The Last of Basketball

The senior year of high school guarantees that we will come across a whole series of lasts.  This Friday (March 9) proved to have several lasts, although it turns out that we missed a few other lasts on Wednesday too.

We had hoped to see Caleb's last regular season game at Nouvel on Friday, March 3.  But a heavy snow made that impossible.  MLS lost a closely contested game, 69-64.

But then playoffs started this past week.  The Michigan Lutheran Seminary Cardinals faced the Vulcans of Vassar and won 50-41.  Laura got to see that one, but Catechism Class kept me at home.  That victory set up a Wednesday game.  Mid-week Lenten Vespers had me going in the opposite direction, to St. Paul's in Belleville.  Laura was at church in Good Shepherd, so we both missed the Wednesday contest against Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy.  MLS won handily, 78-35.

Philip told us that Caleb played quite a bit against SASA, scoring in double digits.  Philip suggested 14 points.  That victory set up a rematch against Nouvel Catholic Central of Saginaw on Friday, March 9.  Finally, we could get to a game!

But then we found out that Caleb sprained his ankle at the practice on Thursday night.  He attended the game on crutches.  MLS lost to Nouvel in the District Championship game, 54-48.  MLS was what they were all season--a decent defensive team who turned the ball over way too often on offense and missed too many free throws.  Had they cleaned up those errors, they would have likely won.

As it turns out, Caleb's last game was on crutches.  The last game in which he participated was the victory over SASA in which he scored quite a few points.  I have always tried to mark the last shot, but little did we know Caleb's last shot would be Wednesday.  I did not get the photo, but I would like to think he made it.

Meanwhile, his last trip off the floor for his high school career was sadly on cruchtes.  He has finished his hgh school basketball career, and we were there to give him hugs after it was over.

The lasts are hard, especially when you did not realize the last time happened and you were not aware of it.  We had fun watching Caleb and his teammates for years.  Thankfully, the memories will last.

The last game:

Pre-game prayer.

Caleb was still able to offer encouragement to his team during introductions.

The last walk off.

Football -- Final edition for 2016

The final edition of the football portion of this blog includes a number of "lasts" in the Schroeder family.

The last game of the year for Michigan Lutheran Seminary came on Saturday, Novembmer 19 in the state semi-finals against Ottawa Lake-Whiteford, hosted at Edsel Ford High School in Dearborn.  Snow showers blew through before the game got started, but it all melted away for the game.  It's too bad.  I think the 4 inch snowman I made would have liked the game.  The winds, however, continued to blow from west to east (I think), that is, from our right to our left.

Whiteford had some big boys on their offensive line, which enabled them to run the ball and gain enough yards each three plays to get first down after first down.  MLS, on the other hand, was able to break long runs a few times, but we needed the ball a lot more to do more damage.  The end result was a 40-21 loss.

Although it was the last game of Caleb's season (who had one catch for a pretty good gain), it was not the last game of his career.  We anticipate a good senior year for him.  Meanwhile, on to basketball.

You can check out an article from M-Live here.

Pre-game optimism with Micah Neumann.

Caleb walks off the field for the last time in his Junior year.

From the way it sounds, Nathanael and Andrew have both played their last games at Concordia.  Andrew has plans to try to make a Division 1 squad.  Right now, we are hoping that the University of Cincinnati will be his destination.  We are still waiting for all the steps to be taken to get that done.  Interestingly, if he does make the team there, he will retain the Red-Black-White color scheme that we have gotten used to (Michigan Lutheran Seminary, Martin Luther College, Saginaw Valley State, and Concordia - Ann Arbor).

Nathanael, although he has one year of eligibility left, seems to be content to concentrate on studies and pursuing a career.  Below, you can see photos of Nathanael's final game (the ones where he is in the red uniform).  Concordia won big.

Concordia had one more game in which Nathanael could have played, but he took a hit on his knee which was originally diagnosed as an MCL sprain.  Although he finished the game, he was hobbled.  He figured he could have had a TD catch deep if he had full strength in that knee.  Anyway, his last catch, and the hit that did him in, are both posted below.

