Chapter 36
It started misting just barely an hour and a half before kickoff on Friday. The rain barely beat the appearance of the two yellow buses carrying the Big Cedar Mustangs.
The Panthers were sitting in the locker room when somebody hollered that Big Cedar had arrived. They all snuck out to watch Big Cedar’s players leave the bus. The first person off the bus was Tatum Sloan, still looking young enough to suit up. He stopped after stepping off the bus and looked around at his old stomping grounds, the memories nearly overcoming him.
Several people wearing black and white were there to greet Tatum and welcome him home.
The backs, receivers and kickers arrived on the field as the rain grew harder. The stands were already filling on both sides. The only section still open on the home side was the reserved seats for the season-ticket holders.
A large crowd was milling about near the fences and at the front gate, slowly filing into the old stadium.
Big Cedar’s crowd filled the visitor’s side, cheering loudly when the Mustangs took the field, wearing blue pants, white shirts with blue numbers, along with white helmets with numbers on each side.
It was not an intimidating group, the Panthers quickly decided. But they also knew this was a well-coached team that never quit.
There was already a sense of excitement in the air. Nobody had to do anything to get anybody pumped up for this game. Everybody on both sides knew how big this game was.
The moisture did nothing to dampen the feeling, only seemed to intensify it.
Cole never really liked meeting with opposing coaches before a game and exchanging small talk. He made an exception on this night as Tatum waited for him at midfield.
“Hey, big guy,” Cole shouted, trying not to show how excited he was. “Make it here okay?”
“Yes, sir,” Tatum responded, the same way he always addressed Cole. “This feels so strange.”
“I know,” Cole agreed, reflecting back on some of the memories Tatum gave him from this field. “We had some good times when you were here.”
“Hope I get another tonight,” Tatum retorted, then laughed.
“I don’t. Don’t get carried away, now.”
“Your boys are sure playing well,” Tatum commented. “So many people were saying Petros would be down this year, but I knew better. I just hope you guys can take down Summerfield.”
“So do I. Your guys sure have improved.”
“We’ve got some good kids who aren’t afraid to work.”
Cole looked at his watch and saw it was time for the players to retreat back to the locker room.
He leaned over and hugged Tatum.
“I’ll catch you after the game,” he promised. “Good luck.”
“Same to you, Coach,” Tatum answered, turning away while hoping his old coach did not see his eyes getting all misty.
When Cole got back to the locker room, the players had put on their shoulder pads and were ready to go. There wasn’t a player or coach in the room who did not have a great deal of respect for Tatum Sloan and all he did for the school, but they were also tired of hearing about him.
Cole thought about it while waiting to talk to the boys. Tatum might have been the best player to ever walk the halls of Petros High School, although many would argue Lloyd was just as good. But at least for the next three hours, Tatum Sloan was the enemy.
He looked at his players and saw the determination. They wanted to win this game more than any other they had played. The Panthers knew they could not afford a loss. If they lost, that would probably put them on the road for the playoffs and nobody wanted to travel.
Cole wanted his players to be ready, but knew he needed to be careful as they were on the edge of being too ready. He took one quick glance around as the players finished dressing. They were ready, squirming around like little boys who needed to relieve themselves.
“We have a great opportunity tonight,” Cole announced. “We’ve faced several big tests this year and passed some of them and came up a little short on some. This is the most important game we’ve played. This is why you play the game. The stands will be packed and the crowd will be roaring. I love how this feels. Most people never experience what you will this evening.
“Basically, you have two choices. We can either move on with a win, or take a step back with a loss. I’d just as soon keep going ahead. We’re right where we need to be, controlling our own destiny. That’s a good team we’re facing tonight. Don’t doubt that for a second. But we’re better. They’re coming into our house and trying to take something away from us.
“I’d kind of like to be a little stingy and keep it for ourselves. This is our home and our game! Now go out there and show them what Petros Panther football is all about!”
Cole looked around the room. The players looked like they were about to explode. He had never seen this group so ready to play.
“I only have one other thing to say,” Cole added, feeling his intensity rising as well. “Do not be afraid to succeed!”
With that, Cole let his players go. They nearly tore the door down trying to get outside. As the players started filtering out, Cole heard a roar as the players circled around each other in the end zone, jumping up and down and pounding on each other.
The spirit line stretched well over half the field. Derwin led the team through the spirit line and busted through the banner urging the Panthers to “Muzzle the Mustangs!”
They continued down the field, following behind the cheerleaders, who had to run full speed or risk getting trampled. After all the players sprinted through the spirit line, a bunch of little boys fought over pieces of the banner that was ripped apart.
The spirit line quickly broke apart, a disorganized effort by everybody except the band, which marched smartly off the field and into the stands.
The band paused long enough to blast out the school song one last time before kickoff, getting everybody to stand and clap together. It was a solid mass of black and white, looking like a wave.
Big Cedar won the toss and elected to receive. Petros would defend the north goal, not really an advantage as there wasn’t even a light breeze blowing.
Jeremy’s kick was fielded at the 11 and advanced to the 26 before several Panthers slammed into the returner and threw him to the ground.
All the defenders charged on to the field, waving their arms to keep the crowd pumped up. The defense huddled, all eyes on Derwin.
“Time to show our stuff!” he hollered, clapping his hands. “Let’s go! Three-and-out!”
The Mustangs came out in an I-formation with two tight ends and a flanker. This was a new formation and the Panthers were confused.
Big Cedar’s quarterback took the snap, faked a handoff to the tailback, which brought Petros’ secondary up, then dropped back and lobbed a pass to the flanker, wide open behind the secondary. A loud groan erupted from Petros’ side, watching the disaster unfold in front of them. The receiver garnered in the pass and was a good 20 yards ahead of everybody and not letting anybody gain.
It was a touchdown on the first play of the game, a terrible way for the Panthers to start the game.
After the PAT, the Mustangs led 7-0 and the game wasn’t even fifteen seconds old.
Ichabod met his defense as they came off the field. He was so upset his mouth was slobbering. The players knew when this happened not to get close to him, expecting a good drenching.
“Follow your reads!” he emphasized, spit going everywhere. “You cannot just all fly up to the line wanting to make a big play. That’s when you give up the big plays. Don’t overly commit to the run.”
The Panthers were stunned, never expecting to be behind in this game, especially not in the first minute.
“Shake it off!” Cole hollered to his players, knowing the words were probably wasted. He was shaken also, his stomach feeling like a bunch of bats flying around inside.
Petros’ receiving team took the field, still shaken. They never saw it coming. Tatum had seen his old coach do it many times before when nobody expected it and decided to gamble.
The Mustangs’ kicker approached the ball and instead of blasting it, just barely kicked the ball, sending it bounding down the field, end-over-end. It worked perfectly as the first line of Petros’ blockers had cheated and left their positions too early.
The football slowly bounced down the field, finally going over ten yards and allowing the Mustangs to recover.
“I should’ve seen that coming,” Cole muttered, shaking his head while watching the officials signal it was Big Cedar’s ball.
The Mustangs came out in the same formation. The quarterback faked the same handoff again, scrambled to his right to avoid the rush bearing down on him, and heaved the ball down the field.
It was a pass that should never have been thrown and should be a disaster as Skip and Lucky both sprinted toward the ball. But as the ball arrived, the two defenders both went for the interception, not knowing the other player was there.
They crashed together going full speed. The ball actually hit Lucky’s hands, but the force of the collision caused the ball to bounce away, deflecting high in the air, right into the waiting arms of the receiver who scored the first touchdown.
It wasn’t as easy or pretty as the first touchdown, but it still worked. With the two defensive backs down, the receiver could have taken it easy, but sprinted the rest of the way, good for him since he barely got into the end zone before D.J. brought him down.
Big Cedar’s crowd celebrated again and the band replayed the school song. The sidelines were a stark contrast. The Mustangs ran around and jumped on each other, even the coaches. Petros’ side looked like it was at a funeral.
It was bad enough the Mustangs had just taken a two-touchdown lead, then everybody realized Lucky and Skip were both laid out on the field, neither player moving.
Stub and Ichabod jogged out on the field. Lloyd waited on the sidelines for a few seconds, then could not take it any longer and ran out on the field to check on his little brother.
Skip was on his knees by then while Lucky was still down. Lloyd grew even more worried when he saw blood on the front of Lucky’s jersey.
Lloyd joined Stub as they got to Lucky. He was awake, which was a relief, but was knocked silly and had a nasty cut on his chin, split right down the middle.
“You okay?” Lloyd asked.
Lucky looked at his brother, wondering why everything was spinning.
“I’ve been better,” he answered.
Lucky started to rise, nearly falling before getting assistance. They helped him to the sidelines, his legs still not ready to fully support him. Skip was ahead of them and already on the sidelines, getting a smelling salt to clear out the cobwebs.
Cole could not believe this was happening. He wanted to check on Lucky, but also had to get the rest of the team ready to play. He let the other coaches work on the injured players and put in replacements for the extra point.
The kick was good again, giving the Mustangs a 14-0 lead. As the players came to the sidelines, Cole met them.
“Guys, get your heads up,” he stated calmly, gathering the return team together. “Don’t leave your position on the kickoff until the ball is past you, just like you’re coached every day. We’re gonna be okay. Gary, you’re going in at quarterback.”
Cole left the huddle and saw Ichabod was able to watch the team. He had to go check on Lucky. Cole saw the cut first and knew it was a bad one.
Doc Hardy kneeled in front of Lucky. He was putting some gauze on the cut to soak up some of the blood. He saw Cole coming over and got up to meet him.
“He’s going to need stitches,” the doctor stated. “That’s a nasty cut. I don’t think there’s a concussion or anything to worry about, but we’re going to have to put that chin back together.”
“Okay,” Cole responded. “Can you do it here or at your clinic?”
“I’d rather do it at the clinic. We won’t be gone long.”
“Go ahead,” Cole directed, then turned to find Lloyd. “Go with them.”
Lloyd nodded and walked over to help his younger brother.
Toni had gotten her mother to work for her so she could go to the game. She was a little late and had to sit on the second row, right behind the bench. Toni saw the collision and grew worried when Lucky did not get up.
She almost got sick, along with most of the other people in her section, when they saw Lucky assisted to the bench, blood gushing out of the cut and turning a white towel red.
Toni grew even more worried when she realized the doctor and Lloyd were taking him off the field.
“He’ll be okay,” Elizabeth assured her.
“How can he bleed so much?” Toni asked.
She felt so strange watching him leave, not knowing where he was going or what would happen to him.
Cole watched Lucky walk away then gathered the offense around him.
“It’s time to step it up,” Cole pleaded. “We’re gonna be okay. Just play like we can and things will be okay.”
Petros’ offense failed to move the ball, running three plays and then lined up to punt on fourth down. The punt was a long one that pinned Big Cedar inside its own 30.
The Panthers’ defense kept Big Cedar from scoring on its first play this time. Instead, the Mustangs went on a long, time-consuming drive that looked similar to one of the Panthers’ drives.
The touchdown came on a short plunge by the tailback just before the first quarter ended. The kick was good again and Big Cedar led 21-0 over the stunned Panthers.
Petros’ offense was stuffed again and forced to punt. Finally, the Panthers’ defense actually got a stop, getting a clipping penalty that put the Mustangs back far enough they could not get a first down.
