A Continuing Novel by Greg Shepard

Chapters 1-35 Quest For Grea tness is based on true stories. Coach Travis Drake is the new football Coach at Hamilton High School. With energy, enthusiasm, charisma and hard work, positive changes have been taking place. The other major character Rick Steadman, who is a senior at Hamilton, has been devastated by tragedy. His father and two sisters died in a fire that destroyed their home. Only his little brother Billy survived. . Coach Drake with a lot of caring has helped Rick overcome his problems and this tragedy. Billy and Rick are now part of Coach Drake's family. The Town, School, and team are going crazy over the unbelievable turn around.

Hamilton is now playing Templeton High School for the State Championship, a team that beat them previously. It is halftime. Templeton is ahead 14-0.

Chapter 36 It's Our Half Sam Carter murmured , " We haven 't been able to est abl ish a ny th ing rem ot el y call ed an offe nse ye t. We go tta open up, start passin ' ." Diana a n d Barbara M yers w e re sitting together. "Do n' t worry, Diana. We' ve go l ano ther half. " "Thanks, Barbara," Dian a sa id, "But I can't help it. Travis has worked so hard. Wait a minute. There they are now, but wh eres the team? Oh , Go d, I hope everything's alright." Becky w as sitting in th e Hamilton stu d en t section. She must have sa id a hundred prayers, even thou gh the stude nts w ere cheerin g like th ey were ahead . Th en, a hu ge roar came from the crowd .

The band began p laying and the Hamilton stud ents cheere d loudly. Th e Lions were charging onto the field a nd formed a tight circle scre am ing, "Psych! Psych! Psych! Psych!" Bernie and Fred Maddo x stood up clapping their hands. "G lo ry be, Bernie," Fred excla imed, "I' ve never seen ' em so psyched before." "I told you to rela x, Fred . The second half is our half. Now, sit down. You just gotta hav e faith," winked Bernie. Templeton kicked off; and with the penalty, the ball Rick Steadman Breaks Off Tackle To His Left And Raced 30 Yards!

With Templeton Ahead 14-7, It Became A Defensive Struggle. easily went out of the end zo ne. Ha m ilton had the ball, first-and-ten from the tw ent y. The first play was nothin g fancy, just an off tackle pl ay. Rick ripped for nine yards. He jumped up and helped the Templeton tackler off the tu rf . "N ice ta ckle," he s ai d a n d jogged back to th e huddl e. "Give me the ball aga in," he d em anded . TJ called a swee p. Rick raced for ano ther eight. Then , Dave Prui tt popped one for fiftee n on a co u nte r. Rick got hit hard eve n th ou gh he didn 't h a v e th e ball. "N ice call, TJ. They'r e reall y keyin' on me." "OK, Gu ys, we'll get ' em on thi s one," TJ asserted with autho rity.

It was a pl ay actio n pass . Rick took the fak e wi t h twists and turn s . H e w a s hit by thr e e Temp le to n p laye rs . But TJ, who h ad th e ball, d eftl y passed to his tight end. "Nice catch, Jeff," complim ented TJ. "Nice pass!" sa id Jeff. The next pla y was Rick's best p lay of the night. THe defense relaxed a little and Rick broke an off-tackle pl ay to the left and raced for thirty ya rds for Hamilton's first touchd own. The extra point w as kic ke d . It only took Hamilton thr ee minutes to score. The Ham ilton fans w ere on fire. "Glory be, I think we can do it." "Relax , Fred." Becky had her hand s clas p ed tightly a nd pressed aga ins t her mouth.

She w as squea ling w ith excitement as she rapidly jump ed up and d own . H owe ver, Templeton wasn' t und efeated for noth ing. Th ey came back hard . But after tw o first d owns, th ey w ere forced to punt. H amilton couldn't sus tain a d rive, eithe r, and ano ther d efen si ve struggle ens ue d . All too quickly, the qu arter ende d and the score stood Ha mi lton 7, Templeton 14. TJ and company go t the ball back with ten minutes left. "We go tta d o it , g uys. Suc k it up ," urged TJ. H e passed on first down , catching Templeton off gua rd . Skip took the ball, eluded his man a nd raced for a nift y 35ya rd gain before Temp leton finally brou ght him down. Sam Ca rter was d an cin g.

H e turned a nd faced th e crow d with a broad g ri n . Ho ld ing b oth a rms up , h e yelled, "That's my boy. That' s my boy." Mrs. Carter, who was normall y reserved , stoo d up and cried, "Tha t's my boy too!" TJ aga in took com ma nd. "Hey Bud dy, how you doin' !" "We' re wea rin' 'em down. You can call an ything, TJ."

QUEST FOR GREATNESS Continuedfrompa,ge 27 I "OK, gu ys, w e're in four-down territory. Fight for every ya rd, and let' s put 'em away. Fullback trap on one. Fullback trap on one . Ready, break! " Grudgingly, th e Templeton defense began to yield, Three yards, th en four, then three-no bi g pl ays, but always eno ug h to ge t the first down. Finally, but un spectacularIy, Pruitt cras hed in ov er Buddy for the tou chdo wn . However, it w as spectacula r in the stands . Everyone was cheering madly. Th e referees asked for qui et. Five minutes show ed on the clock. TJ look ed at his teammates, "We' re go in' for two. They' ll be lc o kin' fo r Rick, so we 'll d o our 26 QB at 8 play.

Let' s do it on one. Ready, break." Th e crowd was hushed in anticipa tion. The ball was snapped and Rick took the fake and leap ed high in the air. TJ slippe d the ball out and began to turn the corner. He w as met by two Templeton pl ayers . TJ squ ir m ed and knifed h is wa y toward pa y dirt. TJ's eyes focused on the goal line. "All I ha ve to do is just reach out w ith the ball a nd break the plane. God , let me d o it," raced TJ's mind . Templeton's sid e eru pte d . Hamilton's sid e groaned , The referee signa led "No good." TJ wa s stopped one foot short. So near and ye t so far, was the thought of eve ryone from Hamilton. Sam Cart er slumped down in his sea t. "Glory b e, Berni e.

I feel so badly fo r th e k id s , especially TJ." Story Continued Next Issu e OUEST FOR GREATNESS ........... "Wait Till Next Issue To See What Happens Or Get The Book Now"

THE BEST FOOTBALL BOOK EVER! Cost: Only $10.00 Quest For Greatness Written By Greg Shepard IsA Special Novel For Football Coaches and Players. It Puts The Whole Secret Into A Real Life High School Situation. The Novel Is Based On True Stories From The Author's Clinic Travels and Own Experience.

' I T' S IDEAL Coaches can't put it down. Players see a newvisiori of what they can be. It's an ideal gift. 'It's an ideal way to grasp the vision.

Hamilton Had To Go For Two!

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From BFS Magazine — Fall 1992. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).