For many players, football ends at high school.  Nathanael got one more chance to play at Concordia, and we got to enjoy watching him play one more time.  He has enjoyed his share of success from the Novi Bobcats to the MLS Cardinals to the Concordia Cardinals.  I hope that he has good memories from all of these years.  I know that he will have better stories to tell his kids than I have.

This is Nathanael's last catch.

You can see Nathanael getting tackled and his knee taking the brunt of it.
This is the injury that has pretty much put an end to Nathanael's football career.

MLS football vs. Royal Oak Shrine (playoff edition)

On Saturday, November 12, the Michigan Lutheran Seminary Cardinals played host to the Knights of Royal Oak Shrine.  Both entered the game with 9-2 records, and neither had ever seen each other before.  Scouting reports, according to Caleb, suggested that the teams were quite similar.  So, the pre-game analysis came down to cliches like: "The team who makes the fewest mistakes will win."  I guess we can always trust this maxim: "The team who scores the most points will will."

Both teams traded touchdowns early on.  MLS's score came on its first play from scrimmage as Casey Williams ran about 73 yards around the left end to the end zone.  Royal Oak Shrine, on the other hand, put together 2 drives which consumed pretty much the rest of the first quarter.  If memory serves, at the end of the 1st quarter, we noted that MLS had the ball for about a minute and a half.

MLS managed to put on one more first half TD on a nice pass to Jordan Hayes who was streaking across the field at the 5 yard line and then turned it up for the go ahead TD.  As it turned out, it was the game winning TD.

The MLS defense turned up the heat.  Damon Pearce, having come directly from his grandmother's funeral (we gave him the ride) had a great game.  He sacked the Shrine QB on a key 3rd down play right in front of us.  Caleb (our favorite Cardinal!) also deserves a shout out for a really nice defensive play in breaking up a pass in the 2nd quarter.  That was neat!  (See the M-Live article below and scroll through the photos for a picture of that.)  In the meantime, MLS put up two more TD's, with Caleb Heyn and Casey Williams both going right up the middle in some nice holes produced by the offensive line.  The final score was a 28-7 Cardinals victory, bringing the Regional Championship trophy to the MLS squad.

You can read an M-Live article here.  If you scroll through the photos, you will find a nice one of Caleb deflecting a pass from a Shrine receiver in the 2nd quarter.

There are also a few TV highlights from WNEM which you can see here.  MLS is featured starting at the 1:50 mark.

Once again, MHSAA rules prohibit posting photos from the game, so here are a few post game photoes.

MLS Football vs. Nouvel (Playoff edition)

On Friday, November 4, the Michigan Lutheran Seminary Cardinals hosted the Panthers from Nouvel on the west side of Saginaw for a cross-town show down, and for the District Championship for D8 in Michigan State Playoffs.

Nouvel has a long history of state championships in numerous sports, and they had hoped to add to that.  They came in confident, even posting a banner on their sidelines that read, "Your School, Your Field, Our Game."  They were 2/3 right.

Casey Williams took the opening kickoff on a reverse and ran 80 yards for a TD just seconds into the game.  I wish we had seen that, but delays in from the Novi/Livonia area meant that we did not even get to MLS until the 2nd quarter.  By the time we had parked the car and got into the game, MLS was up 14-6.  That was the score at the end of the half, too.

The MLS defense was solid in the 2nd half.  Although Nouvel began a drive starting at their own 1/2 yard line and drove most of the way down the field, they did not manage to get it into the end zone.  Nouvel had another chance for a momentum swing when MLS tried to get a 4th and 1 near midfield but fell short.  But the defense was stiff again and Nouvel could not advance the ball.

