Backing up the Beast Read online

  Backing Up The Beast

  Heads or Tails

  Copyright © 2015

  Published by Scobre Educational

  Written by Josh Anderson

  All rights reserved.

  Printed in the United States of America.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Scobre Educational

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  La Jolla, CA 92037

  Scobre Operations & Administration

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  Fremont, CA 94539

  www.scobre.com

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  Scobre Educational publications may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use.

  Cover and layout design by Jana Ramsay

  Copyedited by Renae Reed

  eISBN: 978-1-62920-249-5 (pdf)

  eISBN: 978-1-62920-458-1 (ePub)

  eISBN: 978-1-62920-466-6 (mobi)

  HOW TO READ THIS BOOK

  You should start a Heads or Tails book like any other, on page 1. At the bottom of each page, you’ll see a direction to move on to the next page, or you’ll be presented with a choice: Heads or Tails?

  Flip a coin (or just pick randomly), and turn to either the “heads” page or the “tails” page to continue the story. Or, you can read more about each option, and choose the path that sounds the best to you.

  You can read this book over and over and never take the same path twice. Enjoy your journey into the glory and agony of high school football!

  Murrow High School Crocs - Key Players

  Bobby “The Beast” Brownstein, Quarterback, Senior

  The best player in the state. Holds nearly every Crocs passing record. If he has one weakness, he’s not a great leader in the locker room.

  Norm Henderson, Halfback, Junior

  Quick, with good hands, but not a dynamic runner.

  Leo Ralphie, Fullback, Senior

  The most reliable running back on the team. Can almost always get you a few yards on the ground when you need it most.

  Brooklyn Dogar, Wide Receiver, Senior

  “Mr. Dependable.” Although he’s not a spectacular athlete, his sure hands make him the clear number-1 on the depth chart.

  Dane Forsyth, Wide Receiver, Sophomore

  A speedy, crafty pass-catcher. The phrase “going deep” was invented for guys like Dane.

  Liam Tormey, Tight End, Junior

  Solid blocker. Catches a lot of passes because he’s so big – 6’4”, 260 pounds – but his hands are more stone than silk.

  Oliver Pembratt, Center, Senior

  The anchor of the offensive line. One of the better linemen in the country. The Beast’s best friend.

  Juan Garcia, Third-String Quarterback, Junior

  Hard worker who simply doesn’t have the skills for high school football. He would give anything to be the backup.

  Scotty Reardon, Backup Quarterback, Freshman

  That’s YOU! As talented as anyone on the team. At another school, you’d be starting, but the Beast keeps you on the sideline… for now!

  You’re so tired that your eyes feel like they’re scratching against concrete every time you turn the page and try to focus on a new play in your playbook.

  These late night study sessions have been the secret so far to using your condition to your advantage. But, as your dad would say, you’ve been “burning the candle at both ends” for too many nights in a row. Just when you need your energy to be at its highest, all you can do is yawn and rub your eyes.

  Last year, as the star quarterback on your eighth grade team, you struggled to learn the fifteen plays in the team’s arsenal. Coach Dankert, the Crocs head coach, has an offensive playbook with sixty plays. And, he’s told you over and over, “I’ll send a cheerleader out there before one of my players sets foot on the field without knowing all of my plays.”

  You are Scotty Reardon, the backup to Bobby “The Beast” Brownstein. Bobby is Murrow’s star senior quarterback. You never thought your freshman year in high school would be the most exciting year of your life. But, after beating out two juniors in summer practice, you are one injury, one failed class, one … anything away from being the starting quarterback for the Murrow High School Crocs. If, that is, you can learn the last few pages of the playbook. You’ve been studying for the entire summer and know most of it by heart. But, a quarterback who doesn’t know the whole playbook is about as valuable to his team as a bag of sweaty towels.

  You live in a football-crazy town. It’s one of those towns where little kids memorize the years that Murrow won the state championship. You won’t see any game action unless something bad happens, but being named “QB2” as a freshman is a huge deal. Most exciting of all, Bobby is graduating this year and going on to play at the University of Michigan. You’re the obvious choice to take over as the starting quarterback next year … if you can handle it.

  You earned the spot backing up the Beast with your arm. Most high school kids could only dream about throwing a spiral half as tight as yours! And when it comes to throwing the ball deep, you measure up to some college quarterbacks. But, to become the well-rounded player that makes college coaches hand over scholarships like candy, you’ll need to learn the mental part of the game.

  Studying the “X’s and O’s” isn’t easy for you. And, it isn’t nearly as much fun as dropping back and hitting your wide receiver perfectly in stride, 30 yards downfield for six points. But, studying is the only way you’re going to make it onto the field for the Crocs so you have a chance to show off that golden arm.

  All of a sudden, girls who didn’t talk to you in junior high are interested in being friends - or more. Your new friend Sara – a sophomore - isn’t the kind of girl you might expect to go for a football player. She thinks cheerleading is dumb, gets straight A’s, and kicks your butt every time you play “Call of Duty.”

