Chapter 11

I found out how much bigger, when I went into the locker room.

There were two men I didn’t recognize, talking to Coach Thompson. He waved me over to them. “Cal, these men are from the Kansas High School Athletic Association. Seems that we’re being accused of cheating, and they want to talk to you about that.”

“Um, depending upon the scope of the questions, I reserve the right to have my legal guardian present. Otherwise, I have no objections at this time.”

One of the men looked relieved at that, the other simply appeared amused. “Cal, I’m Wayne Bennett, this is Ralph Jackson. I don’t think we’ll need to get your guardian for what we’re having to ask. Personally, we both think this is simply garbage, but we have to ask. Do you have a state issued driver’s license or ID card?”

“Sure.” I pulled my wallet out, took it out and showed it to them.

“To get this, you had to present a birth certificate or other, appropriate documentation to the license branch, correct?”

“Yes, sir.” While I was answering, Ralph was looking at the card through some kind of special lens, then shining a light on it as well.

“It’s legitimate, Wayne.” He flipped the card over, then frowned. “What does this mean, Restricted License authorized by Judge Bannister?”

“I’m an orphan. It took several months to find my only living relative. Due to the nature of what my parents did, who they worked for, there was a certain amount of ... security, I guess is the best word ... that had to be resolved. Judge Bannister is a friend of my legal guardian’s father, and has both the knowledge and ... clearances, I would presume is the right word ... to be able to expedite all the paperwork.”

“Just for my own clarification, you’re referring to Judge Elroy Bannister, correct?”

“Uh, yes. In fact, he’ll be here later this evening. You gentlemen are aware that we’ll be having a civil marriage ceremony between the JV and Varsity game? He’s officiating at the wedding between his niece, Emily, and Harry, my legal guardian.”

“Instead of hosting his poker game? Jesus, Coach, no wonder you had all those extra bleachers put up. Ralph, what do you think?”

“I think what I told you when we were driving here. We’re going to see Maize get their ass kicked in another landslide victory. No one has records of Cal because he wasn’t in a public-school system in any state, which is what all his paperwork already shows. You and I both know from personal experience that when Uncle Sugar is involved in things, sometimes there’s collateral involved.”

“Yeah, I know. Cal, I completely understand the way you had to word things, because you don’t really know either of us. We’ve both been there, done that, being in country somewhere we weren’t. According to your school records, you’re only taking three classes here, which is the bare minimum for even being a student here. What are you doing the rest of the day?”

“That should be in there. I’m taking classes at Hutchinson Community College.”

“Why?”

“I tested out of every other class here. I’m taking a full class load, but no other activities there. I should graduate at the end of the school year with four Associate degrees.”

He nodded. “Wayne, you know as well I do this isn’t a Section 18 violation. Cal, the reason we got involved was that you started school here after the school year started, so you’re considered a transfer student. Under normal circumstances, there’s an eighteen week waiting period before the student can become eligible to play, if the parents don’t move with him. But the people who complained about you didn’t know about your parents, so you’re eligible to play under Article 13 of the rules, which is the hardship clause. I don’t consider having Judge Bannister involved to be undue influence.”

Wayne said, “I agree completely with that.” He turned to Coach Thompson. “We’re done here, Coach. Do you mind if we stay and watch the games?”

“Go ahead, gentlemen. I can’t give you free tickets, because that might be bribery, of course.” They all laughed at that.

“I think the State of Kansas will cover that on our expense report. Investigation does sometimes require us to pay for things like that.” They all shook our hands, then left.

Coach just looked at me. “Get dressed. And Cal ... you’re not taking the fourth quarter off tonight. You may not even need to play next week, but tonight, we’re going to send a message. Do I need to say anything else?”

“Just one question. Do you want me to play both ways the whole game?”

Coach smiled and laughed. “There’s messages, and then there’re open declarations of war. I think we’ll leave you just on offense unless something odd happens.”

We suited up for the game and got ready. Since this was a home game, our band was present as well. They played the school song, then the fight song, then the fans started chanting something called the Allagaroo. Most of the team chanted along with them.

