Senior Year Box Set

I looked around, and no one was looking back at me.

“Guys, there’s plenty of blame to go around. We can worry about that Monday. What we need to do is win this. I am not losing this game! Are we all on the same page?” I asked.

All I got in response was grumblings and halfhearted yeses. I got pissed.

“Enough of this bullshit! Are we on the same page?” I asked again.

“Yes, sir!” they barked back.

I heard a whistle and looked at the referee.

“Delay of game. Five-yard penalty, still first down,” he announced.

I saw Coach Hope grab Trent and start to talk to him. Screw it.

“On me,” I told them, and we stepped up to the line of scrimmage.

What I’d just told them was I’d be calling the plays at the line and that we were running the hurry-up offense. I looked over at Lakeview, and they were in a prevent defense. I personally felt that was a big mistake because there was too much time on the clock, and we could still run the ball.

“Blue One! BLUE ONE!” I yelled as I moved under center.

Bert and Ty lined up in the ‘I’ formation behind me. On the snap, I turned and handed the ball to Bert as he ran right up the middle. Johan, Bryan, and Brock fired off the ball and gave him a good running lane. He made a nice eight-yard gain. On second and third downs, we ran Ty into the teeth of their defense and were robbed when they marked the ball short, making it fourth and inches.

Coach Hope called a time-out. I trotted over to the sideline.

“I think we should punt it,” Coach Hope said.

“No, give me the ball. Give me a chance to fix this,” I begged.

“If we punt, they’ll just run the clock out. We have to score on this drive, or the game is over,” Coach Mason added.

“If we can’t pick up an inch, we deserve to lose,” I said.

“Goal line power dive,” Coach Hope called.

Lakeview saw we had put two linemen in the backfield with Ty at tailback. They countered by inserting six linemen and five linebackers.

“Down!”

Wolf started in motion. The plan was to have him help block up the center. I saw his linebacker follow him and had a crazy idea.

“Set! Hut, HUT!”

The fans were all on their feet, screaming. As I got the ball, there was a tremendous crack of pads as both teams collided. Ty’s eyes got big when I put my hand in his stomach without the ball. I trusted my team to get one inch, but this was on me. I carried out the fake handoff and then stood for a two count before curling around the outside. Apparently, I had held my fake a moment too long because the defensive end had figured out what I was up to.

I planted my foot and ran to the outside. He did exactly what he was trained to do, which was to force me inside of him. If I tried to make it to the edge, he would drop me for a loss. The Lakeview crowd erupted when they saw me in trouble. The mistake a lot of runners make is to try to make something out of nothing. It’s usually much better to stick your nose towards the goal line than to do something fancy. I lowered my shoulders and drove my legs towards the first down marker. Their defensive end tackled me, but I’d been working out since I started playing football. I carried him past the line for the first down.

Coach Mason about lost his mind. I agreed with him; that wasn’t the best idea I’d ever had. I quickly got everyone lined up. We steadily gained yardage, eating up the clock. With just under two minutes to go, I hit Jake on a crossing pass over the center, and he broke free. He got the ball down to the 9 yard line. The cowbells could probably be heard back home.

I called a two-man option with Ty and me as we lined up in the shotgun.

“Down! Set! Hut, HUT!”

We worked our way to the right of the line, and I made my read. I tossed Ty the ball, and he cut upfield as I was tackled. He shrugged off a corner and cut inside where one of their linebackers tried to wrap him up. Ty was a man possessed. He fought for extra yardage, and I thought he might score. Then he was crushed by another linebacker. I saw the ball come loose and bounce into the end zone. One of Lakeview’s defensive backs scooped it up and ran it out.

I popped up to stop him from running it back for the score. I doubt the poor kid saw me, and I hit him harder than I’d ever hit anyone. All the negative feelings I’d been dealing with all week seemed to come to a head as I leveled the guy. The Lakeview fans who’d just been screaming for a victory became quiet as he dropped the ball. Ed had been chasing him, and he grabbed the football. I watched as he ran it in for the score. There was stunned silence for a moment, and then our fans cheered when they figured out that we’d just taken the lead.

I looked toward our bench, and there was a flag on the ground. I felt my heart get stuck in my throat for fear it was on us. The line judge indicated it was offsides on Lakeview and that the score counted. This time when we received an unsportsmanlike penalty for excessive celebration, I don’t think the coaches cared.