Hollow Victory

After the punt, Jay led the Dons' offence out to start the first drive of the final quarter.

Jay's eyes were still locked on 55 as the teams lined up against one another again. Jay took a deep breath. He knew he could do this, he had time. They needed a score, and they'd get one with this drive.

'Set… hike.'

Jay stayed high up in the pocket to avoid the deep, wide rush of 55. He knew he didn't have to drop back far for this short throw.

He found Stephen over the middle after he'd gotten free from his defender thanks to the mesh routes he and Benny had run, passing across one another just in front of the line of scrimmage.

Stephen was able to run for a few more yards after his catch for a gain of 7.

Jay wiped his hands off and briefly smiled. It was a good start. He had to continue that.

The Dons worked their way down the field slowly but surely. Taking their time as they put together their longest drive of the game thanks to strong running behind JJ's blocking, and quick passes that took advantage of the excessive blitzing.

When they neared the goalline and had made it into the red zone, however, the Lancers stopped their blitzing and switched to a more conservative defence that could cover most of the condensed field.

After their first run up the middle had been stuffed, the Dons were on 2nd & goal.

Stephen was lined up just outside of Benny, the giant was clearly being double-teamed even before the ball was snapped.

'Set. Hike.'

This play wouldn't be a run, Chris and JJ both stayed in to protect Jay as he looked towards Stephen.

Stephen was trying to push through the double team head-on, pressing forward relentlessly, as Benny slipped around behind Stephen and curved towards the corner of the endzone.

Jay lobbed the pass right into the corner, maybe it was a little too far, but Benny could get there with a stretch.

Benny's eyes were locked onto the ball, his legs kicked against the ground as hard and fast as they could, and he stretched his arms out to catch the ball.

It bounced off his hands as he slid to the ground, the ball tumbling away out of reach.

Jay's shoulders sagged for a moment before he hurried over to Benny's side.

'Shit… sorry man, I should've had that,' Benny said, looking down.

Jay patted him on the back. 'All good, dude. Shit happens. Don't worry about it.'

They lined up again, and Benny would be getting a chance to redeem his costly mistake. This time, the play would be for him to forget about the chip block he'd been putting on 55, and go straight for a hitch curl right over the middle.

'…Set… …hike.'

Jay dropped back a step and looked over the middle, already prepared to pass as his arm reared back with the ball.

Alarmed, he brought the ball back in close to his chest, eyes widening.

55 had dropped back into coverage instead of rushing and was all over Benny. It's like he had read their minds on what they were going to do.

Jay quickly scanned the field for another outlet. Stephen's out route? No, he still had two bodies smothering him. The cross over the middle at the back of the endzone was tightly covered as well.

Chris streaking out of the backfield and heading to the corner? Jay was out of time! He flung the ball towards Chris right as he was levelled by a big hit.

As he was pressed into the grass by the heavy defender, the ball sailed a few yards over Chris's head for an incompletion.

As the special teams squad made their way onto the field, it was clear that the Dons would be kicking another field goal.

Jay inwardly cursed himself as he was helped up to his feet and then made his way off the field.

The kick was good, and now at least the Lancers would need two touchdowns to take the lead, with the score being 0–12, but Benny was still deeply apologetic for dropping that touchdown.

'Sorry, Coach, I ruined the play.'

Coach Long squeezed the boy's shoulder. 'Hey, don't be so hard on yourself, you'll get 'em next time. They played great defence out there. We've all gotta do better.'

Jay sat next to Benny on the bench. 'Relax. If my throw was better you could've caught it on your chest, easy. Plus, that 55 out there read us like a book on the last play; it's not your fault.'

Benny smiled, feeling a little better as the two bumped fists before turning their attention back to the field to watch as the Dons defence stepped up after the short kick return from the Lancers.

Ty was ready to make up for the catch he'd allowed, while Justin was feeling jittery, his eyes nervously darting to the scoreboard over and over.

'Aww man, there really isn't much time left. Gotta start winning all the time… come on, Justin, you can do this,' he muttered to himself, trying to psyche himself up.

The cheering from his fangirls was as loud as ever. Though Ty could hear a distinct, familiar voice amongst that wall of noise, going against the grain and cheering for him instead.

He glanced in Megan's direction, his resolve hardening. He glared at Justin again. 'Keep your delusions to yourself. You ain't winning shit.'

