Chapter 8

No one noticed when I pulled up to the house. I grabbed my bags and headed across the lawn to my home. I walked inside and yelled, "I'm home!"

I heard Mom call, "We're in the kitchen, Kyle." I found Mom and Liz with Connor and Noah. Mom was tying a bib on one of my nephews while he sat in his high chair. Liz was holding his brother.

I asked, "Liz, can I hold Connor?" The baby in the high chair looked at me and smiled. He jabbered away while Mom finished getting him ready for dinner.

Liz gave me a disapproving look as she handed my nephew to me. "This is Noah."

I was shocked when I got him. Noah weighed so much. "My God! Noah, how much do you weigh?" Noah grinned and stared at me. "He must weigh close to 20 pounds," I said.

Mom said, "Both boys weighed in at 19 ½ pounds when they visited the pediatrician last week.

Noah gurgled, "ga go ka ka dada."

I smiled back at him. "No I'm Uncle Kyle not dada."

Liz explained, "Noah and Connor don't know what dada means yet. They're too young to talk."

I looked at Noah and said, "Don't listen to your Auntie Liz. You know I'm Uncle Kyle, don't you? Uncle ... Kyle..."

Noah stared into my eyes and jabbered, "ka ka goo ga da."

Liz said, "I have to get Noah ready for dinner." I handed him back to Liz. She put Noah in the second high chair. I asked, "Where is everyone else?"

Mom responded, "Dad is in his study. Andy is upstairs cleaning up from practice this afternoon."

"How about Will and Abby?" I asked.

"They're having dinner in Philadelphia. They will be here later this evening."

I asked, "Am I sleeping in the new bedroom in the basement or in my old one upstairs?"

Mom answered, "You will be upstairs in your old room. Will and Abby will be in the basement." She finished fussing with Connor and looked me over. "Let me get a good look at you."

I slowly turned around for my mother's inspection. Mom harrumphed and said, "You've lost weight."

"I weigh two pounds more than when I left home in the summer."

"You're thinner," she insisted.

"Probably. My training has added muscle mass. I guess that would make me look thinner. Muscle is denser."

Liz zinged me. "I always knew you were dense."

I stuck my tongue out at Liz and muttered, "Twerp." I turned to Mom and said, "No one at Penn State has their nutrition, health or well being monitored closer than us football players. I'm fine."

"It's a mother's prerogative to worry about her children," Mom said. "I just want you to be healthy and happy."

"You don't have to worry about me," I insisted. "I'm fine."

"It's good to have you home, Kyle." Mom said. "Do I get a hug?"

I walked over to Mom and wrapped my arms around her. Her arms encircled me. We hugged, probably too long. I bent down and gave her a kiss on the cheek as we separated. "It's good to be home. It's really good!"

I stood beside each other for a few seconds. My normal teenaged impulses returned. I asked, "What's for dinner?" The smell I suspected was garlic bread wafted from the oven.

"Spaghetti, tossed salad and garlic bread," Mom answered.

"Mmmm ... One of my favorite meals," I replied.

"You're timing is excellent, Kyle," Mom said. "Dinner will be served in a couple minutes. Why don't you clean up? Liz, call your father and Andrew."

My family was seated around the table a couple minutes later. Mom's cooking was excellent as usual. I enjoyed listening to everyone's conversation, getting reacquainted with my family's lives.

Connor sat between Mom and Andy. Noah sat between Andy and Liz. The three of them fed the boys their dinner. The twins were eating solid food – if you called strained carrots and such solid.

The meal was a welcome respite from dining hall food that I had endured for the past four months. Really, the dining hall food wasn't that bad, but Mom's cooking beat it by a mile. Noah and Connor jabbered to each other all through dinner between mouthfuls of baby food.

We were enjoying Mom's peach cobbler when she imposed on my long free weekend. She asked, "Could you take your sister to the mall Friday morning? I have a doctor's appointment."

"The mall? On Black Friday?" I asked. "Are you serious?" I'd rather go to the dentist and have root canal or something else equally hideous than go to any mall on Black Friday. Mom knew this.

"Yes, I mean it. I can't take her like I usually do. You probably have Christmas shopping you need to do, don't you?" Mom asked. She'd eyed me. I knew the look. No arguments were going to be accepted.

