Waterford Bowl 2010

Dew Factor: 0 or 10, depending if you count snow as dew...

After the regular November layoff, 'Wam football ended the year on Sunday, November 28th, 2010.  While Mike Balsam did not show up, Jay Tilley finally did, bringing with him a slice of the past.

Signature Phrase
We should all have one.  Who has one?  Jay Tilley.

The phrase echoed as Tilley was playing defense and the ball floated his way.  Before he intercepted the ball, he shouted, "Hey now!"  I hadn't heard the phrase in many years, but can tell you where I remember hearing it before:  Just as the pitcher wheeled to second base, picking off the runner and getting him in a rundown.  Who received the ball?  Jay Tilley, the second baseman.  Ball in mid-air, he shouted, "Hey now!"

While simple, the phrase carries layers of meaning.  On the simplest level, it means, "something good's about to happen."  On a more sophisticated level, it also means, "I'm going to MAKE something happen."

I knew that.  Christopher Burns, Tilley's co-defender, did not.

After intercepting the ball, Tilley deked right, jumped left, and flipped the ball behind his back to Burns, who simply watched it drop to the ground.  Un-schooled in Tilleyisms, he did not recognized the opportunity that was about to be afforded him.

In Memorium
Though many players have contributed to the quirky style of touch football we play at Wigwam today (most notably Bobby Strauss, and his touches of wit and humanity), the brand itself was born on the Salem Commons in the 1950s, and its progenitors were brothers Hank, Jere, and Bill Burns.  Last December, Jere Burns passed away at the age of 82.

Please note from the video clips below, that the fast count has a rich history.

Rule Changes Required
 Hank Burns, who on some of the slower 'Wam days has been genetically responsible for a full 5/8ths of the players, suffered a stroke in June.  While the recovery has been swift so far, there will be two major rule changes when Hank is rushing: 1) The rusher no longer has to count -- the quarterback does -- to 30; 2) Before each snap, the quarterback must drop a hula hoop to the ground and keep both feet in the circle until the ball is thrown.

Passing the Torch, or Toe...

Tilley, you dink.

Dew Factor: 1.0
Moisture Factor: 8.0 (morning rain)

If anyone was surprised that Jay Tilley didn't show up when he said he would, well -- shame on you. In fact, shame on all 11 of you who believed Tilley to be most likely to show up in last week's poll.

The gauntlet had been thrown down in the preceeding blog: "Tilley, who has a long standing reputation as a dink only has one week to uphold that distinction."  To his credit, Tilley orchestrated an operation that clearly designated him as the dink to beat.

While everyone expected Tilley to prove his worthiness (or lack thereof) by showing up and throwing around the usual "Tillyisms" (e.g., "catch-it, drop-it, catch-it, drop-it" as the ball descended towards a receiver) he instead proved, once again, why he's the master: he simply left us hanging.

Tilley, you dink.

Hunter LaBossiere coming out party
Father and son connected on not two, but three touchdowns:  two passing and one on a Steve LaBossiere interception of a Hunter LaBossiere defended tip (see video below).

 LaBossiere tip to LaBassiere


Hunter Receives the Square Toe Award:


The tale of two huddles:
1993


2010



The Participants:

Missing: Hank Burns -- in transit to a play in Brunswick

Other Pics:

Toby Heath makes one of several catches during a triumphant return to the 'Wam

Ted Tibbetts delivers a rare pass from the pocket

Typical defensive huddle

This huddle breaks the new "Tallest-to-Shortest" rule

Five-person huddle, only two families

A sore Jay Burns (achilles tendon) prowls the defensive backfiel

Fathers' Day?

Dew Factor: 1.5

One of the many beautiful things about  football at the 'Wam is the multi-generational experience:

Take Sunday, for example:  There was patriarch Hank Burns playing along side both his sons and his grandsons.  Then there's Bobby Strauss (missing from photo & disappointed at wimpy rule changes) whose son Jesse was a mid-2000's star (when he could get out of bed).  Add to that Steve LaBossiere with sons Carter and Hunter; Ted Tibbetts whose son Gawain has played for several weeks; Chris Easton who, through his son Aaron and himself,  has supplied 13 feet of Easton to the 'Wam; and Drigotas⁴  who could pile out of a van supplying two ends and two halfbacks virtually eliminating the need for a short-field setup.

But the true spirit of "the fatherhood of 'Wam" may be best exemplified by Mark Soehren, who not only plays with sons Atticus and Eli, but also lets them perform crucial roles within the Poland Knights football program, which Soehren coaches.

