TESTING THEIR METTLE
There was a cheer from Garry Grayson's mates as they crowded closer to
their leader.
"We'll show that team where it gets off," promised Bill Sherwood, as he
flexed his muscles.
"We'll eat 'em up," declared Ted.
Practically all of the Lenox High students were on the field that
day, reinforced by a sprinkling of boys from the grammar schools who
had come to see how their old-time favorites performed. These latter,
together with the freshmen, were about the only ones who were rooting
for the scrubs. The upper classmen were partisans of the regulars and
looked for nothing less than a sound beating for the scrubs. And they
greeted the latter with unflattering comments as they came out on the
field.
"Lambs coming to the slaughter!"
"What the regulars won't do to them!"
"Call for the ambulance to carry them home!"
Sandy Podder and Lent Stewart were foremost among those who sent these
and other contemptuous gibes at the second string team.
"Here's where that false alarm, Garry Grayson, gets his," Sandy
remarked to Lent. "Now he's playing against a real team. That swelled
head of his will be a mighty sight smaller when he gets through."
"There won't be anything left of him but a grease spot at the end of
the game," predicted Lent.
It had been arranged that the periods would be for twelve minutes each
instead of the usual fifteen, as the coach did not want to take too
much out of the boys at the start of the season.
Garry won the toss and elected to kick off. The teams lined up on the
scrubs' forty-yard line and Rooster Long sent the ball hurtling down
the field for thirty yards. Dittler gobbled the ball and ran it back
for five yards before he was downed by Nick.
The ball was in the possession of the regulars on their thirty-five
yard line. Ralph Wynn passed the ball to Knapp, who plunged through the
line for four yards. Another try netted him only one additional yard.
Dittler found a hole between tackle and guard that was good for three
yards more, and on the fourth down Wynn himself got through for three.
The regulars had made their distance and still retained possession of
the ball.
"What did I tell you!" chuckled Sandy.
"Ye-e-s," admitted Lent hesitatingly. "But after all they had only a
yard to spare."
"I tell you it will be a massacre," declared Sandy, who now settled
down comfortably to watch the fulfillment of his prediction.
"Brace up, fellows," Garry panted to his companions. "They're not such
a much. We nearly held them that time. Next time we'll get the ball."
But the regulars had already awakened to the fact that the scrubs were
not going to be such a "pudding" as had been anticipated, and they
summoned all their energy to make the next four downs yield a more
impressive result.
It seemed as though they were going to do it, too, for on the first try
Dittler plunged through a hole between guard and tackle for six yards.
That was so good that he tried again, but Pete Maddern tackled him
savagely and threw him back for three yards.
Wynn himself took the ball for the next play, but though he launched
himself at the line like a thunderbolt he made only two yards.
With five yards to go on the fourth down and such a stiff defense
to combat, Wynn tried a forward pass to Minter. But Minter, usually
reliable, fumbled it and the ball fell to the ground.
Garry pounced on it like a flash and, tucking it securely under his
arm, skirted the right end, running like a deer.
He was nearly forced out of bounds by Thomas, but dodged adroitly to
the left, and with Ted and Rooster running as his interference sped
down the field.
The action had been so quick and unexpected that the regulars were
taken completely by surprise. Knapp made a dash for Garry, but Rooster
gave him a stiff shoulder block that rolled him over and over. Dittler
made for him, but Garry straight-armed him and kept on.
But now the whole team of the regulars was on his trail like a pack of
wolves. On he went like the wind, the cheers of the crowd sounding in
his ears, his eyes on the goal posts.
Twenty yards away! Fifteen! Ten!
Wynn himself now was close on his heels. He was a fast runner and was
desperate to prevent the threatened touchdown.
Five yards, and Garry felt rather than saw that Wynn's outstretched
arms were reaching for him. With one last tremendous effort he threw
himself toward the line and went over it, still holding the ball a foot
in advance of him.
Wynn had hurled himself at him and came down on top of him. But he was
too late. The touchdown had been made, and the score was 6 to 0 in
favor of the scrubs!
Garry rose from the ground, panting, bruised, all in, but radiantly
happy.
"Well run, Grayson!" said Wynn generously, as he clapped the boy on the
shoulder.
"You almost got me though," returned Garry. "It was a mighty close
call."
Rooster kicked the goal, adding one more point to the score of the
scrubs.
The latter were jubilant, while the regulars looked sheepish and
discomfited.
Sandy Podder rubbed his eyes as though he could not believe what he saw.
"He wouldn't have made that if Minter hadn't fumbled," he said. "Any
one can pick up a ball when somebody else muffs it."
"You've got to admit that he was the only one who did pick it up though
there were twenty-one others who might have done it," said Stewart. "I
suppose now he'll have a bigger swelled head than ever."
"He'll get his just the same before the game's over," prophesied Sandy.
"It was just a bit of beginner's luck."
Thompson kicked off to Dittler, who caught the ball on his ten-yard
line and ran it back twenty-four yards before he was tackled so hard
by Maddern that he was knocked breathless. The ball was recovered by
Payne and it was the regulars' ball on the scrubs' thirty-three yard
line. Knapp broke through the scrub line for a twelve-yard gain and
a first down on the scrubs' twenty-one yard line. Not satisfied with
that, he made a further gain of three yards between left and tackle. A
forward pass failed, but on the fourth down Wynn dropped back and made
a drop-kick that sailed over the bar like a bird, scoring three points
for the regulars.
This was equalled five minutes later when Nick also kicked a field goal.
Both sides were fighting hard now, and the ball went back and forth,
mostly in the territory of the scrubs, till the period ended with the
score 10 to 3 in favor of the despised scrubs.
