Freshman Year: The Will Stover Sports Series

By CE Butler

There’s little time for a learning curve for Will Stover during his freshman year of high school. From moving into a starting role as the varsity quarterback to trying to lead the Baltic Bearcats to a baseball state championship, the challenges are many and drama unfolds both on the athletic fields and off. Follow Will and friends through the football, basketball and baseball seasons in this comprehensive edition.

• Language: English
• Publisher: CE Butler
• Release date: May 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9781505414752

Book preview

Chapter 1

Will Stover flipped the page and another headline screamed. Stover Propels Baltic Juniors to Victory!

He’d known his fair share of success. Actually, he’d known much more than his fair share. By the time Will was named the starting quarterback for Baltic Junior High’s football team as an eighth grader, it seemed every person in Baltic at least knew his name. The expectations were already growing and everyone anticipated Will being the next great quarterback at Baltic High School.

Will just didn’t think it would happen so soon.

Coach John Peterson had dropped by the Stover house that afternoon. That in itself was nothing out of the ordinary. Coach Peterson often stopped by to chat with Will’s dad, the man who set the bar for every Bearcat quarterback a little more than two decades earlier. This visit from the coach, though, had another purpose.

I know that you’re a ninth grader and that we’ve never done this ... but I’m thinking very seriously about moving you up to the varsity squad, Coach had said to Will. Steve Stover didn’t flinch; didn’t act the least bit surprised, almost as if he’d anticipated the visit. The elder Stover had known for quite some time his oldest son would someday take over the reins of the mighty Bearcat offense. He seemed to know, though, that the time would be a lot sooner than others might have expected.

You both know that, with Cody graduated and playing at Tech, we were going to be starting over at quarterback, Coach Peterson said. The problem is that, despite playing a few junior varsity games, we really don’t have a quarterback ready to step in.

Coach shot a quick glance in Steve’s direction, and said almost under his breath, Kyle’s a great kid but he’s just not ready for all that will be expected from him. I think he’ll make a solid backup, though.

Will just stared straight ahead as a million thoughts scrambled through his barely 14-year-old mind.

This is the coolest news I’ve ever heard. But I don’t want to miss my junior high season. We’re almost certain to be undefeated, Will thought to himself. But this is really, really cool.

Coach Peterson hadn’t asked for a response from Will. That might have been intentional. Certainly he was aware of what he was asking of a kid who hadn’t even begun studying for his driver’s permit. Maybe he didn’t want to know the thoughts Will would have. Maybe he didn’t care.

As soon as Coach left, Will and his father headed for their back yard. It had long been their meeting place, where they talked about life and sports and school and sports. Almost out of habit, a football was quickly gathered and they began to play catch.

So, what about that? his father asked.

Will wasn’t sure if there was a correct answer. His immediate thoughts were not of the obvious excitement of jump-starting his high school career or how proud he should be that Coach Peterson was even considering such a bold move. His first thought was of abandonment.

What about the junior high team? Will frowned.

What about it? Steve shot back.

Well, don’t you think those guys are counting on me? We’ve been talking about this season for a long, long time. I’d sort of feel like I was leaving Cam and the rest of the guys hanging. There’s not really another quarterback ready to play in junior high, either, Will said.

The top priority is always going to be the varsity team, his dad answered. "You know that. You’ve always known that. That’s the main reason the junior high teams have always run the same basic sets – both offensively and defensively – as the high school team.

The ultimate purpose is to win on the varsity level. Everything else is just preparation for that.

It had been a silly question because Will already knew the answer. Perhaps that had been his way of reminding his dad that he’d also been looking forward to being the big fish in a little pond, at least for a season. Now, even with the excitement of what was apparently going to happen, that dream season was over before it had begun.

And, his closest friends – including best friend Cam Show – didn’t even know it yet.

What if I’m not good enough yet to do this? Will asked.

You’re good enough to do what he’s going to ask you to do, his dad said. "Cody was the only skill player who graduated. This team has guys who can make plays at every single position. I’d guess he just wants you to be the one who puts the ball in the right hands at the right time.

When you think about it, this team is loaded offensively, he continued. I think two offensive linemen are gone but Coach Peterson rotated so many in during last season that the non-starters probably played the equivalent of half a season.

It’s a pretty good chance to get your feet wet, son.

Will had really not spent a single minute considering what his dad was now saying. Of course, he’d been to the state semifinal game when Baltic’s unbeaten season came to a sudden halt at the hands of the Cypress Bluff Cyclones. A Bearcat fumble had led to Cypress Bluff’s winning score in the closing minutes. Just as every Baltic fan thought, the fumble shouldn’t have been. The running back had clearly been on the ground before the ball popped loose.

