Chapter 33

I found Ed, Hal and Jeremy half way between our bench and where the line of scrimmage had been. I joined them. We commiserated with each other about our fate. Penny, Kathy and Tammy came down from the stands to join us. Jeremy, Hal and I got sympathy kisses and hugs from our girlfriends. Penny gave Ed a kiss too.

We talked about the missed opportunities in the game for a few minutes. Chip came by to see me. He asked, "Are you OK, Kyle? Robbie really nailed you on the last play."

"I'll be a little sore tomorrow, but I'll be OK. Your linebacker made a clean hit on me." I shook Chip's hand. "Congratulations on the win today. You guys earned it."

"Thanks, Kyle. I thought you had us there at the end. You guys had so many surprises. We watched videos of every single game you played this season. Where did those reverse plays come from? You never ran them before."

"They are left over from the last couple years," I explained. "The teams in our league had seen them so much that we saved them for the playoffs this season."

"They sure worked." Chip paused for a second. "I heard about you making all-American. Congratulations."

"You made all-state, you've done well too."

Chip smiled and answered, "Thanks for the compliment. Thanks for the advice last summer too. I went on an unofficial visit to Penn State three weeks ago. It was a blast. My parents and I met with Coach Paterno. Zack Hayes and Tony Phillips gave me a tour of the campus. Mom and Dad had dinner with Coach Paterno. Zack and Tony took me out for the evening. I had a good time." Chip winked at me. "A VERY good time."

I had the distinct impression we're talking a party with booze and get the kid laid kind of a good time. I answered, "That's cool."

"Zack tells me they offered you a scholarship two months ago. What the hell are you waiting for? If they'd offered me one, I would have accepted on the spot."

"I'm still considering between USC, LSU and Penn State," I explained.

"Man! What are you thinking? We're talking Joe Paterno, the Nittany Lions, they are going to give you a full scholarship to go to the best team in the country. What are you waiting for? Hell, you know half the team already. You aren't going to find more friends anywhere else."

"Southern Cal and Louisiana State have excellent programs too," I said defensively.

"You aren't a surfer dude or a good old boy from the Mississippi Delta. You're from Pennsylvania. You belong here in your own state."

"I'll keep that in mind when I make my decision," I said. My coaches were rounding our players up to go back to the locker room. "Good luck next week. If Strong Vincent beats Pine-Richland today, say hi to Damian Thompson for me."

"Damian... ?"

"Thompson. You'll know who he is if you play him. He's their starting tailback," I explained. "You'll see a lot of him."

"OK. I tell him if I see him," Chip answered.

"See you later," I said.

"You too," Chip answered. I started for the locker room with my friends. Chip called to me when I was half way off the field. "Go to Penn State. You belong there." I waved to him as I walked off the field.

Ed, Jeremy, Hal and I walked in the locker room as Coach Caffrey was asking for quiet. He asked, "Coach Baer, are all the players off the field?"

Justin answered, "These are the last ones." He pointed at us.

Coach Caffrey said, "Good. Could I have everyone's attention for a few minutes?" He paused for the room to get quiet. "This has been a difficult afternoon. We didn't meet our goal of winning the state championship again. This has been a very successful year in spite of that. Being one of the top four AAA football teams in the state is no small accomplishment. We had some problems to start the year. Each of you worked hard, studied and helped fix the problems. You gentlemen turned your season around. You went on to the playoffs and beat the #1 and #2 seeded teams in our district.

"This is the bittersweet time of year for me. We say good bye to our seniors: Pete Ellis, Ian Meyers, Jamaal Green, Adam Diem, Austin Herr, Travis Hall, Seth Vogel, Dylan Masterson, Hal Long, Jeremy North, Kyle Martin and Ed Fritz. We will particularly miss the guys who have been our heart and soul the last couple years, captains Jeremy North, Kyle Martin and Ed Fritz.

"Their time spent studying, their dedication to the team, their running spring drills and their leadership have taken us from mediocrity to excellence. You younger players have some giant shoes to fill next year. I am counting on you."

Jonathon Landis, our sophomore #4 receiver spoke up. "Coach, are we going to do film study this winter the way we did last year?"

