Trading Blows

JJ whistled, the team huddled in extra tight. He linked his arms over the shoulders of the players nearest to him and leaned forward, he bade everyone else do the same, and soon all eleven Dons were touching helmets. Ty was the last to do so.

'We're here, hermanos. Regionals. Fourth time's the charm. Our hermanos on offence got the job started, and we have to keep it going, we have to protect the lead they entrusted to us. Don't let these gatitas steal your dreams. Let's win this!'

'Fuck yeah! Let's fuckin' go!' Deshaun shouted.

JJ bumped his helmet against everyone else's then broke the huddle. A loud "WOO!" pierced the air as the Dons spread apart and took up their positions.

Ty sauntered over to Seven and settled into his stance, sinking even lower before the taller Receiver.

Seven looked down at Ty—Ty was used to that—and the corners of his mouth curled up. 'I've been looking forward to this. I think you'll be the one Cornerback who can give me the same experience from practice.'

'Your practices won't mean shit against me,' Ty responded. 'Those worthless ass teammates of yours are NOTHING compared to me.'

Seven's smile vanished. 'Hey, let's not bad mouth each other's team. We're here to have a good game against one another.' He extended a hand. 'I'm Vance. I hope we have a fun game.'

Ty stared at the hand, then slowly looked up at Vance. 'If you don't hate me by the end of the game, I'll have failed.' An evil grin formed on Ty's face. 'Vance? My name's Tyrese Samuels. Remember it, remember ME. I'm the one who'll give you nightmares about football.'

Vance looked at Ty with befuddled amusement, unsure if he was being serious or not. Nightmares about the game he loved? Impossible.

The Cats, much like the Dons, opened with a run. Their RB sprung through a gap, having his pick from the holes his O-Line opened up. Blob was back out there at Center now, dominating the trenches once again.

JJ rushed forward to meet the RB, and despite the RB's attempt to cut away from him, JJ wrapped an arm around his hips and brought him down for a gain of 5 yards.

Ty and Vance's blocking battle had been a stalemate, though Vance seemed pleased with that result as long as he got inside leverage, which he had.

Another run sent the Cats' RB out wide to Deshaun's side of the field. While the Cats' Receivers were strong blockers, the RB danced around any outstretched hand and arm from the DBs. He was fast too, and JJ struggled to catch up to him, knocking him out of bounds after he'd gained 9 yards.

Ty growled as he broke away from Vance this time. He didn't like how the game started. "Get your shit together! I won't lose to another team like this, not again."

The Cats were pleased, but didn't get ahead of themselves. They kept the ball on the ground, and this time the outside Stretch went to Ty's side. They were testing the waters, poking and prodding for weak links.

Vance used his big frame to keep Ty at bay, facing him front-on, he shifted to the outside as the RB came behind them, trying to secure the edge.

Ty used his long arms as leverage and spun away from Vance's block. He forced the RB wider. He lunged at the RB's legs, but the RB skipped over his hand. He staggered on the landing, and Donte was the one who caught up and shoved him out of bounds this time, but it was still a gain of 6 yards.

Vance jogged over to his RB after the play, patting him on the helmet. 'Good run, Archie, sorry about the block.'

'Don't worry 'bout it,' Archie replied. Both Cats glanced at Ty as they jogged by. Ty dusted himself off, narrowing his eyes. He returned to the Dons' huddle.

'We need to do something about their run already.'

'We're fuckin' tryin', I don't see you makin' any tackles,' Deshaun said.

'Ty's right. We ALL need to crack down on their runs,' JJ said, coming between the two. 'Don't forget their passing, just 'cause they haven't thrown one yet doesn't mean they won't for the whole game. C'mon, we got this.'

Ty returned to Vance. He looked from the Receiver to the rest of the Cats. 'You guys are gonna throw soon, right? I'm getting bored over here.'

'There's more to the game than passing.'

'I know you're getting bored too. Nobody would be happy with a win they didn't do anything to achieve.'

'As long as I can help the team, I've done my job.'

