#RockReport Brownsburg

The Rocks lost another heart-breaker last night, falling short by another single point in a contest against the Brownsburg Bulldogs that was decided in overtime. 29-28 was the final score, in favor of the Dogs. The game was a classic back and forth battle of two talented teams trading blows in a hard fought game. Ultimately, it was the gamble by Brownsburg to attempt a two point conversion in overtime that paid off and broke the deadlock for good. Both teams gave it their all and, unfortunately for Shamrock fans, your team did not come out on top.

To lose two games by a total of two points is frustrating, to say the least. No one hurts more the next morning than the players who have poured blood, sweat, and tears onto the field over the course of the week preparing for their one shot at Friday night glory. As coaches who love these players deeply, we find ourselves in a close second as far as the pain of these losses. We have lost two games to two good teams by a combined total of two points. There is no reason to hang our heads. So long as our family bonds remain strong, we can still achieve a great many things as a team. The sky-high potential of our young men has not diminished, it has merely been challenged.

They say that football is a game of inches, and this notion has been experienced in excruciating detail by the Rocks in the last few weeks. To be so close and come away with a loss, with an undesired outcome, is an adversity that is all too common in life. However, there are also a great many sayings about failure that can be applied. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement. Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit. It is the ability to use failure that often leads to greater success. It's failure that gives success perspective.

We are a staff and a team of great faith. Adversity happens for a reason, and we continue to have faith in this team as it strives to use heart-breaking loss as a lesson, to build upon failure in order to reach ever higher. Even in the pain of loss, it is a great day to be a Shamrock.