Tiger U-19 Team's Neuchatel Game Debacle

Sunday was Game Day for our U-19 team only as the Senior team was still savoring a much needed BYE week.

If you have noted from past blog pictures, our home field in nearby Frutigen is smack dab in the middle of some dairy farms. When we arrived today, behind our North end zone, the farming family was harvesting the tall grasses from their field for future feed for theit small herd of cows that like to wartch games over the visiting team's shoulders.

Son Raking

Mom and Dad hard at work also

Mom is raking and Dad is in the mini-tractor creating piles for another tractor to collect.

I found it of interest. 

Tiger Linemen Warming Up 

Hand placement is paramount 

Here come the Tigers!!! 

Neuchatel Pursuing 

The 5-0 Tiger U-19s figured to have an easy go of it against the 0-6 Neuchatel Knights. The game started right on time at 2:00 p.m. and the Tiger defense was dominant as usual.


The offense moved the ball well taking a 7-0 lead on the first drive of the game thanks to a 5 yard TD pass.


On their next possession, the Tigers booted a reverse handoff that ricocheted 20 yards backwards into the farming end zone where our would-be ball carrier was tackled for a safety. Thun was still leading 7-2.


The Tigers stopped the Knights again easily and the offense rolled again, scoring a TD on a 5 yard TD run on the last play of the first quarter. The PAT sailed wide left so the Tigers were in total control 13-2 after one period.


Then things turned decidedly strange.


Before the start of the game, the refs are supposed to verify that a doctor is on duty. They had forgotten to do this and now realized their mistake.


The rules state that the home team is given a 30 minute grace period to get a physician in place if there is not one on duty at the appointed kickoff time. When the quarter ended it was already 2:25 p.m.


The referees gave us ten minutes to find the doctor. Our normal team doctor could not be here today and our team leadership group knew this well in advance apparently. One of our doctor's colleagues had promised to take his place but he was a no-show.


Thus at 2:35 p.m., the U-19 team's dream of a perfect season was now just that, a dream. The official final score of a forfeit game in the Swiss league made it Neuchatel 50 - Thun 0.


The Thun U-19s are now 5-1 on the campaign while Neuchatel improves to 1-6.


A pair of the Knight's players even did a jumping chest bump to celebrate their first victory of the season.


Sad.


Afterwards, we held a scrimmage with the Knights for about 30 minutes which was rather dull, lifeless and anticlimactic after the forfeit.


I have never experienced losing in this manner, nor heard of it for that matter.

Pictures From Last Week's

Luzern Game

Because of all of my travelling and events of the past week, I have been very slow in getting these pictures of our Senior team's Luzern game last Sunday posted, sorry.

 #60 Coach Armin Haymoz

Armin usually calls the defenses for us on Sunday's. Because of injuries he had to pull double duty and suit up as our starting left guard on offense.

Did I mention that we needed to rest during our BYE week?

DL/SS Markus Moser

A Man and his Hammer!!!

FS Mario Wyssen had an

interception later in the game 

LB Rudy Bohren with a perfect form tackle 

TB Roland Andrist for

some nice yardage

OLB Johannes Brunner

puts his hat on the ball 

A Luzern receiver out

jumps us for a catch

Wily veteran WR Christian Warzecha

Next week we play the 6-0 LUCAF Owls at home as Laurie gets her first taste of Swiss football.

It should be a challenge to say the least.

LUCAF and Laurie both I suspect.