Gladiators of the Gridiron

It definitely looked like the Knights had been working on a plan for their offence to get around the Titans’ stalwart defence led by Shane who—in his MLB position—was one of the pillars of the Titans’ defence.

First up, they went with a powerful run to the inside. This was helped further by the Guard on the opposite end of the O-Line “Pulling”, meaning that he left his usual position as soon as the ball was snapped and ran out to be the lead blocker for the RB, while the rest of the O-Line shifted over to cover for him.

The Guard ran through the hole that had opened up in the Line, and met Shane head-on as he crashed down to try and stop the run early, just like the Knights had drawn it up.

But what they hadn’t expected was for Shane to overpower the Guard and burst through the block. While the RB did gain some yards, it was only two, and it dealt a great blow to the Knights’ confidence in their run game. After all, if the Titans stopped it that easily the first time they saw it, it’d only get worse the more they tried it.

That wasn’t the only contingency they had for Shane, however. Next, they went to the air where the Knights had two Receivers run a Mesh route together, as they both ran shallow routes across the field just beyond the Line of Scrimmage, named for the “mesh” point, where their paths would cross over.

With Shane positioned in the middle of the field for defence against passes, if he stepped down and followed one of the receivers, the other would be open no matter which way he chose.

AND, there was a hidden dagger to this play, that’d slip into the Titans’ unsuspecting backs. Another receiver would be running a deep IN route, just beyond where Shane and any other low zones would be, and in front of the Safeties deep over the top.

If both underneath routes were somehow covered, then the “dagger” above them would sink in behind the lower defenders and be open.

While the Knights might’ve been stifled on the ground, they picked up yards quickly through the air. Tommy sat back with a grin, watching the offence flow; he couldn’t help but admire it.

‘Hah, see that?’ He turned to Jackson. ‘Sometimes we’re really lucky as Receivers, because the coaches and playcalling can make our jobs so much easier.’

‘Hmm, it doesn’t matter how clever and tricky they might think they are, we’ll still stop them and win,’ Kenny said.

‘Hahah, of course, I’m not rooting for the Knights, just appreciating good offence when I see it. You play defence as well, don’t you, Kenny? What would you try to stop that play just now?’

Kenny was quiet as he thought about it for a moment. ‘The CBs need to jam the Receivers and keep inside leverage for the mesh… and you could have one of the Lineman drop back into a really low zone over the middle too. Then the LBs just need to pass off the crossing Receivers, focus on covering a specific side of the field rather than a specific player.’

Tommy nodded. ‘Then what about the Dagger?’

‘Cover Three?’ Jackson suggested. When Tommy looked at him as if he wanted him to explain himself, Jackson did so. ‘Well, if you have two DBs drop back into deep zones down the sidelines, then you could have one Safety over the middle to cover the Dagger.’

Tommy grinned. ‘You could, and then what happens when another Receiver runs a Post route? Or, even when they’re getting jammed at the line, instead of going inside for the mesh, they counter to the sideline? That’s the beautiful thing about football, it’s all about reacting and countering what your opponent is doing. Even route running and defending against Receivers is just a miniature, contained version of that same principle. You watch what your direct opponent is doing, and you react with the counter.’

‘I didn’t realise so much thought and strategy goes into it. It’s like… chess in a way,’ Jasmine said.

‘Hahah, yeah, it’s a far cry from the mindless affair that the dumb high school jock trope might make it out to be. It’s a really beautiful sport.’

Just as Tommy was saying that, a Knights Receiver caught a pass over the middle of the field, and the moment he caught the ball, before his feet could even touch the ground again, he was laid out with a big hit—the impact was audible even up in the stands.

The crowd gasped and winced, but the boy had held onto the ball and secured the catch. He was helped up by his teammates, and while he did move over to the bench to sit out, he appeared to be mostly alright, even if he was winded after the collision.

‘And of course, you can have all the strategy you want, but if there’s too much of a physical difference, well … you can’t strategise for that.’

The Knights had been moving the ball decently well, slowly but surely picking their way downfield with their Mesh and Dagger, runs to the outside, and play action passes to mix things up as well.

However, the Titans rapidly made adjustments, Coach Carson barked orders from the sideline, and Shane was one of the voices that repeated them out on the field.

The Titans eventually shut the Knights down, but not before they’d gotten into field goal range.

The kick was good, and like that, the score had been evened up at 3–3 as the Knights ended their first drive with a field goal, just like the Titans had.

