“Thanks, moms, but it really wasn’t. Any one could have called the turn. I suppose they thought we didn’t know that they’d been working up that forward-passing stuff under cover. They’d kept it pretty well hidden. If they had thought twice, though, they wouldn’t have shown their hand like that.”
“It’s safe to say they wish they hadn’t,” chuckled Mr. Deane. “I suppose they’re wondering now what happened, eh?”
“They know what happened,” laughed Loring, “but it’s a bit late! I wish we had managed to get one score in that half, though. Wolcott will come back pretty hard, I guess.”
Both teams had made changes when they faced each other once more. For Wyndham, Williams was at left end, Couch at right end, Higgs at center, Breeze at right guard and Houston at quarter. The Blue chose the north goal and kicked off to Wolcott. The wind had decreased perceptibly and grown flukey, and Ogden’s kick-off went out of bounds on Wolcott’s twenty-seven yards. Three minutes later the Brown had crossed the middle of the field and taken the pigskin into Wyndham territory. Faking a forward-pass, she sent her left half, a fresh player who had relieved Hoskins, on a wide run around the right end. Couch was neatly boxed and the ball went to the thirty-four yards. Wolcott was going now. Concentrating on the Wyndham left, she made first down on the twenty-two, sending Cotter out of the game. Longwell took his place. Wolcott tried Longwell and made a scant two. A short heave over tackle on the right bounded out of the catcher’s hands, was fumbled by Ogden and grounded. With eight to go on third down, Wolcott elected to try a field goal. She attempted one more smash first, though, and pulled in another two yards through Captain Lothrop. Then the ball shot back to her right tackle, who had retreated to the twenty-nine yards, and, although the Wyndham forwards tore through desperately, arose again safely and sailed squarely across the bar for the first score.
The Brown’s adherents went wild with joy, the big drum boomed, and automobile horns blared stridently. Wyndham’s cheer, though, was loud and undismayed as the teams went back to midfield. Wolcott kicked off. Houston caught, juggled for a heart-breaking instant, dodged the first Wolcott end and then plunged straight ahead. A second tackler tried, missed and went down. A hasty interference formed about the runner, Weldon in the lead, mowing down the enemy. At the thirty-six yards, forced away from his interference, Houston was pulled to earth after a stirring run of thirty yards.
Wyndham kept the ball to Wolcott’s thirty-nine, Ogden and Jensen alternating at slants that tore off four, five, once eight yards. On the enemy’s thirty-nine an off-side penalty set the Blue back and, after two plunges that netted little, Ogden punted to the Brown’s five. The Wolcott quarter refused the catch and the ball bounced erratically back in the direction it had traveled. Weldon put it down on the fourteen yards. Wolcott tried one off-tackle play from kick formation and gained three. Then she punted, James, her fullback, standing close to the five yards. Lothrop broke through and hurried the kick and the pigskin went high and was shortened by the wind. Jensen caught close to the side-line on Wolcott’s thirty-two, made three and was thrown out.
The Blue took up her journey again, a short pass, Ogden to Houston, yielding seven yards and Ogden carrying the ball through the right side for a first down. Wyndham cheerers were chanting “Touchdown, Wyndham! Touchdown, Wyndham! Touchdown, Wyndham!” Wolcott asked for time and put in a fresh left guard. Ogden ran up against a stone wall on the next play and Jensen was nabbed trying to slide off left tackle, and Captain Lothrop stepped back to the thirty and held out his hands. When the ball came he plunged straight ahead and got four through the center. Tom Kemble reported and Whitemill went off. Tom went back to kick. Higgs passed badly and the ball reached him on the ground. There was no time to straighten up and get the kick off, for Wolcott was piling through on him. So Tom thumped the ball to his stomach and started off to the right. He dodged one enemy, squirmed free of another, turned sharply in, twisted and turned and finally went down. He had added three yards, but three was not enough.
Wolcott decided to punt out of danger on first down and James went back to the four yards. This time it was the Wolcott center who offended, and the ball reached the fullback above his head. He caught it, but both Lothrop and Weldon had broken through and were bearing down on him on each side. The ball went no farther than Weldon’s upflung arm and then bounded back. James was down, but a Wolcott halfback won the race to the ball, picked it up on the bound and sought to circle the goal. Dave Lothrop brought him down just short of the line and Wyndham had a safety, two points to flaunt against Wolcott’s three!
Wolcott kicked from the thirty-yard line, and the quarter ended after Kemble had caught on his own thirty-two and carried the ball to the thirty-seven.
For the last period Wyndham had the wind against her, but it was now little more than a strong breeze, and occasionally the big brown flag above the grandstand fell limply about the staff. More changes were made by Mr. Babcock. Archer went back at left and Carlson at center. Raiford took Weldon’s place, Sproule went in at right half and “Swede” Hanbury relieved Ogden. Wyndham made four changes in her line, sending back three veterans of the first half, and introduced a fresh quarter.