Lost & Found-Junior Year
Douglas Fox
Lost and found
Junior Year
By
Douglas Fox
Lost and Found-Junior Year
This story is a fictional erotic tale. It contains descriptions of teenagers having unprotected sex. Do not read if you are under eighteen or live in a community that finds explicit sexual stories illegal.
This story was written as an adult fantasy. The author does not condone the described behavior in real life.
I appreciate comments from readers. You can contact me at douglas_fox482@yahoo.com
Kyle Martin returns to Penn State for his junior year. Coaches and teammates expect him to step up and help lead the Nittany Lions as the team rebuilds its offense after losing eight starters from the previous season. This volume takes up where Lost and Found – Sophomore Year ended. Lost and Found: Freshman Year, Sophomore Year and Senior Year can be purchased at www.bookapy.com.
Copyright © 2007, 2011, Douglas Fox
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 43
Sunday, July 31st
I unlocked the front door to Apartment #12 using the key I had picked up from the housing office in Pollock Commons a few minutes earlier.
“Hey! Kyle!” Trevor proclaimed. He hurried across our living room and gave me a slap on the back. “It’s after four o’clock. I wondered when in the hell you were going to get here.”
“Kelly came over this weekend to see me off,” I explained as I carried my suitcase inside. “We wanted to spend as much time together as we could.”
“Say no more,” Trevor replied. “Steph spent the last week at my place giving me a proper sendoff.”
“Hey, roomie,” Damian said as he came from one of the back downstairs bedrooms. “Do you need a hand unloading?” He walked over and shook my hand.
“Sure,” I agreed.
“Jay! Kyle’s here,” Trevor yelled. “Come help him unload.”
My three roommates headed outside to the parking lot. We had my car emptied in twenty minutes. The guys had left me the downstairs bedroom behind the kitchen. Trevor had the other downstairs bedroom. Damian had the upstairs bedroom above Trevor. Jay’s was in the back corner above mine.
I set my new DVD player on the coffee table as my things were being carried in. Jay spotted it.
“Hot damn!” Jay exclaimed when he saw it. “Kyle’s got a Blu-Ray DVD player.”
“Kelly gave it to me for my birthday,” I explained.
“Remind me to give that girl a big kiss when she gets on campus,” Jay replied. “This is going to be sweet this year. Kyle’s DVD player and Trevor’s LCD big screen combined with my sound system. We’ll blow the windows out of this place.
“Sweet!” Trevor agreed. “Let’s set this baby up.”
“Go ahead guys,” I said. “I’m going to get things unpacked in my room.”
I finished unpacking around five o’clock. I went back out to the living room. My roommates were testing out the entertainment system. They had popped in one of the Blu-Ray DVDs that Kelly and I picked up at the mall on Friday. It looked and sounded great on the system we had assembled. I settled in and watched with my buddies until it was time for the first team dinner down at the Training Table.
We bumped into Christian Hunsecker, G. J. DeLuca, Shawn Byrd and Denzell Hunt as we walked over to Pollock Commons and the Training Table for dinner. We talked about our summers away from campus as we walked down the road.
It was reunion time when we got upstairs into the Training Table. Somewhere between two-thirds and three-quarters of the team was in the dining hall already. Some were through the line and seated to eat. A large portion of the team were waiting patiently in line for their food. The eight of us joined the end of the line.
Bob Smith, Chris Richardson, Brian Henson and Etienne LeBlanc joined the line behind us. I greeted Brian with a slap on the back. “Damned good to see you here, Brian,” I said. “I was afraid last fall you were going over to the dark side.”
Brian was one of our two prime wide receiver recruits. He had been very quick when we timed him last fall during his recruiting visit. He had verbally committed to Michigan a few weeks after his visit with us.
“No… I wouldn’t do that,” Brian replied.
“What made you change your mind?” I asked.
“You did,” Brian replied laughing. I gave him a questioning look.Actually,lly it was something Zack Hayes reminded me of. He said, ‘Look what they did for Kyle Martin. Both of you are big, strong, fast receivers. If the coaches can do that with him, they can do it with you.’ I guess we’ll find out if they can get me to play as well as you.”
“I’m sure they will,” I agreed.
Zack was right about Brian. He was a younger version of me in many ways. He was tall, only an inch shorter than me. He was a big receiver. He probably weighed a couple pounds more than I did when I started two years ago. I had seen his speed. The boy was damned fast.
Our team had produced successful NFL wide receivers – Bobby Engram, Joe Jurivicius, Glenn Tucker. Why couldn’t I be next? Maybe Brian could follow me into the NFL. It would be a great thing if our school became known as a place to develop top QBs and receivers in addition to being a top school for linebackers.
My friends and I went through the line and found a table. This dinner certainly felt different from our first team dinner two years earlier. We knew most everyone in the room. We knew what was happening. We got to reconnect with our friends after a ten-week separation. It was fun.
Tyler Madden, one of our team captains, stopped by our table during dinner and asked Trevor, Damian, Shawn, Jay and me to stop by his apartment after the team meeting that night. Tyler had team business to discuss with us.
After dinner Tyler Madden and Andrew Perkins asked the freshmen to come to the front of the room. They quizzed the kids on Penn State trivia. They couldn’t answer most of the questions. Tyler and Andrew demanded they perform the alma mater.
The kids did surprisingly well. Marco Cuchiella, Jon Stafford, Bob Smith and Etienne or ET as we had nicknamed him last spring, led the group. Obviously, someone had tipped the freshman off about this ritual.
When they finished Tyler made a sour face and declared, “That was dreadful! You guys have to be so much better than that if you’re going to be members of the Nittany Lions team. If you want dinner tomorrow night, I expect to hear something that sounds vaguely like our song.”
Coach Burton reminded all of us that we had a team meeting in the auditorium at the Lasch Building at 7:00 pm. Don’t be late! The large group carried their trays to the cleanup line, filed through the line and headed over to the Lasch Building. The freshmen all carried their playbooks along. That was fine. They needed to have that book glued to them until they learned it. We upper classmen knew Coach Burton wasn’t going to go into the playbook tonight. That would come tomorrow evening.
We filed into the seats in the auditorium and got comfortable for a long night. After my friends and I had found seats, I saw Max Rosen walk by with Aidan Nagy and Alex Majerowicz. Apparently, Max had managed to convince Coach Burton that he could keep his academics up and keep his nose clean this season.
Coach Burton took the stage and motioned for quiet.
“Welcome to all 112 members of this year’s Nittany Lions Football Team. My coaching staff and I are pleased and excited that you are here. I am looking forward to us making our mark on our conference and nationally as we have done in the past.”
Video clips from last season played as we watched. Karol making big hit after big hit on running backs, Jake sacking quarterbacks, Cuch making a crunching hit on a running back, Vic picking off a pass, on and on it went for three or four minutes. The team cheered as we watched our exploits last season.
I noticed one thing about the clips. Coach Burton was going to work on our psyche. All of the highlights were of ex-members of our team. I could see the punch line approaching. The clips stopped with a shot of the final BCS poll.
“Ranked number two in the nation,” Coach intoned. “That was a great season… but it’s over. Zack Hayes, number one draft pick of the Green Bay Packers – gone. Jake Washington, number one pick of the San Diego Chargers – gone. Evan Foster, number two pick of the New Orleans Saints – gone. Karol Zizka, number three pick of the Minnesota Vikings – gone. Shawn O’Conner, number three pick of the New England Patriots – gone. Jelani Hill, Pittsburgh, Dominic Cuchiella, Philadelphia, Vlad Lazlo, Miami, Hassan Jackson, Cleveland, Steve Cobb, Kansas City– all trying out in the NFL now.
