Chapter 23

For the Petros Panthers, it was a relief to get out of non-district play and start playing schools the same size. Cole scheduled the tough non-district opponents solely to get his team ready for district play.

The Panthers’ record was usually bad coming into district play, but Cole felt like his team was ready to play anybody in the district now, even Summerfield.

Now the Panthers had to get ready for Hontubby, a team that was 1-2 and struggling. The Hornets were traditionally one of the weaker teams in the district, usually lacking good athletes, tradition and coaching.

Cole wasn’t impressed with the film of Hontubby, but would still prepare his team like they were playing for the state championship.

He had seen his offense’s potential and was excited. The Panthers were no longer handicapped on offense. After Lucky entered the game against Hodgen, he played better than anybody expected.

Now it was an offense with three good runners in the backfield and a quarterback who could hurt the defense with his arm and his legs.

Those were the thoughts running through Cole’s mind as Pastor Furman started his sermon on Sunday.

The pastor preached about a topic very appropriate for Petros. He said that while it was disappointing to not always win the battles on the football field, the basketball court or in life, that everybody who gave their heart to Jesus wins in the end and has eternal life.

Pastor Furman said the biggest battle of all, the one between God and the devil has already been decided, even though they have been fighting for thousands of years and will continue until Jesus came back home.

It was written in the Bible who wins, and it was God. Pastor Furman talked about how important it was that while a person won’t always be on the winning team in athletics, they should strive to be on the team that wins in the end.

Cole felt better after the service ended, just like he always did. He could be dead tired, upset, angry or whatever when he came to church, but always left with a sense of peace.

There was a new sense of excitement in Petros football with district play starting Friday. While the players, coaches and fans wished they won every game, they knew the non-district games had no bearing on the Panthers getting into the playoffs.

It was a week of long and hard practices. Cole stressed the special teams all week, making sure to point out Hodgen got two touchdowns and a blocked extra point in the special teams and that was the difference between winning and losing.

Petros spent time on defense, of course, but put in a little extra time on offense, trying to make sure Lucky got all the snaps possible. Most of it was for the timing, of course, as Lucky knew the offense better than all his teammates. The players didn’t complain about how hard the practices were, wanting to do whatever it took to win.

They usually watched film of the upcoming opponents, but Cole didn’t show any film this week, not wanting the players to get overconfident.

Scoop’s article on the upcoming game even played into that as he stressed how much Hontubby had improved. Cole had told Scoop this, naturally, hoping to convince him and everybody else. Cole smiled as he read the article while sitting at his desk after practice Wednesday.

The headline read: Panthers prep for district opener after heartbreak!
In the many years that I have had the honor of covering Petros Panther sports for this honorable newspaper, seldom have I been prouder to be a fan than I was Friday night at Hodgen.

That came close to making Cole a little ill.

Displaying the talent and character which we have all grown to love and respect, our boys almost pulled off a huge upset over our hated rivals from the north, the Hodgen Bulldogs.

While we came up on the short end of a 28-27 score to our much bigger rivals, anybody who was at the game (and judging from the number of people in the stands, I’d say it was most of our population!) would agree how lucky those mangy mutts were to win this game.

Cole almost laughed, wondering how the people from Hodgen who advertise in the Petros paper would feel after seeing Scoop’s description of their mascot.

We were saddened that the brave and talented senior, Gary Bell, injured his shoulder in the game and will be out for a couple of weeks, or until his shoulder gets better. Our prayers will be with you, Gary, for a quick return and that your shoulder will heal.

You have always been one of my favorite Panthers of all time and I will miss you, Gary!

Cole cringed over that comment, imagining how Gary’s teammates would respond.

After Gary was injured, our old coach Cole Lester, the winningest coach in Petros history I might add, sent in a capable replacement, the old chip-off-the-old-block himself, his youngest son, Lynn “Lucky” Lester. I believe in my heart that Lucky will be one of the best sophomores I have ever seen strap on the pads for good old Petros High School and in my many years of sport’s journalism.

Our Panthers were staggered early against the rabid canines from the north, falling behind 21-0. But our boys were determined to fight to the finish, and they did!

Quarterback Lucky led the resurgence for the mighty Panthers, leading us to two quick scores that had the Hodgen faithful squirming in their seats like they needed to empty their bladder!

Cole shook his head, again feeling like Scoop had gotten carried away.

Hodgen answered back with a touchdown of its own, but our boys were far from discouraged with our coaches leading the charge.

Just when the mutts thought the game was over, by gosh, we showed them that unlike the team we were playing last Friday, our bite is just as bad as our bark.

In a comeback that will be remembered for as long as our minds can recall it, often to be discussed and cussed, depending on who you talk to, our Panthers scratched, clawed, bit, fought and scrambled back, scoring two TD’s to pull within…

That was all Cole could take in one reading. He looked to the end of the story and saw that Scoop had finished up his story by writing, Go Panthers! Beat Hontubby!

It could be worse, Cole thought, but was unable to figure out how.

As the week went by, the temperature started to drop and while it was still warm, it wasn’t the unbearable combination of heat and humidity that had plagued southeastern Oklahoma since May.

Cole and the players were ready to play by Wednesday. Hontubby wasn’t a difficult team to prepare for and the Panthers had most of the schemes and plays figured out before then.

He spent most of the week trying to spot any way the Hornets could sting his guys, but this was a stinger that just didn’t have much punch.

The Hornets’ best player was probably the fullback, a tough but undersized player for that position, weighing only 160 pounds. He usually got the bulk of the carries and performed fairly well until the combination of carries and hits wore him out late in the game.

