Letter from P-Town proud

[Bigrhsfan 884]

P-Town Proud wanted to post this letter but was having trouble. So she ask me to help and to see if I could post it for her. As I now consider her a friend, I was more then happy to help. here is her letter.

 

 

I came in friendship….and I depart that way as well.

 

Whew! What an emotional past 2 weeks we have experienced. I was invited to your website by some mighty nice Richland fans that had visited and posted us at HRVarsity. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time on your site. It has been almost as fun as being at the game last Saturday. I have made friends with some good people from SWVA. I look forward to keeping in touch and watching your future successes on this site. While I was perusing the threads one day I ran across a great article by Brian Woodson about Bradley Strong signing with Western Carolina for baseball. Since my 2 sports passions are football and baseball I was thoroughly entertained by the news report. I am looking forward to following his career this year at Richlands and in the future at WC. Mr. Woodson was nice enough to answer an inquiry I made about the article and told me that Bradley and Tee McConnell (our QB) played for the same travel ball team last summer! Small world, huh? It got me curious so I went online to those terrific pictures that you have posted from Saturday’s game to see if I could put a face to a name. I did. I found #1 in several pictures. Since I knew a little bit about him it made the pictures take on a different meaning. That’s when it hit me. My idea is to give you a few tidbits of info about our town of Poquoson and some of our players. That way you might also relate a bit differently to them when you are looking through the pix on your site or the ones we invite you to view at our facebook page for PHS football.

1. Poquoson is Indian for “great marshlandsâ€. We can attest to that. Our official town “bird†is a mosquito.

2. We have approximately 11K residents and are surrounded by cities that have up to 10 times that many.

3. We have 4 stoplights in town and 3 of them were installed within the past 3 years.

4. We have 2 grocery stores, 2 gas stations, 2 pharmacies, 1 McDonald’s, 1 KenTacoHut, and numerous Chinese restaurants all vying for our business.

5. Poquoson High School is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

6. PHS plays in the Bay Rivers District. Because of the differences in school attendee numbers some of us are classified Div. 3 and others Div. 4.

7. Our official school colors are maroon and gold but we have been incorporating some black in there lately.

8. Our official mascot name is the Bull Islanders (nickname for Poquoson). But some just call us Bulls while others prefer Islanders. Our cheers last longer when we spell out Islanders.

9. Our Vice Principal, George Yeager, used to coach at Richlands. He is a great guy. He has 4 beautiful daughters and still has his own hair. (And a full head of it)

10. PHS won back to back state titles in baseball in ’08 and ’09.

11. Coach Duty teaches and coaches with respect and it is given back to him hundredfold by his boys and fellow coaches. He is very unassuming and a man of few words. Great guy.

12. We have a coach named “Biggie†who is 5’7â€. (Isn’t it ironic?)

13. We have a “manager†we call RP. He manages for basketball, baseball and any other sport they will let him. He is our biggest and most excitable fan.

14. Taylor “Tee†McConnell #7 our QB is a great athlete who comes from a long line of great athletes. He is also a starter on our basketball team. Defense is his game there. He hates to shoot the ball. He was the starting 3rd baseman on our baseball team and to see him throw a pee-rod from third to first while off balance and make the out is a thing of beauty. Tee has signed with Marshall U on a baseball scholarship.

15. William Haskins #6 TE is one tough player. He broke his ankle on the 2 point conversion in the first half unbeknownst to anyone but continued playing until the game was over. He accepted his medal on crutches. He did double duty as a punter and kept us in good field position on many occasions. He also plays basketball although I think that is pretty much a pipe dream for this season much to the dismay of our basketball coach. He is a great kid just don’t let him borrow your car keys. His driving skills leave something to be desired.

16. The Hill brothers – Luke #10 is the senior although younger brother junior Dylan #33 is the taller of the two. Dylan also has more facial hair. They are both starters on our baseball team, Luke as catcher and Dylan as outfielder. Luke was always first out of tunnel every football game. (By tunnel, I am referring to an oversized extra long white tent structure where our guys gathered together on the end zone sidelines before the games).

17. Thomas “The Train†Garris #44 is beloved in Poquoson. His can do attitude and big plays made by gaining 4-6 yards on crucial 1st down carries makes the crowd roar every time he gets the ball. He lost his mother while in middle school but is surrounded by family and friends who have nurtured him. He is uncle of teammate Austin Turner #21 who was injured while playing in the game Saturday.

18. Jay Diggs #34 is a quiet kid with an incredible grin. Part angel-part devil. He is tenacious on the field and has made some of the most incredible tackles by not letting go of his opponent right down to the ankles. He drives a jacked up Ford F150 that is to die for.

19. Cody Hutchison #20 our star RB is an avid hunter. He is so fast. I am sure he must outrun his prey sometimes. When he breaks a tackle and gets one step it is “See ya later†time. His father is deployed in Iraq and has not seen him play this season except in tapes made by another parent who sends it overseas.

20. Baxter Bristow #54 is the team and crowd motivator. He is never down and sees to it that all of us around him are pumped up to his level. He is a hard hitting tackler on the field and a big old teddy bear off. You haven’t been hugged until you’ve been hugged by Bax.

21. Stephen Boyer #52 is a peer favorite for sure. Big boy lineman with skills. When goaded into making a speech at the pep rally his response was and I quote “God Bless America.†He has 3 other brothers who played/play football and they all look just alike. They all go by Boyer.

