Tuesday, September 20, 2011

When Opportunity Knocks

On Friday night, Elijah Herrera (#9) had his Varsity football game against, Dana Hills High School. He plays Linebacker & rotates in at running back for the Edison Chargers. He didn't get very many offensive rotations in the first half of the game, but played Linebacker the entire 1st half & did great on Defense. We had a 6 point lead (13-7) heading into half-time, which is a little too close for comfort.

Elijah #9 Linebacker- you can find him by his self designed bright yellow Nike cleats!
Making the tackle!
At the start of the second half, Elijah was put into the position as the main running back, when the starter became injured. He didn't waste the opportunity. He quickly took, hand off-after hand off, 10 yards at a time, moving the ball down to the end zone, breaking tackles to finally score on a 40 yard touchdown run.
Waiting for the hand-off

In life, we each have moments of opportunities. Things that seem to fall into our laps. We can run from them in fear and doubt, or we can choose to face it head on.

I'm so proud of Elijah, he stepped up, never fearing that he wouldn't be good enough. He was ready and he made the most of his opportunity. He had 10 carries and ran for 103 yards. Propelling our offense to a huge victory, 34-13.  
Elijah's (#9) break away 40 yd. touchdown run
He was interviewed by a reporter for the newspaper after the game. He ended the interview by humbly saying, "The offensive line did an excellent job tonight."
 Giving them credit, knowing that without the lineman blocking for him...his accomplishments wouldn't have been possible. I'm so proud of him! His hard work, dedication & trust in the Lord helped him step up, 'When Opportunity Knocked.'

3 comments:

DUTA said...

You've got every reason to feel proud of your kids. They're of star quality. First the model, Julien Herrera, now the 9-year old football player,Elijah Herrera.
May they continue bringing you pride and satisfaction!

Lisa Petrarca said...

Thank you Duta, I'm definitely a very proud and grateful mom. Sorry for any confusion #9 is his jersey number, he's actually 16 years old, but will always be my baby boy!lol!

Anonymous said...

I'm soooo proud of my Lijey, and his mommy and daddy for teaching him humility, confidence, and trust in the Lord. I love you all! Way to go my Lije Man. I want to see you play!!! Grandma B.