The Team That Couldn't Lose (6 page)

“Coach,” Chip said. “Do you think you could come with us to Jasper McFall’s house? Danny wants to tell him, too.”

“And return his playbook.”

Phil agreed. “I wouldn’t miss it for anything,” he said with a sparkle in his eye.

T
he threesome stopped at Danny’s house first so he could retrieve the playbook, then drove to Mr. McFall’s house in Phil’s
car. Jasper McFall answered on the first knock. When he saw who was there, he frowned.

“Yes, what is it?” he grumbled.

Danny stepped forward and handed him the playbook. “I think this belongs to you,” he said.

Mr. McFall’s eyebrows shot up. “My playbook!” he exclaimed. “Where did you get that? I’ve been looking for it ever since I
first recognized the play this man stole from my old team!”

But before any of them could say a word, Mrs. McFall came to the door.
“That’s
what you’ve been tearing the house apart looking for?” She sniffed. “I sold that old dusty thing weeks ago. To this young
man, I believe. For a quarter.” She smiled at Danny while her husband sputtered.

“A
quarter?
Why, any fool could have seen this book was worth its weight in gold! How could you have —”

“Oh, hush.” Mrs. McFall dismissed him with a wave of her hand. “You haven’t thought about that playbook for years. Besides,
I would think you’d be pleased to know it came in so handy! After all, it did turn out a winning team, didn’t it?”

Mr. McFall pondered that. “Hmm. When you put it like that, it doesn’t sound so bad. Just makes me wish I’d thought of dragging
these old plays out myself.” He suddenly
laughed. “But who knew they’d actually work still?”

“So we can keep using them?” Chip asked eagerly.

“You want to keep winning, don’t you?” the old man demanded, a twinkle in his eye.

All three nodded enthusiastically.

“Well, then! Keep using ’em! And Phil, I owe you an apology. If there’s anything I can do to make up for it . . .”

Phil cleared his throat. “Well, as a matter of fact, there is. Seems Adam Quigley isn’t going to be able to assist me for
the last few games of the season. I wonder if you would like to take over the job.”

“Sir, you’ve got yourself a deal!”

Phil smiled mischievously. “Then you better get yourself dressed and ready to go. The game starts in an hour!”

“Holy cow!” Chip exclaimed. “I totally forgot!”

Phil rolled his eyes. “And this is our quarterback. See what I’ve had to put up with all season?” He punched Chip playfully
in the shoulder. “Come on, let’s get you home and suited up. We’ve got a new play to try out against those Duckbills!”

That afternoon the Cayugans tangled with the Duckbills. And, as everyone expected, they won again. The score was 19-14. The
Duckbills had won only one game so far. They had split with the Black Elks.

After that day’s game, the standings were as follows:

The Cayugans were in first place. Even if they lost the game next week, their last of the season, they would still be in first
place.

Only one important question remained: Could they go through the entire season without a single loss?

Danny had given the envelope with the new play in it to Phil Saturday morning. On Monday evening at practice, Phil explained
to the team about Danny’s getting the football plays from Mr. McFall’s old book and secretly mailing them to him every week.
He also explained why Danny had done it.

Danny’s face turned a deep red as all the guys looked at him. They were stunned with surprise. But happy, too.

“I’d say Danny deserves a round of applause, wouldn’t you?” Phil said.

The response was thunderous. “Yea, Danny!” the guys shouted.

“I have a new play from Mr. McFall’s
book again today,” Phil said. “But I’ve decided not to use it.”

The team was silent.

“Why not?” someone finally asked. “We want to keep winning, don’t we, Phil?”

“Oh, I think we will,” Phil replied. “We will be working out a new play today. But it’s a brand-new play, not a sixty-year-old
one. And for that, we have Mr. McFall, our new assistant coach, to thank. He and I spent hours looking through his old playbook.
Then, in less than fifteen minutes, he sat down and drew out a whole new play. If I’m not careful, I’m going to be out of
a job.”

The boys all laughed, and Mr. McFall stepped forward with a smile on his face.

“No, thanks,” he said. “Assistant coach is good enough for me! You see, the thing is, you fellows have been winning games
for two reasons. Sure, the old plays helped a lot. But you’ve also improved as a team. Constant
practice in blocking and passing while learning those hard plays has done the trick. Coach Wayne has done a great job working
you boys into shape.”

