Bleachers

Paul and Neely meet up with Mal at Nat’s bookstore the next day, and they all pile into Mal’s truck to ride to Buford together. Mal recounts when he nearly died in Vietnam along with many of his fellow soldiers after his boat came under fire. He credits his survival to the memory of Rake, claiming that the coach’s voice in his head gave him the strength needed to come out of the attack alive. The sight of the bodies of two of his friends, who were burned on the boat, sent Mal into shock, and soon after he was sent home.

Mal pulls the truck over for a bite to eat. He is still curious about the 1987 championship game, and he prods Neely and Paul to give more details about what happened during halftime. Now that Rake is dead, Neely and Paul feel that they can finally speak truth about that night.

The Spartans “were down thirty-one to zip” (111), and Rake was livid. Rake took out his anger on Neely, first by insulting him and then he reared back and punched Neely in the face, breaking his nose. Reflexively, Neely returned the punch with equal force, breaking his own hand and knocking Rake out cold.