Guts vs Glory (5 page)

Just like the coach said, there
wasn’t any celebration time.  Monday began another week of practice.  And just
like the previous week, practice was intense.  The coach said the reason that
West Whitaker was able to hang with us for so long was that our defense got
tired.  For the playoffs, the coach was going to substitute his defensive
players more often.  That meant that I would get more game time.  I knew I
wouldn’t get another season-winning touchdown, but at least I could have some
playoff-winning sacks.

Our first game in the playoffs was
a cake walk.  Because we had a perfect record, we were paired against a team
who had won only half of their games.  By the halftime break, we were up by
five touchdowns, 3 of those belonging to Mike.  I had an amazing 3 tackles for
losses.  In the 2nd half, his playing time was over but mine was just
beginning.  My stats got even better.  Towards the end of the game, I hit their
quarterback so hard that he lost the ball.  Because of my conditioning, I was
able to quickly get up after the hit, rather than stay on the ground.  Once up,
and with the ball still lying there, I picked it up and I quickly realized that
the play hadn’t stopped.  I soon had a swarm of defenders coming at me.  I had
nothing else to do but run.  Just like that, I scored my second touchdown in
two weeks.  We were going to the second round of playoffs without being scored
on.

Our second round game wasn’t quite
a blowout.  Mike again had multiple touchdowns, but our defense couldn’t stop
the other guys from scoring.  I had no touchdowns or sacks, but I did make one
tackle for a loss, which contributed to a second round 21-point victory.

Now, we were playing for the
regional finals.  We had to play against one of the toughest teams in
Michigan.  They were a team that made it to the state semi-finals six out of
the last seven years.  They surely knew what Mike was capable of and spent all
week planning against him.  They held him to under 100 yards of rushing and 0
touchdowns.  What they didn’t plan for was our passing game.  As great a player
as he was, we still had an all-conference quarterback who could throw a really
deep ball, and two senior receivers who could catch that ball.  After fooling
them three times by faking a run and instead scoring three deep touchdown
passes, we took a seven point lead into the 4th quarter.  From there, our
defense did the rest.  The coach’s idea of subbing us out continually paid off
as our fresh defensive players wore the other team down and stopped them from
gaining any yardage the entire 4th quarter.

For the first time in school
history, we were now in the semi-finals.  It would be our last step on our way
to the state finals.  We would have to play a team who had won the state
championship the previous year.  We practiced that week the same way we had
during the playoffs, and we played the game like we had played every game that
season, using the same plays.  But for whatever reason, they weren’t prepared
for us.  For the entire 1st half, we scored every time we got the ball.  Two of
those scores came from Mike’s punt returns.

In the 2nd half, our starters
watched the game from the sideline so that they wouldn’t risk injury for the
championship game.  The sideline was still all business, though, and there
wasn’t any early celebrating.  Even though we had a commanding lead, we didn’t
want to lose it.  I ended the game with 2 sacks – the last one being on the
last play.  We had finally earned our way into the state finals.

The week leading up to the
championship game was similar to the West Whitaker rivalry week.  It was very
intense, the coaches were very serious, and the players were very quiet.  Every
day, the student body showed a different way to display their school spirit. 
We continued our normal practice routine, and stuck with the same game plan
that got us to the state finals.  Even the coach’s speech on Thursday was
similar.  He wanted us to know how proud we should be and how proud he was.  We
had made it pretty far, but our journey wasn’t done yet.  However, at that
moment we really did feel proud.  We had an undefeated season, beat our West
Whitaker rival at home, and stormed our way through the playoffs.  Adding a state
championship to the season would make it the best season ever; a season Mike
and I were proud to help build.

The following day, another prep
rally was held in the gym.  It served as a good reminder of who we were
representing, but it wasn’t as exciting as the pep rally we had when we played
against West Whitaker because we were expecting this one.  What we weren’t
expecting was the rally held for us the following day.

We were told to meet at the high
school early Saturday morning so we could board the buses and head to Lansing. 
We were going to play our game in the same stadium where Michigan’s
professional football team, the Michigan Knights, played their home games.  We
would be on live television and we would be watched by fans, coaches, players,
and even college football scouts from all over the state of Michigan.  As we
left the locker room with our gear, we were speechless.  In front of us were
four luxury buses.  They were the buses with televisions on the ceiling, and
bathrooms that really worked.  Surrounding the bus were nearly 3,000 students,
parents, and neighbors with signs, banners, and even the cowbell.  We were even
more surprised when we saw numerous fans from West Whitaker actually cheering
for us.  At the West Whitaker rally, we realized that we were playing for the
2,000 students of East Whitaker High School.  Five weeks later, we realized
that we were playing for the 100,000 residents of Becker County.

