It all starts up again

To say the least, this has been a busy summer, and we're not talking from a writing standpoint.
Teaching BodyPump and going for my certification, which I should receive note on in the coming weeks, has consumed a lot of my time, but that time has flown right on by and lead to an end-of-the-summer work ritual which I have come to enjoy.
That would be heading to Aroostook County to cover a week's work of high school soccer, and a lot of times, the experiences enjoyed at the games throughout the week go way beyond what is read in the Bangor Daily after the final buzzer sounds.
Thanks to the Bangor Senior League team's remarkable World Series run, this County trip would start a little later than usual, but that's OK, since there were some big games on the slate for the final week of August heading into September.
August 26 marked my first off day in nearly two weeks, so I took advantage of it and traveled to Presque Isle after a nice late-afternoon run with Quincy.
Luckily, I didn't see any moose, which keeps my track record perfect in that department, and I finally settled in around 10:30 Thursday night, enjoyed some Jersey Shore and rested up for the first game of the week, pitting Class C rivals Fort Kent and Houlton.
This marked my first of three Fort Kent games on the week (I had the girls twice and boys once), and since I was due to interview a couple Warrior players prior to kickoff for another story, I headed in early, as I always do.
It was a chilly day for the end of August, but since I have family in the County, I know how to dress up here, and I'm glad I had dress clothes on, since it would be crisp by the time 6:00 rolled around. While the boys game was going on, which Fort Kent won 3-2, I chatted with Fort Kent players Andrea Nadeau and Kate Morneault, who volunteered at Camp Sunshine, a camp in Casco for children with special needs, earlier in August.
It didn't take long for the game to get physical, with both teams playing hard, aggressive soccer throughout the first half. Houlton's field is in an interesting spot, and the sun was setting right above the spectators, thus forcing it into the eyes of the timekeeper and myself (thank god for my Oakley's, LOL) but it didn't obscure the view too badly.
The Warriors were clearly the better team, as they outshot Houlton 26-2 on the match, but four of those shots hit posts and Houlton's goalie, Marina Cameron, played extremely well.
Fort Kent finally scored midway through the first half when Mary Grace Morris blasted in a shot from the right side of the penalty area.
There would be no more scoring, although Carissa Pelletier of FK stuffed a couple Houlton breakaways late in the second half, and the Warriors held on for a 1-0 victory.
Our first-edition deadline is 9:30, so with the game ending just before 8, I had no problem making that, but had to wait patiently for postgame comments, as both coaches were chatting with the officials (while this was going on, I snacked on a Whoopie pie).
After managing to get my stuff filed, I grabbed my first slice of pizza of the week and headed back towards Presque Isle to wind down and practice my lunges. After a long summer of waiting, the 2010-11 high school sports season was underway!