Gunslinger

Chapter 2

Shortly before seven o’clock, the coaches led the Mustangs onto the field. Then, while the rest of the team went through calisthenics and warm-up exercises, Kevin went off by himself and went through a series of Tai Chi forms, loosening his muscles and centering his focus. By seven-thirty, they were ready.

The actual kick-off was scheduled for seven forty-five. Just before the teams took the field, Jennifer came over to Kevin and gave him a kiss on his cheek for good luck.

Immediately afterwards, the Mustang’s captains, Kevin, Mike Thomas and Jerome Cannon approached the center of the field and were introduced by the official to their counterparts from the Dothan Wildcats.

Dothan won the toss and elected to receive. The Mustangs kicked off and stopped the return at Dothan’s thirty-five. At that point, the Wildcat offense came on the field and proceeded to drive for their first score. Their offensive line was much bigger than the Mustang defenders, and just opened huge holes for their backs.

On the ensuing kickoff, Dothan gambled that the Mustangs would not be expecting an onside kick, and they were right. The kicker hit the ball at a funny angle, causing it to spin. It traveled over the heads of Ft. Mac’s linemen and just dropped, bouncing wildly toward the right side of the field. This play had obviously been practiced, as there was nothing but Wildcats around the ball when it landed.

Three plays later, Dothan flooded the left side of the field with receivers. This drew most of the Mustang defensive backs to the area. Dothan’s quarterback then hit the tight end coming across the middle. Once the pass was caught, the Wildcat wide receivers became blockers, and no one touched the tight end before he crossed the goal line. Less than five minutes had passed and the Mustangs were already down by fourteen. What was worse, they had yet to even touch the ball.

Dothan kicked off again, but this time it went into the end zone for a touchback. Kevin led his team onto the field, taking possession on their own twenty yard line. On the first play, Kevin pitched out to Jamar, who immediately ran into a wall of defenders for a four yard loss. On the next two plays, it was just a repeat of the first…no matter what the Mustangs tried, they ran into Dothan players waiting on them. The Dothan defensive players were not only bigger and stronger, their aggressive style simply overran the Ft. Mac offensive scheme.

On fourth down, the Mustangs punted. Dothan caught the ball on their thirty and returned the ball into Mustang territory. From there, they proceeded to move down the field for the third time.

While the defense was on the field, Kevin, Coach Bryson and Coach Brown huddled on the sideline, discussing the situation.

A dejected Coach Bryson said, “Kevin, we don’t seem to be able to stop them, and they seem to know every play we’re trying to run.”

Kevin answered, “Coach, I don’t think they can know our plays, but their aggressiveness and their size makes it easy for them to get into our backfield before the play can even start to develop. On my last hand off to Jamar, I almost handed the ball off to their blitzing linebacker. He actually hit Jamar with my hand still holding the ball. What’s more, they seem to be keying on Jamar.”

Coach Brown responded, “They won’t be the first team to try it. It didn’t stop us before.”

“Coach,” said Kevin, “you’re right, but we’ve never played anyone with the size and speed of these guys. If I didn’t know better, I would swear we were playing the Alabama Crimson Tide, not the Dothan Wildcats.”

Both coaches laughed at Kevin’s candid remark, but they also understood why he felt the way he did.

Finally, Coach Bryson said, “Kevin, I’m at a loss. Do you have any ideas?”

“Coach, try switching the defense from a four three to a three four and randomly stunt two or three of the linebackers on almost every play. I would take Toby out except for very short yardage plays, and move the two corners up to play outside linebackers. Finally, I would move our safeties up to replace the cornerbacks and put Jamar and the Terrell kid in as free roving safeties.”

A stunned Coach Brown exclaimed, “Kevin, it would take us a month to get the line used to those changes. With Jamar never having played safety, and Brian Terrell being an inexperienced freshman., we’ll get blown away.”

“Maybe so, Coach, but it’s already happening. We’ve got to get them out of their rhythm and become unpredictable. As for Jamar, when we practice with the other players, he often takes the safety position to give them the feel of having to play against a defender. He has good speed, good hands, and a keen mind. Brian, on the other hand is green, but he is also the hardest hitter on the team. He plays with reckless abandon, as well as having good speed and good hands. They will be our ‘stoppers’, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Jamar has more than one interception, while Brian causes several fumbles, or dropped balls.”

A thoughtful Coach Bryson asked, “What about Jamar playing both sides? Won’t he get exhausted?”

“First, Jamar is in far better shape physically than you realize, and second, from here on out, he will be more of a decoy than the primary running back. I plan on using Dothan’s aggressiveness against them, though our play may look more like ‘sandlot’ football than anyone is used to. Also, no more calls from the sideline. If we need to make changes, or you want me to run something special, send it in from the sideline. We’re going to run a hurry up offense and try to keep Dothan from getting set for every play. I don’t want the distraction of looking at the sideline for signals, especially when they are decoys.”

