Chapter 34

The legend of Tatum Sloan began as a sophomore. He moved to Petros the year before, a small, skinny boy with some talent, but more determination than anything else.

After ending the ninth grade, Cole saw little of Tatum in the summer prior to his sophomore year in the off-season workouts, but did not think much of it as nobody expected him to contribute much.

But when Tatum reported for football, the coaches had a hard time believing this was the same person.

Over the summer, he grew almost five inches and added 25 pounds of muscle thanks to a daily regiment of weight lifting and running. Tatum had spent most of the summer working at his grandparent’s farm. When he wasn’t working, there was little else to do so Tatum lifted weights, ran and got bigger.

Cole was amazed when he saw Tatum on the practice field for the first time. Still only a sophomore, Tatum looked like a man playing with boys.

During the three years Tatum played for Petros, Cole was a much better coach. The Panthers lost only six games during those three years. Three of the losses were in the playoffs while the other three came against Hodgen.

He was selected second-team All-State in football as a senior and came closer to delivering the Panthers a state championship than anybody else. He was also a standout in basketball and baseball, but it was with the pigskin that Tatum truly excelled.

Tatum was not offered a scholarship to any of the big schools, a slight Cole never understood. So Tatum went to a smaller school, started as a sophomore and was the best player on his team as a junior.

While in high school, Tatum had pretty much lived with the coaches, watching more film and asking more questions than any other player ever had. He decided coaching was his future early and dedicated his life to learning all there was about the sport.

After graduating from college, Cole offered a job but Tatum wanted to work at some other schools to get exposed to what other coaches and schools had to offer. He had all kinds of offers, finally going with a big school just outside Tulsa.

He seldom stayed at a school longer than two years, always serving with the best coaches and programs in the state, adding all this to his knowledge. Tatum finally decided it was time to go out on his own and took over a Class A school with no tradition, one that seldom won and was not blessed with great athletes.

Tatum could have had other jobs, but knew this would test him and prepare him as he climbed the ladder.

His first team went .500, the best record for the school in over 20 years. With most of the team returning, Tatum had the boys in the weight room constantly, working out with them and pushing them to the extremes.

His team surprised everybody the next year, going undefeated during the regular season and averaging almost fifty points a game. Still unranked, his team pulled off two big upsets in the playoffs to move into the state finals against the top-ranked team in the state.

With Cole, his assistants and Lucky looking on, they watched as Tatum guided his team to a 31-3 rout to win the state championship.

It was a win that provided Tatum the opportunity to have any coaching spot open that year. He moved up to a Class 2A school for two seasons, then for some reason Cole never understood, Tatum chose Cedar Lake, a school that was always decent, but could never turn the corner.

It was a school with no tradition, one of those schools in the middle-of-the-pack every year, seldom getting a playoff spot and never advancing past the first round.

But Tatum studied the program, saw there were some players coming up and thought this was a sleeping giant, something nobody else saw. He knew the only thing Big Cedar needed was leadership.

Some wondered if Tatum went to Big Cedar just to see if he could beat Cole and his alma mater, something that had crossed Cole’s thoughts.

In his first year, Tatum and the Mustangs were 6-1 overall, 3-1 in district play, the only loss coming against Summerfield.

Big Cedar surprised everybody by pulling off an upset over Forrester last week, somehow holding the Grizzlies in check and winning, 22-6.

Cole had started watching film of the Mustangs and was impressed. He had never seen any team improve so much in one year, and Cole knew most of that team would be back the next season.

Big Cedar ran an offense similar to Petros, mixing in a few wrinkles Tatum had picked up over the years. The biggest difference was he liked to throw the ball more than Cole did.

On defense, the Mustangs went with a 4-3, dedicated to stopping the run and utilizing a blitz on most plays. Everybody expected the Mustangs to get blown out by Summerfield two weeks earlier. Big Cedar only lost 21-6 and the game was much closer as Summerfield scored two touchdowns in the final quarter, the final coming on the last play of the game.

Cole looked forward to this game while dreading it at the same time. He knew this was going to be a very tough game and it would be difficult to look across the field and try to beat one of his favorites.

As he went through the film, Cole saw nobody had been able to run against the Mustangs’ defense, not even Forrester. The only way opponents had any success was by throwing the ball and the quarterbacks took a terrible beating.

Cole was aware Tatum knew pretty much everything about the Petros system, as few things had changed since he played here. Cole also knew there were a few wrinkles Tatum and the Mustangs would not expect.

He had picked up some things Tatum had never seen his former coach do and there would be a lot of changes prior to this game. In a situation like this, it was time to break out the notebook, something nobody other than his sons had ever seen.

The notebook was not anything fancy, just a book filled with almost all the things he had seen over the years, all the trick plays, different formations and ideas Cole came across. These were put back to be used at a later date, and Cole decided it was later.

He made it most of the way through the notebook before finding something that caught his interest.

----------------

The movie wasn’t all that great. It was a comedy that wasn’t funny, to either Lucky or Toni. At the end, it tried to be touching to make up for all the mistakes, but failed badly.

It was a night he had looked forward to, and the movie would not ruin it for him. He knew the only way the night could turn out better was if the movie had not stunk.

Lucky was glad he could not be blamed for the lame movie, as it was her suggestion.

He was nervous all day, since this was his first real date. The night he and Gabby spent together wasn’t really a date, more like friends getting together. But this was a date. Lucky had been so nervous and jittery he could not even enjoy watching any football games.

After practice that morning, he came home and tried watching football, but found his nerves would not settle down. Finally, Lucky gave up and went outside to shoot baskets, knowing that would help. Lloyd heard the pounding of the ball and the clanking of the rim and came out to spend some time with his brother.

Eventually it turned into a game of 1-on-1 between the brothers. Naturally, it started off slow and easy, eventually getting more intense between a pair who simply did not like to lose, even to their brother.

The game was tight, a war that went back and forth. Lucky eventually pulled it out, wearing out Lloyd and scoring the final six points to put the game away. It was one of the few times he beat his brother, a fact that did not brighten Lloyd’s day.

“You better enjoy this one,” stated Lloyd, who was bent over, trying to get his breath. He smiled at his younger brother, but did not enjoy the defeat.

“I will,” answered Lucky, as he and his brother walked over to the porch to sit down. He did enjoy the win, more than Lloyd would ever know.

It was a beautiful fall evening with just a touch of chill in the air so he and Toni decided to walk. Everything was so crisp and clear, it seemed like the stars and moon were right on top of them.

Lucky was glad he did not have to go through the parent ordeal as her father was at the store and Toni’s mother was shopping.

They talked it over and decided to walk to the movie, even though she had her license. Toni lived on the far side of town, but was still closer to the theater. They walked down the streets since Petros had never built sidewalks on some of the streets. Some of the neighborhoods had sidewalks, built by the property owners, but many were in disrepair.

The streets were not better as there were some potholes big enough if somebody fell in, a call to 911 would be needed.

Lucky was wearing his best shirt, a white golf shirt with some funny emblem that made no sense to him on the chest. He wore his newest pair of jeans, one that actually did not have any holes, along with a pair of hiking boots that was comfortable and the best shoes in his narrow selection of footwear.

His hair was getting a little ragged and needed cut. He had not gotten a haircut since school started and regretted that now. He borrowed some of Lloyd’s cologne since Lucky had never seen the need to get any.

She wore a long-sleeve blouse that was light blue, a pair of white jeans and brown shoes. She had gotten away from the ponytail tonight, going with her hair free. Toni had obviously put some time into the date also, even putting on makeup and perfume.

Lucky was almost speechless when he first saw her, wondering why somebody that attractive bothered with somebody like him.

They had plenty of time before the movie started so they walked slowly, looking at the houses. Like many small towns, there really weren’t good or bad neighborhoods in Petros. There would be a nice home, surrounded by several houses that should have been torn down long ago.

Toni’s house was a big two-story home on a corner lot with a huge porch on the front and a privacy fence surrounding the back yard.

He knew shortcuts all over town, thanks to a life of experimenting with Happy and D.J., but they followed the road, not wanting to risk getting dirty.

“You look really nice,” Lucky mentioned, as they turned off Alexander Street and on to Main Street.

She looked like nobody had ever said something like that to her before.

“Thank you,” she answered, her face turning a dark shade of red and smiling shyly. “I just wish it was true.”

“It’s true,” he insisted. “I’ve never seen you look so good.”

She smiled in return and Lucky realized that maybe Toni did not feel like she was quite as pretty as he felt she was.

There was a short line at the old theater, a building that had been around even before his father was born. Cole never told Lucky, but he was quite the juvenile delinquent around this part of town as a youth, sneaking into movies, taking money from the other kids and doing things he would like to forget.

He once threw a pickle at the screen and hit it so hard it put a hole in the fabric. Cole thought this was pretty funny until the owner banned him.

This was no multiplex, even a two-plex theater. At the old Liberty Theater, there was only one movie showing. Take it or leave it. Most people did leave it, preferring to go to the modern theaters with the surround sound, rocking seats and cup holders.

The Liberty did not offer those modern amenities. It was just an old theater, uncomfortable, narrow seats with not enough room between the rows to be comfortable. But it was a place where more than half the residents of Petros went on their first date, took their future spouse to a movie and some even scored their first kiss.

Everybody realized it had faults, but also had cherished memories of the old theater.

The theater was less than half full when they arrived, making it easy to find seats. Lucky guided her to an area he figured was safe from all the little hoodlums that would act up until the owner, Mister Fry, told them to behave or he would kick them out and not let them return.

After they sat down, Lucky left to go the refreshment stand. The popcorn was made right in the theater, none of that fake stuff made somewhere else then brought in and warmed up. The popcorn popper was going full blast, the smell the first thing a person noticed after walking inside. It was the best popcorn anybody ever ate, putting the microwave kind and all others to shame.

They shared a huge bag and Lucky got them each a drink, also of the huge size.

Some of the paint was peeling on the walls and several tiles on the ceiling showed water damage. Lucky noticed the men’s bathroom was out of order, requiring everybody to use the one good bathroom.

He wondered how this could pass safety codes, but was glad it did. Lucky bought the huge bucket of popcorn and two drinks for a third of the price it would cost at the theater in Fort Smith.

“That was a good game you played last night,” said Homer Fry, who manned the refreshment stand while his wife sold the tickets. Lucky didn’t even know Homer Fry knew who he was, but shouldn’t have been surprised in a town as crazy about sports as this one. “We’ll have a tough one this week against old Tatum.”

Lucky took the change and thanked the old man. He avoided two rowdy boys running full speed up the center aisle, which was the only one in the theater. There were two sections, left and right, cut in half by the aisle.

