Team Manager CHAMP!
Chapter 27
EVERYONE SLEPT IN on Saturday. The Angelines would play at 4:45. The Salter Crusaders would play at 7:00. Unfortunately, there would not be time for the crew to get to Salter after they finished their game in the Well. At 1:30, there was no more thought about any other game but the championship game against the Cyclones, as they boarded the bus for Des Moines.
The huge venue was only about half filled, but the Bartley fans tried to make it sound full as they gathered behind their team’s bench. The girls went out and warmed up, spending as much time on their exercises as they did on the drills.
“The red line confuses me,” Amy said when she came off the floor.
“You can forget about it,” Dennis said. “That’s the three-point line for the pros. You’re good, but you don’t need to play on their court. And remember, there’s more room between the circles. Don’t back up too much. We play a close game.”
“I miss the lines on our court,” Natalie said. “I always judged the spot I’m most comfortable with by where the volleyball lines intersected the three-point line.”
“Yeah. They don’t play volleyball here,” Tori said.
Dennis was pleased to hear their inane gripes about the court. He was more concerned about the effect of an extra ten feet in court length, compared to what they were used to. In the course of a game, that could add a mile to the distance the girls ran. So far it hadn’t played a role, but this was a game just a day after playing a hard game in the semifinals. He was glad everyone reported a good night’s sleep before the game.
The opening ceremonies were much longer than most games, as well. It seemed everyone had to be introduced, but it was good to get the whole team introduced. They started with the non-starters on each team and included their team managers and assistant coaches. Then they rotated back and forth between the teams to introduce the starters and the coaches. After all the introductions, the anthem was played and the teams got their final huddle.
“What is this game?” Dennis demanded.
“The Championship Game!”
“What are we going to do?”
“Beat ’em!”
“How do we do it?”
“Run, run, run!”
“Who are we?”
The entire crowd behind the Angelines’ bench was waiting for that moment and shouted out, “Angelines!”
Diane took the center position for the tipoff against a Cyclone player who was two inches taller than she was. The Cyclones got the tip and the game was underway. As the lower seed, Bartley was once again in its maroon away uniforms. The Cyclones got off to a fast start, showing that they, too, ran a full-court press and played a zone defense. They scored twice from inside before the tall center ran into a planted wall of Diane and Janice as she drove for the basket. Her shot was ruled no good and an offensive charging foul was called.
The Cyclones’ coach rose to protest the call, but the ref shook his head and quickly said the defenders’ feet were planted clearly outside the restricted zone.
The Angelines came back quickly from a ten-two deficit with two three-pointers by Natalie and Tori in rapid succession. Then there was an exchange of baskets that left the Angelines trailing 14-16 at the end of the quarter.
“What did you learn?” Dennis asked as the seven players who had entered the game so far put their heads together in the huddle.
“They think they can push us around because they are big,” Diane said. “We need to make sure we are planted and let them charge us.”
“The same is true on offense,” Natalie said. “Make sure you are planted and unmoving when you set a pick. They’ve called two fouls for an illegal block.”
“What about blocking shots?” Janice asked. “I can’t block with my feet on the ground.” She already had four solid blocks and a steal. Her rebounding was equal to anyone on the Cyclone team.
“You just need to make sure the only thing making contact is your hand on the ball. If you make contact with the shooter, they’ll get the foul,” Dennis said. “You should also go ahead and take the open threes. Their zone isn’t pressing the outside; show them we’re a threat out there. Ready?”
“Ready!”
The Cyclones got the ball on the alternate possession rule and Janice blocked the inbound pass, knocking it back out of bounds with her foot. The block moved the ball farther into the back court for the next inbound. This time, Amy knocked the ball away from the receiver and Natalie picked it up for a layup to tie the game.
The outcome was never certain. The Angelines led by two at the half, but the Cyclones had picked the lead back up after three quarters.
The standard procedure of fouling in order to stop the clock and get possession of the ball worked against the Cyclones, because the Angelines made nineteen out of twenty free throws. They were nearing the buzzer and the Angelines took possession with a one-point lead and ten seconds on the clock. Natalie drove straight at the basket and her defender fell back to block a layup attempt. Natalie pulled up short at her favorite spot on the right wing and put the ball up for a three-pointer at the buzzer. The Angelines won 72-68.
