He then asked me about recruiting, and what I thought about the schools I had on my list. I was sure this would find its way back to those schools, so I made sure I didn’t say anything negative. I shared that I would make my decision in the spring. Many schools had been pushing for a fall commitment so they could leverage me in attracting other recruits.
I took Wyatt back to my locker and helped him put on his football gear. I then got dressed.
Because of his heart condition, Wyatt wasn’t able to run. Coach Hope said he would walk Wyatt out as I led the team onto the field for warm-ups. I motioned for Wyatt to join me, which made his day.
It looked like Washington expected a big crowd. I think they’d learned their lesson from our baseball game last year. They’d installed temporary bleachers all around the field. I would guess they had seating for four times their regular capacity.
Caryn had told me on the drive over that most colleges weren’t able to send recruiters this week because they had games to play. There would be a ginormous contingent next Friday when we faced Unity, our foe in last year’s State Championship game.
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“Today begins our journey back to win a third consecutive State Championship,” Coach Hope said. “I’m proud of all the work you boys put in to get ready for today. I want you to know that we’ll have a target on our back for every game this season. Washington will be out to prove something today. If they can beat us, it will be the signature win for their season.
“I want to send a message to each and every opponent on our schedule. When you play Lincoln High, you’re playing the best. We are the best conditioned, have the best coaching, the best fans, and the best players. I want them to think they’ve lost the game before they even step on the field.”
I cringed a little, knowing that Wyatt was streaming that out live for me. Coach just gave every team on our schedule material that would be put on a giant poster the week they played us.
Wyatt led us out of the locker room. We joined arms and walked out like we owned the place. Once we made it to our sideline, the Washington marching band began to play their school song. They had a huge banner that the cheerleaders held for their players to run through. The place erupted when the Washington team charged onto the field.
Coach Hope backed the Make-A-Wish experience, so I took Wyatt out to do the coin flip. We made sure that he was the only one announced. Both groups of fans stood and cheered him. It made my heart feel full when I saw the look on his face.
“Take it in, buddy. It doesn’t get any better than this,” I said.
“Lincoln High, call it in the air,” the referee announced.
“Heads!” Wyatt called.
“It is tails. Washington, what is your call?”
“We’ll defer,” Gabe Verity said.
“We’ll take the ball,” I said to get the game started.
The opening kickoff bounced out of bounds, so we began our first series on our 35 yard line. It felt weird, watching Trent trot out to take my place. Roc, Phil, Yuri, Tim, and Wolf came to stand with me in solidarity.
Ty Wilson had transferred to Lincoln from Washington last year. Freshman year, he and I both found ourselves playing varsity ball. Ty was probably the best running back in the state. I think everyone in the stadium knew that he was going to run it on the first play. Coach Mason had told Ty that he would give him every chance to win this game today.
Trent lined up under center with Ty at tailback and Bert in front of him at fullback. On the snap, Johan, our center, somehow stepped on Trent’s foot. I’d taken thousands of snaps and had never even come close to getting my foot stepped on by the center. As a quarterback, your first move was to step back and either hand the ball off or pass. Trent just turned to hand the ball off.
Instead of just falling down and taking the loss, Trent reached out and tried to get the ball to Ty. What ended up happening was the ball hit Bert’s hip and bounced back towards Trent. All he had to do was fall on top of the ball, and disaster would have been averted.
Instead, Trent tried to pick the ball up and accidentally kicked it. Ty dove for the ball at the same time, and it bounced off his helmet right into the hands of the linebacker who’d blitzed to stop Ty’s run. Trent stood straight up and smacked himself on the helmet instead of tackling the linebacker.
Our fans sat in stunned silence as Washington scored on the first play.
As the offense came off the field, Coach Hope encouraged them.
“Shake it off. We’re fine. We’ll score on the next drive to get it back.”
After the quick score, they kicked off again, and this time kicked a short line drive. Ty caught it on the 15 yard line. The problem with a short line drive is the kicking team doesn’t have time to contain the runner. Their players are too spread out to bring everyone together to gang-tackle the return man.
What made Ty dangerous was that he was almost impossible to take down if he got into the open field. Jake Holcombe led Ty forward and blocked the first man that had a chance at Ty. I started jumping up and down as Ty flew by the block and hit a crease. There wasn’t anyone on Washington’s team that was going to catch him. Just like that, the score was tied 7–7.
On the next series, Washington took the ball and ran it down our throats. Tim, Yuri, and I sat on the sidelines in agony as Washington ran our option game from last year to perfection. If it hadn’t been for back-to-back bonehead penalties on Washington’s part, they would have scored another touchdown. They had to settle for a field goal to take a 10–7 lead.
As they were lining up to kick off, Coach Mason gathered us around. Before he could give me the play, Coach Hope stepped into our circle.
“We’re going with the starters.”
Coach Mason looked at him in disbelief but gave Trent the play. Washington saw I wasn’t on the field and packed the box to prevent the run. Without my arm to make them respect the pass, they would focus on our All-State running back, Ty Wilson. Ty gave a tremendous effort, but Washington held us to four yards on the next three carries, forcing us to punt.
I wasn’t surprised when Coach Rector called for the first-team defense, leaving us on the sideline. By the end of the first quarter, we were down 16–7 on two more Washington field goals. At the beginning of the second quarter, our fans booed when Trent trotted out to take the ball.
The fan reaction seemed to rattle him, and he promptly threw a pick-six. Luckily, Washington missed the extra point to make the score 22–7. Our fans went ballistic when Trent was sent out on the next series. Towards the end of the first half, Tim ran up to me.
“David, you have to come hear this,” he said, literally pulling me towards the bench.
I found Jill, one of our trainers, looking nervous.
“Tell him what you told me,” Tim prompted.
“I’m not sure …” she stumbled.
“Just tell me,” I said kindly.
Jill and I had a long history. She looked at me and then nodded.
“The reason you’re not playing is that Tim and Wolf didn’t let Coach Hope know they were going to Mexico. Coach Hope felt he had a deal with all of you, and you took advantage of it. He decided not to play any of you for the entire first game.”
“I thought you called in?” I asked Tim and Wolf, who’d joined us.
“We did. We talked to Alan,” Wolf said.
“Why didn’t you call Coach Hope’s cell?” I asked.
“Dumbass, the school has rules about coaches and teachers giving out their personal numbers. Think about what would happen if we lose the game. He would get flooded with calls.”
“But I have it,” I admitted.