“Pundits say we should have a strong defense. We return eight of eleven starters. I agree. We will have competition for those slots but we have excellent people to fill the holes. On offense the pundits say we will be weak. We lost eight of our eleven starters from last season, all of whom made it into the NFL training camps.
“We need a new quarterback, a new tailback, a new fullback, two new wide receivers, a new tight end and we need to fill three of the five offensive line slots. The challenge on offense is immense. We play Boston College here for our first game. That one is no gimme. Cincinnati visits the next Saturday. That game isn’t a gimme either. The third weekend we fly to Los Angeles and play the USC Trojans in their home stadium. If our offense hasn’t come together by then we will get clobbered!
Coach Burton paused for dramatic effect while the enormity of our challenge sank into the members of the team. The video started up again. The first clip was of me catching a touchdown against Michigan. He showed Damian plowing over a Michigan State linebacker. Wyatt made a cool move and zipped by a Northwestern linebacker. Jay threw a deep pass to Christian.
Chip completed another bomb to Aidan Nagy. Jibril Sloan came across the middle against Iowa, caught a pass in traffic, was nailed by two linebackers and still made a first down.
“We have talented individuals on offense on our team. It will be up to each of them to elevate their game to the rarified levels of their predecessors if our team will be successful this season. Can you put all the parts together into a unified team in the next six weeks? CAN YOU?”
The team chanted “we can,” in response. We responded twice more as Coach Burton repeated the question, louder each time.
“I believe you can,” Coach concluded. “To help us achieve that the coaching staff has devised some new plays to add to the playbook. Freshmen already have these in their books. Returning players, make sure you pick up the plays before you leave tonight and study the new plays.”
Coach Burton moved onto more mundane matters. He reviewed our schedules for the next three weeks. He talked about press relations, interviews, and team conduct. He reviewed our smoking policy, our drinking policy, our drug policy and the expected sexual conduct of each team member. He reviewed the team’s academic expectations and talked about the mentoring and tutoring services available.
The team meeting ended around 8:30 pm. Tyler Madden stood up and announced, “Those of you I talked to at dinner, we have a meeting in my apartment, #21, in ten minutes.”
It took a few minutes for everyone to file to the front, grab the additions to their playbooks and leave the auditorium. My roommates and I headed back to our own apartment, dropped off our playbook additions and then followed the others over to Apartment #21.
Dermot McMillan invited us inside when we knocked at the door. Glenn Korbel and Salim Rogers, Tyler’s other roommates handed everyone beers as they came in. We filled the available seating in the living room and dining area. A few, including myself ended up sitting on the floor. Tyler, Andrew Perkins and Jibril Sloan stood up in front of the group.
“Thanks for coming guys,” Tyler started off. “Andy, Jibiril and I appreciate you coming over. We want to talk about how our team will run this season. The three of us…” Tyler said as he gestured to the other two captains. “… are going to need your help to pull this team together this season. Each of you was invited because you are one the team’s stars, will probably be a starter or are a key player for our team.”
“There are 109 team members to watch,” Andrew added. “It’s too much for the three of us to monitor every team member. We’re counting on all of you to help us keep the team on an even keel and out of trouble.”
“I know you guys heard about the problems five or six years ago,” Tyler said. “It seemed like every other week the newspapers would report ‘Penn State players arrested.’ Drinking, fighting, and sexual assault – it ran the gamut. All of us need to rein in the guys so we stay out of the news.
“Jibril, Andrew and I will make sure we have a minimum of three parties going on any Saturday night that provide a safe, controlled place for us to enjoy our free time,” Tyler said. “We don’t need to be downtown interacting with a bunch of drunks and crazies. This has worked for the past four seasons and should continue to work if we are careful.
“I want each of you to advise and mentor the guys I assign to you. Make sure they study their playbooks and are prepared on the field. Make sure the guys keep up with their classes. Become their confidant.
“Glenn and Jay, you’re responsible for the quarterbacks – specifically Glenn you’ll work with Chip and Colin. Jay you work with Bob and Jon. Ben, you work with the offensive line. Jibril will work with the tight ends. Kyle, you have the wide receivers.”
I nodded my agreement. “…except I’ll deal with our special cases,” Tyler continued. “Aidan, Alex and Max are my responsibility. Wyatt and Damian, you’ll work with the running backs. Trevor, you have the defensive line, Josh you’ll deal with the linebackers. Shawn, you help me with the defensive backs. Andrew will cover special teams with Kyle’s assistance. Anybody have any questions?”
No one did. We relaxed and traded stories of our summers after the speech. They guys were absolutely envious of my Sunday at the Phillies game and dinner with Chase Utley and his wife. The seniors entertained us with their JoePa stories from their freshman season. Tyler and his roommates served us second beers later in the evening.
The meeting/bull session broke up around ten o’clock. Tyler grabbed, Jay, Trevor, Damian and me before we left. He had us wait until the rest of the crowd was gone before he got to his point.
“I want to ask the four of you a huge favor,” Tyler explained. “You guys all are into rock music, right?” All four of us nodded yes. “Good. I need somebody to host parties on Saturday nights featuring rock and pop music. Ben and his roommates have hip hop/gangsta covered. Bill Daugherty and Josh Bruno will do country for me. Would you guys be willing to host weekly parties?”
“Why us?” Jay asked. “I know you’re a huge alt rock fan. Why don’t you do it?”
“I am, but this apartment isn’t big enough for the parties,” Tyler explained.
“What?” I asked. “Your living room and dining room is as big as ours. Why don’t you do it?”
“Glenn and I have enough space for gathering,” Tyler explained. “What I’m missing is enough bedrooms. Somebody….” Glenn, Tyler and Salim all stared at Dermot. “… was too damn slow getting his housing request in. We’re stuck here in this garden apartment with only two bedrooms.”
“And you want access to four bedrooms,” I added.
“Exactly,” Tyler replied.
“There is one problem,” Jay observed. “None of us is twenty-one. Where will we get beer?”
“At least not until my birthday in the end of September,” Trevor added.
“I will make sure you guys have all the booze you need,” Tyler replied.
The four of us conferred for a minute and agreed to host parties for the team this year. We headed back to our apartment. I spent an hour finishing my unpacking. I hooked my computer up and sent off my nightly e-mail to Kelly.
----------oooOooo----------
I took my shower stuff and personal things over to the locker room at the Lasch Building before practice started on Monday morning. I took my playbook outside to the practice fields, ready to begin work at 8:50 am. Most of the team was on the field already awaiting our coaches’ arrival. It was funny seeing Anders Voight dressed in khakis and a blue polo instead of practice clothing.
Coach Burton called for the team to huddle around him promptly at 8:55 am. Two minutes later two sophomores came out of the Lasch Building and dashed for the team huddle. They weren’t fast enough to escape Coach’s notice. They were sent on a two-mile run around the three practice fields.
We did some stretching and warm-up exercises to get ready for the morning’s activities. After twenty minutes the coaches split the team into four parts. Tyler, Jibril, Andrew and Ben Walker each led their quarter of the team off. I was with Ben’s group. We went to be timed on a mile run first. I ran flat out, finishing the run in 4:40. The time was a couple seconds better than last year.