It was hard not to show any emotion
on the way to the game.  There was so much going on in my head.  Just a few
months ago, Mike and I were at the Becker County Jail; a fast kid and his fat
friend.  A short time later, we morphed into an athletic tackler and his
record-breaking friend on the way to play in the state high school football
finals.  I also thought about playing in the same stadium as the state’s pro
football team.  Prior to the season, I had never seen a football game in
person.  An hour later, not only would I be able to see the famous stadium, I
would be on the field and on the big screen.  Lastly, I thought about the
buses.  I felt like a celebrity on that bus.  Mike was on a different bus full
of running backs, receivers, and quarterbacks, but I knew he must feel the same
way.

After an hour on the road, we were
at the stadium.  We felt like professional football players when we got off the
bus and entered the stadium.  Within minutes, we were dressing where the
Michigan Knight dressed.  Even our locker room pep talk had a different feel. 
We were getting a speech from our coach about leaving it all on the field, there
in the same locker room where legendary pro coaches had given speeches to their
football players.

Finally, it was time.  We walked
out of the tunnel and onto the field.  It was breath taking.  It was the
biggest indoor facility I had ever seen.  That place could’ve held a million
people.  Looking in the stands, I saw a lot of our aqua and dark purple colors;
fans that had made the three hour voyage to support us.  Directly across the
field from them, a mass of blue and yellow.  Apparently, the other team had a
big following too.  We had to remember that they made the same journey we did,
and we were only one of two division one football teams still alive in the State
of Michigan playoffs.

It didn’t take long to realize how
our opponents made it to the playoffs.  It was intimidating enough when they
came out on the field.  Those guys looked like a college football team as they
came out of the locker room.  They were strong, they were fast, and they never
got tired. 

Much like in the regional final
game, they planned against our running.  After watching them shut Mike down
several times, we discovered that they also planned against our passing.  We
went the entire game without a score.  Our defense stayed strong, but without
our team able to put any points up, it didn’t take much to score more points
than us.  After 48 depressing minutes, we got our first opportunity that season
to know what it felt like to lose.

And what an emotional loss it was. 
Our big, tough guys were crying.  Our coaches were quiet.  There was no fight
song at the end of the night.  It hit us hard.  Our perfect season came to a
halt one game too soon.  We felt like we had let down our coaches, our fans,
and our town.  The locker room was pure silence.  No one wanted to say
anything, and even if they did, no one wanted to listen.  We walked toward the
buses with our heads down.  We were ready for that long, quiet ride, so that we
could go home and shut off the world.  We hadn’t quite made it to the buses
before the coach stopped us.

In the tunnel leading to the buses,
the coach had us gather around him for one last team huddle.  The coach was
disappointed in us.  We had frustrated him.  We won every game in the regular
season.  We had shattered multiple school records.  We had numerous players
with a future in college football.  We destroyed the path to the state finals. 
Our only loss came at the end of the season, where we were one of the only two
teams that made it to the state finals to play on live television in the same arena
where the Michigan Knights played professional football.  He felt that we had
absolutely no right to be walking out of the stadium with our heads down. 

The coach then reminded us that
after the West Whitaker game, he told us we would not be able to celebrate
until after the state championship game.  The game was over, so after five
weeks, it was finally that time; time to celebrate.  We had a lot more to be
proud of than we had to be ashamed of.  We had a new goal for the following
season; to come back and win the state championship.  Within a few minutes, the
buses were loud again and they never quieted down.  There were lots of parties
that weekend; we were heroes. 

The next school
day after the championship playoff game, we were treated as if we had won the
game.  Students wouldn’t stop talking about the season we had, and how excited
they were for the following year.  They were even talking about starting a
student section so that the students could cheer as a large group.  They could
even come up with their own cheers.

