Chapter 48

The bus finally arrived in Albion almost ninety minutes before the game was scheduled to start. It was a little earlier than Cole expected, but it gave everybody a chance to walk around the field and look everything over.

The stadium was an old one, built by the WPA work programs in the 1930’s like so many other stadiums in small towns like this. Cole could tell that by all the rock, one characteristic of structures built during that time period.

Cole had been through a couple of bloody battles on this field and expected another one tonight. As he walked around the field, Cole saw the field was in decent shape for this time of the year. The grass was dormant, of course, and brown, but not destroyed like so many other fields.

He noticed the grass was also mowed short, not that it surprised him. If his team had this much speed, the grass on the Petros field wouldn’t be much longer than that on golf greens.

Cole leaned down to feel the grass. As he kneeled down, thoughts of past games came back to him. The game his team won here was a better memory, of course, but he also remembered how his other team came back and almost won a game they had no right even competing in.

He looked up and saw some of the Albion players walking out on the field, wearing their solid purple uniforms with yellow numbers. Immediately behind them was their coach, Jimbo Winston.

Once again, Cole could not get over the size of the man. Jimbo was huge, standing over 6-5 and passing the 300-pound mark on the scales years before. He did have a rather large gut, but his arms would put many bodybuilders to shame and his legs looked like tree trunks.

He played some pro ball for the Cardinals back when they were in St. Louis, one of the bigger players in the NFL in those days.

Jimbo wore a purple toboggon that covered his bald head. A thick, purple jacket covered his upper torso and part of his gold pants.

Cole did not think it was that cold, but knew his body operated a little different than most.

Jimbo saw Cole and walked toward him, limping every few steps because of a bad knee that forced his early retirement. Cole forgot how big Jimbo was. Cole didn’t have the problems so many coaches did with the players talking back to him, and doubted Jimbo did either.

Jimbo’s smile was genuine. The only real change from the last time they saw each other was the pair of glasses perched on his nose, a sign of the advancing age that had hit both of them.

“It’s really good to see you again, Coach Cole,” Jimbo stated. He was the only person who ever called him that, although Cole did admit it had a nice ring to it. “Been a while since we played each other.”

“Yeah, it has,” Cole agreed, leaning forward and hugging his friend. “This is what it’s all about.”

“It certainly is. These are the kinds of games that keep me in this business.”

He said it as “bidness”, but Cole could care less.

“That’s certainly true,” Cole mentioned. “We’ve had some good ones over the years, huh?”

“Yeah, we have. It’s been strange not running into you in the playoffs the last few years.”

“We’ve been down a little. I’m not surprised to see you guys this deep in the playoffs. You have an excellent team.”

“We’ve been blessed this year,” Jimbo admitted. “This is one of my best teams. We’ve always had good speed, but the difference this year is our line’s a little better.”

“They impressed me,” Cole replied, a truthful statement. “I hope we win tonight, of course, but if we don't, I hope you guys go all the way."

”Thanks a lot, Coach Cole,” Jimbo added, putting his giant hand on Cole’s shoulder. “I tell you, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen one of your teams improve like you guys have this year. It’s been like night and day. That boy of yours is a good one.”

“Thanks. I’m pretty proud of him. He’s an even better kid.”

“I wouldn’t expect it any other way. All our guys were really impressed with your team. Especially the way you guys beat Summerfield. I was really glad to see that. You know me, I get along with most everybody. But I just don’t much care for their coach.”

“I don’t know many people who do. He wasn’t all that happy when we beat them. They have a good team but I expect they’re gonna have a tough time against Honobia. I hear those guys are huge.”

“I expect Honobia will win,” Jimbo added, speaking in a thundering tone. “That’s one tough group of boys. I haven’t seen many teams play defense like they do. We watched some film this week and were really impressed.”

Cole nodded, realizing Jimbo just admitted something without intending to do so. By watching film of Honobia instead of concentrating solely on this game like the Panthers had, he was already looking ahead.

