Chapter 14: Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly!

Friday October 16

When I got to school, Mona was waiting for me in the parking lot.

“What happened to our deal?” she asked.

“You weren’t there. Kim and Tracy didn’t play fair.”

“They flirted with you!”

I nodded.

“Men!” she shouted, and stomped off.

The rest of the cheerleaders had seen what happened and had some choice comments. I was ready to tell them to back off when Zoe walked up and kissed me.

“What was that for?” I asked.

“For asking me to be your date for the Homecoming Dance.”

I hadn’t asked her to the dance. Then I realized I hadn’t asked anyone. My first reaction was to push back, but then I remembered Sunday and I just smiled. She grabbed my hand and made me walk her to her locker. I found Halle and Brook waiting on me.

“How much trouble did you get into?” Halle asked.

“I don’t know,” I said.

They all three looked at each other and then back at me.

“I received the dreaded we’ll think about what will happen to you punishment.”

“So we’re still on for next weekend?” Brook asked.

“As far as I know.”

“What are you doing?” Zoe asked.

Brook and Halle explained about going turkey hunting and then the photo shoot.

“I want to go,” Zoe said.

I didn’t really believe that three girls would want to actually go hunting. I was worried what they really planned, but I couldn’t think of a good reason to turn them down.

Because I was leaving school three weeks early to shoot my movie, I had to learn the material and/or complete any projects that were required for that period. In reality, it was actually only two weeks because the last week was reserved for review and then finals. One of my projects was a painting for my Life Drawings II class.

I’d chosen Duke as my subject matter. I’d originally planned to use a charcoal drawing I’d done of Halle, but we’d used some new techniques and I wanted to try that with Duke’s painting.

Duke was very good at posing. I think most people would call it napping. He had posed for several pencil drawings until I’d found a pose I liked. I first tried to do him in charcoal, but I didn’t like the starkness of the black and white medium. I then had done a watercolor, but I felt it wasn’t sharp enough and didn’t have the definition I was looking for. I then switched to acrylics. They allowed me more detail.

Halle had helped me master a few techniques and offered many suggestions. She had an eye that I frankly didn’t have. When I was finished, she added Precious to the background. It was the touch of whimsy the painting had been lacking. It showed the evil feline stalking her unsuspecting prey, which modeled real life. You could just imagine the chaos that was about to happen. Technically, I shouldn’t turn it in, but ninety percent of it was mine. The other reason I decided to submit it for my class project was because I didn’t have time to paint another one.

Ms. Saunders had me bring my painting to the front of the class. She wanted to see my pencil drawings, charcoal and watercolor, also. She used everything to talk about the process, and allowed the class to comment on my work. Even I was a little nervous to have my creations critiqued. This was something I hadn’t mastered yet, and it was personal. Ms. Saunders had been teaching for years, and was good at guiding the conversation so that it was learning experience.

I was a happy boy when she gave me an ‘A’ for my project, which in effect gave me an ‘A’ for the class. She then hung my painting on the wall. I know it seems stupid, because it looked like when you were a child and your parents put your art on the refrigerator, but I was proud of the painting and that she thought enough of it to put it on display.

The temperature had dipped into the low 50s for tonight’s game. Perfect weather for football. On the way to school, I flipped through the radio stations and a song came on that made me stop and listen. It was by Joey and Rory called When I’m Gone. When her haunting voice filled my speakers I had to pull over, because all I could think of was Jeff.

A bright sunrise will contradict the heavy fog that weighs you down
In spite of all the funeral songs
The birds will make their joyful sounds
You wonder why the earth still moves

You wonder how you’ll carry on
But you’ll be okay on that first day when I’m gone
Dusk will come with fireflies and whippoorwill and crickets call
And every star will take its place
In silvery gown and purple shawl
You’ll lie down in our big bed
Dread the dark and dread the dawn
But you’ll be alright on that first night when I’m gone

When the song was over the announcer told the story of the couple behind the music. Joey was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and the song was her way of telling her husband that he would be okay after she left him. There were days when the pain from Jeff’s passing was as fresh as if it were yesterday. Little things would remind me of my best friend. I hadn’t realized how much I would miss him until he was gone.

