Robofootball: Doublespin

With Jess at the helm, the Harrison Hornets were one of the highest scoring teams in their class division averaging 38 points per game. That mean figure would be reduced by 3 points in their 7th game of the season against the Evart Panthers. Three doesn’t sound like much, but when factored over 7 games, it is much more significant. The reason for the drop was mostly due to the weather. After 3 straight games played in dry relatively warm temps, the October 19, 2018 game was played in a driving rain storm. The rain would never let up alternating downpours to light steady rain and then back again, relentless, never stopping.

About the only advantage the Hornets had was that of home field. Even with their biggest cleats, the game would be filled with massive amounts of slipping, sliding, and fumbles from both sides. Harrison entered the game with a 5-1 record and good fan support for a small town team, coupled with the fact that half the seats had been sold in advance, there was still only about a quarter of the seats full due to the rain. Only the diehard close family members, boosters, and college scouts braved the weather. The universities were not as ready to give up the sport as the pro owners were considering. The crowd was a funny looking lot covered in a sea of colorful makeshift plastic umbrellas, rain ponchos, and even garbage bags, the big leaf-sized variety sporadically dotting the bleachers like rocks after the first spring tilling in a tough farm field.

As was becoming more and more the case, Jess’s father was not there. It was one thing to miss the away games though there were none further than a 45-minute drive, namely Mt. Pleasant and Evart, and Evart happened to be playing at Harrison this year, but it was another when the home school was only 3 ½ miles from home. Mike Robinson had his own game to play, and it would not go well for him. Jess would have a better night despite the adverse conditions.

The Harrison kicker barely got the ball 30 yards down field on the opening play; nevertheless, the opposing player receiving the kick was a blocker by accident, fumbled with the ball 2 or 3 times, barely securing it before he was gang tackled by 4 Hornets. While trying to move forward in the driving rain, Evart would suffer a quick 3 and out after gaining 4 yards on 3 straight runs. There was one fumble but Evart got it back. A 22-yard punt into a driving rain went out of bounds setting up Jess and the Hornets at their own 41. Over the next 15 minutes or so the rain let up but still drizzled. Since Evart won the toss and elected to receive the ball, Harrison got to pick what side of the field to defend or face depending on one’s point of view. The Hornets were able to mix up some short passes with the runs while steadily grinding out a promising scoring drive. Like Harrison, Evart focused on defending the run by placing 7, 8 or 9 guys closer to the line of scrimmage, in the box so to speak to stop it.

Jess had the green light to call audibles as long as he didn’t do it too often and thus, lose the privilege from abuse. The coaches were more comfortable with him and the experience he had. On a second down and 2 at the Evart 23, he did just that. The Evart defenders squeezed forward, cheating again on the run with both safeties edging up. Jess saw them and stretched the count. His outward receivers would be guarded one-on-one by the corners, but his flanker would have nothing but a linebacker, and the linebacker was inching forward too like the safeties. Jess called the audible with a “Set, 343, 343” repeated for effect. The #43 flanker was to run no holds barred directly to the end zone as Jess faked the handoff to the halfback who was in the “I” formation behind the fullback, a classic power run look. If Jess had said “327”, then the wide out with the #27 on his jersey was to go long, but now, his wide outs were expected to run short crossing routes to clog the middle and occupy the corners and safeties in case the safeties did jump back into pass coverage.

The play went off flawlessly with only one repercussion. The 3 linebackers and 2 safeties came in on an all out monster blitz. Counting the 4 defensive linemen, that meant that 9 defenders had their eye on either the halfback or the quarterback. The corners stayed with the out receivers while the flanker burst straight up the field as open as a lone dog running around in a 1 acre field chasing butterflies. Jess had little time as his offensive linemen were immediately overwhelmed and were rocked backward from a sheer mathematical certainty.

By the time Jess faked the handoff there were 2 defenders in his face despite both the fullback and halfback recording a successful block each. On his back heels, Jess let a big fat high floating flutter ball go to the center of the end zone as he was rudely slammed to the ground by a linebacker and full safety tag team. All the receiver had to do was camp under the ball like a fair catch punt return specialist, and even then, he bobbled the slippery ball ever so slightly to the collective groan of the sparse crowd, but was able to pull it in for the touchdown. Jess would lie in a daze for a few extra seconds until his halfback and fullback helped him up, but they were more interested in the shouting, screaming, and high-fiving after the score rather than seeing if Jess was okay.