On the other hand, MLS managed to get the ball in the end zone 3 more times, completing a 34-6 victory.  TD's were had by Casey Williams (2), Cade Kestner (2), and Micah Nuemann.  St. Peter's alum, Damon Pearce, led all tacklers with 10.  All the more impressive, Damon played after his grandmother had died in the early morning hours that very day.

The MLS Cardinals will also be hosting the Regional Championship next Friday night.  We still wait to hear who our opponent is.

You can read an article from M-Live here.
You can watch highlights from WNEM's Friday Night Lights here.  The MLS segment begins near the 2:10 mark.
More TV highlights can be seen here.

Posting photos online from during the game is prohibited by the MHSAA.  You have to come to my house to see some of those.  Here are some photos from after the game.

The junior class on the MLS football team.

MLS Football vs. Merrill (Playoff edition)

On Friday, October 28, the Michigan Lutheran Seminary Cardinals hosted the Vandals of Merrill for the first round of Michigan High School playoffs.  These two teams had been conference rivals for years until a reallignment this past year had them in different conferences.

The weather was good for a late October night, with temps in the 50's and fairly light winds.  MLS had high hopes for winning this game, but the reality was a very hard fought first half in which MLS continually came up short of the end zone.  MLS finally found the end zone on a play which could just as easily been a pick-six for Merrill.  A pass bounded off the hands of a Merrill defender and into the hands of Jordan Hayes who ran a good 40 yards for the only MLS TD of the first half.

The second half was more productive for both Merrill and MLS.  Both were able to move the ball well, but turnovers really hurt Merrill.  Cade Kestner hauled in four interceptions on the night, and MLS turned a few of those into TD drives.  Mark Burger caught a TD pass after getting hit hard in the end zone but still hung onto the ball.  Casey Williams and Caleb Heyn also had TD runs, completing the 27-0 MLS victory.

You can read an M-Live article about it here.

The video from WNEM Friday Night Lights can be seen here.  The MLS segment begins at the 2:30 mark.  The very first thing you will see is a player wearing a Schroeder #4 jersey.  That is Andrew's jersey from last year, but Andrew did not even make it to MLS for last night's game.  An underclassman was pulled up for the game.

The MSHAA forbids the posting of game photos, so here are a few post-game photos.  Game photos can be seen at my house.

MLS Basketball -- It's over

Another season of Michigan Lutheran Seminary basketball came to a painful end last night.  MLS was facing Reese in the division semi-final game.  They were completely in charge of things (from reports I had heard -- we were unable to go) until Casey Williams rolled his ankle.  After that, the sizable lead that MLS had mounted against Reese slowly evaporated.  Reese went on to win the game, 52-50, and advance to the division finals.  Thus ended Andrew's high school basketball career.

The other factor which made this year so difficult was how many times MLS ended up on the short end of the stick.  MLS completed the season with a 10-10 record.  .500 basketball teams are usually not regarded as much of a threat.  A quick glance at the scores on M-Live and from my own personal notes shows that MLS was 12 points away from having a record of 15-5.  A whole lot of "if's" going a different way makes a huge difference in the record.  MLS came out on the short end of every close game.  Every one.  That hurts, and that is also how the season ended.

And so we come to yet another "last" in the Schroeder household, and we did not even get to watch it.  But we will watch what Andrew has in store for him in the years to come, and we pray that God will keep watch over him in whatever he does in the future.

I have no doubt that the notes above are what hang on Andrew's mind about the season and the playoff game from last night.  I hope that he also appreciates the milestone that was achieved in last night's game, too.  After three years on varsity basketball, in his very last game, Andrew scored his 1,000th career point!  If memory serves, my career high game in high school was 4 points.  By my math, I would have needed at least 250 games to do what Andrew did.  We are certainly proud of his accomplishments, and I hope that he is proud, too.  Those 1,000 points were not gifts.  They were earned, and it has earned him the respect of many--not least of all, his parents.

