Jackson and Tommy arrived at the Titans’ homefield, just in time to catch both JV teams warming up before the start of the game.

They had their choice of seating within the near-empty stands. They settled in a few rows back and waited for the action to begin.

Without his cast, Jackson felt much more comfortable.

‘ACP Knights. This is the second time you guys are playing them this season, right?’ Tommy asked.

‘Yeah, we lost the first time. On their home turf. Maybe things will be different this time now it’s our home game.’

‘We’ll have to wait and see, ‘cause I don’t know. But I do know one thing, and that’s the fact you’d knock the socks off of ‘em if YOU were out there playing right now.’

Jackson rubbed the back of his head, sighing. ‘Yeah, maybe. But, I think they’ll still be able to get it done without me. I trust them to be able to pull through, they’ve been getting better.’

Down on the field, Kenny finished some extra stretches. His heart was pounding slow and heavy; they needed to avenge their loss, but now that they were into the back half of the season and starting the rematches, his focus was drifting to the game against the Coyotes and the promise that had been made.

He shook his head, trying to clear his mind of any distractions. The captains made their way out to the centre of the field for the coin toss—the Knights won and elected to defer the opening kick.

Coach Otsen brought the team together in a final huddle before kickoff. ‘Get in here. Listen up. Don’t be scared of them, you know who and what they are. Don’t be worried about the past, just focus on the lessons you learned from that defeat. You’re stronger now. I know you’ve only been playing together for a little over a month, but you’ve all grown so much in that time, you’re a completely different team. Go out there and show them just how much you’ve changed!’

‘MAXIMUM Growth!’ Coach Vasquez cheered.

‘Titans on one.’ Coach Otsen held a strong fist in the air, it was soon flanked by just over a dozen more with all the players and the other coaches joining in.

‘Three, two, one—’

‘Titans!’

‘Let’s kick some fucking ass!’ Pete led the charge onto the field for the Titans.

Kenny was on return duties and he brought the ball out to the 27-yard line to start things off. The Titans were fired up from the coach's speech, and ready to make an impact during the beginning of this game.

They charged out of the gates, led primarily by Kenny, however, it was a balanced attack between the air and ground. They raced down the field like they were in a hurry to get the game over with, and within a few minutes, they had opened the scoring, punching in a touchdown with a QB Sneak as Petey ploughed ahead behind the O-Line.

‘Hell yeah!’ Tommy cheered and applauded enthusiastically, even stuffing his fingers into his mouth to whistle loudly.

‘Let’s go Titans!’ Jackson cried out. The two of them made the small crowd sound somewhat alive.

‘Wooo!’ The Titans were still pumped, getting around Petey, and celebrating with him. They looked over to the sideline, making sure that Coach Otsen wanted them to just go for the kick, and at the same time, they saw Coach Knight give them a look of approval and a thumbs up.

Such a simple gesture fanned their fires into a frenzied storm.

The kick for the extra point sailed through the uprights, and on the ensuing kickoff, they blitzed past the blockers and stopped the returner short at the 17-yard line, their adrenaline continuing to run high.

Their first defensive drive was up next, and Coach Carson capitalised on the boys’ exuding energy and brought tons of heat and pressure against the Knights.

The Titans capped off the quick three-and-out with a huge sack, pushing the Knights back a further five yards before they had to punt.

Kenny had another good return, gaining an extra 15 yards for the Titans on his runback this time. And when they took over for their second offensive drive, the wind was still in their sails, and they were overflowing with confidence and determination.

Once again they began storming down the field, picking the defence apart as they ran the ball down their throats, or broke free of the aerial coverage and gained chunks of yardage at a time with precise passes.

They were nearing the red zone in no time, looking for their second touchdown of the game. A Post route had been drawn up for Kenny, and while it might not get him into the endzone initially, Kenny himself, and his teammates were confident that he’d be able to scramble in for a touchdown after the catch.

‘Set. Hike!’ Petey took the snap, dropping back. He kept his eyes away from Kenny’s side of the field, not wanting to reveal their hand just yet.

Kenny raced forward, fighting through the tight press coverage. He gritted his teeth, inwardly groaning about the DB having inside leverage against him.

He got to the top of his route, stutter-stepped, and got the defender to lean towards the outside before he shrugged them off and cut inside instead, streaking diagonally across the field.

He looked at Petey, and Petey looked at him.

Petey swung his hips around and slung the ball out. As soon as it left his hand, his shoulders dropped—he’d overthrown it.

Kenny gave a half-hearted leap but didn’t even reach for the ball it was that far above him. He turned, watching it whistle past his head. Well beyond him, the Safety in the back of the endzone stretched out, plucking the ball out of the air.