There was some unwritten rule that the school kids sat on the left side. The other half was left for adults, or the teens on a date that did not want to get hit by flying objects. Down in the corner was an old clock, at least thirty years old advertising some product Lucky never heard of.

Lucky and Toni had one aisle to themselves, toward the back since he knew the closer you got to the screen, the more dangerous it got. It could be quite the jungle inside the Liberty, but Homer Fry had been around long enough to know who caused trouble and get them to calm down or leave.

This was considered an adult movie, despite the PG rating, so fewer kids showed up than normal. There were those who would come even if the name of the movie was “Boring Movie”, since this was one of the few things in Petros to do on a weekend night.

The first half-eaten pickle was thrown at the screen just as the lights dimmed and the first preview started. It was a poor effort thrown by somebody who needed to improve their arm strength. Lucky heard somebody pass gas in a group of boys just a few rows away from him, one potent enough they scattered like a skunk was in their midst.

Lucky tried to keep from smiling, while hoping the fumes did not travel his way.

“That was a good one,” Toni commented, something he never expected to hear from a female.

Most of the younger boys and girls were all separated, of course, still too early in the night. Lucky knew negotiations were fixing to take place to try and get some girl to sit by some boy, or vice versa. The negotiations were carried out by a third party since nobody was brave enough to actually ask somebody to sit by them. Their friends were nearby, of course, and they could not suffer the mental anguish of getting rejected.

Lucky watched as some of the negotiations were successful. A boy left his seat to go sit by a girl, or a girl did the same. The movie dragged at times, not that Lucky complained. He just thought going on a date was pretty neat.

A couple two rows in front of them lost interest in the movie within the first five minutes. Since the movie stunk, they took advantage of the opportunity to make out without having to worry about parents disturbing them.

“I wonder when they come up for air?” Toni asked.

“I don’t think breathing is their primary concern,” Lucky added.

The movie finally came to its conclusion, shortly after the two stars figured out that they did indeed love each other, even though they argued and fought the entire movie. It was supposed to be a happy ending, but Lucky thought it was silly.

They walked down the block to the Downtown Café for some ice cream, waving as several cars and trucks passed by and honked at them. Lucky saw Garrett drive by and was not surprised his teammate did not honk or wave. But Lucky ignored him, not wanting anything to mess up the night.

Elizabeth and Andy had also gone out on a date, but went all out, going all the way to Hodgen.

The Café was not as crowded as usual as most people found something else to do late on a Saturday night other than play pool or eat. The jukebox was set on songs that were a little slower than usual and not nearly as loud.

They sat and talked for a while after the ice cream was gone, then decided to head out. Lucky guided them toward the city park, located a block behind downtown. There was a large gazebo in the middle and they walked to it and sat down, watching the traffic go by.

“Do you do that much?” Lucky asked.

“Ride around?” she asked. Lucky nodded, sipping on a drink they brought from the Café. “Not if I can help it. Elizabeth seems to enjoy it and sometimes she’ll talk me into it.”

“I haven’t discovered the joy of cruising yet.”

“Does that mean you wouldn’t ride around with me if I asked?”

“I could make an exception.”

Lucky was feeling very uneasy, not knowing what to do. He wondered if it would be proper to hold her hand, put his arm around her or maybe even kiss her. If it had to do with sports, Lucky could come up with an answer, but not when it came to romance.

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

“Naw,” Lucky responded, smiling. He had been in deep concentration and the look must have worried her.

“You sure look like something’s bothering you.”

“It’s not really bothering me.”

“Well, what is it?”

“It’s pretty silly.”

Toni took a drink from the cup and set it down between them.

“You can tell me,” she offered.

Lucky decided to try it, hoping he did not sound stupid.

“I really don’t know what to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“Okay, this is my first, you know, date. I don’t know what to do on a date.”

Toni smiled at Lucky and moved closer.

“What do you feel like you should be doing?” Toni asked.

“I don’t know, I’d kinda of like to hold your hand or something like that.”

She held her hand out while scooting closer. Lucky reached out and accepted it, deciding this was pretty cool.

“That sounded like an old Beatles song,” he said, chuckling.

“A bug song?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Lucky responded, feeling life probably could not get any better.

Chapter 35

Chapter 33

Lucky had admired Joe Johnson from Cedar Lake for years, and felt it was an honor to finally compete against him. Johnson was a stud, an excellent athlete, a tough competitor who gave his best effort every time.

The Panthers and Lucky were just glad there was only one Joe Johnson on Cedar Lake’s team. If there were more like him, the game would be difficult.

But Johnson just didn’t have much help, especially after all the injuries, a fact Lucky and the other Panthers also knew.

After the difficult schedule Petros faced, it would be easy for a letdown. But the coaches were not really concerned. Petros’ practices got better throughout the week and Cole knew by how the guys responded they were not thinking about any team other than Cedar Lake.

He also knew that after finally climbing back to the .500 mark, Petros was ready to get above that for the first time and keep the momentum going.

A huge crowd gathered at the old stadium early Friday, even though it was overcast, cool and a good chance of rain. The parking lot in front of the gym was filling quickly and a line of cars was moving toward the school from every direction. The neighbors who lived nearby walked toward the stadium, not wanting to deal with the usual traffic jam after the game.

A few cars were already parked on the bluff overlooking the field, a favorite parking place for young boys and girls when there wasn’t a game going on.

All through the warm-ups, Lucky watched Johnson, admiring the way he moved, the fluid motion of his passing. He looked huge, standing well above his teammates. Johnson wore number eleven, just like he did in the other sports.

Johnson and his teammates wore white shirts with green numbers, along with green pants and helmets, short white socks and black shoes. There were two green stripes on his helmet with white Viking emblems on both sides.

The Panthers were in their usual home uniforms with blacks pants and shirts with white helmets.

The grass on the field was still hanging on to its green, but just barely. It was cut low, almost the length of the grass on a golf fairway. There was fresh chalk on the lines and the big “P” in the middle of the field was freshly painted black.

Lucky had casually glanced into the stands a few times already and as the captains walked to the center of the field, did so again. This time, he spotted her, sitting in the student section, just beside the band. Lucky wanted to wave at her, but knew that would look silly. He thought she was looking at him, but couldn’t be sure.

He could tell Toni had not been to many games or she would have sat somewhere else. She was too close to the band and would pay for it later because Petros’ band might not be the greatest, but made up for it with volume.

The captains were meeting in the center of the field, on the black “P” for the coin toss. Johnson was one of the three captains for Cedar Lake. Gary, Derwin and Kenneth were Petros’ captains.

Cedar Lake won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. Petros took the ball. After one final meeting, the teams took the field for the kickoff.

The kick was a long high one that came down to Skip just inside the 10. He found a seam and sprinted upfield, reaching the 37 before getting knocked down.

As the Panthers broke their huddle and came to the line, Lucky was surprised to see how small the opponents were. This was easily the smallest team Petros had faced, almost as small as some of the junior high teams he played against the year before.

He knew the Panthers would have a size advantage, but not this much of one. Lucky also knew his teammates had a big advantage in speed and quickness.

Before he reached under the center, Lucky looked across the line and saw Johnson lining up at free safety. He expected his opponent to be busy all night, a prediction that came true on the first play as D.J. burst through a huge hole, broke away from a linebacker and was in the secondary before Johnson came from the other side to make the tackle.

Petros pretty much did what it wanted, mixing up the plays and driving down the field. Johnson was making many of the tackles, a bad sign for Cedar Lake as it meant the Panthers’ backs were getting into the secondary.

Lucky capped off the drive, keeping it on an option from the 7, dragging a pair of Vikings with him the last couple of yards. He was drilled at the goal-line and knew it was Johnson without even looking around as Lucky knew the Viking standout was the only one who hit like that.

The game was less than three minutes old and Lucky had already fulfilled his promise to Toni about scoring a touchdown for her. As he jogged off the field, Lucky looked up in the stands and saw her standing along with the other students, smiling and clapping.

Jeremy missed the extra point, leaving the Panthers with a 6-0 lead.

He made up for it on the kickoff, pinning the returner deep. Cedar Lake’s player only reached the 16 before getting swarmed over.

The Vikings came out in a shotgun, no surprise to the Panthers. They had one running back in the backfield with Johnson, along with wideouts spread all over the field, hoping to stretch the defense out.

Petros was ready for this, going with a dime defense featuring six defensive backs. Derwin was the only player lined up at linebacker with the responsibility of shadowing Johnson wherever the quarterback went.

The Panthers knew Johnson had a better arm than anybody they had faced. He could throw a dart, the ball zinging down the field like a bullet, never losing speed or height until reaching its target.

His receivers were decent, but slow enough the Panthers’ defensive backs could cover pretty tight. Cedar Lake’s line had been pretty porous, so Ichabod expected his group to pressure Johnson all over the field, forcing him to throw on the run and get sacked frequently.

On the first play, Johnson took the snap and fired a quick pass to his favorite receiver running a hook route. The receiver caught the pass, good for five yards.

The Panthers’ defense huddled up.

“Man, he’s got an arm,” Skip stated.

“I’d hate to catch one of his passes in the cold,” added Harry.

“You guys shut up,” said Derwin, angrily. “You’re giving up too much room. We’re gonna get him if you guys don’t let him throw so quick.”

The Vikings tried a draw on second down, the only problems being the line did not block anybody and the back was small, slow and barely got back to the line before getting splattered.

Derwin’s prediction came true on third down as the secondary played tighter, not letting Johnson get rid of the ball so quick. He felt the pressure coming and tried to scramble, throwing the ball away at the last second before Derwin crashed into him, the first of many encounters between the two.

On fourth down, the punter was forced to punt quickly as the Panthers came hard. It was a poor punt, only reaching midfield before bouncing to a stop, giving the Panthers excellent field position.

Cole sent in a play-action pass, designed to go to Andy on a flag route. Lucky faked the crossbuck, paused and rolled out. Andy was open, but Johnson realized what was happening and closed quickly.

Lucky fired the pass, putting a little extra on it, trying to get the ball to his receiver before Johnson arrived. The pass was perfect, a tight spiral that led Andy perfectly. Everything was perfect, except Johnson turned on the speed, dove at the last second and knocked the ball away.

It was simply a great play and the legend of Joe Johnson just grew.

The Panthers huddled, still trying to believe what they had just seen.

“How’d he do that?” asked Skip, shaking his head.

All the players were amazed, knowing they had just witnessed greatness.

Lucky saw Johnson looking at him and nodded, acknowledging that he got him this time.

“We might want to throw away from him,” suggested D.J.

