Chapter 9

Thursday, November 18, 2032 – Martin Residence, Landenberg, PA

Unexpectedly, Kyle showed up in time for dinner that evening. His coaches and players rebelled and banished their workaholic coach from NovaCare for the evening. As Jeremy North pointedly reminded his boss, “Big stones come first.” No stone was bigger than being there for your family. This was opening night for the Avon Grove Performing Art’s performance of Spamalot, starring Chris Rush as King Arthur, joined by his faithful sidekick, Patsie, a.k.a. Jessie Martin. Coach C, Ryan Reynolds and the other coaches would have everything ready for the Panther’s visit to Philly on Sunday.

Danny had homework to do. He’d stay home and babysit Robbie. Robbie wanted to attend opening night, but the play would end at least an hour AFTER his bedtime. Robbie and Danny could see their sister at Saturday afternoon’s matinee performance. David and Sara would attend the matinee too. Kyle was going to pick them up after work on Friday evening. Penny would return them to Penn on the way home from Sunday’s game against the Panthers.

The high school auditorium filled quickly to capacity as Penny and Kyle found seats. More than a few Eagles fans came over and encouraged Kyle and his team to keep up the good work and beat those Panthers on Sunday. Spamalot was a musical version of the Monty Python movie about the Quest for the Holy Grail, written by troop member, Eric Idle.

The play was funny, irreverent and hilarious. Kyle got the biggest kick as Chris (King Arthur) and the other knights of the Round Table, bounced across the stage pretending to ride their invisible “horses”, their hands out in front of them like they were holding their “horse’s” reins. Jessia, a.k.a. Patsie, and the other servants scampered after their lieges, clapping two cocoanut halves together to simulate the clatter of horse’s hooves on the roadway.

Kyle was impressed by Jessie’s singing on the various songs featured in the musical. Kyle was good at many things, but music was not one of those things. He couldn’t carry a tune. He had zero sense of rhythm, but he could tell good music when he heard it. Jessie made him proud as she contributed to the songs in the play.

Kyle and Penny waited for Jessie to change after the final curtain call, and gave her a ride home. Both parents praised their daughter for a stellar performance that evening.

Friday, November 19, 2032 – Avon Grove High School, West Grove, PA

Central Bucks West, with their 6-4 record, had been ranked #11 in the sixteen team 6A playoff bracket for District 1. They knocked off higher ranked West Chester Rustin and C. B. East on consecutive weekends, both games on the road. They arrived up in West Grove ready to play just before dinner time. The game was scheduled for 7:30 PM.

The two teams shared the cafeteria for team dinners before they headed to the locker rooms to prepare for the evening’s contest. The teams dressed and headed out to the field to warmup. It was a nice night, for mid-November. The game time temperature was around 40 degrees and there was a light wind blowing from the north. It shouldn’t be too much of a hindrance for Danny and the Red Devils aerial game. Film study told the Avon Grove team that the wind conditions would not affect the Bucks passing game much either. The Bucks averaged around ten passes a game, sometimes fewer.

C. B. West won the coin toss and elected to defer receiving the kickoff until the second half. In retrospect, that may not have been the wisest choice for them. Danny and the Red Devils took the field and went ‘bombs away’ on the Bucks. Six plays later, all passes, Danny drilled the ball to Noah McMullen, backup running back, in the end zone for a seven-yard touchdown. Bill Everson nailed the extra point.

The Bucks did not seem discouraged at all. They ran the kickoff out to the AG 32 yard line and went to work. Coach Stupar, the Red Devils’ defensive coordinator thought he had his players ready. The Bucks blocking was excellent and their play calling kept the Red Devils defense confused. Nine plays later, missed tackles by linebacker Austin Simmers and safety Joey Phillips, allowed the Bucks a 27 yard run for a score. The Bucks kicker, every bit Bill Everson’s equal, booted the ball through the uprights for the point after.

No one expected a score-fest. The Red Devils defense had dominated most opponents, excepting Perkiomen Vally the first time they played when Danny was in Germany and the next weekend when Danny and Pat Devlin dueled in a shoot-out at Downingtown West. The Red Devils could not stop the Bucks running game. The Bucks had no answer to Danny’s aerial assault. The score was 21-21 as time wound down in the second quarter. 0:44 was on the clock and Danny’s pass to Jake Lilley put the Red Devils just inside the 50 yard line.

