Touchdown Tony Crowne and the Mystery of the Missing Cheerleader

by Peter Guy George

  Peering down the short hallway and into the small living room, Bouguereau saw a figure, with her back to him, sitting in a lounge chair, drinking a beverage and gazing out at the balcony of the boathouse. Ash was standing outside next to the water slide that extended from the balcony down to the lake water.

  Bouguereau entered the living room, not bothering to conceal his presence any longer and said, “Bonjour, Mademoiselle Brady. The jig, as they say, is up. I am arresting you on the charge of kidnapping Miss Ashley Richardson. Please, Miss Brady, stand up so I may read you your rights and handcuff you.”

  Tisha Brady sipped her drink, sighed loudly and remaining seated said, “No, Boogs, I don’t think so.”

  Chapter 22- The Fourth Quarter

  “Tony?” Judd said as they were jogging off the field after the two-point conversion.

  “Yeah, Judd. What is it?”

  “Why isn’t Ash cheerleadin’? I haven’t seen her for the whole game.”

  “She isn’t here.”

  “She ain’t here? Where is she? She ain’t sick, is she?”

  “Nobody can find her. She’s disappeared. The police are out looking for her now.”

  “What!” roared Judd as he stopped in midfield, spreading his arms open and looking at Tony in disbelief.

  “We have to go look for her right now!”

  Tony came to a halt and walked back to Judd explaining, “I’ve already talked to Detective Bouguereau about what I think happened. He should find her before the end of the game, if I’m right.”

  Judd’s eyes grew larger and he got a faraway look as he argued, “Yeah, but what if he doesn’t find her? What if she’s in danger and we coulda helped? We gotta go now!”

  Tony felt like slapping Judd’s helmet to snap him out of his emotional hysteria, but instead he grabbed Judd’s face mask, pulled it down to his level and barked, “We gotta let the police do their job! If we go out there running around and getting in their way, we may make things worse. You don’t want to make things worse for Ash, do you? Huh?”

  Judd thought for a moment and answered, “No, I wouldn’t want that. But, we gotta do somethin’. I can’t play knowin’ my friend might not be okay!”

  “Look, I know her well, if there is one thing Ash would want right now, that would be for us to beat the living tar out of the Lakeside Lions. We can’t beat them unless you play and play well.” Tony stared into Judd’s face to see if he was connecting with him.

  Smacking Tony’s hand away from his face mask, Judd straightened up, looked Tony in the eye and said, “All right, there’s another quarter left to play. We’ll beat the pants off this team for Ash! But if the police ain’t found her by the end of the game, we’re gonna help them! Deal?” Judd held out his hand to Tony in a high five.

  “Deal!” Tony slapped Judd’s hand in agreement and they jogged over to the sideline where they awaited Coach Tiny’s instructions for the kickoff to begin the fourth quarter of play.

  “What do think? Onside kick or let it fly?” Smilin’ Bob asked Dunwoody as they watched the two head coaches huddle with their teams.

  “Hah, Tiny has got to go for an onside kick. He’s been pulling rabbits out of his hat since he got down 21 to zip.” Dunwoody had put a fresh toothpick into the corner of his mouth and it was bobbing up and down the whole time he was talking.

  “Methinks he’ll let it fly. Buy me a soda if I’m right?”

  Dunwoody glanced at Smilin’ Bob and grunted, “Hah, I’ll buy you a soda and a hot dog. That coach is desperate to get the ball back. Let’s make this more interesting. If it’s an onside, you buy me a soda, a dog and a bag of chips and I’ll do the same if they kick it deep.”

  Smilin’ Bob did what he does best, he smiled at Dunwoody and said, “You’re on!” He then flicked the “on” switch to his microphone and announced in his radio voice, “Tim Crossman to kickoff for the Bobcats to start the fourth quarter. Matt Bishop deep to receive. Lions in the lead, 21 to 16.”

  “Listen up! We’re gonna do an onside kick—”

  Tony pulled on Coach Tiny’s arm interrupting him and whispering into his ear, “Coach, Judd’s really fired up. I think he’ll cover a deep kick much better than a short one.” Coach Tiny pondered on that for a moment and shouted, “Forget what I just said. Deep kick. Tim kick that ball high and deep, you hear?”

  “Yes, sir!”

