Coach Hoang led the way to the Dons' locker room, urgency driving him forward at a rapid pace. Bella walked along apart from the team, wringing her hands and frowning at the players like they were all going off to die. JJ walked at the head of the team, level with the coaches, though he walked backwards, facing his hermanos.
'We can get it all back in the next half,' he said. 'They scored twenty-one? We can score twenty-two.'
Donte and Jay stood out among the team. Two of the few who still held their head up.
Ty and Bella locked eyes for a brief moment. She was the one who looked away hurriedly. Ty was reminded of the promise he'd made, not just to her, but to everyone, himself included. "I won't lose ever again. Not here, not anywhere."
Coach Hoang was waiting for him when he entered the locker room. 'Sit down and shut up, Samuels,' he said, pushing Ty to his locker.
'If you're going to chew me out for everything, save it. No one knows—'
'I said shut up, didn't I?' Coach Hoang rounded on him, glaring up at him. 'Or have your ears stopped working along with your skills?'
Ty's face scrunched up. He bit his tongue for a moment. But as he sat, he couldn't hold back. 'You're going to run into a player with anger issues one day, and I doubt being in a wheelchair will stop them punching you in the mouth.'
Coach Hoang laughed, a short, mirth-filled bark. 'You haven't yet, Samuels, so I think I'm safe for a while. Now seriously, this is important.'
Ty held his tongue for longer than a couple of seconds.
Coach Hoang took a deep breath, Ty realised, only after they stopped, that Coach Hoang's hands had been shaking. 'I think I've figured it out, Samuels.'
Ty remained silent, though his quirked brow bid Coach Hoang continue.
'It might not swing the match-up in your favour, not for long, and not by itself, but it should even the playing field. Which is when you'll have to do the heavy lifting and beat him. But they do have … not exactly a tell, but a pattern almost. I should've figured it out sooner. It's so obvious; you're both so similar. It's why I wanted you to switch to Safety.'
Ty cringed at the idea. His mouth opened for a fraction of a second, but he bit back the snide remark. His eyes flicked to Zayden. Coach Long was addressing the rest of the defence.
'You have incredible instincts,' Coach Hoang continued, 'and Lennox does, too. But, his coach, instead of leaning into his instincts and letting them dictate his style of play and his development, like I've done with you'—Ty remembered their training sessions vastly differently—'has instead beaten those instincts down and moulded them into a strong, disciplined BUT predictable weapon.'
Ty snarled. 'Predictable? I haven't been able to predict a single route that guy's ran. Not when he's trying.'
'But you have. On that final drive, when you didn't start the position in a completely neutral frame.'
Ty frowned. He had stopped Lennox in that two-minute drill, and as a result, the whole drive crumbled. And instead of standing face on with him, he'd been standing towards the sideline, preventing Lennox from going outside.
'If I cut off the outside, they'll eat up yards in the middle,' Ty said, brow creased with thought. More of the puzzle pieces were falling into place. 'That only worked because of how little time they had.'
'True, but you don't have to make it so obvious. Here's what I want you to do. They'll go back to getting the rest of the team involved to start the half, well, during their first drive next half, anyway. They won't look your way until third down. Play like normal. Then when third down comes, I want you to shade to the inside, give up the outside. If things go how they should, they'll be in a short yardage situation. The Out route will be right there for the taking. That's YOURS for the taking.'
Ty was still frowning, though he could picture the scene perfectly. It got his heart racing, but he wasn't convinced. 'What if they don't take the bait?'
'It's the best option. Plus, they don't THINK they're better than us, they KNOW. They're wrong, but they believe it so strongly they think it's as much as a fact as one plus one making two. They'll believe that even if you're trying to bait them into it, they'll be able to beat you. Just DON'T give up the inside no matter what. Don't jump until the ball is coming.'
Ty sat back, sighing. A plan was better than nothing, and even if it failed, it'd give them valuable information. He looked at Coach Hoang, a smile forming. Whereas he himself had failed to see all the pieces Coach Hoang had. He wasn't fighting alone, and it wasn't just those on the field with him who could help him. His coaches were there for him, too.
