Disclaimer: I own nothing other than Madison and any other characters you don't recognize! Oh and this is my first attempt at fanfiction, so constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.
Madison Yoast was Coach Yoast's oldest daughter. Called Maddie by her friends, she was very close to the football team as expected and a cheerleader as well. This is her story.
Unlike her sister Cheryl, Madison had brown hair with a soft curl. One thing they had in common was their love for their father, and football. Madison had bright blue eyes and a small frame, only standing at about 5'5. When she was younger, she was a tomboy just as Cheryl is now; but now that she was about to graduate high school, she had grown into her femininity, but the spunk she had as a child remained.
In July 1971, because of racial issues, the town was on the verge of exploding. This didn't stop the boys from practicing. They were going after a state championship, and were going to take no prisoners along the way. The schools were integrating and all of the boys were worried about their starting positions so they were practicing harder than ever to ensure that they kept their spots. Madison was watching practice, just as always when she didn't have practice of her own, when Alan Bosley came down towards the fence "Guys, guys, it's coming down at the store, they wannna burn the place up 'cause that colored kid got shot." With that, a bunch of the boys ran off in the direction of town. Madison got in the truck with her father, riding shotgun to head them off before they did anything stupid. When they got back to the office that's when they all saw Herman Boone, the new assistant coach. The school board made the decision to put him on the staff; Coach Yoast did not hire him. Madison stood there, next to Cheryl listening to the conversation being exchanged. She knew Boone had his work cut out for him, but he had some kind of spark, she knew that he was determined.
That afternoon it was announced that Coach Boone would be named head coach. Of course, Cheryl and Madison were there when the news was broken to Coach. Cheryl went ballistic. She started screaming at the man, and then ran off, but not before kicking him in the back of the leg. Madison went after Cheryl, trying to calm her down. "Cheryl, everything is going to be alright. You know as well as I do that Daddy will get plenty of offers from other school districts. We probably won't even have to move. He'll still make it into the Hall of Fame. Don't you worry." Even though she said those words convincingly to Cheryl, Madison wasn't so sure herself if what she said was true. That night, Coach Boone came to the door, Cheryl got to it before she did, and Madison was sure that she was less than pleasant. Both Boone and her father went to his office. Cheryl and Madison went to spy on them. Coach Boone offered her father an assistant head-coaching job.
The next day there was a sort of press conference at Hal's. Many of the players were threatening to sit this season out; Madison knew that doing that would put their futures on the line. Madison was happy to know that the boys were loyal to her father, but she knew that the loyalty could jeopardize everything they had worked so hard for. That day, her father was at his thinking spot, a tree near the office. She and Cheryl went to join him. "You'll be alright coach." "I've coached most of these boys since they were your age; I've seen them grow up in front of my eyes almost like they were my own kids." Madison laid her head on her father's shoulder. "Almost." "This is a heck of a time to be abandoning them to look after themselves, ain't it?" Then at the same time, both Cheryl and Madison said, "So, what are you going to do?" He didn't reply, but just sat there, still thinking. Madison got up and grabbed Cheryl's hand "We'll leave you here to think, just know that we love you and will support any decision you make." they both hugged their father and walked to the house. Later, her father came in the house and got on the phone, beginning to call all of the players who would want to play for Coach Boone if he were to take the assistant head coach job. He told them to meet him by the gym, to go to a meeting. Madison kept Cheryl at home, so that they wouldn't interrupt the meeting, because Cheryl had a problem controlling her mouth.
The morning the boys were to leave for camp, Madison noticed that the groups of people were all segregated. She stood there with her father and Cheryl, before going to greet some of her friends. She went up to Alan first; she was closest to Alan, who was more of a friend while Gerry was more of a big brother type, "Hey Alan!" "Maddie! Are you going to camp with us this year?" "Only for a couple of days. I've got cheerleading camp for the first couple of days, but then I'll be there to pick up Cheryl. I haven't decided, but I might stay the night and leave that next morning." "Oh, well it looks like Coach Boone is going to run us into the ground anyway, but first thing when we get back, don't think you're getting out of our after camp ritual." "I know I know, I'll cook for you boys, as long as I have some help." Then she went over to Gerry and Ray "Hey boys" she hugged Gerry and then Ray, then she looked at them again, "I know that look, don't do anything stupid. I'll see you around." Then Ray started "Wait…" he took her aside "After camp, I was wondering if you'd like to go out to dinner or something with me." She grinned, "Ray Budds, are you asking me out?" "Are you saying yes?" "Sure, it'll be fun." She gave him a warm smile. "I should go back to my Dad, but I'll see you later." "See you Maddie."
Madison walked away to go greet Mrs. Bertier. "Good morning Mrs. Bertier." "Oh good morning Maddie, you look lovely this morning." "Thank you." She was still standing there making small talk when she heard Coach Boone, "Ladies and gentlemen, I've got an announcement to make. We've got Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin going to camp with us this year. Jerry tells the jokes; Dean sings the songs and gets the girls. Let's give them a round of applause." "My word" said Mrs. Bertier "Camp sure is going to be interesting huh?" "It sure is Maddie." "Well I should get back to Daddy." "Goodbye dear." "Bye Mrs. Bertier." When she got back to her father, she whispered, "What are you getting yourself into Daddy?" "Honestly baby, I have no clue." She stood there and watched her friends board the bus, they segregated themselves. Coach Boone got on one of the buses and was furious. He made one bus offensive and one defensive and paired the boys up so that blacks would have to sit with whites, and said that the seatmates would also be roommates. This is going to be interesting. It's either going to work and they'll all end up friends, or it's going to backfire in his face. She gave her father a hug and he kissed the top of her head "Bye Daddy, I'll see you in a few days." Then she bent down to Cheryl's height "Bye Cheryl, I'll miss you" she kissed the top of her head and ruffled her blonde hair.
The cheerleaders were segregated just like the football team. Madison thought it would be easier for them to come together, because boys are more stubborn. She was right. It was rough for the first day, but they soon had fun dancing and carrying on like old friends. The black girls taught the white girls some new cheers and some dances and the white girls taught the black girls tumbling and stunting. They knew that the combination of those things would make their squad be the best of both worlds. One day at camp, the girls were just talking amongst themselves at lunch. "So guess who asked me out" said Maddie to her friend Jenny "Who?" "Ray Budds." "Did you say yes?" "Well, yeah. I didn't want to hurt his feelings. Besides, it could be fun." "I thought you were going to say Alan asked you… I mean you two are awfully close." "Well, we're friends. Best friends. Jeez, you kiss a guy once during a dumb game of spin the bottle in like ninth grade and you never live it down." They just giggled.