Phil Wayne added, “I don’t think we have to depend on an exceptional play to help us score. In fact, I’d be willing to bet
that we could win the game with the simple plays Mr. Kash devised. But since we do have this new one in hand, what do you
say we give it a whirl?”

The boys cheered.

“Okay, then let’s get going! We’ll start by reviewing the basics. First team, line up in front of me. Second team, in front
of Mr. McFall. Danny, hand me a ball, would you please?”

Like a drill team the boys hustled into position. Danny wrestled a ball from the equipment bag. Phil placed it on the ground.

“This is our line of scrimmage,” he said.

“First team’s ball. Regular T formation. Chip, call for Forty-two. Remember that one, Spence? You run the ball through tackle.
Let’s go.”

The Black Elks won the toss the next Saturday afternoon, and chose to receive. Spencer Keel kicked off for the Cayugans. The
ball sailed end over end across the white stripes, was caught on the twenty-five, and carried up to the Black Elks’ thirty-four.

Chip was worried. Although the Black Elks had won only one game this season, it was possible for them to beat the Cayugans
today. What if Jasper McFall’s new play didn’t work? It was the last game of the season, wasn’t it? What harm was there in
using one more sixty-year-old play?

But Phil figured that the Cayugans could win by using those easy plays Mr. Kash had
taught them, plus the new ones they had learned. After all, the new plays had helped the Cayugans to five victories, hadn’t
they? Then, if they needed Mr. McFall’s new play, they’d use it, too.

The Black Elks moved. Their fullback, Dick Clark, busted through left tackle for a six-yard gain. Then Bill Nelson charged
through center on a quarterback sneak for a first down.

They ran hard. They fumbled. They recovered. They tried passes, which the Cayugans’ backfield men knocked down. Once . . .
twice . . . the referee’s whistle shrilled. Two offside penalties in succession. The Black Elks were anxious. Too anxious.
Or were they making mistakes because they were afraid of the Cayugans? Was that it? thought Chip. Were they really afraid
that we might swamp them?

“Pass to Jim!” Chip said in the huddle as the Cayugans took the ball on their own eighteen.

It was a long, wobbly pass. Chip stared. Not far enough. It was intercepted!

The Black Elks player ran hard with it, while the crowd in the bleachers cheered. Then, on the Cayugans’ four-yard line, Gordie
Poole brought the runner down.

H
old that line! Hold that line!” yelled the Cayugans fans.

“Close in tight!” Chip ordered. “Don’t let ’em get through!”

The Cayugans were in their 6-2-2-1 defense position, the linebackers hugging close to the linemen.

The Black Elks’ quarterback, Bill Nelson, called signals. The ball snapped from center. Bill handed off to fullback Dick Clark.
Dick smashed into the line.

Rubber cleats chewed the earth. Helmets and shoulder pads clattered as the blueuniformed
Black Elks charged against the red-and-blue Cayugans. A pileup formed. The whistle shrilled.

A one-yard gain.

“Hold them!” Chip yelled from the sidelines. “You’ve got to hold them!”

This time Bill Nelson tried his trick again, the quarterback sneak. Again a one-yard gain!

“All right!” shouted Chip. They had to hold those Black Elks. They just had to.

Bill called signals again, took the snap, then faded back to pass. He shot a quick one toward the right, barely over left
end Hans Lodder’s head. Splash, playing linebacker at that side, plunged forward and knocked the pass down.

“Nice going, Splash!” Chip cried.

Fourth down. The Black Elks’ last chance to score. Will they try another pass? Will they try a line buck? Or will they try
for a
field goal? Chip’s heart pounded as he waited to see what they would do.

They were going to try for a field goal! Bill Nelson was playing deep, Dick Clark several feet behind him.

Dick kicked. It was good! Three points for the Black Elks!

In the second quarter, the Black Elks almost scored again when they attempted a field goal from the eight-yard line. The ball
missed sailing between the uprights by inches.

Between halves Danny ran out with a paper carton loaded with small cups of lemon-and-orange-juice mix. As he handed Chip his,
a smile curled his lips.