We went inside and went to the weight room. We met with Mr. Collins, our conditioning coach or with Matt Sheppard, his assistant. Mr. Collins tested my strength and agility. He was pleased with my results.
We went to the locker room next and drew our towels, practice T-shirts and shorts and other equipment. The freshmen drew their numbers. John Crosby, the freshman wide receiver from Damian’s high school, ended up choosing Bo Cherry’s old number #15.
The next group met us in the locker room before we left. Their group was buzzing with the news. Bruce MacCauley said, “Did you hear Kyle? The new kid Henson beat the team record in the 40. He ran a 4.29!”
That stung a little. I prided myself on being the fastest guy on the team. Aaron Morano, Shawn Byrd and Les Jones were the only three players to come close to my times in the last two years. Brian Henson was providing me with a big challenge.
Ben took our group out for the final station in the round robin. I did the vertical jump test early. I matched last year’s 43” inch vertical jump. I stretched and tried to get my head together. Nobody was going to beat me without a fight! I let most of my group run the forty for the coaches before I ran.
“What’s it going to be, Coach? Who’s fastest?” Coach Burton called just before the start. That drew more than a few funny looks from my teammates.
I got a good start when Coach Burton blew his whistle. I kicked as hard as I could as I drove myself down the field. I gave everything I had, willing my legs to kick harder. I pushed myself to the limit and kicked hard even after I crossed the end line. I slowed and turned back towards he coaches. Whatever the result, I knew I had given everything I had in the effort.
The coaches were all staring at the stopwatches. Anders gave me a huge grin and a thumbs up sign.
“Coach, what do you think you did?” Coach Burton called out as he waved me over.
“I have no idea, Coach,” I replied.
“4.28 seconds,” Coach Burton announced loudly. “That’s a team record and only the second sub 4.3 time we’ve ever had. That was fantastic! Good job!”
I accepted back slaps and congratulations from the teammates and coaches. I found out later that Shawn Byrd wasn’t far behind Brian and me. He ran a 4.30 second 40 that day. The coaches got the whole team together and had us do some ball handling drills before dismissing us.
The team headed down to the Training Table for lunch. After lunch we had position meetings. I scanned the room when Coach Adams had everyone’s attention. It was an impressive group. Brian Henson and Bruce MacCauley were extremely fast by any team’s standards. Christian Hunsecker looked slower but had an amazing burst of speed when he needed to create separation. Jared Cantrell was a good route runner and not slow by any means.
Tanner Riggs was a little bantam rooster. He was good over the middle in spite of his slight size. He slipped tackles and picked up extra yards by making the tacklers miss. John Crosby was green but Damian promised we would be delighted to have him on our team.
The three question marks among the ten receivers were our seniors. By all expectations they should be our starters but they weren’t. Alex Majerowicz was a talented receiver that didn’t put a lot of time or effort into studying the plays or video. Max Rosen had been in the Coach’s dog house so many times that he was certain to stay on the third string for the rest of his career at Penn State. Aidan Nagy was the odd one. He worked hard to prepare and was a good possession receiver. If he could rehab his reputation with Coach Burton, he might have a shot at a starting spot.
I was glad Tyler Madden was going to monitor those three. I could handle the receivers my age or younger. I wouldn’t have been able to get anywhere with those three.
Before Coach Adams started the receivers meeting Jared Cantrell asked, “Why did Coach Burton call you ‘Coach’ this morning? What’s that about?”
Christian laughed and said, “I can explain that. My brother worked with ‘Coach’ this summer as a lifeguard. The whole pool staff called him that because he helped them work on preparing for football every day during the summer.”
“That’s pretty much it,” I added. “It started back in high school when I blew out my knee. All I could do to help the team was help my coaches. The nickname started back then. I’d just as soon not use it here at college.”
“Hell no, Coach,” Jared countered. “You deserve the name. You’re responsible for a lot of the progress I’ve made in the last year and a half. If it’s good enough for Coach Burton, it’s good enough for me.”
“Why does he get to be called Coach and I get to be called ‘Squirrel’?” Bruce protested.
“It fits!” was the near unanimous response from all other receivers. I noticed Aidan, Alex and Max didn’t share the other receiver’s enthusiasm for my nickname. I didn’t blame them.
I would have been upset if one of the younger guys came in and beat me out for a starter’s position. Look how I reacted in the morning when Brian threatened my title as ‘fastest man on the team.’ Of course, if they had reacted to my challenge the same way I did to Brian’s, they would be the three starters at wide receiver and I would be a backup.
The coaches spent the afternoon practice doing drills – ball handling, tackling, blocking and fumble recovery. Practice ended around 4:30. I was pleased to see Jon Stafford grab Brian Henson and John Crosby and convince them to stay out late and catch some balls with him. That was exactly the example we needed for the younger guys on the team.
----------oooOooo----------
Tuesday brought more warm up stretching and drills, morning and afternoon. Wednesday we started running plays in the afternoon practice without pads or tackling. Jay, Chip and Glenn shared time running the first team. Glenn and Chip shared time at second string. Jon and Bob Huber, the quarterback from Lebanon, ran the third string with Colin O’Shea’s help.
I worked exclusively with the first string. Aidan, Christian, Tanner and Alex all split time between the first and second string. Bruce and Jared split time between second and third string. Max, Brian and John worked exclusively with the third string.
Shoulder pads and helmets came out on Thursday. We practiced without tackling. It was starting to feel like real football. I was able to start to see where the quarterback competition was taking our team.
Glenn played solidly. He still didn’t have the arm strength to throw the deep ball. He ran our offense efficiently with minimal mistakes. Our defense also kept us bottled up when he was at the controls.
Chip was excellent. He could heave the ball 50 or 60 yards without breaking a sweat. He zipped it in when needed. Chip hit timing routes and deception routes equally well with Christian and me. Our time playing together over the summer was paying off for him. It was almost like Zack was still behind center for us except for the interceptions. He threw too many in the first two days of practice.
Jay was the mystery. He hit the short and medium routes well. He didn’t make many mistakes. He didn’t throw a single interception in the first two days of practice. He could throw the deep ball too but without the accuracy I had come to expect from him in the past. The QB competition might be closer than I expected.
We ran our first special teams practice Thursday afternoon. I caught a couple kick returns and a couple punt returns before Coach Ferguson sidelined me. Tanner Riggs and Brian Henson handled the rest of the kick returns for our practice. Christian Hunsecker and Bruce MacCauley handled the rest of the punt returns.
Full pads, red jerseys for the quarterbacks and tackling came on Friday. I was glad to play real football after days of playing touch. One play on Friday afternoon reminded me why I was so glad Tyler Madden was a Lion. I caught a ball about ten yards downfield over the middle. I managed one step before Tyler came flying in and nailed me, driving me into the ground and driving the breath out of me. He stood over me and offered me a hand up as I tried to gather my breath again. Damn! Tyler could hit hard.
We had a low-key scrimmage Saturday morning. I caught a few passes, including a deep one Chip threw me for a touchdown in the first quarter. I was put on the bench by the second quarter. Jay ran the offense in the second quarter. He went 6 for 9 passing. The stats showed he gained 102 yards passing but that was deceiving.
