Chapter 14
All eyes watched the ball soar down the field. Jeremy hit it a little low, sending the ball higher and shorter than he wanted.
It came up short of the deep returners, falling into the arms of a tight end at the twenty.
He only made it to the 25 before three Panthers creamed him.
Petros’ fans cheered the hit, still standing and hollered encouragement to the defense. The Blackshirts huddled, looking to Derwin for directions. He called the base defense, which meant they lined up in a 4-3 with no blitzes, stunts or slants.
The players were all keyed up. Ichabod hoped they concentrated on their assignments, not letting their emotions get carried away and forget what should be done.
Conser came out in an I-formation with two wideouts to the right. Gary made sure everybody in the secondary was lined up correctly. As he looked at the offense, Gary wished he was a linebacker or lineman, only so there would be somebody to hit and shake the nerves loose.
He considered flying up and barging into the backfield to pop somebody, but knew that wasn’t a good idea because if Conser went with a pass, the receiver would be wide open.
Conser’s quarterback surveyed the defense and barked out the signals. He took the snap, dropped back two steps and handed the ball to his standout tailback, Benny Lang, a 6-0, 205-pound senior.
Lang didn’t make it back to the line before Stewart Andrews, the Panthers’ excellent junior defensive end knifed past a blocker and dropped him in the backfield.
It wasn’t exactly how Stewart was supposed to react as he left the outside wide open. While everybody else congratulated him, the coaches reminded him to remember his assignment.
On second down, Conser’s quarterback tried Benny’s younger brother, Nate, on a quick blast up the middle. He broke through the line, picking up three yards before Derwin stood the fullback up and Gary flew in from the secondary to deliver a wicked hit.
The Panthers celebrated the hit. The players were still excited but the nerves were fading away since most of them had gotten in at least one hit.
Ichabod knew what was coming on third down. Most teams threw in this situation, but he knew the Cowboys would run a sweep or a draw. He had coached against the Cowboys’ coaches long enough and seen enough film to know Conser’s tendencies.
“Watch the sweep!” he hollered.
Derwin called the defense and told the ends to keep Lang from getting outside. As the ball was snapped, the quarterback spun around and pitched the ball back on a sweep to the wide side, just as Ichabod expected.
The defensive end on that side, Sam Roberts, stretched the play out, forcing Lang to cut back inside where several Panthers swarmed over him, bringing him down in the backfield.
Cole decided to be aggressive and told his guys to go after the punt. Harry Dean sped in from the corner, dove and nearly blocked the ball, coming close enough to feel the ball fly past.
Harry’s pressure forced the punter to hurry and the ball slid off the side of his foot, barely reaching midfield before bouncing out of bounds
Petros’ fans stood and cheered after the defensive stop and the poor punt. It was a good start, but nobody felt good yet, knowing how explosive the Cowboys were on offense.
For the first play, Cole sent in a simple dive over the right side to D.J., who learned just before kickoff that he would start at running back along with Skip. Petros lined up in its usual split-back formation with the two running backs, two tight ends and a flanker off to the wide side.
Gary got the snap, took two steps down the line and handed off to D.J., then continued down the line to carry out the fake and see how the Cowboys reacted. Price House and Garrett controlled their guys long enough that D.J. slipped through a small gap and picked up four yards. The linebacker and cornerback on that side hit him hard, almost knocking the breath out of him.
“Welcome to high school football!” the linebacker yelled, leaning over and hollering in D.J.’s face. D.J. tried to think of something to say, but drew a blank, more concerned with breathing.
The Panthers ran the same play to the opposite side. Skip also found a small gap and picked up four more yards, setting up third and short.
On the next play, Gary faked a dive to D.J., cut in behind him and weaved forward for three yards and a first down.
Cole couldn’t ask for a better start. This was how he loved to see his offense work. Petros was now on the 39-yard line. Cole wanted the Panthers to keep plowing away, score and take an early lead.
The Panthers drove deep into Conser territory before stalling after the line got confused on a blitz and messed up the blocking assignments. They faced fourth-and-seven from the 24. Cole was tempted to try a field goal but knew this was a stretch for Jeremy.
He called a timeout and after thinking about it, decided to go for it. He told Gary the play, hoping it was the right call.
The offense lined up on the ball. Gary barked out the signals, looking over the defense. He took the snap, faked a handoff to D.J., took two more steps and pulled up. The flanker, Harry Dean, snuck behind the secondary and was open. As Gary let go of the pass, a Conser linebacker plowed into him.
The ball went straight up in the air. Players from both sides were spinning around, trying to find the ball. It finally fluttered harmlessly to the ground. Downfield, Harry pounded his fists on his thigh pads, knowing his team missed an excellent opportunity to score.
Petros’ momentum was broken but the Panthers’ defense again came through, holding Conser to three plays and out, forcing another punt.
It was a low line-drive punt that Skip fielded going full speed. He found a gap and sped through it, leaving most of Conser’s players behind. The Cowboys’ last hope to prevent a touchdown was the punter.
Skip saw the punter ahead of him. He gave a little juke, faking the punter out so bad his legs got twisted, causing him to fall backwards. Skip sprinted past, never slowing until reaching the end zone. He held the ball high as his teammates joined him, causing a wild celebration on the sidelines and up in the stands.
The only people on Petros’ side not celebrating were the coaches and a few players who noticed the yellow flag littering the green grass at the line of scrimmage.
Slowly, people saw the flag and pointed it out to others. A flag on a punt return usually meant a penalty on the return team, most likely an illegal block. But a penalty along the line of scrimmage could mean anything. With everybody looking on in anticipation and the players crowding around, the officials discussed the call.
Two officials not involved with the play started scooting the players back. It wasn’t far enough back, however, as two Conser players heard the call, started clapping and pointed at the Petros side.
The referee emerged from the huddle and signaled offsides against Petros. The Panthers protested the call as nobody seemed to jump while a loud cheer came from the Conser side, grateful the penalty overturned the score.
The two teams lined up for another punt after the five-yard penalty was stepped off. Conser had learned its lesson and the coaches told the punter to kick away from Skip.
It was a long, booming punt this time, one that bounced once and went out of bounds at Petros’ 37.
Petros’ offense came back out on the field and picked up three first downs before the drive faltered after Skip was stopped short on fourth-and-three.
The first quarter ended after Conser ran one play. The Cowboys’ talented offense hadn’t been able to move the ball on the ground and the coaches decided to change the strategy in the break between quarters.
On the first play of the second quarter, the quarterback faked a handoff to Benny Lang, freezing the linebackers and secondary, then dropped back and looked for his split end. The receiver was open when the pass was released but Gary and Harry made up ground quickly while the ball was in the air.
As the ball hit the receiver’s hands, Harry lowered his head and put his shoulder pads right in the Conser player’s side from one side right as Gary arrived and added a hard blow from the other side. It was a perfect sandwich. The hits were delivered with enough force the ball dropped harmlessly to the ground, right before the receiver crumpled to the ground.
Facing third-and-long again, Conser’s quarterback sent four receivers out. He couldn’t find an open receiver and took off. Speed was not his best asset, but as he left the pocket, there was a large opening. The quarterback easily picked up the first down and added eight more yards before Derwin brought him down.
With decent field position for the first time, the Cowboys opened up the offense, mixing the run and pass while driving down the field.
Conser’s huge line started opening some holes that both Lang brothers knifed through. The offense was now balanced, mixing the run and pass so well the Panthers didn’t know what to expect. When Petros expected a run, the Cowboys passed. If it looked like a pass, Conser ran the ball.
The Cowboys drove inside Petros’ 10. It took three more plays but Conser got its first touchdown on a three-yard blast by the tailback. The kick was perfect and the Cowboys led, 7-0.
On the ensuing kick, D.J. fielded the ball and ran it back past the thirty. The Panthers started another drive, eventually reaching the Cowboys’ 40 before stalling.
Jeremy punted the ball inside Conser’s 10, pinning the Cowboys deep. With only a couple of minutes left in the second quarter, Conser tried to run the clock out and played conservative.
Petros called time after each short plunge and forced Conser to punt from its own end zone. Cole told his players to go for the block again and ten players lined up on the line, ready to go after the punter.
The snap skipped on the way back to the punter. He bobbled the snap, dropped the ball and looked up just in time to get smashed by Garrett and Derwin. It was the kind of collision a body was not made for. Derwin was going full speed and ducked his head as he approached the punter right before blasting into him, just before Garrett did the same from the other side.
The punter was hit hard enough he practically flipped backward. He lost control of the ball from the force of the hit and the ball bounced back toward the end zone line. A large group of players chased the loose football. Petros’ players wanted to recover for a touchdown while the Cowboys hoped to only give up a safety. With the ball nearing the chalk, Stewart Andrews dove and actually got his hand on the ball. But while he tried bringing it back, a Conser player dove on his back, forcing the ball to squirt away and roll out of the end zone.
It was close to a touchdown but the Panthers had to settle for a safety, cutting the lead to 7-2.
The bleachers on the Panthers’ side always shook when the fans got really excited and it started to sway a bit, making it feel like an earthquake had struck.
There was just under a minute left before halftime. The Panthers would get the ball back after the safety as the Cowboys would kick from their 20. Conser decided to punt instead of kick from a tee, hoping for better coverage. But the ball was shanked badly, hitting off the side of the punter’s foot again and sailing out-of-bounds on the 33.
