Jeff was telling me he didn’t want to hear my ‘aw shucks’ routine. I nodded, but if he asked something that irritated me, I would give him my ‘thanks to God’ answer.
“Did you have any idea you were close to the record?” he asked.
“At halftime, Alan Douglas, our student assistant coach, told me I had a shot. I honestly wasn’t trying to break the record. All I wanted to do was beat Bloomington. I have to say, they never gave up and gave us a heck of a game. I wouldn’t want to play them again.”
He gave me the evil eye because he thought I always gave the other team too much credit. I just shrugged, because anyone that could put 70 points on you would beat you every single time. We’d been fortunate to win this one.
“What do you have to do to get better?” Jeff asked.
The whole room laughed, but I took his question seriously.
“We need to take this game and throw it out. This was a fluke, and if we think we’re really this good, we’ll soon be shown that we aren’t. I’m sure when the coaches review the film they’ll see we blew assignments, didn’t get off the ball, and other stuff that doesn’t come to me right now. I’m confident that Coaches Hope and Zoon will figure out what we need to do defensively also. The offense didn’t do them any favors. We need to give them longer drives so they can catch their breath and be more effective.”
“Are you saying the defense’s poor performance was the offense’s fault?” Jeff asked.
“First of all, I think our defense played a heck of a game. They ran into a Bloomington team that was bigger, stronger, and faster than we were. They did enough for us to win. If it weren’t for my pick-six at the start of the second half, this game would have been much different. If I had taken us down for the score, we would have been up three scores, and we could have run the football more. Instead, I opened the door for them to get back into the game, and they showed me why I think they’ll win State in their division this year.
“I also want to point out that the heart and soul of our defense was hurt in the first series. Does anyone know how Tim Foresee is doing?” I asked.
“Early indications are that he’ll need surgery,” Jeff told me.
“That’s the second key player we’ve lost this season. My best friend Jeff Rigger was lost to an accident before we even got started. We dedicated the season to him. If Tim Foresee is also out, we’ll add him to the dedication. Both were key members of this team, and it saddens me that they won’t join me on the football field again this year. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Tim and his family.”
Then the floodgates opened, and I got questions like ‘How do you feel?’ Jeff rolled his eyes as I did what I was supposed to and gave them the tried and true lines like, ‘We play them one game at a time.’ Thankfully Coach Zoon stuck his head in the room and told us the bus was ready to leave. Coach Hope never even got a question sent his way. I think he was okay with that.
◊◊◊
On the bus ride home, everyone was in high spirits. The rest of the team hadn’t heard about Tim yet, and I didn’t want to be the one to give them the bad news. Actually, it was secondhand news, so it would better to find out for sure before I shot my mouth off. The goofs started singing songs that I was embarrassed to admit knowing, and of course, I joined in. They sang the theme songs from Scooby-Doo and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Then someone got smart and got out their iPhone and started playing songs from this century. Everything was good until Johan stood up and demanded some country and western music. We all gave him a hard time, but when he threatened to start tossing people out of windows, he got his wish. I admit I liked Florida Georgia Line’s Cruise. By the time we pulled into the school parking lot, we had the whole bus rocking. I honestly can’t remember a better time.
We were met by a parking lot full of fans, all of whom had cowbells. The local TV station was there as well, and they cornered me again to give them twenty seconds of filler.
Greg sent me a text that said Monical’s was staying open so we could go have pizza. When I told everyone, there was a cheer, and we started that direction. Brook was in the parking lot with Halle and Zoe.
“You have my car keys?” I asked her.
Brook had avoided me all during school today. She gave me a weak smile and tossed my keys to me.
“Come on, I’m buying,” I told the girls, and they got into the Jeep.
“So, are you some sort of superstar now?” Brook teased me.
“Yes, ma’am. You’re riding with the best quarterback in the nation,” I said as if I believed every word of it.
Halle was sitting beside me and apparently designated to smack my arm when I got too full of myself. When we got to Monical’s, it was a zoo. People were lined up to get in. I remembered what Tami had told me and got into line.
“What are you doing?” Halle asked.
“Waiting to get in.”
The three girls looked at me like I was crazy, and then they thought about it and joined me in line. Monical’s opened up the banquet rooms, and soon everyone was able to get in. The girls were smart enough to listen to the comments people made when they saw me in line with them. I watched as the football players and other cheerleaders all just walked in like they owned the place. I was glad to see the coaching staff join me in line. I wasn’t surprised when I ran into several recruiters, including Bo Harrington.
“Well, looky here. If it isn’t the newly minted national record holder and the number 1 target of the mighty Crimson Tide,” he teased me.
“I think Coach Diamond got your memo about me throwing the ball more.”
“I was glad to see you in the shotgun at least. Did they even touch you tonight?” Bo asked.
“I got put on my backside a couple of times, but the equipment did its job.”
Bo had gotten me a flak jacket and other gear in my freshman year to help protect me.
“I hear you have a big game yourself tomorrow. Are you going to beat Ole Miss?” I asked.
“I think they’ll be a handful, but I’m confident we can get the job done,” Bo said. “Have you decided when you plan to come for a visit? We’d love to have you.”
“Not before he comes to Michigan,” Coach Haber, the head coach from Michigan, said.
“He’s right. We’re planning on going to Michigan next weekend to see them play BYU,” I said.
All of a sudden I found myself surrounded by recruiters. Bo made a loud whistle to get everyone’s attention.
“Settle down! We all know the rules. If you bump into him it’s one thing, but to swarm him will only piss him off,” Bo said.
I nodded, and they backed off. Brook grabbed my hand and pulled me into Monical’s. The line had finally moved. I went to the back and ate a couple of pieces of pizza and downed a Mountain Dew. When I was done, I walked out into the main restaurant area and talked to everyone. I was glad to see Brandon and Tracy talking to the recruiters after I was introduced to them and had moved on. I spent the most time with families with young boys who had dreams of being the starting quarterback for Lincoln High. I couldn’t get over how many of them had on jerseys with my number 11 on it. The local sporting-goods stores were making a fortune.
I finally found my family talking to the Notre Dame quarterback coach. I just waved and kept moving. I would see them later this year when they hosted USC. I saw Wolf’s family talking to a group from Michigan. They and Stanford would be my top two choices if I were a tight end; they utilized them better than anyone in the nation. A lot of that might have to do with the Michigan coach coming from Stanford. Bo seemed to have Jim’s and Ty’s parents cornered; that made me happy. Bo was making a big push to get me to go to Alabama, and apparently, he had listened to me: I’d said more than once I would like to play with my friends. I found it amusing that Northwestern wanted to wait and see with Ty. Bo’s interest might have had something to do with Ty catching eight passes for 183 yards. A running back who could catch the football was a very sought-after commodity at the next level.