The Junior Varsity Salthawks took the field against the Maize Eagles. I sat on the bench with the rest of the Varsity, watching and cheering. Even though it was only the second game of the year, it felt weird to not have my girls sitting behind me. However, I saw several people being waved around spots that were obviously reserved, with Dora and Eve’s mothers and siblings on either end.

The first half went quickly for the JV, with our team leading at halftime, 21 to 7. Some of the crowd moved around in the bleachers as well, to make room for even more people showing up. We had a good talk with the JV, they were in good spirits. Even though Maize came back after the opening kickoff and scored again, we still got a field goal in return. The final score made it seem closer than it really was, 31 to 24, with us having our second JV victory in a row.

As soon as they left the field, the announcer over the loudspeakers hollered out, “Okay, folks! Instead of our usual between game entertainment, we’ve got something a bit different for you.” The equipment guys started rolling a wide white tarp out from the sideline to mid-field. “Please stay off the pathway, except those who’re supposed to be on it. Thank you!”

As soon as it was totally rolled out, four men carried an archway decorated with flowers out and about half-way from the bleachers to the middle. The band started playing ‘Ode to Joy’. Coach looked at me. “I think that’s your cue, Mister Lewis.” I got up and ran to the edge of the tarp, taking my cleats off so I wouldn’t poke holes in it. Another two men had taken a small lectern out to the middle of the field, with a cable running from it. They made a couple of taps on it, which showed it was working properly.

Elroy came walking out from a tent he’d been sitting in, accompanied by John Carlin. The two of them walked side by side down the aisle, to the lectern, then turned, with Elroy behind it, John beside him. The men in the party came out of the tent, with Roberto in the lead, Stephen behind him, Harry in the rear. Harry paused so I could take my place in the line. The four of us walked out and took our places. Once we were lined up, Stephen reached over and handed me two rings.

Allen and Marianne came walking out next, taking their places, with Allen behind us, Marianne by herself on that side. The music changed, and then my ladies all walked out, slowly and with style. Dora, with Eve about fifteen steps behind her, then Beth another fifteen steps behind her. Once Beth had taken her spot, the band again changed, this time to the traditional ‘Wedding March’ song. Everyone in the stands stood up. Emily came out, looking radiant and beaming with pride and joy. The band conductor was carefully watching, and when she got to the front, he cut them off.

“Ladies and Gentlemen ... rather obviously, this is not the normal venue for a wedding. And it’s also quite obvious that this is a civil ceremony, not a religious one. The bride and groom don’t feel that they need that, they’ve been in love with each other since their own days as Salthawks.” There was a round of applause from the stands at his use of the team name.

“In case anyone out there doesn’t know who I am, I’m Judge Elroy T. Bannister, from here in Hutchinson. And this gentleman standing next to me, to supervise me and make sure I do things right, and to also give his blessings to this marriage, is the Honorable John Carlin, Governor of the State of Kansas. Now then, do the bride and groom have anything to say to each other?” He walked around with the microphone.

“Emily, my beloved, you and I have a history that goes back decades here in town. I was in love with you then, and even though I was married to Elspeth, loved her with all my heart, she is gone. You have filled the void that was within me. I promise to love you until my dying day, and I am the happiest man in the world today marrying you.”

“Harry, your family and mine have known each other for decades. We have been friends for years, now we are to become family. I love you, I love your daughter Elizabeth, and I promise to be the best wife and mother to you, to her, and to any children that we may have in the future. I promise to love you until my dying day, and I am the happiest woman in the world today marrying you.”

Elroy said, “Who gives this woman in marriage today?”

Allen apparently had some kind of wireless mike, because his, “Her mother and I do,” came over the loudspeakers as well.

“The rings, please.” I stepped forward, handing each of them their rings, then stepped back. They slipped them on each other’s fingers. “Repeat after me. With these rings, I thee wed.” They both did so.

“By the power vested in me by the State of Kansas, the County of Reno, and the City of Hutchinson, this Friday, September 14^th, 1984, I hereby declare you to be husband and wife. Congratulations, you may kiss the bride.” Harry did so, to applause from all of the stands. They turned.

