The Years Ahead. As far as Joey Mason was concerned, these next few months were the most

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1 Wurst 1 Andrew Wurst Dr. Noyes English September 2010 The Years Ahead As far as Joey Mason was concerned, these next few months were the most important of his life. It was his senior year, and football season was upon him. An incredibly athletic kid with a bright future, Joey considered football his best sport. It was Friday night, the eve of his big season opener Saturday against his team s rival opponent. Joey heard a knock on his door and his father walked in. I ve got some big news, his father said. Boston College called the house today and their sending a scout here for tomorrow s game. Joey, overtaken with excited didn t really know what to say to his father. After a brief conversation, his father left, and he went to bed. He tossed and turned for several hours that night, knowing that tomorrow would be his greatest chance to earn a scholarship to an elite division I school. He had so many emotions flowing through him but he knew he needed sleep, after struggling for a while longer, he finally dozed off. It was early September but there was a cool chill in the air. The kind of weather that made you excited for one thing. It was football season. Chris Jenkins was glad to be here even after the long drive from his home just outside Boston to Erie, Pennsylvania. It was his seventh year of scouting for Boston College, but there seemed to be something special about this night, this game, this match-up, this Mason kid that Chris heard so much about. As he watched the two team s pre-game warm-up, he began to get excited.

2 Wurst 2 His job was a rewarding one, but over the years the stories and kids all began to seem the same. It was always big schools pumping out big athletes, with big egos; players with so much hype that you d get sick of hearing about them. But this time things seemed to be different. Girard was a small school that had never had one of its players sign a D-I scholarship. And from what Chris had heard Joey Mason was an outstanding student and leader for his team. As the coin toss approached, Chris felt like one of the players. The buzzing of the fans, the crisp cool air, and the heart and soul of the players hit him all at once as the teams took the field. In the past 24 hours Joey had experienced more emotions than ever before in his lifetime. He was excited to begin his senior season, but nervous for his team and his future. Although anxious and ready to play, Joey was also overwhelmed with a nervousness that he was not used to. While lacing up his cleats in the locker room, Joey caught a glimpse of his fellow teammates who were laughing and joking just as they did before any other game. Was it just another game for him too? Trotting out of the locker room with his helmet in hand, Joey began to feel like he was already being watched. Every move he made from this point on would be documented and analyzed thoroughly, or so he thought. That presence he felt was surely the guy up there somewhere in the stands, who would make it his job to keep his eyes on Joey for the duration of the game. Holding hands with his teammates as if he were going to battle, Joey and the other captains walked onto the field for the coin toss. Girard won the toss and elected to receive the ball. The team understood momentum would be huge and scoring first on a team like General McLane could make a huge difference. Joey would be a vital part in his team s success; he knew that, everyone knew that. He would return kicks; run his

3 Wurst 3 teams offense at the quarterback position and play strong safety on the defensive side of the football. As Joey lined up to receive the kick, all of his emotions dissipated. He felt only one thing, adrenaline. As the game progressed McLane and Girard seemed to be wearing each other down. Chris was enjoying every bit of it. He had been watching Joey closely for several quarters now. Joey s offensive numbers were not impressive. He completed a few passes on offense and only had 46 rushing yards. Chris knew that McLane was a tough opponent and Girard battled hard for every yard. Although Joey seemed to be struggling immensely, Chris noticed several things that impressed him. After every play Joey would check his linemen and the rest of his teammates to make sure they were okay. He d be the first player to help a man up, on either side of the ball, and always seemed to have control over his team. General McClane was driving and up 14-8 late in the 4 th quarter when Joey intercepted a pass and ran it back to the 50 yard line. Chris found himself cheering like he was a proud father of one of the players. He knew that this would be the defining moment of his trip to Erie. As he watched Joey from the stands, he seemed to glide past defenders; he picked up several first downs to put Girard in excellent position to score. It was 3 rd down and 3 and Girard decided to run the ball up the middle to get the first down. Mason made a handoff to the fullback and Girard appeared to have a first down, until the football came loose from the ball carriers hands and General McClane recovered. Chris sighed in disappointment. There was only a few minutes left and for all intensive purposes the game was over. All McClane had to do was kneel the ball several times to run out the clock. Being fully aware of this fact, Chris decided to pack up his camera and head for his car.

4 Wurst 4 At that moment, Joey s world seemed to be crashing down. Thoughts raced through his head. Had he just blown his scholarship chance? What could he have done differently? Joey ran to help up his teammate who fumbled the ball and did his best to comfort him. General McLane took a knee several times to end the game. Girard had lost. Joey felt sick as he and his teammates headed to the locker room. He blocked out all his emotions and sat his teammates down to talk with them. Everyone knew that a scout was there to see Joey play and win, and the team felt they had let him down. Joey didn t go around blaming and pointing fingers, he simply told his team that they fought hard and played a sensational game. Keep your heads up guys; we have a long season ahead of us. We ll see McLane in the playoffs. Joey was the last one out of the locker room and he walked back to his car in complete darkness. Shortly after leaving Battles Memorial Field, Chris stopped at a local coffee shop to gear up for his long drive back to Boston. As he sat and drank his espresso he pulled out his stat sheet from the game he has just observed. 123 total yards of total offense for Mason wasn t impressive. 11 tackles and an interception on defense looked good on the stat sheet but that s not what impressed the experienced scout. He couldn t help but think about Mason s uncanny leadership skills that were so evident when watching him play. It was obvious that every single one of Joey s teammates relied on him for what to do next. He never once faltered during the game. Even in defeat he was the first player to run to the assistance of his distraught teammate who had essentially lost the game. These were the type of things that impressed Chris Jenkins the most, and he realized that these were the type of things that he looks for while recruiting high school players like Joey

5 Wurst 5 Mason. After a short phone conversation with Boston College s head football coach, Jenkins knew what he would do next. The thought of going home did not appeal to Joey one bit. Things were always the same after a loss. His father would talk about the game and his mother would tell him how much she loved him. It was all a cliché. This loss was different. This time he lost a lot more than just a game. Joey thought he d call up some friends and see what they were doing the rest of the night. Joey s friends were heading down to the beach to have a fire and drink some beers. Although he didn t drink much, nothing sounded better to him than to sit around a fire and talk with friends. So what if he had a few beers? Normally Joey would call home to let his parents know his whereabouts, but Joey felt it unnecessary, since he couldn t think of any possible reason to return home. After double checking the address he was given, Chris walked up to the front door and gave several knocks. Mr. Mason answered the door and greeted Jenkins. After Chris introduced himself, Mr. Mason s face lit up like a candle and he invited him in to sit down. After several minutes of waiting for Joey to return home, Mr. Mason called Joey. There was no answer. Mr. Mason began to worry, but he kept his composure and tried to stall as much as he could. Jenkins and Mr. Mason began to talk about the game. The two shared moments and highlights of the night that they thought were important and before long they were caught up in football talk. Eleven beers scattered behind his chair in the sand. Joey had more than a few beers. Suddenly there wasn t much that mattered to him. He didn t care that his cell phone was in his car. He didn t care that he had just lost the most important game of his life. All that mattered now were the jokes being told around the fire, and whose turn it

6 Wurst 6 was to go grab the next round of beers. At that moment, Joey was content. This is what his college years would be like. This would be his life without football.