The Bucks finally managed to cover all the Red Devils receivers on a play. Danny’s offensive line pushed the pass rush to the sides, opening a yawning gap in the middle of the line. Danny spotted the hole and sprinted into it. He dodged a couple tackle attempts as he ran down the field. He scored, racking up another 49 yards of rushing. The Avon Grove led 28-21 as the teams went back to the locker rooms for half time.

Coach Stupar huddled with the defense to review some adjustments to handle what the Bucks were doing. Coach Brewer, their offensive coordinator, preached to keep the peddle to the metal. Make every possession count.

The Bucks had the ball first. They gained a dozen yards on their first three runs. Coach Stupar threw the loop at the Bucks on the next play. Joey Phillips, crowding up to the line, blitzed between the center and the left guard at the snap. Joey practically was there for the handoff as the Bucks QB turned to hand the ball to his fullback. Joey blasted into the fullback, knocking him backwards for a four-yard loss. The Bucks gained one yard on 2nd down and 14 yards to go. They were forced to pass. Joey Phillips, playing deep on this play, tracked the ball and intercepted it, giving his Red Devils possession at the Bucks’ 40 yard line.

Coach Meyer wasted no time stressing the Bucks defense. Ricardo Munez went deep on the first play. Danny spotted him coming open and launched a deep ball to his favorite receiver. Danny’s eyes went wide as Ricardo’s feet got tangled with the cornerbacks. Both kids went down. The Bucks free safety sprinted for the ball and snagged it before it fell to the ground. He sprinted across midfield before he was tackled.

The Bucks coach went against type and opened this drive with a pass, albeit a fairly safe screen pass. Drew Richardson, the defensive back covering the receiver, went in for the tackle but missed. The receiver sprinted downfield forty-five yards before Joey Phillips tackled him at the 5 yard line. It took three plays, but the Bucks muscled their way into the end zone to tie the score at 28-28.

Danny and the Red Devils offense went back to work. Danny moved the ball smoothly down the field. On the seventh play, he found Mike Marchesani, their little used sophomore third string receiver, come open. Danny drilled the ball to Mike, who turned and ran for the end zone. The Bucks free safety karate chopped at the ball just before Mike scored, knocking the ball loose. A scrum of Bucks players dived to the loose ball, recovering it at their 4 yard line.

The Bucks played conservative ball. They pounded out yards down the field. Red Devils stunts and blitzes did not stop them. The needed fourteen plays and burned much of the time off the clock, deep into the fourth quarter, before they scored. Bucks-35, Red Devils-28.

Ricardo preached to the offense that they had this. They had scored nearly every possession. They just needed to march the ball down the field and stuff it in the damned end zone! The players rallied to their captain’s fiery words. Six plays moved them from their 25 yard line down into the Buck’s red zone. Danny dropped back and scanned the field on the next play. All his receivers were covered. He noticed a small gap open up between his center and right guard.

Danny ran for the small hole and squeezed by the defensive linemen. He dodged a tackle attempt by one of the linebackers. Danny put his “Martin” speed to use, streaking down the field as his receivers turned into blockers. He pirouetted by a safety and sprinted into the end zone. Touchdown! Bill Everson drilled the PAT to bring the score to a 35-35 tie. 1:41 was left on the clock.

Undaunted, the Bucks went to work, starting at their 25 yard line after a touchback on the kickoff. The Red Devil’s defenders played smart, making sure to keep gains to a minimum and not allow any big plays. The clock wound down as the Bucks moved downfield in three to six yard chunks. They crossed midfield with 0:38 left on the clock. The Bucks gained four yards on the next play.

Coach Stupar sent Joey Phillips on another run blitz. Joey got through again, this time knocking the ball loose as the QB handed it off to the tailback. A Bucks lineman was first to the ball in the scramble for the fumble. Their 2nd down and six play turned into a 3rd down and thirteen yards to go at the Bucks 47 yard line.

Drew Smith diagnosed the next play as it unfolded. The Bucks QB threw the ball to his tailback on a wheel route. Drew cut in front of the tailback and intercepted the ball. He managed to gain a couple yards before he was tackled. The Red Devils had possession of the ball at their own 46 yard line. 0:22 remained on the clock.

Coach Brewer called a pass play. The Bucks had trouble with them all night. This time, Danny scanned the field. Everyone was covered except Mike Franklin, their tight end running a shallow crossing route. Danny drilled the ball to Mike, who turned and ran for the sidelines to try to stop the clock. Three Bucks defenders took him down in bounds. Coach Meyer was forced to spend their final timeout to stop the clock at 0:13.

