First Taste of Regionals

Ty snarled when he heard the Dons would be starting with the ball. He slumped in his seat, scowling as he watched the return team take the field for the kick-off.

Chris awaited the kick in the Dons' endzone, however, he would have to wait for a chance to return anything as the ball was booted out the back of the endzone on the opening kick-off. He smiled, and made his way over to join the team's first huddle.

Jay let out a sigh that sounded like he'd been holding it in since before the bus ride. 'Coach needs us to start strong. … Anything less than a touchdown is a failure. … Let's try to do it in one play and save us all the trouble, yeah?'

The Dons laughed as they broke away from the huddle and took their positions. Their smiles faded as they lined up opposite their opponents.

A massive blob camped right in the centre of the Cats' D-Line—the chubby bodyguard Ty had a run-in with earlier. He stared at the ball in the Center's grasp like it was the cheesiest cheeseburger on the planet.

The other bodyguard stood 5 yards beyond his tubby counterpart, hunched over with his hands on his knees as his eyes darted across every Don. Veins bulged along his forearms, he looked so taut that he'd explode at any moment.

Jahsiah stalked along behind them all, 12 yards away from the Line, he kept everything in front of him, he needed to if he wanted to puppeteer everything just the way he wanted. A wolfish grin beamed from under his helmet.

A defender approached Stephen but never directly looked at him, even when he lined up across from Stephen, he was already a step inside, and facing the middle of the field. He was a head shorter than Stephen, with a broad chest and stocky legs. A smokey visor blurred his features.

'Bet ya won't get fifty this game,' Smoke said.

'Oh, nah, we definitely dropping fifty points on your asses.'

Smoke turned his head slightly in Stephen's direction. 'Making up for ya JV team? Nah, ya know I meant yards. Ya getting locked up, boy.'

'And I bet you won't play me one-on-one for a single snap this game, boy.' Stephen squared his shoulders, standing even taller as he stared down at Smoke.

The pair would have to wait to face off properly, though when the ball was snapped, Stephen rammed into Smoke's side and shoved him to the turf. Elsewhere, Chris had received a hand-off.

Chris cut through the crowded line and dove ahead for a gain of four yards to open the game. The Dons' sideline cheered moderately, screaming encouragements as Coach Long shouted for them to keep it up.

Jahsiah rushed over and helped Smoke up, dusting him off. The two looked at Stephen darkly, who grinned, but they said nothing to him. As they walked away, Jahsiah pulled Smoke close, speaking into his ear.

The next time Stephen lined up before Smoke, Smoke stood with outside leverage now. He still wasn't looking directly at Stephen, but now the giant was held firmly in his peripheral vision.

When Stephen looked towards the middle of the field, Smoke vanished from view, blocked out by the sides of his helmet. Jay looked over, however, noticed where Smoke was standing, and made a discreet hand signal to Stephen. Stephen nodded and awaited the snap.

At the snap, Stephen shot forward and cut across to the inside immediately. Jay whipped the ball over off of one step, and Stephen caught the pass in front of his chest, hands outstretched as far as they could be.

Smoke wrapped himself around Stephen's legs, but Stephen lurched and lunged forward further, dragging Smoke along the ground before he dove across the 35-yard line. With a gain of 6 yards, Stephen had earned the Dons a first down.

The Cats and Dons converged, each side helping their teammate up from the tangle. Jahsiah quickly pulled aside a glaring Smoke, whilst the Dons congratulated Stephen.

When Stephen stood before Smoke again, he had the biggest grin Smoke had seen. 'You gonna call for help yet? Or you need more examples of how you can't guard me?'

'Ya like talking, don't ya?'

Stephen kept his grin until the ball was snapped. Smoke jumped in front of him this time, cutting off another Slant, however, Stephen skipped to the outside instead and sprinted downfield.

Smoke turned on his heel and sped after Stephen, quickly catching up and sticking to his hip. Stephen didn't care, his grin was still there as he stuck a hand up, calling for the ball.

Jay obliged and tossed the ball Stephen's way. Stephen twisted, eyes tracking the ball as he threw his hands up, the pass was nice and high, right where it suited him.

Before the ball could reach his hands, a fist flew in from the side and smashed it out of bounds. The back of Stephen's head collided with a chest, and he stumbled after the collision.

The person he'd collided with was none other than Jahsiah, who went careening off into his bench after being knocked off balance. His teammates steadied him, and held him up as he turned to face Stephen.

'No fly zone, bitch.' Jahsiah laughed. His teammates crossed their hands in front of their chests, palms down, then swiped their arms out wide, taunting Stephen and further emphasising Jah's statement.

Stephen shrugged past Smoke and jogged back to the huddle, his jaw clenched tight. 'I need another deep ball,' he stated.

Jay looked at him, then looked beyond him, watching Jahsiah enter the Cats' huddle, high-fiving and fist-bumping his teammates. 'I reckon I know where you need it, too…'

'Just throw it high,' Stephen said before leaving the huddle early.

