It was high noon on Monday of the week of the last game of the season. “The prestige of Huygens as an Institute of Advanced Technology is at stake in the game against El Dorado Polytech," Durango said to a cafeteria roundtable of Huygens Tech football coaches.

"Durango, it is a football game," Griff replied. The minute that these words were spoken, he realized that this was not what to say to a School President, who was also the Offensive Line Coach. If the President of the school, where Griff served as Head Coach, was aware that only one thing was important, and that was football. It was not a good idea to argue.

"El Dorado Polytech has had 70 years to bring distinguished professors to its campus," Durango responded. "Its well-funded labs shine in Sunday newspaper supplements. The research papers that emerge from that school are housed shelf after shelf in an enormous technical library. They have a tough black football coach with a legendary career playing for Notre Dame and wirh a MIT PhD in Engineering -- while we..."

"While we", Griff responded, "have an only mildly limping former Raiders Wide Receiver, who played under John Madden and Tom Flores, and -- as a former Stanford Graduate Assistant -- who coached under Jack Elway and Denny Green.

"We also have a Defense Coach and Professor of Computer Science, who played Cornerback under Dick Tomey at the University of Hawaii," Kekoa Alualu pointed out.

Peggy was the next to speak. "And a honors list in environmental biology Student Assistant Coach, who since childhood played backyard football with a legendary Pittsburgh Steelers Offensive Lineman."

Professor of Engineering and Special Teams Coach Robbie O'Arragan -- who had in the final year before he retired to teach, played for the The Republic of Ireland under Coach Jack Charlton -- stood up. Robbie eyed his cafeteria cola with disdain, pulled a flask from his sami-professorial briefcase, and in a resounding baritone sang a few bars from the definitive Euro 88 send off version of "Boys in Green": "Lets show them what we've got."

"This game plan." Griff responded. He set the Huygens vs El Dorado Polytech game plan beside his Pastrami sandwich on the suddenly quiet cafeteria table.