Coach Caffrey answered, "That's not up to me. They were run by Ed, Kyle and Jeremy." Coach turned to us. "What do you say?"

I looked at Ed. He shook his head yes. We both looked at Jeremy. He grinned. I said, "It's on, Coach. We'll meet like we always do, first Wednesday after New Years after school in the conference room."

Coach Caffrey continued, "You heard it men. Film study in three and a half weeks. This is open to all players. We'll get to work preparing for our next season. Thank you everyone who contributed to this season."

Coach Caffrey said it was bittersweet. That was the perfect word. I had spent four years playing football for the Wolverines and it was done. It just didn't seem real. How could time have flown by so quickly? I'd never wear our red and white uniform on the field again.

Ed, Jeremy, Hal, Andy and I dressed. Our families had agreed to take us out to dinner when the game was over. Penny, Kathy and Tammy joined us. It was a nice ending for an otherwise disappointing day.

On Sunday afternoon I was studying for a Physics mid-term on Monday when the phone rang. Dad got it. He yelled to me that the phone call was for me. It was Zack Hayes.

"Hey, Zack. How are you doing?"

"I'm good. I saw in the newspaper where you guys lost to Unionville. How in the hell did you let something like that happen?" Zack asked.

I told him about how accurate Chip Brinton was. I explained how we couldn't block Trevor Conwell either. Ed just didn't have enough time to put our deep passing game into action during the game.

"Conwell? I know that name. He just committed to attending Penn State a couple weeks ago. I guess if he had to take the game from you guys, it's a good thing that he will be attending Penn State."

"Trevor is attending PSU? I didn't know that. I did hear about you giving Chip Brinton the tour a few weeks ago. I heard you've become the procurer for visiting recruits."

"Procurer? What do you mean?" Zack asked, clearly confused.

"I heard you got Chip laid on Saturday night when he visited." I explained.

"Did he say that?" Zack asked.

"Not exactly in those words. He indicated that in a 'Wink. Wink. Nudge. Nudge. You know what I mean?' sort of way."

"Ahh, Python. I didn't hook him up with any girls. I invited him to a party at my apartment so he could meet some of the team. I introduced him to my friends and some of the girls at the party. I can't say for sure what happened after that. He's a handsome guy. He's personable. He may have hooked up with one of the girls on his own. I didn't open the door and check what he and the girl were doing for a half hour in Aaron's room. It wasn't my business."

"I see. I know how those things can happen," I answered. Johara had given me a fun night last year.

"So, when are you going to get off the dime and choose a college?" Zack insisted. "This is getting ridiculous Kyle."

"Soon, Zack. Real soon."

"Good. It better be Penn State too. Me and some of my boys will come down and hurt you if it isn't," Zack said, laughing.

"Everyone around me keeps telling me I should attend Penn State."

"Listen to them Kyle. They sound like they're smart," Zack said.

I sighed. "I'll let you go. I'm sure you have a lot of studying you need to do."

"On a Sunday afternoon? Right! I'll see you over Christmas. Bye." Zack hung up the phone.

I didn't think about it until he hung up. He'll see me at Christmas? He has a national championship game to play. How can he get home for Christmas? I guess I'd find out soon enough.

I had trouble getting to sleep on Sunday night. I kept thinking about football – the end of my high school career. I understood what Aaron Morano had said to me four years ago when Berwick beat our team on our first playoff run. He said he enjoyed covering me in that game – that I had provided a challenge for him. No corner or safety had been able to cover me during the season. I beat double coverage consistently too. I was ready for a bigger challenge than high school could provide.

I thought about what I was going to do next. I didn't feel any closer to deciding between USC, LSU and Penn State. I thought about the coaches, the facilities and the guys I could be playing with. How was I going to choose?

I decided I needed to stop comparing each college directly to the other. What did I really want in college? I decided what characteristics were important to me and then I rated each college. The criteria I chose were: quality of the football program, the coaching staff, the campus, who was on the team, and distance from home. I hoped it would help me with my decision.

