Simply Sara: Dawgs Win!

Saturday was a terrific day. It was my first game day as a GWU Running Bulldog. Brett had to go into work early for pregame breakfast and meetings so I headed to Tre and CJ's first football scrimmage. I have never lived anywhere where the elementary schools have football and cheerleading teams. It's quite a culture where we live. It teaches kids the game we all love early in life. I think it's also a great way to get kids outside and exercising.

Tre (#12) is the starting quarterback and one of the captains. CJ (#83) is one of the linebackers. He says he's like Ray Lewis. Although their team didn't win, it was a great way to start game day. I'm hoping to go to Keenan and Matt's games this weekend.

Tre was one of the captains.

One of Tre's many hand-offs. No fumbles.

Little Ray Lewis right there.

Sydnei and Isaiah with some of Sydnei's new friends

Adorable

Proud of these guys.

After the game, I hung out at the house waiting for our parents to get here. Brett and I have such great parents; they are extremely supportive. I was so happy to learn that my parents would be making the trip down to the first game. They came to the first game that NGU won last year (I was hoping they would see another win). Brett's Uncle Jim and Aunt Mary Beth, and Brian and his family (the pastor that married us) also made the drive for the first game.

The coaches' families decided to tailgate so I got to the field early. There is nothing quite like the game day atmosphere to me. It is exciting but also makes me a little anxious too. Travis' wife Kelly went all out for the tailgate. She is the only wife I didn't know before this season, but I am so glad I know her now. She always has a smile on her face and really lights up a room.

We were all set up: the tents, chairs and food were out and the kids were playing flag football. I had been watching the sky get darker and darker. The wind picked up, and the temperature dropped really quickly. We all knew the sky was about to open so we decided to move our tailgate into the conference room. Shortly after we moved upstairs, the sky turned black and the rain started. For those of you who live in the south, you know how quickly these summer storms pop up and move out. Luckily, we were only under a 45 minute delay.

I just have to say that we are blessed with a family-friendly staff. We (the wives and kids) overtook our husbands' offices during the storm delay. With 10 kids running around the halls, it was quite loud. As KaShanda said, "Walk into the hallway at your own risk." I love that atmosphere, and I am so thankful that Coach McCray allowed us to take over the offices.

Melissa and Reilly

Flag football

The storm approaching

Making the most of the rain delay

The players got on the field at 6 and the game started at 6:45. The Dawgs were playing Furman. Some of the GWU staff used to coach/play at Furman so I know this game was especially important to them. Brett is now the running backs coach and special teams coordinator. Lucky for me, he was on the field during the kick-off so I was able to snap a picture of him before he went into the box.

Furman seemed to have momentum the first half, going into the locker room up 14-7. Furman scored first in the second half to go up 21-7. I'm already a wreck at the beginning of a game, but being down two touchdowns made me really nervous. Thankfully, the Dawgs scored 21 unanswered points to win 28-21! Juanne, one of Brett's running backs, had a monster game: 28 carries for 162 net yards. The offense made huge plays on third down and took care of the ball with 0 fumbles and interceptions. Defense stepped up with two interceptions, one with less than a minute left to clinch the win.

Brett was so pumped that he was dancing on the field after the game and proceeded to dance in the locker room too. The office was buzzing after the game and everyone was so wound up. It took a while to go to sleep that night. I woke up the next morning still excited about the win.

I am so, so proud of the coaches and players. When things started looking like they were going in Furman's direction, they never stopped competing. Ben, the strength and conditioning coach, has done a great job with getting them ready physically too. Proud to be a Dawg.

Now to prepare for Marshall.