“Did you think I wouldn’t find out?” Jim roared.
Jill looked at me.
“Shouldn’t you do something?”
“I think Jim has it under control,” I told her.
In the meantime, Mike had turned a dark shade of red and struggled to get free.
“You might want to set him down so he can answer you,” I suggested.
Jim turned to look at me, and I just held up my hands to let him know I wouldn’t get involved. Unfortunately, the coaches must have heard the commotion, because both Coach Hope and Coach Zoon burst into the room.
“Break it up!” Coach Hope bellowed.
Jim tossed Mike aside, and Mike crashed into the wall and crumpled to the floor.
“Check on him and get his story,” Coach Hope told Coach Zoon. “You, come with me!” he ordered Jim.
Jim followed Coach Hope out of the room while Jill and Coach Zoon checked on Mike. He was gasping for air and holding his shoulder. Jill probed the joint and Mike cried out. That didn’t look good. Mike finally got his breathing under control.
“What was that all about?” Coach Zoon asked.
“He’s just pissed I asked his girlfriend out,” Mike said.
I was off the table in a flash. Mike was going to die!
◊◊◊
The next thing I knew, I was waking up with Jill lifting my eyelids and sticking a flashlight in my eyes, which damn near blinded me.
“Stop!” I complained and twisted my head away from her.
Shit, my head hurt. Mr. Hasting, our head trainer, was on the other side of me and looked concerned. Above me, Coach Hope and Becky, our other trainer, were looking down at me. Hell, all I needed was for my mom to walk in.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Coach Zoon swept your legs, and you landed on your head,” Coach Hope said.
“He can’t play,” Mr. Hasting said.
I tried to sit up, but Jill pinned me to the ground. I was surprised she was able to do it.
“Don’t move,” she ordered me.
“We need to get David checked and then follow concussion protocols. If he passes each step without any problems, you won’t be able to have him on the field for five days. There’s no room for discussion on this,” Mr. Hasting said as he looked right at me.
“Aw, shit!” I said.
“Dawson!” Coach Hope chastised me.
Becky left the room and came back with my clothes. When I sat up, the room started to spin, and I suddenly didn’t feel well.
“I’m going to puke,” I warned them.
Jill grabbed a wastebasket, and I lost my supper. I heard Mr. Hasting talking to Coach Hope.
“David has several symptoms: sensitivity to light, dizziness, nausea, irritability, and I would assume a headache. We need to get him to an ER and make sure he doesn’t have anything more serious, like a brain bleed.”
“That’s just great. I lose three players and a coach before we even take the field. We’ll be lucky if we win tonight,” Coach Hope complained.
Jill helped me up, and I got dressed. As I walked out into the locker room, it was dead quiet. I looked at Coach Hope and could tell we had a serious problem.
“Gather around!” I shouted and immediately regretted it.
My damaged head felt like it might actually split open. I wouldn’t yell again for a while. My yell seemed to startle everyone, and they hustled to gather around Coach Hope and myself.
“Ty, Yuri, get up here,” I said, and they both came and stood by me.
“You two have to lead us tonight, and I want everyone to listen to them. You all have to pull together as a team. Mt. Vernon will see blood in the water, and they’ll think they can rattle you, but they don’t know what you’re made of. You’re the best damned team in the State. I wouldn’t trade a single player on their team for any of you. Well, maybe we could get something for Wolf,” I said.
“Bite me!” Wolf responded.
“Listen to your coaches and play all-out. I need you guys to win one for me. We’ve faced adversity before. We’ll face it down the road. What I know is that each and every one of you has prepared for this. Now I need to get out of here. They think Coach Zoon dented my hard head,” I said.
I let Mr. Hasting lead me out of the locker room and to his car. We drove to the local Emergency Room, and they confirmed I had a concussion and didn’t need any stitches for the head cut I’d received. The doctor gave me a sheet of paper that mapped my next few days.
Phase 1: Low impact, non-strenuous, light aerobic activity such as walking or riding a stationary bike. If tolerated without return of symptoms over a 24-hour period proceed to:
Phase 2: Higher impact, higher exertion, and moderate aerobic activity such as running or jumping rope. No resistance training. If tolerated without return of symptoms over a 24-hour period proceed to:
Phase 3: Sport-specific noncontact activity. Low resistance weight training with a spotter. If tolerated without return of symptoms over a 24-hour period proceed to:
Phase 4: Sport-specific activity, noncontact drills. Higher resistance weight training with a spotter. If tolerated without return of symptoms over a 24-hour period proceed to:
Phase 5: Full-contact training drills and intense aerobic activity. If tolerated without return of symptoms over a 24-hour period proceed to:
Phase 6: Return to full activities without restrictions.
It was pretty much what Mr. Hasting had told me. I would have to check in with the training staff. They did give me something for my headache, and Mr. Hasting took me back to the game. Mt. Vernon wasn’t equipped for our fan base, so it was standing-room only. I was still feeling a little light-headed, so I was escorted to the team bench. The crowd soon spotted me and roared while they rang those damned cowbells.
I looked up at the scoreboard and saw we were leading 21–10 at the start of the third quarter. Trent Buchannan, my replacement, seemed to have gotten over his jitters from earlier this year. Coach Diamond focused on running the option, and with Ty carrying the bulk of the load, we moved the football. Milo Bauer, a freshman, had been inserted at right tackle, and Neil Presley was put in at Jim’s position.
On defense, Moose took over for Coach Zoon and put Jake in to play linebacker. With his speed, he was quick to pursue the ball, but he didn’t have the instincts Tim or Mike had. Yuri took over the defensive play-calling. We were lucky Mt. Vernon hadn’t shown a potent offense. They’d won all their games via their defense and causing turnovers. Ty was perceptive and knew how to hang onto the football.
In the second half, Mt. Vernon kicked three field goals to make the final score 21–19. You could point to a game each season where your team came together. Last year it was the Springfield game when we beat a team we probably shouldn’t have. This was that game for us this year. I could see the pride and exhaustion my guys had as they came off the field. They had won a game, on the road, against a conference opponent that was undefeated. They were put at a disadvantage when three potential D1 teammates were taken away from them just before the game. I had never been prouder of them than I was right at that moment.
◊◊◊
On the bus ride back, Jim and I were required to sit up front with the coaches, including Coach Zoon. Mike had refused to get on the bus. His parents took him home after a heated conversation with Coach Hope. Jim and I were ordered not to talk about what happened to our teammates. There was to be a meeting when we got back to the school.
My head started to throb again, so I took some of the painkillers they’d given me at the ER, kicked back, and fell asleep.