The Dons trudged off the field, kicking themselves as the Special Teams unit replaced them. Deshaun strode past Ty. ‘Nice going, Freshy. You’re real helpful.’
JJ stepped in before Ty snapped. ‘Hey, that’s on all of us,’ JJ said. ‘We all had a chance to stop that screen but we didn’t. We start blaming each other and we’ll never beat them.’
The others flopped onto the bench, only grumbles and mutters answered JJ. Donte walked up and patted Ty on the helmet. ‘Bad luck, you’ll get ‘em next time, yo.’
Ty rubbed the back of his helmet, glaring at Donte as Donte sat on the bench, barely a care in the world.
Steven sighed. ‘After all that work… we can’t keep relying on the defence, we need to control this game.’
Jay groaned loudly, dropping his head back. Chris led the charge out for the kick return, though another touchback took the chance away from him again.
‘Offence,’ Coach Long called. ‘Go take back that lead, boys.’
‘Show them they’re not the only ones who can score a touchdown,’ Coach Norman said. He stepped up to Coach Long’s shoulder and nudged the Head Coach. Coach Long leaned in to hear Coach Norman’s plan.
The Cats were still quite transparent on how they were covering Stephen. Jahsiah would always be hovering over Smoke, covering the play, making sure there were two bodies to mark Stephen.
Yet, Stephen was still head and shoulders above both Cats defenders. If they were throwing down the gauntlet of double-teaming him and asking the Dons how they would respond, Coach Norman would accept that challenge.
Coach Long pulled Jay aside before he could step onto the field. Jay had an easy smile at the thought of staying off the field a little longer, but when Coach Long’s briefing began, the smile quickly faded.
The plan was Play-Action, and if the defence bit on it, great, Stephen would be open and it’d be an easy pass over the top, maybe even a touchdown all in one play. However, even if the defence DIDN’T fall for the fake, then Jay would still target Stephen. ‘Believe in your teammate, let him show how hard he’s been working to put that size to use.’
Jay nodded and looked at Stephen. ‘Got it, Coach. Throw it high, throw it long. Stephen will do the rest.’ If only every play required such little effort and thought from Jay.
He wandered onto the field and relayed the play call in the huddle. Stephen, towering over the others, looked across at Jahsiah and Smoke with a grin. Jahsiah met his eyes and after a clap, the Cats’ huddle dispersed.
The Dons soon moved into formation as well. Stephen was still smiling as he stood before Smoke. ‘Enjoy the lead while you have, won’t last long.’
Smoke glanced at Stephen but only gave a subtle shake of his head before focusing on Jay again.
Jay took the snap and turned to fake the hand-off with Chris. Chris wrapped his arms around air but kept them tucked tight against his stomach, mimicking shielding the ball as he ran through a narrow gap in the Line.
The Cats’ Linemen and LBs were confused for a split second, allowing the Dons’ O-Line to fortify their wall around Jay, but the real targets of the fake—Jahsiah and Smoke—had barely been fooled.
Jahsiah only paused for a fraction of a second before he continued sliding back and to the outside, while Smoke hadn’t even been paying attention to the fake in the first place.
Stephen rushed forward, Smoke didn’t resist or press him in any way, he just kept drifting back. When Stephen stuttered and turned his head back, Smoke came forward. Stephen blew by him, but Smoke didn’t rush to keep up with him, happy to trail behind and under.
Jay kept his eyes on other sections of the field, trying to hide his intentions, his true target from the defence, until Stephen had broken through Smoke. His head snapped towards Stephen and he stepped up, lobbing the ball high towards him, floating it down the sideline.
Stephen glanced over his shoulder, watching the ball fly towards him. He ran under it, adjusting along the course, making sure he stayed in bounds as he ran along the sideline. He slowed a bit, the ball slightly behind him.
As he turned towards it, the ball barely passed over the top of Smoke’s raised hands. If he’d been looking for the ball himself, he might’ve been able to swat it, but with his head turn he didn’t see it until it passed him by.
The ball soared towards Stephen, but just before it reached his hands, Jahsiah darted in from the side, hunched low. He secured the ball against his chest, toes and cleats dragging through the turf before he dove out of bounds.
Whistles shrieked as the officials along the sidelines raced in, signalling a catch and successful interception.
The stands were a mixture of groans and cheers again, the cheers vastly overwhelming the disappointed exclamations.
Smoke hurried over and helped his captain to his feet. Jahsiah laughed, chest-bumping Smoke before he spun the caught ball like a spinning top on the ground. He grinned at Stephen. ‘Try that shit again, see what happens.’
Benny pulled Stephen away before he could engage with the taunt. After just one play, the Dons’ offence was already headed for the bench, and their defence was thrown back into the hot seat.