On the ensuing drive, Petros did not even get five yards before having to punt again. Things were still bad for Petros and would grow worse. The Mustangs took the ball and went on another drive, mixing runs and passes, leaving the Panthers not knowing what was coming.
There were only two minutes left when the Mustangs’ tailback broke two tackles and plunged into the end zone, giving his team a 28-0 lead after the conversion.
“This is embarrassing,” Stub shouted, staring up at the scoreboard.
“Our boys need to wake up,” Ichabod stated. “I think we hit the snooze button.”
Cole was not the type of coach who screamed or hollered at his players. He really did not even like to get on a player. But he felt one brewing as the Panthers made their way to the locker room. The players were in a state of shock, their mental condition in terrible shape.
Cole let everybody get something to drink and settle down. His anger was controlled but he knew something had to be done or this would get worse.
“Guys, I’ve been doing this for a long time,” he began, leaning against a table and talking so low the players in the back barely heard him. “I’ve had teams get splattered. I’ve had teams play other teams that were much better and get beat because they were outmatched. But I don’t remember any time having a half like that.
“You guys have just accomplished a first for one of my teams. I can never remember being behind this bad at halftime. But you know what? You can also make something good out of this by coming from so far behind and winning this game. None of my teams have ever done that, either.”
Cole finished his drink and stood up. He started pacing back and forth, looking at his players.
“Right now, you’re not playing up to the standards expected of you,” he added. “Yeah, we’ve had a few bad breaks. But those things happen. You aren’t measured by how you act when everything’s going good. What determines your character is how you act when things are going bad. We’ve allowed another team to come to our home and go ahead twenty-eight to nothing at halftime. That should never happen.”
Cole slammed his clipboard on a table and walked off, not saying another word. He continued out of the locker room and stood at the doorway leading back out on the field. This was like a nightmare, an event so stunning it was beyond belief.
As he stood there, Cole saw Lucky, Lloyd and Doc Hardy walk toward him. Lucky’s chin was heavily bandaged but looked fine otherwise.
Lucky looked at the scoreboard and cringed.
“That’s not good,” he mentioned.
Cole ignored the comment, already knowing the score wasn’t good and not needing to hear it from his youngest son.
“Is he okay?” Cole asked.
“He’s got some stitches but is fine otherwise,” Doc Hardy responded.
“Can he play?”
“Probably better than anybody else is playing tonight,” the doctor answered, then saw the look on Cole’s face. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Cole turned to his youngest son. “You feel like playing?”
“Yes sir,” Lucky answered. “I’ll be fine.”
The officials approached Cole and told him it was time to start the second half. Cole nodded and turned to Lloyd.
“Go tell them it’s time to go,” he directed.
Lloyd nodded and entered the locker room to tell Stub to get the players out for the second half.
The players were a different group as they came out of the locker room, their demeanor changing some 360 degrees. They were no longer upset or embarrassed. Now, they were mad.
Derwin approached his coach along with several players.
“Don’t give up on us, Coach,” he pleaded. “We won’t play like that again.”
Cole nodded, knowing this was true. It would almost be impossible for the Panthers to play that bad.
Lucky went to get his pads and put them on so he was behind the other players as the Panthers came out for the second half.
The response by the fans was lukewarm, to say the least. There was a little clapping and the band played the school song, without any intensity. Nobody blamed them, not after how bad Petros played in the first half.
Cole knew something good needed to happen to get everybody back in the game. The quicker the better, as far as he was concerned.
He was not ready to submit, nor were his coaches or players. Cole knew it would be almost impossible to come back from this deficit. But stranger things had happened. Petros just couldn’t waste much time.
Before his team went out to start the second half, Cole gathered the players around him.
“We’re not out of this game,” he reminded them. “Nobody thinks we have a shot at winning this thing. Let’s go out there and prove them wrong.”
The Panthers got the ball to start the second half. Kenneth fielded the kick at the twelve and began a slow journey up the field, weaving in and out of players.
He reached the 41 before getting knocked out of bounds. When Lucky trotted out on the field, Petros’ fans finally had reason to cheer.
Toni saw him come back on the field, but did not expect him to go back on the field.
“Should he be playing?” she asked.
Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders, then stood with the rest of the crowd.
The Panthers went straight to the line, coming out in a shotgun with receivers all over the field. Skip was the only back joining Lucky in the backfield.
It was the wrinkle the Panthers had been working on all week, but had not used in the first half because Lucky was hurt and Gary had not gotten enough snaps to run the offense and his arm was not strong enough.
The Panthers had used the shotgun at times, especially in a two-minute offense, but not with this many receivers or running the routes they were fixing to go with.
Big Cedar’s defense was confused as Lucky took the snap, faked a handoff to Skip crossing in front of him, rose up and hit Kenneth on a slant. Kenneth caught the pass in stride, slipped past one defensive back and picked up over 20 yards before being brought down.
The Panthers went straight to the line and Lucky called out the play. He again faked a handoff to Skip to keep the linebackers close, rolled a few steps to his right and lobbed a pass toward Andy, who had a six-inch advantage over the defensive back covering him.
Andy reached high in the air to gather the pass, just before his momentum carried him past the sidelines.
Petros was at the line again before Big Cedar was ready. This time Lucky took the snap, sprinted to the left with Skip trailing behind. Lucky was not even challenged, flying past the line and reaching the secondary. As the safety came after him, Lucky faked the pitch, fooling the defensive player enough to run past. Two of the Mustangs were on his heels, but never got close enough to tackle him. Lucky ran full speed, never slowing until giving the Panthers their first touchdown.
It was a celebration Petros’ fans had expected all game. The players showed some emotion again, not nearly as much as the fans, however. The players and coaches knew they had started climbing back, but there was a long way to go.
Jeremy’s kick actually skimmed off the right goalpost, but went through the uprights to cut the lead to 28-7.
Now, the defense had to come through, something that had not really happened so far.
On the far sideline, Tatum Sloan stood off to himself, watching the celebration across the field, remembering times in the past when he was a part of that group. He got a bad feeling and knew this cakewalk had just gotten dangerous.
The Panthers had played conservatively on defense, seldom blitzing or doing anything to pressure the Mustangs.
That was about to change.
The Mustangs returned the kick to the 32. On first down, they came out in the I-formation that worked so well in the first half. As the quarterback barked out the signals, Lucky edged forward, moving almost at full speed when the ball was snapped. He found a gap and burst through.
Big Cedar’s quarterback faked a handoff and was setting up to pass when Lucky blindsided him.
The force of the collision caused the ball to pop loose and bounce backwards. It set off a mad scramble as players from both teams took off after the ball. A huge pile developed, consisting of players from both teams, wrestling for possession of the pigskin.
The officials removed players one-by-one to get to the bottom. When everybody was dragged out, Sam Roberts fought his way free and held the ball high for the officials to see. The referee signaled it was Petros’ ball at the Mustangs’ 23.
The roar of Petros’ crowd could be heard throughout town. The few people who had not bothered to come to the game knew something big had happened.
Lucky hurried the offense to the line again and hollered out the play. D.J. was alone on the left side, covered by a linebacker. Lucky saw this and knew where the pass was going even before receiving the snap.
D.J. flew past the linebacker, sprinted down the field and was wide open when Lucky threw a bullet toward him. All D.J. had to do was raise his hands, catch the ball and he was off to the races. Nobody even came near him as he sprinted into the corner of the end zone, holding the ball high and resisting the urge to spike it, knowing that was a penalty that could haunt the Panthers.
There were only a little over two minutes gone in the third quarter and after Jeremy’s kick, the Panthers had cut the lead in half. The Mustangs were clearly shaken, wondering what happened to the expected blowout. They looked at the scoreboard and knew this game was far from over.
The kickoff was returned to the 37. On first down, Big Cedar’s quarterback handed off on a draw, catching the Panthers off guard.
Big Cedar’s tailback found a huge hole and flew through it. He was the fastest player on his team and one of the fastest in the district. The tailback broke one tackle at the 45 and outran everybody else down the sidelines until reaching the end zone.
The Panthers had blitzed again and paid the price. Cole was furious. It had looked so promising and then to give up a play like this was so frustrating. All the momentum had just been blown away.
There was a loud groan from the home side while the visitors celebrated like the Mustangs won a state championship.
Cole walked down to Ichabod, wanting to lash out but caught himself, knowing his assistant was not to blame.
“Dadgummit!” Cole muttered, probably the strongest word in his vocabulary. “We’ve got to quit giving up those big plays. Line up in a nickel and keep them contained.”
Ichabod had already decided this, not liking to see his defense get shredded even worse than Cole. He saw Stub walking toward him and did not want to hear it right now.
“Don’t even say it,” Ichabod warned, turned and stormed away.
Stub was left standing with his arms out. All he wanted was to mention how fast the running back was, not criticize anybody or anything.
The players’ spirits had bottomed out again. Cole started encouraging the players, reminding them how much time was left and they could come back.
But Petros’ hopes were fading quickly. There was a stunned silence on the Petros side, nobody believing what they were seeing. The Panthers were losing at home, to Big Cedar! The Mustangs just did not come into Petros’ stadium and win. It didn’t matter if Barry Switzer was their coach.
They knew this wasn’t the typical Big Cedar team, but nobody expected the Panthers to be losing 35-14 less than halfway through the third quarter.
Derwin hollered to all the players to gather around him. He was furious, mad enough nobody wanted to get very close.
“That’s a bunch of crud,” he hollered, not the word Derwin preferred to use, but knew the coaches would not appreciate anything worse. “We’re playing like we’ve never played a game of football before. We’ve got a chance to win the district and are getting killed by a team we should beat by forty points. I guarantee you that if we let them score one more point I will kick everybody’s rear!”
Derwin was always intense, but nobody had seen him this enraged. He looked around until seeing Lucky and grabbed him by the facemask, pulling him close.
“Go get us some points!” he yelled.
“Uh, okay,” Lucky responded.
Kenneth took the kickoff at the ten, a high kick that allowed the coverage to be in good position this time. He barely reached the 20 before the Mustangs arrived and brought him down.
The Panthers went straight to the line, again lining up in the shotgun. The Mustangs played loose in the secondary, giving up the short passes but not wanting to get burned again. Lucky took advantage of what the defense gave him, throwing short passes to the receivers. After catching the pass, they got as much yardage as possible before going out of bounds to stop the clock.
Lucky completed six straight passes as the Panthers slowly moved down the field. The lone run, a draw to Skip also picked up good yardage. The closer Petros got to the end zone, the more the Mustangs tightened up their defense.
When the Panthers reached inside the 10, the offense came out in the usual splitback set. Lucky ran an option, faked the handoff to Skip and pitched back late to D.J., who raced past the defenders into the end zone.
Jeremy’s kick was perfect, cutting the lead to 35-21 just seconds before the end of the third quarter.
Now, it was time for the Panthers to get a big stop. There was plenty of time left and some doubt was coming back to the Big Cedar side.
The Mustangs picked up a pair of first downs to finish up the third quarter and go into the fourth quarter before Derwin made a big stop on the fullback on third-and-short to end the drive.
A long punt pinned the Panthers back at their 31. Petros started moving down the field again. Big Cedar tightened its coverage, but could not stop the Panthers.
Cole continued keeping the offense in the shotgun, throwing the short passes Big Cedar had been vulnerable against, mixing in an occasional run to keep the defense on its toes.