But this wasn’t the professional ranks. There were no reviewing officials’ calls.

That team was basically the same one Will would be asked to lead, without Cody, of course. All Cody Cook had done was pass for nearly 3,000 yards and run for nearly 1,000 more. His 33 touchdown passes last season left him just three shy of a record set many years before.

By some guy named Stover.

Will knew this was a proud day for his dad. Not that his dad had some elaborate plan for his oldest son Will – or younger son, Ty, for that matter – to carry on a family quarterbacking tradition at Baltic. It just sort of happened.

In seventh grade, Will had wanted to be a receiver. His favorite professional players were receivers and, besides, Cam had played quarterback all through pee wee football. Everyone just assumed that would continue and Will would be a receiver.

That lasted for a game and a half of their seventh-grade season. Oddly enough, it was a pass that Will believed he should have caught that wound up making him a quarterback. Cam had already thrown two interceptions and was having a tough time finding the correct receivers. This pass, though, had been tipped up by Will and fallen into the hands of a defensive back, signaling the end of Cam’s quarterbacking days.

At halftime, Coach Bishop, who was also an assistant on the high school football staff, made the switch. Will’s friendship with Cam, luckily, was strong enough to withstand the awkward days that followed. Will’s debut was a shining success and from that day forward, Will was deemed the Baltic High quarterback-in-waiting.

Never one to push or to give advice when it wasn’t needed, Steve Stover had taken his son’s change in position in stride. He’d secretly hoped one of his two sons might someday call the signals for the Bearcats. As long as they played, though, he wasn’t going to push the issue.

His career at Baltic High was legendary. An all-state honoree for two seasons, Steve Stover had led the Bearcats to a state championship as a senior. The college offers poured in and he continued his football career just an hour down the interstate at Valley Tech, located in bustling Greenfield, where Will now found himself most Saturdays during football season.

Steve’s accomplishments at Valley Tech even dwarfed those at Baltic. Playing quarterback on the football team and shortstop for the Mustangs’ baseball team, he quickly left his mark on the school’s record books in both sports.

Now, his son was ready to take the first step in following that path to college stardom.

Before that could happen, though, Will would need to buy into Coach Peterson’s idea and accept the challenge of taking a very good high school team back to the state playoffs.

Practices for both the varsity and the ninth graders start in a week, Will said. Do you think Coach will talk to the other players about this? I’m not sure if I should mention it to any of my friends until this thing is decided.

Let Coach Peterson handle that, Steve said. "My advice is to prepare as if you’re going to be the starting quarterback for the varsity team.

"That’s the way you should be preparing every season, anyway.

This might cause some bitterness with some of the kids your age, for a little while anyway. It’ll all blow over in time, though. Best thing for you to do is to do your work getting ready and don’t get involved in the politics of it all.

His dad’s words rang in his head as he closed the scrapbook and gazed over at the shelves in his bedroom, filled nearly to the ceiling with youth league trophies. There were trophies for football, basketball, baseball. He’d even won a couple tennis tournaments the previous summer.

Will grabbed his football shoes and headed out the door, toward the practice field.

Chapter 2

Cam Show looked like an athlete.

He was at least three inches taller than Will’s average build, yet he was slightly more slender and quite a bit slower. Will sometime teased Cam during their 40-yard time trials that the coaches might soon resort to using a sundial instead of a stopwatch when Cam stepped to the line.

Despite the lack of speed, though, Cam had worked extra hard the past two years to develop into the most reliable receiver in his class. The position switch that saw Will become a quarterback came full circle when Coach Bishop caught a glimpse of the two friends tossing a ball back and forth one day before practice. Soon after, Cam moved from being a very slow running back to being a very slow – yet sticky-fingered -receiver.

When Will showed up unannounced at Cam’s house, Cam’s older brother Jake was feeding footballs into a passing machine the siblings had pooled their money to buy the previous summer. Cam couldn’t always find someone willing or able to throw good passes to him. That led the brothers to buy a second-hand device that would toss consistent passes as long as there was someone to catch them.

Jake, also a receiver, would soon be starting his senior season as a Bearcat. Though he worked hard in the offseason, he realized he would never be the go-to receiver at Baltic High. His individual goal entering the season was to play enough to earn a varsity letter.

Want to give that thing a break and catch some from a live arm? Will shouted over the hum of the mechanism. No need to waste your battery if I can get in some work, too.

