Talents and Tyrants by Dahners Laurence

Author:Dahners, Laurence
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-07-22T00:00:00+00:00

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Coach Jackson fretted unhappily on the sidelines of their biggest game so far this season. The Iona Hawks weren’t exactly rivals. However, they were perennial BCS (Bowl Championship Series) contenders and, for the last three decades, had always beaten the Wildcats.

Thanks to Buchry, the Cats were undefeated this year and Jackson had been hoping this might be the year his Wildcats took the Hawks down.

But the Hawks were too big, too strong, and too fast.

In the face of such a dominating opponent, Buchry had performed unbelievably, marching the Wildcat offense down the field every time. However, there’d been a couple of hitches. One had been when a perfect Buchry pass had bounced right off his receiver’s numbers and into the hands of one of the Hawks’ defensive backs. That particularly fast DB had broken loose, running the ball all the way down to the goal line for a touchdown.

The other hitch had been a fumble on one of the Wildcats’ kickoff receptions, turning the ball over to the Hawks a mere seventeen yards from their end zone. The Hawks had quickly taken advantage and made another TD.

So, the Wildcats had failed to score on two possessions.

On the other hand, the Hawks had been rolling over the Cats’ defense. They’d scored every time they got the ball.

This meant the Wildcats had a two-touchdown deficit from those two times the Cats had failed to capitalize when they got the ball.

This isn’t a problem Buchry can solve, Jackson was thinking. He’s performing as perfectly as he always does, but the defense is letting him down. Jackson looked over at his young quarterback, astonished to see the guy wandering the sidelines, talking to his teammates. He’d slap a guy on the back, then chat with him a minute or so. All the while he had a big smile on his face.

The guys he talked to, who’d been drooping with despair, always bucked up after Buchry spoke to him.

Iona made another touchdown, going up by twenty-one again. The Wildcats’ dispirited defense trotted off the field as the kick return team went out.

Buchry happened, perhaps purposefully, to be near where Vince Young, the defense’s team captain, came off. Smiling as always, he slapped Young on the back and leaned in close as if to say a few encouraging words.

James worried that Young would find a “buck up” speech from a freshman irritating, but Young shrugged and gave what looked like a self-deprecating laugh.

Then Buchry was pointing across the field, still talking.

Young started nodding thoughtfully.

The Hawks kicked off and the Wildcats took a fair catch which brought the ball out to the twenty.

As Jackson wondered what kind of game plan could rescue his team, he looked at Buchry. The QB was talking to a couple of the defensive backs. Then he headed out onto the field.

Not having had any inspired ideas, James decided to see what Buchry did without his input. Probably even better than he’s been doing when I screw with his ideas, Jackson thought glumly.

The team spent a little longer in the huddle than usual.

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