The school day went by in a flash. Everyone was excited about the game and the teachers seemed to realize it. There wasn’t much in the way of learning accomplished. In last period, I had my tutoring session with Suzanne. There was no point in our session, so she had a suggestion.
“Come with me. Beth wants you to come see what they’re doing with the hospitality tent before you get busy.”
When we came out of the back of the school where the football field was, I saw a huge tent behind the far end zone. A banner read ‘The Double D Zone.’ The Elks Club had loaned us three of their big grills to cook the hotdogs. When we got there, Beth was all smiles. All the volunteers were cute girls in polo shirts that said ‘Double D’s Girl.’ Kendal and Beth met us as we came to the tent. Beth gave me a hug.
“Thanks for letting us raise funds for the band.”
“Thank Kendal and her team. They put this together.”
“Actually, it was Tracy who suggested it.” Kendal was learning to praise her team. “And thanks to Beth, the hospitality tent is going to be a success. David, before this gets started we all want to take a picture with you.”
Beth got everyone gathered around. One of the local paper’s photographers was early. He offered to take our picture. I spent a half hour going around and thanking each volunteer for helping. I was surprised when they handed me a shirt that just said ‘Double D.’ Of course, I stripped off and changed. Beth rolled her eyes at me.
I RAN HOME TO GET MY suit so I could change into to it after the game. Mom was home, so I went into the house to say ‘hi.’ When I saw her, she had a weird look.
“What’s up, Mom?”
“I didn’t know you were good at football and how important it was.”
“What makes you say that?”
“I just met with a man from Notre Dame. Could you really get a scholarship to play football?”
I smiled. I knew my parents weren’t big into sports. Dad did like to watch the Bears and Cubs, but that was about it.
“If I continue to improve, yes, I might get a football scholarship.”
She had a pained look.
“I’m not sure I want you playing football in college. College is for learning, not playing games,” she said and then she saw the look that came over my face. “David, is this important to you?”
“It kind of is, Mom.”
She looked stricken.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know that. The guy from Notre Dame says tonight’s a big game for your future. Is that true?”
“Yes. There’re going to be thirty or more scouts at the game to see how I play. If I do well, I could have my pick of schools to go to.”
She seemed to come to a decision.
“Okay, your dad and I will come to your game.”
She was surprised when I scooped her out of her chair and swung her around. She was giggling like a schoolgirl.
“David! Put me down.”
I gently set her down and I couldn’t stop grinning. She shooed me out of the kitchen and I went back to the school without a care in the world. My parents were finally coming to see me play.
AS GAME TIME APPROACHED, I started my pregame ritual. I had my headphones on, listening to rock music to psych myself up for the game. I was listening to a classic AC/DC song, T.N.T., when Luke came up and wanted one of my earbuds. We were both bopping our heads. When the song ended, Luke was as fired up as I was. We were going to have a great game.
The weather was almost perfect for football. The temperature was in the mid-50s with a slight breeze. The sun was just going down and the stands were packed. Coach led us out and the place erupted. I love high school football. There’s nothing like seeing your friends and family scream for you. I spotted Mom and Dad. They had ‘Double D’s Fan’ t-shirts on. It looked like most of our side was wearing them.
When our captains went out for the toss, it was obvious the other team was big. It reminded me of a recent college game between Army and Notre Dame. At every position, Notre Dame outweighed Army by 20 to 30 pounds. It looked like they were men playing boys. We were in for a long night if we tried to play them straight-up.
We won the toss and elected to receive. Our kickoff return unit had worked hard. It gave many of our second- and third-string players a chance to play in front of their parents and friends. We had bodies flying, put on some great hits for a nice return, and were starting on the 35 yard line. Coach wanted to establish the pass, so we called our basic down-and-out play.
As we lined up, I knew I was going to be running for my life tonight.
“Down. Set. Hut Hut!”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw their defensive end on my blind side shed his block. Bill broke his route and I released the pass. The defensive end grabbed my facemask and ripped my helmet off as he tried to take my head with it. I felt a sharp pain in my neck as I lay on the ground. I could hear the crowd erupt. Bill had slipped his tackle and scored.
The cheers quickly died down as the training staff rushed onto the field. Jill Kim got there first and leaned over me.
“Don’t move.”
Shortly after that, the head trainer, Mr. Hasting, was there to check my neck. They wanted to immobilize my head and cart me off. Screw that. I had a game to win.
“Stop! Just give me a minute!”
I rotated my head and heard my neck pop back into place; maybe not the best idea if you had a spinal injury. When I didn’t feel any real pain, I sat up. I got up and jogged off the field and the crowd roared. I waved to everyone and quickly went to the bench to collect myself.
There was a personal foul on the play, which was assessed on the kickoff. Coach Lambert must have felt it tonight, because he called an onside kick. We recovered and had the ball back. When I jogged back to the huddle, the crowd went nuts.
Coach Lambert called another pass play. I had other plans.
“Okay, guys. I’m taking that asshole out of the game. We’re running option left and I want you to let him go.”
Our center gave our poor tackle a look.
“How would that be any different than last play?”
I took charge.
“Hey, we’re a team. We’ll all make mistakes, so cut it out. Just brush-block him and then get downfield and block somebody. On two, break!”
“Down. Set. Hut Hut!”
The defensive end was shocked when he wasn’t even touched. His eyes lit up when he saw me come to him. He had a moment of confusion when I lowered my shoulder and ran right at him. He met me a yard behind the line of scrimmage when I drove through him. I exploded into his chest and you could hear the crack of the pads in the press box over the moan from the crowd. Mister Cheap Shot crumpled to the ground as I stepped over him.
Our tackle picked up their outside linebacker and got enough of him so I was in the open. I cut up field and surveyed their defense. Luke was a step behind me and all I saw was in the open field. I flipped him the ball and watched him sprint to the end zone. When I got to the sideline, Coach Lambert wanted to be mad at me, but he broke into a big grin.
From that point on, I put on a passing clinic. I looked like Fran Tarkenton from the old Vikings. I ran for my life all night and was put on my butt twelve times. I threw 58 passes and completed 46 for 585 yards. Luke ran for another 200+ yards. We had over 800 yards of offense and beat them 72–14. I was a man possessed. In the third quarter, Coach tried to take me out but I refused. He gave up and let me play the entire game.
That game made me realize how competitive I was. If their defensive end hadn’t tried to tear my head off, I think we may have lost the game. When the final gun sounded, I collapsed from exhaustion and the release of the adrenalin that had been coursing through my veins all game. My teammates helped me up and we lined up to shake hands with the other team. Mr. Asshole—I never learned his real name—tried to take a swing at me, and his coach grabbed him before he could start a fight.