It was one of those 4th down and 60 kind of nights for me. You know, when a team is staring at a nearly impossible task with all of the odds against them. That’s kind of how my night went covering Hutto v. Connally on Friday for the Statesman.
Hutto was at home and they knew going in that they weren’t likely to win, but they were hoping for a close game. They had no idea they’d get trounced by Connally 58-24.
Hutto is a small town, like many of the places I go to cover high school football, and I was warned ahead of time to get there early and bring cash for parking. (Most schools don’t make media pay for parking, and some even have designated areas for media, knowing that we have heavy equipment to haul in and out.) I paid my $5 to park and they brought over a golf cart to help me with my gear, which made up for the fee.
1st Down – I got up to the small press box and found a designated spot for the Statesman. Only one spot. The box was getting full and I realized reporter Rick Cantu and I would have to share a spot. An inconvenience, but nothing we haven’t dealt with before.
2nd Down – It was time to shoot, so I gathered my gear and headed down stairs to get a couple shots of the teams entering the field. Except I couldn’t get to the field. The access area was closed until the team arrived on the turf. I couldn’t get on the field and an annoyed mob waited next to me behind a plastic chain that blocked them from the restrooms.
They finally let the plastic chains down and I was able to get on the field (and everyone else could get to the restrooms) after the team had gone through their pre-game ritual. I passed Rick, who was prevented from getting to the press box in the same ordeal.
When I passed through the gate, my access was questioned again because I didn’t have a laminated field pass. I explained that I was with the Statesman and that I cover a different game every week, so I don’t usually get a laminated field pass. That was cleared up fairly quickly, but then it happened yet again on the sideline before the game started.
I was frustrated before the first whistle was blown. The first quarter was closer than expected and I was getting some decent action, despite having to start my ISO at 6400. (For you fellow camera geeks, I was shooting on a D700 with a 200-400mm f4 lens. My secondary camera – D300 – wasn’t used because of low light.)
3rd Down – I made my way over to the visitor’s side where the lights seemed to be a bit brighter, and after a while I noticed that the home side lights were going out one by one throughout the first half. By half time there were only 16 of the 48 bulbs still burning. I was at ISO H2.0 with the worst grain I think I’ve ever had on my pictures.
Also, the refs kept stopping the game because the clock was malfunctioning, leading to an almost 2 hour first half.
4th Down – At half time I was ready to edit and get out of there. Of course, Photoshop crashed twice before I finished, but that was just the night I was having.
In a 4th and 60 situation, somehow I managed to squeeze some images out of the night, even if they were dark and grainy. Just like most football teams in this position – it wasn’t pretty, but whatever takes us to the goal line will work.
To be fair to Hutto, most of the people I encountered were pleasant, and I understand that they need to take security measures to protect their students and fans. As far as the lights and the scoreboard go, I know Hutto high school would be more than willing to take a donation check of any amount to go towards the improvement of their stadium.
Also, possibly the most tragic occurrence of the night was when I learned that the hippo mascot suit had to be thrown out last season, and due to budget cuts was not replaced. There’s nothing better than a giant dancing fuzzy hippo on the sideline of a high school football game.