  You expected your father to be upset when you brought Sara home for dinner the first time. He’s always been very obsessed with your football career. You assumed he’d tell you to keep yourself focused on your classes and the team. But, ever since your mom died last year, your Dad has changed. Now he always tells you that he just wants you to be happy, even if that means that a gorgeous older girl might take your mind off of football a little bit. You haven’t gotten up the guts to do it yet, but you’re hoping Sara wants you to kiss her as much as you want to.

  These days, you wouldn’t trade places with any other person on Earth. Being Scotty Reardon is a pretty awesome thing right now, but you’re afraid it could end at any moment. You have a secret that almost no one else knows – not your teammates, not your coach, and not Sara … And that secret is the reason you’re having such a tough time memorizing Coach Dankert’s playbook.

  You’re trying to learn a pass play on the page in front of you, called 62 W Post. In addition to your normal trouble focusing, you’re trying to stop yourself from nodding off. You’ve found that it’s been helpful to study your plays at night, when you’re a little tired. It’s easier to slow your mind down and focus.

  Your middle school guidance counselor, Mrs. Crespi, suggested that you always wait until the evening to study, after getting a ton of exercise during the day. When you’ve sapped your body of some of the manic energy that contributes to your attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), it’s a lot easier to focus. Mrs. Crespi is one of the few people outside of your family who knows about your condition. One of the reasons you made it through middle school with good grades is because of Mrs. Crespi’s “tough love.” She always reminded you that having ADHD might be a reason
certain things were harder for you. But she would never let you use it as an excuse for achieving less than anyone else. “You can let Scotty Reardon be known as ‘the kid with ADHD,’” she would say. “Or, you can let Scotty Reardon be known as whatever you darn well please.”

  Your best friend, Dane Forsyth, is a sophomore receiver on the Crocs. He’s helped you out a ton with learning the plays, quizzing you every day after school.

  But, the season opener is tomorrow night, and you have five more plays to learn. It’s up to you now. Most of the sane people in your town have already gone to bed – and you’re wishing you could join them. As much as you want to learn the final plays, you don’t want to be so exhausted that you’re not ready for tomorrow night …

  GO TO PAGE 24. You choose to go to sleep and get the rest you need to be at your best tomorrow.

  GO TO PAGE 50. You push through your tiredness and take the time to learn five more plays – even if it means staying up all night.

  You decide to stay behind. In total, four players join Coach Dankert and head off to find the Beast. Coach Cox gathers the team to go over the substitutions for the players who are out. Then, he sends the kickoff team onto the field to receive the ball.

  You feel guilty about not stepping forward, but you have an opportunity with the Beast missing, and can’t let it pass. The Beast has only been gone for half an hour and you figure he’s probably just goofing off somewhere.

  Coach Cox is much younger than Dankert. He was one of the best players in the history of Murrow High School, and then played tight end at the University of Washington. After he failed to make it in the NFL, Cox came back to Murrow to join Coach Dankert’s staff as his right-hand man. He’s a local celebrity and the Crocs players idolize him.

  Dankert is a very conservative coach, who always plays the percentages. Cox is always encouraging him to be more of a risk-taker. Cox prefers long passes, faster huddles, and more variety on offense. He immediately makes a decision Dankert never would.

  “We’re going to go flea flicker on the first play,” he tells you, bringing a smile to your face. “Let’s knock ‘em out before they know what hit him.”

  You excitedly jog across the field for your first official game action as a high-school quarterback. You definitely wish it was under better circumstances, but you’re getting on the field a year earlier than you thought you would.

  You have to repeat the play in the huddle three times because everyone is so surprised that Coach Cox called a flea flicker. The play is the definition of high-risk, high-reward.

  Moments later, you call for the snap from the center. You turn and toss the ball to your halfback, Norm Henderson. He runs to the right, and you follow behind him. Two Jackals defenders close in on him too quickly, and he flips it back to you, but the flip is short and you have to pull the ball off the grass with your fingertips.

  At this point, if the trick play were working, you’d have a couple of seconds to set your feet and throw to an open receiver streaking down the field. But, because Norm’s flip was off-target, you’re stumbling around as the two defenders who were after Norm are now right in your face. You can’t see downfield to know if your receiver, Dane, is where he’s supposed to be …

  GO TO PAGE 11. You make a blind throw downfield to the spot where your receiver should be and hope for the best.

  GO TO PAGE 35. You protect the ball with both hands and take the hit from the two defenders. You’ll lose yardage, but avoid a risky throw.

  You repeat what you heard the Jackals talking about once more.

  Before you can get the words out, Beast is on top of Jake Douglas, throwing punches. As the other Jackals try to pull Bobby off of him, the Crocs standing in front of you start pushing and fighting with them. By the time all is said and done, even though you haven’t thrown a single punch, you are ejected along with all of the other players involved.

  The fight involves so many players from both teams, no one is sure for a while whether the game can even be played. Eventually, the game is played, but you’ve got to watch from the stands.

