Caroline & Michael & Scott
Chapter 12
The ninth and final game of the season was to be played on a chilly, blustery Friday night in late October. The WIAA, which governed Wisconsin interscholastic athletics, organized conferences by locality and the size of the schools. The Peshtigo High Bulldogs were part of the Marinette-Oconto conference, a division 4 conference composed of eight smaller schools, four each from Marinette and Oconto counties. Both the Peshtigo Bulldogs and their opponents, the Wausaukee Rangers, had good records that year, but neither was in contention for the conference title. They were playing for pride, the last game of the year would determine bragging rights as best small school team in the county. (The best team in Marinette county was the division 2 Marinette High Marines, from a school three times bigger than any other in the county.)
That would serve to give all the Bulldogs, including Scott, plenty of motivation for the game. But for Scott, it was an extra special night. Rumor was that a UW recruiter would be in the stands, scouting the game. His dream of a scholarship, his whole future, might depend on how he and the team played for 48 minutes that night.
Ted Simon, the quarterback, was the key to how the team played. He was a junior and had done well, considering it was his first year as starter. Just coming into his own as a leader during the last half of the season, Ted had replaced star quarterback Jake Bannon, who had graduated last year.
The Rangers had a high-powered offense. Scott and the Bulldogs knew that their best chance to win lay in denying the Ranger offense the ball. The Bulldogs would try a ball-control offense, keeping the ball on the ground, chewing up the clock as much as possible. The key lay in scoring every possession, even if it took a long time. Even high-powered Wausaukee could only score once each time they had the ball.
Fortunately, Peshtigo won the coin toss and chose to receive the ball first. After the kickoff, Tim, Scott, and the rest of the Bulldog offense trotted out to the field for their first play. Scott took a quick glance to the Peshtigo side of the field and quickly grinned as he saw Caroline and the rest of the cheerleaders encouraging the crowd.
"Here we go Bulldogs
Here we go" clap clap
"Here we go Bulldogs
Here we go" clap clap
Tim looked over to the sidelines. The coach, his assistant, and the backup quarterback were all making a quick series of arm and hand gestures, indicating the next play that the coach wanted to run. Only one of the three was "hot", i.e., only one of the three was calling the real play. But three series of signs were given, just in case Wausaukee tried to figure out and steal the signs. And the "hot" man secretly switched every series.
Tim relayed the call to the team in the huddle "Alright, 19 W Keeper Right – on 4, break!" clap
The huddle broke, Scott trotted up to his right tackle position on the line. His opponent, the left defensive end, would probably be his biggest challenge of the year. Both were seniors this year, he had beaten Scott several times in their last encounter the previous year. But ever since Caroline and Miss Morgan had helped him with balance training, Scott had felt more confident, and felt he could better his performance this year.
Scott got set in his three-point stance as Tim started the count (to 4)…
"Hutt…"
The DE asked derisively "Hey Aldrich… Heard you learned your football in ballet class… Wanna dance?"
"…hutt"
"Sorry 93… already got a girl-friend" Scott shot back.
"…hutt"
Scott became a completely changed man once he walked on the gridiron. Soft spoken everywhere else, he was always ready for a sarcastic comeback when provoked. Considerate of other people and the feelings off the field, he never thought of his opponents as anything but the numbers they wore, faceless obstacles to be overcome.
"…hutt"
At the instant of the fourth count, organized mayhem broke loose. Scott crashed into the end, who reacted a split second later. Tim faked a handoff, kept the ball, ran around the right end and gained five yards….
…
Peshtigo held the ball for a long steady drive to the end zone for the game's first score and led, 7-0. The Rangers high-powered offense came back quickly and tied the score. But no matter, as long as the Bulldogs kept up what they were doing, they would hold the upper hand.
Peshtigo received the following kickoff and was in the middle of another long drive, but had reached a critical point. It was third down and seven yards to go. Though somewhat long yardage for a third down, the team had confidence in Tim, he had a knack for coming up big when he had to.
Scott trotted out to the line and got set in his three-point stance. He ignored 93's barking and saw the left side linebacker edge forward. "He's blitzing!" thought Scott. "And our play doesn't call for anyone to pick him up… I'll have to try to slow him and 93 down and hope Tim can get the ball away."
Scott stepped to his right and tried to block both players… and ended up blocking neither. The Bulldog halfback picked up the blitzing linebacker, but 93 came straight through and slammed Tim to the ground. A collective groan came from the stands. It would be fourth down and Peshtigo would have to punt the ball away. Though the score was still tied, whatever advantage the Bulldogs had was gone. Caroline and the cheerleaders tried to raise the spirits of the fans.
"That's alright
That's okay
We're gonna beat you anyway!
That's alright
That's okay
We're gonna beat you anyway!"
Scott stayed in the game for one more play, to block during the punt, then trotted off the field. An angry coach approached him.
"Aldrich…! What do you think you were doing?" coach shouted.
In a small, defensive voice Scott answered "I saw the 'backer was blitzing. Our play didn't have anyone to pick him up."
A good coach, he calmed down a second later, and went into teaching mode. "Scott, you can't do everything. When you see something, you have to trust that somebody else will see the same thing, and react accordingly. If you try to do too much, you end up doing nothing… Remember that." Coach patted Scott on the butt as his attention turned once again to the game.