As seen above, Soehren is holding a football.  As can be seen in the lettering on the football (left), it is a Poland Regional High School football ("PRHS" -- the "HS" is obscured).  A closer look shows that this is clearly child's writing.  Only a father-of-the-year would let a child have the important task of marking balls to make sure opposing teams don't steal them.  Hat's off to Mark Soerhen for letting his children protect both the honor and budget of the Poland Knights.

Still Missing -- Not Impressed
Hat's NOT off to the two remaining MIA's for 'Wam 2010 -- Jay Tilley and Matt Corbett.  Tilley, who has a long standing reputation as a dink only has one week to uphold that distinction.  Corbett, well, who knows.  The only way to get an email response from him is when you receive the automated "out-of-office-won't-be-back-until-whenever" reply when he's on vacation...maybe he'll show up on Thanksgiving when Ivan makes an appearance.

Hank Burns gets the Square Toe Award:

Where the Hell is Everyone?

Dew Factor: 4.5

In an otherwise wonderful day, the 'Wam faithful were left wondering, "where is everyone" playing a game one short of the ideal 6-on-6.

Missing were Jon, Bill, Chris Gordon, the Soehren family (apparently "out of state"), the Hill family and, yet to show up this year, the LaBossier family.

Additionally, here's who we haven't even seen this year: Jay Tilley, Matt Corbett,  and Kris Wright.

Despite the distraction of the holdouts, Ted Burns (the square-toe winner) had an excellent game with several catches including a David Tyree catch holding the ball against his head.

Also having great games were first-timer Ian Lejonhud (whose father Dana snapped for then-kicker Brewster Burns in 1979) and Gawain Tibbetts.

Here's who did show up:

 

Player of the game, Teddy Burns:

10 On 10-10-10

Dew Factor: 10.10

Showing unprecedented support for the belief that random numbers mean something in the world of man-made arbitrary numbering systems, 10 players showed up on October 10th, '10.

Although it took a while to recognize the significance, and even longer to learn to ignore that it was actually 10-10-2010 instead of the nicely packaged 10-10-10, the 'Wam 10 had a ceremonial 10-count at 10:10 AM.  The play, dubbed 10-10-10-10-10, was run against a 10-10-10-10-10 defense, with 9 sitting out at every layer.  (For those of you counting, that's 10-10-10-10-10 against a 10-10-10-10-10 at 10:10 on 10-10-10.)

The pass was incomplete and the game continued into oblivion.

Notably missing was Chris Easton, whose contract stalled after asking to $10.10 to show up. 

The 'Wam 10:

 

Co-players of the game:

No More Pouting

Dew Factor 8.75

Mark Soehren strode tiumphantly over Mutiny Brook Bridge proclaiming, "I'm done pouting," referring to the difficult season he's had at the helm of the winless Poland Knights football team.

To understand how far Soehren had to come, one needs only look at how he spent his Saturday night.

The Knights squared off against the Lake Region Lakers in a game that would hand the victor its first win of the season.  Down at the half, Soehren attempted to rouse his players with a speech described by Ted Tibbetts as the loudest yelling he's ever heard from Soehren since they met 9 years ago.  The Knights ended up on the short end of the stick, losing 24-0.

The loss may not have been the low point:  Just after half, in an event unrelated to Soehren's half-time rant, Soehren's 9-year-old son Atticus was curled up in a ball under the bench with blood covering half his face after a tooth-to-the-head collision in a little kids' game that was played nearby.

Soehren's other son, who had been told not to bother Soehren during the game "unless there's blood," got his dad's attention, telling him, "Atticus is bleeding."

Welcome back Mark.

Following the introduction of Jon to 'Wam footbal in week 3, the 'Wam also welcomed newcomer Bill.  Again, newcomers only get a last name after a full season.

The addition of Bill brought the total of actual football players to three (Tibbetts, Bill and Soehren), which made some huddles in need of an interpreter to help 'Wam veterans with terms like "dig," "flag" and "spy."   The 'Wam vets retaliated by calling archaic rush violations on Tibbetts 7 different times.  (Click the "Rules" tab to see the rush rules defined.)

The participants (minus Hank Burns and Chris Easton who left early):

Player of the game, sort of:

Minus one Chris, Plus Another...

Dew Factor: 1.5 (any moisture was due to a pre-game mist)

Chris Bryant, after a stellar week two performance, was missing, but...

Chris Easton made his 2010 debut capturing player of the game honors.  Despite missing preseason and the opening two weeks, Easton had no trouble stepping it up in his first game of the year.

While he claims to have been working out during his salary dispute, Easton's fine play might have more to do with his cleats, stolen from his son.

'Wam football also welcomes newcomer Jon (last names recognized after a full season of play), who was christened on the last play of game with a Ted Tibbett's knee to the quad.

The Participants:

 

Chris Easton Justifies Missing Weeks 1 & 2

Chris Easton Recieves Player of the Game Honors