Gladiators of the Gridiron

The extra point was successful, and the game was tied at 13 all. Nick received his share of praise for the successful kick as the Titans made their way over to the bench to rest up and prepare for the kickoff and their subsequent stint on defence.

‘That catch was MAXIMUM amazing Kenny, great work!’ Coach Vasquez slapped Kenny firmly on the back.

‘Yes, and there was some great blocking from everyone else after the catch, that’s what led to the amazing run in for the touchdown, don’t forget it’s a team effort. Now, sit down and catch your breath before you get back out there in a minute,’ Coach Otsen said.

Jackson sat back in his seat, still in awe of what he just witnessed. ‘That was an awesome move.’

‘Hey, and you made the right call,’ Tommy said, nudging his brother lightly. ‘But yeah, that was some running. That’s the kind of stuff that turns a good play into a game changer.’

‘I hope they can build off it and keep this momentum going. We just need to get a stop and then this game is ours.’

They sat back and watched as the kickoff was underway and the Golden Hawks did their usual schtick of focusing more on running around and evading tackles for as long as possible without much care about actually progressing the ball downfield.

As such, the Hawks’ would take over at their 20-yard line. And it was a now familiar face that lined up opposite Kenny.

Kenny groaned but tried to act as if the boy in front of him was a stranger—Dexter wasn’t about to let that happen.

‘I’ll have to pay you back for that touchdown. I’ll admit, it was a good move, but that’s the last time something like that will work again.’

‘Uh-huh. Yeah, maybe against someone who’s actually good, but if YOU’RE still guarding me next time? Nah, I’ll be fine.’

Dexter chuckled and grinned. ‘We’ll see, won’t we?’

Kenny looked away, checking out the rest of his team. They were all set. The Linemen looked pale already, clearly dreading the trial before them, but they were prepared to put their body on the line. And hopefully, if they stopped things early, it wouldn’t be that bad.

Junior snapped the ball then instantly turned and went to hand it off. The Titans’ pass rush hesitated. As the RB and Junior passed by one another, it was Junior who came away with the ball—it was a fake! But that hesitation had bought valuable time for the Hawks.

The Titans’ edge rushers charged again, though the Hawks’ wall was in a good position, and sent them wide.

Junior stepped up to avoid the defenders who had been forced too deep on their blitzes, but he found the pocket he was stepping into was a lot shallower than he expected.

Vincent hadn’t cared if it was a run or not, his job still would’ve been the same—crash the line, break down the wall from the centre—and he was doing a fine job of that, bulldozing through his man and forcing them back rapidly.

Junior’s eyes widened and then flicked back to his Receivers further downfield. Pete and the LBs had crept up slightly at the pass fake, and while they were still retreating to their zones, Junior stepped into a throw targeted over the middle.

Of course, as he stepped into it, he stepped on the back of the foot of his Center thanks to Vincent shoving them all the way back into him, and Junior couldn’t follow through on the throw completely.

The ball wobbled through the air, drifting off course thanks to the disruption to the very foundations of the throw, and the intended Receiver could only get their fingertips to the errant pass before it bounced away and fell to the ground.

The Titans quickly shrugged off their dismay from failing to intercept the tipped pass and hurried back into their positions for the next play, calling out and complimenting Vincent on his good work pressuring the QB.

Dexter had drawn Kenny on a long chase far downfield on a route heading straight for the endzone. They jogged back towards the line of scrimmage together.

‘Enjoying your marathon?’ Dexter asked. ‘Another twenty-five minutes of this, do you think you’ll manage to stay standing for all of it?’

Kenny frowned but didn’t say anything.

Again, at the snap of the ball, Dexter darted forward and sent Kenny backpedalling after him as they raced down the sideline.

However, this time, Junior dropped back as if to pass, but then handed the ball off for a Draw run.

The wide blitzing paths of the D-Line had opened up plenty of holes for the RB to choose from and as they skipped ahead, Isaac rushed down to meet them.

Isaac brought the RB down after a gain of 4 yards, and the Hawks were now facing a very swift third down.

Even so, the Hawks quickly got back into formation and set up for their next play, showing no hesitation or doubt as they faced a do-or-die situation for their drive.

Dexter looked Kenny over calmly, the rapid pace of the offence didn’t give him much time to talk smack between plays, and this time his goose chase with Kenny hadn’t been as long, as the previous play had finished faster.

Kenny stood a few yards from Dexter—Coach Otsen didn’t want the defence exerting energy in a pointless effort to press their men tightly—to deal with the repeated deep threats Dexter was using.

Dexter smiled just before the ball was snapped. Once more he broke into a sprint right away with his head down. It was exactly like the previous two plays where he’d do his best to blow by Kenny and gain separation with pure speed alone.

However, though his head was down, his eyes were fixed on Kenny, watching his hips at all times, and the moment Kenny started to turn those hips around so he could shift from backpedalling to straight out running alongside Dexter, Dexter slammed on the brakes.

Just as Kenny had turned his back to the ball, it was thrown, and he had to stop instantly. He was a step behind Dexter, and having to fully turn back around put him even further behind. As Kenny was trying to find the ball, Dexter had already caught it.

Kenny lunged forward, wrapping his arms around Dexter, and while Dexter made Kenny work for it, he was dragged down in a strong tackle after a gain of 9 yards.

Kenny shoved Dexter further into the grass as he pushed himself up. He looked away, cursing under his breath.

The Hawks had found their rhythm, and their drive continued with a fresh set of downs.

Again, Kenny would constantly be led around, chasing after Dexter as the Receiver ran long, deep routes over and over, and even though the ball was rarely thrown their way, Kenny still felt like he was the defender giving the most effort.