It would turn out to be the only touchdown throw of the game for Jess as the weather would never improve that evening than for that particular drive let alone for any other for either team the rest of the evening. Going against the wind in the 2nd quarter, Jess would be hit again as he was trying to throw down the middle, and the ball was intercepted by Evart and returned for a touchdown. Later in the 2nd, Evart would fumble the ball at their own 32 and a Harrison linebacker would pick it up and return it to the 5 yard line mostly slipping and basically tackling himself after he ran into one of his own men. Three straight running plays later, the Hornets actually lost 2 yards but were able to barely squeeze in a 24-yard field goal that went off the bottom bar and bounced through to take a 10-7 sloppy halftime lead.

In the 2nd half, the Hornets received the kickoff and had the wind at their backs. Based mostly on a fairly solid running attack along with a few short passes mixed in, Jess was able to drive the team downfield for what could be Harrison’s final touchdown of the game, enough for a 17-7 lead at the moment. Evart could do nothing against the wind in the 3rd, but, like Harrison, scored on a similar grind-it-out drive in the 4th to cut the lead to 17-14. That’s where it would end. Evart managed a late drive and were even in high school field goal range, which, given the wind factor combined with the rain, were within Harrison’s 15-yard line, but they fumbled the ball away and Jess was able to run out the clock. Jess’s final numbers were not all that impressive at 141-1-1 with 14 for 28 passing, and a 50% completion percentage, his lowest of the year.

It seemed to Coach Bruce that the team limped in to the locker room far worse than usual after the game with Evart. The high school season was not that long with only 9 games and this had been game 7. The players were a muddy, wet, a broken mess, and many had to be helped in getting their jerseys off. They had played hard and as was par for the course, had sweat profusely while playing, especially the bigger guys on the line. But there was down time too since the defense rested while the offense was on the field, and vice-versa. With temperatures at game time in the mid-50’s that had gradually dropped to the mid-40’s, the down time found the players cold and suffering as their sweat turned to iciness against them. Perspiration was a natural way for the body to cool itself, but, when combined with cold air and rain, the job was done exceedingly well, too well, as the players bounced from shivering to having to exert more physical energy in soggy miserable conditions.

After 7 games, the physicality of the sport was beginning to exact a toll. There were always bruises but more strains, swollen areas, turf toe, sprains, cracked fingers, and even a broken bone or fracture here and there though small things like fingers and toes could be taped or splinted readily to get players back on the field. Coach Bruce’s main concern was for his quarterback and he monitored Jess’s arms and legs to some extent more than other players, but not really his head where repeated trauma was occurring week after week. Coach Bruce knew that he had a special quarterback and that was one reason he rarely called any quarterback draws or sneaks in order to minimize the damage that tackling could cause in advance.

Jess was the best thrower he ever had in his 22 years as head coach. He had good height, good arm, good mobility, and a good head on his shoulders. Jess got good grades too and was certainly above average in the brain department. The scouts were pounding at both of their doors, but Jess could not arrange meetings with them without a parent being present, and Mike Robinson was just not available. What both Jess and any of the coaches for that matter failed to realize was the seriousness of the blows that he had sustained to the head, mostly from being slammed to the ground whether from a sack or just a knockdown after a pass that all quarterbacks experience.

Part of Jess’s problem was due to the loose helmet from the partially broken chin guard snap housing. Jess had played somewhere near half the game against Evart with the snap undone and unnoticed by anyone. It had been such a wet, dirty, messy affair that it kept coming undone despite Jess snapping back on time and time again. The more it came undone, the longer he would go with it that way, especially while he was on the field. It was easier to take care of it on the sideline when the Hornet defense was on the field. When he played with it loose on the field, he unwittingly received more concussive-like pressure as the helmet rattled or jiggled some when it was not fully snapped properly. The cumulative effect over time was making his head buzz far more than it should.

On the following Friday evening, October 26, 2018, their 2nd to last regular season game for the Hornets would be their last home game. They would finish the regular season with a trip scheduled to Mt. Pleasant the following Friday. Although temperatures had been about normal, maybe a degree or two above, but what was normal or average anyhow with global warming in full swing? Did one take the average from the last 5 years? Ten? One hundred? The longer one went back the lower the average. At game time, 7:30 p.m., it was 52 degrees Fahrenheit, but it had rained off and on most of the week. Unlike college and pro fields, high school fields, unless one was in one of those monster fields in Texas, did not have state of the art drainage systems, heaters and/or dryers, or artificial turf for that matter. The Harrison field was good old fashioned dirt and sod, a bit on the sandy side, somewhere between soil types B and C as OSHA classified them for excavational purposes.

