Momentous Win

Late in our broadcast of CSU-Pueblo's 27-14 victory on the road vs Nebraska Kearney I spent some time trying to capture just the right word to describe the Thunderwolves win. It was bigger than big. Huge didn't quite do it justice. Monumental? Perhaps. My good friend big George Schanze called it epic. At first I thought that's it. But upon further review I have settled upon momentous--Of utmost importance; of outstanding significance or consequence: a momentous occasion. That was it. The word my mind searched for but couldn't produce in a timely fashion. How important? In simple terms it gives the Thunderwolves the outright lead in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with four games to go all against opponents they will be considerable favorites over. Of significance is the CSU-P if it wins out will at the very least host a NCAA division II playoff game in mid or late November. D2 playoffs now consist of a 24-team field divided into four regions or pods of six teams each. The top two in each region receive a bye and host second round games. Seeds three and four from each region host first round games. CSU-Pueblo will most likely be ranked 9th when this weeks poll comes out and it is not far fetched to believe they could make it to the top five if they win out in convincing fashion. Of course long standing bias against the RMAC in those "smoke filled" rooms of the selection committee may knock them back a peg or two but there is no way in my mind they can be kept out of at worst a four seed. This rosey scenario and outlook pose a certain problem for John Wristen and his staff as they must somehow convey the importance of not letting down against opponents that are no way near the caliber of UN-Kearney, Chadron State or Mines. A single loss in the next four games will erase all of these possibilities and could very well leave them on the outside looking in. One need look no further than last season when Kearney was left out of playoff field despite sharing the RMAC crown and owning only two losses both of which were in overtime. Step one will be at home Saturday night versus Colorado Mesa. Kickoff at 6pm.
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----------DEFENSE REWARDED-----Early the fourth quarter of yesterday's battle Kearney had taken a 14-10 lead and CSU-P's offense responded with a dismal three and out. The Lopers took over at their own 20 and picked up eight easy yards on first down. It was second and two and things seemed to be bordering on desparation on the road and in a hostile environment for the Thunderwolves. UNK QB Jake Spitzlberger was poised and determined to deliver a dagger to the hearts of Pack players and fans. But sophomore cornerback Stephan Dickens stepped in and made the first of four CSU-P fourth quarter interceptions. It was at this point the offense responded with the go ahead drive. It opened with an interference call, was aided by a bonehead personal foul penalty but was ultimately defined by the Thunderwolves staple....punishing runs. J.B. Mathews capped off with a knifing two yard run to put the Pack back in front. On the next series senior LB Lee Meisner forced Spitzlberger out of bounds short of a first down forcing a Loper punt. Again the offense would respond but this time it was through the air as Josh Sandoval made one of those circus catches he seems to make look oh so routine for 27 yards to the UNK 26 yard line which helped lead to a Kyle Major 41 yard field goal to make the score 20-14. On the next possession again it was Meisner who stepped up picking off Spitzlberger and returning it inside the Loper 15 yard line. But a personal foul penalty for a chop block moved the ball back toward midfield. A holding penalty on offense ultimately led to the Thunderwolves punting the football back to Spitzlberger and company. The fourth ranked Lopers had the ball back in the hands of their shifty play maker and 3:12 still on the clock for what surely the faithful partisans and perhaps an announcer or two thought would be the inevitable heroic game winning drive. That thought was short lived as again Dickens worked his magic picking off Spitzlberger at the Loper 44. But this time he wasn't content to fall down with the ball instead he made a brilliant return to the house to seal the deal and the celebration began in earnest across the way for the gang of Thunderwolves fans and their marching band who made the seven hour pilgrimage to Kearney. Fittingly the "Fort Morgan Flash" Jon Bailey would send the Loper partisans to the exits with the fourth pick of the quarter and setting off gatorade baths for Coach Wristen and his staff. Hopefully someone smarter than I videotaped the players and coaches singing with the fans and marching band after the win. I was too busy soaking it all in trying to pick out Joe Cervi searching for Wristen for our post game interview on KCSJ.
