Okay, Brookville Bees you got what you wished for and even more importantly what you worked for all year. You are playing the state championship game and there aren’t any more games left. If your goal was to return to the state championship fine, but if you want more then you need to play together and be ONE one more time. Never let your brother down, never let yourself down, and if you do go harder next time. If he lets you down pick him up and look him in the eye and tell him you need him to go harder and you will go harder until no time is left. You will never be together in this kind of situation again. Later in life you will be part of greater events but right now this is IT. For some, you will never ever put on a football helmet again and that will be sad. How will you remember your effort? Only you will know for sure whether you felt sorry for yourself or gave it everything you had. Everyone and I mean everyone connected with Brookville High School will be there on Worsham Field either in body or in HEART. Former players, coaches, students, parents, cheerleaders, community people, teachers, anybody who ever worked at Brookville High School, anyone connected in any way, shape or form, or had family go there will be aching for you to win this game. I know there are people who loved Brookville and are in a better place than us will be looking down from Heaven and cheering for the Bees. I have heard from Bees from Maine to Florida and Virginia to California and they will all be on the internet scrambling to get updates on THEIR Bees. You will have those who are too sick or old to be here but their love for the Bees will be on the field. Here’s the thing- None of us can tackle, run, hit, catch, pass, or block. We can hope for you but you control your own destiny. It is a simple game- eleven players on each side of the ball. kick-offs, punts, passes, running, tackling, 4 quarters, etc. The rules are simple and the game itself is simple. How many times when you were a little kid did you throw the football in the air to yourself and catch it to win the championship? You would run holding the ball and making everyone miss. Those were little boys’ dreams and now you no longer need to pretend. The winner will be those who can focus and block out everything else. You must play the game and nothing else matters. There will newspaper articles, tv interviews, hot words back and forth on the internet, and none of these things mean anything! The only thing that matters is what You do when the first football flies through the air to when the official blows the final whistle---Nothing before and nothing after matters. 48 MINUTES of playing this great game called football. 48 Minutes of being with your brothers. 48 Minutes of playing in front of friends and family, 48 minutes that you will NEVER be able to live again! How will you use those 48 MINUTES? You’ve already shown you are mentally tough. You’ve come from behind. You’ve found a way to win several times. You’ve been able to pick each other up when your teammate is down and become brothers on the field. All those great things you have done mean nothing on Saturday unless you continue to do the same and more. You are not by yourself. The last letter I wrote you I mentioned the chain you carry on the field and what it meant and I mentioned the greater strength of the human chain of the Brotherhood of the Bee. I talked of all the players who had given so much before and what that meant. Yesterday I went to Heritage and scooped some dirt from that ground. Many years ago that was Brookville HS and the very first players played on that field. They played hard, sweat, and bled on the field and were proud to wear that uniform. The very first captain of that team will be here on Saturday to cheer you on to victory. I also got some dirt from the old Stinger Stadium where many a great game was played and those men also sweat, bled, played with heart and were proud to be Bees. My last visit was to your field where you have also sweat, bled, played hard, and were proud to be Bees, and got dirt from there and mixed it with the others. I went to LU this morning and poured that great mix of dirt that holds the spirit of those before and with you now on the stadium turf and by Saturday the rich Bee soil will take over the field and become OURS. Alexander the Great, considered the greatest general of all time, once said, “Remember, upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all.” Go Bees!! Take what is yours!!!!

What a run! But it’s not over or is it? You decide if the run ends or you move on.. You play the ultimate team sport. Nothing can be accomplished unless 11 people work, believe, sweat, cry, and laugh as one. You carry a chain onto the field for every game and hang it on the goal post during your warm-up. What does it really mean? The steel chain is the essence of what TEAM is about. A team is only as strong as it’s weakest link, but this is where the human element comes in because a weak link has no brother and it will break. You have each other and each of you can give the extra you have to make your brother stronger. YOU can pick him up and go harder than you ever have. When a teammate is down or has made a critical mistake, give him some of your strength and he, in turn, can get you up when you feel weak. The steel chain has no heart, no love, no desire-the TEAM together has all those and more. Tunstall is coming here to beat you. They don’t care how many games you’ve won; they don’t care what kind of great tradition we have at Brookville; they are coming to whip you. Sure, you have worked hard, but so have they. You’ve got great coaches, but they do too. Our community wants to win, but so does theirs. So what is going to make the difference? The answer is your HEART. Winners always find a way to win. They never even think they will lose no matter what has happened, as long as there is time on the clock. They dig deeper, they go harder, they reach into their inner soul to WIN. Losers always find a way to lose. Even when things are going well, in the back of their minds, they are waiting for the hammer to fall and take away victory. And this is where the Brookville tradition comes in--All the great players, the great coaches, the spirit of Brookville, and our PRIDE is what will make us and you-CHAMPIONS. Finding a way to WIN is in the blood, pulse, and heart of Brookville. It is there and for you to use and pass on to your brothers. It started the first year of the Seminole District in 1970 season, when they found something special and tied for the district championship. Nobody thought they had a chance. That Brookville spirit has continued to grow and thrive in our community. I know Coach Woody has it because I saw and heard it in him when he was a senior. His jr. year, the team was not one of our better ones and probably didn’t reach their potential. Opening game, half -way through the first quarter, we are losing 22-0 against a really good team. Woody, the player, got the team together and said this wasn’t going to be like last year, he challenged anyone who wasn’t willing to give his all to go ahead and pick up his helmet and go to the locker room, he knew that anyone who stayed better be willing to give everything. Final score- Brookville 26 and Western Albemarle 22. The things that make Brookville special have always been there and the Brotherhood of the Bee is stronger than any steel chain man can create. Go Bees and take what is yours.