  Once again, the Lions put two blockers on Judd and when Tim Crossman’s kick sailed high and deep to the twenty-five yard line, the two blockers moved in unison toward Judd. Lowering his shoulders and raising his forearms up to his chest, Judd plowed into them, knocking them out of the way like bowling pins. He sprinted down the field, ahead of all the other Bobcats by two strides. Matt Bishop caught the ball, saw Judd in front of him, tried to juke, but Judd stuck his right arm out and caught the top of Matt’s shoulder pads. As his energy propelled him past Matt, Judd held on to Matt’s jersey, spun him around like a top and Matt was downed on his twenty-three yard line.

  “I want mustard, ridges and a cola. Make it quick, the concession stand is about to close!”

  “What?”

  “I want mustard on my hot dog, ridges on my chips and a cola.”

  Dunwoody put his hands up to his forehead and whimpered, “Aw, no. I completely forgot about that lousy bet.” Pounding both hands on the table, Dunwoody looked out at the field and groused, “Hah! Any other coach would have gone for the onside kick. What’s the matter with him?”

  Smilin’ Bob laughed and said, “You’re not as smart as you think. Now, go! I’m hungry!” Turning back to the field and feeling that the tide was turning for the Bobcats, Smilin’ Bob put some extra oomph into his announcement to the fans, “Tackle made by Judd Judson-n-n-n!”

  Judd’s tackle also brought the crowd back into the game. The short intermission between the third and fourth quarters had quieted them down somewhat, but a few of the parents began chanting the “We ain’t giving up” cheer and it spread throughout the Bobcats’ crowd and the noise level rose in intensity.

  Coach Chuck, reluctant to make a mistake this deep in his territory and with a five point lead, decided to play conservative in an attempt to chew up the clock. Three times Matt Bishop ran the ball up the gut of the Bobcats’ defense and three times Judd plugged the hole and stopped him with no gain in yardage. With less than four minutes left in the game and in a fourth down and ten situation on their own twenty-three yard line, Coach Chuck called a time out to settle his team down and go over their punt-team blocking schemes.

  The Bobcats’ fans sensing what Coach Tiny is about to do, stop chanting the “We ain’t giving up!” cheer, stand up and segue into the “Block that kick! Block that kick!” chant.

  “Okay. The fans are right. We are going to block that kick! Here’s how we’re gonna do it.” Coach Tiny held up his dry-erase board, diagrammed the formation and said, “Judd, I want you to the left of the center, Tony right behind Judd, everybody else on the line of scrimmage, except for Nick. Judd, they are no doubt gonna double or triple-team you again. Tony, that should open a gap for you to slip through. Everybody else, you gotta go hard and get through your blocks. Everyone has a chance to block this kick! Let’s do it! Let’s go!”

  “What’s this?” Smilin’ Bob looked down at the food Dunwoody threw in front of him.

  “Whaddya mean?” Dunwoody pointed at each item. “That’s a dog, that’s a bag of chips and that’s a soda. You’re welcome.”

  “Wait a minute, there’s ketchup on this dog, I hate ketchup! And these chips!” Smilin’ Bob glanced into the opened, crinkled bag. “Half of these chips are gone! Plus, they’re the regular, run-of-the-mill chips, not ridged! These are awful.” He took a sip of his soda and nearly spit it out of his mouth. “Ugh! This is root beer!”

  Dunwoody put his hand over his heart and in a voice dripping with sarcasm said, “Gosh, Bob, did I mess that order up or what? I am really, really, really sorry. Lemme go get you the right stuff.” Dun
woody snapped his fingers, slapped his forehead and said, “Oh, I just remembered. They closed down after that order. What rotten luck. What dirty, rotten luck.” Dunwoody grabbed the food from in front of Smilin’ Bob, slid it in front of him, chomped on the hot dog, grinned and said, “My momma always told me never to let food go to waste. Mmm, mmm. That’s a tasty dog!”

  “You are a certified, grade-a, number-one knucklehead. You know that, Dunwoody?”

  Not being able to talk with so much food in his mouth, Dunwoody pointed to the field and grunted. Surprised that the teams had taken the field and the referee was about to signal the start of play, Smilin’ Bob grabbed his microphone and announced in a not-so-smooth voice, “Nathan Marley set to punt for the Lions with Nick Miller of the Bobcats to receive.”

