OUTSIDE EVENTS
It was almost as soon as the ball split the uprights, the two teams were coming out to meet midfield. As expected, the Trojans were upbeat and the Tigers were somber but, but they met with high fives and respectful tidings. Even before that ended, the mad scramble for interviews commenced with the vast majority of reporters swarming Nick Olsen. He deserved the limelight. Lindsey was determined to get some words from him, but there were other voices to consult while he was forced to answer the banal and predictable post game questions that usually came from swarm reporting. The Auburn players were of less interest to the post-game press, and would be the first to quit the field. There were some obvious questions people would want answers to from them, so Lindsey made her rounds there. Coach Frye was busy with an interview, but Jack Dempsey was standing nearby almost like a sidecar. He looked engaged but really wasn't so Lindsey swooped in.
"Hey, Jack Dempsey. It's Lindsey Garret. In case you forgot me already." She gave him a knowing grin. "I know this wasn't the outcome you wanted, but what are your thoughts about how the game went?"
"No, Ma'am. How could I forget you?" She gave her subdued smile. "Well, you're right, this didn't go our way. We planned and trained and practiced, but still, here we are. I mean, I'm proud of our game and of every Auburn player. It was close and slight misstep could have had us as the winners. So what are my thoughts? Congratulations to USC, and for us I wouldn't change anything."
"You say you wouldn't change anything, but does that mean USC gave you exactly what you expected?"
"Yes and no. They played as we expected, but they ended making adjustments as the game went on. Their defense was tough but they still didn't stop us from moving the ball. The tough part was when the field got short and there was less room to work. They're good or else they wouldn't be here. We didn't win this one, but I think we gave a championship performance."
"So about that short field game. Could you have used your fullbacks more to take pressure off the receivers and Lamont Carver?"
"Maybe, but this wasn't about any specific plays. The Fullbacks might have pushed us closer, but that would have just shortened the field some more. I think the receivers did a great job as did Lamont. There are so many things that could have went differently, but second guessing doesn't get you anywhere."
"So, you're a senior and this was your last game. What's next for Jack Dempsey?"
He laughed. "Next I take a shower, go back to home and enjoy my Christmas with my family. After that, we'll see."
"Awesome. So any last words or shout outs."
"Hi Mon, Hi Dad. I love you. To my fiancee, Christina, I love you. Merry Christmas everyone."
"Thank you, Jack."
From that interview, Lindsey noticed Coach Frye extricating himself from the last of the gaggle of reporters. She was right there, so she turned to him.
"Hi Coach. Looks like I caught you at an opportune time."
"Ah, Miss Garret. You seem to be very good at that."
Lindsey's eyes flashed with her grin. "Great game. You didn't pull it out but it was a horse race all the way to the end. Thoughts?"
"I think my team played a hell of a game. The execution was fantastic and we continued to score. You just talked to Jack Dempsey. He was a great leader and no one will ever be able to say we didn't deserve to be here. We were putting points up all game long, but so was USC. In the end we came up short, but it easily could have gone the other way."
"For sure. In the first quarter you had a touchdown called back for Offensive interference. There are some who could say that that might have been the difference between winning and losing."
"Nope. Every game is full of mistakes and penalties are part of that. We scored but if not for that push off would we have? What I'm saying is that no one mistake was the thing that changed the outcome. That score is the result of every second of game play, good and bad. That penalty didn't cost us the game."
"So tell us about Max Woodson. He was injured, but in the third quarter he comes back out to play. There was a lot of commentary about whether he should have even been on the field, but not only did he return, you played him on offense. That caused a firestorm of commentary. Can you explain why you did that?"
"There was a lot of in the moment discussions about how play it. He's a top player in what could have been and turned out to be the last game of the year. He's leader and we wanted him on the field. The Docs said he could play, so he played. That was a no-brainer. Playing him on offense was a tactical decision. He trains to play both ways and that was always in the playbook. On offense he cuts off the other ankle so we all made the decision to go with the configuration as planned. It worked. He gave us a 56yrd reception and put us in position for the next points. As far as I'm concerned it was a good play."
"So this turned out to be the last game this season for you. What's next? And then give me you last thoughts and shout outs."
"Like you said, this was the last game, so what's next is my team gets a well deserved break. My seniors will go on to the draft or whatever carer choices they made. for those coming back next year, spring training is not far away. This was a close game. A lot of people predicted a blowout on the part of USC, but we came and made a good showing. it could easily have gone our way, and they know it. I'm going to recognize the team and all the support staff that put us here. Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year."
"Coach Chance Frye, thank you."
To be continued