When the star quarterback, Nick, starts off his senior year of high school, football is all that is on his mind. To him, football is life and a State Championship is the sole goal. It isn't long before this ladies man has more than just football to deal with. The loss of his girlfirend over the summer is hard to get over, but when the new girl in school captures his heart, someone else isn't too happy. When one of his female friends wants to be more than just friends, Nick's life becomes even more complicated as they approach the Homecoming dance. What will happen when one girl's jealousy turns obsessive, dangerous, and even violent? Follow Nick through this journey of football, friends, and a very interesting romance.
HOMECOMING
By Nick PerryAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2009 Nicholas Perry
All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4389-8120-8Chapter One
Words can't describe the feeling one gets when they stand on the football field and get ready to lead their team into battle, but let me try and explain it best as I can. Your arms are glistening in the sun with beads of sweat that have collected, and, even though you've been warming up and sweating profusely, the adrenaline is sending ice through your veins as you stare across the 100 yards of painted grass at the opposing team. Jumping up and down to keep your legs loose as you wait for you name to be called from the public address announcer, you run through the opening series of plays and get mentally prepared. The crowd is going crazy with anticipation and eager for the game to start. There are many different sounds, but none more recognizable than the
cling-clang of the infamous "cowbell." The longer you stand there with your teammates, the closer it comes to your time. When the first words are uttered, you can recognize and yes, it's your turn.
"Quarterback for the Winslow Black Raiders, number 7 ... Nick Perry!" Your name is announced and you sprint through the two lines of cheerleaders on each side of you and burst through that paper with a loud roar.
"WHOOOO! Let's Go! Let's go! It's game time baby." This was the first game of the season and my adrenaline was flowing. We, as a team, and as individuals had put forth the strongest effort to get through the two-a-days in the 90+ degree heat and given up our last two weeks of summer vacation-all to get ready for this shining moment ... our moment in the sun. Even in the hot sun, we sported our black jerseys, black pants, and orange helmets as tradition had been for so long, and we were ready for a battle. My teammates gathered around me, and we had a quick pep talk, and then made our way to the sidelines. I can't explain the quiet emotion that goes through your whole body as you stand on the sideline, holding hands with your teammates, and listening to the national anthem as it's played. With sweat rolling down my face and the final words of the national anthem were sung and the crowd was going crazy as we were ready.
The team looked great from the first day of double sessions and I knew, in my mind, that we were ready. Not only was our team full of young talent, but we were stacked with 18 seniors, 12 of which were starters on one side of the ball or the other. Along with our seniors, the young guys who stepped up the previous year had the experience on their side this year and we knew from the first day of practice we were going to be hard to beat-not only in our conference, but the entire state.
Our first game we opened up with a mediocre team that nobody would expect to fight for the playoffs at the end of the season, but that didn't matter. It didn't matter if we were playing the worst team in the league, this was the first game of the season and we were going to play as hard as we would if we were playing for a state championship. That was the mentality of our coaching staff, players, and especially seniors: "play like it's the last time you'll ever be on the field."
We came out as a house of fire, and, along with the help of my receivers, I led the offense down the field on our first two drives-for two early touchdowns and a quick 14-0 lead. Our defense was the backbone of our team and the offense we had could score crazy points. We were going to try and score as much as possible and our defense had the point in mind to shut out every team we played. The offense was a run and gun offense who threw the ball 75% of the time and passing was basically all we did. The same thing I had done since I became the starter my sophomore year.
* * *
I was standing on the sideline, just a lonely sophomore, watching every move of the all-state quarterback we had-Matt Fishel. With him running the offense, my hopes of playing were really slim, but I knew if I wanted to be just like him, there was nobody better to watch and learn from. He was amazing how he led the offense and when we were in a tough situation, we could always count on Matt to keep his composure and pull us through. I remember that first game of sophomore year clear as day. With my other buddies, we were watching from the sideline as our team took the field in the second half. I was just paying attention to the game and had no hopes of playing-especially against the top ranked team in the league.
Matt was dropping back to unleash one of his bullet passes down the field when the pocket started to collapse around him. In order to avoid the rush of the defensive line, he moved to his right and planted his front foot to pass; one of our linemen got knocked over in front of him. The lineman's body came crashing down right on the shin bone of Matt before he could get it out of the way-his eyes were targeted downfield. The distinct sound of Matt's left shinbone snapping in half could be heard throughout the entire field. The loud silence of the crowd made everybody on the team nervous as we watched the trainers sprint out onto the field. I remember staring at the players on the field, frantically waving to the sideline for someone to come out. The fact that Matt's lower leg bone was not attached to the top part of the bone and it was hanging down as he tried holding his knee up while on the ground, really made me lose focus on everything.
"Perry, warm up!"
I heard the coach yell from the field after he got closer to the injury. It never crossed my mind that I would be playing, especially with an all-state quarterback in front of me, but this injury happened now it was my time. Immediately my mind started racing and the nerves kicked in. Sweat gathered on my hands while I gripped the football to start warming up with a receiver on the sideline. The injury required the ambulance to come out onto the field which gave me more time to warm up and get myself ready, but it also hindered me. The extra time was just that much more opportunity for my nerves and thoughts to catch up with as I psyched myself out.
Coach came back to the sideline before we were ready to resume play. He looked me in the eyes, grabbed hold of my helmet with both hands and said, "Perry, it's your time to shine." I will never forget that moment, and I'll never forget those words because from that point on, I took control of the team. The proverbial "ball" was mine and I took it, ran with it, and never looked back.
* * *
My experience showed and I continued passing and our receivers continued catching everything that was thrown to them as we upped our lead to 35-0 at halftime. From that point on, coach put in the JV players. I, along with the rest of the starters, sat the rest of the game out and watched from the sidelines. Even though the JV players were in, the starters were on their feet cheering and coaching them on the entire time they were playing.
In the end, the final score was 49-7 and we were 1-0 on the young season. Not too bad of an outcome to start off senior football season. Getting the first win was pretty sweet, but the best thing about winning the first game of the season is the annual first win bonfire.
The first win bonfire is a tradition that was started my sophomore year and every season when the team gets its first win, one of the team's player's parents threw a bonfire at their house and the players, coaches, and cheerleaders all go over for a spaghetti dinner-then a bonfire with music after the...
