Bret's long drive to top-ranked Oaktown was fruitless as the Oaks routed Meridian 63-0. Bret left at halftime with Oakville up 42-0. The two most impressive things about the state powerhouse? The fact that their kicker made all six extra points in the first half (he ended up making all nine in the game) and their football facility.
Both were something Bret could only dream of. On the way home, the coach heard on the radio that Valley Falls had shut out Mount Morton 44-0. So Oaktown and Valley Falls would meet in one semifinal the next weekend. The coach sure hoped his Raiders would be one of the final four, as well.
The next morning dawned sunny and cold as Regence came to town for a 1 p.m. playoff game. The bleachers on the home side were packed, and people lined the sidelines just beyond the security rope.
"This is a real playoff atmosphere," the coach said to no one in particular as he got ready to coach his first playoff game at Lakeville.
The playoff atmosphere quickly disappeared as Lakeville struggled against a Regence team that frankly wasn't very good. The Raiders ended up winning easily enough, 32-0, but Bret wasn't able to hold back much of the playbook since it was only 8-0 at halftime. He also wanted his kicker, Mike Dean, to attempt at least one extra point just to show the scouts from the other schools that there was a weapon they needed to reckon with.
But by the time the fourth quarter rolled around, Lakeville needed every point it could get. The Raiders converted on all four 2-point conversions, but that was about the only good thing that happened.
In the locker room after, the coach said that the performance might help the Raiders because the scouts of the other teams now might look past Lakeville. Bret didn't really believe it, but he said it anyway.
He saw Monique Sellars and Pamela George after the game. Monique had watched the Valley Falls game the night before, and Pamela returned the favor. They seemed more interested in getting alone and naked somewhere than they were in talking to the coach.
And that was fine with Bret. He needed to get back to the school and find out who won the Bedke-Thompson Butte game, which was played at the same time as the Lakeville-Regence game. Whoever won that game would be coming to Lakeville for a semifinal matchup next Saturday. The Oaktown-Valley Falls semifinal would also be held Saturday. As the season wore on and the days got shorter and the weather colder, the state association wanted all playoff games played during the daylight hours. And so, both semis would be at 1 p.m., one at Oaktown and one at Lakeville. Bret had seen the last of Oaktown until the championship game -- if both teams made it that far.
Back in his office, the coach learned Bedke had defeated Thompson Butte 7-6. The sketchy details he received were that Bedke led 7-0 early and won when Thompson Butte scored late in the game and went for 2 and the win. Bret guessed that he wasn't the only coach in the state without a place-kicker.
After searching for his state directory – the document that included all the pertinent information about every school in the state – Bret determined he'd taken his home and left it there. The directory would tell him who Bedke played that year, and it would also contain the phone numbers of every coach in the state. Bret went to the main office of the school. Surely the superintendent had a copy. In fact, he knew he did because they had reviewed Lakeville's information earlier in the school year.
Bret thought about calling the Thompson Butte coach, too, but then, on second thought, decided he'd at least wait until Monday. He didn't want to call the losing coach just hours after the game.
Upon entering the office with his key, he found the door to the superintendent's office locked. He thought fast. Cindy Morgan, the sexy off-limits secretary, would have a key. It would be a great opportunity to call her and flirt anyway. Then he'd drop by her house, meet the big, burley husband everyone talked about, get the key, get a quick glimpse of the gorgeous Cindy and come back to the school for a night of phone calls and film watching.
Clarence Kemp had invited him over, and the thought of another session with Carrie crossed his mind, but the state championship was more important.
Carrie would have to wait. The coach dialed Cindy Morgan. The sexy secretary sounded even hotter on the phone than in person.
"Great game," she cooed.
"You were there?" he asked.
"Every game. I bet you were peeing your pants at halftime."
"Well, it was closer than I expected."
"Sooooooooo you called to thank me for coming to the game? To invite me out to celebrate the win?"
Bret thought that for someone who was apparently "off limits," she sure was being friendly. Perhaps she'd been drinking since the game. Come to think of it, perhaps she was drinking at the game. It was rather chilly out there today.
"Actually, I need a favor," Bret said. "There's a directory in McPherson's office and the office is locked. Could I come by and get the key?"
"Oh, I can run the key over -- I just live a few minutes away," she said.