Chapter 24

Drew McCormick grabbed me before school started on Monday. He said, "I don't know why, but Stacie told me to tell you 'thank you' for Saturday night."

"Umm, OK. I'm not sure what it is for."

"If it had anything to do with what happened to me on Saturday night, all I can say is: Thank you, thank you ... Thank you!"

I asked, "What happened on Saturday night, Drew?"

"I got laid. It was my first time. Thank you, Kyle."

I explained, "I didn't really do all that much, Drew. Stacie asked if I knew anyone who might want to go with her Saturday night. I just suggested she talk to you."

"Thank you, Kyle. I never would have had nerve to talk to a sixteen year old cheerleader on my own. I'm too shy."

"I've never seen you be shy, Drew. What do you mean?"

"I'm fine around guys but I'm painfully shy around girls. I freeze up. I can't say anything."

"I didn't know that."

"I've only been on one date in my life. It was a blind date that my mom and aunt set up. It was a complete disaster. I couldn't talk. The date was incredibly painful both of us. I haven't had the nerve to ask anyone else for a date."

"Did Stacie help you out?"

"Definitely. It's hard to be bashful when you have your prick stuffed inside a girl. I feel comfortable around Stacie."

"I'm glad things are working out for you, Drew."

Our monthly Venturer Crew meeting was on Tuesday night. Dad drove Ed, Jeremy and me over to the church for the meeting. I brought my fully loaded pack along for the demonstration that Ed and I were giving that night.

The three of us went inside and set up in the meeting room. A few of the kids had arrived already. Ed and I were reviewing our presentation when we noticed Jake Kring walk in. We motioned for him to come over.

I greeted our friend, "Nice to see you Jake. Are you interested in joining Venturers?"

"Yeah. Your brother, Andy, has been telling me about some of the things you guys do. He told me about the two week canoe trip in Canada next summer. It sounds like fun. Is it too late to sign up for that trip?"

"No. Sign up for Algonquin isn't until February. You have lots of time," I explained.

Ed and I proceeded to tell Jake about the other trips we had planned for the crew and introduced him to Joe and Barb Baer. Jake asked, "I guess Mr. Baer is the one who runs the meetings?"

Ed explained, "No. First, call him, Joe. He doesn't like to be called Mr. Baer here. Second, he is our advisor. We run the meetings."

I continued, "Penny Edwards runs the crew. She is the president."

Jake asked, "Your girlfriend?"

I said, "Ex-girlfriend. We broke up a month ago."

"Sorry, Kyle," Jake answered. "I didn't know that."

Penny arrived in the room almost on cue. She arrived with her arm linked with Travis Evans' arm. I took a deep breath and let out a sigh. "Steady, Kyle." Ed said as he put his hand on my left shoulder.

"I'm OK. It's just hard seeing her with another guy," I answered. About thirty seconds later Stefany walked in holding hands with Brandon McCafferty. I didn't know they were dating. I asked, "Are you going to be alright, Ed?"

"I'm fine," Ed said. "Really, I'm fine."

Penny and Stef carried their papers to the front table and got set up for the meeting. Brandon wandered back to join Ed, Jake, Jeremy, Hal and me. He gave us a big smile and said, "Hi guys. Surprised to see me here?"

I answered, "Yes. We've been telling out that you should join Boy Scouts or Venturers for the last four years. What made you decide to join now?"

"Stef is more persuasive then you guys. What can I say?" Brandon asked, grinning. He continued, "Are we cool Ed? I know you and Stef used to date."

"We broke up ten weeks ago," Ed said. "I have no claim to Stef."

It was cool to have Brandon around again. He had been an integral part of our gang of friends when we were in eighth grade. His schedule last year had been completely different from the rest of us, so we hardly saw him in the past thirteen months.

Penny called for everyone to find seats. We started the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. Ed and I did our demonstration on how to pack for a backpacking trip next. Hal and Jeremy followed our presentation with a talk on map and compass and a review of the route of our backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail two weekends from now. Penny and Stefany followed with a discussion of the menu for the trip. We finished the meeting with Hal and Kathy collecting money and permission slips from everyone going on the trip.

Penny and Travis, Brandon and Stef, Hal and Tammy, Jeremy and Kathy, and Ed and I stayed behind at the end of the meeting to finalize the details for the trip with Joe and Barb Baer. We had twenty Venturers going on the trip. We had to split into two crews. The group was too large to hike in one group. Joe said his brother Justin and his wife Sherry would advise the second crew. We decided to have Hal, Tammy, Jeremy and Kathy lead the first crew while Penny, Ed, and I led the second crew. We divided the rest of the kids into the two crews. Jake Kring ended up with Ed and me.

