covered the hill on the opposite side. The electricity made it feel like Seabrook Station rather than a football stadium.
This was it, the one goal our team had been training, waiting, and playing for for 12 months. Almost an entire year later, I still remember every minute detail, and probably will for the rest of my life. November 11th, 2006 - the #1 Plymouth Bobcats versus #3 Portsmouth Clippers for the Division III state championship. It was the best of times, and it was the worst of times - the excitement and anticipation was unlike anything I had ever felt, but the tragic loss hit deep inside the heart.
This year's trip up to Plymouth will be a little different. Gone are the Rod Walkers and the Willie Goulets. No more are the Ben Smiths and Sean Boyles. And while Portsmouth has had some difficulty in replacing those players, Plymouth has merely reloaded, to the point where the Bobcats may be better than last year's team. Despite the differences in record for the two teams, I guarantee that the Clippers will leave it all on the field this week.
Of course, as seniors, a 3-4 record with two games left in the season was not what we would have preferred, and every one of us took last week's loss to Con-Val incredibly hard. I can't speak for my teammates, but the pain of disappointment hurt more than the pain of the scoreboard. The only way to lift my spirits was a college visit/football game Saturday afternoon.
After watching my highlight film in the spring, this school asked me to come down for a visit, tour and a conversation with the coaches. Although they did ask me to attend their summer camp, I was invited back at the end of summer. Fortunately for me, they didn't feel it was necessary for me to come to camp, and luckily neither did many other schools. In fact, throughout the entire process, the biggest mistake my family and I have made has been in choosing a summer camp. While most I-AA coaches wanted me to go to their $300 or $400 camp where only their coaching staff and some Division III schools could look at me, one head coach actually suggested that I attend the Boston College Football Camp because dozens of I-AA coaches would be present. Unfortunately for my dad and I, this advice was a day late and a dollar short, for when we tried to register, every single spot for each session was filled and no one else would be accepted. So I ended up driving to two Ivy League camps, one of which I had been to the previous summer.
When more than six hundred football players from all over the country attend a single camp, the atmosphere can be a little overwhelming. And even though the group is enormous, it is still relatively easy to pick out the contenders - the legitimate college football prospects - from the guys going to learn techniques. Surprisingly, the contender group is relatively small, usually consisting of about five players. Your initial reaction is to think, "Wow, those guys are big, fast, and good." But this is the worst thing to do because you must consider yourself one of those top five guys. With this attitude and extra hustle, it's not hard to catch someone's eye and be called back for second looks.
While 75 percent of the campers play 7-on-7 passing attacks, the lineman get the individual attention you want at a camp and an opportunity to stand out in one-on-one line drills. The key to success in these competitions is showing technique, effort, and footwork. Always try to use the technique the coaches at the camp taught, even if it is different from your high school method because the coaches want to see that you are coachable and a fast learner. Effort is self-explanatory because "half-speed" wont cut it in college, and neither will poor footwork. This is the most crucial element of line play, and a kid with quick feet and mobility is more likely to be a successful college football player than a giant who can't move.
Despite unsure feelings sophomore year, foot speed is one area where playing fullback helped me tremendously. At 6'2 and 270 pounds, running the ball has given me yet another opportunity to display my relatively agile running ability. For linemen, both offensively and defensively, coaches look for quickness, not speed, and a "good motor" - an unrelenting character of playing through the whistle, running to the football, and tackling the ball carrier at all costs. Thankfully, my dad and I focus on these areas on my highlight film, and that motor, combined with the quickness exhibited in the first games of my senior year, has brought me to the next step: official visits. And while I am yet to stay overnight and use one of the five official visits granted to prospects by the NCAA, I am looking forward to the experience. If it is anything like the game-day atmosphere I have witnessed so far on unofficial visits, I should have a blast.
Even though I hopefully have four more years of football at the college level, I would like to end my high school career with dignity and respect, from both my teammates and my opponents. That process will begin to conclude this Saturday in Plymouth. The Bobcats took something from Portsmouth that will forever be remembered: a championship. And although the disparity between the two teams is not as close as it was last year, the same philosophy and drive remains from 2006. Even if the Clippers cannot avenge last year's result, we will still walk off the field with the same idea that was printed on our motivational team shirts for the Championship Game: "PRIDE IS FOREVER."
