Testing the Waters

Freddy had no problems kicking the extra point.

'Way to go, Frederick!' Coach Otsen yelled.

As the Titans lined up for the kick-off, and the Sentinels prepared to have the ball for the first time, the scores read 0—7. The Titans' fans were ecstatic with the hot start. The Sentinels' fans were dejected. The players looked just as they did when the game started.

Rogers was back to return the kick. He was surprised when he had to come forward to catch the short kick, but he still managed to secure it. He scanned the field and calmly ran forward, weaving through traffic to the outside of the field where he stepped out at the 37-yard line.

Poster Boy lined up as the QB, meanwhile Kenny was ordered to go and man up against Rogers to continue their duel, now with the roles reversed. 64 was still on the field, a dark tower at the left end of the Sentinels' line.

A lone RB stood in the backfield, and when the ball was snapped, Poster Boy whirled around and handed the ball to him.

As soon as the RB took the ball, he cut to the left, running Off-Tackle as he curled around just past 64's outside shoulder. Despite Owen's best efforts to get around the block, when 64 grabbed hold of him, he couldn't move, like he was stuck in concrete.

The RB rushed ahead for 6 yards before Isaac brought him down. Almost the entire Sentinels team jogged over to help the RB up and pat him on the back on their way to the huddle. A chorus of "Good run, Ash" rang out as the Sentinels walked away from the confused Titans.

A few Titans muttered, "Good stop, Isaac" as they formed their own huddle.

Jackson watched the Sentinels. Ash looked more relaxed than his teammates, and his run appeared slow, like he was moving through water, yet he cut around the Line without anyone laying a finger on him.

Ash was taller than most, if not all of the other RBs they'd faced. Jackson knew he wouldn't have looked out of place on the starting blocks for a one-hundred-metre sprint, Jackson worried what would happen if he got into open space.

Owen and Vincent, on the other hand, had different concerns, one that Jackson couldn't see from so far away: Ash had a similar appearance to his teammates, except he looked completely relaxed rather than focused.

The Sentinels called for another Off-Tackle run, only to the opposite side of the field. Without 64 in the way, the Titans were able to seal the edge. Ash paused behind his Line, looking for an opening. Squeezing through the biggest gap, he managed to squirm ahead for 2 yards, but that was all he got.

The Sentinels were close to a first down. Their next huddle dragged on as they made full use of the play clock. Eventually, they broke apart and took their formation, and surprisingly, Ash was removed from the backfield and stretched out wide to be a Receiver.

Isaac hurried over to mark him. The Titans were put on edge by the strange adjustment, and they prepared themselves for what would be—barring some trickery—the Sentinels' first pass.

Jackson's eyes turned to Rudy, unsure how last week's weak link would look now. He was worried.

Rudy, whilst his assignment was a deep zone, was still matched up with a Receiver at the Line of Scrimmage. The Sentinel he stood across from was as tall as Lonnie, though much more well-built, his body actually managed to fill his long frame. Hardened brown eyes stared out from under an almost Neanderthal-like heavy brow, never once leaving Rudy as they stood face-to-face.

So far, they'd only clashed in a battle of blocks, one that Rudy hadn't tried too hard to get around. Rudy wasn't sure what kind of Receiver he would be. "It doesn't matter what he does, I just have to not get beat deep… am I too close?"

As he worried about his positioning, the ball was snapped.

The Receiver skipped forward, watching Rudy. Rudy backed off hurriedly, and the Receiver lowered his head, breaking into a sprint. Rudy backpedalled frantically. He stumbled. The Receiver went from sixty to zero in the blink of an eye, and cut to the outside.

Rudy was regaining his balance and still backing off for a second before he gave chase, but by then, the Receiver had already made the catch and trailed out of bounds. It was only a 5-yard reception, but that was all the Sentinels needed.

Rudy growled, but told himself he did his job. He was supposed to cover deep, not worthless shit underneath.

The Sentinels' well-oiled machine kept rolling and they seemed to be done with running. Sticking with the passing game, Poster Boy looked Rogers's way next with a quick Slant.

