On this October Friday night the Fleming Wildcats (Yes K-State they ripped off your logo) are doing battle against the Bulldogs of Peetz, a town of some 225 men, women and children five minutes from the Nebraska state line. Fleming enters the contest 4-0 and eyeing a trip to the playoffs; while the Bulldogs come in at 2-2. Peetz rock's almost identical uniforms to the Green Bay Packers.
The football field sits in a low spot just north of the Fleming School. On the home side there are bleachers topped with a metal and glass press box. The visitors have to make do with two sets of portables and their bus parked behind the bench to serve as a locker room. A thin yellow rope rings the field keeping the players and coaches in and the fans out, just barely. Parents, alumni, arm chair quarterbacks, "assistant coaches", and amateur out-of-town writers hug the rope line to cheer and exhort the boys of Fleming. Kids played football on the side or clustered in groups wearing their school colors. A group of young teen girls held down a couch that was sitting on the edge of the field. Earlier I mentioned the cars full of spectators ringing the field. It turns out that another good reason to have your car nearby is to use the horn as a celebration device, which the home crowd puts to good use.
Welcome!
It didn't take long for two strangers with a camera and a legal pad to begin to draw some attention in a small town. Not five minutes after our arrival folks began coming up to assess our presence. That turned out to be a boon for me since I had a lot of questions that needed answers. Not only did I meet a lot of proud parents and alumni full of past glory, but I got a lot of help figuring out this strange game.
Not Your Old Mans Game
Turns out 6 man football is very different from the version we watch on Sundays. For one, the field is only 80 yards long and 40 wide. In other words a little less ground to cover with 6 guys. But those 6 had better be in great shape, no fat guys here please! With scores routinely reaching the sixty point realm its a game built for the swift. For sure if you have two or three great athletes on your team you have a good chance of piling up the points. In an effort to counteract that a first down is fifteen yards instead of the traditional ten, and the quarterback cannot run with the football. So no Timmy Tebow up the middle in this game.
Things really get weird when it comes to the kicking game. Since having a kicker and a holder on a field goal or an extra point means that you have only four guys left to block, an extra point is worth two and a field goal nets you four points. Peetz tried a different strategy by sending out a tiny freshman kicker to drop kick (punt style) their extra points and field goals. The result were not encouraging; he was blocked or missed badly on each attempt.
Fear and Loathing
By halftime I was freezing and the Wildcats had a comfortable lead of 20-0. The Homecoming festivities at the half included a two car parade of girls wearing dresses that made me happy for my sweatshirt and a couple numbers from the band. Following a tradition at every American high school the king was one of the football players. Unfortunately Fleming does not have a cheer squad so the queen couldn't come from those ranks.
Fleming scored to start the second half and the game looked to be out of hand. But Peetz returned the kickoff for six, forced a three-and-out by the Wildcats and scored again to make it 28-12. The Wildcats answered with a long touchdown pass, but Peetz was unfazed and returned the favor with a 62 yard bomb of their own. Again Fleming seemed to ice them with another touchdown, and again the Bulldogs answered with a long running score of their own. We had a good old fashioned shootout on our hands and the Fleming faithful began to stir and murmur. Anything other than playing for the state championship wont cut it around there. The sidelines came alive with tips, exhortations, and outrage at yellow flags. Surprisingly the game featured a crew of four referees. Even more astonishing was that fact that they were should we say not in peak physical condition. The real coach just inside the yellow rope got into the act as well with a tirade of his own. The kids responded with another score and this time Peetz had nothing left. By the middle of the fourth quarter the scrubs were in the game and Fleming won comfortably 64-24.
Reflection
Two developments that took place during garbage time that are important to share. First we were made aware of the post game prayer on the field and encouraged to bring the camera on the field to bear witness. And second we were invited to stay around for the homecoming dance in the gym. There was even talk of us staying the night with some new friends and going to an Oktoberfest in Sydney, Nebraska.
When the final whistle sounded we jumped the yellow rope and joined the players and most of the town in a circle for prayer at midfield. Then Peetz heading for their locker room bus and the players and most of town gathered around the coach for a post game debrief. Coach clearly spoke to the players as well as the faithful gathering. Dads nodded their heads in agreement with his game assessment. Peetz had given them one tough quarter but things were OK. There is a balm in Gilead.
Kelley and I declined our invitation to the homecoming dance and began a the long dark trek toward the distant glow of city lights. He turned to me as the gravel turned to pavement and said that had we stayed for the dance we surely would have been invited to Thanksgiving. Fleming had made us honorary citizens for a night and we in turn promised to return for the championship game in late November.
Go Cats!
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