When we pulled up to the front of the stadium, we all saw it was the biggest one we had played at during the regular season. When we won State, that stadium held nearly sixty thousand, but there were fans from six different teams in attendance since they played three games that day. We played in the 5A classification, the next-to-largest, while Bloomington was in 6A. Coach Hope got up to talk before we got off the bus.
“You are about to play before twenty thousand people tonight,” he said and then paused to let it sink in. “Jeff Delahey called this ‘the game of the year’ in his article this morning. It will also be the second game in which we’ll have been televised. I’m sure that all sounds a little daunting, especially after what Bloomington did to Springfield last week.
“I want you to know that I’m not worried. While I expect that Bloomington is probably the best team you’ll play this year, I think you’re better. They may be bigger, faster, and have more division one prospects. What they don’t have is our heart. They haven’t put in the effort and aren’t as well-conditioned as we are. They may get up on us, even by a couple of scores, but we will win.
“So just treat this like any other game, and do your normal routines,” Coach Hope said, and then let us off the bus.
I had to laugh when Coach built the game up and then said it was like any other game we would play. He was funny and didn’t even realize it.
◊◊◊
In the locker room, everyone seemed to be okay. We had been here before. We were all a year older, and the experience of playing a team like Springfield came through. I was happy to see the juniors and seniors walking around to make sure the freshmen and sophomores saw how we should prepare. I had my headphones on, playing heavy metal. It always got me in the mood to cause mayhem. When it was time to go out, Alan came over and tapped me on the shoulder. I took out my earbuds and put everything in my locker.
Tim and Wolf were named my co-captains for this game. We led everyone out, and the two of them got the team lined up and stretching. I took a moment to soak up the scene. I couldn’t believe how many people had come to the game. Our half of the stadium was a nearly unbroken sea of orange. I must have missed the memo that was sent out to get our fans coordinated. The Bloomington side was emblazoned in purple and gold, their school colors.
Brandon, my assistant, had informed me that thirty-eight colleges had told him they were sending recruiters to watch the game. He said they wanted to see firsthand how I handled the pressure of a big game. They also thought that this would be a chance to watch me against superior talent. I disagreed with their assessment because I thought our guys were as good as if not better than anyone else. That said, we were supposed to be the underdogs. That gave us a huge advantage, as far as I was concerned. We wouldn’t have to worry about losing the game; all the pressure was on them.
I focused on getting ready as we ran our pregame drills. I felt good throwing the ball. So far this year I had avoided getting dinged up. I made a point of not showing Bloomington all my passes. In the first two games, I hadn’t really uncorked a long one. In practice, Roc and I had goofed around, and I threw one that traveled over sixty yards in the air. Roc seemed to have a knack for catching long passes. He would get better as he became stronger, but his long, loping glide made him sneaky-fast, and he had enough aggression to fight and win against most defensive backs.
We went back into the locker room, and I began to visualize success. Shiggy had helped me with that in baseball. He was a big believer that it helped with batting. I agreed with Shiggy and had made it a part of my pregame routine for football. Coach Hope gave us a rousing speech, and Tim, Wolf, and I led the team out on the field to a chorus of cowbells. I think every one of our fans had one of those blasted things. Once we were on the sideline, Coach Diamond came to find me.
“One second, Coach,” I said, and threw up behind our bench.
My teammates thought my nervous stomach was hilarious. They knew if I puked before a game, we would win, so it fired them up. Of course, doing it on grass was vastly different than artificial turf. The cheerleaders all gave me dirty looks and moved down some. I grabbed a water bottle and cleaned out my mouth. It was now time to do the coin toss.
When we walked out to do the coin flip, Bloomington had sent out five guys who all looked like they were college linemen. It turned out they were their offensive line. I liked that they would honor them and make them team captains for the game. I would need to talk to Coach Hope about that. Something else that impressed me was Bloomington wasn’t a bunch of posers. Usually, some ass-hat would make stupid remarks that would piss me off. I had become accustomed to that and used it to fuel my play on the field.
Bloomington ended up winning the toss and taking the football. Most teams wanted the ball to start the second half. The reason was that at that point you would know how the game was going and if you were up or down. It also gave your offense a chance to make adjustments at halftime, and that often resulted in a better drive than early in the game.
Our new kicker, Derek Hofmann, put it through the end zone, so there was no return. Bloomington’s game plan became apparent early. They intended to use their size to run the ball down our throats. Our two new defensive tackles, Johan and Milo Bauer, were up to the task. The two big farm boys may have been smaller, but they were as strong as oxen. Coach Stork had worked with the defensive line and taught them to dig in and keep the linemen off of our linebackers, which allowed Tim and Yuri to fly around and make plays.
Bloomington was able to move the football, and I had a bad feeling we would wear down. It was like a prize fight, and early body blows would take their toll in later rounds. Then I watched as Tim got tied up with a lineman, and another hit his legs. I knew as soon as I saw it: Tim was hurt. The Bloomington running back got free and scored, but there was a flag down. They had been caught with the illegal hit on Tim.
Our training staff ran out onto the field, and I watched as they checked his knee. The stadium was quiet as they brought the ambulance right out onto the field. I felt a cold rage start to build within me. Tim had worked so hard, and in an instant, his hopes of playing football in college could be over. Coach Zoon and Diamond pulled me to the sideline.
“David! David!” Coach Zoon yelled to get my attention. “Focus!”
I finally looked at my two coaches who had concern written all over their faces.
“Worry about Tim later. He’d want you to win this game,” Coach Diamond said.
I bent over and felt like I was going to throw up again. Tim and I had become much closer over the summer. The coaches were right, I needed to get my head back into the game, especially if I was going to make them pay.
The fifteen-yard penalty stopped their drive, and they had to punt. Bloomington pinned us inside our 5 yard line at the 3. Coach Diamond gave me the first play, and I smiled. We lined up in our triple-option format with Ty standing next to me in the shotgun, and Wolf and Ed lined up a step back and outside our tackles.
“Down! Set! Hut, Hut!” I called out.
Bloomington was in full run-blitz mode to try and stuff Ty in the end zone so they could get a safety. I pulled the ball from Ty’s stomach and trusted he would pick up anyone that came free. Roc had given a halfhearted break off the ball and sold the run. A lot of receivers give away the run by not acting the same as when they know the ball might come to them. Then Roc took off like a shot. Their safety drifted over to cover him, but I followed through like we were running the option. The safety hesitated, which gave me the window I needed. I planted my feet and threw the football as far as I could with plenty of air under it to let Roc catch up to it. I had learned that from Bill last year. All I needed to do was give my receivers a chance to go get it.