It would be Homecoming game again the Hornets, a team that got to see more homecomings than a florist in a big city.

Cole hoped Petros’ homecoming wouldn’t be a distraction with all the hoopla going on, including a dance, another pep assembly and all the other stuff, but doubted it would. His guys weren’t really the type to enjoy dressing up in suits and cared less about all that stuff.

Friday night finally arrived and Lucky was a little nervous in the warm-ups. He wanted to get the game going and take the first hit to get rid of the butterflies.

He was more nervous than the previous week since this was his first start at quarterback and Lucky had not expected to play offense last week.

Even though the Panthers were 0-3, there was a huge crowd at the game, partly because it was Homecoming but also because this was how the town supported its athletic teams, unlike any other town Cole had ever seen. It was impossible to tell the Panthers’ record by looking at the crowd. They could be 0-9 and have just as big of a crowd as if they were 9-0 and playing for a district championship.

Hundreds of old alumni were visiting for the weekend and would attend the game, along with the reunion the following day. Extra bleachers were brought in from the baseball field, but it wouldn’t be enough to seat everybody in attendance. Most of the guys preferred to stand along the fence or in the end zone since they could hang out with old buddies while the wives and girlfriends sat together and blabbed all they wanted and not get on their nerves. The former players would wear their old jerseys, at least those who could.

Cole spent most of the day talking to former players who were visiting. So many dropped by to see him that he had trouble concentrating on his game plan.

Not that he was really worried, though. Cole expected this game to be decided quickly, giving the alumni a good present and making all the students happy prior to going to the dance after the game.

All the players returned from the field and were making final adjustments prior to going out for the game. Many of the players were getting a drink as Cole walked around the room, talking to them.

He made his way to the front of the room, stood by the chalkboard and got everybody’s attention.

“Guys, this is a brand new season,” he stated intently. “We need to forget about everything that’s happened up until now. We’re starting district play tonight and it’s time to crank it up all the way. Play like you’re capable. Our record might say otherwise, but I know we’re a good team and don’t care what anybody else says.

“It’s time to start achieving our next goal and that’s to win the district. It all starts here tonight with a win over Hontubby.”

The door going out to the field opened and everybody looked in that direction. Cole’s jaw dropped so far it felt like it was going to hit the floor.

Standing in the doorway, looking not much different than when he wore the same uniform, was a tall, sturdy man in his early 20’s. He had a large smile on his face, enjoying the look on everybody’s face. He had a little more belly than usual, but looked like it would not be a problem to strap on the pads again.

“What’s up?” he hollered, enjoying this immensely. “How’s it going, Dad?”

This was the biggest surprise Cole had in a long time. His oldest son, Lloyd, had just staggered in without giving anybody a clue he was coming to the game.

Cole and Lucky walked over to greet him. Lloyd was a little shorter than his younger brother, but was thicker and more muscular. His blond hair was cut shorter than normal and he wore his old Petros home jersey, a pair of jeans and some cowboy boots.

“Well, we didn’t know you were coming,” Cole mentioned.

“I didn’t either,” Lloyd responded. “I decided at lunch today that I needed to be here. Had to see my little brother in his first start at quarterback. I just wish I wasn’t four games late to see him in his first game.

Cole smiled and hugged his oldest son again, the visit giving his spirit a mighty boost.

“We’re gonna have to go,” Cole announced. “Stand on the sidelines with us, okay?”

“Sure,” Lloyd responded, turning to look at his brother. “You ready to go?”

“I think so,” answered Lucky, even more nervous knowing his brother would be in attendance.

“I remember the first game I started.”

“So do I,” Lucky added, smiling from ear-to-ear. “We beat Big Cedar forty to nothing.”

“Just play like you’re capable,” Lloyd said, hitting his brother on the shoulder pads. “You’ll be fine.”

“How long you gonna be here?”

“For a while,” Lloyd answered, smiling at his little brother.

Hontubby’s crowd was rather small and some of the Petros fans drifted over to sit in the visitor’s bleachers. There were probably less than a hundred Hontubby fans at the game, the burnt orange barely visible among the black and white.

The Hornets were already on the field when the Panthers stormed out of the locker room. Hontubby wore its road uniforms of white helmets and shirts with orange numbers and pants.

The spirit line for the Panthers was longer than usual with all the alums present and there was a sense of excitement in the air. Many of the old faces were here, players who built this proud tradition with their sweat and blood.

Hontubby’s players weren’t intimidated like they usually would be. After all, the Hornets had a better record than Petros, failing to realize it was because of the difference in strength of schedule. Cole knew the Panthers would be unbeaten if they played Hontubby’s schedule.

A huge roar went up as the Panthers took the field, dressed all in black except for the white helmets and socks.

This was a hungry group of Panthers, ready to taste victory for the first time and live up to the tradition of the players who wore these uniforms before them. In the past, visiting teams seldom came to this field with hope of winning and that was how the Panthers liked it.

It was fairly comfortable for the first time this season.

The Panthers won the coin toss and elected to defer. A strong breeze was blowing in from the north and Petros chose to defend that goal.

Cole was usually a fairly good judge on whether his team was ready to play. For this game, he had no doubt his guys were ready and figured Hontubby would pay.

Whether that would translate to a win had not been determined, although he certainly expected the Panthers to come out on top. But he also wanted to see a lot of improvement.

He had talked about it enough that while most of the players knew better, Cole made sure they knew it would take a great effort to win.

It was a new season now, one that he knew would be different.

Chapter 24