Chapter 11

Monday April 26, 2032 – Engle Middle School, Jennersville, PA

Nolan Phillips plopped his tray down on the table beside Danny. They were the first of their group of friends to arrive in the cafeteria. Their previous class met in a room three doors down from the cafeteria, so they usually were the first to get their lunch.

“Did you have a good weekend?” Danny asked amiably.

“I had a mind blowing, knock your socks off weekend,” Nolan gushed, unable to contain himself.

“Oh?”

“I got laid,” Nolan chortled. “I ... GOT ... LAID...”

“Congratulations,” Danny allowed. “I didn’t know you were dating anyone since you and Riley broke up.” Riley Kennedy and Nolan had gone steady for almost a year before they split up about six weeks ago.

“I am not seeing anyone seriously,” Nolan replied. “My parents did a ‘parents-only’ weekend this past weekend. Jake [, his nine-year-old brother, ] and I got shipped off to spend the weekend with my aunt, uncle and cousins. They’re cool. You might know my older cousin, Joey ... Joey Phillips?”

“Yeah, Joey plays free safety for our varsity football team,” Danny said. “He runs track too, I think.”

“He’s my cousin,” Nolan confirmed. “He plays football, wrestles and runs track. Anyway, the plan for the weekend was for Joey and his sister to entertain Jake and me. Saturday afternoon Joey gets a text from a buddy inviting him to a party that night. He begs my aunt for permission to go, but she won’t allow him to go unless he takes me too. She insists he needs to be a good host and keep me entertained. Joey lines that up with the guy hosting the party. I went to a frickin’ high school party! Do you know how wild they can be?”

“My JV teammates have invited me to a few,” Danny responded. “They can be wild.”

“My cousin isn’t happy about dragging me to the party,” Nolan continued. “I promised Joey I would blend in and not attract attention. I figure I’ll have a few beers, look at some pretty high school girls and just chill out.”

“How does blending in and chilling out get you laid?”

“I’ll get to that,” Nolan promised. “Anyway, I’m chilling and enjoying my beers. They weren’t my first. I like beer.” That was not news to Danny. Joey Phillips occasionally scored a six pack for his younger cousin. Danny had enjoyed one of those beers with Nolan a couple months earlier.

“The high school girls at this party are hot, like you would not believe,” Nolan continued. “The girls paid no attention to me. No wonder, I’m 5’-5” and 105 pounds soaking wet. I look like what I am, a middle schooler. These girls are stacked, way bigger than the girls in our grade.

“Anyway, this really foxy number comes over and finds a seat next to me with her boyfriend. The two are kissing and stuff. They’re putting down the beers pretty good too. He has his hand stuffed up her sweater and is feeling her up. I can see his tongue snaking into her mouth. I am less than twelve inches away from this horny couple. The chick is just as into him as he is into her. She’s pawing at his back. She slips a hand down and I can see her feeling his package. Damn, I have to wonder, were they going to strip and screw right there on the couch beside me?

“The party gets rowdy,” Nolan continued. “Somebody challenges guys to a beer chugging contest. They call out for Tony to join them. The dude beside me staggers off his girlfriend and yells, ‘I’m in.’ Apparently, he is the Tony they’re calling for. He joins the crowd in the middle of the room.

They’ve got these big cans of beer, not the little twelve-ounce kind. Anyway, the four contestants, including this Tony dude, take the beers and stab a pen in the bottom of the can to make a hole. Other kids hold the beer cans for the contestants and then pop the tops open. The beer pours out the hole in the bottom and the helpers let the stream of beer pour down the open mouths of the contestants. The winner is the first to guzzle the whole can.

“This Tony dude wins easily. He lets out a victory belch, grabs another beer and downs it too. I am amazed. The dude had like three beers while he was sitting beside me. He downs the massive can and then another. God knows how many beers he had before he sat down beside me. The guy staggers back and plops down on the couch beside his now pissed off girlfriend.

“She tries to get him worked up again, kissing and massaging his chest. The dude is pretty out of it. Next thing you know, his head just rolls back as she is trying to kiss him. He’s passed out. I was on my third beer by then and was a little drunk. The chick, she was drunker than me. Her boyfriend, he’s totally wasted. Just gone for the night. ‘Idiot! Now who do I have my fun with?’ she snapped.