22. Evan Lemon #11 is like a secret weapon. His defense this year has been terrific but he is also the backup QB and is very talented in that position also. Good arm on him.

23. Austin Smith #22 is WR/DB that has absolutely turned the tide for us in many games this season. He had 8 interceptions this year. He’s the player that made that very well covered catch on the sideline and then kept his balance to run down and in for the TD. (I don’t care who you are that was an ESPN top 10 play). This from a kid whose mother has no hands.

24. Russell Thornburg #24 is another guy that has stepped up this year and filled some mighty big shoes. He transforms on the field. When he comes off he reverts back to the quiet guy that you have to look around for to make sure he is there. His opponents knew when he was there and his teammates always knew where to find him.

25. Michael Lutz #86 is our kicker. He wears blue cleats with his uniform. Why, you ask? I have no clue but it seems to work for him. The crowd yells “Blue Shoes†every time he comes out to kick. He is so polite too.

26. Our offensive line is made up of all juniors we will welcome back next year. Proud of that bunch.

27. One of these O linemen, Jordan Kelley #58, is 1 of a set of triplets and his brothers are also teammates.

28. The boys have a team mom “Miss Liz†that always makes sure they are cared for and fed.

29. We beg, borrow and fundraise to keep the program supported as best we can.

 

We love our “Boys of Fallâ€. We have sinners and saints. They love their vehicles, their moms, and their country. They listen to country, rap, hard and classic rock. They have nicknames like Iron Man, Choo-Choo, J-Bird, Tee, D-Man, and Tank. They are someone’s sons, nephews, uncles, grandsons, boyfriends, students and teammate. We have some straight “A†students although it frustrates me to tell you that my son cannot be counted as one of those. We have some struggling academic students and I can say my son cannot be counted there either. (He’s just a middle of the road kind of guy!) They miss curfew sometimes. They have to be reminded of their table manners and their language more times than I would prefer. They have all grown up together, gone to school together, worshipped together, mourned together and celebrated together. They win as a team and lose as a team. They have each other’s backs. We have a new emblem this year that is a large letter P with the word FAMILY imprinted in it. Enough said.

 

Does any of this sound familiar? Can you relate to any of this? Do you have fans that are in the stands every game win or lose and play armchair QB by cursing the coaches for the not so good plays and kind of give him credit when he gets it right by announcing they would have done just that if they were calling the game? Do you have the elder statesmen that sit around the old watering holes and recite politics, religion, and every football snap made in the past 30 years? Do you have youth league sports that moms and dads give up their very limited spare time to ensure their kids are prepared for that next level of play? Do you have a younger generation of football players that look up to this 2010 team and dream of being them? I think we are a lot more similar than different. Though you are from one side of the state and we are here on the other we have a lot more in common than we know. We may be separated by miles but our love of community and football is what brought us together last weekend. Going into Saturday’s game everyone knew there would be someone going home disappointed. Let’s not let what the scoreboard read at the end define what our “Boys of Fall†have accomplished all season. Bulls boys were happy to come away with the win but were humble about it because they knew they had just played a team that gave it 100% to the 10th power. They had done the same. Poquoson has nothing but the utmost respect for the Richland coaches, players and fans. Both teams played the best darned football game ever witnessed at the high school level and many of us were blessed to have been there. Thank you to every one of those boys who left it all on the field that day.

 

OK enough already. I do have a tendency to go on. But I just thought I may be able to help you picture us in a somewhat more personal light. I’ve been fortunate to make some friends on this site and I appreciate all of the congratulations and support that has been sent our way. I hope I have reciprocated in the same fashion. But I must admit to being pulled into some of the negativity that was being posted. So with that said I am retiring from publicly writing on this championship game thread. I will continue to cruise the site and read all of the entertaining posts and will continue to PM with the friends I have made here. I look forward to future threads about other sports. I invite you to do the same with our site. Come on over to the coast and read all about us. For that matter come on over to the coast and see us sometime. After the 5 minute tour we can sit down and talk sports. (We will leave officiating out of the conversation for all of our sakes. HA HA.)

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Much success to you and yours in SWVA. Thanks again to you who welcomed me. With that I will bid you a fond farewell. PEACE

 

 

P-Town Proud

 

 

P.S. I must thank all of you who are concerned and praying for Austin Turner. His family and his football “family†do so appreciate it. I will continue to keep you informed of his progress.

[LegendatLegion 109]

.. 'nuff said!

[BigBlueAlum 12]

Great post P-Town Proud!

 

Oddly enough I will actually be in Poquoson on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately it will only be for less than an hour, as we driving down EARLY that morning picking up a family member that is stationed at Langley AFB, and then driving straight home. 14 hours of driving, on Christmas Eve...not looking forward to it.

 

Thanks for all of your kind words. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!

[Guest The Variable]

Great post P-Town Proud!

 

Oddly enough I will actually be in Poquoson on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately it will only be for less than an hour, as we driving down EARLY that morning picking up a family member that is stationed at Langley AFB, and then driving straight home. 14 hours of driving, on Christmas Eve...not looking forward to it.

 

Thanks for all of your kind words. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!

 

Its a nice scenic drive though. Travel safe, I just came back from there and they are talking about sleet coming in that weekend in the area. People down there dont know how to handle icey conditions.

 

Oh and pick up a PHS 2010 State Champs bumper sticker while you are down there. Kidding, I just couldnt help myself.

[Deleted Account 5,203]

A very heartwarming, informative post. And many of us can surely relate!