by Tim Mettey
**
The night of the Homecoming game arrived, and like last year, I was standing next to Amber on the 50 yard line waiting for them to announce the winners for Homecoming Court. The parade was identical right down to the same red convertible that I rode in last year with Amber, and we even had the same beautiful autumn weather. But this time, Eric made it a lot more fun. He threw beads and candy out of the car like it was Mardi Gras and occasionally jumped out to go and greet the people watching the parade. I even thought I saw him kiss a baby or two.
“And now for our Winsor Junior Duchess: Ms. Amber King.”
“And for our Winsor Junior Duke . . .”
Please let Eric win, I thought to myself over and over.
“I can’t believe this,” said the announcer. “We have a tie—Nicholas Keller and Eric Iery.” Eric ran over to me, picked me up over his shoulder and ran us to the winner’s area. The student section was going nuts, chanting both of our names. How did we tie? I couldn’t believe it. Amber was laughing at Eric’s craziness along with the other winners. In the stands, Cora and Genevieve were cheering for us and shaking green and gold pom-poms right in front. The announcer tried to calm the crowd down with very little luck. Eric did several awkward cartwheels and a bunch of somersaults. He was in his element and the crowd was eating it up. Finally, Joy Lemmins chased him back into line. Again the announcer tried to calm the crowd, with more success.
“Okay now, okay, settle down. And now for your King and Queen: Bryce Adams and Elle Canan.”
Elle led Bryce up to the line with the rest of us; they were right in the middle. I looked back to see Chad clapping for Bryce, even though he lost. Last year, Oliver was in that very same spot but handled it totally differently.
The halftime festivities were short-lived because we were losing, 3-7. Our defense was holding the Sycamore Aviators, but we were struggling on offense. Their only points came from the opening kickoff, which they returned for a touchdown. I was yelling to Chad the different things I saw on the field. The game was still going in slow motion for me during every play as if I were out there. With this help, Chad was able to adjust to what I was telling him. He made big play after big play on defense. Eric and Bryce had connected several times, but the other team was putting two or three guys just on Bryce.
The end of the game was only two minutes away, and we were still down by 4 points. If we lost this game, our chance to repeat as state champs would be over. We got the ball on our own 15 yard line with 85 yards to go. The first play was a pass to Bryce right in the middle of the field. He caught the ball and ran toward the sideline, away from the Sycamore defenders that were swarming around him. He got the first down and went out of bounds to stop the clock when one of their players hit him in the back, sending him to the ground hard. It was a late hit, but no penalty flags were thrown. The crowd booed profusely at the refs. Bryce wasn’t hurt. He jumped up and ran to the huddle like nothing had happened. Eric got the next play from Coach Miller. It was another passing play to Bryce. Bryce lingered next to Eric for a moment. Eric nodded his head and Bryce ran to his spot.
Eric hiked the ball and Bryce went sprinting behind him. Eric pitched the ball back to him instead of passing it. Then Eric ran out in front of him, leading the way. Eric dove into two Sycamore defenders, knocking them back out of the way. Bryce got by them and was now streaking down the sideline. He was on his way to scoring and the crowd cheered wildly. But then he began to slow down ever so slightly, roaming back toward the middle of the field. A defender caught up to him and Bryce stiff-armed him, knocking him to the ground. The next closest defender caught up to him too, and then Bryce slowed down even more. The defender shot past him and was now in front of him; it was the same player who had hit Bryce in the back on the play before. Bryce lowered his shoulder and hit the defender hard, throwing him backward. The defender’s helmet flew off, and Bryce walked into the end zone over the flattened Aviator.
The crowd cheered, then hushed. The defender wasn’t moving. Everything was silent. The trainers and paramedics rushed onto the field. They had him strapped to the board and off the field quickly. Whatever was wrong seemed serious. They were rushing him to the hospital.
We ended up winning the game 10-7 on Bryce’s touchdown run, but it was not as great because of the uncertainty about the Sycamore player’s condition. Later in the locker room, Coach Miller informed us that he had sustained a slight concussion and had some bruised ribs, but that he would make a full recovery. The team’s excitement grew after hearing the news, because that win sealed our number one seed in the tournament for the state championship. Bryce didn’t look excited at all.
“Good game, Bryce,” I said, walking over to him. He was blankly staring at his locker. He still had on all of his football pads.
“Not really,” he said, still not showing any excitement.
“What’s wrong with you? You scored the game-winning touchdown.”
“I could’ve hurt that guy badly. I don’t know what came over me. I was so angry about getting hit out of bounds after the play, something just clicked. I wanted some payback. That’s why I slowed down, so I could hit him. My anger got the best of me. Nicholas, please don’t tell anyone what I just told you. I’m ashamed of how I acted. I should be kicked off the team.”
What Bryce said sounded like what I had said last year. He was showing characteristics of the 4th. I remembered how I felt after breaking that quarterback’s arm last year. My anger, too, got the best of me.
“Don’t worry, Bryce. I won’t tell anyone what happened. Actually, you should feel lucky that you scored. Because if you slowed down and caused us not to win the game, I think Coach Miller would have made sure you were in the hospital next to the Sycamore player.”
He smiled. “Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me yet. You are probably going to want to kill me because I told you to ask Erin out. She is a little bit on the aggressive side.”
“I know that,” he said.
“Trust me, you haven’t seen anything yet.”