As I wiped the tears from my eyes, I said a little prayer. I took a deep breath and got my emotions under control. I vowed that I would have the best game of my life in honor of my best friend. I pulled away from the curb and put some metal on to get me in the mood to crack some heads.

After I dropped off my bags at my locker, I sauntered over to the hospitality tent. I was the personification of the high school jock: I had on high-tops, loose-fitting jeans, my football jersey and letterman jacket. I held my head high to show my confidence, and walked with just a little swagger.

When I walked into the tent, I smiled when I saw Ridge and Bill with their new head football coach. I saw Mrs. Sullivan and hurried over to her.

“I need your purse,” I said.

She gave me a funny look, but went and got it. After she handed it to me, I walked up behind Ridge.

“I see you came tonight so you could carry my bags,” I said as he turned, and I put the purse into his hands.

He looked down, and burst out laughing.

“Fuck you, Dawson!”

I gave him a big hug and then turned to Bill.

“Suit up, Buddy. We need you tonight,” I said as I pulled him into a hug.

Mrs. Sullivan rescued her purse and she gave Bill a hug. I was introduced to Coach Enron, the interim coach for USC. We got in line for food and I was happy to see they were serving steaks. Mrs. Sullivan had taken care of me and had a big salad, grilled vegetables and an extra steak ready for me. I smiled when Ridge and Bill decided to eat the same thing. We found a table and Jeff, my favorite reporter, joined us. I introduced him to everyone.

“Coach, why hasn’t USC offered David yet? Is there no interest, or do you think you’re set at quarterback?” Jeff asked.

I just ducked my head and began to eat. Ridge and Bill had heard my shots at USC for not making an offer. Jeff had heard me tell the press who was on my list.

“Last I heard he wasn’t sure he would play quarterback. There was talk of him playing fullback, if I remember correctly,” Coach Enron said and raised an eyebrow at me. “I’ve heard he finally decided to play a little quarterback. I watched his game on the plane ride to Chicago, the one where he set the national record. It was more than enough to let these two talk me into coming to see him play in person.”

He then got Ridge and Bill to tell David stories. Bill told him about his opportunity to start against Notre Dame. Then Jeff turned his focus on me.

“I was just told that your last game will be against King High School, who’s currently rated the fifth-best team in the nation. From looking at your schedule tonight, and that game, they should be your biggest challenge for an undefeated season. Is that something you think you can accomplish?” Jeff asked.

I suddenly had reporters putting their phones in front of me so they could record my answer. I saw Coach Enron watching with interest on how I would handle the attention.

“This is the first I’ve heard about a game against King. From what I know they have a fine football team and we’ll have our hands full when we play them. Springfield I do know about. I’ve watched game film and they have the best defensive scheme I’ve ever played against. From watching how they’ve progressed since their first loss, all I can say is Bloomington got lucky to play them early, before they figured it out. Since then they’ve shut down the opposing offenses and have won easily,” I said.

Jeff rolled his eyes at me, because I had done my usual building up of our opponent.

“So, are you going to beat Springfield?” he followed up.

I got a pinched look on my face and debated whether to let the cat out of the bag or not. Then I smiled.

“By three scores,” I predicted.

I caught Jeff flat-footed.

“Seriously?” he asked in shock.

“Hey, you’re the one that’s always complaining I never give you a straight answer,” I teased him and then got serious. “Everything I said about Springfield is true. They’re bigger and stronger than we are at almost every position. Last year we gutted out a game that, quite frankly, we shouldn’t have won. The difference is that going into this game, we know we can play with them. Our sophomores and juniors have had a year to grow and get stronger. They now are juniors and seniors. We can stand up to them, physically.

“It starts with the players who made a commitment to work out and practice this summer. Our booster club and fans have done everything they can to support us. The coaching staff has worked just as hard to get us prepared. It’s like Superman. He had to first find out he could be a hero, and he then got his cape. Then he worked hard to learn to wear it. Finally, he could fly. Tonight Lincoln High is ready to fly, and Springfield is going to find out they’re playing an opponent that’s hit its stride.