It was not raining at the start of the game nor would it rain through its course; nevertheless, the field, like last week, was still a soggy, mucky, slick, oversaturated, slidey mess. The Coleman Wildcats were in the same division as Harrison, now 6, both had once been Class C. The two schools and towns were pretty much even-steven in terms of size and population. The Coleman Wildcats won the toss and managed an impressive opening 40+ yard kickoff return in the sloppy field to the Harrison 38-yard line. The junior Wildcat looked a lot like Jess had last year, tall, slim, a little under weight, and a decent growing arm for a high schooler. They eked out 3 or 4 yards at a time with some runs and short passes, and scored the first touchdown of the game to take a 7-0 lead against Harrison after nailing the extra point.

The first Harrison kickoff return was not nearly as well as Coleman’s. The kick was high and short and was caught at the Harrison 26. The player ran 6 yards before being tackled. With a toweled off ball, Jess connected with a 15-yarder to his wide receiver on his very first offensive play, but was knocked down by Coleman’s defensive end. The end was Coleman’s best defensive player and star for the entire team. Aside from a few college scouts present to see Jess, they’d be watching the DE for Coleman too. The end was a good 6’5” tall, maybe 240 pounds, far more muscle than the average high school player, and could move fast despite the poor traction on the field. He could supposedly bench press something near 400 pounds as rumor would have it, which would put him in with the elite class at a big name college at that position.

Jess already had his #18 uniform muddied after just one play, and the big, fast left DE would be in his face all night it seemed. When the Hornets were obviously forced to double team the end, it invariably left someone else open on the line, or at least an opening for a blitzing linebacker or safety. Several times the DE would split or simply overpower the double team. He was that strong. The Hornets ran more running plays right or up the middle to avoid the big DE and were able to score on their opening drive after a fake hand off and an easy pass to a sneaky wide open tight end in the end zone corner from 3 yards out. The end had hit Jess again for the 4th time on the drive, just as Jess released the ball. For some reason, the hits felt harder from this particular DE, like a big jacked-up 4-wheel drive pickup on a bicycle rather than just a regular car. Jess already felt a little light headed and there was still nearly 6 minutes left in the first quarter.

The game became a dogfight after the 7-7 score. Coleman managed a couple of first downs on their second drive, but fumbled away as the condition of the field, barely patched and repaired from the previous week, was too saturated to hold up well and deteriorated further. Several thousand migrating caribou or wildebeests probably couldn’t do much more damage as 22 wild hormone-laden high school boys with coach-invoked anger issues as half squared off against an equal number at any given moment, butting heads like bighorn sheep during the fall mating season, all the while tearing out chunks out of the field more efficient than a sod-cutting machine.

While being hounded by the big DE, Jess spun right, then spun left to avoid a blitzing linebacker, the famed double spin move as the hometown crowd recognized it and cheered wildly. Jess then threw a crisp 20-yard pass up the middle right through the hands of his receiver and into the bread basket of the opposing safety. Jess groaned but managed to aid in the tackle as the safety made it back to what had been the line of scrimmage for the Hornets.

The wildcats stopped themselves on downs as their own quarterback failed to complete a pass on a 3rd and 7 after two consecutive short gain runs. They were able to pin Harrison deep, two yards within the Hornet’s own 10 yard line. Jess really came alive though backed up as they were. At times, a quarterback gets in a zone, and despite the muddy, slippery conditions, a drenched ball, and a field that was looking more and more like the soupy end of a pigpen, Jess would connect on 7 consecutive passes as the Wildcat defense was still expecting way too much from a run standpoint. Jess did get sacked twice on the drive, one by the big Coleman left DE, knocked down twice too, and once again one was by the star DE. Jess managed an 8-yard TD pass to a streaking receiver who skipped precariously close along the back end zone line to harness a bullet of a pass between two defenders. The pass struck him between the numbers as if Robin Hood was splitting an arrow that was already in the center of the bull’s eye. The Hornets would escape half time with a 14-7 lead.

The Hornets got the ball to start the second half and began their drive at their own 33 yard line after a modest kickoff return. The half time adjustments went well at first with some good play calling based on what the defense was doing. Jess had matured at his position and was getting better and better despite the headaches, was reading defenses quite well, even when some players faked blitzes and dropped back into coverage. He was given even more leeway to call audibles and it appeared as though the Coleman players were not showing good poker faces as he read and anticipated their fakes as opposed to real blitzes. When Jess suspected a blitz, he would audiblize a quick slant pass. When they crowded too much, he would call for downfield pass at the last second with a barely perceptible nod to one of the receivers, or call a version of their number before calling for the snap. At times, when Coleman rushed 3, Jess would call a run, and even a nice draw play on a 3rd and 8 netted them closet o 20 yards. At 3rd and goal from the Wildcat 4-yard line, Jess gambled, and audiblized another draw like he had just 5 plays earlier and it resulted in Harrison’s 3rd touchdown of the game and a 21-7 lead.

