Bleachers

It’s the day of Rake’s funeral service, and the town of Messina is completely shut down for the day. Players and fans alike wear green to show their Spartan pride, a tribute to Rake’s coaching legacy. A tarp covering several hundred folding chairs is set aside for the Spartans—a final request of Rake’s.

The preacher, Father McCabe, opens the service by recounting the major events in Rake’s life: his birth, his marriage to Miss Lila, and his arrival to Messina. He tells the crowd that Rake was buried this morning next to Scotty Reardon’s grave. Father McCabe says Rake told him just last week that he was “dreaming of Scotty […] he couldn’t wait to see him up in heaven, to hold him and hug him and tell him he was sorry” (141). His statement arouses a wave of emotion from the crowd.

He is about to open a Bible when a series of radio noises and car door slams interrupts him. It’s a police escort for Jesse Trapp, who decided to come to the funeral after all. After a moment of awkward silence, his mother calls out his name, and she embraces her son. She hands him his old jersey, and he changes into it.