Tuesday, Nov. 16
November 16, 2010
Neighbors angered over blight
November 18, 2010
Terrebonne senior quarterback Mike Williams dropped back to pass one play after another on Friday night, despite having an injured groin.
With each stride the 6-foot-4-inch quarterback took, he visibly winced in pain. With each time he planted his feet and set to throw the football, he said his eyes watered and blood rushed to his face.
When not on the field, Williams limped gingerly around the sidelines or lied on the ground to stretch and to keep weight off the injured muscle.
Some wondered if the quarterback would finish the next play, the next quarter or the remainder of the game.
But despite the concerns, he propped himself up after each play and hit and told himself, “Just get back to the huddle, Mike, just get back to the huddle.”
Once there, he’d be good for one more play.
That’s because he’d look to his left and see senior offensive linemen Ryan Billiot and Hunter Breaux, who have protected the quarterback through thick and thin each of the past three seasons. Williams would then look in front of him and see his halfback, senior Taylor O’Brien, who has razzled and dazzled opponents all year with his speed to take pressure off the quarterback.
Then lastly he looked into the eyes of someone of his own blood n his little brother, sophomore Justin Williams, who was eagerly staring back at his role model and quarterback.
Just get into the huddle and see those faces and there would be no way Williams would leave the game.
“We’re one big family,” Williams said pointing to his teammates. “I can’t let my team down just because I’m having one little nagging injury. If I can’t play, then I won’t play, but if it’s something that’s small, then I have to do it for my family.”
Williams did his family proud Friday night, playing every offensive play but one through the pain, leading Terrebonne to a come-from-behind 28-27 first-round win against Mandeville.
“He just played like a leader,” Terrebonne coach Gary Hill said. “He played like a leader, he just kept things going.”
The win took a monkey off the backs of the Terrebonne senior class. The Tigers had been to the playoffs in each of the previous two seasons, losing in the first round each time.
This time, the scoreboard was on their side when the clock read triple-zero’s and Hill was soaked in a Gatorade bath he received from his team.
“It’s not cold when you’re winning,” Hill said with a laugh. “It’s not cold at this moment.”
The coach wrapped his arms around as many of his players as he could after the game, telling them how proud he was of the strides they have made this season.
“The goal was let’s not just have a home game, let’s win playoff games this year,” Hill said. “Two years in a row, going one-and-out with that group of sophomores, then again as juniors, they’ve worked hard. They’ve done everything we’ve ever asked them to do. Of course, they’re kids, so you have your moments, but I can’t ask them to do any more than what they’ve done for us this year. Those kids should really be proud of themselves.”
Terrebonne is not done yet.
The Tigers will travel to New Orleans to play No. 5 seed Jesuit Friday night at Tad Gormley Stadium.
The Blue Jays beat Sulphur 37-13 in the opening round of the playoffs to earn their matchup with Terrebonne.
Beating Jesuit will be no easy chore, but one thing is clear n just winning one playoff game is not the way Terrebonne wants to end its season.
“It’s good to get the first one, but it isn’t over yet,” Williams said with a smile.
Hill said he wasn’t surprised Williams and his team would think that way n because that’s the maturity he said they’ve shown all season.
“That’s what they’ve been saying all year,” Hill said. “When we beat Thibodaux, they said, ‘Hey, it’s not over yet, we’ve got to win district, we’ve got to keep doing what we’ve got to do.’ When we beat somebody else it would be, ‘Hey, it’s not over yet.’ When we beat South Terrebonne and clinched district, ‘Hey, it’s not over yet, we’ve got to get a home playoff game.’ When we beat Bourgeois and we found out we had a home playoff game, it was, ‘Hey, it’s not over yet, we’ve got to win. We’ve got to advance.’ They just don’t want it to end. No one wants it to end.”
Williams surely didn’t “want it to end,” on Friday, and he and the Tigers live to play another day because of it.
Terrebonne quarterback Mike Williams lies on the sidelines in pain, trying to keep weight off his injured groin. Despite the injury, the quarterback continued to play, leading the Tigers to a one-point playoff win. CASEY GISCLAIR n TRI-PARISH TIMES