Two of Jay’s three missed passes were deep. 57 of his yards came on a seven yard completion to Christian. Christian made Denzell miss the tackle and streaked away in a flash. Some guys on the team were surprised. I wasn’t. I had seen him do the same thing in high school too many times to be surprised.
Glenn ran the offense efficiently in the third quarter, but without managing to score on our second and third string defenses. Jon Stafford and Bob Huber split time in the fourth quarter. The freshmen made a lot of mistakes. Jon also made one brilliant play. He had to dodge a couple tacklers in the backfield and then found Brian Henson thirty yards downfield coming back to him. He nailed Brian in stride. Brian then broke a tackle and ran in for a touchdown to give the Blue team the win.
----------oooOooo----------
Coach Burton gave the team the rest of Saturday off. Tyler gave us the seed money left over from last year’s parties so we could buy supplies. We put a hat or basket out at every party where attendees could contribute to the expenses. Zack said he never had a problem covering expenses from the hat. I didn’t expect we would either.
Trevor and I went out to Walmart to get snack food, ice and coolers for our party that night. Jay went to the beer distributor with Tyler and Jibril to pick up booze for the party. We weren’t required to attend dinner at the Training Table on Saturday evening. A bunch of us went downtown and had barbeque at Beulah’s instead.
Damian, Jay, Trevor and I headed back to our apartment and set things up for the evening’s party. Guys started to come around eight o’clock. Compared to past years, this was a tame party. It was all guys. The girls wouldn’t arrive on campus for another two weeks. We watched TV and a movie, drank our beer and chowed down on the munchies. It was a decent party but not spectacular compared to what we would have later in the year.
‘Squirrel’ MacCauley had a bit too much to drink. Chip and Jared Gray, our sophomore backup kicker and Squirrel’s roommate, helped get him back to Hartranft. Damian, Trevor, Jay and I had a lot of cleanup to do after everyone left but we decided it could wait until the next morning.
The meal plans the athletic department provided to us football players were convenient. We could get our meals from the dining halls in Pollock Commons or we could spend the allotment at the Mix or other on-campus convenience stores. I walked over to The Mix around 11:30, after I showered. I picked up a Philadephia Inquirer and a breakfast sandwich.
A lot of the team ended up hanging out in the player’s lounge Sunday afternoon. We played cards, pool and foosball as well as watching TV together. It was a pleasant way to unwind from football for a day.
----------oooOooo----------
Monday’s practices started to clarify the quarterback competition. Glenn Korbel worked strictly with the second team. The coaches didn’t make any announcements but all of us, including Glenn, understood what that meant. He was not going to be our starter.
Glenn took the bad news like the consummate team player he was. He worked as hard as anyone studying, working out and preparing for football. Unfortunately, he wasn’t blessed with the same physical gifts and athleticism as Jay and Chip. He made the most of what he had but he wasn’t ever going to be the caliber of a starting quarterback for a BCS contending team.
Chip and Jay were given equal time running the first team offense. Chip ran the team well, for the most part. Once or twice every practice we’d hear Coach Schroeder or Coach Burton yell, “Brinton, what the hell was that?” after an interception or a missed hand off.
Jay didn’t make nearly was many mistakes as Chip. Unfortunately, he still couldn’t complete very many deep passes. The ball would float on him or it would fly off somewhere five or ten yards from his intended target. He couldn’t consistently throw deeper than about 15-20 yards. This problem made the QB competition much closer than it should have been.
Monday evening Coach Burton and Coach Schroeder unveiled a new wrinkle for our offense. I suddenly understood why I was getting so few reps with our special teams. We were installing a wildcat formation and I was the designated wildcat. The coaches didn’t plan one or two plays with the formation. They drew up a dozen plays from it to keep our opponents guessing.
I would line up behind the left guard and slightly closer to the center. The QB would line up behind the right guard, also shifted slightly to the center. The two of us were only five feet apart. The center could easily snap the ball to either of us.
Sometimes I would take a direct snap and take off running – either to the strong side or the weak side, depending on which play was called. I also had the option to take the snap, sprint out wide and pass. The snap could go to the QB who would then pitch the ball to me. We also could snap the ball to the QB and have all five receivers run pass routes from the formation. I was excited about trying something new.
The actual execution on Tuesday morning left something to be desired. I hadn’t taken shotgun snaps since I was a senior in high school and was our team’s emergency quarterback. I bobbled a few of the snaps. None of the blockers were sure yet where they were going. The coaches were unusually patient with us as we learned this offense. By the end of the afternoon practice we didn’t look like a circus clown act anymore.
Wednesday was media day. I must have done twenty interviews – Sports Illustrated, ESPN, all the broadcast networks, HBO Sports, my home TV stations, Philadelphia stations, Pittsburgh stations plus newspaper reporters. Most of the questions were the same. Who was going to be the quarterback? Did I have a preference for the quarterback? They all got the same answer. I was good friends with both Chip and Jay. I would catch ball from whomever Coach Burton put behind center for the first game.
Mr. Montgomery, the reporter from Lancaster’s paper caught on to my new/old nickname immediately. We talked about the name for a bit. Mr. Montgomery noted how much Coach Burton seemed to enjoy using my nickname. Whether I liked it or not, the name was here to stay.
I brought Jared Cantrell, Bruce MacCauley, John Crosby and Brian Henson together a couple evenings after meetings were over to review the playbook with them to help them learn what they needed to know. Jared was my best salesman in convincing the other guys to give up free time to work on the playbook. Anders Voight came in the second time to assist too. Both John and Brian were smart and picking up our plays well. Squirrel (Bruce) was getting better at concentrating as we worked. I knew we had a good set of receivers to carry the Lions into the future.
Things weren’t going better for Jay as the week went on. He and I were standing on the sidelines while Chip ran the first team offense. We had just missed connecting deep yet again for the third time in the morning. My patience was wearing thin.
“What the hell is wrong?” I demanded. “You made passes like that a year ago without breaking a sweat.”
“It’s my follow through,” Jay explained. “I’m still rehabbing my left ankle and it isn’t 100%. I can’t put the same zip on the ball.”
“You do realize that our whole offense is predicated on spreading the defense with the deep threat, right?” I asked. Jay nodded yes. “If this were a real game it won’t take long for defense to figure out that you can’t get the ball deep. They’ll move up closer to the line, double all the receivers short and bottle up our running back. We become a three-yards-a-play, grind it out offense. That isn’t what Coach Burton is looking for.”
“I know,” Jay agreed.
“What are you going to do about it?” I demanded.
“I’m working hard at my rehab with Mr. Collins and Matt,” Jay said. “I WILL get there eventually.”
“Will Coach Burton wait to name a starter until you’re ready?” I replied. “You may find yourself sitting on the bench watching Chip start if you don’t get your shit together.”
“That’s just what you want, isn’t it?” Jay snapped. “Get your buddy in as starter.”
“My buddy?” I exclaimed. “What the hell do you think you are? Who did Damian and I turn to first when we were looking for roommates? I’ve always considered you to be one of my closest friends on the team.”
“Why did you help Chip so much?” Jay asked. “You practiced with him all winter and spring helping him improve. You dragged him off to your Scout camp this summer so you could work out together.”
“You were on crutches last winter and couldn’t throw a football,” I replied. “You could have come to camp with me to work out. I would have arranged it if you wanted to do that.”
“I had to stay on campus to continue my rehab,” Jay answered.
