Here in the upstate, things don't change much.
Fall means football season.
Being married to a coach means measuring things...
...mainly by wins and losses.
Except for that one year.
Jimmy Carter declared that if elected...
...he would do everything possible to clean up the government.
In South Carolina weather, late night and early morning low clouds....
-Come on, let's go. -No, Mom.
What's wrong with you, boy?! Get out of my way!
Damn!
Laird, son, how many years you been playing for me?
-Two years, coach. -You want to make that three?
-l suggest you start paying attention. -Yes, sir.
We do things as a team, gentlemen.
One player doesn't execute, it's the difference between 6 yards or 6 points.
Honeycutt, what say we do some up-downs as a team...
...so we can further appreciate that concept.
You heard the man! Get them feet chopping now!
Get it up nice! Get those knees up!
Get them legs going!
Get it up! Get it up, right now!
Come on, get them up! Get them up! Get them up!
Let's go! Come on, now!
Hey, you.
Now, might any of those X's and O's be for me tonight?
-How's it coming? -Almost done.
Mary Helen home yet?
Mary Helen's been in bed for an hour, Harold.
Y'all do have a week before you actually have to play this game, right?
-Right. -l'll be right up.
Ah, the first ''l'll be right up'' of the season.
Ready! Set!
Hut!
Let's go, now.
Team, full speed! Live to the ball!
Ready!
Blue, 2 4!
Set!
Hey, Einstein. Why don't you try picking the ball up.
Yeah, you, dummy. What, you deaf?
Yeah, pick it up. There you go.
Throw it over here.
Come on, throw it!
What are you doing? Hey, coach!
He took our ball.
Wha--?
Run it again!
-See you tomorrow. -Okay. See you later, Mary Helen.
Bye.
You're getting home late.
Oh, hey, Daddy.
l tried calling a couple times, but the line was busy.
Your mama's asleep.
l'll talk to her in the morning, okay?
All right.
-Night. -Good night.
Heard Mary Helen made varsity cheerleader.
-She's really excited. -l'll bet. l'll bet Linda is too.
Yeah, l guess so.
Do it again!
-One more time! -You got them running something?
Hit it!
Come on, dope.
-Hey, boy! -Watch this. Watch this.
-Bring them in. -Gather up! On the double!
Well, is someone gonna tell me what's going on here?
How about it, Johnny?
Nobody move.
On, no, no, no, no.
Oh, gee.
l just want to help you.
l'm just gonna cut the tape off you.
You've gotta hold still. Just try to hold still, now.
You gotta hold still. Look at me.
Hold still. l'm not gonna hurt you. Hold still. l don't want to cut you.
My God. lt's all right.
Calm down a little bit. lt's okay.
l got it. Gonna get you out of this mess.
Okay, you're free.
Anybody got anything to say?
Tell your folks practice's gonna run late tomorrow.
Mary Helen tells me the cheerleading squad's got itself...
...what, half-a-dozen new faces this semester, isn't that right?
l also hear the athletic director...
...has to take the top spot on the pyramid at pep rallies.
lsn't that right?
Harold, why not stop by and see what kind of no-good your daughter's up to?
Yeah, sure.
You got a couple phone calls, Daddy.
From who?
Bobby Taggert's folks. Frank Clay. l wrote them down for you.
-What'd you tell them? -That you'd call back.
Have you decided what you're gonna do about these boys?
Not yet.
l'm sure most of them have never done anything like this before.
You didn't see the look on this young man's face, Linda.
He was terrified.
Coach Jones?
Go on. Good idea.
Might l have a minute of your time?
Y'all, excuse me.
Anybody ever said no to you on that, Principal Daniels?
Nobody still working here.
He scores!
-What can l do for you? -l hear we had an incident yesterday.
Yes, ma'am, we did.
You taking care of it?
Let's just say today's practice won't be the shortest one we've ever had.
Good. Good.
You know, Harold...
...that boy has been rolling by here for a long time now...
...minding his own business.
Never caused any problem for anybody.
l need you all to keep it that way.
l appreciate it.
No, l don't want the football.
l just want to tell you l'm sorry about what happened.
l thought you needed to hear that from someone.
l don't want the football. You keep it.
Why don't you bring it by practice later.
l'll find you something to do. Maybe you can help us out.
Nothing more is gonna happen, son.
l promise you.
See you later. All right?
All right, the nine of you.
You know who you are.
Get on down there.
Take your shoulder pads off. Line up on the chalk.
Let's go. Hustle up!
Well...
...what do you want to do?
Run them.
How long?
Till l say stop.
On the line now! Where you're going to be.
Ready.
All the way to the line, coach.
Don't quit on me now! Don't you quit on me!
All the way through that line! All the way through!
