It was only a tied game, that was what Ty told himself as he retreated to the bench.

When the extra point was successful, and the Vikings took the lead, 13–14. Ty told himself it was only 1 point, practically meaningless. … But that point still stood between him and victory. If the game ended then, the Vikings would win, no matter how small their lead was.

It was a good thing the second half had only just begun. There was plenty of time for the Dons to take back the lead, whether through the efforts of their offence or defence.

A small, annoying voice—Ty thought sounded like Ricky’s—pestered Ty with the fact that the Vikings also had plenty of time to extend their lead.

After another touchback, the Dons’ offence stormed onto the field, ready to reclaim their lead. Cole had taken Coach Long’s plea to heart, and came out with explosive energy, zigging and zagging away from his defender before getting open on a Post route for 11 yards.

Chris's run to the outside, gaining only 2 yards, instantly reversed the good start and any momentum Cole’s reception had given the Dons.

Myles and his LBs were still too fast on the outside. They were content with Mike plugging the middle. They started wide and stayed wide.

The Dons were forced to pass. There, Stephen struggled with a more aggressive Isiah, who was pressing constantly and sticking in Stephen’s grill. Even if Stephen could nudge him out of the way, another Viking was there to help.

Benny struggled as well. The LBs were quick, and not just when covering the run. If the Dons weren’t running, the LBs dropped back into their zones. They were like an impenetrable wall guarding the space from sideline to sideline almost, and Benny had no room to operate unless he went under them.

Which he did on a quick Stick concept. When Stephen wasn’t open, Jay found Benny on his little hook Curl, but the LBs quickly collapsed, and the catch was only good for 3 yards.

Still needing another pass, Cole was the Dons’ saving grace. Before the LBs could spread out wide and help the DB defending him, Cole broke loose on a quick Out, caught the pass, and extended forward to cross over the threshold for another first down.

Cole caught the next pass as well, a quick Slant good for 6 yards.

The Dons—stubbornly—tried another run up the middle, which was completely stuffed for no gain at all. There were no gaps for Chris to squeeze through, and the O-Line almost collapsed right on top of him before Mike brought him down.

Cole seemed to be their ONLY hope. As he favoured quick, short routes with sharp cuts, his defender had squeezed up on him with a press.

Cole burst by and raced them down the sideline. He had the step on them, but the window was closing fast.

Jay lobbed the ball high towards the sideline. Cole looked over his shoulder and drifted outside more. He fell forward as he caught it over his shoulder, the Vikings defender shoving him down.

Cole’s knee impacted with the white turf marking the boundary around the field. The Side Judge closed in on him and ruled him out of bounds and the catch incomplete.

A yellow flag lay strewn across the green grass on the other side of the field. Isiah had bailed the Dons out. When Stephen had rushed downfield and shimmied in and out, Isiah had bumped into him and then been flagged for Illegal Contact. The result was a 5-yard penalty, and an automatic first down for the Dons.

Cole couldn’t waste this second chance, and he didn’t. He went all out—a necessity to hit the gaps on time—on every play. He made catch after catch for short yardage, but the yards piled up.

Play after play, the Dons nickel-and-dimed their way towards the end-zone.

They crossed half-field, then not long after, Cole ran out of steam. No one else had lessened the burden on him. And when the Dons lost their Cole engine, the drive stalled.

They were just within range of a field goal, though it’d be a long attempt of 51 yards. They sent the kicking team out there all the same.

Cole’s efforts hadn’t been in vain. He’d given his team this opportunity. The offence had done their job, and the Dons could retake the lead with this field goal. If they had to beat the Vikings with field goals, they would.

Not even Ty cared how they won as long as they won. Again, a 2 point lead was enough for him to defend, and he wouldn’t make the same mistake of letting Marshall score. He’d defend those two points with his life.

The Dons’ supporters watched with bated breath, while the Vikings’ side screamed and prayed for a miss or a block.

The ball was snapped back to the holder. The kicker lunged forward. When they thumped the ball, the world went silent.

