Chapter 6: Game Day Pt. 2

After Mr. Harper's very inspiring speech, the team broke off into offensive and defensive units. The defense went to the weight room to do a heavy lift while the offense went to review film one last time before making any last-minute adjustments to the game plan before the game. Then we reviewed the game plan to make sure everyone understood their role perfectly. About thirty minutes later, offense and defense switched roles, and now we are the ones doing a heavy lift in preparation for the big game. 

Since school ended about an hour earlier than usual, due to the game, we took about thirty minutes with the meditation and inspirational session, and the defense went to lift for thirty minutes first, which left us with roughly four and a half hours until the game after we finish our lift. 'Plenty of time' I think to myself as we finish stretching and warming up for the lift. The key to game-day lifting is balance. If you do a high-intensity workout don't do it for many reps. If you're planning to go for a larger amount of reps then lower the intensity. Game-day lift intensity should never exceed 70% of your max lifting capacity, and you should always pace yourself and be in absolute control while lifting. You aren't trying to break a personal record here after all, you're trying to make one later tonight on the field. 

Additionally, Game-day lifting has numerous benefits. First and foremost it allows the body to maintain consistency which is key to staying in shape and getting stronger during the season. Second, it helps to activate the nervous system. The warmup sets are lightweight and are supposed to be moved as fast as possible which activates the central nervous system and neural pathways to the muscles. Activating these neural pathways allows signals from the brain to ignite faster which in turn allows the muscles to function faster and more efficiently. Third is the activation of muscles. When moving the heavier weights and the latter sets more muscle fibers are required to move the weight. This allows the muscles to warm up and become primed for the explosive movements that will be required in the game. Fourth, it also increases overall flexibility and bodily range of motion. Finally, it helps to work out pre-game anxiety.

Today Coach anderson is having us do Hang Clean: 1×3 @ 40%, 1×3 @ 50%, 1×3 @ 60%, Back Squat: 1×3 @ 40%, 1×3 @ 50%, 1×3 @ 60%, Bench Press: 1×3 @ 40%, 1×3 @ 50%, 1×3 @ 60%, and Deadlift 1×3 @ 40%, 1×3 @ 50%, 1×3 @ 60%. 'It's not the hardest but also not the easiest workout we have. It'll help warm us up perfectly,' I think to myself as I finish my last round of Hang Cleans and move on to back squat. After loading up about 350 lbs onto the bar I begin my lift moving up to 450 lbs and eventually finishing my last set at around 600 lbs. Instead of doing bench press though, I move on to the deadlift following an identical weight increment progression, before moving on to bench press to finish my workout. My weight progression for bench press is similar to that of Hang Clean. I start with about 250 lbs for Bench Press, for the first set and then move on to about 350 for the second set. After I finish the last set off with 3 reps of 500 lbs, my lift partner and I begin racking my weights.

After my partner and I finish, I walk off to the side of the weight room to stay out of everyone's way while they begin to finish their last set and begin drinking plenty of water while waiting. A few minutes later, everyone is finished and we go to the locker room to shower, change, and finish mentally preparing for the game. 'Just a few more hours. Just a little while longer till we crush West High into the ground,' I think to myself as I finish changing and put my earbuds in to listen to my pregame playlist. 'This is going to be fun'.

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Rachel POV:

"Good evening and welcome to all of you 'Wildcat' fans out there who are just tuning in. My name is Bob Dilliard and this is my co-host, Sean Micheals". "Hello". "So tell me, Sean, what do you think we can expect to see out of the 'Wildcats' and their star player Robert John Linder tonight?" "Truth be told Bob, I think we're in for a treat. In the three years, four years now, since Linder started playing football here at East High as a freshman, he has never once failed to impress. He wowed us when he first entered the game as a freshman by making spectacular plays and matching the physicality of people who were two, three, and even four years his senior in the sport. He wowed us again in his sophomore and junior years with the consistency of his playstyle that only seemed to get better every game he played and the tougher the opponent was. Considering all of this I believe we're in for an exciting night, while West High is probably in for a rough one Bob." "Those are some pretty strong opinions, Sean. I know I can't wait, and I'm sure the fans can't wait to see Linder's performance either. In other news, it has been rumored that there are going to be multiple college scouts here to watch this game. Any speculation as to which colleges will be represented and who they're here to see." "Well Bob if I had to wager…" 