The ceremony after the championship game was jubilant for the Angelines and sorrowful for the Cyclones. It was tough to lose the championship. The Angelines knew that from the previous year and went to greet the Cyclones and tell them what a great game they played. It was all too easy for a champion team to ignore the other team while they celebrated, but the girls disciplined themselves to congratulate the other team on a game well-played.
“Um… Thanks for coming by,” the tall center said to Natalie. “Why did you pull up and shoot a three at the buzzer?”
“Oh. Sorry about that. It was our coach. He told us the only way to be sure we won was to lead by more than three at the buzzer. We only had a one-point lead. I had to throw it up,” Natalie said.
“Maybe next year we’ll get a student to coach our team,” the center laughed. It was mixed with her tears. “Congratulations.” The two girls hugged and there was a huge cheer from both sides of the stands.
With 27 points, Natalie was given the MVP award for the tournament. Then the trophy was presented and Tori was selected to put their name in the winner’s box on the bracket card.
In a tourney like this, the old tradition of cutting down the nets was no longer followed. There was still the Class 1A championship game to be played that night at 7:00. The rotation of which class played championship games in what order was changed each year so that every class got a chance at the prime time.
They led the caravan of fan buses and cars home and found the gym open for a celebration with all the fans when they got to Bartley. The Boosters had ordered pizza for everyone and the party went on for over an hour.
By that time, the Salter Crusaders had defeated the Warriors and were celebrating their move into the Sweet Sixteen to play the next weekend. As the top seeded team in their bracket, it looked like they would host the next weekend’s games, so the crew could be there for all of them. The Rams, the Seagulls, and the Tigers advanced to the sweet sixteen with Crusaders for their pod.
Tori hung around the party until it was clear everyone was leaving. No Brandon. She was dejected and fought off tears as she went to her car and drove home. She wanted to celebrate their championship game with her lover and he didn’t show up! Damn it! She’d been so sure of him. She pulled up to the barn and went inside without bothering to go see her parents.
The first thing she noticed was music coming from her room. It didn’t sound like her playlist and, of course, she had her phone in her pocket. She pushed open the door to her room and was met by flickering candlelight from all directions. There were flowers all over her bed. Brandon stepped out of the bathroom in a robe and slippers.
“What a fantastic game!” he said. “I almost…”
He was silenced by Tori slamming into him and pressing her lips against his.
“I thought you abandoned me!” she gasped. “You weren’t there for the celebration.”
“I had to prepare this celebration, sweet love. I hope it will be so much better.”
“Don’t do that again!” she cried. “I should hate you for that. But I don’t. Kiss me. Make love to me.”
Brandon kissed her and began undressing his lover. When she was naked, she pushed the robe off his shoulders and he swept her up in his arms. He carried her from her bedroom to the old shower stall, where she found he’d brought in a big watering tank and filled it with hot water. They tested it to make sure the temperature was okay and then crawled over the side. Unlike a bathtub, this had straight sides and a flat bottom, but Brandon had thought to put some plastic furniture in it so he could sit and hold Tori in his lap. There in the tub, they continued to pet and make out, eventually managing to couple underwater, even though it washed away some of her lubrication. She had plenty flowing. Once they were joined together, they did a good job of sloshing water over the sides as they drove each other to an orgasm.
Brandon helped her out over the side and rushed to grab towels—not the old threadbare towels she’d equipped the shower stall with months ago, but big fluffy bath sheets that they wrapped each other in—and went to her room. She sat on the bed while he massaged her feet and then knelt in front of her.
“Tori, you’re the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me. I love you with all my heart.” He grabbed his robe on the floor and reached in the pocket. He pulled out a box with a diamond ring in it and held it out to her. “I can’t wait any longer. Baby, will you marry me?”
“Brandon! Now?”
“Well, after we graduate and before we enlist. I love you and I want this for the rest of my life.”
“Yes! Oh, you big goof! What if I’d said no? What would you do with this ring?” she asked as he slipped it onto her finger.
