Chris Simpson tells the story of growing up in a gritty industrial upstate New York town in the 1960s, hanging out with a bunch of friends whose favorite pastimes are playing high school football, chasing girls, dreaming up nicknames, inventing imaginary organizations, and trying to get served in bars.
Their football team, the Ganaway Rivermen, has historically won more than its fair share of games against archrival Bell Island. The Bell Island - Ganaway game, the BI-G game, is famous throughout the region. But that winning streak has come to an end....
Frank Helwig is the team's legendary coach. He's won more games than any coach in the league, maybe in the state. For all those years, Helwig has relied on the single wing offense, which by the '60s has been abandoned by all but a few schools. Is it time for a change? The team's losing streak against Bell Island has the town talking. People are saying that Helwig needs to modernize the Ganaway game, but that talk seems to be falling on deaf ears.
Chris and his teammates come up through the ranks: freshman ball, then the JV team, and finally varsity. Over those years, their families confront a series of issues: alcoholism, gambling, loan sharking, mob connections, a nasty injury at a chemical plant, and the possible loss of a family business. But always, football and friendship form the glue that holds the boys together. And in their senior year, it's up to them to save the reputation of the Ganaway Rivermen and their own sense of pride.