Defense, Defense

This year, Jonah and Micah played different fall sports: Micah switched to running on the Cross Country team, and Jonah decided to play football again. It was a hectic fall with their different schedules (they never practiced at the same time, which made for a crazy schedule for our family every evening), but it all worked out. Ammon took Micah to and from practice, and I took Jonah to practice and sometimes he rode home with Ammon (depending on the day/time). 

Jonah (#74) was a great ball player; his main positions were on the defensive team. He played defensive end and linebacker. He was an excellent tackler, and his coaches spoke highly of his abilities both on and off the field. It was fun to watch his team play this year. Last year, the Little Savages joined the Upper Valley Grid Kid district based out of Idaho Falls. It was a rough season last year because they put our kids with teams that were larger and more experienced. Last year, we lost every single game and only made ONE touchdown the entire season. This year was a different story: we were placed in an appropriate division, and the games were much more on our level and more competitive. We made goals every single game, and won 2 out of 6 games (one of the games was ALMOST a win--it was SO close!). It was a great season, and I enjoyed watching Jonah and his 6th grade teammates play!

The kids started practicing the middle of August. They had 3 home games and 3 out of town games. Their games began the last Saturday in August and were almost every weekend until the 2nd Saturday of October. 

He was NOT happy that I wanted to take his picture
before his first home game!!

Their first game of the season was at home against Sugar Salem, and we lost 26-18. The second game was less than a week later on Wednesday September 2. Because it was mid-week, I couldn't go, but Josh did. Although we lost again, he said the Eagle Rock Team we played against had the best sportsmanship he'd ever seen and it was a great game to watch.

The 3rd game was on Saturday the 12th. We played against Arco and WON for the first time. It was a shut-out game, too! The final score was 22-0. That was such a boost to the kids' confidence to win their first game ever!!

Jonah tackled their quarterback

Jonah received the title of "Defensive Player for the week" for his skills at practice and during the previous game. He got to have this Thor hammer as his reward for a week, until someone else received it. He was pretty excited to receive recognition for his efforts!

The next game was on Saturday the 26th at home against the West Jefferson team, the champions in their division. They played their hearts out, and it was a super close game. I thought we'd had it won, but in the last few minutes of the 4th quarter, they scored again and ultimately won the game. It was the best game of the season to watch; the boys put their heart and souls into playing and it was evident! My favorite play of this game was when Jonah tackled their quarterback, he fumbled the ball, and our team recovered the ball!

The next game was Saturday, October 3 in Idaho Falls against Rocky Mountain Team 3. This was another close game, but with terrible reffing. We won it, thankfully, despite the terrible calls. The final score was 19-15. Jonah had several terrific tackles in this game.

The last game of the season was on Saturday October 10 in Idaho Falls against Rocky Mountain Team 1. Unfortunately, neither Josh nor I were able to go to it. Josh took the older 2 boys hunting that day (it was opening day), and I took Kanyon to the pumpkin sale at the Sacajawea Center. Jonah rode down and back with the coaches, and one of the coach's wives texted me during the game to let me know how it was going. She said he had some great tackles again, but ultimately their team lost by 4 points. 

Overall, Jonah had an outstanding season! We were so proud of him and his team!