“I know,” I agreed. “That’s why I didn’t suggest it to you. We’re having this conversation BECAUSE I’m your friend. If I wanted Chip to be the starter, I wouldn’t say a word. I’d just watch you fail and smile to myself. What are you going to do about this?”
“I’ll keep rehabbing as hard as I can,” Jay said. “Hopefully Coach doesn’t name a starter before I get back to 100%.”
“I want you to understand something,” I said. “I hope you do get to 100% in time. Regardless of that, I will bust my tail for whoever is the starter when we line up against Boston College, whether it’s you or Chip. If Chip wins the job, I expect you to be a loyal team member and support him in every way possible. I’m going to tell Chip the same thing. If you get the starter’s job, I expect him to suck it up, smile and support you in every way possible. Our team can’t afford to be split into pro-Brinton and pro-Nicholson factions.”
“That’s fair,” Jay agreed.
I leaned in closer. “Seriously, you and I got to hook up deep or you’re going to be toast,” I said. “I’ll do anything I can to help you. If you want to work out some after practices, I’m willing. I bet if you ask Christian, he would do it too.”
“I don’t know if that will help,’ Jay said. “What I need is for my damn foot to heal. I’ll keep working with Matt on my exercises.”
I hoped things did work out for Jay. He’s a damn good quarterback when he’s physically ready. The Thursday afternoon practice didn’t go better for Jay. He managed to complete a single deep pass on five tries. Chip completed four of five when he was with the first string. He also threw another interception.
Friday morning, I had the same conversation with Chip that I had with Jay on Thursday. I made it clear I had no favorites between them, that I would help both of them any way I could to make their case to be the starter and that the loser was going have to be a loyal team player and support the starter when the decision was made.
Coach Burton had another scrimmage on Saturday morning. I played the first quarter. We gave our wildcat formation a good workout. I managed to complete a touchdown pass to Christian and rip off a couple good runs too. The team was improving. Jay didn’t complete any deep passes in the quarter he played.
Trevor, Jay, Damian and I did another party Saturday night. The money collected in our hat last weekend more than covered our expenses. We had Tyler pick up some of the fancier beers for this party. The guys talked, played poker, watched movies and listened to music as the enjoyed their beers. It was a tame party compared to most of last year’s. The good news was that next Saturday the rest of the students would be on campus and we’d have girls! Wahoo!
----------oooOooo----------
Kelly and I kept in touch daily. Andy and I exchanged e-mails every couple of days. My brother was too busy with football to stay in the funk about missing his kids for long. Andy had many of the same experiences I had two years ago when I was a freshman. He was shocked at the size of the playbook. He didn’t expect the guys to be so big and fast in college. His two-a-day practices were brutal, just like ours. He said he never worked harder in his life. Andy said Coach Keeler had him among the four guys trying out for punt and kick returner on the team.
Week three’s Monday and Tuesday practices went much as the previous week. After dinner Tuesday night the team received a shock. Coach Burton announced to the assembled team that Chip Brinton would be that starting quarterback in ten days when we opened our season against Boston College. Coach wanted the starter to get as many repetitions as possible before we played BC.
Coach announced the other starters as well. There weren’t any other big surprises. Damian was chosen over Wyatt Smith as starting tailback. Christian Hunsecker won the strong side receiver spot and Tanner Riggs would be our slot receiver. Aidan Nagy and Alex Majerowicz stayed third string with the freshmen. Max Rosen was the one guy who improved his spot among the guys in the coach’s doghouse. He would back up Tanner in the slot.
The only contests on defense were for Will (weak side) linebacker and left cornerback. Jarrell Cook beat out Tony King for the Will spot. Denzell Hunt beat G. J. DeLuca for the cornerback slot. Coach Burton exhorted us to practice hard for the next week and a half. We had two home games followed by a trip to Los Angeles to play USC in their home stadium. We needed to come together as a team immediately.
Jay did not take his demotion well. He stormed out without speaking to anyone when the team meeting was over. I cautioned Chip not to celebrate. He was lucky Jay’s left foot still needed rehab. I also reminded him of all the blunders he made in football camp. He was going to have to improve his game if he was going to retain the starter’s spot for the whole year. Trevor, Damian and I found Jay locked in his room when we got back to our apartment. He refused to come out or to talk with us.
Jay was uncommunicative on Wednesday at practice. He did exactly what he needed to do to run the second team offense but otherwise had little to say. Ironically, he completed two of three deep passes that afternoon. I don’t know if he was playing through pain or if his rehab was finally getting his foot in shape.
It didn’t matter what the cause was after lunch. Coach Burton revealed his decision to the rest of the world at a press conference. Through persistence Trevor broke through to Jay’s wall of silence after dinner. Trevor got Jay to sit down with him, Damian and me to talk about the demotion.
Jay was frustrated that Coach Burton didn’t wait longer before choosing between him and Chip. Jay insisted he just needed a few more days until his foot was fully healed. Jay was mad at himself too. There must have been something he could have done to give him that little edge he needed to beat Chip. I reminded him about the commitment I asked from him last week. He promised to do his best to be a loyal team member.
Jay’s final comment was instructive. “Who knows what life may bring,” I explained. “Chip may screw up as the starter and Coach Burton gives me another chance. My foot is getting better every day. God forbid, if anything happens to Chip, I will be ready to play. If I get a shot at starting again, I won’t give that up without a huge fight.”
“That’s fair enough,” I agreed. Jay really believed he still had a chance to take back the starting spot. Time would tell if that was realistic or not.
----------oooOooo----------
I received multiple e-mails that evening. Liz sent a brief e-mail with half a dozen pictures from her trip to Algonquin. The group came home the previous afternoon. I looked the beautiful pictures over and dreamed of lying back along the shore of one of those quiet lakes and watching the world go by. My career path was taking me in a different direction but it was nice to remember that wonderful place.
Mom sent me an e-mail too recounting my sister’s trip. Mom was much more descriptive than Liz. The two crews had seen a dozen moose during the trip. Howling wolves had lulled them to sleep nearly half the nights. Amazingly Liz and Josh’s relationship had weathered ten days of intimate contact. They were still as infatuated with each other as they had been last month. Mom was running out of excuses for getting Hunter and the twins out of the house when the two kids wanted privacy.
I sent an e-mail off to Will commiserating with him about missing the Algonquin trip. This was the first one he missed in ten years. John Holloway could have found a replacement for Abby in the health lodge for the last week of camp. Will couldn’t be spared. Two years ago, Rob Young ran the pool while Will went to Canada. Rob’s National Camp School certification to run aquatics programs had expired since then.
I received an e-mail from Ed Fritz later that evening. Coach Burton wasn’t the only coach ready to name his starter. Coach Meyer named Terrence Walker to start over Ed. Ed was unhappy but he promised to soldier on for the good of the Gators. I replied expressing my sympathy and telling him about the battle between Chip and Jay. This hadn’t been a good week for my roommates/tentmates.
----------oooOooo----------
Incoming freshmen and transferring Commonwealth Campus students reported on Thursday for orientation. Coach Burton modified our practice schedules while orientation was going on. We would practice Thursday and Friday mornings and then scrimmage on Saturday. The afternoon and evenings were ours so we could prepare for the start of classes. Next Monday we would switch to our normal fall practice schedule – 3:45 pm to 5:00 or so daily with night meetings as needed.
