Chapter 53

All the cars, trucks and buses formed a caravan for the trip back to Petros. It seemed to stretch for miles, backing up traffic. As they passed through towns, all the people stopped and stared, wondering what was up with the lunatics with all the banners and their cars and trucks painted.

Cole, Ichabod, Stub and Lloyd were not in the caravan, actually heading in the opposite direction. They left quickly after the game was over, letting a couple of teachers ride on the team bus to make sure the players did not tear anything up.

The coaches were heading to Norman, home of the University of Oklahoma, to hopefully arrive in time to watch the other semifinal game between Anson and Windsor.

Lucky was riding home with Sarah and Gabby, knowing the car ride would be a lot less rough than the bus. He would have liked to enjoy the celebration with his teammates, but did not feel like laughing and yelling.

He and Gabby were sitting in the backseat, holding hands. Before they left the stadium, they had wrapped an ice bag next to the injured area, numbing the pain a little and making him feel like he was freezing.

It had been his father’s suggestion for him to ride home with the doctor, one Lucky jumped on, after making sure it was okay if Gabby accompanied him.

Gabby and the doctor had barely met before today but were talking like they had known each other for years. Gabby was not really sure what she wanted to do with her life, was considering the medical field, and talked it over with Sarah.

Lucky closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but it was hard with the pain and his side and back freezing. It hurt even to breath, let alone talk so he sat still and thought about playing for a state championship. He knew it would be Anson and that excited him, getting a chance to play against a team with that kind of tradition.

Anson had ruined the previous two trips to the state championship for Petros and Lucky hoped the third time was the charm. The thought that his ribs might keep him from playing had not entered his mind, nor would it. Lucky wondered what it would feel like playing at Lewis Field in a stadium that could host over fifty thousand people.

There wouldn’t be that many people there, of course, but it would still be memorable. He had been there before, of course, and remembered what everything looked like, but it still wasn’t the same as it would be to actually play there.

Gabby and the doctor continued talking a mile a minute, seldom letting any kind of lapse disturb their conversation. Lucky wondered how people could talk this much as the gift of gab was never given to him.

He could hold up his end of a conversation, if necessary, but could not imagine talking this much to anybody, even Gabby or his father. Gabby was a talker, as was Doctor Moore. Since Lucky did not care to talk, that was fine with him. He answered when asked a question, but otherwise stayed to himself, enjoying feeling Gabby next to him, just wishing she would sit still and stop squirming so much.

----------

Going the opposite direction at a speed which pushed the allowed limits set by the Oklahoma State Highway Patrol, Cole and the coaches were driving down Highway 9, a two-lane road trying to get to Norman in time for the kickoff of the Anson game.

The coaches were acting like a bunch of teenagers on their first road trip, laughing, joking and telling stories about themselves and each other. This was the first time Lloyd got to experience this and while some of the stories were lame, it was good to see these men having a good time.

Cole participated in the fun, but his thoughts were elsewhere, wondering how Lucky was doing. He also missed Sarah, which he found to be a strange emotion. Other than his sons, there had not been any reason to miss anybody else in so long that it felt weird.

The small towns dotting the roads went by, not having any luck in luring Cole and his party in to spend money. They had already gone by several and were on the outskirts of Norman.

They finally arrived in Norman. Cole took a couple of shortcuts and they parked near the Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium.

This monument to Oklahoma University football amazed him every time he saw it. Now at over 80,000 capacity, more people could attend a football game here than there were people in over ninety percent of the cities in Oklahoma. He usually tried to attend a game here every year but failed this year.

The thing he remembered most about this stadium was the noise produced in this bowl, a roar that sounded louder than a jet airplane roaring above. He wondered what it would feel like to play in this stadium with it filled. Cole figured people got used to it but just being close gave him chill bumps as he thought of all the great teams and players who played here.

They hurried to the pass gate and entered the stadium, quickly walking through an opening to the stands. They could sit up in the press box if they wanted, but since the weather was fairly nice now, Cole wanted to sit in the stands.

This was the Anson side and some of the fans saw Cole and the coaches and figured out by the black jackets with the big “P” on it where they were from. A few fans congratulated the coaches on beating Honobia, but they stayed away for the most part.

Both teams were on the field, getting ready for kickoff. Anson was in its home uniforms with maroon shirts and helmets with yellow pants.

Windsor was dressed all in white with blue numbers.

Cole knew Windsor was a good team, well coached and talented. He also knew from talking to other coaches that Windsor was fortunate to be in this game, benefiting from the easiest bracket to get into the semifinals.

Petros’ coaches were more concerned with Anson, of course, figuring the Rams would win fairly easily to extend their winning streak. Cole thought back to how the Panthers reacted after beating Honobia earlier today, stopping their winning streak. He wondered what it would feel like if they could beat Anson and stop the Rams’ streak, now at forty plus games and counting.

The first thing that struck Cole was the size of Anson’s players. The Rams were large, much bigger than he expected. This wasn’t good considering Anson usually had the best team speed in the class, also.

It didn’t take Cole long to find Wayman Hayes, a junior running back for Anson already declared the best high school player in the state.

