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Screams of joy flooded out from the Dons' sideline and stands. Rabbit didn't stop running until he was on the bench where he was swarmed by his teammates and coaches, buried in praise.

'I tell you, Max, if that wasn't the best run I've seen I don't know what is,' Coach Long said, grinning from ear to ear.

Max could only pant, smile, and hope his helmet covered his blushing cheeks.

The extra point was good, cutting the lead to 10 as the scores read 17–7.

The Cats didn't even attempt to return the following kick-off, and knelt to send the game into the half. Even though the Dons were losing, the momentum was with them as they raced into their locker room, spirits renewed after the big touchdown.

Conversely, the Cats were deathly quiet, anger warping their faces rather than despair. The Coaches kept them in line, and marched them into their locker room.

JJ rose from his seat. 'Who's coming?' He looked around at the other varsity members. Most of them got out of their seats, though some were just stretching their legs, a majority followed JJ. Ty stayed planted in his seat.

As he shimmied past, Zayden looked down at Ty. 'You should be there for your teammates.'

'They're not my teammates,' Ty responded, not looking at Zayden.

'A lot of them will be next year. Still, they need you now.'

'And I'll worry about carrying them next year. There's nothing I can do to change this game. If they need outside motivation, they're doomed already.'

Zayden shook his head and walked away.

The Dons filled their locker room, practically bouncing off the walls. 'Keep this energy, boys!' Coach Long shouted over the Dons' din of banter. This is exactly what I need from you. Even if it isn't big plays like what Max just did, we need to keep this energy.'

'Let's go, Rabbit! Woo!' one boy cried.

Rabbit kept his head down, attempting to hide his grin and still-glowing cheeks.

'I want you to use the scoreboard as your motivation. There's still plenty of time like I told you, and this game isn't over until it's all gone, and we're the ones with the lead. Keep playing with heart, keep playing as a family, and we'll win. No challenge is too great to overcome.'

'A family's strongest when they fight together!' JJ added, he and the varsity players watched from the edges of the room.

Coach Long smiled and brought his fist into the air. The team crowded around him, fists raised together. 'Family on three. One, two, three—'

'FAMILY!'

The Dons surged back onto the field with just as much energy as they ended the half with. They'd start with the ball to begin the second half, and there was only one goal they had in mind—another touchdown.

The Cats were still solemn and silent as they marched onto the field. Hateful glares pierced the shadows of their helmets as they stared down their foes.

The stands had filled out further, the air turbulent with noise from both sides of the field. The game was hotter than ever as the tension was palpable in the air.

The ball was blasted high into the air with the kick-off, and the clashing waves of noise only escalated. The Dons' return was their best of the day, starting them at the 31-yard line.

The Dons met the Cats with glares of their own, and both teams settled into position. The world stood still, awaiting the snap, and burst back into motion when the Dons finally snapped the ball.

The QB whirled around, holding the ball out to Rabbit, but Rabbit ignored it and instead dove at the legs of an oncoming rusher, sending them sprawling to the ground. The QB turned back around, ready to throw, and launched the ball deep downfield.

The Receiver stretched out, not a defender around them as the Cats had been sucked in by the Play-Action, too eager to stop Rabbit from running all around them again. He caught the pass easily, though had to stop to do so. He quickly started running again, and got a bit further away before being shoved out by a Safety. Overall, the play resulted in 27 yards for the Dons and already had them soaring into the Cats' territory.

The Dons' fans continued cheering, and the Cats' faces only grew darker. The Dons lined up quickly, and deepened the confusion by going with a Draw on the next play.

The delayed handoff gave time for the O-Line to send the blitzes out wide, then allowed Rabbit to dart up the middle freely. With open space, Rabbit was hard to catch, and he danced ahead for another 11 yards.

Rabbit got the ball again, and this time he went back outside with another Toss. He slipped around the edge of the line, then darted upwards along the sideline. As a Cats defender raced over to cut him off, Rabbit cut inwards, though mistimed it slightly, and ended up slamming right into the defender.

Rabbit was crunched in the tackle, and he lost his grip on the ball. It tumbled down, but the tangle of feet around it kicked it out of bounds before any Cat could fall on it.

Rabbit was slow to get up after the collision, and was called over to the bench. 'Max! You okay? Hey, are you alright? Max?' Coach Long steadied him with a hand on the boy's shoulder.

Max blinked and looked up at Coach Long, the sky was swirling around his head, but after a moment it went back to normal. He nodded. 'I-I'm okay.'

Coach Long frowned. 'Alright, you just sit here for a bit, we'll make sure you're okay.' He moved away, and Coach Norman took over checking on Rabbit.

The ball had rolled backwards a bit after Rabbit's big hit, and so the Dons only gained 3 yards after all was said and done.