The Panthers moved the ball down to Big Cedar’s 21. On second-and-four, the Panthers came out in the shotgun again. Lucky looked over the defense and saw the middle was clear as the Mustangs’ defense was spread out too wide. He changed the call at the line, hoping it was the right move. The snap was perfect. Lucky caught the ball and dropped back two steps, then stopped and took off right up the middle.
Petros’ line pushed the defensive linemen out, creating a huge hole. Lucky sped through the opening and broke into the secondary. The free safety came after him but Lucky used a juke move to leave the Big Cedar player tackling nothing but air. Nobody else came close and Lucky crossed into the end zone, cutting the lead to one touchdown.
Jeremy’s kick was good again, cutting the lead to 35-28. Petros’ fans were going wild, having trouble believing the Panthers came from so far behind to trail by only one touchdown.
Lucky was 7-8 in the drive, the only incompletion coming when he got greedy and tried burning the Mustangs deep. Six minutes were left, plenty of time.
Ichabod called the defense together to stress the importance of stopping the Mustangs and getting the ball back for the offense. The defense had been on the field a lot tonight, mainly in the first half, and they were tired.
For the first time, Big Cedar’s offense got conservative. Two running plays up the middle gained nothing. On third down, the Mustangs tried a sweep but Skip flew in from the secondary and nailed the tailback in the backfield for a loss.
Big Cedar only ran two minutes off the clock and would have to punt.
The punt was a poor one, bouncing over midfield and coming to rest at the 41. The Panthers had good field position and plenty of time.
Once again, the Panthers started driving down the field, going almost exclusively with the pass.
Petros reached the Mustangs’ 21 when Lucky took the snap and rolled to the right. He had Andy open on a hook and fired a pass in that direction. But just as the ball arrived, so did one of the defensive backs, hitting Andy right in the back.
The pass bounced off him and went high in the air. The play appeared to be in slow motion, all eyes in the stadium watching the ball’s rise and descent. None of the Panthers were anywhere close. Big Cedar’s free safety came flying in, dove and caught the ball just before it reached the ground.
It was a crushing blow to all the Panthers, losing the ball and then watching the Mustangs celebrate the gift. Lucky was almost in shock, not believing the pass was intercepted. They had come from so far behind and now it appeared to be in vain.
There were almost three minutes left and the defense would have to come through again. Lucky walked to the defensive huddle, studying the clock and wondering how they could get the ball back and score quick enough. It would be difficult, but not impossible.
Derwin sprinted out on the field, waving his arms and hollering like a deranged person.
“This is our game!” he hollered while entering the huddle. “Don’t worry about the last play. Let’s shut them down and get the ball back. Then we score, win the game and everybody’s happy.”
Everybody was looking at him like they thought he needed to be on medication.
“Don’t give up!” he added. “We’ll stop them right here!”
His teammates were still not sold on Derwin’s pitch as the Panthers broke the huddle.
On first down, the Mustangs ran a blast up the middle, getting stuffed at the line by Derwin. The players looked to the sidelines to see if the coaches wanted a timeout. The coaches shook their heads and waved it off, knowing the timeouts would be needed later.
All the Panthers watched the clock tick away, the seconds flying by like they were on fast forward. Ichabod called for a blitz, doubting the Mustangs would dare to pass. He made the right call. Big Cedar ran a sweep to the left, again finding no room as Derwin burst through the line and tackled the back after a short gain.
This time, the coaches did call for time. There was just over two minutes left as the players went to the sidelines to meet with the coaches. They were tired, dirty, soaked with sweat and wet from the mist that had slowly turned into a steady, light rain.
Ichabod was intense, the blood veins in his head poking out in record dimensions. He might not be as fired up as Derwin, but was close.
“This is it!” he told his players, wanting to grab somebody and shake them, but fighting off the urge. “We’ve got to make the stop here. Don’t totally commit to the run because they might throw a play-action pass.”
Ichabod hit it right on the nail again. Big Cedar’s quarterback took the snap, turned to hand the ball off, causing Lucky to start coming up to support the run. But he remembered Ichabod’s advice and dropped back, trying to get a read on the play.
Lucky saw the quarterback pull the ball out of the tailback’s gut and watched the quarterback’s eyes to see where the pass was going. The quarterback looked at the tight end running a route straight down the field, hoping to catch the pass in the seam between the linebackers and defensive backs.
The play was developing right in front of him and Lucky closed fast, saw the quarterback throw the pass and timed his hit perfectly, blasting into the tight end just as the ball arrived. He caught the pass somehow, just before getting leveled by Lucky.
It would be close to the first down. Big Cedar’s players were indicating it was a first down while the Panthers argued it was short. The referee eyed the ball and the first-down marker, could not tell from that distance and called for the chains to be brought in.
While the officials were measuring, Cole called for the defense to come over to the sideline, hoping the officials would not object. He sent Lucky back out on the field to call a timeout as soon as the officials got play ready to go again.
Everybody watched the officials stretch the chains out. It was so close the referee had to lean down. He looked at another official and shook his head. This was as close as you could get to a first down without getting one.
The referee put his hand up in a fist to signal fourth down. The officials put the ball on the hashmark, waited for the chains to get set, saw Lucky wanted time and granted it.
The defense came to the sidelines and circled Cole, waiting to hear the instructions.
“We’ve gotta go with our regular defense,” he stressed. “I figure they’ll punt the ball but we have to be ready in case they go for it. If they come out in a punt formation, Skip will need to drop back. But you’ve got to be ready in case they fake the punt.”
He sent the defense back out on the field and leaned over, putting his hands on his knees. Cole looked to the ground, all the nerves in his body going crazy.
The Mustangs ran back out on the field and lined up in their regular offense, hoping to catch the Panthers off guard. As the quarterback got under center, Petros’ defensive line stacked close together. Derwin edged right in behind the two tackles, almost daring the quarterback to try and run.
“Don’t jump!” Lucky hollered, expecting the quarterback to try and draw Petros off sides.
The quarterback started barking out his signals, changing his cadence in an effort to fool one of the Panthers to cross into the neutral zone.
All the Panthers stayed still like they were statutes, watching the ball and not paying any attention to the quarterback. The play clock was running down and the quarterback finally decided the Panthers were not going to fall for his trick so he called for time and jogged to the sidelines to talk to his coaches.
The Panthers also left the field to go to the sidelines and talk with Ichabod.
“Okay, they’re going to punt it now,” he declared. “But you still have to be careful and not jump. We need to go for the block, but don’t get close to the punter unless you’ve got it blocked. If you can’t get the punt, circle back and floor somebody.”
Both teams came back on the field as the fans from both schools stood and created a roar that was almost deafening. Big Cedar lined up in a punt formation, just as Ichabod expected. The Mustangs went with a quick count, trying to catch the Panthers by surprise and keep the rush at bay.
It worked as none of the Panthers got close to the punter. Petros’ players followed their instructions by circling back and trying to nail a Mustang. It was a booming punt, high, long and near the sidelines.
Kenneth started out at the forty and had to retreat back to field the punt.
He finally caught up to the punt, grabbing it just before the ball bounced out of bounds. He had little room to run, only getting a few yards before the coverage brought him down. During the punt, Derwin had followed his coach’s instructions, catching two of the Mustangs looking the other way and lowering the boom, sending them flying to the ground, arms and legs flopping everywhere.
Kenneth was tackled at the 37. Ninety-five seconds were left, plenty of time if the Panthers played it right. The Panthers had 63 yards to cover with one timeout.
Big Cedar lined up with defensive backs all over the field, deciding to go with three linemen and one linebacker. As the Panthers lined up, Lucky looked across the field and wished they could run against a defense in this alignment.
The first set of defensive backs was lined up fairly close, wanting to keep the Panthers from marching down the field with short passes again. Another group was behind them, wanting to keep Petros from going deep.
Lucky had never seen a defense with so many defensive backs. He wondered how anybody could get open against seven defensive backs, then decided somebody would have to.
He looked to the sidelines and saw everybody standing and clapping, but heard nothing but a loud roar. His father was hollering something, but there was no way to hear him. The snap was low, bounced once, but Lucky fielded it cleanly. He rolled to his right, hoping to hit Skip crossing over the middle.
Skip was covered, as were the other receivers. With pressure finally coming on him, all he could do was throw the ball away to kill the clock.
Lucky brought the team into the huddle and relayed the next play. He brought his team to the line and got the snap and saw the receivers were blanketed again. Harry broke open for just a second and Lucky fired a pass in that direction, but it was knocked down by a defensive back who made a nice recovery.
It was now third-and-10 and the Panthers were certainly not looking like a well-oiled machine. Lucky changed the formation, leaving Andy as the only receiver split out on the right side since he was the only receiver capable of catching a pass in a crowd.
The Mustangs changed the coverage as Petros came to the line. They sent two defensive backs to cover Andy. They were the best Cedar Lake had, but gave up several inches to Andy, who was running a fade route.
Lucky made sure not to keep his eyes on Andy. He took the snap and faked a handoff to D.J. on a dive, then dropped back, looking at Murray breaking over the middle. Just as he finally looked at Andy, one of the Mustangs’ defensive linemen broke free and started bearing down on Lucky.
He never saw the defensive lineman or felt the pressure. Just as Lucky started to release the pass, the linemen crashed into him, forcing the ball to flutter harmlessly to the ground.
The Mustangs acted like it was a fumble and made a big scene about celebrating the recovery but the referee waved the pass incomplete as soon as the ball hit the ground.
It was now fourth down, still 10 yards to go. The Panthers were pressing, not knowing what to do. But Lucky had seen something the previous play he thought would work. He told the Panthers to go out in the same formation and for all the receivers to go long, hoping the secondary dropped deep again, just as they did the previous play.
Lucky took the snap and rolled to the right. Nobody was open and the secondary reacted just as he hoped.
He knew that if this didn’t work everybody would say it was a terrible decision. But Lucky could think of nothing else. Nobody knew what he was planning to do and continued running the play just as instructed.
As Lucky got outside the end, he took off, hoping none of the defensive backs recovered in time to get him before picking up 10 yards and the first down.
All the defensive backs were more concerned with the receivers and had no idea Lucky was running free. The linemen and the one linebacker were pursuing him, but looked like turtles chasing a rabbit. Lucky easily picked up the first down and got to the sidelines, tightroping down the sidelines to Big Cedar’s 36 before stepping out of bounds to stop the clock. His teammates swarmed him, pounding him on the shoulder pads and congratulating him.
His run did two things: It gave the Panthers a first down and kept the drive alive, and it also made the Mustangs realize they had to give up some of their coverage or Lucky could run like this every play.
As he came to the line on the next play, Lucky saw the defense changed its tactics and the coverage. Now there was an extra linebacker and less defensive backs, which should allow the receivers to break free.
After taking the snap, Lucky stayed in the pocket and Skip broke free. Lucky fired a pass in that direction. It was not the greatest pass ever thrown, but still good enough. Skip grabbed the ball as he fell to the ground.
The gain was good for 12 yards, giving the Panthers a first down and stopping the clock. The Panthers rushed to the line, knowing the clock would start as soon as the chains were set. Lucky called a play after seeing how the defense was lined up. Andy ran a fade route again, this time against single coverage. The defensive back tried to jam him at the line but Andy fought through and quickly had a step on the defensive back.
