Lawrenceville School -- Fiction; Schools -- Fiction
"Now for a kick," said Stover, as the Andover end came out opposite
him. "What the deuce am I going to do to this coot to mix him up. He
looks more as though he'd like to tackle me than to get past." He
looked over and caught a glance from the Andover quarter. "I wonder.
Why not a fake kick? They've sized me up for green. I'll play it
carefully."
At the play, instead of blocking, he jumped back and to one side,
escaping the end who dove at his knees. Then, rushing ahead, he
stalled off the half and caught the fullback with a tackle that
brought him to his feet, rubbing his side.
"Lawrenceville's ball. Time up for first half."
Dink had not thought of the time. Amazed, he scrambled to his feet,
half angry at the interruption, and following the team went over to
the room to be talked to by the captain and the coach.
It was a hang-dog crowd that gathered there, quailing under the
scornful lashing of Garry Cockrell. He spared no one, he omitted no
names. Dink, listening, lowered his eyes, ashamed to look upon the
face of the team. One or two cried out:
"Oh, I say, Garry!"
"That's too much!"
"Too much, too much, is it?" cried their captain, walking up and down,
striking the flat of his hand with the clenched fist. "By heavens,
it's nothing to what they're saying of us out there. They're ashamed
of us, one and all! Listen to the cheering if you don't believe it!
They'll cheer a losing team, a team that is being driven back foot by
foot. There's something glorious in that, but a team that stands up to
be pushed over, a team that lies down and quits, a team that hasn't
one bit of red fighting blood in it, they won't cheer; they're ashamed
of you! Now, I'll tell you what's going to happen to you. You're going
to be run down the field for just about four touchdowns. Here's Lentz
being tossed around by a fellow that weighs forty pounds less. Why,
he's the joke of the game. McCarty hasn't stopped a play, not one!
Waladoo's so easy that they rest up walking through him. But that's
not the worst, you're playing wide apart as though there wasn't a man
within ten miles of you; not one of you is helping out the other. The
only time you've taken the ball from them is when a little shaver
comes in and uses his head. Now, you're not going to win this game,
but by the Almighty you're going out there and going to hold that
Andover team! You've got the wind against you; you've got everything
against you; you've got to fight on your own goal line, not once, but
twenty times. But you've got to hold 'em; you're going to make good;
you're going to wipe out that disgraceful, cowardly first half! You're
going out there to stand those fellows off! You're going to make the
school cheer for you again as though they believed in you, as though
they were proud of you! You're going to do a bigger thing than beat a
weaker team! You're going to fight off defeat and show that, if you
can't win, you can't be beaten!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account