There’s something about the opening game of high school football season. There’s a “feel” in the air that announces that all is ready for gridiron combat.
I played a total of eight seasons of football, counting junior high, high school, and military ball.
I saw my first high school football game when, in the seventh grade in 1964, my dad took me to see Kingsport Dobyns-Bennett defeat Jellico High School 89-0 on their way to a 9-0-1 season and the 1964 Tennessee State Football Championship.
Later, I watched my sons play high school and college football and, still later, watched grandsons play football. But last Friday, I wasn’t there to watch football, as East Coweta lined up to play Arabia Mountain High School. I was there to watch the East Coweta Marching Indians — I was there for the band.
When I played the game, I never saw a halftime show. Like all the other players, I was in the locker room preparing for the second half.
And, truthfully, when I had the chance to watch the band later in life, I was usually on the way to the concession stand.
But on this night, my eyes were on the band. On this night, my granddaughter, ECHS freshman Jacqueline Rae Epps, was making her debut as a member of the color guard.
We sat directly in front of the ECHS band, which I discovered is the place to be if you want to really hear the band, and settled in for the game. After Arabia Mountain took the opening kickoff, they struck quickly and, in a few plays, led 7-0. East Coweta began working their game plan and led at halftime. The Arabia Mountain band took the field and gave a very good presentation. And then it was Showtime.
It is safe to say that the Marching Indians exploded on to the field and gave a unique, artistic, and musically excellent program. It is no wonder why they have performed at events in the U.S. and abroad.
But my eyes were on the blond kid with the flags and the rifle. Before last year, when Jackie joined the ECHS Fall Guard, I had no idea how hard these kids worked and how many long hours they put in.
By the time the first football game came around, hundreds of hours had been invested. It was a great show!
East Coweta defeated Arabia Mountain 42-14. I have decided that I will try my best to attend more games this season. I love football and always have. But this season I’m going to be concentrating on another group of high school students who put in as many hours and work just as hard as the football team. I have had sons and grandsons on the football field. Now I have a granddaughter out there.
For someone who has very rarely seen a halftime show, I have become a big fan. Who knew that a great band performance could be as thrilling as a “Hail Mary” or a late 4th quarter touchdown?
So, “Go Indians!” The Marching Indians, that is! Go, Color Guard! Go Jackie!
[David Epps is the pastor of the Cathedral of Christ the King, Sharpsburg, GA (www.ctkcec.org). He is the bishop of the Mid-South Diocese which consists of Georgia and Tennessee (www.midsouthdiocese.org) and the Associate Endorser for the Department of the Armed Forces, U. S. Military Chaplains, ICCEC. He may contacted at frepps@ctkcec.org.]