“This hot chick turns and sees me there beside her. She stares at my face for a moment, then looks down my body to my lap. Now, I’ve been sitting beside the hottest chick at the party, watching her make out with her boyfriend for the past fifteen minutes. My boner is like a piece of steel. She eyes it for a bit before raising her gaze back to my face. I see her mouth the words, ‘why not?’ silently before she turns towards me and wraps her arms around behind me.

“The hot chick hugs me tight to her chest. I mean I’m mashed against the biggest set of titties I ever saw. She leans in and kisses me, spearing her tongue into my mouth until she finds my tongue. Our tongues wrestled back and forth between our mouths. After a bit, I felt the chick’s hand slide down and she felt up my boner. I got bold and slipped my hand up and felt one of her soft, pillowy titties through her sweater. Oh, so sweet.

“After a bit, one of the times we broke our kisses for breath, she commented, ‘I’m Lydia.’

‘Nolan... ‘ I stammered.

‘What school do you go to?’ she asked.

‘Engle... ‘ I gasped before we kissed again.

‘An eighth grader?’ she gasped at our next pause. ‘How’d you get into this party?’

‘Cousin,’ I moaned as I pointed towards Joey, about ten feet away. He had a cute girl pinned to the wall and they were making out.

‘You’re a good kisser,’ Lydia groaned before we locked lips again. I was tempted to slip my hand up under her sweater the way her boyfriend had done so I could feel some bare titty, but during the next pause she panted, ‘Let’s go upstairs for more fun.’”

‘yEAh!’ I squeaked. It was a hell of a time for my damned voice to break. She hopped off the couch, pulled me up and we hurried upstairs to find an empty bedroom. All were taken, at the moment. Lydia pinned me against the wall with her soft, sweet body and we kissed some more. All the time we’re tongue wrestling, she was rubbing her tummy on my boner. All I could think was, ‘where are we going?’

“I found out pretty quickly. One of the bedrooms came open a couple minutes later. Lydia pulled me inside, slammed the door and locked it. She stripped off my clothing before I knew what was happening. She shed her clothes as she pushed me back on the bed onto my back. She was on top of me in no time.”

“No shit?” Danny inquired.

“No shit,” Nolan acknowledged. “I’m naked in bed with this hot, naked chick and she wants one thing – me! She stroked my rod and murmured, ‘You’re big for you age.’ She scooted down between my legs and slurped my dick into her mouth before I could respond. Damn, she was a good cocksucker. I doubt I lasted more than thirty seconds of her sucking me off. She sucked me dry and swallowed every drop.”

Danny just shook his head in wonder at Nolan’s tale.

“Lydia slid over top of me and began Frenching me again,” Nolan explained. “She got her tongue half way down my throat. I reach up and grasp each of these huge, soft breasts as we kiss. Lydia starts rubbing her bottom against me. I went hard again in an instant. Why not? I’ve got a naked girl rubbing on my dick. We made out for a couple minutes.

“Lydia rises up on her knees straddling me, grabs my dick in her hand and rubs it against her slot. Damn this chick is so wet. Next thing, she just drops down and skewers herself on my rod. I am balls deep in pussy and not a virgin anymore. God, how do I describe the feelings of sliding my dick deep into her pussy? Think of the best feeling you’ve ever had, multiple it by like ... a million and getting fucked is still better. Needless to say, I did NOT last long, maybe fifteen or twenty seconds. I blasted my load up into her as she rode my rod.”

“This is hard to believe,” Danny commented.

“I was there and I still can’t believe it happened,” Nolan responded. “Anyway, Lydia was not done with me. She knew I came but I was still hard. She continued bouncing up and down on my hard-on and she fucked herself on me a second time. I know I lasted longer the second time.” He gave Danny a wink.

“You know all those guys in the locker room bullshitting about how they fucked some chick for half an hour?” Nolan commented. “They’ve never fucked a girl in their life. Nobody can last that long. I might have gone for ninety seconds or at most a couple minutes. I blew my load up into her again. I was wiped out. My dick went soft and fell out of her hole. Damn, what a mess of come and juices slopped out of her.

“I figured we were done but Lydia had other ideas. She wrapped her arms around me and rolled us over, so she was on her back on the bed and I was on top of her. She pulled my head down and began kissing me again. My bare chest is mashed against her soft titties. We’re swapping tongues like crazy. I start rubbing myself against her belly again. I went hard in no time.

