Chapter 43

Petros’ kickoff team got its final instructions and sprinted out on the field and huddled. The players broke the huddle and lined up, waiting for the officials to start the contest.

Everyone in the old stadium stood as the two teams waited for the kickoff. The referee finally gave his okay. Jeremy raised his right arm and looked to both sides. Seeing everybody was ready, he lowered his arm and started toward the ball, the roar building with every step.

He caught the ball right in the sweet spot, sending it end-over-end toward the far end zone. The ball got caught up in the wind, adding to the distance. A Gilmore wide receiver retreated back toward the goal-line and caught the ball cleanly. He started sprinting up the field, his eyes scanning for openings.

An opening never developed. It really didn’t have a chance, actually as just before he reached the 15, Skip blasted into him in a collision that looked and sounded like something that should have been in a professional game.

The returner collapsed to the ground but somehow held on to the ball. The ball did pop loose then and a wild scramble ensued, but the officials were already indicating the ground caused the fumble by pointing to the field.

The players were already pumped up from Cole’s speech and Skip’s hit added to the intensity.

Gilmore’s offense jogged out on the field, a huge group, although none had the appearance of being fat.

Adam Todd was the last of the Goblins on the field, slowly moving toward the huddle. All of the Panthers watched number 41 all the way out on the field. Todd was an impressive speciman, huge legs that were as big as most people’s waists, wide shoulders and arms that looked like they should belong to a bodybuilder.

“Gotta get ready now,” Derwin yelled. “Time to derail this train.”

He whooped loudly and beat on his chest like an ape.

Gilmore’s offense looked big enough that it could just line up and run over the Panthers, but the task of trying to stop the Goblins was even more difficult because they could also throw the ball. They weren’t the type to throw it thirty times a game, but when they did throw, it was usually effective.

Ichabod knew there was a danger of the pass, but decided to put as much emphasis as possible on stopping the run and forcing the Goblins to throw the ball.

The Panthers lined up in their normal defense, then switched right after the quarterback started barking signals, confusing the quarterback.

It was a simple handoff to Todd over the left side. Petros’ line held its own and Derwin flew in from his linebacker position and blasted Todd in the backfield. It was a terrific collision that Derwin won, resulting in a loss of two yards.

A sweep to the right side gained three yards, leaving Gilmore facing third-and-long. The Panthers blitzed, forcing the quarterback to throw the ball away. Petros had stopped Gilmore like nobody had in weeks.

The Goblins had to punt into the strong wind. The Panthers came after the punt, forcing the punter to get it off quickly, resulting in a poor punt that only traveled 15 yards before going out-of-bounds.

The Panthers came out in the split-back offense with Skip and Kenneth lined up at running back behind Lucky.

Gilmore’s defense also had a big advantage in size, the line averaging some twenty pounds more than the Panthers. Kenneth got the call on first down on a dive. He couldn’t find a hole, cut back inside, slid between a pair of defenders for a gain of three.

The Panthers used the same play to the other side. Skip hit the hole so quick he did not give the Goblins a chance to plug it. He picked up five yards, setting up third-and-short.

On third down, Lucky faked a dive to Kenneth and followed behind, finding a good hole as the defense went for the fake.

He easily picked up the first down. Lucky and Cole noticed on the previous play the Goblins put all eleven defenders in the box, not concerned with the pass.

Cole sent in Andy with the call.

The offense came out in the same formation with Andy split wide to the right. He looked across the line and saw the defensive back covering him was at least seven-inches shorter.

Lucky saw this also and smiled. He took the snap and dropped back, not even bothering to fake. The Goblins came hard, even more so after figuring out it was a pass play. But they weren’t fast enough.

He waited just a few heartbeats then lobbed the ball toward the corner of the end zone, the same play they had practiced so many times before.

Because of the wind, the ball was almost too high, forcing Andy to leap as high as possible. He barely reached the ball, but was able to grasp it above the outstretched arms of the defensive back.

Andy never bothered to bring the ball down, instead choosing to hold the ball high to keep it from getting knocked away. He came down just short of the end line, giving the Panthers a touchdown and further increasing the excitement on the home side.

Jeremy’s extra point was perfect and the Panthers had a quick 7-0 lead over the stunned Goblins.

Now, the Goblins were angry. Petros had shut Gilmore down the previous series and the Goblins were determined that would not happen this time.

