The Counterfeit Tackle

by Matt Christopher

  “Man, I never saw you move so fast before in my life!”

  “Terrific, Corky!”

  Craig put an arm around his neck. “You saved my life, buddy! That ball slipped out of my hand!”

  “Just lucky that the Marlin guy didn’t catch it and that I was there,” smiled Buzz.

  “If you had caught that ball before it had hit that Marlin guy, you couldn’t have run,” said Craig. “It would’ve been an incompleted pass.”

  Buzz stared. Boy, football certainly had the strangest rules!

  Frosty bucked the line for a two-yard gain, then Craig pushed forward for another two. The Marlin line held like a wall, giving just a little.

  With third down and three yards to go for a touchdown, Craig turned anxious eyes to Buzz and Pete in the huddle. Buzz knew what he was thinking. Break open a hole for Frosty.

  Buzz smiled. “Pete and I are ready, Captain,” he said.

  Craig grinned. “Good! Okay, Frosty! Get on your horse!”

  This time things were different. The hole was there one moment and closed the next. A Marlin linebacker had plugged it.

  When the pile-up was unscrambled the ball was on the one-yard line. Last down. One yard to go. And only seconds before the end of the half.

  “This has to be it!” said Craig through tightly clenched teeth. “Frosty, run it through left tackle this time. The change might fool them just enough.”

  They went into their regular T formation. Craig barked signals. The ball was snapped. Craig took it, handed off to Frosty. Frosty bolted through left tackle.

  It seemed that every Marlin linebacker was there helping their linemen plug every hole and keep them from giving an inch. When the whistle blew it was hard to tell whether Frosty had made it or not. It was very close.

  He didn’t make it! There was still a foot to go!

  The ball went to the Marlins. They had time for one play. Then the half ended.

  Goose trotted up beside Buzz as the teams walked off the field.

  “Come over after the game, Corky,” Goose invited. “My mother’s making those cookies you like so much. She asked me to ask you.”

  Buzz looked curiously at Goose. Corky had never said anything about eating cookies at Goose’s place. But then, Corky hardly talked to him about his friends. That was all right, because Buzz never cared to listen, anyway. They were Corky’s friends, not his. Why should he care what Corky and his friends did?

  He weighed Goose’s invitation with interest. The Marlins-Otters game would get over long before the Giants-Bears game. He’d have plenty of time to go over to Goose’s house before Dad and Corky returned home. He’d sure like to try some of Mrs. Marsh’s cookies.

  “Okay, Goose,” he said. “I’ll come over.

  6

  THE second half started. The Marlins began to move down the field like a steamroller. Twice they tried long forward passes, but each time the ball was batted down. It was their short passes, and their runs, that clicked for yardage.

  They lost ground when twice they were penalized five yards for being offside. They were on the Otters’ eight-yard line when they committed another foul. This time it was a severe one. Fifteen yards for tripping!

  The Marlins called for time-out. The Otters didn’t mind. They were happy to have a chance to breathe freely awhile, too.

  Buzz saw Craig, Frosty, and some of the others watching the Marlins like hawks, as if trying to see what strategy they were going to pull off next. So far the penalties had not bothered the Marlins very much. They had only slowed the Marlins’ forward drives. They had not stopped them.

  Time was up. Once more the Marlins pressed forward.

  On the third down their quarterback faked a hand-off to Ollie Colt, then faded back to pass. He flipped a fast one to his right end which Jimmy Briggs tried to reach but couldn’t. The end caught it, crossed the goal line, and the Marlins had another touchdown.

  Ollie Colt booted the extra point and the score was Marlins 14, Otters 6.

  Buzz saw Craig’s face as the Otters team turned and walked down the field. His unhappy look explained how much this game meant to Craig.

  He looked at the other players and saw the same expression on their faces. He knew how they felt. He had felt that way many times while playing basketball.

  Now he began to feel that way, too. He felt sorry for Craig and Frosty and the whole Otters team. Corky had told him that the Otters had lost their first game to the Dolphins. So of course they wanted badly to win this one.