D.J. got the call on a dive straight ahead, spun away from a linebacker and gained seven yards before Johnson came out of the secondary like a missile and just crushed him. It was third-and-three. A crossbuck to Skip picked up five yards.

Lucky added four more on a keeper. In the huddle, Lucky patted all the linemen on the huddle.

“You guys are doing great,” he stated. “Keep it up.”

It was true, the line was playing the best it had all year, dominating the Vikings and opening big holes. The backs were beneficiaries, finding lots of room to run through.

The Vikings’ defenders knew what was happening, but could do little to stop the onslaught. The Panthers mixed in runs and an occasional pass to keep the defense honest.

Skip finished this drive with a nine-yard run, going untouched into the end zone.

Since the Panthers missed the first PAT, Cole kept the offense on the field to go for two. Lucky faked the crossbuck to D.J., rolled out and lobbed a pass to Anthony Hart, who was wide open in the corner of the end zone and easily caught the pass.

The two-point conversion put Petros ahead, 14-0.

After a good return, the Vikings took over on their 32. Johnson went back in the shotgun again, this time with no running backs. Petros saw this and automatically changed the defensive call to a blitz, knowing Cedar Lake did not have enough blockers to account for every defender coming.

The snap was low and Johnson dropped it. He quickly recovered it, but by the time Johnson stood up, the Panthers were coming hard. He scrambled to his right, finding only a small hole, but the quarterback took off through it, breaking one tackle then turning on the speed after getting into the opening.

It was hard to believe a player that size could move that well but Johnson looked like a sprinter. He burst into the secondary, cut back across the field and was in the open.

It wasn’t like the Panthers chasing him did not have speed as the pursuers were D.J., Skip, Lucky and Gary. But Johnson never let anybody get close, never slowing until crossing into the end zone, finally giving the Vikings’ side something to cheer about.

The run left everybody on Petros’ side shaking their heads while watching Johnson calmly hand the ball to the official and head to the sideline.

“I’d have to say that’s a pretty special player,” Stub commented.

“Thanks for your opinion,” Ichabod muttered, steaming that his defense allowed a touchdown.

“If every college in the country doesn’t go after him, they’re a bunch of idiots,” Stub added.

Cole knew Ichabod was not in a good mood and walked down to the sideline to him.

“Come on,” Cole complained. “Just cause the guy is a sprinter and one of the better players in the state and just made an awesome play, that’s no excuse to give up a score like that.”

Ichabod was still upset, started to defend his defense then realized Cole was just teasing him.

The kick was good and suddenly, there was a game again as Petros led only, 14-7.

Kenneth took the kickoff and began his ascent up the field, weaving in and out of traffic. He almost broke free, finally getting brought down by the final defender.

The Panthers took over on their 43. Cole sent Happy in to pound away at the Vikings out of the wishbone with two tight ends. He got the call on first down and plowed ahead. As he reached the linebacker, Happy surprised everybody by not trying to run over the linebacker, instead cutting back to the middle of the field.

He appeared to have plenty of running room when a blur appeared from the secondary, coming from nowhere and hitting Happy with enough force to knock him back several yards. It was Johnson again, delivering a hit that was usually not seen in a high school game.

Johnson’s teammates were congratulating him as Happy climbed up, shook his head and staggered to his feet.

“Yeah!” he hollered, a roar that could be heard through the stadium. The celebration came to a crashing halt, all the Vikings looking at Happy like was a crazed person.

Happy staggered over to Johnson. Lucky was afraid Happy was going to hit him, but he offered his hand and Johnson gave him a high-five. Happy shuffled back to the huddle as everybody looked on, wondering about the Petros player’s mental state.

“You okay?” Lucky asked, seeing that Happy’s cut on his nose had opened again, the blood flowing freely.

“Yep, I’m cool,” he answered. “Gimme the ball again. This time I’m gonna knock somebody on their rear.”

“You sure?”

“Yep,” Harry responded, wiping away a little blood with the back of his hand.

The officials had not noticed the blood yet, which was good for Happy because he would be sent to the sidelines as soon as they saw it.

“That boy has a high threshold for pain,” Stub commented.

“That had to leave a mark,” Ichabod added.

“Look at him,” Stub remarked. “He’s bleeding like a stuck pig.”

“How much does a ‘stuck pig’ bleed?” Cole asked.

Stub ignored the question and turned his attention back to the field.

Lucky did as Happy asked, running the same play to the other side. Happy blew through the line again and after passing the linebacker, started looking for Johnson, who was again coming at full speed, hoping to deliver a knockout blow. Happy spotted the safety and headed right for him, lowering his helmet and rushing ahead.

It looked like two rams hitting heads, only they could not back up and come back for more. The force of the blow buckled both players’ knees and they dropped to the ground.

Johnson’s helmet was twisted so far to the side his face was not visible. He stayed down on his knees and slowly righted his helmet. The force of the blow shattered the facemask on Happy’s helmet, something Cole had seldom seen.

Both players were a little woozy as they rose to their feet, assisted by teammates.

Happy did not celebrate this time, just grabbed hold of Skip’s arm and slowly walked back to the huddle, shaking his head to try and clear it.

The referee noticed the helmet and blood and sent Happy to the sideline. He looked like the town drunk walking to the sideline, staggering this way and that.

The coaches came out to meet him and help him to the sidelines.

“Now that’s not something you see every day,” Stub said, admiring the broken helmet.

Cole had always been fond of Happy. Not just because he was Lucky’s best friend, but because of his personality. His admiration had just grown considerably.

“You okay?” he asked, helping Happy walk to the bench.

“Huh?” Happy asked.

Cole looked closer and saw Happy’s eyes appeared to be glazed over.

“Who’re you?” Happy added.

Cole decided this was a little more than he could handle and looked around for Doc Hardy, who was already heading in their direction.

“I was kidding, Coach,” Happy stated. “I gotcha!”

Cole was thought by many to be too serious, seldom smiling or showing any evidence humor was part of his personality. But as a smile formed on his face, his hand covered it and tried to rub it away.

Back on the field, D.J. took a dive and flew into the secondary, juked a cornerback and picked up 20 yards before Johnson made another tackle.

Skip ran a sweep to the other side, followed behind a crushing block by Freddy Farmer, stiff-armed a cornerback and was off, getting a good block by D.J. on Johnson to break free.

He continued to sprint into the end zone, even though nobody was within twenty yards of him. The score, along with Jeremy’s extra point, again gave the Panthers a 14-point lead, still in the first quarter.

Petros’ offense was clicking, just as Cole hoped, showing the talent and breakaway ability he expected to see. It was an offense that was more potent than Petros had been blessed with in years. Along with a good defense that was getting better, Cole was really starting to feel good about his team.

The Panthers’ defense played with more control this time, keeping Johnson under control on the first play when he ran a quarterback draw that was stopped for a short gain, then forcing two incompletions as the first quarter ended.

A long punt by Johnson left the Panthers taking over on their own 31. Cole wanted to work on the passing game some, but was not yet comfortable with the lead.

“Okay, let’s go get another one,” Lucky directed his teammates in the huddle. “We can’t have a letdown. Let’s keep pounding them.”

The Panthers sprinted to the line after Lucky’s little speech, ready to do just as the quarterback requested.

It was a simple offense Petros ran, one that relied more on execution than anything else. If the line put a helmet on the correct defensive player and the backs made the correct read, the play usually worked.

The backs took turns picking up good yardage on almost every play. Lucky kept it on a couple of plays, also enjoying success.

It was a slow, time-consuming drive, the kind Cole loved to see. He could see the energy just getting drained out of the opponents as the defense was kept on the field for 13 plays and almost seven minutes.

Lucky hit Andy on the lob to cover the final 15 yards on a second-and-short. The pass was not great, but Andy made a great adjustment and outjumped the defender to grab the pass.

Jeremy’s PAT was good, giving the Panthers a 28-7 lead, still not enough for Petros to be comfortable with, knowing how talented Cedar Lake’s quarterback was.

Ichabod gathered the defense together before taking the field.

“Our offense is playing good,” he stated. “I want you guys to play as well as the offense. Continue to be aggressive but play under control. It’s time to send a message to everybody that we’re back and they better get ready!”

It was a lot of emotion coming from Ichabod, especially in a game Petros seemed to have under control. Ichabod sent in a blitz on first down. Lucky edged toward the line and as the ball was snapped, sprinted through a gap between the right guard and tackle.

Johnson had just received the snap and looked up to see Lucky bearing down on him. Johnson tried to scramble away but Lucky dove and wrapped the Vikings’ quarterback’s legs up until additional help arrived.

It was the start of a terrible pounding for Johnson, who was hit so often it appeared like there was a target on his chest.

Johnson was sacked on all three plays of the series, giving Ichabod plenty of reason to be happy. After the stop, as the defense came to the sideline, he rushed out to meet his players and showed his excitement, hugging his guys and giving high-5’s.

There were still a couple of minutes left before halftime. Cole told Lucky to spread out the offense and run the 2-minute drill.

The Panthers worked on this almost every day in practice and were starting to look better as everybody was getting accustomed.

Cedar Lake’s defensive backs were in a prevent defense so Lucky just threw short routes to the sidelines. The backs and receivers caught the passes, picked up as many yards as possible, then got out of bounds to stop the clock.

The Vikings started edging up on the receivers and Lucky tried to make them pay. Operating out of the shotgun, he took the snap, faked an inside handoff to D.J., faked a quick pass to draw the secondary up even closer, saw that Skip was open on a fly route and let loose.

It was a pass that Johnson would have even been proud of. Lucky led Skip almost perfect, hitting him downfield almost forty yards as the Panther running back only had to veer slightly to his right to catch the pass.

He never slowed down until reaching the end zone, well ahead of any of the Vikings.

The Panthers celebrated briefly as the touchdown and ensuing extra point gave them a 35-7 lead just before halftime.

With the big lead, Cole played it close to the vest in the second half, emptying the bench quickly and letting all the reserves get plenty of playing time. The Vikings added one touchdown early in the fourth quarter on another long run by Johnson, but other than that play, Petros’ defense did not allow Cedar Lake’s starters to move the ball.

As the final buzzer sounded, Lucky started across the field to congratulate his teammates and the Vikings. He was shaking hands with one of his opponents when somebody tapped him on the shoulder.

Lucky turned around to see Johnson standing there, holding out his hand.

“Great game,” Johnson said, shaking Lucky’s hand. “I hope you guys win out and beat Summerfield.”

“Thanks,” Lucky responded. “I really enjoyed playing against you.”

Johnson smiled, patted Lucky on the shoulder and headed off, leaving Lucky feeling better than even the win made him feel.

