We jogged out to practice and I made a point of being right next to Kevin. When we hit the field, he came to a stop. I stopped with him as players ran around us. There were actual fans waiting to see our practice. Tami had come through.
Kevin looked at me and grinned from ear to ear. We both loved game day. I was a much better game player than practice player. I wanted to make this feel as real as possible. Coach wouldn’t make it easy on me. He set it up so we would start on our own 20 yard line and had to drive the length of the field. He had the assistant coaches be our referees for the game.
One of the coaches placed the ball in the center of the field and blew his whistle. I had everyone huddle up.
“Okay guys, this is the big time. We’re going to use their aggression against them. They’re going to be coming for me full-out. I’m going to need some time for this to work. Draw right on three. Pay attention, ’cause I want to get them to jump offsides. Ready, BREAK!”
We ran everything on the two count so there was never a problem with anyone knowing the count. Kevin knew it; heck, the whole defense knew it. We lined up in a four-receiver set with me in the shotgun. I saw that the defense prepared for full-out blitz. We needed to slow that down or I would never have time to throw the ball.
“DOWN. SET. Hut, HUT, HUT!”
The defense jumped the gun as we had planned. The refs threw their flags and we gained five yards. Kevin screamed at the three guys who’d moved before the snap.
We huddled up.
“Okay, good job, they’ll quit trying to jump the count now. Bill, did you see them cheat the safety up?”
“Yeah, let’s hit them with a slant where he’s supposed to be.”
“Good. Now pay attention. We’re running this one on first sound. It’ll catch them flat-footed. Ready, BREAK!”
We lined up in the same formation. The safety on Bill’s side started to creep up. I knew Kevin planned to have him blitz.
“DOWN.”
The center snapped me the ball and I saw the safety break through the line clean. I zipped the ball to Bill and he caught it in stride. No one would catch him. The crowd erupted as Bill walked into the end zone on a 75-yard score. Bill did a little touchdown dance and Kevin went ballistic. I knew that was Kevin’s pet peeve, so I’d instructed anyone who scored to do a little dance. My goal was to goad him into mistakes.
The safety slammed me to the ground, so I never got to see the results. I grinned when I saw the yellow flag lying by me. Coach Lambert slammed his clipboard on the ground and chewed out the defense.
The next series started on our 35 yard line because coach had carried over the roughing-the-passer penalty. We knew the defense didn’t want to be embarrassed again. Kevin was too smart for that. Therefore, I ran three straight buttonhooks to Bill. We were now on the 50 yard line. Kevin yelled at his defense that if we walked down the field with the same play and scored, he would kick all their asses.
The next play was a thing of beauty. Bill ran the same buttonhook. I pumped the ball and Bill juked the defender and sprinted by him. I felt the defensive end closing on me, so I let loose. The ball traveled forty yards in the air and Bill pulled it in for our second score. Bill did a better dance this time and got a ten-yard unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty. I didn’t care, because I saw Kevin go beet red.
It was like putting a red cape in front of a bull. He was fuming. This time he changed to a dime package to prevent the long score. They placed the ball on our 10 yard line. I changed our formation to pull both running backs into the backfield, flanking me on either side.
We planned to show the defense our running game. Eastside ran a zone-read option. It was very similar to the veer in that you made reads on how the defensive players reacted, which in turn determined where the ball goes. In theory, both offenses should gain nice yardage. I hadn’t wanted to pull out the running game out so soon, because the odds of the defense touching me went up astronomically with me running the option.
The first play was a simple dive up the center. The key to this offense was to establish a steady diet of inside plays. Our scout team was seriously outmanned, so I couldn’t expect this to work for any period of time. The run surprised the defense and we picked up eight yards.
On second and two, I saw Kevin grin. He knew he had this bet won. All he had to do was make me keep the ball. We ran the same play and gained the two yards we needed for the first down. The crowd started really to get into it. I heard chants of “Dawson, Dawson, Dawson!” Kevin didn’t like that, but I had a big grin.
The next play we ran to the left. I had the right-side back go in motion to the left to lead the toss. We had them outnumbered and the back almost broke it. He picked up nineteen yards. We were now within striking distance. The scout team was fired up. They had never had any success against the first-team defense before. The next three plays I just dinked and dunked short passes and forced the defense to make plays. We picked up another eleven yards.
We then ran the zone read again. This time I pulled the ball from the dive in the center, and I saw the defense shift to intercept me as I moved down the line. Kevin had fire in his eyes and I thought ‘Oh Shit.’ I cut back and followed the fullback into the hole. The defense parted like the Red Sea. I was ten yards past the line of scrimmage before anyone even came close. The fullback blocked a corner just before he got to me. I only had one corner left who had me dead-to-rights. I put a move on the poor kid that had his feet crossed and he tripped himself. I found myself standing in the end zone. I think I did a better dance than Bill.
I handed the ball to the ref and went up to Kevin.
“Dude, get back into your defense and play us straight-up. You have size, talent and experience all on your side.”
Coach Lambert called time and pulled the defense around him. I have never seen him more passionate than he was at that moment. When the defense came back out, we looked over from the huddle.
“Oh crud, I think the jig is up,” Bill said.
Yep, Kevin was focused, and being the heart and soul of the defense, so were they. It happened on our second play. I dropped back and didn’t see the defensive end break free, and he hit me from the blind side. Kevin and the defense had won their bet. From that point on, the defense played much better. Coaches let us play another series and then switched to first team offense against the defensive scout team. Our offense had no trouble scoring at will.
At the end of practice, Coach had us gather around.
“Dawson, get up here.”
I came up front and the defense all jeered me.
“I want to thank this young man for making us better today. We needed a wake-up call and he gave it to us.” The team gave me a good ribbing. “Kevin, get up here.”
Kevin came up with a big smile on his face.
“Son, well done on getting the boys focused. If we had this happen Friday, we would’ve lost.”
Kevin looked at the team.
“Actually, I have to give credit to Dawson. He talked to me after the third score and got me to realize he was using smoke and mirrors to beat us. I have to say, though, if he ever pulls this kind of crap again I’m going to kick his butt!”
I just put my hands up in mock surrender. Coach let us go and we all hit the showers. When I came out the locker room, Tracy and Tami were waiting for me. I had to appreciate Tracy. She wore, what looked like, sprayed-on jeans and a top that was too tight. She bounced into my arms and gave me a sizzling kiss. I guess half the team must have seen, because they all made rude comments for the next several weeks.
AFTER PRACTICE, THE three of us went to Beth’s so I could soak in the hot tub. All three of us had gotten smart and left swimsuits at the Anderson’s house. Mrs. A just threw the suits in the wash with the rest of their stuff. I soon found myself relaxing with three gorgeous women.