Terrible game for Syracuse Black 5-2 (No crying in football)

Wow,
What do you say when the first play of the game is an onside kick and the other team recovers it? It was by far the worst game of the year for our team. We lost 33-0 against a good Kaysville Gold team. They are a good team but not 33-0 good team. I certainly don't want to take anything away from Kaysville and their team but we had 6 turnovers in this game. Two fumbles, two interceptions and two lost onside kicks. We never got into a rhythm in this game.

I give Kaysville credit for taking the ball out of Jaden's hands. They kicked off six times with 5 onside kicks and 1 down the opposite side of the field. Jaden never touched the ball on a kickoff. We did have a few moments where we executed on a couple of plays and it looked like it might turnaround but a penalty or a turnover quickly stopped the drives. Both the coaches and players felt like we had just been kicked in the gut as this was the worst loss in the last 2 years that we have had.

In any event we are still the number one seed in our bracket going into the playoffs and everyone is picking Bear River White to beat us. Hopefully that will give us some added motivation going into the playoffs. We definitely need all of the boys to play well and need a good defensive effort on the field. I was so distraught after our loss on Sat that it took me until today (Tuesday) to post anything about the game.

We have a very good team that needs to find a way to get up for the big games. As we have said all along if we can execute our game plan and not have any turnovers we can win every game. That obviously did not happen last Saturday. We need to have a good week of practice and forget about our game on Saturday to set the stage for a first round win in the playoffs this week.
Lets dry our tears and move on to our most important game of the season. Remember there is no crying in football.

Bring it on boys.........Syracuse Black will be ready...........

More to follow............

Taggert 2-1 Having fun with the Golden Dragons

Although Dad wasn't there as he was coaching Jaden's football game we had Mom there to support and represent the family and cheering section for Taggert. Taggert is having a ton of fun and was able to score 2 goals on the way to their second win of the season for the Golden Dragons. Taggert and his friend Connor have loads of laughs and can't stop running the entire time they are in the game. If this is any indication of his older brother then Taggert could be on his way to a speedy gonzales future.

Keep on running and smiling Taggert, cause we love to watch you run and do your flips.........

Syracuse 5-1 Good tune up game headed into the playoffs

As you can see we have the best first down line marker in Lisa Brown. She was able to pull off a straight line with the chain on multiple occasions today making it easy for the refs to know where the first down markers were. Great job Lisa......

It was a good football day today for our last region game heading into the playoffs in 2 weeks. We were able to get out to an early lead and pull off a 20-6 victory over Sky View Blue this morning. All of the boys played a tough game today. Jaden had 2 touchdowns around the left side as he was able to sprint down the sideline and outrun everyone. Wes Tippets had his first touchdown as he added a tough run on the right side to get into the endzone.

This was a good tuneup to work on a few plays before we face Kaysville Gold next week in Kaysville for our last regular season game. Since we were able to beat them last year they will be hungry for a win and we will have to have a great game to match their intensity.

After the game we ended up with most of the team at Crown Burger in Layton for an after game celebration...We need to have a great week this week and a good showing next Saturday as we head into the playoffs...........Hit hard with no regrets........Until next week.

Taggerts first ever goal in a real professional soccer game!!!!!!! Golden Dragons 4-3 over the Purple penguins

Both Mom and Dad were grinning ear to ear as Taggert scored his first two goals of his illustrious professional soccer career. The first came on a diving header from the corner as he took the cross from a fellow teammate ...............Well..............It actually was a kick up the middle but the overall effect of the description sounded better from the latter. He was pretty excited and added a second goal with less than a minute left in the game to secure the win 4-3.

He seems to be having tons of fun with his little friends on the field and goes like the energizer bunny. The parents and coach are very supportive of the boys and it is a great learning environment for his first experience. I had forgotten until last week how much fun they are to watch at this age. Stay tuned for more.............

Syracuse Black 4-1 - Great win against a good Bear River Red team

Wow, what a game. This contest was a game of big plays for both sides. Our Syracuse Black team came out on top with a tough 19-13 win. With a few of our players hurt, absent or not feeling their best this was a tough test to see what our boys were made of. Since we only have 19 boys on our team it makes it that much more important that all of the boys give their best efforts when on the field and they all did just that. This was a great team win as all of the boys contributed to this win. Jaden had another great game as he scored 3 touchdowns. None of which could have happened if it weren't for the great blocking and hard nosed football that our team exhibited on Saturday.
Jaden's first touchdown came on a run around the left end for about 65 yards and was sprung on a great block on the left side. His second touchdown came on a kickoff return as he let the ball bounce, he watched the field part up the middle and picked up the ball on his own 30 yard line and then took off like a gun right up the middle as the team's blocking again made a hole for him to run through. His final touchdown was the longest of the year for him as they were pinned on their own 5 yard line and he took a run around the right side and was able to out run everyone for a much needed touchdown for Syracuse Black to take the lead back for good.
Because of the loss that Sky View Gold suffered we were able to lock up a number one seed going into the first round of the playoffs. In order for us to make it past the first couple of rounds in the playoffs we will need to execute better on offense and play better on the defensive line. We will also need to get healthy again as Tyler Brown is still out with an injury to a finger on his right hand but should be ready to go by the playoffs. Landon Strong suffered an injury to a finger on his hand as well in the game but should be ready to go by next Saturday. Karson Nielsen also suffered an injury to his right elbow during practice on Thursday requiring 7 stitches but played well on Saturday and caught a great pass for a much needed extra point. Overall the boys are playing very well together and are very close as a team. It will be important for them to maintain that camaraderie and play with pride as a team for them to go deep into the playoffs.

