14
The 34-12 win over Sandcreek moved the Raiders to No. 2 in the high school poll while Valley Falls, after being shocked by Highland 20-18, fell to No. 8. Highland moved to No. 6 with that impressive win. The conference standings after Lakeville's fifth league game looked like this:
Lakeville 2-0
Highland 2-0
Valley Falls 1-1
Prairie 1-1
Weston 2-2
Sandcreek 1-3
Redwater 0-2
The next week, Bret studied game films over and over in preparation for a game at Prairie. The Pirates had lost two games in a row, but were 1-1 in league and a dangerous team. And it was their Homecoming. And like Homecoming all across the United States, teams that weren't that good on the field tended to be very good that night.
The long film sessions paid off, however, as Lakeville prevailed 20-18. Monique was flirty the night of the game, but one of the assistant coaches, intent on getting the lowdown on the state playoffs, sat by Bret all the way home and didn't give the coach a chance to get near the cheerleader. When they got back to Lakeville, she said she felt sick, and it must've been so because she missed school that next Monday.
The Raiders stayed at No. 2 in the poll, Highland moved up to No. 5 with a win over Sandcreek, and Valley Falls improved to No. 6 with a crushing of winless Redwater. The Huskies of Highland began to worry Bret. Here was a team that no one expected to perform at this level and they were 6-0 and threatening to make a run for the conference title.
It wasn't supposed to be this way. It was supposed to be Lakeville and Valley Falls, Valley Falls and Lakeville. To add gray hairs to the young coach's head was the fact that it was Lakeville's Homecoming this week. Certainly, more distractions loomed. On the bright side, the opponent was Redwater, winless Redwater. Didn't everyone want Redwater to be their Homecoming guest year after year? Well, yes, but it didn't always work out that way. This season, it happened to work out, and Bret was grateful to whoever made out the schedule before he had arrived.
On a statewide level, the top-ranked team, Oaktown, hadn't lost in three seasons, and it was a given they would be No. 1 until someone defeated them. They had given up exactly one touchdown the entire season. Bret managed to get a game tape on Oaktown and watched it briefly before he realized he was getting ahead of himself. He hadn't even secured one of the two playoff berths in his own conference, let alone one of the eight spots in the state tournament. There would be time to scout Oaktown, a school 4 1/2 hours away by car. That would come later.
As if the county fair didn't present enough of a challenge, Homecoming week always did. Bret talked on the phone to Lori Hayes twice, and the sexy collegiate girl promised the coach at least a drink when she came home for Homecoming. The coach was hoping there would be much more. On Tuesday night the girls in the school played a powder-puff football game, the seniors and freshmen against the sophomores and juniors.
The boys in the high school officiated the game, and Bret was one of the faculty members who were in attendance as a show of school spirit. It was a fun event and everyone seemed to enjoy him or herself, even Monique, who was apparently over her illness. It was too cold for shorts, but the high school asses in their tight jeans still gave the coach a hard on.
One ass in particular that intrigued him was that of Carrie Kemp, a 6-foot-1 volleyball player. She was a lifeguard in the summer and had the body for it. She looked great in her jeans, even greater in her tight little volleyball uniform. The only problem was that Carrie had a tendency to like her booze, and she'd been warned more than once that one more violation would find her off the team. Normally, one violation was enough, but this was Carrie Kemp, the daughter of the only banker in town. Kemp flirted with whoever would flirt back, and to this point, Bret had kept his distance.
But when Carrie started coming on to him in class, he felt obligated to come on back to her. The flirting had been going on for quite a while, but it was worse than ever on this night. Bret suspected Carrie had been drinking -- and he was right.
Problem is, she got caught after the powder puff game and was booted from the volleyball team. It was too bad, too. Between Carrie and Tamica, the Raiders had a chance to go to state. Now, the coach thought, they didn't have a prayer.
The coach spent most of the week studying film of Highland's win over Valley Falls. He could scout both teams that way, and the two-point game allowed Bret to see what both teams did near the end of the game in a close battle. Bret occasionally looked at Oaktown film too, even though he had promised himself he wouldn't look at the Oaks until the time came. Still, he was gleaning valuable information from their tape. Now, if only the teams would meet.
The Homecoming bonfire was scheduled for Thursday night, the game on Friday and the dance Saturday night. When Bret was in high school, dress to the dance was casual. He remembered fondling breasts through tight sweaters and massaging butt cheeks through jeans. Boy, how it had changed. It was a formal affair these days, and that's why it had been moved to Saturday night and not held on the night of the game.
Bret touched base with Lori Hayes Wednesday. She said she'd be in town Friday, watch the game and then the pair could see what developed. She said she planned to see Monique Saturday and take her to the cabin at the Barr Place to help Monique prepare for the dance Saturday night. Monique had told Bret she wasn't thrilled about the date she had accepted, but he was a friendly guy and she was sure they would have fun. She inquired about stopping by his house after the date had ended, but Bret impressed upon her how important it was to make her date feel like he was an important guy.
Monique agreed. Bret, like the other faculty members, attended the bonfire Thursday night. It was held annually at a vacant lot in town, far away from any structures that could accidentally catch on fire. Wood was hauled in each year, usually from an old barn that some farmer tore down. The band played, the cheerleaders cheered and most of the students drank, thinking the faculty didn't know there was either rum in their Coke cans or schnapps in their hot cocoa. But the faculty did know. Hell, Bret Harris even put some liquor in his coffee. One of the students who didn't hide the fact that she'd been drinking was Carrie Kemp, the former volleyball player. The tight jeans and sweater accented her fabulous body, and the coach got hard thinking about what it would be like to have this tall, luscious girl on top of him, riding him, fucking him.
It wasn't to be on this night, however. Carrie had brought a friend from another school and was busily making out with him during the festivities. Bret flirted with Monique a bit, but her date for the next night, a seldom-used football player, was hanging around the cheerleader, acting as if the two were a couple. Bret could sense Monique's displeasure, but did nothing to intervene.
Friday morning dawned sunny and cold, but at least it wouldn't rain during the game, the coach thought. He had put in some new passing plays and wanted a chance to use them against Redwater. School let out at noon for the afternoon parade, which went down the mile-long main street of Lakeville. Bret rode on the float with the football team; the cheerleaders on a car just in front. As the people lined the streets to watch the parade, which consisted of the local police and fire departments, the band, the cheerleaders, the team and one float from each class, Bret looked for Lori Hayes. And there she was, in front of the pharmacy, standing with her mother. Lori smiled and waved, and Bret returned the gesture.
When everyone returned to the school following the parade, Lori was there, in her designer jeans and a sexy top. It was cold out, and her braless nipples were pressing against the low-cut top she wore. The nipples were huge, the coach thought, and he was looking forward to getting his mouth on them later. The small talk that ensued between Bret and Lori confirmed his wishes: She all but told the coach he'd be dipping his cock into her pussy later that night.
A large crowd packed the bleachers and the sidelines for the Homecoming game. Assistant coaches who had been at Lakeville told Bret it was a larger Homecoming crowd than normal. It appeared there were a lot of people who normally didn't go to games who attended this one to see just how good the Raiders were this season. On one other occasion the Raiders had started this well, 6-0. But they lost their seventh game of the season and then lost again in the state semifinals to finish 9-2. Lakeville had never been to a state football championship game.
The game with Redwater, as expected, was a mismatch from the beginning. The Raiders drove 65 yards on their opening possession to take the early lead and never were threatened. It was one of the most relaxing games in Bret's coaching career. Everyone played; everyone had fun. The coach wasn't even bothered by the players who had to stay out on the field for the Homecoming halftime festivities instead of being in the locker room.