by Gregg Stutts
“What about Carl?” Max said.
“I think he’s okay,” Bo said. “I can tell he’s favoring the injured side, but I don’t think anyone else can.”
“Can he play?” Max said.
“He’s good to go. For now,” Bo said. “If he takes a shot on those bruised ribs…I don’t know.”
For early November, the weather couldn’t be better. Fifty degrees with clear skies and almost no wind. Max looked around and took it all in. The stadium was filling up fast. If he lost, it was almost guaranteed to be his last game as head coach at Lakeside High School. Bob Burns would see to that.
“Let’s head in!” Max shouted to his team.
The players jogged to the sideline and then into the tunnel underneath the stands. The assistant coaches followed. As Max walked off the field, he looked up into the stands to where Michelle always sat at away games—ten rows up on the fifty-yard line. And there he saw Michelle, Willy and Rose smiling at him. He wanted to run into the stands and hug her. He wiped the tears from his eyes before anyone saw.
Just before he entered the tunnel under the bleaches, Max looked up again and saw Donnie and JD sitting two rows behind Michelle, Willy, and Rose.
Chapter 34
Max stopped. His team and coaching staff were heading into the locker room. Had he actually just seen Donnie sitting behind Michelle? He turned to go back and look again. Then stopped. What could he do?
He couldn’t do anything. And he’d only be playing into Donnie’s games if he made a public spectacle of himself.
He had to get his mind focused on the game. Surely, Donnie wouldn't do anything stupid in front of so many people. He did his best work in the shadows. After the game though, win or lose, he would need a plan for dealing with Donnie Black once and for all.
Max hurried to the locker room and tried to focus on the task at hand. He paced the width of the cramped room and studied his team. “This is it guys," Max said. “This is what you’ve been working for. You can consider this our first playoff game, because there’s no guarantee we have next week if we lose tonight.”
Max made eye contact with each of the seniors. These were the guys who remained positive through two losing seasons and a 1-3 start to this season. “I’m proud of you guys, especially you seniors. You never gave up.” Max rubbed his hands together then through his hair. He took a deep breath and let it out. More than anything he wished he could strap on the pads one more time and take the field. “Look around this room, men. Soak in this moment. It’s one you’ll remember the rest of your life.”
Sometimes Max dreamed he was back in high school at a moment just like this. A big game. A packed stadium. And he was being given one more chance to play in a game. Only in his dream, something always prevented him from taking the field and getting into the game. Sometimes he couldn’t find his shoes or helmet. Sometimes he’d brought the wrong color jersey. It was a frustrating dream.
“There’s no one who thinks you can win this game tonight,” he said. “Did any of you see the predictions in the paper? I think the closest anyone has us is losing by two touchdowns. I saw one guy picked us to lose by seven touchdowns.” Max was getting louder. “Seven touchdowns! Well, I don’t buy it!”
He could feel the energy building in the room. “Take another look around you. Look each other in the eyes…because you’re all you’ve got! Those eight thousand Bentonville fans sitting across the field…they know you’re going to lose. The four thousand fans on our side…they might not even believe we can do it.” Max put his hands on his knees and bent over. He was quieter now. “Let me tell you...I believe in you. This coaching staff...believes in you. And that’s all that matters. Do you believe?”
One by one, they began putting their helmets on. “Strap ‘em good and tight men…cause we’re in for a fight tonight!” The room filled with snapping chinstraps. “Now listen carefully. I don’t care that they’re ranked second in the state. I don’t care that we’re on their field. Tonight, the Lakeside Dragons own Tiger Stadium. Tonight, this is our field! And we’re gonna show them what it looks like to run into the fiercest, meanest Dragon football team they’ve ever faced!”
They were on their feet now, some were clapping, others were banging on each other’s shoulder pads. “When you step on that field, I want you to give every last ounce of strength you’ve got. Don’t leave anything in the tank! From the snap of the ball until the whistle blows, you are Dragons! Play clean but show no mercy! When you knock someone down…help him up, look him in the eye and say, ‘I’m coming again!’”
They were as ready as they would ever be. “Captains for tonight are our starting offensive linemen! You guys are out first. Go ahead. If we win the toss, we want the ball, so we can start running it right down their throats!” The five captains went first, followed by eighty of their teammates.
The battle was about to begin.
On the field…and off.
Chapter 35
Lakeside won the coin toss and elected to receive. Bentonville chose to defend the north end zone. Max said a few words to the kick receiving team and sent them onto the field. “Hit someone!” Max yelled. To his deep returners who were standing at the five-yard line, he yelled, “Protect the ball! Let’s get a good return!”
The referee blew his whistle and pointed to the Bentonville kicker who, after making sure his ten teammates were ready, he took several long, slow steps toward the ball. The light wind blowing into his face would be just enough to prevent a touchback. Max had called a “middle return,” which worked just the way it sounded. They would try to create an opening right up the middle of the field. If it broke down, then the returner could try to break it to the outside. Starting with the ball on at least their own forty-yard line would be a great way to start.