Lucky’s pass was delivered with a little too much juice, though, sailing high and long. The offense huddled again as the clock was stopped. Lucky called the play, hoping Skip found room in the middle of the field again.
The Mustangs blitzed, catching the Panthers unprepared. Two of the Mustangs were in the backfield almost as soon as Lucky got the snap. He barely had time to field the snap and take a step before getting hit. Lucky broke free from the first defender but the second player brought him down, landing on top of him.
The defensive player did not want to get off, of course, knowing the clock was running. Lucky wrestled free and pushed the defensive player away, knowing valuable time was running away. He looked at the markers and estimated that it was now third-and-18 with Petros on the 32.
It now looked like only a miracle could save the Panthers.
Lucky hurried everybody to the line and nobody was organized. The receivers had not heard their routes so they basically took off down the field, hoping to get open.
Lucky had to jump to field the snap. He expected another blitz and saw the Mustangs coming, but the Panthers picked it up better this time. Kenneth broke free and Lucky threw the ball, expecting him to break to the outside, only to see him cut back toward the middle of the field.
The pass sailed between two defenders and was almost intercepted. There were now 33 seconds left and the Panthers were in a big hole.
Lucky tried to think of something creative but came up with nothing.
He wanted to call the final timeout and talk to the coaches, but knew it needed to be saved. Lucky called a play and sent his team to the line. He expected another blitz, knowing that was what the Panthers would do in the situation.
He got it. The Mustangs sent both linebackers and a cornerback. The Panthers expected it and gave Lucky some time.
But once again, none of the Panthers were open. He rolled to his right, hoping somebody would get open. Lucky almost took off on another scramble, but doubted he could pick up eighteen yards before the defense caught him.
The blocking was finally breaking down and the Mustangs were getting loose and coming after him. Lucky felt the pressure and reversed the field, dropping farther from the line while running back across the field, avoiding three tackles in the process while weaving in and out of traffic.
As he reached the far sideline, Lucky was getting hemmed in. Nobody was open so he reversed directions again, dropping even farther back from the line of scrimmage. He was still being chased by a group of Mustangs, getting a little tired from and of chasing him.
While nearing the other sideline again, Lucky sprinted toward the line to get away from a defender and saw a teammate sprinting across the field with a few steps on the defender. Lucky stopped just short of the line of scrimmage and zipped a pass into the end zone toward the open teammate.
It was a tight spiral, never getting higher than eight feet from the ground.
He had no idea who the pass was headed for and would not see the outcome as one of the Mustangs crashed into him and took him to the ground just after the pass was released.
All the fans edged forward, watching the ball fly down the field, wanting to see where the ball landed.
Skip was the player angling across the field. He could tell the pass was a little too much and turned the speed up an extra notch, moving faster than his legs ever went. Skip thought the pass was still too far ahead of him, barely out of reach.
He ate up the yards at an incredible pace, almost looking like a blur. At the last second, realizing he would not outrun the ball, Skip dove, stretching his body completely parallel to the ground.
His hands somehow managed to grab the ball and while still diving through the air, he pulled the ball back to his body and turned. Skip didn’t have a really good grip, but held the ball like it was worth a million dollars. He continued twisting while in the air, eventually turning so his back would hit the ground first.
Skip hit the ground hard, bounced and skidded along the surface. It was difficult, but he never let go of the ball. Skip quickly got to his feet, wanting to make sure he was in-bounds, and saw that was not a problem. He looked around, hoping to see an official confirm the score.
The backjudge was right behind him. Skip thought it was strange to see the official’s mouth wide open, almost like he was amazed. It took several seconds before the official realized he needed to raise his hands and let everybody know it was a touchdown.
It set off another wild celebration on the Petros side, a roar as loud as anybody had ever heard in the old stadium. Everybody on Big Cedar’s side just collapsed, not believing this was possible.
Cole kept his players on the sidelines from running out on the field to join the celebration, not wanting to draw a penalty for excessive celebration. He hollered out to his players on the field to call time. Lucky saw his father and granted the request.
The Panthers came to the sidelines, relishing the turn of events. Cole tried hard to control his emotions. This was the greatest comeback and probably the best play he had seen out of any of his teams. Cole looked up at the scoreboard to be sure and a score of 35-34 confirmed the play.
But Cole knew he and his team would have to celebrate later. Now, he had to get his team to convert the PAT to tie the game and send it into overtime.
“Listen up!” he hollered, trying to get everybody’s attention above the roar of the crowd. “We still need to get the extra point so you need to forget about the touchdown and concentrate on taking care of business. Jeremy, we’ve gotta have this…”
Cole looked at the players and saw something was wrong. All the satisfaction had left. They were all standing around him, staring at the ground, no longer listening.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
Skip stepped forward out of the pack and removed his helmet.
“Coach, we want to end it now and not have to worry about overtime,” he said. His teammates nodded and shouted their agreement.
“You want to go for two?”
“Yes, sir,” he remarked. “We’ll make it.”
It would be completely against all the rules of coaching. But Cole had never followed the so-called “book” and was not going to now, either. He actually liked the idea, knowing the defense would never expect the move.
“We can run the option and they can’t stop us,” Skip added.
Cole nodded and told his team the formation and play.
The Panthers waited for the Mustangs to take the field first. As soon as Big Cedar’s players were on the field, Petros rushed out on the field and lined up without huddling. The defense was confused, expecting a kick for the extra point.
The Mustangs tried to scramble into position after seeing the Panthers line up in their usual offense with two backs, two tight ends and a flanker, but no kicker.
Big Cedar’s coaches wanted to call a timeout but the players did not see them until it was too late as Lucky had already taken the snap, went down the line and stuck the ball in D.J.’s gut. He read the defensive tackle and saw he was going for D.J. so Lucky continued down the line.
He got to the corner and saw only the cornerback waiting for him. Lucky forced the cornerback to make a decision, either come after him or cover Skip. The cornerback crashed down on Lucky, who waited for the last second and pitched the ball back to Skip.
Skip fielded the pitch and it was a race for the corner of the end zone as everybody stood, leaning forward to see the outcome. The Mustangs had two players steaming in from inside, hoping to cut Skip off before he broke the plane.
The defenders realized it was no use. Skip was too fast and had too big of an advantage. It was close but after all that had happened in this game, there was no way he would be kept out of the end zone. Skip dove the final yard, stretching the ball across the line just before the defenders arrived.
The Panthers on the field started celebrating even before any of the officials signaled the conversion was good. They knew it was good, as did Skip. He was lying on his back holding the ball in the air, screaming so loud his lungs started burning.
His teammates rushed to congratulate him as the line judge threw his arms into the air and the clock operator added two points to the Panthers’ total, letting the scoreboard show the score as Petros 36, Visitors 35.
After overcoming such a large deficit, the players were spent, barely having enough energy to make it to the wild celebration on the sidelines. The stands were rocking and Petros’ fans continued celebrating.
Cole wanted to jump up and down like everybody else, but knew there was still time left and the Panthers had to kick off.
He gathered all the players around and reminded them the game was not over. Cole sent out the kicking team and told Jeremy to squib kick the ball down the field.
The Panthers lined up for the kick. Big Cedar’s players slowly took the field, realizing it would take a miracle to win after they thought this game was won. It was just so disappointing to see a lead like that disappear.
Jeremy’s kick was just what Cole wanted to see. The ball never got over a few feet high and bounced at the thirty-five, hit one of the blockers and bounced away. The player had to fall on the ball to keep Petros from recovering.
There was time for one play. Ichabod sent out the defense, using seven defensive backs and instructed Lucky and Skip to not let anybody get behind them.
The Mustangs came out in the shotgun with three receivers to the right and two to the left. The quarterback took the snap and rolled to the right. He scanned the field, trying to find somebody open. Finally, the quarterback realized nobody was open and started to throw to his favorite receiver cutting across the middle of the field.
He took too much time, though, as Derwin finally escaped from the center, whose hold on the jersey was finally broken. Derwin arrived just as the quarterback was letting go of the ball, delivering the kind of hit linebackers love and quarterbacks dread.
The ball barely escaped in time. Derwin plowed through the quarterback, knocking him back several yards and falling down on him.
The pass fluttered through the air, so badly thrown nobody knew who it was intended for. When the pass fell harmlessly to the ground, the Panthers raised their arms and started walking toward the sidelines, ready for a celebration like they had never taken part in.
Nobody got overly carried away, but the coaches went around to their players reminding them to show some class. The coaches felt sorry for the Mustangs, especially Tatum, who would remember this loss for a long time.
Cole looked across the field and saw Tatum crossing toward him, bearing the look all coaches had seen many times before. Tatum looked like his whole world had collapsed on him.
Some of the joy of the win went away for Cole, seeing a friend hurt so badly. Cole knew how Tatum felt and this was why he had hoped neither of his sons decided to coach. The highs were great, but the lows just plain hurt too badly.
But Cole also knew the pain eventually went away and the sun would rise tomorrow. Plus, there would be another game next Friday with a chance to wash away the disappointment.
Cole hurried to be with his former player and hugged him. He knew Tatum was fighting off the tears, making Cole hug him even harder.
“I’m so proud of you,” Cole whispered in his ear. “You’ve become the kind of man I always hoped you would and that my sons become. I’ll always be honored to have been your coach.”
Tatum hugged his old coach back. He hurt too much right now to say something.
“You guys could not have played any better,” Cole added. “All of Big Cedar should be proud of you and their boys. Your program is taking off and you’re the main reason.”
“Thanks, Coach,” Tatum finally mustered. “I hate to lose, especially like that. But if it was going to happen to anybody, I guess I’m glad it was you. That was a heck of a comeback.”
“You did show us a lot,” Cole mentioned. “Keep your heads up and we all hope you’ll get in the playoffs. Let us know if we can help.”
“Thanks, Coach,” Tatum said, patting Cole on the back. He turned and started jogging to his team, gathered in a circle near their stands.
Cole watched as he was stopped by several of the Panthers and many friends and family members, all wishing him good luck.
“That was some game,” Ichabod commented.
“Yep, it was,” Cole agreed, wondering how Tatum and his team would respond. He turned around and watched his team celebrate with family members, friends and the band.
Lucky had wanted to at least shake Tatum’s hand but was swarmed by other students and fans and could not escape. Lucky did not realize how tired his body was until he started walking off the field. He paused one last time before entering the locker room to look at the scoreboard.
It was still hard to believe his Panthers came out ahead, but the scoreboard did not lie.
Everybody was exhausted in the locker room, even the players who had not played. The nerves and stress had drained everybody. The players who played the most looked like zombies.
Even though they were drained, there was a great feeling in the locker room, a high no drug could touch. They all knew this was a special night. It wasn’t every week a team came back from 28 points behind in the second half to win against such a quality opponent.
The cans of pop in the ice chest were emptied quickly. The Gatorade was already gone. The players sat in front of their lockers, having trouble removing their pads.
Cole saw a bunch of boys in front of him who gave everything and were rewarded. He knew his teams from the last couple of years would not have made this comeback. But these guys had character that could not be coached.
“You boys just about gave me a heart attack out there tonight,” he remarked. “Remember this moment. I know everybody’s tired but remember how great this feels. People would pay a lot of money to have this feeling. This is what happens when you give everything and play together as a team. Good things happen. Both in sports and in life. Relish the way you feel right now. This is what it’s all about. Enjoy this win tonight and then we’ll get started working on Lovings tomorrow.”
