[CHAPTER XII]
THE PHILLIPSBURG GAME
There were not as many in attendance at the game as was usual at Parkinson, although Phillipsburg was a fair-sized city and Warne only an overgrown town. Perhaps the fact that Phillipsburg Academy was a very long mile from the city had something to do with the meagreness of the audience. At all events, aside from the rival cheering sections the stands showed long empty stretches, and Cardin, who shared an end of the bench with Dick, resented it.
“Guess they must think this is a practice game,” he grumbled.
“Well, Mr. Driscoll seems to think so, too,” said Dick. “He says we’re all to have a show before it’s over.”
“He’ll forget that, though,” replied the other pessimistically, “when we need a score to tie or something. Coaches are always making cracks like that and then forgetting ’em. Bet you I won’t get in, Bates, and bet you you won’t.”
Dick shook his head. “I might bet about you, but I wouldn’t wager an old straw hat on my chances. Still, he said we would. There we go!”
Long, who was at right half, had pulled down the home team’s kick-off and started across the field with the ball, but the advance was short-lived, for a speedy Phillipsburg end soon had him, and it was Parkinson’s ball on her twenty-two yards.
Kirkendall shot through the enemy left for three and then lost half the distance on a similar attempt. Stone punted to the Phillipsburg forty, a high kick that found both Peters and Furniss waiting when it came down. The catcher was downed in his tracks. Phillipsburg started in merrily with a twenty-yard pass diagonally across her line, but Peters smashed it aside and the ball went back. A second forward, this time to the opposite side, grounded, for Warden had run the receiver far out of position. Phillipsburg stabbed the Parkinson centre once in a half-hearted way and got a bare four feet and then punted. The ball, rising near the thirty yards, corkscrewed beautifully down to the opposite thirty-five where Warden got it but was stopped immediately. On the exchange Parkinson had gained ten yards. Kirkendall smashed the centre and got two, Warden added three and Stone again punted.
This time he managed a better ball, for it had both height and distance and was nicely placed in the left-hand corner of the field. With Peters and Furniss both on his heels, the Phillipsburg quarter made no attempt to catch, and it was Furniss who finally seized the bounding oval and downed it on the enemy’s twenty-seven. Phillipsburg split her line and shot the quarter through on a tricky dash that fooled the opponent nicely. When the quarter was stopped he had reeled off twelve yards and the ball was close to the boundary. The Phillipsburg rooters cheered lustily. An attempt to advance on the short side was foiled and the ball was paced in. On second down Phillipsburg was caught off-side and set back. A run half across the field netted but four yards and Phillipsburg punted from near her thirty-five, the ball going out at the visitor’s forty.
Kirkendall got clean away on the first run from kick formation and, with excellent interference, put eighteen yards behind him. Long was stopped and Warden made three. Kirkendall, again called on, tried left tackle and managed to make three more. Stone again punted.