what a G A M E

I've never seen this before. The tape from having his ankle wrapped melted to his leg. Melted. He was one hot kid after playing the entire football game grabbing water just on kick-off and kick-off return.

They started off the game with a tribute to Coach Holtzen and his wife- parents of the senior who died this week. They had a moment of silence and did the coin toss with the refs and captains. Tough way to start a game.
The Royals then proceeded to not only play, but dominate the entire game. They came out with the win, 28-0 against the only other D1 school here to remain undefeated. A pretty sweet victory.

Ty got a huge amount of playing time as well- out on the field with the first string for some of the first half and all of the second half. 

I get so excited to see both boys out there together. Caden does too- he's so proud of his big brothers.

After one play, the announcer said something to the effect of, "a big sack by a BIG Justin Dickey..." Something like that. Caden's face glows.

He loves his brothers.

As soon as we returned home from the game- he was in full football gear ready for his game.

That is, of course after he took the pads out of the big boys' uniforms and started their laundry.

The following is part of the article from Stars and Stripes online.

By Mark Patton

Stars and Stripes

Published: October 1, 2011

Grotelueschen, Royals' defense too much for Vilseck

Lightbox linkLightbox linkRAMSTEIN, Germany --- The Ramstein Royals served up a liberal dose of smash-mouth football for homecoming Saturday against Vilseck, clipping the wings of the previously undefeated Falcons, 28-0.

The Falcons came into Ramstein soaring high and giving up the fewest number of points in Division I DODDS-Europe play, but they couldn’t stop the steady rushing attack of Ramstein senior Jon Grotelueschen, who pounded the Vilseck defense for 253 yards on 34 carries.

It was Vilseck that looked like it would put the first points on the board, though, when Falcons senior Tyler Lewis picked off Ramstein junior Dylan Le Page and returned it to the 9-yard line of the Royals.
“You’re giving it away,” barked Ramstein coach Carlos Amponin to his players returning to the sidelines.

The Royals defense held strong, led by a third down sack by senior Justin Dickey, setting up a blocked field goal. The sack was one of four on the day for Dickey, who also had five tackles.

The momentum carried over to the offense, which used 11 plays to march 69 yards down the field, setting up a one-yard Grotelueschen touchdown run, one of his three touchdowns on the day.
“I trusted my line, my line is what got me through today,” Grotelueschen said.

Junior Michael Johnson provided the other Royals touchdown, as his 18-yard 3rd quarter scamper pushed the Falcons into a three-touchdown hole. The touchdown was the first ever rush for Johnson, who normally lines up as a wideout on offense. "I dedicated this game to Brendon, I just kept running for him,” said Johnson, referring to Brendon Holtzen, the Ramstein senior who was killed Wednesday evening in a car crash.

Vilseck senior quarterback Daniel Arroyo, who led the Falcons with 46 rushing yards, tried to get the Falcons offense going, but some key defensive plays held Vilseck in check. Ramstein juniors Justin Pendergrass and Zachery Boswell each notched crucial interceptions.

“We thought this was going to be an easy game, so we weren’t focused,” Arroyo said. “We’re going to be all right, we just need to bounce back and collect ourselves.”

Vilseck junior Shawn Peebles led the Falcons defense with eight tackles. Amponin credited Royals defensive coordinator Rudy Oliveira, whose game plan helped contain several Falcons speedsters.

“We wanted to make sure we didn’t give up the big play,” Amponin said.
Ramstein players said it’s been a tough week, both on and off the field and Saturday’s game gives them a much needed confidence boost.

“This gives our guys the courage to know they can hang with the top teams and win the league,” Dickey said.