Ty stared into Vance's eyes. 'Nah. I don't buy that bullshit. You'd be a Lineman if you thought that, a Tight End at best. Wide Receivers, Cornerbacks, they live for the one-on-one, they NEED those duels, without them, they wouldn't play. I know that even YOUR blood will only start pumping once you challenge me.'

Vance had that same look on his face. He couldn't remember any other game where his opponent had said such odd things, and this game had only just begun.

JJ's warning about the pass was perfectly timed as the Cats tried Play-Action next, and whether it was due to JJ's warning or not, the Dons didn't get sucked out of position by the fake.

Vance pushed forward for the first time this game. Ty's hands shot out, but they were guided to the side. Vance stepped inwards and turned on a Slant, pushing across the field, moving to keep in between Ty and the ball.

The QB flicked the ball towards Vance. Vance lunged for it, hands outstretched. With the way Vance had used his body as a shield, there was no way for Ty to intercept the pass, but he could still deflect it.

Ty dove around, stabbing a hand out. He knocked the ball to the ground just before Vance could latch onto it. The Cats had been stopped for the first time as their first pass failed.

Ty landed in a roll and quickly got back to his feet, grinning at Vance. 'Is your heart racing because you almost got a catch? Or because you're realising you're outmatched?'

Vance smiled, clapping for Ty. 'Well done. I thought I had that one, but it's just a single play, there's plenty of game left.'

Ty sneered and returned to the Dons' huddle. The Cats were on third down, and with their first pass resulting in an incompletion, they went back to their bread and butter and gave the ball to Archie on another run through the middle.

JJ rushed down quicker this time, and shot to the side as Archie did so, wrapping him up in a bear hug. Archie didn't go down right away, however, and his legs kept pumping within the tackle. When Blob slammed into his back, he pushed him right over the top of JJ and just a yard short of mid-field; the Cats had secured another first down.

The Dons gathered around JJ and helped him out from the small but heavy pile. 'My bad, guys,' JJ said.

'You had him, we should've been there to help,' Donte said. 'We've got 'em next time, yo.'

Ty met Vance with a smirk before the next play. 'Don't tell me you guys already got cold feet just 'cause I batted one pass down.'

'Not at all. But there isn't any reason to fix something that isn't broken, is there?'

Ty looked towards his teammates in the centre of the field, scowling.

'Are you maybe worried you won't be able to stop Archie? Winning without doing anything doesn't sound very fun, you're right, but at least you're winning … I'd hate to imagine what it's like to lose without doing anything.'

Ty turned his scowl towards Vance who only smiled in return.

The ball was snapped. Ty's hand shot out like a spear, but Vance turned and deflected it off his shoulder as he angled in for another Slant route. Ty dropped in to follow him, but Vance twisted back to the outside and faded higher.

The QB flipped the ball over. Ty's head whipped around, following the ball. He could reach this. He was a step out of position, and again, it wouldn't be an interception, but he could get a hand to this one too. But as he went to jump back, a little nudge from Vance knocked him slightly off balance.

The ball spiralled just above Ty's fingertips, and into Vance's arms. Ty recovered from his shock quickly, and upon landing, he pounced, twisting as he did so. He latched onto Vance's ankle and held on as tightly as a gator. Vance struggled forward another yard, but Donte soon raced over and smashed into Vance, knocking him down.

The play resulted in 7 yards for the Cats. Vance sat up, brushing himself off as he looked at Ty, who ignored Donte's helping hand. 'I think we're one for one now in duels, correct?'

Ty didn't respond, he stalked back to the huddle in silence, and Donte awkwardly followed after him.

'What happened, Freshy? What's the point of us stoppin' their run if ya gonna let ya man walk all over you?' Deshaun said.

Ty glowered at him. 'It was a lucky catch. You wanna guard him and give up a touchdown?'

'You're on the same team, for fuck's sake!' Zayden said, already exasperated. 'It's just one play, they ain't done shit yet, we can still stop them, lock the fuck in.' He walked away from the huddle and others soon followed.

