That kick-off was a fizzle. St. Luke’s got the ball on her twenty-five yards, ran it back ten and then her full-back broke through the Crofton left side for twenty yards, and there was great joy where the handful of St. Luke’s supporters were gathered. After two tries had yielded but four yards the St. Luke’s captain and left half-back kicked to Arnold on Crofton’s fifteen-yard line. A very considerable little wind had come up since noon and it lengthened the kick. Arnold ran back fifteen yards before he was downed. Two plays were tried and Crofton was penalized for starting before the ball. After Arnold had broken through the center for four yards he kicked and a moment later the St. Luke’s captain started the Blue’s rooters again by tearing off a fifteen-yard run through center on a delayed pass. On the next play a St. Luke’s back fumbled and[228] LaGrange recovered the pigskin, for the Crimson-and-Gray. Poke beat off nine yards at St. Luke’s left end and Arnold followed with a plunge of five yards through the middle. Smith then failed to gain, and Arnold got off a poor punt which the St. Luke’s right end captured. On the first play the Blue’s quarter-back tried for distance through the Crofton center, only to fumble and have Benson of Crofton recover the ball.
Arnold kicked, and as Gil was interfered with, the ball was brought back and Crofton was presented with ten yards. On the next play Arnold made five yards, and then Poke shaking off his opponents, ran thirty-seven yards, placing the ball within ten yards of the St. Luke’s goal line. Smith tried to gain on the right of the Blue’s line but failed, and a forward pass, Arnold to Poke, was intercepted by the St. Luke’s captain on his own four-yard line. He scampered and dodged back to his ten-yard line before he was brought down, with half the Crofton team sitting on and about him. On the first play the Blue’s captain fumbled while going through the line and Duncan Sargent grabbed the ball for Crofton on the nineteen[229] yards. Two plays by Arnold and Poke netted seven yards. Then, with Arnold back, a forward pass, Arnold throwing the ball to Poke, brought the first score. Poke caught the ball on the twelve-yard line and scampered over the last white mark before he was pulled down. The punt-out was a failure, the ball striking the ground.
But Crofton cheered and made known her approval. The playing for the rest of the first period was in the middle of the field, although at one time Arnold was forced to punt from behind Crofton’s goal line, after a mess had been made of the handling of one of the blue captain’s kicks. The quarter ended with the ball in St. Luke’s possession on her own forty-six-yard line.
In the second period St. Luke’s was on the defensive. Fumbles enabled Crofton to get the pigskin to within twenty-five yards of St. Luke’s goal line, where Benson, on a forward pass, ran over the goal line, only to be called back because Poke had held an opponent. Some two minutes later the period ended and the teams trotted off.
“The teams are pretty evenly matched,” said Jeffrey, “and Gil was right about it being[230] a stiff game. I guess we’re a little heavier than they are, and I think our offense is better. One thing is certain, though, and that is that we’re away ahead of them at handling the ball. They made some awful fumbles in that last quarter, didn’t they?”
“Yes, but it helped us, Jeff. I don’t see why that mean old thing of a referee wouldn’t let us have that last touchdown. Do you think that was fair?”
“Of course it was,” Jeffrey laughed. “Poke was holding one of the St. Luke’s fellows and the officials caught him. So we got penalized and lost our touchdown. Too bad, too, for that was a corking pass, and Benson handled it finely. There wasn’t a soul near him when he got the ball.”
“Then it was Poke’s fault?” asked Hope sadly.
“I’m afraid it was. I don’t suppose he meant to hold. A fellow gets excited and doesn’t realize sometimes. I guess Poke feels as badly as anybody about it. But never mind, we’ll trim them all right. We should get at least one more touchdown in the next two periods.”
“I hope we get a dozen,” declared Hope.[231] “And wasn’t that run of Poke’s perfectly jimmy? I guess we can forgive him for losing us that other touchdown, don’t you?&rdqu............