“Yeah, Dad! Every girl wants her father to “speak” to her hot date. Have you not been listening? He isn’t taking advantage of Gwen! If anything, Gwen is toying with him. He’ll chase her until she decides to let him catch her. Protecting Gwen from the best looking guy in her school is hardly necessary, and certainly not wanted,” replied Kate with vigor.
As the teams warmed up, Kate turned and spoke to Gwen, “Well, at least Dad decided not to come, so you don’t have to worry about him giving Steve a talking to. Mom and I won’t embarrass you too bad, but you know Lisa. When she sees Steve, she won’t be thinking about how she’s three years older than he is. Don’t let her steal him away.”
“Kate, I don’t know where you developed such a low opinion of me, but I would never go after any of my sister’s boyfriends, and I expect the same from you. We’re family and we support each other, and that certainly includes keeping boyfriends!” insisted Lisa.
“I overheard Bill Johnson talking to Ken Bradley at the refreshment stand a little while ago. Their sons are on the team and both fathers felt that this was going to be a very good year for the football team. They have a new coach, a new quarterback, and a very new offensive scheme according to those two. They said tonight’s game will be different than any game the team has ever played,” recounted Paula. “I asked them why and they just grinned. They said that they were sworn to secrecy, but I should be ready for a lot of scoring.”
Sparta won the coin toss and elected to defend on the first possession of the game. After the kick-off, Gifford had the ball on the forty-two yard line. Their senior halfback, Will Jauron, had won the league rushing title as a Junior and immediately picked up where he had left off the previous season. Sparta’s defense worked hard, but Jauron managed to average five yards with every carry. Then he carried the ball in for a score from the fifteen yard line. They tacked on the extra point and after five minutes of play, Gifford had a 7-0 lead.
“Uh-oh, Gwen! You may be home reading your novel tomorrow night after all,” worried Kate.
“I just want to know what position your Prince Charming is playing,” complained Lisa. “So far, I’m not very impressed with any of the Spartan players.”
Gifford kicked off and the nervous sophomore returner fumbled the ball. By the time the dust had settled, Gifford had recovered on the five yard line. Jauron ran it in for the score on the very next play. With just over five minutes gone, Gifford led 14-0. Again Gifford kicked off, but this time the kid on the receiving end managed to hang on, although he lost five yards on his attempted run back. Sparta had the ball on the 27 yard line when its offensive unit took the field.
“There’s Steve!” yelled Kate. “He’s number 12. He must be the quarterback! He looks hot even with a football helmet on.”
Paula glanced over at Gwen to see her reaction. Gwen had her pocketbook straps twisted in knots. She was staring intently at the playing field as she tortured her purse. Paula smiled to herself and returned her attention to the game. It was pretty plain that Gwen had not been exactly truthful about her feelings for the young man that had asked her to the dance. As that thought crossed her mind, a roar went up from Sparta’s section.
Sparta’s running back had managed a pretty good season the previous year. He was third in the league in rushing, and that was with a mediocre team. Everyone expected him to be the workhorse of the Spartan offense. On the first play from scrimmage, Steve took the snap and turned and tucked the ball into the halfback’s stomach. The back hit the line hard and managed to gain some positive yards. That was when the fans, as well as the Gifford defense, realized that Steve still held the football. He looked left and pulled his arm back. Then he suddenly turned to his right and lofted a pass deep down the right sideline. Billy Harris was at least ten yards beyond the defender as he gathered the ball in full stride at the twenty yard line and raced into the end zone!
The Gifford section was dead silent, but the Spartan side made up for it. High fives, loud cheers, and whistles swept through the stands. Gwen realized that she was one of the loudest fans as she yelled and screamed her approval. Her sisters and mother were right next to her, showing their excitement over the turn of events.
“My God, Gwen! He must have thrown that ball fifty yards! He sure seems serious about winning this game and keeping his date,” laughed Lisa. “Kate, let me have those binoculars so I can get a good look at our hero.”
Lisa focused in on number twelve as he and his team mates slapped each other on the back. She quickly determined that Steve was a very popular man at the moment. He was taller than all but a couple linemen and looked every bit as strong. Then she saw him scanning the Sparta cheering section, obviously looking for someone.
“Wave ladies,” Lisa instructed as she held her free hand high and whipped it around. “Our hero is looking for Gwen to make sure she saw that great play. Let him know what we think!”
With that, Kate and Paula stood up again and began waving frantically toward the Spartan bench area. Almost reluctantly, Gwen stood up and gave her best imitation of the Queen of England by moving her hand back and forth a few inches in front of her face.
“I don’t know how, but he found you, Gwen! His smile just doubled in size. Maybe Kate, Mom, and I helped a little by being such boisterous fans,” suggested Lisa. “Holy cow! He’s a gorgeous looking man, Gwen! You started right at the top!”
The score was tied at half time at 28. The Spartan offense managed to score every time it had the ball. Steve passed on most plays, but they did very well every time they handed the ball off to the running back. The Spartan defense had begun to stiffen and once they began to slow down Jauron, Gifford had no alternatives. They tried a few passes, but their quarterback showed poor decision making and a rather weak arm.
Sparta scored on the first possession of the second half to take the lead and never looked back. The final score was 49-31. When the game ended Sparta’s faithful poured onto the field and mobbed the players. Paula could see Steve smile as fans and players slapped his back and shook his hand.
“So, Sis. Should we go down and congratulate our newfound hero?” teased Kate. “It looks like the cheerleaders are doing just that. Look at those shameless hussies hugging Steve and kissing his cheeks! We need to get you down there to stake out your claim! Let’s go.”