82-0
Everyone on the Birmingham sideline cringed a little when the Patriots scored to make it 82-0 in the final four minutes of Friday's win over Cleveland. I really got the impression that the coaches and players felt bad about the final score being so lopsided.
Athletic director Rick Prizant even said, ``We apologize for how the final score looks but it was never our intention to score that much.''
I went over to the Cleveland sideline after the game to gauge reaction and none of the coaches or administrators had a bad thing to say. Mostly, I think, because Birmingham had almost starters out after the first half. Milton Knox and Exavier Johnson even changed into street clothes during the second half.
Said coach Ed Croson, ``I feel bad. But you can't tell a sub, who is getting a chance to play, not to score. I put the subs in. We stopped passing. It's a hard situation.''
Blowouts are always a hard thing to manage. The basic rules are: 1. Take your starters out. 2. Stop passing. 3. Don't run any trick plays. 4. Don't insult the other team by fumbling on purpose or punting on first down. Birmingham did all of those things, but still, sometimes, the score gets out of hand. Give Cleveland credit though. They took it like men, didn't whine and said, ``We'll get you back next year.''
One parent even said after the game, ``Hey, that's football.''
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Birmingham is the best LA City Section Football team in History
Posted by: GeeDee | November 5, 2007 3:36 PM