“I think I’d have pawned it and used the money to buy enough whiskey to drink myself to death. You don’t know how much this means to me, girl. You are my whole life!”
“You know I’m still going to run track, don’t you?”
“Of course! Coach Andy has had us practicing all week. And Coach Pat has already had a dozen girls working out. I think they all expect you to be out there Monday afternoon,” Brandon laughed.
“That gives us thirty-six hours to make each other really happy,” she said, dumping the towel and lying back to receive him again.
“What are we doing now?” Amy asked as the four gathered at her house for the night.
“Lana’s been playing with me all through the Crusaders’ game,” Natalie said. “I think I’m going to let her make me come.”
“It’s your birthday party, lover,” Lana said. “We’re all going to make you come.”
“Oh, my birthday! I forgot!”
“We didn’t,” Dennis said, entering the room from the kitchen with a birthday cake.
The teens sang ‘Happy Birthday’ and Natalie blew out her eighteen candles.
“Did we celebrate Dennis’s eighteenth birthday?” Lana asked.
“Yes, but all the girls were there for that so we didn’t really celebrate the way we wanted to,” Natalie said.
“Light the candles again and we’ll sing to Dennis. Then we can light seventeen of them again for Lana,” Amy said. “We just haven’t had intimate celebrations during the season. I feel like we’ve had every ounce of energy devoted to sports and none to making our girlfriends come.”
“What about you?” Lana asked. “I don’t remember celebrating your seventeenth last fall.”
“Um… Well, I remember a really good celebration with Brenda, but maybe you all weren’t there,” Amy laughed.
They made a big deal about relighting the candles and blowing them out for Dennis, Amy, and Lana. Then they cut the cake, dished up ice cream and began feeding each other between kisses and caresses.
It didn’t take long before the four of them were naked in Amy’s bed. Then Amy and Dennis got phone calls. They put them on speaker and they heard Ardith and Brenda wishing them all happy birthday, too.
“Hey, Ardith, when is your birthday?” Natalie asked.
“Well, it is coming up this summer. I’ve never really been around to celebrate my birthday,” Ardith said.
“Okay, girlfriend. How old will you be this summer?” Amy asked.
“Oh, a little older than you guys, I guess.”
“We added up the years and figured you must be twenty-seven,” Dennis said, “but that was just based on normal averages with you turning nineteen during your freshman year in college like Nat and I will.”
“I’ve always avoided these conversations, but you’re my boyfriend and girlfriends. So, I guess it’s safe to tell you. I graduated from high school at 16 and was 17 when I started college. This summer, I’ll be 25. The school board all decided to keep my age when I started teaching under wraps. I was barely twenty-one.”
“Ardith, you’re going to be the youngest coach in Div III history!” Brenda screamed over the phone. “And you’re only four years older than me! I love you!”
“We should try to keep that a secret here at Salter,” Ardith said after she and Brenda had time for a kiss. “But at least I don’t really feel like an old lady compared to the rest of you.”
“I think you’re a sexy girl, just like my other girlfriends,” Dennis said. “And I can’t wait to be naked with you like I bet you are with Brenda right now.”
“You win that bet,” Brenda said. “I’m about to dive in for a juicy snack.”
“Bren!”
“Stay on the line. We have some juicy snacks here, too,” Natalie said. “One of them is between my legs and sweet little Lana is… Oh! That’s nice.”
All they heard from the other end of the line was a long moan.
“Well, you’re back,” Coach Dearborn said. “Congratulations on your big victory. You’re a champ!”
“Yes, sir. Thank you. I guess, um… congratulations on your retirement,” Dennis said to his advisor.
“I would like to have closed out my coaching career with something other than an 89-33 loss, but it’s been a good run. I won’t be gone until the end of the semester, so we’ll have lots of time to make sure you have everything in order. I could get you a job on staff here if you want to stay.”
“Thank you, but we’ll be joining Brenda and Ardith at Salter in the fall,” Dennis said.
“I rather thought so. How much of your team are you taking with you?”
“Just two players and a manager. And me. We still don’t have the final offer yet. We’ll have to wait until Salter wins the D-III.”
