Warren-ted: Class of One.

Anyone that knows me well by now knows that I love a good story. Even better? When there's two of 'em.

Blake Warren and his wonderful mother, Andrea, visited our studio a week ago Friday on the morning before his first football game of his senior year. Naturally, the conversation turned to all things gridiron as the old Assistant Sports Editor at the Marshalltown Times-Republican in me bubbled to the surface once again.

After getting the softball questions out of the as to who was playing at what positions, etc... I then played hardball...

"If you were a betting man, Blake... does this losing streak come to an end tonight?"

For those of you that don't know, the GMG football program had hit rock bottom with a losing streak that had spanned over three seasons and had reached the mid-20s in duration. The light at the end of the tunnel? The Wolverines were opening the season against Southeast Webster of Grand... who just so happened to have lost 53 straight games.

Something had to give.

So when I woke up Saturday morning and jumped online to check scores... my heart dropped for Blake and the boys when I saw the Wolverines' streak would continue, while SE Webster's came to an end, 38-21.

The whole thing seems so unnatural to me as I grew up in a time where GMG's prior incarnation, Garwin H.S. was a perennial power, and I actually PLAYED against the school's crown jewel in 1987 when the silver and black won the Class A State Championship with a team for the ages.

I told Blake that Friday morning that we had been to photograph the team pictures at another local school the week prior and they had a good senior group of sixteen guys. Come to find out... just one week later... I got the chance to photograph the senior group at GMG as well...At Blake's session.

Only difference was.. there were no more teammates to be found on this day.  That's right... Blake is the ONLY senior out for football this season at GMG.

The definition of a man is getting up and doing something that you don't want to have to do, but you know you HAVE to do... so you do it anyway.

It would have been real easy for Mr. Warren to cash in his chips... let some one else take the lumps, and call it a career. But you know what? He didn't do that.

Most of you also know that, like most Augusts around our studio... we've fallen behind in our attempt to quickly send our our preview books/blogs. While for the most part... that drives me CRAZY... One blessing is that because of that delay... I have good news to report.  It's often said that things are the darkest, right before the dawn... and just when many might have figured that another winless campaign might have been in order for the Wolverine boys, the football gods smiled down on them.

I awoke last Saturday to read about a miracle pass on the last play of the game down in New Sharon that found friendly hands in the endzone as time expired and after all that suffering... it was over... 27-24... Wolverine win.

I have no doubt that tears were shed on that field... Tears of joy. All the suffering released in a celebration that probably felt no less amazing than many of the celebrations that happened for the community in 1987.

Sure the circumstances were much different. But try telling that to the moms that were wiping tears off their cheeks after seeing what may have been the first victory in most of their son's entire high school careers.

Victories cure lots of evils, and I mentioned earlier that there were TWO good stories here... so i must mention the other.

Before I ever met Mr. Warren... I happened to photograph his long time girlfriend, Sara Hinson, way back in June (which seems like 2 years ago at this point).

Sara had told me that her boyfriend, just like his older brother, was going to a competitor for his senior session. Normally, that would not be much of a surprise to me as that's usually how things go. Senior goes to Studio A... Studio A does a good job... family returns to Studio A for the NEXT senior.

However... THIS revelation from Miss Hinson came as a surprise, if not a disappointment.

For you see... I had the opportunity to meet Blake's mother, Andrea, at a New Year's Eve party in Marshalltown this past year.  And at this party, long time friend of the studio, Chris Rhinehart was borderline going over-the-top with the full court press on Andrea as she was trying to convince her friend that there was only ONE choice for Blake senior pictures.

After Sara's update, I had merely decided that perhaps Chris' influence wasn't as influential as I had hoped. What did I learn?

Don't doubt Mrs. Rhinehart.  :)

A few weeks later, my secretary told me, "Andrea Warren called today."

#winning.

Victories were all around in the past couple of weeks. As it turns out, we got BOTH ends of the GMG power couple... despite Sara's misinformation. :) We'll forgive her.. because as far as I'm concerned... all's well that ends well.