Coleman came back with another decent kickoff return to their own 42 yard line, and as a result, were doing much better on special teams than Harrison. Games could be won and lost there. Coleman had a little guy for a half back who also returned kickoffs, barely 5’6” in height, but the dude had happy feet and uncommon cutback skills. He ran fairly low to the ground and was probably a lean 150 pounds when soaking wet, but he sure was hard to tackle head-on, especially in the open field. After a 1st down a few yards beyond midfield, the Coleman quarterback fumbled the snap and in the chaos that followed, Harrison came up with the ball after it exchanged hands several times in the pile-up. The little half back had had it once, but unfortunately, he was over powered by the Harrison nose tackle and guard. One pulled his arms back while the other wrenched the ball from him. Anything goes in a pile, and if the refs couldn’t see anything, then they had little choice but to peel players off until they could dig the one out with the ball.

Jess was still having a pretty good day until Coleman pulled one on the Hornets. The star Wildcat DE lined up in the tackle spot and the Hornets did not catch it in time to adjust as they set up a double team on the end who was now the regular tackle. The big DE ran right over the Harrison offensive tackle and blind-sided Jess just as he rolled in the opposite direction of where the big end usually lined up to throw a pass. Even Jess had misjudged how fast and hard he expected to be hit from the middle. The ball went virtually straight up in the air as the cube van of a player crushed him like an unfortunate pedestrian in a video game. Coleman’s right guard actually caught the ball as he dove and landed on the ground with the brown oblong bread-like object tucked safely in his more than ample stomach. He was more of a fat kid and could almost squeeze the ball between his rows of fat.

Despite the padding on his back, Jess’s first hint of pain assailed his kidneys as the big DE’s shoulder hit him squarely there. That pain was drowned out when the DE’s impressive momentum carried both of them 3 yards further down field as Jess’s head and helmet were driven into the soft muddy turf that was now more dirt than grass. The grass had little chance to survive in such conditions. The loose snap housing came undone and Jess’s helmet went rolling nearly 10 yards as the right side of his face and temple slid in the mud. Luckily for him, the field was in a mushy jelly-like condition; had it been dry, he may have received a swell abrasion to go with what would be dubbed a mild concussion.

Jess lay there gazing at the proverbial stars of which the real ones were not out yet. Everything slowed down like a snail going uphill against the wind. His brain and the functions that followed were like molasses on a cold January morning. The sounds of the game and crowd seemed to fade away like a television broadcasting white noise less the noise. He rolled over lightly oblivious to the helping hand offered by the generous and magnanimous DE who had just squished him like a bug. Jess tried to focus on him but saw nothing but a blur, like a Monet painting of a distant figure camouflaged in the snow. The DE shrugged and walked off as Jess’s teammates gathered around him and forced the enemy away amidst their cheers and high fives. His center finally knelt down saying, “Jess? Jess? Can you hear me?” Jess did not answer and one of the players’ hand motioned for the trainer.

The trainer came out and got no immediate verbal response though he successfully found a heartbeat and a pulse to go with Jess’s shallow breathing. Jess came to in the locker room minutes later with some oldfashioned smelling salts after he had been carried off the field on a stretcher. Jess’s father once again was not present, but Carly had to be nearly physically restrained from the locker room. The trainer relented since the rest of the team was still on the field and there were no naked boys in the showers just yet. It was much less controversial for girls to be in boy’s locker rooms than vice-versa, gender discrimination would probably always be alive and well in its many subtle forms.

Jess! You scared the crap out of me!” Exclaimed Carly as he was there sitting up after the trainer had asked him a battery of questions that Jess was able to answer.

“Well I guess I passed my test, got the date and the president right at least.”

“Not funny,” said Carly. “How’s your head?”

“Just a little dull throb, I’m fine.”

“No you’re not mister, the trainer set you were done for the night.”

“Well they have to be careful, lawsuits ya know!”

“I think you should go to the doctor to be safe. I remember reading in all those CDC reports that trainers aren’t qualified to diagnose head injuries.”

“Yeah, the trainer said I should go to the doctor too, but I should be back on the field.”

“Don’t you dare!”

“Well, even if I can’t play, I should be on the sideline. It’s tearing me up not knowing how we’re doing. We should have a TV in here.”