Petros had the ball in great field position with plenty of time left. Gary tried two passes, missing badly on both, setting up third-and-long.
Cole had noticed Conser’s line was rushing hard while the linebackers and secondary dropped back deep and told Gary to run a draw.
He took the snap and dropped back, making it look like another pass was coming. At the last second, Gary placed the ball in Skip’s belly. Skip sidestepped one defender then had an open area in front.
Skip looked like he might score but one of the Cowboys tripped him at the 17.
Gary ran an option to the right but was trapped in the backfield and tackled for a three-yard loss. Cole tried to come up with a play that would work.
He didn’t have much confidence in the passing game. Gary had not thrown a decent pass all night. Cole thought about trying a trick play but didn’t want to risk a bad play that might take the Panthers out of field position.
Gary was better throwing on the run. He still wasn’t much of a threat, but had a better chance to complete the pass while rolling out so Cole called a bootleg pass, knowing this was one of Gary’s better plays. At the snap, Harry took off hard on what looked like a slant. The defenders bit on the fake and were left standing when he turned back to the outside and flew past them.
A pass anywhere close would give Petros an easy touchdown. Gary faked a handoff and rolled out in the opposite direction. He saw his receiver was open, but also saw an opening in front of him and decided to run, not trusting his arm.
Everybody saw Harry was wide open and couldn’t believe the ball was not thrown to him.
Gary only picked up six yards before taking a hard shot near the Panthers’ sideline. He was knocked out of bounds, stopping the clock. Cole walked down the sidelines and had to bite his tongue to keep from chewing Gary out.
Instead, he put his arm around his quarterback’s shoulders and walked him away from the other players and coaches.
“You should’ve thrown that ball,” Cole advised. “Harry was wide open.”
Gary nodded, knowing his play was a mistake. He was more worried the pass would be intercepted.
“I really thought I could score,” Gary answered, looking to the ground.
One of the water boys offered Gary a drink, but he shook his head, never looking up.
“Harry would’ve scored if you’d thrown him the ball,” Cole countered. “You’re a good player, Gary. That’s why you’re out there. Trust yourself. Now go back out there and run the same play to the other side. If Harry’s open, throw him the dang ball. I don’t care if it looks like Moses just opened up the waters for you. Throw him the ball!”
Gary buckled up his chinstrap and jogged back out on the field, his teammates waiting in a huddle. He called the play, feeling all the eyes staring at him.
The Panthers broke the huddle and came to the line. Gary got the snap, faked a handoff and rolled to the opposite direction. Conser’s defensive backs made the mistake once and were determined not to repeat it. They swarmed all over Harry, blanketing him.
This time, Gary had all kinds of room to run and saw Harry was covered. But he pulled up and let loose with a pass. It had disaster written all over it as soon as it left his hand. Conser’s free safety stepped in front of Harry and grabbed the pass out of the air, ending the Panthers’ drive.
The Cowboys ran one more play, took a knee and let the clock run out in the second quarter, sending both teams to their locker rooms.
Lucky jogged toward the dressing room with the other players, feeling quite strange. He was so used to playing every play, being tired, sweaty and dirty at halftime. Instead, his uniform looked the same as when he put it on since he had not stepped foot out on the field. Lucky wanted to do something to help and found it disappointing to be a bystander with his team trailing.
The only sophomore who played was D.J. Lucky was glad for his friend but couldn’t understand why his father felt like it was okay for D.J. to play and start as a sophomore while he couldn’t.
Lucky tried to wash away the thought, but couldn’t. Realizing what he felt was jealousy, Lucky tried to get rid of the feeling.. He knew running back wasn’t his position and D.J. was good, but Lucky always considered himself to be just as good or better.
As he sat down in a chair, waiting for his father to address the team, Lucky tried to stay positive, knowing his father knew what was best for the team and whatever his reasons were for not playing him, they were probably right. Not that it made Lucky feel any better.
The players grabbed drinks and some fruit slices. Cole and the coaches huddled together in the back of the room.
“Not a bad half,” Stub stated, biting into an orange slice. “We should be ahead.”
“No, we should be kicking their rumps,” Ichabod pointed out.
“Yeah, but we aren’t,” Cole muttered. He was even more frustrated than the other coaches, just didn’t want to show it. He was pleased with how his guys played, especially for a first game against an opponent as good as Conser. Cole had seen a lot worse, like last year. But he knew what this team was capable of and they hadn’t showed it in the first half.
“The defense played good,” Stub added.
“I guarantee you Conser will come out fired up for the second half,” Ichabod warned. “Their players are probably getting a royal chewing about right now. Either we’re better than what I thought or Conser didn’t play as well as possible.”
Cole was listening to his two assistants while trying to figure out some way to solve the offensive problems. One way kept coming up but he rejected it. Gary worked too hard and deserved more than one half to prove himself.
“They’re really gonna stack it up on defense,” Stub advised. “We’re gonna have to loosen them up somehow.”
“I know,” Cole agreed. “If Gary can hit a couple of passes that should take care of it and we can get some big plays. Our line is doing a good job but we won’t be able to block eleven guys in the blocks.”
Most of the players had finished their snacks and drinks and were waiting for the coaches. Cole saw the frustration on their faces while walking to the front of the room.
“We did some good things out there in the first half,” he spoke. “Our lines played really well. So did the special teams. Our defense was also excellent, except for that one drive.
“On offense, Conser is going to really load up to stop the run so you need to be ready. They’ll stay that way until we burn them. That gives us a chance for a big play and when it’s there, we’ll have to take advantage of it.”
Cole grabbed a drink and downed most of it in one swallow.
“You’re gonna have to turn it up a notch in the second half,” he added. “Conser didn’t expect much of a game from us and probably wasn’t ready. I guarantee you we got their attention now, though.”
He broke up the meeting and walked outside, letting the other coaches take over. Cole got his breath and looked around the old stadium, seeing a huge line at both concession stands, everybody trying to get drinks to fight off the heat. He looked forward to playing later in the season, when the air was crisp and it was jacket weather. That was football weather, not this hundred-degree stuff.
His players started filing out of the locker room and jogged back out on the field. They did some light stretching and jogging, making sure their muscles were ready to go.
The Panthers would get the ball to start the second half. Most of the crowd was still milling around, talking with friends down by the concession stand.
As Cole watched the Panthers take the field for the return, he again tried to think of same way to make the offense work. He didn’t mention it, not wanting to give his players any excuse, but Petros was playing an excellent team. Cole hoped the Panthers kept the game close going into the final quarter and then anything might happen.
As he watched the Cowboys take the field, Cole saw they had a little more fire than earlier in the game. Their coaches must’ve got on them hard at halftime and they didn’t want to hear anymore of that.
Conser’s fans and players on the sidelines tried to give the players a boost also, standing and cheering. The fear of actually losing had set in and there was a new determination.
The second half started with a long kick D.J. fielded on the seven. He was at full speed after just a few steps, looking for a gap to burst through.
The Cowboys’ Benny Lang fought through the blockers and sat sail on a course that intersected D.J. The Panthers’ returner never saw it coming. Lang caught him from the side, a hit that knocked D.J. back several yards and caused the ball to come free.
There was a wild scramble for the loose ball. After the pile was thinned out, Conser’s players started celebrating, seeing one of their teammates grasping the ball, fighting off the Petros players trying to wrench it free. The officials let everybody know it was Conser’s ball, stealing away any momentum Petros had.
Conser came out in the I-formation again, determined to shove the ball down the Panthers’ throats.
Cole again noticed the huge size difference between the two teams. The Panthers were outmanned everywhere along the line. It did not matter much earlier as the Panthers used their quickness to neutralize the difference. But when the Cowboys started ramming straight ahead, the Panthers’ main advantage was taken away.
It was nothing fancy, just simple, old-fashioned pounding. The Cowboys kept giving the ball to Lang up the middle and he plowed ahead, picking up good yardage.
Petros’ coaches knew what was happening and aside from sending everybody to crowd the line, which would leave the Panthers vulnerable to a pass and big play, there was little to do.
The drive continued inside the 10, each plunge moving the pack backwards several yards.
When Conser got inside the 5, Ichabod had seen enough and went into a goal-line defense. As soon as the Conser quarterback noticed the adjustment, he changed to a differed play.
The quarterback took the snap, faked the same blast play that had been so successful, spun around and tossed a pass to the tight end, wide open in the back of the end zone. He bobbled the pass for a second but put it away before any defender arrived.
The kick was perfect, leaving the Panthers trailing 14-2 and reeling.
Conser kicked off to D.J. again, preferring him instead of Skip. This time he held on to the ball and reached the 36 before getting tripped up.
When the offense broke the huddle, Cole saw what he expected. The Cowboys had all eleven players close to the line, not worried about a pass. Gary saw the defense and looked to the sideline for guidance. Cole just motioned for him to run the play.
Gary handed off to Skip on the dive. He barely made it back to the line before getting swarmed over by a group of Cowboys. Cole saw the frustration growing on his team and knew it was going to be a difficult half unless something changed.
Cole called a timeout, something he rarely did except in the last few minutes of a half. Aside from throwing the ball, Cole thought of only one other play that might work.
It was the speed option, the main difference between this and the regular option was the lead halfback would not fake the dive, blocking the defensive end instead. Gary would read the cornerback instead of the end.
This wasn’t how Cole preferred to run the option. He preferred faking the dive as that gave his offense more ways to threaten the defense. But this got the quarterback to the corner quicker and gave the Panthers a chance for a big play.
