Sweat pouring down his face, his voice sharp and raw Archbishop Hoban football Coach Ralph Orsini stood at midfield, his players kneeling in a circle around him.

Hearts were still pounding, lungs still hungry for air.

The scoreboard screamed: HOBAN 24, GARFIELD 21.

''We've had a lot of great comebacks at this school,'' Orsini said. ''But this . . . it was one of the best . . . ever!''

That's high praise from a man who has been the head coach at Hoban for 14 years.

''Theo Barnes,'' roared Orsini. ''Stand up.''

The junior lineman rose to his feet, several teammates chanted THE-OO, THE-OO.

In the final minute, the 6-foot-4, 240-pounder led the rush to force a bad pass from the Garfield quarterback to give the ball and the game to Hoban.

''One of the best bull-rushes I've seen in a long time,'' Orsini said.

On this Thursday night at Hoban, the high school football season opened. If every game is like this one, fans will be checking into cardiac wards by the middle of October.

But high school sports are like that. Every game seems to be the biggest. Every loss the hardest. Every victory the best. Especially when two neighborhood schools like Hoban and Garfield take the field on a 87-degree night when the humidity was so thick, just munching some popcorn and watching this game was enough to soak your shirt with sweat.

Orsini told his players that they played ''with a lot of heart.'' He told them ''you didn't give up.'' He told them, ''when it mattered, you got it done.''

The coach didn't care if that sounded like a bunch of cliches because cliches that come to life win football games and, yes, show some character.

''Theo Barnes is a strong person,'' Orsini said. ''I expected him to make a big play like that at the end of the game.''

Hoban won this game when it took over the ball on its own 20-yard-line with 5:46 left. Garfield had a 21-17 lead. The Rams had played well all night, but the weather and the clock were against them. At least eight of their athletes played both offense and defense, the suffocating heat sucking up their energy.

Players on both teams went out with severe leg cramps.

Hoban marched 80 yards in that key drive, ending with a superb 35-yard touchdown pass from Josh Masters with Will Fleming.

Barnes also was key to this play as he delivered a crushing block to Garfield star defensive end Whitney Mercilous, knocking down the 235-pound Division I college prospect.

To be fair to Mercilous, he was on the field for nearly every play on both sides of the ball and also punted. Some of his blocks opened holes for Garfield's quick and crafty Tyson Gulley.

The 5-foot-8, 170-pound sophomore is destined to become one of the best backs in the area. He seemed to glide past the defense for 104 yards in 21 carries. It was usually one fast head fake, a sneaky shift of the shoulders . . . and he was gone, tacklers reaching for him and grasping nothing but the humidity of the August night.

This was a game when players from both teams delivered in the clutch.

Garfield's Deron Brown snared a 42-yard touchdown pass from Lorenzo Sanchez, breaking a tackle to score. Hoban's Steve Yoak dipped his shoulder, pumped his legs and looked like a human jackhammer as he ran over a Garfield tackler for a 3-yard touchdown.

A huge play was the 37-yard field goal by Hoban sophomore Zach Christensen, the 140-pounder's boot was so long and true it would have been good from 50 yards.

It was a tough loss for Garfield coach Bob Sax and his kids, because Hoban was at home and the favorite. The Rams were so close to an upset.

The game was a pleasure to watch. Penalties were few. For an opening game, both teams seemed sharp and came to the line of scrimmage knowing what plays were supposed to be run.

High school football season is here, and games like this make you keep coming back for more. noweb