Photo by Bruce Ruckel, www.ChaparralPhotos.com

The Lobo mascot leads his pack of Lehman fans, including his young follower, in cheer at last Friday’s football game. (Photo by LIncoln Ramirez)

by MARK CAUL

During the course of the three decades that I’ve been watching movies – no matter how utterly inferior they may be compared to the villains, the “underdogs” or “good guys” almost always triumph when everything is said and done because everybody loves a happy ending.

The only exceptions to the rule that come immediately to mind are – “Rocky” and the original “The Bad News Bears.” Rocky lost to Apollo Creed in a close 15-round decision and the Bears lost to their nemesis the Yankees 7-6 with their best player getting gunned down at the plate for the final out of the championship game.

Nonetheless, most of you probably still exited the theatre with a smile because you appreciated the journey it took for those main characters to get there so it felt like they were still winners even though the outcomes belied that fact.

But there have been instances where the best teams on paper have suffered stunning losses although they may have been heavy favorites to win – the 1983 University of Houston Cougars basketball team quickly comes to mind.

Who would have EVER thought that an NC State squad with 11 losses who finished fourth in their conference could even stay on the court with the high flying, rim-rattling “Phi Slama Jama” Cougars?

But they did. Because they ignored all the negative talk and bravado coming from the media about how they had no shot and it motivated them. Heck, those guys pulled off one of the biggest upsets in sports history because of it.

Coincidentally enough, it sort of reminds me of what’s at stake this Friday night at Shelton Stadium. Hays will come into the game as the heavy favorites to win and rightfully so.

But as a very wise local high school coach once told me, these are high school kids so you really don’t know what to expect from them game to game.

I’ll say this and it may sound repetitive, but every player on this Lehman team has a look in their eye of hunger and determination that I don’t think the previous Lobo teams possessed.

They may not say it in the paper or to the media but they have every right to be confident against this particular Hays team because they’ve actually beaten them as sophomores during last year’s junior varsity game and only lost to the Rebels by two points as freshmen.

To win Friday night against Hays for the first time ever, the Lobos must shore up the breakdowns that they’ve had on special teams this season.

Also, Lehman’s defense has been tremendous against the run this year and will have to make sure they keep Torrance Smith, Tony Garza, Michael Romero and the rest of the Hays backs in check.

With junior tailbacks Levi Medley and Charles Williams and a plethora of talented receivers (Harvest Trammell, Peter Gutierrez and Jaylon Hardaway) at their disposal, the Lobos must get off to a good start offensively and keep the Hays defense on their heels.

But the most important thing the Lobos will have to do is BELIEVE. Forget about what everybody on the streets is saying, forget about what some people in the media will say and don’t continue to be intimidated by the Hays tradition.

If you’ll remember in the last scene in the Bad News Bears, reserve right fielder Timmy Lupus rebukes the favorite Yankees’ apology after losing the championship game and shouts a line that has been trumpeted by athletic teams every since – “Just wait till next year!”

But I think this junior-laden Lehman squad has the team to get it done THIS year.

All it takes is four quarters of good football and anything can happen.

Just ask NC State.