June 13th - Green v. White

I was able to catch the 2PM game of the TYUL U-19 division Summer League opener. It was between the White team (composed of players from Chapel Hill and west of the Triangle) coached by Brian Dobyns and the Green team (Chapel Hill) coached by Troy Revell. It was a great game, close the whole way, with each team having the lead at some point. Since I'm a spectator and it's still early in the season I don't know many names, but I'll mention a few moments/players that jumped out at me.

Team White was a bit short-staffed. They had seven players, but Green allowed them to pick up Emma Johnson from Team Navy so that they had one sub - key in the difficult summer heat. Green on the other hand had 4-5 subs and used their deep bench to great advantage, with everyone getting lots of playing time.

Both teams worked on team communication throughout the game - a necessary step in the early season. It was clear that early on players were throwing to receivers they knew from the high school season, but as the game progressed the teams started working together more as a unit.

Team White had some standout plays from the Hancock brothers who each had excellent grabs. Team Green also had their players - noticeably Jacob Hoerger anchored the Deep position in their zone defense and handled on the offensive end with Kelly Weeks. There were, of course, many big plays and players on both teams - and this observer will strive to learn their names in order to do these game write-ups more justice.

The game eventually came down to "double game point" - each team had 13, the cap was on, so the game was to 14. White was now down to seven players, after losing Mitchell Jones to injury on a big defensive bid in the endzone. But they were still hungry, and pulled to Team Green. There was at least one turn during this point, but it became clear that Green had just a bit more gas in the tank - and managed to work it into the endzone for a win in this first league outing.

Both team played well and with a lot of heart. I look forward to watching them during the upcoming season.

Also, if any coaches, parents, or players are interested in writing about the league or games - let me know. We can either post your message or possibly set you up as an author here.

See you on the field!