High School is over

Brian Chavez applies to Harvard and is accepted. When the football coach requests a game film to analyze his talent, Gaines sends the wrong film, one that is Brian’s worst game of the season. He defends himself by saying it was an accident. His father is angry, but Brian is deeply hurt, considering the sacrifices he had made to play for Permian. He goes out for football at Harvard anyway, but finds it hard to adjust to crowds that are so small. He can’t forget the glory of Permian, and he decides that his purpose at Harvard isn’t football. There are more important goals he wants to accomplish. Jerrod McDougal tries to adjust to a life without Permian football. But it’s difficult. Jerrod McDougal went to Odessa College but never earned a degree. He went to work for his father’s oil field construction. He feels emotionally stunted by his memories of Permian, but thinks there is a beauty to what he and his teammates shared and will always share. Don Billingsley began to study actively for the first time and was born again in his faith. He remained at East Central University and graduated with a degree in public relations in 1993. He did counseling work in Oklahoma City and then moved to Norman. He married and now feels good about his life. Mike Winchell went to Baylor, but left when he ran out of money and realized he was never going anywhere with football. Then he went to Texas Tech for a semester and finally transferred to Tarleton State and earned his bachelor’s degree in 1995. In 1998, he was working as an independent surveyor in Decatur, Texas. He said he didn’t care about the book anymore. Ivory Christian played football at Texas Christian, but dropped off the team in 1990.

Carter Trouble

The Carter Cowboys eventually win the State Championship and their players are heavily courted by various colleges and universities. They are promised everything from credit cards to cars. They are given girls when the visit the various campuses. They are taken to strip joints for entertainment. They are offered anything and everything. That’s why it’s ironic when Derric Evans and Gary Edwards commit their first armed robbery in May of 1989. They commit a total of seven robberies in the space of a month before they are arrested. Their only motive is that they did it for kicks. Public opinion once again breaks along racial lines, whites finding justification for their feelings about these blacks and blacks praying that some mercy would be given to these supremely talented players. Unfortunately, Derric is sentenced to twenty years in prison and Gary to sixteen. Marshall Gandy, the prosecutor on the case, wonders what real favor had been done to these kids by placing them on a golden pedestal. He insists that they all treated these boys like children while they were in high school so how can we expect them to act any other way.

The Quarterback

Mike had dreamed of the day he would play in the semifinals. His brother had once taken him to Memorial Stadium at Texas A & M and allowed him to walk on the field and enter the locker room. They had gone there many times after that, and Mike couldn’t get the university out of his mind. Most of the time, Mike isn’t at all sure that he is what colleges are looking for, and his fears are probably right: he isn’t fast enough or tall enough. He doesn’t really possess a good arm and no amount of work is going to make up for that. However, now he is in the place of his dreams, where Goliath is whipped by David, where every feeling he has seems like the most important in the world. Then, on the morning of the game he is filled with a nagging feeling that he can’t get rid of - it is too wet and he will never be able to throw the ball, he will never be able to get a grip on it. This is not going to be a field of dreams. It’s going to be a field of nightmares.

The road to States

After crusing past their next opponents, the Permian Panthers were headed to the state semi-fianl championship game. Yes that's right, the made it without Boobie Miles. Coach Jerry hixs relives his greatness as a Permian Panther in the State Championship won 8 years before. He re-plays the film of the game over and over and knows every play by heart. He has created a nice life for himself over the last 8 years. Permian's next opponent is Carter High School in Dallas Texas. One of Carters best players has failed algebra, he is ineligible to play, and Carter is out of the playoffs. Powerful black lawyers in the city begin to look into the problem just when the principal decides to change Gary’s grade.

Who needs Boobie?

The Permian Panthers finish the regular season by pummeling the San Angelo Bobcats on the first Friday in November. This means the season ends with Permian, Midland Lee, and Cooper High School having identical records. However, only two teams can go to the playoffs, so the tiebreaker rule goes into effect: they will flip a coin. It seems silly that it comes to this after all the hard work and the endless hours, but that’s what it’s been reduced to. The three coaches will drive to a truck stop and, like three little boys, throw coins into the air until the odd man out is eliminated from the playoffs. The spot of the meeting - a truck stop - is kept secret to keep all the crazy fans away. Permian gets lucky and enters the playoffs by winning the coin flip. Permian beats Amarillo Tascosa in the first round of the playoffs with ease, 31-7. Then they fly to El Paso by chartered jet to face the Andress Eagles. They play in the gigantic Sun Bowl where their usual contingent of thousands of people looks like little bits of scattered paper in the stands. Gaines prowls the sidelines with fury, because now there is no room for mistakes. His fury extends to the locker room at halftime when the score is only 21-7. He is convinced they cannot win, because of the way they’re playing, but they win easily 41-13.

The Humiliation

The town was shocked, the team was shocked, and the town was ready to kill the coach of the Permian Panthers. Coach recieved death threats upon death threats about the game. The coaching staff, the team, the town, etc., was simply devisated. They think their shot at the state championship title is ruined and not even in the mix. Now, more than ever, the hopes of the team are on Mike Winchell. He’s going to need to have a greater year than they thought before Boobie’s injury. He was a coach’s dream except for one major fault they all worried about: he thought too much. Mike knew he didn’t just wing the ball or follow his instincts; instead he agonized over everything and sometimes when the pressure is on, something seems to unravel inside him. And so the first game begins, with Brian Johnson breaking a fifteen yard run off the right side, followed by Don Billingsley, the starting tailback getting the ball on a pitch. There is no one more proud or who wants his son to score the TD on the first drive than Charlie Billingsley. He had worn the black and white of Permian 20 years before as a star, a legend. Billingsley is known as a screw up because his father was a legend at Permian and took his team to a state championship. During Boobies recovery, he had many doctor visits. A very good doctor was located in the rival town of Odessa. When the doctor tells Boobie that it's going to take a long time to recover, Boobie loses it. Another main player that needs to step up in Boobies absence is Ivory Christian. When Boobie returns on is own will the team is thrilled. They think he has fully recover when he hasnt. The second play Boobie is in, he recieves a season ending hit.

Boobie Miles

At the beginning of the book, Boobie Miles, Permian Panthers running back, is often seen as the superstar. Throughout the beginning of the book, it seems like the man is unstoppable. He's recieving a large amount of scholarships due to his skill on the football field. Boobie is not the smartest kid in school. Actually, if it wasnt for his skill on the football field, he wouldn't be receiving any letters from any colleges. The Permian Panthers are faced with the task on winning the state championship in Texas. Finally it came, the first game of the year. The whole town has been waiting for this day to watch Boobie "go off" and destroy teams. It was late in the game and Permian were embarrasing their guests. Boobie was doing everything. He scored every point on the score board. Boobies substitute was asked to enter the game when he couldnt find his helmet. Boobie stayed in the game. The next play of the game destroyed the hope of the whole Permian Panthers team. Boobie Miles went to make a cut when a defensive player hit him low in the knee and SNAP! Boobie's knee was blown to shreds.