Back in the locker room, the coach gave another great speech. He reminded us how important the game was, not just to the team, but to the seniors as well. He made us realize how great it would feel to achieve an undefeated season at home against West Whitaker while the entire town watched. Then, it was game time.
Although the players were quiet, it still wasn’t silent in the locker room. We could hear music. Opening the locker room door, the music got louder. We could see the high school marching band on the field. The band usually played before the game and at halftime, but they were usually finished by the time we came back from the locker room. Something different was about to happen. The instruments stopped. The only sound came from one single drum making a simple beat that seemed to keep the band in step while they continued to march. The band suddenly came to a halt. They formed two lines which created a tunnel; much like the cheerleader tunnel we were used to, only 10 times bigger. As the fight song started up, the audience stood up, sang, and clapped to the beat. Although some of the players seemed to know this would happen, I was totally taken by surprise. The team ran through the tunnel.
As I ran, it occurred to me that when we were looking for groups to sign up with on that first day of school, the band was the first group we turned down. As a football player, you knew about the band. You knew that they entertained the fans while you were in the locker room, but you never considered them as part of your program. However, at that moment, that big group of band nerds, the group that we had walked away from on day one, had suddenly become a powerful part of our team. The band would later stand right on the sidelines during the game. They played music to fire up the crowd, and played the East Whitaker fight song every time we scored.
Halfway through the 2nd quarter, the score was tied. With the anxiety at an all-time high, I heard someone behind me yelling to the crowd for an “H”. Without wasting any time, the crowd fulfilled his order. Again he asked for an “O”. Again, the crowd didn’t miss a beat. I turned around to see an elderly man dressed from head to toe in dark purple and aqua standing up with his hands on either side of his mouth screaming loudly at the crowd for an “R”. He continued until the crowd enthusiastically spelled H-O-R-N-E-T-S. Standing next to him was another man, also dressed from head to toe in our Hornets colors, banging on a cowbell. The atmosphere was certainly charged as the crowd was louder than the cheerleaders.
We went into the locker room at halftime with the game still tied. The coach told us that we were doing everything right and there was no need to get discouraged. We practiced hard, and that hard work would pay off as the game went on. He told us that the intensity of that week’s practices weren’t just directed at working on plays for the game; we were working on enduring the speed and tempo of a high-paced game. It was that endurance, achieved through practice, which would help us win this game.
The game remained tied until the last few minutes of the 4th quarter. Mike returned a punt and put us 40 yards away from the end zone. After three unsuccessful deep throws by our quarterback, we had one chance left to score or we would be taking the game into overtime. We were exhausted from battle, so overtime would feel like a second game to us. We were more than willing to try preventing overtime. Unfortunately, we were too far out for our kicker to attempt a field goal, so we had to come up with a single running or throwing play that would get us the 40 yards we needed. During the time out, I was asked to join the offensive huddle. I figured I would be used on the offensive line, so I was in complete shock when the coach told the team that I would be getting the ball. He reasoned that the defense would never see it coming, my size would be hard to take down, and my speed had increased to the point where I could be trusted to actually move the ball.
From the huddle, I went to stand on the offensive line next to the tackle. To their defense, I could’ve been confused with a tight end, which was usually used as an extra blocker on the line of scrimmage. Once the ball was snapped, I ran over to the quarterback, who then handed me the ball. By the time their defense realized I had the ball, I was already 10 yards ahead of the line of scrimmage. At that point, it was a foot race to the goal line between me and the entire Wolf defense. Although my speed had increased, I still wasn’t as fast as their defenders, so that 10-yard head start was definitely a necessity. They didn’t catch up to me until the 7-yard line. By then, I had so much momentum going that I felt like nothing would take me down. Suddenly, with the weight of three defenders on my back, I struggled to move as the weight too much to bear. I could feel my teammates trying to push me the last two yards into the end zone, but my legs finally gave out and I fell hard like a tree cut down in the woods. Then… silence.
Did I blow it? Did I let down the team, the coaches, the town? After what felt like minutes of silence, I finally had answers; the chords of that familiar fight song I knew so well, the eruption of the crowd, the entire team tackling me in the end zone. Mike might have been our best player, breaking the school records that night for both touchdowns and rushing yards in a regular season, but I won the game! I made us perfect!
Chapter 18
Just like the coach said, there wasn’t any celebration time. Monday began another week of practice. And just like the previous week, practice was intense. The coach said the reason that West Whitaker was able to hang with us for so long was that our defense got tired. For the playoffs, the coach was going to substitute his defensive players more often. That meant that I would get more game time. I knew I wouldn’t get another season-winning touchdown, but at least I could have some playoff-winning sacks.