I sat down and set up a spreadsheet to rate each of the colleges. I scored each category on a 1 to 10 scale, 10 being the best. This was the result:

USC Penn State LSU

Quality of Football Program 10 9 10

Coaching Staff 9 10 10

Campus & Surroundings 7 9 10

Friends & Teammates 8 10 7

Distance from home 6 10 8

I gave USC and LSU the edge in quality of the football program since they both were in the top 10, year after year. Penn State made the top 10 frequently, but they had down years too. I scored USC down a little on coaching. Their coaches seemed so young compared to the other teams. Would they be up to the job over the long run?

Penn State's score for friends and teammates was obvious. I felt totally comfortable with them. Brady Rasmussen helped keep USC's score up on friends. Penn State scored at the top on distance from home. It was the perfect balance of being away from home but being close enough that I could get home if I needed to. Los Angeles is so far away. The six hour flights each way would probably limit my ability to use my parent's generous offer of paying for my trips to visit home. The flight home and then the return to LA would eat up over half of a weekend. Baton Rouge wasn't quite as bad.

I felt the chart was helpful. I wanted to take a little more time to consider my ratings. Coach Carroll, Coach Miles and Coach Paterno were getting a little less patient with me. They all hoped I would choose soon.

I found out that Cody Stevens had been coming over to our house each afternoon after school to 'work on home work' since the JV football and field hockey seasons ended a few weeks earlier. My sister really liked Cody. She had made a good choice for her first serious boyfriend. Cody was a good kid. He wouldn't do anything to hurt Liz.

Monday's paper cleared one thing up. Penn State wasn't departing Pennsylvania until December 26th for Phoenix. It was the Fiesta Bowl's turn to host the BCS championship game this year. Coach Paterno had decided that the team could have Christmas at home and still have ten days in Arizona to get ready for the big game.

Andy had finished up his Eagle project back in October. He used his free time in November to write up his project. His Board of Review for Eagle was Tuesday night. I hoped the board wouldn't blackball Andy because of him becoming a father in the spring.

His Board took much longer than mine. It was almost 10 o'clock when he finally got home. I went straight to his room when I heard him come home. He was changing out of his uniform. He was smiling.

I asked, "How'd things go?"

"I passed," Andy answered.

"You're gone 2 ½ hours and all you have to say is 'you passed'? What took so long?"

"The board reviewed my merit badges first, then had me talk about my Eagle project and how I demonstrated leadership. We started talking about the Scout Oath and Law. I decided I should come clean to the board. I told them about getting Crystal pregnant. I explained what happened, how I'm going to keep my kids and raise them with Mom's and Dad's help. We talked about what morally straight meant to me. I admitted that I hadn't lived up to the standards that were expected. The best I could do now was accept responsibility for my mistake and do my best to take care of my kids. They seemed impressed that I had agreed with the guidance counselor at school to meet with 8th grade health classes next year to talk about my experience as a teenage father."

"When did you decide to do that?" I asked.

"I have been talking with my guidance counselor at school for the last month. She thought this might help younger students from making the same mistake I made," Andy explained.

"Wow, I'm impressed. That's good, Andy."

"They sent me outside for 45 minutes while they conferred. They called me back in, congratulated me and told me I passed when I came back in."

"Congratulations, Andy. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, Kyle," Andy said. "I couldn't have done this without your help."

It was good that things were working out for Andy. I would have hated it if the committee had decided that Andy's one mistake disqualified him from getting Eagle and negated almost five years of work in Scouts.

Andy and I went to the mall after school on Wednesday so we could do some of our Christmas shopping. We hadn't had time while the football season was going on. I picked up gifts for Mom, Dad, Liz, Will, Abby and Andy. I found what I wanted to get for Penny, but I was short on money.

I found a gold necklace with intertwined hearts. It was perfect for my lover. Unfortunately it was two hundred dollars. I was $55 short. I found out just how great my parents were that evening. I asked Dad if he could loan me the money until after Christmas. I told him what it was for. He agreed immediately.

I talked with Mom and Dad that evening about my college choice too. I explained the ratings I had done for each college. Dad asked, "Does this rating mean you've decided on Penn State?"

"Yes ... well, no. Not yet at least. I'm not sure if..." I stuttered.

