The Counterfeit Tackle Read Online Free PDF Page A

took it and ran it back to the twenty-nine.
    Two line plunges didn’t get him anywhere. A pass to Jimmy netted eight yards. Then Craig gained a first down on the quarterback
     sneak.
    They tried a pass again. This time it was knocked down. Again Craig called for a pass, handing off to Frosty Homan to make
     the throw. Frosty faded back and passed to right end Gary O’Brien.
    Gary made a beautiful catch, but he was across the out-of-bounds line when he caught the ball. The pass was declared incomplete.
    Then a pass to Goose succeeded for an eleven-yard gain.
    The boys grinned happily as they ran back into a huddle. “Now we’re going,” said Goose.

    They tried a different play. Craig faded back, faked a pass to Goose, then tossed a pitch-out to Alan Rogers.
    Alan fumbled the ball! A Marlin guard picked it up and started running with it down the field!
    Buzz went after him. The Marlin player was about his size and not any faster. Buzz caught up with him, wrapped his arms around
     the player’s waist and brought him down.
    “Nice tackle, Corky!” cried Gary.
    “Thanks,” said Buzz. “But they’ve got the ball now. Not us.”
    The referee brought the ball in to the in-bounds line and spotted it on the Marlins’ thirty-two. On the very next play Buzz
     was knocked backwards on his tail, leaving a hole for the Marlin ball-carrier.
    Angrily, Buzz sprang to his feet and rushed after a Marlin guard who was ready to throw a block on an Otter player. He threw
     himself alongside the man for a perfect block and the Otter man — who turned out to be Alan — pulled down the runner in a
     nifty tackle.
    Buzz rose to his feet with satisfaction. He had let himself be caught off guard on the line, but that block had helped a lot
     in stopping the runner from making a long run. Possibly even from making a touchdown.
    Then he saw a red flag on the ground less than two yards away. The referee came running forward. He pointed at Buzz.
    “Clipping!” he said, and made chopping motions against the back of his leg. The clipping sign.
    Buzz stared, his heart sinking to his knees. There were certainly some crazy rules in football!
    The referee discussed the charge with the Marlin captain. The Marlins could take either the gain the runner had made — which
     was six yards — with the down counting, or take the fifteen yards with the down not counting. The Marlin captain accepted
     the fifteen yards with the down not counting.
    Then a storm of insults flew through the air — all directed at Buzz!
    “Corky! You crazy nut!” Craig looked at him with wide, shocked eyes. “You know you can’t throw a block on a guy from behind!”
    “Criminies, Cork!” said Goose, lookingas amazed as if Buzz had just pulled the most foolish play of the season. Which he undoubtedly had. “You know better than
     that!”

7
    B UZZ could say nothing. He couldn’t tell Craig or Goose that he had never heard of clipping before. At least, not in football.
     This was the first time he knew that a player couldn’t throw a block from the rear. Corky hadn’t said anything about that
     to him. But, of course, Corky couldn’t tell him everything in that short space of time.
    The Otters held the Marlins for two plays before the quarter ended.
    To start the fourth quarter, the Marlinsthrew a long pass to their right end. It proved to be one of their very few mistakes of the game. Goose swept in and intercepted
     the pass.
    His legs looked like bicycle spokes winking in the sunlight as he ran down the field. The whole Marlins team was after him,
     but none ever got close enough to stop him.
    He crossed the goal line for a touchdown.
    The Otter fans cheered and yelled. Every man on the team slapped Goose happily on the back.
    Frosty missed the extra point by kicking the ball a foot outside of the uprights. The score: Marlins 14, Otters 12.
    The Otters kicked off, and for a while the Marlins were unable to move as swiftly as they had during the first half.They