  It was a short season. They played only six games. They needed to win this one, or perhaps they would lose all their confidence and not win another game this year.

  “Come on, you guys!” yelled Buzz. He had often been the one to stimulate the basketball players when they felt this way. “Let’s buckle down and do something! We’re far from being beat!”

  Craig looked at him. Then Jimmy, and Goose, and the others looked at him.

  The discouraged look vanished from Craig’s face and was replaced by one of enthusiasm.

  “Come on!” he shouted. “They’re only eight points ahead! Let’s go!”

  They got into position to receive the kickoff. Ollie Colt kicked off for the Marlins. It was high and about ten yards in from the out-of-bounds line. Alan took it and ran it back to the twenty-nine.

  Two line plunges didn’t get him anywhere. A pass to Jimmy netted eight yards. Then Craig gained a first down on the quarterback sneak.

  They tried a pass again. This time it was knocked down. Again Craig called for a pass, handing off to Frosty Homan to make the throw. Frosty faded back and passed to right end Gary O’Brien.

  Gary made a beautiful catch, but he was across the out-of-bounds line when he caught the ball. The pass was declared incomplete.

  Then a pass to Goose succeeded for an eleven-yard gain.

  The boys grinned happily as they ran back into a huddle. “Now we’re going,” said Goose.

  They tried a different play. Craig faded back, faked a pass to Goose, then tossed a pitch-out to Alan Rogers.

  Alan fumbled the ball! A Marlin guard picked it up and started running with it down the field!

  Buzz went after him. The Marlin player was about his size and not any faster. Buzz caught up with him, wrapped his arms around the player’s waist and brought him down.

  “Nice tackle, Corky!” cried Gary.

  “Thanks,” said Buzz. “But they’ve got the ball now. Not us.”

  The referee brought the ball in to the in-bounds line and spotted it on the Marlins’ thirty-two. On the very next play Buzz was knocked backwards on his tail, leaving a hole for the Marlin ball-carrier.

  Angrily, Buzz sprang to his feet and rushed after a Marlin guard who was ready to throw a block on an Otter player. He threw himself alongside the man for a perfect block and the Otter man — who turned out to be Alan — pulled down the runner in a nifty tackle.

  Buzz rose to his feet with satisfaction. He had let himself be caught off guard on the line, but that block had helped a lot in stopping the runner from making a long run. Possibly even from making a touchdown.

  Then he saw a red flag on the ground less than two yards away. The referee came running forward. He pointed at Buzz.

  “Clipping!” he said, and made chop ping motions against the back of his leg. The clipping sign.

  Buzz stared, his heart sinking to his knees. There were certainly some crazy rules in football!

  The referee discussed the charge with the Marlin captain. The Marlins could take either the gain the runner had made — which was six yards — with the down counting, or take the fifteen yards with the down not counting. The Marlin captain accepted the fifteen yards with the down not counting.

  Then a storm of insults flew through the air — all directed at Buzz!

  “Corky! You crazy nut!” Craig looked at him with wide, shocked eyes. “You know you can’t throw a block on a guy from behind!”

  “Criminies, Cork!” said Goose,
looking as amazed as if Buzz had just pulled the most foolish play of the season. Which he undoubtedly had. “You know better than that!”

  7

  BUZZ could say nothing. He couldn’t tell Craig or Goose that he had never heard of clipping before. At least, not in football. This was the first time he knew that a player couldn’t throw a block from the rear. Corky hadn’t said anything about that to him. But, of course, Corky couldn’t tell him everything in that short space of time.

  The Otters held the Marlins for two plays before the quarter ended.

  To start the fourth quarter, the Marlins threw a long pass to their right end. It proved to be one of their very few mistakes of the game. Goose swept in and intercepted the pass.

  His legs looked like bicycle spokes winking in the sunlight as he ran down the field. The whole Marlins team was after him, but none ever got close enough to stop him.

  He crossed the goal line for a touchdown.

  The Otter fans cheered and yelled. Every man on the team slapped Goose happily on the back.