Taking advantage of the huge line, Todd kept carrying it right up the gut, finding plenty of running room. There was nothing fancy about it, just old-fashioned smashmouth football. It was the way the Goblins had dominated the game last year and it started to look much the same.

It was a 14-play, 80-yard drive that ate up much of the remainder of the first quarter. Todd finished off the drive, dragging two Panthers the final four yards of a six-yard scoring run.

The Panthers tried virtually everything to stop the Goblins, slants, blitzes and different fronts, but found nothing that worked. Gilmore was just that good.

As the Goblins celebrated the touchdown, Ichabod steamed on the sidelines.

“If anybody has any ideas, I’d be happy to hear them,” Ichabod stated to the other coaches.

“Yeah, we better score a lot of points,” countered Lloyd, a comment that was true but not greatly appreciated.

“Better tackling would also help,” Stub added, another comment that rankled the defensive coordinator.

As the first quarter ended on the extra point, the Panthers would now go into the wind. This would not really cause much concern as Cole did not plan to throw the ball much and if the Panthers did go to the air, it would probably be short passes.

The Goblins changed defenses, moving the tackles further inside to try and stop the dive. It looked good in principal, but would not bother the Panthers. All it would do was change the blocking scheme and force the running backs to go a little farther outside.

Kenneth proved that on first down, taking a handoff on the dive and quickly veering outside where there was a gap. He burst into the secondary, did a .360 spin to get away from the free safety and was off.

Nobody touched him until he was 43-yards down the field, finally getting pushed out of bounds.

While D.J. would have probably scored with that kind of lead and not been caught, it was doubtful he could have made as good a read as Kenneth did.

Kenneth got the ball again on an inside trap, getting excellent blocking and weaving in and out for another big gain.

He got a rest on the next play as Lucky faked the dive to him, hit the corner and pitched to Skip at the last second.

It was another gain of 20 yards and the Goblins were reeling on defense.

The Panthers were now inside the 8-yard line and Gilmore went into a goal-line defense.

Lucky read the defense and changed the play at the line. He faked a power play to Kenneth, bootlegged out and lobbed a pass to Anthony Hart in the end zone. Anthony was so open he could have caught the ball and ate a sandwich before anybody reached him.

Jeremy slipped as he planted his foot on the conversion, forcing a low kick that was easily blocked, leaving the score 13-7 in favor of the Panthers.

“Crud, I hope that doesn’t wind up hurting us,” Stub mentioned, feeling it probably would.

The onslaught continued when the Goblins got the ball back. It was a drive just as impressive as the previous one. Todd looked like a man playing with boys, crashing over and through the Panthers. Even Derwin could not stop him.

This time the drive lasted thirteen plays and covered 70 yards. Todd finished it off again with a three-yard run. After the kick was good, Gilmore had its first lead, 14-13.

Less than two minutes were left in the first half. The kick went into the end zone, giving the Panthers the ball at the 20.

Many coaches would choose to play it safe in this situation. Cole normally would, but trailing by one point against a team that had been scoring at will, he decided there wasn’t any choice.

It was time to fill the air with passes, even though the Panthers were going into the wind.

The Panthers came out in the shotgun. Five receivers were scattered all over the field, catching the Goblins unprepared. Lucky took the snap and hit Andy on a quick slant, picking up ten yards before a pair of defenders pulled him down.

It was barely good for a first down. The offense was ready and as soon as the officials gave their okay, Lucky took the snap, rolled to the wide side of the field, planted his feet and threw back across the field.

Skip was all alone, easily outrunning the defensive back trying to cover him. He caught the ball in full stride, dodged one safety and sprinted down the field, reaching the Gilmore 35 before getting pushed out of bounds by the last defender with a shot to stop him.

The Panthers lined up again without huddling. Lucky fielded a high snap and looked for a receiver. Harry ran a fade route and had a step on the defender but the pass got caught up in the wind and sailed out of bounds.

The next pass also fell incomplete as Lucky was pressured and threw the ball away to avoid the sack.

Lucky huddled everybody up and changed the alignment slightly, getting Happy in the backfield to add another blocker.

On the next play, the snap actually bounced once but he fielded it cleanly. Lucky stepped behind Happy and gazed down the field, watching all the receivers go deep. He watched to see if a hole opened and saw a linebacker blitzing from the backside.

This left an opening and he took off through it, finding just enough room to sneak through. Nobody was in the area so Lucky sprinted down the field, easily picking up the first down before the defensive backs realized what was happening.

