Football Fridays: Hillcrest vs. Bryant

Friday night I returned to the football stadium where I graduated from high school 9 years ago. It really hadn't changed much at all. The cement stands had a few new cracks and the bathrooms were even grosser. I was excited when I got the assignment to shoot at my Alma Mater, but I never anticipated the strange nostalgia that wiggled in my gut as I walked those grounds again. I saw a couple of my old teachers in the stands, but for the most part every face was that of a stranger. In nearly a decade this place had stayed the same but had also become completely unfamiliar. Then it occurred to me that in fact I was the stranger. I was an anonymous photographer just as I'd be at any school, any town. This place now belonged to a new generation and merely existed for me as faded memories of awkward pep rallies, poorly constructed homecoming floats, and game night struts with friends around the chain-link perimeter.


Hillcrest head coach Adam Winegarden leads his Patriots onto the field for warm-ups before facing the Paul W. Bryant Stampede Friday Sept. 24, 2010.


Hillcrest cheerleader Alli Kamplain, 14, does a flip in the air as her fellow squad members wait to catch her before the Hillcrest vs. Bryant football game Friday Sept. 24, 2010 at Roy Johnson Jr. Stadium.


Hillcrest quarterback Luke Wingo


Payte Williams, 7, left, and Braeten Brown, 7, climb the field goal before the Hillcrest vs. Bryant football game Friday Sept. 24, 2010.


Hillcrest head coach Adam Winegarden greets fans before the Patriots game against the Bryant Stampede Friday Sept. 24, 2010 at Roy Johnson Jr. Stadium.


Hillcrest vs. Bryant Friday Sept. 24, 2010 at Roy Johnson Jr. Stadium.


Bryant's Darius Williams (1) evades Hillcrest's Branden Moss during a punt return in the 1st quarter Friday Sept. 24, 2010 at Roy Johnson Jr. Stadium.




Bryant quarterback Brock Hall (13) takes off with the ball after breaking a tackle in the 1st quarter against Hillcrest Friday Sept. 24, 2010 at Roy Johnson Jr. Stadium.


Hillcrest's Brooks Hutton (11) is congratulated by teammates after he delivered a leveling tackle on a punt return in the 1st quarter against Bryant Friday Sept. 24, 2010 at Roy Johnson Jr. Stadium.




Bryant's Matthew Freeman (23) defends the ball against Hillcrest's Josh Richards (4) as defenders swarm him in the 2nd quarter Friday Sept. 24, 2010 at Roy Johnson Jr. Stadium.


Hillcrest quarterback Luke Wingo (3) is brought down by Bryant's Ben Martin (32) and Dezmond Green (49) in the 2nd quarter Friday Sept. 24, 2010 at Roy Johnson Jr. Stadium.


Hillcrest head coach Adam Winegarden congratulates quarterback Luke Wingo (3) after his 2nd quarter touchdown against Bryant Friday Sept. 24, 2010 at Roy Johnson Jr. Stadium.


Hillcrest's Branden Moss (15) catches a 70-yard Luke Wingo pass with coverage by Bryant's Darius Rozzell (48) in the 2nd quarter Friday Sept. 24, 2010 at Roy Johnson Jr. Stadium.


Hillcrest's Quadeem Hassan (7) catches a pass for a touchdown with coverage by Bryant's Ben Martin (32) in the 2nd quarter Friday Sept. 24, 2010 at Roy Johnson Jr. Stadium. The score took the Patriots lead to 14-3.


Hillcrest's Quadeem Hassan (7) celebrates after scoring a touchdown in the 2nd quarter against Bryant Friday Sept. 24, 2010 at Roy Johnson Jr. Stadium. The score took the Patriots lead to 14-3.