Authors: Brian MacLearn
After the coach had paused for effect, he continued, “What makes a great leader is someone who doesn’t realize that is what they are. They have garnered the respect of all those around them, earning their position with dedication and hard work. Their actions speak louder than words, and when they do have a comment, it is filled with only positive accolades for their teammates. It is said over and over again that a team is only as good as the weakest player. That’s true, but given the right moment and place, a good team can be great, and it usually happens when that rare individual raises the entire team to a higher level, thereby tuning the weakest player into a strong one. This year, one individual was unanimously selected on every ballet cast, except one, and if you asked him or those who know him well, that ballet was his. As a coach, it is with tremendous pride that I introduce the last captain of the team…Jason Owens.”
Some moments in life can catch you totally by surprise. My life was sure full of them this year. First there was Allison, then singing with the “Thoroughbreds,” and now this. The entire student body had erupted at the end of Coach Harmon’s speech and introduction, every single person was standing and clapping as loud as they could. The gym reverberated with the single name chanted over and over—mine. Nothing can prepare you for a moment like this, and I was truly awed by it. I couldn’t swallow, and I was sure my knees were going to give out. I knew where Allison was sitting and I searched her out. She was all smiles and jumping up and down. Finding strength in seeing her face, I started making my way across the gym floor. The closer I got to the coach and the microphone, the louder the chants became. Every single guy on the football team either shook my hand or gave me a slap on the back as I walked by, all of them yelling out my name along with the crowd. I let the emotion of the moment settle in and went with it.
I was ready and knew what I was going to say when I stepped in front of the microphone. The gym was still rocking and people were now yelling even louder than before. Some started to quiet down when it looked like I was going to speak and began to hush those around them. I stood facing my friends, many whom I’d known all my life, and my smile just went on and on. Lifting my arms and holding my hands palm-side down, I started making the motion for everyone to be silent.
When all I could hear were scattered murmurs, I began. “Having the vote of confidence from everyone on the team and Coach Harmon is something I will always remember, but what would mean even more to me, is that at the end of the season you all still feel the same way. The only thing I can make a guarantee about is that this team will leave everything it has to give on the field, and if we are successful together then lord help the other team!” I let my best devilish grin cross my face and made my way over to the cheerleaders, whispering in Ashley’s ear, as the crowd had erupted again. She turned to the rest of the squad and they quickly spread out in front of the bleachers. I stood next to her and together we started the school’s familiar fighting cheer “Who’s going to win?” and the crowd yelled back, “The Eagles soar!”
For the next several minutes, the cheerleaders and school band kept the rest of the students pumped up and loud as the football players strutted their stuff and enjoyed being in the limelight. Matt and Tyler gave me high fives, and we merged ourselves into the rest of the football team. After the band played the fight song one last time, the principal stepped to the microphone and officially called an end to the pep-rally. He managed to throw in one last request for sportsmanship and level headedness. The students overflowed the bleachers and raced on to the floor to mix with the football team. They wished us the best of luck in the game…kind of. What they really wanted were for us to send the Dawgs home with their tales between their legs and said so, although not quite so nicely.
The team met for an early meal together, at the Methodist church in town, at four o’clock. The boosters had prepared a spaghetti feast for all of us. It was all they could do to keep it coming. When the last piece of bread
had been devoured, the coach stood up and addressed the team. After thanking the boosters, he motioned to his assistant coach, Chaz Pollicker, to bring in a portable chalkboard from one of the Sunday School classrooms. You could hear a pin drop within the thick silence of the room. The coach had his back to us, the chalk held outstretched in his right hand, but frozen just inches from the chalkboard. We all sat, waiting for him to start writing the game plan down on the board. All of us were eager to see the strategy that Coach Harmon would use to win the game. After a moment, he wrote one word, in large type, across the entire chalkboard:
SURPRISE!!!
Then he underlined it and added three exclamation points after it.
When he turned around to face us, the look on his face would have scared the devil himself. I’d never seen anyone have an epiphany before, but I somehow knew something was going on inside Coach Harmon’s mind. I wasn’t the only one puzzled by the coach and the look on his face. Chaz had a quizzical look, as did many of the players.
Soon everyone was staring at Coach Harmon, and the smile that seemed to spread clear across his face, just a little too tightly. After a slight hesitation, the coach’s smile widened even more, if that was possible, and in a powerful, yet quiet voice he began to speak, “For the last several years we have been the same team with the same offense and defense schemes. Even this year, we have practiced the same plays as before.” What I’m thinking at this very moment…SURPRISE!” Even tonight our opponent will be expecting the same from us; they’ve watched game films and their scouts have checked us out during our practices. I have a plan. When we step on the field tonight we’ll hit them quick and hit them often. They won’t know what we are doing and, by time they adapt, we’ll change it up on them again. They expect us to come out and be the same team we’ve always been, grind it out, strength versus strength, until the final gun. Not tonight, gentleman; tonight, it will be us who let the Dawgs out!”
When the coach finished, the smile returned to his face. As soon as we had absorbed what he expected of us, his smile became infectious. Before long, a murmur started in the back of the dining hall. It spread like wildfire, until even the assistant coaches were yelling, “Surprise,” at the top of their lungs. “Surprise” became our team motto and our rallying cry throughout the season.
After the sophomore game, our team came out to warm up on the field, and I looked around trying to see where Allison and the others were sitting. She had said that they were going to try and be as close to the fifty-yard line as possible. I found her, already in her seat, wearing my numbered jersey and sitting with Dani and Melissa. They were about ten rows up and already completely surrounded by friends from high school.