'Thanks Coach,' he said.
'Don't mention it, Samuels. Sorry it took so long. I've been useless for a whole half. Now we've got a lot of ground to make up.'
'Hah! You're on the right path. You just helped win back seven points.'
The two grinned at one another, then Coach Hoang remembered he still had the rest of the defence to see to. He turned away from Ty, moving over to address the others, even if there were fewer problems to address there.
Coach Long had moved over to the other side of the room, dealing with the offence. There, Bella approached Jay. He didn't notice her. He usually wasn't too aware of his surroundings, but before that'd been because he was daydreaming more often than not. Now he looked like he was deep in thought.
'I liked your old hair better,' she said.
He blinked, taking a moment to register her words. He laughed when he did. 'Yeah … I think I do too.' He ran a hand through his shaven hair. '…I'll look like such a jackass if we lose.'
'We're not gonna lose though. Right?'
We. … It was fitting phrase, and reminded Jay of how big Bella's part was in the team. Old habits died hard, and he couldn't help but drift away on an old memory disguised as a new thought.
He'd first met Bella on the day of his first official practice with the team. She wouldn't have been older than ten, and she'd caught him under the bleachers, trying to sleep through the ordeal. Oh, she was a Hellspawn back then (that occasionally showed now) and had given him all kinds of grief. It was funny, even funnier when you dragged her into her own "punishments" and had her chasing after you to make sure you were doing your laps. That was how she'd earned the moniker Coach Short, not just because she was a little kid, but because she was the opposite of Coach Long despite being undoubtably his little girl. Whereas he was kind and gentle, the kind who'd be disappointed instead of mad if you slacked off, she was a nasty little chihuahua who'd try to bite your ankles off if you took one wrong step. He'd never have a moment like that again with her if they lost.
He shook his head weakly. 'No. … We won't lose.'
'You're lying, just to try and make me feel better,' she said. Before he could refute her claim, she went right on. 'But I think I know how to make that lie true.'
'Oh…? And how are we gonna do that … Coach Short?'
She stomped on his foot, pouting at him. The angry expression was gone in a flash, the pain in his foot lasted longer.
'Sorry,' she blurted. '…But you know how much I hate that nickname.'
He apologised, and she sighed.
'Look, it's not much but, I think we have to attack their centre,' she said.
He said nothing. The only thing he could think of to say was that each time they'd gone up the middle, they'd been hammered, so he said nothing.
'I know they're really strong in the middle, but doesn't that give us more reason? It's too easy for them to funnel us back into the middle if all we do is try to attack the outside, but if the middle cracks, then their whole defence will fall apart.'
The logic was sound, albeit much easier said than done. Realistically, if the foundation of their defence—the middle of the field—was breached, the rest of the scheme would collapse in on itself. The hard part was breaching that foundation.
'So … do you … have a way to accomplish that?'
She bit her lip and shook her head. Jay thought he even saw tears welling up in her eyes. He sighed.
'I'm sorry,' she said. 'I know it's just an idea, but I can't fucking think of how to break through.'
Even her voice sounded on the verge of crying. If anyone had reasons to shed tears over this loss, it was her. She'd been with the team longer than any of them, as long as her father had. And Jay knew this was as far as any of Coach Long's teams had ever made it. She'd grown up with this team, and teams before it, and this was the closest they'd ever come to a championship.
He stood, placing a hand on her head. 'Don't sweat it … Coach…' He barely kept himself from adding "Short". 'We'll figure it out.'
She smiled up at him, not caring that he was messing up her hair … after all, it might be the last time any of the boys got to do that.
The Dons weren't the only ones who had things to figure out during the half-time break. Though the problems the Trailblazers faced were much less dire.
'Are we playing this half?' A Trailblazer asked—a benchwarmer.
'Hmm.' Coach Heenan looked up in thought, like the question was something to ponder. 'You might not play at all this game.'
Dejected groans came from around the room. The mood was light otherwise, celebrations had practically began already, though they weren't anywhere close to boisterous.