After class, we
were lost.  We didn’t know what to do.  For the last few months, we would
go right to practice after school.  Once the playoffs were over, though, the
season was over.  Mike and I had just successfully fulfilled our sentence from
the judge and were no longer required to participate in an after-school
program.  When we were initially sentenced by the judge to participate in
something after-school, we were begging for jail.  But now that the
after-school program was over, we felt a big void in our lives.  It didn’t feel
right.

Shortly after the
football season ended, Mike and I talked about the previous season.  We
came to the conclusion that it was the best few months of our lives.  We were
really proud of how drastic our lives had changed, and how much fun we had
playing football.  We then decided that we were willing to do whatever it took
to play football together for the rest of our lives.  Our goal was to play
together on the same professional football team.  We eventually took up part-time
jobs in the springtime so that we could pay for college.  We spent long days
working out, and doing our homework, so that we could maintain our strength,
speed, and grades.  We attempted to work out five days a week, but there were a
few days when Mike couldn’t make it.  He was too busy traveling the
country.

Mike had such a
good year the previous season that many major college football teams were
competing to get him to play for them.  These schools were all willing to pay
for his schooling, any books and supplies needed, all his meals, and all travel
incurred while playing for their team.  Typically, those schools would fly
him to their campus for free, allowing him to check out their program.
 They would give him a tour of their complexes, would feed him gourmet
meals, and would give him behind-the-scenes tours of their athletic facilities.
 Finally, they would ask Mike to play for them.  They would all make
him feel like royalty in an effort to win him over.  One of them even went
so far as to announce his name over the loudspeaker, and displayed his picture
on the big screen while he was touring their football field.  Another had
the school mascot and a few cheerleaders waiting for his arrival at the
airport.

Mike’s answer was
always the same, though.  None of those schools would take the both of us
as a package, so he didn’t want to make any decisions until I received my
offers.  Loyal to a fault, we both agreed that we would go out of our way
to continue playing together, even if it meant making sacrifices.
 Unfortunately, I didn’t get any offers between the time our first season
was over and our second season had begun.  All I could do was continue
lifting weights and try to make myself a better player for our senior year.
 We were hoping that after another season, we would both get full tuition
offers from the same school.  In the meantime, we continued to work our
part-time jobs, while working on our grades, just in case my athleticism
couldn’t get me into college. 

The summer had a different feel to
it.  The previous summer, we were enjoying our nights.  When we weren’t causing
trouble, we were sleeping, partying, and doing things that still embarrass me. 
The following summer, we continued our workouts so that I too could be noticed
by college recruiters.  We made it our goal for the upcoming year to have it be
my
year so we could be recruited together by the same school.  I was
willing to make sacrifices, and Mike was more than willing to help me.

My first chance to improve came in
the middle of summer.  Every summer, in mid-July, the line coach would put on a
linemen camp.  The camp was a one week session dedicated to both offensive, and
defensive, linemen.  The practice sessions were four hours long, with a water
break when the sun got too hot.  During the days, we would do drills to keep in
shape, watch videos of last season so we could critique ourselves, and spend
time together to create a stronger bond and better communication.

All of the hours that Mike and I
spent in the gym made the workouts easier for me.  I was the only lineman who
could do all of the push-ups, all of the sit-ups, and I was usually one of the
first to finish our running.  What the weight room didn’t prepare me for was
the heat.  Summers weren’t outrageously hot in Michigan, but they were sure
humid.  The typical weather for that week was 90°, with 85% humidity and a
cloud here or there to give us eight seconds of shade every 30 minutes.  The
humidity made it feel like 115°.  Just being in that weather for four hours is
bad, but running, doing push-ups, and doing sit-ups in that weather was torturous. 
Luckily, we didn’t have to wear pads.

The linemen camp wasn’t set up for
competition, but I couldn’t help myself from trying to figure out who I would
have to compete with if I wanted to become a starter.  On the first day of
camp, it was obvious who my competition was.  Trevor was a sophomore who was so
good that he was allowed to bypass the junior varsity team.  He was stronger,
faster, and had better timing than me.  I knew for sure that if I didn’t get
better, he would take my starting spot. 

I spent the entire week at linemen
camp pushing myself to do better than him.  By the end of those long days, I
felt like I was going to pass out.  Meanwhile, Trevor never seemed phased.  He
was like a machine.  The only chance I had against him was the fact that we
never had an opportunity to hit.  Even though he was stronger, I still had the
chance of delivering a better hit than he could.