I was looking forward to sixth period on Wednesday. We had spent the first seven weeks of the school year drafting first floor plans for Architectural Drafting. My plan was turned in for grading on Monday. Mr. Winters was going to turn the drawings back today. He handed them back to us first thing. I looked at mine and beamed. It had a large yellow post-it note attached that had a big A+ on it. The rest of the note read: "Excellent work Kyle. You need more practice with line work. The width varies too much. Practice your lettering. It could be more consistent."

We started the floor plans for the second floor of the house that day. I grinned and daydreamed as I traced the outline of the house and stairway onto the second floor plan. I was good at this. I could see myself becoming an architect when I grew up. Was this what I wanted to do for the rest of my life? Maybe.

The coaches worked us hard all week at practice. The sessions were intense. Everyone focused on their part in beating Central. This game would be the hardest one of the regular season. If we won, we would have first place in the league. If we lost, we would fall to third or fourth place in the league. Losing wasn't something to contemplate.

We practiced a couple surprises for Central during the week. We ran the fake reverse and flanker option pass half a dozen times each day. We expected they would be worth a touchdown or two in the game. Central had never seen me pass and they didn't know about Drew McCormick's speed. Coach Graham worked with me on my throwing mechanics. I threw about twenty passes a day. By Thursday I actually was good enough to put a nice spiral on the ball. I felt confident I could hit the pass to Don when we ran the flanker option against Central.

Football frenzy gripped our school. I wore my game jersey with pride on Friday. I was used to people wishing me luck on Fridays, but the reception by my classmates was bigger than I expected. The whole school was looking for our team to beat Central and head to the playoffs again. I felt confident that we would win.

Andy and I had an early supper that night. Dad drove Andy, Ed, Jeremy and me back to school to catch the bus to Manheim. We played at their stadium this year. When we arrived, I wished Andy luck as he headed for the Middle School locker room for dress for his game. Ed and I followed the team to our locker room.

When we sat down on the bench in front of our lockers, I slapped Ed on the back and asked, "Are you ready, buddy?"

"Yep, I think so."

"You'll do great. We lead the league in passing yardage and touchdowns. We can beat these guys."

"I know, but this is the biggest football game I ever played in," Ed said.

"You'll do great, Ed. Central players put their jock straps on exactly the same way as us. We beat them last year. We can do it again. Remember to throw away from Trent. I'm faster than him, but he closes on the ball quickly."

"I practiced with Trent for ten weeks this summer. I know exactly how to deal with him."

"That's the spirit, Ed."

The coaches reviewed the game plan with us while the JV teams played. We went through our usual rituals to prepare ourselves mentally and physically for football. Finally it was time to take the field for warm-ups. When we finished that, we had a couple minutes before the game started. Ed, Jeremy and I went over to the Central team to see Trent and his cousin Christian to say hello before the game.

We met near midfield. I gave Trent a hug and said, "It's good to see you, man!"

Trent answered, "You too."

I shook Christian's hand. We introduced Jeremy to Christian and vice versa. We talked for a couple minutes before we parted. It was good to see our friends again.

Our team was huddled for a last minute pep talk from Coach Caffrey when word reached us that the JV team had lost in the last seconds to Central's JV team. Andy had managed to collect two touchdowns in the loss.

We came out of the locker room and waited a minute until the announcer was ready to introduce our team. Central's field was filled to capacity with vociferous fans dressed in burgundy and gray. I'd never seen a crowd this loud in my previous eighteen games. Central fans knew how to support their team. Trent's teammates were introduced to sustained applause and cheers. Christian brought almost as much noise out of the crowd as their quarterback. He obviously was a crowd favorite.

We won the coin toss and elected to receive the kickoff. Tim Showalter did a good job. He got us started from our thirty-one yard line. We ran a couple simple off tackle plays. Stan picked up 9 yards on the two plays. On the third play I was sent on a deep streak downfield. Trent and the free safety covered me short and deep, so I wasn't open. Don broke free of his man. Ed fired the ball to him for a twelve yard gain. Drew came in to spell Stan. Coach Caffrey called for a sweep on this play. I blocked Trent towards the center of the field while Drew ran to my outside. He turned the corner and headed downfield. The free safety went for the tackle about seven yards past the line of scrimmage. Drew neatly stiff armed him and kept running. Drew kicked into a higher gear and flew down the sideline. No other Central player came close to touching him, much less tackling him. Drew scored our first touchdown. Score: 7-0 Wolverines.

When Drew reached the end zone Trent exclaimed, "Shit! Where did you guys get him?"