“You guys look great, Chip,” he said quietly. “Even better than before, I think.”

“Thanks, Danny.” Chip watched him passing cups to the other players and thought, What a guy. Who could ever believe that a
team that had been destined to lose every game would win five straight? Perhaps six straight, if they were lucky and won today.
And all because of a little guy, a kid who collected stuff.

Coach Phil Wayne made some substitutions in the second half. Chip feared that the substitutes might make them lose the game.
Some of them were poor players. Still Phil played them. It was a rule in the league. Every player on each team had to play
at least two minutes in a game.

The Black Elks kicked off to the Cayugans to start off the second half. The Cayugans caught the ball and carried it to their
twenty-nine. Chip worked it across the forty to the Black Elks’ thirty-one. Twice Spence bucked the line for seven- and five-yard
gains.

On the Black Elks’ eighteen, they were stopped. They couldn’t gain an inch. The
Black Elks’ line held like a cement wall. Chip tried a pass on the third down. It was knocked down. Then they tried a field
goal. The ball missed the uprights by four feet.

Once again the Black Elks moved forward. But they moved slowly. Now and then one of their linemen was called on an offside
penalty charge, which cost them five yards. Another time a Black Elk hit a Cayugan from behind. “Clipping!” yelled the referee.

The Black Elks were forced to punt from their twenty-two-yard line. The ball wobbled lazily through the air and dropped into
Luther Otis’s hands. Luther had replaced Splash in the backfield. Nestling the ball against his chest, he ran down the sideline
to the Cayugans’ twenty-nine, where he was smeared.

The referee carried the ball in a third of the width of the field. The Cayugans tried a
line buck that went for a two-yard gain, then Chip heaved a long pass to right end Tracy Tinker.

It was intercepted!

The Black Elks’ runner went twenty yards before he was brought down. The whistle shrilled, ending the third quarter.

The Black Elks moved the ball slowly toward the Cayugans’ goal line, and their fans in the stands began to chant, “We want
a touchdown! We want a touchdown!” And they stamped their feet on the bleachers.

Chip sweated. Time sped swiftly. The Black Elks seemed headed for a touchdown to satisfy their hungry fans. If they got one,
would the Cayugans be able to come back and win? If the Cayugans had had a tried-and-true play up their sleeves, Chip wouldn’t
have worried so much. But they had only a brand-new play to rely on.

The ball was on the Cayugans’ eleven-yard-line.
The Black Elks tried a pass. It sailed deep into the right-hand corner of the end zone. Chip felt his heart sink as he saw
the Black Elks receiver reach for it.

And then Gordie Poole leaped and knocked it down!

“Nice going, Gordie!” Chip shouted, jumping up and down on the sidelines.

The Black Elks tried an end-around run. It went for three yards. They tried another pass, a short one over center.

Gordie intercepted it! He ran toward the right side of the field but was smeared on the eighteen. Chip thumped him on the
back as he passed him on the field.

The Cayugans moved the ball forward slowly, gained a first down by two inches. Hardly fast enough. They called time and rested.
Chip thought of the play they had used last week to beat the Duckbills. He mentioned it to Phil. They tried it and
gained three yards. It seemed that the Black Elks could stop them no matter what play the Cayugans used.

Finally Phil sent in for Mr. McFall’s new play. It was an end-around run, with Splash following close behind Chip. Chip went
over the play in the huddle. Time-in was called. The players got into their positions.

“Down! One! Two! Three! Hip!” barked Chip.

He took the snap and dashed toward left end. Jim Kolar and Hans Lodder blocked their men. Then Hans ran ahead to block the
deep linebacker, while behind him raced Chip, the ball nestled in the crook of his arm.

A Black Elks defenseman reached for him. Chip tossed a lateral to Splash, then turned and blocked the oncoming Black Elk.
Splash ran hard up the field. A few steps behind him was Spence, who had
swung to his left when the play had begun. A Black Elks linebacker got by Hans and reached for Splash. Splash tossed a lateral
to Spence.

“Go, Spence, go!” shouted Chip.

Spence went — all the way down the field to the Black Elks’ goal! A touchdown! The place kicker kicked for the extra point,
and it was good.