"Kyle, stop. You are unsure about your decision. Do you need more information?"

"No, I don't think so."

"OK, you have enough information for your decision. Your analysis says that Penn State is the best school for you. Do you agree?"

"That's what my ratings say. What if I'm wrong? This is a huge decision."

"Yes, this is an important decision for you, Kyle. Have you considered the possibility that you can't make a wrong decision when you choose from these three colleges? You simply are choosing among three paths that lead to the same place. I think you will be successful at any of these schools."

I hadn't thought about the possibility that I couldn't choose wrong when I picked a college. I could choose any of these schools and I would be fine. Did my rating mean that Penn State was right for me? I decided to sleep on it and see if I felt the same the next day.

I went back to the mall Thursday after school and bought the necklace. I hoped Penny would like it. It represented two weeks of work for me at scout camp. I loved her and I thought it was worth it.

I thought about colleges on the way home from the mall. I felt the same about my college ratings as I had earlier in the week. Penn State was a good fit for me. I had lots of friends there. Who knows, maybe Penny and I could stay a couple too. It was only a couple hours home from campus. We could see each other on weekends; at least we could after football season was over. I decided to see if Mom and Dad agreed with my choice at dinner.

After Mom served dessert, I announced, "I've made my mind up on college. I want to go to Penn State."

Andy grinned and said, "That's a good school, Kyle. You'll like it there."

Dad asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Panic hit me instantly. Was I sure? "Maybe..."

"Kyle, remember you can't choose wrong. You just need to choose. Why did you rate Penn State highest?"

Dad led me through my ratings again. By the time I was done explaining how Penn State came on top I was comfortable with my choice again. Mom, Dad and I agreed I would call Coach Paterno after school on Friday.

The phone call to Coach Paterno on Friday afternoon was anti-climactic. The secretary put me straight through to Coach Paterno as soon as I identified myself.

"Hello, Coach Paterno. This is Kyle Martin."

"Yes, Kyle what can I do for you?" Coach Paterno said.

"I was calling to let you know that I'd like to accept the scholarship, if it is still available."

Coach Paterno laughed, "I think we still have a spot for you, Kyle. I'm very pleased that you decided to come to Penn State." Coach Paterno went ahead and told me about how a scholarship worked and about National Letter of Intent Day. I had between February 4th and April 1st to sign a letter of intent. It would commit me to attend Penn State for one year. Until I signed the letter Penn State couldn't force me to attend their school. If I wanted to change my mind, I could. Obviously the university wanted me to sign the letter on the 4th of February. I had no problem with that. I fully intended to honor my word when I said I would go to Penn State.

Coach Paterno was delighted. He welcomed me to the team. He said we would do a press conference next week. Penn State's PR department would set it up with Coach Caffrey and my school. Coach Paterno wanted to get the announcement done before Christmas, otherwise it would have to wait until mid-January. Coach asked me to keep my schedule clear after school next week so I would be available for the press conference. Coach Paterno promised to send my family admissions information and a team schedule.

Coach Paterno concluded the call with "Any questions, Kyle?"

"No, sir. I'm looking forward to playing for your team," I said.

"Thank you for calling, Kyle. I'll see you next week," Coach Paterno said before he hung up the phone.

Now came the hard part. I had to call Coach Carroll and Coach Miles and tell them that I wasn't going to their schools. I made sure to thank each of them for all the time and effort they made to help me choose a college. Coach Carroll reminded me that I had until February 4th before the decision was final. He said he could still find a spot for me if anything didn't feel right about Penn State or if circumstances changed.

I went to Friday night's opening of our high school's Christmas musical with Jeremy, Kathy, Hal, Tammy, Ed and Holly Cox. I made my announcement before the musical started. "I decided to go to Penn State next year. I called Coach Paterno after school today."

Jeremy responded first, "Well ... no duh. I've known you were going to go to Penn State from the second they offered you a scholarship."

Hal added, "I was shocked you took so long to make up your mind."

"I wish someone would have told me. It would have saved me a lot of worrying."

Ed, "I knew since the first time Zack Hayes said, 'Come play football with me.' He had you hooked then."

