49 pages • 1 hour read
The Underdogs
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Chapters 29-35Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 29 Summary
The Bulldogs beat Camden, then LaGrange. One evening, Joe takes Will to the closed-down factory in Forbes. He talks about his high school football days and mentions how his coach, Carson, would pump up the crowd at Friday night pep rallies ahead of Saturday game days. Joe also mentions that Coach Carson will be retiring at the end of this season. He reminisces aloud about how impressively loud the high school crowds were. He suggests that the Bulldogs might inspire the same kind of excitement if their team goes to the playoffs.
Chapter 30 Summary
By halftime of Saturday’s game, the Morganville Jaguars, a large team, is beating the Bulldogs. By faking out a linebacker early in the second half, Will gets the Bulldogs’ first touchdown. With four minutes to go, Hannah makes an interception that stops the Jaguars from scoring.
When it’s their turn to advance the ball, the Bulldogs get to the 26-yard line through a series of strong plays. With eight seconds left, they are close to the end zone. During a huddle, Chris tells Will that he will clear a hole for him. He blocks the middle linebacker as soon as he passes the ball to Will. Will scores, and the Bulldogs win.
The win means they will play Castle Rock in the championship game next week. Will is elated until he notices that Chris is hurt. Later, the team learns that Chris broke his ankle. Without Chris, the team is down to 10 players.
Chapter 31 Summary
After practice, Will’s father reminds the team that they must name a quarterback before the championship. Joe decides to go with Johnny, who gained experience throwing as a baseball player. Next, Will’s father has the Bulldogs practice blocking Hannah’s kicks. No one can manage a single block on her, and she cheerfully sends the last kick to the end zone. After a minute of laughter and good-natured talk about their hopes for Saturday, Will jogs to the sideline. He gets hit in the head with a football from Toby, who went after Hannah’s long kick and threw the ball more than half the length of the field. The team and coaches are amazed by his arm and aim. They have their new quarterback.
Chapter 32 Summary
Will reflects on the surprises and twists the season has brought so far. His anticipation for Saturday’s game builds steadily. He is convinced they need an 11th player on the team—just not the kind he tried to recruit months ago. He sends Hannah a message over Facebook with an idea. She sends back one agreeing to his plan. Will starts writing a letter.
Chapter 33 Summary
At Thursday night’s practice, the team excitedly discusses Will’s letter to the editor of the town newspaper, which was printed on the front page. Formatted as a letter to the community, it briefly explains the status of his team and the obstacles it has overcome so far this season. He asks for everyone in town to serve as the 11th player on their team by coming out and supporting them at a Friday night pep rally in the town square. Will’s father tells the boys to attend a pizza party the next night dressed in their uniform jerseys.
When Will and his father arrive in the town square on Friday evening, Will is amazed to see the number of people gathered and cheering. Even more surprisingly, Mr. DeMartini from New Balance has traveled to meet Will and the team. The players gather on a temporary stage, and Mr. DeMartini joins them, addressing the crowd and sharing his pride in the team. Will’s father introduces each of the team members, saving Will for last. Joe thanks Will for his role in bringing everyone together with a Yogi Berra quote. When prompted to address the crowd, Will says only, “Beat Castle Rock” (260).
Chapter 34 Summary
Will wears new football shoes for the big game. They are a gift from Mr. DeMartini, and Will’s father helped to design them. They have wings on the sides, just like the original Forbes Flyers. At Shea Stadium, the home crowd fills the bleachers. Kendrick makes derogatory comments about their 10-person team, but Toby puts him in his place.
Amazingly, Ben Clark’s kickoff is short. Will catches it, finds a path upfield, and scores. The Bulldogs score again after Toby makes a beautiful 55-yard throw to Will. The score is 13-0 when Castle Rock starts making headway against Mr. Keenan’s creative 10-man defensive plays. By halftime, the score is 13-8.
Will gives the team a pep talk using a modified quote from the movie Miracle: “Their time is over […]. It’s done. This is our time” (269). But the Bears score again early in the second half, bringing the match to 16-13. When the Bulldogs get their next offensive drive, Will fumbles the ball. For several long seconds, it sits on the field, waiting for one side or the other to claim it. Horrified, Will watches Kendrick race toward it, but Hannah slides in with a soccer move and kicks it out of bounds. Possession remains theirs. On a fourth down at the 11-yard line, Will’s father calls for a field goal to tie the game. Then, they will have a chance at winning in overtime.
With the game tied, Ben passes long to Kendrick. Both boys act cocky, as though this is the way the Bears win all of their games. Will tricks them by swapping places with Johnny after the huddle, and he runs—really, he flies—toward Kendrick. Will intercepts the ball and runs the length of the field, making a touchdown.
Chapter 35 Summary
The Bulldogs win by blocking one last passing attempt from Ben to Kendrick. Mr. Keenan hugs Will and Toby. Hannah kisses Will on the cheek. Will talks with an excited Tim on Joe’s cell phone. Once back home, Will’s father shares that he was asked by the Forbes High School athletic director to coach the high school team. Will’s father plans to take the job, “as long as [he] could bring [his] mean old defensive coordinator” too (279).