That was something Cole never did unless he knew an opponent was not capable of beating the Panthers. That was the message Cole received, even though Albion’s coach did not realize it.

Cole wished Jimbo good luck and bid him farewell. The Panthers were getting dressed now and coming out on the field, glad to be out of the locker room. It was a joke, not big enough for half the team. It made everybody feel like a bunch of sardines in a can.

Lucky was quiet while dressing, his focus entirely on the game. The other players seemed to be in the same state of mind. The conversation was at a minimum and the laughter and joking was missing.

They heard the Albion players in the locker room next door, laughing and having a good time. That offended the Panthers and made them even more determined.

Cole thought his team looked sharp as they went through the pre-game drills. The tension was building and about to boil over. The Panthers were ready to hit somebody.

Just before the game was ready to start, Cole gathered his team around him.

“I’ve asked you guys not to be afraid of succeeding all year,” he said. “We’ve come a long way and achieved some great things. But I’m not satisfied and I don’t believe you are either.

“While I’ve coached at Petros, many of our teams have had the chips stacked against them, but they came through. You know and I know we’re playing a very good team tonight. We know how fast they are and how much talent they have. But we have something a lot more important than anything they could put out on the field and that’s heart.”

Cole was growing more intense the longer he talked. The blood veins in his neck and forehead were starting to pop out. Cole looked like he wanted to be out on the field with his players, hitting anything that moved.

“They can have the speed,” he added. “Because we have more heart and want it worse. You guys have been knocked to the ground but you didn’t give up and lie there. You got right back up and came back fighting. That’s not something anybody can teach you or I can give you. You either have it or you don’t. You guys have it. That’s something deep inside you and that’s why we’ll win this game tonight.”

The players looked around at each other, surprised to hear their coach say this.

“Somehow and someway we’ll figure out a way to win this game,” Cole continued. “Those guys don’t respect you. They see those three losses and don’t realize that was early in the year against some excellent competition. They think we’re nothing more than a speed bump.

“While we were talking, their coach said they watched film of the team they expect to play next week. You can hear their players laughing and hollering next door, having a good time. I want you guys to have a good time, too, and I can think of nothing that would make me happier than at the end of this game, to look up at the scoreboard and see we have more points than they do.”

Cole was intense and it was carrying over to his players. They looked like they were ready to tear down the walls to get out on the field and hit something.

“I want you to hit them like they’ve never been hit before!” Cole stated, loud enough he could probably be heard next door. “Show them what Petros Panthers football is all about. Let them know what kind of heart and character you have. The people don’t remember games like we had last week. They remember games like this, when we beat a team we’re not supposed to beat. This is it, guys. Give everything you’ve got and then some. It’s time to kick their rears and take names. Let’s give our people something to remember!”

The players all whooped and hollered. They were ready to play even before their coach talked to them. Now, they were beyond ready, willing to do whatever it took to win.

Lloyd opened the door and the players flew through it. They ran to the end zone and formed a huge circle with everybody pounding each other and jumping up and down. The spirit line was long, stretching well past midfield. The band played the school song and the players sprinted out on the field, breaking through the banner asking them to “De-horn the Antlers”.

The cheerleaders had to run a little faster than normal to keep from getting trampled by the players.

Petros wore its road uniforms of white helmets and shirts, with black numbers and pants. On the back of their shirts was the last name, a special touch for the game.

Derwin had won the coin toss and the Panthers deferred to the second half.

The kicking team gathered in front of the coaches. All week, Jeremy had been working on kicking a deep-onside kick, one that should go high and short, hopefully coming down at about the same time the coverage arrived, keeping the ball away from the real speed waiting deeper down the field.

“Go hit somebody!” Cole shouted and sent his team out on the field.

The officials made sure everybody was lined up and the clock was set. Seeing everything was in order, the referee signaled to start the game.

Jeremy slowly advanced toward the ball. He hit it just right, sending the ball down the field on a high arc, going end-over-end. It came down at the Albion 28 in the hands of one of the tight ends. He advanced to the 30 before Harry streaked in and flattened him.

