Atlanta Daily World

WHUDDUE!
By FRANCIS WALLACE
A GREAT FOOTBALL ROMANCE
COPYRIGHT 1930, BY FRANCIS WALLACE - DISTRIBUTED BY KING FEATURES SYNDICATE, INC

Young and ambitious Ted Wynne realizes he cannot ask the wealthy Barb Roth to marry a mill hand, so he leaves his position in the Bellport steel mill and works his way through Old Dominion College. He shows promise in football, and Barney Mack, the coach, takes an interest in him. Tom Stone, star player and Ted's rival for Barb's affections, is antagonistic towards him. Ted, however, is admired by the other students. During vacation he toils in the mill to earn his tuition and prepare for the fall football season.

Barb breaks an appointment with Ted and goes with Tom to a dance. Ted takes Rosalie Downs, whom Barb dislikes. Ted plans to show Barb he too can be independent, and at a week-end party ignores her. Last night, the boys, at Tom's suggestion, rush into the girls' rooms and take them, pajama-clad, down to the water. Ted does not join in the fun, but when Tom comes along with Barb in his arms, apparently enjoying it and calling to Ted to save her, he takes her from Tom and drops her in the water. Furious, she slaps him. Tom tries to start a fight, but Ted calls him a snob and leaves with Barb watching from a window.

CHAPTER IX.

New Dominion got off to a good start by winning from Duquesne by two touchdowns. Barney had limited his team to five plays on the offense but they had been given a stiff defensive test by Elmer Lavden's spirited crew. On Monday at the regular noon lecture, Barney reviewed the contest, standing at the blackboard with chalk in hand, talking with his heavy voice that rode up hill on a slur to emphasize his points.

"Not a bad game, Saturday; not a bad game at all for a starter--of course Pidge was looking up in the stands for his girl a couple times and missed a signal but the ladies must have their thrills; we must please the ladies, always. You've got a habit of watching the play, Stone--don't watch the play--that's what we have alumni sitting on the bench for. I don't want any more arguing with the quarterback. He suits me or he wouldn't be in there--and he answers to me--you high school stars get that in your heads now; if their tackle widens and leaves a hole, just say that the tackle is widening; he's probably seen it anyhow; but don't rush back and order him to run 53.

"Where's Moynton? How's that ankle, Pat? Pretty good, eh? Well better take tonight off anyway, Pat; come out and look on and get the Navy stuff.

"All right--Navy offense. Two main formations. Where's your notebook, Stone? On the cuff--they won't let you take that cuff in the game, Tom; no cribbing in football game--you have to know your stuff. Don't take these plays down, Brute--you might make the first team; where's your notebook, Pidge? Well, I'm astonished. You looked pretty good out there a couple of times, Pidge; pretty good. All right--we'll call this Formation A. Formation A. They come out of the huddle and line up like this:

O O O X OO o o o

"Lloyd is back here and Clifton here. Now here's the defense we'll use."

The squad of thirty-five men made a night trip to Baltimore, arriving there Friday morning and going to the Gibson Island Country Club. They limbered up in the afternoon, put on a dummy defense against Navy plays. After dinner Barney assembled the quarterbacks in his room and made a final survey of the Navy personnel and the strategy they were to use.

"Your team starts, Ted. Safe plays, punt early; play for the break and try to push the ball in their territory by the end of the first period. If we get a safe lead your team may go back in the last quarter--with this schedule we've got to have a second team that can go in there and play a quarter or more against everybody.

"Go play some of that ping pong in the lobby now; take a walk; forget this game until tomorrow. Get a good night's sleep."

Ted played through the entire schedule that night, reviewed his quarrel with Barb; fumbled punts; designed new plays--marvelous plays to take advantage of opposing weaknesses as they developed; missed tackles, called wrong plays. Finally the Navy goat running with head down bore upon him as he was waiting to catch a punt--a swarm of Navy goats in pastel colors, made for him. The thing to do was to catch the ball first, hold it, stay on your feet, and if you went out, make them carry you out--the goats were banging him, he was hugging the ball.

"Come on snap out of it, let loose of them covers." Pidge was calling. "We'll be late for breakfast and Barney'll be on my tail again. Better get all we can to eat this morning because it'll be a long wait until the alumni get ready to feed us tonight."

Heavy breakfast--steak, potatoes, oatmeal, toast with plenty of butter--food to give weight and strength to be dissipated during the morning.

Light lunch--tea and toast at eleven.

Lolling about in their rooms after that, resting bodies; calming nerves. At twelve thirty loaded into buses and driven to the Baltimore Stadium.

Ted dressed slowly, tried desperately to keep on the ground; went over the strategy. A year ago just a steel mill boy; today in charge of the destinies of a New Dominion football team in its first big game. Seventy thousand people out there, all second guessers. The world was a big place and a lone individual rolling around in it fell into queer holes; but somebody had to fill the spot and Barney had picked him.

Boys in all stages of dress; some naked; others fitting pads like harness under their jerseys; trainers taping weak spots.

Millions listening on the radio; maybe even Barb.

Out to limber up. Seventy thousand was a lot of people. Navy was out--big fellows; that damned goat was on the sidelines.

Back for the charge. Football was only a game but it was a matter of life and death now. Dead silence--as though a corpse was in the room. A few alumni sat unobtrusively in corners.

Barney stood up. His voice was strong. Ted was glad to hear a noise--that quiet was bursting his head.

"Not much I can tell you about these fellows that you don't know; they're bigger than you; primed for you; they'll be tough.

"But you're faster; smarter;" his voice rose. "Get the jump on them. Second team starts--they'll try to score on you; and we can't afford to spot Navy a touchdown.

"I want you linemen to charge. We'll beat 'em by smartness and fight and charge, charge--charge!

"A hard season ahead. A lot depends on how you get started.

"Remember what it means to a team to beat Navy--hey, smell the headlines they'll get awful tough; if these fellows beat us all the others will get awful tough.

"Beat Navy and they'll all be ready to take it on the chin.

"All right, forget everything but the game now--go out there now, stay cool, poised; do your job on every play, think all the time; fight all the time. You're smarter--you are. Go on out now and win."

The squad roared, releasing pent emotion, and ran single-file from the dressing room to the field.

Navy came out from the other side at once; the Midshipmen picked up the end of the New Dominion cheering section.

In a daze Ted ran his team through signals--the place was buzzing, bursting, pounding--the stadium, with its seventy thousand second guessers, was pounding inside his head.

Nerves tightened; heart leaped and stomach contracted. To the sidelines while Harry Paden went out for the toss. Taking off sweat shirts. Words of encouragement from the squad.

"Go get 'em, gang. Crack 'em hard."

Barney brought him out of it.

"All right, Ted, boy," he said soothingly, "head clear and thinking all the time. Nothing mysterious; just the old common sense; the old percentage.

"You know what to do. You've got the wind; kick that old ball and play safe till you get the feel.

"Go on out now, kid. You can do it. It's your ball game."