Semi-Finals, Baby!

Wow, I don't think words can describe the game on Friday. It was the quarterfinal match up between the Syracuse Titans and the Pleasant Grove Vikings. It was a beautiful fall afternoon to watch this game. From our seats you could see the mountains with the snow covering just the tops of them.

Back to the subject at hand: the game. I thought that Syracuse and Pleasant Grove were pretty evenly matched. The Titans were leading going in to the 4th quarter. After three quick touchdowns, Pleasant Grove was ahead 25 - 21. Syracuse on their final drive with 1.2 seconds on the clock scored the winning touchdown! The final score was 27 - 25! You could see the excitement of victory on our players faces but also the agony of defeat for those on Pleasant Grove. It was an awesome game. Everyone on both teams should be very proud.

Just a quick shout out to everyone that has come to each junior varsity and varsity game with me to cheer Bryce and his friends on. Thank you, we love and appreciate all that you do for us! But we are especially excited that we have at least one more game to listen to Grandma Foxley yell when it is quiet in the stadium, "Smoosh 'em in the ground!", or "Break their Legs!" Or our all time favorite, "Roll him on a stretcher and get 'em off the field!" Thanks for the laughs, Mom!

What a season the Titans have had. After their first season together and having a record of 0 - 10, to be playing in the semi-finals at Rice Eccles Stadium next week is an awesome feat. It just shows that if you set goals and work hard to accomplish what you set out to do, anything is possible.

So next Thursday, we will be forgetting about work and school and taking a field trip to Rice Eccles Stadium to cheer on our favorite team, the Syracuse Titans!

Halloween

It hard to believe that my kids are getting old enough that trick-or-treating doesn't appeal to them. This year Mariah was the only one who was excited about the holiday.

After trunk-or-treating at the local park, I gathered up Mariah and her cousin, MacKenzie, to go and visit the grandparents, great grandparents, and great aunts. Bryce, after a hard fought football game, went to his cousin's for a little pizza and xbox. Jacob stayed home and passed out candy.

Maybe next year, we will just have to have a Halloween party to call our own.....

PLAYOFF FEVER!!!

It is crazy to think that with all the football games that we have attended this year, this is the only photo that I remembered to take of the gang! Unbelievable!

History is in the making! The Syracuse Titan Football team have advanced through the first round of the high school football playoffs! The game was held on Friday, October 31 in the afternoon. What gorgeous weather we had to watch this game. The temperature was in the 70's and there was just a slight breeze. The Titans played a great team from Kearns. The outcome was 42 - 18. Bryce was able to play the last few minutes of the game. The lineman that Bryce faced was twice his size in height and had a good hundred/hundred fifty pounds on him. After the first few times of being pushed back, Bryce realized that he had to play low and when he played low he was able to get around the lineman and apply pressure to the running back and quarterback.

This coming Friday the Titans will play Pleasant Grove. So can you say FIELD TRIP! In map-questing the school, it is about a 90 minute drive from here. Bryce is going to be hating life. He gets car-sick so easy and with a drive that long...let's hope he does well.

Good Luck Titans!

TITAN FOOTBALL ROCKS!!!

Wow, I can't believe it has been a whole month since I was able to update our blog. Between the flu bug and the fact that our computer and internet decided to give us fits, it's been a crazy few weeks. I have to agree with a tv commercial when it says, "Life comes at you fast..."

To begin with Jacob's football team lost their playoff game to a GIGANTIC Box Elder team on an extremely cold and rainy day at the beginning of this month. But what an awesome season for them! We are so proud of Jacob and the time and effort he spent in his first year of city league football. He has been talking about trying out for the sophmore team at Syracuse High with his cousin, Tyler. I think we might just have to give him a little push!

Mariah has been busy too. With gymnastics, art projects, friends, and school work, she keeps life fun. Tonight she is out on her first night time babysitting job. My littlest one is growing up! I can't believe it.

Our world lately has been revolving completely around Syracuse Titan football! After their first season with a record of 0 - 10 and playing with no seniors, the only way to go was up. And up they went! As of last night, the Titans earned second place in Region 5 football after a tough game against Davis. Bryce and the entire football team and coaches have worked so hard on and off the field to accomplish their goals. Their overall record for the year was 8-2! Awesome job, Titans! In winning last night, the Titans have earned home field in the upcoming playoff game with Kearns at the end of the week. Good Luck Titans!