I stared at Liz and indicated, "We'll leave at ten in the morning." The tone of my voice let Liz know that she didn't have any say in it.

Liz said, "Ten o'clock will be fine."

I realized I hadn't inquired about Mom's health. Why was she going to see the doctor? "Everything's OK, right Mom?"

"It's just a check-up," Mom said. "I'm in good health."

The family finished dinner talking small talk. When we were done I asked Mom, "Where do you want my laundry?"

"You know where the washing machine is. The laundry detergent is downstairs on the shelf beside the washer," Mom answered. "Help yourself." I didn't argue. I was getting another lesson in being a grown-up tonight. I took my bags upstairs, sorted out my dirty clothes and took it to the basement to start the first load.

I spent my free time that evening studying my playbook between loads of laundry. I knew most of my friends wouldn't be home until later tonight. Jeremy and Ed wouldn't be home at all. Both of them had games on Saturday. I was fortunate that Penn State gave us time off for the holiday.

I called Coach Caffrey later in the evening. I wanted to let him know how much I valued all the time he had the spent the previous four years helping me become the football player I was. I recognized my former coach's voice as soon as he said, "Hello?"

"Coach Caffrey, it's Kyle Martin. I hope I haven't called too late tonight."

"No, no it's fine Kyle. What's up?" Coach Caffrey asked.

"I'm home from college. I was planning to come to Friday night's game. I wanted to make sure it was OK if I stopped by to see the team before the game."

"Of course, you're always welcome to visit, Kyle."

"I wanted to thank you for all help you gave me while I was playing for you, Coach," I explained.

"It was a pleasure to coach you and your friends. I think you had a lot to do with the success you have had. No one I've coached has worked harder than you did. I watched a few of your games on TV this season. You have had a heck of a season, Kyle."

"Thanks, Coach," I answered.

"Coach Caffrey asked, "Do you know if your friends are coming home for the holiday?"

"Hal Long and his girlfriend should be home some time tonight. Ed Fritz and Jeremy North have games on Saturday."

Coach Caffrey asked, "Do you expect to see either of them over Christmas?"

"I might see Ed after New Year's Day. Florida is expected to play in a bowl then, same as my team. I expect to have a few days home before the spring semester starts. I don't know when I'll see Jeremy again. His game isn't until January 8th. My classes start a few days later."

Coach Caffrey said, "That's a price that you pay for a shot at a national championship. Jeremy is a very lucky young man to have a shot at it his first year in college. It almost happened to me when I was in college."

"It did? I don't remember you ever talking about your time in college. Where did you go?"

"University of Pittsburgh," Coach Caffrey sighed. "We all expected Dan Marino was going to lead us to the championship in 1982."

"You and Dan Marino know each other?"

Coach chuckled. "Dan was a senior, a team captain, and a Heisman Trophy candidate. I was a freshman walk-on trying to stick around playing defensive back. I was 'Hey 23!' if Dan even noticed me when I was on the scout team and tried to cover his receivers. I was burnt by Dan and his receivers all the time that year. It was a privilege to watch one of the best play."

"Even so, it's pretty cool, being on the same team as Dan Marino. What happened with the national championship?"

"We were ranked #1 going into the last game of the season. We played your team, Penn State, the day after Thanksgiving. Dan had us up 14-0 in the first quarter. I don't know, maybe we started dreaming of the national championship. Next thing we know, Penn State's walloping us 42-14. The opportunity for a national championship was gone."

"I did hear about that game," I said. "Todd Blackledge told some of us on the team the story when he was in State College last month to broadcast the Ohio State game. We went past you in the polls to #1. Todd, Curtis Ennis, Kenny Jackson and their friends won the championship that year."

"Our record went downhill after that season. I made myself useful enough to Coach Fazio that I ended up on scholarship my junior and senior seasons. I played as a dime or nickel back the rest of my college career. I worked as a grad assistant at Pitt for a year and then went into teaching. I've been working as an assistant coach or head coach in high schools since then," Coach Caffrey explained.

"I owe you a huge debt for everything you've done for me while I was in high school. All the schools recruiting me, my scholarship, my playing for Penn State – all of it is because of the time and effort you put in to help me. Thank you, Coach."

