I had a dream that I was running… running to something. It was towards a crowd of people. They had on red and they were screaming “Red Death” over and over. I woke up and it was game day. I had a feeling of excitement in me that made me happy and motivated! Today was the Page vs. Grimsley game, and for the first time ever it was on our turf. The whole week of planning and preparing was finally here. I went to breakfast with some friends and when I pulled into the parking lot I could feel a win. Going to class was a struggle because I couldn’t focus on anything but the game. I wanted it to be 7:30 game time. Finally at 3:00 we had the pep rally. The whole school was excited about this and the players felt important and it got us pumped to play. A few players spoke to the student body and got them ready for the game. We needed all of the Pirates there to cheer us on. Next we headed to the pre-game meal. This is where the football team and coaches come together before every game to have a meal together. Don Young, whose son played at Page, provided the meal (pasta and salad and a delicious dessert). Coach G always gives us a motivational speech and he told us not to get caught up in the moment and all the hoopla, but to focus because we are there to play football and win! We then go to the locker room and change into our all red uniforms. This is when we go out for pre game warm up. At this point we go through our pre game routine and drills on the field. All of the position groups are on different parts of the field warming up and stretching, preparing for the game. At the end of the warm ups, we finish with special teams punt unit, then it’s time to go to the locker room for the last minute speech and game plan. Coach G explained to us how important this night was, this was the very first time we have ever hosted Grimsley in football. He wanted to make this an incredibly special night and for each of us to enjoy every single moment of the night. He ended his speech by telling us he had a surprise for us, at this point several of the coaches ran through the door yelling “BLACKOUT” while wearing our new all black uniforms. It was a moment I will never forget for the rest of my life. To say that the entire room was hyped up is an understatement. Coming down the stairs and seeing the reactions on the faces of the fans was incredible. We marched down the stairs to AC/DC’s “Back in Black”. This was the greatest song for our intro for this game. I had goosebumps all the way up to kickoff. We went out to centerfield for the coin toss and to shake hands with the Grimsley players. We won the toss and selected to kick off first. The crowd was the loudest I have ever heard. After a slow start we finished up at the half with the lead 14-0. We had a great second half and dominated both sides of the ball. We finished the game with a victory and shut out the Whirlies 42-0. Just like the tradition we had at Jamison Stadium, the players would run up to the student section and jump and sit on the wall. We followed this same tradition after the game and ran and cheered with our student section. Once we all finished cheering we had a ceremony at centerfield with the Marines. They gave a MVP award to Javon Leake, very much deserved. I will always remember this Page vs. Grimsley game. I am glad that I was a part of history!