#shedeservedit by Greg Herren

Author:Greg Herren [Herren, Greg]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781635559958
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2022-01-01T20:00:32+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

The state championship game for Class 4A fell on the first Saturday in December, Alex’s sophomore year.

The weather, as always, turned cold after Halloween. It had been a warm and muggy Halloween, but late that night it began raining. The temperature started dropping. By the time the sun came up on November 1, it was forty degrees colder than the day before. Coats, hats, and gloves were retrieved from winter closets. Shaking fingers reached for thermostats, hoping the furnace would come on. The school itself was cold—switching from the air-conditioning system to furnace heat usually took more than a day to be noticeable.

Football practice was miserable that day. It was just below forty degrees, and a cold, hard wind was blowing across the practice field. The sky was gray and cloudy. The rain stopped, fortunately, but the ground was still mushy and wet. It made practice, never fun under the best of circumstances, even more miserable. The mud grabbed hold of their shoes, not letting go without a struggle, tiring out their legs faster than normal. It was hard for running backs or receivers to pick up speed during scrimmages and play drills, helping defenders catch and take them down that much easier. After an hour, everyone was covered in mud, that dirty wetness intensifying the cold. Their teeth chattered around mouthpieces, goose bumps rose beneath the layer of mud, and they were all muttering swear words.

Only two regular season games were left, and winter was coming. The temperature continued dropping each week in November. The Trojans kept winning, clinching the conference title and earning the number one seed in the playoffs. Liberty Center buzzed with excitement—would another state title be brought home, another pennant to hang in the gym and another flag joining the others flying over the stadium? Every business with a picture window was decorated with supportive comments in purple and gold grease pencil. Outdoor reader boards read some variation of Go Trojans or Let’s take State. Car windows were also decorated with grease pencil, little LCHS flags suction-cupped to their roofs. Everyone was talking about the team. The Liberty Center Gazette began analyzing potential opponents in the playoffs on its sports page.

After someone wished them good luck and a “Go Trojans!” after they ordered food at Hardee’s, Lance muttered to him as they walked to a table, “If you pretend they’re talking about rubbers, it makes it easier to take.”

He was right. From then on, whenever Alex heard Go Trojans, he had to struggle not to laugh in their face.

Practice became more of an ordeal as it got colder. Coach Musson insisted they wear thermal underwear under their pads, extra layers of socks, and gloves. Even with gloves on, catching the cold frozen footballs stung. Hitting and blocking and tackling also hurt more in the cold. The grass on the field, frozen solid, felt like needles on their cold bare skin and crunched beneath their cleats.

Liberty Center won their semifinal 38–8 and were heavy favorites to win the state championship that eluded them the previous year.

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