You can check out the M-Live article (with a less-than-flattering photo of Andrew driving to the hoop--scroll through all the photos) here: http://highschoolsports.mlive.com/news/article/2781552491429552814/reese-comes-back-to-beat-mls-52-50-cardinals-schroeder-scores-1000th-point-in-final-game/

MLS Football at Our Lady of the Lakes, Waterford (Playoff Edition)

          The Cardinals of Michigan Lutheran Seminary travelled down to Waterford to play the undefeated Lakers of Our Lady of the Lakes on Saturday, November 14.  This was the state quarter-finals, or the regional championship.  Although Our Lady of the Lakes had an undefeated record, we still had our hopes up.

          Unfortunately, the Lakers ran a very effecient offense, and we had some problems getting our offense going.  By the end of the 1st quarter, we were down 15-0.  Though MLS posted one TD in the 2nd quarter, the Lakers added points, too.  The 3rd quarter saw MLS run a total of three plays (three and out was a far-too-common theme).  By the end of the 4th quarter, we had several shots down in the red zone, but they all came up empty.  The final score was 32-6.

          MLS can be proud of what they accomplished this year, wrapping it up with a 10-2 record.  The only two losses they suffered are to teams that have advanced to the semi-finals in state, and Ithaca is expected to win it all again.  Well done, boys.

          You can view an M-Live article here and see the post game coach's speech.

          With this game also comes the end of Andrew's high school career.  It did not seem like long ago that Andrew was suiting up for the Novi Bobcats.  Now his time as an MLS Cardinal has concluded.  (And today happens to be his 18th birthday.)  Man, these things go fast.  It has been great watching him play all these years.  It remains to be seen if and where he will play in college.  But for now, we are observing another set of lasts -- the last high school football game for Andrew and the last time Andrew and Caleb will play football together (Caleb got pulled up for the playoffs, and they were never on the field at the same time).  Some lasts you don't recognize until after the fact -- the last catch, the last TD, and so on.  But it was a fun ride.  I would be happy to go on it again, and I think Andrew would too.

          Some photos, but not from the game because the MHSAA forbids that.

The final walk off the field.

The final team huddle.

A farewell hug with Coach Schmugge.  Thanks for everything, Coach!

MLS Football -- Regional Championship Preview

          MLS will be traveling to Waterford to take on Our Lady of the Lakes and try to tarnish their undefeated record and to advance to the state semi-finals.  Weather looks like it will be decent for mid-November.  You can check out a preview from Friday Night Lights here.  The MLS coverage begins at about the 1:00 mark.

          Go Red!  Go White!  Go Cardinals!

MLS Football vs. Fowler (Playoff edition) -- more video

I found more video coverage of the Michigan Lutheran Seminary Cardinals, including interviews with Cade Kestner and Andrew.  You can find it here.

Go to part 4.  MLS coverage begins at 0:49.

Then go to part 5.  Andrew's TD catch made the Top Five plays of the night.  To find out where it ranked, begin at the 2:25 mark.

Enjoy!

MLS Football vs. Fowler (Playoff edition)

On Friday, November 6, Michigan Lutheran Seminary played host to the Eagles of Fowler for round two of the playoffs.  The winner would go home with the trophy as District Champs.  As it turned out, the trophy stayed home for the District Champs!

I had little idea how good Fowler might be.  They had compiled a 7-3 record, and their three losses came against playoff teams.  I figured that they would be pretty good, and they were very well disciplined.  In fact, both teams played disciplined games as there were precious few penalties on either side.  I'm glad the refs were not getting paid by commission, because they would have come out pretty poor.  On the other hand, their little yellow flags will not need to go to the laundry this week.

After both sides exchanged possessions a few times, Fowler punted and it was received by Casey Williams.  Casey shifted and shimmied through all kinds of people.  I think Dan Gensmer had the best chance to tackle him.  Dan wisely let him go and Casey scored the first points of the game.  We missed the PAT, so MLS went up 6-0.

