Chapter 25

MONDAY MORNING, Dennis hurried back to school in Bartley only to cut his first class there. He didn’t even go to the cafeteria, but soon after he arrived, Natalie, Lana, and Amy joined him in the coaches’ office. The coaches had a wide-screen display they could use to review games and Dennis routed his laptop to the screen so all four could easily see and hear the program. Then he browsed to ncaa.com for the 12:45 announcement of the Division III Women’s Tournament brackets.

Salter had a guaranteed spot in the tournament of sixty-four teams, but no one knew where or against whom the first game would be played. Just before the program started, Amy’s phone rang.

“Are you there? Are you tuned in?” Brenda gasped when Amy answered.

“Yeah. We’re all here. Well, the four of us. Our teachers are pretending we’re in class,” Amy said. Dennis’s phone rang.

“Hello.”

“Look at this crowd!” Ardith shouted. “Everyone is gathered in the Student Union and all the televisions are tuned in to the NCAA broadcast.” She pointed her camera around the room and showed the crowd of over a hundred students gathered to hear the announcements. “Everyone is so excited.”

“We’re excited, too,” Dennis said, flashing his camera at the other three girls. “We’re not as big a crowd, but we’re enthusiastic.”

“Hey, Cupcake,” Grace said over Ardith’s shoulder when Natalie’s picture came up. “Next year, you’ll be sharing this spot with Bren and me. Gonna be a whole new ball game.”

“Let’s win this one first,” Natalie laughed. “Every game...”

“ ... is the championship game!” Grace called back.

Everyone’s attention shifted to the screens as the draw began. The first sixty-four teams would be divided into four sixteen team brackets, games to begin on Friday. Salter was the first draw in the third bracket and the Friday night game would be held in their gym. They had to wait through several other places as they were filled in before they got to the draw for their first competitor.

“Oh, great! We drew the Gusties,” Brenda said over her connection. The Minnesota team was carrying a 24-4 record into the tournament and would face the Crusaders. “I’m glad we don’t have to travel all the way to Minnesota for the game. I feel bad that they’ll be traveling here.”

“We’ll make them welcome,” said Eve. “It’s what host teams do. And we made them welcome in the first game of the season, 85-61.”

“I’m just thankful we don’t have to face the Knights again in the first round,” Jillian said.

“Yeah. Having to beat them in three straight games would be tempting fate,” Eve said.

“We’re going to leave you guys,” Amy said. “We have to get to our next class. Congratulations and good luck.”

“Good luck tomorrow night in Des Moines,” Brenda said. “We’ll try to be there.”

“‘Bye, lover,” Amy responded. Everyone shut down their equipment and they all made it to their next class on time.

“I’ve reviewed all the film I could get on the Regals,” Dennis said as the team gathered for practice after conditioning. “They’re scrappy and they’ve come out of a tough region. They have a couple of tall girls, but the big thing is that they always play man-to-man defense. That usually puts their two big girls under the basket and they really fight for rebounds. One of the things I’m going to try is substituting guards for forwards. Judith and Leanne, you’ll be swapping in and out with Janice and Rosie. When we swap, you’ll come to the three guards’ position and if you’re both in at the same time, Diane will be the only one we have under the board. But she’ll be one-on-one with their big forward. You can handle her, Diane. Amy, Tori, and Natalie, you’ll be in most of the time, but occasionally, I’ll send Rosie and Janice in to give us all the height we can get to pressure the basket. Let’s run some plays. Defense, man-to-man.”

The team broke from the huddle into their usual positions and started practicing in earnest. They worked hard, but Dennis didn’t keep them long. He wanted them fresh for the game Tuesday night.

“Dennis, I might not be able to make the game tomorrow night,” Josie said. “This whole morals thing is raising its ugly head again and the family has been called to face the Board. I’m sorry that will cause some upset, but Elsa Brown will cover for me with the team so they have a female with them.”

“Everyone’s comfortable with Fru Elsa,” Dennis said. “She’s often around when wrestling and basketball overlap. Will you and Lyle and Lydia be okay?”

“Yes. This happens at least once everywhere we go. We have the papers and everything we need, so it shouldn’t be a problem. We presented the situation to the Board before they hired Lyle. Apparently, we need to present it publicly to appease some parents in the district who are afraid we are setting a bad example for their children,” Josie said.