Lucky and the rest of the Panthers slowly made their way to the locker room, wanting to savor this for as long as possible. Cole waited for everybody to get settled before speaking. He really had little to say following the game, just wanted to let the players know how good they had played, but his attention had already turned to the next game.

“Boys, we’re right where we need to be,” he proclaimed. “We’re over five hundred on the season at four and three. And we’re still undefeated in our district. Enjoy this tonight because we’ve got a big one next week.”

It would be Big Cedar and the return of Tatum Sloan, one of Cole’s favorite players and a coach who had his team playing great.

As was the custom after every home game, the players showered, dressed and visited with whoever was waiting for them outside. Family members were usually there, along with friends and girlfriends.

There was a large group waiting outside the locker room. As Lucky walked outside, his plans were to walk home since he did not expect anybody to be waiting for him. While moving through the crowd, he had just about escaped the mass of humanity when somebody called his name.

Lucky could not find the person for several seconds, then saw her.

Toni was standing outside the others, by herself, waving and smiling at him.

Lucky smiled and waved back. He walked over to where she stood. She looked really nice, wearing a black Petros jacket with white sleeves and a pair of new jeans. Her hair was back in a ponytail and she let somebody paint little Panthers on both cheeks. The glasses were gone, replaced by contact lenses.

“Congratulations,” she said, still smiling. “You guys are pretty good.”

“Thanks,” Lucky answered, now wishing he had showered instead of just changing clothes. He had not played in the second half and was not sweaty, but knew there was a chance of a little body odor. “That was as good as we’ve played. Did you have fun?”

“Yes. I don’t know a whole lot about football. Elizabeth tried to explain what was going on but she just got me more confused.”

“I’m glad you came.”

“So am I. This is the first game I’ve been to in a long time. And you scored a touchdown just like you promised.”

“I’m a man of his word,” Lucky pointed out, smiling. “Our games usually aren’t this easy.”

“Well, at least it was tonight. I’ve got to go help my dad close the store but I’m glad I got to see you play. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

“That sounds like a winner. Thanks for coming.”

She waved and smiled while walking away. Lucky stood and watched her get in her car and drive off, then started walking home, feeling like he was on a cloud.

Chapter 34

Chapter 32

Cole would never tell his team, but was glad Cedar Lake was the next opponent. The Vikings were off to a rough start, only 1-5 overall, 0-3 in district play.

Everybody expected Cedar Lake to be good prior to the season starting, but the Vikings had been destroyed by injuries.

Cole had never seen a team hit so hard. The only really good player left was their quarterback, Joe Johnson, a great athlete, one of the best in the district. He was an excellent quarterback and a really good basketball player. But it was baseball where he really shined. Along with Petros’ Kenneth Williams, they were as good as any pitchers in this part of the state, good enough colleges were recruiting him and the pro scouts were dogging him.

Johnson had a great arm. If he had all his teammates surrounding him, the Vikings could play with anybody.

Most of the Panthers knew how good Johnson was so Cole did not worry about his team being ready to play. He was more worried about how banged up his guys were. After six games, five of them very difficult, the Panthers were a group of walking wounded. Nobody would miss the game, but all of the players were nursing bumps, bruises and sore bodies.

Most of the Vikings’ games had been close, except for Summerfield. Cedar Lake got hammered in that game, 75-0, one of the many blowouts for Summerfield, still undefeated and ranked fourth in the state.

Cole watched film of that game and grew disgusted, felling like Summerfield ran up the score again. He never liked looking ahead, particularly that far ahead, but Summerfield was the last game on the schedule and Cole wanted the Spiders bad.

Summerfield had been a struggling program for years, a school blessed with good athletes and facilities, held back by poor administration thanks to a superintendent who cared little about sports and a bunch of coaches who were not very good.

But all that had changed four years ago with a new superintendent, who immediately got rid of all the coaches and brought in a young coach named Allen Mabry, who instantly turned the program around and ended Petros’ domination of the district.

Mabry was a pompous, arrogant, cocky, outspoken person with few friends. He didn’t discriminate, willing to run up the score on anybody his team played.

This did not improve his popularity, of course.

To reach the Summerfield game undefeated would be difficult for the Panthers, Cole knew. Aside from Cedar Lake and Lovings, two struggling opponents, the Panthers would also have to beat Big Cedar, a team coached by his former player, Tatum Sloan.

There were still three teams undefeated in district play: Petros, Summerfield and Big Cedar. Cole expected those three teams along with Forrester to make the playoffs, but had no idea how the final standings would shape up.

Practices had not been great this week, but got better each day as the players felt better and shook off the bumps and bruises. Cole had just heard from Doc Hardy, who said Skip was well enough to play.

Practice had just ended and Cole was watching the film of Cedar Lake and Summerfield, making almost as many notes on the Spiders as the Vikings.

The door opened about the time he expected. Scoop poked his head in, looked around to make sure the coast was clear and entered. Stub had offended him greatly the last time he visited the coach’s office and Scoop was determined not to have any contact with Stub.

Scoop was wearing a light black jacket with PETROS written across the front. He had failed to put on a hat, showing his hair had not seen a comb or shower in several days. He had on a pair of black sweats, black socks and a pair of old high-top Converses that were so worn his little toe was almost poking out.

He had in his hand the latest issue of the Petros Weekly Herald, fresh off the press!

“Here you go, Coach!” Scoop said, looking around to make sure Stub was not hiding somewhere, fixing to pounce on him and criticize his writing again. Scoop walked over and sat down in his chair, handing the paper to Cole. Scoop leaned forward in his chair, waiting for Cole to read the paper. Cole finally stopped the film, not that he really wanted to, picked up the paper and turned to Scoop’s story on the Forrester game.

He found it, right above an ad for the Chevy dealership in Hodgen, a place few people bothered to shop, preferring to go to Fort Smith or Tulsa instead, feeling like a little longer drive was worth the several hundred dollars they saved.

PANTHERS WIN THRILLER! the headline read.

Cole took a deep breath and plunged in, hoping not to see anything too embarrassing.

In one of the most exciting games I have ever seen with my two eyes, our gutsy Petros Panthers, led by the great Cole Lester…

Cole stopped and shook his head. He had told Scoop many times before not to write stuff like that, but his pleas fell on dead ears.

…traveled the long rout to Forrester last Friday and eventually came home the same night, victors in a game that finished with our Panthers ahead 41-35!

You know, over the years I have seen our Panthers win some great games, but few, if any, could top the thrilling win over a great Forrester team with their outstanding African American athletes.

Cole stopped reading and looked up at Scoop, wanting to mention that was probably not a really good thing to put in the story. But Cole could not do it, knowing Scoop didn’t mean anything by it and probably meant it as a compliment. He didn’t really want to continue, but knew Scoop would get depressed if he thought Cole did not approve.

“What do you think so far?” Scoop asked.

“It is very…interesting,” Cole responded.

“Kinda makes you wanna keep reading, huh?”

“You could say that,” Cole said, wanting to add that wasn’t necessarily true.

He smiled at Scoop and got one in return. Cole noticed Scoop needed to visit the dentist to get something done about one of his front teeth. A nasty cavity was quickly eating the tooth away and making it turn almost black.

Not real appealing to look at, Cole thought, then turned his attention back to the story.

The outstanding win was not guaranteed until the final buzzer sounded, sending myself and the fellow Petros fans into a wild celebration that the people of Forrester had not seen since their last state basketball championship, I am sure.

We went ahead for the final time on a touchdown run by Lucky Lester. Our guys then swarmed Darious Jordan, who had been a thorn in our you-know-what for most of the game, and stopped him to clinch the win.

It was a great performance by our offense, moving the ball pretty much all night. Our Panthers are really coming together now, I can assure you! We feature an offense that reminds me of some of our former offenses, explosive enough to score at any time, from any place.

While our defense pretty much stunk it up against Forrester…”

Cole sighed deeply, knowing Ichabod would not be thrilled to see that in the paper.

…it was mainly because of Jordan, a player as good as any I have seen in my vast experience as a sport journalist. It makes me dread next year, and maybe the next, as while Jordan is only a sophomore, he looks ready to play college ball.

With the win, we are back to five hundred on the season at 3-3. But more important, our Panthers are now 3-0 in the tough district we compete in! Hurrah! Next we will host Cedar Lake Friday with the old kickoff started at or around 7:30 at night, which is p.m.

Cole laid down the newspaper, willing to slide past the remainder of the story.

“Well, how’d you like it?” Scoop asked, showing a lot of enthusiasm.

“Words just can’t adequately describe my feelings,” Cole answered, an accurate statement.

“Thanks a bunch, Coach!” Scoop responded. He heard a door slam somewhere nearby, causing him to get scared. “Gotta go take the paper to my mother!”

Cole bid his farewell and turned his attention back to the television and VCR. He hit the play button on the remote and started watching the film again. The more he saw of Summerfield, the more Cole was impressed. This was a team that was loaded, pretty much in every area.

He tried keeping his attention on Cedar Lake, but it was difficult since the Vikings were playing Summerfield. Cole expected a fairly easy win against the Vikings, a feeling he seldom experienced.

Cole also knew his team had to keep improving to have a chance against Summerfield, but expected that to happen, even if nobody else did.

Cedar Lake’s line was just getting destroyed on the film. Cole watched the Vikings get hammered every play with Summerfield running the same plays over and over.

He had watched enough film for the night when the door opened and shut again. With the lights out in the office, Cole had trouble seeing who his visitors were. All he could tell was that there were two of them, standing in the doorway. Finally, he recognized them as his sons.

“Why don’t you shut that thing off and get something to eat before church starts,” Lloyd suggested, an excellent idea, Cole decided quickly.

“That sounds like the plan,” Cole answered, shutting down the VCR and turning off the television. “I’ll even buy.”

“That would be good since we don’t have any money,” Lloyd added, Lucky nodding vigorously behind his brother.
----
All week, Lucky thought of Toni and tried to scheme up some way to get around her, always getting rewarded with a smile during every encounter.

He had not talked to her much, knowing she worked every night. Lucky was lying in his bed, spinning a basketball on his index finger when the phone rang.

Lucky leaned over to the nightstand and started to pick up the phone, quickly figuring out the phone was not there. That figured, he decided, since his brother had a bad habit of getting his phone, walking off with it and forgetting to bring it back.

He hoped somebody else answered the phone, not knowing if his brother or father were even inside the house. The phone quit ringing so Lucky knew somebody had answered or the caller got tired of waiting.

Lucky expected the call to be for his father or Lloyd, since he seldom got calls, especially at night. Most of the calls were for Lloyd, since all the single women in town had decided he was the most eligible bachelor in Petros.