Kenny draped himself over Rogers, but wasn't able to reach around fast enough to knock the ball away. Whilst Rogers caught the pass, he was tackled immediately, and only gained 4 yards.

Kenny was helped up, and despite his relatively successful attempt at stopping the pass, he watched Rogers with a bit of concern as the teams separated into their own huddles.

Rogers had jumped forward hard, getting right into Kenny's chest. Though he was one of the smaller players on the Sentinels' team, he had a lot of power in quick bursts, and that's what he used to get enough separation for that one second he needed to make the grab.

On the next play, the Sentinels continued to test Kenny. Rogers rushed forward much like he did for the previous pass. Kenny was more prepared this time and met him with stronger resistance. And this time, Rogers passed by the outside.

Kenny was right there, no separation had been made, but Rogers hadn't tried to fully cut inside or outside yet, he was still going vertical along the sideline.

Kenny ran with him, side by side. Rogers looked back, then Kenny did. The ball floated towards them, a near-perfect throw, one they didn't have to even slow down for.

Kenny was still there. The two twisted and turned, and Rogers stuck his hands above his head, but Kenny thrust one of his out as well, knocking the ball aside. It tumbled to the ground, and the boys staggered to a stop.

'Way to go, Kenny!' Titans cheered.

Kenny panted softly, looking relieved. Rogers wasn't breathing any differently, and looked as if he'd just learnt some mildly interesting fact as he walked back to his team.

On third down, the Sentinels hadn't been dissuaded from attacking Kenny. This time, Rogers didn't jump right into Kenny's chest, rather, he skirted around him to the inside.

Kenny was quick to recover and stuck to Rogers's side as they both surged downfield. Rogers got right to the chains, then whipped towards the outside. Kenny spun with him, head snapping towards Poster Boy to see if the pass was coming: it wasn't.

The pass came a moment later. Kenny had smothered the Out route, and Poster Boy hadn't looked anywhere else. He didn't try to squeeze the ball into an impossible gap either. Instead, he threw it well over Kenny's head and out of bounds.

The Sentinels had failed, they were pushed to fourth down, and their punting unit was already taking the field.

'Yes!' Jackson pumped his fist. When his family looked at him, he reddened slightly. Mom laughed then cheered loudly, and Chrissy did too. Even Tommy joined in with a "Go Titans!".

However, as the Sentinels' offence was coming off, something peculiar happened. They gathered around Poster Boy, slapping him on the back and congratulating him. 'Good decision, Zane. Cool heads prevail.' From what Kenny and the other Titans saw, they weren't just placating their QB or trying to keep up team moral, they were genuine compliments.

Kenny shook his head, and focused on the upcoming punt. It was just him back to return this one, Coach Otsen had picked him for punt returns, much to Rudy's annoyance. But, again, he didn't get a chance at a return as the ball was thumped out of bounds at the Titans' 18-yard line.

The Sentinels' defence marched back onto the field, with all the familiar faces. However, when the two formations met, there were differences in the Sentinels' strategy: Rogers was guarding Rudy, and Concrete was against Kenny.

Rudy snickered when he saw Rogers. He turned towards the rest of the team and tapped the top of his helmet, signalling Pete. 'Hey! This guy's too little. He can't guard me.'

Pete looked over, frowning. The call wasn't to pass it to Rudy, let alone on a deep ball. It was supposed to be a run … but Rudy did have a mismatch. Also, it didn't LOOK like a Safety would be over the top to help. Coach Otsen wouldn't be too upset, right?

He bit the bullet and called an audible, switching the play from a run, to Play-Action, with the main target being Rudy. He snapped the ball quickly after, hoping the Sentinels wouldn't have time to react or adjust.

Rudy grinned though staggered out of the gates after a fake press from Rogers. After his feint, Rogers backed up, watching Rudy intently. As Rudy tried to dart around to the outside, Rogers kept backing off, still facing Rudy as his feet worked rapidly in his backward sprint.

Rudy couldn't get around Rogers. He didn't have the speed to get away. Even when Rogers was forced to turn into a proper sprint to keep up, he shaded Rudy expertly towards the sideline, and there was barely any room to make a throw, even with the size advantage.