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----------ANYBODY NERVOUS------Through the years I have had the pleasure (and pain sometimes) of witnessing wild and emotional finishes to many a football game. South made many runs at titles during the early part of this century. Central came close a couple of years back. County lost to Alamosa in a state title game. If you go way back I was a young pup doing color alongside Barclay and the late Sandy Clark as Centennial won a state title in 1987 at Dutch Clark Stadium. Of course what could possibly duplicate the fantastic finish Trent Thompson and the Central Wildcats gave the opportunity call on CNM Sports a couple years back. But never in any of those broadcasts was I as nervous and on edge than I was on Saturday in Kearney. Judging by the texts and facebook posts that both Joe and I were receiving you the fans were, too. You know what? That is a great thing to have. Somehow, someway this feeling needs to continue on into December. I have been a vocal critic of the apathy Pueblo fans have toward many of the events including football games at CSU-P. The same city that will fill 13,000 or so seats at Dutch Clark for two high school games has trouble filling 6000 at the Thunderbowl. Sure they will at least buy the tickets for the big TV extravaganza which is great but then they left in droves when it got a bit nippy. Okay it was miserable but I think you get my point. Forgive me for preaching here but this team is on the cusp of something very, very special. A raucus, passionate crowd for the final three home games is a just reward for this band of brothers that has delivered so much. Remember, this is the final year for a group of four year seniors that started this whole ball rolling. It will be emotional indeed on November 12th for that final regular season home game and in my mind this city owes them a tremendous debt of gratitude that can be repaid by showing up. Not just on that day but for all three.
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----------CANNON FIRE-----I just finished watching the replay of our CNM broadcast of the Cannon Game and once again it was somewhat sad to see all those Eagle fans looking on at the end (those that stuck around) shaking their collective heads in disgust. There was a tremendous sense of resignation and anticipation this would be the year the paint thinner would be put to use and nice shiny new coat of "gold" paint would be applied to the big gun. It was going to be a coronation. They said hey we are 5-1. They said we are bigger and stronger this year. They said we have play makers on offense. They said South is banged up and beset by injuries. They said it's a weak argument to say South had played a far tougher schedule. In the end, they would all be saying what the heck just happened to us. This was not at the end of the game. This was about five minutes into the second quarter when the Colts put up their fourth touchdown of the night. In the final analysis it was a heavy dose of inspired line play led by senior Jesse Gribble that spelled doom for the Eagles. It followed an all too familiar script for the Eagles. This wasn't the first time in the past 10 years it was going to be different up front. Head coach, Paul Andrada, hoping to cash in on perhaps his only chance at this game, preached to anybody who would listen that they were ready to not only match South in the trenches but they were ready to be better. South would have none of it wreaking havoc the entire first half. To its credit Andrada's Eagles came out smoking in the second half and put up a quick score. It wouldn't be hyperbole to say that a potential third quarter pass that fell inches short of a touchdown might have turned this game on its head. Instead the pass fell incomplete and the brute force of Brandon Castro running up 183 yards on 30 carries would slowly take the air out of any chances the Eagles had. Now South has won 15 in a row and as it always does the conversation will turn on whether this game should be played. But I give you 13,000 reasons why it will continue to go on. As long as South doesn't jump to 5A it will continue. Sooner or later, things will change and this city will begin to grow again. To my way of looking at it there is tremendous growth potential on the city's northeastern quadrant. Someday, it's gonna happen. East will get the job done. The problem is they always have to wait 365 days to get another shot.
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----------PROGRAM REMINDER------The John Wristen Show presented by Miller Lite is Wednesday night at Buffalo Wild Wings. We take to the air at 7:06 pm on 590KCSJ-AM and www.590kcsj.com. But what coach Wristen, Joe and myself really want (as well as BWW of course) is for you to show up in person. Wear your Thunderwolves colors. You can hear the show on the restaurants sound system while enjoying the dinner and a nice cold Miller Lite or beverage of your choice. Plus, with all those screens you wont miss one single pitch of game one of the World Series between the Texas Rangers and CSU-P women's basketball coach, Kip Drown's, St Louis Cardinals.