Justin laughed softly but then went quiet.

'Set hike!'

Justin came out of the gates fiercely then hesitated about 10 yards downfield. He faked to sprint forward before curling back towards the ball, but Ty was right behind him and was able to reach over his shoulder to knock the pass away.

Justin grimaced but clapped his hands, staying silent as he jogged back to the huddle and got ready for the next play.

The next play avoided Justin and Ty entirely. After faking a run, Marvin flicked the ball out for an 8-yard gain on the opposite side of the field.

On 3rd & 2, the ball came back Justin's way as he ran a quick slant, getting just enough inside leverage to make the catch. Ty was all over him right when he caught the ball and dragged him to the ground right after, though he had gained enough yards for a first down.

Ty ground his teeth violently, and while Justin praised Marvin for the pass and vice versa, he said nothing to Ty as they lined up again.

Though Justin was ignored in the next set of downs with Ty getting the better of their duel and keeping him in check, the Lancers were still able to earn another 1st down as the rest of the defence was slowing down after the long, gruelling game.

It wasn't long before another 3rd down was upon the Lancers, and with the full 10 yards to go still, they felt backed into a corner and saw Justin as their saving grace to get out of it.

'Set… set hike!'

With a quick burst, followed by a double-move as he feinted like he was going for another curl route, Justin raced along the sideline, with Ty following not even a step behind him.

The ball was lobbed up high in the path of both Justin and Ty, though the trajectory favoured Ty more.

Justin was put on the back foot, and both stars had to switch roles for a moment as Receiver became defender, and defender became Receiver.

Justin was able to swat the ball away from Ty, and while they both fought to catch it, it fell out of bounds for an incompletion.

The Dons' defence had made another stand.

Back and forth the game went, with both offences still struggling to get much of anything going for them.

The Lancers' D always seemed to get a sack right when they needed one to fully swing momentum their way and keep the Dons from scoring, while on the other hand, Justin did start getting more catches, Ty would always get that vital victory on a 3rd down to stop them short.

Time was not the Lancers' friend, and as it wound down, they grew more desperate and finally began to put together their first good drive.

It was a deep post route—after faking to the outside—that opened the floodgates as Justin finally shook Ty off for a big gain that pushed the Lancers into field goal range.

Ty smacked his own helmet, growling as he took his mouthguard out, tossing it over to the bench instead, the grinding of his teeth almost audible.

As time ran down to the final 2-minute warning, the game had come down to this one-on-one duel between Justin and Ty; Marvin was no longer looking anywhere else.

Ty would get the better hand for the majority, but whereas he needed four victories in a row to stop this offence and get them off the field to secure his team the win, Justin only needed one good reception to advance the ball again and earn another four chances for himself.

Another catch brought them into the edge of the red zone when Justin again faked towards the sideline before breaking to the middle of the field.

The Lancers used a timeout to stop the clock, though there wasn't much planning to be done for either time in this short reprieve. Everyone knew it was up to Justin and Ty themselves to determine the outcome of this game.

Again they would battle repeatedly after the timeout, with Ty batting the ball away, though unable to get a decisive interception again. However, each successful defence did drain the clock bit by bit.

'Set-hike!'

Justin took a step forward and then cut to the outside. Ty felt the ball scrape past his fingertips before it slotted into Justin's hands and the Receiver tried to turn the corner upfield towards the endzone.

Ty gave chase, hot on his heels, just barely managing to drag the taller boy down within the 5-yard line before he could score.

Another timeout had to be used, but the Lancers were so close. They could smell the endzone, they could smell the beginning of their comeback.

Ty and Justin stood in front of one another, all alone on the far side of the field; no one else within 10 yards of them.

They stared each other down, each boy panting heavily as they said nothing, their determined, fiery eyes said everything they needed to: 'I'm going to win. You can't stop me.'

Marvin wet his lips with his tongue, watching the silent staring match between Justin and Ty as he tried to stop his hands from shaking.

'Set… hike!'

Ty thrust his hand out, his spear was faster than it ever had been. It struck Justin square in the middle of his chest.

Justin took a step back, wincing. Ty's hand grasped his chest, holding onto his jersey, but it felt like his heart was being squished.

He gasped and feinted towards the middle before slapping Ty's arm aside and darting to the outside corner.