Ty watched the ball, as if it was flying in slow-motion. He watched as it drew closer. Then he watched as it shaved past the outside of the right goalpost.

They’d missed. The Vikings still held the lead.

The Vikings took over from where the Dons had missed the kick. Already half-field was within reach.

They started their drive with another run, though like the Dons, they still struggled and only gained a couple of yards; Mike could open a path, but the Dons filled it quickly.

Both teams’ run defence were strong. They had to be if they wanted any chance against the team awaiting them next week.

This game would come down to which team had more firepower through the air, or which secondary cracked first.

For now, the Dons’ secondary held strong. Isiah still couldn’t shake Deshaun. The brief relief from switching sides and holding Stephen melted away as Isiah's frustration mounted.

The situation worsened when Nathan threw a pass beyond Isiah's reach after Isiah finally broke free. (Again by shoving off if one were to take Deshaun’s side).

‘Gimme something I can fucking catch!’ Isiah said, exasperated. ‘Damn, nigga.’

Nathan shook his head. He didn’t deign responding to Isiah, even if he had a good one. Something told him that mentioning how Marshall would’ve caught that pass wouldn’t help Isiah or the team perform better, so Nathan—and Marshall—kept the thought to themselves.

Over with Marshall, Ty had a revelation. It was instinctual, something that dawned on him whilst trying to guard Marshall, something his body had done on its own. It was moments like that which let Ty know just how special he was.

There was a reason Nathan had to look Isiah’s way. Not to feed Isiah’s ego, but because he was more open than Marshall.

Marshall had run a late Slant, of course, he was setting up an Out, but if Ty gave him the Slant, he’d take it. Then, he had sworn Ty jumped in front of the Slant. Marshall turned the instant he saw Ty start towards the inside, but somehow, when he cut to the outside, Ty was waiting on it.

In truth, Ty had only feinted to the inside—much like a Receiver did—before jumping outside. The roles had been reversed. With Marshall’s Option routes, he was the one reacting to Ty now, not the other way around. Ty could use that, Ty could control him.

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Again, on third down, the same story played out with Marshall and Ty. Marshall started outside, this time, and when Ty feinted, he bought it and immediately switched to the inside, where Ty was waiting for him.

Isiah couldn't shove off this time. With no one open, Nathan held onto the ball too long and Donte sacked him again.

Nathan sprung up, spiking the ball down after the play as he stomped towards Marshall. ‘What the fuck, man? You said you had that little shit figured out!’

‘I did. And I got us the lead. Get the fuck out of my face.’ Marshall shoved him aside. They stormed off the field as the punting unit came on.

Isiah watched on. He hadn’t been the outlet for Nathan’s anger. Even Isiah pieced together what that meant—Nathan no longer expected him to beat Deshaun. An inferno erupted within Isiah and threatened to spill over.

Again, the Dons had to start a drive from deep in their own territory after a Vikings punt.

And again, their offence struggled to produce. The quick three-and-out from the Vikings meant the Dons’ offence—namely Cole—got little rest.

Even when the Dons put JJ out on the field as a FB, and had Cameron replace Chris, they still couldn’t crack through the middle of the Vikings tough defence.

Isiah was more aggressive than ever in his defence, and the officials seemed blind to it. He was bumping and grabbing Stephen constantly on every play, even if it was a run, and Stephen was getting fed up with it.

He ran forward on a third down passing play, reached the first down marker, then snapped back on a Curl. He thrust Isiah aside. ‘Get the fuck off me!’

Isiah fell back, tumbling over. Stephen made the catch, and rumbled ahead a few yards past the first down, but a yellow flag was left in his wake.

His OPI negated the play, pushing the Dons further back and forcing a replay of third down.

On their second attempt at third down, they didn’t convert for a first. Time ran out into the fourth quarter, and the last break left the Dons dejected.

‘Keep those heads up,’ Coach Long said. ‘This game isn’t over yet. It’s just one point. Are you really going to let one point stand between you and your dreams?’

‘Fuck no,’ Stephen grumbled.