Later in the 1st quarter, MLS had the ball somewhere around the Eagles 35 yard line (M-Live said 39).  Andrew went in motion from left to right.  Cade took the snap and pitched it to Andrew.  Andrew rolled out and threw a beauty to Hunter Miller for another TD.  I don't know how many receptions Hunter had all season, but the playoffs sure agree with him.  Hunter as three TD's in the past two weeks!  So cool to see others make plays!

Fowler was driving as we were getting close to half time.  The Cardinal defense was playing very well.  Fowler's offense seemed to be a three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust kind of offense.  In the first quarter, that was only one or two yards and a cloud of dust.  By the end of the 2nd quarter, it was more like five yards, as MLS seemed to be wearing down.  Fowler's offense also seems to be the kind of offense which holds the ball for a long time on their drives.  When you have the lead, that works brilliantly.  When you are down 14-0, that could mean trouble.  MLS held them out of the end zone and went into the locker room up 14-0.

The second half saw more of the same.  Fowler hoped to string together long, time-consuming drives, but the MLS defense got some rest at half time and was stingy again.  Fowler also had to resort to more passing than they were used to.  They had some success there, driving the field in the 4th quarter to score with 4:30-something left to play.

Backing up to the 3rd quarter, MLS had the ball in Eagle territory, needing to pick up seven yards on 4th down.  Andrew received the pass and turned up field, hoping just to get the needed yardage.  But then he broke a tackle.  And then another.  And then another and cut against the grain.  Once he got to the outside, it was off to the races.  A 2-point conversion later and MLS had a 22-0 lead.  After Fowler's TD in the 4th quarter, MLS never let them get the ball back.  MLS completed the game with a 22-7 win and a District Championship.

Articles from M-Live can be found here and another one here.  You can also check out Friday Night Lights here.  MLS is featured at the 2:40 mark.  Friday Night Light also features the Concert Choir members on the football teams singing part of the national anthem at the end of the clip.  We also saw Andrew getting interviewed after the game by FOX Sports, but I can't find that anywhere right now.

The photos below are NOT from the game, as that is prohibited by MHSAA rules.  So, if you want to see photos, you have to come to my house.

District Champs 2015!!!

This interview is out there somewhere.  When I find it, I will post the link to it.

Mom deserves a hug.

Seniors

The senior MLS Cardinals walk the field after their final home game.  Thankfully, it was a pretty happy walk.

District Championships can wear a person out!

MLS Football vs. Bay City All Saints -- playoff edition

On Friday night, October 30, the Michigan Lutheran Seminary Cardinals got to host round one of the state playoffs.  We welcomed the Cougars of Bay City All Saints, who came to the MLS field with a 6-3 record.

Other than the weather which was terrible last year, this round started to shape up like our game last year vs. Manton.  We were so convinced that we would run away with the game that we were a little unnerved to be scoreless at the end of the 1st quarter and then down 8-6 after a bobbled ball turned into a 78 yard TD for the Cougars.  As it turned out, I think that is what finally got us to wake up.

And then the route was on.  At one point in the 2nd quarter, MLS put up 22 points in about a minute.  MLS' defense stepped up, refusing to let the Cougars run anywhere.  One M-Live said that the Cougars gained -1 yard rushing all game.  (Another said 9 yards total.  Go figure.)  The Cardinals on the other hand, threw the ball deep several times.  Hunter Miller scored on two nice passes.  I was giddy to see this, because it sends a message that we do not rely on two or three players to carry us.  Andrew scored one TD in the 2nd quarter and another in the 3rd.  Cade Kestner ran for three.  And even back-up QB, Adam Arrowsmith, who played QB for the JV, ran one in in the 4th quarter.

Besides receiving, Andrew also returned punts, including one long return down deep into Cougar territory.  He also posted an interception which ended the Cougars' first drive.

Caleb was pulled up to varsity and was told that he could expect a lot of playing time.  I also think that we were expecting the big lead to come much earlier than it finally did.  Caleb almost missed playing time, but a coach threw him in for the final :30, in which Caleb played defensive end for three plays.  Final score, MLS wins 54-14 and advances to round two.