The stands
were packed, and many more were milling around on the ground. I suddenly felt my nerves make their way throughout my body. For the first time, I was glad when it was time to do the warm-up routines. There was an eerie energy about the team tonight, and I couldn’t help feeling something was going to happen, I didn’t know what…complete disaster or magic…maybe both.
When the coach said
surprise
,
he’d meant it. We won the toss and elected to kick off. Everyone took their normal formation, but the coach had called an onside kick play. Brad Thoma our kicker picked out the best candidate, on the opposite team, and drilled the ball right into his upper chest and off the faceplate of his helmet. The ball caromed off of him and into the charging arms of Grant Rafferty our inside linebacker. Grant caught it on the fly and ran for ten more yards before he was tackled. The crowd erupted in excitement, and the atmosphere was bristling with electricity throughout the stadium. The offense raced on the field and straight to the line of scrimmage. The defense was unprepared and still reeling from the on-side kick. I quickly called for the snap of the ball. Matt raced straight down the sideline and then broke to the middle of the field. I dropped back, and letting go, I laid the ball out there for him to run under as he hauled it in for a thirty-five yard touchdown strike, on our first play from scrimmage. After the extra point, we were up seven-zip in the first sixteen seconds of the game.
I took the time to look up at Allison. She was jumping up and down, and when she saw me, she waved and blew me a kiss. Pumping my arms I ran off the field as the kicking team came back on. It was a night that our whole town would never forget. We won the game fifty-five to seven. On the ensuing kickoff, Brad managed to kick it harder than he had the first time, once again off the same unsuspecting player on the opposition. This time, Tyler recovered the ball from under a free-for-all pile up. We didn’t score on the first play, but we did on third down and long. I threw a screen pass to Matt who, in turn, threw it down field to me, running alone along the sideline. After that score, the wheels came off for the Dawgs. They finally came to the line of scrimmage only to lose the ball on first down, when our entire defense blitzed and nearly took the handoff from the quarterback. We scored again, and halfway through the first quarter, we were up twenty-one to nothing. There was a party atmosphere and everyone was having the time of their lives…almost everyone. The Dawg supporters hung in there tough, trying to rally their team well into the second half, but by the end of the third quarter and the game long decided, many of them started to head home, and both teams began to play their second and third string players.
After the game, the players were swarmed under by the onrush of students and fans. Many joined us from the bleachers, and those that
didn’t, stayed
in the stands as the band played the school song. Celebrating the victory together, the team started the surprise chant and soon everyone on the field joined in. That game, or more importantly, the innovative insight of Coach Harmon before the game started a dream season for our team and for him, as well. Even though we lost in the semi-finals of the state tournament, our team had set more records and had more success than it had achieved in many years. We even had several of the instate television stations at most of our games, as word spread about the unexpected nature of our team. Coach Harmon basked in the limelight and, at the end of the season, received some offers to coach at some larger high school division programs. He declined, until one of the smaller colleges asked him to be the new offensive coordinator. It was an offer that was too difficult to turn down and he accepted.
With the new-found spirit, our team became nearly unstoppable. In one way or another, everyone found a way to contribute. The coaching staff took any idea from anyone seriously, and we bonded together one and all. Through the first six games of the season, no one even came close to beating us, and we were all riding a high wave of anticipation. We only had two games left and then the post season. The next game was against Buchanan high, which hadn’t won a game all year.
I wasn’t the only one that had found a place in the limelight. Allison had tried out for the school musical and landed one of the lead roles. She also let me know that Nick was in the play and he was the lead male role. She did everything she could think of to keep the peace between Nick and me. I’d seen the movie and knew all about their parts in the show. I wasn’t happy at all, even with Allison’s assurances. I had really begun to distrust Nick. Allison would make fun of my jealousy and tell me she had it all under control and Nick wasn’t so bad. In fact, they had become friends and he hadn’t tried anything else since the summer incident at her house. He had been the perfect gentleman; that thought alone made my blood simmer. I still had an unrelenting feeling nagging me; he was up to more than he let on to her.
The opening show was the Thursday night before the Buchanan High game. I was excited to see Allison and hear her sing in the show. Once in a while, I caught just a phrase or two as she practiced her part at home. I began to envision the two of us singing together in a band, making it big someday. On the day of the opening, she was jittery and flighty, barely able to keep two thoughts together. I finally decided it would be best to just give her a hug and kiss, wish her good luck, and leave her alone. When the curtain finally rose on the show, I was sitting in the second row center, with Larry and Stacy Dittmer on my right and Grandma and Grandpa on my left. Allison had a beautiful voice, and Larry and Stacy were all smiles. Everyone in the musical had their lines and timings down pat. I had to admit that even Nick was doing a pretty good job. I began to relax and started to really enjoy the show. During intermission, several of the townsfolk made their way over to me. I took the congratulations with as much modesty as I could. They wanted to praise me on my leadership and the great season we were having. I took it in stride and brushed it off, commenting that it was all the doing of Coach Harmon and his staff.
I was glad when the lights started to flash, signaling the start of the second act. As the show began to near the end, I prepared myself for the last song. It was a duet between Allison and Nick with a fiery dance number and show-ending kiss. I took long, slow breaths and squeezed the arms of my seat until my knuckles started to turn white. Grandma noticed and put her hand on top of mine, giving it a quick pat. I let my breath out and tried to calm my mind. As the last song and dance started, Allison and Nick started the number from opposite sides of the stage. They looked extremely well practiced, and their moves flowed together, making my heart race even faster. When they came together for the last kiss I had that undeniable feeling I wasn’t going to like it. I kept my eyes firmly fixed upon Allison’s face. Nick held Allison in his embrace as he sang the last line of the song. With the final instrumental score, he kissed her. Allison’s eyes registered surprise, but she didn’t break away, staying in their embrace, as the final curtain closed around them.