Last week was a roller coaster of ups and downs for me and quite a few others, I expect. The fun and excitement of Halloween led to the anticipation of a possible district championship for the Bulldogs, and there was hope for my Aggies as well, but come Sunday morning, it was ho-hum feelings for me. 

The Smiths and Stewarts carpooled to Tolar for our inaugural trip with the Rattlers as a member of our district. Zack and Sarah had been dealing with some family medical issues with their daughter, so we dragged them along to watch the game to get them out and about. 

Holly found a nice little place for us to stop before the game, and we'll have to go back some other time when we're forced to return to Tolar. And I do mean 'forced' because that's the only way I'll go back. 

We enjoyed dinner in Granbury on their charming square and got to the game a few minutes late because we ordered dessert. 

We showed our press credentials, and I walked down to the field as I always have and started on the home team's sideline because that was the closest place for me to start getting photos. It's something I have done pretty much at every game. At most games, at some point, I position myself across the field from our coaches and team simply to give me the chance to have our coaches and players in the background of my photos. 

I could sense that there was tension in the air from the moment I got out on the field. On the Tolar sidelines, the coaches were yelling and crying foul on some alleged actions by Brady players, and the home stands were echoing similar sentiments. 

Within 30 seconds of arriving on the sideline, a man who identified himself as the Tolar Supt. addressed me and asked me who I was. I produced my media credentials and told him I was with the Brady Standard-Herald. 

I attempted to make some small talk with the Supt. and asked him about their player wearing #40 as he had just steamrolled through Brady's defense on his way to a touchdown. 

And then it happened—the Supt. asked me to leave the Tolar sideline and move to the Brady side of the field. His reasoning? "It's best to keep things separate."

I'm not one conditioned to be snarky or do anything more than be a rule follower. I'm sure if I had been filmed, you would have seen the dumbfounded look on my face as I stammered to reply to said command. 

Not one to try and ruffle feathers, I simply replied to the Supt. with the statement that in 25 years of covering high school football has anyone ever asked me to leave their sideline—visitor or home team. 

The more I watched the game, the more I became annoyed with the Supt., the Tolar coaches, and most of all, the Tolar players. I watched the Tolar Supt. march back and forth on their sideline, playing monitor for the stadium. As it turns out, I wasn't the only one with a negative encounter with said Supt. I heard about another parent encounter in dealing with her student. He even ramped it up and ejected the parent of a Brady player and made it a spectacle. 

I'm not arguing that situation because if you sound off to the officials, you're taking such a risk. I learned a long time ago that those who wear the black and white stripes can—and should—control what happens on the field and in the stadium. The problem comes when those officials have a chip on their shoulders and want to prove a point to the coaches, players, and even the fans. 

I had a San Antonio area referee one time threaten to throw me out of a game in Fredericksburg because a player ran by me and kicked my monopod. That was just after their association had been sued for an injury on the sideline, so I assume that was the underlying reason. Coach Glen Jones went to bat for me and soothed the situation, but I was steamed then and wanted to challenge said referee. 

But anyone who was in the stadium in Tolar last Friday could tell things were not unbiased in any way, shape, or form, but it's the accepted behavior that got under my skin the most.

It's been a long time since I've had a high school football game experience ruined to the point where I felt like walking out. The longer I was around, and the more I witnessed the cocky actions of the Tolar players, the more I wanted to be on the road home. And I won't lie, I did consider making an effort to address the Supt. after the game, but I chose otherwise. I haven't yet ruled out a letter to the editor to the Hood County News.  

I'm not sure why that Supt. felt the need to kick me off their sideline. I'm not sure why the Tolar players chose to act the way they did, but I do know they only do what their coaches allow them. 

I'm certain there were things said on the field from both sides that ramped up the tension that was in the stadium. In visiting with my nephew on Monday night, he gave me some insight as a player, and it's sad to hear that racial slurs were being flung about by Tolar players directed at members of our team. I didn't personally hear the words said, but I did observe boastful, cocky actions by the Tolar players. 

I was disappointed in the whole situation. 

I asked our athletic director while standing on the sideline, and he told me that the referees had told him they were going to "stay out of it" and let things go until they went too far.

That baffled me. If you know a situation is tense, why allow it to become more tense and even more unstable like happened in short order on the field in Tolar? 

For the most part, I approve of how the Bulldogs responded to everything. I appreciate the coaches keeping their thumb on things and, most especially for them telling the Brady players to keep their mouths shut. I heard those words with my own ears. 

I couldn't get out of the stadium quick enough, and to be honest—I don't look forward to any more games against them. Tolar has taken over the top spot of my "least favorite places to go." I'll add them to Lago Vista and Comfort as "places to avoid.” What a shame. 

To our Brady players, coaches and fans, let's learn from others and set the better example of how to welcome our guests when Clifton comes to town this Friday. Let's send them home with a good feeling about Brady, so they'll know that we are the True Heart of Texas.—JS