They hit the ground safely, then dropped to a knee, opting for a touchback instead of trying to return their interception for a touchdown or extra yards.

‘¡Mierda!’ Petey smothered his face with his hands, devolving into a slew of curses.

The Titans stood around with their hands on their head. That interception was like a punch to the gut, right when they were ready to take a commanding, two-touchdown lead.

‘Hey! It’s alright! Just focus on defence! Don’t let it discourage you!’ Tommy shouted.

Jackson looked at him then looked back down at the field. Kenny was moving around to each individual Titan, and Freddy as well. Jackson couldn’t hear the words of encouragement they were passing on to their teammates, but he could see the positive effect it was having. They stood taller, shook off the cobwebs that were trying to hold them down and get them stuck on the interception, and they moved on to the next play.

Coach Otsen watched closely from the sideline. He’d drifted near to one of the officials, ready to call a timeout after the pick, but upon seeing the quick mental recovery the team made, he thought better of it.

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‘Alright! It’s just one mistake, it’s okay. Let’s play some defence and get the ball right back!’ Kenny said.

‘Yo, my bad, guys. Let’s make up for it right now though, come on!’ Petey said. He even gestured to the crowd, trying to get them more involved.

Tommy laughed and started up a “defence” chant, stomping his feet. Jackson joined in, stamping down with his good leg.

‘Calm down! Let’s take our time. We’ve got this.’ The Knights’ QB kept a cool head, trying to keep things under control.

The Titans' overaggressive defence, with all their blitzing, was swiftly used against them. The Knights had adjusted quickly, and with their first couple of plays in this second drive, burnt them badly down the field for big gains.

In fact, it didn’t take them long at all to even up the score and run in a touchdown of their own after the interception.

Coach Otsen cursed under his breath. ‘Hey! Learn from that lesson! Don’t forget what I taught you and what we’ve been practising just ‘cause you’re getting excited! Lock in and focus up! Let’s get this win!’

The minimal crowd was deflated after the Knights scored, and again the wind had been knocked out of the Titans’ sails. Of course, things couldn’t be so easy for them. They definitely had a game on their hands now, and from the looks of it, it was going to be a hard-fought battle that’d come down to the wire.

Both teams traded big plays, and big stops back and forth. Eventually, the end of the first half came around. The teams entered the break with the Knights having a slim lead of just a field goal, the score being 14–17 in their favour.

The Titans took to the locker room, slightly disheartened, but still with a lot of fight left in them.

Coach Otsen paced around the room. ‘Hey, I liked that fire we came out with, but you got too cocky, too excited. They aren’t going to roll over and die out there. No matter how badly you might want to win, you still have to EARN IT.’

All the boys sat with their heads held high, eyes locked on Coach Otsen. They were silent save for their panting breaths.

‘Don’t let them beat you down again. It’s only a three-point lead, there’s plenty of time to come back and win this. Get out there and show them who you are, show them your strength! Go regain your dignity and make them suffer the way we did!’

‘Come on, guys. We can’t lose to the same team twice.’ Even the sloth-like, perpetually calm Lonnie had been riled up by the circumstances. His gaze held a sharper edge.

‘I won’t let you down this time,’ Freddy said.

‘Hey. No one individual has EVER let this team down. We all work together. We win as a team, and we most certainly LOSE as a team. You’re a band of brothers on and off the field, got it? Now give ‘em hell!’ Coach Otsen practically shoved the boys out of the locker room, sending them back out onto the field once the break was nearing its conclusion.

The crowd was filling up slightly, and a more raucous reception welcomed them onto the field to get the game back underway.

Once again, to start the second half, the Titans hit the ground running. They’d adjusted their defence to not be SO aggressive and no longer left as many holes open to counterattack. They still managed to keep up the pressure, and almost with superior effort and energy alone, forced the Knights into another three-and-out to open the third quarter.

It was also the Titans who claimed first blood in the second half, just like they had to open the game. They struck first with another touchdown and stole back the lead.

But again, the Knights showed their resiliency and their ability to maintain their calm under duress. It wasn’t long before they got the touchdown back and retook the lead.

The second half would be a bit of a seesaw with momentum and the lead swinging back and forth.

Both teams fought hard, but as their energy waned, the defences became looser and more easily exploited. As the fourth and final quarter was nearing its end, the Titans were still down three points, just like they had been at halftime, but now the score was 31-34.

The Titans had the ball, beginning what would most likely be their final drive of the game, their last chance to earn victory.

They struggled to get out of the gates for this most crucial drive, being pushed to fourth down right away, but Coach Otsen decided to go for it.