The Cats went with another pass on the next play. Ty feinted at the snap, it caused Vance to hesitate for a moment before he moved towards the outside. Ty pushed him wider, riding his hip all the way to the sideline.

Vance slammed on the brakes and tried to push Ty ahead to get under him as he turned back on a Curl. Ty slipped away from the push and jumped in front of Vance, sticking tight to his inside hip. Even when Vance spun back around and continued down the sideline, Ty was right with him. There was no room for a pass.

The QB had to look elsewhere, but the Dons' zone looked impenetrable. He stepped up as the edges of the pocket crumbled. He was running out of time. He had to throw the ball away. He flung it high over the heads of Deshaun and a Cats Receiver.

'That's fucking perfect!' Coach Hoang yelled. 'God damn, why can't they play like that every snap?' His outburst drew a few chuckles and funny looks, but he was laser-focused on the game.

On third down, the Dons' whole defence pushed closer to the Line. They knew another run was coming, and they knew this was their best chance to stop them.

The QB handed the ball to Archie, and for once, the Dons' D-Line stood up, no gaps had been broken open through the middle, so Archie bounced outside. As he skirted around the edge his jersey was snagged. He ripped away from the would-be tackler, bucking like a bronco, but Deshaun had shoved aside his blocker. He threw himself at Archie.

Archie twisted as Deshaun wrapped him up. Archie stamped his feet continuously, he wouldn't stop moving until he was firmly on the ground. He stretched the ball out as he fell, it came loose after it hit the ground. JJ pounced on the loose ball, curling around it, but the officials quickly whistled the play dead, signalling that Archie was down and it wasn't a fumble.

The officials conferred, unsure whether he had reached the required distance for a first down. The markers were pulled over, and when the chains were stretched out, the ball was just inches past the marker. The Dons' side of the crowd groaned, whilst the Cats' cheered.

Deshaun was already glaring at Ty when the huddle converged but Ty said nothing regarding Deshaun's failure to stop Archie. The Cats were nearing field goal range, and the Dons' chances to stop them whilst preserving their lead were dwindling.

Vance jumped back at the next snap. It was a pass, they hadn't even faked a run this time. Ty was confused for a split second before he hurried forward to stick to Vance, but that was a mistake, Vance had suckered him in and when Ty came forward, Vance rushed by.

Ty bumped him hard but made sure not to grab onto him as he gave chase. Vance shimmied outside, inside, outside, then stepped in. Ty kept with him, but was still a step behind, only able to close the distance when Vance turned and slowed, hands raised.

Ty turned, another high-arcing pass was headed towards them, another reachable ball. Again, just before he leapt, Vance bumped into him slightly, and Ty's jump ended up shorter than he wanted. He JUST couldn't reach.

Vance caught the ball and backed downfield before running into JJ who drove him forward and into the ground. But Vance's forward momentum had earned him 9 yards.

Another run on the next play easily picked up the first down for the Cats.

Ty ground his teeth roughly as he stared at the grass during the next huddle. Watching the Cats on tape, guarding Vance in his head, it was nothing like the real thing. He never could've imagined how badly, the extra bits of contact would've thrown off his timing.

As Ty stalked back to Vance, he racked his brain, trying to understand how he was to defeat the obstacle before him. "Do I play into the contact, if I'm stuck to him, how can he push me off without fouling me? Or do I play off him and keep my distance? If he can't push me at all, he can't disrupt me."

He was locked onto Vance. When the next play began and Vance only moved to block Ty, he paid it no mind. He didn't care if they ran, it gave him longer to think. The possibility of a HB Screen never even popped into his mind until he saw the Linemen flooding towards them and it was too late.

Archie caught the quick pass behind a wall of Cats. One Linemen barrelled into Ty's side and flattened him. The wall surged forward and escorted Archie downfield. The Dons swarmed towards Archie, but none navigated the ensuing chaos as swiftly and cleanly as he did. With his blockers leading the way, Archie scrambled through and out into open space, and raced into the endzone after only being grazed by hopeful hands.

The Dons' 3 point lead was overtaken, and the successful extra point pushed the score to 7–3.