I’ve yet to see Crestview High School’s final 2015 football schedule. But from what I’ve heard from Bulldog Coach Tim Hatten, I’ll be taking a stroll down Memory Lane for Crestview’s season finale.
I’m guessing it will be the second Friday in November when the Bulldogs make the trip to the little town on the south side of Pensacola Bay to play my alma mater, Gulf Breeze.
Ironically, 40 years ago, my senior season for the Dolphins ended with a game against the Bulldogs.
In reality, I won’t fully come full circle. Yes, I’ll return home to Gulf Breeze High School. But old Mercer Smith Stadium, where we played our games back in my day, has long since been torn down.
I don’t remember the score of that game won by Crestview all those years ago. I do recall the feeling I had in the locker room as I took off the home blue jersey one last time.
I was a third teamer. In my two years of varsity football, I appeared in four games. By the time I got into a game, the outcome was always well in hand one way or another.
That final game of my senior year against Crestview was not one of those blowout games. The game was a battle right down the final minute.
Not playing in that game didn’t ease my pain of losing. A team wins and loses as a team. It should hurt the third team defensive tackle just as much as it does the starting quarterback when “we” lose.
Any player worth a plug nickel searches their heart, asking if they could have done more in a loss— especially the last one. It’s hard to leave it all on the field when you don’t get on the field.
I still wonder if there was something more I could have done to help Gulf Breeze win that night.
We made the trip from the old stadium back to the school on a bus. The locker room was quiet, except for the sobs associated with that final loss and the whispers of coaches going around the room, offering a final word of thanks or encouragement to the players.
Coach Mike Walker, my defensive line coach, came up to me, put his arm around my shoulder and whispered, “Big Randle, I really wanted to get you in there tonight.”
To which I replied, “That’s OK, coach — all I ever wanted was for us to win.”
A few minutes later, Jim Smith, the head coach, gathered the team together one last time. He said a few words and then turned to me and asked me to lead the final team prayer of the season.
That night I thanked the Lord for allowing me and my teammates to be Gulf Breeze Dolphins. Forty years later, as my life comes full circle, I can still give thanks for my days of Blue and Gold.
Randy Dickson is the Crestview News Bulletin’s sports editor. Email him at randyd@crestviewbulletin.com, tweet him @cnb_sports, or call 682-6524
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SIDELINE OBSERVATIONS: Life comes full circle