"Thank you for saying that, Kyle," Coach Caffrey replied. "I appreciate it."

"I guess I'll let you go," I said. "I'm sure you have things to do to get ready for tomorrow. I'll see you Friday night." Coach said good bye and hung up the phone.

I called Hal Long around 9:30 pm. I figured he and his girlfriend Tammy would be home from Rutgers by then. I called and got his mother. She put Hal on the phone.

I said, "Hey Hal, it's Kyle. How's things going?"

"Not bad. It was a long trip home. Tammy and I caught a ride to Reading with another student. Mr. Brooks picked us up the mall and brought us the rest of the way. We were on the road for three and a half hours. It was brutal with all the traffic this time of year."

"I was lucky. My last class ended at 2:15 today. I got an early start home."

"You are lucky." After a pause Hal said, "I guess you're pretty happy with how things are going with football. I have been watching your stats over the season. How many yards are you up to?"

"I'm over 2200 yards combined. I guess that's OK."

Hal chuckled. "OK? Coach Schiano would give his left nut to have somebody like you to run back the kicks and punts. Our best player is our starting tailback. He gets something like 32 touches a game and still has fewer yards than you. I bet you didn't get that many touches a game."

"I average more like 8 touches a game, not 32. I have a lot to learn before they'll let me on the field for an extended time."

"You're lucky you get on the field. I sat on the bench all season, as expected. I've learned a lot from Joey DeMarco, our starting kicker. He's a junior so I doubt I'll get in a game next year either."

"Cooper Barnes, our starting kicker, is the best," I said. "He and his backup have really helped me get ready for the season."

"I bet. I can see you after practices are over. 'Can you kick me a few balls? I need to work on my returns.' You drove'em crazy didn't you?"

"You know me too well," I laughed. "My special teams coach chewed me out after a couple weeks of extra practice. He said I was wearing out his kickers' legs. The work helped me so I'm not sorry. I owe Steve, Andrew, Coop and Mitch a lot. They made it possible for me to be successful."

Hal said, "It's good things are working out for you."

I asked, "Are you happy you decided to play football for them?"

"Absolutely. It's hard to beat a free college education. My coach thinks I'll be a good kicker when my turn comes. That's more than I can say for soccer."

"Oh? What's up?"

"I practice with the soccer team just like I was promised. I don't know if I'm going to make it with the team. The rest of guys are so much better than me. My stamina and speed are OK. Even the other freshmen on the team are better at ball handling and strategy. I don't know if I'll ever get on the field. I feel like letting me play with the soccer team is a sop to make me want to play football at Rutgers."

I asked, "What are you going to do about it?"

"I'll talk with my soccer coach when my seasons are over and see what he thinks of my talent. I guess I'll give myself another year to see if I can catch up to the other guys. If not, I guess I will concentrate on football," Hal explained.

"I hope it works out for you." I said.

Hal asked, "Are you going to the football game on Friday?"

"Of course," I answered. "Are you and Tammy going?"

"Yes. We should hook up. Kathy and Penny are ... OK. Maybe we shouldn't hook up there."

"It probably would be better if we didn't. I don't want to make things too weird for Penny."

Hal said, "I can't believe the two of you broke up."

"Things are complicated when you try to have a long distance relationship. You and Tammy are lucky you are able to go to school together."

"Did you really end up screwing some strange girl at college? It doesn't sound like you."

"She wasn't some girl I picked up one night. We've been friends since the beginning of the semester. We went out for a movie one night. We stopped off at a party and had too much to drink. We ended up back at her room. I didn't screw her."

"You didn't have sex? Penny thinks you did. Maybe if you explain what actually happened, you could work things out with her."

"It's a distinction without a difference. I said we didn't screw – you know, have intercourse. She gave me a blow job and I ate her pussy. That's having sex in my books. It is for Penny too. We're through as a couple."

Hal said, "You sure know how to screw things up, Kyle. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure Tammy and I stay together."

"You do that, buddy. I guess I'll see you at the game on Friday night."

"Yeah. Have a good holiday, Kyle."

"You too. Bye Hal."

I went back to studying my playbook until Will and Abby arrived home from Philadelphia around a quarter to ten. I greeted my brother and sister-in-law warmly. I helped them carry their bags downstairs to the new bedroom in the basement.