“I give you Mister and Missus Harold Junior and Emily Watson.” They started walking down the tarp, with the rest of us following them out. I stopped at the spot where my cleats were, sat down to lace them back up. That was when I noticed that the Judge and Governor hadn’t come back down the tarp yet.

“Two things, and then we’ll get out of here, so the regular time between games can start. First, thank you all for your patience, and in making this the best attended wedding in the State of Kansas, ever.” There was a bit of laughter from the stands at this. “Second, I know most, if not all of you, came here because you were curious as to what could possibly get me to leave my poker game. Emily is my niece, and I am proud to be able to officiate at her wedding. As a thank you gesture to Hutchinson High School and to Maize High School for allowing us to use their game time, I will be making a donation to the general funds of both high schools. Cal, come here.”

I ran out to the middle of the field, but didn’t get onto the tarp, puzzled why they’d ask me out there. “I’m sure Cal has no idea why I asked him out here. It’s because it’s going to be up to him, and his teammates, to determine the size of the final donation. What do you think, Cal? Do you think a thousand dollars per point scored by the Salthawks is enough?”

“No, Judge, I don’t. I don’t want to bankrupt you, so why don’t we simply make it a nice and even ten thousand per point scored? Split seventy-five, twenty-five, between the schools? That’s not any kind of gambling whatsoever, simply using the score to determine the donation size.”

I had noticed the men from the KSHSAA were walking out as well. “You’re correct, no gambling is involved, which would otherwise be a violation of KSHSAA regulations. Since only a few people know us, we’re half the board of directors of the Kansas High School Athletic Association Board of Directors. There was a complaint issued against Hutchinson High School, that their quarterback, Cal Lewis, was ineligible. Upon our investigation, we have found this claim to be baseless. He is eligible to participate in any athletic programs at HHS that he wishes to participate in.”

Ralph handed the microphone to the Governor. “Thank you, gentlemen. I have an open microphone and a lot of people here. But I’m not going to make a political speech!” There was applause at that. “Best of luck to both teams, and I’ll be the one making the coin flip at the start of the game! Let’s get ready for some FOOTBALL!”

With that, the four of them walked off the field, while I ran back to our bench. Coach had us gather up and get ready. A couple of guys ran for the bathroom to empty their bladders, they’d be sweating out all the Gatorade we drank during the game, otherwise. Even though it was going to be closer to 8:45 before we kicked off, we were all ready.

The team had me go out with the captains for the coin toss. Seems I’d been voted in as a team captain, and didn’t know it. We had our introductions, then Governor Carlin held the coin out. I almost laughed. It was one of the large escudos, almost four ounces of pure gold. “Gentlemen, this is heads, this is tails. Maize, as the visiting team, you get to call.” They called tails. He flipped it in the air, letting it hit the ground. “Tails it is!” They chose to receive; we chose to defend the right goal.

We left the field; our kicking team took it. I walked up to the stands, where the reserved spots were now filled with everyone, including Elroy. My girls all leaned over, each of them giving me a kiss for luck, then I ran back to the bench.

Both of our Coaches just laughed. We lined up and kicked off. Their return man was good. He made it to midfield before we tackled him. Their offense was a little better than our defense. It took them eight plays, and then they were kicking an extra point. Aaron ran out to take our kickoff. The wind was with them, it went into the end zone, a touchback, so we’d start on our 20.

“Gentlemen, let’s wear their defense down so I can sit out the fourth quarter, how’s that sound to you?” “SALTHAWKS!” “Let’s do a 14-right. You ready, Jeff?”

We lined up and I took the snap. I first pivoted one way, then the other, before handing the ball off. I took off to the right side, while Jeff headed left. Their defense had fixed on me, so two of them grabbed my legs while I was still in the backfield. I let them tackle me, getting a flag thrown since I wasn’t the ball carrier. They did it on purpose as well, one of them shoving his knee into the back of my calf as they were getting off of me. As Jeff only ran for 4 yards, the defensive holding penalty was good for 5 yards and an automatic first down.

“Are you okay, Cal? I saw that bastard hit your leg getting up!” I could see on the sideline that Coach Thompson had seen it as well, and was yelling at the side judge, who hadn’t seen it.