  Frosty missed the extra point by kicking the ball a foot outside of the uprights. The score: Marlins 14, Otters 12.

  The Otters kicked off, and for a while the Marlins were unable to move as swiftly as they had during the first half. They were probably bewildered by that interception that had resulted in a touchdown. And they were probably tired. Whatever was troubling them was showing now in the way they played.

  They lost the ball to the Otters on the Otters’ thirty-six. The Otters made two plays, taking them across midfield to the Marlins’ thirty-eight. Then the referee blew his whistle and announced that there were four minutes left in the game.

  A pass failed to click, so the Otters punted to get the ball as close to the Marlins’ goal line as possible.

  The Marlins worked it back to their thirty-one. On the fourth down they punted. Buzz knew what they were doing. As long as they kept the football in Otter territory or, at least, far enough away from the Marlins’ end zone, the Otters would have little chance of scoring. The Marlins had a two-point lead. All they were interested in was letting the time run out.

  Frosty caught the punt and ran it back to his twenty-two. They gained a first down on a pass to Jimmy, then another first down on a drive through right tackle.

  Two of the four minutes were up. The ball was on the Marlins’ thirty-six. The Otters inched forward, lost five yards on an off-side penalty charge, and found themselves a long way from the goal line with time running out fast.

  Craig called for a double-reverse. They had only tried it once, during the first half. He handed off to Jimmy. Jimmy started running, then handed off to Alan. Alan swept around left end and, getting a key block from Frosty, dashed all the way down the field for a touchdown!

  This time Frosty made the extra point.

  Forty seconds later the game was over. The Otters had won, 19 to 14.

  “What a game!” said Goose as he walked off the field with Buzz. “I didn’t think we’d pull that one out.”

  Buzz smiled. “That double-reverse is neat. Why doesn’t Craig call for it more often?”

  “It isn’t smart to call for some plays too often,” explained Goose. “The other team will catch on, and then you haven’t got anything left to surprise them with.”

  “Oh,” said Buzz. “Guess that is smart.”

  Goose stared bewilderedly at him. “You all right, Corky?”

  Buzz looked at him. “Of course I’m all right. Why?”

  “Well, you just sounded as if you never heard of a double-reverse before.”

  Buzz’s neck reddened. “Are you kidding?” he said. He groped for a better excuse so that Goose wouldn’t get suspicious of him. “I just wondered why Craig didn’t call the play more often, that’s all. Hey, look who’s coming.”

  Pete Nettles had broken away from the crowd at the sideline and was running over the field toward him. A wide grin was on his face as if it were his hero who had pulled the last, spectacular play that had won the game.

  “Hi, Corky! Hi, Goose!”

  Buzz grinned. “Hi, Pete. How did you like the game?”

  Pete’s coming was a lifesaver. Pete, Goose and Corky were like the Three Musketeers — they were together most of the time. If Goose had started to get suspicious at all, Pete’s presence made him forget it completely.

  “It was sure close,” said Pete. “Good thing Goose was there to intercept that pass. Nice work, Goose.”

  “Thanks, Pete,” said Goose.

  They reached the edge of the field. Waiting for them were Pete’s parents.

  “Hello, boys,” greeted Mr. Nettles. “Nice interception, Goose. That play was the shot in the arm the boys needed.”

  “Thanks, Mr. Nettles.” Goose smiled modestly.

  “See you changed your mind about going to that Giants-Bears game, Corky,” said Mr. Nettles, smiling. “It must have been at the last minute, because that’s where your dad said you two, and your sister, were heading when I saw you.”

  For the second time within the last two minutes Buzz’s neck turned hot as fire. “Yes, I did,” he said. “I… changed my mind at the last minute. Buzz went instead. I… thought that playing here was more important.”

  “Boy, that took a lot of gumption,” said Mr. Nettles. “There’re a lot of kids who’d like to see that pro game. Matter of fact, I would, too. But the tickets were all sold out by the time I wanted to buy any. Well, see you later, boys. Let’s go, Pete.”

  8

  WELL, my great impersonator,” Mom said as Buzz closed the kitchen door behind him, “I see you’re still in one piece.”