Dad and Andy had done a nice job turning our old rec room in the basement into a bedroom. They added a wall at the steps and over to the doorway that led to the laundry room. They also walled off an area that would be a bathroom with a shower when the plumber finally came to do the installation. Mom found an old king-size bed, a dresser and an armoire at a second hand store. It was going to be a nice set-up when it was finished. I'd be spending my time home there in a year or so when the twins were ready for their own beds.

I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that my nephews had learned to sleep through the night. I slept until after ten o'clock on Thanksgiving. It felt great being a lazy bum. It was such a contrast to the driven schedule I had at college.

Dad, Will, Andy and I spent most of the afternoon watching NFL football on TV. Andy and I made sure Noah and Connor got indoctrinated in proper Martin male behavior on Thanksgiving Day. We held them and played with them while we watched our first couple hours of football until it was time for their naps.

Mr. & Mrs. Hendricks joined us for dinner, as had become traditional with our families in the past half dozen years. Mom's dinner was great. Mrs. Hendricks baked the best pies around. I enjoyed the holiday meal with my family.

I wouldn't have any more holiday meals with my family this year. The bowl game invitations wouldn't come out for two weeks but everyone knew we were going to the Rose Bowl. Zack Hayes told me that I should expect us to depart for California on the 23rd or 24th of December.

Mom reminded me before I went to bed about my promise to take Liz shopping on Friday morning. It was for the best. I could get my Christmas shopping done early. I wouldn't have to worry about shopping in State College while I prepared for finals or about shipping my gifts home to the family.

Liz and I arrived at the mall a few minutes after ten the next morning. The parking lot was jammed. I ended up parking at the far end of the parking lot behind the Sears Automotive Center in the back of the mall. Liz and I agreed to meet at the food court at noon.

The mall was crowded. It looked like there were enough people packing the place to fill Beaver Stadium. I managed to find suitable gifts for everyone but the twins before it was time to meet Liz. We grabbed some lunch at the food court and then headed over to the Toys 'R Us store on the other side of Harrisburg Pike.

Liz and I had a good talk on the way home. I found out she was planning to take one of the school's buses to the game that night with her current boyfriend, Nicholas Hoover. I offered to let them ride to the game with me. Liz said she'd talk with Nick.

Our family had an early dinner. Andy took off for the high school to catch the team bus to the game. Liz and Nick decided getting a ride with me beat riding a school bus half way across the county. Liz and I left a half hour after Andy. Mom and Dad would follow us after they dropped Noah and Connor off at our grandmom's house.

Nick Hoover lived on the western end of our school district, not far off Route 30. Liz filled me in on some of the essentials about Nick on the way to his house. Nick was a sophomore who asked Liz out for a date in September. Liz said they had fun, so she agreed to more dates. Nick asked Liz to go steady with him at the Halloween dance. Nick played basketball. He was really pumped when he made the varsity team a couple weeks earlier. Liz was proud of him.

Nick turned out to be a tall, gangly kid. He looked to be only a couple inches shorter than me. He had black hair and long scraggily sideburns. He wore wire rimmed glasses. Nick was polite and very interested in sports. I entertained Liz and Nick talking about my experiences playing football for Penn State on the drive to Elizabethtown College.

We bumped into Zack Hayes when we parked outside the field. Nick was delighted to be introduced to Zack Hayes. Nick had heard the stories around our high school about Zack and had watched him on TV.

Zack and I headed for the locker room to see our team before the game. Coach Wyndham had us old-timers gather in one of the conference rooms out of the way of the team while they dressed. We had a good turn-out of past players for the game. Andy Groff, our stand-out defensive end from four years ago was back. Andy's older brother Bill made it too. He played when Justin Baer and Sam Hayes played football. Rick Winters, middle linebacker extraordinaire, from 2-3 years ago was back. Stan Humphreys, our tailback and my teammate for two years, made it. Karl Weaver, Adam Diem and Jerry Morton came too.

We spent 15-20 minutes catching up with each other. I was particularly interested in talking with Andy Groff. I hadn't heard much from my friend and Christian's cousin, Trent Wilson, during the fall. Andy told me that Trent was doing well as a nickel back on their team, the University of Delaware. Andy and Trent had a playoff game tomorrow against the University of Richmond. I wished Andy luck in his game.

