Badgers Bounce Back With Thrilling 3-3 Draw With SAFC

If one opened up the oven – mid-bake – while a plate of Luke’s Grandmother’s biscuits were reaching their golden brown zenith, it would only be 10 degrees warmer than the searing atmosphere surrounding the Onion Creek fields yesterday at 2pm. Brutal.

To combat the oppressive heat, Cameron Road unveiled a new 3 tent system, 2/3 of which was provided by Jake and Bret who were making their first appearances this season. Big Dave was also a welcome addition to he season as he arrived for his first action of the Fall.

SAFC looked an awful lot like Bat City. They were big, fast, and full of deep runs – something the Honey Badgers had to adjust to in the early going as SAFC used their speed to get behind everyone and create some scoring chances. Big Dave, Jefe, Chris G and Bret were up to the early task, but they were being put under pressure in the early going.

Ol’Schwarzy was getting a lot of time on the ball early on, but too much of it was in the Honey Badger half. In typical Honey Badger fashion, the boys in white were down two early goals within the first 20 minutes and were in danger of getting taking behind the woodshed.

But this isn’t the Premier League, and these aren’t last year’s Honey Badgers. The comeback was on!

First up, Ryan and Derek got in deep and played a one-two which saw Willis blast a long-range shot off the corner of the crossbar. A powerful shot from those little chicken legs.

Later on, Schwarzy kept alive a solid run down the right and sent in a cross for Adam at the far post to keep alive. After about 12 bounces off various players, Gigi’s shots just didn’t find the net after a tremendous amount of effort. Speaking of Gigi, were those two bicycle kicks spotted on separate occasions!?

As the half was coming to a close, the Honey Badgers really needed a goal to get back in to the game. Finally, Gigi found his mark. With more scrappy play in front of the goal and his family, Gianluca poked home a close-range goal to whiteclaw the Honey Badgers back into the game with some momentum at the half.

In addition to massive amounts of shade, flavorful oranges, and several badger cubs, Cameron Road received another surprise as a bucket was seen over the horizon. BT and his little Dallas Cowboy had arrived to relieve some weary legs and give the team a boost.

Like many Honey Badgers, BT split his time between several spots on the pitch. The Brians started off the half in the center, trying to get some more control on the ball.

About midway through the half, Cameron Road sent in the big fella, Jake, to wreak some havoc inside the box, and he did just that, winning a penalty as he was chopped down by the feisty keeper. Schwarz stepped up and absolutely buried it into the upper right of the goal, giving the keeper no chance.

2-2 and the Honey Badgers were coming on strong.

The game was still back and forth, and SAFC were still making deep runs like crazy, but the defense was soaking up the pressure. Jefe was making clearances and Bret saved a goal as he fought to get a great position on the back line. It was turning into a really good, thrilling Over 30A affair.

At the other end, Cameron Road was sending in crosses and winning free kicks as Peterson found himself getting taken down just outside the box a few times. One free kick saw Derek’s ball knocked back into the box by the Bald Dome of Power, but the crowded box ejected the ball before the Honey Badgers could score.

And just to make things more dramatic, SAFC popped up to take the lead with a bit of a trashy goal as time was getting short.

With comeback mode fully engaged, Cameron Road pressed hard. Working the ball deep into the enemy’s box, the Honey Badgers found their tying goal, which turned out to be 80% Willis, 10% Chappy, and 10% wolf hair. Willis “did a bunch of cool shit with his feet” inside the box, making the ball go around defenders, and as he spun with his back towards the goal, the ball fell to Chappy standing in the center of the box. Basically at a stand still, Chappy right footed the ball into the far corner, past the keeper, as Ryan continued his mazy celebration run. Chalk one up for the old guys.

With 7ish minutes to go, Cameron Road still had some defensive work to do as SAFC was coming for the winner. They got a little lucky as they played for an obvious offside on the last SAFC attack of the game and the the ball narrowly fizzed past goal, but without a second linesman patroling the sideline, no flag was risen.

3-3 at the whistle and a great game of soccer all around!

Man-of-the-Match: Back for his first action, and battling a first half knock on his shin, Bret played a helluva game at the back saving a goal, playing solid D all day, and moving the ball forward. Guess those sunny days at Schlitterbahn paid off.