  Coach Tiny was right, Judd was double-teamed and that opened a gap for Tony to come through. Coach Chuck, however, was ready for this and collapsed another blocker on that gap stuffing Tony at the line. David Scott broke through the line and had the Lions’ punter in his sights but was pushed out of the way at the last second. Nathan Marley, the punter, probably from adrenaline or blind luck, punted the ball thirty yards through the air. Nick Miller, with no blockers holding up the Lions’ punt team, decided not to attempt a fair catch and let the ball go. The football took a Lions bounce and trickled down to the Bobcat’s forty- yard line with two minutes and forty-five seconds left in the game.

  To conserve their last timeout, Tony ran over to the sideline and Coach Tiny whispered into his ear. Back in the huddle, he explained to the rest of the Bobcats, “Coach thinks the Lions will be looking for the pass, so we’re gonna run instead. Remember, we are almost out of time, so step out of bounds if you can’t get easy yardage. Here we go, power sweep to the right.” Tony bent down and drew the play in the grass. “Judd you line up here, I’ll turn and toss the ball to you. Wait for your blocks to develop, then go! Hike on two. Hike on two. Break!”

  As Tony came up to the line of scrimmage, he saw the Lions’ cornerbacks lined up deep to shut down the pass. Good, he thought, we should get a first down or more.

  He crouched behind his center and barked out the signals, “Ready! Set! Hut! Hut!”

  Tony reverse pivoted and tossed the ball to Judd. He ran laterally and at half-speed to let the left guard and Nick create a blocking wall for him. As soon they pulled in front of him, he cut up the field and fell in back of them, waiting for the right time to go full speed. The Lion’s middle linebacker blitzed on the play, rushing the gap left behind by the pulling left guard, pursued down the line of scrimmage, quickly caught up with Judd and tripped him up from behind for a gain of five yards.

  Two minutes and five seconds left in the game and the clock is running.

  “Huddle up! Huddle up! Let’s go! We don’t have much time!” Tony yelled and waved his arms frantically to the other Bobcats. “Okay, next play is also a run, a left sweep in a way. Judd, you line up at tight end on the right side and run a post pattern to end zone. Nick, I’m gonna fake a pass to Judd, hand it off to you and run to the left for as much as you can get, then get out of bounds. Everybody else block like it’s a pass play. Got it? Hike on one! Hike on one! Break!”

  “Ready! Set! Hut!”

  With Judd racing to the end zone, Tony pump faked and the free safety reacted by moving over to help the cornerback cover him. The linebackers also bit on the fake and moved deeper into their coverage. Tony brought the ball down, turned and placed the ball into Nick’s hands and yelled, “Go! Go!”

  Nick secured the football and shot to the left. He danced around the rushing defensive end, had a brief window of open daylight, scooted through it and ran untouched to the nineteen yard-line where he was knocked out of bounds by the weak-side cornerback.

  One minute and four seconds remaining in the game.

  “N-n-n-ick M-m-m-iller! For a gain of thirty-six yards!” Smilin’ Bob boomed into the microphone as the pep band broke into the Bobcat fight song while the fans stood up and cheered the successful play.

  “Huddle up! Okay, now it’s time for a real pass. Judd line up at tight end on the left side and run a crossing pattern like this. “Tony drew a pattern on his chest and Judd nodded okay. “Nick, line up in the slot on the right side and also run a crossing pattern. I’ll get the ball to whoever is open. Got it? Hike on two! Hike on two! Break!”

  “Ready! Set! Hut! Hut!”

  Drew Morgan, the Bobcats’ center, had been battling the Lions’ nose tackle all game and had been mostly winning against his bigger opponent. But, with the game on the line and a passing play called, Drew was too quick to get into his pass blocking stance and accidentally stepped on Tony’s foot after he hiked the football. With his body leaning to drop back to pass, Tony fell to the ground and was whistled down by the referee.

  “Sorry, Tony. My fault. My fault.” Drew said to Tony as he helped him up off the grass.

  Forty-nine seconds to go and the clock is running.

  “Don’t worry about it, Drew. Just keep blocking that guy. You’re doing good!” Tony looked to the sideline and Coach Tiny was signaling him to run the same play. “Line up! Line up! Same play! Same play!” Tony bent down under Drew and moved his right foot back slightly, so he wouldn’t get tripped up again.