‘I like that energy, but watch that language, Stephen. Come on, one good drive is all it takes for us to get back in control.’

‘None of that happens if you don’t get a stop,’ Coach Hoang said, looking at the scoreboard rather than his defence.

Bella watched the players’ faces. They eyed the scoreboard. She saw thirteen and fourteen reflected in their eyes. 1 point. It was all the difference. The smallest lead possible. So why did it feel so insurmountable?

When play resumed, the Dons punted, which didn’t help their spirits. The Vikings were the ones to have the first offensive possession in the last quarter, and with it, they were determined to put the game to rest.

Marshall even put them in great field position with a quick return of 9 yards before stepping out at the 38.

However, Isiah was determined that HE would be the one to finish the Dons. He didn’t need any fancy tricks to beat Deshaun, he’d just beat him straight up.

Run game be damned, the Vikings came out swinging. Nathan dropped back deep, then stepped up as Donte went zooming past. He peered Marshall’s way, and while he saw an opening, something pulled his vision towards the opposite side of the field.

Isiah sprinted right at Deshaun, then right around him with a Vertical. Deshaun, expecting a feint or cut—like most plays that day—was surprised and a step too slow to turn and chase Isiah.

He started one step behind as they raced along the sideline. Then two, then three. Isiah kept getting further and further away from him, no matter how hard he pushed.

Nathan lobbed the ball deep. Zayden broke into a sprint, but he wouldn’t reach it in time. No one but Isiah would.

Isiah stretched out and caught the ball, stumbling as he did so, which allowed Zayden to sideswipe him and shove him out of bounds. The reception was a success, however, and resulted in a gain of 23 yards.

Instantly, the Vikings jumped across half-field and were threatening to extend their lead.

Deshaun backed off after that, but even that Isiah exploited. With the threat of another deep ball looming, Deshaun gave him too much space and opened up an easy Curl for a much shorter gain, but another reception nonetheless. Isiah was back in his groove.

Zayden pulled Deshaun aside in the next huddle. ‘Keep playing the way you were, Dee. I got you over the top. Don’t worry ‘bout it.’

Deshaun nodded. ‘Fucker just got lucky. My bad though. Shit won’t happen again.’

‘It won’t. We got this.’ Zayden’s eyes flicked to Ty. Ty tried not to have an “I told you so” look on his face, but nodded approval.

‘We got this,’ JJ parroted. ‘One stop at a time.’

With that message in mind, the Dons renewed their struggle to hold the Vikings back.

Deshaun was back in Isiah’s face. The arrogance of which almost made Isiah punch him. ‘How many times do I have to teach you this lesson, old man?’

‘You ain’t teachin’ shit, bitch.’

Isiah pushed off aggressively when the ball was snapped. He rushed right by Deshaun, who stuck with him this time, though was slowly losing ground. But instead of the space beyond Deshaun being open, Zayden lingered in Isiah’s path.

Isiah had run right into their trap and was taken out of the play.

Ty and Marshall continued their duel as well. And when Ty feinted at Marshall’s first cut, Marshall didn’t react. Ty jumped the opposite way, leaving a wide gap between them.

Marshall caught a simple pass, then cut upfield for another 15 yards before defenders tackled him.

If Ty was going to fake him out, he wouldn’t fall for it anymore. He’d wait until Ty committed. Ty was on the back foot again, and time was no longer his friend. The clock continuously ticked towards zero, and the Vikings marched closer to another touchdown.

He couldn’t jump in front of Marshall’s route, nor could he feint doing so. And he couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.

“Fuck it! What am I running from? I don’t need a gimmick. I don’t need to stop his routes early. If he wants to run and jump, if he wants to dive and stretch and try that BULLSHIT again, I’ll show him he can’t. I’ll show him how much I’ve grown.”

The gloves were off. Ty wouldn’t hide behind mind games anymore. Wouldn’t let Marshall hide behind them, either. Watch, react, defend. That’s what he’d do, like he always did. Marshall wasn’t special, so he didn’t need to do anything special to stop him.