Chapter 37
The Panthers were sitting in the locker room when somebody hollered that Big Cedar had arrived. They all snuck out to watch Big Cedar’s players leave the bus. The first person off the bus was Tatum Sloan, still looking young enough to suit up. He stopped after stepping off the bus and looked around at his old stomping grounds, the memories nearly overcoming him.
Several people wearing black and white were there to greet Tatum and welcome him home.
The backs, receivers and kickers arrived on the field as the rain grew harder. The stands were already filling on both sides. The only section still open on the home side was the reserved seats for the season-ticket holders.
A large crowd was milling about near the fences and at the front gate, slowly filing into the old stadium.
Big Cedar’s crowd filled the visitor’s side, cheering loudly when the Mustangs took the field, wearing blue pants, white shirts with blue numbers, along with white helmets with numbers on each side.
It was not an intimidating group, the Panthers quickly decided. But they also knew this was a well-coached team that never quit.
There was already a sense of excitement in the air. Nobody had to do anything to get anybody pumped up for this game. Everybody on both sides knew how big this game was.
The moisture did nothing to dampen the feeling, only seemed to intensify it.
Cole never really liked meeting with opposing coaches before a game and exchanging small talk. He made an exception on this night as Tatum waited for him at midfield.
“Hey, big guy,” Cole shouted, trying not to show how excited he was. “Make it here okay?”
“Yes, sir,” Tatum responded, the same way he always addressed Cole. “This feels so strange.”
“I know,” Cole agreed, reflecting back on some of the memories Tatum gave him from this field. “We had some good times when you were here.”
“Hope I get another tonight,” Tatum retorted, then laughed.
“I don’t. Don’t get carried away, now.”
“Your boys are sure playing well,” Tatum commented. “So many people were saying Petros would be down this year, but I knew better. I just hope you guys can take down Summerfield.”
“So do I. Your guys sure have improved.”
“We’ve got some good kids who aren’t afraid to work.”
Cole looked at his watch and saw it was time for the players to retreat back to the locker room.
He leaned over and hugged Tatum.
“I’ll catch you after the game,” he promised. “Good luck.”
“Same to you, Coach,” Tatum answered, turning away while hoping his old coach did not see his eyes getting all misty.
When Cole got back to the locker room, the players had put on their shoulder pads and were ready to go. There wasn’t a player or coach in the room who did not have a great deal of respect for Tatum Sloan and all he did for the school, but they were also tired of hearing about him.
Cole thought about it while waiting to talk to the boys. Tatum might have been the best player to ever walk the halls of Petros High School, although many would argue Lloyd was just as good. But at least for the next three hours, Tatum Sloan was the enemy.
He looked at his players and saw the determination. They wanted to win this game more than any other they had played. The Panthers knew they could not afford a loss. If they lost, that would probably put them on the road for the playoffs and nobody wanted to travel.
Cole wanted his players to be ready, but knew he needed to be careful as they were on the edge of being too ready. He took one quick glance around as the players finished dressing. They were ready, squirming around like little boys who needed to relieve themselves.
“We have a great opportunity tonight,” Cole announced. “We’ve faced several big tests this year and passed some of them and came up a little short on some. This is the most important game we’ve played. This is why you play the game. The stands will be packed and the crowd will be roaring. I love how this feels. Most people never experience what you will this evening.
“Basically, you have two choices. We can either move on with a win, or take a step back with a loss. I’d just as soon keep going ahead. We’re right where we need to be, controlling our own destiny. That’s a good team we’re facing tonight. Don’t doubt that for a second. But we’re better. They’re coming into our house and trying to take something away from us.
“I’d kind of like to be a little stingy and keep it for ourselves. This is our home and our game! Now go out there and show them what Petros Panther football is all about!”
Cole looked around the room. The players looked like they were about to explode. He had never seen this group so ready to play.
“I only have one other thing to say,” Cole added, feeling his intensity rising as well. “Do not be afraid to succeed!”
With that, Cole let his players go. They nearly tore the door down trying to get outside. As the players started filtering out, Cole heard a roar as the players circled around each other in the end zone, jumping up and down and pounding on each other.
The spirit line stretched well over half the field. Derwin led the team through the spirit line and busted through the banner urging the Panthers to “Muzzle the Mustangs!”
They continued down the field, following behind the cheerleaders, who had to run full speed or risk getting trampled. After all the players sprinted through the spirit line, a bunch of little boys fought over pieces of the banner that was ripped apart.
The spirit line quickly broke apart, a disorganized effort by everybody except the band, which marched smartly off the field and into the stands.
The band paused long enough to blast out the school song one last time before kickoff, getting everybody to stand and clap together. It was a solid mass of black and white, looking like a wave.
Big Cedar won the toss and elected to receive. Petros would defend the north goal, not really an advantage as there wasn’t even a light breeze blowing.
Jeremy’s kick was fielded at the 11 and advanced to the 26 before several Panthers slammed into the returner and threw him to the ground.
All the defenders charged on to the field, waving their arms to keep the crowd pumped up. The defense huddled, all eyes on Derwin.
“Time to show our stuff!” he hollered, clapping his hands. “Let’s go! Three-and-out!”
The Mustangs came out in an I-formation with two tight ends and a flanker. This was a new formation and the Panthers were confused.
Big Cedar’s quarterback took the snap, faked a handoff to the tailback, which brought Petros’ secondary up, then dropped back and lobbed a pass to the flanker, wide open behind the secondary. A loud groan erupted from Petros’ side, watching the disaster unfold in front of them. The receiver garnered in the pass and was a good 20 yards ahead of everybody and not letting anybody gain.
It was a touchdown on the first play of the game, a terrible way for the Panthers to start the game.
After the PAT, the Mustangs led 7-0 and the game wasn’t even fifteen seconds old.
Ichabod met his defense as they came off the field. He was so upset his mouth was slobbering. The players knew when this happened not to get close to him, expecting a good drenching.
“Follow your reads!” he emphasized, spit going everywhere. “You cannot just all fly up to the line wanting to make a big play. That’s when you give up the big plays. Don’t overly commit to the run.”
The Panthers were stunned, never expecting to be behind in this game, especially not in the first minute.
“Shake it off!” Cole hollered to his players, knowing the words were probably wasted. He was shaken also, his stomach feeling like a bunch of bats flying around inside.
Petros’ receiving team took the field, still shaken. They never saw it coming. Tatum had seen his old coach do it many times before when nobody expected it and decided to gamble.
The Mustangs’ kicker approached the ball and instead of blasting it, just barely kicked the ball, sending it bounding down the field, end-over-end. It worked perfectly as the first line of Petros’ blockers had cheated and left their positions too early.
The football slowly bounced down the field, finally going over ten yards and allowing the Mustangs to recover.
“I should’ve seen that coming,” Cole muttered, shaking his head while watching the officials signal it was Big Cedar’s ball.
The Mustangs came out in the same formation. The quarterback faked the same handoff again, scrambled to his right to avoid the rush bearing down on him, and heaved the ball down the field.
It was a pass that should never have been thrown and should be a disaster as Skip and Lucky both sprinted toward the ball. But as the ball arrived, the two defenders both went for the interception, not knowing the other player was there.
They crashed together going full speed. The ball actually hit Lucky’s hands, but the force of the collision caused the ball to bounce away, deflecting high in the air, right into the waiting arms of the receiver who scored the first touchdown.
It wasn’t as easy or pretty as the first touchdown, but it still worked. With the two defensive backs down, the receiver could have taken it easy, but sprinted the rest of the way, good for him since he barely got into the end zone before D.J. brought him down.
Big Cedar’s crowd celebrated again and the band replayed the school song. The sidelines were a stark contrast. The Mustangs ran around and jumped on each other, even the coaches. Petros’ side looked like it was at a funeral.
It was bad enough the Mustangs had just taken a two-touchdown lead, then everybody realized Lucky and Skip were both laid out on the field, neither player moving.
Stub and Ichabod jogged out on the field. Lloyd waited on the sidelines for a few seconds, then could not take it any longer and ran out on the field to check on his little brother.
Skip was on his knees by then while Lucky was still down. Lloyd grew even more worried when he saw blood on the front of Lucky’s jersey.
Lloyd joined Stub as they got to Lucky. He was awake, which was a relief, but was knocked silly and had a nasty cut on his chin, split right down the middle.
“You okay?” Lloyd asked.
Lucky looked at his brother, wondering why everything was spinning.
“I’ve been better,” he answered.
Lucky started to rise, nearly falling before getting assistance. They helped him to the sidelines, his legs still not ready to fully support him. Skip was ahead of them and already on the sidelines, getting a smelling salt to clear out the cobwebs.
Cole could not believe this was happening. He wanted to check on Lucky, but also had to get the rest of the team ready to play. He let the other coaches work on the injured players and put in replacements for the extra point.
The kick was good again, giving the Mustangs a 14-0 lead. As the players came to the sidelines, Cole met them.
“Guys, get your heads up,” he stated calmly, gathering the return team together. “Don’t leave your position on the kickoff until the ball is past you, just like you’re coached every day. We’re gonna be okay. Gary, you’re going in at quarterback.”
Cole left the huddle and saw Ichabod was able to watch the team. He had to go check on Lucky. Cole saw the cut first and knew it was a bad one.
Doc Hardy kneeled in front of Lucky. He was putting some gauze on the cut to soak up some of the blood. He saw Cole coming over and got up to meet him.
“He’s going to need stitches,” the doctor stated. “That’s a nasty cut. I don’t think there’s a concussion or anything to worry about, but we’re going to have to put that chin back together.”
“Okay,” Cole responded. “Can you do it here or at your clinic?”
“I’d rather do it at the clinic. We won’t be gone long.”
“Go ahead,” Cole directed, then turned to find Lloyd. “Go with them.”
Lloyd nodded and walked over to help his younger brother.
Toni had gotten her mother to work for her so she could go to the game. She was a little late and had to sit on the second row, right behind the bench. Toni saw the collision and grew worried when Lucky did not get up.
She almost got sick, along with most of the other people in her section, when they saw Lucky assisted to the bench, blood gushing out of the cut and turning a white towel red.
Toni grew even more worried when she realized the doctor and Lloyd were taking him off the field.
“He’ll be okay,” Elizabeth assured her.
“How can he bleed so much?” Toni asked.
She felt so strange watching him leave, not knowing where he was going or what would happen to him.
Cole watched Lucky walk away then gathered the offense around him.
“It’s time to step it up,” Cole pleaded. “We’re gonna be okay. Just play like we can and things will be okay.”
Petros’ offense failed to move the ball, running three plays and then lined up to punt on fourth down. The punt was a long one that pinned Big Cedar inside its own 30.
The Panthers’ defense kept Big Cedar from scoring on its first play this time. Instead, the Mustangs went on a long, time-consuming drive that looked similar to one of the Panthers’ drives.
The touchdown came on a short plunge by the tailback just before the first quarter ended. The kick was good again and Big Cedar led 21-0 over the stunned Panthers.
Petros’ offense was stuffed again and forced to punt. Finally, the Panthers’ defense actually got a stop, getting a clipping penalty that put the Mustangs back far enough they could not get a first down.
On the ensuing drive, Petros did not even get five yards before having to punt again. Things were still bad for Petros and would grow worse. The Mustangs took the ball and went on another drive, mixing runs and passes, leaving the Panthers not knowing what was coming.
