LATENT REVENGE

LATENT REVENGE
By Richard Hughes

DRAMATICALLY IN 1951 MY DAD DIED OF A SUDDEN UNEXPECTED SEVERE HEART ATTACK .WE HAD NOTHING NOT A RED OR PINK PENNY. MY MOTHER AND MY SISTER MOVED IN WITH KATHERINE GUNNOE MY MOTHERS SISTERS AND DICK GUNNOES MOTHER IN HINTON ACTUALLY BELLPOINT WEST VA. I WENT TO SCHOOL IN BELLPOINT FOR TWO YEARS WHERE I MADE SOME FRIENDS FAST FORWARD 9 YEARS 1960 WE WERE PLAYING HINTON ON OUR HOME FIELD. MY JUNIOR YEAR WE HAD LOSING RECORD, AND NO VISION THAT NEXT YEAR WE WOULD BE UNDEFEATED AND A GREAT GREAT TEAM. THAT NIGHT ON OUR FIELD WE FACED A TOUGH FORCEFUL HINTON TEAM ,ONE OF THEIR PLAYERS , DICK LEFTRIDGE , WAS HAILED AS PERHAPS THE BEST BACK IN WEST VIRGINIA. EARLY IN THE GAME WE GOT THE BALL AND I CROUCHED AS WE PREPARED FOR ACTION .MY GLANCE WAS ACROSS THE LINE AND MET DICK'S EYES I YELLED AT DICK I AM GOING TO GET YOU DICK IMMEDIATELY RESPONDED COME ON IDIOT IT WILL BE YOUR LAST MOVE, EVENTUALLY ,WE CALLED A PASS ,I HAD VERY FAST FEET, I MOVED LEFT ,DICK MOVED WITH ME, DAFTLY, I CHANGED DIRECTIONS, DICK WAS BEATEN ,THE PASS WAS PERFECT I STRETCHED FOR IT CAUGHT IT , AND CAME DOWN RUNNING AT FULL SPEED, ONLY ONE PERSON STOOD BETWEEN ME AND ND OUR GLORY. AN OLD FRIEND FROM BELLPOINT CAME IN FROM THE SIDE, I TRIED TO STIFF ARM BUTCH BUT HE KEPT COMING . I YELLED THREATENINGLY LET SCORE ,BUTCH ,TENACIOUSLY HELD ME WITH HIS DEATH GRIP PULLED ME DOWN 32 YARDS SHORT JOY . WE DID NOT SCORE THEN AND THE FINAL SCORE WAS HINTON 39 ALDERSON 12 . I NEVER SAW OR SPOKE TO BUTCH MILLER AGAIN ,BUT MY ANGER LAID THE GROUND WORK FOR NEXT YEAR WHEN I MADE A GREAT CATCH ON A GREAT PASS THROWN BY ALLEN GALLOWAY WHICH CHANGED THE MOMENTUM OF THE GAME AND LED TO A GREAT VICTORY OVER HINTON ,AND PROPELLED ALDERSON INTO THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP OF WEST VIRGINIA