Big Dog snapped the ball. In his first possession of the game, River stepped into the pocket. D3 games were seldom televised, but as Huygens Tech videographer Sally Highpine's camera rolled, River's poise and command of the field were clear.

What the camera did not reveal was that it was also another one of those days when Linemen were unsung heroes. The O-line was in motion; the Humboldt D-line was in motion. DeJuan was in motion. Two Cornerbacks were covering DeJuan, but DeJuan knew where he was going. There was nothing that Griff liked better than fooling Cornerbacks, and some tricks he knew went into this first play. Precisely down the hole that the O-line created by strategically confronting Humboldt's Tackles and Defensive Ends, River threw a 20 yard semi-GO pass. In perfect motion, DeJuan caught the ball and ran. It was 10 more yards before the two Cornerbacks and a Safety caught up and threw him to the ground.

While DeJuan was emerging from beneath two Cornerbacks and a Safety, Griff looked at Sally. Fleetingly, he considered her confession that after the Sac Valley game she had dinner in Sacramento with Coach Dornbach.

Whether or not and with whom to discuss Duke's intentions should be confronted, but at the moment his mind was on signalling the next play. Major issues of the play he called were of course whether it would be pass or run and the likely player to throw to or hand off to. And, in team game film viewing, a semi-accurate system of predicting the opposition's defense strategies was under development.

There was a certain amount of power in foreknowledge about what might happen, Coach Griff McGuire thought to himself as he watched the ball leave River's hands. The Baron was already in motion.