There were only two minutes left when the Mustangs’ tailback broke two tackles and plunged into the end zone, giving his team a 28-0 lead after the conversion.
“This is embarrassing,” Stub shouted, staring up at the scoreboard.
“Our boys need to wake up,” Ichabod stated. “I think we hit the snooze button.”
Cole was not the type of coach who screamed or hollered at his players. He really did not even like to get on a player. But he felt one brewing as the Panthers made their way to the locker room. The players were in a state of shock, their mental condition in terrible shape.
Cole let everybody get something to drink and settle down. His anger was controlled but he knew something had to be done or this would get worse.
“Guys, I’ve been doing this for a long time,” he began, leaning against a table and talking so low the players in the back barely heard him. “I’ve had teams get splattered. I’ve had teams play other teams that were much better and get beat because they were outmatched. But I don’t remember any time having a half like that.
“You guys have just accomplished a first for one of my teams. I can never remember being behind this bad at halftime. But you know what? You can also make something good out of this by coming from so far behind and winning this game. None of my teams have ever done that, either.”
Cole finished his drink and stood up. He started pacing back and forth, looking at his players.
“Right now, you’re not playing up to the standards expected of you,” he added. “Yeah, we’ve had a few bad breaks. But those things happen. You aren’t measured by how you act when everything’s going good. What determines your character is how you act when things are going bad. We’ve allowed another team to come to our home and go ahead twenty-eight to nothing at halftime. That should never happen.”
Cole slammed his clipboard on a table and walked off, not saying another word. He continued out of the locker room and stood at the doorway leading back out on the field. This was like a nightmare, an event so stunning it was beyond belief.
As he stood there, Cole saw Lucky, Lloyd and Doc Hardy walk toward him. Lucky’s chin was heavily bandaged but looked fine otherwise.
Lucky looked at the scoreboard and cringed.
“That’s not good,” he mentioned.
Cole ignored the comment, already knowing the score wasn’t good and not needing to hear it from his youngest son.
“Is he okay?” Cole asked.
“He’s got some stitches but is fine otherwise,” Doc Hardy responded.
“Can he play?”
“Probably better than anybody else is playing tonight,” the doctor answered, then saw the look on Cole’s face. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Cole turned to his youngest son. “You feel like playing?”
“Yes sir,” Lucky answered. “I’ll be fine.”
The officials approached Cole and told him it was time to start the second half. Cole nodded and turned to Lloyd.
“Go tell them it’s time to go,” he directed.
Lloyd nodded and entered the locker room to tell Stub to get the players out for the second half.
The players were a different group as they came out of the locker room, their demeanor changing some 360 degrees. They were no longer upset or embarrassed. Now, they were mad.
Derwin approached his coach along with several players.
“Don’t give up on us, Coach,” he pleaded. “We won’t play like that again.”
Cole nodded, knowing this was true. It would almost be impossible for the Panthers to play that bad.
Lucky went to get his pads and put them on so he was behind the other players as the Panthers came out for the second half.
The response by the fans was lukewarm, to say the least. There was a little clapping and the band played the school song, without any intensity. Nobody blamed them, not after how bad Petros played in the first half.
Cole knew something good needed to happen to get everybody back in the game. The quicker the better, as far as he was concerned.
He was not ready to submit, nor were his coaches or players. Cole knew it would be almost impossible to come back from this deficit. But stranger things had happened. Petros just couldn’t waste much time.
Before his team went out to start the second half, Cole gathered the players around him.
“We’re not out of this game,” he reminded them. “Nobody thinks we have a shot at winning this thing. Let’s go out there and prove them wrong.”
The Panthers got the ball to start the second half. Kenneth fielded the kick at the twelve and began a slow journey up the field, weaving in and out of players.
He reached the 41 before getting knocked out of bounds. When Lucky trotted out on the field, Petros’ fans finally had reason to cheer.
Toni saw him come back on the field, but did not expect him to go back on the field.
“Should he be playing?” she asked.
Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders, then stood with the rest of the crowd.
The Panthers went straight to the line, coming out in a shotgun with receivers all over the field. Skip was the only back joining Lucky in the backfield.
It was the wrinkle the Panthers had been working on all week, but had not used in the first half because Lucky was hurt and Gary had not gotten enough snaps to run the offense and his arm was not strong enough.
The Panthers had used the shotgun at times, especially in a two-minute offense, but not with this many receivers or running the routes they were fixing to go with.
Big Cedar’s defense was confused as Lucky took the snap, faked a handoff to Skip crossing in front of him, rose up and hit Kenneth on a slant. Kenneth caught the pass in stride, slipped past one defensive back and picked up over 20 yards before being brought down.
The Panthers went straight to the line and Lucky called out the play. He again faked a handoff to Skip to keep the linebackers close, rolled a few steps to his right and lobbed a pass toward Andy, who had a six-inch advantage over the defensive back covering him.
Andy reached high in the air to gather the pass, just before his momentum carried him past the sidelines.
Petros was at the line again before Big Cedar was ready. This time Lucky took the snap, sprinted to the left with Skip trailing behind. Lucky was not even challenged, flying past the line and reaching the secondary. As the safety came after him, Lucky faked the pitch, fooling the defensive player enough to run past. Two of the Mustangs were on his heels, but never got close enough to tackle him. Lucky ran full speed, never slowing until giving the Panthers their first touchdown.
It was a celebration Petros’ fans had expected all game. The players showed some emotion again, not nearly as much as the fans, however. The players and coaches knew they had started climbing back, but there was a long way to go.
Jeremy’s kick actually skimmed off the right goalpost, but went through the uprights to cut the lead to 28-7.
Now, the defense had to come through, something that had not really happened so far.
On the far sideline, Tatum Sloan stood off to himself, watching the celebration across the field, remembering times in the past when he was a part of that group. He got a bad feeling and knew this cakewalk had just gotten dangerous.
The Panthers had played conservatively on defense, seldom blitzing or doing anything to pressure the Mustangs.
That was about to change.
The Mustangs returned the kick to the 32. On first down, they came out in the I-formation that worked so well in the first half. As the quarterback barked out the signals, Lucky edged forward, moving almost at full speed when the ball was snapped. He found a gap and burst through.
Big Cedar’s quarterback faked a handoff and was setting up to pass when Lucky blindsided him.
The force of the collision caused the ball to pop loose and bounce backwards. It set off a mad scramble as players from both teams took off after the ball. A huge pile developed, consisting of players from both teams, wrestling for possession of the pigskin.
The officials removed players one-by-one to get to the bottom. When everybody was dragged out, Sam Roberts fought his way free and held the ball high for the officials to see. The referee signaled it was Petros’ ball at the Mustangs’ 23.
The roar of Petros’ crowd could be heard throughout town. The few people who had not bothered to come to the game knew something big had happened.
Lucky hurried the offense to the line again and hollered out the play. D.J. was alone on the left side, covered by a linebacker. Lucky saw this and knew where the pass was going even before receiving the snap.
D.J. flew past the linebacker, sprinted down the field and was wide open when Lucky threw a bullet toward him. All D.J. had to do was raise his hands, catch the ball and he was off to the races. Nobody even came near him as he sprinted into the corner of the end zone, holding the ball high and resisting the urge to spike it, knowing that was a penalty that could haunt the Panthers.
There were only a little over two minutes gone in the third quarter and after Jeremy’s kick, the Panthers had cut the lead in half. The Mustangs were clearly shaken, wondering what happened to the expected blowout. They looked at the scoreboard and knew this game was far from over.
The kickoff was returned to the 37. On first down, Big Cedar’s quarterback handed off on a draw, catching the Panthers off guard.
Big Cedar’s tailback found a huge hole and flew through it. He was the fastest player on his team and one of the fastest in the district. The tailback broke one tackle at the 45 and outran everybody else down the sidelines until reaching the end zone.
The Panthers had blitzed again and paid the price. Cole was furious. It had looked so promising and then to give up a play like this was so frustrating. All the momentum had just been blown away.
There was a loud groan from the home side while the visitors celebrated like the Mustangs won a state championship.
Cole walked down to Ichabod, wanting to lash out but caught himself, knowing his assistant was not to blame.
“Dadgummit!” Cole muttered, probably the strongest word in his vocabulary. “We’ve got to quit giving up those big plays. Line up in a nickel and keep them contained.”
Ichabod had already decided this, not liking to see his defense get shredded even worse than Cole. He saw Stub walking toward him and did not want to hear it right now.
“Don’t even say it,” Ichabod warned, turned and stormed away.
Stub was left standing with his arms out. All he wanted was to mention how fast the running back was, not criticize anybody or anything.
The players’ spirits had bottomed out again. Cole started encouraging the players, reminding them how much time was left and they could come back.
But Petros’ hopes were fading quickly. There was a stunned silence on the Petros side, nobody believing what they were seeing. The Panthers were losing at home, to Big Cedar! The Mustangs just did not come into Petros’ stadium and win. It didn’t matter if Barry Switzer was their coach.
They knew this wasn’t the typical Big Cedar team, but nobody expected the Panthers to be losing 35-14 less than halfway through the third quarter.
Derwin hollered to all the players to gather around him. He was furious, mad enough nobody wanted to get very close.
“That’s a bunch of crud,” he hollered, not the word Derwin preferred to use, but knew the coaches would not appreciate anything worse. “We’re playing like we’ve never played a game of football before. We’ve got a chance to win the district and are getting killed by a team we should beat by forty points. I guarantee you that if we let them score one more point I will kick everybody’s rear!”
Derwin was always intense, but nobody had seen him this enraged. He looked around until seeing Lucky and grabbed him by the facemask, pulling him close.
“Go get us some points!” he yelled.
“Uh, okay,” Lucky responded.
Kenneth took the kickoff at the ten, a high kick that allowed the coverage to be in good position this time. He barely reached the 20 before the Mustangs arrived and brought him down.
The Panthers went straight to the line, again lining up in the shotgun. The Mustangs played loose in the secondary, giving up the short passes but not wanting to get burned again. Lucky took advantage of what the defense gave him, throwing short passes to the receivers. After catching the pass, they got as much yardage as possible before going out of bounds to stop the clock.
Lucky completed six straight passes as the Panthers slowly moved down the field. The lone run, a draw to Skip also picked up good yardage. The closer Petros got to the end zone, the more the Mustangs tightened up their defense.
When the Panthers reached inside the 10, the offense came out in the usual splitback set. Lucky ran an option, faked the handoff to Skip and pitched back late to D.J., who raced past the defenders into the end zone.
Jeremy’s kick was perfect, cutting the lead to 35-21 just seconds before the end of the third quarter.
Now, it was time for the Panthers to get a big stop. There was plenty of time left and some doubt was coming back to the Big Cedar side.
The Mustangs picked up a pair of first downs to finish up the third quarter and go into the fourth quarter before Derwin made a big stop on the fullback on third-and-short to end the drive.
A long punt pinned the Panthers back at their 31. Petros started moving down the field again. Big Cedar tightened its coverage, but could not stop the Panthers.
Cole continued keeping the offense in the shotgun, throwing the short passes Big Cedar had been vulnerable against, mixing in an occasional run to keep the defense on its toes.
