(S28) PT 4 - Back to School

[TheDangaZone]

SHL PT

[JayWhy75]

SHL Affiliation

[allbetsonjames]

if the pic is too small

[dogwoodmaple]

SHL affiliate

[Crodyman]

“That’s it! Get to the ballcarrier!”

Wasrabi Gleel’s booming voice thundered over the practice field at Windsor High School. The team had been doing well, winning their first playoff game in the Varsity DIII conference in Vermont, but when the team’s head coach Bob Hingston heard that Gleel would be in town visiting his family in between ISFL games, he came up with an idea to increase the morale and motivation of his young squad, which had taken a hit due to his sudden retirement at the age of 64.

“So what do you think of the team, Gleel?” Bob asked.

“They’re big for highschoolers. How tall is that tackle?”

“Randall O’Shea? He’s 6’4, 280. He’s already got scouts knocking down his door. He’s been on the team since he was a freshman. He was already 6’1 at 15.”

“Damn, I hope I won't have to go up against that kid someday.” Gleel joked.

“Listen, I appreciate you doing this. When the team found out about my retirement they were pretty distraught. I’ve coached a lot of these kids fathers, and some of their grandfathers even. We have a new coach coming up from Providence, Rhode Island to take the reins, but as I told you he won't be able to make it before this weekend's game. This is a must win for the Yellow Jackets.”

“I understand, Coach. Anything to help the squad.”

-------------------

“Timeout!” Coach Gleel made a T-sign with his hands and called over the offense. They were running out of time, but thankfully they had gotten the ball back with just under a minute left on the clock, down by six points. Gleel knew the team needed a hit of inspiration.

“Listen, young men, listen: They can’t keep up with us! This is a sixty minute game, and guess what? We’re on the last minute. This comes down who wants it more! Why’d we come out here today if not to give it our all? I know y’all are tired but turn around and look at your teammates next to you: What would you give for them? 70%? 80% of your best? What about your parents and friends in the stands? They came on out here, what will you give them? I’ll tell you, if you’re here right now, you gotta dig deep and give nothing less than 100% of what you have to seize this moment. You win here, and you’ll remember this night the rest of your lives, I promise you that. Let’s get on out there and seal this victory, not for ourselves, but for one another, and for our loved ones watching. Family on three: One, two, three, FAMILY!” Gleel shouted as the offense echoed the final words.

The speech must have worked, because suddenly the Yellow Jackets were moving the chains and getting out of bounds. The QB lofted a beautiful pass over the head of the OLB to the slanting WR, who was able to break a tackle and make a dive for the endzone. Touchdown, Yellow Jackets!

The cheers were uproarious. With only five seconds on the clock, the game was all but over.

. . . Until . . .

The kicker booted the ball downfield to the opponents ten yard line where it was caught by the starting RB for the Springfield Cosmos. He darted and weaved past and through the first level of the Jackets special teamers, then turned himself to the sideline and kicked it into another gear. He sprinted down the sideline as the kicker dove to push him out of bounds, but the RB tip-toed a few paces before regaining his balance. He returned the kick for a TD as time expired. Game over, Yellow Jackets.

On the flight back to Chicago, Gleel received an email from Coach Hingston. It thanked him for his time and effort spent with the team, and praised his coaching in spite of the rough loss. Coach Hingston inquired if there would be a possibility of another coaching stint for Gleel in Windsor next season. When Gleel read this, he smiled softly before typing a laconic response.

“The Curse and I will stay in Chicago.”


(690 words)

[Thatguy91]

SHL Affiliate

[TheRealMazatt]

SHL Affiliate
Username Mazatt

[Arvot]

[King Jellyfish]

Scream at those brats from the sideline!

[Swanty]

Swantavius Jones was not a high school football star. In fact, he only picked up a football for the first time in his freshman year of college. He had shied away from the sport as a result of the pressure his father put on him, having been surrounded by it as a child with his father being a former college star.

So when the call came to go back to his high school in Kirkland, WA to help coach the team in the upcoming Kirkland-Bellevue classic, he stepped onto the field there for the first time. While he has since become a household name there, it was never for what he achieved in school colors. In fact, his most notable achievement was representing the school in a spelling bee.

Onto the game prep, and his aptitude for strategy combined with genuine football experience gave him an idea. He would plug in the high school rosters for the game into DDSPF21, a football simulation game, in order to calculate the perfect strategy. He confidently presented his gameplan to the full-time coaches, declaring that after automating and simulating around 20,000 games over three days straight, they would have an 84% chance of beating those rascals from Bellevue High.

Kirkland lost the game 42-7.