He lied back down on the bed and started spinning the basketball again when his brother’s footsteps could be heard coming down the hall.

Lloyd peaked his head in Lucky’s bedroom and looked around, not believing his brother kept his room sort of clean. His room looked like a pigsty. He walked into the room and handed the phone to his brother.

“Phone’s for you,” he stated.

“Who is it?” Lucky asked.

“Don’t know. Some chick.”

Lucky thought his brother was joking. Females did not bother calling him often, unless it was to get help with homework.

He grabbed the phone and looked at it, wishing this phone had Caller ID.

“Hello,” Lucky said.

“Is this Lucky?” the caller asked. It was indeed a female.

“Uh, yeah, this is Lucky.”

“Hi Lucky, this is Toni.”

Lucky froze for a second, not sure what to say. This was a new experience for him, talking to girls on the phone and since he wasn’t all that talkative anyway, it was a struggle.

“Hello,” he finally muttered out, feeling like a goofball.

“I don’t want to bother you but I haven’t had the chance to talk to you since the other night.”

“You’re not bothering me,” he replied, wishing he could think of something else to say.

“How’s it been going?”

“Real good. How about you?”

“Okay, just been going to school and working,” she added. “I really enjoyed the other night.”

“Thank you,” Lucky responded, then cringed when he realized how stupid that sounded. “So did I.”

“My dad’s going to let me off Friday so I get to watch you guys play.”

“That’s good. I’ll try and score a touchdown for you.”

“That would be nice,” Toni added with a laugh. “I also wanted to ask you something.”

“Okay,” he muttered, starting to get a little nervous.

“Since you didn’t get to go to the movie the other night like you planned, I was wondering if we might be able to get together Saturday and go to a movie?”

It was good Lucky had nothing in his mouth at that moment, or he would have swallowed it and probably choked.

“You still there?” she asked.

“Yeah, I was just thinking if anything was going on Saturday,” he answered, like it might be difficult to fit in his busy social schedule. "That would be great. I've been, uh, thinking about something like that.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I’ve just been kinda busy and…”

“You haven’t gotten up the nerve yet?” she suggested.

“Uh, yeah.”

Toni laughed. “I can’t believe I did. I guess I just couldn’t wait for you.”

“I don’t move real quick.”

Chapter 33

Chapter 31

Lucky still felt great the next day, tired but still riding the high from the emotion of the win.

The Panthers went through a short practice in the morning, mainly running to try and get the soreness out. After loosening up, the Panthers lifted weights then watched film of the game.

After practice, Lucky went home and took a nap. It helped him to feel better. Afterwards, he watched some football on television and listened to the Oklahoma game on the radio. The Sooners were undefeated but the television bigwigs did not think a game against a struggling Iowa State team merited television coverage.

Happy and Andy came by and recruited Lucky to go to the Downtown Café with them. They planned to get something to eat and hang out for the evening.

The place was fairly busy when they arrived. The only empty booth was near the far wall. They claimed it and settled in. The waitress came by, took their orders and left.

Happy could not sit long, deciding to make the rounds and visit with everybody in the crowd, wanting to make sure everybody knew he was there and to find out if anything interesting was going on.

He also had to show everybody his wounds, especially the deep gash between his eyes. The guys thought it was cool, of course. The girls thought it was gross.

Andy faced the door, directly across from Lucky. He was looking at the door and suddenly straightened. He looked like he saw a ghost and then started sinking down in his seat.

“What’s wrong?” Lucky asked, laughing at the way his friend was acting.

“There she is,” Andy answered, putting his right hand over the side of his face.

“Who?”

Andy turned to face the wall, not bothering to answer. Lucky turned around and looked toward the door and saw two girls walking in. One was a tall girl with long, blonde hair wearing jeans, a blue blouse and sandals.

The other girl was a little shorter. She also wore a pair of faded jeans, a white Petros tee-shirt and an old pair of tennis shoes. Her hair was put back in a ponytail. She wore glasses and was almost too thin.

“What’s wrong with you?” Lucky asked.

“I can’t get her out of my mind,” Andy answered. “She keeps talking to me all the time.”

“Which one?”

“Elizabeth.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“I never know what to say to her. My mind, it like freezes up or something. Like when you eat ice cream too fast.”

The two girls were Elizabeth Clemons and Toni Rider. Elizabeth was the tall one, Toni was the one with the ponytail and glasses. Elizabeth saw Andy and guided them over toward the table where they were sitting. Lucky looked at Andy and saw his friend’s Adam’s Apple rise and drop, like there was something caught in his throat.

“Hey,” Elizabeth said, as the two girls arrived at the table. She looked at Andy and smiled, her eyes never leaving him.

Toni stood behind Elizabeth, smiling mainly to be nice.

“Can we sit with you guys?” Elizabeth asked.

Toni looked like she was punched in the gut.

“Sure,” Lucky answered, getting a dirty look from Andy in reply.

They slid over and the two girls sat down. Elizabeth moved in beside Andy while Toni sat next to Lucky, not showing a great deal of enthusiasm.

“That was a good game last night,” Elizabeth complimented. “I couldn’t believe we won. That running back from Forrester was good.”

“We weren’t too sure we’d win until the end,” Andy managed to say.

Andy was nervous and fidgeting, tapping his fingers on the table and looking around the café.

“I think we’ll make the playoffs if we keep playing this way,” she added.

Lucky wanted to point out that the Panthers wanted to do more than just make the playoffs, but decided not to engage in this conversation.

“I heard you played good,” Toni remarked, brushing away a few stray hairs from her face. She turned to look at Lucky and smiled.

For the first time, Lucky noticed Toni was a lot better looking than he thought. She never tried to fix herself up, settling for more of a natural look.

“Toni had to work,” Elizabeth announced, as if that was the only thing that kept somebody from attending a Petros football game.

“Where do you work?” Andy managed to say, trying to get involved in the conversation.

“She works at her father’s convenience store on the highway,” Elizabeth answered. “She has to work most Friday nights so I had to go to the game with my parents.”

Elizabeth said it like going to a game with her parents was some kind of punishment.

“Who do we play this week?” Elizabeth asked.

“Cedar Hills,” Andy volunteered.

“I think it’s Cedar Lake,” Toni corrected.

They laughed at Andy’s mistake. He had not been around long enough to know the names of the local schools and frequently messed them up.

“Are they any good?” Elizabeth asked.

“Yeah, they’re good,” Andy responded, sounding like an expert. “They like to throw the ball a lot but their defense gives up a lot of points."

“Where do we play them?” she asked.

“It’s here,” Andy stated, looking at Lucky for reassurance. “Isn’t it?”

Everybody looked at Lucky for confirmation.

“It’s here,” he agreed.

“You don’t talk much,” Elizabeth said, staring at Lucky. “You and Toni oughta get along pretty good.”

Lucky nearly spilled his drink, wondering what she meant by that.

“Why do you say that?” Andy asked, beating Lucky to the question.

“Cause neither of them talk much,” she answered, pushing on his shoulder.

Andy looked down at his arm, amazed she actually touched him.

The waitress, another Petros student, came to the table to see what the girls wanted. Her name was Maggie Meadows, a sophomore. She was a straight “A” student, worked every hour possible and was rumored to have saved every penny she had earned.

Maggie was a pleasant person, everybody’s friend without being really close to anybody. She was short, thin, and seemed to move at a hundred miles an hour. Her black hair was cut short, one less thing to worry about, and she wore a black Downtown Café tee-shirt with a pair of shorts, exposing a pair of legs that could use a shaving.

“Hey guys,” she said, smiling at Toni but not offering the same pleasant greeting to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth ordered a diet drink and a sub sandwich. Toni just ordered a drink.

As the waitress left to place the order, two more people dropped by the table.

“Hey, how are you guys doing?” the girl asked.

Lucky looked up to see D.J. and Gabby standing at the foot of the table, holding hands. Gabby was actually dressed nice, wearing clothes that actually looked like they had been ironed. She was smiling and seemed happy.

D.J. was looking around the café, obviously wanting to be anywhere but here.

“We’re good,” Elizabeth responded.

Lucky felt like telling her to speak for herself but decided to pass.

“What’re you guys doing tonight?” Gabby asked.

“We don’t have any plans,” Elizabeth answered. “Yet.”

Lucky was feeling an anxiety attack or something of that nature fixing to overcome him. The food he had been looking forward to was no longer important. His appetite had left, just as he wished his body could.

“We might see you later,” Gabby remarked.

Not if I can help it, Lucky thought. It was hard for him to see them standing together with Gabby acting like everything was just great. They were two people he had no desire to be around.

As they walked away, Maggie brought their order and placed the food in front of them. Elizabeth’s sub had not been made yet and Lucky thought they should wait until her food arrived.

That thought obviously did not register for Andy. He attacked his food with a vengeance, shoving the food in like his body had been without food for days. He had obviously been spending too much time with Happy.

“Why don’t you wait until she gets her food,” Lucky suggested.

Andy had about half a burger in his mouth. He looked like somebody told him the meat was rotten. He took off a bite and set his food down on the plate.

“Sorry,” Andy muttered, looking like he really meant it.

“It’s okay,” Elizabeth responded. “You guys go ahead and eat. I don’t want your food to get cold.”

Not that Andy’s food had a chance, Lucky thought.

That was just what Andy wanted to hear. He jumped right back in, attacking it like he was in a hamburger eating contest.

Lucky looked over at Toni, who was taking a drink. She stopped and smiled at him, a timid effort at best.

“Aren’t you hungry?” he asked.

“A little,” she answered.

Lucky had a hamburger and a huge order of cheese fries.

“Here,” he offered, sliding his plate over. “I can’t eat all this. Why don’t you help me with the fries.”

She looked at him for a second, not sure about accepting the offer. Finally, Toni decided it would be okay.

She gingerly grabbed one of the fries, one loaded with lots of cheese.

They shared the fries and he slowly ate his burger, noticing Andy’s plate was cleaned before Lucky took two bites.

Elizabeth’s food arrived and she started eating, making Lucky feel better since he was no longer eating in front of her. Lucky finished his burger and slid the plate over to Toni.

“Thanks,” she responded.

The music was blaring loud enough that it was hard to talk. The jukebox was located right behind their table, playing a song Lucky had never heard and didn’t care to hear again.

The Downtown Café was now filled to capacity with other kids looking for something to do on Saturday night in Petros. The back room with the pool tables had attracted most of the guys while most of the girls were hanging out in the dining area.

It was too loud and too many people for Lucky. He was ready to get out of here and get some elbow room.