Lucky cut to the outside and ran to the sidelines. After making sure it was good for a first down, he crossed the marker to stop the clock.

The next three plays were incomplete passes, setting up fourth down, ten yards to go for a first down.

Cole called time and brought the offense to the sideline. He told Skip and Andy to switch sides, leaving Andy alone on the left side.

The receivers on the right side were instructed to run crossing patters, but they were mainly a decoy. Cole wanted Lucky to throw another lob pass to Andy, hoping the wind would not interfere.

Petros’ offense jogged back out on the field and huddled, since Gilmore had not returned to the field and the Panthers did not want to show the change until it was too late for the defense to change personnel.

While standing in the huddle, Lucky came up with another way to hopefully confuse the Gilmore defense.

“Skip, line up outside Andy,” he directed. “Make sure you’re off the line. When I signal to you, come back in motion across the field."

Skip nodded and the Panthers broke the huddle and rushed to the line. Lucky let everybody get set then raised his left leg, sending Skip sprinting back across the field, creating some confusion among the defensive backs.

The snap was perfect. Gilmore was coming with a blitz again but the line and Happy held off all the defenders. Lucky looked to his right, not wanting to tip the defense on what was coming.

He knew the motion had confused the defense. It left Andy covered by only one defensive back, just as intended. Lucky waited until the last instant, looked to his left and tossed a pass to the corner of the end zone.

Since the wind was coming hard into his face, Lucky gave the pass a little more to compensate. It appeared to be too much, however. Andy had to adjust to the pass, seeing it was over his head and dove, trying to at least get a hand on the ball.

His body was stretched to the limit, his outstretched arms barely getting his hands out far enough to touch the ball. His fingers grasped for the leather and finally controlled it, bringing the football back to his body just before getting slammed to the ground, barely inches inside the end line.

Andy turned on his back and cradled the ball, not wanting to let it pop free. He was still holding on to the ball like it was a million dollars when the official rushed up to him and raised his arms.

It set off another wild celebration on the Petros side.

Since the touchdown only put the Panthers up by five, Cole told the offense to for a two-point conversion.

Lucky relayed the call and Petros came to the line in a split-back formation. Lucky took the snap, faked the dive to Kenneth and sprinted to the corner. At the last second, with a linebacker fixing to decapitate him, Lucky pitched back to Skip, who took the pitch and barely crossed the goal-line before two Goblins crashed into him.

The conversion gave the Panthers a 21-14 lead. Petros kicked off and the clock ran out after two plays.

Petros’ fans stood and cheered loudly as the players left the field, while many made a hasty exit to get to the concession stand and restroom.

While walking to the locker room, Cole was a little surprised his team was winning, not really expecting this after all that had happened over the last week. He felt good, of course, but more relieved than anything. When all the players got to the locker room, Cole met with the other coaches while the players got drinks and settled down for the half.

“That sure doesn’t look like the same team that stunk it up during practice this week,” stated Ichabod.

“These boys just have more character that we thought,” Cole added.

Stub was smiling while downing a can of pop in one drink.

“What’s so funny?” Lloyd asked.

“We’re gonna blow them out this half,” he added.

“What makes you think that?” asked Lloyd.

“I just got this feeling. We’re gonna come out and play like we never have before. Just wait and see.”

“Uh, okay,” Cole added. “I hope you’re right. But our defense is gonna have to slow them down. Anybody have any ideas?”

“Score a lot of points,” Lloyd countered, then regretted his comment after the look his father flashed him.

“I think we can stop them by just putting everybody up in the box and blitz like crazy,” Stub advised.

That was his usual solution to stopping other teams, one of the main reasons Stub was not the defensive coordinator.

It did have some merit, though. While the Goblins could throw the ball, they were a lot more dangerous running the ball with Todd. Plus, the wind would make it even more difficult.

“I think we should try it,” Ichabod agreed, surprising everybody. “I don’t think Gilmore can beat us passing the ball. Let’s stop their main weapon and force them to do something else.”

The coaches broke up their meeting, only making a few other small adjustments.

Cole walked to the front of the room, his confidence growing with every step as he looked at the faces of the young men assembled in front of him.

“That was a good half for the most part,” he praised, starting to pace. “We’re ahead but that doesn’t mean a whole lot against a team as good as Gilmore. We’ve gotta act like the game is tied and beat them in the second half. That’s a good team we’re playing but the team I’m standing in front of is better and it’s time to prove that.