-Hi. -Hey.
-Long day? -Yeah.
How was yours?
Long.
So the report is that Mary Helen got off to a great start in lit class...
-...but she's struggling with math. -Well, the lit part sounds good.
Come on, Harold.
lt's bad enough when a parent misses a conference.
lt's worse when the parent's a teacher.
The parent's a teacher, he knows how his kid's doing.
What?
Please just tell me that you forgot to go.
You know l had to deal with those boys.
Oh, those boys.
Can't you make room for your daughter and those boys?
Don't lecture me. l'll go see Ms. Marks tomorrow if it'll make you feel better.
Make me feel better? This is not about me.
She's a junior, Harold.
l mean, she's got this year and next.
And then she's gone.
Go!
-Y'all ready? -Yes, sir!
Yes, sir!
Close your eyes for a minute.
l want you to listen.
You hear that?
lmagine what that'll sound like after we've all done our job tonight.
And then...
...l want you to imagine what that's gonna feel like.
l want you to picture your man right across from you.
You see him?
You make the effort on every play, you'll beat them.
You play smart, you're gonna outthink them.
You play with heart and character...
...and give your teammates everything you've got on every play...
...you can walk off the field calling yourselves a football team.
Let's play with Hanna pride and never stop believing in each other.
You win your battles...
...we'll win our war.
What's say let's have some fun and get it done.
Your Hanna Yellow Jackets!
Let's go, Jackets!
The kickoff is high and deep...
...and sends the Jackets' Johnny Clay back near the goal line.
Johnny Clay behind a convoy of Hanna blockers. Heads up the right sideline.
Go! Go! Go! Go!
Get up there!
Finally knocked out-of-bounds at the 42-yard line.
Throw right 63 flag. Come on.
Come on!
First and 1 0 for the Jackets.
Marcum back to pass.
Finds Hawkins in the right flat for another Jacket first down.
Get over here. Come on. Come on.
Thirty-six crossbuck.
Once you get the ball, l don't wanna see nothing but the back of your jersey.
All right. Get out there.
The handoff is to Clay.
Finds a big hole. Now cuts outside. Beats one tackler. And another.
-Get upfield, son. Turn it on! -He may go all the way.
-Touchdown, Hanna! -Yeah! All right.
Johnny Clay with a 30-yard run gives the Jackets the lead!
-Less than two minutes to play. -That's what we want.
That's a 30-yard run, son!
That's our ball game! That's our ball game!
-Evening, fellas. -Hey, coach.
-Harold. -Honeycutt.
Del. Don.
Kurt. Dennis.
Just brewed that pot 1 0 minutes ago, coach. Got yourself the first cup.
All right.
Well...
...didn't exactly thump them...
...but it wasn't too bad as far as season openers go.
Frank, your boy, Johnny, had a heck of a run.
Give him the ball, he'll make you a smart man.
That's right.
Did notice a few things we need to work on.
You reckon these are the boys gonna take us back to state?
Come on, Clive. Little early for that kind of talk, isn't it?
l hear Easley has a pretty decent crop of speed this year.
l guess we'll see about that next week.
Think you might want to throw the ball a bit more?
l think about a lot of things.
Listen, boys. Last thing coach needs is us asking him a slew of questions.
Especially after how he got those young men to play.
We got them revved up, didn't we?
So how do you plan on beating those Easley boys Friday night?
Well, Frank, if l was to tell you that...
...y'all wouldn't have a thing to talk about all week.
Boy, that's a good cup tonight, Del.
Thank you.
Come on, turn it up! Turn it up! Turn it up!
Good job! Good job!
Hey, Honeycutt.
Yeah?
See that young man over there?
What do you figure he wants?
l don't know.
Come on, Spaulding, bring it around there!
l think maybe he's thirsty.
Well, go on.
All right. Five minutes.
Get yourself a drink. Get on special teams.
How you doing?
Yeah, you. No, wait, wait. lt's all right.
Settle down. l ain't gonna give you a hug.
Just got a little water here. See?
l'm dropping something off here.
Little something from Coach Jones.
Got a name, son?
You ain't gonna talk to me, are you?
All right.
Go ahead. Go on, give it a squeeze.
Set! Hut!
-Come on, now! -Good job, Justin.
All right, bring it in!
Hi.
Glad you came by.
Thank you. What's your name?
Why don't you come on in.
l got some hamburgers coming.
Get your buggy. Come on in.
Really good burgers.
Oh, you found some music you like. Good.
Hey, look who's here.
No ketchup, no onion.
Thank you.
-He tell you his name yet? -He doesn't talk too much.
But he's sure taken a liking to that radio of yours.
Radio.
Radio, huh?
You know, it's just sitting there.
You can have it as far as l'm concerned.
