The Secret Play

by Ralph Henry Barbour

Springdale was for the moment off her balance, it seemed, for a skin-tackle play on the left, with Lanny hugging the pigskin, went for seven yards. Cottrell speeded up the team and in two plays the ball passed the middle of the field. With three to go on third down, Hansard, keeping his feet wonderfully, fought straight through for six. Springdale tightened then and Lanny was thrown for no gain when he tried the left of the opponent’s line. Beaton fell back to kicking position and hurled the ball across the line to Felker. The latter got it but fumbled when tackled and the ball popped into the arms of a Springdale back, who was downed on his thirty-four.

The rest of the period was Springdale’s, for she came back hard and for a time almost drove Clearfield off her feet. Wayland was hurt and gave way to Scott and Springdale replaced her right guard and her left tackle. But there was not time to score by the methods Springdale used. Only twice were runs outside of tackle resorted to, the Blue apparently striving to wear down the Purple’s defense by furious assaults. Once Cook nearly got away, but was pulled down from behind by Lanny after he had made almost fifteen yards through the right of the Clearfield line. On the Purple’s twenty-eight Springdale made a forward pass to the side of the field, and again, for a breath-taking moment, it seemed that the Blue was about to score. But Cottrell forced the runner over the line at the twenty yards and before Springdale could gain farther the whistle blew, bringing the half to an end.

The Clearfield players trotted to the dressing-room and the visitors retired to a tent in a corner of the field. Cheers and songs started again, the band played its loudest and some twelve hundred spectators excitedly discussed what had happened and predicted what was going to happen. There was no gainsaying the fact that the Blue had shown the more consistent offense or that in the matter of punting she had fully equaled the home team. That Clearfield plainly possessed a more versatile attack was allowed, but whether she had plays capable of gaining inside the twenty-yard line was a question, except that, as everyone knew, Brent could be depended on to score from the field provided the line held. Doubtless Clearfield would do her utmost in the next half to reach a position where Brent’s science could be used. As to defense, it seemed a toss-up between the Purple and the Blue. Both teams had been well trained in that department. If there was any difference it lay in the fact that Springdale’s forwards were a bit quicker at charging, thus leaving less work to the backs. In the two periods played Springdale had made eight first downs to Clearfield’s three, not an encouraging showing for the home team.

Perhaps Dick was considering that as he followed the team and substitutes into the dressing-room. At least, he looked sober enough in all truth. Springdale was not showing the signs of overtraining that Dick had more or less counted on, although there had been moments in the last few minutes of the second period when he had thought he could detect a falling off in the power of the attack. The removal of two linemen also suggested that the Blue was approaching its limit of endurance. For his own team Dick had no fears. They had stood the hard smashing of the Springdale backs excellently. Not a player had weakened under the strain and none of those taken out had sustained injuries sufficient to prevent his reinstatement. Dick expected the Purple to play better in the next two periods, expected it, in fact, to finish stronger than it had begun, for there was no denying that it had played a slower and more listless game than it had showed against Weston the week before.

While the fellows were being rubbed and having their bruises attended to, Dick conferred with Lanny and Chester Cottrell. Lanny was pretty well keyed-up, Chester unusually grim and silent.

“We’ve got to have Tupper back, Dick,” declared the captain. “Hansard doesn’t get into it.”

“All right, Lanny. And look here, you’ve got to hump that line up on defense. Do you get me? They’re getting the jump on us every time. What’s the trouble?”

“I don’t know,” replied Lanny rather wildly. “They’ve been letting every blessed play through on us. That’s a mean attack of theirs, Dick; you can’t size it up.”

“I know, but you’ve got to watch the ball, Lanny. You can’t tell where the play’s coming by guessing. Another thing, fellows. It won’t do to spread your backs too much near goal. Better play your ends well out and force the runner in, and keep your backs behind center. They haven’t any running game that we need fear, I think. Of course they’ll try to spring something this half, and we’ll have to be on the watch for it, but, whatever you do, Lanny, and you, Chester, don’t let them score on a line play! They can’t if you charge quick and watch the ball. And, Chester, you’re not getting your plays off fast enough. I want to see things go twice as fast this half. It’s their kick-off this time. Let’s see if we can’t take that ball straight down the field, fellows. I’ll tell you frankly that you haven’t been putting up half the game you did against Weston or Lesterville. You’ve got to wake up and fight, that’s what you’ve got to do. I’m well enough satisfied with what’s happened so far. We’ve let them work themselves pretty tired, I guess, and we’ve held them off. But for the rest of the game we’ve got to jump and smear them. We’ve got to force the fighting, fellows. Line up quickly, get your signals off quickly and then—” Dick smote a fist into the other hand—“smash into ’em!”