Saturday's Game - Charmeine's Big Hit; Telling on Deidra

You don't want to mess with
Charmeine Jackson

Does this young lady intimidate you?  Would you want to meet her on the football field if you had the ball?  Hint:  NO!

This is Charmeine Jackson, defensive back for the Austin Outlaws.  If you were at the game Saturday you remember her big hit.  Football is a collision sport.  One of the Houston receivers collided with Charmeine. 

At the games you don't get video replays.  So you have to hope I or MaryLou will have captured the moment with our cameras.  Don't know about MaryLou but I got it.  I got Charmeine's big hit.  I'm going to archive it as one of my best sports photos ever.    You're going to get a chance to see it but please remember all my photos and words are copyrighted.  You can view but I'm the only one who can reproduce and sell. 

This big-hit photo is coming later in this post.  Because I'm not a good blogger.  I have all this stuff along the right side of the screen.  If I post a really large photo early in the blog posting, the photo overlaps the stuff.  Don't like that at all.  The only way I know to fix it is to write words and post normal size photos until the post is long enough to get below the stuff.  And that's what I'm doing with Charmeine's big hit photo.  Saving it for the bottom where I can post it L-A-R-G-E.  Because it is a large hit.

But don't worry.  I'm not going to bore you between here and there.  I have a fascinating little series of shots of Deidra Holland.  If you know her or have her email address, please ask her about these photos.  Remarkable.

I've never played poker but I'm told really good poker players watch other players at the table, looking for any unconscious action that will give away the player's hand.  Maybe every time he has a good hand he blinks or rubs his chin or yawns.  These little signals are call "Tells."  Watch for the tell to get an idea of what the player is holding.

Deidra jumping just before getting the handoff from Cookie.

I noticed in one of my photos Deidra doing something odd.  Just as the ball is snapped she jumped.  Both feet in the air.  I took a closer look and she really is jumping in this photo.  In the following photo (not posted) Cookie handed the ball to Deidra. 

Another play, another jump, followed by another handoff to Deidra.

I thought this a fluke but just a little later there was another snap and another jump.  This looks like the same photo but it isn't.  It is another play, another jump, another hand off to Deidra.


Then I started watching and sure enough, it happened again...

Yet another jump before getting the handoff.  Or is this a
half-jump since the left toe appears to be still on the ground?

Jumping again, before taking the handoff.  This the fourth
time I saw this action. 

Which got me thinking. Why? What was making Deidra so jumpy? The photo above may answer the question. Sometimes running the ball can be unpleasant.  

Running backs often find themselves in unfriendly hands.  Deidra here is surrounded by
Houston tacklers.  Maybe it is the memory of getting tackled that makes her
jumpy when she is about to take a handoff into enemy territory?

Okay, we're below the side-stuff.  Let's check out the Charmeine Jackson tackle.  It starts with a pass reception by the Houston receiver.  I have a poor photo of the catch but lets take a look at the photo right after the catch.  Study the receiver's face.  Is her brow furrowed?  Is she worried?  She should be.  Look at Charmeine's body language.  It looks like she's flexing her bicep and making a fist to intimidate the receiver.  And it appears to be working. 



Receiver just has to get by one tackler to make it to the
end zone.  She doesn't make it.

And now, here's the big hit, the hit that has made my all time hit list. 

All four feet off the ground.  This a devastating hit.  This is football the way it was
designed to be played.  Check the reaction of the sideline.

 The follow through is remarkable, too.  Charmeine lands on her feet...

Charmeine comes down on her feet, keeps her balance...

...and strides away from the scene looking for anyone
else who might want to invade her territory.

And strides away with that look in her eye that says "Don't you be invading my territory." 

The Houston player got the wind knocked out of her but was otherwise okay after the big collision.  Remarkably she maintained control of the ball.  In football big hits by defensive backs are intended to shake the ball loose, and the often succeed.  But this Houston receiver,  Smith?, kept control of the ball.  Tough girl.

Coming in future posts - lots more photos of Saturday's game and of the Outlaws season.  It was a difficult season, disappointing in many ways.  But many of the players impressed this old sports fan.  I'll be telling you about some of them.  I need to post more profiles like the one I did on Cookie awhile back (that only took about a year of communication back and forth with her.  I may not be fast but I sure am slow.)