FINAL FIVE: Pickle’s thoughts from the Week 8 DCTF Road Tour Game of the Week between Arlington and Arlington Martin

1. Rivalry game jitters are no joke

The moment you step foot into a stadium where two cross-town rivals are about to go head-to-head in a district matchup where playoff contingencies are on the line, you feel an added sense of excitement in the air. The fans are hyped, they bands play a little louder, the cheerleaders yell a little more, and the players… well they run through the tunnel with a few more butterflies in their stomachs. This proved to be true for both the Colts' and Warriors' offenses in the first half. Goose egg to goose egg. That was the score throughout the entirety of first half until Arlington High knocked one through the uprights with one second left on the clock to end the half leading 3-0. Seven minutes and fifteen seconds is how long the Colt’s offense was on the field in the first drive of the game and that set the tone for the rest of the half. Neither offense was able to produce, and needless penalties were abundant. With two teams who have blown teams out of the water on the offensive side of the ball time-and-time again this season, you know the stakes of this game and the pure excitement to take the field had a large effect in an almost scoreless first half of play.