The Underdogs (2011) is a middle grade contemporary realistic novel by Mike Lupica. A sports journalist for over 30 years, Lupica has written several books for young people that center on youth sports in plot or conflict. In The Underdogs, 12-year-old Will Tyler must rally his teammates and community to action when his football team’s season faces cancellation due to a lack of funding in his small, struggling town. The novel addresses themes of economic hardship, the power of teamwork, and the challenges and rewards of leadership.

This guide refers to the 2011 edition of the novel from Philomel Books (an imprint of Penguin Group).

Plot Summary

Twelve-year-old Will Tyler races for a touchdown in his community’s football stadium, then trips in a rut in the field surface and goes down just steps from the end zone. Luckily, no game is on the line; he is just practicing. The field’s condition, with its lack of maintenance and broken scoreboard, represents a much bigger loss than the imagined game in Will’s mind.

Will’s town of Forbes in Western Pennsylvania has struggled economically since the Forbes Flyer factory closed years before. Many families were forced to leave for better opportunities elsewhere. The town cannot afford the budget for this year’s youth football program, let alone tend the field; Will’s season is on the verge of being canceled. Not only will he and his team miss out on playing, but they also will not have the opportunity to come back from last year’s championship loss to the neighboring town and nemesis team, Castle Rock. Youth football and other local programs are much better funded there thanks to local revenues from a successful bottled water plant. Will often dreams of what his and his father’s lives would be like if they lived in Castle Rock instead of Forbes.

Will brings up the potential loss of his football season to his father, but Joe Tyler is plagued by his past. Though he loves Will’s talent for the game, he is bitter about football because it symbolizes what he has lost. In high school, he lost his chance at a football future after a knee injury; later, he lost his job making football sneakers at the factory when it closed. Will gets the idea to write to New Balance, a successful sports shoe company, asking them to sponsor his team’s season. He emails his letter and sends a paper copy by mail.

Practicing kicks at the field, Will meets a new girl in town, Hannah Grayson. She proves her football skills by executing highly impressive kicks. Will invites her to stay and play with him and his friends, but she leaves. A few days later, Mr. DeMartini, the CEO of New Balance, responds by mail saying he would be happy to sponsor the team.

Will excitedly tells his teammates, but they soon realize they must recruit more players to have a team of 11. They also need a coach and a quarterback. Coach Carrington and his family—including Bobby, last year’s quarterback—are relocating for Carrington’s new job. Will visits a former player, Toby Keenan, to recruit him, but Toby will not play; he quit two years before because his father made a terrible spectacle of himself each game by yelling demoralizing comments and insults at Toby. Will next approaches his own father about coaching. After making the argument that his father must vanquish his old ghosts regarding football, Joe Tyler agrees to coach.

Will asks many seventh-grade boys to join the team without any luck. He is practicing alone when Hannah arrives, and after some passing and kicking, she asks to join the team. Will tells her that girls cannot play tackle football. She leaves, calling him a girl. Later, he changes his mind, convinces his father to give her a chance, and helps talk his teammates into accepting her. Hannah joins the team as the 11th player.

Their newly named team, the Bulldogs, loses to Palmer in the first game of the season, though they still manage to score twice. The Bulldogs also hold their own in the second game with Castle Rock. In the last second of play, Will gets the ball within one yard of a touchdown that would have won the game. A Castle Rock player, Kendrick Morris, insults Will and the team throughout the game. Afterward, he threatens Will physically when Will returns an insult, but Toby steps in and scares him off. Acknowledging that he could have helped the Bulldogs win, Toby tells Will he will join the team.

The team wins their next games against Cannondale and Merrill. Will is happy with the wins until his best friend and teammate, Tim LeBlanc, announces that his family must move immediately for his father’s new job. Besides the pain of losing his friend, the team will again have only 11 players and no alternates. Toby’s father harasses the team about their poor defensive performance at the next game against Becker Falls—Tim’s last with the team. Tired of Mr. Keenan’s insults, Will’s father calls him down from the stands. Expecting his father to finally have it out with Mr. Keenan, Will is shocked when his father invites Mr. Keenan to serve as defensive coach instead. Mr. Keenan starts immediately, and the Bulldogs win the game.

The team next beats Camden and LaGrange. The Bulldogs start to see the championship game and their hoped-for rematch with Castle Rock as realistic goals. Will’s father recounts how back in his high school football days, everyone in Forbes attended rousing pep rallies on the nights before games to show their support. In the next game against Morganville, the Bulldogs win—ensuring their place in the championship against Castle Rock—but Chris Aiello, the quarterback, breaks his ankle on a tackle. They are down to 10 players and have mediocre options for quarterback. Will’s father plans to put Johnny in the position because he has some throwing experience from baseball. At the end of practice the next week, though, Toby throws a long ball for fun. Everyone sees how good his arm and aim are, and Will’s father makes Toby the new quarterback.

Still a team of only 10 players, Will writes a letter to the editor of the town newspaper. He hopes that the whole town will come out and support them in the championship game as their 11th player. The letter appears on the front page. The townspeople respond with an energetic pep rally the night before the big game. Mr. DiMartini is also there, having traveled to Forbes to attend the game.

During the game against Castle Rock, the Bulldogs lose an early lead and fight to reclaim it in the second half. Kendrick goes out for the game-winning pass, but Will reads the play perfectly, swapping places with a teammate to throw off the opposing tackles and running toward Kendrick to get the ball. He intercepts and scores the winning touchdown. Afterward, Will’s father tells Will he has been asked to coach at the high school. Will is thrilled with their win, his father’s renewed happiness, his football future, and his place in his hometown.