As the kicker approached the ball, he slowed his approach and barely tapped the ball with the inside of his foot. The five Lakeside players closest to the ball weren’t anticipating an onside kick and had already begun to run back and toward the middle of the field to set up the return. By the time they realized it was an onside kick, it was too late. The ball rolled along the ground taking odd hops until a Bentonville player fell on it at the Lakeside 49-yard line. The Bentonville fans went wild.
As bad as the result was, it wasn’t their worst special teams mistake of the year. This one couldn’t have come at a worse time though. You just couldn’t give the number two team in the state an early advantage like that, especially not in front of a home crowd who was hungry for another championship.
Max didn’t see Bob Burns before the game, but knew wherever he was sitting; he was delighted by the first play. He was probably making a list of head coaching candidates to replace Max.
As the kick return team came off the field, Max yelled, “That’s okay! We’ve overcome more than that!”
The Lakeside fans were deathly quiet. Max almost turned around to see if anyone was actually still there. Then one voice yelled, “Keep your heads up! It’s a long game!” It was Willy. Others joined in shouting encouragement as the defense ran onto the field.
Bentonville called their play at the sideline, so their offense ran right to the line of scrimmage. “Watch twenty-three! Watch number twenty-three!” Max yelled. He was their all-state running back who in nine games had already gained over thirteen hundred yards.
The Bentonville quarterback had started every game since his sophomore year. Northern Arkansas State had tried hard to get him, but mid-way through the season, he had signed a letter of intent to play for the Razorbacks. The new head coach at Arkansas had turned the program around in recent years and was able to attract many of the best players in the state.
The center snapped the ball. The quarterback turned to hand it to their all-state running back who ran toward the Lakeside sideline. But it was a fake. A really good one. Most of the Lakeside defense bit on the fake, including the cornerback responsible for the deep third of the field. As he came up to make the play, he reali
zed too late that the Bentonville wide receiver wasn’t coming to block him. He was running past him for a pass.
The play was so well executed it looked like Lakeside didn’t have enough players on the field. The receiver was wide open. There wasn’t a defender within twenty yards of him when he caught the ball at the fifteen-yard line and jogged into the end zone. Max hung his head for a moment then looked at the scoreboard. There were eleven seconds gone in the game and the score was 6-0. The eight thousand Bentonville fans sounded more like eighty thousand. The extra point made it 7-0.
On the ensuing kick-off, Lakeside returned the ball to their own thirty-three yard line. It was decent field position to start their first series. Max listened in as his offensive coordinator gave the first play to the quarterback. If you grew up in Lakeside, it was a 32-Power play you learned when you were ten years old. These boys had been running it for almost half their lives. It was a hand-off to the tailback who would follow the fullback as his lead blocker into the 2-hole, just outside the right tackle.
The quarterback looked over the defense, shouted his cadence and took the ball from the center. The tailback ran off tackle and was hit right in the hole and stood up. It looked like the play would go for no gain, but he was able to bounce it outside and gain seven yards. TJ and Carl carried out their assignments. It was the fullback who missed his block.
On second down, they ran the same play to the other side of the field and gained four yards, enough for a first down at their own forty-four yard line. They called seven more running plays in a row and moved the ball to the Bentonville six-yard line where it was third down and one. Max looked at the clock—they’d already chewed up over six minutes on the drive. It was just how they wanted the game to go. Except for the first eleven seconds of the game.
Bentonville crowded the line and moved their strong safety right up into the 2-hole. The play call was perfect. They faked a 32-Power and then threw it to the fullback who had peeled off into the flat. He caught the ball at the 1-yard line and took it in for the score. Lakeside added the extra point to make it 7-7 with just over four minutes left in the first quarter.
The rest of the quarter was scoreless as was most of the second quarter. Lakeside moved the ball on two more possessions but couldn’t get it in the end zone. One drive reached the Bentonville twenty-four yard line, but a holding penalty on fourth down and two pushed them back ten yards. They tried a 41-yard field goal that was wide to the right by a couple feet.
Bentonville’s deepest penetration after their first score was to the Lakeside nine-yard line where on third down and three, they fumbled the ball and Lakeside recovered. With 2:08 remaining in the first half, Lakeside took possession at their own twelve-yard line with the score still locked at 7-7. Max felt good about how they were playing and didn’t want to turn the ball over. They ran the ball on first and second downs gaining eight yards.
With 0:28 on the clock, it was third and two at their own twenty-yard line. Bentonville called time out, leaving them with one remaining. They were counting on stopping Lakeside on third down and then using their final timeout, to force Lakeside to punt. Bentonville would come with an all-out punt block.
Max huddled with his offensive coaches during the timeout. Bo asked TJ and Carl how they were feeling. Both said they felt good, although Carl was clearly lying. He was bent slightly and holding his arm close to his side, instinctively protecting his ribs.