"Drew? He's been around all year. I guess you won't cheat on covering outside runs anymore, will you?"

"You guys got anymore surprises for us?"

"I hope we do, Trent. You'll see."

Trent got a big grin. "Yeah. We'll both see about surprises." I wondered what Central had planned for us. We'd find out quickly.

We kicked off to them after the PAT went through the uprights. Central wasted no time letting us know that we were in for a long night. Their first play was a streak downfield by Christian just like mine. Christian flew by our cornerback, Dylan Peachey, like he was standing still. Seth Vogel, our sophomore back up free safety tried to adjust and get over to cover Christian, but he was too slow too. Christian caught a beautifully thrown pass thirty yards downfield and sprinted into the end zone for a touchdown. Central's successful PAT brought the score to 7-7.

The two opening drives, if you can call four plays and a touchdown followed by one play for a touchdown drives, set the tone for the night. Both offenses had too many weapons for the defenses. We kept Drew on the field as much as Stan. Drew stretched Central's defense in ways that they couldn't fix.

Unfortunately I was finding out how our opponents felt when they tried to cover me. Dylan Peachey just wasn't fast enough to cover Christian one on one. We put our safeties Pete Houck and Seth Vogel on him to try and help cover him deep, but they couldn't always help. I knew exactly how easy it is to use your play calling to pull the extra defensive back away from his intended double coverage. We did it every game. We were going to spend the game trading touchdowns. Last team with the ball wins. A real shootout.

I caught a touchdown on a high throw by out jumping Trent and the free safety for my first touchdown. We managed to stop Central on one drive without them scoring. We led 21-14 at the time. Coach Caffrey decided it was a good time to use our flanker option pass. It worked to perfection. Greg slid back and picked off Trent while I ran behind the line of scrimmage. Ed flipped the ball to Drew who then handed it to me. I followed Ed's block to free me for my "run." The cornerback covering Don frantically ran towards me as I approached the line of scrimmage. I tossed a nice spiral to Don when the cornerback left him uncovered. Don ran the ball into the end zone for us. The score stood at 28-14 Wolverines.

Trent had a few words for me when he caught up with me after Don scored. "Yeah, Kyle. 'Oh, my arms too weak. I can't throw the ball back to Ed. Can you do it for me?' What a load of shit you fed me at camp!"

I answered, "I thought that little secret might be worth a touchdown tonight. I was right. We'll do whatever we need to win this evening."

"Fair enough. I guess Christian is a bit of a surprise."

"Yeah. The two of you kept his speed very quiet," I retorted.

Coach Wyndham tried putting two or even three defensive backs on Christian when Central got the ball. We managed to keep the ball out of his hands, but at a high cost. We had to take George Reynolds out when we put in the fifth DB. George was excellent at stopping the run. Without him, Rick, Jeremy and the defensive line were overmatched. Central pushed the ball straight up the field on our defense. Finally, in desperation, Coach Wyndham put George back in. On the very next play Central's quarterback threw a perfect deep pass to Christian who carried the ball into the end zone. Score: 28-21 Wolverines

We got the ball back with three minutes left in the half. Ed moved us steadily down the field with our usual mix of passing and running. I was sent on a deep pass route on the sixth play. I cleared the cornerback and was open for the ball. I was forty yards downfield when I glanced back to find out why the ball wasn't here yet. A Central defensive end had broken through the pass protection and flushed Ed out of the pocket. Ed desperately threw the ball downfield to me just as the end hit him. The ball wobbled but flew downfield towards me. I had to backtrack towards Trent to make a play for the ball. Trent had position on me. He caught the ball to his chest while I helplessly watched from behind him. I tackled Trent immediately, but he held onto his interception.

I helped Trent to his feet after the play and complemented him on the interception. The play could have been worse. Ed's interception really worked out like a punt. Central needed to go the almost the full length of the field to score in the 57 seconds remaining in the half.

Coach Wyndham put us in prevent defense. We let Central have 6-8 yards every play, but nothing deep. Pete Houck, our free safety positioned himself in the end zone before the snap on each play. He covered Christian deep with Dylan and Seth's help underneath. We managed to slow Central down enough that they burned almost all the time on the clock just getting into field goal range. They tried a forty-two yard field goal just before the end of the half. Their kicker didn't have a strong enough leg to make the points.

We went into the locker room thankful for our precarious lead. The coaches discussed options with the defense to stop, or at least slow down Christian and the Central offense. Coach Graham discussed our plans with the offense. Every one of us knew we needed to score on every possession if we wanted to maintain our lead.