  Buzz dropped the football helmet and shoes on the floor and began to pull off his jersey.

  “I’m not too sure if I am,” he said. “Wait’ll I take off all this equipment. Maybe it’s holding me together.”

  After he had the jersey and shoulder pads off he was pretty well sure that he was really in one piece. He carried the stuff into his bedroom, finished undressing, then carried his clean clothes into the bathroom.

  “Did anyone get suspicious about you?” Mom’s voice carried to him from the kitchen.

  A proud smile flicked across Buzz’s face. “Not a bit, Mom. There were a few times when I did things and said things that almost put me in hot water for a minute, though. Sometimes I forgot what Corky had told me about crouching in the line, and Coach Hayes bawled me out. Well — not really, but he said he had never seen me in line with my head and shoulders up like that before.”

  Mom laughed. “And, of course, he never had,” she said. “Buzz, I’ve never seen the likes of you in my life. Take your bath and get dressed. By the way, was Pete Nettles at the game?”

  “I’ll say he was. So were his mother and father. You don’t think he’d miss seeing Corky play, do you? Or Goose?”

  “That’s what I thought,” said Mom. “So don’t be surprised if Pete shows up and wants you to go out with him.”

  “Oh, no!” cried Buzz. “If he finds out I wasn’t Corky he’ll broadcast it to every kid in the neighborhood. Me and Corky both will be in steaming hot water then!”

  “Don’t worry about Pete,” Mom said reassuringly. “He likes Corky too much to tell on him like that. Take your bath. We can talk later.”

  After a warm, refreshing bath he dried himself, dressed and combed his hair. He remembered what Mom had said about the strong possibility of Pete’s coming over, and wished Dad and Corky were home. But they weren’t, and he had no idea when they would be.

  Then he thought of something that had popped into his mind every once in a while during the game. Never before in his entire life had so many guys been so friendly toward him. And it was all because of one thing: they thought he was Corky.

  He thought back to the basketball games in which he had played. Not even in them had the players been friendly toward him. Of course they had not been unfriendly. But none of them had ever gone out of the way to slap him on the back or say nice words to
him as the players had during the football game today. It made him feel… well, real good inside.

  They weren’t bad guys at all. They didn’t act anything like they usually did when they saw him on the street. They acted… well, different. Almost as if they weren’t the same kids.

  He tried to explain some of this to his mother. “I know Corky and I are different in certain ways, Mom,” he said, after he had given her a few examples of what had happened. “But we can’t be that different, could we? Not if we look so much alike that nobody can tell us apart.”

  His mother looked at him silently. There was just a flicker of a smile on her lips.

  “You do look almost exactly alike,” she agreed. “But inside, you are made up of different stuff. This stuff is what gives you a certain personality. It’s this personality that comes out of you when you do things, when you say things, or when you meet people. It’s this stuff inside of you two boys that makes you different from each other. It’s like two houses that look exactly alike but have different families in them.”

  Buzz weighed her words. He nodded silently. “I’m getting the idea, Mom,” he said softly.

  The jangling phone interrupted them. Buzz answered it.

  “Corky?” a voice asked.

  Buzz reflected on the name for a second. The voice sounded like Goose Marsh’s.

  He couldn’t say that Corky wasn’t home. As far as Goose knew, Corky had played football today and must be home.

  “Yes, this is Corky,” said Buzz.

  “Coming over?”

  Suddenly Buzz remembered Goose Marsh’s invitation to go over to his house for some of those cookies Corky was supposed to love so much.

  “Oh, that’s right,” he said. “I almost forgot. I’ll be over in a little while, Goose.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you, Cork.”

  “That was Goose Marsh,” Buzz said to his mother. “He invited me over for some cookies. He said that his mother had baked some of the ones Corky was so crazy about.”

  His mother’s brows arched a little. “Oh?” she said. Then a smile brushed across her lips and she turned back to her work. She was mixing up a salad for the evening’s supper. Buzz suspected that Mom was getting a kick out of something.