Play by Play

It's the fourth week of the '94 school year at St. Roman High and five foot two freshman Pete Hickey hasn't had much success on or off the football field. But thanks to a miraculous series of events, he finds himself named the varsity team's starting kicker for the biggest game of the year. Not only that, but the girl he's in love with, Alex Campbell actually calls him. It's up to Pete to man up, hit the game winning field goal, ask Alex to homecoming, and somehow convince Rocco to finally see Rudy. No pressure, right?

Pete joins the student newspaper in the hopes that it will impress her. Things are looking good until he's assigned to write an article on the boys' soccer team and he's forced to interview Alex's hacky-sack-loving, hemp-necklace-wearing boyfriend Justin. Pete must decide what to do: write a standard puff piece, or use this opportunity to take Justin down. Meanwhile, Rocco sells breath spray to the school at "grossly inflated prices".

Over the years, Pete's brother Mike has managed to call "dibs" on everything worthwhile in the Hickey house. But when Clare declares Steve's perpetually under construction basement "finished", Pete sees his chance and calls "dibs". Mike refuses to give in. He and Pete battle it out and accidentally lock themselves down there. Meanwhile Steve and Clare enjoy some alone time upstairs watching NYPD Blue. Pete and Mike have to figure out a way to resolve their differences or risk staying locked in the basement for the foreseeable future.

When you're fourteen, change is a way of life. Pete's body is constantly changing and he seems to have no control over it. Case in point: the unwanted erection he gets every single morning at exactly 8:03 in theology class. Is God messing with him? When Father Fenelon asks Pete to stand and say the Our Father, Pete refuses. Fenelon immediately banishes Pete to "JUG" (Justice Under God), the Catholic school version of detention. To Pete's surprise Alex is in JUG too. The two decide to sneak out and spend the whole afternoon together. Will Pete's embarrassing boners get in the way of making real progress with Alex? Only God knows.

Thanks to Coach Carfora’s lackadaisical teaching style, the seniors are given free reign to beat on the freshmen everyday in gym class. Pete and Rocco spend most of their time hiding under the bleachers, hoping they’ll eventually hit their growth spurt. But when Pete’s doctor tells him he’s probably done growing, Pete freaks out. After a heart to heart with his five foot two Uncle Hilard, Pete decides to take matters into his own hands. He rallies the other freshmen to seek revenge on the seniors during an epic game of Roman Ball.

When Pete gets his learner’s permit he sees it as an opportunity for a little more freedom, but Steve thinks his son needs to learn some responsibility first. The result is a father-son stand off. Steve makes Pete drive him to and from his Sunday night hockey games. This makes Pete even more resentful and it culminates with him stealing the car for a joyride. Pete gets lost on the joyride and embarrassingly must call his dad for directions. It’s only when Steve gets Pete back safely that Pete sees the softer side of his dad. These car trips to and from the ice rink together were really just a way for Steve to try to reconnect with his son.

Since missing the winning kick in a varsity game, Pete’s been demoted back to the winless JV team. Even worse, he has to serve as the varsity team’s water boy during home games. It’s embarrassing. Fed up, Pete writes Coach Carfora a resignation letter and quits the team. But no sooner does he do this than Alex offers to go to Pete’s next JV game to watch him in action. Pete must now figure out a way to get back on the team so he can impress her. And more importantly, he must figure out a way to make it up to his JV teammates for deserting them.

Pete is still upset that Alex didn’t go to his JV game. Rocco tries to cheer him up by inviting him to a party he heard about. Pete reveals he’s petrified of parties. Ten years of DARE videos will do that to a kid. Rocco manages to convince him to go anyway and the two embark on a three-hour journey to find the party. Once they finally get there they run into Justin and Alex. Pete spends the whole party afraid that the cops might show up and angry that Alex is still with Justin. Just as Pete is about to go home with his tail between his legs, the cops actually do show up and in the panic Pete finds himself hiding in a dark corner of the garage with Alex. It’s here where Pete and Alex have a late night heart to heart and their true feelings come out—resulting in the biggest moment of Pete’s young life.