w towards Sloan, the battle raged. As play
after play of brilliance or superbrilliance flashed forth, the stands
alternately groaned or cheered, according to the sympathies of each.
Robertson, a veritable stonewall of defense, time and again checked the
rushes of the Sloan backs or threw himself recklessly at fleet backs on
end runs when his own ends had failed to "get their man." On the
offensive he repeatedly was called on to carry the ball and seldom did
he fail to make the distance required.
A great weariness settled on Robertson and it was with difficulty that
he was able to fight off a numbness and dizziness that almost overcame
him. One thing sustained him. It was a bitter resentment against those
who sought to hurt him. The fires within him had grown until they became
a flaming, devastating thing that burned its way into his brain. It
needed only a spark to make him forget the game, school, the coach and
everything else. Yet even as he realized this he knew that if he did
lose his temper, Bliss might as well concede the victory to Sloan. It
was not conceit that caused him to know this and admit it but the
clearness of vision that comes oft-times in a moment of greatest mental
strain.
Finally, with the score still tied, neither side having scored, the time
keeper warned the rival teams that only three minutes remained for play.
His warning served to cause a tightening of muscles and a grimness of
countenance in a last final effort to put over a score and avert a tied
score. The huge crowd prayed fervently for a score--a touchdown--a
safety--a goal from field or placement--anything.
It was Sloan's ball on Bliss's forty-five-yard line. Only a fumble or
some fluke could cause a score. Every player was on his mettle burning
with anxiety to get his hands on that ball and scamper down the field to
a touchdown and everlasting fame in the annals of his school's football
history.
In a last desperate effort, the Bliss quarterback called a trick play.
It started out like a quarterback run around left end. The Bliss left
end ran straight down the field after delaying the man playing opposite
him. When the Bliss quarter had made a wide run drawing in the Sloan
secondary defense, he turned and like a flash shot a long forward pass
over the heads of the incoming Sloan backfield to the end who had gone
straight down the field and who was practically free of danger of being
tackled by any of the Sloan backs.
Too late t
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