“Let’s run a 35-Trap,” Max said. “Let’s see a good fake. Stay on your blocks. Let’s get the first down. It’s 7-7 with the second half still to play. You’re playing great. Now let’s finish out the half.” Max looked at his center, quarterback and tailback and said, “Take care of the football.”
The official blew his whistle and called both teams onto the field. As expected, Bentonville was crowding the line. They had all eleven men within two yards of the line of scrimmage. The Lakeside offense came to the line of scrimmage, the quarterback saw the defense was taking away their play. Then he yelled, “Red sixty! Red sixty!”
Red was their “live” color for the first half. The quarterback was changing the play to “60”, which was a quick screen to the right. If the cornerback got lazy and played the run, then it could go eighty yards for a touchdown. The last thing Max said was to take care of the ball. Throwing only their second pass of the first half wasn’t what he had in mind. He stepped onto the field and was about to call timeout, but it was too late.
“Hut…hut, hut!” The center snapped the ball. The quarterback faked a quick dive right behind Carl. The defense went for it. The corner who should have been covering the screen, crashed hard to the inside to stop the run. The pass was perfect and the receiver was at the thirty-yard line before the defense even reacted. The play went eighty yards for a touchdown.
The Bentonville side of the field was stunned into silence. The Lakeside student section was shouting, “We can’t hear you! We can’t hear you!”
The half ended with Lakeside up 14-7. Max followed the players and coaches into the locker room. Before entering the tunnel beneath the stands, he looked to where Michelle, Willy and Rose were sitting. They waved and Willy gave him a thumbs-up. Max gave a quick wave back. As he did, he noticed someone else had joined Donnie and JD.
It was Bob Burns.
Chapter 36
Early in the fourth quarter, Max had his mind on what was happening in the bleachers behind him, not what was happening on the field in front of him. Fortunately, his inattention hadn’t cost them anything. If Donnie Black and Bob Burns were friends, then no wonder Bob was looking to have him fired.
He wondered what was in it for Bob. Was Donnie in a position to help Bob? Or was it the other way around? If Bob fired Max, would he try to hire Donnie as the coach? Thanks to Max, he was unemployed. And Donnie had coached years earlier at another school. Just the thought of being replaced by Donnie and his players being coached by him made him sick to his stomach. Or maybe the relationship between Donnie and Bob had nothing to do with employment. Maybe it was something else.
He didn’t have enough information to put it all together. But he knew to follow the money. Had he remembered to do that in Dante’s situation, he might have realized something corrupt was going on. He might have asked a few more questions about how a transfer student from Alabama could suddenly afford a brand-new car. Or why Dante and his mom had moved to Lakeside in the first place.
It all made sense in hindsight. The move. The job for Dante’s mother. The car. And finally, the commitment to play at Northern Arkansas State University. If Max had been just a little more curious, he might have pieced it all together before someone got hurt. Instead, he had his head down, focused on his own issues and never even thought to look into something that obviously didn’t smell right.
“Coach.”
Was there a financial connection between Donnie and Bob? Or Donnie and the school district? It didn’t make sense that the district administration or Board of Education would look favorably on any type of relationship with Donnie. Unless…he had something on them like he did on Jack Murphy and Bill Jackson. Donnie had already made it clear he wasn’t above blackmail.
“Coach!”
The one guy who deserved to go to prison, for life, would be the one who would see no prison time at all. Jack was dead. Dante was dead and his mother would live with the pain of his loss for the rest of her life. Bill Jackson would serve some time and had his reputation ruined. Alex Martin and Jerry Peterson would serve the longest terms. If they ever got out of prison, they’d be old men.
Donnie Black literally got away with murder. And rather than learning a lesson, he was back at his games. Donnie must have something on Bob or on someone higher up than Bob. Someone who could put pressure on Bob to get rid of Max. And all so Donnie could get his revenge. He blamed Max for losing his job, so this was his way of getting his pay back. What worried Max though was he didn’t think Donnie would stop at forcing Max out as football coach. He could see
it in Donnie’s eyes. He wanted more than just seeing Max fired.
“Coach!! It’s fourth down! What’s the call?” Bentonville had called timeout with 7:45 left in the game and Lakeside up 14-7. His offensive coordinator had been yelling for his attention. “It’s fourth and three, Coach.”
Max had to get his head back in the game. They were on Bentonville’s twenty-nine yard line. A field goal would put them up by two scores. With the way they’d been running the ball, they might pick up a couple more first downs and then score. He didn’t want to punt from Bentonville’s twenty-nine yard line. If it went into the end zone, then they’d only net nine yards.
Max decided to fake the quick screen they’d scored on in the first half and run a quarterback draw. “Hold on to the football,” Max said as the offense took the field. “And run the play we called!” Max admired his quarterback’s savvy and courage to change the play the way he had, but now was the time to keep the clock running by keeping the ball on the ground.
Max turned to Bo and said, “I’m sorry. My mind was somewhere else. No excuses.”
