Sports Saturdays: 2012 Football Wrap Up Part 1

With the 2012 high school and college football seasons in the history books, it's only fitting that we take a look back at what was to me, a very exciting and enjoyable Fall. I've decided to split up my thoughts into two posts, so tonight we'll take a look at my high school football experiences and next Saturday I'll mull over my thoughts of the college football season.

This year I made it to 32 football games (24 high school, 8 college) which was down from 35 last year. (My record of 43 stands for another season.) Still, that's a pretty impressive number if you consider the fact that I'm in my second year of medical school and I wasn't sure before the season started just how many Friday night's I'd be able to make it out. In the end, I was able to find a good balance between work and play which worked out great.

Here's a list of all the high school games I saw this year in order of least to most enjoyable (for me):

24. Nov. 8: Godby 40 Lincoln 28, Gene Cox
Obviously my team losing drops the game down a little, but the real reason this game is so low is because of the manner in which it was played. Early on the game was very competitive and Lincoln looked to have the upper hand, but a lack of focus quickly spiraled things out of control. The Trojans were on the 2 yard line about to score to take a two touchdown lead when they fumbled at the goal line and Godby recovered, running for a 99 yard touchdown. On the ensuing kickoff, Godby stormed down the field and recovered the ball just before it rolled out of bounds for a penalty. A couple of plays later they scored again, ending a 21 point turn around. The game never got any better. Luckily for Lincoln, this last game of the season served as a wake up call as they would win their next four playoff games, but still, it wasn't fun to watch.

23. Aug 24: Fall Jamboree Lincoln over Leon, Gene Cox
Preseason game, not very memorable and not very well played.

22. Sept. 14: Lincoln 42 Florida High 30, Florida High Field
Lincoln won, but it was a poorly played game and in a continuous rain. Lots of mistakes and poor defense.

21. Dec. 15: Miami Central 37-14 Gainesville, Orlando Citrus Bowl
Class 6A State Championship Game

20. Aug. 24: Fall Jamboree Rickards vs. Leon, Gene Cox

19. Nov. 23: Lincoln 34-21 Gainesville Buchholz, Gene Cox
Second round of the playoffs, not very close and annoying at the end because all of Buchholz's points came against 2nd and 3rd stringers in the last 5 minutes of the game.

18. Sept. 28: Lincoln 39 Rickards 3, Gene Cox

17. Aug. 24: Fall Jamboree Godby over Lincoln, Gene Cox
Good close game, but frustrating at the end as the refs failed to run the clock on two consecutive running plays with seconds left and Godby won on the last play of the game as time expired. Meaningless win, but still frustrating.

16. Oct. 18: Lincoln 39 Ocala West Port 0, Gene Cox

15. Sept. 21: Lincoln 54 Chiles 7, Gene Cox
The T-wolves have still never beat Lincoln. Fun game, but never close.

14. Sept. 7: Colquitt County 14 Lovejoy 7, Mack Thorpe Stadium (Moultrie, GA)
Close game between two very good teams, but it was rather boring with neither offense doing much.

13.  Oct. 12: Lincoln 49 Leon 10, Gene Cox
The biggest rivalry in Tallahassee is always a rewarding game when Lincoln wins, but in terms of competitiveness is was even more lopsided this year than usual. Leon was just plain bad.

12. Dec 14: Godby 21 Immokalee 20, Orlando Citrus Bowl
Class 5A State Championship Game, close game and a very exciting and weird finish, but the vast majority of the game was just dull.

11. Oct. 26: Gainesville 14 Madison County 9, Boot Hill (Madison, FL)
Another close, yet boring game.

10. Oct. 5: Lincoln 45 Gainesville Buchholz 7, Citizens Field (Gainesville, FL)

9. Oct. 19: Liberty County 20 Blountstown 7, Bulldog Stadium (Bristol, FL)
First time ever going to a Liberty County game. Nice stadium, big rivalry game, and overall a lot of fun.

My top 8 high school games will be revealed next Saturday along with my thoughts about the college games I attended!

-JT