  “Ready! Set! Hut! Hut!”

  Dropping back three steps, Tony looked to Judd, but he was covered too closely. He swung around to Nick, but he was also covered tightly. With the pocket collapsing around him, Tony rolled out to his right and waved at Judd and Nick to go to the end zone. Neither one could shake their defender enough for Tony to feel comfortable throwing the ball, so he ran for a four-yard gain before stepping out of bounds.

  Twenty-nine seconds left in the game and the clock is stopped.

  “Classic problem when you get down this close to the end zone,” pontificated Hunter Dunwoody as he peered down at the field through his binoculars.

  “Oh, what problem is that, all-knowing, all-seeing, all-Mr. Expert, who lost a bet and welshed on it?” Asked Smilin’ Bob, laying the sarcasm on thick.

  A seasoned sports reporter, Dunwoody couldn’t care less what anyone thought about him, especially on a full stomach, so he shrugged off the remark and smugly responded, “The field shrinks in the red zone and that helps the defense keep everyone in front of them. The receivers don’t have as much room to wiggle around in and the quarterback has to be more accurate. Like I said, a classic problem. Anyone who knows anything about football, knows that. Anyone. I’m surprised you didn’t know that.”

  Smilin’ Bob rolled his eyes, shook his head and mouthed the words, “Help me,” to no one in particular.

  Tossing the ball to the referee, Tony ran back onto the field, looked over at Coach Tiny for the next play, received it, bent down in the huddle and said, “Okay, here we go. Pass play. Judd and Nick, line up on the right side. Judd, at the tight end, run to the end zone and then cut to the right. Nick, at the wide out, run to the end zone and cut to the left. Got it? Hike on two! Hike on two! Break!”

  “Ready! Set! Hut! Hut!”

  The Bobcat offensive line kept the Lion defenders at bay, giving Tony the luxury of waiting for the play to develop. When Nick cut to the left and Judd to the right, their pattern confused the Lion defenders for a split-second and both defenders broke with Nick leaving Judd wide open. As soon as Tony saw Judd open, he heaved the football toward Judd’s left shoulder on a tight spiral. Judd, with no room left in the corner of the end zone, waited for the football with his hands open and held up in front of him. Matt Bishop, the free safety, recognizing the other defender’s mistake, raced toward Judd and leapt into the air, his outstretched hand deflecting the football out of the end zone.

  A massive groan emanated from the Bobcats’ bleachers while an equally rousing cheer rose from the Lions’ fans.

  In the most serious voice he could muster, Smilin’ Bob announced, “Incomplete pass for the Bobcats. Fourth down and six. Timeout charged to the Bobcat
s. Fifteen seconds left in regulation play.”

  Chapter 23- The Countdown

  “No more alligator tears, Mademoiselle Brady?” Detective Bouguereau asked as he glanced outside again to check on Ash. She was still standing next to the water slide, staring glassy-eyed at the lake.

  “Crocodile.”

  “Excusez-moi?”

  “The saying is crocodile tears, not alligator tears. You can cut out the French act, Boogs. Talk like you’re in America, will you?” She took another long swig of her drink.

  Bouguereau took a good, long look at her and could not shake the feeling that she resembled someone he arrested years ago. He inched closer to her as he said, “Miss Tisha Brady? Of course, Tisha Brady isn’t your real name, is it? No, no, I do not believe that it is.”

  “Boogs, it’s been so long since I used my real name, I honestly can’t remember what it is. I’ve been Emily, Madison, Hannah, Isabella, oh, and since you’re French, you’ll love this one, I was even known as Fifi at one time. Ha, ha!” Tisha stopped laughing, pointed her finger at him and warned, “Stop right there, Boogs! Don’t come any closer to me or Ash will end up in the lake, and you know how cold that lake water is at this time of the year. Her little body would quickly develop hypothermia and shut down. You wouldn’t want that to happen, would you Boogie-Woogie?” She smiled and looked at her watch.

  Even though he was 62 and felt ancient, he knew he could overpower her. Why is she acting with such confidence? I must find out. “Mademoiselle Brady, I have had enough with these games. You are under arrest!”

  Tisha rolled her eyes at Bouguereau and called out, “Dear Ash, in one minute I want you to slide down into the lake and swim to the far side. Start counting backwards from sixty, Ash. Ready? Go!”