Junior Year Box Set

“We went to a trophy store, and they use this same format for some of their university customers. Do you really think they’ll like it?”

“Absolutely. You guys hit one out of the park with this idea,” I said.

“Come on. Let’s get you fed,” he said.

The boosters did themselves proud. Someone had made chili, and they had all the fixings to go with it. Then they did a bunch of appetizers. I had jalapeño poppers, mini meatball sandwiches, Buffalo wings, and for dessert, they made us peach fried pies.

I had just finished when several people sat down with me. I smiled when Bo Harrington (Alabama), Don Berta (Kentucky), Coach Bailsman (Michigan State) and Wes Casey (Ohio State) joined me at the table. There was one last seat at the table and Jeff Delahey, my favorite reporter, joined us.

“Who are you guys here to see?” Jeff asked as he ignored me.

“We have our eye on a couple of guys. I want to see Lincoln’s big tackle play tonight,” Bo said.

“Their tailback is pretty good. I want to see how he does tonight. We might make an offer if he has another good game,” Coach Casey said. “Then we always want to see their big wideout.”

“I wonder when they’ll get smart and play him at tight end?” Coach Berta asked.

I let them have their fun as they pretended I wasn’t there. I had a blast when they started to make fun of other schools that weren’t here tonight. The Big Ten recruiters roasted Michigan. According to them, anyone would have to be a dumbass to go there. Someone mentioned the muffed punt, which made me groan. Michigan had lost their game to Michigan State on a last-second failed punt attempt that resulted in a Michigan State touchdown. The reason I groaned was that I’d lost a game on a late fumbled snap my freshman year. I felt for the Michigan punter who messed up. I was sure that, given a chance, Michigan would have some good things to say about Ohio State and Michigan State.

◊◊◊

When we came out for the coin toss, I had Jim and the rest of the seniors as my co-captains. St. Joe came out, and the trash talk started.

“How about we make a side bet? If we win, we all get a piece of your baby momma. At least she won’t get abused with us.”

They thought it was funny. Jim grabbed me before I decided which one to kick the shit out of first. There were six of them. I would keep track of each one of these smartasses, and they would think differently by the end of the game. I gave them a feral grin that made them shut up and the referee step in between us.

“We’ll have none of that,” the referee said.

All through the coin toss, I glared at them. Now that the referee had protected them, they were back to acting like idiots, and all had smirks on their faces. We won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. Jim had to pick me up to move me from the center of the field. I walked backward to the sideline and never took my eyes off them.

“What happened out there?” Coach Hope said.

“They said some things to David. I think they just motivated him to unleash the hounds of hell on their butts. You might want him to play some defense to get it out of his system,” Jim said.

Jim was suddenly my best friend in the whole world. Coach Hope saw me light up with a huge grin, and he just dropped his head and shook it.

“If I let you play defense, you have to promise no cheap shots. Everything has to be within the rules of the game. Do you think you can do that?” Coach asked.

“Yes, sir.”

“Oh, and you owe me one,” he said with a smirk.

I thought about it for a moment and tried to imagine what he might want, but at that moment, I couldn’t care less. I stepped forward and shook his hand. He had a deal.

Our kicker managed to kick the ball through the end zone, so St. Joe had the football first and ten at the 20 yard line. Because Jim was a senior, he started at defensive tackle, with Johan Bauer at the other tackle. With both of them in the game, I had no doubt we would control the center of the line. I didn’t see how their center and two guards would be able to handle them. Everything starts there, and it would force St. Joe to try to run outside. That was to our advantage because of our team’s speed. On top of that, it would free up Yuri and Jake at linebacker. The interior linemen couldn’t get off the ball if they had to double-team our defensive tackles.

I scanned the field to see if any of my targets were on offense. I spotted three of them: their quarterback, tailback, and one of their wide receivers. As they lined up, I was aquiver with anticipation as I prepared to release all the frustration that had slowly built up over the week. I felt myself drop into the zone and the sound of our crowd faded in my head. My heart pounded in my ears as I focused on the field. St. Joe lined up in a basic ‘I’ formation with their quarterback under center and a fullback and tailback stacked behind him.

I saw Ed, at cornerback, take an extra step inside to support the run. The receiver he was to cover looked inside and shook his hand. Their quarterback nodded when he saw that.