“You’ll see tonight that Lincoln High has become the team to beat for State. Up until now, we’ve been preparing. Tonight we step forward and separate ourselves from the rest of the pack,” I said, and was surprised when I heard my teammates get to their feet and start chanting, Our House!

They had filtered in to eat and caught me as I gave my speech. Jeff was shaking his head at me and I saw Coach Enron give me a little smile. I would bet he’d have a problem if one of his players made such a bold prediction about their upcoming game against Notre Dame. What it did for me was to take my feelings from being internalized, and throwing down the gauntlet by declaring my intentions. I suddenly had a lot more on the line. I’d decided not to hide, but put it out to the world that we were going to win.

Ridge grabbed me before I went to get ready to play.

“Jesus, Dawson. You’ve come out of your shell. Now go show me why there’s been all the hype. I saw a glimpse of it when we were at the USC camp. I can’t wait to see you play again. Good luck.”

I went and was taped, and found my usual pre-game seat next to Jim and Wolf. I put in my earbuds so I could listen to music and visualize what I would do on the field tonight. We then went out and warmed up. Tonight Yuri and Wolf were co-captains, and they led the team through warm-ups.

It was a big deal for Yuri because he was only a sophomore, but he’d taken over the defensive play-calling after we first lost Tim and then Mike had quit. It was too much to ask Kelly to step in to play linebacker and make the defensive calls.

I felt good throwing the ball. My body had been given almost a week of no contact, and there were none of the normal aches and pains you get during a season. Coach Mason had watched the video of my practice yesterday and he harped on my release point. During warm-ups I focused on making sure I was doing it right. I had Alan watch each throw. He had a running commentary on every little thing I was doing wrong. Normally that would irritate me, but tonight it just reminded me of Jeff and Alan when we used to hang out. My last three throws were rifle shots that almost took the receivers off their feet. I was ready!

Yuri and Wolf joined me for the coin flip with Springfield. Springfield won the toss and decided to take the ball in the second half. On the kickoff, it sailed through the end zone, so we were first and ten on the 20. I walked out with the first play ready. I took a moment to think of Jeff and scan the stands, knowing he would have loved tonight. The place was packed with orange-and-blue-clad Lincoln High fans with their damned cowbells.

We had been picked as a high school game of the week on our cable provider’s sports network. It only covered the center part of the state. They were smart in that they presented three games for their subscribers to pick from. They then voted on which game they would like to see. Springfield was a much bigger city, and I was sure they had wanted to see their team play an away game.

As I approached the line, the crowd started the Our House! chant.

Springfield was in a four-three defense (four down linemen and three linebackers). When they saw us come out with our halfbacks moved out into the slot, I saw their outside linebackers edge out to help cover them. This left four linemen and one linebacker to face our five linemen. We had prepared for this and I stood up from under center.

“Omaha, Omaha!” I shouted as I paced back and forth behind the linemen.

I stepped back into the shotgun and the outside linebackers edged further out so they could help cover the slotbacks. We had planned this play to be started on the ball. That meant a silent count and everyone watched the center. When he snapped the ball, the play started. This caught Springfield flat-footed, because normally the quarterback either calls out a count or makes some kind of hand motion.

I faked the hand-off to Ty, which caused the Springfield defense to react to the run. They were well-coached, and we had counted on that. They saw what I saw, that we had even numbers in what is called the box. That’s where most running plays end up, between the tackles. If we could account for an equal number of our linemen and their defenders to be in the box it meant we had an advantage. Theoretically, if we blocked our assigned defenders there would be no one to tackle Ty. That was why you would see defenses do what is called stack the box. In essence, they brought more defenders than we could block to stop the run.

Springfield did as we expected: they snuck up both safeties to help defend the run. Their sneaky defensive coordinator in essence had stacked the box with defensive backs. What they didn’t know was we had a secret weapon in Bud Mason. He had coached offense at a high level for fifty years. He designed the play so that both Kelly and Ed, our slotbacks, ran straight up the field. This forced their slower linebackers to play as defensive backs. Vertical speed was a killer, and Springfield had just outsmarted themselves. Both guys blew by the linebackers and it was an easy toss and catch to Ed for the first score.

