The funniest part was watching Coach Hope run down the sideline, urging Ed on. Coach didn’t even yell at us after we dog-piled Ed and drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. From that point, Springfield was done. I had never seen two teams as tired as we were when the game ended. I could see the quiet confidence as our team walked off the field.
When we got to the locker room, there was no wild celebrating. We all just had goofy grins under a layer of mud. I swear I had mud in places where I didn’t even know I had places! We were ordered to give all our gear to the team managers so they could get the dirt out of it over the weekend.
I have to say that I love our booster club. They had pizza and sodas waiting for us for the bus ride home.
Chapter 10 – Northwestern
Saturday October 18
The training staff had us all come in early to get treatment. When I say early, it meant we had to be there by 5 am so we could get on the road by 6. They knew we were going to Northwestern and it was an hour-and-a-half drive. The plan was to carpool from the high school to Evanston. We were all running around in various states of undress when Cassidy came waltzing in. The guys started to scramble to get dressed, but I stopped them. None of them were naked, so I didn’t see the big deal. Cassidy had seen us all without our shirts on, so I knew she’d be okay.
“Guys, she has a brother. I’m sure she’s seen it before. If she’s brave enough to walk back here, she’s brave enough to see your bare butts,” I said, teasing them.
“What’s she doing here, anyway?” Mike asked.
“She’s going to Northwestern with us,” Jim said.
“You’ve got to be kidding me, you’re bringing a date?” Wolf teased him.
Jim went bright red when he realized what he was doing. We debated leaving him home and just taking Cassidy. We got her to swear to secrecy for the trip, and my teammates settled down.
I WAS SURPRISED WHEN Mom and Dad pulled up in Angie’s van, and Mom got out and joined Mrs. Herndon, Mike’s mom, in their SUV. Mr. Herndon, Wolf and his dad all got in the van with Dad. I snatched Cassidy and dragged her into the back of the van with me. Jim was looking all over for her when his parents told him to get his butt into the car, to the amusement of most everyone who’d seen what I’d done.
Our car wasn’t the only one that held people from different families. Most of the parents knew each other, and the ride was a good way for them to get to know each other better. As we left the parking lot, Jim saw Cassidy in the van with me. He sent me some evil text messages. I was responsible for her being good. I think Jim knew that Cassidy had a not-so-secret crush on me. He also knew that I’d never do anything to hurt our friendship. I just wanted some alone time with her. I missed her being my locker-mate and missed eating lunch with her every day.
I put my arm around her, she curled her legs under herself and snuggled up against my chest, and we talked. At some point, I drifted off. What teenager wouldn’t on a Saturday morning this early. It felt good to have a girl in my arms. Wolf, my ex-friend, took a picture of Cassidy and me napping in the back of the van and sent it to everyone except Jim. It took Jim all of two minutes to see it once we reached Evanston. I was lucky he just knocked my hat off.
THE HOTEL HAD OUR ROOMS ready so we checked in early, went to our rooms and dropped off our bags. Instead of the typical mint on the pillow, my room had a Northwestern jersey with number 11 and ‘Dawson’ on the back. I was a little nervous when I saw it.
“Dad, do you know where this came from?” I asked as Mom and Dad came out of the bathroom with the same jersey on.
I was really worried that it was from a Northwestern booster. On unofficial visits, you could only receive game tickets. Anything else and you were in trouble with the NCAA.
“Relax, all the parents chipped in and got jerseys,” Mom told me. “Kendal had Sandy Range get them made and delivered to the hotel.”
They both laughed when they saw me relax. It was actually a pretty cool gift. I got a text from Bill that said he’d made it to Evanston. I called him to figure out what we were doing.
“Hey, we just got here too. We’re a couple of blocks from the stadium,” I told him.
“The coaching staff wants you to come with us. I’m to meet my chaperone for the weekend in twenty minutes. Why don’t you all walk over, and we can take the tour of the campus together?” Bill asked.
I sent a text to everyone to meet in the lobby in ten minutes. When we got downstairs some of the Nebraska fans gave us a hard time. My mom just glared at them and the fun and games were over. It was nice to see everyone in their Northwestern jerseys. I busted out laughing when Cassidy came down wearing number 11 with ‘Dawson’ on the back of hers. Jim was going to kill me.
WE MET BILL AND HIS family at Ryan Field, home of Northwestern football, where fans were already setting up to tailgate. Bill led us to one of the admission gates, and they let us in to tour the stadium facilities. We were met by one of the football players, Ryan Davidson. Bill introduced everybody and Ryan spent a little time getting to know us all. It was early, so none of the other football players were there yet. The game was scheduled for six o’clock tonight.
There were a number of recruits and their families. I was happy to see my buddy Ty Wilson, from Washington, had made it with his family. Dad and I went over to talk to them.
“Hey man, good to see you,” I said as I gave Ty a hug.
I heard the conversation volume go up and I turned around to find my teammates were introducing themselves to all the other recruits. I guess I was rubbing off on them. The Northwestern coaching staff came out and Coach Patrick, the head coach, greeted us.
“Wow, we have a big group today. I want to welcome you all to Northwestern and give you a quick agenda for the day. You should have all met your chaperone,” he said, making sure everyone had. “He’ll be your guide for the day. We’ll start with a tour of the facilities here at the stadium. While we’re doing that, the coaching staff will meet with you and your families. After you’re done, we’ll have lunch set up for you.
“When lunch is over you’ll tour the campus and get some free time. We’ll have you all come back to the stadium around five. We have a tent set up for tailgating. We want you to enjoy the college football atmosphere, and then see the game. After the game, we’ll have a mixer where you can meet the players. Any questions?” Coach Patrick asked, but there were none.
Ryan got our attention.
“Lincoln High!” he yelled, and waved us all over to one corner so we’d be together.
Ty and his family joined us. Ryan then took us on a tour of the football stadium. We had just finished touring the locker room when the Northwestern recruiter that had come to our game showed up. He broke us up by position, and sent us, with our families, to different coaches. He held Bill and me back.
“Coach Patrick would like to meet with you separately,” he explained.
When he brought us in, the first thing I noticed was how young Coach Patrick was. Most college head coaches are in their fifties or older. He was only 39, and full of energy.
“Bill, David, thanks for coming. I watched some of your game against Springfield, and I’m still trying to figure out how you won. Congratulations on a hard-fought victory.”
“Looks like you have your hands full today, too! You plan on winning?” I asked.