Bob's Season Ends. Mine Begins.

 The first time Bob Nowierski and I hung out together was on a Saturday during the football season in 1966. I can't remember for certain but we may have been helping decorate for the homecoming dance -- or pretending to help. I drove a blue Volkswagen bug but I think we were driving around in his, which I think was a lighter shade of blue. The guy was full of energy all the time it seemed. His high energy was really alive when we were playing football games. When the other team had the ball he would pace up and down the sideline while clapping his hands and shouting, encouraging our teammates to cheer on the defense. At the end of the season his teammates voted him Most Inspirational, an honor he truly deserved.

Toward the end of the first half of our game against Capital on their field, his season ended abruptly.

He was leading the team on offense and after a particular play, he didn't get up off the ground. I went into the game to replace him, not knowing the extent of his injury. It turned out to be a broken collarbone.

I only remember a handful of plays and most of those I would like to forget. Like you, I prefer to remember the good times, but I remember more mistakes from this game than any other. Shortly after I entered the game we were facing a third down in Eagle territory. I called a pass play to Bob Griffin. I still have the picture in my mind of a defender close to him. I decided to throw it high toward the sideline. I figured if Bob couldn't get to it, the ball would land out of bounds. Unfortunately I threw it short and it was intercepted. That's right. While my first pass of the season as backup quarterback in our first game resulted in a touchdown, my first pass as the guy who would lead for the rest of the season was an interception. 

Fortunately, our defense held them and the half ended with the score 0-0.

We scored a touchdown on our first series of the second half, but not before I made it interesting. I called a play in which I was supposed to pitch the ball to one of our running backs, but I pivoted the wrong way and pitched it to, uh, nobody. So I had to hustle over and recover the ball. Fortunately our offensive line came through and we were able to score the first touchdown of the game and take a 7-0 lead. Our defense held again and we took over on our own five yard line. On first down I called an option play. I faked a handoff to Craig Estell and then pitched the ball to Don Minter. Or so I thought. The Capital defensive end stepped between Don and me, grabbed my pitchout in the air, and he only had to take one or two steps to score the touchdown. Well, I wanted to find a hole and hide in it. But Coach Hill met me at the sideline and told me not to worry about it. Of course he was right. I couldn't do anything about it. They missed the extra point so we led 7-6. 

We scored another touchdown and so did Capital. We ended up winning 14-12. I don't know if my teammates were worried about how the season would go with me at quarterback, but Coach Hill would have none of it. When we gathered together in the locker room to discuss the game, Coach Hill talked me up like I had been the star of the game. That was encouraging. Our record was now 4-0 with three games to go. It wasn't the way I wanted to get the starting job, but I had it, and the goal was to complete the undefeated season.