Blind Your Ponies

Diana comes over to Sam’s house and gets angry with him because she can tell that he has given up on the team. Diana asks him if he thinks that they can win every game, and Sam says that he does not believe it. Diana gets angry, but Sam says that he does not want to set himself or the boys up for more defeat. Diana says that life is about hoping and getting your heart broken and continuing anyway. Diana tells Sam that they can learn something from the team’s perseverance, but Sam says he does not know if he can do it anymore. Diana accuses him of being in love with his self-pity. Sam gets upset but Diana tells him that if he is so afraid to live that he does not take any risks, then the man who shot Amy may as well have shot him.

In the final seconds of the Harrison game, Willow Creek is up by one point. Curtis fouls a player. The player goes to the free-throw line, but he misses both shots. The Broncs celebrate their win on the court.

The Broncs check into their hotel. Diana apologizes to Sam for what she said, but Sam assures her that he needs to hear it. The next day, they play against Shields Valley. In the last four minutes of the game, Rob fouls out. Peter hits a three and scores multiple times against Shields Valley. Willow Creek wins by 11 points, and everyone hugs Peter for his amazing game.

The next day, Tom protects Dean and Curtis from a group of bullies. Tom takes on the three bullies by himself, but Rob, Pete, and Olaf join him, and they chase the bullies away. Tom limps and Peter thinks he may have broken a couple of fingers in his attack. The team walks back to the hotel together, carrying Tom between them.

In the locker room, Sam wonders if the team got in a fight, but he does not ask them. Willow Creek beats Manhattan Christian. After their game, the team watches the Twin Bridges-Gardiner game. Twin Bridges wins, and Willow Creek explodes into cheers because they can challenge Twin Bridges.

In Willow Creek, Amos knocks on Sam’s door. Amos comes inside carrying a suitcase. He says that Tom wants to ride rodeo but that he needs to join the service first because he cannot afford the equipment on his own. Amos says that he has a bridle, spurs, lariat, and money in the suitcase for Tom so that he does not have to join the service. He does not want to give it directly to Tom because he knows that George will try to steal it, so Sam says he will keep it.

Grandma Chapman tells Peter that everyone in town is talking about their winning streak. That night, Diana and Sam have dinner. Diana tells him that she has applied for a teaching job in San Diego for the following year. Sam says that he does not want to lose her, and he wonders if he should go with her to San Diego.

On the day of the challenge game, Diana tells Sam that no matter what happens, he should feel proud of the way he has coached the team. As Sam walks into the Butte Civic Center, he feels overwhelmed by the amount of Willow Creek fans in the stands. At halftime, Willow Creek is down by three points. During the second half, Dean fouls out. In the final minute, Tom scores, and the Broncs pull ahead. Gardiner scores, but Curtis scores and gets fouled. Curtis goes to the free-throw line for one shot with 14 seconds remaining and he makes it. Gardiner calls a time-out as Willow Creek is up by one point. After the time-out, Gardiner tries to score but misses, and Rob hits the ball away as they try to rebound just as the buzzer sounds. The Broncs hug Curtis and the crowd roars with excitement. Sam cannot believe that they will continue to the finals. Sam drives everyone home, and they go to the Blue Willow to celebrate.

Dean explains to Sam about Tom coming to help him and Curtis in Butte. Later, Grandma Chapman tells Peter that she called his mother and told her to come out and watch him play but that she said she was too busy. Peter says that it upsets him that his parents do not come out to watch him play, but he is glad that Grandma Chapman is there to see him. Later, Diana tells Sam that she got the San Diego job, and Sam tries to be happy for her.

Hazel picks Grandma Chapman up to drive to the first game against Noxon. The Broncs look overwhelmed by the Noxon team, and Grandma Chapman hates to watch. However, Dean uses his speed to out-dribble the other team and score over them. Despite Noxon’s height advantage, Willow Creek wins by three points, allowing them to progress to the Sweet 16.

After the game, Grandma Chapman asks Hazel if she would drive her to the hospital in Billings. She tells Hazel that she has kept it a secret, but she is very sick and needs to see the doctor. After a while in the waiting room, the doctor tells Hazel that she can see Grandma Chapman. He tells Hazel that Grandma Chapman has leukemia, and he does not think that she will live through the summer.

When Grandma Chapman wakes up, Hazel asks her why she did not tell her about her sickness. Grandma Chapman asks her to keep it a secret because she does not want Peter to know until the basketball season is over. She tells Hazel that she has known since the previous summer but that she does not want everyone moping about her.

Hazel calls Sam and asks him to tell Peter that Grandma Chapman has the flu and will not be able to make it to the game. Hazel then tells Sam about Grandma Chapman’s leukemia, but she asks him not to tell anyone else. At the Seely-Swan game, Sam gets mad at the referee’s calls, but he encourages the team to keep passing to Olaf to score. In the fourth quarter, Peter scores a three-point shot, but he fouls out. In the last 30 seconds, Willow Creek is up by two points, but Seely-Swan quickly ties the game and gets a foul. They make the free throw and Sam calls a time-out. Willow Creek tries to get ahead, but they lose the game.

In the locker room, the team sits in silence. Diana tells them that they have nothing to be ashamed of, and she lifts their spirits. At the hotel, they watch a movie and go to bed, ready for the game the next day.

In the morning, Diana encourages the boys by telling them that even though they feel like the boys on the other team are the predators, even the prey fights back and wins sometimes. During the game against Ennis, the Broncs play well. They get ahead by three points in the last three minutes of the game. Sam runs out of time-outs but screams at the Broncs not to foul. Despite Ennis’s efforts, Willow Creek wins.

Grandma Chapman calls Peter to congratulate him on their win. She tells him that she is feeling better and that she will be there for their game on Monday. Grandma Chapman gets everyone in her area of the hospital to listen to the game on the radio. The connection is not good so she cannot hear the score. She can hear that Tom must leave the game because of his knee, which worries her. Finally, the announcer says the score and Grandma realizes with joy that Willow Creek is ahead by 10 points. Willow Creek wins, and Grandma Chapman tells everyone that they must listen to the other game because if Seely-Swan beats Twin Bridges, then Willow Creek can challenge Twin Bridges. The other people in their hospital beds listen to her, happy for the distraction and for the encouragement as the underdog wins.