After suiting up on the morning of the first game of the season, the Barrow Whalers football team walks to the far end of the building to gather for a pre-game meeting.
They listen as coach Brian Houston, a member of the coaching staff headed by Mark Voss, discusses strategy and attitude.
Coach Bob Cambell demonstrates blocking technique.
Afterward, Jessie Sanchez, who is also a long-time member of the Barrow Eskimo Dancers, gets a little one-on-one time from Campbell.
After the meetings, they return to the changing room, where Ben Jones gets his ankles taped.
Darius Samuelu gets his wrists taped.
Ready for grid-iron combat.
Before they head to the bus for the three mile drive to Cathy Parker field, the players join together for a team prayer.
They listen as Coach Voss gives them some final words of encouragement. He tells them that there have been signs that their opponents, the JV team of South Anchorage, a high school with six times the number of students of Barrow High, does not consider them to be a real football team and does not hold them with much respect.
"They will respect you when this game is over," he says.
As the players enter the bus, they shout out their battle cries.
Then, as instructed by Coach Voss, they ride in silence to the field, each going into his own head and soul to pyschologically ready themselves for the game.
Cathy Parker Field, named for the Florida woman who was so impressed when she learned how Barrow Whalers had started a team four years ago but had to play on a hard, gravelly surface atop permafrost, that she raised the money necessary to purchase astro-turf and to build Barrow a real field.
The unusually warm weather that Barrow had enjoyed just two days before was gone now. The temperature was in the mid-30's and the wind blew hard from the north, right off the Chukchi Sea, at over 30 mph. As the team did their warmups, Coach Houston gave Ben Jones a little help to stretch and limber up his muscles.
The cheerleaders arrived. Soon, it would be game time.
I am going to do something a little different with this series of five posts that I pulled the pictures into late last night and early this morning before going to bed. I will post them all this morning, but before I continue I am going to go to Pepe's, eat some breakfast and take care of a few tasks.
note: the slide show also has images not included in the above narrative.