Summary

Chapter 18 covers the football season opening game against Hillside East. John scores 6 touchdowns. He recounts his victory in a play-by-play narration describing how he shoved, pushed, and plowed into the other players over and over again. John is frustrated that his parents do not attend, especially when he sees that Penn's parents are in the stands. A second string player comes on the field to replace him, but John pushes him away. John keeps scoring until Coach Lattner physically comes and takes him off the field. He explains that he wanted to beat Hillside, not destroy them. John does not see what he did wrong, and everyone except Jane is cheering for him when he comes off the field. John is overjoyed to discover Scooter cooking in the kitchen when he comes home at the end of the chapter.

In Chapter 19 the reader...