Last night was Thursday night and I was going to my first Edison game in a decade. Rebecca stayed in Palm Springs and is coming out today, Friday, to hit the fair at Saint's Simon and Jude and then hang out for the weekend. I didn't want to go to the game by myself and since I am from HB, I was sure I could get a date. I asked Rebecca if she would mind and her lack of confidence in her husband was over flowing. "If you can find a date, go for it." So I picked up my phone and called Phil Cooper. Now I wasn't going to ask him out because I knew he was coaching the game, besides, I don't really have a thing for big men.
I leave my parents house and head out to pick up the future ex wife and being the gentleman I am, I brought a gift. I was dressed nice with a Tommy Bahama shirt and some sweet golf shorts and the Coup De Gras, my Reef flip flops with the bottle openers built into the bottom. I checked in my rear view mirror to make sure that the hair I have left was in order. It was, and I was, as pretty as I was going to get.
Time to stroll up to the door and create that magic that is "new love." I knock on the front door and the chaos begins. It sounded like the fourth of July as translated by dogs. I think they have four but my goodness are they enthusiastic.
I could hear footsteps, the excitement was electrifying. I still can't believe Rebecca said this was OK. The handle of the door turns and the door swings open. There in front of me is a vision. Bill Malavasi.
If you’re from Huntington Beach, or even Southern Cal, you either know or have heard of Billy. I only see him a few times a year but every time I do, we have a good time. Ah, the gift. I offer him one of two beers and we knock those back before leaving for the game. I still can't believe they don't sell beer at high school football games, shocking.
We get to the game and are expecting the stands to be full. At kickoff, they were maybe half full. The Edison Chargers had their white on white road uniforms and the Mater Dei Monarchs were in their Red on Red. Great looking uniforms on both teams and contrast in colors really added to this great rivalry. I’m looking around for people I know from my past and said hello to a couple of different folks. Hank Bell (Kerwin’s dad and my former fishing buddy), Nanette and Rick Zumwalt, a very good looking couple, and Andy Eddy. I played football with Andy at USC and now his son is a starter on offense and defense for the Chargers. Andy was USC's Rudy. He was way too small to play football but has the heart of a giant. A walk-on at SC, he was a scout team running back and knew he was never going to be a starter. But he helped us prepare for games and was rewarded, like Rudy, by getting to play in games. Plus he is a great guy.
The game starts and after the first quarter, I call my pop and sister for the first of many updates. I also give them a prediction of 28 - 7, maybe 35 - 14. Wow, was I wrong. Turn over’s, penalties, bad officiating and at half, Edison was lucky to be down just a few points. I have to tell you, they made the Charger faithful very proud of their efforts. They never gave up and son of a gun, by the end of the game it was tied 29 - 29. What a great game, the best football game that I can remember being at in person.
I have to tell you though, there were some things happening in the stands that added to the score. I told you earlier that Phil is a coach, so he is working the sidelines like a fat kid hitting a chocolate chip cookie, hard and fast. Billy is sitting to my left and again, he is Coop’s roommate. Billy should be a coach because he is diagramming plays left and right and really wants to see a tight end screen or least hit the guy on a drag route underneath. Honestly, it was open. So finally, after three quarters of talking about this he breaks down, "Bubba, call Coop." Now I'm not going to call the coach during the game and tell him what to run, that’s crazy... so I dial and hand the phone to Billy. Coop must have the phone on vibrate because he reaches into his pocket, does this classic Phil where he moves kind of slow, with a kind of WTF? look he can do and answers. I was shocked he took the call from me during the game. But it wasn’t me, it was Billy and Billy was on fire. He gave a perfect description of the play he wanted and they hung up.
We watch Phil for about a minute or two and son of a gun, he starts walking over to Coach White. Words are shared and I swear on my dog, there were two passes to the tight end on this drive and one went for a touchdown. I don't have confirmation that he actually passed on the message, and honestly, I don't think I want to. The not knowing is so much better than learning that he didn't mention it. Here is the problem. Now Billy thinks he has a direct line to Coach White and it was all I could do to keep him from calling back. Next, it was “the tackle isn't blocking” and “run this” or “blitz that,” let's just say that was the only call he was allowed to make. Phil thanked me later.
I also learned that Billy hates the rule concerning kickoffs and touchbacks. If the ball reaches the end zone, for the safety of the players, the ball is automatically brought out to the 20. This drove poor Billy mad.
The whole game and overtime, I was doing live updates for my sister at her house and my dad at his. That was a cool way to share the game with loved ones. I called Rebecca and she was going to bed after Survivor at 9:00 and she obviously asked me, "how is your date going, you gonna get lucky?" She is so cynical sometimes.
I already was lucky. I got to watch Coach White make a great call on a third and short to pull ahead for good in double overtime. A quarterback draw; the perfect call. Edison 36, Mater Dei 29.
Now no good Edison victory is complete without Lamp Post pizza and beer. So in 13 minutes, we were sitting in an almost empty place having a pitcher of Redhook and a great pizza. Coop and Billy have the same “pet” names for each other and I found out that name is Hoover. For the record, Billy had his share of the pizza and I had mine. We even had some left over for breakfast; mine was great… and is gone!
I learned a few things from last night. First, Billy and I fill up a small car. Second, Billy is a closet coach (get in the game my brother!). Third, Phil looks great on the field and seems to really be having a ton of fun, good for him. Fourth, the students are babies and we were never that young in high school.
Finally, and most importantly, you can go back. That old saying may be true in the physical sense, but mentally, I had more flashbacks than Bob Dylan at a Grateful Dead concert. Seeing Hank Bell, hanging with Billy and seeing Phil, Ricky Justice and Coach White do their thing on the field, what a night. I thought of Workman often, Clower and his way too tight sweaters, being in that cramped locker room at Santa Ana College, (about 100 yards from the county jail). All the young faces of my teammates, Ponder, Blanchard, Burke, Majors, Geroux, Malavasi, the list is 100 players deep I bet I could remember 75 of them I bet if I tried.
I remember doing exactly what Edison did, beat Mater Dei. We won 35 - 7 and 45 - 14 in our years and I can tell you about every play I was in, want to hear? I didn't think so; no one cares about the punter!
The night ended as it should have, two old friends full of beer, pizza and smiling from the game and the flood of memories that we shared.
Thanks for a fun night Billy, Coop, family and of course, the number 1 ranked team in the County. Just another great memory that I get to keep for a lifetime. I am a lucky guy!
Fight on!
Troy
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