We will be playing Friday, November 6 at MLS, hosting Fowler.  Fowler will come into the game at 7-3 after beating Merrill 29-7.

Some photos below are from after the game.  MHSAA rules prohibit posting any game photos, so if you want to see them, you have to drop by my house.

You can read an M-Live article here.  You can find another M-Live article here.
You can also watch the Friday Night Highlights here.  MLS' highlights begin at the 3:26 mark.
MLS also made the highlights on Part 2 of the Highlight Zone and begins at the 3:26 mark.  Apparently, the camera guy did not show up until the 4th quarter.

Football players with a St. Peter's Lutheran School (Plymouth) connection-- Nathanael, Damon, Tyler, Andrew, and Caleb.

2014 Class reunion -- Charli, Nathanael, Chad, and Travis

Grandpa Schmidt, Grandma Schmidt, Laura, and Andrew

Class of 2020 "pre-union" -- Cole, Philip, and Kai

MLS Football -- Playoff preview

If you are interested in following the Michigan Lutheran Seminary Cardinal playoffs through M-Live, you can find a preview article here.  The article seems to favor Bay City-All Saints.

Unfortunately, MHSAA rules prohibit MLS from live-streaming the game.  Apparently, you will still be able to find it at the MLS website and it will be posted about one hour after the game.

The following is from an MLS e-mail:

The MLS football team has made the MHSAA playoffs again this year with a record of 8-1. They will play Bay City All Saints High School on Friday, October 30, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. at MLS. Because this is a playoff game, MHSAA regulations do not allow us to livestream the game. It will be broadcast via our Cardinal Casts site one hour after the conclusion of the game. In order to access this broadcast you will need to enter the password MLS on the Cube log-in page. 

Let's all cheer our Cardinals football team on to victory!

Go Cardinals!

MLS basketball -- playoffs vs. Millington

If this had been the NCAA tournament, we would have been at the Sweet Sixteen.  But in the state playoffs, it is the Regional Championship, held at Reese High School in Reese, MI.

MLS was hoping to avenge their loss to Millington earlier in the year, but eleven 3-pointers by Millington were too much to overcome.  MLS ended their season with a 70-61 loss to Millington.

Unfortunately, we were not able to get to the game because we had Lenten Vespers at Good Shepherd.  We are left with a recap by M-Live which can be found here.  TV coverage can also be found here.  The MLS-Millington contest is the 1st feature, though it features Millington more than MLS.

And of course, even if I wanted to defy the MHSAA's instructions to not post photos from the game online, I couldn't.  We weren't there.  But I imagine the game may have looked like this:



Great season, MLS Cardinals!  I hope you are proud.  We are.

MLS basketball -- playoffs vs. Ithaca

Last night (March 16), Michigan Lutheran Seminary traveled to Reese High School for the first round of regional playoffs.  We played a familiar foe, Ithaca.  We had split the season with them in conference, each team winning on the road.  So, both teams knew what to expect this game--although it is my understanding that Ithaca lost one of their better scorers when he broke his collar bone in a football drill.

Anyway, the game started with Ithaca hitting pretty much every shot they put up.  MLS was down 19-10 at one point.  But they clawed back, and a strong 2nd quarter put MLS ahead to stay.

If you want to read more about the game, an M-Live article can be found here.  News coverage can be seen here.   MLS is the 4th game featured.

And since the MHSAA has said that it is forbidden to post photos of the game, here is are photos of Andrew before and after the game.

Nate Lindloff, Andrew Schroeder, and Casey Williams, shown here, combined for 52 points against Ithaca.

MLS Basketball -- District Champs

The Michigan Lutheran Seminary Cardinals faced off against the cross-town rivals, Valley Lutheran High School Chargers, on Friday night with the district championship on the line.  MLS had beaten Valley twice this season, but I don't think anyone was anticipating a blow out.  Nor did we get one.

