We Lost But...

The Reagan Rattlers lost the game 42 to 21. That's what the score said but I say that it was a tie, 21 to 21 because at least one of Judson's scores I credit to the officiating crew and a series of push-back non-calls hurt Reagan at least twice as well. The replays we saw on the Alamodome Jumbotron will easily prove my points.

Three games with HORRIBLE calls against the same team coupled with repeated LATE HITS by Judson and non-called defensive HOLDING will make any unbiased person take note.

Of course by now you already know that I am not unbiased... Just saying, look at the game tapes.

When a coach wins he gets praised so naturally when he loses with a great back like Marcus? Just do the math. It is apparent even to the partially blind (ME) that Reagan would've either won this game or scored more points had the offensive package contained more outside run selections for Marcus...

Coach forgot to dance with the one that brung him to the Big Dances and I believe instead of running meat and potato plays he wanted to show the world that others could carry the mail on the team and that Reagan wasn't a 1-dimensional team with Marcus as the only threat.

NEWSFLASH COACH

Reagan IS basically 1-Dimensional. A win is a win no matter and you need to save all that experimentation and trickery for games that don't end your season if your trickery fails.

Marcus wasn't the ONLY threat but he was the major one whose repeated success opened up an opportunity for other plays to work and therefore other players to shine. If you cannot establish the strength of your team early with good play packages then all those other plays will likely fail... as they in fact dismally did today.

Math is Math my friend in Algebra, Calculus or 1-2-3 it is clear that Marcus around the ends meant a chance at victory for Reagan. It's the same answer no matter how you calculate it.

Even if you've never seen Marcus in person running his game, just watch the highlight videos online and you will automatically realize that although he may break a long run up the gut, Marcus' strength is outside around the corners.

So WHY was it that the majority of the plays for Marcus THIS game went inside even when Judson was keying there.

Judson had Reagan's number most of the game. Reagan's number was 21... Marcus Wright.

The offense never adjusted to counter the plays that Judson's defense sniffed out and Reagan's defense couldn't stop Judson from running Marcus-like plays in the process of also running out the clock in each quarter. They beat us at our own game and therein lies the true rub.

The fact that Marcus hurt his right foot (jambed his toe) and was noticeably limping after the first quarter or that Judson returned an onside kick for a score at the end of the game were mere footnotes to a game that was practically decided by the end of the first half when Reagan once again failed to make good usage of its timeouts.

Bad habits are HARD to break.

All this is exacerbated by the fact that on the game against Westlake, Reagan also squandered all its timeouts at the end of the second quarter and was unable to take advantage of great field position before the clock expired. Despite the fact that we eventually won that nail-biter, it was a closer game than it needed to be because of the gaffe of poor clock management.

In this game all the timeouts weren't even utilized and after a Judson score, even after immediate BIG gains by the offense with about 18 seconds or so remaining, Coach was content to run out the clock and go into the locker room at the half behind by 7.

The feeling in the stands, the pulse and life-blood of the crowd was of the variety bordering frenzied consternation.

And this question begs a better answer than anyone has ever offered to date: With a game breaker like Marcus playing EVERY offensive down, WHY is it at EVERY half during the playoffs we are always behind? It happened too often to be a coincident...

Marcus scored 2 rushing touchdowns and rushed for 142 yards. He failed to break anymore records which is another key reason that Reagan lost.

I believe that to appreciate a win you must also know what it feels like when you lose. Reagan didn't lose the game... We got beat by the referees... and also ourselves.

WE won when the team did so naturally WE lost too. We were a part of something rare and special so even though WE lost, we still won. That's some complicated math but I can do it and so can you.

Thank you Reagan. ~ Ron Means

After the smoke clears... Still it was a pretty good game. Now I can go back to attending Austin Toros and San Antonio Spurs games although I would much rather prefer to watch Marcus run next week.

I am just as proud of my nephew win or lose because it really isn't How you play the game as much as that you DARE even to try. Marcus has our respect for being great and different from the way we would handle his greatness too, which makes him outstanding whether we are fans or not.