Hannah and Will sit holding hands near the river with the game trophy between them before the team’s celebratory pizza party. Hannah asks how Will read Ben’s last play. Will explains that he predicted it after considering Kendrick’s need to play the hero. Hannah states that Will got the ball because he was the more deserving hero. Will replies simply, “I didn’t drop it this time” (280).
Chapters 29-35 Analysis
Complications in the rising action hound Will’s underdog team through the last moments of the championship game, boosting the narrative’s suspense. A significant complication just before the big game is Chris’s broken ankle. This once again results in a team of 10 players, but it also gives Mr. Keenan a chance to design an innovative variety of 10-man plays. The championship game itself is structured to give the Bulldogs an early, commanding lead. Lupica saves the most intense drama for the matchup’s second half, during which the Bears crush the Bulldogs’ early lead. This sets up a score that is notably different from those achieved during regular season games. As a result, all kinds of emotions are put on the line as the Bulldogs resort to a field goal to tie the game for an overtime attempt. With newfound confidence and self-assurance, Will steps fully into his leadership role and directs Johnny to switch positions with him. This is the novel’s climactic moment, and it occurs just before Will makes a fantastic catch and turns to run the ball home.
The last chapters are filled with the kind of come-full-circle scenes often seen in underdog tales. For example, Will’s call for Forbes residents to serve as the Bulldogs’ 11th player brings hope to the struggling town and closure to the theme of The Impact of Economic Hardship on Youth. In another example, Will fumbles the ball, just as he did in last year’s game, but Hannah saves the day with a well-timed soccer kick, emphasizing The Power of Teamwork for Achieving Goals. The Bulldogs’ win follows the fulfilling pattern of underdogs coming out on top, and the falling action—Hannah kissing Will, Tim’s phone call, and Joe’s job offer—ties up the narrative’s remaining loose ends.
The completion of Will’s coming-of-age character arc is best evidenced by his letter to the town and his strong performance in the last game. With the letter, Will steps out of his comfort zone and shows that he now accepts that leadership challenges one to do difficult things. Will is an under-the-radar kind of preteen boy at the book’s beginning. Composing a letter that calls hundreds of people to action is a bold move for him, showcasing his growth, wisdom, and maturity. These moments connect with and encapsulate the theme of The Challenges and Rewards of Leadership. If the letter to the paper shows Will’s acceptance of his leadership capabilities, the last game shows increased self-assurance in his decision-making. Instead of remaining envious of wealthier enclaves like Castle Rock, Will is willing to “own” his town, upbringing, experiences, and potential contributions to Forbes. Now, Will finds that Forbes’s challenges are the source of his strength, alluding to the idea that character is built through overcoming obstacles. Will’s self-assurance translates into greater trust in his father, teammates, and himself during the big game. His trust in those around him is exemplified through lines such as, “Take a look around, Dad […]. We are home” (272) and in his instinctive reading of Ben Clark’s last play.
Notable allusions in the last chapters of the novel include Joe’s reference to Yogi Berra, “I want to thank my son for making this night necessary” (259). Yogi Berra was a player, coach, and manager in American Major League Baseball who spent most of his career with the New York Yankees. Berra became known for his witty sayings and malapropisms—words used humorously or ironically. The word “necessary” in the quote above is a malapropism and adds an element of understated humor to this passage. Berra’s quotes are often cited because even when they do not make logical sense, they convey a certain truth (Mathers, Victor, and Katie Rogers. “Behind the Yogi-isms: Those Said and Unsaid.” New York Times, 23 Sept. 2015). Will’s father chooses this quote intentionally because Will’s work, efforts, and attitude secured a necessary boost to the people of Forbes.
Another allusion occurs during Will’s halftime pep talk to his teammates. He recites the character Herb Brooks’s line from the film Miracle, “Their time is over. It’s done […]. This is your time.” Will adjusts the quote slightly to account for himself: “This is our time” (269). Miracle (2004) is a cinematic retelling of a well-known underdog story in sports history: the US Olympic hockey team’s win over the highly skilled and experienced Soviet team in the 1980 Olympics. Most hockey fans assumed the Soviet team would take gold at the Lake Placid Winter Games, as they had already won multiple gold medals and had years of experience playing as a team. When the Americans—largely amateur college athletes who had not played as a team prior to their Olympic selection—beat the Soviets, their victory was nicknamed the “Miracle on Ice.” The US team went on to win the gold medal. Herb Brooks coached the US team that defeated the Soviets; in the film, Kurt Russell plays Brooks and delivers Will’s cited lines in the locker room before the last game, just after another often-quoted underdog line: “Great moments are born from great opportunity.” While the book often references individual sports teams, referencing the Olympics and a patriotic sports film scales up the book’s message to characterize teamwork, resilience, and resourcefulness as quintessentially American traits, connecting Will and the Bulldogs to a greater American sports tradition.
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By Mike Lupica