The helmet came flying off of the Albion player and rolled backward, causing a huge celebration by the Panthers over the hit.

The emotion was so high it was impossible not to feel it.

The officials called a penalty on the play for holding, moving the Antlers back to their own 18. The tight end who got leveled was okay, just a little shaken up as he made his way slowly to the sidelines.

Albion came to the line in a Pro-I formation with the split end wide to the right. Petros’ linebackers and defensive backs played deeper than normal to try and prevent big plays because of the Antlers’ speed.

The first play was a simple handoff to the fullback. Ronnie Jones tossed his blocker aside and grabbed the running back and threw him to the ground, a yard short of the line.

Albion tried another running play on second down, a blast to the tailback. He made it to the line, but found no place to go. The Panthers swarmed all over him. Sam Roberts stood the running back up, just in time for Tim Treadway and Harry to hit him with hard shots.

The Antlers usually passed on third-and-long. Ichabod expected a draw, however, and told his players to watch out for it. He hit it. The quarterback dropped back and handed off to the tailback on a draw. He made it two steps before Derwin just demolished him, hitting him so hard the tailback crumpled to the ground.

Amidst all the celebration on the sideline, Lloyd grabbed his father and shouted at him.

“Let’s go after it!” Lloyd shouted.

“We are,” Cole agreed, relaying the call.

The Panthers had ten people on the line ready to go after the kick. The snap was perfect and the Antlers got enough blocking to barely get the punt away.

It was a beauty, a long spiral that flew through the cold November air.

Kenneth was back waiting on the punt. He hated to call a fair catch but knew there was no chance on this one as the punt was so high several Albion players were already on top of him.

He stuck up an arm for the fair catch and hauled the ball in. The sides switched and Petros’ offense took the field. It didn’t take long to figure out everything they heard about Albion’s speed was true.

It didn’t matter which play they ran, there were always a couple of Antlers waiting and others coming.

The Panthers only picked up four yards on the three plays and were forced to punt. Jeremy’s kick was angled away from the returner, coming to a stop near the sideline at the Albion 31.

The Antlers tried to test Petros by going with a sweep to the wide side. Murray played it just like he was coached, sprinting up the field and forcing the running back to cut back.

There were two Panthers waiting and he got smacked again, the popping of the pads loud enough it was heard over the radio.

Cole knew what was coming next. He jogged down the field and reached Ichabod.

“Option, this side,” he stated.

“That’s what I was expecting,” Ichabod answered.

Ichabod called the defense and leaned over, putting his hands on his knees. This was really stressful, trying to defend such an explosive offense. He knew on any play, the Antlers could score, even if Petros defended the play properly.

It was again the perfect call by Petros’ coaches. The Panthers were ready for the option and ate it up, the line penetrated, disrupted the play and brought the quarterback down right after he faked to the fullback, never getting a chance to pitch the ball to the tailback.

The Antlers faced another third-and-long. Cole could tell Albion’s players weren’t expecting this. They were used to already being ahead by at least one touchdown at this point, not having their offense struggle just to get back to the line.

Ichabod called a blitz, sending seven guys after the quarterback. There were simply more guys coming than there were blockers. Albion’s quarterback figured this out and tried to scramble, but was pinned in and sandwiched between Derwin and Ronnie.

It was the kind of defensive effort Cole had hoped to see. He would never say so, but this was the way Cole expected his defense to play all year, not the group that had trouble stopping several opponents.

Cole sent them after the punt again. Skip almost got it, getting close enough to feel the ball go by his fingers.

This punt was not a beauty, looking like the punts the coaches saw on film.

Kenneth caught the ball going full speed. Just when it looked like he had a seam, one of the Antlers came out of nowhere and cut his legs out from under him.

He tried to get up but his legs would not support him, sending him crashing back to the ground.

Cole came out to check on Kenneth, who was holding his left leg, in a lot of pain.

Doc Hardy was right behind Cole. They quickly decided it was not the same problem that bothered him earlier in the season, but appeared to be his hip.