“‘You want to be on top this time, stud?’ Lydia purred. I did not need persuading. I tried to poke my dick in her hole, but she had to help me get the location right. She positions me and I hunch my hips. I’m sinking deep into some sweet, sweet pussy again. I start pumping in and out. The first two times I was fucked by this chick. This time, I’m fucking her. Being in control feels nice.

“I lasted a hell of a lot longer the third time,” Nolan explained. “Do you have any idea what it sounds like to fuck a girl with a pussy full of come?” Danny shrugged his shoulders as Nolan continued. “I’m pounding away at Lydia. She wraps her arms around my neck and pulled my head down to kiss. Our tongues are tangling together as I keep fucking her. Her pussy is slurping and making farty noises. It was wild. Finally, it was too much for me and slam my dick up inside her and spew my come into her belly. I collapsed, spent and done for.”

“That quite a story,” Danny comments. Nolan held up his right hand and made the Scout sign.

“Is it too weird to say Scout’s honor that my story is entirely true?” Nolan asked. Danny did not have time to respond.

“Is what story true?” Blake Hastings asked as he, Mason Jones and Logan Robertson all showed up at the table.

“Danny and I were just talking,” Nolan commented. Nolan and Danny dropped their subject as the other boys sat down. Nolan trusted Danny with the story but everyone knew Blake had a big mouth. Word about what Nolan did over the weekend would have been around the whole eighth grade by the end of day if Blake ever heard.

When lunch was over, Danny motioned Nolan to hang back as their group of friends left. “Are you going to see this Lydia again?” Danny asked.

“Not likely at all,” Nolan replied. “I found out later she is a grade ahead of us and goes to Unionville High School. I doubt I’ll ever see her again.”

“What about protection?” Danny asked. “What happens if you knock her up?”

“In the heat of the moment, I never gave that any thought,” Nolan said. “I thought about that on Sunday. What can I do now? She lives in Unionville. The party was at a house in Toughkenamon in Kennett School District. I live in New London. How would she ever find me?”

“So, you’re OK with anonymous sex with some strange girl?”

“I’m a guy, Danny,” Nolan replied. “I am fine with having sex however I can get it. Now all I need to do is find myself a girlfriend here who thinks like Lydia when it comes to sex.”

“Good luck with that search,” Danny laughed.

Nolan never learned the back story of his encounter with Lydia Howell. Lydia had a fight with her boyfriend Tony DiCipio Monday at school. That Saturday night was the third time he got her all horny then drank so much he passed out at a party. She taunted him about picking up this young kid at the party and fucking him six ways to Sunday while Tony was slumped on the couch in a stupor. She claimed Nolan was a hundred times better a lover than Tony was. That was the end of their relationship. One other important thing that Nolan did not know was that Lydia had a birth control implant in her arm and there would not be any little Nolans running around next January.

Thursday April 29, 2032 – NovaCare Complex, Philadelphia, PA

After a year of scouting, video study, interviews and testing, it was time for the Eagles to draft the eight players to improve their team. Troy Vincent, Kyle and the coaching staff, Julian Lurie, Jeffrey Lurie and Brent Celek and the scouting staff were assembled in the offensive meeting room to monitor the proceedings and to choose their first-round pick.

The team kept the sound off the broadcast on the big screen in front while they waited for the eight o’clock start of the draft. No one had any interest in what the talking heads on TV had to say about the proceedings. The Dolphins went on the clock five minutes after eight o’clock. They wasted no time sending their pick in.

Michael Beckwith, commissioner of the NFL came about with a big smile. “With the first pick of the 2032 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins choose Spence Harding, quarterback from the University of South Carolina.” Spence walked onto the open-air stage outside So-Hi Stadium in LA wearing a Dolphins hat. He and Michael Beckwith held up a #1 Dolphins jersey while the cameras clicked, and the world got to see the newest Dolphin.

The Detroit Lions were on the clock next. They needed most of the ten minutes to choose Tommy Harris, an offensive lineman from Nebraska. The Titans picked Hunter Dawson, an offensive lineman from Alabama. The Texans took every second of their ten minutes to choose Jack Kline from Clemson. Jack was quarterback who in most years would be a prize pick, except his stats paled in comparison Spence Harding.