Central received the second half kickoff. They marched the ball down the field. Our defense managed to limit Christian to no more than ten yards a pass. The extra coverage for Christian left us vulnerable in other places. Central's other wide receivers and tight end made up for the yardage Christian couldn't get. They managed to stuff the ball into the end zone after a thirteen play drive. This brought the score to 28-28.

Central managed to cover my deep routes when we got the ball back. We were forced settle for shorter gains on each play. We worked the ball down the field with a mix of passes and runs. Drew almost scored on an outside sweep, but he got pushed out of bounds at the Central six yard line. We tried to bull our way into the end zone with Stan carrying the ball twice. On third down we tried passing. Ed threw the ball to the corner of the end zone. I jumped for it, but the three defenders managed to knock it lose before I could get my feet settled and establish possession of the ball. We ended up settling for a field goal. This put us in the lead 31-28.

In desperation, Coach Wyndham put Jeremy on pass coverage for the wide receiver on the opposite side of the field from Christian. Normally linebackers aren't supposed to be able to cover wide receivers. Jeremy's practice in the spring covering Don, Karl, Andy and me paid off. With the switch, we could cover Christian with two or three defensive backs on Christian and still have enough weight on the line to stop running plays. Central managed to move the ball down the field. We stopped them short of the end zone. They tried another long field goal, which they missed. The score remained 31-28, Wolverines favor.

Our offense went back to work. Central dogged us again, making us earn every yard. We pushed down the field on another long drive. Drew broke a tackle on a draw and carried the ball down to Central's thirty-one yard line. Ed threw three straight passes into the end zone, but Don, Karl, Drew, Greg and I were blanketed with coverage. We missed our field goal try. Score: 31-28, Wolverines.

Both teams spent most of the third and fourth quarters slowing, but not stopping the other team. Neither team managed to score. We got the ball with about three minutes remaining. We moved downfield like on other drives, in 6-8 yard chunks. When we reached Central's forty yard line, we tried a new play. Drew and I both ran deep routes. We surprised Central. They had a linebacker on Drew. Drew flew by the linebacker. The free safety that was on double coverage on me peeled off to try to cover Drew. This was my opportunity. I had separation from Trent. Ed fired the ball to me. It was short so I had to turn back to catch it. I caught it on the five yard line. Trent hit me immediately, but I stayed on my feet. I dragged Trent into the end zone to score the go-ahead touchdown. When we made the PAT, the score was 38-31 Wolverines.

I glanced at the clock. 82 seconds remained in the game. Did we score too quickly? Our kickoff coverage team did a good job. Central had to gain 78 yards to score.

We played our prevent defense to force Central to gain their yards slowly. They moved steadily down the field towards our goal line, but precious seconds ticked off the clock. There were 42 seconds and two time outs left when Central reached our twenty-two yard line. Coach Wyndham sent Jeremy on a well timed blitz. He sacked the quarterback for an eight yard loss. Central misfired on the next two plays for incompletions. We set seven guys in zone defense between the first down yard marker and the back of the end zone. Christian settled into the seam in our zone at the two yard line, caught a crisp pass, turned and fell into the end zone as our defenders converged on him. Central went for the two point conversion. Their QB lobbed the ball to Christian, who caught the ball despite Seth, Dylan and Pete's efforts knock it loose. Score: 39-38, Central.

We had 22 seconds left in the game to recover the lead. Tim Showalter did a superb job on the kickoff. He managed to get to our forty-nine yard line before he was pushed out of bounds. The coaches sent Drew and me deep. We drew the defense with us. Greg caught our first pass twenty-two yards downfield. Ed quickly called a timeout to kill the clock at fourteen seconds remaining. Drew and I sprinted for opposite corners of the end zone. Ed threw towards me. I out jumped Trent and the strong safety, but couldn't hang on to the ball when I came down. Nine seconds remained in the game.

We were stuck on the 29 yard line, too far for a realistic shot at a field goal. We had to go for the end zone. We tried the same play again. Ed threw towards Drew this time. The free safety managed to get his hands on the ball first, but Drew knocked it to the ground. We had four seconds and one play left to win the game.

We changed the play a little. All receivers were to converge on the same side of the field. I would jump and try to tip the ball to someone on our team. We ran the play as designed. I timed my leap properly, reaching my peak height as Ed delivered the ball to our crowd. I batted the ball to Don at the one yard line. Don bobbled the ball as the Central defender hit him. The ball bounced out and flew backwards in the air, still in play. Karl caught it at knee level and brought the ball securely to his chest. He took a step towards the goal line and then was swamped by Central defenders. Karl collapsed under the pile on the four yard line.