Hey! I texted you twice and never heard back from you, Cam said as he broke off another route and headed toward his best friend since second grade.

I cracked the screen again, Will said. I hope to get it back in a day or so.

So, you feel like throwing? Jake nudged his way into the conversation. Rumor has it you need to be getting in a little extra work.

Will glanced quickly toward the ground and picked up a football. It hadn’t occurred to him that, if the news of his promotion was making the rounds, Jake would be one of the first to pick up on it.

Don’t believe everything you hear, Will said with a chuckle. Any certain routes you guys want to run?

He hoped Cam hadn’t heard the brief exchange. If he had, he didn’t acknowledge it. Cam made his way to the refrigerator the family kept in a detached garage, pulled out a bottled water and jogged back to the imaginary line of scrimmage.

I’m first, he smirked to his brother.

The way you run, I’ll still finish my route first, Jake shot back.

Very funny, bench bum, Cam said with a laugh.

How about throwing a few simple seven-and-outs? Cam said to Will before taking a final gulp of water.

You got it.

The brothers alternated running the short routes. Cam had learned to make up for his lack of breakaway speed by running precise routes and having a knack for being able to hold on to any football he touched. Jake, on the other hand, seemed to wander aimlessly before finding his way to the quarterback’s target area. His hands weren’t the greatest, Will had noticed, most likely due to of a lack of focus.

Jake was the same age as Will’s older sister, Chelsea. Jake had chased after Chelsea for as long as they could remember. Chelsea, though, had always seen Jake as something of a younger brother, even though they were the same age. The two struggled to find common ground as far as maturity level.

After a short water break, Jake decided he had better things to do and disappeared. Cam, though, would run routes as long as Will wanted to throw them.

Practice starts Monday, Cam blurted out between deep breaths. You think we’re ready?

I suppose, Will said. I just hope everyone else has been working during the summer.

Cam suddenly turned serious and faced Will.

Is it true?

Is what true?

You know what I’m talking about, Cam said. Jake actually heard about it from Kyle, so I’m pretty sure there’s something to it.

Kyle Britton would be a junior and had been the backup quarterback last season.  Coach Peterson had mentioned him during his visit to the Stover’s house a few days earlier.

Kyle said Coach had talked to him about it, Cam said. He took it that it was pretty much a done deal. Coach said he was going to give Kyle a shot to win the starting job ... but it sounded like Kyle had accepted his fate.

He came by and talked to me about it, Will admitted. I think it’s a long, long way from being decided, though. The first week of practice is combined with us and the varsity, so I’m guessing we’ll just see how that goes.

Yep, I guess.

Listen, Cam. Let’s not spend our time worrying about this now. No matter what happens, we both have work to do to get ready.

You’re right. I just get the feeling that our ninth-grade season is over, Cam said. You know, the season we’ve been talking about for the past ... what, four years?

With or without me, you guys will have a great season, Will said, hoping to bring a little calm to his friend.

So, you’re already counting on moving up, huh?

No, that’s not what I’m saying at all, Will said. This conversation was quickly going downhill.

It sounds like that’s what you’re saying.

Listen. I’m as confused by this as anyone else, Will said, almost pleading for an interruption. As far as we know, a freshman has never been moved up to the varsity, especially before the season begins. Let’s just see how this plays out and go from there.

More than anything, Will wanted to know what other news Jake had heard. He wanted to know how the other players on the varsity squad felt about the rumor. And, he wanted to know if his other ninth-grade teammates, the guys he’d played with for the past two years, knew about it.

He knew asking Cam would only make things worse, though.

Let’s go ahead and play some what-if, Cam said, pushing the talk along. Let’s say Coach Peterson moves you up. What are we going to do for a quarterback?

You can play quarterback, Will said. It was an awkward subject, one the two had decided long ago to avoid.

That’s not funny, Cam said.

I didn’t mean it to be funny, Will said. Seriously, why not play quarterback for a year, have some fun doing it, and then go back to receiver next year?

I don’t think that’s the way our coaches like to do things, Cam said. I think they’d rather use the season to develop a younger guy who intends to play quarterback for the varsity. It wouldn’t surprise me if they move up Ty, especially if they’re willing to move you up.

It was something else Will hadn’t thought about, yet he had to admit it made sense. Younger brother Ty would only be a seventh-grader but he was far and away the most athletic kid in his class and would likely already be more familiar with the team’s offense than players who were already on the ninth-grade team. He’d certainly heard Will and their father discuss pass coverage schemes, offensive sets and such for a long time.

That would probably be a little much for a seventh grader, don’t you think? Will said.