So far, the draft played out as the Eagles expected. Zion Cherry pulled names off the Eagles draft board as they were selected. The Panthers went on the clock. The Eagles draft board had Josh Wilcox from USC as the top player. He was a defensive back. He would be a great choice for the Eagles, if the Panthers did not take him.

Michael Beckwith walked out to announce the Panther’s pick. “With the fifth pick of the 2032 NFL Draft, the Carolina Panthers choose Joshua Wilcox, defensive back from the University of Southern California.”

With that, the Eagles were on the clock. The name at the top of their draft board was Austin Hawkins, the fast wide receiver from LSU.

“Let’s go around the room,” Troy said. “Is Austin Hawkins our guy?” The coaching staff agreed, as did the scouting staff. Julian said yes. Troy turned to Jeffrey Lurie. “Mr. Lurie?”

“Hawkins is the guy,” Jeffrey agreed quietly.

“Kyle, would you give Mr. Hawkins a call and let him know he will be dressing in midnight green this fall,” Troy said. “I will let LA know our pick.

Kyle picked up his phone and dialed the soon-to-be Eagle. “Austin, this is Kyle Martin.”

“Hello, sir,” Austin said excitedly. The camera person in the green room at So-Fi Stadium caught the phone call. The Eagles staff watched the phone call live.

“How would you like to be an Eagle?” Kyle asked.

“I’d love it,” Austin gushed.

“Celebrate tonight,” Kyle said. “We will arrange an airplane to get you to Philly tomorrow morning. You need to meet the press and to start getting ready for this coming season.”

“I can’t wait, sir,” Austin replied. His girlfriend beside him gave him a hug as he talked on the phone. His parents were all smiles. “I look forward to getting to Philadelphia. How soon can I get a playbook?”

Kyle chuckled before replying, “We’ll get you taken care of quickly. Enjoy the evening and I will see you tomorrow.”

Jeremy leaned over to Ed and commented, “Someone just earned serious brownie points with their head coach.”

“Yeah, he certainly did,” Ed laughed.

A minute later, Michael Beckwith walked to the podium and announced, “The Philadelphia Eagles, with the sixth pick in the 2032 NFL Draft, chose Austin Hawkins, wide receiver from Louisiana State University.” Beckwith and Austin held up an Eagles jersey for the cameras.

“Well, the first round is done for us,” Troy commented. “We will reconvene this group after lunch tomorrow and review what the rest of the teams do with the first round, and plan for our second and third round picks tomorrow night. Go home and enjoy a little time with your families, you won’t get that opportunity for another few days.”

Kyle hung around to watch the Chargers select Brendan Pitts, the linebacker from Michigan, with their first-round pick. Kyle headed back to Landenberg.

The Eagles draft team reassembled at 11:00 AM on Friday to review the remainder of the first-round of the draft. There were a few teams’ picks that surprised the Eagles. Also surprising was that Andre Norwood, the weakside linebacker from Texas was at the top of their draft board. The scouting staff had tagged him as a likely mid to late first round pick.

The Eagles philosophy was generally to take the best athlete available regardless of position. That clearly was Norwood. The problem was that he played at a position where the Eagles had just paid free agent Xavier jones a small fortune to play the same position.

Jeremy North summed it up well. “I can’t believe I am saying it, but I think we need to pass on Norwood. I expect him to be a good linebacker, but we don’t have a place for him to play.”

Coach C added, “I concur. We can use more depth at defensive end. I think we should use our second pick for either Trey Cambell or Monroe Duckworth.”

“Do you have a strong preference for one over the other?” Julian asked. “We have them rated about equal as prospects.”

“No, either will fit in fine with our defense.”

The team reviewed the likely candidates that they would consider that evening with their second and third-round picks. The meeting broke up for lunch. The draft team would reconvene at 5:30 PM to get for the next two rounds of the draft. Friday night would run much longer than the previous might.

Austin Hawkins arrived just as the draft meeting was ending. Kyle, Troy, Ryan and Jordan Burke took their first-round draft pick out to lunch. Several fans recognized Hawkins at Chickies & Pete’s and came over to welcome the speedy receiver to Philly. It did not surprise Kyle at all when one of Austin’s first questions was about when he could get a playbook. Kyle assured him that Jordan would hook him up after the press conference to introduce him to the media.