Valley Lutheran played a tough game, exchanging baskets with MLS and keeping the game tight throughout.  MLS had  41-35 lead with about 6 minutes left.  All of a sudden, there was about 0:47 left, and the score was reading 43-42, MLS holding on desperately to a one point lead.  Some good defense, a breakaway lay-up, and (FINALLY!) making a couple of free throws helped seal the game at 47-42.  The MLS Cardinals are district champs!!!

The next game is against conference co-champs, Ithaca.  MLS split their games with Ithaca this year, so we expect it to be a pretty tight game.  It is tonight (March 16, 5:50 PM) at Reese High School in Reese, MI.  If MLS should win tonight, they will likely go on to play Millington, the only other team MLS lost to this season.  So, this week promises to be exciting and, I hope, quite joyful.  Regardless, I think that we have several quality teams vying for the Regional Championship.  Go Cardinals (not you, Millington)!

A couple of recaps from Friday night's game vs. Valley Lutheran can be found at M-Live here and here.  You should even be able to find new coverage from Flint, Channel 5 here.  MLS is the second game in the broadcast.

Now, some photos from the mezzanine at MLS (not a bad view, except the barrier across the mezzanine made some photos challenging to get).

UPDATE:  I learned that I am not supposed to have photos from the game posted on the internet, so I have dutifully removed the game photos.  If you want to see them, come by the house.

MLS Cardinals -- District Champs!

Family photo after the game.  It was nice to have the whole crew there
before Faith, Nathanael, and Charli headed back to college!

MLS football vs. Ishpeming

Michigan Lutheran Seminary played against Ishpeming in the state semi-finals on Friday, November 22.  We traveled to the neutral site (6 hours for MLS, 15 minutes for Ishpeming) of the Superior Dome in Marquette, MI.  MLS came up short, 22-18, against the two-time reigning state champ Hematites of Ishpeming.

It has been a few days since the game, so I can be a bit more detached while I write about it--though to be honest, I still can't help but pick things apart and play the "what if" game as well as anyone else.  But I will try to highlight a few reflective thoughts about the game.

1)  Each team scored three TD's.  Ishpeming scored on 2 of 3 PAT attempts; MLS missed all of their PAT attempts.

2)  Ishpeming executed their offense exceptionally well.  They did little that surprised MLS, but MLS was still unable to stop them.

3)  It is not as fun to say "Ishpeming" as it once was.

4)  The Superior Dome was hot and loud.

5)  Andrew and Casey Williams combined for over 250 yards receiving and 3 TD's.

6)  It is very hard to take photos of a game and to watch it at the same time.  I took some wonderful shots of the roof of the Superior Dome.  There was fascinating action going on below those photos.

7)  Rethinking the game, replaying some of the plays, and second guessing what happened has still not produced a single additional point to the final score.

8)  Players who worked so hard and had such lofty (and in my opinion, reasonably so) goals need not feel any shame when they cry after the game.  It hurts because it matters that much; and they got this far because it matters this much.  At this point in the season, only one team is going to end their season happy.  The other teams may leave the field sad or dejected, but they should also leave the field proud.  The MLS team accomplished great things this year.  We are all proud of them, and we wish they could have gotten to Ford Field this weekend.

9)  My own high school football career was pretty sad, experiencing victory only 4 times in three years on varsity (and three of those in just one season!).  Even if I had experienced success, I still think I would have enjoyed watching my own children's success more than having success myself.

10)  Dang, I wish we had punched in one more score after Ishpeming's failed punt attempt.  What if.........

 The Superior Dome at Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI.

Laura and Nathanael enjoy a moment of optimism before the game begins. 

 Andrew hauls in the catch and runs for a long gain.  Andrew later caught MLS' first TD.

This was a 2 point conversion attempt.  

#12 from Ishpeming put on a good hit as soon as the ball got there and jarred it loose. 

Andrew caught another late in the game on MLS' last drive.  

Casey later got the TD, but the on-side kick attempt failed and time ran out.