Coach Bryson smiled at his young quarterback and said, “Son, I don’t see we’ve got anything to lose at this point. Have at it. Is there anything else?”

“Yes, Sir. Send Cory to join Coach Lawson in the press box. Tell them both to watch carefully for anything any of Dothan’s players do which could tip us off as to their plans. Also coach, I want you to rotate our wide receivers more frequently, including the younger players. I want fresh legs on almost every play. Finally, I want Jason to move to a back’s position, as I want two blockers in the backfield.”

“But Jason’s a guard, he’s never run the ball in his life.”

“Not quite true. He played tailback for me in junior high before he went through a growth spurt. Now, he’s a fast pulling guard and is heavier than most backs. His speed and size will help open holes for our backs, and give me more protection on pass plays.”

At this point, there was a loud cheer from the stands. Expecting Dothan to have scored again, they were surprised to find that Dothan had fumbled the ball instead. It was now the Mustang’s ball, starting on their own twelve yard line. Those cheers turned to confused silence as Kevin walked on the field and called time.

With time being called, Kevin gathered all the offensive players around him and explained, “Guys we’re making a bunch of changes to try to counter Dothan’s size and aggressiveness. First, except when I move to the shotgun, we’re moving to a full house backfield. The difference is that it will look more like the wishbone, but in reverse.”

Jamar asked, “What do you mean, GS?”

“Instead of the full back in the up position and two running backs in the ‘Y”, we will put Jamar, or his substitute, in the up position and two fullbacks in the “Y”. Jason, you will join Ted as a second fullback. Most of the time, Jamar will be a decoy and another blocker, while I will be using the fullbacks more to run the ball and provide more protection on passes and more power to our sweeps. I’ll be rolling out more, and I expect the wide receivers to pull their safety and cornerbacks deep. Tom, besides blocking as a tight end, you will be my primary safety valve. Unless I give you a pattern to run, you just work to get open, so stay alert. Any questions?

“We’ll do our best,” was their answer.

At the same time, Coach Bryson and the other coaches were working with the defense. Finally, the official came over and told them it was time to resume play. Once they got back to their place on the field, Tom Witherspoon, the center, called everyone into the huddle.

Kevin said, “I want to run a variation of thirty-two right, but after faking to Jamar, we’ll shift to ‘student body’ left with Buck trailing as the option man. On two, break.”

The Mustangs moved into their positions. On the two count, Kevin took the ball from Tom and moved step to his right. Jamar also went to the right, and Kevin pulled off a perfect fake by actually putting the ball in his best friend’s arms before pulling it back out. Then, while the Wildcats pounced on Jamar, Kevin pivoted and followed the two blocking backs and one of the guards in the opposite direction.

The only Dothan players who were not fooled were the right defensive end and the corresponding outside linebacker. To their credit, both players were disciplined enough to stay ‘home’ instead of following the fake. Jason, the guard playing fullback, and the pulling guard took out the end. However, the linebacker fought off the block from Ted and moved in to stop Kevin. Just before Kevin was hit, he made a perfect pitch back to the trailing wide receiver. As a result, Buck was twenty-nine yards downfield before he was forced out of bounds by the safety. The Mustang bench and fans went wild.

From there, the Mustangs moved down the field to score. After the extra point and the kickoff, the revised Mustang defense came on to the field. With the changes Kevin had suggested, the Wildcats were thrown out of their rhythm. Unfortunately, because they had not practiced these new formations, the Mustangs made some errors and eventually the Wildcats were able to score again.

In spite of the score, Coach Bryson was realizing that with each play, the Mustang defense’s execution was improving. This improvement continued, so by half time, Ft. Mac had actually made the Wildcats punt a couple of times. In addition, Brian Terrell had caused two fumbles, even though one went out of bounds before the Mustangs could recover it.

When the Mustangs entered the locker room at the half, they were behind thirty-five to twenty-one. In spite of being behind, the Ft. Mac team was becoming increasingly confident. As a result, they maintained their focus, and spent most of the half discussing problems and how to resolve them.

Jamar, the running back who was suddenly playing safety, took over the leadership of the defense and was working with the defensive coaches and players to shore up their ability to keep the Dothan offense out of sync, and out of the end zone. At the same time, Kevin was working with the offense, discussing different ways to use misdirection and counter plays to offset the Wildcat’s defensive speed and aggressiveness.

About ten minutes before the second half was to start, Cory Williams, the Mustangs’ number two quarterback entered the locker room. He had been assigned to the press box to look for subtle clues and habits which might help the Mustangs.

Kevin looked up when Cory entered and asked, “Well, did you spot anything?”

“Did I ever! GS, you must be clairvoyant.”

Kevin yelled, “Hey! Everyone, gather around and listen to what Cory has learned.”

