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Aiden reluctantly joined his high school’s six-man football team because he was one of only six boys who could play, but finding a date to homecoming was impossible because he was likely related to every girl in the school. After winning the first game, Coach Hill warned them that the next team was better.
The day came that they were to play the Cougars, and they loaded into the van. Coach Hill turned to the team. “Men, we’re playing a team that has many advantages. They have more players, they come from a school district with more money, and they are the undefeated champions for as long as I can remember. Sometimes they take cheap shots, but I don’t want you responding in kind. Win or lose, we should be proud of playing an honest game.”
Aiden turned to his best friend, Richard. “Have we ever beaten them?”
Richard shook his head. “Not that I know of. I’ve heard we have always gotten 45’d.”
“What is 45’d?” Aiden asked.
“If the other team gets ahead by 45 points, the game is called,” Richard said. “In fact, in all the years I’ve watched my brothers play, we not only got 45’d, but we also never scored a touchdown against them.”
Their van pulled up to the football field, and they were soon warming up. The cheerleaders came in another van and started their cheers, always ending with “Go Bears.”
Aiden noted the stadium was bigger than at home but was filling up. It surprised Aiden how many traveled the distance from home to cheer for them, filling the smaller bleachers on their side. Soon, the other team came onto the field. There were eighteen of them, and every one of them had a sharp-looking new uniform. Aiden looked at his own baggy, stained uniform in contrast. In addition, almost every man on their team was bigger than Jason, the biggest player on the Bears team.
The game was not much of a contest, even though the Bears fought hard. Coach Hill was right about the other team taking cheap shots. By the second quarter, the Cougars had put in their second string, and by the third quarter, they had in their third. Toward the end of the fourth quarter, the Cougars had the ball and would 45 the Bears with one more touchdown.
That was when one Cougar player made an illegal hit on Richard. The player was ejected, but Richard also had to be helped off the field. Because of his gentle nature, Aiden wasn’t the best football player, but what happened to Richard made him mad. Sam, the Bears only replacement, walked onto the field to fill the six-man quota. With his cerebral palsy, many from the other team laughed at his walk. That made Aiden even madder.
The ball was snapped, and the Cougar ball carrier burst through the Bear’s line. Sam had been put far back in the backfield to avoid any contact, but the Cougar ball carrier ran straight for him. He obviously planned to run over Sam, even though he had an open field all around him. At the last minute, Sam dropped to the ground, and the ball carrier tripped over him and face-planted into the dirt.
Though Sam wasn’t hurt badly, he had to be helped off the field. Richard had been bandaged up and insisted on coming back in.
As they lined up, Aiden was so mad about what happened to Richard and Sam that he could hardly contain himself. When the Cougars snapped the ball, Aiden smashed through their line, hit the ball carrier, and caused a fumble. Aiden picked it up and ran for a touchdown, with the Cougars so stunned they hardly even chased him.
The Cougars got one more touchdown before the buzzer, but the Bears weren’t 45’d. Even though it was a loss, to Aiden’s surprise, the Bear’s fans acted like it was a victory. But Aiden had one other surprise coming. During the celebration, he suddenly felt a hand grab his. When he turned, one of the Cougar cheerleaders smiled at him. “You did a great job,” she said.
As she walked away, he looked at the paper in his hand, and it had her name and phone number. Aiden smiled. Maybe she was related to all the boys in her school and couldn’t find a date, either. Whatever the reason was, perhaps he would have a date for homecoming next year.