An exciting note about last night game was that Bryce was picked by the coaches and team captains to be an honorary captain for the game. I think I was much more excited about this than he was. In being an honorary captain, he helped lead the team in their stretching exercises before the game and the second half and participate in the coin toss. We made sure that we were at the game about an hour before it started to watch and support Bryce. We are so proud of Bryce and all the hard work and dedication he has put into being on the football team!

A tradition that I thought was a nice touch was that at the last home game, the senior players and their parents were recognized. As parents, we met up with our sons at the 50-yard line. Then one by one, each senior was recognized. There were three white roses for the players to present to their moms. Then as we walked to the end of the field, a photographer was standing by to capture the moment. I have to tell you that it really brought tears to my eyes!

Now the question is....when football is over, what will occupy our time?

Go, Fight, Win!

Boy, oh boy, what will I do when the football season ends? Football has consumed every facet of our lives since summer with practices, games, equipment needs, etc. What will I do with the excess time and money.....But it is a blast while it is lasting!

By the time this post reaches the airways, Mariah will be in sunny Arizona for a week long visit with her Dad. Already I keep thinking that she will walk around the corner and give me a hug or come and ask me question after question. This will be a long week for me that is for sure. Have a great time Girl!

Week 6 in football found both of my teams victorious! On Friday, the Syracuse Titans held their Homecoming Game against friends and foes, the Clearfield Falcons. After some pre-game jitters, the Titans won a hard playing and hard hitting football game 16 - 9. At one point in time, the announcer mentioned that "Bryce Bennett, #57, make the sack of the Clearfield quarterback!" None of us, Mom and Dad, Sheri, Josh, and family, hadn't noticed if Bryce had actually been out on the field. We just jumped up, screaming with excitement only to find out that the announcer had said the wrong number and Bryce was supporting the team from the sidelines! But we are still proud of Bryce and his accomplishments! But really how cool is it to have your name and number said at a Homecoming Game!

Jacob's team, the Syracuse Midgets - Team Black, are just awesome! They have worked so hard and have only one lose to the season. So this coming Saturday, is the first round playoffs for the city leagues! We are excited to see how the team will do! Like Bryce, we are so proud of Jacob and all his accomplishments on and off the field!

GO TITANS! GO STORM!

Football Highlights - Week 5

One can tell that fall is in the air just by sitting outside watching football games. At the Friday night varsity games, we are now needing to bring jackets and again at the Saturday morning games.

Week 4 was a little tough to swallow - both of our Syracuse teams, the Titans and the Storm, lost their hard fought football games. The Titans lost to Viewmont 13 -7 and the Storm lost to Morgan 26 - 19.

But in week 5, each team showed their strength as they both won in stunning fashion! On Friday night, the Titans spoiled Weber High's homecoming by winning 30 - 0! Bryce was able to play the last four or five plays of the game!

Then on Saturday morning, Syracuse Storm faced off against a tough Clinton team. After a sluggish first half, the Storm went on to victory winning 19 - 0! Jacob played great. Most of the time he played against an defensive lineman who was twice his size!

I know that it seems that our lives totally revolve around football, but for the most part it does. If we are not a football game, then we are at practice. If we are not at practice, we are watching football. If we are not watching football, we are talking about football.....well, you get the picture.

Mariah is getting ready to go off track for three weeks. She is on the year - round schedule. One thing for sure, it will make the mornings go quite a bit smoother. You see, Mariah is not a morning person. She loves to take her time waking up and getting ready.

Even though life is totally crazy at the Bennett house, I am having a blast supporting each of the kids in all of their activities!

Friday Night Lights!

In week three of the high school football season, we found out that Bryce has earned a starting position on the defensive line for the Titans Junior Varsity Team! Wow, all those long hours at practice and in the gym have really paid off! Also, because of that hard work, he actually saw a little playing time (4 plays to be exact) at the varsity game on Friday night, when the Titans easily handled the Mtn. View Bruins 35-6. In my excitement to record this momentous occasion, I was shaking so bad that only 4 pictures were not blurry! Hopefully next time I will be cool as a cucumber!

Jacob's Team's, Syracuse Black, followed up the next morning (Saturday) with a win of their own. They won the game 32 -6.

Way to go, Bryce and Jake!