Many years ago, when I was a junior at Cistercian Prep, a great man by the name of Tom Hillary (God rest his soul) talked me into playing football. One of the first games I played in was against Trinity Valley, whose running back was a large, fast young man called Tom Williams. That Friday night, Williams repeatedly broke into the secondary, where I had the misfortune of trying to stop him. I weighed about 150 pounds in high school. I think Williams went about 210. I can’t recall the score of that game. Needless to say, Cistercian did not come out on top. I survived the game with deep emotional scarring.
Which brings us to the big Yale-Harvard game over the weekend. Yale led 10-7 with just 2:25 left in the game, but the Yale coach called a fake punt on a fourth-and-22 from his own 26-yard line. The play didn’t work, and Harvard came back to win 14-10. The Yale coach? My old friend Tom Williams, from Trinity Valley.
Sweet, sweet schadenfreude. (Yale’s a good school. I assume one of his players can define the word for him.)
15 comments
Burn! (in a very preppy sort of way)
I remember watching Tommy play at TVS as a middle schooler. He was absolutely unstoppable both as a running back and as a middle linebacker. I remember seeing Jack Elway walk through the cafeteria to personally recruit him to Stanford.
The greatest thing about Tom Williams is that he would have gotten into Stanford without football. Dude was a stud in the classroom as well.
As to Tom Hillary. That guy was an amazing coach and role model. I remember playing against his team my senior year and missing a tackle because I took the wrong angle at the running back. He pulled me aside and pointed out what I did wrong. Keep in mind he was the coach of the other team.
I’d still take him over Wade.
I too went to TVS and saw Tommy do that to many SPC cornerbacks. So don’t take it too personally. Tommy came down many times to our Middle School practices to help coach.
The really funny part about that, was that Tommy was the tailback. I seem to recall our fullback weighing in at about 5′10″ 165, to Tommy’s 6′1″ 210. It was an interesting site.
I have many good memories of playing Cistercian in football, basketball & baseball. I remember that same game. My job at SS was to hit that same running back in the back field whether he had the ball or not.
Hey Tim,
That story reminds me of something I have been wanting to ask you. How’s your college alma mater doing in football this year?
Didn’t one of your teammates make you cry in practice? Tell that story!
Cool story, bro.
So Tom is coaching college football, while Tim is making a living writing words like “Schadenfreude” on a local blog (and telling himself that educated humans might not know the meaning.) Hmm, who’s feeling Schadenfreude now?
In any event, thanks for the TVS reunion on Frontburner.
Tim, Peter King heaps it on in his Monday Morning Quarterback column this morning:
“Don’t even compare the Yale coach’s call — running a fake punt while up 10-7, under three minutes to go against Harvard, fourth-and-22 at his own 25, best punter in the Ivy League back to punt, no timeouts left for Harvard, Yale defense having controlled the day, runner stopped short of the first down at the Yale 40 — to Bill Belichick’s. Not applicable. Belichick had a fourth-and-2 with Tom Brady on his side, not wanting to punt the ball so Manning could have two minutes to make him regret it. The call by Tom Williams made Belichick look like a Bill Walsh/Albert Einstein combo platter. I don’t want to make this a scar-kids-for-life moment, because it shouldn’t. But imagine those kids at Yale, walking off a football field for the last time in their lives, thinking, ‘This is my last memory in football? My coach going for it idiotically on fourth-and-22, causing us to lose to our arch-rivals?’”
He’s no Charlie Weiss.
This just brought back too much private school tennis game memories.
why would his players have to help him with the definitions? what are you trying to say tim? cistercian sucks.
The “Tim Crying in Football Practice” is one of the best Tim crying stories of all time- just below “Tim cries at his new job,” and just above “Tim cries when he meets his dad.”
This post makes me laugh… and, as a former Hawks cheerleader, it reminded me of how we loved the games against TVS (the Trojans), in that it provided us with the ability to make somewhat suggestive signs to hang on the lockers the day before the game (bust the trojans, etc….). Go CPS!
http://deadspin.com/5411201/yale-football-coach-out+crazies-bill-belichick