Coach Cade might have worked his best players through three periods and made victory more probable, but he chose to risk defeat in order to give the substitutes a taste of real battle. Since all the first-choice men had played through to the whistle in the first half, they could not be counted on for later aid, and Johnny must needs place full dependence on his lesser heroes. When the third period started he still had Patten at center, Haines at right tackle, Chick Burton at right end, Ted Ball at quarter and Galvin at full-back, all members of the Old Guard, but one by one they retired until by the time the second half was five minutes along second- and third-string players held all the positions. Since Banning was still using or could call on every man who had begun the battle, the odds looked heavily in her favor. But the Alton substitutes were old hands at the game and were not to be dismayed by a high school team, especially a team against which several of them had played last year and defeated, and Bus Lovell, who had taken Ted Ball’s place, set about his task with fire and enthusiasm. After Banning had kicked off and Larry Keys had run the ball back nearly twelve yards, Bus began sending Couch back to punting position and running his plays from that formation. Savell and Keys made good gains outside the tackles and twice Couch tore off fair yardage on wide runs. He was a heavy chap and hard to stop, and usually added two or three strides to his progress after he was tackled. Alton reached the middle of the field without yielding the ball, crossing the center-line finally on a forward pass from Couch to Dutch Kruger that was good for nine yards. The stand cheered incessantly, wrought to quite a pitch of excitement, and demanded a score. But Keys fumbled a pass and Banning fell on the ball on her forty-seven and the tide of battle flowed the other way until Alton was back on her twenty-eight. There she twice stopped Banning’s punches at the line and knocked down a forward-pass. Banning sent her place-kicker back to the thirty-nine yards and, with what breeze there was blowing straight from behind her, looked suddenly dangerous. However, one fumble leads to another, and the ball was never kicked. Whether the fault was the Banning center’s or the quarter-back’s is immaterial. The pigskin struck the ground before the holder could get his hands on it. After that it was juggled just long enough for Gus Thomas to upset his opponent and arrive on the scene. Thereupon the quarter-back did the sensible thing. He laid himself flat and snuggled the ball to him fondly. Thirty seconds later Lovell caught a punt on his five-yard line and the Gray-and-Gold started once more toward the distant goal.