His jersey was tugged aside and it slowed Justin up just a touch. Ty was glued to his hip, their hands still pushing and pulling at one another as they fought for position.

A yellow flag fluttered to the floor, but neither of them paid it any mind. They only had eyes for the ball that was spiralling towards them.

Justin left his feet first, Ty only half a beat behind him, a single hand outstretched to go against Justin's two.

Ty got his hand on the ball first, that long arm an unavoidable obstacle. But then Justin clasped both his hands around the ball as they fell back towards the earth.

Justin wrenched the ball away from Ty, landing gracefully on his toes, like a ballerina. He fell out of bounds, Ty falling on top of him, trying to swat the ball out of Justin's grasp, but it stuck firm.

The officials rushed in, signalling a touchdown, and the crowd erupted.

The penalty for defensive holding was declined by the Lancers, and the touchdown was officially awarded.

Justin lay on the ground, basking in his victory, his team quickly surrounding him, cheering and hollering as they helped him up to his feet after he was done relishing the moment.

Ty rejected the help offered to him by his teammates, shrugging off JJ's gentle patting and blocking out his words of compassion. He dragged himself over to the bench, body trembling.

He stared at the scoreboard. There was only a minute left. He watched the score tick over from 6–12 up to 7–12 when the extra point was blasted through successfully.

He was snapped out of his silent fuming when Coach Long addressed him on the bench.

'Tyrese! Hey, don't let that mistake get you down. It's just one touchdown, we've still got the lead. I need you out there on the field again.'

Ty blinked. The kickoff hadn't happened yet, but the teams were lining up for it, with the Lancers obviously preparing for a short "onside kick" where they would attempt to kick the ball along the ground and at an angle towards the sideline, in hopes that their team would be able to recover it first instead of the Dons.

The main problem in the way of this was that those who would be chasing after the ball on the Lancers' side had to be lined up behind the kicker, and the ball had to travel forward 10 yards before they were legally allowed to touch it.

Ty stood up off the bench, still in a bit of a daze. He looked at Coach Long.

'Come on! Get your butt out there, you've got incredible hands, we need you to secure that ball if it comes your way.'

Coach Long shoved Ty out onto the field.

When he stepped back into the field of play, it was like a switch had been flipped inside Ty. He hurried out into his position within the formation. Almost every player for both teams was lined up on one side of the field.

The Lancers were lined up side by side, ready to charge ahead and retrieve the ball by any means necessary, whilst the Dons were lined up in rows, with protective blockers up front who would hold the line while the catchers behind secured the ball.

Ty took his position in the final row, standing alongside Stephen who grunted and glared down at Ty.

'Don't get in the way and fuck things up, freshy. Just let me get the ball.'

Ty ignored the giant, instead staring across the 10-yard gap between the Dons and Lancers, eyes locked on Justin. Justin stared back for a while before turning his head towards the kicker when they began their short run-up.

The kicker dribbled the ball across the ground, then it took an awkward hop and launched into the air, going over the heads of the front lines as Lancers and Dons collided with one another.

Ty would've been happy to let Stephen take the ball at first, but once the kick happened, the ball was headed straight for him and he hadn't even moved a muscle.

All he needed to do was secure the ball and the game would be over, the Dons would win.

Justin slipped by the blockers, rushing at Ty, desperate to get to the ball. But he was too late.

Ty gently cradled the ball into his arms. Justin was sideswiped by a hard block from Stephen. However, instead of simply going down and surrendering himself, Ty scrambled forward.

He wasn't satisfied with such a victory. He needed to humiliate his opponents more; he needed to recover those points he had given up.

Though, with such a congested field, and so many bodies within such a small area, he couldn't get far before he was tripped up and taken down.

And even with the Lancers desperately tearing, raking, and pulling on his arms and the ball, he held on tight and refused to fumble.

Nothing happened from Ty's ill-advised return attempt, neither good nor bad.

Sure, Ty was given disapproving looks and got scolded for trying to be fancy and risking a fumble when the correct thing to do was give himself up, but he didn't mind that and hardly paid attention to what Coach was saying. He already knew it wasn't the correct thing to be doing—he didn't care.

In the end, the Dons still took over, and all they had to do was drain the clock. With only one timeout remaining, the Lancers had no way of stopping the clock enough before time was up.

The Dons had won, keeping their undefeated streak alive for another week with a final score of 7–12.