You can hear them saying:
“‘March, march on to victory!
We’re the men to do or die!
We’ve the courage and the will!
Rah! Rah! Rah! Maple Hill!’”
Into Bow Street they swung, into Arrow and, finally, into Larch, where, opposite the gymnasium, they stopped and cheered the team, the coach, the trainer and everyone else they could think of. Then the drum thumped and they went on, Borden swinging his big megaphone like a giant baton, and turned into the field. Bursley welcomed them with long-drawn “A-a-ays!” of approval as they came in singing and found their seats. Already the stands were well-filled with spectators from Greenridge and Milon and nearby towns, with Old Boys back for the game and with parents and relatives and friends. All the morning automobiles decorated with green and gray or red and blue, had chugged into Greenridge, and now they were honking along the road outside, seeking the parking space at the far end of the big field. The four cheer leaders, each armed with a big green megaphone, took up their stations along the foot of the sloping stand and the cheering began. Maple Hill cheered Bursley and Bursley responded through its red and blue megaphones that lent a fine dash of color to the opposite sections.
Then the Bursley team dashed on like a lot of young colts and the Bursley sections went wild. Blankets were thrown aside and the invading warriors, brave in red jerseys and red and blue stockings jumped into the field, formed into squads and tore up and down in signal practice. A minute later the Maple Hill trainer appeared and the local partisans cheered loudly. More cheers from the Green-and-Gray broke forth when Tim, the rubber, appeared propelling a wheelbarrow containing a carboy of water, a bag of footballs and a miscellaneous collection of paraphernalia. Then there was a commotion at the gate, the cheer leaders froze into attention with upraised hands and the Maple Hill team burst through the crowd at the entrance. The big megaphones were tossed aside and the four leaders, green-sweatered and bare-headed, waved and leaped as the stand broke forth into a measured cheer that might have been heard down at the river—and doubtless was!
Soon the gridiron was busy with the trotting squads and alive with flying pigskins. Gordon and Tyson evoked applause by their punting, as did also the Bursley crack. Stacey tried a few goals from placement and at one minute past two the teams trotted back to the side lines. A small and immaculate referee and a large and imposing umpire appeared and the rival captains walked into the middle of the field, shook hands and conversed a moment with the officials. Then a coin glinted as it was tossed in air and fell to the ground. A cheer from the further side of the field proclaimed that Bursley had won the toss. The captains retired and the cheers began again. The linesman with his two assistants, a green-sweatered youth and a red-sweatered one, appeared with the chain. Maple Hill started one of the songs in her repertoire, with the band, at the foot of the cheering section, doing its best to follow the tune.
“As we go marching and the band begins to p, l, a, y,
You can hear the people shouting: ‘Maple Hill will win to-day!’