The doctor decided the likely culprit was a hip pointer, a painful injury that would put him on the sidelines for at least the rest of this game.

Cole quickly decided on what to do, calling for Happy to replace Kenneth. He wanted to see what would happen with Happy hammering at them and then go with Seth if that did not work.

When told to go in, Happy sprinted to the huddle. Cole decided to test Happy by calling a power play to him.

Happy followed Skip into the hole. Two Albion players filled the hole so Happy lowered his head and plowed into them, picking up four yards and the first positive yardage of the game for the Panthers.

A simple dive on the next play picked up another four yards, giving Petros short yardage on third down.

Skip was given the honors on a crossbuck. Lucky made a good fake to Happy before handing the ball to Skip.

He split the line, spun as he was hit and cut outside. Skip had a little lead and good speed, but was quickly chased down after picking up the first down.

It was the initial first down of the game, drawing a round of applause from the Petros faithful.

On the next play, Lucky faked a dive to Skip and followed in behind. There was a small gap and he slipped through, gaining five yards.

Cole wanted to use the option but was leery because of Albion’s speed. He gave it some thought and decided to try it, doubting Albion had seen it much this year. Cole knew it wouldn’t work many times, just hoped it would this time.

Lucky took the snap and put the ball in Happy’s belly, reading the defense. Seeing that Happy was covered, he pulled the ball out and went down the line. Albion’s defense blew it as too many defenders went after Happy. There was only one cornerback outside to try and cover two players and he chose the quarterback.

The read was perfect, waiting until the last second to pitch the ball. Skip grabbed the ball going full tilt. He had some room and was off, picking up twenty yards before getting knocked out of bounds.

Happy blasted away for five more yards on the next play, using his usual running style. Cole called the play again and Happy pounded away, breaking several tackles before bursting into the secondary. A safety was waiting on him and Happy lowered his head and plowed over Albion’s defensive back.

Happy was not blessed with great speed, only a little faster than many linemen, but it was not a pleasant experience to tackle him. The defenders discovered it was much like trying to tackle a moving fire hydrant.

The Antlers finally ran him down at the eight. Petros’ crowd was roaring. The Panthers tried not to get too excited, but found that hard.

Happy got the call again and barreled into the line, pushing the pile back until he was stopped at the three.

Cole sent Seth in and the Panthers came out in the T-formation. Everybody expected Happy to get the carry again, but Cole fooled them. Lucky faked the handoff to Happy, then gave it to Skip on a crossbuck. He was hit at the one, but spun away from the defender and dove into the end zone for the first score of the game.

The Panthers celebrated like they just won the game, surrounding Skip and hugging him while the band played the school song. The Antlers were shocked, the first time all year they were behind in a game.

Jeremy’s kick was good and Petros led, 7-0.

After the kick, Petros’ defense was outstanding again, holding the Antlers to three and out. Albion tried to get outside twice but the Panthers played it perfect, stretching the play to the sidelines.

The Panthers came close to blocking a punt on the last play of the quarter, forcing the punter to hurry his kick.

Cole sent the Panthers back out in the T-formation to pound away at the Antlers.

That was exactly what they did, picking up three or four yards every play and driving the ball right down the field against the stunned defense.

A motion penalty and incomplete pass by Lucky ended the drive at Albion’s 21.

It was fourth and eleven. Cole wanted to go for it but knew the chances were slim. It would be a tough one for Jeremy to make so Cole pulled his son aside.

“Can you kick it from there?” Cole asked.

Lucky added up the yardage and smiled at his father.

“No problemo,” he answered.

Cole decided to try it and relayed the instructions. The snap was good, as was the hold. Lucky knew he drilled it as soon as his foot made contact with the ball.

It would have been good from ten yards farther easily. His teammates started celebrating while the ball was in the air, knowing the kick was good.

The Panthers now had a surprising 10-0 lead over the favored Antlers. During a lull before the kickoff, the announcer gave a score. In the first quarter, Honobia led Summerfield, 21-0.

