he drilled relentlessly, and the offensive team was working constantly, catching, running and hitting for two hours a day.
The crowd was much thinner for this, the Warriors’ third game, but Henry Carson had ordered up just as many zucchini sticks as for the previous contests. So there were already a good number of sticks under the bleachers before the opening kickoff.
Bruno was disgusted with the turnout. “Some school spirit!” he grumbled, looking up into the sparsely populated stands.
Boots shrugged it off. “If you had seen us play last week, would you come again? Besides, Scrimmage’s is all here.”
“To support Cathy!” snorted Bruno. “I’ll tell you. Boots, every guy who didn’t show up today should be barred from our rec hall when we get it.”
As the game began, it was obvious that this was a new Macdonald Hall team. The hours of practice and expert coaching were beginning to pay off. Certainly there were still mistakes, but Cathy continued to throw brilliantly, her pass defence to perform heroically, and the defence became stronger and tighter. At halftime, the score was tied, 14–14.
“Okay,” said Kevin Klapper excitedly in the dressing room. “Don’t panic. We aren’t winning, but we’ve got them playing
our
game. Now we go out and get some points.”
They did exactly that. Dave Jackson caught two touchdown passes in the third quarter, one on a long bomb pass, and the other after it bounced off Sidney Rampulsky’s helmet. Myron Blankenship ended his field goal drought, which gave Macdonald Hall a big lead going into the fourth quarter. But the Chiefs, a middle school team from Niagara Falls, weren’t ready to lie down and die so easily. They fought back with a vengeance. Macdonald Hall held on, and the last few minutes of play had Kevin Klapper, Henry Carson and Coach Flynn jumping up and down on the sidelines, screaming encouragement at the defence, who were being pounded on every play. Finally when the gun went off, the score was 31–27, Macdonald Hall.
ZICTORY proclaimed the scoreboard.
* * *
Elmer spent the game in the clubhouse in the spare equipment room, taking notes and experimenting with his Manchurian bush hamsters. Suddenly Cathy burst in, cleats clattering. “Okay, Elmer, you’re on! Get in the shower, and by the time everyone else gets here, I’ll be out of your equipment and gone!”
Meekly Elmer nodded his assent and headed for the shower room.
“Hey,” called Cathy, “aren’t you going to ask how we did?”
“How?” rasped Elmer, his throat closing.
“We killed them,” she grinned. “Tell Mr. Klapper he’s a genius!”
So it was that when Mr. Carson led the jubilant team into the locker room, they found the quarterback’s uniform and equipment draped over a bench and Elmer, wrapped in a towel, just stepping out of the shower. The big ex-linebacker ran up to embrace him, but Elmer fled fearfully to the other side of the room.
“Drimsdale,” said Carson lovingly, “you’re one in a million!”
The celebration that night was even greater than it had been after game one. As Pete Anderson put it, “Let’s face it. The first game was kind of a fluke, and last week we got killed. Today we
really
won!”
Across the highway, Miss Scrimmage’s celebrated right along with them. Officially these were two separate parties, but that didn’t stop Cathy and Diane from raiding the entire dessert section of Miss Scrimmage’s kitchen and sneaking it across the road to Bruno and Boots’s room, where a number of boys were relaxing before lights-out.
The boys were eternally grateful. “Don’t forget we’re in the zucchini zone,” Wilbur reminded them, setting to work on a large slab of chocolate fudge cake. “This is great,” he added, his mouth full.
“It’s the least I can do for my teammates,” said Cathy grandly.
Diane looked around the room. Plates of zucchini sticks were piled on every available surface, including parts of the floor, in
The crowd was much thinner for this, the Warriors’ third game, but Henry Carson had ordered up just as many zucchini sticks as for the previous contests. So there were already a good number of sticks under the bleachers before the opening kickoff.
Bruno was disgusted with the turnout. “Some school spirit!” he grumbled, looking up into the sparsely populated stands.
Boots shrugged it off. “If you had seen us play last week, would you come again? Besides, Scrimmage’s is all here.”
“To support Cathy!” snorted Bruno. “I’ll tell you. Boots, every guy who didn’t show up today should be barred from our rec hall when we get it.”
As the game began, it was obvious that this was a new Macdonald Hall team. The hours of practice and expert coaching were beginning to pay off. Certainly there were still mistakes, but Cathy continued to throw brilliantly, her pass defence to perform heroically, and the defence became stronger and tighter. At halftime, the score was tied, 14–14.
“Okay,” said Kevin Klapper excitedly in the dressing room. “Don’t panic. We aren’t winning, but we’ve got them playing
our
game. Now we go out and get some points.”
They did exactly that. Dave Jackson caught two touchdown passes in the third quarter, one on a long bomb pass, and the other after it bounced off Sidney Rampulsky’s helmet. Myron Blankenship ended his field goal drought, which gave Macdonald Hall a big lead going into the fourth quarter. But the Chiefs, a middle school team from Niagara Falls, weren’t ready to lie down and die so easily. They fought back with a vengeance. Macdonald Hall held on, and the last few minutes of play had Kevin Klapper, Henry Carson and Coach Flynn jumping up and down on the sidelines, screaming encouragement at the defence, who were being pounded on every play. Finally when the gun went off, the score was 31–27, Macdonald Hall.
ZICTORY proclaimed the scoreboard.
* * *
Elmer spent the game in the clubhouse in the spare equipment room, taking notes and experimenting with his Manchurian bush hamsters. Suddenly Cathy burst in, cleats clattering. “Okay, Elmer, you’re on! Get in the shower, and by the time everyone else gets here, I’ll be out of your equipment and gone!”
Meekly Elmer nodded his assent and headed for the shower room.
“Hey,” called Cathy, “aren’t you going to ask how we did?”
“How?” rasped Elmer, his throat closing.
“We killed them,” she grinned. “Tell Mr. Klapper he’s a genius!”
So it was that when Mr. Carson led the jubilant team into the locker room, they found the quarterback’s uniform and equipment draped over a bench and Elmer, wrapped in a towel, just stepping out of the shower. The big ex-linebacker ran up to embrace him, but Elmer fled fearfully to the other side of the room.
“Drimsdale,” said Carson lovingly, “you’re one in a million!”
The celebration that night was even greater than it had been after game one. As Pete Anderson put it, “Let’s face it. The first game was kind of a fluke, and last week we got killed. Today we
really
won!”
Across the highway, Miss Scrimmage’s celebrated right along with them. Officially these were two separate parties, but that didn’t stop Cathy and Diane from raiding the entire dessert section of Miss Scrimmage’s kitchen and sneaking it across the road to Bruno and Boots’s room, where a number of boys were relaxing before lights-out.
The boys were eternally grateful. “Don’t forget we’re in the zucchini zone,” Wilbur reminded them, setting to work on a large slab of chocolate fudge cake. “This is great,” he added, his mouth full.
“It’s the least I can do for my teammates,” said Cathy grandly.
Diane looked around the room. Plates of zucchini sticks were piled on every available surface, including parts of the floor, in
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