Springfield came out and lined up in the power I with the tight end as an extra fullback. They were going to work at winning the time of possession and use their superior size to pound us into submission. They slowly worked their way down the field, gaining three to four yards in each play. When they reached the Red Zone, inside our twenty, Coach Zoon switched things up. He put Johan in as nose tackle, lined up over the center, and now we were in a five-man front. As I had said in my interview, we were more experienced and we were stronger than we had been last year. We stopped them at the 12 yard line and they settled for a field goal to make it 7 – 3.

On the ensuing kickoff, Ed was able to bring the ball up to the 31 yard line. We lined up in a base formation, and I was in the shotgun.

“Down!” I called, and Wolf came in motion towards the center of the field.

“Set. Hut, HUT!”

I’d waited until Wolf had come across the face of the formation and was just outside Jim at tackle. What I had watched for was what his cornerback had done. If he stayed home, that meant they were playing a zone. Instead, he followed Wolf across the formation. This would give an extra blocker if we ran to the side of the field Wolf was now on. I saw the safety cheat up to help in case we ran to that side.

We ran a two-man option to the weak side. We had to hope Neil, at right tackle, could handle their defensive end. If he couldn’t, the defensive end would be in my face and cause me to have to pitch too soon. On the snap Neil got off the ball well and held his block long enough. Little Ed did just enough to slow down the outside linebacker. I was impressed that he sacrificed himself. Ty and I turned the corner and headed up field. Their cornerback was my first read, and he forced the ball out of my hands. Ty took the ball as I flattened the smaller cornerback. The safety came forward, and Ty bamboozled him when he cut towards the center of the field instead of racing up the sideline. That was when Jim showed why he was one of the best linemen in the Midwest. He sprinted up field on the snap, and was in position to block the backside safety. I was jealous when I heard the crack of the pads when Jim destroyed the poor kid. You don’t get many chances to hit someone that hard, and Jim took full advantage. He actually knocked the kid out of one of his shoes. Ty raced down the center of the field and scored to make it 14 – 3.

Springfield came out and tried to run the ball down our throats. I give them credit for not panicking and sticking with their game plan. They were third and one, just across midfield, when I spotted something I’d seen on tape. I had skimmed through their offense on the off chance I might play some defense. I sprinted to Coach Zoon.

“Pass, Pass, Pass!”

Unfortunately, the defense couldn’t hear me over the crowd noise. Coach Zoon spotted it once I pointed it out and tried to call timeout. I watched as they executed their first pass play of the day to perfection. Their quarterback faked the handoff, stood up and hit their wide receiver on a slant. We had committed to stopping the short-yardage run. When our cornerback slipped, it was an easy score. They were now only down 14 – 10.

On the next series, their sneaky defensive coordinator got me. In my head, I screamed that Wolf was too wide open. I hit a sprinting safety as if I intended to throw it to him. Fuck! I hadn’t thrown an interception since the first game, and again this one was a pick-six. We were now down 17 – 14.

I came out the next series and showed why I was the top-rated quarterback. I was sure I made Ridge proud, because I eviscerated the Springfield defense with my short game. I went seven-for-seven and threw to six different receivers as we marched down the field to make the score 21 – 17.

Springfield pounded the ball and scored with just over a minute in the half to take a 24 – 21 lead.

I loved the pressure. Coach Hope wanted to take a knee and run out the half, but Coach Diamond and, to my surprise, Coach Zoon convinced him to let me loose. I would call the plays at the line. I had eighty yards to cover in a minute five seconds. I had all three timeouts. I huddled up the troops to get everyone on the same page.

“We’re going to go back to the triple option. If you hear Bulldog that means to spread out into the slotback formation. Hustle to the line and don’t assume I’ll call time. I want to catch them napping if I can. All calls are on me, so pay attention. We’ve practiced this, you know what to do, so let’s get this score,” I said.