…
Wausaukee took advantage of their next possession to score and take the lead, 14-7. Peshtigo got the ball back and with time running out on the first half, was driving down the field. They got down to the Ranger 8 yard line, but there was time for only one more play. Coach had to make a decision: Gamble for a tying touchdown or take the nearly certain 3 points from a short field goal. He decided to played the percentages and go for the field goal, which the placekicker put through the uprights as time in the first half ran out. The Bulldogs went into the locker room down 14-10.
In the Peshtigo locker room, spirits were low. The score was close, but the high-powered Wausaukee offense would get the ball first in the second half. Things did not look good. Players nursed their bruises, some were getting twisted ankles or knees taped. Tim spent most of the break discussing with the coaches which plays were working and which were not. But before halftime was over, Tim recognized something more important than strategy need to be discussed.
Tim raised his voice "Men!"
Everyone suddenly became quiet.
"I hear some grumbling. I hear we should've gambled for a touchdown, that keeping up with Wausaukee was our only chance to win… I don't wanna hear that crap! Coach made the right call, the high percentage call… Those three points are gonna be the margin of victory. Anybody that doesn't agree can come up here. I'll kick their ass!"
Scott slowly walked forward… looked Tim in the eye… then turned and declared "Me, too!"
A voice from the back called out "Yeah!"
Everybody surged forward and formed a circle, put their hands together in the center, and started shouting "Win! Win! Win! Win! Win!..."
Coach had to shout to be heard over the din "Alright men! Time to get out there and go to work!"
"Yeah!" everyone shouted as they ran back onto the field.
…
The restored morale did not help the Bulldogs at the beginning of the second half. Wausaukee got the ball and drove all the way down the field to score another touchdown, and increase their lead to 21-10.
Tim gathered the offense around him before the next drive.
"Men, no matter what we do, we'll still be losing after the next drive. We can't do anything about that. We have to concentrate on our job, moving the ball, and just trust that the defense will catch a break the next time… Ready?"
"Yeah!"
"Let's go!"
The Bulldog offense did their job. They moved all the way down the field for another touchdown to cut the lead to 21-17. But the Wausaukee offense got the ball next and started moving again. The Bulldog defense had not stopped them all night. Caroline and the cheerleaders tried to encourage them.
"De – fense! De – fense!
clap clap… clap clap clap
De – fense! De – fense!
clap clap… clap clap clap
De – fense! De – fense!
clap clap… clap clap clap
Go!"
Despite the encouragement, the Rangers continued to move. They were getting close to another touchdown. If the Rangers scored again, things would be grim indeed for the Bulldogs. They would be more than one touchdown behind with time running out.
The next play was a pass play. The pass was right on target… or would have been if a Bulldog safety hadn't raced over and barely tipped the ball higher in the air. The Ranger receiver responded by jumping and trying to tip the ball back to himself. That was a mistake... a big one. He should have just batted the ball away, given his team a chance to try again on the next play. But his attempt to make a big play went awry and the tipped ball floated towards the cornerback covering him, who took the ball away.
The fans in the stands and the players on the bench exploded! Peshtigo had one more chance!
Before the final drive started, Tim gathered the offense around him.
"Alright men, I know you're tired. That's by design, we wanted to keep the Ranger offense off the field. And you know what? After the game, you've got winter, spring, and summer to rest. So, how about it? You guys got one more drive in you?"
"Yeah!"
"Let's go!"
The Bulldogs started moving methodically down the field. If a UW recruiter was in the crowd, he would be impressed with Scott. Except for the blown blitz, he had handled well his assignments against number 93, a quality opponent. And though the Bulldog offense was tired from being on the field for a long time, the same was true of the Ranger defense.
It was second down and short yardage. Running plays were working well, another one had been called. After a quick count, Scott and the offensive line fired off the ball and drove 93 and the defensive line back. The running back easily made another first down.
The cheerleaders and crowd responded. Things were looking up.
"First and ten
Do it again
We like it, we like it!
First and ten
Do it again
We like it, we like it!"
…
It was second down and 7 yards to go on the Ranger 19. Running plays were working well for Peshtigo, but time was getting short, so a pass play had been called.
Scott trotted up to the line and got set in his three-point stance. He noticed the linebacker edging closer again, just like in the first half. "Another blitz…! But I gotta stay on my assignment, block 93… I gotta trust that someone else will pick up the 'backer."
Scott did block 93. The halfback did notice the blitzing linebacker and picked him up so that Tim would have time to throw. Not only that, but the receiver had also noticed and ran right to the linebacker's previously occupied, but now open position. Tim's pass hit him in the numbers, the Bulldogs had a first and goal to go on the 7! The Ranger defense was demoralized. The Peshtigo O-line continued to drive them back and two plays later the Bulldogs were in the end zone.
The players and the crowd went wild! There was too little time left for Wausaukee to score! Peshtigo would win 24-21!
The coaches tried to calm the team a little.
"There's a few seconds left! Hold on, hold on! We gotta finish the game!"
Peshtigo kicked off. Then Wausaukee tried one desperation pass, which fell awry. The game was over! Peshtigo had won! The real celebrations began. The cheerleaders and the crowd ran onto the field and mingled with the players, who slowly made their way to the locker room.
Caroline rushed up to Scott and planted a big, fat, wet kiss on him.
"I'm so proud of you, Scott!"
"Yeah! We're the best!" Scott raised his right arm with his helmet in triumph and wrapped his left arm around Caroline as they slowly walked to the locker room.
Nothing could match the thrill of victory!