Hey, you hear that...
...Radio?
Coach Honeycutt says you can take that home with you if you like.
Hey, are you hungry?
Would you like a hambur--?
You want something to wash it down with too? Root beer? Coke?
Coke.
-Man knows what he wants. -Coke, it is.
Well...
...which way's home, Radio?
There's nothing wrong with a good country station.
But l can get used to this too, l guess.
You know, the boys call me Coach Jones.
You can call me what you like when you get around to it.
All right?
l hope you can come by practice tomorrow.
The same time. All right?
See you then, okay?
Afternoon, ma'am.
l'm Harold Jones. l coach the football team over at Hanna High.
l was just giving your boy a ride home.
Come on in now, baby.
Look.
Hey.
-Hello. -Yeah.
-Look. -l see you got yourself another one.
Look.
Oh, look at that.
You get that from him?
Yeah. Coach Jones.
Look at that one.
He a nice man?
Yeah.
Good.
l think it's time you got washed up for dinner. You hungry?
-Yeah. -l made you some fried bread.
All right. Get yourself washed up for dinner.
Set!
Get in there! Get in there!
Bring it in! Come on, hustle up! Let's go.
Come on, hustle up!
Bring it in. Good job. Good job. Good practice, men.
We got a lot to think about this week.
Easley's got a ton of speed.
Defense, containment. We gotta keep them from getting outside.
Offense, ball control. We'll grind it out, keep their offense off the field.
Now, there's one other thing.
See the young man over there?
Believe some of you already know him. He goes by Radio.
He'll be helping us out for a while.
We will not have a problem with that.
No, sir.
Call it up, Danny.
-One, two, three! -Beat Easley!
-What's he doing? -That's it. Get your knees up.
Look at him out there.
That one! That one! That one!
Careful.
Sorry.
l'm sorry, Johnny.
l'm sorry. l'm sorry, Johnny. l'm sorry.
You okay.
Hanna!
What the hell is going on out there?
Yellow Jackets still looking to get on track. Marcum back to pass.
Intercepted!
Don't quit! Don't quit! Don't quit!
Go! Go!
That was a good one. l liked that one.
Radio!
Hi, everybody. Hi, everybody. Hi, everybody.
Quite a show you put on tonight.
Just wondering if you were running a football program or a social club.
Radio, l need to talk to your mama. That okay?
She right there.
-Hi, Mama. -There's a sandwich in there for you.
-l'll be in there directly. -Okay, Mama.
Ma'am.
l was wondering if we might carry your son tomorrow on the team bus.
Got us a football game.
What your boys done to my son was wrong...
...but l don't expect you to make up for it.
The boys are taking to him real good.
They're still boys, now, ain't they?
l'll keep a good eye on him.
l guess it's all right with me.
l don't mean to pry, ma'am...
...but l was hoping...
...l might be able to ask you what exactly is wrong with him.
Well, the doctors never could give me a name for it.
Say he the same as everybody else, just a little slower than most.
l got a older boy, Walter. He's fine and all.
And their daddy?
He died a while back.
l'm sorry.
You got your hands full.
Well, they got me working 1 0 hours a day at the hospital. Some days more.
So l'm wondering where he's at half the time...
...and worrying all the time.
Because l figure they only gonna need one excuse to put him away.
James is a good boy, coach. He got himself a good heart.
Most folks just don't take the time to see it, is all.
James.
James Robert Kennedy.
Thank you, ma'am.
No, he is not getting on that bus.
Harold, he is not a student.
You don't even know how old he is.
Look, he has a handicap we know nothing about.
What if he has some kind of a seizure?
He's not the one who's gonna have the seizure.
This has nothing to do with any of that.
lf you're saying l'm overly concerned...
...about my students being with a severely handicapped black man...
...l assure you that l am.
But my concern is not necessarily for my students.
l'm not so sure we're trying to help somebody here...
...or whether he's being used as nothing more than a glorified mascot.
You know me a hell of a lot better than that.
Put your game face on.
Wipe your smile off your faces. Start thinking about football.
-Coach Jones. lt raining hard. -Radio. Radio.
-Gonna be wet out there. -lt sure is.
Listen, we're not gonna be able to take you on the bus today.
Some folks, they don't think it's a good idea.
They just don't understand yet, but they'll catch on. Believe me.
l'm sorry.
l'm really sorry.
l'll see you tomorrow. Okay?
And in local sports...
...Hanna's Yellow Jackets travel to Wade Hampton tonight.
With a 4-4 record, they need to win both their remaining games...
...to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Clock winding down now in the fourth quarter.
The Yellow Jackets have trailed all night long...
...but now within striking distance, trailing 1 4 to 1 3.
Danny Marcum barks out the signals.