“Are you guys ready?” Elizabeth asked.

“For what?” Toni questioned.

“To get out of here,” Andy volunteered.

Toni and Lucky both nodded.

As soon as they got up from the booth, another group claimed it, the demand for seating so high they did not even wait for the table to be cleaned first.

They made their way through the crowd. Lucky pretended not to notice Gabby and D.J. sitting at a table near the door. Lucky saw her wave but turned away.

Lucky was the first one outside, holding the door open so the others could exit. There were almost as many people outside as there were inside. Some had obviously failed to live up to the state’s underage drinking laws, a group Lucky avoided.

“Well, you guys want to do something?” Elizabeth asked.

“Sure!” Andy answered, with too much enthusiasm. He acted like a little puppy following its master.

“Let’s ride around for a while,” she suggested.

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea!” Andy added, not bothering to ask for any input from Lucky.

Lucky wasn’t really crazy about the idea but there wasn’t anything else to do. Besides, he was convinced Toni did not bite. He hoped Happy would not mind being left alone, but doubted his friend even remembered who he was with.

The car was parked almost at the end of the block. Lucky had hoped to see the latest James Bond movie playing at the Liberty Theater across the street, but those plans were scuttled.

Her car was a silver Ford Mustang convertible with the top down.

“Now this is a nice car,” Andy commented.

“Thanks!” Elizabeth responded, climbing into the driver’s seat. The other three were not sure about the proper seating positions, until Andy took over. He moved the passenger’s seat up and motioned for Lucky and Toni to climb in the back.

There was not enough room in the back, of course, and Lucky felt like his knees were jammed into his face.

Elizabeth squealed the tires as she pulled out of the parking spot, since she obviously did not have to pay for new tires once these were worn out. They headed back down Main Street, past all the empty buildings. She turned on the radio to an oldie’s station, playing a song Lucky decided was popular when his father was in diapers.

As they passed the Downtown Café, Lucky made the mistake of looking inside. Staring back at him was Gabby, an image that was hard to erase.

Andy started coming out of his shell and he and Elizabeth soon had a good conversation going as they rode around Petros and the surrounding area.

They eventually made it to the lake and parked in the same parking spot Gabby had the night when Garrett and D.J. attacked Lucky while he and Gabby sat on the dock.

Nobody realized this but Lucky and he certainly wasn’t going to point it out.

They got out of the car and made their way down to the lake. Andy and Elizabeth slipped away, leaving Lucky and Toni alone.

They walked down to the dock and sat down in almost the same spot Lucky and Gabby had been that night.

“It’s a pretty night,” Toni commented, after sharing several minutes of silence with Lucky.

It was a nice night. There was a soft breeze blowing that almost made it cool. The wind moving through the tall pines made the “whooshing” noise Lucky loved to hear. There was a half-moon out and it reflected back off the lake. The waves were gentle, just loud enough to hear the water splash against the dock.

Across the lake, they saw several campfires burning. One group was having a great time, laughing and talking loud enough to be heard across the lake.

“Do you come here much?” she asked.

“Yeah, we come here in the summer and fish and swim some,” he answered.

“My dad taught me to swim off this dock. Right over there at that big rock was where I caught my first fish, a little perch. I thought it was huge and wanted to keep it as a pet but my dad made me put it back. I cried.”

Lucky smiled, remembering his first fish. Only it was with his mother, which made the memory painful.

“We used to always have my birthday parties here,” Lucky added, not bothering to mention that ended after his mother passed away.

”I’d love to have a house right here,” Toni mentioned.

“So would I.”

They sat in silence for a while, listening to the wind and the waves.

Lucky picked up a rock and tried to skip it in the water. It hit the water and sunk.

“I didn’t know Andy and Elizabeth had anything going,” he mentioned.

“She talks about him all the time,” she responded. “Ever since he moved here she’s tried to figure out ways to get close to him.”

“Did they have this planned?”

“She did. I don’t think Andy knew anything about it. He just happened to be at there and we drove by and she saw him and our plans for the night just went out the window. I thought we were going to Hodgen.”

“We were gonna see a movie.”

“Maybe we won’t bore each other too much,” Toni suggested, smiling at him.

“I’m okay,” he added. Lucky looked at her, admiring the way she looked in the moonlight. He doubted this was her idea of a fun time. From what he knew, Toni could have her choice of any guy at Petros High School and probably wished somebody else was sharing the dock with her.

“So am I,” she added, brushing away a few stray hairs.

“You don’t have any angry boyfriends who like to fight, do you?” Lucky asked, instantly wishing he had not said that.

She smiled, obviously aware of what happened. Probably knew that night or at least by the next day, along with most other residents of Petros. Word tended to move pretty fast when anything exciting or unusual happened in the old town.

“Nope, no angry boyfriends,” she replied. “I don’t think I’d date anybody who would do something like that. Garrett Long used to call me all the time and got mad because I’d never go out with him. So…what about you? Any psycho girlfriends? I’m not much of a fighter.”

“You don’t have anything to worry about,” he answered. “No girlfriends, now or in the past.”

“That’s surprising.”

“What?”

“That you don’t have a girlfriend or any old girlfriends,” Toni stated. “I know most girls in school would like to date you.”

“No they wouldn’t,” he argued, shaking his head.

“It’s true.”

Lucky laughed, never having heard anything so strange in his whole life. He could barely share a conversation with a female, had never been on a date and Toni was making it seem like Lucky could have the pick of the litter.

“I don’t have anybody beating down my door,” he declared.

“That’s cause they’re afraid you’re too good for them.”

“Me?” he asked, laughing again.

“Yeah, you. A lot of the girls think you’re kind of a loner. I always thought you were just shy. Which one is it?”

“Both, I guess,” he answered, embarrassed to be the object of the conversation. Lucky wanted to talk about something else, quickly. “What do you like to do?”

“Talk about you,” she answered, then laughed when Lucky turned in her direction. “Just kidding. I usually just go to school, work and study. And you?”

“Pretty much the same thing,” Lucky said. “School and football are about it. I work in the summers and try to save enough money so I won’t have to work during school. Have you gone to any games this year?”

“No, my dad usually likes to go so I work for him.”

“You need to come sometime,” he suggested. “We’re starting to play a lot better.”

“That’s what my dad says,” Toni added. “Is it hard playing for your father?”

“Not really. If you don’t do what he says, he’ll make sure it gets done right. But he’ll also let you know when you do something good.”

“He always scares me.”

“My dad?” Lucky asked, almost laughing at the thought of anybody being scared of his father. “Why?”

“He always looks so mean.”

“I’ll tell him to loosen up some. He’s really not like that at all.”

“Thank you. Tell him a smile every now and then would be nice. I’m in his first-hour class.”

Lucky picked up a smooth pebble and looked at it. He flicked it into the lake, watched the water spread out from the ripple.

“Do you find this a little strange?” she asked.

“What’s that?”

“Before tonight we hardly knew each other. I mean, I knew that you went to school and your name, but probably never heard you say five words before. Now, we’re sitting out here just talking the night away while our friends are off somewhere doing who knows what.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, throwing another rock into the water then looking at her. She had such a pretty smile and he liked the way the creases around her eyes seemed to tighten up whenever she smiled.

“You’re not what I expected,” Toni announced.

“What do you mean?” Lucky asked, wondering why she expected anything from him.

“I always thought you’d be different.”

“How’s that?”

“You just don’t act like most guys who play sports. They always seem to be stuck on themselves, but you just don’t seem like that.”

“Thanks,” he responded. “I’m just me.”

They heard footsteps and laughter behind them and turned around to see Andy and Elizabeth walking toward them, their arms around each other.

“You guys still here?” Elizabeth asked. “We were afraid you might have gotten bored and walked back to town.”

Elizabeth and Andy laughed like it was a lot funnier than it actually was. Toni looked at Lucky and smiled, knowing that certainly wasn’t the case.

“We’re okay,” he stated.

“Well, we’re gonna need to get back to town,” Elizabeth announced.

Lucky wished there was some way he could tell them to go and let him and Toni continue their conversation. But it was too far to walk back to Petros and they were in Elizabeth’s car.

They got up from the dock, tried to wipe off the bottom of their pants then headed back up the incline toward the parking area. Toni almost tripped over a rock, but Lucky reached out and grabbed her, holding on until she got her balance.

“Thanks,” she said.

“Don’t mention it,” Lucky countered.

They got back to the car. Lucky and Toni climbed in the back while Elizabeth and Andy got in the front.

Lucky had some kind of strange feeling all the way back to town, some urge to reach out and hold her hand. Ever since he touched her when she almost tripped, Lucky wanted to hold her again. But he resisted that impulse, knowing Toni probably did not feel that way.

They rounded one curve, going a little fast and she leaned over against him. It was only for a second but it seemed like every nerve in his body erupted.

“Sorry,” she stated. For just a brief second, her hand rested on his.

Lucky wanted to grab it and not let go, but did nothing. She slowly let her hand move across his hand then removed it and smiled at him.

He smiled back, wishing there was some way to tell her it was no problem at all.

Chapter 32

Chapter 30

The coaches tried restoring some confidence in the players before they took the field for the second half. But it did not seem to help. The players knew they were overmatched with Jordan, no matter what the coaches said. The coaches were not out there trying to tackle the monster, they were. The seniors were just glad they would not have to play against him again while the underclassmen would get him at least one more year.

“Guys, you might not think so right now but we’re gonna win this game,” Cole announced. “What’s the score?”

“We’re behind 21-14,” Harry said.

“Okay, who gets the ball to start the second half?”

The players looked around at each other, not really sure of the answer.

“Uh, we do,” suggested Derwin, hoping that was the right answer.

“That’s right,” Cole answered. “Has their defense stopped our offense?”

“We’ve only stopped ourselves,” Skip stated.

“That’s right,” their coach added. “They’re sitting over there with the same problem we have. Their defense can’t stop us, either. We’ll come out here and score to start the second half and the game’s tied. I don’t care if they score four times this half. We’re gonna score more and win this game.”

The players looked at each other, wondering what their coach was on. They were not totally sold on this idea, but it sure made more sense than just dwelling on how hard it was to stop Forrester’s offense. The players knew their coach was honest and would not say anything that wasn’t true.

Despite his confidence, the players were still shaken.

Petros’ fans were also a little down, not used to seeing anybody this talented.

They still gave the Panthers a rousing ovation as they came back out on the field for the second half. Cole got everybody in the huddle and stressed the importance of the opening drive.

Petros took the field to await the kick to start the second half. The kick came down to Skip at the eight. He flew up the middle, cut to the right at the 30 and was just demolished by one of the Grizzlies. Skip never saw it coming, taking a hit that crumpled his body.