I said, "It wasn't that clear cut to me. I would have gone to LSU if you had gone there too. I would have."

"Florida fit me better," Ed replied.

We got quiet as the music rose, announcing the start of the play. I was impressed with Penny's talent for music. She has a beautiful voice, much better than I had realized. I didn't get to talk to Penny Friday night. Things were too crazy after the musical.

Will and Abby were home from college when I returned from the musical. I got a kiss and a hug from Abby. Will teased me, asking me when I was going to start to shave. I teased him about how he was getting to be an old man now that he was almost 22.

Will and I did have a serious conversation about how Andy was handling becoming a father. I filled Will in. I thought Andy was going a good job with everything. Will said he planned a long talk with Andy while he was home. Will wanted Andy to know how much he respected Andy's plan to raise his babies. Will still regretted the losing his first child when Tina Mayer had an abortion.

Penny's musical was performed as a matinee on Saturday afternoon and finished with a performance on Saturday evening. Penny invited me to watch from back stage. It was cool to watch all the activity behind the scenes.

Penny took me to the cast party after the show was over. It was a chaperoned party, but someone managed to sneak vodka into the punch at the party. Penny and I had a bit of a buzz when it was time to head for home. We called ahead and got permission to stay out until 1 am. Penny and I planned to use the extra time to go to the back dirt road we used for privacy when we wanted to make love and we couldn't find privacy at either house.

On the way south of Strasburg I announced, "I have big news for you. I called Coach Paterno yesterday and told him I would play for Penn State."

"Goody!! I'm so happy to hear that." Penny gave me a big kiss on the cheek. "I hated the idea of you going to school on the west coast or down in Louisiana. We have a chance to keep our relationship going now."

"Yes, I would like that too," I said. Could we pull it off a long distance relationship? Julie and I certainly hadn't been able to do that.

When we arrived at the back lane I leaned my seat back and let Penny climb on my lap. We made out for awhile before Penny pulled my pants and boxers down and mounted me. Making love in my car in the middle of December was awkward and a little cold. It was better than going without. I managed to bring Penny to orgasm before I shot my pent up load of sperm into her. We cuddled for about five minutes before the sweat on our bodies made us too cold. We dressed and drove for home.

I was surprised to find a note on my bed that said I was to call no matter what time I got home. It was a quarter to one in the morning. The number was a cell phone number, but I didn't recognize whose number it was. I called it.

I got a slightly sleepy hello. "This is Kyle Martin. I got a message to call."

"OUTSTANDING! Absolutely outstanding!" I realized it was Zack Hayes. "Coach Burton e-mailed me to let me know you will be coming up to State College to play with us. I'm delighted."

"I'm looking forward to it too, Zack."

"I'm having some friends over tomorrow afternoon to watch my big brother play for the Eagles. Are you interested in coming over?"

"Sure. Andy, Will, Dad and I were going to watch the game together, but they won't miss me. You said we're going to watch Sam play? I know the Eagles are 12-2 and have everything wrapped up for the playoffs – division lead and home field advantage through the playoffs. Why isn't Andy Reid playing the #2 quarterback, Feely?"

"It hasn't made the papers yet. A. J. pulled a hamstring in practice this morning. He isn't going to play tomorrow. Don is playing into the second quarter and Sam is going to finish the game. A. J. will be the #3 QB this week."

"Cool. I'll be over. What time should I come?" I asked.

"Around 3:00 or 3:30 will be good. Do you need a ride?"

"No ... No thank you. I have my own wheels now." I chuckled to myself as I remembered all the times Zack had given me rides to places over the years.

Zack asked, "You're out kind of late tonight – hot date?"

"Penny and I went to the cast party after the Drama Guild closed the Christmas musical tonight." I explained.

"Yeah right. You weren't at a school chaperoned party until a quarter to one."

"Penny and I took advantage of our late curfew tonight. We went parking after the party."

"I see. You're freshly laid ... way to go, stud. It's late and you're probably all tired out from your date. I'll let you get to sleep."

"Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night, Zack."

I arrived at the Hayes house around 3:30 pm. There were a couple cars parked along the curb already, presumably some of Zack's guests. Zack greeted me at the door. Stan Humphries was home on Christmas break from East Stroudsburg.

