Not long ago I was in a high school classroom having speaks with students about the ins and outs, merits and realities of something called the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test commonly referred to as the PSAT.
At one point early in my presentation, a young lad in the back of the room threw his hand up. He did not have a question about the PSAT. He asked if I used to be a kicker for the high school team where I am now presently employed.
The young man had a smile on his face. He knew the answer. He was being kind. My answer? I told him that ancient history was taught on the second floor of the school building in the social studies department. He knew what I meant. He also knew I was there to talk scholastic testing and not football acumen. There is a time and place for both.
Last Friday at Brownstown Central High School, the North Harrison Cougars defeated the Brownstown Central Braves 17-14 in a classic of a high school football game. North had a 14-0 halftime lead. My friends on Braves Radio were perplexed and wondered when the last time the high octane offense of the BCHS team had spent a first half with a zero on the scoreboard.
There was an interesting symmetry to the scoring made by the Cougars. The opening kickoff was taken by in by Jake Harley and he did not get touched as he ran up the middle of a perfectly blocked kickoff return effort where all eleven guys did their job. First play of the first half…touchdown Cougars. Last play of the the first half…a touchdown pass from Avery Blocker to Skyler Wetzel for the Cougars. Well, BC had one second left to do very little with.
BCHS came out with a little more determination and fire in the second half. They still had no idea they could be beaten at home, even when they were down 14 to zip at halftime. That is one of the qualities of their football program. They possess an arrogance and a confidence that knows no equal. That is why I saw so many dumbfounded looks and a few tears among BC players and parents and other supporters after it was over. They couldn’t get beat by North Harrison at home. That doesn’t happen. The last time that had happened when the Cougars came calling to Blevins Stadium President Bush was in the White House. The Dad, not the son. It was 1992.
The Braves tied it up 14-14. With 9:43 left in the 4th quarter, NHHS went on a drive that would make John Elway proud. 22 plays later, including three third down conversions and two fourth down conversions, Ben Waynescott connected on a 24 yard field goal to win the game on the last play of the contest. North won 17-14 in what I will confidently call the greatest victory ever for the football program.
Watching that ball fly over the goalpost that I had kicked balls over in years past was very special to me. But here is…the rest of the story.
Over that same goalpost placed in the South endzone of the field a different kick has haunted me like no other. I think about it each time I walk on that field. I rarely talk about it. I don’t think I have ever written about it here.
In 1980 North Harrison visited Blevins Memorial Stadium on a cool night in mid-October. Having grown up a Brownstown Central Brave as a kid, I was making my first appearance at Blevins Stadium in blue. That game was a classic too. A defensive struggle beyond imagination went on that night. When the 4th quarter had ended, the score was 6-6. To make a painful long story short, Randy Forgey kicked a field goal over that same goalpost in overtime that sent the fans in red and black into a frenzy. BCHS 9 NHHS 6. Dressed in blue, I was crushed. I still remember being hunched over with my hands on my bent knees at the twenty yard line looking like a Lou Holtz wanna be as that ball was snapped to the holder that 1980 night. When the kick went up, I knew it was good. I hit the ground.
Last Friday I kept my feet as Ben’s kick was true. But I do have a confession to make. I looked at the recording of the game and saw where I was standing all alone in turn two of the track as the kick was being made. I couldn’t believe it. I thought I was on the twenty yard line when Ben kicked it. I wasn’t. For a split moment I think I found the time travel that Richard Collier was seeking in “Somewhere in Time”. I don’t know if I was on the twenty or turn two…37 years and two kicks can do some strange things. I do know it was Ben’s kick and not Randy’s that I will now remember as being “the kick” on that field for me. And…it was Good!
My Dad was not able to make it to the game on Friday night. He is having hip replacement surgery at the moment I type these very words. Wifi never meant more. Thanks goes to my Braves Radio hero and dear old friend, Harv Brown, for giving Dad a couple shout-outs and well wishes during the game Friday night. Mom liked hearing her name too.
The Brownstown game is over. Time to move on.
Speaking the field goal rights…
Danny Johnson