Quarterback Duel

CHAPTER 1

Casey Carter picked up a white towel that had been draped over the aluminum sideline bench and wiped the heavy perspiration from his tanned face, stealing a peak beyond the goal post of the north end zone at the Lowell Park football field where dozens of people - mostly kids and teenagers - were splashing around gleefully in the Town of River View community pool.

You know, it wouldn't kill us to take a break, run home and grab our swim trunks and take a dip, Casey's best friend, Kevin McDonald, said as he, too, wiped sweat from his face and stared longingly at the pool.

Rolling his bright blue eyes, Casey looked back at Kevin and said "Sorry. We've still got work to do.''

The summer was winding down and only four weeks remained before the start of the school year, but you couldn't tell by the trough of hot and humid air that had engulfed the small town of River View.

The temperature had soared into the low 90s on back-to-back days and the majority of the residents were doing one of two things: They were staying inside and cranking up their air conditioners to escape the oppressive heat, or they were swimming, either in their backyard pools or in the Olympic-sized oasis in Lowell Park.

Not Casey Carter, and, thanks to Casey's persistence, not his tight-knit group of friends that included Kevin, twin brothers Matty and Eddie Harkness, Kyle Kozlowski, Curtis Winthrop and Danny Valentine.

For each of the past three days, the boys - all sophomores-to-be who had been pals since they were barely old enough to ride tricycles - had spent about an hour running through football drills and exercises to get themselves ready for the start of the River View High School football season, their first at the varsity level.

Because Casey would be competing for the starting quarterback job, coach Jerry Garfield had given him the Eagles' playbook earlier in the summer and told him to know it cold by the time he reported to the first official practice which was now just a few days away.

Every night Casey immersed himself in the playbook, memorizing formations, personnel groups, motions, the terminology of calling the plays, audibles, checks, and reads. He studied the geometry of every play, learning not only what he was supposed to be doing, but what the backs, the receivers, the tight end and the offensive linemen were doing as well. It wasn't enough for the quarterback to know his job; he had to know everyone's job and he had to understand the inner workings of each play.

Once Casey felt like he had a grasp of the offense, he enlisted his friends to participate in workouts at Lowell Park, pitching the idea that the extra practice would also be beneficial to them. And of course, he was right. Kevin, who everyone referred to as K-Mac, was hoping to become River View's tailback, Kyle would compete to play fullback, Danny was in line to play tight end, Matty would be up for a receiver's position, and big Eddie and Curtis would be perfect candidates to play offensive line.

They were all newcomers to the varsity, and any advantage they could bring to the table would assist them in their individual quests to make a good showing when practice began.

Dude, how many times do we have to run the dive play? Kyle asked Casey. I mean c'mon, we ran dive plays in Pop Warner. I think we get it.

He's got a point, said Eddie. "It's hot. I've had enough.''

Fifteen more minutes, Casey countered. "Give me 15 more minutes and we'll call it quits.''

They had been doing it all their lives, following Casey's lead. He was the best athlete of them all, the star on every football, basketball and baseball team they had ever played on from the time they were old enough to walk. They knew how hard he worked in every sport to make himself the player he was, so it was tough to argue with him.

Fifteen minutes, then we bag it, said Kevin.

Deal, Casey answered, splashing water on his head and rubbing it through his already soaking wet mop of brown hair.

The boys nodded in agreement, trotted out to the middle of the field and when Casey called out Regular Pro 24 Buck, they dutifully took their positions. Matty lined up wide to the left as a flanker; Danny counted out the line splits and took a position about three yards to center Eddie's right; Curtis counted the splits to Eddie's left and to where the left tackle would be; Casey hunched in behind Eddie at quarterback; and Kyle and Kevin formed a split backfield behind Casey, Kevin on the left, Kyle on the right.

Casey called the signals and on the second hut Eddie slapped the ball into Casey's waiting hands and pretended to drive block the imaginary defensive tackle in front of him. Casey pivoted to his right, took a step back and jammed the ball into Kevin's stomach. Kevin secured the ball with both hands and followed Kyle, the lead-blocking fullback, into the '4' hole just to Eddie's right.

As Kevin crossed the line of scrimmage with an impressive burst of speed, two boys sitting in the bleachers began a slow, rhythmic clap. Casey and his comrades looked over and saw Steve Northcutt and Donnie Langellow, a pair of seniors who were two of River View's best players, watching them in apparent disgust.

Good job rookies, but wait until someone's actually on the other side of the ball blowing you up, said Northcutt, River View's starting strong safety who, after also serving as backup quarterback the previous two seasons, was intent on becoming the starter at that position as well this year.

Casey knew all about Northcutt, knew he was a terrific defensive player and a pretty decent quarterback who just never got a chance to play because he was stuck for two years behind all-Conference quarterback Danny Blevins. He also knew that Northcutt was an unfriendly jerk, a kid who wasn't very popular in school, mainly because he was always getting into trouble and dragging down whoever happened to be hanging with him at the time.

Northcutt knew all about Casey, too. Knew he was an outstanding athlete, the star of the junior varsity team as an eighth- and ninth-grader who was going to be his only competition at quarterback. He also knew that Carter was exactly the kind of kid he despised with his All-American good looks, excellent grades and perfect family life - all the things Northcutt wished he had, but didn't.

