Hitting the line

by Ralph Henry Barbour

Undaunted, the home team rooters cheered and encouraged and told each other that such a jolt was just what the team was needing to waken it up. But it had no chance to show whether it was awake or not just then, for Hollywood gave the ball to Grafton for a kick-off and the half ended after three plays.

“We’ll tear them up next half,” predicted Milford to Monty as they followed the others to the field house. “You wait till Bonner gets through roasting us! We won’t have any hide on us, but we’ll play ball!”

Coach Bonner did do some roasting, but it was not of the hide-detaching sort. Perhaps the coach realized that he was up against a far better aggregation of players than had been expected. At all events, he was not especially severe. Spalding went back to his place at left tackle when they trotted back to the field, and Derry and Hanrihan likewise dropped their blankets. Save for the absence of Manson at fullback, the line-up in the third quarter was the strongest Mr. Bonner could offer. But it wasn’t strong enough to keep Hollywood from adding another touchdown to her score, from which, as before, she failed to kick goal. Nor was it strong enough to get the pigskin nearer the enemy’s line in that period than her twenty yards. Still, in spite of the one-sidedness of that third quarter, the home team showed itself awake and played very good ball. The difficulty was that Hollywood played better. Just before the period was over Brunswick went in for Winslow, and it was Brunswick who displayed most of the ground-gaining ability of the Grafton backs. Ordway was having a poor day and Caner’s line-smashing looked pretty weak from the side lines. Hollywood mixed two forward-passes up with a long end-run in the process of securing her second touchdown and got the ball to Grafton’s twenty-seven yards. From there she gained two and three yards at a time between tackles, making two first-downs by inches only. She fumbled on the six yards, but recovered on the ten. A wide end-run gave her two of what was left and, on third down, she threatened a drop-kick and then threw forward directly between the posts for a pretty touchdown. Grafton grumblingly referred to that play afterwards as “a silly miracle,” and with good cause, for Caner and Winslow were within arm’s length of the catcher and the ball simply sped between their four hands and into the grasp of the Hollywood man.

Grafton lined-up for the beginning of the last period with the score 12 to 0 against her. She started out desperately the moment she got possession of the ball and tried every means in her power to get down the field. Caner made a good rush of fifteen yards and Brunswick later got twelve, but once inside her own territory Hollywood was a difficult proposition. Her defense against forward-passes was so good that play netted nothing to Grafton after the second period. Her ends were shifty and wary and tackled surely. It was evident by this time that if the home team was to even score she would have to depend on line plunging. Twice she reached the Hollywood thirty-yard-line and twice she was forced to punt. Caner came into collision with a Hollywood player soon after the quarter began and, although he was speedily on his feet again and went on playing, he had to go off a few minutes later. Monty went in with some ten minutes of playing time remaining and an overmastering desire to do something worth while for the fallen fortunes of his team.

But it seemed that the opportunity was not to come to him. An unlucky combination of off-side playing and an error of judgment on the part of Weston, who had taken Blake’s place at quarter a minute before, wasted an advance of many yards and made a punt necessary. What happened to the middle of the Grafton line then will always remain a mystery. Monty, playing up in Brunswick’s place to protect the kicker, suddenly saw what looked to be half the opposing team bearing down on him. He accounted for one of the invaders, but his usefulness ended then, for he was promptly knocked down and walked on while the Hollywood players descended in force on Brunswick before that youth could so much as swing his leg. He was borne back, ball in hands, and finally toppled to earth ten yards behind his position, very peevish and still grunting “Down! Down! Down!” It was a very miserable fiasco, even though the referee put the ball back to where it had been when Brunswick was tackled, and it became more so when Brunswick refused to get on his feet again and was subsequently carried off with a sprained ankle!

Weston was a roaring, rampaging tiger-cat. He was almost crying with anger as he tongue-lashed the linesmen. “Now,” he ended up shrilly, “I’m going to make this punt myself, and if a single Hollywood man comes through this line I’ll hand him the ball and walk off the field! You’re a bunch of big sniffling quitters! You can’t play football for two cents! Signals! Kick formation! Weston back! Get in here, Ordway! Now hold that line, Grafton!”

That time the line held and only an end came swinging around to dispute the kick. Ordway shouldered him off and the heartening sound of meeting boot and ball rewarded the anxious watchers. The punt was not long, but it was nicely placed, and when Hollywood got it she was down on her twelve yards. She got back to the eighteen only before she was forced to kick. Then Grafton turned the tables on her and administered some of her own medicine. It was Pete Gowen who broke through and leaped into the path of the ball and Derry who caught the pigskin on the bound and raced nearly to the last white line before he was pulled down.

There were still four minutes of time, and the cheers that thundered across the stands were heartening. The team lined up, panting, desperate, on Hollywood’s three and a half yards. Weston gave the ball to Ordway, but Hobo was stopped in his tracks. Hanser, playing at left half, got a scant yard through center. Time was called by Hollywood, and Mr. Bonner took advantage of the wait to send Winslow back. Captain and quarter conferred a minute. Then the Hollywood invalid was jerked to his feet again and the whistle shrilled. Winslow listened anxiously for the signal, and when it came dropped back to kicking position. But the play was plainly to be a forward-pass, and Hollywood prepared for one. Monty jumped with the others when the shift was called, and then the ball sped back to Captain Winslow on a nice pass from Musgrave, and Winslow poised it in his right hand and edged back and to the right, apparently waiting for a player of his side to get into position for the catch. The Grafton line held well, but a tackle got through on Ordway’s side while Winslow was still edging back. There was a leap and Winslow stepped aside, the ball still well poised. Monty, hurling himself at an opponent, saw Derry speeding across behind him. Then, as Derry reached the dodging Winslow, the ball toppled back over the edge of the captain’s upheld hand and fell into Derry’s grasp, and the left end, running like a frightened deer, sped on to the right, sighted a hole and turned in, dodged a desperate opponent and fairly raced across the line a yard inside bounds, and was only tackled when he was half-way around to the goal.

Winslow tried to add another point to the six and failed badly, and the game went on again. But the time was almost up, and although the Scarlet-and-Gray tried desperately to convert the Hollywood victory into a tie, the final whistle soon ended her hopes, and the visitors, after cheering breathlessly, went contentedly off with the ball.