Ty sighed as he stalked past the offence. He didn’t say anything, though he gave both Jay and Stephen dirty looks.
Jay was distraught about returning to the bench for once. As much as he enjoyed getting the time to rest and relax, he knew it was too soon, he knew he’d fucked up. He could only hope that the defence made up for his mistake and the interception didn’t cost the Dons too dearly.
Stephen on the other hand, glared back at Ty. ‘Fucking do something. Ain’t you supposed to be the best defender?’
Ty snarled but didn’t stop. ‘Anybody looks good going against you.’ As he took his position again, his shoulders were hunched, his body taut, he was like a predator ready to pounce.
Thanks to the interception, the Cats started from almost half-field, and perhaps the back-to-back big plays had instilled a greater confidence in the Cats.
The Dons were up against the ropes early on, and the Cats smelled blood. They swooped in, looking for the first-round K.O.
The ball was snapped. Vance came forward passively, hands raised like he was ready to block. Ty’s attention snapped towards the middle of the field, but the QB wasn’t even looking to hand the ball off to Archie.
With Ty’s focus elsewhere, Vance slipped by the outside. Ty recovered quickly and shoved him wider as he turned and ran alongside Vance, easily keeping pace with him.
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Vance skirted the edge of the sideline. He looked over his shoulder, racing alongside Ty. He grimaced, and reached across, putting his arm in front of Ty. He drove his elbow into Ty, not impactfully—he didn’t hit him—but it was still forceful as he tried to drive Ty back and pin Ty behind him.
Ty pushed Vance’s arm away and looked back. The ball flew towards them, but sailed over their heads. Ty had been too close, there hadn’t been much room for the QB to fit the pass in, and his attempt sent the ball into the stands instead. At least that was better for the Cats than it landing in Ty’s grasp.
Ty shook his head, bouncing on his toes. He flexed his fingers. “Just a little higher.” He returned to the huddle.
The next play, the Cats stuck with their passing game. Vance didn’t fake any run-block this time. He shoved Ty’s hands aside as he faked to the inside then went up before cutting towards the sideline on a square Out.
Ty was on the back foot, but lunged as the pass came in and Vance slowed to drag his toes inbound. Stretching out, Ty got his hands to the ball, but it bounced off his fingertips and ricocheted outside.
Ty pushed himself to his feet, growling at himself. He stalked back to the huddle. He’d have them Next time. Third down and ten yards to go? He knew they were throwing again.
The rest of the Dons thought so too, it just made sense. When you needed 10 or more yards, your best option was a pass. But the Cats expected that, and thought it was the best time for a Draw.
The Dons’ D-Line was pushed wide on their attempted pass rush, whilst the LBs were caught flat-footed. Archie burst forward, hitting top speed before most even knew it was a run.
Coach Hoang screamed to his team that it was a run, and snapped some out of their stupor as they rushed to stop Archie. JJ came forward and lunged at him, but utilising his springy legs, Archie hurdled right over JJ and landed in stride.
JJ was stunned for a moment before he turned and trailed after Archie’s dust. It was Zayden, along with the other Safety that finally took Archie down, but only after a gain of 13 yards.
Watching that play unfold was more frustrating than one hundred dropped interceptions for Ty. His teeth ground together absentmindedly. Vance stood beside him, relief and worry battling one another on his face. It was great that Archie was playing so well, but Vance had to help out more consistently if they were going to win.
For now, the Cats weren’t about to fix something that wasn’t broken, and their run game certainly wasn’t broken. Archie just kept on coming, and even as the Dons cracked down on the run and threw more players into the box, it was hard to stop him from getting 10 yards in three tries, and the Cats were drawing ever closer to the endzone.
‘It’s just so hard to get your hands on that guy,’ JJ said in a Dons’ huddle. ‘He’s so slippery. I’d honestly prefer facing the Bears than this guy, at least they come at you.’
‘We need to contain him,’ Donte said. ‘Force him into a two-on-one, then take him down together, yo.’
‘Easier said than done, hermano, but you’re right.’
‘I’m sick of these fuckers playin’ with us,’ Deshaun said. ‘Thinkin’ they can just run over us. We need to hit that bitch hard, that’ll stop his fancy fuckin’ dance moves.’
Ty was silently fuming, his attention fixed on Archie. The runs hadn’t come his way again just yet. He was struggling to see how he could do ANYTHING if they just avoided him like this. His ire turned back to his teammates, but he held his tongue.
Another run went up the gut. JJ didn’t rush in to confront Archie this time. He kept Archie in front of him, and directed him right into Donte’s waiting arms. The two pounced together and wrestled him down, but it was still a gain of 7 yards for the Cats. That plan wasn’t much help.
The Cats were less than 15 yards away from another touchdown, and the first quarter was nearing its end. With such a comfortable position on second down, they decided to try and get Vance back into the game.
