t on the football map as
never before. And in order to win we must fight, fight, fight, every
second of the sixty minutes!
"Pennington has been depending largely this season upon the great work
of Gordon, fullback. He is a giant, six feet tall, weight two hundred
and fourteen pounds, and fast on his feet. He is the man you must
stop! Pennington has won every game this year in the first half. They
use this Gordon as a human battering ram, breaking up the opposing line
and making victory easy. No eleven this season had been able to check
his advances!
"Stop their slashing attack the first half, fellows, and you'll win the
game. The reason General Grant was so successful in his campaigns was
that he did not realize when he was defeated. He advanced despite his
defeats. That's the spirit I want you fellows to show! If you fail to
gain ground in one attempt put just that much more strength into the
next attempt. Game starts in ten minutes, fellows, so you'd better be
getting out on the field. Benz, remember to hit that line lower.
Neil, call your signals fast and snappy. Keep the team up and at 'em.
You linemen, the fate of to-day's game is largely up to you. You must
shoulder the brunt of the work and shatter the Pennington attack. The
men who will start to-day's game are,--"
Sixteen heads bobbed suddenly up and sixteen pairs of entreating eyes
focused themselves upon the coach.
"Left end, Bartz; left tackle, Oole; left guard, Frey; center,
Williams; right guard, McKean; right tackle, Potts; right end, Pole;
quarterback, Neil; left half, Gary; right half, Patterson; fullback,
Hoffmaster. Now, out of here, every one of you! Show lots of pep and
don't let that crowd bother you! You have played in front of big
crowds before and won. Do it today!"
The eleven fortunate men jumped nimbly to their feet and filed quickly
out of the locker room.
Judd slapped Cateye on the back as his chum arose to go.
"Give 'em fits, pal," he said, simply.
CHAPTER XVII
THE FIRST HALF
The appearance of the Bartlett eleven touched a match to all the
explosives that the Bartlett rooters had stored up and a riot of
deafening sound rocked the field.
The crowd easily outnumbered any ever congregated at Bartlett. Half of
the eastern bleachers had been reserved for the Pennington rooters,
while the section directly across was occupied by Bartlett enthusiasts.
The seating capacity was greatly overtaxed. At
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