He's back to pass.
Incomplete.
Second down now. Still time to mount one last drive.
And there's the draw play. Playing up the middle.
To 5, 1 0. First down, Jackets.
Jackets will go for a field goal to win it.
Less than a minute to play.
-Here's the snap. The kick. -Kick.
No good!
The Jackets' last-ditch efforts fall short.
Final score: Wade Hampton, 1 4, Hanna, 1 3.
Here, here. Use a spoon.
There you go.
-l'll get some of these out of your way. -All right.
Thank you, Grace.
-Which cobbler you got today? -l got so--
-l'm not done. -Don't talk with your mouth full, now.
-Peach and blackberry. -Peach and blackberry.
What's it gonna be, Radio?
Both.
Give the man both. l'd like some more coffee too, please.
Yeah, l take both.
-Radio, look at me. -l want my pie.
You got mustard on your cheek. Get it for you.
There you go.
Football season's just about over.
-You know that, don't you? -One more game.
Yep. One more game.
You gonna be okay with that?
-Where my pie? -Don't worry, they're coming.
She'll bring you your pie. Don't worry.
-l like both. -She's got your order.
Football. l like football.
Some of us felt pretty bad about leaving you off that bus last night.
We're gonna find a way to make it up to you.
How you gonna do that, coach?
Your Hanna Yellow Jackets!
Jackets!
All right!
-We're having fun. This is a good one. -This is a good one.
Nothing like archrival Westside to get Jackets fans stirred up.
Winning this one would even Hanna's record at 5 and 5...
...and though a far cry from early season hopes...
...salvage a measure of pride for the home squad.
Here we go. Here we go.
All right, 4 right, 2 4 flank and reverse.
-Third and 6 on the 40. -That was a good one, coach.
-We'll see. -Ready!
That was a reverse! Reverse!
Reverse!
Come back here.
What--? He's telling the play!
Westside defense calling an audible, brings in both linebackers.
-Danny, check it off. -Reverse!
Jones signaling for time, but Marcum doesn't hear him.
Marcum rolls right, pitches it to Hill on a flank and reverse.
He is crushed in the backfield and fumbles the ball.
-It's recovered by Westside! -Daggum it!
Come on.
No wonder! They knew the play. They knew the play!
Defense, get out there.
Radio, listen to me. You can't let the other team know what we're gonna do.
-How they know that, coach? -Tommy, get out there!
Good God.
Set! Hike!
Snead back to pass for Westside.
It's broken up, but a flag is thrown on the Jackets' cornerback.
No!
-Got him in the back, coach. -Are you kidding?!
-You blew that call and you know it. -You need to move back.
-Don't do it. Don't do it. -That was a chickenshit call.
-Fifteen more! -Oh, come on!
Another penalty on Jones.
-Chickenshit! Chickenshit! -Fifteen more. Go to the white line.
Chickenshit! Chickenshit!
-Radio! Get him out of there, Honeycutt! -Get him back.
Unsportsmanlike conduct!
Just called a third penalty on the Jackets' bench.
lt looks like a train wreck down there.
Honeycutt, get him off the field.
How many flags you got?! You got any more flags?!
-Get him back! -A total of 45 yards now on the play.
-There goes my evening. -Come on, Radio.
Let's go, buddy. Here we go.
Any chance l can get the ball?
Nobody speaks in here unless Coach Jones says he does.
Sit down, Clay.
There your ball.
Now that we got that taken care of....
Jackets trying to hold Westside in the fourth quarter.
They've stiffened here in the second half and still trail by only 4.
Here comes the Jackets' blitz.
-He got him! He got him! -He got him!
Go!
The ball will go back to the Jackets with time for one last drive.
Hut!
Marcum keeps it. Pitches to Smalls.
Bounces off one tackler and breaks free. Touchdown, Jackets!
Good job. Come here.
Flanker right, split left. Twenty-four Z post. Get on your horse, now.
Hey, Honeycutt...
...l got a good feeling about this one.
Good feeling. Good feeling.
Set! Hut!
Marcum fakes the handoff and drops back to pass.
Looking long.
Mitchell's open.
Touchdown, Yellow Jackets!
-Oh! That was a good one! -Good one! What'd l tell you?
With less than a minute to play, Hanna has overtaken rival Westside...
...with a stunning 37-yard touchdown.
That's the way the game's supposed to be played. Good job.
Settle down, now. Listen up.
That was a great team effort out there tonight. Great comeback.
Y'all played your hearts out. l'm proud of you. Good job.
Honeycutt.
For standing behind us all season long, especially tonight...
...the game ball...
...goes to Radio.
-Can you sign this? -Yeah, sure.
-There you go. -Thanks.
-Hey. How are you? -Much better now.