another. The boys, on the cusp of being men, laughed about their past and dreamed about the future. They had no idea that in nine short months, the time it took both to be conceived and born, they would walk away from Montrose High School and rarely see each other again.
   Joe remembered their pre-season scrimmage over Labor Day last, his junior year. After an especially poor performance, the team thought that they would shower and go home upon their arrival at the school. Coach Annese, however, had other plans. He was disgusted in his team’s effort that afternoon against teams they should’ve dominated. As soon as they struggled off the bus, Coach announced, ‘Let’s hit the practice field!’
   Joe sounded as incredulous as he could, ‘Could you believe it when Annese told `em to turn on the stadium lights? People driving down Feher Drive had to wonder what was up.’
   The team practiced an exhausting eight hours that day, but they were too stubborn to give up. They would not quit.
   Barry recalled, ‘Remember when that senior quit last year? He couldn’t handle it anymore and he mumbled some crap like, ‘I quit!’ Coach asked him, ‘What did you say?’
   ‘Humph,’ the dumb kid said. ‘I quit!’ replied Joe.
   Both boys were quiet for a moment, as if engaged in a moment of silence for a fallen comrade. They recalled how Annese shot back, ‘Then quit! But take off all of your stuff, right here, right now!’
   Just as though it happened the day before, they could only imagine how humiliated the exhausted player felt when he stripped off his helmet and the rest of his armor while his teammates smirked. He stripped completely down to his girdle and started to walk away.
   Coach Annese yelled, ‘Hey, that girdle belongs to the school too!’
   Feeling two feet tall the boy pulled the girdle pad off, leaving him clad only in his underwear, and threw it down. His squadmates stopped laughing. They didn’t know quite how to respond to this awkward situation. Each player knew that he didn’t have the balls to quit, not even if he wanted to, and not like that.
   ‘Man,’ Joe said, almost whispering. ‘Right there we knew Coach Annese was for real. He wasn’t afraid of anything.’
   In that instant, that defining moment, it became clear to all that the fire that burned in the eyes of Coach Annese wasn’t a reflection, but came from a furnace that burned within.
    A lot of things changed since then, including the weight room. It was in very poor shape when Annese arrived at Montrose High. It’s no wonder it wasn’t a favorite hang out. The team needed strong kids to institute the veer, not just kids with bulging biceps like Brutus, but strong legs. Annese and assistant Coach Dennis Reinhart both believed in the value of team strength and made it a priority to build a first-class room.
   In the meantime, there had to be a way to increase team strength and build camaraderie. One Sunday, after a film session, Annese showed up with a