“Man, those guys must be good,” Ichabod commented.

“Ask Jimbo about them,” Cole stated. “I think he spent more time getting ready for them than he did us.”

Albion’s offense showed the first signs of frustration on the following drive, looking toward the sidelines after plays and barking at each other. The backs were not happy with the blocking and the line was not happy with the backs missing holes nobody else saw.

The Antlers only picked up five yards and had to punt again. It was a beautiful kick this time, coming down inside Petros’ 20.

“That guy’s got a leg when he has time,” Stub commented.

“Two of them, actually,” Lloyd added, drawing a dirty look from Stub, who was used to delivering lines like that, not receiving them.

The Panthers’ offense continued to roll down the field. They struggled to get outside so they mainly concentrated on running between the tackles, where Petros’ line was dominating play.

The line was starting to really take control as the holes kept getting a little larger as the Antlers started to tire.

The drive took twelve plays and lasted over seven minutes. It was time that kept Albion’s explosive offense off the field. Happy looked like an all-state running back, not like a sophomore who had seen little action in the backfield.

Albion’s defenders were tired of getting punished by him and were now coming after him hard. But they usually discovered the collision was worse for them than it was for Happy. The harder they hit him, the harder he seemed to run.

It was turning into a brutal game with both teams hitting with everything they had, trying to land a knockout.

Happy just kept plugging away, pounding away as Petros reached the Albion 11.

Cole called on Happy once more. He blasted into the line, lowered his head as one of the linebackers slammed into him, as did the safety on that side. It was another big collision, causing people on the sidelines to cringe.

When the pile started to rise, one player was still on the ground. This time, Happy did not get up. He was knocked out cold, not moving a muscle. The coaches and Doc Hardy came out on the field and worked on him for several minutes.

The fans on both sides were silent, many of them saying silent prayers. Lucky had been amazed at the play of his friend and the pounding Happy had taken. When he saw his friend down, Lucky feared the worse and kneeled beside him, holding Happy’s hand.

The coaches placed smelling salts under his nose and it finally did the trick, bringing him back to a semi-conscious level.

“How you doing, Happy?” Lucky asked.

Happy mumbled something and tried to sit up.

“Where are you?” the doctor asked.

Happy looked around, the confusion evident.

“Heck if I know,” he answered, removing his helmet. “My head hurts.”

Stub and Doc Hardy helped him to his feet and escorted him to the sidelines. Both sides clapped as Happy walked slowly off the field.

He made it to the sidelines and sat down on the bench and buried his head in his hands. Happy’s parents came out of the bleachers and stood behind him.

“Are you okay?” his mother asked.

Happy raised up and looked at her.

“I’ll live,” he answered. “Who are you?”

“I’m your mother,” she replied, a look of horror on her face. Her baby had forgotten who his mother was!

Happy nodded then looked at his father.

“You my father?”

His father nodded, then looked at the doctor.

“Who am I?” Happy asked.

The doctor told him and sat down beside him, waiting for Happy’s head to clear.

Out on the field, the injury slowed the momentum. Cole considered putting Derwin in at fullback, but wanted to keep him fresh for defense.

The Panthers came out in a split back with Skip and Seth at running back. The defense was keying on Skip so Seth got the call.

He got outside somehow, cut back through a hole and sprinted toward the end zone. The Panthers started to celebrate, expecting another touchdown.

But just before Seth crossed into the end zone, an Albion cornerback dove at him, his helmet hitting directly on the ball. Seth shook off the tackle and continued on, crossing the goal-line. The only problem was he no longer had the ball.

He stopped and looked behind him, seeing the ball loose at the three. Two Albion players gathered up the ball before any Panthers arrived.

Seth fell to his knees in the end zone, the disbelief swarming over him while watching the Antlers celebrate for the first time in the game. For Seth, this was a horrible feeling, knowing he let his team down.

If he could find one, Seth would have liked to crawl into a hole to escape the wrath of his teammates. If you were a Petros Panther, you didn’t fumble the football, especially when you were about to score a touchdown in the state quarterfinals against one of the best teams in the state.

