Addison High School - Panther Yearbook (Addison, MI)

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by his industry, h-e had worked his way through college and, return- ing to Highland, hoped to coach a championship 'team for the school he loved. But during the two weeks practice before the first game he be- gan to have grave doubts as to the possibility of this. Conflicts were constantly arising between him and the team. When h-e asked them, at the beginning of the second week, to do a mile of track work after each night's practice, murmurs of protfest arose. I thought football was played for recreation, said Hicks Leslie, a husky halfback. Aw Coach, make it a half, pleaded Jean. A mil'e's too much like work. Locksley was not quick-tempened but to hear such words as that form a Highland captain was 'too much. f'Manly recreation demands work, he snapped, his gray eyes fiashing. Either do your mile or turn in your suits. I can't coach a team that refuses to b-e coached. For a moment they hesitated-, glancing at each oth-er, but as he still continued to regard them with that steely glint of his gray eyes, they turned away toward the track and ran their mile. -But, though he made them put themselves in condition, domin- ating by the sheer force of his will, he could not develop that fighting spirit, that willingness to sacrifice one's own individual interests to the interests of the team which are the fundamental requirements of .a winning football team. They wanted to take things too easy, seeming not to care Then too, there to negard the team upon it, not as an of Highland, but .as whether they won or lost. was the attitude of the student body who seem-ed as a thing apart from the school. They looked organization defending the honor and traditions one whose members played merely for the pleas- ure to be derived from it, caring nothing for their school, and, in truth, this was not far from being right. Th-e first contest of the season, a practice game which was to be played on the home field, was with Irontown, a smaller school than Highland. Although the opposing team was lighter, Locksley had but little confidence in his team's ability to win. Still, he knew they wene in condition and perhaps when joined in actual contest there might be a change, an exhibition of a different sort of spirit than that shown in practice. Even while he doubted- this, he hoped for it. During the first half of the game hie be-gtan to think that his hopes were to be fulfilled. Highland was playing a good game and, while they did not quite seem to have acquired that fighting spirit which 'he had tried to instill in them, their teamwork was almost perfect. Twice in the first quarter they scor-ed. Once on a long pass to Jean, playing at left end, who, leaping high in air, caught the- ball and, twisting and dodging, dashed twenty yards through enemy tack- lers to 'th-e-ir goalg once by straight football, Leslie an'd Mason, the huge fullback, hitting the line again and again like battering-rams. After this slecond touch-down, however, they were not able to gain consistently again. Though they came within scoring distanoe of the enemy goal, they seemed to have lost the power to put it across and LQIYCJLZ-PQ om'

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X I P -v-' . ...M -A-at K FOR HIGHLAND Highland-, oh Highland mine, Round thee all hearts entwine. Here's to Highland's fighting team, Fighting for the colors th-ey esteem. 9.2-9.Q6JNCE had that song risen in mighty chorus from hundreds of Highland throats while its team fought 334 ilffi' to victory or defeat on the football field. Once it had been Highland's reputation in the Tri-County iii! League and a tradition among her students that l ' every team always fought, and fought fair, with , everything they possessed to the finish. 45 thx But, no more were the stands filled with cheer- ing Highland students. No more did its team have that fighting spirit, that loyalty, that cooperation which had made them feared- and respected' by every rival. For four years its standing in the League had steadily declined until, once the strongest team. it was now con- sidered the weakest. The reason for this changve no one seemed to know. It had- not been abrupt. On the contrary it had been so slow that its results could only be noticed through the successive years. It might have been caused by the growth of the town and the new students coming' in having failed to acquire the Highland spirit. It might have been the fault of the coach or, for that matter, it might have been any one of a score of reasons but, though many opinions were held regard- ing the caus-e of this change in the Highland spirit, it was all too well known by all that her fame was a thing of the past. Thus did things stand when, in his Senior year, as though sym- bolical of the school he represented, ,lean Navarre was elected cap- tain of the football team. That same year, by some freak of fate, brought Dick Locksleyja Highland graduat-e and star football p-layer of four years before, back as coach. B-etween the captain and th'e coach there was a striking contrast. The former represented the ideals which had been held and the spirit that had prevailed at Highland years before, the latter, those of the present. Jean was a tall, slim fellow with the physique of a natural athlete, yet, though he had taken part in two field meets, he had n-ever placed. By far the most brilliant student in his class, he stood first only by the smallest of margins. Good-naturedl honest, and well-liked by his fellow students, his great fault was his lack of ambition, his spirit of take things as they come without striving for anything better. Locksley also had the build of an athlete and. unlike Navarre, had placed in five events at the Tri-County field meets held during his High School career. After leaving High School where though by no means an exceptionally brilliant student, he had won a class honor 1921 e MQ-rfy-file

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-4 -gpg V 'MVB g. ,. J... ,'t'..',-,,,,e,,.'f :Ffa-rw each time lost the ball on downs. Thus it was that, when th-e half ended without further scoring, the ball was in Irontown's possession in Highland territory. The day was hot and, instead of going to their locker rooms, the tired and sweaty Highland players stretched themselves upon the ground in the shade of a tree which stood at the end of the field. As the coach came up with water and sponges, he overheard Jean say, Whew, but it s hot! We're far enough ahead though so we can take it -easy next half. For a moment Locksley stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes blaz- ing. Then, with a quick step forward, he faced Jean andthe team. So you're going to take it easy, are you, he said, repressing his anger with difficulty. f'You're a fine bunc'h, you are. If you think you played such a wonderful game this first half that you can quit now, you're badly mistaken. The score ought to be thirty to nothing. If you d-on't fight this next half you're going to get beat. You deserve to be beaten. Any team that won't fight to the finish, no matter how much better or worse their opponents are, deserve-s to be beaten. What if it is a little hot? If you've got any grit you'll show some pep, some fight this next half. But, even as he finished speaking, Locksley knew that he had failed. Stronger measures than this were necessary to mak-e them fight and, as they took the field for the second half, he knew that they would probably lose the game. From the first kickoff Irontown, fighting hard, had the advantage and, once during the third quarter and again in the first part of the fourth, they put over a touchdown by passes and running plays, thus tieing the score, each 'team having made -good on one try for point. Then with but five minutes left to play, Irontown received an'd slowly forced the ball to H'ighland's twenty!-five yard line. H-ere, how- ever, Highland, seeming to realize that they were about to be beaten, held threm for two downs. On 'th-e third down they kicked. J-ean, rushing in, might have broken it up by taking the ball in the face but instead he ducked- and it went sailing straight above the goal- posts for the winning three points. That night aft-er the game, when Coach Locksley came into the locker room where the Highland players were dressing, they expect- ed a fighting lecture as Jean called it, but instead he said nothing. Realizing that to call the team down would be of no avail, Locksley had decided to surprise them by keeping qui-et while he tried to think of some new plan. During the next week 'he put them through practice with as few words as possible. There were many comments upon his changed attitude but no one guessed the real reason for it. Locksley had formed a plan which he meant to try out on the coming Saturday when they went to Radford and, to make it the more effective, he was letting them think he had' decided they were right, that it was of no use to try to uphold the tradition of Highland. However, though he let them think this, he made them go through as strenuous a practice as ever and, when Saturday came, they were Q1 angry-seven