Promise Kept (Perry Skky Jr.) Read Free Page B

he brought our conversation back to a positive place.
    As he prepared to leave, he touched my shoulder and said, “Listen. All this talk now is that you’re coming off of the bench and you won’t be able to help the game. Shut the media and the fans up; do your thing tomorrow, aight?”
    “Aight, I’ma try,” I laughed, trippin’ that my pops was down.
    Eyeing me to make sure I took him seriously, he said, “Naw, you gon’ do it. You hurting this team on the bench. You get in that game and make up the difference.”
     
     
    He had no idea how right he was. In the first quarter we were down 28-0. Saxon was dropping passes. Deuce was getting blocked turn after turn, and Lance was getting sacked every snap. It was a massacre!
    In the second quarter Lenard and I were able to join the game. We gave Lance confidence and the O line started blocking better. Deuce was able to run and he scored a touchdown. With Markus back as a leader on defense, we held them, and I caught some crazy balls and scored two touchdowns.
    Even with all that battling, when the end of the fourth quarter came we were still behind 28-21. Though we did our best, USC did not come up short. I wanted to beat the Trojans so bad. After all, we lost the first game of the season to them. I played a big part in that loss. My absence in the first quarter of this game will always be in the back of my mind. Once again, I let my teammates down. As we walked to the middle of the field to shake hands with the victorious Trojans, Coach Red didn’t even look my way. I know he was pissed at me. Though we played a hard-fought game, in the end it just wasn’t enough simply trying to win!

Dealing with Trouble
     
    T he mood in the locker room was somber at best; some young men were crying, and rightfully so. For the seniors they’d never get another chance for that ring.
    Coach Red said, “Men, we only lost two games all year, we have to take our hats off to the Trojans. I know you’re mad at me about the decisions that I made and maybe you’re equally upset at some of your teammates for not thinking on this bowl trip. But guys, we have to put this behind us. We had a heck of a season. Nobody gave us anything. We were always ranked in the ugliest spots. Most games we were favored to lose. You guys are champions in my book. Every single one of you is a winner. You may cause me a lot of pain, but one thing for sure, we came together as a team. You need to know wherever you go in life you’re someone special.”
    A few guys cheered, even more clapped. His speech was moving, but it didn’t move me. I said to myself I was never going to be depressed again. I wanted to keep my self-esteem intact. However, even with two of the longest catches of my football career, a 97-yarder and a 98-yarder, maybe if I had been in the game sooner I could have done more. I sat down on the bench, placed my head between my knees and let the tears mix in with my sweat.
    Then I heard Calvin’s voice yell out, “OFFENSE, man, y’all were terrible out there. Y’all didn’t block nobody!” I looked up and he was in the face of two of our linemen.
    “You need to get out of my face,” our center said to him. “That’s the problem with you now, Calvin, you can’t keep your emotions in check; starting some fight at the bar, getting some of our players suspended because they’re trying to support your stupid ways.”
    “Oh, you calling me stupid?” Calvin said to him as he pushed him into another guy.
    Bilboa jumped into the scene and pushed Calvin into another corner. “Naw, he’s trying to blame me for him playing poorly.” I heard more arguing but I put my head back down.
    “You can’t blame yourself for this,” Deuce came over and said to me.
    “Nice try, buddy, but that one don’t fly.”
    “I’m serious man; I choked up in the beginning. You told me it was going to be my time to shine and all I had to do was hold it down until you got in the game, and I choked. You