He was messed up, having trouble getting to his knees. The coaches went out to check on him. He was sitting down, removing his helmet when his coaches arrived.

“How’re you doing, Skip?” Cole asked.

“Good,” Skip answered, then looked up at his coach. “Who are you?”

That was not the answer Cole hoped to hear. This was also not the way he wanted to open the second half, losing his best running back on a kick return.

Doc Hardy joined the coaches and examined Skip.

“He might have a concussion,” the doctor said. “Let’s get him to the sidelines.”

They helped Skip to the sidelines. He was still staggered and had problems walking.

Cole sent Kenneth in at running back. The Panthers would miss Skip, of course, but were lucky Kenneth was back from his injury and full speed. He was not as fast as Skip or D.J., but could juke, weave and follow his blockers better than any of the other running backs. He was just hard to tackle, never where a defender expected him to be.

He was projected to be the starting running back before getting injured. Kenneth was ready to play, but the coaches did not see any reason to take D.J. out after how well he played.

On the first play, Lucky faked to D.J. and got outside on the option. The end went for Kenneth so Lucky tucked the ball and broke into the secondary, picking up eight yards. The Panthers went with their usual offense, wanting to spread out the defense and give them a better chance to pass.

D.J. took the ball on a dive, rushing ahead for four more yards. He took a hard hit and walked slowly back to the huddle.

“You okay?” Lucky asked.

D.J. could only nod, the pain etched on his face.

Cole sent in a play for D.J. to carry again, not knowing he was hurt. So Lucky switched the play to let Kenneth carry instead. Kenneth found a small opening on a counter dive and scooted through it. He spun away as a linebacker reached him, then rolled to the outside. The safety was coming hard but Kenneth faked back to the inside, then cut even farther outside and took off.

The Grizzlies caught him with their great speed, but not before Kenneth picked up a big gain.

Cole sent in a dive to D.J., but Lucky changed the play again after seeing the Grizzlies were covering Andy with only one player. Lucky faked the dive to D.J., continued down the line to make the defense think another option was coming, then dropped back and tossed the ball to Andy running a slant.

Andy caught the pass and gained a few more yards before getting brought down. Petros’ fans were back in the game, feeling like the Panthers had a chance again.

D.J. was finally feeling a little better and carried over the left side on a power play, following behind Kenneth and some good blocking for five yards.

Lucky followed by faking a handoff to Kenneth and continued outside on a bootleg. He waited just long enough then pitched the ball forward to D.J. on the old Utah Pass, a play Cole put in this week.

With a wall of blockers surrounding him, it was one of the easiest touchdowns D.J. would ever score.

“Great call,” Ichabod remarked, slapping Cole on the shoulder.

“You’re telling that to the wrong person,” Cole responded. “Lucky changed the play and went with it.”

The PAT was perfect, tying the score, 21-21.

Petros’ kickoff team gathered around the coaches and Cole gave his instructions. The players looked at each other like they could not believe what their coach told them to do. But Cole did not back off from his decision and sent the kicking team out on the field.

“You sure about that?” Ichabod asked. “That’s something Stub would run.”

“Yep,” Cole said. “You like the call Stub?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess,” he answered, showing more concern than usual.

“It doesn’t matter,” Cole responded. “The way they’ve been moving the ball, it doesn’t really matter if they get the ball at midfield or at their own 30, does it?”

“Good point,” Ichabod remarked, feeling a little bit of a sting from Cole’s lack of confidence in his defense.

But he saw the logic behind the call and knew this was the kind of call that made Cole such a good coach. He had a feel for the game and knew when to make the right call. Most coaches did not have that ability, or wouldn’t use it.

The kickoff team was lined up, waiting for the officials. The referee blew his whistle and motioned for the Panthers to kick. Jeremy slowly approached the ball on the tee, but instead of kicking the ball as hard as possible, he barely hit the top of the ball, sending it bouncing end-over-end, slowly going toward the Grizzlies’ side of the field.

Forrester’s blockers had already turned around and were heading down the field when they realized something was wrong. They put on the brakes and turned around, quickly realizing it was too late. A line of Panthers rushed forward and smashed into the front line of Grizzlies just as the ball crossed midfield.

There was a pile of players fighting for the ball. The officials slowly got the pile removed and found Jeremy holding on to the ball.

Cole felt a great sense of relief. He knew some people would question the call if Forrester recovered at midfield, but also knew if Forrester took the lead again, it would be almost impossible for the Panthers to catch up. For Petros to win this game, the Panthers had to take the lead and hold on to it.

Skip was still sitting on the bench, now with his shoulder pads off as Doc Hardy talked with him. Cole talked to the doctor and found out Skip would probably not return.

Lucky changed the play at the line again, deciding to go with the option. He faked the handoff to Kenneth and pitched back to D.J. just before the end crushed him. D.J. found some running room and picked up nine yards before getting mauled. Facing second and short, Cole sent out Happy and told him to load up the wishbone.

Happy got the call and blasted ahead for almost five yards. It worked so well Cole ran it again to the other side. Happy pounded ahead again, lowering his head and charged ahead for five more yards.

Lucky figured the defense would expect the same play so he faked a handoff to Happy, then spun around and handed back to Kenneth on a crossbuck. Kenneth slid through a small hole and picked up four yards, getting tackled on the 28. Happy then surged forward on third down, again picking up five yards to give the Panthers a first down.

D.J. followed behind his blockers for a gain of four yards. Kenneth was hit in the backfield on the following play, spun away and dove forward for three years, leaving the Panthers facing third-and-three.

It was time for Happy to pound ahead again. Everybody expected this but the Panthers surprised them as Lucky faked the handoff to Happy, then followed behind his blockers to reach the Grizzlies’ 11 and give Petros another first down.

D.J. took a pitch on a sweep and gained five yards down to the six. Lucky ran the option to the other side. He faked the dive to D.J., read the defensive end and cut upfield, reaching the two before getting thrown to the ground.

The Panthers needed one yard for the first and two for the go-ahead score. Happy got the call and blasted forward, found the going difficult and was brought down inside the one, giving Petros a first-and-goal.

Happy got the call again, found his way blocked, and bounced outside. There wasn’t anywhere to run, so he tried cutting back inside. He could have easily avoided the defender and walked into the end zone, but that wasn’t his idea of fun. So Happy lowered his head, plowed into the Forrester defender and ran him over like a dozer plowing through dirt to reach the end zone.

Lucky helped his friend up and accompanied him off the field.

“How come you did that?” Lucky asked. “You could’ve scored easy if you just cut right.”

“Cause that Forrester dude was there,” Happy answered, flashing a grin. “If he’d been there, I would’ve gone there.”

Lucky shook his head, wondering about his friend’s mental state. Most players would have chosen the easy route over contact, but Happy was not your normal football player or person.

Jeremy knocked the ball through the uprights, giving Petros a 28-21 lead.

On the kickoff, Petros went with the deep-onside again and the Panthers swarmed the returner before he reached the 30.

Ichabod was tired of seeing his players getting ran over and admired the way Happy played on the touchdown drive.

“You scared to tackle him?” Ichabod asked.

“Who?” Happy responded, wiping the blood from a cut on his elbow on his pants.

“Their tailback.”

“Not in this lifetime.”

“Good, then go out there and hammer him.”

“You got it,” Happy replied, put his helmet back on and ran out on the field to join Derwin at linebacker.

The Grizzlies’ first play happened to be right at Happy. Jordan came roaring ahead at full speed and met Happy coming from the other direction. It was a game of chicken with neither player willing to back down.

Happy gave up some weight and speed to Jordan, but not a bit of strength. It was the first time all night anybody hit Jordan head on, a collision that caused many fans to cringe and let out an “Ooh!”

The force of the blow caused both players to stand straight up, then slowly crumble down to the ground.

There was silence from both sidelines, wondering if either player was still alive and hoping nobody was seriously injured. Not many people could get up after a hit like that.

Happy was a bit wobbly but staggered to his feet first, helped up by his teammates. The force of the hit had forced his helmet to slam down so it crashed into his nose, causing a huge gash along the base of his nose. By the time Happy stood, most of his face was covered with red as he slowly walked back to the huddle.

“You better go see Doc,” Derwin directed.

‘How come?” Happy asked, holding on to Derwin to keep his balance.

“Look at your shirt.”

Happy looked at the front of a shirt that was once white, but was quickly turning red.

“Cool,” he remarked, still refusing to leave until an official forced him to the bench.

Darrion Jordan was used to having his way on an athletic field, used to doing the hitting and not getting hit. Jordan also rose slowly and walked back to the huddle, shaking his head to try and clear the cobwebs.

Tim Treadway came in for Happy, passing by him and wondering how somebody could bleed that bad and not pass out.

The Grizzlies wanted to get Jordan a break so they called a pass play to their talented split end. They knew Skip was on the sidelines and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity since Petros’ defensive backs were not as good without him.

The quarterback ran a play-action play and lobbed the pass down the field. Forrester’s receiver was covered but leaped high in the air to grab the pass. The play was good for 23 yards before Lucky brought him down from the side.

After getting one play off, Jordan got the ball again, running just as hard as he did before Happy’s hit.

The run was good for 20 more yards, leaving the Panthers grasping for answers again.

Happy was patched back up and sent back into the game, players on both sides admiring the bloody jersey.

The Grizzlies ran the same blast play again at Happy. It was another big collision, but this time Jordan won the battle and pushed Happy back far enough to gain three yards.

There was little the defense could do as Forrester marched down the field, capping the drive with Jordan running over two Panthers during a seven-yard scoring run.

The kick was good and the game was tied again, 28-28.

There was still over three minutes left in the third quarter as both teams headed to the sidelines before the kickoff. Stub jogged up to Cole like a little kid who had just got an ice cream cone.

“Isn’t this great?” he asked. “I can’t believe we get paid to do this!”

“Calm down, Stub,” Cole advised. “You’re prancing around like a little girl.”

“Huh?”

Cole walked away from Stub, left wondering what he did wrong. The players gathered around their head coach. Their confidence was shaken again, a proud defense not used to having other teams score at will, and also wondering how to win this game. The players knew one mistake by the offense and the game would end in defeat.

“Hey, it’s okay!” Cole advised, showing much more emotion than usual. “We’re still in control of this game. “We’ll go score here and go back in front. We’re gonna win this game. Won’t we, Stub?”

Stub looked like his feelings were still hurt, but he regained his composure quickly after seeing everybody staring at him.

“That’s right,” he responded.

“That’s easy for you guys to say,” Harry pointed out. “Y’all don’t gotta tackle that monster.”

