“Ty,” I warned, “you better make sure you’ve laced them up tight because you’re about to take a pounding.”
We looked up from our sidelines confab when we heard a groan from the crowd. I looked to see a yellow flag on the ground. Our defense had committed a face-mask penalty that added to a nice seven-yard reception by the other team. They were now on our 35 yard line. Six plays later, they scored to end the first quarter.
On the next possession, Ty pounded them inside. He was picking up two to four yards per carry as we began to move downfield. We’d just gotten past midfield when Coach Mason called a play-action pass. Mt. Vernon had slowly started to crowd the line, and Coach Mason had seen what I saw. If we could slip someone out and hit them with a quick pass, it might go a long way.
On the snap, Mt. Vernon’s defenders rushed forward to stop Ty. I pulled the ball from him and made my usual fake. The play was supposed to be to Wolf. It was designed for him, as our tight end, to momentarily help block the defensive end and then release to an open spot. When I turned around, I saw that Mt. Vernon had run a line stunt. That was where the defensive end crashed down towards the center, with their tackle looping behind him for a free run at the quarterback, aka me. Wolf had gotten caught in the mess and wisely decided to block.
I spotted Roc one-on-one on the outside, so I ripped a pass to him. I think he might have scored if I’d gotten the ball to him. When I attempted to stride, I stepped on one of Mt. Vernon’s linebackers. It surprised me, so I tried to hang onto the football. It squirted out of my hands, and the ball hit Johan in the earhole. I think the football gods had picked that moment to pay me back for ‘The Tip.’ Instead of the ball falling to the ground and us living to make another play, it bounced up, and their other linebacker caught it.
The little guy was quick. He darted down the line and turned up the field. I untangled myself from the kid I was standing on and took off after him. He gained about five yards before I tackled him. Mt. Vernon now had first and ten at the 50 yard line.
Something I loved about Coach Mason was that when something like that happened, he simply moved on. His philosophy was that it did no good to scream and yell about it during a game. Practice was a whole different matter. During a game, we all knew what we’d done wrong. He didn’t need to make matters worse.
That didn’t mean he didn’t have a sense of urgency. Every team has a set of plays they call ‘drive starters.’ You need something that will get you positive yardage and possibly a first down. We had ten or twelve plays that Coach Mason would choose from. They were all plays we were comfortable with. He said that if you didn’t practice something, then he couldn’t expect you to succeed when he asked you to do it. We all knew these plays and could run them in our sleep.
He told us that when we got the ball back, we were going to run my favorite run-pass option play. It started with Roc on the outside and Wolf at tight end. Roc would do a deep down-and-out, and Wolf would run underneath, not as far down the field. Coach Mason constantly reminded me that if Wolf was open short, it meant that Roc was covered. He knew my tendency to try to ‘create’ opportunities. His point was sometimes it was best just to take what they gave us.
The run portion of the play was me rolling out towards Roc and Wolf’s side of the field. Ty’s job was to run with me and block anyone who had a chance to disrupt the play. If I came under pressure, or my two receivers were covered, I would yell ‘Go!’ to let Ty know I was running.
Bo Harrington had given this play to Coach Mason; it was one Alabama ran with great success.
While we talked, Mt. Vernon had kicked a field goal and was now up 10–0 on us.
We ran the play three straight times. Coach Mason was always telling us to ‘RSP’ (Repeat Successful Plays). On the first one, Wolf picked up seven yards. I kept the ball the next time and got us the first down. On the third one, Roc was open, and we picked up fifteen.
Our crowd felt the momentum change and got on their feet. We ran the play again, and I kept the ball and picked up twelve yards. The only problem was Roc was caught holding. On the next snap, Johan jumped offsides. One of the great mysteries to me was how the center could jump offsides. He was the one snapping the football. That left us first and twenty-five. We picked up sixteen of it on the next three plays, so we had to punt.
That was when our special teams failed us. Derek Hofmann completely whiffed. The only thing he did right was fall on the football so the defense couldn’t pick it up and score.
I had the pleasure—note that my sarcasm meter was at eleven—of watching Mt. Vernon run down the clock for the half. They kicked a field goal to take a 13–0 lead into halftime. To add to the fun, they would get the ball to start the second half.
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