With the rest of the team listening intently, Cory said, “Let’s go down the list. First, their quarterback makes one of the stupidest mistakes I think I have ever seen. When he exits the huddle, if it’s a pass play, he puts the tips of his right fingers in his mouth to wet them. Second, watch his feet when he lines up to take the snap. If the play is going to the right, his right foot is several inches behind his left one. If the play is going to the left, it’s just the opposite. If they are equal, then he’s dropping straight back to pass.

“As for the tailback, if he’s carrying the ball, he lines up about a foot further back than if he’s the decoy or if he’s blocking. Their wide receiver, King, sets up almost like a sprinter in track if he’s the primary receiver and is going deep. The rest of the time, he stands more upright, with his hands on his knees. In addition, just before he makes a cut, he moves his head slightly in the direction of his cut.”

“Wow!” exclaimed one of the players in the back of the room.

Kevin added, “I agree. Anything else?”

“Oh, yes. Their center moves the ball into a vertical position just prior to the snap on running plays, but leaves it sideways for passes. In addition, he occasionally actually lifts the ball and edges it forward. Coach Lawson said Jerome should point this out to the line judge. The next time the center does this on a crucial down, just blow through him. In that situation, the best thing Dothan could hope for would be a penalty for drawing us offside, because we’ve got a good chance to force a large loss or a fumble.”

Coach Bryson said, “Good job, Cory. These observations should give us an edge in stopping them more in the second half. What about help on the offense?”

“The primary thing Coach Lawson and I noticed was how they dealt with our counter plays. Their defensive ends and corner backs are holding a second to see which way the play begins. Those on the opposite side stay home or cheat just a little to the inside. Coach says if we reverse our tight end and fullback’s blocking assignments, they will be more effective. He also suggested we designate one player whose primary responsibility is to neutralize their middle linebacker.”

Mike Thomas, the tight end asked, “Cory, I’m not sure I follow you on the reversing blocking assignments. Can you elab… explain?”

“You want me to elaborate?”

“Yeah, that’s the word.”

“Okay. Normally, you would try to block the defensive end, while Jason or Ted would take out the corner back. Instead, Coach wants you to brush block the end, before hitting the outside linebacker or corner back, pushing him back towards the center of the field. As for the defensive end, whoever is the blocking back for that side is to get up a head of steam and go straight at him. That back’s goal is to put the defensive end on the ground, or at least move him towards the sideline. This should give Kevin the option to pass, run or pitch out through the vacuum left behind.”

Coach Bryson said, “Excellent, but I would make one suggestion to Mike and Kevin. Every so often, let Mike slip past his intended block, and have Kevin hit him about five yards past the defensive player. This should give Mike a chance to pick up some good yardage before the defensive man realizes Mike didn’t just miss the block. It’ll also remind them he’s still an offensive threat.”

Turning to Kevin and Jamar, he asked, “Anything more you need to say?”

Jamar replied, “Yeah, let’s go kick some Wildcat butt!”

The second half was as wild as any college game anyone had ever seen. The primary differences were Cory’s observations and Kevin’s arm, along with his uncanny ability to know where everyone was on the field. Finally, with less than thirty seconds on the clock and down by four, Kevin finally got Jamar free and hit him with a sixty-three yard pass.

The final score was fifty-nine to fifty-six, Mustangs. In addition to more than a hundred points, the two teams had amassed more than twelve hundred yards in offense. It was definitely not a defensive struggle. Kevin and Jamar were carried off the field by their teammates, and Kevin was given the MVP trophy.

Back in the locker room, the celebration looked like it would go on for hours, but Kevin quickly showered and dressed. As he explained to his friends, he only had a short time with his dad and wanted to make the most of it. He never mentioned that Jennifer was also planning to spend the night.

Thus, after joining in one last cheer, Kevin slipped out of the locker room. Jennifer and his dad were waiting for him in the hall. The three quickly headed for the Colonel’s car, a dark blue Tahoe, and moments later they were on the Interstate headed back to Anniston. For the entire trip, the three excitedly talked about the game and their plans for the next day.

Around eleven-thirty, Kevin’s dad stopped the Tahoe at the base of their driveway. The house was on a low hill about sixty feet from the road. There was a five-foot retaining wall between the property line and the sidewalk, with steps leading through it and up to the house. The mailbox was in front of the steps. Kevin got out and headed to get the mail. His dad and Jennifer started up the hill, but the SUV stalled out. His dad restarted it and drove up to the top of the hill.

By the time the car came to a stop, Kevin had gotten the mail and climbed the steps. When he was about five feet inside the wall, his eye noted a flash of light from several houses away. For some reason, he immediately knew what it was.

Unfortunately, his scream of “No!” never made it past his lips. The Tahoe exploded, and the force of the explosion blew Kevin backwards and over the retaining wall.