“When you get tired this half, think about your two teammates laid up in the hospital. Think about how much they’d like to be here. Then drag out a little extra effort and push even harder. I feel like we owe this to D.J. and Garrett. Don’t be satisfied with where we are. Let’s dominate this half and give both those boys a game ball as a present.”

It might not go down in the ranks of inspirational speeches as good as the old “Win one for the Gipper” speech Knute Rockne once used at Notre Dame. But it did give the Panthers a little extra they needed.

The players practically tore down the door, so ready to get back out for the second half.

They forgot the pounding Gilmore delivered in the first half and how big their opponents were.

It just didn’t matter right now. The Panthers were ready to play with more heart and determination.

Since Petros deferred at the start of the game, the Panthers elected to receive the ball to start the second half. Skip gathered in the kick just short of the three and sprinted through a wave of humanity, eventually reaching the 38 before getting his feet cut out from under him.

Kenneth got the call on first down, picking up six yards on a dive. It was the biggest hole he had seen all game as the line plowed into the defensive line and got some movement.

Cole sent in the option to the left. Lucky’s decision was easy, as the line again created a huge hole, allowing him to hand off to Skip, who cruised ahead for a first down.

The Panthers ran the same play to the other side. Lucky decided again to hand off on the dive to Kenneth, who had another nice hole. He burst through the line, faked out the safety and was in the clear.

He was not the fastest player on the team and instead relied on his moves more than speed. But it did not matter this time as he had a few steps on the defensive backs and was determined nobody would catch him.

The crowd rose in unison, cheering the race developing on the field between Kenneth and two Goblins, trailing but making up ground.

The other Gilmore safety had the angle but did not seem to be making up enough ground. Realizing that time was running out, he dove at the 10, barely missing Kenneth’s feet with his outstretched hands, coming up with nothing but air.

There was actually very little celebration on the field. The players were happy, naturally, but so determined and focused they refused to let anything distract them. Jeremy nailed the extra point, giving the Panthers a 28-14 lead over the stunned Goblins.

Ichabod gathered his defense together before the kickoff.

“It’s our time now!” he shouted. “Now it’s time to show what we’re made of. Go out there and hit them like they’ve never been hit. I want those boys hit so hard they won’t ever want to step on the field with the Petros Panthers again.

“We’re gonna come after them. We’ll line up in a four-four and get after them. The offense did their part. Now it’s our time!”

Jeremy’s kickoff was short and high into the wind. The returner made it to the 34 before getting downed by three Panthers.

As the Goblins came to the line, the Panthers started edging closer. As the ball was snapped, Skip and Harry stayed back just in case of a pass while the other nine players came hard.

Gilmore ran a sweep to the left and for one of the few times tonight, Todd had no place to run. Derwin broke through a block and blasted Todd, resulting in a crash that was heard in the press box.

Help arrived quickly as two other Panthers plowed into the Gilmore running back at full speed, hitting him as hard as possible. Todd was able to get up, but not as quickly as before.

The next play was a simple blast to the right side with much the same results. Todd had no place to run and was plastered and again had trouble getting up.

Gilmore went with a play-action pass on third down. The quarterback faked to Todd and drifted back. The Panthers came hard again, led by Lucky.

The Goblins’ quarterback couldn’t even get his feet set before Lucky arrived, crashing into him from the side. The blow from the hit flattened the quarterback, knocking him on his back.

Unlike Todd, the quarterback wasn’t just slow to get him. He couldn’t get up. The coaches revived him after a brief pause and he made his way to the sidelines, his walk an unsteady one.

While they were helping him to the sidelines, Lloyd approached his father.

“I think we can get it,” he advised.

“Get what?”

“The punt,” Lloyd stated. “Let’s go after it.”

Cole looked at his son, realizing that was something he would have said so many years ago. But whatever it was, Cole thought it was a good call.

“Do it,” he instructed Lloyd.

Lloyd relayed the call to Ichabod, who passed it on to his players.

Kenneth was the only player to drop back for the punt. The other ten players stacked the line. The Goblins adjusted their formation after seeing how the Panthers lined up.

Not that it mattered.

Skip and Harry were lined up outside on both ends. As soon as the ball was snapped, they both exploded, flying by the blockers assigned to block them. It was a race between them to get to the punter. The snap was low and the punter had trouble fielding it.