“I’m sorry to hear that you have to go through this. Please let us know how everything plays out. We love you guys.”

At 2:45 on Tuesday, the school held one of the largest pep rallies it had ever seen. It was held in the new gym and the fans were invited to attend as well as all the students from sixth grade up. All the members of the team were introduced, the two team managers, Fru Elsa, Josie, and Dennis. Dennis held a hand up for silence and was given the microphone. The team lined up along the court with the managers and assistant coaches.

“I’d like to ask all our girls’ junior high and junior varsity girls and coaches to come onto the court and line up facing our varsity team,” he announced. All the younger girls lined up on the opposite side of the center stripe from the varsity. “You’ve all worked hard this season and you’ve learned a lot about the game of basketball. Even your coaches have learned a lot,” he said to the younger girls. “As you look across the center stripe at the varsity, I want you to think about this. In a year, maybe two or three, that is you standing there listening to our student body and fans cheering for you as you march off to the State Championships. And this year’s regional champions, getting ready to leave for the State Championships, have something to say to all of you.”

Dennis stepped back away from the line and gave a single short blast from his whistle. As one, the varsity raised their hands and pointed at the younger girls.

“We play for her!” they shouted.

There was no stopping the younger girls as they rushed into the arms of the varsity team for a hug while the fans cheered.

At 4:45, the team boarded its bus as three fan buses fell in line behind it, followed by dozens of fans who were driving to Des Moines for the evening games.

“We are meeting this evening in hopes that we will be finished in time to make it to our team’s first game at 8:30,” Superintendent Jones announced. “We would have postponed this meeting except for the insistence of certain members of the community that a matter be addressed at once. Therefore, we are suspending all discussion of minutes and old business until our next board meeting and will move directly to the first and only item of new business on our agenda. We have a matter brought by the Bartley County Women in Agriculture and have two speakers to present the issue. First, I’ll call on Doris Albright.”

“Mr. Superintendent and members of the Board, concerned parents of Bartley County. I’m Doris Albright, president of the Bartley County Women in Agriculture. I am bringing a concern expressed by our members regarding a threat to the moral upbringing of our children. It has come to our attention that a coach at Bartley High School lives openly with two wives and their children. We believe this is not only immoral, but also illegal and said coach should be terminated by the school board immediately. The coach/teacher is Lyle Kelly. One of his wives is a substitute teacher in the elementary school and acting as assistant coach of the basketball team, Josie Kelly. His other wife is Lydia Kelly. We ask for a summary dismissal of all adults in the Kelly family from school grounds, payroll, and other involvement.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Albright. I’ll now ask Abigail Larson to take the podium,” Jones said.

“Mr. Superintendent and members of the board. I would like all reference to the Women in Agriculture removed from the complaint brought by the organization’s president. This matter has never been put to a vote in the organization, nor have we reached any tacit agreement that a complaint should be filed. Coach Kelly has brought outstanding coaching to the wrestling team, resulting in four state finalists this year, including one of our young women. Josie Kelly has been an excellent substitute teacher and assistant to our young basketball coach, Dennis Enders. My daughter is on that team, dressed for tonight’s game against the Regals, and I would like to move immediate adjournment of this meeting so we can get to the real business of winning a state championship.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Larson. A motion to adjourn supersedes all others. Those in favor say ‘yes.’”

There was a scattering of yes votes, but most of those who would be voting in favor of adjournment were already in Des Moines for the game.

“Those opposed to adjournment at this time say ‘no.’”

It wasn’t a well-attended meeting as most of the Bartley fans put a school board meeting far below a basketball game in importance.

“The meeting will stay in session long enough to hear Coach Lyle Kelly make his statement. Lyle.”

“Superintendent Jones, Board Members, and parents. This is not, as you might well assume, the first time my family has been asked to address this issue. In fact, we presented our case during our interviews with the school board nearly two years ago and are saddened that the community has seen fit to raise the issue again. As a young man in college, I married Josie Kelly. We hadn’t intended to get married just at that time, but Josie was pregnant with our daughter Anna. Lydia was her maid of honor and best friend. You might be able to guess that we were a little on the wild side in college, but I’ve always believed in doing the right thing and if I make a decision that is faulty, I should take care of it appropriately.