Dinner at the Training Table wasn’t mandatory Thursday or Friday. The freshmen and sophomores had house dinners and meetings. The rest of the team was welcome to eat at the Training Table but weren’t required to eat there. I decided it was time for us to christen our kitchen. Damian, Trevor and Jay were all for it.
I drove to the local supermarket and picked up supplies to do one of the casseroles that I learned to make in Boy Scouts. My foodie roommate Damian volunteered to go along and to make desert for us. I made Turkey Tetrazzini over lunch time to cook before dinner. Damian made a chocolate strawberry torte.
Kelly’s mom Kathleen took the Thursday off from work to bring Kelly and her younger brother Mike to campus. Kelly phoned me when they arrived on campus right after lunch. Kathleen planned to get Mike checked in first. He was rooming in McKee Hall in West Halls near the Rec Hall.
Kelly called around two o’clock, soon after I finished my casserole. They had Mike checked in. I hopped in my car and drove over to the Loft Apartments on Bellevue Avenue. The apartments are on the side of the hill overlooking the valley along Route 26. Each apartment building was three stories high with the bottom story a garden level apartment.
I pulled up in front of Apartment 52 and parked beside Kelly’s mom’s mini-van. The ladies were inside. I mounted the steps to the first floor and rang the bell at their apartment. Kelly launched herself at me when she opened the door, hugging me and kissing. “Sweetie! It’s so good to see you,” Kelly enthused.
“Hello, Kyle,” Kathleen added when Kelly released me. “It is so nice of you to come over to help us move Kelly in.”
I gave Kelly’s mom a hug and a kiss on the cheek. The three of us got to work unloading all Kelly’s things into her apartment. Since Bev, Cindy and Jen wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow, Kelly had the pick of bedrooms. It took us about two hours to move everything into her room.
Kelly rode with me on the trip to my apartment. Kathleen followed along in her mini-van. Trevor, Damian and Jay greeted Kelly’s mom warmly. I popped the casserole in the oven. We had 45 minutes to relax and talk before dinner was ready. Kelly helped me get a salad together and make garlic bread to go along with the casserole.
Kathleen got to know my roommates as we talked and waited for our dinner. The casserole turned out to be good. It was nice to christen our kitchen properly with a friendly dinner party. Kathleen had to head back to Pittsburgh after dinner. She had to work tomorrow. I promised I would give Kelly a ride back to her apartment afterwards. Kelly kissed her mom good bye and gave her a hug before she left.
I hadn’t been specific about exactly when I would give Kelly a ride home. Both of us planned for her to spend the night in my room. Kelly, Damian and I settled in to enjoy a couple movies on my new Blu-Ray player. The rest of my roommates had other plans.
My roommates didn’t mind Kelly staying overnight with me. The two of us retired to my bedroom around 11:15, after we caught a bit of the late news. We made love before we fell asleep. I’m sure Trevor, Damian and Jay heard. They would just have to learn to live with it. Anyway, Trevor and Damian’s girlfriends were both returning to campus on Friday. They would have an opportunity Friday night. Jay would have to go out and find himself a girl, a task I knew he was up to.
Kelly and I were cuddling after our cums when I gave her a kiss and asked, “Do you want me to get up early and give you a ride back to your apartment, sweetie?”
“What time do you need to get up?” Kelly replied.
“I have to be over at the Training Table for team breakfast at 8:00,” I said. “I guess we’d need to get up around seven to have time for showers and to drive over.”
“Do you mind if I sleep in tomorrow?” Kelly asked. “I don’t have anything until 1:30 pm. I have to meet my advisor then. I can take the bus back to my apartment. It comes with a free CATA pass.”
“Cool!” I replied. ‘That’s sounds good to me.”
“Are you free for supper tomorrow night?” Kelly asked.
“Yeah, Coach isn’t making us eat at the Training Table this weekend,” I said. “What’s up?”
“I promised Jen, Bev and Cindy I would make dinner tomorrow night while they finish unpacking. I was thinking we should invite you, Christian and Mark to come too.”
“That sounds great,” I agreed. I gave Kelly a kiss on the lips. “I’m going to love the two of us having our own apartments. This year is going to be great.”
“It will be, lover,” Kelly agreed. The two of us rolled over on our sides and spooned together for the night. I draped my arm over Kelly’s stomach. She clasped it with both hands as we fell asleep.
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Most everyone was keyed up at Friday morning’s practice. Those team members with girlfriends were eagerly anticipating reunions. Those without girlfriends were eagerly anticipating the arrival of girls to our campus after living like monks for the past three weeks. They dreamt of strolling down campus streets observing, meeting and getting to know some of the lovelies flocking to campus.
The coaches, along with our captains, Tyler, Jibril and Andrew, endeavored to keep us focused on football. This was the sloppiest practice we had by far this month. Coaches made us run the plays again. At eleven o’clock they sent us off the field with a warning to do better at tomorrow morning’s scrimmage. I showered and went back to the apartment.
I had lunch and then headed for a 12:30 pm appointment with my advisor, Dr. Henderson. I loved going to see Dr. Henderson almost as much as I loved going to see my dentist to get a cavity filled. He made me wait five minutes before he admitted me to his office. We reviewed my schedule briefly – Anthropolgy 45-Cultural Anthropology, History 161-Battle of Gettysburg in Memory, Geography 30-Geographic Perspectives, Geography 115-Landforms of the World and SS ED 411-Teaching Secondary Social Studies.
Dr. Henderson was almost civil throughout the counseling session, at least until the end. He shot me with a zinger before I left.
“You’re one of the most promising education undergraduates in your class, Mr. Martin,” he started. I smiled at the praise. “It’s too bad you fritter away your time on football. You could make something of yourself in the education field otherwise.”
I pasted a fake smile on my face, throttled my urge to scream, thanked him for his time and marched out of his office as quickly as I could go. WHAT IN THE HELL DID THE IDIOT WANT? I made Dean’s List for three straight semesters. Dr. Henderson was a puffy, red, inflamed boil on the posterior of my life.
I stopped by the bookstore on the way back to my apartment to get this semester’s books. The title of my history book was interesting – “The Battle of Gettysburg in Historical Memory” by Dr. Katherine Brennan. This is one way to sell your book. Who was I to say anything? Dr. Brennan was simply the best professor I had at Penn State.
I gathered up the rest of the armload of books I needed and headed for the checkout counter. I happily gave the clerk the charge card the athletic department supplied to every scholarship athlete. The final bill came to $473.19. Thank you, Joe Paterno and Bob Burton, for giving me my scholarship!
I dropped my books off at the apartment and headed up the hill to the Natatorium. I signed in and then headed outside to help lifeguard the freshmen swim tests. Mr. Coleman assigned me to scan ID cards as the freshmen were pulled out of the pool when they successfully completed their swim tests. Chip arrived a couple minutes after me for his first afternoon of work. Mr. Coleman had Chip monitor freshmen as they took their tests.
I’d been working a couple hours scanning IDs and was getting a little punchy when I heard someone say, “Hey Kyle. How’s it going?”
I focused and looked up. “Hey Mike,” I replied. “It’s good to see you. Are you getting settled into Penn State?” It was Kelly’s younger brother, Mike.
The eyes of the guy standing beside Mike bugged out. “You’re… you’re… you’re…” he stuttered. I smiled and nodded agreement. “I saw your picture was in the paper this morning.”
“Kyle Martin,” I said as I extended a hand shake to the young man.
