We got the ball back on our 34 yard line. We huddled up, and I called the first play.
“Twins, Shotgun, Option Left on two. Ed, I want you back at tailback for this play.”
“Down! Set. Hut, HUT!”
The snap was high, and I had to jump up to grab it. I didn’t have time to put the ball into the fullback’s belly, so I just went down the line to the left. Wolf brush-blocked the defensive end to slow him down and then released him. He saw me coming, and he was in no-man’s-land: he needed to commit to either Ed or me. He chose me. I’d learned my lesson, and instead of running him over, I pitched the ball to Ed. I took the hit to slow down the defensive end’s pursuit.
Ed cut up the field, and he was faced with a strong safety closing fast. Ed jab-stepped and spun, which left the safety to wonder where his jockstrap was. Ed did his best Barry Sanders imitation. The spin slowed his momentum, which allowed the defense to close, but Ed had another gear and burst free. No one would catch him as he scored.
From that point, the game turned into a contest of ineptitude. At halftime, I was 6 of 20 passing, with 10 dropped balls, 4 interceptions, and had been sacked four times. Two of the dropped balls should have been scores. We went into halftime with a 7–0 lead.
Ed was flattened on the second series and didn’t come back into the game. At halftime, I found him.
“How are you feeling?”
“I got my bell rung. I’m okay for the second half.”
“You know the freshman and JV players. Who can catch the damn ball?”
“Wolf can, and once he gets going, he’s a load.”
I grabbed Coach Engels and Wolf and we went out back of the locker room.
“Wolf, run a slant.”
On the snap, he came off the ball better than I expected, and I threw a high fastball just to see if he could catch it. He reached up and snagged it out of the air.
Coach Engels eyes got big and I smiled.
“Go down ten yards and do a buttonhook,” Coach said.
Wolf went down ten yards and before he turned, I sent a rope towards where I knew his chest would be. I expected the ball to bounce off him, but as he turned, he saw it coming and caught it. I did a fist pump.
“Yes!”
We went into the locker room and looked like cats that ate the canary. Coach Engels got Coach Lambert and Coach Harrington’s attention. They were soon huddled up. Coach Lambert looked at me and motioned me over.
“Is this for real?”
“His hands are as good as Bill’s. If we can get Ed back into the slot, I can use them to move the ball. We just have to be careful and not get Ed hurt.”
“Okay, you go get ready for the second half.”
When we went out for the second half, I was excited. Wolf was given a new number so he could play tight end. We got the ball to start the second half. Our kickoff-return team put us in the hole, and we started at our 6 yard line. The crowd got nervous, and you could feel them wanting to get excited about something. On the first play, we ran a quick slant for Wolf, and he caught the ball in traffic. It took three of them to pull him down for a seven-yard gain.
On the next play, Wolf got tied up at the line of scrimmage, which threw the timing off the play. I went through my reads and found the only open guys were the ones that couldn’t catch. That was when I got blasted by the left defensive end. He planted his helmet in my lower back and slammed me to the ground. Somehow, I bounced back up. The ref threw his flag for the spearing penalty on the defensive end.
I had a shooting pain in my lower back, and I could feel it tighten up instantly. We needed to score quick and often before I couldn’t walk. My new left tackle was almost in tears.
“David, I’m so sorry. Are you alright?”
“What do you think? That frickin’ hurt!”
I looked at the entire offensive line.
“Look, if you have to tackle someone to keep me from getting killed, please do. We’ll deal with a penalty, but I can’t take too many more of those kinds of hits.”
The next four plays we walked the ball down the field using Wolf on a variety of plays. I could see the defense start to cheat towards Wolf.
“Okay, everyone focus. This one puts the game away. We’ll run the same play, but this time I want Ed to half-ass it. I’ll pump-fake to Wolf, and then Ed, I’ll hit you on a post.”
What do they say about the best-laid plans? Wolf went out 10 yards and did his buttonhook, as planned. I pumped, and that’s when I felt the big hand of the defensive end grab my facemask. I ducked my head to keep him from jerking my helmet off. I tucked the ball and stepped into the vacated hole the defensive end left. The outside linebacker had a bad angle on me. I lowered my shoulder, and you could hear the distinctive crack of pads that signaled a big hit. He slid off and I broke into their secondary. I was run out of bounds after a twenty-three yard gain.
We declined the penalty and ran the same play. This time they bit on the pump even harder. I lofted a long pass to Ed. The whole stadium held their breath as the ball sailed down the field. I was sure I had overthrown him, but he had more speed than I knew. He caught the ball in stride and walked into the end zone. With the extra point, our fans finally had something to cheer about.
At the end of the third quarter we scored on an interception return to put us up 21–0. Coach Lambert had the trainers hide my helmet and made me go in for treatment on my back. The seniors who’d been suspended snuck into the locker room right before the game ended and found me getting a massage. Luke cracked up.
“Dawson, you take the cake. Are you getting a manicure after this?”
When he got closer, he saw the huge red mark on my back that was starting to blacken. He got serious.
“Dude, are you okay?”
“No, but Becky knows what she’s doing. She’s fixed worse. If you ever get the chance to have Becky get her hands on you, I recommend it.”
Crack. She smacked my ass. Luke cringed.
“Dumbass, never piss off a trainer, especially when they’re working on you.”
“You know me, I’m a slow learner. What’s the score?”
“We’re up 24–7 with less than a minute to go. You better get dressed before everyone sees what a lazy good-for-nothing you really are.”
Becky had me sit up. She put an ice pack on my back, and then wrapped me with an ace bandage to hold it in place.
“Leave that on for 30 minutes and then come back.”
The locker room exploded when the team came running in. The seniors gave everyone high fives and hugs. Coach Lambert came in, and, when he saw me, he froze. I gave him thumbs up, and I could see him relax. Everyone had learned their lesson, so there were no parties tonight. The team planned to go to Monical’s. I sought out Wolf and Ed to make sure they were going. They were all smiles when the seniors told them that they were buying tonight.
I WAS ONE OF THE LAST ones out of the locker room. I found Reese waiting for me.
“You ready to go?”
“Excuse me?”
She looked confused.
“You said we had a date tonight.”
“I think that was before you laughed in my face. Reese, I’m sure you’re a nice person, but I think Carol put it best. I’m a stuck-up jerk. So feel free to let everyone know.”
“Hang on. I thought you were kidding.”
I just shrugged and walked out. When I got to the parking lot, everyone was gone. There were fans hanging out, but the football team was at Monical’s. I saw the Alabama guy as he walked up to me.
“Looks like you need a ride.”
I shook my head.
“Are you in anyway affiliated with the University of Alabama?”
“Good question. Yes, I am. I’m a major donor and as such, I shouldn’t give you a ride. But my girlfriend isn’t, and she can drive you.”