I laughed. “Same play, left side. I want them to tackle me right in front of our bench.”

We did, and they did. This time when he was getting off me, the tackle shoved his knee in the small of my back. The problem was that both Coach Thompson, most of our fans, and the line judge saw it, with an immediate second flag thrown. The referee came over to see what was going on. After a brief consultation, the referee went to the middle of the field. “There are two fouls on the play. Holding, defense, 5 yards. Unsportsmanlike conduct, 15 yards. Number 82 is hereby ejected from the game. Automatic first down!”

The Eagles coach came running up, screaming about the penalties and the ejection. The referee took it for a minute, then I heard him warn their coach to shut up or he would be ejected as well. That shut him down, and he went back to their line, grumbling.

“Well, gentlemen, we’re on our own 45, and we’ve had a bit of fun. Let’s go 30-left.”

We snapped again, with me going back and then faking the hand-off to Mike this time. Their defensive backs swarmed after him, so when I then glanced left, Aaron was already a good 5 yards ahead of his cover man, with no safety in sight. I gave the ball an easy toss that Aaron caught without having to break stride and ran it into the end zone. The extra point was good, so we were tied up halfway through the first quarter.

“Cal, are you sure you’re okay? I know you can take a lot of contact, but I want to be positive. It’s not worth winning the game if one of you is hurt due to it.”

“I appreciate it, Coach. I think our next series, they’re not going to like the first play I run. QB keeper, right up the gut.”

“Okay, let me rephrase that. Please don’t permanently injure too many of them, teaching them the lesson not to mess with you.”

They were fired up and headed down the field, stalling on our 30. They did try for it, but due to a lucky tip, their third down conversion didn’t work, so they had to settle for a field goal, making it 10 to 7. Their kickoff again went into the end zone, so we were on the 20 again.

“First play, I’ve already told Coach. We’re doing a 55-special-right. Andrew, let your man get by you and start down the field. I’ll be right behind you. Aaron, make sure you’re coming along for blocking as well.”

Our line confused their defense, with 9 on the line, Aaron out right. I walked up behind Larry and simply smacked his butt, the signal to snap it. He did, I took it, and the line surged forward. Andrew was just to Larry’s right, and when he ran forward, he let the man he was supposed to block run right by him. This was the other tackle that had tried to do something to me earlier. He had a grin on his face as he saw me run right for him. That grin went away when I lowered my right shoulder with the ball in my left hand, then flipped him around by swinging my arm out. I was then right behind Andrew, punching through the middle of their line. Aaron blocked their safety, and I easily strolled across the goal line for our second touchdown, just before the end of the first quarter. The extra point put us ahead, 14 to 10. Walking back to our bench, I saw their tackle being helped off the field. It seems he’d planted a foot and twisted his ankle.

We changed ends for the start of the second quarter. The breeze ended up letting us put it into the end zone, but their return man ran it out, as he’d had considerable luck against us previously. This time his luck ran out, and he got tackled at the 10. They got one first down this time, but ended up having to punt from their 25. This time, Aaron was the one who got free, returning the punt for a score, making it 21 to 10 with barely two minutes gone.

They didn’t try to run it out this time, so they started on the 20. It took them a serious combination of running and passing, and a lot of the clock, but they finally scored again, making it 21 to 17.

After the kickoff and return, we were starting on the 28. We huddled up. “Okay, guys, we’re going to run the clock down so that the defense has a chance to rest. No fumbles, and try not to score too quickly. 32-right.”

Bill took the short out route, getting tackled inbounds at the 35. Next play, Mike made the first down, which stopped the clock while they moved the chains. Aaron caught a short pass, but got knocked out of bounds, stopping the clock with 50 seconds left and us on the 48, leaving us 2^nd and 5. I had Jeff go right up the middle, he only gained 2, so we were 3^rd and 3. I let the clock run down to 10 seconds and then called time out.

I called Terry in, so he could take the snap from the shotgun. It was basically our play 43, which was two wide receivers, with the quarterback doing a check down. Except I would line up on the left side, Aaron on the right side. Aaron would go deep, then cut hard left, while I would go up about 5 yards, then cut across the middle. Terry would throw about 4 yards in front of me, so I’d catch it at full speed and then head up the field.