The draft got started promptly at 6:00 PM. The earlier discussion about what to do about Andre Norwood proved unnecessary. The Texans took him with pick #34, four picks ahead of the Eagles. Both Campbell and Duckworth were still available, so the team waited for the Titans, Texans and the Panthers to make their picks.

Troy’s phone rang just as the Panthers turned in their pick. The call was from Jessie Hanson, GM for the Cardinals. “Troy, would you consider a trading your second for our second pick plus our fifth-round pick?”

Troy knew the NFL draft pick value chart well. “That is not enough. Offer me your fourth-round pick instead of your fifth pick and we might be able to make a deal. Give me a moment with my staff.” Troy put the Cardinals GM on hold.

“What do we see the Cardinals picking in this round?” Troy snapped off, looking over at Brent Celek.

“They’re retooling their offense,” Brent said.

“Will we be able get Campbell or Duckworth with the 38th pick?” Troy asked. The consensus was they would be able to get one of the guys there.

“Jessie, we have a deal,” Troy said when he connected again. “Your second and fourth picks this year for my second.”

“Done, Troy,” Jessie responded. About thirty seconds later, the news came up on the big screen TV in the room.

“We have a few extra minutes now until we are on the clock,” Troy said.

The group sweated a little when the Browns picked Trey Campbell. Thankfully the Jets, who had that pick thanks to their huge trade with the Dolphins last month, were not looking for defensive line help. The Eagles called in Monroe Duckworth’s name as soon as they were on the clock. Coach C had the honor of calling Duckworth to welcome him to Philly.

The draft team had a three hour wait until they came up for their third-round pick. Elijah Kirklan was at the top of the Eagles’ draft board when it was their turn with pick #70. Elijah was a linebacker from Cal. He was projected to play on the strong-side. He was also expected to be a top special teams player too. The Eagles went with the best-athlete-available plan to selected him.

Rounds four through seven started at noon on Saturday. Teams had five minutes to make a pick in rounds four through six and only four minutes in round seven. Still 147 picks took all afternoon and most of the evening. The draft went smoothly for the Eagles.

Kyle was pleased to see Chris Shaeffer at the top of the team’s draft board when their first fourth-round pick came up. The Eagles took the Penn State product. Kyle had the honor of making the call to Shaeffer.

“Chris, this is Kyle Martin with the Eagles calling,” Kyle said.

“Um ... Coach ... hi,” Chris stuttered. “Does this mean...”

“You’re an Eagle,” Kyle inserted. “Welcome to our team.”

“It’s an honor ... wow...” Chris said. “What is next?”

“Are you in State College or at home?” Kyle asked.

“Um ... home ... Mechanicsburg,” Chris replied.

“Pack your bags and head east for Philly,” Kyle said. “We need to get you oriented and ready. The next practice starts Wednesday morning.”

“I’ll get on the road in an hour or so,” Chris said.

“Tomorrow morning will be fine, Chris,” Kyle laughed. “I’ll see you then.”

The next couple picks by the Eagles helped their secondary. The fourth-pick traded to them by the Cardinals got the Eagles Sean Watkins, a defensive back from Oregon State. Their first fifth-round pick netted them Calvin Clay a defensive back from up the street, at Temple.

JT Hill was delighted to see Bryce Marshall, the small but athletic center from Virginia Tech available. The Eagles grabbed him immediately with their second fifth-round pick. The team restocked at running back with their sixth-round pick. They took Monroe Payne from Navy. On the phone call with the team, he confirmed that the Navy had approved his application to defer his active duty while he played in the NFL. The team’s final pick was Preston Robbins, another defensive back, this one from Kansas.

The Eagles draft team were done a little after ten o’clock that evening. The coaches headed home. The scouting staff and Julian were not done. They worked the phones signing undrafted rookie free agents to fill the Eagles roster to ninety players.

Saturday May 1, 2032 – Henderson High School, West Chester, PA

The Hoka/Bryn Mawr Henderson Invitational was a big meet with 83 teams from southeast and southcentral Pennsylvania. This meet involved a lot of waiting for all the preliminary heats to finish. David made a point of running all-out in his 100m prelim. There were only eight spots for the finals in the crowd of eighty runners competing. His 10.48 second time was the best in preliminaries. He improved slightly in the afternoon in the finals, pushing his time down to 10.47 seconds.

