This past weekend was a celebration of fall, family, and football. A weekend trip to Kansas was filled to the brim with all three items. My nephew, Nathan is a senior at Paola High School. His game on Friday night gave us plenty to cheer for as he ran for over 200 yards and scored two touchdowns. The town turned out for the festivities on a brisk fall evening (and the announcer made sure to give updates to the Kansas City Royals game score as the football game progressed). That winning game was followed by a second football game on Saturday. Nathan’s brother, Tanner is a senior at Ottawa University, and under a fall sky we got to enjoy his game. Not to be outdone, he also ran for over 200 yards and scored two touchdowns. I couldn’t be more proud of both of them. They have excelled at football, and at school, and I know that great things lie ahead in both of their futures. It was a special treat to be able to watch them play and enjoy all the festivities of the weekend.
Paola Panthers
Kansas high school football
This past weekend we journeyed south to Kansas. My family lives there, and the main intent of our trip was to see my nephew play football. Tanner is a senior at Paola High School and Friday, October 14th was homecoming night with a football rivalry between the Paola Panthers and the Osawatomie Trojans. It was a beautiful midwest, late-fall evening. The crowd of parents, students, and residents gathered early to enjoy tailgating and conversation. The homecoming presentations were made, stands filled with fans for both teams, the fireworks went off, the teams took the field, and the game began. Although Osawatomie scored first the tone of the game soon shifted to all Paola. By the time the full moon was rising in the east and the first half ended Paola was leading 48 to 12. The final score was Paola 62 and Osawatomie 18. I’m proud to say my nephew had 116 yards rushing and averaged over 19 yards per carry. And as Paola also won their game two nights ago they can now look forward to the playoffs. Congratulations Tanner, and go Paola!
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