On the most important play of the game, Kenny made a diving catch for the first down. His hip and knee hit the turf just before he fell out of bounds.

‘Beautiful,’ Tommy exclaimed; Jackson was speechless.

This play seemed to kickstart the Titans and get them back on track. They brute-forced their way downfield, and with just under a minute left, they were right on the goal line.

Coach Otsen used the last of their timeouts, just so he and Coach Knight could draw up a play that would be a surefire touchdown.

Coach Vasquez pulled Freddy aside. ‘Your job is of MAXIMUM importance, Freddy.’

‘M-Me?’ Freddy gulped.

Coach Vasquez grinned. ‘Yes! But you can do it! I MAXIMUM believe in you.’

‘O-Okay.’ A steely determination came over Freddy’s eyes. He nodded and took deep breaths, listening to the plan.

On the field, Kenny and Freddy were lined up side by side, about five yards from one another. Kenny was on the outside, Freddy more on the inside.

They looked at one another and nodded.

‘Set HIKE!’ Petey took the ball, instantly looking towards the pair of Receivers as he took only a shallow drop back.

Kenny sauntered only a few steps forward. Freddy bolted towards the outside, running past underneath him.

‘Switch!’ One of the defenders called, desperately waving his friend over to keep following Freddy who was rushing towards the back corner of the endzone.

But, while they were caught up with this, Kenny took the moment to slip away from the crowd and break towards the middle of the field.

Petey rose up and shot the ball in quick, hard, and low.

Kenny dived, and wrapped his arms around the ball, crashing to the grass as he held it tight.

Officials ran in, signalling the touchdown. The crowd, which had nearly filled out before the big game, erupted with cheers.

‘That’s what I’m fucking talking about, Rook! What a great fucking catch!’ Mickey screamed from the bench, all the varsity players now in attendance.

Kenny popped up, all the boys getting around him, cheering loudly.

‘Let’s fucking goooooo!’ Kenny hurled the ball into the stands, his adrenaline pumping at an all-time high. It was moments like these that he lived for, that made all the hard work, all the practice, EVERYTHING worth it.

But the game wasn’t over yet. There was still time on the clock, and they still had to kick the extra point.

The kick soared wide, probably in large part due to all the excitement they were feeling about their last-minute comeback. And then it was time for kickoff, and their final stand on defence.

After the touchback, the Knights took to the field, the usually calm QB looked jittery. All of them looked nervous—nervous, desperate, and hungry. They wouldn’t go down without a fight.

‘Tight! Don’t give them any room to breathe!’ Coach Otsen ordered.

Each DB pressed as close as they could to their man, and the D-Line all looked like sprinters in their starting blocks for a one-hundred-metre race. Lonnie was one of two Safties left back to cover any deep ball.

‘HUT!’ The field exploded into motion. Simultaneous battles erupted all across its width, and all appeared to be in a stalemate.

Slowly, a weak point appeared.

Freddy was locked in a duel with one of the Receivers, and while he did his best to keep his man in front of him, he slipped ever so slightly. He recovered quickly, but in the fast-paced world of a CB, a slip was all it took for you to lose your Receiver.

Freddy chased after him but was stuck a step behind as the Receiver streaked out into the open field.

The QB flung the ball out, lobbing it high and long; the ball veered towards the sideline in its flight.

Freddy pumped his legs as hard as he could, but the Receiver was pulling further and further away from him. He couldn’t catch up.

Lonnie sprinted over with the last of his reserves, eyes locked on the ball.

The Receiver looked back, his eyes too were glued on the ball. He stretched out, ready to make the catch.

Lonnie slammed into him, knocking the Receiver to the floor. Lonnie’s feet stomped against the grass several times as he tried to control himself after the collision, running out of bounds out of control only stopping when he ran into the solid wall that was Shane.

Shane caught him, held him up, and looked down at him with a smile.

Lonnie panted hard, looking up at Shane, those steady hands on his shoulders calmed him down. His eyes drifted down, falling on the ball cradled in his arms.

‘Good catch,’ Shane said.

The roar of the crowd was deafening. A grin spread across Lonnie’s face. He whirled around and held the ball aloft as if it was the greatest prize he’d ever held. ‘YEAAAAH!’

His teammates swarmed him, jumping all over him as they congratulated him and celebrated their victory that was sealed by his interception.

The entire crowd was on their feet, Jackson would’ve been the only one still sitting down. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t moved. He was probably the most awed by what he’d just seen.

Jackson felt a fire surge up within him. He wanted to be out there, in the midst of the celebration. He wanted to be the one to snag the go-ahead touchdown, or to secure the game-ending interception. They’d accept him if he did that, they’d have to, injury be damned.