My First Touchdown

My First Touchdown

It was a hot and humid September Saturday morning and the stadium was filled on both sides of the football field as we played our rivals from across town and this was my first start as a running back for the South High Bulldogs. Dressed in our varsity Blue and White uniforms I was unfortunately upset that day as my assigned uniform was not washed and available for me to play in on game day. I had a feeling from the start this was going to be my unlucky day. 

They found a uniform for me to wear but they gave me a shirt with the wrong number on it and a pair of pants two sizes too big for me to wear. The coach, upset and ranting to the trainer yelled at them to tape those pants up tight so they wouldn’t be loose. Taping up the legs kept them from moving side to side but it was the waist that was loose and I was worried they would fall down when I ran. 

I usually wore jersey number 47 but today I wore number 44. The entire team was nervous before the kickoff and the crowd was impatiently yelling for the game to begin. The prediction was a real violent heads up game because the rivalry was intense and the last two Friday night games were marred with fights and vandalism causing the school to order the end of Friday night football and playing the games on these early Saturday mornings instead.

The police presence was also intense and you could feel the tension in the air. Trust me I was just as nervous as anybody else. Not only was I nervous but I was worried I might fumble the ball as these guys on the other side were known for their hard hits and stripping the ball to cause the turnover. The competition was fierce and the game whistle blew for the two opposing teams to meet and clash on the field. 

Our quarterback threw two touchdown passes as the other team was held scoreless but the game was only half way through. We knew it would be tougher in the second half and as we went into the locker room I checked with the team trainer to see if he could re-tape my legs and perhaps put some tape on the waist as it was working itself looser than before. 

The only original equipment I had was my helmet and my black cleated football shoes. Halftime over, we ran back onto the field to finish the game. A two score lead, we were confident we were going to win this game but it was far from over as the opposing team ran the second half kickoff for a touchdown making it a close game again. 

Our quarterback was good but the defense was reading his throws. The coach had to change his strategy and decided to go with the running game instead. Having blocked the pass rushers in the first half was a bruising experience. I was already sore and in pain when he changed the passing game to the running game. It was going to be handed off to me time and time again so we could keep a buffer in the score and walk away with a win. My glasses had come off a few times and taped to keep them together. Every handoff was painful.

The guards tried to make some holes but the defenders filled them up quick. I had to go outside to get some yards and work tediously for every first down we could. Sneaking through the holes became the challenge and I was doing well until I got hit by a defensive end as tall as a two story building and weighing about a quarter ton to make it a most remembering moment and experience. 

Lined up at the opponents 33 yard l was in the halfback slot in the backfield when the quarterback handed me the ball. I took it with full momentum as I lunged for the line between the center and the left guard when this defensive end hit me so hard I spun and lost direction. I broke free and rambled down the field for a touchdown but in my head I heard boos and yelling and chants that told me something was wrong. I felt my glasses come off my head falling somewhere on to the field and leaving me almost blinded. 

I ran into the end zone and tried to stand as I was still dizzy from the hit and my eyes weren’t focusing as my helmet took most of the blunt force asserted but still giving me a headache and even my ears were singing. I dropped down in celebration of my first touchdown against our legendary rivals when one of my teammates came up to me and asked me if I was okay. 

The modest crowd, a most boisterous and unruly crowd was still booing as signs of laughter began to fill the air. It was even worse when my teammate told me I ran the wrong way. Adding insult to injury I had to hold up my pants as they had come loose and almost causing me to trip on my touchdown run and all the while freely mooned the crowd wearing my athletic supporter while exposing my buttocks.

This game didn’t work out so well for me and my first touchdown. I realized I had been hit so hard I had lost my sense of direction and ignoring the screams from my teammates, I ran my first 67 yard touchdown the wrong way. The only salvation that day was the crowd didn’t know who I was as my jersey was unassigned to a player and my name was never mentioned by the public announcer who called each play by the number played. Needless to say, coach took me out of the game until I could find my glasses.