Cole told Gary to run the play and made sure everybody knew their assignments. The Panthers quickly rushed to the line, actually getting the play off before the Cowboys were ready. The quick snap and the speed option caught Conser off guard.
D.J. made an excellent block on the end and Gary had some running room. The cornerback chose Skip, leaving Gary open. He had plenty of room but the speed of Conser’s defenders made up ground quickly and stopped him after gaining only three yards.
It was third-and-long again, the worst situation possible for Petros’ offense. Cole called an inside trap, not the best call for this situation, but feared Gary would not have time to get a pass off and if he did, Petros’ coach doubted it would be complete.
The play actually fooled Conser’s defense. Skip ran behind Freddy Farmer and picked up five yards.
But it wasn’t enough and the Panthers were forced to punt again.
Jeremy’s punt was another good one, proving all the practice over the summer paid off.
Conser went back to the power game, running straight ahead, picking up good yardage on every play. As the drive reached into Petros’ territory, Ichabod had seen enough.
He walked down the sideline to where Cole was standing.
“Do you mind?” he asked.
“Do I mind what?” Cole shot back.
“If I put my best defensive back in?”
Cole was at a loss, certainly he wanted the best defensive back in the game.
“Of course, put him in,” Cole responded, still trying to figure out who Ichabod was talking about.
Ichabod looked around, found the person he was looking for and walked toward him.
“Lucky, come here,” Ichabod hollered.
“You think that’ll help?” Cole wondered
“Sure can’t hurt. You sure it’s okay?”
Cole looked at Ichabod for several seconds, then saw his son jog up beside his assistant. Cole nodded slowly then looked back at the field.
“You’re going in at rover,” Ichabod instructed.
Lucky was surprised. He looked around to make sure Ichabod wasn’t talking to somebody else and realized nobody else was around.
“Go in for Harry and tell Gary to move to corner,” Ichabod advised. “I want you at rover. Crowd the line and give us some run support, but don’t forget the pass.”
The play ended with Conser picking up another five yards. Lucky put on his helmet and jogged out on the field for the first time in a varsity game, snapping his chinstrap. He looked up at the scoreboard and saw 2:47 left in the third quarter.
Nobody in the secondary was really playing bad, but Ichabod hoped Lucky would be a lot more effective against the run. He knew Lucky was better against the run, while Gary was better at corner, his natural position.
Lucky was so nervous he could barely talk.
He looked across the line as Conser broke the huddle and trotted to the line. The Cowboys looked much bigger than they had from the sidelines.
Lucky looked over the offensive formation and with the power over on the right side, he cheated that way. Lucky played much closer than Gary, close enough to almost be considered another linebacker. He was just a couple of steps back from Derwin, Murray and Tim Treadway, a senior linebacker who was a little small, but made up for it with speed.
As the ball was snapped, Lucky read the linemen and the flow of the backs and saw his prediction come true. He saw where the running back was going and went that way, flying past the fullback and hit the tailback before Lang got back to the line.
Lang had a good twenty pounds on Lucky, but the force of the blow sent the Conser runner crashing to the ground.
His teammates came up to congratulate him, popping Lucky on the helmet and the shoulder pads. Conser was now facing second and long for the first time in a long time.
The Cowboys were trying to figure out who made the tackle and who missed the block, never seeing the substitution between plays. Conser went with a sweep on the next play. Stewart Andrews stretched the play out to the sidelines and the Panthers’ pursuit made it impossible for Lane to cut back.
Now, it was third and long. As Conser came to the line, Lucky saw both guards lining up differently, not putting all their weight on their hands like they had on the previous two plays.
Lucky looked around to see if anybody else noticed. As he backed up, Lucky tried to warn the other defenders.
“They’re gonna pass,” he hollered, and got the response most sophomores would get. His teammates ignored him.
Just as Lucky expected, Conser’s quarterback dropped back as the receivers sprinted downfield. Petros’ linemen read the blocks and tried getting past the blockers to pressure the quarterback, who was looking for a receiver.
Lucky read the quarterback’s eyes and saw him staring at the tight end cutting to the outside. Lucky flew in that direction even before the quarterback let loose of the ball. Just as the ball arrived, so did Lucky, crashing into the Conser player from behind.
The hit forced the ball to bounce off at an angle. Gary was in the right place, grabbing the ball for the easiest interception of his career. He started toward the Conser goal, picking up a few yards before getting tackled.
The interception got Petros’ crowd back into the game.
Everybody was fired up now and showed more determination and effort. Expecting the defense to be stacked at the line, Cole decided to try another pass.
Gary faked the dive to Skip, then dropped back. Murray Perdue headed down the middle from his tight-end position and was wide open.
The ball left Gary’s hand and was not a thing of beauty. The duck hunters at the game probably wished they had their guns and dogs around to shoot that quacker.
Murray had to stop, spin around and dive before grabbing the ball shortly before it fluttered to the ground. The pass was good for twelve yards, although it should have been much more, and the Panthers had picked up a rare first down.
The Cowboys still didn’t respect the passing game, which was easy to realize after seeing that pass. Petros tried three more passes, missing badly on all of them, ending the drive.
Jeremy came through with another great punt, pinning Conser inside its 20 again.
Cole knew if his defense didn’t make another big play, it would be hard for the Panthers to win. Ichabod hadn’t been very aggressive with the defense so far, playing very basic to avoid giving up a big play.
The two coaches got together and agreed it was time to take off the gloves.
As soon as Conser snapped the ball, Petros came with a blitz, sending eight players. Conser ran a sweep to the far side. Lang quickly realized he was in trouble and tried to outrun the defenders, but was surrounded by black shirts. He was dropped inside the ten, a huge loss for the Cowboys.
Ichabod didn’t expect the Conser coach to try anything risky with this kind of field position, with the lead and Petros’ offense struggling. He decided to go with the same call, only blitzing seven this time as Derwin stayed back, reading the play.
It worked again as the Panthers nailed Lang in the backfield.
Conser had third and long and played conservatively again, running a trap with the fullback. Lucky flew forward after reading the play, downing the fullback after a short gain. The Cowboys had to punt again, this time from their end zone.
Petros came after the punt, barely missing it. The punt bounced out-of-bounds at the 37, giving the Panthers great field position.
Skip got the call on a sweep on first down. He had been the best back even as a sophomore the previous year and showed why on this play. Some people said he was so good only because of his speed. But Skip was more than just speed, also having the moves and smarts to know when to cut and juke, like all the good running backs.
He took off to the right, cutting back when there wasn’t anything open, then totally reversed his direction and headed back the other way. Skip sidestepped two defenders, faked out another then outran two more.
Conser’s defense was in hot pursuit. The Cowboys had the angle but it wasn’t helping. Skip finally had some running room and was sprinting for the end zone. One of the Cowboys dove at him at the ten, barely missed and got a good view of watching Skip sprint in for the score.
This time, no flag littered the field and it was a game again. The third quarter ended during the run, the horn drowned out by the roar from the Petros side.
The Panthers celebrated their first touchdown and after Jeremy kicked the PAT, the lead was cut to 14-9 going into the fourth quarter.
The game wasn’t going as expected and the Cowboys weren’t happy. They started hollering at each other and arguing, blaming the failure on everybody else.
After the kick, Conser went into a spread offense, going with one running back and five receivers.
The change was to spread out the defense and keep the Panthers from getting all their players in the block.
The Cowboys started throwing quick passes, hitting short slants Petros had trouble covering.
Conser completed seven quick passes, mixing in one draw good for seventeen yards. The Cowboys moved into Petros’ end of the field. The Cowboys tried going deep for the first time but D.J. knocked the pass away, nearly intercepting it.
On the next play, Lang got the call on a draw, picking up eleven yards against the confused Petros defense.
The Cowboys hit three more passes to reach Petros’ nine. A short slant was almost good for a touchdown as Skip took the receiver down on the one to delay the score.
Lang tried to get the final yard, but was stuffed. On the next two plays, the Panthers’ defense again stiffened, keeping Lang out of the end zone.
The frustration started showing again for the Cowboys as the players argued in the huddle. Conser called a timeout and both teams went to the sidelines. It was still hot and players on both sides were more concerned with getting something to drink than hearing what their coaches said.
Cole knew how tough it was to play in conditions like this, especially against a team like Conser.
“We’ve gotta suck it up,” he pleaded. “They cannot score a touchdown here. Show them what you’re made of.”
Ichabod told the defense to stay in the goal-line defense and slant toward the center. Everybody was going to be coming to stop the run so if Conser gambled with a pass, it would probably result in an easy score.
He didn’t expect a pass, though, expecting the Cowboys to try the middle again.
The two teams broke away from the sidelines and huddled quickly. Conser broke its huddle and trotted to the line. Some of the confidence had left the faces of the linemen, replaced by the worn look of players who had been through extreme exertion for almost four quarters in temperatures at or near the century mark. The Cowboys had expected an easy game and were in a war, getting a much stiffer test than expected.
The Cowboys’ quarterback had been going on the same snap count most of the game and the Panthers had figured it out. Even if the snap count was changed and Petros was penalized for being off sides, it wouldn’t really matter.
Derwin was the leader of the defense, one of the better linebackers in this part of the state. If he was a couple of inches taller and knocked some time off his 40-yard dash, every college in the state would recruit him. But while he might not have all the physical tools, nobody was more determined. He was the perfect small-school football player. Standing just under six foot and pushing 200 pounds, Derwin made up for a lack of speed with a good head, strength and toughness that couldn’t be taught.