They stuck with the run game, but without Rabbit there wasn't much threat to the outside, and the Cats still dominated the middle of the field. The run went nowhere, and the Dons' had quickly stalled out to third down.

The Dons had to pass. But again, without a threatening run-game, the Cats could crack down on the pass and their blitzes went all out. They were in the QB's face in no time, and the pass had to be thrown away over the head of everyone just to avoid a sack.

What started out promising, had quickly died. But thankfully, the Dons were at least within range of attempting a field goal.

They lined up in formation. The snap, hold, and kick all went off without a hitch, no defender blocked it, and the ball just squeezed through the uprights, bringing the score to 17–10.

Coach Long welcomed his team back to the sideline warmly. 'Okay, that's good. Three points are better than none. Keep chipping away at them, there's plenty of time, like I told you.'

Whilst not as rowdy as they were to start the second half, the Dons were still hopeful; the momentum was still with them.

The Cats weren't to be outdone, however. They too had their best kick return of the day which broke past the 30-yard line and stopped there.

Their offence came out, looking calm and collected. The Dons were still full of energy, their defence bouncing on their toes as they lined up against the Cats. The crowd's chanting spurned them onward, but the Cats were unfazed.

A quick Screen to a Wideout for a gain of 7 yards did little to quiet the crowd, but the Dons and their fans wavered slightly.

The Cats weren't done. A strong Power run was enough to get them a first down, then they moved back into another pass with another quick throw to a Slant for 5 yards.

They weren't exactly in a hurry-up, no-huddle offence, but they weren't taking their time in the huddle either. They were quick and efficient, wasting little time, and even less energy as they started their march downfield. And once they got going, the Dons couldn't stop them.

It was a balanced attack, mixing in rushes and passes well, and before the Dons knew what hit them, the Cats were already in the endzone celebrating another touchdown. Just like that the lead had been pushed back out to two scores.

The crowd was quiet now … at least on the Dons' side of the stands, on the opposite ends of the field, the stands were raucous.

Again, Coach Long tried to keep his team's spirits from falling. 'We got ahead of ourselves,' he said. 'We'll stop them on the next one. They've still got a lot of fight, but they haven't seen nothing from us yet.'

Bella paced beside Coach Hoang, chewing on her nails as she looked at the scoreboard. Coach Hoang was locked onto the Cats' sideline, silent and deep in thought.

'You've got 'em next time, hermanitos. Go out there and get that touchdown right back,' JJ said, leaning over and patting a few boys on the back.

As the teams got in formation for the next kick-off, Coach Long turned to Coach Norman. He was still with Rabbit, as was the team doctor. 'How's he looking?' Coach Long asked.

'I told you I'm fine, Coach.' Rabbit looked flushed, but Coach Norman and the doctor didn't appear too concerned.

'He looks to be alright,' the doctor said. 'I don't think it's a concussion, but I want to keep him on the bench a little longer and give him some more evaluation just to be sure.'

Coach Long agreed, and Rabbit was kept on the sidelines for now as the Dons' offence took over after a touchback.

Rabbit shifted in his seat. He was antsy to get back on the field and help his team. It was bad enough that he couldn't play defence, but now he was sitting out an offensive drive too, just after the Cats had scored. He could feel the game slipping away, and he didn't even have a chance to plug the leak.

Sitting out this drive wouldn't be a long wait, however. Without Rabbit on the field, the Dons looked helpless. Another run was stuffed for only a yard, and it was followed up by two failed passes. The Dons had gone three-and-out, and handed the ball right back to the Cats.

Ty sighed and hung his head back.

The tide had well and truly turned. The Cats weren't as stoic when they took the field now, a smug confidence had returned to them.

With such arrogance, they returned to the ground and continued to ram through the middle of the Dons' defence.

Coach Hoang pounded a fist on the arm of his wheelchair. 'For fuck's sake! Stop letting them run all over you! Hit them harder! They want it more. Why do they want it more?'

Coach Long looked sternly at Coach Hoang for the first time that game. Bella clenched her fists. 'Is this really how you want to end your year?! Fight back!'

Another chant of "dee-fence" started. The Dons closed in on the Cats. The ball was snapped. The QB turned back to hand the ball to the RB, the O-Line pushed forward and opened a gap through the middle. The Dons charged down to close that gap; it was a fake.

The QB spun around, ball still in hand. He had an option on either sideline, two Receivers streaking downfield in one-on-ones. Down the right sideline, his Receiver had a couple of yards of separation. He launched the ball into the air.

The Receiver adjusted, running under the ball. He staggered a bit during the catch but kept his feet, and kept his distance. The defender wasn't catching him. He ran in for a touchdown untouched.

The game was pushed even further out of the Dons' hand, as the score soon read 31–10.