Last week was Bonneville High Schools homecoming. It should have been the highlight for two cousins and their football careers. I thought of Beau and Andre and all of their little league games with Alan as their coach. I could still seem them playing in the championship game, 9th grade at South Junior High. Andre was making the runs while Beau was making some pretty great tackles. Sophomore and Junior years saw much of the same thing--#34 and #54 were superstars. So Senior year should have been the culmination of all this hard work. These are boys who had suffered through tough practices, serious injuries, fatigue, bruises, heat and given much of their life to football. But something happened this year that none of us can figure out. I couple new coaches were added and a favorite left for another school. And now suddenly our boys are on the sidelines. Andre plays a little and every play pretty much comes up with something good, but two other guys who really aren't as good, get to play ahead of him. Beau started one game for a kid who was out for testing positive for drugs (Al said he did a great jog). But next week Beau was out and the other kid in. Beau, who last year started both offense and defense and rarely came out for even one play has stood on the sidelines these last two games and not played even one play. I feel like I want to spit nails I get so angry, mostly because I can see what it is doing to Beau and his cousin Andre. Everyone says its politics, blah blah blah, but most of all it just breaks my heart.
