Part of Chad McGhee feels bad for the kids on a Paint Creek Pirates football team that got 45-ruled by the mighty Knox City Greyhounds on the first play of the third quarter Friday night. This is likely because Chad is riding the joylightning of a 46-0 victory which clinched a playoff berth for the Knox City boys.
"It feels great. At least one of the players is already getting butterflies. He was asking if it's OK to be nervous, and he's doing this on a Monday!" Chad shared. "It shows that you care. It shows that you want to win."
But there's another part of Chad McGhee that does not feel bad for the Pirates, this because of shoddy conditions that bordered on offensive to treat Greyhounds in such a manner.
"Poorly lit field. Stands falling apart. They basically had an outhouse, a barn-type thing for the Greyhounds. The Greyhounds got dressed in that? I couldn't believe it," he gasped. "The mayor of Paint Creek needs to git up off his damn ass and plant some grass on that field."
Chad's right. Playoff teams do deserve better treatment, even if they're 5-5 heading into battle against the 10-0 Zephyr Bulldogs. That might be daunting to some, but not Chad, who has foreseen a rematch down the line with Throckmorton, who just beat them a week ago.
"I truly believe that. I'm just getting that signal that we will meet again and we will be able to beat them," Chad noted.
If he's worried about anything, it's that some Greyhounds have been getting unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties for an inability to stop being so damn yappy.
"What they gotta remember is to shut your damn mouth. I'm sick and tired of seeing those big yellow flags going up in the air. A lot of people want to blame the referees, but if you're trash talking, talking bunk or whatever, that's not allowed on the field. They'll get you every time."
Real talk.
Anyway, here are the rest of the playoff pairings and if someone cares to explain how Bowie Gold-Burg can get in with a 3-7 record, please do so. Also, it doesn't look like Chad's vision could come to fruition for at least three weeks, in the championship game:
Region III
Throckmorton (9-0) vs. May (7-3), 7:30 p.m. Friday, May
Irving Universal Academy vs. Avalon, 7 p.m. Thursday, Grandview
Walnut Springs vs. Bowie Gold-Burg (3-7), 7:30 p.m. Friday, Azle
Zephyr (10-0) vs. Knox City (5-5), 7:30 p.m. Friday, Trent