“But, Ballard, old boy,” he hastened to add, “you’ll do well enough. Now you’ve got going, nothing can stop you. For once Hillcrest has a winning team and I’m glad, mighty glad.”
“Tomorrow I’m coming back to work here in the Blue Moon,” Ballard said quietly.
“Artie Stark has done enough for me. Every fellow’s got to make his own way,” he continued.
“All right, Ballard,” Johnny’s tone was as quiet as the other boy’s, but he felt a surge of warmth work its way through his being. He loved every boy who took his place in life’s battle-line prepared to do his part.
“You’ll be a lot of help, Ballard,” there was real enthusiasm in his voice. “You’ll be popular. That will help the Blue Moon.”
“I—I’m glad you think so, Johnny,” there was a wealth of gratitude in the mountain boy’s tone.
On the following Monday evening a meeting of the team was called by Coach Dizney. When they gathered in the back room of the Blue Moon, the players found a blackboard hung upon the wall. Lines, circles, and arrows had been drawn upon the board.
“Next Saturday, as you all know,” the coach began, “we are to play Pitt Tech. And I’m giving you fair warning that we are up against a stiff proposition. Like the other teams we’ve played, they’re heavier than you are, ten or twelve pounds to the man. Worse than that they are fiends at breaking up forward passes. I’ve looked up their record for this year.
“New plays,” suggested Stagger Weed, the center.
“That’s it,” the coach smiled. “Newer, bigger, and better plays and trickier ones. Now here,” he turned to the board, “here is a play that’s a humdinger if you boys have the brains and the nerve to carry it through.”
“Yeah brains,” Punch Dickman laughed, “we check them in the class room before we pass out.”
“You better bring them along next Saturday,” the coach snapped back.
“Now this,” he began once more, “as you will see, as far as the line goes, is a balanced formation. The right half is behind his own tackle, full-back behind right guard two yards from line of scrimmage and left half three yards back behind center. Quarter is in regular position.
“Now,” he drew in a long breath, “the ball goes back to quarter. Right end and right tackle plunge ahead prepared to block any interference. The right half and center drop in to fill these places, to prevent a break through the line. The left half-back goes out about five steps directly to the right, then turns and starts back.