Seth looked up to see his teammates approach him. He feared the worst.

Skip and Murray were the first to arrive.

Murray leaned down beside him.

“You okay?” he asked.

Seth nodded as Murray and Skip helped him up as the other players gathered around.

“I’m sorry,” Seth said, knowing the tears were coming and having no power to stop them.

“Shake it off,” Skip ordered. “Those things happen.”

They don’t to you, Seth wanted to argue but couldn’t.

“They just got lucky,” Danny Wall added.

All his teammates encouraged him, but he did not feel too encouraged at the moment. Seth knew they had to resent his error and the coaches would let him know about it. This was the second time this year he fumbled in a situation like this and knew how bad this hurt his team.

Cole was waiting for him near the sidelines.

“I’m sorry,” Seth stated, hoping his coach did not see him crying on a football field. Football players are supposed to be tough, not cry. And Seth Cummings wanted to be a football player for the Petros Panthers more than anything.

But he had failed his team, and his coaches.

Cole put his arm around Seth and hugged him.

“Those things happen,” Cole declared. “You were doing everything right. It was just a fluke deal. If you’d been holding the ball out and taunting the other team, yeah, I’d be mad. But you were doing everything right. You’ve gotta put it behind you cause we all need you.”

Seth looked up in shock.

“You mean I get to go back in?” Seth asked.

“The rest of the game,” Cole answered, wanting to add that Seth was about the only other running back the Panthers had, but not wanting this to sound like that was the only reason he was playing.

Cole knew it wasn’t his fault and felt sorry for Seth, one of the best kids on the team and a player who deserved that score.

He patted Seth one last time, all the time hoping the fumble did not come back to hurt. There was a big difference between a ten-point lead and a seventeen-point lead.

There wasn’t much time left before halftime. But there was no doubt the momentum had switched sides.

Albion ran two plays and the half ended. All the Petros players sprinted to the tiny locker room as the fans gave them a good sendoff.

Cole was pleased overall, thrilled with the play of the defense. He just wished the Panthers had pushed in that last touchdown to go ahead by three scores.

But he also knew that fumble gave Albion new life. Cole knew how dangerous that was against a team like the Antlers.

Petros had the Antlers down, ready to deliver a knockout punch and that fluke play happened.

Cole did not see any disappointment or worry with his players. After all, they pretty much dominated the first half and did not see any reason why the second half would be any different.

Only one player seemed worried and that was Lucky. He kept reminding everybody they had to keep their heads in the game and pound away at the Antlers.

Cole did not want to put anything negative in his players’ minds, but had to get their attention.

‘That was a good half, but only a half,” he advised. “You guys are acting like the game is over. We still need to play just as hard as we did the first half.

“All we’ve done so far is throw the first punch. We caught them off-guard and got a lead but I guarantee you they’re awake now and ready to fight back. They were overlooking us, all ready to play Honobia.”

Cole started pacing in his little area, looking at the faces of his players, trying to reach them.

“I can assure you Albion will come out this half and play like there’s no tomorrow. They’re ready to give up. We just gotta give them a reason.”

He turned it over to Stub and Ichabod, not really wanting to make any changes.

It was as good of a first half defensively as Cole had seen his teams play in years, especially considering how good Albion was on offense. He tried remembering the last time one of his teams had shut down such an explosive team like this, but could not remember it.

He waited until the assistants talked to the players then gathered around Ichabod, Stub and Lloyd to talk some more about the second half. None of them seem too worried, so that did give Cole a little relief.

The Panthers would get the ball to start the second half. Cole checked on Happy, but Doc Hardy said there was no way he could go.

That would hurt, but Cole had a lot of faith in the other players to pick up the slack.

As the players got ready to leave the locker room, Seth walked around to all the players, apologizing for the fumble, promising to make up for it and not let it happen again.

The Panthers had caught Albion off guard during the first half. That would not happen again.

Chapter 49