Derwin was so focused nobody could have gotten his attention if they had to. He was glued in on the Conser tailback, primed and ready to go wherever Lang went.
The quarterback barked out the signals. Both teams were ready to explode into each other. The fans stood on both sides, knowing this play was a big one.
If Conser scored, the fat lady could start singing. Another stop and Petros was still alive. Chances were slim for the Panthers, of course, but they had already stopped three runs.
The noise was a constant roar, rising with every second. Petros’ fans were louder, since there were more people on their side, stomping their feet against the bleachers and screaming at the top of their lungs for the defense.
Even before the quarterback barked the last “hut”, Petros’ defenders plunged forward. When the ball was snapped, Conser’s linemen couldn’t respond fast enough as the Panthers got in the first lick and controlled the blocker, getting lower than the opponent.
Derwin saw Lang go to the left and took off in that direction, his eyes glued on the running back.
The two lines formed a huge tangle of bodies massed together in front of the goal-line.
Conser’s line failed to get any movement, mainly because of the Panthers gambling on the snap count. Several Panthers got into the backfield, forcing Lang to start his dive farther from the line than he planned.
Derwin knew what Lang was going to do and took off at the same time, his body flying high in a direction that would cause them to meet.
Lang leaped high from the other side, hoping to soar above the bodies and land in the end zone. The two players met pretty much head-to-head, neither really gaining an advantage. But for Derwin it was a victory as Lang’s momentum was halted.
He tumbled straight down and was swarmed over by the Panthers’ defense, pushed backwards until the whistle finally blew.
Conser’s fans were silent as they saw how the play ended. After Lang crashed to the ground, the officials signaled the run was no good and it was Petros’ ball, setting off another wild celebration on the home side. The Panthers’ fans, players and coaches started jumping up and down, hugging each other and waving their black flags with the white “P” in the middle.
The stands were shaking so badly the people in the old pressbox feared the structure would support them.
Cole was as fired up as everybody else, but had to get everybody calmed down. It was great to get the stop, but if the Panthers’ offense couldn’t capitalize, it really meant little.
The field position was terrible as the Panthers were inside their own one.
Petros needed a big play to get out from the shadows of the goal post and then score a touchdown to go ahead. Conser’s defense crowded the line again, daring Petros to throw. Cole wanted to take them up on the challenge, but didn’t have confidence in Gary’s arm.
He absolutely hated running trick plays in the non-district part of the schedule and seldom called one, preferring to keep the plays under wraps until reaching the district games.
But Cole wanted to win this game so badly to get the year off to a good start that he decided to run one.
While in junior high, Skip was the quarterback. He was a good one, probably the best Petros had come through the program in several years. Skip had a good arm, was quick, made good decisions and was the fastest player on the team.
But the coaches decided he would be more valuable at running back since Gary was a grade ahead and Lucky a year behind.
Skip still had one of the better arms on the team, though this wasn’t known to anybody not wearing the black and white.
Gary relayed the call to his teammates and they broke the huddle. As the Panthers lined up, he looked across the line to see the eleven defenders bunched up. He took the snap and pitched back to Skip on a sweep.
Skip grabbed the ball and headed to the sidelines, trying to make it look like a run. Harry cut inside hard, making it look like he was going to block the safety, then angled back across the field.
Lang was the safety on the other side of the field and thought something was a little fishy since Petros’ linemen hadn’t fired off.
He figured out what was happening and started sprinting back, looking for the target. Skip finally pulled up, saw Harry was open and threw the ball. The football knifed through the dark skies, the lights illuminating the two white stripes on the ball as it soared through the air.
The pass was slightly behind him and Harry had to slow for just a second. He gathered in the pass at the 30 and took off down the sidelines, his short legs churning like pistons.
Lang was still in the middle of the field when Harry caught the pass. He was still behind but catching up quickly, running at an angle that would intersect Harry’s path.
It quickly turned into the most dramatic footrace anybody had seen in quite a while. At first, it looked like there was no way Lang could catch up. But Lang showed off the speed that made him one of the top sprinters in Class 3A the previous year, making up ground quickly.
Harry knew he had company and even cranked out a little more speed. Lang’s angle wasn’t quite as good as expected and he started worrying a little. Lang finally decided there was only one thing he could do to try and stop the touchdown.
He dove, extending his entire body parallel to the ground. At first, it looked like he would get nothing but air. But just before Lang fell to the ground, his fingers barely grasped Harry’s right shoe for just a second, long enough to disrupt the Panther just enough. Harry’s right foot collided with the left one, sending him falling to the ground.
Harry was down at Conser’s 28. Both players were thoroughly exhausted after the play and had trouble catching their breath.
Harry slowly walked back toward where the huddle would form, his heart racing so hard it felt like it would explode. The coaches saw him struggling and sent in a replacement for him so he could catch his breath and get a drink.
There was 5:34 left and now the Cowboys were struggling, starting to look like their conditioning over the summer and during the preseason did not prepare them for the season.
An inside trap to D.J. picked up eight yards, moving the Panthers inside the 20. Cole felt all the momentum was on his team’s side and knew the game was there for the taking.
He felt even better after Skip bolted for eleven more yards, giving Petros a first-and-goal inside the ten.
Conser’s coach called time, hoping to make adjustments to slow down the Panthers. Cole expected the Cowboys to edge even closer to the line and bring everybody.
This was a perfect time for a play-action pass and Cole decided to go with his instincts.
After the two teams returned to the field, Gary got the snap, faked a dive to Skip and dropped back. Harry beat the cornerback bad, breaking free to the outside. As Gary threw the ball, one of Conser’s linebackers blasted him in the ribs, forcing the pass to sail straight up. The ball seemed to stay in the air for several seconds, finally coming down in the hands of the cornerback who was burned. The cornerback fell to the ground in the end zone, cradling the ball to his stomach.
The play looked like it was in slow motion to Cole. He could have sworn the pass was in the air for minutes, hoping somebody wearing black would knock the ball away.
It was a crushing blow to the Panthers. Cole actually felt like he was going to get sick, it hurt so bad.
All during his time at Petros, Cole had enjoyed a good relationship with the fans and while there was criticism, he hadn’t lost any sleep over it.
But as the two teams switched sides, he heard the fans voicing their displeasure. It was worse than he had ever heard. Cole acted like it didn’t bother him, but it felt like a dagger in the back.
“You shoulda ran the ball!” hollered one man with a particularly loud voice.
Cole heard this and agreed with the man. He should have kept the ball on the ground and tried to pound it into the end zone, but got greedy.
The Panthers pretty much caved in after the turnover. Conser took over on its 20 and drove down the field against a defense that wasn’t showing the same spark.
The Cowboys’ drive reached inside the 20 before the quarterback took a knee on the final play to run out the clock.
Cole looked up at the clock, seeing it read Conser 14, Petros 9. It was a sickening feeling. He had never gotten used to losing and doubted it would happen. This was even worse because the game was at home. It used to be almost impossible for other teams to come to this field and win, now it almost seemed routine.
He looked around at his players and saw a hurt that hadn’t existed in the previous year. His guys were hurting, hating to lose almost as bad as he did. Cole shook hands with the Conser coaches and congratulated them, hearing the Cowboys’ coaches talk about how much better Petros was this year, but not feeling any better.
Cole began the long walk to the locker room, planning to do some damage control with his players. He just wished somebody could do some damage control on him.
He entered the locker room and walked slowly into his office. Cole locked the door behind him and walked to his desk and took a knee, praying and giving thanks nobody was hurt and for all the good he had received. He asked for safe deliverance of Conser on the way home and guidance on how to comfort his players.
The prayer made him feel a little better. As he went back into the locker room, the players were going about their business in slow motion, the only sound the shuttling of equipment.
Cole remembered after a close loss early the previous year, he had entered the locker room, shocked to hear players laughing and joking.
He knew it would be a long year from the players’ reactions. This time was much different. His guys were crestfallen and while it seemed strange, Cole felt better after seeing how disappointed the players were.
Cole whistled to get the players’ attention.
They looked up at him, showing a hurt that hit their coach hard.
“Guys, I don’t believe in moral victories,” he stated. “I never have and doubt I ever will. Yeah, we played a good team and should’ve won. But we didn’t. We need to feel good about the way we fought and kept coming back, but there are a lot of things we need to change if we’re gonna be the team we all want to be.
“In every game, there are mistakes. In this game, I made the biggest mistake in calling that pass down near the end zone. This one’s on my shoulders. You guys didn’t lose this game. I did.”
Cole took another drink while looking at his players. He wished there were some way to change the call, but also knew the play should have worked. It would have worked if Gary got rid of the pass just a little earlier.
“Tonight was the first step in a long travel,” Cole added. “We need to learn our lessons from this game and go forward. The people in this room will determine which way we go on that travel and how far we go. Nobody or nothing else.
“I’m proud of you guys, especially our defense. We tackled good against some good backs and never gave up the big plays. The lines looked good, especially on defense. On offense, we blocked fairly well and ran the ball good at times. Boys, this does hurt. It hurts me and I know it hurts you. But how we respond to setbacks is what determines the kind of person and team we’ll be. It’s impossible to see what kind of team we’ll have when everything is going good. What determines how well we do is how we react when times are bad.”
Cole left his little platform and walked around the room, encouraging some, consoling others.