Pete had faith in Rudy, however, even if he was worried by the defence, it was still a one-on-one situation. He launched the ball towards Rudy. Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately in the case of a turnover—Pete's worries caused him to put a little too much mustard on the pass, and the ball sailed beyond Rudy and Rogers alike.

Rudy groaned, trudging back to the huddle. 'His size don't mean shit if you can't throw the ball where I can catch it.'

'Joder, he was all over you, man. I can't throw it closer if you can't get any space!'

'It doesn't matter if I can't get away, he's too small, just throw it up and I'll get it. But I'm not fucking ten feet tall.'

'Yeah but—'

'Guys,' Kenny cut in. 'Just focus on the next play. We've got this. Just because they switched doesn't mean shit. We're still gonna score.'

'Ken's right,' Lonnie said, nodding along.

'Just pass better next time,' Rudy said before he stomped off.

Pete shook his head, and the huddle dispersed. On second down with ten yards still to go, the Titans were pressured into throwing again.

This time, they'd try the other side of the switched match-ups over with Concrete and Kenny. Kenny thought Concrete would be too slow, and from how far back Concrete stood before the snap, Kenny's suspicions were seemingly confirmed.

Coach Knight thought the best way to exploit that difference in speed was with a Curl. A Go route would be too expected, too easy to play against, and the size advantage Concrete had could make up for it, but not with a curl.

Vincent flicked the ball back to Pete and Kenny rushed forward. Concrete backed away like Kenny carried the plague. Kenny smirked. He got to his mark, just as Concrete was starting to open up his hips and shift into a sprint. Kenny slammed his feet down and spun back to the ball.

Pete's pass hit Kenny right in the hands, just in front of his numbers. Kenny was already thinking about turning and how he would get around the flat-footed Concrete for more yards, when suddenly a cannonball smashed through his back and damn near snapped him in half.

Kenny's head whipped back and the ball bounced free from his hands. He was crushed against the ground by Concrete, oxygen vanishing from his lungs as pain flared through his body.

Whistles blew loudly, and the play was thankfully called an incompletion rather than a fumble, but Kenny was slow to get up.

Not only was he hurting, but he was still struggling to breathe, and on top of that, he was confused. "What hit me? How did he get there so fast?"

Freddy was the first one to Kenny's side. 'Kenny! You okay?'

Kenny gently knocked his hand aside and nodded. 'I'm fine,' he croaked. 'Just caught me off guard. Fuck. I'm sorry.'

Kenny returned to the huddle, dismissing his teammates' concerns, and repeating that he was fine.

The Titans weren't fine, however. Staring down the barrel of third and long, this start was bleak.

'If little Ken doll can't get it done, I can,' Rudy said. 'With an actual good pass this time.'

Pete grumbled but didn't argue, evidently the coaches thought Rudy was the best bet too. The next play was for him; Pete thought of a quick prayer before he took the snap.

Rudy rushed forward, though was met with a real press this time, which slowed him down for a few steps, but he pushed through. He shifted to the outside, like that was where he wanted to go, before he cut to the inside on a deep Cross.

Pete fired the ball in, and while Rudy shielded Rogers away from the ball and made the catch, Rogers was clinging to him immediately. Rudy dragged him forward, stumbling towards the first-down marker. Before he could reach it, Poster Boy smashed against him, sandwiching him between two Sentinels, rattling him.

Rudy crumpled, falling short of the chains, and the groan went up throughout the stands after the big hit. No matter which side the fans were rooting for, they all hoped Rudy was okay.

Physically he was—though it was to be seen how bad his mental had been hit—as he soon got back onto his feet, shaking the cobwebs out of his head. Some Sentinels checked on him, but as soon as they knew he was okay and steady on his feet, they turned away, heading to the bench.

It was fourth down, and the Titans would have to punt as well.

Their formation wasn't the only thing that had changed for the Sentinels, their intensity had risen greatly as well, and Coach Otsen was concerned about how the rest of the game would develop.