“I hope you don’t have to wait that long. Salter is a good program and this year’s team is terrific. Certainly, the best in the Midwest. But there’s a reason it’s only ranked 4/5. The Captains, the Flying Dutchmen, and the Pioneers are all incredibly talented teams in programs that are run to win. They’ve made the big dance repeatedly over the years. While Salter is fourth seed in the tournament, they have to get past the Yellow Jackets this weekend before they can make the final four. That’s a team who will match Salter play for play.”
“Yes, sir. We’ve no doubt that the Crusaders are the underdog when it comes to playing the big guys. I hear they are thinking of moving the Captains to Div II.”
“Don’t put too much faith in what you hear. But they could certainly play in Div II and play well,” Dearborn said. “Now, let’s look at your workload and see what we can do to get you out of here.”
The all-school celebration took place at the end of the day at Bartley. The pep rally was held in the old gym where all the junior and senior high students could easily gather. Principal Morris called the Angelines, their coach and managers, and Coach Neil onto the floor to face the students.
“We have several special presentations to make during this rally,” Morris said. “First, we have some outstanding stats to recognize. Some that will likely stand for many years to come. I’d like to recognize Tori McDonald. Tori has the highest single season assist record in the state with 141 assists. That is combined with scoring 304 points. She is a stellar example of what it means to be a team player, not only scoring high, but also helping her teammates to score. Coach?”
“Tori, we’re awarding you your varsity letter with this small trophy recognizing your record. We’ve established a records plaque that will hold the names of the season record holders and your name will be on it,” Neil said.
Tori accepted her letter and her trophy and held up the new letter that had “State Champion” emblazoned on it. Morris continued the presentations.
“Next, Amy Unger. Amy, I understand you are known as the Deviline on the team. There is a good reason. This was a hotly contested area among our players who hold the top rank in the state for steals with 610 steals. Of those, Amy has 134.”
“Amy,” Coach Neil said, “it’s a pleasure to award you this varsity letter with the State Champion imprint, and your top stealer trophy. Your name will be on that season best plaque in our trophy case.” Amy held up her prizes.
“Next,” Morris announced, “we’d like to recognize Diane Long. Diane has been recruited by the Red Raiders and will be playing on their team next season. Diane has also been a dominant player on the boards with 192 rebounds this season. While I’m not taking anything away from Diane, I’ll say that the Angelines have dominated the boards with five players bringing down over 100 rebounds each.”
“Diane, you represent the best of sportsmanship and teamwork on the Angelines. Congratulations on your record this year. It is going to be a tough one to break.” Coach Neil gave Diane her letter and trophy.
“The final record goes to senior Natalie Armor. Natalie has served as team captain for the third year and is exemplary in her leadership. This year, she became the first Angeline to have reached 1,000 points and she did it in a short two-and-a-half seasons. This year, she is the high scorer for the third year in a row with 621 points this season. That includes 39% shooting from the three-point zone and 82% from the free throw line.”
“Natalie,” Coach Neil said, “you have been the heart and soul of Angeline basketball since this program began. Not only am I going to award you your State Championship varsity letter and top scorer trophy, your teammates have voted you the most valuable player of the year. Congratulations.”
“And finally, while Coach Neil greets each member of the team and awards her with a State Championship varsity letter, we would be remiss if we did not recognize a very unusual person on this team. Coach Dennis Enders, please step up here.” Dennis joined Principal Morris. “It is unusual to award a varsity letter to a coach. But we believe that as a student coach, it would be a crime not to recognize your contribution to the success of the Angelines, and to the athletic program here at Bartley High. As you look out here, you will see over a hundred students and faculty whose lives have been changed by your leadership in fitness and conditioning,” Morris said.
“Your contribution to the entire Bartley athletic program can’t be overstated, Dennis. Personally, I want to tell you that I have appreciated and benefited from our association as fellow coaches in this program. It is appropriate to honor you with a State Championship varsity letter. I’d also like to announce that the State Coaches’ association has recognized you as Student Coach of the Year. Congratulations!” Coach Neil said as he handed the letter to Dennis.
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