It was not the best night to be a Petros Panther.
Chapter 15
It came up short of the deep returners, falling into the arms of a tight end at the twenty.
He only made it to the 25 before three Panthers creamed him.
Petros’ fans cheered the hit, still standing and hollered encouragement to the defense. The Blackshirts huddled, looking to Derwin for directions. He called the base defense, which meant they lined up in a 4-3 with no blitzes, stunts or slants.
The players were all keyed up. Ichabod hoped they concentrated on their assignments, not letting their emotions get carried away and forget what should be done.
Conser came out in an I-formation with two wideouts to the right. Gary made sure everybody in the secondary was lined up correctly. As he looked at the offense, Gary wished he was a linebacker or lineman, only so there would be somebody to hit and shake the nerves loose.
He considered flying up and barging into the backfield to pop somebody, but knew that wasn’t a good idea because if Conser went with a pass, the receiver would be wide open.
Conser’s quarterback surveyed the defense and barked out the signals. He took the snap, dropped back two steps and handed the ball to his standout tailback, Benny Lang, a 6-0, 205-pound senior.
Lang didn’t make it back to the line before Stewart Andrews, the Panthers’ excellent junior defensive end knifed past a blocker and dropped him in the backfield.
It wasn’t exactly how Stewart was supposed to react as he left the outside wide open. While everybody else congratulated him, the coaches reminded him to remember his assignment.
On second down, Conser’s quarterback tried Benny’s younger brother, Nate, on a quick blast up the middle. He broke through the line, picking up three yards before Derwin stood the fullback up and Gary flew in from the secondary to deliver a wicked hit.
The Panthers celebrated the hit. The players were still excited but the nerves were fading away since most of them had gotten in at least one hit.
Ichabod knew what was coming on third down. Most teams threw in this situation, but he knew the Cowboys would run a sweep or a draw. He had coached against the Cowboys’ coaches long enough and seen enough film to know Conser’s tendencies.
“Watch the sweep!” he hollered.
Derwin called the defense and told the ends to keep Lang from getting outside. As the ball was snapped, the quarterback spun around and pitched the ball back on a sweep to the wide side, just as Ichabod expected.
The defensive end on that side, Sam Roberts, stretched the play out, forcing Lang to cut back inside where several Panthers swarmed over him, bringing him down in the backfield.
Cole decided to be aggressive and told his guys to go after the punt. Harry Dean sped in from the corner, dove and nearly blocked the ball, coming close enough to feel the ball fly past.
Harry’s pressure forced the punter to hurry and the ball slid off the side of his foot, barely reaching midfield before bouncing out of bounds
Petros’ fans stood and cheered after the defensive stop and the poor punt. It was a good start, but nobody felt good yet, knowing how explosive the Cowboys were on offense.
For the first play, Cole sent in a simple dive over the right side to D.J., who learned just before kickoff that he would start at running back along with Skip. Petros lined up in its usual split-back formation with the two running backs, two tight ends and a flanker off to the wide side.
Gary got the snap, took two steps down the line and handed off to D.J., then continued down the line to carry out the fake and see how the Cowboys reacted. Price House and Garrett controlled their guys long enough that D.J. slipped through a small gap and picked up four yards. The linebacker and cornerback on that side hit him hard, almost knocking the breath out of him.
“Welcome to high school football!” the linebacker yelled, leaning over and hollering in D.J.’s face. D.J. tried to think of something to say, but drew a blank, more concerned with breathing.
The Panthers ran the same play to the opposite side. Skip also found a small gap and picked up four more yards, setting up third and short.
On the next play, Gary faked a dive to D.J., cut in behind him and weaved forward for three yards and a first down.
Cole couldn’t ask for a better start. This was how he loved to see his offense work. Petros was now on the 39-yard line. Cole wanted the Panthers to keep plowing away, score and take an early lead.
The Panthers drove deep into Conser territory before stalling after the line got confused on a blitz and messed up the blocking assignments. They faced fourth-and-seven from the 24. Cole was tempted to try a field goal but knew this was a stretch for Jeremy.
He called a timeout and after thinking about it, decided to go for it. He told Gary the play, hoping it was the right call.
The offense lined up on the ball. Gary barked out the signals, looking over the defense. He took the snap, faked a handoff to D.J., took two more steps and pulled up. The flanker, Harry Dean, snuck behind the secondary and was open. As Gary let go of the pass, a Conser linebacker plowed into him.
The ball went straight up in the air. Players from both sides were spinning around, trying to find the ball. It finally fluttered harmlessly to the ground. Downfield, Harry pounded his fists on his thigh pads, knowing his team missed an excellent opportunity to score.
Petros’ momentum was broken but the Panthers’ defense again came through, holding Conser to three plays and out, forcing another punt.
It was a low line-drive punt that Skip fielded going full speed. He found a gap and sped through it, leaving most of Conser’s players behind. The Cowboys’ last hope to prevent a touchdown was the punter.
Skip saw the punter ahead of him. He gave a little juke, faking the punter out so bad his legs got twisted, causing him to fall backwards. Skip sprinted past, never slowing until reaching the end zone. He held the ball high as his teammates joined him, causing a wild celebration on the sidelines and up in the stands.
The only people on Petros’ side not celebrating were the coaches and a few players who noticed the yellow flag littering the green grass at the line of scrimmage.
Slowly, people saw the flag and pointed it out to others. A flag on a punt return usually meant a penalty on the return team, most likely an illegal block. But a penalty along the line of scrimmage could mean anything. With everybody looking on in anticipation and the players crowding around, the officials discussed the call.
Two officials not involved with the play started scooting the players back. It wasn’t far enough back, however, as two Conser players heard the call, started clapping and pointed at the Petros side.
The referee emerged from the huddle and signaled offsides against Petros. The Panthers protested the call as nobody seemed to jump while a loud cheer came from the Conser side, grateful the penalty overturned the score.
The two teams lined up for another punt after the five-yard penalty was stepped off. Conser had learned its lesson and the coaches told the punter to kick away from Skip.
It was a long, booming punt this time, one that bounced once and went out of bounds at Petros’ 37.
Petros’ offense came back out on the field and picked up three first downs before the drive faltered after Skip was stopped short on fourth-and-three.
The first quarter ended after Conser ran one play. The Cowboys’ talented offense hadn’t been able to move the ball on the ground and the coaches decided to change the strategy in the break between quarters.
On the first play of the second quarter, the quarterback faked a handoff to Benny Lang, freezing the linebackers and secondary, then dropped back and looked for his split end. The receiver was open when the pass was released but Gary and Harry made up ground quickly while the ball was in the air.
As the ball hit the receiver’s hands, Harry lowered his head and put his shoulder pads right in the Conser player’s side from one side right as Gary arrived and added a hard blow from the other side. It was a perfect sandwich. The hits were delivered with enough force the ball dropped harmlessly to the ground, right before the receiver crumpled to the ground.
Facing third-and-long again, Conser’s quarterback sent four receivers out. He couldn’t find an open receiver and took off. Speed was not his best asset, but as he left the pocket, there was a large opening. The quarterback easily picked up the first down and added eight more yards before Derwin brought him down.
With decent field position for the first time, the Cowboys opened up the offense, mixing the run and pass while driving down the field.
Conser’s huge line started opening some holes that both Lang brothers knifed through. The offense was now balanced, mixing the run and pass so well the Panthers didn’t know what to expect. When Petros expected a run, the Cowboys passed. If it looked like a pass, Conser ran the ball.
The Cowboys drove inside Petros’ 10. It took three more plays but Conser got its first touchdown on a three-yard blast by the tailback. The kick was perfect and the Cowboys led, 7-0.
On the ensuing kick, D.J. fielded the ball and ran it back past the thirty. The Panthers started another drive, eventually reaching the Cowboys’ 40 before stalling.
Jeremy punted the ball inside Conser’s 10, pinning the Cowboys deep. With only a couple of minutes left in the second quarter, Conser tried to run the clock out and played conservative.
Petros called time after each short plunge and forced Conser to punt from its own end zone. Cole told his players to go for the block again and ten players lined up on the line, ready to go after the punter.
The snap skipped on the way back to the punter. He bobbled the snap, dropped the ball and looked up just in time to get smashed by Garrett and Derwin. It was the kind of collision a body was not made for. Derwin was going full speed and ducked his head as he approached the punter right before blasting into him, just before Garrett did the same from the other side.
The punter was hit hard enough he practically flipped backward. He lost control of the ball from the force of the hit and the ball bounced back toward the end zone line. A large group of players chased the loose football. Petros’ players wanted to recover for a touchdown while the Cowboys hoped to only give up a safety. With the ball nearing the chalk, Stewart Andrews dove and actually got his hand on the ball. But while he tried bringing it back, a Conser player dove on his back, forcing the ball to squirt away and roll out of the end zone.
It was close to a touchdown but the Panthers had to settle for a safety, cutting the lead to 7-2.
The bleachers on the Panthers’ side always shook when the fans got really excited and it started to sway a bit, making it feel like an earthquake had struck.
There was just under a minute left before halftime. The Panthers would get the ball back after the safety as the Cowboys would kick from their 20. Conser decided to punt instead of kick from a tee, hoping for better coverage. But the ball was shanked badly, hitting off the side of the punter’s foot again and sailing out-of-bounds on the 33.
Petros had the ball in great field position with plenty of time left. Gary tried two passes, missing badly on both, setting up third-and-long.
