Today is Friday November 11, 2005 and there are only two teams in the New England Football Conference that are preparing to play tomorrow, Fitchburg and Curry College. Tomorrow is the conference championship game for the NEFC and potentially the last game that the seniors on the field tomorrow will have a chance to play.

Today is also potentially the last practice for a group of seniors that I have had the privilege to play with for Four years. Us seniors that were honored this past Saturday have compiled the best record in school history with a record of 26-13.

After practice today the team will get together at a certain location at Elliot field to go through what we call “The Burning of the Shoe” which is when coach puts a cleat into a whole and sets it on fire while the team stands around the flames and the seniors get to tell their stories to the younger guys and thank everyone that has been involved in the program. The “Burning of the Shoe” usually is an emotional time for everyone as it could be the last time that that group will ever be together.

Saturday will be a special day for us Falcons as we have been waiting for this day for an entire year. Last year in the championship game we were beat by Curry College in a very tough, hard played football game. Well this year we get the chance to avenge that loss as both teams have taken care of their side of the division and will meet for the right to represent the conference in the NCAA playoffs.

Earlier this year we opened our season with a 28-13 win against Curry, however I expect that both teams will come into the game tomorrow very well prepared and that the game could come down to who has the ball last. Although I have had a tough season I am looking forward to the opportunity to redeem myself tomorrow either by punting well and putting our defense in good field position, or with a big kick that will help the offense.

In all of my years of playing organized football I have won a couple of championships on the Pop- Warner level, but nothing ever as big as the game that will be played tomorrow. Out of all of the DIII football teams in the country only 32 teams are going to play for a national championship, and with a win tomorrow we will get that opportunity

To all the seniors playing their final game tomorrow congratulations on playing four years of college football. Everyone else playing tomorrow enjoy every opportunity because it is going to go fast.

From week to week there are many factors that build up to every Saturday. The most essential component leading up to a game has to be preparation. A good week of practice is imperative to the success a team earns, and that goes for the whole team, not just the guys who step on the field on Saturdays.

The guys who give the first and second string teams a look everyday are often overlooked and taken for granted. The harder they work, the better they are making their teammates and team. It’s a hard role for many guys to accept considering many of them were the go-to-guys on their high school team.

Going into week ten and our conference championship game we knew we had to have a good hard week of practice as we faced North Central College. Led by the self- proclaimed “Hit Squad” (defensive scout team) and senior Bill Smigiel, our offense was provided with great looks all week which we greatly benefited from. The intensity and concentration of each practice was higher than usual as our setback last year in Naperville, IL was still instilled in our heads.

We had been waiting for November 5th for 364 days and the seniors had been waiting four years for a conference championship. It is always a thrill when two highly touted teams meet head-to-head because there is usually a lot on the line. Last Saturday was no exception. As time ran out Josh Patterson booted a 22 yard field goal giving us a 20-17 victory and conference championship.

It was a hard fought battle, filled with plenty of emotion and good football, the way a game should be played by two playoff caliber teams. No matter what outsiders may have seen during and after the game and what they had to say about it, the players on both sides of the ball played their hearts out for 60 minutes. Both teams came ready to play and went after it the entire game, garnering nothing but respect for the players on the field.

Coming off last weeks victory, we head into another battle that bears a great challenge steeped in tradition. This Saturday we head to Wheaton, Illinois to take on Wheaton College. This senior class has yet to walk away from this game with a ‘W’. This game has come down to the last minute with potential to win on the last play the past two years and we walked away empty handed both times. Anyone who follows CCIW football knows that this game breeds great football and this Augustana squad comes into this game recalling the anguish of too many recent setbacks to Wheaton.