Marshall lined up, meeting Ty’s relentless glare with one of his own. Staring into those dark eyes was like looking into an abyss, but Marshall didn’t blink.

The ball was snapped. Marshall rushed forward. He staggered, shimmied left. Ty shifted but didn’t jump ahead of the route. Marshall staggered again, truly this time as the sudden change in attitude and Ty’s plan shocked him. But he recovered and pushed off strong to the inside.

Ty was right with him, glued to his hip, closer than any CB had been. The two ran as one. Marshall sneered. ‘If that’s what you want.’ He wasn’t about to back down from the challenge, either. He signalled Nathan.

Nathan had seen this countless times before. He knew just what do to. He ripped a pass, high over the middle, nice and wide from Marshall. To the casual observer, it looked much too wide. Like it would sail over into Zayden’s grasp instead.

It almost looked too low, like JJ would swat it down before it even reached Marshall’s level. But he didn’t. It just barely whistled past his fingers.

Marshall leapt. It was a graceful dive. Ty dove with him, reaching forward for the ball. If he could just STRETCH!

Marshall’s hand eclipsed Ty’s, and just before the ball scraped by them both, Marshall got his fingers to it and snagged it from the air. Like a trap closing shut on its prey, once the ball was in his grasp, Marshall snapped it to his chest, just before he crashed to the turf alongside Ty.

The reception was good for another 11 yards. But more importantly—in Marshall’s eyes—he’d proven Ty still wasn’t on his level.

The Vikings were well within the red zone. They could almost smell the paint of the end-zone. A touchdown. Salvation. Victory. They were within grasp. They just had to reach out and take it.

The teams reset. Isiah and Deshaun were quiet for once, both staring at one another like dogs preparing to bite.

‘Do you understand now, li’l bitch?’ Marshall asked Ty.

‘You’re still going to lose. You’ll never beat me. I’m better than you. I’m better than you, and by the time this game’s over, EVERYONE will know it.’

The ball was snapped, and Marshall and Ty slammed into one another. If Ty could stop Marshall at the line, he’d never have to deal with bullshit.

But the focus wasn’t on them.

Deshaun was still playing Isiah closely. Too close, especially with how little room there was to work with. There was less time for Zayden to shift over. Only after Nathan lobbed the ball towards them did he notice the fatal mistake.

Isiah had the step; it was all he needed. Zayden wouldn’t reach them in time to disrupt this short lob. So Deshaun did what he had to and tackled Isiah before the ball even arrived.

It was clear-cut DPI, and there was no arguing from Deshaun. Isiah kicked Deshaun off and jumped to his feet, laughing. ‘I KNEW you couldn’t guard me! You’ll NEVER be better than me! Just fucking give up already, you worthless old bitch!’

Zayden got between the two, as did an official, but Deshaun turned away, biting his tongue. Maybe Isiah was right. But maybe he wasn’t. The game wasn’t over, and whilst the penalty had placed the Vikings right at the goal-line, they hadn’t scored. The Dons could still stop them.

They all knew that, and that’s all they focused on. No one made a comment about Deshaun’s penalty or what had put him in the position where such an outcome was the best result. They all looked ahead to the next play and the goal-line stand they’d have to make if they wanted to win this game.

Deshaun stood across from Isiah, who kept muttering about how he was going to beat Deshaun. ‘Gonna beat you. I’ll always beat you, nigga. You can’t touch me. I’ll beat you. Beat you. Beat you.’

Ty and Marshall stared at one another, fingers twitching like they were cowboys in a stand-off.

Nathan stood directly behind Mike, under Center. JJ was just a couple of yards ahead of them, staring straight into Nathan’s soul.

‘Set … HUT!’

There was an explosion of movement. It was all over so fast. JJ rushed forward and slammed right into the back of his teammate, who fell on top of him.

Mike crashed forward, falling on top of the poor soul in front of him, which started the dominoes toppling and landed on JJ. Behind that, Nathan kept the ball and dove across Mike’s back, sneaking into the end-zone.

The Vikings had scored another touchdown.