Cole had noticed Conser’s line was rushing hard while the linebackers and secondary dropped back deep and told Gary to run a draw.
He took the snap and dropped back, making it look like another pass was coming. At the last second, Gary placed the ball in Skip’s belly. Skip sidestepped one defender then had an open area in front.
Skip looked like he might score but one of the Cowboys tripped him at the 17.
Gary ran an option to the right but was trapped in the backfield and tackled for a three-yard loss. Cole tried to come up with a play that would work.
He didn’t have much confidence in the passing game. Gary had not thrown a decent pass all night. Cole thought about trying a trick play but didn’t want to risk a bad play that might take the Panthers out of field position.
Gary was better throwing on the run. He still wasn’t much of a threat, but had a better chance to complete the pass while rolling out so Cole called a bootleg pass, knowing this was one of Gary’s better plays. At the snap, Harry took off hard on what looked like a slant. The defenders bit on the fake and were left standing when he turned back to the outside and flew past them.
A pass anywhere close would give Petros an easy touchdown. Gary faked a handoff and rolled out in the opposite direction. He saw his receiver was open, but also saw an opening in front of him and decided to run, not trusting his arm.
Everybody saw Harry was wide open and couldn’t believe the ball was not thrown to him.
Gary only picked up six yards before taking a hard shot near the Panthers’ sideline. He was knocked out of bounds, stopping the clock. Cole walked down the sidelines and had to bite his tongue to keep from chewing Gary out.
Instead, he put his arm around his quarterback’s shoulders and walked him away from the other players and coaches.
“You should’ve thrown that ball,” Cole advised. “Harry was wide open.”
Gary nodded, knowing his play was a mistake. He was more worried the pass would be intercepted.
“I really thought I could score,” Gary answered, looking to the ground.
One of the water boys offered Gary a drink, but he shook his head, never looking up.
“Harry would’ve scored if you’d thrown him the ball,” Cole countered. “You’re a good player, Gary. That’s why you’re out there. Trust yourself. Now go back out there and run the same play to the other side. If Harry’s open, throw him the dang ball. I don’t care if it looks like Moses just opened up the waters for you. Throw him the ball!”
Gary buckled up his chinstrap and jogged back out on the field, his teammates waiting in a huddle. He called the play, feeling all the eyes staring at him.
The Panthers broke the huddle and came to the line. Gary got the snap, faked a handoff and rolled to the opposite direction. Conser’s defensive backs made the mistake once and were determined not to repeat it. They swarmed all over Harry, blanketing him.
This time, Gary had all kinds of room to run and saw Harry was covered. But he pulled up and let loose with a pass. It had disaster written all over it as soon as it left his hand. Conser’s free safety stepped in front of Harry and grabbed the pass out of the air, ending the Panthers’ drive.
The Cowboys ran one more play, took a knee and let the clock run out in the second quarter, sending both teams to their locker rooms.
Lucky jogged toward the dressing room with the other players, feeling quite strange. He was so used to playing every play, being tired, sweaty and dirty at halftime. Instead, his uniform looked the same as when he put it on since he had not stepped foot out on the field. Lucky wanted to do something to help and found it disappointing to be a bystander with his team trailing.
The only sophomore who played was D.J. Lucky was glad for his friend but couldn’t understand why his father felt like it was okay for D.J. to play and start as a sophomore while he couldn’t.
Lucky tried to wash away the thought, but couldn’t. Realizing what he felt was jealousy, Lucky tried to get rid of the feeling.. He knew running back wasn’t his position and D.J. was good, but Lucky always considered himself to be just as good or better.
As he sat down in a chair, waiting for his father to address the team, Lucky tried to stay positive, knowing his father knew what was best for the team and whatever his reasons were for not playing him, they were probably right. Not that it made Lucky feel any better.
The players grabbed drinks and some fruit slices. Cole and the coaches huddled together in the back of the room.
“Not a bad half,” Stub stated, biting into an orange slice. “We should be ahead.”
“No, we should be kicking their rumps,” Ichabod pointed out.
“Yeah, but we aren’t,” Cole muttered. He was even more frustrated than the other coaches, just didn’t want to show it. He was pleased with how his guys played, especially for a first game against an opponent as good as Conser. Cole had seen a lot worse, like last year. But he knew what this team was capable of and they hadn’t showed it in the first half.
“The defense played good,” Stub added.
“I guarantee you Conser will come out fired up for the second half,” Ichabod warned. “Their players are probably getting a royal chewing about right now. Either we’re better than what I thought or Conser didn’t play as well as possible.”
Cole was listening to his two assistants while trying to figure out some way to solve the offensive problems. One way kept coming up but he rejected it. Gary worked too hard and deserved more than one half to prove himself.
“They’re really gonna stack it up on defense,” Stub advised. “We’re gonna have to loosen them up somehow.”
“I know,” Cole agreed. “If Gary can hit a couple of passes that should take care of it and we can get some big plays. Our line is doing a good job but we won’t be able to block eleven guys in the blocks.”
Most of the players had finished their snacks and drinks and were waiting for the coaches. Cole saw the frustration on their faces while walking to the front of the room.
“We did some good things out there in the first half,” he spoke. “Our lines played really well. So did the special teams. Our defense was also excellent, except for that one drive.
“On offense, Conser is going to really load up to stop the run so you need to be ready. They’ll stay that way until we burn them. That gives us a chance for a big play and when it’s there, we’ll have to take advantage of it.”
Cole grabbed a drink and downed most of it in one swallow.
“You’re gonna have to turn it up a notch in the second half,” he added. “Conser didn’t expect much of a game from us and probably wasn’t ready. I guarantee you we got their attention now, though.”
He broke up the meeting and walked outside, letting the other coaches take over. Cole got his breath and looked around the old stadium, seeing a huge line at both concession stands, everybody trying to get drinks to fight off the heat. He looked forward to playing later in the season, when the air was crisp and it was jacket weather. That was football weather, not this hundred-degree stuff.
His players started filing out of the locker room and jogged back out on the field. They did some light stretching and jogging, making sure their muscles were ready to go.
The Panthers would get the ball to start the second half. Most of the crowd was still milling around, talking with friends down by the concession stand.
As Cole watched the Panthers take the field for the return, he again tried to think of same way to make the offense work. He didn’t mention it, not wanting to give his players any excuse, but Petros was playing an excellent team. Cole hoped the Panthers kept the game close going into the final quarter and then anything might happen.
As he watched the Cowboys take the field, Cole saw they had a little more fire than earlier in the game. Their coaches must’ve got on them hard at halftime and they didn’t want to hear anymore of that.
Conser’s fans and players on the sidelines tried to give the players a boost also, standing and cheering. The fear of actually losing had set in and there was a new determination.
The second half started with a long kick D.J. fielded on the seven. He was at full speed after just a few steps, looking for a gap to burst through.
The Cowboys’ Benny Lang fought through the blockers and sat sail on a course that intersected D.J. The Panthers’ returner never saw it coming. Lang caught him from the side, a hit that knocked D.J. back several yards and caused the ball to come free.
There was a wild scramble for the loose ball. After the pile was thinned out, Conser’s players started celebrating, seeing one of their teammates grasping the ball, fighting off the Petros players trying to wrench it free. The officials let everybody know it was Conser’s ball, stealing away any momentum Petros had.
Conser came out in the I-formation again, determined to shove the ball down the Panthers’ throats.
Cole again noticed the huge size difference between the two teams. The Panthers were outmanned everywhere along the line. It did not matter much earlier as the Panthers used their quickness to neutralize the difference. But when the Cowboys started ramming straight ahead, the Panthers’ main advantage was taken away.
It was nothing fancy, just simple, old-fashioned pounding. The Cowboys kept giving the ball to Lang up the middle and he plowed ahead, picking up good yardage.
Petros’ coaches knew what was happening and aside from sending everybody to crowd the line, which would leave the Panthers vulnerable to a pass and big play, there was little to do.
The drive continued inside the 10, each plunge moving the pack backwards several yards.
When Conser got inside the 5, Ichabod had seen enough and went into a goal-line defense. As soon as the Conser quarterback noticed the adjustment, he changed to a differed play.
The quarterback took the snap, faked the same blast play that had been so successful, spun around and tossed a pass to the tight end, wide open in the back of the end zone. He bobbled the pass for a second but put it away before any defender arrived.
The kick was perfect, leaving the Panthers trailing 14-2 and reeling.
Conser kicked off to D.J. again, preferring him instead of Skip. This time he held on to the ball and reached the 36 before getting tripped up.
When the offense broke the huddle, Cole saw what he expected. The Cowboys had all eleven players close to the line, not worried about a pass. Gary saw the defense and looked to the sideline for guidance. Cole just motioned for him to run the play.
Gary handed off to Skip on the dive. He barely made it back to the line before getting swarmed over by a group of Cowboys. Cole saw the frustration growing on his team and knew it was going to be a difficult half unless something changed.
Cole called a timeout, something he rarely did except in the last few minutes of a half. Aside from throwing the ball, Cole thought of only one other play that might work.
It was the speed option, the main difference between this and the regular option was the lead halfback would not fake the dive, blocking the defensive end instead. Gary would read the cornerback instead of the end.
This wasn’t how Cole preferred to run the option. He preferred faking the dive as that gave his offense more ways to threaten the defense. But this got the quarterback to the corner quicker and gave the Panthers a chance for a big play.