“Kyle, this is my roommate Jim Hill,” Mike said as we shook hands.
“You’re the star receiver on our football team,” Jim gushed.
“I do play football,” I replied. “It’s good to meet you, Jim.”
“You’ve been on campus for twenty-four hours, Mike,” Jim demanded. “How do you know, Kyle Martin?”
I laughed and explained, “I go steady with Mike’s sister. We’ve known each other for a couple years.”
Mike and Jim hung around as I scanned IDs of the others in line behind them. Mike and I talked about how our summers went at our respective Scout camps. I hadn’t heard what Mike’s major was. He was going for architectural engineering. I found out Jim was from Pottstown and was majoring in Food Science. Jim seemed like a nice guy.
After a few minutes talking Mike suggested, “We should probably stop bothering you and let you work.”
“My boss will probably appreciate that,” I agreed.
“See you later,” Mike said as he and Jim started to leave.
“Hey, you guys should stop by my party tomorrow night,” I said. “Kelly, my roommates and I are throwing one.”
“Sis didn’t tell me about that,” Mike said.
I chuckled. “I forgot to tell her last night,” I explained. “We got a little busy with other things. The captains on the team asked me and my roommates to host it for the team.”
“Yeah, I can understand how that can happen when you haven’t seen your girlfriend for a while,” Mike replied. “Are you sure it’s OK if Jim and I come? I don’t want to get in the way of something the team is doing.”
“It’s fine,” I replied. “We have non-players at our parties all the time. We’ll have plenty of good beer, girls and good music. It’ll be fun.”
“We’ll be there, Kyle,” Mike said as they left.
As they left, I overheard Jim gush, “I can’t believe it! I’ve been here a day and have an invitation to party with the football team. I’m glad I’m rooming with you, Mike.”
A few other freshmen recognized me that afternoon as I worked. The pool closed down for freshmen swim tests at 5:00 pm. I headed back to my apartment to change and then headed over to Kelly’s apartment for dinner.
Christian Hunsecker and Mark Armstrong were already there, having helped their girlfriends move in during the afternoon. Kelly made pork chops, mashed potatoes and corn. She served a cake she bought for dessert. She did a fabulous job. Everyone complimented her on the meal.
I helped Kelly do the dishes after dinner was over. This gave me an opportunity to tell Kelly about the party.
“Honey, I forgot to mention it last night,” I began. “Tyler Madden asked me and my roommates to host Saturday night parties for the team this year. The same way Zack and Leigh Ann did last year.”
“Every Saturday night?” Kelly questioned. Her body language told me this wasn’t as great an idea as I had thought.
“Just the ones when we have home games and then after the season ends,” I replied.
“What about going out to other parties?” Kelly asked. “I don’t know if I want to be tied down to this all year. This is a lot of work.”
“Jay, Damian, Trevor and Stephanie will help too,” I said. It’s not just you and me. It’ll be fun. You enjoy working with Steph. It’ll be like last year when you and I helped Zack and Leigh Ann.”
“That was fun last year,” Kelly agreed. “…but we weren’t the hosts. We could leave anytime we wanted to. I don’t want to be tied down on Saturday nights.”
“I’ll talk to my roommates,” I said. “We’ll work it out so we can visit other parties too on Saturday nights.”
“That’s good,” Kelly said. “I bumped into Cameron Miller at the bookstore today. He invited us to Omega Chi’s ‘Start the Year Bash’ tomorrow night.”
“I’ll make sure we are able to put in an appearance,” I agreed.
It was a beautiful evening in the high seventies. Kelly and I decided to walk downtown. The Lofts doesn’t seem that far out of town but it was. It took us twenty minutes to get to Shortlidge Road at College Avenue. My Golf is going to get a lot more use this year than it did the past two years. This is nothing like the six-minute walk we used to have when we lived in the dorms.
We window shopped for half an hour and grabbed ice cream cones before we walked back to Kelly’s apartment. Kelly offered to spend the night with me again but I had to pass.
Tyler Madden was on everyone’s cases to get a good night’s sleep so we were prepared for tomorrow morning’s scrimmage. It was our tune-up before we played Boston College next Saturday. BC was ranked #25 in the nation. The polls had us ranked #17. I didn’t blame the pollsters. We lost a lot of people to graduation last spring. We were going to have to prove ourselves to get respect this year.
Jay said Bill Robinson came over for dinner at the apartment with Damian that night. The two of them disappeared after dinner. Damian wasn’t home when I returned at 9:30 pm. Undoubtedly the two friends had hooked up with their girlfriends Melanie Burnett and Sarah Wood.
I relaxed in the living room with some music and studied the playbook to make sure I knew the wildcat plays by heart. I was sure Coach Burton was going to run them tomorrow. Damian came in around eleven o’clock. Jay, Trevor and I all recognized the ‘I just got laid’ look on our roomies face. Certainly, Melanie was sporting the same smile.
----------oooOooo----------
My teammates and I took Tyler Madden’s lecture at the end of yesterday’s practice to heart. The locker room was buzzing with excited players when I came in a little before 8:00 am. We taped up, dressed and prepared for our final scrimmage.
Even though the weather was perfect outside Coach Burton decided to have the scrimmage inside Holuba Hall. I presumed that meant we were going to run plays that the general public did not need to see, namely the wildcat formation plays.
The Blue Team featured the first-string offense and second-string defense against the White Team’s first-string defense and second-string offense. The remaining players were split between the two teams.
The first string played in the first half of the scrimmage. Chip did a decent job against our defense in spite of a good pass rush by Trevor Conwell and Bill Daugherty. He went nine for fourteen passing for 142 yards. Unfortunately, his two touchdowns were balanced against an interception.
Coach C and our defense double covered me with Shawn Byrd and Tyler Madden. I still caught three passes, including a couple long passes. Chip smartly used his second and even his third options when I was covered.
He threw one touchdown to Christian on a check down. The pass went about ten yards. Denzell Hunt missed on the tackle when Christian spun away. Christian was gone in an eye blink. I knew how that was. My friend had an amazing ability to accelerate after the catch. He streaked down the field to make a forty-two yard touchdown on the play.
Damian scored on a tailback screen to finish another long drive. My roomie really was showing off his receiving skills. I was glad the coaches recognized his ability to complete this kind of play. He didn’t get that kind of chance last season.
Our first chance with the wildcat offense went well. I had a couple good runs, gaining 22 yards. Chip and I also got the defense to bite on the run fake so I could throw a deep pass to Christian for his second touchdown of the morning. The Blue Team was ahead 24-20 when the first-string players were benched at half time.
The second and third string played the second half. Jay played with determination. He completed 12 of 19 passes in his two and a half quarters of play. He threw three touchdowns and no interceptions. Jay completed one of three deep passes while he played. He rallied the White Team to a 30-24 lead before he took the bench.
Glenn, Colin, Jon and Bob Huber shared the remainder of the playing time at QB. Jon led the third-string Blue players to a touchdown to pull out 31-30 victory for my Blue Team.
The coaches seemed pleased with the scrimmage. We still had work to do but our team seemed almost ready for our season to start in seven days. We would be ready for the Boston College Eagles when they arrived next Saturday.
I showered, grabbed some lunch and then headed back to the Natatorium. John Coleman needed all the help he could get for freshmen swim tests. Freshmen had the option to take the test anytime in their first year on campus. Nearly everyone came the first weekend to get it out of the way. I ended up along the side of the pool that afternoon watching as kids swam and floated for the ten-minute test.
