Our defense finally stiffened and held their own for the rest of the game. I touched the ball ten times and scored three touchdowns of 60 or more yards. I had 273 yards of rushing, a freshman record for one game. After my third touchdown, the varsity coach came down and talked to our coach, and I suddenly found myself on the bench.
When the final gun sounded, we had won 27–17. The teams lined up to shake hands and their star halfback made a point of introducing himself.
“Ty Wilson.”
“David Dawson.”
“Hey, where did you come from?”
“What do you mean?”
“We scouted your practice game.”
“Oh, I didn’t start playing football until school started.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, I’ve never played a down of football until this year.”
He just shook his head.
“David, you are one scary dude. I dread playing against you the next three years.”
When we got back to the locker room, I was met by two coaches I hadn’t met before: Coach Diamond, the JV Coach and Coach Lambert, the Varsity Coach. Coach Lambert had a booming voice with a Southern drawl.
“Dawson, that there was a hell of a game, yes, sir. I haven’t seen that kind of spunk in a freshman in a long time. I heard some rumblings that there was a new kid that could hit, but I needed to see it with my own eyes.”
“Thank you, sir.”
I noticed the locker room had gone quiet so they could overhear the conversation.
“No thanks necessary, it was my pleasure to see you play today. Coach Diamond, how many yards did David put on them today?”
He looked at his clipboard.
“273 yards on 10 carries.”
Coach Lambert nodded his head.
“What’s the freshman record?”
Coach Diamond flipped through some pages until he found what he was looking for.
“184 yards on 22 carries.”
“And what happened to that player after that game?”
Coach Diamond thought for a minute, looked at the name next to the record, and then smiled as he realized whom Coach Lambert was talking about.
“He moved to varsity where he’s a four-year starter, the first in our history.”
“Who was that boy?”
Coach Diamond got a big grin.
“Why that’s our very own Luke Herndon.”
“Well I’ll be. Sounds like we have a new rising star. David, I expect to see you at varsity practice on Monday.”
I was about to jump out of my skin, but I played it cool.
“Yes, sir.”
After the coaches left, the team swarmed me, giving me high fives. Mike rushed up and gave me a one-armed hug.
“Man, I’m going to miss you.”
I just shrugged.
“Mike, you’ll be there before you know it. If there hadn’t been an injury they wouldn’t even be looking at me.”
Mike gave me a playful shove.
“Don’t bullshit me. After that performance you’d be playing varsity regardless of whether there was an injury.”
I did my best Southern drawl.
“Like my pappy always says, if you’re going to run with the big dawgs, you’d better get off the porch. I guess this big dawg is going to have to play himself some varsity ball. Awhooooo!”
“Big Dawgs need to stick together, WOOF, WOOF, WOOF!” Tim chimed in.
Girls never understand why guys love football. It gives us a chance to be total dorks and cut up. It allows us to get our natural aggression out and have a good time. It was also a great teaching experience for guys. Ever notice how two guys can get into a big fight and then ten minutes later be laughing it up with each other? I think sports has a lot to do with it. We learn we leave it on the field. We don’t hold grudges. We can be free and crazy playing one minute, and once the game is over go back to the real world.
I SHOWERED AND WENT out to meet my mom for my ride home. When I came out, Tami, Lily and Tina had waited with my mom. Lily and Tina rushed up and gave me kisses on the cheek. Tami slugged my arm.
“I’m so glad you guys came today, it means a lot to me,” I said.
I looked at Tami. She knew we had things to work out. It felt good to have her smile at me instead of look disappointed. Lily was bouncy today.
“You were awesome. How many yards did you get?” Lily asked.
“273, but the bigger news is I just got promoted to varsity,” I announced.
I was a little shocked, but I really was proud of my accomplishment. I hadn’t felt this good in a long time. I found I liked the physical aspects of football. It was therapeutic. The adrenalin rush and being able to whack a guy was liberating. To have three very cute girls fawn over you was an added bonus. At that moment, nothing could spoil my good mood.
Tami beat the other two in pulling me into a big hug.
“Great news, David! We were all amazed at how well you did. From what I heard, you were hands down the best player on the field. We sat near Mike’s dad and he said you’re a much more powerful runner than Luke was when he set the freshman rushing record. He said Luke was probably quicker at your age, but he played halfback and you play fullback. All the parents were a little scared of how hard you hit,” Tami said.
“Why’s that?”
“Mike’s dad said it was like in baseball when you hear that perfect pitch. The pop of the glove is just different. He said when you hit someone, it reminded him of a college game. The pop of your pads when you make contact had a different sound. They were worried you might injure some of the players from Washington. Everyone was happy to see you get pulled in the second half,” Tami explained.
I had a sheepish grin. It was good to hear how the parents talked about my game. I needed to call my uncle and tell him about my game today. He would be pleased. I gave Tami a kiss on the cheek and she blushed. I became aware I had my left arm wrapped around her waist as we talked. I let her go and turned my attention to Lily. I smiled and put her in a bear hug.
“How’s my number one fan doing?” I asked.
I knew this was a big deal for her to hang around friends outside of school. Her old crew had abandoned her, and we’d had a few conversations about how lonely she’d been. I tried to be a friend to her and I was happy Tami took her under her wing. I thought I would make her day and captured her face in the palms of my hands and kissed her on the lips. It was cute to see her eyes get big, but she didn’t pull away. I could see Tina behind her give me a big grin. My guess was she knew Lily had a crush on me. I broke the kiss and stepped back, but Lily was having none of that. She pulled me into a hug.
“Better now. You keep that up and I’ll want more of those,” Lily said.
I leaned in and whispered in her ear.
“You just say the word.”
She just leaned back and you could see true happiness in that moment. In a weird kind of way, we had gone through a lot. Not together, but it all stemmed from that terrible night last spring. I did want to become a good friend to her, and I was sure she felt the same. If I thought about it hard enough, I’m sure we could be more than friends. I broke my embrace and pulled Tina into a serious kiss. About halfway through the kiss I remembered the parental unit who stood behind me. She had to be pleased to have a month’s worth of material handed to her on a silver platter. I think Tina realized it also, because she suddenly stiffened up and we parted quickly. It could have also been my erection suddenly pressed into her midsection.
Mom couldn’t wait any longer. She walked up and pulled me into an embrace as I had the other girls.
“I’m so proud. My little boy is growing up.”
She then got a mock shocked look on her face, looked at the three girls and then separated a little bit to look down.
“Did you girls know he really is growing up?” Mom asked.
Okay, I would need therapy from that one. I was sure I would be scarred for life. When I thought it couldn’t get any worse, my best friend stepped into the fray.
“I’ve heard rumors. Turn him around so we all can see,” Tami suggested.