Cole told Gary to run the play and made sure everybody knew their assignments. The Panthers quickly rushed to the line, actually getting the play off before the Cowboys were ready. The quick snap and the speed option caught Conser off guard.
D.J. made an excellent block on the end and Gary had some running room. The cornerback chose Skip, leaving Gary open. He had plenty of room but the speed of Conser’s defenders made up ground quickly and stopped him after gaining only three yards.
It was third-and-long again, the worst situation possible for Petros’ offense. Cole called an inside trap, not the best call for this situation, but feared Gary would not have time to get a pass off and if he did, Petros’ coach doubted it would be complete.
The play actually fooled Conser’s defense. Skip ran behind Freddy Farmer and picked up five yards.
But it wasn’t enough and the Panthers were forced to punt again.
Jeremy’s punt was another good one, proving all the practice over the summer paid off.
Conser went back to the power game, running straight ahead, picking up good yardage on every play. As the drive reached into Petros’ territory, Ichabod had seen enough.
He walked down the sideline to where Cole was standing.
“Do you mind?” he asked.
“Do I mind what?” Cole shot back.
“If I put my best defensive back in?”
Cole was at a loss, certainly he wanted the best defensive back in the game.
“Of course, put him in,” Cole responded, still trying to figure out who Ichabod was talking about.
Ichabod looked around, found the person he was looking for and walked toward him.
“Lucky, come here,” Ichabod hollered.
“You think that’ll help?” Cole wondered
“Sure can’t hurt. You sure it’s okay?”
Cole looked at Ichabod for several seconds, then saw his son jog up beside his assistant. Cole nodded slowly then looked back at the field.
“You’re going in at rover,” Ichabod instructed.
Lucky was surprised. He looked around to make sure Ichabod wasn’t talking to somebody else and realized nobody else was around.
“Go in for Harry and tell Gary to move to corner,” Ichabod advised. “I want you at rover. Crowd the line and give us some run support, but don’t forget the pass.”
The play ended with Conser picking up another five yards. Lucky put on his helmet and jogged out on the field for the first time in a varsity game, snapping his chinstrap. He looked up at the scoreboard and saw 2:47 left in the third quarter.
Nobody in the secondary was really playing bad, but Ichabod hoped Lucky would be a lot more effective against the run. He knew Lucky was better against the run, while Gary was better at corner, his natural position.
Lucky was so nervous he could barely talk.
He looked across the line as Conser broke the huddle and trotted to the line. The Cowboys looked much bigger than they had from the sidelines.
Lucky looked over the offensive formation and with the power over on the right side, he cheated that way. Lucky played much closer than Gary, close enough to almost be considered another linebacker. He was just a couple of steps back from Derwin, Murray and Tim Treadway, a senior linebacker who was a little small, but made up for it with speed.
As the ball was snapped, Lucky read the linemen and the flow of the backs and saw his prediction come true. He saw where the running back was going and went that way, flying past the fullback and hit the tailback before Lang got back to the line.
Lang had a good twenty pounds on Lucky, but the force of the blow sent the Conser runner crashing to the ground.
His teammates came up to congratulate him, popping Lucky on the helmet and the shoulder pads. Conser was now facing second and long for the first time in a long time.
The Cowboys were trying to figure out who made the tackle and who missed the block, never seeing the substitution between plays. Conser went with a sweep on the next play. Stewart Andrews stretched the play out to the sidelines and the Panthers’ pursuit made it impossible for Lane to cut back.
Now, it was third and long. As Conser came to the line, Lucky saw both guards lining up differently, not putting all their weight on their hands like they had on the previous two plays.
Lucky looked around to see if anybody else noticed. As he backed up, Lucky tried to warn the other defenders.
“They’re gonna pass,” he hollered, and got the response most sophomores would get. His teammates ignored him.
Just as Lucky expected, Conser’s quarterback dropped back as the receivers sprinted downfield. Petros’ linemen read the blocks and tried getting past the blockers to pressure the quarterback, who was looking for a receiver.
Lucky read the quarterback’s eyes and saw him staring at the tight end cutting to the outside. Lucky flew in that direction even before the quarterback let loose of the ball. Just as the ball arrived, so did Lucky, crashing into the Conser player from behind.
The hit forced the ball to bounce off at an angle. Gary was in the right place, grabbing the ball for the easiest interception of his career. He started toward the Conser goal, picking up a few yards before getting tackled.
The interception got Petros’ crowd back into the game.
Everybody was fired up now and showed more determination and effort. Expecting the defense to be stacked at the line, Cole decided to try another pass.
Gary faked the dive to Skip, then dropped back. Murray Perdue headed down the middle from his tight-end position and was wide open.
The ball left Gary’s hand and was not a thing of beauty. The duck hunters at the game probably wished they had their guns and dogs around to shoot that quacker.
Murray had to stop, spin around and dive before grabbing the ball shortly before it fluttered to the ground. The pass was good for twelve yards, although it should have been much more, and the Panthers had picked up a rare first down.
The Cowboys still didn’t respect the passing game, which was easy to realize after seeing that pass. Petros tried three more passes, missing badly on all of them, ending the drive.
Jeremy came through with another great punt, pinning Conser inside its 20 again.
Cole knew if his defense didn’t make another big play, it would be hard for the Panthers to win. Ichabod hadn’t been very aggressive with the defense so far, playing very basic to avoid giving up a big play.
The two coaches got together and agreed it was time to take off the gloves.
As soon as Conser snapped the ball, Petros came with a blitz, sending eight players. Conser ran a sweep to the far side. Lang quickly realized he was in trouble and tried to outrun the defenders, but was surrounded by black shirts. He was dropped inside the ten, a huge loss for the Cowboys.
Ichabod didn’t expect the Conser coach to try anything risky with this kind of field position, with the lead and Petros’ offense struggling. He decided to go with the same call, only blitzing seven this time as Derwin stayed back, reading the play.
It worked again as the Panthers nailed Lang in the backfield.
Conser had third and long and played conservatively again, running a trap with the fullback. Lucky flew forward after reading the play, downing the fullback after a short gain. The Cowboys had to punt again, this time from their end zone.
Petros came after the punt, barely missing it. The punt bounced out-of-bounds at the 37, giving the Panthers great field position.
Skip got the call on a sweep on first down. He had been the best back even as a sophomore the previous year and showed why on this play. Some people said he was so good only because of his speed. But Skip was more than just speed, also having the moves and smarts to know when to cut and juke, like all the good running backs.
He took off to the right, cutting back when there wasn’t anything open, then totally reversed his direction and headed back the other way. Skip sidestepped two defenders, faked out another then outran two more.
Conser’s defense was in hot pursuit. The Cowboys had the angle but it wasn’t helping. Skip finally had some running room and was sprinting for the end zone. One of the Cowboys dove at him at the ten, barely missed and got a good view of watching Skip sprint in for the score.
This time, no flag littered the field and it was a game again. The third quarter ended during the run, the horn drowned out by the roar from the Petros side.
The Panthers celebrated their first touchdown and after Jeremy kicked the PAT, the lead was cut to 14-9 going into the fourth quarter.
The game wasn’t going as expected and the Cowboys weren’t happy. They started hollering at each other and arguing, blaming the failure on everybody else.
After the kick, Conser went into a spread offense, going with one running back and five receivers.
The change was to spread out the defense and keep the Panthers from getting all their players in the block.
The Cowboys started throwing quick passes, hitting short slants Petros had trouble covering.
Conser completed seven quick passes, mixing in one draw good for seventeen yards. The Cowboys moved into Petros’ end of the field. The Cowboys tried going deep for the first time but D.J. knocked the pass away, nearly intercepting it.
On the next play, Lang got the call on a draw, picking up eleven yards against the confused Petros defense.
The Cowboys hit three more passes to reach Petros’ nine. A short slant was almost good for a touchdown as Skip took the receiver down on the one to delay the score.
Lang tried to get the final yard, but was stuffed. On the next two plays, the Panthers’ defense again stiffened, keeping Lang out of the end zone.
The frustration started showing again for the Cowboys as the players argued in the huddle. Conser called a timeout and both teams went to the sidelines. It was still hot and players on both sides were more concerned with getting something to drink than hearing what their coaches said.
Cole knew how tough it was to play in conditions like this, especially against a team like Conser.
“We’ve gotta suck it up,” he pleaded. “They cannot score a touchdown here. Show them what you’re made of.”
Ichabod told the defense to stay in the goal-line defense and slant toward the center. Everybody was going to be coming to stop the run so if Conser gambled with a pass, it would probably result in an easy score.
He didn’t expect a pass, though, expecting the Cowboys to try the middle again.
The two teams broke away from the sidelines and huddled quickly. Conser broke its huddle and trotted to the line. Some of the confidence had left the faces of the linemen, replaced by the worn look of players who had been through extreme exertion for almost four quarters in temperatures at or near the century mark. The Cowboys had expected an easy game and were in a war, getting a much stiffer test than expected.
The Cowboys’ quarterback had been going on the same snap count most of the game and the Panthers had figured it out. Even if the snap count was changed and Petros was penalized for being off sides, it wouldn’t really matter.
Derwin was the leader of the defense, one of the better linebackers in this part of the state. If he was a couple of inches taller and knocked some time off his 40-yard dash, every college in the state would recruit him. But while he might not have all the physical tools, nobody was more determined. He was the perfect small-school football player. Standing just under six foot and pushing 200 pounds, Derwin made up for a lack of speed with a good head, strength and toughness that couldn’t be taught.
