Press Pass: Football, food and family

SAN MARCOS, Texas -- Hello, Pokes fans.

I’m back with Week 2 of "Press Pass." After an early Saturday morning flight out of Cheyenne, a quick stop in Dallas and a hop-skip-and-a-jump to San Antonio, I finally made it to the digs of San Marcos, Texas.

I quickly checked-in to my hotel, stopped for lunch at a phenomenal barbecue joint for some Texas grub (Shameless plug for Jacks BBQ in San Marcos), and made my way to Bobcat Stadium where the Cowboys were already warming up.

Here are some outtakes …

This photo I caught reminds me of the 1950s and 1960s, when one of the quirkiest uniform innovations of all time sprung up at both the professional and college levels. Yes, the tear-away jersey was a thing and they were developed with one goal in mind -- give the ball carrier an advantage. In today’s age, it’s obviously not a current tactic employed by teams, however, this photo did jog my memory and made me reminisce about Earl Campbell's huge sideline jaunt where defenders practically stripped him bare of his jersey.

As you sit at home watching a game on television, do you ever wonder how the commercials are timed and coordinated? Well, this might help. You see, for each televised game, the conference has a “Timeout Coordinator” who, well …coordinates timeouts. That person gets a cool little red vest and a crony to tote around a huge mobile timer that indicates the time remaining until re-broadcast. During TV timeouts, the ‘clock-guy’ stands on the field, while a prominent digital display counts down the seconds until the game can resume. You never see these guys on the TV broadcast, so thought I’d show them to you here.

I’ve been waiting for this guy to get his turn on the field and, Saturday he made the best of his opportunity. Pokes fans know the name Gentry …Tanner Gentry. But how many know the name of his little brother, Gunner? Well, in a limited pass game Saturday night, Gunner hauled in this gem of ‘pitch & catch’ from Sean Chambers and showed that he possesses that same trait as Tanner to make big plays. Gunner currently sits third on the wide receiver (X) depth chart, so be looking for him to make some great plays this year, as well in years to come. Oh, and I got a chuckle that Craig Bohl talked about Gunner’s catch after the game and inadvertently called him “Tanner."

Perhaps not the best photo to represent what I get to witness on a weekly basis, but the point is to help folks realize the mental capacity that is required to be a kicker. We have one of the best, if not the best, kicker in the nation. I wanted to show a sideline shot of what Cooper Rothe does most of the game. While all attention is focused on the actual gridiron, and the current play, you’ll always find the kicker at the edge of the sideline trying to perfect his skills. I would love to know what goes through his mind as he repetitively pounds the pigskin into the catch-net, watches the ball fall harmlessly to the ground, places it back on the tension-holder, and repeats, over and over and over again.

Reference one of my posts from last week where I captured our stellar Cowboy fans on the field with painted bodies, showing how it’s done. These dudes tried, but obviously not that hard. First “T” must have had a hangover from Friday night and didn’t make it to the game….for two weeks in a row, “C’Mon Man."

Sports photography isn’t easy. It’s difficult to freeze that exact moment in time when an event is happening in a split second. Sometime you plan accordingly, and sometimes you get lucky. Here, I got lucky to be in the right position, at the right time. This gem of a shot shows Leevi Lafaele (29) upending Texas State quarterback, Gresch Jensen (2), and the result of the play was ruled an incomplete pass.

I thought Dewey went to the NFL? Kidding. As you read in my opening comments, I stopped for some authentic Texas barbecue when I rolled into San Marcos before the game. Ironically, if as I’m sitting in Jacks barbecue joint, I’m seated next to a couple decked out in brown and gold. After striking up a conversation (gee, imagine that, me striking up a conversation), I came to learn that the couple was ‘Mom and Dad’ of our starting fullback, Skyler Miller. We chatted about the Torrington's native son for a while and shared our travel experiences from Wyoming to Texas. During my time covering Wyoming football, I’ve established several friendships with parents of players, and plan to add this one to the list.

One of my favorite shots to take during football games is this one. When you can capture four offensive numbers in a straight line, it tells a story. I have a similar shot that I took a few years ago, that displays Chase Roullier, Josh Allen, Matt List and Brian Hill. This is practically the same photo, with different number and names in Keegan Cryder, Sean Chambers, Skyler Miller and Xazavian Valladay.

Who says supermodels don’t roam the sidelines? It’s always a pleasure to hang out with my buddy Reece Monaco on the sidelines of all home and away games. Here’s a candid shot of Reece as we head into the fourth quarter at Bobcat Stadium.

I’ve decided to add a picture of me each week, as I photograph the games. I figured I’d start with a simple pose; however, in the future, be looking for more exciting, funny, chat-worthy selfies with backgrounds that hopefully get you talking. Until next week, my friends.