During the downtime after scoring and the ensuing kickoff being set up, Jasmine looked at Tommy. ‘I like your shirt.’

Tommy blinked and then looked down at the Korn memorabilia he was wearing. ‘Oh, thanks. They’d have to be my favourite band.’

‘Niiice. Yeah, they’re pretty good, but I like Slipknot better.’

‘True! Slipknot is a little better,’ Jackson said.

Tommy shot him a look and then nudged him. ‘You’re just saying that because she did.’

‘N-No! I mean it.’

Jasmine laughed. ‘Oh man, it’d be soo cool to start a band like that though, but I don’t know, I’ve never known anyone else who was interested.’

‘You can play? I’m no good at that music stuff, definitely just a listener,’ Tommy said.

‘I can play guitar, although, I’m not that good right now, but you know, gotta start somewhere.’ She shrugged.

‘Whoa, that’s cool,’ Jackson said.

She smiled. ‘You play?’

‘Uhh, n-not really, I mean, learning to play drums would be cool but I’ve just … focused on other stuff.’

She nods. ‘Fair enough.’ She turned to Kenny. ‘What about you?’

‘Huh? Oh, I’m not really into metal … and no I don’t know how to play the piano or the violin or anything like that.’

‘So what music do you listen to?’ Tommy asked.

‘Rap mostly. But not any of that mumble crap, only real rap like Eminem, Logic, Joyner, and NF.’

‘Ohh, I love Em.’ Tommy grinned.

‘Yeaaah, but Kendrick solos,’ Jasmine says.

‘Yeah, he’s pretty good too, just never got into him as much,’ Kenny says.

‘Um, you seem to really like music, Jasmine. Why don’t you make that your major? Or uh, go to some art school instead of psychology?’ Jackson asked.

‘Hmm…’ She rested her cheek on her hand as she turned her gaze towards the field of play. ‘I’m not sure. I mean, it’s more of a hobby, and I guess psychology will be a more guaranteed career path. Plus, I do enjoy it and want to help people, don’t get me wrong. But who knows, maybe I will switch to focusing on music, maybe I’ll do both. That’s the good thing about preparing early and giving all this stuff some thought, by the time it comes around to graduate, I’ll know exactly what I want to do.’

‘That’s a great mindset to have,’ Tommy said. ‘Speaking of college, have you boys thought about what you’re doing for it? Outside of football, of course, because even when you’re an athlete, it's still important to have a major that you’re passionate about. I mean, I’m doing sociology, but, either way, I’ll probably go into coaching after I graduate.’

‘You mean after your NFL career,’ Jackson said.

‘Hahaha … yeah, totally.’

Jackson’s brow furrowed as he watched his older brother’s expression sadden.

‘Hey, your turn to fess up, what are those majors gonna be?’ Jasmine asked.

‘Well, outside of football, I like art and drawing … NOT just because of manga.’ Kenny waved an accusing finger around. ‘So, maybe something to do with graphic design or animating. I don’t know, I haven’t really thought about it much.’

Jackson was quiet for longer and everyone gave him time to think. ‘I've only ever thought about football. So, whether I make the NFL or not—’

‘You definitely will,’ Tommy interjected.

Jackson smiled slightly. ‘Right, but, even if I don’t, I’d like to do something football-related, whether it's coaching, or even just broadcasting, or anything.’

‘Heh, it sounds like you both have the same goal and a backup in place. But yeah, you guys have tons of time to worry about college crap.’

‘What about you, Jasmine? How much time do you have?’ Tommy asked.

‘Oh me? I’ve still got plenty of time too, I guess. I’m still only a sophomore.’

‘Ahhh. You sure are organised to be worrying about college at that age. I didn’t even know what I was going to major in during my senior year, hahah!’

The game continued, and throughout the rest of the 1st quarter, it had turned into a much more defensive game with neither team able to break through, right until the final minute of the quarter, where the Titans were able to charge into the endzone, thanks to strong run from Mickey.

In the second quarter, only another set of field goals were kicked by either team, and so they went into the break with a score of 13–6 in the Titans’ favour.

Even with the Knights being able to shut down Shane offensively—through the first half he’d only been able to catch one pass for only 7 yards—they were still on the back foot. The Titans proved that they weren’t just a one-man team.