The Panthers moved the ball down to Big Cedar’s 21. On second-and-four, the Panthers came out in the shotgun again. Lucky looked over the defense and saw the middle was clear as the Mustangs’ defense was spread out too wide. He changed the call at the line, hoping it was the right move. The snap was perfect. Lucky caught the ball and dropped back two steps, then stopped and took off right up the middle.
Petros’ line pushed the defensive linemen out, creating a huge hole. Lucky sped through the opening and broke into the secondary. The free safety came after him but Lucky used a juke move to leave the Big Cedar player tackling nothing but air. Nobody else came close and Lucky crossed into the end zone, cutting the lead to one touchdown.
Jeremy’s kick was good again, cutting the lead to 35-28. Petros’ fans were going wild, having trouble believing the Panthers came from so far behind to trail by only one touchdown.
Lucky was 7-8 in the drive, the only incompletion coming when he got greedy and tried burning the Mustangs deep. Six minutes were left, plenty of time.
Ichabod called the defense together to stress the importance of stopping the Mustangs and getting the ball back for the offense. The defense had been on the field a lot tonight, mainly in the first half, and they were tired.
For the first time, Big Cedar’s offense got conservative. Two running plays up the middle gained nothing. On third down, the Mustangs tried a sweep but Skip flew in from the secondary and nailed the tailback in the backfield for a loss.
Big Cedar only ran two minutes off the clock and would have to punt.
The punt was a poor one, bouncing over midfield and coming to rest at the 41. The Panthers had good field position and plenty of time.
Once again, the Panthers started driving down the field, going almost exclusively with the pass.
Petros reached the Mustangs’ 21 when Lucky took the snap and rolled to the right. He had Andy open on a hook and fired a pass in that direction. But just as the ball arrived, so did one of the defensive backs, hitting Andy right in the back.
The pass bounced off him and went high in the air. The play appeared to be in slow motion, all eyes in the stadium watching the ball’s rise and descent. None of the Panthers were anywhere close. Big Cedar’s free safety came flying in, dove and caught the ball just before it reached the ground.
It was a crushing blow to all the Panthers, losing the ball and then watching the Mustangs celebrate the gift. Lucky was almost in shock, not believing the pass was intercepted. They had come from so far behind and now it appeared to be in vain.
There were almost three minutes left and the defense would have to come through again. Lucky walked to the defensive huddle, studying the clock and wondering how they could get the ball back and score quick enough. It would be difficult, but not impossible.
Derwin sprinted out on the field, waving his arms and hollering like a deranged person.
“This is our game!” he hollered while entering the huddle. “Don’t worry about the last play. Let’s shut them down and get the ball back. Then we score, win the game and everybody’s happy.”
Everybody was looking at him like they thought he needed to be on medication.
“Don’t give up!” he added. “We’ll stop them right here!”
His teammates were still not sold on Derwin’s pitch as the Panthers broke the huddle.
On first down, the Mustangs ran a blast up the middle, getting stuffed at the line by Derwin. The players looked to the sidelines to see if the coaches wanted a timeout. The coaches shook their heads and waved it off, knowing the timeouts would be needed later.
All the Panthers watched the clock tick away, the seconds flying by like they were on fast forward. Ichabod called for a blitz, doubting the Mustangs would dare to pass. He made the right call. Big Cedar ran a sweep to the left, again finding no room as Derwin burst through the line and tackled the back after a short gain.
This time, the coaches did call for time. There was just over two minutes left as the players went to the sidelines to meet with the coaches. They were tired, dirty, soaked with sweat and wet from the mist that had slowly turned into a steady, light rain.
Ichabod was intense, the blood veins in his head poking out in record dimensions. He might not be as fired up as Derwin, but was close.
“This is it!” he told his players, wanting to grab somebody and shake them, but fighting off the urge. “We’ve got to make the stop here. Don’t totally commit to the run because they might throw a play-action pass.”
Ichabod hit it right on the nail again. Big Cedar’s quarterback took the snap, turned to hand the ball off, causing Lucky to start coming up to support the run. But he remembered Ichabod’s advice and dropped back, trying to get a read on the play.
Lucky saw the quarterback pull the ball out of the tailback’s gut and watched the quarterback’s eyes to see where the pass was going. The quarterback looked at the tight end running a route straight down the field, hoping to catch the pass in the seam between the linebackers and defensive backs.
The play was developing right in front of him and Lucky closed fast, saw the quarterback throw the pass and timed his hit perfectly, blasting into the tight end just as the ball arrived. He caught the pass somehow, just before getting leveled by Lucky.
It would be close to the first down. Big Cedar’s players were indicating it was a first down while the Panthers argued it was short. The referee eyed the ball and the first-down marker, could not tell from that distance and called for the chains to be brought in.
While the officials were measuring, Cole called for the defense to come over to the sideline, hoping the officials would not object. He sent Lucky back out on the field to call a timeout as soon as the officials got play ready to go again.
Everybody watched the officials stretch the chains out. It was so close the referee had to lean down. He looked at another official and shook his head. This was as close as you could get to a first down without getting one.
The referee put his hand up in a fist to signal fourth down. The officials put the ball on the hashmark, waited for the chains to get set, saw Lucky wanted time and granted it.
The defense came to the sidelines and circled Cole, waiting to hear the instructions.
“We’ve gotta go with our regular defense,” he stressed. “I figure they’ll punt the ball but we have to be ready in case they go for it. If they come out in a punt formation, Skip will need to drop back. But you’ve got to be ready in case they fake the punt.”
He sent the defense back out on the field and leaned over, putting his hands on his knees. Cole looked to the ground, all the nerves in his body going crazy.
The Mustangs ran back out on the field and lined up in their regular offense, hoping to catch the Panthers off guard. As the quarterback got under center, Petros’ defensive line stacked close together. Derwin edged right in behind the two tackles, almost daring the quarterback to try and run.
“Don’t jump!” Lucky hollered, expecting the quarterback to try and draw Petros off sides.
The quarterback started barking out his signals, changing his cadence in an effort to fool one of the Panthers to cross into the neutral zone.
All the Panthers stayed still like they were statutes, watching the ball and not paying any attention to the quarterback. The play clock was running down and the quarterback finally decided the Panthers were not going to fall for his trick so he called for time and jogged to the sidelines to talk to his coaches.
The Panthers also left the field to go to the sidelines and talk with Ichabod.
“Okay, they’re going to punt it now,” he declared. “But you still have to be careful and not jump. We need to go for the block, but don’t get close to the punter unless you’ve got it blocked. If you can’t get the punt, circle back and floor somebody.”
Both teams came back on the field as the fans from both schools stood and created a roar that was almost deafening. Big Cedar lined up in a punt formation, just as Ichabod expected. The Mustangs went with a quick count, trying to catch the Panthers by surprise and keep the rush at bay.
It worked as none of the Panthers got close to the punter. Petros’ players followed their instructions by circling back and trying to nail a Mustang. It was a booming punt, high, long and near the sidelines.
Kenneth started out at the forty and had to retreat back to field the punt.
He finally caught up to the punt, grabbing it just before the ball bounced out of bounds. He had little room to run, only getting a few yards before the coverage brought him down. During the punt, Derwin had followed his coach’s instructions, catching two of the Mustangs looking the other way and lowering the boom, sending them flying to the ground, arms and legs flopping everywhere.
Kenneth was tackled at the 37. Ninety-five seconds were left, plenty of time if the Panthers played it right. The Panthers had 63 yards to cover with one timeout.
Big Cedar lined up with defensive backs all over the field, deciding to go with three linemen and one linebacker. As the Panthers lined up, Lucky looked across the field and wished they could run against a defense in this alignment.
The first set of defensive backs was lined up fairly close, wanting to keep the Panthers from marching down the field with short passes again. Another group was behind them, wanting to keep Petros from going deep.
Lucky had never seen a defense with so many defensive backs. He wondered how anybody could get open against seven defensive backs, then decided somebody would have to.
He looked to the sidelines and saw everybody standing and clapping, but heard nothing but a loud roar. His father was hollering something, but there was no way to hear him. The snap was low, bounced once, but Lucky fielded it cleanly. He rolled to his right, hoping to hit Skip crossing over the middle.
Skip was covered, as were the other receivers. With pressure finally coming on him, all he could do was throw the ball away to kill the clock.
Lucky brought the team into the huddle and relayed the next play. He brought his team to the line and got the snap and saw the receivers were blanketed again. Harry broke open for just a second and Lucky fired a pass in that direction, but it was knocked down by a defensive back who made a nice recovery.
It was now third-and-10 and the Panthers were certainly not looking like a well-oiled machine. Lucky changed the formation, leaving Andy as the only receiver split out on the right side since he was the only receiver capable of catching a pass in a crowd.
The Mustangs changed the coverage as Petros came to the line. They sent two defensive backs to cover Andy. They were the best Cedar Lake had, but gave up several inches to Andy, who was running a fade route.
Lucky made sure not to keep his eyes on Andy. He took the snap and faked a handoff to D.J. on a dive, then dropped back, looking at Murray breaking over the middle. Just as he finally looked at Andy, one of the Mustangs’ defensive linemen broke free and started bearing down on Lucky.
He never saw the defensive lineman or felt the pressure. Just as Lucky started to release the pass, the linemen crashed into him, forcing the ball to flutter harmlessly to the ground.
The Mustangs acted like it was a fumble and made a big scene about celebrating the recovery but the referee waved the pass incomplete as soon as the ball hit the ground.
It was now fourth down, still 10 yards to go. The Panthers were pressing, not knowing what to do. But Lucky had seen something the previous play he thought would work. He told the Panthers to go out in the same formation and for all the receivers to go long, hoping the secondary dropped deep again, just as they did the previous play.
Lucky took the snap and rolled to the right. Nobody was open and the secondary reacted just as he hoped.
He knew that if this didn’t work everybody would say it was a terrible decision. But Lucky could think of nothing else. Nobody knew what he was planning to do and continued running the play just as instructed.
As Lucky got outside the end, he took off, hoping none of the defensive backs recovered in time to get him before picking up 10 yards and the first down.
All the defensive backs were more concerned with the receivers and had no idea Lucky was running free. The linemen and the one linebacker were pursuing him, but looked like turtles chasing a rabbit. Lucky easily picked up the first down and got to the sidelines, tightroping down the sidelines to Big Cedar’s 36 before stepping out of bounds to stop the clock. His teammates swarmed him, pounding him on the shoulder pads and congratulating him.
His run did two things: It gave the Panthers a first down and kept the drive alive, and it also made the Mustangs realize they had to give up some of their coverage or Lucky could run like this every play.
As he came to the line on the next play, Lucky saw the defense changed its tactics and the coverage. Now there was an extra linebacker and less defensive backs, which should allow the receivers to break free.
After taking the snap, Lucky stayed in the pocket and Skip broke free. Lucky fired a pass in that direction. It was not the greatest pass ever thrown, but still good enough. Skip grabbed the ball as he fell to the ground.
The gain was good for 12 yards, giving the Panthers a first down and stopping the clock. The Panthers rushed to the line, knowing the clock would start as soon as the chains were set. Lucky called a play after seeing how the defense was lined up. Andy ran a fade route again, this time against single coverage. The defensive back tried to jam him at the line but Andy fought through and quickly had a step on the defensive back.
Lucky’s pass was delivered with a little too much juice, though, sailing high and long. The offense huddled again as the clock was stopped. Lucky called the play, hoping Skip found room in the middle of the field again.