I enjoyed visiting with my old teammates. We compared notes on how our college football careers were fairing. Of course everyone knew how Zack and I were doing. There aren't many secrets when your team is ranked #8 in the nation.

Coach Caffrey checked in with us after awhile. He had asked Zack Hayes to give the traditional address to the team before the game. We followed Coach out into the locker room.

Zack gave a stirring address on the importance of teamwork if the Wolverines expected to have success in the playoffs. I watched the team. They paid attention while Zack talked. They were psyched to go beat South Western High School when Zack was done. We had beaten South Western two years ago on our way to the state championship. Hopefully this team could repeat that success.

I mingled with the team members when the talk was over. Jason Harting and Jonathan Landis, the #2 and #3 wide receivers behind Andy talked with me for a few minutes. Ryan Anderson, Marcus Shaeffer and Cameron Ellis talked with me too.

I was shocked when Mike 'Tex' Johanson sought me out. Tex and I had started out at odds a year ago when he transferred to our school. Tex thanked me for everything I had done last year to get him ready. He quizzed me about what I had learned at Penn State. I told him as much as I could in the few minutes we had.

Zack, my former teammates and I headed out to find seats for the game. Adam Diem and Jerry Morton, both former offensive linemen, found seats somewhere. Zack, Andy Groff, Rick Winters, Stan Humphreys, Karl Weaver and I sat together. Zack and I analyzed what we watched as the game proceeded.

The Wolverines got the ball first. Jake led the team on a sweet ten play, 76 yard drive that was capped off by Jake's TD pass to Jason Harting in the middle of the end zone. South Western double covered Andy and kept the free safety deep too, in case my brother broke loose from the double coverage. The rest of the Wolverines exploited the obvious weaknesses in the remainder of the defense.

The Mustangs went three plays and out. Tex Johanson had a nice 15 yard punt return. Jake led our team on another long drive down the field. South Western kept Andy from killing them but at too high a cost. Marcus Shaeffer and his backup Cameron Ellis carried the ball more on the second drive. Marcus powered his way in for the second TD.

Things didn't improve for South Western. By the second quarter they were down 17-0. This year's version of the Wolverines differed from the last couple years. In the past we beat people because we had a few better athletes. Five of us were playing in Division I-A (BCS) football teams. I didn't see more than three that would do that on this team (Jake, Andy and Tex Johanson).

A couple seasons ago our secondary had been subpar. We covered them up with excellent linebackers and a strong pass rush. The secondary on this team was excellent. The three linebackers played equally well against the run or the pass. The defensive line was big and solid by high school standards.

Jake Kring was brilliant at quarterback. Marcus Shaeffer and Cameron Ellis didn't have the speed Drew McCormick had last year, but they played solidly. Andy was my equal at wide receiver. Jason Harting and Jonathan Landis, our #3 receiver, played competently. They could catch whatever pass South Western didn't cover well when they doubled or tripled up on Andy.

The team truly demonstrated the old saying 'The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.' The mood of the crowd lightened up as it became apparent that South Western didn't have the horsepower to keep up with us offensively or defensively.

I headed over for some refreshments after we scored another touchdown in the second quarter. I bumped into some old friends on the way. Matt Sauder, Dave Mitchell, Cody Stevens, Josh Strickler and Ryan Lapp were sitting together. They yelled, "Kyle!" "Hey Kyle!" "Over here, Kyle!" to get my attention. They were part of the dozen new scouts Ed Fritz and I had shepherded through their first year in Boy Scouts three years ago. They were classmates of my sister Liz and freshmen in high school.

They bombarded me with questions about playing football at Penn State. I answered them patiently. Josh Strickler, who was wearing a Penn State sweatshirt gushed, "It's really great to meet a star on the Nittany Lions team."

"I'm not a star. I'm just a freshman like you guys. I'm still learning. One of the real heroes on our team is here." I pointed over to where Zack, Andy, Karl, and Rick were sitting.

"Zack Hayes is here!" Matt Sauder exclaimed. Bedlam broke loose again. I quieted them down after a minute with a promise to introduce them to Zack later if they stopped by where we were sitting.

