I am tired.

I have been fortunate (or rather unfortunate) to have covered six straight games with exciting finishes. In order I have seen Nanakuli break a 14-all game with under a minute to play, unranked Kaiser shock the state with its upset win over Kahuku, Jordan Taamu engineer a game-winning drive to lift Pearl City over Radford, Kahuku hold off Leilehua with special teams and defense, Moanalua rally from a 20-point halftime hole to score 28 points in the fourth quarter against Kailua and now this; Radford scoring on the final play of the fourth quarter only to blow it on the extra point.

Nanakuli coached Keala Watson summed up perfectly how I feel when I was getting quotes after the game: "I think my kids want to give me heart attack or something."

Regardless of how my body feels, all these thrilling moments are what make this game truly special. Take it from Radford coach Fred Salanoa who was rather upbeat after the game despite his team falling short.

"Good game. We talked about how this is what football is about. Not these other games where you win 40-7. This is what people live to play football for, situations like these," Salanoa said before taking the time to congratulate coach Watson near the south end zone.

"Yeah we made mistakes and we got to shore up somethings, but I love these games man. This is what drives me every year. I want to be out here and play in these types of games all the time."

Watson also had this nice sound bite before I talked with Salanoa: "It's all part of the high school experiene. These guys are gaining precious memories. They'll be talking about these games for the next 10, 20 years. There's a lot of good things to come out of it."

Good things indeed. The biggest thing that I enjoy from these outcomes is watching these young men persevere through high-pressure situations instead of folding when the situation looks bleak. Whether their team is hoisting the koa trophy at the end of the year or not, every coach wants to prepare their players for life after high school and in the real world. Those who came out on top can draw on their winning moments as a motivational tool all throughout life. For those who ended up on the short end of things, although you may have fallen, the world still goes on. A loss just means to pick yourself up and get ready for the next challenge that's in store.

Heck, I'm inspired too. It's probably one of the main reasons why I love what I do. The ability to capture these moments for everyone involved makes the job worth while.

Anyways it's getting really, really late. The bar for "game of the year" keeps getting raised every single game that I go to it seems. I got Kapolei-Aiea tomorrow, or rather today. Here's hoping I make it through that game.