Between the break, the group of four continued to happily chat amongst themselves. They prodded Kenny more on what exactly he liked to draw, and while he did say that he enjoyed comic books and their style, he mainly did doodles of monsters and horrific abominations, enjoying the challenge of trying to put a form on fear and the freedom that came with it.

While Tommy also—unsuccessfully—attempted to get Jackson to show off his “beautiful singing voice” as part of his tryout to be the lead singer of whatever band Jasmine eventually made.

Jackson eventually settled on the excuse that he couldn’t be the singer because that should be Jasmine’s job, and that there aren’t enough metal bands with female leads. He even said that he bet her voice was the beautiful one.

At which, her cheeks darkened slightly and she said that maybe she’d sing for them one day.

Jackson thought he’d like that, and couldn’t wait for the eventual day.

When the teams took to the field again and play resumed in the second half, however, the Knights came out with a point to prove and were determined to not let this chance slip away from them.

They received the ball to start and they came out swinging, forcing their way downfield with big play after big play, and eventually, with a fade to the back corner of the endzone, they were able to score their first touchdown of the game.

Jasmine booed loudly as the extra point was successful and the game was once again tied up.

Momentum seemed to be on the Knights’ side, and the second half looked to be slipping out of control for the Titans, especially when their first drive after the break ended in a quick three-and-out. Soon the Knights’ offence was back out onto the field to potentially take the lead.

Shane had gotten another catch during the Titans' drive, but he only gained two yards as his two defenders swiftly brought him down.

When he made his way out onto the field for defence again, he was as stoic as ever, however, a chill air exuded from him as he pulled his gloves down tighter over his clenched fists.

The Knights looked to build off the momentum they had; they went for their Mesh Dagger combo play once more.

The Safeties for the Titans were playing up a little closer now, and so there was less room for the Dagger to work with, meaning they had to make their route a little shallower too.

It was this fact, and a slightly underthrown ball that led to the interception.

Again, it seemed like the play had worked perfectly, with the LBs creeping up to deal with the Mesh routes, while the Dagger snuck in behind. Yet when the QB released the ball, Shane rose up, seemingly, from out of thin air, and snagged the ball before it had a chance to get to its intended Receiver.

The crowd erupted with cheers—Jackson and co being amongst the loudest supporters—and the momentum had switched in the blink of an eye.

The Titans' offence took over near half field, and it only took them three plays to get another touchdown. All three plays were passes to Shane, and each catch resulted in 15 yards or more.

The first half of the game, he’d been studying his two opponents, watching them and how they worked in tandem to cover him, and he’d realised some things. One, the smaller of the two was eager to bite on feints, ESPECIALLY towards the outside of the field. And two, the larger defender, whilst near the same height as Shane, couldn’t jump nearly as well as him.

For the touchdown catch, Shane used a shimmy to the outside to get the smaller defender to bite, then left him behind as he turned upfield instead. Then it came down to a one-on-one aerial battle with the other defender, and Shane was confident there wasn’t any high schooler in the state that could hang with him in an aerial duel. He flew into the sky with one hand extended and plucked the ball from the air as simply as picking an apple from a tree.

That was the turning point of the game, and the Titans never looked back after that touchdown.

The Knights managed to squeeze in another field goal before the end of the game, but things were finished off when Shane caught another touchdown with only three minutes to go in the 4th quarter.

The game ended with a final score of 27–16 as the Titans made a statement to the rest of the division that they wouldn’t take things easy just because they had already beaten everyone.

‘Wooo! Oh my god! That was awesome. Are they all like this?’ Jasmine seemed ecstatic after the end of her first game.

‘They can be, they can be a lot closer too, or a lot more of a blowout. Like I said, the game before this one was incredible, you would’ve lost your mind if you saw it.’

‘Heh, well I’ll definitely have to get here earlier next time to check it out.’ She smiled at Kenny.

‘O-Oh! Uhh, well actually, I think we’ve got an away game next, but yeah, we’ll definitely let you know when the next home game is coming up.’

‘Well, Jackson’s got my number, so, I’m sure he can let me know.’

Tommy raised a brow. Jackson blushed and quickly looked away, rubbing his cheek. ‘Yeah, yeah, of course. I’d be happy to.’

‘Heh, awesome. But, I’ll see you guys at school.’

‘You sure you don’t need a ride?’ Tommy asked.

‘Nah, my parents dropped me off and they’ll pick me up too, thanks for the offer though.’

‘Alright, well it was nice meeting you, Jasmine.’

‘Hehe, same. See you guys.’ She walked away, waving goodbye.