'I know there's another tournament to play for after this game, so it would be good to minimise injury and pull our starters once victory is assured … but against a team that took down Warren and dethroned their king? Hmm, I don't like leaving the door open for them, even if it's only left ajar by the thinnest sliver.
Barry Bundy laughed. 'You're giving them way too much credit, Coach.'
'Yeah, they're finished already,' Kieran said. '…No thanks to Barry,' he added, sparking conflict between the two.
Coach Heenan raised an eyebrow, a bemused smile on his lips. He looked around the room. Spike grunted. So far, his personal quest to upstage "King" Denzel's efforts against the Dons was going miserably.
Mason shrugged his heavy, blocky shoulders. 'They're stronger than most, but I think the second-stringers could play them to a stalemate at worst, even over the course of a full game, let alone a single half.'
Coach Heenan turned his eye upon Lennox. The most valuable assessment of the Dons and their x-factor lay with him. Lennox said nothing. His fierce black eyes stared straight ahead.
Coach Heenan chuckled. 'We'll see how the third quarter goes and then I'll reevaluate the risks of playing the starters versus sitting them for the final quarter.'
Apart from that, there wasn't much discussion about what was to be done regarding the game. Coach Heenan didn't feel the need to alter the game-plan, everything was going smoothly. The defence was holding strong, as to be expected. He still thought it an anomaly that the Dons had made it so far with such a subpar offence. Warren's defensive losses this past year must've been greater than even they expected.
Offensively, it was a problem that Spike and Barry had been held back so thoroughly, but that was also within expectations. Dominguez hadn't beaten them for first place defensively without cause.
But Lennox remained the ace up his sleeve. As did Tyrese Samuels for the Dons. Yet Lennox was superior in every way. He pitied Tyrese for that. Such potential, but he was stuck wasting away in a third-rate school like Dominguez.
Coach Heenan was already looking beyond the Dons, in truth. He flicked through his tablet. State championship games were being held across the nation that weekend. Coach Heenan had his eye on a particular match-up. The Texas championship was said to be one for the ages. Two of the best schools in decades going at it.
Coach Heenan thought it was a settled affair. The man had even placed a hefty wager on a certain outcome. The contest between the Gordon Longhorns and the Cedar Hill Longhorns would be a spectacular match-up. Its hype wasn't all to do about it being a showcase of who could claim to be the REAL Longhorns team, but because it was the number one ranked defence against the number one ranked offence. But as the saying went, defence won championships. Cedar Hill's victory was assured.
The wager had to do with the reason Cedar Hill would win. They had the best defensive player in the country leading their team. Landry Black was a Senior CB who made both Lennox and Tyrese look like they still belonged in middle school. The best defensive prospect in the country, he would have his pick of schools by season's end, though rumour had it he was already committed to Texas Tech. Under Landry's leadership, Cedar Hill had shutout every team during the State tournament so far. He himself hadn't given up a touchdown in two years, and in that time you could count the amount of CATCHES he'd given up on both hands.
This Kentavious Rice was a good Receiver … for a freshman. Maybe he was even a little better than Lennox. But many seemed to think he was the second coming of Christ. Coach Heenan didn't doubt that had everything to do with the boy's father stirring up publicity and buying good press for him. SOMEBODY had to be paying all those people to be making videos and articles about the boy. What a poor kid. It wasn't his fault, but because of his father's hubris, he'd become the most overrated prospect Coach Heenan had ever seen.
That's why Coach Heenan had bet Landry Black would hold him to zero catches throughout the game. The odds on it had been outstanding, but Coach Heenan knew it was a safe bet, and by the end of the game, he'd be a very rich man.
It was a shame that he had to wait until that night for the game to start.
'Coach, I think they want us back out on the field,' Mason said, pulling Coach Heenan away from the preview of the Longhorn Bowl.
'Ah, they must. Well, let's not keep them waiting. What are we?'
'CHAMPIONS!' was the thunderous but almost mechanical answer.
'Go out and play like champions.'
Sierra Canyon marched out of their locker room, thunderous footsteps echoing down the hall as they returned to the field, emerging awash with cheers.