The boys just waved at Northcutt and Langellow as if to say "Why don't you two get lost'' but they stayed put and mockingly clapped for the next 15 minutes on every play Casey ran until the boys called it quits. Only then did Northcutt and Langellow, both shirtless and wearing untied sneakers with no socks, climb out of the bleachers, drop their skateboards to the pavement and surf away, off to find someone else to pester.

*****

CHAPTER 2

The heat wave continued in earnest for another week, then began to lift ever so gradually just as the start of football practice began. Still, the sun was blazing down on the practice field at River View High School, the temperature was hovering in the low 80s, and for boys wearing helmets and pads and exerting so much energy playing an aggressive and physically-demanding sport like football, the heat was cause for concern.

So coach Garfield, heeding the repeated reminders from the school's athletic training staff that the conditions needed to be taken into account, blew his whistle 30 minutes into practice and ordered his players to jog over to the sideline and suck on the water bottles that were arranged neatly on a table behind the bench.

``Fluids boys, we need fluids in our bodies, I have no use for a dehydrated football player,'' Garfield said as the 45 young men who were fighting it out for 35 available roster spots on the River View varsity made their way to liquid heaven.

Casey grabbed a green Gatorade-logoed plastic bottle, squeezed its middle and let the cold water squirt all over his face before he opened his parched mouth to guzzle the rest.

Garfield noticed Casey's head arched back a bit too long and he yelled over to the boy who was in line to become the Eagles' starting quarterback. Hey, slow down there Casey, I don't want you dehydrated, but I don't want you to cramp up, either.

Right, coach, Casey said before obediently placing the bottle back on the table, not quite empty. Casey put his orange helmet back on, and rather than resting for the entire break period, the 6-foot-1, 180-pounder wearing the No. 7 jersey jogged back onto the field, picked up a ball, pretended to take a snap from center, and worked on his footwork for a rollout pass.

That kid has a chance to be special, Garfield thought to himself as he walked over to the far edge of the field and gazed down through his Ray-Ban sunglasses at the Hampshire River that roared through the heart of River View.

It had been one week since the start of practice, and it was only two weeks before the season opener against Kingsbury, but Garfield had still not cut anyone from the squad. After watching nine two-way starters and four other reserves walk across the school gymnasium stage to accept their diplomas the previous June, Garfield knew he had gaping holes to fill on his football roster, so the longer he could evaluate this new crop of players the better.

Given River View's heavy graduation losses, the whispers amongst Garfield's contemporaries at the annual pre-season regional coaches meeting in July sounded more like primal screams to his ears. The general consensus was that this was the year the Eagles were finally going to come back to the pack. They were going to be young and inexperienced, and after enduring a seemingly endless run of River View success, it was going to be payback time for the other schools in the Stamford County Conference.

In 12 years as head coach at River View, Garfield's teams had won six Conference championships, four Region VI titles and three State championships. River View's program was dynastic, a model for teams from around the state to emulate, and the Eagles had certainly cast an imposing shadow last year. That team had gone 7-0 in the regular season, then won the Conference championship game and the Region VI championship game before losing a shocker in the State semifinals to a school from Region II on a last-second field goal. Even though the Eagles failed to reach the State finals, Garfield confided to anyone who would listen that that team was the most talented he'd ever been associated with, including the three State championship squads.

When he convened this new group of Eagles for the first time he felt tinges of anxiety that were unique to him. It occurred to Garfield that there was a very real possibility that the River View football machine might stop rolling, at least for this season. Everyone knew about Casey, the hotshot sophomore who most likely would be taking over at quarterback, but the prevalent theory - or was it just wishful thinking? - was that one player couldn't answer all of the questions surrounding River View's team.

Who was going to block? Who was going to run the ball? Who was going to catch it? Who was going to kick it? Who was going to make the tackles on defense? They were all valid questions, and Garfield knew it.

Now, one week into full-squad workouts, Garfield was starting to find the answers, and his outlook on the season had changed dramatically.

Casey - the son of Garfield's long-time friend and old River View teammate, Robert Carter - was certainly living up to his advance billing. Garfield had been hearing stories about Casey's exploits since the boy was in the sixth grade playing Pop Warner football. He expected the well-mannered, athletically-gifted 15-year-old to be very good, and so far, he was. Such poise, such command of the huddle, such an understanding of the basic football principles that Garfield was hammering into his team during the early portion of pre-season practice. It was uncanny how this kid just seemed to get it, even though he'd never played a down of varsity football. And that arm. Garfield couldn't recall another one like it dangling from the shoulder of a 15-year-old.

Casey was a given. But what Garfield hadn't expected were the high levels of performance some of Casey's fellow sophomores and newcomers to the varsity seemed capable of. There was Kevin McDonald, Casey's best friend, the kid they called K-Mac, who was clearly going to be a dynamic running back and an agile, physical linebacker. Little Matty Harkness showed great promise as a wide receiver and a cornerback; Matty's massive twin brother, Eddie, was a load in the middle of both the offensive and defensive lines; and kids like