Jay sighed. '…The things I do for you guys.' Jay broke the huddle apart with a smile. Everyone got into position, Jay eyed Stephen, and then Jahsiah. '…Set… hut.'

As Jay dropped back, he never took his eyes off Jahsiah in the centre of the field. When he saw Stephen break into the corner of his view, streaking across the field on a Post route, he heaved the ball downfield, lobbing it nice and high, aiming right for Jahsiah's head.

Jahsiah watched the ball plummet towards him, confused but grinning nonetheless, he wasn't about to shun a pass thrown right to him. He stood his ground, preparing to catch the ball on his chest, calling off his teammates.

He never saw Stephen until the giant crashed into him.

Stephen launched himself at Jahsiah and the ball both, hands outstretched to pluck the ball from the air up high. He caught it and flattened Jahsiah in the process, crashing down on top of him.

Cats hurried over and yanked Stephen off their captain. This made Dons run over to push Cats away from Stephen, and whilst there was some posturing and a lot of shit-talking, neither team escalated things further, and the officials had an easy time breaking them apart.

The Dons had gained 15 yards on the play, and Jahsiah had gained a few bruises, both mentally and physically.

The Dons were at centrefield. Here they decided to go back to the ground. Chris patiently weaved through the gaps and holes the Cats presented him with, and bit by bit he dragged the Dons forward to a first down, and then another, and soon the Dons were comfortably within field goal range.

Whilst it wasn't easy running, it was doable. The Cats' D-Line was formidable thanks to their Blob in the centre, but Chris could cut to the outside if he needed, and the threat of that opened up bigger gaps through the middle too. However, at the end of every run, it always felt like their MLB—Muscles—was the one tackling him … it was like being tackled by a brick shithouse.

Chris eventually needed a rest, and Cameron was sent in to take his place as Chris licked his battle wounds on the bench.

The Cats stacked the box, filling it with more numbers, and Cameron's first run was the first for the Dons that didn't gain any yards.

Jahsiah was more obviously shadowing Stephen as well now, not exactly doubling him, but it was clear he was helping Smoke. Speaking of, Smoke had backed off a few yards pre-snap, and was now facing Stephen before each play.

Stephen caught another quick Slant to the inside, but the Cats were quick to swarm him and bring him down for only four yards.

His next route sent him out wide, but Smoke was all over him, escorting him to the sideline. Jay looked elsewhere, but Benny, following in Stephen's wake, was covered by Jahsiah, and Cole streaking across the middle of the field waded into a sea of Cats. Jay had to throw the ball away before he was engulfed by the Blob.

The Dons were on fourth down, but the drive wasn't a total failure. The kicking team was sent out, and thankfully they succeeded on their field goal attempt. The Dons secured an early lead of 3–0.

Coach Long met the offence as they came off the field. 'Hey, good stuff out there boys, don't worry about it only being a field goal, that was great, we need to keep chipping away at them just like that.'

Cameron ran over to Chris, unable to meet Chris's gaze. 'Sorry,' Cameron said. 'I let the team down.'

Chris shook his head, rubbing his neck. 'Nah, all good, brother, they were trying hard to stop the run, I wouldn't have done much better.'

Ty watched the following kick-off from the edge of his seat. It was almost time, after this, the stage would be his. The offence had even done their job and gotten some points for him, a pick-six wasn't needed, but it sure would drive the knife in deeper.

With a hungry grin, he watched the Cats' returner get tackled at the 24-yard line. When Coach Hoang called for the defence to take the field, Ty burst out of his seat and was the one to lead the team out.

JJ sped up to reach Ty's side, smiling at him as they ran onto the field. 'Excited? It's always different when you know it's do or die,' JJ said.

'They'll be the only ones dying today.' Ty's dark eyes gleamed in the fading sun. He watched the Cats' offence march onto the field, eyes seeking out Seven immediately, though watching for other players of note as well.

The one other factor Ty cared about was the Cats' RB. Whilst Seven might've been the haymaker of Kaiser's offence, the RB was their jab, the player who constantly wore down the opposing team's guard until they were weak enough to land that big haymaker right on their chin.

The RB was one of the shorter players on the field, and though he was sleek and slim, he was explosive. Pound for pound there weren't many stronger than him. He skipped ahead of the team, his legs as tense as springs. A long, single, black braid bounced behind him, the end of it reaching the middle of his back.

Ty looked across at JJ, he opened his mouth to speak, but when he saw the look on JJ's face he realised he didn't need to say anything.

JJ was staring at the RB. He knew how important this game was, not just because their season was at stake, but what it meant outside of that as well. The Cats relied on their run for the bulk of their offence, and whilst their braid-wearing, bouncy RB was the complete opposite of King Denzel, this game would be a good test for the Dons to see how their defence could hold up against the run of a strong opponent.

Ty had only seen JJ with such a cold, serious look a couple of times before. A shiver of excitement rushed through Ty's body. He could smell the blood in the air already; this game would be a massacre.