By Coach Jim Baxter
In 1974 I was twelve years old. The number one high school football
team in the state was the Spartanburg Vikings. There were a lot of
sports writers who had mentioned them as the top team in the country.
They started the season with wins over Gaffney, Byrnes, and Union and
outscored them 134-7. After rattling off seven more wins, they finished
the regular season 10-0 and outscored their opponents 595-35, giving up
just 7 points by their first team defense.
This team, led by quarterback Steve Fuller
(pictured left), met the Irmo Yellow Jackets
in round one of the 4A state playoffs. They disposed of them easily
35-7 to advance to the second round of the playoffs to face the T.L.
Hanna Yellow Jackets; of course, the Vikings were heavy favorites.
My dad took me to that game; each week, he'd pick what he felt was a
really good match up and we'd go to see it. It was freezing, but I
didn’t care because I was going to see the “greatest high school team
in the country”, the Spartanburg Vikings. What I didn't realize was
that what I saw and the story that came out of the game would be able
to be used in the ministry of spreading the Gospel.
The Vikings found quickly that not only were they facing tough weather,
but the T.L. Hanna Yellow Jackets posed a problem as well. Each time
the Vikings’ offense broke the huddle and came to the line, T.L. Hanna
linebacker Clay Evans would creep up to the line of scrimmage, peer
into the backfield, and then bark out signals. The result of the play
was almost always the same ? no gain, or at least very little gain. It
was as if the Jackets KNEW where the Vikings were going every play.
At half-time, leading only 6-0, the Vikings coaches were going wild
trying to figure out how the Jackets had their number. Of course, the
line was blamed; one of the "big uglies" HAD to be pointing or giving
the play away. They were confused; they had no idea how it was
happening but they were failing and falling in defeat to a team they
had no business losing to.
In the second half, the same continued. Vikings break huddle; Evans
peered over the line; barked out some signals, and the Jackets shut
down the Vikings attack. The final outcome of the game? T.L. Hanna, a
fourth year football program, had upset the number one team in the
country by a score of 21-6.
Talking with several members of each of those teams, the story came
out. Hanna had picked up on something on the game film of Spartanburg;
every time the play was going to the left, Viking fullback Jerry Kelly
would have the heel of his right foot up so he could launch off of his
right foot. When the play was going to the right, the heel was almost
flat on the ground, as he was launching off of his left foot. Evans
simply looked at Kelly every play to determine where the Vikings were
going to run the football.
In the Art of War by Sun Tzu (which I recommend reading), it is stated
to “know your vulnerabilities and weaknesses because if you don’t, your
enemy will.”
That is what happened to the 1974 Spartanburg Vikings. Their enemy ?
their opponent ? picked up on a vulnerability that they didn’t even
realize they had. It cost them in the form of defeat.
In our spiritual life, we have an enemy, folks. The Bible tells us in I
Peter 5:8 that “your enemy, the devil, prowls about like a roaring
lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
He is seeking…who is he seeking? “Whom he may devour.” Basically, he’s
seeking those of us with vulnerabilities that would allow him to gain
advantage of us.
Guys, the devil is watching our game film. He’s searching…he’s
prowling…he’s analyzing the film, looking for weaknesses in our walk
and our faith that he can exploit and take advantage of. It may be lack
of the fundamentals (prayer, praise, word); it may be pornography; it
may be our language, not just foul language but how we talk about
others; it could be alcohol; infidelity; it could be any number of
things he’s looking for that is a weakness in our walk.
What vulnerabilities do you have in your life that the devil could take
advantage of and use to control you? What do you need to do to
strengthen your walk so that those vulnerabilities are not there? God
knows, I have vulnerabilities and I have to work on them each day and
rely on God helping me through prayer and faith.
Don’t let the devil see any weaknesses on your film; work on your
fundamentals; work on your game. Frustrate him so much that when he
looks at your film, he says ‘I can’t beat this one; there are no
weaknesses.’
Know your vulnerabilities so that he will not; do not let the
weaknesses in your game cause you defeat.