Even with those cheers, and the Trailblazers' march, a cry of "FAMILY!" stretched out to the field and reached all surrounding ears faintly.
The Dons themselves soon followed. JJ led them with a gaze that could melt steel.
Bella found Ty near the back of the pack, and once again pulled himself aside before he emerged onto the field. They stared at one another, neither speaking for a while. 'Remember your promise,' she eventually said.
He nodded, but she still held his arm, fingers wrapped around his wrist. She stared at him longingly, and he only looked back questioningly.
'Sorry,' she said after what felt like a lifetime. She let him go. He jogged after the others without glancing back, reaching the tail-end just before they stepped out into the light.
The field thrummed with energy; the air buzzing with thousands of voices. More cheered for Sierra Canyon than they had before the game. The bandwagon fans helped drain out the Dons' fans.
When Ty sat on the bench, he shook with anticipation. He wanted nothing more than to get out there and test Coach Hoang's theory. Despite trying to tell himself that there was plenty of time to work out other solutions, he felt as if the game hinged on the Trailblazers' next drive—it hinged on whether he'd get an interception. The championship, the Dons themselves, all rested in Ty's hands. He shuddered and looked back into the crowd. Meg's expectant, hopeful face gave little relief.
Chris led the Dons out onto the field for the kick-off, which would open the second half. The hum of the crowd turned to a rumble, then built to a roaring crescendo as the Trailblazers' Kicker charged forward. The ball soared high into the sky off the Kicker's boot. Chris fielded it halfway into the end-zone but came storming out.
He weaved through traffic, zipping past friend and foe alike, racing out to the 27-yard line before he was dragged down. Already he'd got off to a better start than the entire first half.
Jay led the Dons out to meet Chris, a cool exterior hiding the jumbled mess of nerves and anxiety that was ready to explode within him.
Lennox and Mason led the Trailblazers' defence out. The crowd did their best to build to another crescendo as the teams faced off for the first time that half. Jay wondered how well he'd do after Bella's idea … it'd been the most concrete thing anyone had come up with during the break.
He knew it was risky, and that they couldn't afford another turnover. He held back to begin; another Curl to Benny. It was a successful catch, but kept to 5 yards.
He thought about calling for JJ to come back onto the field—to begin the second half, they'd reverted to their usual lineup—but thought better of it; JJ needed to be fresh for the defence.
Still, he handed the ball off to Chris next, sending him up the middle. It was a damn near suicide mission, but Chris accepted it gladly and ran into that brick wall, intending to bust it down. He gained a yard for his efforts.
Jay watched it play out. He'd been watching everything, looking for that hint he needed to find the answer—the key that would unlock this cage Sierra Canyon had them in. He hadn't found it yet.
Cameron came in to replace Chris on third down. Jay sent Stephen on a Post route and tried Play-Action. He whipped around quickly after the fake hand-off, eyes scanning the field, watching the defence more than his Receivers.
He saw it there. At least he thought it was the key. Maybe not yet fully realised, but it was something they could MOULD into the shape of a key. Mason bought on the fake, but it wasn't just him. The defence flowed with him, almost as if they were all connected. They followed his movements and drifted along with him.
Unfortunately, Jay saw no openings in it from this play specifically, and the defence recovered quickly. Stephen was covered the whole way, Lennox the only one who didn't move in tune with Mason. So Jay threw the ball away rather than risk an interception.
There the Dons' first drive of the second half ended, but Jay still felt it was the most productive; he'd found the key, he was sure.
The rest of the team welcomed the offence back to the sideline, empathetic, but not surprised. Jay would give them something to celebrate next time. He had to tell Coach Long about his findings.
Ty kept his eyes on members of the Dons' offence as the punt went as expected with the Dons kicking it out of bounds, away from Lennox.
Even if he got an interception, a pick-six at that, the Dons were still down three touchdowns—two after the theoretical pick-six—it'd be for naught if the offence couldn't put something of their own together. He hoped the missed field goal wouldn't haunt them.