Pretty sure Ty could handle it, Cam said with a smirk. Probably better than you’ll handle varsity.

Oh, that’s cold, Will said, grinning.

But it’s true. And, you know it.

Chapter 3

The days passed slowly as the opening day of practice drew near. Will’s workouts intensified but he found himself more nervous than he’d ever been before the start of a new football season.

He’d still not heard anything else from Coach Peterson and he guessed his thoughts on the combined practices would prove correct. The starting quarterback for the varsity squad could come down to who was better in the preseason drills.

Dad said you might get to play for the varsity. You sure you’re ready for that?

It was Chelsea. She was heading out to her first cheerleader practice as the newly-named captain of the squad. She’d cheered for as long as Will had been alive, it seemed. He stopped counting the times his parents tried to explain the importance of him supporting his sister. All Will wanted to do was focus on the game.

There’s a chance, I guess, Will said. I don’t really know what’s going to happen yet. I think it might come down to how we do practicing the next few weeks. Practicing together, I mean.

Well, good luck little guy, Chelsea said as she headed out the door. Catch ya later!

Will’s day would consist of the annual back-to-school shopping trip with his mom at the outdoor mall in Greenfield. At least Ty would be coming along so he wouldn’t be held captive by the shopping marvel that is Alicia Stover.

Find your brother and meet me in the car, Alicia blurted to Will as she grabbed her purse and a bottled water and slipped quickly into the garage. We should have been gone 15 minutes ago.

Will hadn’t seen Ty all morning, he now realized. He bounded halfway up the stairs toward Ty’s bedroom, which was directly across the hall from his own.

Ty! he shouted.

No response.

There’s no way this kid is still asleep. Mom isn’t going to be happy, Will thought to himself. Ty!

Still nothing.

Will took the remaining steps two at a time and soon was glaring into Ty’s bedroom. The bed was made, everything in its place and no sign of his little brother.

Back down the stairs he went.

As he hopped down the stairs, Will heard a faint, yet familiar sound from the back yard. It was something that sounded like a football thumping the back side of a garage. Will stopped for a second, glancing through the back door without Ty hearing him or knowing he was watching.

Ty, all of 12 years old, took a five-step drop (perfectly, it seemed) and delivered a rocket through the swinging tire 25 yards away. Thwack! The ball smacked the garage and landed in a pile with a dozen other footballs.

His release is better than mine, Will said under his breath. He really hadn’t watched his brother throw the ball in a while. Thwack! Another ball found its way through the tire and into the side of the garage.

Ty! Time to go. Mom’s in the car, waiting.

Be right there, Ty managed as he took another five-step drop and sent yet another perfect spiral at his target. Perfect again.

Maybe Coach Peterson is talking to the wrong brother, Will thought.

Less than an hour later, the Stover boys were ready to conquer the mall. Their mom prided herself on finding a bargain and making certain each boy found the correct size. As late as last year, Mrs. Stover had attempted to buy the brothers some matching shirts. It had not gone over well with the two.

The boys, on the other hand, had a single purpose in mind: Get this finished and find some food!

After years of trial-and-error, both Will and Ty had learned that agreement with Mom usually meant less time shopping. Will’s idea of shopping in Greenfield would be to hit the Valley Tech bookstore across town for a couple new t-shirts.

Less than an hour after they arrived, the boys were loaded down with shirts, jeans, socks, sweatshirts – with and without hoods – and new shoes.

The last stop was something of a tradition with the brothers, a trip to the College Burger. It was back across town and was a big hangout for Valley Tech students. Mom went along with the stop because she was able to re-tell the stories of her and their father going there after football games when they were in college. The boys had heard the same stories a thousand times each, but it was worth it.

The burgers and tater tots were a good trade.

The boys placed their identical orders and watched as their mom ordered yet another salad. She was a size 4 and, from all they knew, had been since she was 12 years old. Chelsea was pretty much a carbon copy, her brown hair and 22 fewer years being the only noticeable differences between mom and daughter.

Awkward moment at 2 o’clock, Ty whispered to his older brother.

What happens at 2 o’clock? Mom asked, louder than the brothers liked.

Nothing, Mom, Ty said, still whispering. Kyle Britton is sitting over there. Just wanted Will to know in case one of the servers brought over a mysterious already-paid-for piece of cake ... from a stranger.

Oh, silly boy, Alicia said. "I have your sister to keep me up on the drama. Don’t you start any of that.

You were obviously going to see him sooner or later, right Will? Why don’t you go over and say hello?

I think it’d be better if he came to me, Will said.

And