You may or may not have caught me at 13 years old stealing my brother’s old Ford Courier and driving it around town. In my defense, I had places to go. That old junky five-speed could be started with a butter knife, which says considerably more about the truck than it does about my criminal abilities. Learning to drive it was not exactly a smooth process. One minute I would ease off the clutch just right and feel like I had mastered the open road. The next minute I would kill it in the middle of town with everybody watching. There were rough shifts, questionable decisions, and probably a transmission begging someone to take the butter knife away from me. Still, every trip taught me something. Eventually, the starts became smoother, the shifts came naturally, and I figured out how to keep moving when things did not go exactly as planned. Don't ask me why my brother never noticed his truck parked in different spots! Watching these Tigers right now reminds me a little of that old Ford Courier. They took off smoothly against Grandview, then ground a few gears Friday night in Gatesville. They still moved the football, made some good plays, and gave themselves an opportunity to win, but they sputtered at the wrong times and could never get the whole machine running smoothly. We never thought for a moment that the game was in the bag, and rightly so. Gatesville opened the season with a 21–0 loss to Lampasas, but that did not mean the Hornets were going to roll over and let Glen Rose drive through town without a fight. If football has taught us anything, it is that the fat lady does not sing until the clock reaches zero. Until then, you had better keep playing, because she may just be in the concession stand waiting on a hot dog. Glen Rose took an early 7–0 lead, but Gatesville answered with 14 points in the second quarter. The Tigers pulled within one during the third and entered the fourth quarter trailing 14–13. The game was right there. It was not a blowout, and Glen Rose was never out of it. Unfortunately, when the Tigers needed to finish, Gatesville made enough plays to pull away with a 27–19 victory. I am not going to bury you in statistics because that has never been my style. I will throw out just enough to make it appear that I studied the box score. Gatesville rushed for 234 yards, and quarterback Elijah Phillips accounted for 135 of those yards and three touchdowns. Glen Rose quarterback Judd Connally threw for 150 yards and ran for two scores. There, we have officially handled the statistical portion of the article. I will leave the rest for the stat nerds out there. The numbers tell us Gatesville ran the ball effectively, but they do not tell the entire story. Football games are often decided by a handful of moments that look small when they happen. A missed block here, a tackle that slips away there, or a ball that does not get handled cleanly can change an entire drive. Glen Rose played some good football Friday night, but the Tigers could not consistently finish when the opportunity was sitting in front of them. One thing we cannot become is a bunch of finger pointers, whether we are standing on the field or sitting comfortably in the stands. Sure, I could point out a few calls by the officials, but we have all seen worse. I could look across the field and search for something to complain about, but Gatesville played hard and showed considerably better sportsmanship than some teams we have encountered in previous years. There is no convenient villain in this story. Sometimes the other team makes plays, and sometimes you fail to make yours. The blame does not belong to one player, one coach, one official, or one moment. It belongs nowhere because blame does not fix anything. Every player on that field probably has a play he wishes he could have back. Every coach will see something on film that needs to be adjusted. Every fan can replay a dozen moments in his head and imagine how the outcome might have changed. That is football, and it is why the game can make you feel ten feet tall one Friday and kick you square in the stomach the next. Now we find out what this group does with it. I believe Coach Jeff Pair will find a way to adjust. That does not mean every mistake disappears overnight or that the road ahead suddenly becomes easy. In fact, Glen Rose has a tough schedule coming quickly, and nobody on it is planning to feel sorry for the Tigers. This group will have to humble down, listen, work, and learn how to finish the drives and plays that were left unfinished in Gatesville. The next stop is Godley, where the Tigers have big shoes to fill. According to the Lone Star Football Network, Glen Rose currently holds a 14–0 all-time record against the Wildcats. The series began in 1950, when Glen Rose defeated Godley 26–9. That is an impressive piece of history, but history cannot block a linebacker, make an open-field tackle, or hold onto the football. Godley would love nothing more than to become the first Wildcat team to beat Glen Rose, and an 0–2 start will not make them less dangerous. If anything, it gives them even more reason to come out swinging. The Tigers cannot walk into Godley expecting 76 years of history to suit up and play the game for them. The loss in Gatesville does not erase what we saw against Grandview. It also does not need to be excused or dressed up as something it was not. Glen Rose had chances to win and did not take advantage of them. That should sting a little. It should also teach them something. Learning to drive that old Ford Courier, I eventually discovered that grinding a gear did not mean the trip was over. You pushed the clutch back in, found the right gear, and kept moving. Of course, it helped when you were 13 and desperately trying to get the truck back home before your brother realized it was missing. The Tigers ground a few gears Friday night, but the engine is still running and the road is still in front of them. Now it is time to settle down, make the adjustments, and get this thing moving again. Humble down, boys. Overcome, and find a way.