Carly sighed, “I’ll get the trainer, maybe he’ll let you back outside with the team.”

Jess brightened, “Thanks!”

They let him back out without his helmet. Since it still snapped, no one bothered with the loose snap housing though it was getting worse every day. Without Jess, Coach Bruce mostly gave up on passing, at least much of anything downfield. Coleman, with the success of knocking Jess out of the game, literally, moved their star defensive end left, right, and occasionally in the tackle spot in an attempt to keep the Hornets off balance, but it didn’t matter. The DE either freed someone else up or even broke through the double teams on occasion to record a sack or tackle, several behind the line of scrimmage. On another Coleman fumble in the Red Zone, the Wildcats failed to score in the 3rd quarter, but managed to do so early in the 4th on a defensive play.

With the big DE double teamed on the line, he still managed to push two players back toward Jess’s substitute on a pass play. The Harrison fullback chipped in to help too, but conversely to the law of large numbers, 2 blockers on 1 defender was not conducive to sound football practices. As a result, the quarterback was sacked by the nose tackle, fumbled, and a guard picked up the ball and raced it in 15 yards for a score before collapsing in a heap just past the goal line. The big boys, especially the fat ones, were not used to that much downfield running in one burst. Coleman made the extra point and cut the lead to 21-14 but still in the Hornets’ favor.

“Are you sure he can’t go back in?” Coach Bruce almost bullied the trainer.

“Absolutely not, he’s got a bruise and some swelling on his head, might even be a concussion for all I know.”

“Damn it Jim, the game’s on the line.”

“I said NO, you can’t jeopardize the boy’s future.”

“The scouts are here, how’s it going to look to them? They’ll think he’s not tough enough.”

“This one’s my call, he took a vicious shot. You’ll be lucky if he’s ready for the big game against Mt. Pleasant next week.”

“All right then,” Coach Bruce finally gave up. He did care some for the kids, but he still had old school motives when it came to toughness. In his view, if the player could walk and no bones were broken, he ought to be out there is he was conscious. “You see that he gets to the hospital in Clare, tonight.”

“Right, I’ll get him there myself.”

“Good.”

After trading unimpressive punts in the slop, Harrison would go 3 and out again after trying 3 straight predictable run plays. A muffed punt put Coleman a yard inside Harrison territory with just a few seconds over 4 minutes to go in the game. After 3 runs netted 9 yards, Coleman barely squeezed out a 4th and 1 and the clock was now ticking inside 2 minutes. They had no option but to pass with 39 yards to go and emptied their backfield. With no running backs, Harrison rushed 4 up front and dropped everyone else back into pass coverage. The Coleman quarterback was not known as a runner, but the play call for him to do so was a good one. With 5 of their own linemen, 2 additional tight ends, and 4 receivers, the Coleman receivers all ran criss-cross opposite sideline routes as did the tight ends. The entire middle of the field lay open and the quarterback scrambled for 20 yards before he was even touched, and managed 4 more before he was brought down.

The Wildcats tried a similar formation, and, not to be caught as they had on the previous play, a couple of Harrison linebackers faded to the middle of the field in more of a zone-like coverage. As a result, one of the tight ends was wide open and caught a 7-yard pass. The Wildcats did it again for a 6-yard gain to the other tight end as the Hornets could not seem to adjust in time, and now it was too late. Despite Harrison calling a timeout to regroup, usually a no-no in and of itself given that they had a touchdown lead and Coleman was in hurry-up mode, the ball was resting on the 2 ½ yard line, right where a team would ordinarily snap it for an extra point. There was still 30 seconds remaining.

Coleman ran up the middle gaining 1 ½ yards to make it 2nd and goal at the one, but they were forced to call their 2nd time out. They had used one earlier in the half on offense to avoid a delay of game call. Another run got them within a foot of the goal line, but just not quite enough as the Hornet defense came up big. They had to utilize their final timeout with just 18 seconds left. On 3rd down, they made it on a quarterback sneak, not by much, but just enough to get the tip of the football over the imaginary plane of the goal line. The extra point attempt to the Ooh’s and Ah’s of the crown was botched in the mud as the kicker slammed his foot into an oddly angled sideways ball with the laces in no less. The ball careened off one of their own blockers up front and was pounced on by an animated gang of Hornet hoodlums. Harrison escaped with a 21-20 victory as the Wildcat onside kick attempt went out of bounds. Jess would finish with 189 yards, 2 TD’s and 2 interceptions.

“Arithmetic! Algebra! Geometry! Grandiose trinity! Luminous triangle! Whoever has not known you is without sense!”

Comte de Lautreamont