As I’d guessed, Springfield brought in two defensive backs to replace their outside linebackers. There was a big difference between a rough-and-tumble linebacker and a light-hitting cornerback. I glanced over at the sideline and I saw a big smile on Coach Diamond’s face. He saw what I was up to, and seemed to approve.

“Down. Set. Hut, Hut!”

I saw one of the cornerbacks blitz from the outside as I handed the ball to Ty. I wanted to try the middle of the defense first. He ripped off eight yards and the clock showed fifty-three seconds. We rushed to the line, which surprised the defenders.

“Down!”

I called and Johan snapped the ball to me. I faked the interior handoff and Ed had moved on the snap to run in front of me. Kelly had also moved behind me. I had the option to hand Ed the ball on the jet sweep, or go the other direction and run the option with Kelly. The whole thing almost came apart when the Springfield defensive tackle slipped Brian’s block. It looked like everyone was going to meet in the middle at the same time.

I improvised and took a step towards the onrushing Ed, and that turned the defensive tackle for Ed to get between us. Little Ed put a hit on their defensive tackle like he was a pulling guard. That would leave a mark. Brian saw me coming and he turned to help downfield. He picked up the middle linebacker and I danced in the hole to give him time to make the block. I then used what my speed coach had taught me and exploded into the clear. You could hear the crowd respond as if it were a living entity; everyone came to their feet and rang their damned cowbells. I would have scored except for a turf monster that suddenly jumped up and caused me to trip and land face first. All I could see in front of me was green grass. I jumped up and called timeout with forty seconds left on the clock.

We huddled up.

“Next time leave running the ball to the professionals,” Ty teased me.

“Bite me,” I said, as everyone laughed.

I think they enjoyed seeing that I wasn’t infallible. We were now over midfield, and only needed another fifteen to twenty yards to get within field goal range.

“I plan to hang on to one timeout just in case we have to kick a field goal, so don’t let up, because I won’t waste our other timeout unless I have to,” I said.

I kept the team in the huddle until the play clock was under ten. I wanted to give them as much of a breather as I could. Coach Diamond had signaled in an interesting play. He anticipated Springfield to be sneaky, and I saw that in this situation it was likely they would try it.

When I broke the huddle, we rushed to the line and were in our slotback formation. We got set and Johan snapped the ball on a silent count. Springfield rushed to get into position and I did a three-step drop. I peeked over, and their cornerback was looking into the backfield. That was what we were looking for. Kelly ran a down-and-out from the slot, and I pumped the ball like I was going to throw to him. The cornerback jumped the route and abandoned Roc. When Roc saw he was free, he lifted his hand like he was calling for the ball. I saw the safety timing it so he could pick me off. What they hadn’t counted on was Ty had run a wheel route behind Roc. I had to avoid a sack and make a move to the side as I’d been taught. I planted my feet so I had a good base, and threw a perfect strike to Ty. Roc made a terrible attempt at a block, and the safety was able to push Ty out of bounds. That stopped the clock so we huddled up.

“My bad,” Roc admitted.

“We can worry about things like that later,” I barked.

I think I surprised everyone and it caught their attention. I needed them to focus.

“Jet sweep special on first sound,” I said.

The special meant that Wolf and Kelly would switch positions. The play needed his size to help block. We waited for the play clock to run down and then sprinted to the line. We were in the triple option formation, with Wolf just off Jim’s outside shoulder. Not many high school teams had a six-five, two-hundred-fifty pound tight end that could block on their team. We played him at wideout because he also had speed.

“Down!”

Ty sprinted to Wolf’s side of the ball as if he were doing a flare. Ed sprinted to me and I handed him the ball. He followed Ty around the end. I scraped off Jim’s backside to pick up any interior pursuit. Roc did a much better job of blocking and tied up the cornerback that was covering him. Wolf pancaked his defensive back, and that allowed Ty to track down the safety on his side. Ed scooted around him and ran in for the score.

The only problem was I saw a flag on the ground. Neil had gotten excited and clipped the other safety, which pushed us out of field goal range. There were eighteen seconds left on the clock. We huddled up.

“Wolf and Roc, do fly routes. Kelly and Ed, I want you to go ten yards upfield and then do buttonhooks. Ty, slip between the linemen and do a post. Expect them to blitz. On two,” I said.