On the next play, Danny saw the Bucks had put all the defenders along the sidelines, leaving a safety deep in the middle of the field. None of his receivers came open against the tight coverage. Danny saw a crack open between two pass rushers. He streaked for the hole and ran desperately down the middle of the field. No one was within ten yards of him as he scampered down the field. He tried to dodge the safety covering the middle but the bastard grabbed a foot and would not let go. Danny fell to the ground.

The clock read 0:07 and he stood up and motioned for his team to get lined up for the next play. Danny watched the clock... 0:05... 0:04... 0:03...

“Damn it!” Danny growled as he waited for his offense to get lined up and set. 0:01 ... Danny barked for the snap and drilled the ball into the ground to stop the clock. The ball hadn’t reached Danny’s hand when he heard the referee blow his whistle to signal the end of the regulation time in the game. Danny took the late snap and, pounding the ball into the ground. “FUCK!” Overtime.

The Bucks won the coin toss and opted to take possession of the ball second in OT. Danny lined his offense up on the 25 yard line at the north end of the field. The Bucks defense lined up to play the pass with the field this short. Coach Brewer tried a run to start the possession, but the Bucks defenders rallied to stop Hector Chavez for a two-yard gain. Danny hit Mike Franklin on another crossing route for an eight yard gain. First down on the 15 yard line.

Danny tossed the ball to Ricardo Munez in the corner of the end zone. Ricardo, at 5’-10” did not have the height nor the leaping ability Danny’s dad, his Uncle Andy and his cousins Noah and Colin had. The defender knocked the ball away. Hector gouged out three yards on the next play, an off tackle run.

Third down and seven yards to go at the 12 yard line. The Bucks blitzed and Danny couldn’t find an open receiver. He threw the ball through the end zone for an incompletion. The Red Devils offense was pissed as they trudged off the field for their field goal unit. Reliable Bill Everson put the short field goal through the uprights to give the Red Devils a 38-35 lead.

Coach Meyer and Coach Stupar fired up the defense before they took the field. The Bucks tried another surprise, passing on their first play. The Red Devils were ready. Austin Richardson batted the ball away from the running back wheeling out of the backfield. They tried their reliable running game, gaining four yards then three yards. Faced with fourth down and three yards to go, they opted to kick a field goal to tie the game at 38-38.

The Bucks had first possession in the second overtime period. They kept things simple, bashing the ball ahead three or four yards at time until they stuffed the ball in the end zone. Their kicker completed the PAT to give the Bucks a 45-38 lead.

Danny and the offense took the field at the 25 yard line for their second OT possession. Danny found Ricardo at the 12 yard line on the first play. He hit Mike Franklin on a slant down to the 3 yard line. Mike was gang tackled by the Bucks, preventing him from muscling his way into the end zone. Danny dropped back on the third play, scanning the field for an open receiver. No one came open. He spotted a small crack between his right guard and center. Danny ran for the crack and squeezed through as the defense collapsed towards him. A linebacker hit him but he twisted and laid out, barely pushing the ball across the goal line before four Bucks defenders took him to the ground. There was about a thirty second pause as the referees conferred before the head referee raised his hands and signaled touchdown.

“We got this, Coach,” the offense yelled to Coach Meyer on the sideline. Coach Meyer, aggressive as any Coach Burton acolyte, held up two fingers to indicate a two-point conversion attempt. Coach Brewer sent the play in. At the snap from the 3 yard line, Danny turned and stuffed the ball into fullback Jamie Palladino’s belly. Danny watched as the Bucks linebackers sprang forward to stuff the run. He pulled the ball out and sprinted to his right, scanning the end zone for Ricardo, who was to be mimicking his motion, but in the end zone. Damn, the cornerback was step for step with Ricardo. Danny ran closer to the sideline, looking for an open receiver. No one came open.

He put his second arm around the ball then turned up field and ran for the end zone. The cornerback hit him at the 2 yard line. Danny twisted and tried to get closer. He sprawled forward and thrust the ball towards the end zone as three more defenders tackled him to the ground. The referee signaled he was down, inches short of the goal line. Final Score: Central Bucks West-45, Avon Grove-44.

The Bucks players celebrated their victory as the Red Devils players congregated to commiserate.