There was plenty of cheering from the freshmen and the grammar school
boys, while the upper classmen were for the most part glum and silent.
The face of Coach Garwin was as inscrutable as that of the Sphinx.
But he was not averse to seeing the regulars take their medicine--it
would be a good thing to have some of their overconfidence knocked out
of them--and it pleased him to see the kind of material he had on the
scrubs. The time might come when he would need it all.
In the minute of rest between the first and second period Wynn passed
among his men, spurring them on to avoid the disgrace that threatened
of being beaten by the scrubs.
Garry, too, improved the opportunity to give his jubilant mates a word
of warning.
"Don't get too chesty, fellows," he admonished. "We've just started to
fight. The hardest part is yet to come. Seven points to the good is
seven points, but the game is young yet. They're more dangerous now
than they were before, because they know they've got to work to beat
us. Keep it up, fellows, keep it up!"
The first period had ended with the ball only twenty yards away from
the scrubs' goal line and in the possession of the regulars.
The latter started off with a savage rush that almost swept the scrubs
off their feet. Evidently Wynn's exhortations had had their effect.
Knapp went through for seven yards on the first down. Dittler tried
next but was thrown back for a loss of two. Knapp was called on again
to carry the ball, and justified the choice by getting through for
three more with the whole of the scrub team on his back. With only two
to go Wynn made a gain of four, the regulars thus holding possession of
the ball on the scrubs' eight-yard line.
Garry called on his team mates desperately to brace. But the regulars
were too close now to be denied. Dittler plunged through for three,
added two more on the second try, and on the third Payne crossed the
coveted line for a touchdown. Thomas was called on to kick the goal,
but the ball hit one of the posts and was deflected. But the regulars
had added six points to their score and were only one behind the total
of the scrubs.
For the rest of the period the fighting was fast and furious. At one
time the scrubs came dangerously near scoring when Rooster, who was
carrying the ball, was downed within ten yards of the regulars' goal.
But Payne kicked the ball out of danger, and the period ended without
further scoring, with the pigskin in the middle of the field.
The twelve minutes of rest between the second and the third periods was
welcomed by both teams. They had been playing at the top of their speed
and were thoroughly winded.
On the whole, honors had been even. Both teams had played good ball
considering that it was the first real game of the season. Fumbles
had been few and only two of them had been costly. Coach Garwin was
secretly elated, though his sleepy-lidded eyes betrayed little of his
real emotions.
The scrubs sprawled out on the gymnasium floor, more exhausted perhaps
than the bigger and older boys on the regulars. But what they lacked
in breath they made up in exultation. They had held the regulars down!
They were a point ahead!
"How dared we do it?" grinned Ted.
"Mighty impudent of us, if you ask me," replied Rooster.
"Did you see Sandy Podder biting his nails?" asked Nick. "Gee, I'd like
to win if for nothing else than to make that boob sore."
"Lent Stewart seemed just about as grouchy," added Bill.
"Let's make them grouchier yet," urged Garry. "Let's go in and lick the
tar out of the regulars. All we've got to do is to hold them safe and
the game is ours. That one little point we have looks to me as big as a
house."
It looked that big to the regulars, too, though from a different angle,
and they started to wipe it out from the very beginning of the third
period.
Thompson kicked off to Knapp, who returned twenty-two yards. Dittler
shot around the scrubs' right end for nine yards. A forward pass made
the yard that gave the regulars their distance. McCarty made a yard,
but Knapp lost ground on an attempted end run. Dittler shot through
the scrubs' right side for a five-yard gain. Knapp then punted to the
scrubs' twenty-five yard line, Rooster signaling for a fair catch.
The scrubs failed to gain, and Rooster dropped back for a punt. The
regulars' linesmen hurried the kick, and the ball went up almost
straight in the air, netting the scrubs only ten yards and giving the
regulars the ball on the scrubs' twenty-nine yard line. On two plays
Wynn gained five yards. Then he broke loose and got the ball through to
the scrubs' fifteen-yard line.
This was dangerously close, and the scrubs braced desperately. Dittler
failed to gain around the right end. Knapp lost ground on an attempted
run around left.
It was third down with eleven yards to gain. Then Dittler went back to
try a forward pass. He was smeared, however, and the scrubs took the
ball on downs on their own twenty-five yard line.
Tom Allison lost eight yards on an end run. Then he punted to Knapp,
who was downed in his tracks by Rooster before he could make a move.
Garry, aided by splendid interference by Bill, who bowled over his
opponents one after the other, made a run of thirty-eight yards,
bringing the ball well down in the enemy's territory.
The scrubs gained only two yards on the first two downs. Then they were
penalized five yards for off-side play. An attempted forward pass was
incompleted and on the fourth down they made only two yards, the ball
going to the regulars.
Then the latter began a steady march down the field. They were fighting
like mad to make a touchdown before the period ended. They wanted
to smother that one point lead to which the scrubs clung with such
desperate tenacity.
Twice in succession the regulars made their distance, aided by a
splendid run of Benny Knapp's, who ran twenty-two yards before Bill
Sherwood downed him.
Closer and closer they came to the scrubs' goal. The superior beef of
the older and better trained boys was beginning to tell. Their lighter
opponents fought frantically to hold them back. What they were fighting
for now was time.
Twenty yards! Ten yards! And the regulars still held the ball!
"Hold 'em, fellows, hold 'em!" gasped Garry, whose nose was bleeding
while one of his eyes was closing from the furious mix-ups in which he
had ever been foremost. "For the love of Pete, hold 'em!"