Kelly met me at my apartment after I finished my shift. We decided to try one of the restaurants outside downtown since we needed to drive out and pick up snacks and things for the night’s party. I drove us down to Ruby Tuesdays.
The restaurant is noted for good burgers, so Kelly and I decided to try them. Kelly had a turkey burger with swiss cheese and portabella mushrooms. I went with the smokehouse burger, with bacon, barbeque sauce and onion straws topping a big juicy burger. Kelly and I shared our burgers with each other. This place was a good change-of-pace place to go after two years of eating downtown every weekend.
We stopped off at the nearest grocery store and picked up food for the party. Kelly and I made it back to the apartment around 7:30, early enough to finish setting up before our guests arrived.
Trevor and Tyler had the beer, wine and liquor ready when we returned. Damian and Stephanie prepared some hors d'oeuvres for the evening. Kelly and I put out our snack foods. Guests started to arrive around eight o’clock. My apartment quickly filled with teammates, friends and lots of girls.
I knew some of the girls who hung out with the team from last year. The guys had invited many new girls to the party. Freshmen, sophomores new to our crowd, they were all welcome.
Whoever was closest to the front door let partiers in as needed. By chance Kelly was refilling the snack bowls when the doorbell rang. She peered out the window that looks on the front door at our prospective guests.
“Mike?!?” Kelly gasped.
Kelly opened the door and let her brother and his roommate Jim inside.
“Hey, sis,” Mike replied. “I take it this is where Kyle’s party is.”
“What in the world are you doing here?” Kelly asked.
“I invited your brother and Jim,” I explained as I caught up to my shocked girlfriend. I briefed Mike and Jim about the refreshments, where to find the beer and that they should enjoy themselves and make themselves at home.
I thought I had done the right thing inviting Mike but Kelly pulled me aside into the hallway between my room and Trevor’s room.
“Why would you invite my little brother?” Kelly demanded. “Things get pretty wild around here”
“He’s not so little Kelly,” I replied. “Mike is eighteen and a freshman in college. He will be fine.”
“What if…” Kelly protested.
“You survived our parties as a young freshman,” I countered.
“I was on campus six months then,” Kelly said. “I had a boyfriend.”
“No, I mean back in the fall when Tanner Riggs brought you as a date,” I replied. “You survived that.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Kelly said.
“Mike will be fine here,” I said. “He’ll have a few beers, get to talk with some of the team and maybe meet a girl. Nothing bad.”
“I guess,” Kelly agreed.
We had a good turnout of team members, girls and other guests at the party. My high school friends Karl Weaver and Jason Harting both dropped in.
Trevor and Steph were perfect hosts for our gathering. Kelly and I enjoyed working with them. Tyler Madden helped act as a host even though we weren’t at his place. Damian stuck around for an hour before splitting. He and Billy had other plans with their girlfriends. Jay, in addition to inviting many of the girls who were attending, played DJ for our music.
Our guests enjoyed the booze. A few got more than a little drunk. The unattached guys flirted with the available girls at the party. Some like Jay, Chip, Brendan Hayden, Tanner Riggs and Joe Ricci, were noted for their smooth ability to coax females into bed with them. Three of the freshmen players seemed intent on following in their more senior teammates’ footsteps. Brian Henson, Marco Cuchiella and Caleb Fuller, our freshman backup punter, hung out with the cluster of girls that we used to call ‘Zack’s harem.’
I was surprised when one of the first guys to score a temporary coupling was Mike’s roommate Jim. Jim had been talking up and then making out with a cute blond freshman that I didn’t know. Jim didn’t realize that he could borrow one of the bedrooms here. He and the cutie had a brief conference with Mike and then disappeared; probably back to Jim’s dorm room to share a romp in bed.
Beer and booze flowed. More of my friends achieved their night’s goal – bed a coed. Brian Henson was one of the lucky ones that evening. I spotted him dancing with and later kissing and pawing a cute brunette. He was funny when he approached me a little later that evening.
“Ummm… Coach… Amanda and I were wondering…” Brian stuttered. “….we wanted to uhh…” Brian turned bright red. “Marco said it’s OK if…. Well, you know….”
“You’re looking for a bedroom?” I offered.
“Yeah,” Brian agreed as he broke into a relieved smile. “The one in the back behind the kitchen is empty. Who should I talk to?”
“That’s my room,” I replied. “Go have some fun.”
“Thanks, Coach,” Brian answered. “It’s been too long since… you know.”
“Do you have condoms?” I asked. Brian blushed bright red again.
“Yeah, I’m covered, Coach,” Brian said.
“Have fun,” I added as the young couple hurried to my bedroom.
I limited myself to two beers that evening. I didn’t need to go too crazy. Kelly was a couple beers ahead of me and had a nice buzz going. We played good host and hostess as our friends enjoyed the party.
Kelly’s brother Mike fixated on one of the girls at the party, Beth Naylor. Beth was a sophomore I knew from last year who was working her way through the available guys on the football team. I didn’t expect Mike to have any chance with Beth. I was surprised when I spotted Beth escorting Mike upstairs when Damian’s room became available.
Ten minutes later the two kids reappeared. Mike was sporting a goofy ‘I just got laid,’ grin. He was oblivious to Beth’s less than enthusiastic look. The two kids parted at the bottom of the steps. Beth rejoined a cluster of her girlfriends. Mike sauntered to the kitchen for another beer. I was going to have to have a talk with Mike. That kind of ‘stick it in and get off’ performance wasn’t going to get you in bed with any of these girls when word got around.
Kelly reminded me around ten o’clock that I had promised we would drop by Omega Chi’s party to that evening. The two of us talked with Trevor, Steph and Jay. They sent us on our way. Everything was under control with our party.
We walked across town to Omega Chi’s frat house. Brandon Lewis, a junior we knew well from previous years, welcomed us inside when we arrived. Kelly and I each grabbed a beer and mingled with the crowd. We bumped into Joel Peterson and his girlfriend Beth Mason as we circulated around the room. Soon after that we met up with Cameron Miller and his date Erin Hart.
We talked with Joel, Beth, Cam and Erin for awhile, catching up on the summer’s events.
I asked, “Are you taking History 161 this semester?”
“Well, duh….” Cameron responded. “I’m a history major from Adams County who loves the Civil War and the Battle of Gettysburg. What do you think?”
“I think I’ll see you in class on Monday afternoon,” I responded laughingly.
“I’m going to get more beer,” Kelly said. “Who else wants some?”
Kelly paid no attention to my warning look as she took orders from everyone except me. The bottle I was nursing was still over half full. I didn’t need another. Kelly returned a minute later with six bottles. She gave one to each of us.
“I didn’t need this,” I said as Kelly handed me another Troegs.
“Oh, you’re a big boy,” Kelly responded. “You can handle it.”
I didn’t argue. She probably was right. I could handle a fifth beer without becoming too inebriated. Kelly was now gulping down beer number six for the evening. She was buzzed when we left my party. She was passing intoxicated and heading for totally smashed.
I diverted Kelly’s attention from drinking by getting her out on the dance floor. It worked for awhile. Eventually Kelly went back for the beer I abandoned and insisted on downing it. My girl passed smashed and was heading for comatose if I didn’t intervene soon.