Chapter 30

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

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

“We’re behind 21-14,” Harry said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Despite his confidence, the players were still shaken.

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

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

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

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

“How’re you doing, Skip?” Cole asked.

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

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

Doc Hardy joined the coaches and examined Skip.

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

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

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

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

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

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

“You okay?” Lucky asked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“You scared to tackle him?” Ichabod asked.

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

“Their tailback.”

“Not in this lifetime.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“You better go see Doc,” Derwin directed.

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

“Look at your shirt.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Huh?”

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

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

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

“That’s right,” he responded.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Lots of time left,” Stub mentioned.

“Don’t remind me,” Cole responded.

Not that the Grizzlies needed much time.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eight seconds were left, time for only one play.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cole held his hands up, still not through.

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

Chapter 31