He shook his head and rose from the bench, still shaking. It was time to stop worrying about the offence. They could score all the touchdowns they wanted. It wouldn't mean anything if he didn't get a stop. He locked eyes with Lennox, marching onto the field to meet him. Lennox approached with a grin.
'If you're gonna do something, do it fast,' Lennox said. 'Coach'll pull us after this quarter.'
'Yet you're here now,' Ty said. 'That means your coach is scared enough to keep you in the game.'
Lennox's smile vanished. 'The only people scared of YOU are losers who will never be anything more than losers.'
'You shouldn't talk about yourself like that.'
Lennox scowled, pointing at the scoreboard. 'I'm gonna triple that before this quarter's over.'
Lennox would have to wait to make good on his promise, at least two plays. It went how Coach Hoang expected it would, even if the Trailblazers pulled a surprise when they took a page from the Dons' playbook.
It wasn't entirely the same, but they did shift Barry down to the backfield, having him play FB for Spike's HB. With the Great White Ape leading the way, Spike had his best run of the day, and earned 6 yards on the ground.
Barry didn't stick to his new position long, returning to TE for the next play, which was a pass, NOT intended for Lennox. In the end, it didn't reach anyone's hands, and Kieran had to throw the ball away.
Then they were on third down. The conditions were perfect for Coach Hoang's plan. A quick 5-yard Out would be the perfect play to earn them a first down, and they weren't close enough to try a Sneak.
'I'm feeling touchdown number four right here on this play,' Lennox said.
Ty grinned, responding by shifting position. He slid over to the inside, just a step, but angled himself to give up the outside.
Lennox frowned down at him. Kieran stepped back from his stance, hands blocking his helmet's ear holes. He looked over at the sideline, and then at Lennox and Ty. It was clear Coach Heenan was telling him something.
'Short! Short!' Kieran yelled, then shifted. He gestured to Lennox, and Lennox nodded in acknowledgement before turning his narrowed eyes upon Ty again. Ty was still grinning.
'Hut! Hut-Hut!'
Kieran took the snap, stepping back as motion exploded in front of him. Lennox rushed forward. Ty's spear stabbed at his side, knocking him further outside a step. Ty stayed with him, shuffling back, though kept his inside positioning. Lennox darted outside, head whipping around. Ty followed, looking for the ball.
It was just leaving Kieran's hand, a near perfect pass, spiralling towards Lennox's outstretched hands. It'd meet him right at the sideline, and he'd have to drag his feet to secure it.
Ty could get there first. Jumping on the pass, he wouldn't have to stretch so far outside if he cut it off earlier. He'd been training for this. With an explosive step he leapt forward, long arms stretching and stretching. He dropped one arm away, twisting to further extend the other. He could catch it with one hand, he didn't have any other choice.
Kieran and Lennox were almost flawless. The pass was executed as perfectly as it could be, just as Coach Heenan knew they would. Still, they'd overestimated themselves and underestimated Tyrese Samuels.
Ty's hand stabbed the air in front of Lennox's face, plucked the ball from the air, interrupting its flight before it could reach its destination. Ty's fingers latched onto the ball like talons and he raked it in under his arm.
Lennox staggered out of bounds. Ty was on the same course. He stamped his feet, pulling up just short of the sideline, though had to walk across a tightrope to avoid the blades of white painted grass that would mark him out. That white might as well have represented the edge of a cliff over a one-hundred foot drop. Stepping over a cliff and on that white line would've been the same to Ty at that moment.
He steadied himself and pushed away from the sideline, giving himself a yard of space so he could break into a full sprint. Kieran was running over, trying to get in front of him, but they were already neck and neck, still with 5 yards between them. Ty flashed him a grin before leaving him in the dust.
The crowd swelled as he raced away freely into the end-zone. Ty roared as he crossed over the plain. The crowd drowned out the whistles. Ty flung the ball deep into the stands, heart pounding. Every fibre of his being was radiating adrenaline.
He turned, facing the rest of the field. His teammates were flooding towards him. The Trailblazers looked stunned, but not defeated, nor mad. Only Lennox was mad. Ty locked eyes with him, grin widening, and pointed to the scoreboard. 21–6.