Sensing the pressure, the punter finally picked up the ball and hurried to get the kick away. Skip arrived just as the ball was released, hitting the punter from one side while Harry dove in and smothered the kick even before the punter could get it off.

The ball bounced off Harry and went to the side. Derwin outran two Goblins and dove on the loose ball at the Gilmore 24, giving Petros excellent field position.

The crowd’s reaction was so loud it hurt Cole’s ears. He had trouble relaying the call to Lucky over the noise. It was apparently a good call, Cole thought, judging from the look on his youngest son’s face.

The offense huddled up and Lucky passed on the call. When the Panthers came to the line, they were in their usual split-back formation with Harry flanked wide to the left.

Lucky took the snap and faked a dive to Skip. He continued down the line, pitching the ball before the end reached him.

Just before the pitch reached Kenneth, who was running a little wider than usual, Harry came crossing back in front going the opposite direction and hauled in the pitch. The flow was going one way and he was headed in the opposite direction.

The end on the opposite side had not stayed at home, leaving a huge opening. There was only one player between him and the end zone, the same safety Kenneth faked out on the earlier scoring run.

Harry realized he could not outrun the defensive back. He approached the line of scrimmage as the safety descended on him. At the last second, he cut back inside.

It worked perfectly. The safety was unable to switch direction until Harry was already past. Harry could have practically walked into the end zone but never slowed down until the officials raised their arms.

Jeremy added the kick and the Panthers had exploded to a 35-14 lead, only four minutes into the second half.

The Panthers’ defense continued acting like wild animals, swarming over the Goblins. Nothing Gilmore tried worked and the pounding wore Todd down, sending him to the sidelines and ending his high-school career late in the third quarter after a hit by Derwin split his chin open.

Petros had added another touchdown on the following drive by Kenneth, who was having the best game of his career. He scored on a dive from 43-yards out and after Jeremy’s PAT, the Panthers’ lead was 42-13.

Ichabod made his way to Cole after Todd’s injury.

“You want to call this off?” he asked.

“I don’t remember Gilmore pulling back on us last year,” Cole reminded.

“Yeah, I know but we don’t want to get anybody hurt with the game won.”

Cole thought about it as the Panthers kicked off. Ichabod was right. The game was well in hand. He didn’t want anybody to get hurt either and the reserves did deserve some playing time.

“Okay, send them in,” Cole agreed.

The memory of last year’s beating was still fresh in his mind. But Cole decided this had sent a message right back across the field.

On the next offensive possession, Cole sent in Seth Cummings at running back. Seth had come out of nowhere, a player who had not even started on the freshman team last year, but was showing a lot of promise.

The coaches had always doubted he could walk and chew gum at the same time. But Seth had worked hard all summer and all season and gotten better in practice every day.

He showed that talent the first time he got the ball. It was a simple power play to the right side. Seth found an opening, sped through it and cut to the outside. He delivered a hard stiff-arm to the cornerback and broke free, picking up over 40 yards before getting pushed out of bounds.

Happy got the call and pounded at the Goblins for the next two plays. As Cole watched the offense fly down the field, mainly using sophomores, he realized the Panthers had a chance to be very good in the future also.

Petros would have its starting backfield returning next year and the Panthers had great depth at running back with Seth and Happy backing up Skip and D.J.

The reserves took advantage of the playing time, picking up a touchdown on an 11-yard run by Seth. Hardly anybody had left on the Petros side and the crowd roared again like the score was the winning touchdown.

While watching the players celebrate the touchdown, Cole smiled for the first time all night and turned to Stub.

“I don’t think that is the last time we’ll see him in the end zone,” he mentioned.

“I’d have to say he’ll rack up some frequent scoring miles,” Stub added.

The Panthers added one more touchdown after recovering a fumble deep in Gilmore territory, wrapping up the surprising 56-14 win.

After the final buzzer sounded, Cole crossed the field and shook hands with the Gilmore players and coaches. He could not get over the shocked look on their faces.

They all looked like they were in shock and appeared to be some kind of zombies strolling about the field.

Gilmore had expected to win this game. Losing in such a blowout devastated them.

Petros’ fans were celebrating, not only the win but the realization this team had the opportunity to make a run deep into the playoffs.

Cole stood off to the side, watching the players celebrate and get congratulated. It brought back so many memories and he was nearly overcome with emotion.

This is truly a special group, Cole thought, feeling as proud of this group as any team that ever took the field for him.

Chapter 44