The Mustangs blitzed, catching the Panthers unprepared. Two of the Mustangs were in the backfield almost as soon as Lucky got the snap. He barely had time to field the snap and take a step before getting hit. Lucky broke free from the first defender but the second player brought him down, landing on top of him.
The defensive player did not want to get off, of course, knowing the clock was running. Lucky wrestled free and pushed the defensive player away, knowing valuable time was running away. He looked at the markers and estimated that it was now third-and-18 with Petros on the 32.
It now looked like only a miracle could save the Panthers.
Lucky hurried everybody to the line and nobody was organized. The receivers had not heard their routes so they basically took off down the field, hoping to get open.
Lucky had to jump to field the snap. He expected another blitz and saw the Mustangs coming, but the Panthers picked it up better this time. Kenneth broke free and Lucky threw the ball, expecting him to break to the outside, only to see him cut back toward the middle of the field.
The pass sailed between two defenders and was almost intercepted. There were now 33 seconds left and the Panthers were in a big hole.
Lucky tried to think of something creative but came up with nothing.
He wanted to call the final timeout and talk to the coaches, but knew it needed to be saved. Lucky called a play and sent his team to the line. He expected another blitz, knowing that was what the Panthers would do in the situation.
He got it. The Mustangs sent both linebackers and a cornerback. The Panthers expected it and gave Lucky some time.
But once again, none of the Panthers were open. He rolled to his right, hoping somebody would get open. Lucky almost took off on another scramble, but doubted he could pick up eighteen yards before the defense caught him.
The blocking was finally breaking down and the Mustangs were getting loose and coming after him. Lucky felt the pressure and reversed the field, dropping farther from the line while running back across the field, avoiding three tackles in the process while weaving in and out of traffic.
As he reached the far sideline, Lucky was getting hemmed in. Nobody was open so he reversed directions again, dropping even farther back from the line of scrimmage. He was still being chased by a group of Mustangs, getting a little tired from and of chasing him.
While nearing the other sideline again, Lucky sprinted toward the line to get away from a defender and saw a teammate sprinting across the field with a few steps on the defender. Lucky stopped just short of the line of scrimmage and zipped a pass into the end zone toward the open teammate.
It was a tight spiral, never getting higher than eight feet from the ground.
He had no idea who the pass was headed for and would not see the outcome as one of the Mustangs crashed into him and took him to the ground just after the pass was released.
All the fans edged forward, watching the ball fly down the field, wanting to see where the ball landed.
Skip was the player angling across the field. He could tell the pass was a little too much and turned the speed up an extra notch, moving faster than his legs ever went. Skip thought the pass was still too far ahead of him, barely out of reach.
He ate up the yards at an incredible pace, almost looking like a blur. At the last second, realizing he would not outrun the ball, Skip dove, stretching his body completely parallel to the ground.
His hands somehow managed to grab the ball and while still diving through the air, he pulled the ball back to his body and turned. Skip didn’t have a really good grip, but held the ball like it was worth a million dollars. He continued twisting while in the air, eventually turning so his back would hit the ground first.
Skip hit the ground hard, bounced and skidded along the surface. It was difficult, but he never let go of the ball. Skip quickly got to his feet, wanting to make sure he was in-bounds, and saw that was not a problem. He looked around, hoping to see an official confirm the score.
The backjudge was right behind him. Skip thought it was strange to see the official’s mouth wide open, almost like he was amazed. It took several seconds before the official realized he needed to raise his hands and let everybody know it was a touchdown.
It set off another wild celebration on the Petros side, a roar as loud as anybody had ever heard in the old stadium. Everybody on Big Cedar’s side just collapsed, not believing this was possible.
Cole kept his players on the sidelines from running out on the field to join the celebration, not wanting to draw a penalty for excessive celebration. He hollered out to his players on the field to call time. Lucky saw his father and granted the request.
The Panthers came to the sidelines, relishing the turn of events. Cole tried hard to control his emotions. This was the greatest comeback and probably the best play he had seen out of any of his teams. Cole looked up at the scoreboard to be sure and a score of 35-34 confirmed the play.
But Cole knew he and his team would have to celebrate later. Now, he had to get his team to convert the PAT to tie the game and send it into overtime.
“Listen up!” he hollered, trying to get everybody’s attention above the roar of the crowd. “We still need to get the extra point so you need to forget about the touchdown and concentrate on taking care of business. Jeremy, we’ve gotta have this…”
Cole looked at the players and saw something was wrong. All the satisfaction had left. They were all standing around him, staring at the ground, no longer listening.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
Skip stepped forward out of the pack and removed his helmet.
“Coach, we want to end it now and not have to worry about overtime,” he said. His teammates nodded and shouted their agreement.
“You want to go for two?”
“Yes, sir,” he remarked. “We’ll make it.”
It would be completely against all the rules of coaching. But Cole had never followed the so-called “book” and was not going to now, either. He actually liked the idea, knowing the defense would never expect the move.
“We can run the option and they can’t stop us,” Skip added.
Cole nodded and told his team the formation and play.
The Panthers waited for the Mustangs to take the field first. As soon as Big Cedar’s players were on the field, Petros rushed out on the field and lined up without huddling. The defense was confused, expecting a kick for the extra point.
The Mustangs tried to scramble into position after seeing the Panthers line up in their usual offense with two backs, two tight ends and a flanker, but no kicker.
Big Cedar’s coaches wanted to call a timeout but the players did not see them until it was too late as Lucky had already taken the snap, went down the line and stuck the ball in D.J.’s gut. He read the defensive tackle and saw he was going for D.J. so Lucky continued down the line.
He got to the corner and saw only the cornerback waiting for him. Lucky forced the cornerback to make a decision, either come after him or cover Skip. The cornerback crashed down on Lucky, who waited for the last second and pitched the ball back to Skip.
Skip fielded the pitch and it was a race for the corner of the end zone as everybody stood, leaning forward to see the outcome. The Mustangs had two players steaming in from inside, hoping to cut Skip off before he broke the plane.
The defenders realized it was no use. Skip was too fast and had too big of an advantage. It was close but after all that had happened in this game, there was no way he would be kept out of the end zone. Skip dove the final yard, stretching the ball across the line just before the defenders arrived.
The Panthers on the field started celebrating even before any of the officials signaled the conversion was good. They knew it was good, as did Skip. He was lying on his back holding the ball in the air, screaming so loud his lungs started burning.
His teammates rushed to congratulate him as the line judge threw his arms into the air and the clock operator added two points to the Panthers’ total, letting the scoreboard show the score as Petros 36, Visitors 35.
After overcoming such a large deficit, the players were spent, barely having enough energy to make it to the wild celebration on the sidelines. The stands were rocking and Petros’ fans continued celebrating.
Cole wanted to jump up and down like everybody else, but knew there was still time left and the Panthers had to kick off.
He gathered all the players around and reminded them the game was not over. Cole sent out the kicking team and told Jeremy to squib kick the ball down the field.
The Panthers lined up for the kick. Big Cedar’s players slowly took the field, realizing it would take a miracle to win after they thought this game was won. It was just so disappointing to see a lead like that disappear.
Jeremy’s kick was just what Cole wanted to see. The ball never got over a few feet high and bounced at the thirty-five, hit one of the blockers and bounced away. The player had to fall on the ball to keep Petros from recovering.
There was time for one play. Ichabod sent out the defense, using seven defensive backs and instructed Lucky and Skip to not let anybody get behind them.
The Mustangs came out in the shotgun with three receivers to the right and two to the left. The quarterback took the snap and rolled to the right. He scanned the field, trying to find somebody open. Finally, the quarterback realized nobody was open and started to throw to his favorite receiver cutting across the middle of the field.
He took too much time, though, as Derwin finally escaped from the center, whose hold on the jersey was finally broken. Derwin arrived just as the quarterback was letting go of the ball, delivering the kind of hit linebackers love and quarterbacks dread.
The ball barely escaped in time. Derwin plowed through the quarterback, knocking him back several yards and falling down on him.
The pass fluttered through the air, so badly thrown nobody knew who it was intended for. When the pass fell harmlessly to the ground, the Panthers raised their arms and started walking toward the sidelines, ready for a celebration like they had never taken part in.
Nobody got overly carried away, but the coaches went around to their players reminding them to show some class. The coaches felt sorry for the Mustangs, especially Tatum, who would remember this loss for a long time.
Cole looked across the field and saw Tatum crossing toward him, bearing the look all coaches had seen many times before. Tatum looked like his whole world had collapsed on him.
Some of the joy of the win went away for Cole, seeing a friend hurt so badly. Cole knew how Tatum felt and this was why he had hoped neither of his sons decided to coach. The highs were great, but the lows just plain hurt too badly.
But Cole also knew the pain eventually went away and the sun would rise tomorrow. Plus, there would be another game next Friday with a chance to wash away the disappointment.
Cole hurried to be with his former player and hugged him. He knew Tatum was fighting off the tears, making Cole hug him even harder.
“I’m so proud of you,” Cole whispered in his ear. “You’ve become the kind of man I always hoped you would and that my sons become. I’ll always be honored to have been your coach.”
Tatum hugged his old coach back. He hurt too much right now to say something.
“You guys could not have played any better,” Cole added. “All of Big Cedar should be proud of you and their boys. Your program is taking off and you’re the main reason.”
“Thanks, Coach,” Tatum finally mustered. “I hate to lose, especially like that. But if it was going to happen to anybody, I guess I’m glad it was you. That was a heck of a comeback.”
“You did show us a lot,” Cole mentioned. “Keep your heads up and we all hope you’ll get in the playoffs. Let us know if we can help.”
“Thanks, Coach,” Tatum said, patting Cole on the back. He turned and started jogging to his team, gathered in a circle near their stands.
Cole watched as he was stopped by several of the Panthers and many friends and family members, all wishing him good luck.
“That was some game,” Ichabod commented.
“Yep, it was,” Cole agreed, wondering how Tatum and his team would respond. He turned around and watched his team celebrate with family members, friends and the band.
Lucky had wanted to at least shake Tatum’s hand but was swarmed by other students and fans and could not escape. Lucky did not realize how tired his body was until he started walking off the field. He paused one last time before entering the locker room to look at the scoreboard.
It was still hard to believe his Panthers came out ahead, but the scoreboard did not lie.
Everybody was exhausted in the locker room, even the players who had not played. The nerves and stress had drained everybody. The players who played the most looked like zombies.
Even though they were drained, there was a great feeling in the locker room, a high no drug could touch. They all knew this was a special night. It wasn’t every week a team came back from 28 points behind in the second half to win against such a quality opponent.
The cans of pop in the ice chest were emptied quickly. The Gatorade was already gone. The players sat in front of their lockers, having trouble removing their pads.
Cole saw a bunch of boys in front of him who gave everything and were rewarded. He knew his teams from the last couple of years would not have made this comeback. But these guys had character that could not be coached.
“You boys just about gave me a heart attack out there tonight,” he remarked. “Remember this moment. I know everybody’s tired but remember how great this feels. People would pay a lot of money to have this feeling. This is what happens when you give everything and play together as a team. Good things happen. Both in sports and in life. Relish the way you feel right now. This is what it’s all about. Enjoy this win tonight and then we’ll get started working on Lovings tomorrow.”
posted by Craig Hall at 6:07 AM
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