Next up is Sky View Gold at Bluffridge next Saturday. They will be coming to play to prove that they deserve to be reckoned with. We will need to have a good game to come out on top here. They have nothing to lose so they will come ready to play. Stay tuned.................

I want to personaly thank the parents of the boys on the team. I know what it is like to have good coaches and bad. Good supportive parents and bad. We do our best as coaches to teach these boys the game of football and to do our best to win but we need to also remember that it is just a game. Hopefully this has been a great exerience for the boys and their families. As a first year coach I have seen first hand how these boys have responded to tough situations and are better because of it. I have also seen all of the coaches take a personal interest in the boys and are generally concerned about their development into great young men not just in football but also in life. As a parent it would be so easy to be critical of the decisions that the coaches make during practice and during games. I can honestly say I have not heard one negative comment from any of the parents this year toward any coaches or players and for that I thank you. Sometimes during the games things can get heated as the game progresses for both good and bad. Thank you for letting us do our best and learn from our mistakes as well.

Go Syracuse Black!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jenniper (Yes that is a P. There is a reason)

On one of our excursions we have taken throughout the Caribbean, we ended up in a rainforest in Martinique with a cab driver that couldn't pronounce his F's. (Which looking back was probably a good thing) He asked us our names and we were on our way. Every time he saw a scenic spot, which was every 30 seconds in Martinique, he would say "Jenniper, look at us now, look at us now." It got to be so funny that we have never forgotten about it.

What do you say about a woman that you have spent almost half of your life with? There are many adjectives that come to mind. Amazing, incredible, loving, caring, kind. She is the epitome of the word companion, wife and mother. I googled the name Jennifer and the first site that popped up was Super Fantastic person. "OK a little exagerrated there." What can you do without the mother of your children, the first person you see when you wake up and the last when you go to sleep. My answer to that is not much. I cannot imagine life without her. Obviously when you are married to someone for 18 years you take the good with the bad. It is very evident that I took the good and she took the bad. I constantly find myself wishing I could do or say things over again or have a do over. I am committed to being the best husband and father I can be and realize that it is because of her that I am a better father and husband. "She completes me" I can only hope that the next 18 will be as good as the first, cause the first have been pretty dog gone good. I love you Jen.

Morgan Kaye

I need to apologize to Morgan for being the first child of our family and a girl no less. She came to us 12 days before our 1 year anniversary so we were rookies trying to raise our first child and made a ton of mistakes along the way. She has always been the mother hen of our family and makes sure that everything is in order weather mom and dad are there or not. She is a special girl that has the ability to make anyone smile with her warm personality and charm. She has overcome many obstacles in her life and has put herself in a position to help others along the way. She has chosen to seek a medical career and although she just started her senior year at CHS, she is already planning her freshman year at Utah State. She has many good friends that have been there for her and I'm glad to see that she has reciprocated the favor. Although she is a big girl now it is always nice when she finds the time to come and sit on daddy's lap and tell him she loves him. Thank you for being a good example to your siblings. We are very proud of you for the choices you have made.

I love you Morg.

Emmory Beth

What a sweet, special, very independant daughter. I can't tell you how many times I have gone into her room to find out who she is playing with just to find out that she is talking in first person as though she were the Barbie talking to Ken or any one of the many dolls that she has in her room. "Emmy, is everything ok?" "Yea, Dad just playing." (Big Smile) :) She is a daddy's girl all the way. If ever there is a problem Emmy and dad can usually resolve it within a couple of minutes just by sitting and smiling at each other and giving a high 5. Emmory is very special in our lives and she has been working very hard at improving her reading and spelling this year. she now enjoys reading and is doing very well in school and has been a great example for Taggert as he has started school this year. She plays very well with her siblings and loves to spend time with her friends anywhere that they can get together and if we did not call her home she would play 24-7. I love you Em.

The girls in my life

As I have looked back over the last couple of months as we have put this blog together I can see that I have put many notes and things in this blog about what has happened during this time or things from the recent past. Many of these things have involved my boys and I have spent a lot of time with them this summer. I also want you to know how special the girls are in my life as well. So you will see a few posts related to each of the special girls in my life.

Taggert's first "professional soccer game" #6 running wild.

"Dad does this mean I'm a professional soccer player now?" Taggert had his inaugural AYSO soccer game yesterday and loved every minute of it. He played very well for his first game. They only play 3 vs. 3 so there is plenty of opportunity to kick, chase, kick, chase, kick, chase, try and score a goal. He had just as much fun eating his halftime apple treats as he did playing the game. He shouted from the sidelines when not in telling all of the kids where to go on the field. When he was in he was the "Energizer Bunny" and even when he wasn't around the ball he was running 1000 miles an hour. Great time for dad watching his youngest finally get a chance to lace it up with the Pro's.

Syracuse Black 3-1 Tough loss to Layton Red 36-12

We had the toughest game of the season this year with Layton Red. We ended up losing 36-12 and made a few mistakes and lost Tyler Brown at the first of the game. Jaden scored both touchdowns on two very good runs. The first was on a punt return where he let the ball roll after the punt until it almost came to a stop and then he picked it up and ran 70 yards for the first score. Pretty wild play but Jaden said afterwords. "Everyone just stopped and I knew if I could pick it up before they blew the whistle I could beat everyone around the end." That's exactly what he did. The second score was about a 60 yard run on a pitch left from the power formation. He also had an interception and had some very good tough runs. This was a non region game and does not count towards our standings for the playoffs but it was still a tough loss to a good Layton Red Team. Up next Bear River Red.......Stay tuned.