The Hawks continued to push their way across the field rapidly, soon approaching the halfway mark and there didn’t seem to be any stopping them.

It was first down once again, and the Titans didn’t have an answer for the Hawks’ various fakes, whether it was some Play-Action that bought time for a pass, or a Draw run that took advantage of the Titans’ overaggressiveness, the Hawks were picking them apart.

Or so they were until Isaac was called closer to the line with frantic shouting from Coach Carson. ‘Don’t let them push you around! Don’t worry about anything else! Just push straight through and hit the QB!’

Isaac and one of the usual Linemen were in the middle of switching places when the ball was snapped. However, this meant Isaac had a running start as he charged straight ahead into the Offensive Linemen in front of him.

Pushing with his thick, powerful legs, Isaac quickly built up a head of steam. Comparing their upper bodies, Isaac and the opposing Linemen weren’t built all that differently, but it was the legs where all the difference came from.

Whilst the Hawks’ player was still long and wiry even in his lower half, Isaac was built like a pyramid, and when the two collided, it was like a car crash. The Hawks’ Tackle was flattened instantly, and Isaac bulled ahead as if nothing had ever been in his way.

Junior and the RB were Isaac’s next targets as they met for what would be either another handoff, or another fake. But only they would know what it would’ve been in the end, as Isaac hit them both before they could even pull away from each other, and he slammed them both into the ground.

As all three hit the turf, so did the ball, bouncing away freely after the fumble.

The crowd roared as the whole field was overtaken with excitement. Every player, no matter where they had been before the fumble, started to converge on the loose ball.

Of course—as their group was the closest—the Linemen reached the bouncing, rolling, tumbling ball first, and the Hawks’ O-Line easily won that foot race.

Two Hawks’ players divebombed the ball and dove on top of it before a single Titan could even get close, though that Titan still jumped on top of the pile and added a third body to it. More players piled on and added to the growing, struggling mass as a tug-of-war broke out over the ball.

The officials streamed forward, whistles blowing shrilly as they quickly got to the bottom of things, signalling that it was Desert Sunrise’s ball before they’d even dismantled the pile.

After that brief flicker of hope with the fumble, to see the Hawks retain possession was like a punch to the gut to the Titans.

And as the Titans were still recovering, the Golden Hawks hadn’t missed a beat and were hurrying back to their formation. The Titans were caught off guard and out of position by the next play, and the Hawks capitalised with a 22-yard pass after the fumble.

If the Hawks recovering the fumble was a body blow, the 20+ yard gain after it was an uppercut that rocked the Titans and had them pinned to the ropes.

Coach Otsen thought of using another timeout, now that both teams had another three to use for this second half, but he knew it wouldn’t be of much benefit energy recovery-wise right now, and he feared his boys would crash out later in the game if they didn’t have the breaks when they needed them. He held his tongue and trusted they’d be able to mentally recover fast enough to get back in the game and put a stop to this drive before it was too late.

The next play, Dexter was sent in motion to cross behind Junior right at the snap for a Jet Sweep. Kenny mirrored him across the field, but the Sweep turned out to be a fake. Even so, Dexter still wheeled around and headed deep towards the endzone like usual.

And though it turned out to be a run, a rather successful one for 7 yards, Kenny still had to sprint after Dexter all the way.

Then, on the next passing play, fewer Receivers would run routes. The TE stayed back to give extra protection against the blitz, as did the RB who helped chip in with the blocking too.

Dexter this time, ran parallel to the sideline, like usual, before breaking inwards and snapping off his deep route at a ninety-degree angle.

Kenny was wrong-footed ever so slightly, and Dexter had just enough space to catch the pass and run ahead a few more yards before being tackled after a 13-yard gain.

The Hawks were driving closer and closer to the endzone. The crowd was warming up and supporting the home team more fervently now.

‘Don’t forget I still owe you that touchdown. I reckon it’ll come on this next play,’ Dexter said as he and Kenny lined up again.

Kenny huffed and shook his head. ‘I don’t care. I’m not a defender, I’m a Receiver. I’ll get three times as many touchdowns as I’ll give up.’

Dexter laughed. ‘You’re not getting another touchdown for the rest of this game. Just give up already.’

‘Never!’ Kenny stared into Dexter’s eyes defiantly. He was so focused on Dexter, and the game moved so quickly, that he didn’t notice Nick and another Hawks Receiver had moved over to line up beside them before the snap.

The ball was snapped just a moment after Nick and his Receiver had settled into their stances.

Dexter moved forward, skipping ahead but then hesitating as he came close to Kenny. He feinted to the outside, then spun around for a Curl, hands raised for the ball.

Kenny lunged forward and attached himself to Dexter’s back.

‘Ken!’ Nick’s voice cried out.

‘Huh?’ Kenny’s world expanded. He remembered he and Dexter weren’t the only ones on the field. He saw Nick running towards them, running right into them, and he saw a now unmarked Hawks Receiver streak by in front of Dexter.

Kenny turned and ran after them, but there was no way he could catch up to someone already in full flight. They caught the ball, not even breaking stride to do so.

Lonnie sprinted across from the middle of the field, hurrying over to try and cut off the free Receiver.

Both boys stretched out, and Lonnie dived, shoving the Hawk hard. The Receiver held the ball in one hand, stretching their arm out as far as they could, and as they crashed out of bounds, the ball knocked over the short, rubber pylon at the front corner of the endzone.

An official stepped forward and raised their arms, their whistle blowing loudly as they announced the touchdown.

Kenny tore his eyes from the official and looked back at a grinning Dexter.