The 4x100m relay team had to work in their preliminaries too. They made the finals. Their 42.70 second time placed them third, behind Spring Ford and JP McCaskey. David made the finals for the 200m dash too, but only placed sixth in the finals, with a time of 22.46 seconds. David was disappointed in the high jump. He settled for a 6’-4” jump. His heal nicked the bar when he tried 6’-5”.

Wednesday May 5, 2032 – NovaCare Complex, Philadelphia, PA

Kyle assembled the whole team and coaching staff in the auditorium at 9:00 AM to kick off the phase 2 OTAs (off-season training activities).

“Welcome all of you to the 2032 Philadelphia Eagles. This season marks the 100th season of this storied franchise. This team has won four NFL championships, including Super Bowl LII. The team played in eight NFC championship games. While the past few years have not been up to our franchise’s standard, we still are one of the five winningest teams this century.

“Today, the Eagles are one of youngest teams in the NFL. That means two things. First, that we are going to make some rookie mistakes. That is OK. The coaches and the veterans on the team will endeavor to help you avoid most of the mistakes. We will learn from the mistakes we do not avoid. Second, being one of the youngest teams in the league means we all have something to prove to the older, more experienced teams. We are hungry and eager to prove we belong here.

“Over the next four months, I will demand you give 100% of your effort to preparing for the coming season. Ninety of you are sitting here in the auditorium today. On September 12th, when we face the Browns, fifty-three of you will be on the roster. Sixteen more of you may be on the practice squad. The rest of you will be sent home.

“You will make my job and my coaching staff’s jobs easy if you give less than 100% of your effort. I am not being metaphorical when I demand 100%. Less than 100% focus and effort will get you sent home. The team’s vision for the future is for us to be on the sidelines at the Super Bowl hoisting the Lombardi Trophy and celebrating our victory.

“Will we reach this vision next February in Dallas? I do not know. That will be determined by all of you, by how you study and prepare. By how you practice. By how you play out the next seventeen regular season games and how we play in the playoffs. Today we start the journey to reach our vision. Let’s get out on the field and begin our quest, to hoist that Lombardi Trophy.”

The team took the fields and began stretching and working out the prepare their bodies for the coming season. This day marked the first opportunity for the coaching staff to work with the players. The previous three weeks of Phase 1 OTAs limited contact with the players to the training staff. In the next two weeks in Phase 2, three days a week, the coaches would have time to work with the players to install the Eagle’s offense and defense. No helmets or pads were allowed. No offense versus defense and no one-on-one plays were allowed.

Kyle loved seeing the players on the field actually running routes, hitting the sleds and preparing for the coming season. Late in the morning’s practice, Aiden Anderson hit a go route to Austin Hawkins. It was a thing of beauty.

“Let’s see a lot more of that Coach,” Jordan Burke, the new receivers coach, remarked to Kyle as they watched the play.

“That is what we saw on tape and why Hawkins is here in camp,” Kyle replied.

The players went inside after the ninety minutes of practice to meet with their position coaches and review the work they had done on the field and to review more of the playbook. Between practice and weight training, the players were expected to put in no more than four hours at the facility.

After lunch, when the four-hour day was supposed to be done, Kyle looked out his office window that overlooked the practice field to see Dylan Harris, Aiden Anderson, Brandon Evans and Tariq Valentine outside running routes with what looked to be most of the receivers and tight ends.

Dylan Harris seemed to be nearly 100% recovered from his ACL repair last year. Kyle smiled to himself. No coach could be involved in working out like this without getting penalized by the league. However, the players were allowed to voluntarily do extra workouts if they chose. One of the reasons Kyle kept a forty-two-year-old quarterback on the roster was for exactly this. To push and instruct the younger players to be successful in the league.

Phase 2 OTAs would continue for Thursday and Friday of this week. The players would have the weekend off and then return for three more days of OTAs next week. They would get ten days off before the start of Phase 3 OTAs, when knee and thigh pads came out, helmets went on and the offense and defense could practice against each. No contact was allowed.

Thursday May 6, 2032 – Avon Grove High School, West Grove, PA

David was feeling great as he practiced after school. Coach Phillips timed him on his 100 meter sprint. He pushed himself hard as he streaked down the track. He just had to improve his time and beat his dad. He strained every muscle to coax more from himself. He pushed across the finish line, spent but pleased at his effort. He slowed and jogged over to Coach Phillips.