The program listed him at six foot and weighing one hundred and eighty five pounds. Reportedly, Wayman could run a 4.3 in the forty and squatted over five hundred pounds. Despite usually only playing half the games because the Rams were so far ahead, he scored over 40 touchdowns this year and rushed for almost three thousand yards.

All the top colleges were already pursuing him even though Wayman was only a junior. Cole saw Wayman’s legs looked like fire hydrants and his arms were bigger than most players’ legs. Even if Wayman was all Anson had, the Rams would have a good football team.

But Cole knew Anson was loaded at other positions, also, as usual for a team with that kind of tradition. The coaches had considered bringing some of the players along, but decided against it to let them get home, celebrate and hopefully get some rest.

Cole was glad he had done that, not wanting the players to get intimidated.

As the game started, Cole saw what all the excitement was about. Anson was that good, easily the best team he had seen in years. The Rams were as big as Honobia and faster than Albion. From what he saw, Cole did not detect any weakness.

Anson’s lines just dominated Windsor and the backs did whatever they wanted. Cole knew Windsor had one of the better defenses in the state but looked helpless against the Rams, falling behind quickly and powerless to do anything about it.

Anson led 21-0 midway through the first quarter. Wayman scored the first three times he touched the ball, looking like a pro playing against a Pop Warner team.

Windsor’s offense also struggled. Running, passing or trick plays were hopeless. By halftime, the score was 49-0 and Anson’s starters were on the bench.

The coaches stayed until midway through the third quarter, deciding it was not doing them any good to watch the Rams’ substitutes completely dominate Windsor’s starters. The score was 63-0 by then and Anson’s coaches were reigning in his players, trying to keep the score from getting any worse.

It was a humbling experience for the Petros coaches. They had not seen anything like this before and were stunned.

Ichabod was shaken even more than the others, knowing his defense would have to figure out some way to try and slow this juggernaut, a tact that looked almost impossible.

“Well, we’re gonna have to step it up a bit next week,” Stub commented, an understatement that would make the others laugh if they were not so overwhelmed.

“How could one team be so talented?” Ichabod wondered aloud, not expecting an answer.

“Those guys could play with any team in the state,” Lloyd remarked.

Cole let the others talk, trying to figure out some way to match up against the Rams. He had never seen a team in Class 2A look this good either, also wondering how Anson got so many good players.

Sure, players were brought up on the Anson tradition and they had an excellent youth program and great coaching, but all the good players in that area must move there so they could play for the Rams.

When you won so many state championships and players knew the chances of winning more were good, Cole figured it was easy to get players to come play for you.

Cole and Ichabod were sitting up front with Lloyd and Stub in the back. Cole was still driving but planned on having somebody step in at the first stop.

“What did you think, Cole?” Ichabod asked.

He heard Stub and Lloyd having some meaningless conversation in the backseat and tried to ignore it, but Stub’s squeaky voice kept popping up.

“I think that was a great team we saw,” Cole replied. “For us to win, we’ll have to play the best game we ever have.”

“You really think we can win?” Lloyd asked, getting dirty looks from Ichabod and Stub.

“If I didn’t, we sure wouldn’t show up next week,” Cole answered. “Yeah, I saw the same things you guys did. Can we beat them? I don’t know. Will we try to beat them? With everything we’ve got. Why am I asking myself questions then answering them? I have no idea.”

Lloyd and the other coaches laughed, surprised Cole had a sense of humor.

“All I know is we’ll come out and play hard,” Cole stated. “I don’t expect our guys to lay down like Windsor did. They were beat before they came out on the field.”

The music on the radio ended, with news filling the space. Another person came on and gave the sports, telling the scores of all the games.

He said in the Class 2A semifinals the “surprising” Petros Panthers had upset Honobia today, 21-20, then added that Anson wound up winning its game, 84-0

“And they didn’t even try to run up the score,” Stub pointed out.

“Anson could’ve scored a hundred if they’d wanted to,” Ichabod added.

Cole wondered what the reaction to the final score was in Petros. He knew the people in Petros were big sports fans and probably knew the final score of Anson’s game even before he did.

“I hope our boys don’t watch the sports tonight,” Stub stated. “Seeing Anson might intimidate them.”

Cole wanted to say something, but knew that it would not sound right so he let it go.

He did not like that the others riding with him did not think the Panthers had a chance against Anson. Sure, the Rams were that good, but things could bounce funny in a football game, there had been too many huge upsets over the years.

Cole knew some people would say it was just a fluke his team was in the state championship and beat Honobia. But he knew Petros had not received help from anybody. The breaks that went his team’s way were the result of the way the Panthers played, not mistakes by the other team.

The celebration in Petros started as soon as people returned from the game and continued into the night with many players, students and alumni gathered together to celebrate the win over Honobia. Along the highway, signs that only hours before urged the Panthers to beat Honobia were already changed, asking Petros to take state and beat Anson.

Most of the Panthers were among the crowd downtown, but fatigue set in and most of them retired early, seeking the call of the bed. An impromptu band was formed from among former band members and current ones to play the school song.

The celebration was still going on while the coaches drove down the interstate. The policemen took part for a while, enjoying the activities while making sure things did not get out of control. Nobody had beer or any alcohol so the police were not overly concerned.

Everybody was so well behaved the police decided to start their rounds, just minutes before it started.

Chapter 54