“Down. Set. Hut, Hut!”

I dropped back and saw Springfield do a line stunt. The Callahan brothers picked it up. I zeroed in on Wolf, which caused the safety on his side to drift over to help his defender out. I switched to Roc and then planted my feet in the center and tossed the ball to Ty. He had to go up for the ball because I had put a little too much on it. He pulled it in on the eight yard line as he went down. I called time to stop the clock with nine seconds left.

Coach Hope motioned me over. There was an argument about whether we should kick the field goal now, or go for it. I figured I could get two plays in.

“Make them stop Wolf,” I said.

The defensive back that was covering him was only five-nine. Wolf had eight inches on him and seventy pounds. I would bet on Wolf every time. I ran back to the huddle.

“Wolf, it’s on you. As soon as you cross the goal line I’ll have the ball on your outside shoulder.”

We lined up. Wolf exploded off the ball and I had it out of my hands. As he broke the goal line, he turned and the ball hit him in the facemask. Three seconds had come off the clock.

“Boomer, Boomer!” I called.

Boomer meant we’d do the same play, and everyone rushed to the line. I didn’t want to give Coach Hope a chance to send out the field goal team.

This time Wolf was ready and caught the ball. Our fans erupted in celebration as we took a 28 – 24 lead into halftime.

At halftime, Coach Diamond took a call from Coach Mason. Coach Mason had figured out how to get the video stream from the game. I was amazed that someone his age could figure out technology. I saw Coach Diamond hand the phone to Coach Zoon and then shortly to Coach Hope who talked to Coach Mason the longest.

We broke up into offense and defense and listened to what we could expect in the second half. We were warned that we could expect more blitzes in the second half. I prepared myself to get hit more. So far I’d been lucky. We then went out to play the second half.

Springfield was given the ball first to start the second half. They hadn’t changed much, but I did see them use the play-action pass more. I went to Coach Zoon.

“Let me play safety to help with the play action. I can at least warn them when it’s coming,” I suggested.

He gave me one of those looks you see old people give kids that says, Leave me alone, kid.

Springfield pounded the ball at us, drove right down the field, and scored. We were now down 31 – 28.

On the following kickoff they finally made the mistake of kicking to Ty. He had gotten better at returning kicks. I’d talked to him about following his blocks. He admitted that he got excited and just tried to use his speed. This time he followed Ed up the field behind the wedge. There was a big collision as the two teams came together. I saw Ed dart through a hole and was afraid it would close before Ty could get through, but he broke an arm-tackle and was clear of the pileup. I jumped up and started to bounce up and down as I saw Ty tuck in behind Ed rather than jetting past him. The kicker rushed up to stop Ty, but Ed got in the way and gave Ty enough room to come into the open. It was a near thing, but Springfield wasn’t able to catch him. We were now up 35 – 31.

On the next drive Springfield started on their 20 yard line.

“Dawson,” Coach Zoon called out.

I didn’t wait for him to tell me what he wanted. I sprinted out to play free safety. I peeked over and saw Coach Hope’s shoulders shaking as he tried not to laugh at his disgusted defensive coordinator. With me at free safety, I was able to see the whole field. I saw how their linemen changed their stance and how engaged their receivers seemed when it was a pass play. I was able to warn my teammates when it was a run or pass before the snap. Springfield did manage to get a first down, but with my help, they had to punt.

They did begin to blitz and I was in football heaven. I dropped into the zone and exposed them every time they came after me. I just saw the field better and was able to decipher the puzzle. Working at all the camps and Elite 11 had exposed me to a lot of excellent coaching. This time last year, I would have become rattled and gone into chaos mode. Now I was able to do controlled chaos.

By the end of the third quarter, we had pushed the score to 49 – 31. That was when we saw Springfield give up. They had given it a tremendous shot. I felt they were by far the best team we had played to this point, even if the score didn’t show it. I played one more series on offense and I hit a pretty teardrop bomb to Roc, extending our lead to 56 – 31. After that, I was benched to prevent injury and to give our backups a chance to play against a quality opponent.