Our first game in the playoffs was a cake walk. Because we had a perfect record, we were paired against a team who had won only half of their games. By the halftime break, we were up by five touchdowns, 3 of those belonging to Mike. I had an amazing 3 tackles for losses. In the 2nd half, his playing time was over but mine was just beginning. My stats got even better. Towards the end of the game, I hit their quarterback so hard that he lost the ball. Because of my conditioning, I was able to quickly get up after the hit, rather than stay on the ground. Once up, and with the ball still lying there, I picked it up and I quickly realized that the play hadn’t stopped. I soon had a swarm of defenders coming at me. I had nothing else to do but run. Just like that, I scored my second touchdown in two weeks. We were going to the second round of playoffs without being scored on.
Our second round game wasn’t quite a blowout. Mike again had multiple touchdowns, but our defense couldn’t stop the other guys from scoring. I had no touchdowns or sacks, but I did make one tackle for a loss, which contributed to a second round 21-point victory.
Now, we were playing for the regional finals. We had to play against one of the toughest teams in Michigan. They were a team that made it to the state semi-finals six out of the last seven years. They surely knew what Mike was capable of and spent all week planning against him. They held him to under 100 yards of rushing and 0 touchdowns. What they didn’t plan for was our passing game. As great a player as he was, we still had an all-conference quarterback who could throw a really deep ball, and two senior receivers who could catch that ball. After fooling them three times by faking a run and instead scoring three deep touchdown passes, we took a seven point lead into the 4th quarter. From there, our defense did the rest. The coach’s idea of subbing us out continually paid off as our fresh defensive players wore the other team down and stopped them from gaining any yardage the entire 4th quarter.
For the first time in school history, we were now in the semi-finals. It would be our last step on our way to the state finals. We would have to play a team who had won the state championship the previous year. We practiced that week the same way we had during the playoffs, and we played the game like we had played every game that season, using the same plays. But for whatever reason, they weren’t prepared for us. For the entire 1st half, we scored every time we got the ball. Two of those scores came from Mike’s punt returns.
In the 2nd half, our starters
watched the game from the sideline so that they wouldn’t risk injury for the championship game. The sideline was still all business, though, and there wasn’t any early celebrating. Even though we had a commanding lead, we didn’t want to lose it. I ended the game with 2 sacks – the last one being on the last play. We had finally earned our way into the state finals.
Chapter 19
The week leading up to the championship game was similar to the West Whitaker rivalry week. It was very intense, the coaches were very serious, and the players were very quiet. Every day, the student body showed a different way to display their school spirit. We continued our normal practice routine, and stuck with the same game plan that got us to the state finals. Even the coach’s speech on Thursday was similar. He wanted us to know how proud we should be and how proud he was. We had made it pretty far, but our journey wasn’t done yet. However, at that moment we really did feel proud. We had an undefeated season, beat our West Whitaker rival at home, and stormed our way through the playoffs. Adding a state championship to the season would make it the best season ever; a season Mike and I were proud to help build.
The following day, another prep rally was held in the gym. It served as a good reminder of who we were representing, but it wasn’t as exciting as the pep rally we had when we played against West Whitaker because we were expecting this one. What we weren’t expecting was the rally held for us the following day.
We were told to meet at the high school early Saturday morning so we could board the buses and head to Lansing. We were going to play our game in the same stadium where Michigan’s professional football team, the Michigan Knights, played their home games. We would be on live television and we would be watched by fans, coaches, players, and even college football scouts from all over the state of Michigan. As we left the locker room with our gear, we were speechless. In front of us were four luxury buses. They were the buses with televisions on the ceiling, and bathrooms that really worked. Surrounding the bus were nearly 3,000 students, parents, and neighbors with signs, banners, and even the cowbell. We were even more surprised when we saw numerous fans from West Whitaker actually cheering for us. At the West Whitaker rally, we realized that we were playing for the 2,000 students of East Whitaker High School. Five weeks later, we realized that we were playing for the 100,000 residents of Becker County.
Chapter 20
It was hard not to show any emotion on the way to the game. There was so much going on in my head. Just a few months ago, Mike and I were at the Becker County Jail; a fast kid and his fat friend. A short time later, we morphed into an athletic tackler and his record-breaking friend on the way to play in the state high school football finals. I also thought about playing in the same stadium as the state’s pro football team. Prior to the season, I had never seen a football game in person. An hour later, not only would I be able to see the famous stadium, I would be on the field and on the big screen. Lastly, I thought about the buses. I felt like a celebrity on that bus. Mike was on a different bus full of running backs, receivers, and quarterbacks, but I knew he must feel the same way.
After an hour on the road, we were at the stadium. We felt like professional football players when we got off the bus and entered the stadium. Within minutes, we were dressing where the Michigan Knight dressed. Even our locker room pep talk had a different feel. We were getting a speech from our coach about leaving it all on the field, there in the same locker room where legendary pro coaches had given speeches to their football players.
