Clara and Molly reached the field only a few minutes before the game began. The rival teams were already practising and footballs were arching up and down against the blue of the autumn sky. They found seats near the middle of the gridiron on the House side amongst a scattering of non-combatants. Molly had plenty of attention, for by this time she had become acquainted with most of the boys of the two Houses and not a few Hall residents. Young Hoyt, a substitute back for the Hall Team, joined them and tried to persuade Molly to substitute a blue arm-band for the red streamer she wore. But Hoyt was in the enemy’s country and was speedily driven away, laughingly defiant.
“You’ll wish you had this when the game’s over, Molly,” he warned her. “Get your winning colors!”
Mrs. Linn arrived on the scene, flushed and out of breath, just as Frank Brooks and Pete Grow were tossing for choice of goal. Mrs. Butterfield, matron at East House, made room for her beside her and a discussion of the art of preserving began at once and lasted practically all through the game. Marm declared afterwards, however, that it was the most interesting football game she had ever seen. Grow won the toss and took the west goal, thus getting the wind in Hall’s favor, and the teams arranged themselves while House and Hall cheered their warriors.
It was evident even from the first moment that Brooks had succeeded in working a big improvement in his team, for after getting the kick-off House worked the ball well past the middle of the field, making two first downs before losing it by an on-side kick that went wrong. And when placed on the defensive House still showed improvement over last week’s form. But Hall had been coming too, and Sawyer, the big full-back, made good gains through the red line. But Grow realized that with the wind favoring him his game was to punt and so get the ball within scoring distance. In the middle of the field Grow himself dropped out of the line and sent off a long high spiral that the wind helped considerably and The Fungus caught it on House’s ten yard-line and dodged back to the twenty before he was downed. Boyle and Ned, alternating, took the pigskin back to the thirty-five yards and there M’Crae punted. The ball was Hall’s on her fifty yards, and after two plunges that fell short of the required distance Grow kicked again. This time the ball went over the goal-line and M’Crae touched it back.
House elected to put it in scrimmage on the twenty-five yards, but was soon forced to punt once more. This time luck favored the Red, for Hall’s right half misjudged the ball, tipped it with his fingers and was then pushed aside by Spud, who fell on it on the Hall’s forty-five yard-line. The handful of House supporters cheered wildly. But House lost the pigskin presently on downs and Hall tried an end run that worked beautifully around Miller and landed the oval just inside House territory. Sawyer was thrown for a loss and again Grow punted. M’Crae didn’t do that punt justice, for he misjudged its distance sadly and had to chase back to almost his goal-line after it. Luckily he was afforded good protection from the Hall’s ends and was able to scoop it up and dodge back to his fifteen yard-line before he was smothered.
House set to work then and uncovered a couple of new plays that caught Hall off her guard and advanced the ball to the forty yards. There, however, Hall’s line tightened, an end run lost ground and House was set back five yards for being off-side. M’Crae therefore was forced to kick. It was a poor attempt and went out near the center of the field. Hall worked Miller’s end once more and again tore off a good gain there. A second attempt, however, was spoiled and Hall tried a forward pass. It succeeded nicely and it was first down for the Hall near the side of the field on House’s thirty-five yards. Hall tried a skin-tackle play toward the center of the gridiron, but House was expecting it and Hall was piled up for a scant gain of a yard. Sawyer tried a plunge straight through center and found an opening that suited him beautifully and would have made his six yards a touchdown had not House’s secondary defence been on the alert. With three yards to go on third down Grow decided to try a drop-kick at goal, although the angle was a difficult one. Very calmly he stepped back and held out his hands and along the side-lines substitutes and spectators held their breath. Center made a good pass and although House came tearing, jumping through with up-stretched hands, the pigskin sailed away in a low curve toward the cross-bar. But the wind which so far had aided Pete’s fortunes now favored the adversary by turning the ball’s flight to the left so that it passed a scant foot outside the post.
House capered with glee and the wearers of the Red along the side-lines expressed relief in cheers. That was the last time either goal was threatened in the first half and when the twenty-five minutes of playing time had expired the pigskin was almost in the exact center of the field, just about where it had started, which, when you come to think of it, must have been a trifle discouraging to the pigskin, whatever the players thought about it!
“If we can do as well in the next half,” said Spud to Sandy as they trotted back to the gymnasium, “we’ll stand a good show of scoring.”
“I think the wind is going down,” answered Sandy gloomily.
“Going down fiddlesticks! You’re an old grump, Sandy!”