Of course, my full speed was what our team knew I could run. Terry took the snap, rolled to his right, looking all the way down field the whole way. The safety and all their backs saw his head following Aaron, so they bit, hard. Mike made one block, so Terry had a free lane and pitched it my way. I reached out with my left hand, caught the nose of the ball and headed up field. Time expired when I was at the 10, but no one was close enough to catch me before I crossed the goal line. We kicked the extra point, 28 to 17.

The defense thanked me for giving them a break before half-time. In the locker room, Coach Thompson said, “Last week, Cal came in and played both ways third quarter. He’s not going to do that this week, so it’ll be up to you men to stop them. I’ve been letting him take it easy this first half. For the third quarter, every time we touch the ball, I want us to score on the first possession. I want to make it obvious that we were toying with them. I want our fans to see us pick their defense apart like it wasn’t even on the field. Because you offensive linemen won’t be getting much playing time, I’m going to freely substitute you in on defense. Any questions?”

There were none, we came back out and got ready for the second half. The wind was about the same as it’d been the first quarter, so Aaron took a knee in the end zone, and I went out for our first play. “Okay, guys, we’re done playing with our dinner, it’s time for us to eat the Eagles alive. 24-left.”

While we had bleachers on both sides, my girls were on that side. We ran the play, I gave one of their players a nice assist to the turf with a stiff arm, and then it was me all the way to the end zone. That put it 35 to 17, with only 26 seconds of the third quarter gone.

The Maize returner brought it back to their 30. Their first play, they tried a deep pass. The problem was simple. Their quarterback had the arm for a 40 yard pass. But his timing was off, so his receiver was 45 yards deep, while our defender was at our 30, to catch the ball on a dive to his left.

With that turnover, we hustled back out, starting at our own 27. I called for a 52-right, so our fans on that side of the field could see some action. I made one block at the line of scrimmage for Mike, Jeff got another, with Billy providing some lead blocking. By the time we were at their 40, Billy and Jeff had gotten tangled up with two of their tackles, so I was Mike’s only cover. Their safety was quite a bit faster than the one from last week, and had an angle to knock Mike out of bounds. “Run straight ahead and don’t look over!” I yelled, as normally the runner would check what was coming from the side. I made sure that I was between the safety and Mike, so when he ran into me at the 10 yard line, for him it was like running into a brick wall at full speed. While we could hear the sound his pads made when they hit me, no one else could, over the screaming of our fans.

A minute and a half gone in the third, and it was 42 to 17. Their safety had to be helped off the field; he’d had the wind completely knocked out of him.

The Eagles tried to fly on their next set of downs, but our defense, with switching out half the defensive line every other first down to give us fresh players, ended up having to settle for a field goal. There were six minutes left in the third quarter, 42 to 20. They kicked off, and it was again a touchback to the 20. We were kicking off to them barely 30 seconds later, as I did have the arm to throw a 60 yard pass, which fell right into the arms of Aaron as he ran straight up the field, and their defense had already given up on him. I could see their coach on the sideline, screaming and yelling at his team about not following through. It probably didn’t help that I’d done a bit of footwork, making three of their tacklers completely miss me, while Aaron was running. That made it 49 to 20.

They didn’t give up, like the Pioneers had. But the only thing we allowed them were short gains that ate up the clock. They scored again with about 15 seconds left in the third quarter. Coach Thompson hollered out to me, “Cal, I want you to be ready for an onside kick. You be the close receiver.” I ran onto the field, taking Jimmy Nelson’s place on the line, about 20 yards deep, making sure everyone knew to leave an onside kick to me if they did one.

When their line shifted, I ran over to that side. Their kicker was pretty good. He topped the ball just right, so it hit the ground and popped up. The ball had to go 10 yards before one of their players could touch it. Our side was under no such restriction. The ball was on its way back down at 8 yards, with all of their team barreling down on it, when I caught it in the air.

I sidestepped to my left, made two stiff arms, jumped over one leaping tackle, and spun around another. I crossed the goal line just after time had expired for the third quarter. 56 to 27 would be the fourth quarter starting score.