They all waved back, and then when she was out of sight, Tommy punched Jackson’s arm. ‘You didn’t tell me you had her number. So is she your girl then?’

‘Wh-What? N-No it’s not like that…’

‘What, don’t you like her?’

‘I do! …’

Tommy laughed and Jackson’s face went bright red. He groaned and hid his blush in his hands. ‘Can we go home now.’

‘Alright, alright.’

As they made their way to the car park (slowly thanks to Jackson’s crutches), Kenny quietly said to Jackson: ‘Dude, you should ask her out.’

‘Uhh… I mean, I don’t want to ruin things between us… what if she says no?’

‘So what?’

‘Well, then it’ll be super awkward and we won’t be able to be friends! Uhh, b-besides, I can’t… not while I’m still like this.’ He gestured to his crutches.

‘Hmmm, then as soon as you get rid of those annoying things, go for it.’

‘M-Maybe…’

‘Dude! If you don’t make your move, someone else will and you’ll miss your chance! She’s awesome and I bet she gets asked out all the time, one day she’s gonna say yes.’

‘I-I’ll think about it.’

‘Dude…’ Kenny rolled his eyes.

Tommy smirked but didn’t pry into the conversation.

On the way to Kenny’s house, the three listened to some old Eminem songs, rapping along to them. Through the drive, however, Kenny’s eyes would dart over to Jackson and his leg.

When they got to Kenny’s house, it was a modest, cosy, little two-bedroom place within a quiet neighbourhood, nothing exciting but nothing to complain about.

Before Kenny got out, he thanked Tommy then looked at Jackson. ‘Yo, dude, walk me to the door.’

Jackson scoffed. ‘What’s the matter? Scared of the dark? C’mon, it’s right there, and I’m on crutches here.’

‘DUDE. Just come walk with me for a sec.’

Jackson frowned as he looked back at Kenny, trying to figure out what was so urgent and important. ‘Uhh, alright.’

Jackson and Kenny both got out of the car and slowly made their way over to Kenny’s front door, but Kenny made no move to open it. He turned and looked at Jackson.

‘Uhh, you okay?’ Jackson shifted on the spot.

‘Why don’t you tell me what really happened with your leg? I want to hear the REAL story.’

Jackson gulped. He started to sweat even though it was a chilly autumn night. ‘Uhh, what are you talking about? I have told you the story.’

‘Dude.’ Kenny looked at him sympathetically. ‘I’ve seen the way you act whenever someone brings it up, the way you get when you say it was “just an accident” … you can tell me.’

Jackson was unable to meet Kenny’s gaze. He sighed loudly. And then he confessed. He told Kenny the real story behind his “accident”, how his leg came to be broken, and why he did what he did. He shared how he felt throughout it all, however, he omitted the event that caused him to start feeling that way.

Kenny stayed quiet, staring at Jackson. Jackson couldn’t read his expression, but he was sure Kenny hated him now. He flinched slightly when Kenny reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, expecting a punch.

He opened his eyes and relaxed after the punch never came, and that was when Kenny headbutted him.

Both boys groaned and winced with pain, but Kenny didn’t let go, and he didn’t pull his head back from Jackson’s, he kept their foreheads pressed together, and he stared into the other boy's eyes.

‘Fuck. God that hurt … Jackson, look at me.’

Jackson opened his watery eyes. His vision was a bit blurred, but he met Kenny’s gaze.

‘Don’t do any dumb shit like that again. Of course, you’re not worthless. Imagine if you got hurt worse than just a broken leg. Fuck… you’re an incredible teammate, I haven’t even played with you but I already know that. Just by having you at practice, you pushed me to give it my all, to always try my hardest. You were always right there with me. It’s been shit without you, dude.’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘You should be! Fuck dude… we’re teammates aren’t we? On and off the field, I’m there for you, and I’ll always support you. You just have to speak up about shit like this. When you’re feeling like giving up, and nothing is worth it, you have to let us know, and we’ll help you through it, ‘cause that’s what teammates do! We’ll always have your back, no matter what.’

Kenny let Jackson go and leaned back, rubbing at his own head. ‘Ugh, shit hurts a lot more than they make it seem on TV.’ He sighed. ‘Thanks for telling me, dude. I just wish you did sooner. I’ll see you at school.’

Kenny turned away and opened the door, disappearing inside his home.

Jackson stood there for a while longer. A tear rolled down his cheek.