Mike Wagner was there too. I hadn't seen Mike, a junior in college who had played opposite me as a wide receiver, since he graduated three years ago. Mike and I caught up while the early game, Denver vs. Kansas City, finished. Mike wasn't playing football anymore. He had followed our football team from Kutztown State. I told him and Stan about how it felt to go to the state championships. Don Bailey and Andy Groff came a few minutes later. The last guest, George Reynolds, joined us just before kick-off.

It was fun to hang out with my old teammates. It felt a little weird for me too. I was used to being one of the 'old guys'. I felt like I was back in ninth grade again, hanging with Mike, Andy, Stan, and friends.

The game was fun to watch. McNabb and the Eagles scored on the Redskins on their first drive. They were stopped on the second drive. Sam Hayes took over for McNabb after that. Sam's primary duty was handing the ball off to Ryan Moats and Tony Hunt on running plays. Andy Reid let him throw a few passes, but not many.

Zack ordered out for pizza mid-game. He had plenty of snack food too. Zack didn't mind when I grabbed a beer from the fridge like the rest of the guys. It had been awhile since I had a beer. It tasted delicious.

Mike Wagner and I got a chance to talk during half time. I said, "I don't know if I ever said it properly before you graduated. Thanks for all your help teaching me how to play wide receiver three years ago. I owe what I have today to you."

Mike laughed. "You're an all-American. I think you're responsible for most of what you accomplished Kyle. It was a privilege being there when you started out. I bet one day I'll be proud to tell my friends I played football with the great Kyle Martin."

"That's silly, Mike," I insisted. "I'm not that special."

"We'll see, Kyle. We'll see."

"Anyway, thanks for all your help back then."

The Eagles continued to dominate in the second half. The Eagles beat the 4-10 Redskins by 24-10. Sam ran the offense well but didn't get to throw many passes. Zack was proud of his brother when the game was over.

Zack had me stay a few minutes extra when the rest of the guys left. Zack said, "I wanted to talk with you a little about fitting in with the team before your press conference next week. Do you remember what you used to say when you started football in ninth grade?"

"What?"

"You said, 'I'm just trying to learn. I'll do what ever I can to help the team.' Do you remember?"

"Yeah, I do."

"That needs to be your mantra for the next year or two. 'I'll do whatever I can to help the team.' Penn State is a big time program. All the athletes on the team were top players in high school. There is more ego in this level than there was in high school. I want you to fit in, not piss people off with an attitude. You're an all-American. So what? We have lots of all-Americans on the team already."

"You're saying be humble," I answered.

"Exactly. You have a lot to be humble about too. You aren't going to believe the amount of things you are going to have to learn just to be allowed out on the field next year."

"I know. I'll do whatever it takes just to help out the team," I answered. I gave him a wink.

"Exactly right. Now, let's talk about dealing with the press," Zack said. We spent the next fifteen minutes talking about what Zack had learned about the care and feeding of reporters. It was an interesting talk.

As I got ready to leave I said, "You heard what I told Mike earlier tonight. I owe you everything I have in football. Thanks, Zack."

"You've been good for my career too. I'm looking forward to more time together. Good night, buddy."

"Good night and good luck in Phoenix," I said as I left.

Coach Caffrey called me to his office after school was over on Monday. He had things set up with the Athletic Department at Penn State. The news conference would be on Tuesday, December 23rd at 3:30 pm. Penn State would see to it that all the media got the word about the news conference. Coach Caffrey would line up the auditorium and have everything ready for the media.

I was excited on Tuesday. I had trouble paying attention in class. Ed and Jeremy tried to keep me relaxed and loose. They had faced the press already. I hoped Zack's advice was good. I wanted to make a good impression on Penn State fans.

When seventh period was over, I asked Penny, "Wish me luck, honey. I'm off to face the press."

Penny hugged me and gave me a kiss. "I'll do more than wish you luck. We're all coming to the press conference." She gestured towards Ed, Jeremy, Kathy, Hal, Tammy, Drew, and Brandon.

Ed added, "We wouldn't miss this buddy. Do you go straight to the auditorium?"