Derwin was so focused nobody could have gotten his attention if they had to. He was glued in on the Conser tailback, primed and ready to go wherever Lang went.
The quarterback barked out the signals. Both teams were ready to explode into each other. The fans stood on both sides, knowing this play was a big one.
If Conser scored, the fat lady could start singing. Another stop and Petros was still alive. Chances were slim for the Panthers, of course, but they had already stopped three runs.
The noise was a constant roar, rising with every second. Petros’ fans were louder, since there were more people on their side, stomping their feet against the bleachers and screaming at the top of their lungs for the defense.
Even before the quarterback barked the last “hut”, Petros’ defenders plunged forward. When the ball was snapped, Conser’s linemen couldn’t respond fast enough as the Panthers got in the first lick and controlled the blocker, getting lower than the opponent.
Derwin saw Lang go to the left and took off in that direction, his eyes glued on the running back.
The two lines formed a huge tangle of bodies massed together in front of the goal-line.
Conser’s line failed to get any movement, mainly because of the Panthers gambling on the snap count. Several Panthers got into the backfield, forcing Lang to start his dive farther from the line than he planned.
Derwin knew what Lang was going to do and took off at the same time, his body flying high in a direction that would cause them to meet.
Lang leaped high from the other side, hoping to soar above the bodies and land in the end zone. The two players met pretty much head-to-head, neither really gaining an advantage. But for Derwin it was a victory as Lang’s momentum was halted.
He tumbled straight down and was swarmed over by the Panthers’ defense, pushed backwards until the whistle finally blew.
Conser’s fans were silent as they saw how the play ended. After Lang crashed to the ground, the officials signaled the run was no good and it was Petros’ ball, setting off another wild celebration on the home side. The Panthers’ fans, players and coaches started jumping up and down, hugging each other and waving their black flags with the white “P” in the middle.
The stands were shaking so badly the people in the old pressbox feared the structure would support them.
Cole was as fired up as everybody else, but had to get everybody calmed down. It was great to get the stop, but if the Panthers’ offense couldn’t capitalize, it really meant little.
The field position was terrible as the Panthers were inside their own one.
Petros needed a big play to get out from the shadows of the goal post and then score a touchdown to go ahead. Conser’s defense crowded the line again, daring Petros to throw. Cole wanted to take them up on the challenge, but didn’t have confidence in Gary’s arm.
He absolutely hated running trick plays in the non-district part of the schedule and seldom called one, preferring to keep the plays under wraps until reaching the district games.
But Cole wanted to win this game so badly to get the year off to a good start that he decided to run one.
While in junior high, Skip was the quarterback. He was a good one, probably the best Petros had come through the program in several years. Skip had a good arm, was quick, made good decisions and was the fastest player on the team.
But the coaches decided he would be more valuable at running back since Gary was a grade ahead and Lucky a year behind.
Skip still had one of the better arms on the team, though this wasn’t known to anybody not wearing the black and white.
Gary relayed the call to his teammates and they broke the huddle. As the Panthers lined up, he looked across the line to see the eleven defenders bunched up. He took the snap and pitched back to Skip on a sweep.
Skip grabbed the ball and headed to the sidelines, trying to make it look like a run. Harry cut inside hard, making it look like he was going to block the safety, then angled back across the field.
Lang was the safety on the other side of the field and thought something was a little fishy since Petros’ linemen hadn’t fired off.
He figured out what was happening and started sprinting back, looking for the target. Skip finally pulled up, saw Harry was open and threw the ball. The football knifed through the dark skies, the lights illuminating the two white stripes on the ball as it soared through the air.
The pass was slightly behind him and Harry had to slow for just a second. He gathered in the pass at the 30 and took off down the sidelines, his short legs churning like pistons.
Lang was still in the middle of the field when Harry caught the pass. He was still behind but catching up quickly, running at an angle that would intersect Harry’s path.
It quickly turned into the most dramatic footrace anybody had seen in quite a while. At first, it looked like there was no way Lang could catch up. But Lang showed off the speed that made him one of the top sprinters in Class 3A the previous year, making up ground quickly.
Harry knew he had company and even cranked out a little more speed. Lang’s angle wasn’t quite as good as expected and he started worrying a little. Lang finally decided there was only one thing he could do to try and stop the touchdown.
He dove, extending his entire body parallel to the ground. At first, it looked like he would get nothing but air. But just before Lang fell to the ground, his fingers barely grasped Harry’s right shoe for just a second, long enough to disrupt the Panther just enough. Harry’s right foot collided with the left one, sending him falling to the ground.
Harry was down at Conser’s 28. Both players were thoroughly exhausted after the play and had trouble catching their breath.
Harry slowly walked back toward where the huddle would form, his heart racing so hard it felt like it would explode. The coaches saw him struggling and sent in a replacement for him so he could catch his breath and get a drink.
There was 5:34 left and now the Cowboys were struggling, starting to look like their conditioning over the summer and during the preseason did not prepare them for the season.
An inside trap to D.J. picked up eight yards, moving the Panthers inside the 20. Cole felt all the momentum was on his team’s side and knew the game was there for the taking.
He felt even better after Skip bolted for eleven more yards, giving Petros a first-and-goal inside the ten.
Conser’s coach called time, hoping to make adjustments to slow down the Panthers. Cole expected the Cowboys to edge even closer to the line and bring everybody.
This was a perfect time for a play-action pass and Cole decided to go with his instincts.
After the two teams returned to the field, Gary got the snap, faked a dive to Skip and dropped back. Harry beat the cornerback bad, breaking free to the outside. As Gary threw the ball, one of Conser’s linebackers blasted him in the ribs, forcing the pass to sail straight up. The ball seemed to stay in the air for several seconds, finally coming down in the hands of the cornerback who was burned. The cornerback fell to the ground in the end zone, cradling the ball to his stomach.
The play looked like it was in slow motion to Cole. He could have sworn the pass was in the air for minutes, hoping somebody wearing black would knock the ball away.
It was a crushing blow to the Panthers. Cole actually felt like he was going to get sick, it hurt so bad.
All during his time at Petros, Cole had enjoyed a good relationship with the fans and while there was criticism, he hadn’t lost any sleep over it.
But as the two teams switched sides, he heard the fans voicing their displeasure. It was worse than he had ever heard. Cole acted like it didn’t bother him, but it felt like a dagger in the back.
“You shoulda ran the ball!” hollered one man with a particularly loud voice.
Cole heard this and agreed with the man. He should have kept the ball on the ground and tried to pound it into the end zone, but got greedy.
The Panthers pretty much caved in after the turnover. Conser took over on its 20 and drove down the field against a defense that wasn’t showing the same spark.
The Cowboys’ drive reached inside the 20 before the quarterback took a knee on the final play to run out the clock.
Cole looked up at the clock, seeing it read Conser 14, Petros 9. It was a sickening feeling. He had never gotten used to losing and doubted it would happen. This was even worse because the game was at home. It used to be almost impossible for other teams to come to this field and win, now it almost seemed routine.
He looked around at his players and saw a hurt that hadn’t existed in the previous year. His guys were hurting, hating to lose almost as bad as he did. Cole shook hands with the Conser coaches and congratulated them, hearing the Cowboys’ coaches talk about how much better Petros was this year, but not feeling any better.
Cole began the long walk to the locker room, planning to do some damage control with his players. He just wished somebody could do some damage control on him.
He entered the locker room and walked slowly into his office. Cole locked the door behind him and walked to his desk and took a knee, praying and giving thanks nobody was hurt and for all the good he had received. He asked for safe deliverance of Conser on the way home and guidance on how to comfort his players.
The prayer made him feel a little better. As he went back into the locker room, the players were going about their business in slow motion, the only sound the shuttling of equipment.
Cole remembered after a close loss early the previous year, he had entered the locker room, shocked to hear players laughing and joking.
He knew it would be a long year from the players’ reactions. This time was much different. His guys were crestfallen and while it seemed strange, Cole felt better after seeing how disappointed the players were.
Cole whistled to get the players’ attention.
They looked up at him, showing a hurt that hit their coach hard.
“Guys, I don’t believe in moral victories,” he stated. “I never have and doubt I ever will. Yeah, we played a good team and should’ve won. But we didn’t. We need to feel good about the way we fought and kept coming back, but there are a lot of things we need to change if we’re gonna be the team we all want to be.
“In every game, there are mistakes. In this game, I made the biggest mistake in calling that pass down near the end zone. This one’s on my shoulders. You guys didn’t lose this game. I did.”
Cole took another drink while looking at his players. He wished there were some way to change the call, but also knew the play should have worked. It would have worked if Gary got rid of the pass just a little earlier.
“Tonight was the first step in a long travel,” Cole added. “We need to learn our lessons from this game and go forward. The people in this room will determine which way we go on that travel and how far we go. Nobody or nothing else.
“I’m proud of you guys, especially our defense. We tackled good against some good backs and never gave up the big plays. The lines looked good, especially on defense. On offense, we blocked fairly well and ran the ball good at times. Boys, this does hurt. It hurts me and I know it hurts you. But how we respond to setbacks is what determines the kind of person and team we’ll be. It’s impossible to see what kind of team we’ll have when everything is going good. What determines how well we do is how we react when times are bad.”
Cole left his little platform and walked around the room, encouraging some, consoling others.
It was not the best night to be a Petros Panther.
posted by Craig Hall at 5:00 AM
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