Ichabod had a sudden thought as the team took the field.

“Watch out for the onside kick!” he hollered, loud enough the front line heard and acknowledged him.

The Grizzlies kicked off again, a low, long kick that angled toward the corner of the end zone. The ball hit at the 7, took a funny bounce and went through the end zone.

Petros took over on its own 20. Everybody in the stadium felt feel the tension and knew how important this drive was.

Cole sent Happy in as the Panthers came out in the wishbone again. Skip was trying to convince Doc Hardy and the coaches to put him in, but was losing the battle.

The offense huddled just inside the 15. Lucky looked at the players gathered around him, all eyes staring at him, waiting to hear the call.

“Let’s take this and shove it down their throats,” he stated intently.

On first down, Happy slammed ahead for three years, then got three more on second down. On third-and-four, Kenneth was hit at the line, spun away and dove ahead for two yards.

The Panthers faced fourth-and-two from their own 28. Normally, this would be an easy decision for a coach and he would punt. But this wasn’t the normal situation and Cole never considered punting, knowing the game might as well be over.

He sent in the play quickly. Lucky relayed the call to the offense and they broke the huddle and hurried to the line. Lucky took the snap and faked a handoff to Happy, then spun around and faked to D.J. on the crossbuck.

Lucky paused for just a second then followed behind D.J. Most of the defenders went for D.J., giving Lucky enough room to slip through and pick up the first down by the length of the ball.

Cole then gave Happy another chance. He took the handoff, followed behind Kenneth, ran over the weakside linebacker and picked up good yardage. Happy got the call again on the next play, running it to the other side but only picked up two yards. Petros was faced with third-and-three.

Kenneth was the most experienced back, the only non-sophomore, and got the call. He found a small hole up the middle, was hit, spun away then surged ahead, barely picking up the first down.

An option play by Lucky was good for seven yards as the third quarter ended, giving the Panthers second-and-short against a tiring Grizzlies defense.

While the teams switched ends, both sides went to the sidelines to talk with their coaches. Cole wanted to keep his line fresh so he switched some new players in, going with what he thought were his best guys.

Petros’ depth in the line was a big advantage as Forrester’s defense was struggling, getting beat up from the constant pounding. The holes were not huge, but big enough to pick up good yardage and seemed to get larger every play.

Both teams returned to the field. On the first play of the fourth quarter, D.J. got the ball on a power play, gaining four yards. A yellow flag littered the field, obviously a penalty against the Panthers because of the quick whistle and from where the flag was thrown.

The officials got together, discussed the call and signaled it was a five-yard penalty against Petros for moving early. Petros lost D.J.’s gain, along with the yards from the penalty. So instead of a first down, the Panthers faced second-and-long. A crossbuck to D.J. was only good for a yard, leaving Petros with third-and-seven.

Happy went to the sidelines as Andy came in. Cole called a play the Panthers had not used all season, one reserved for situations like this. Petros lined up in the split-back formation. Before the snap, D.J. went in motion, setting up just outside the tight end. Lucky faked a pitch to Kenneth on a sweep, spun around and handed the ball inside to D.J. on a trap. The play fooled the Grizzlies as D.J. followed behind his blockers and picked up six yards.

It set up fourth-and-one. There was little doubt what was coming next when Happy chugged back out on the field, his jersey so stained with blood, grass and dirt that his number was barely visible.

Cole knew Forrester expected Happy to get the ball, so he called a different play. D.J. got the handoff, running in behind Happy and Kenneth. There wasn’t much of a hole, just enough for him to surge through to move the chains.

The drive slowly moved down the field, killing the clock and demoralizing the Grizzlies.

When Petros reached Forrester’s 10, the Panthers had already ran 15 plays and ate up almost eight minutes off the clock.

Kenneth picked up five yards on first down, getting good blocks from D.J., Happy and the line. Happy then blasted through a small hole for three yards.

D.J. finished off the drive, following behind a line that shoved the Forrester defenders so far back he was in the end zone before anybody touched him.

Six minutes were left as Jeremy drilled the extra point, giving Petros a 35-28 lead.

“Lots of time left,” Stub mentioned.

“Don’t remind me,” Cole responded.

Not that the Grizzlies needed much time.

On second down from the 31, Jordan got the ball on a blast over the right side, broke through a small gap and cut back across the field. Once in the secondary, he outran everybody and streaked down the field like a blur, reaching the end zone without ever being touched.

The kick was good and the score was tied again, 35-35.

Petros’ defense came dragging off the field, knowing this was not the performance everybody expected. Cole got all the players together, trying to keep them pumped up.

“It’s okay,” he told his players. “We’re gonna go score right here. There’s plenty of time. Just run our offense and don’t panic.”

There was 4:53 left. After D.J. returned the kick for a short gain, the Panthers had 72 yards between themselves and a touchdown.

Lucky huddled his team, even though the play was called on the sidelines.

“Okay, this is our time,” he stated. “They can’t stop us. Let’s go get six and go to the house with a win.”

The Grizzlies stacked the line with eleven defenders, no longer worried or caring about the pass. Lucky could not believe his eyes. He was a little worried about what would happen if the play did not turn out like it should, but went with his instincts and called an audible.

Lucky made sure everybody was aware of the change, then barked out the signals. After taking the snap, he faked a handoff to D.J., dropped back and looked downfield.

On the sideline, Cole looked on in horror, wondering why Lucky changed to a pass when the Panthers were moving the ball so well on the ground.

Murray Perdue faked a block, then slipped past the linebackers and the safety. He was open and the pass was perfect. He caught it in stride and sprinted down the field, reaching midfield before getting caught.

Cole was still not crazy about the call but did like the result.

Andy came in for Happy and the Panthers went with their usual offense. After being burned by the pass and seeing the Panthers switch formations, the Grizzlies backed off the line, exactly what Lucky hoped to see.

D.J. took the handoff on the dive and sped ahead for five. Kenneth added three yards on a power play on second down. On third-and-two, Petros ran an option to the right. Lucky pitched the ball at the last second to D.J. It was a race to the corner with D.J. barely getting past the defender to pick up the first down before getting tackled.

The Panthers were not in any hurry, wanting to run as much time as possible. Lucky faked a handoff to D.J., rolled out and hit Andy for six yards.

The bootleg worked again, this time to the other side. Lucky had nothing in front of him and took off down the field, picking up another good gain and a first down.

Forrester’s players were starting to panic, arguing and looking to the sidelines for directions.

A sweep to D.J. picked up another good gain, followed by a dive by Kenneth for a first down.

There was now under two minutes left and the Panthers were inside the 20.

Lucky ran an option to the right, nearly breaking free before getting brought down at the 9 by the last defender.

The Panthers ran another bootleg. Andy was open but Lucky ran instead, sprinting for the corner. He was tripped and brought down on the 3.

Cole sent Happy back in. Lucky gave him the ball and he crashed forward to the 1, leaving the Panthers facing third-and-goal from the one. The clock showed only 45 seconds left and counting.

Lucky brought his team to the line and waited as long as possible before starting the signals.

With everybody in the stadium standing and screaming, Lucky took the snap, followed right behind Denny Wall and stretched his body and the ball toward the goal-line.

Lucky could not tell where his body wound up, just that he was in the middle of a huge pile. There was such a mass of players that the officials had to blow the whistle to stop the clock.

The players slowly unpiled. The Panthers were celebrating, saying it was a touchdown while the Grizzlies argued they had held.

Finally, enough bodies were removed and the officials could tell where the ball was located.

One official looked at the referee and nodded his head. The referee nodded back and raised both arms, setting off a wild celebration on the Petros side. The players saw the signal first and jumped up and down, followed shortly by the fans and the band.

The extra point was blocked, leaving Petros with a 41-35 lead. Cole looked at the clock and saw only fifteen seconds left. That was not much time against most teams, but too much against an explosive team like Forrester.

The coaches gathered the kicking team and defense around them. Cole was a nervous wreck, fearing Jordan or the split end would break one. He did not want either of them to get a chance to carry the ball and made sure his players knew this.

Petros’ kicking team jogged out on the field to line up. After the officials blew their whistle, Jeremy squibbed the ball down the field, making sure it did not get anywhere close to Jordan or the other returner. One of the tight ends recovered the ball, headed up the field and was tackled quickly.

Eight seconds were left, time for only one play.

The Grizzlies came out in a shotgun formation with receivers all over the field. Lucky edged over to help cover Jordan. The quarterback took the snap, raised up and tossed the ball to Jordan.

Everybody on defense expected a Hail Mary and played deep. Jordan caught the ball in the flat and took off like a rocket. Everybody on the Petros side cringed, fearing the worst.

Lucky was the first to get close, diving and grabbing a leg, not daring to let go despite being pulled along for the ride. Lucky kept wondering where the help was, knowing there was no way he could hold on much longer.

Jordan tried to shove Lucky away but had no luck. Help finally arrived and as the horn sounded, several defenders swarmed Jordan and slowly brought him to the ground, ending the game.

It was such a feeling of relief for the Panthers. They were all so tired that most of the players slumped to the ground, not having enough in the old gas tank to even get up.

Cole was elated, but also drained. This reminded him of why he still coached. There was such a great feeling that Cole felt like he was riding on air. There were few things in life that felt as good as winning a game like this.

He made his way across the field to shake hands with Forrester’s coaches, a group that felt just the opposite of how Cole and his team felt.

The Petros contingent was on the field, congratulating everybody. Cole made his way through the crowd and walked to the locker room. He rested for a few moments in the quiet, relishing the feeling. He said a prayer, thanking God for all of this and that nobody had gotten seriously hurt.

Some of the players started filtering in, yelling and laughing, a group of young men that had just accomplished a great deed. Cole waited until everybody was in the locker room before rising and getting a drink.

“Guys, this feeling we have right now is why we go through all the hard work,” he said, removing his hat. “This is why we spend all those hours practicing, why we lift weights, run sprints and make sacrifices most people never could or would.

“Remember how you feel right now. Whenever you face a difficult game or a tough situation in life, remember how this feels. Remember what it was like when you worked hard and overcame the obstacles before you. That was an excellent team we beat tonight, make no mistakes about it. We picked up a lot of ground tonight, I guarantee it.”

“Yeah!” Derwin hollered, soon followed by the rest of his teammates.

Cole held his hands up, still not through.

“We’re back to 3-3 on the season,” he added. “But we’re 3-0 in the district and control our own destiny. We keep winning and there’s nothing anybody can do about it. We’ll be in the playoffs. I want you guys to enjoy this tonight. Tomorrow we’ll start working on Cedar Lake.”

Chapter 31