Their coach didn’t give up, but their players didn’t have much left in them. The wind made our kickoff soar into the end zone, so they started on their 20. Our defense came through with a sack on their quarterback for a loss of 5 yards, batted down the pass on second down, and then held them to a gain of 12 yards on third, leaving them with 4^th and 3. We didn’t send anyone back to return, expecting a fake punt. Their coach called time-out when he saw that.

Then we sent Aaron back, but he was under orders to just avoid the ball in case they did punt it, we weren’t going to be sending anyone back to block, everyone else was rushing the kicker. If they got a first down or scored, so be it. They shot the ball back to the kicker. Their problem was simple. Their kicker wasn’t their back-up quarterback. He caught the ball on the deep snap like normal, then went into position to throw the ball. With them sending two guys out to catch and two guys back to block, that only left 5 men on their line, along with the center. We were rushing 10. That left two of our guys completely uncovered. By the time their kicker realized that their play had fallen apart, he had 230 pounds of defensive tackle hitting him right in the numbers.

The ball squirted into the air, Dennis Davis, Terry’s younger brother, caught it just like he’d been catching Terry’s passes for years, and ran the 15 yards into the end zone for his first defensive touchdown ever.

The refs went to their coach before starting play again, since 63 to 27 was a wide enough margin that if he wanted, and we agreed, they could invoke the mercy rule. His cursing at them about it approached that of being vile, and earned his team an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, enforced on the kickoff.

That guaranteed our kickoff not only went through the end zone, it almost cleared the running track on the bounce. Coach Thompson continued liberally substituting our offensive tackles for defensive tackles. They made it to our 20 before stalling again. It was almost pathetic for their team, their coach made them run a play on fourth down instead of trying a field goal, even though it was fourth and 8, and they hadn’t had more than a 5 yard gain this entire drive. It failed, and we took over at our own 15.

I brought Terry out with me, to run things for the rest of the game, while I blocked for him. During one of the time outs, while the chains were being moved after another first down for us, one of their tackles came up to me.

“Dude, I do not know where you’re from, but I have no fucking desire to face you or your team again. You’re unbeatable.” He held out his hand, and I shook it. The ref saw that and smiled, then threw his flag when their coach went onto a screaming rampage about what his player had just done. Even though there were only 4 minutes left in the game, he kicked him out.

When I saw that, I looked at their team, then at ours. After they’d paced off the 15 yards for the penalty, I hollered over at them, “Has there ever been a time where everyone just stood around for 4 minutes after the snap?”

One of the guys on their side yelled, “Hey, Gary, I hear your sister singing!” They all laughed at that, then got into position. I told Terry to line up in the shotgun, but once the ball was snapped, to just stand still. I told our guys to not rush them, to see what they’d do. Larry snapped the ball to Terry, and their entire line simply raised up and stood still. Our guys did the same. The ref was a little confused, then realized what I’d said, and what had just happened. Our fans and theirs were also a little confused, then after a full minute had gone by on the clock, with no one moving and the clock running down, the entire stadium started applauding, keeping it up as the remaining 3 minutes ran off the clock. When time expired, Terry simply took a knee, ending the game.

“I wonder if we just set a record for the longest play, time wise, in high school history?” he asked. Then we walked by their team, shaking their hands.

Coach pulled me to the side. “Mister Lewis. As you were calling all of our plays, I’m going to assume this little stunt out there was yours.”

I nodded. “Good. There was no need to embarrass them further, or publicly humiliate them. You may not play next week, simply because we’re playing against Garden City. If you don’t, I want you to know that it’s not because of what just happened. That was perhaps the most ... sportsmanlike ... thing I’ve ever witnessed.”

I went to the stands, where my family ... which made me stop and smile when I had that thought ... was waiting. My girls each gave me a kiss first, then Elroy stepped up with Governor Carlin standing by him. Elroy looked at me, with a glare. The announcer was hollering at everyone over the loudspeakers, for the principals of both schools to meet in front of the Salthawks bench, and for the crowd to wait. That made everyone that had been leaving stop.