He jumped forward aggressively after the snap, pushing through Ty’s press, though not for long before he quickly cut back, this time drifting a bit to the outside as Ty jumped forward.
The QB threw the ball low and hard, but it drifted wider and wider, and while Vance had Ty pinned at his hip and shielded him from the ball, the ball veered just out of reach and landed on the turf instead.
The QB hung his head, quickly raising his hand in apology to Vance. Ty grumbled, but accepted the outcome; it was at least better than them running all game. He walked back to the huddle, still glowering at the world.
The Cats were on third down again, but the Dons wouldn’t expect a pass this time. They had to stuff the run right then and there. Maybe they couldn’t stop the Cats from scoring entirely, but they’d at least prevent another touchdown.
‘We gotta form a wall upfront, force him into a hole, and meet him there. He won’t be able to wriggle away from us like that,’ JJ said.
The others grunted and nodded. It’d be up to the D-Line and trying to get through that blob upfront, but they could do it, they had to.
The crowds quietened before the snap. The air was as still as death, the players too. The ball was snapped and the two opposing Lines slammed into one another. There was no hole in the Dons’ wall at all, and as JJ started forward, he saw the RB stretching towards the outside, running towards Ty.
Ty tried to spin away from Vance, but he went nowhere. Vance’s body control lent itself perfectly to his blocking prowess, and he forced Ty towards the outside.
Donte broke away from the edge of the Line, hounding Archie as he ran wide. Donte wouldn’t catch him. Archie turned the corner, arching around Vance’s block.
Ty gritted his teeth. He was going to get away. That bouncing prick. He couldn’t stand it! That thick braid was bobbing wildly, it was almost long enough to slap Archie’s ass as he ran … Ty fixated on the long, plaited ponytail.
He lunged out with one hand and latched onto Archie’s hair. He yanked hard as Vance shoved him to the ground. Archie lurched, head snapping back as his momentum was suddenly cut off and he was thrown to the ground.
A flag flew. Ty tumbled on the ground and sprung back to his feet. He was quickly flattened again as Vance rammed into him. Ty looked up in amazement, the tall boy standing over him, nostrils flaring.
Officials lumbered over, whistles shrieking as more flags were thrown. Donte shoved Vance past Ty and stood between the two as more members of both teams came running over. Some Cats helped Archie, others shoved Donte and Ty. Dons ran over too, pulling and pushing Cats off their teammates, whilst JJ did his best to get between both sides and separate them, trying to calm his hermanos before they did anything even stupider.
Archie rose, glaring at Ty as he rubbed the back of his neck. Ty watched it all unfold, still sitting on his ass on the field. He looked up at Vance, whose rage was yet to subside, and he laughed. He laughed loudly and freely. The game was finally getting exciting, and it didn’t even take much of a spark to set it all off.
Eventually, he was helped to his feet and dusted off. Both teams finally parted, the officials getting between them all and conferring on what happened.
Soon, the head official stepped forward to address everyone. ‘After further ruling, there was initially no foul on the play.’
Boos rained down from the Cats’ supporters.
‘After the play, however, there were off-setting personal fouls on both teams which cancelled each other out. Both teams are issued a warning. It’s fourth down, Kaiser’s ball.’
Kaiser’s Head Coach was furious at the result, whilst the Dons looked relieved. Coach Long still didn’t look pleased with Ty, however, and called him over after the officials were done deliberating and had to go calm Kaiser’s coach down.
‘Tyrese, I don’t want to ever see you do something like that again. That’s not how we play here, I expect better from you boys, you know that. Let’s win but let’s keep it clean and fair.’
Ty rolled his eyes at the lecture before shaking his head. ‘What I did WAS clean, you even heard it from the refs. You can only get called for a horse collar.’ He tugged on the collar of his pads. ‘Or a face mask.’ He pulled on the protective face mask jutting out from his helmet. ‘Pulling on someone’s hair as part of a tackle is perfectly legal, it’s part of their body, just like an arm or a leg. If that dumbass is gonna have hair dangling so far out of his helmet it almost reaches his ass, we’d be idiots not to use it against him! He’s fucking begging for it.’
‘Language, young man.’ Coach Long still didn’t look impressed or happy.
‘He’s right, Coach,’ Coach Hoang said. ‘It’s in the rules, your hair’s a part of your body. Any hair sticking out of your helmet is free game when it comes to tackles. A player takes that risk by having such a hairstyle.’ He shrugged.
‘I still don’t like it… but if it’s part of the game … We shouldn’t rely on or make a habit of it.’
Coach Hoang looked from Coach Long to Ty. His jaw was set tightly for a long moment before he said: ‘When it comes down to it, you do whatever you can to win.’
A grin stretched wide across Ty’s face.