  You sit next to Sara and her friends, a few seats down from the Beast. You all watch Juan Garcia, the third-stringer, try to keep the Crocs in the game. It isn’t pretty, and the team loses, 21-3.

  The Beast sees you on the way to the locker room for the postgame team meeting. He holds out a fist. “Good lookin’ out today, Scotty.”

  You bump his fist with yours, and don’t say a word. It wasn’t the kind of victory you wanted to see tonight, but at least you’re sure the Beast knows your name now.

  THE END

  You think about your mom. If she could see you now, you’d want to show her that you’re the honest person she raised you to be. You know you have to tell Coach the truth.

  You stand there for what seems like an hour, trying to get the words out. Playing quarterback for the Crocs is your lifelong dream, and telling the truth might end the dream before it begins.

  Juan Garcia jogs up to Dankert’s side. “What’s up, Coach?” he asks.

  “Coach,” you say, “I’m so ready for this, except … ”

  “Except what? I need a quarterback out on the field NOW!”

  “I don’t know the last four or five plays in the playbook,” you say. “I know I should. I’m sorry. I fell asleep studying last night.”

  You can see the satisfaction in Juan’s eyes, and the disappointment in Dankert’s. “You want me to get out there, sir” Juan asks. “I’ve had the playbook memorized for two years.”

  Coach looks at Juan, then back at you. You can see the conflict on his face. He put you ahead of Juan on the depth chart for a reason.

  “Uh … Um … Garcia, Get out there … Pro Right 513 Y,” Coach tells him.

  As you start to slink away with your head down, Coach grabs your jersey to stop you. “Where you goin’? Backup quarterbacks stand right next to me during the game.” Coach puts his hand on your shoulderpad. “Big chances don’t grow on trees, kid. You missed one tonight. Don’t let it happen again.”

  You consider telling Coach everything - explaining why the playbook has been so hard for you. But now’s not the time. You’re glad your missed opportunity happened early in the season.

  Next time, you’ll be ready.

  THE END

  You jog across the field to Coach Dankert and tell him what you heard the Jackals players discussing. You’re surprised when he smiles at you like you’ve just told him a joke.

  “You think anyone we play isn’t going to want to knock Bobby out of the game? He’s the best quarterback in the state,” he says to you. “That’s why we always put a blocking tight end on the offensive line. It’s also why I spend more time working with the linemen than any other position on the team.”

  “All right, Coach,” you say. “I just wanted to let you know what I heard.”

  “What I need from you, Reardon, is for you to be ready in case all else fails and Bobby ever does go down. Whether it’s for one play, or a whole game, I need you to be able to do your best impression of the Beast. If you can’t do that, then an injury to the Beast ends our chance for a good season, and nobody wants that,” Coach says.

  “I’m ready, Coach,” you say. And, it’s the truth. You are ready to play. You have no doubt about that. But, it hadn’t fully hit you until tonight that backing up the most important player on the field is still being a backup. Every other player on the team could at least hope to get on the field for a few plays. But, you’ll be on the sideline all night unless the game is a total blowout, or something terrible happens to the Beast.

  “Not everyone’s cut out to be a backup,” Coach says, launching into the speech he’s given you over and over throughout summer practice. “You’re talented enough to probably start at a few other positions. But with that arm, you could be the future of this team, and I don’t want you risking an injury.”

  “I understand, Coach,” you say, and you turn to walk away. Ever since pee-wee football,
you’ve been a starting quarterback. For the first time tonight, you wonder if it’s worth spending a whole season as a backup. It might be fun to try something different, like playing defense.

  You consider turning back and telling Coach you’d like a shot at a different position for this season. You’ll promise to go out for quarterback again when the Beast graduates. If Coach really does think you could start at another position, wouldn’t the experience only help you in the long run? Also, with your ADHD, focusing on the game while you’re just standing on the sideline may prove difficult for you …

  GO TO PAGE 30. You accept your role as backup quarterback and continue to warm up for the game.

  GO TO PAGE 42. You turn back to Coach and ask him to find another position for you to play this season.

  You scramble to your left, trying to buy enough time to get a throw off to your receiver. You’re too focused on the huge linemen running at you to look downfield.

  Just before the two defensive ends clobber you, you let the ball fly. After taking the bone-crushing hit, you lay on the ground and watch the rest of the play unfold.

  You see the football fall to Dane as if you’d walked it over there and placed it into his hands. He has two men between him and the end zone. He makes one move to shake a Jackals safety and now it’s a foot race with one of the cornerbacks. The cornerback races at Dane and they collide a few yards short of the end zone.

  After taking the hit, Dane extends his hands in front of him. He dives toward the end zone, trying to get the ball over the goal line. You can’t tell whether he’s made it or not.

  You pop to your feet and start running toward him. The referees huddle up. You reach Dane and smack his helmet in celebration. Moments later, one of the referees throws his arms into the air: Touchdown!

  You throw your fist in the air to celebrate your first high school touchdown and you give Dane a chest bump. When you woke up, you didn’t even think you’d get on the field tonight. And now, you’ve taken the lead, 7-0.