"You know how I've been doing in football," I asked. "How are you guys doing?" All the kids in this group had played JV football this season.

Matt proudly announced, "I played quarterback all season."

I asked, "Starting?" Matt nodded yes enthusiastically. "You beat out Garrett Houseman? That's excellent."

The rest of the story spilled out quickly. Our JV team had gone undefeated this season. Matt and Dave said Cody was really slippery as a running back, very hard to tackle. Matt and Cody boasted about Dave's speed. No other JV team had been able to keep up with him on deep routes. Dave offered that he thought Josh was almost as good a linebacker as Kenny Weaver was. All the guys were stoked about their chance to play on varsity next season.

Matt insisted, "I'm going to win the starting QB job next season."

I allowed, "Coach Caffrey doesn't like to play sophomores at QB. You'll probably be a backup."

"I've seen Logan Mitchell play," Matt answered. "I can do better than him." Logan was Jake's back up this year.

"I think you'll do better worrying about keeping the number 2 spot against Garrett Houseman than taking Logan's spot at starter next season. Coach Caffrey just doesn't like starting young guys at quarterback."

Matt said, "Ed did it. I can too."

"Well ... good luck with that. You'll have to work and study hard to have a chance."

"I'll do it, Kyle," Matt responded. "I want to get a big college scholarship the way Ed did, the way Zack did, the way Zack's brother did. I believe I can do it."

"I hope it works out the way you want, Matt. The rest of you – work hard. That's the ticket to success in football. I expect you guys to uphold the honor of our team when it's your turn to run things here."

"You bet, Kyle!" "You can count on us," "We'll do it!" echoed in my ears as I waved good bye and headed to the snack stand. I grabbed some nachos and a Coke and rejoined my former teammates. I filled Zack in on the state of our JV team. He was pleased they were so enthusiastic.

Ryan Anderson, a junior starting at tight end this year, added another touchdown in answer to South Western's field goal before the end of the first half. The Wolverines went into the locker room ahead 21-3.

Zack and my other friends talked about getting together on Saturday night. Zack's parents were away for a long romantic weekend. He invited us to drop over for an informal party later in the evening. The guys were going to invite some of the girls from back in high school to the party.

South Western fumbled the kickoff to start the second half. Jake alternated handing the ball off to Marcus and Cameron to pound it toward their end zone. South Western finally tightened up on defense when the Wolverines got inside the 10 yard line. On third and goal on the 7 yard line Coach Caffrey called the naked bootleg play. Jake faked the hand off to Marcus who then ran to the right. The whole offensive line shifted their blocking that way. The Mustang's players all shifted to stop Marcus from scoring. They discovered Jake running to his left much too late to stop him from carrying the ball into the end zone.

South Western made one first down when they got the ball back, but that was all. They punted back to Tex, who had an excellent 22 yard return. I wondered if Coach Caffrey if would put in the second string with a 28-3 lead. He didn't.

South Western finally stopped the triple team on Andy since the rest of the team was killing them. Jake unleashed a long bomb to my brother on a play fake after setting them up with three straight Marcus runs up the gut. Andy beat the two guys covering him and sprinted in for a touchdown.

Coach Caffrey sent in the second string after that. He apparently considered a 35-3 lead to be safe. The Mustangs tried gamely to come back. Our second string defense did let them have a touchdown near the end of the third quarter. Logan Mitchell, Jake's backup QB, played his role properly. He spent most of his time handing off to Cameron and to the third string tailback, Justin Souders, so they could run down the game clock.

The 32 ounce Coke I had bought before halftime had passed through my system. I excused myself and headed for the restroom. I did my business and was heading back to my seat when I bumped into Penny, my former lover.

Both of us froze when we spotted each other. I spoke first. "I hoped I'd get a chance to talk to you over the holiday."

Penny frowned and said, "So ... Talk!" She didn't seem pleased to be confronted with me.

I gulped and started. "I did the stupidest thing ... No, the two stupidest things I've ever done in my life last month. I cheated on you. And I was too cowardly to talk to you and discuss what had happened. I wanted to say I was sorry."

"And?" Penny said.

"I just wanted to apologize for the horrible way I handled our relationship. I'm sorry."