Finally, it was time. We walked out of the tunnel and onto the field. It was breath taking. It was the biggest indoor facility I had ever seen. That place could’ve held a million people. Looking in the stands, I saw a lot of our aqua and dark purple colors; fans that had made the three hour voyage to support us. Directly across the field from them, a mass of blue and yellow. Apparently, the other team had a big following too. We had to remember that they made the same journey we did, and we were only one of two division one football teams still alive in the State of Michigan playoffs.
It didn’t take long to realize how our opponents made it to the playoffs. It was intimidating enough when they came out on the field. Those guys looked like a college football team as they came out of the locker room. They were strong, they were fast, and they never got tired.
Much like in the regional final game, they planned against our running. After watching them shut Mike down several times, we discovered that they also planned against our passing. We went the entire game without a score. Our defense stayed strong, but without our team able to put any points up, it didn’t take much to score more points than us. After 48 depressing minutes, we got our first opportunity that season to know what it felt like to lose.
And what an emotional loss it was. Our big, tough guys were crying. Our coaches were quiet. There was no fight song at the end of the night. It hit us hard. Our perfect season came to a halt one game too soon. We felt like we had let down our coaches, our fans, and our town. The locker room was pure silence. No one wanted to say anything, and even if they did, no one wanted to listen. We walked toward the buses with our heads down. We were ready for that long, quiet ride, so that we could go home and shut off the world. We hadn’t quite made it to the buses before the coach stopped us.
In the tunnel leading to the buses, the coach had us gather around him for one last team huddle. The coach was disappointed in us. We had frustrated him. We won every game in the regular season. We had shattered multiple school records. We had numerous players with a future in college football. We destroyed the path to the state finals. Our only loss came at the end of the season, where we were one of the only two teams that made it to the state finals to play on live television in the same arena where the Michigan Knights played professional football. He felt that we had absolutely no right to be walking out of the stadium with our heads down.
The coach then reminded us that after the West Whitaker game, he told us we would not be able to celebrate until after the state championship game. The game was over, so after five weeks, it was finally that time; time to celebrate. We had a lot more to be proud of than we had to be ashamed of. We had a new goal for the following season; to come back and win the state championship. Within a few minutes, the buses were loud again and they never quieted down. There were lots of parties that weekend; we were heroes.
Chapter 21
The next school day after the championship playoff game, we were treated as if we had won the game. Students wouldn’t stop talking about the season we had, and how excited they were for the following year. They were even talking about starting a student section so that the students could cheer as a large group. They could even come up with their own cheers.
After class, we were lost. We didn’t know what to do. For the last few months, we would go right to practice after school. Once the playoffs were over, though, the season was over. Mike and I had just successfully fulfilled our sentence from the judge and were no longer required to participate in an after-school program. When we were initially sentenced by the judge to participate in something after-school, we were begging for jail. But now that the after-school program was over, we felt a big void in our lives. It didn’t feel right.
Shortly after the football season ended, Mike and I talked about the previous season. We came to the conclusion that it was the best few months of our lives. We were really proud of how drastic our lives had changed, and how much fun we had playing football. We then decided that we were willing to do whatever it took to play football together for the rest of our lives. Our goal was to play together on the same professional football team. We eventually took up part-time jobs in the springtime so that we could pay for college. We spent long days working out, and doing our homework, so that we could maintain our strength, speed, and grades. We attempted to work out five days a week, but there were a few days when Mike couldn’t make it. He was too busy traveling the country.
Mike had such a good year the previous season that many major
college football teams were competing to get him to play for them. These schools were all willing to pay for his schooling, any books and supplies needed, all his meals, and all travel incurred while playing for their team. Typically, those schools would fly him to their campus for free, allowing him to check out their program. They would give him a tour of their complexes, would feed him gourmet meals, and would give him behind-the-scenes tours of their athletic facilities. Finally, they would ask Mike to play for them. They would all make him feel like royalty in an effort to win him over. One of them even went so far as to announce his name over the loudspeaker, and displayed his picture on the big screen while he was touring their football field. Another had the school mascot and a few cheerleaders waiting for his arrival at the airport.
Mike’s answer was always the same, though. None of those schools would take the both of us as a package, so he didn’t want to make any decisions until I received my offers. Loyal to a fault, we both agreed that we would go out of our way to continue playing together, even if it meant making sacrifices. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any offers between the time our first season was over and our second season had begun. All I could do was continue lifting weights and try to make myself a better player for our senior year. We were hoping that after another season, we would both get full tuition offers from the same school. In the meantime, we continued to work our part-time jobs, while working on our grades, just in case my athleticism couldn’t get me into college.
Chapter 22
The summer had a different feel to it. The previous summer, we were enjoying our nights. When we weren’t causing trouble, we were sleeping, partying, and doing things that still embarrass me. The following summer, we continued our workouts so that I too could be noticed by college recruiters. We made it our goal for the upcoming year to have it be my year so we could be recruited together by the same school. I was willing to make sacrifices, and Mike was more than willing to help me.
Guts vs Glory Page 4