Dad turns the volume down on the radio as we are almost at the entrance to the home stadium parking lot. A few moments later Mom turns to me and asks "So how do you think they're gonna play tonight?" "They'll win just like they do every other game," I casually replied. "Well of course they'll win. It's your boyfriend and his team we're talking about. We all know Johnny is far too competitive to lose. No, what I want to know is how you think the game will progress. Give us a prediction," my Mom clarifies. "Hmm, 21-7 at half and 42-38 by the end of the fourth. Our win of course," I give my prediction. "Hmm, well I think it'll be a closer game than that. West High is one of East High's harder opponents every season after all," my Mom says. "Not according to what Johny's told me about them. He seems very confident in his team's victory" I reply. "Johnny also seems confident, somewhat arrogant, if you ask me. Maybe he underestimated the opponent this time, no one is perfect after all," Dad chimes in. 

"Dad, you and I both know Johnny never underestimates an opponent. You're just jealous that he's good-looking, smart, and great at pretty much everything he decides to do, and mad that he's dating me aren't you?" I say, earning a smirk from my Mother while my father just looks at the two of us with betrayal in his eyes before quietly grumbling to himself as we park, get out of the car, and begin making our way to the stadium seats we reserved with our season tickets. "I can't wait to see how he plays tonight.' I think to myself as we settle into our seats next to the Linders who also have season tickets. 

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Johnny POV:

"WHO ARE WE?" "WILDCATS!" "WHO ARE WE?" "WILDCATS!" "WHO ARE WE?" "WILDCATS!" "WHAT DO WE DO?" "WIN!" "WHAT DO WE DO?" "WIN!" "WHAT DO WE DO?" "WIN!" "ALRIGHT. WILDCATS ON THREE. 1 2 3" "WILDCATS! GET YOU HEAD IN THE GAME!" "WHOOOOOOOOO," I scream out as we begin our pregame warmups. I'm excited, my teammates are excited, the coaches are excited, the fans are excited, even the opposition is excited. Tonight's gonna be a fun night of football. Around an hour left before kickoff. Around an hour left until we get to have some fun' I think as I stare, like a hungry predator, a lion, who has finally come across a prey, a gazelle, across the field where my opponents are currently warming up. 

After warmups Chase and I walk halfway across the field to the referee and up to the two West High Knights who are waiting for us on the opposite side of him. Once we arrive Chase and I exchange handshakes with the two Knights then the ref begins speaking "Good evening gentlemen. My name is Bailey Johnson, and I'll be the white hat referee for this evening's game. Let's have a clean game, proper sportsmanship, no excessive celebration, and no unnecessary disrespect," He says as we all reply in unison. "Yessir". "Good. With that out of the way should you win the coin toss, would like to receive or defer? "Defer" I reply. "Defer" one of the knights speaks up a moment later. "Alright and since it's a home game you get first pick. Which do you want, heads or tails?" the ref says. "Heads" I reply without a moment's hesitation.

The ref showed us the head's side of the quarter and then the tail's side of the quarter before tossing it up into the air. A second later and the coin is on the ground, heads up. "Alright, heads it is. Which way will you be kicking?" he asks. "We'll be kicking towards the east end zone," I reply. After saying that Chase and I head back to the sidelines, and the kickoff unit comes onto the field. "Give 'em hell," I tell Chase as I begin moving toward Coach Fuller and the other Offensive Coaches on the sidelines.

"PHWEEET". The ref's whistle signaled the beginning of the game as Ian, our kicker, launched a bomb into the back of the endzone, which put West High on the twenty-yard line for the first possession of the game. The defense led by Chase immediately took to the field with a fire in their eyes and pep in their step I hadn't seen since the championship last December. 

'Even though Chase is a dick he knows how to lead the defense really well,' I think to myself. It never fails to surprise me how different he is when he steps on the field. If off the field he is a thug and an asshole always looking for trouble or an opportunity to make trouble, then when he steps on the field he becomes like a military sergeant. He barks out orders and the other players on the field follow his directions to the letter with almost no deviation. 'I guess he's almost like me in that regard,' I think to myself as the ref's whistle sounds signaling the play clock has started. The moment the whistle goes off West High uses a silent count to catch the defense off guard. 

"Shit," I mutter to myself as I notice that it worked, and their running back nails chase trucks, and continues to run for 30 yards, making both our safeties miss until Chase chases him down and tackles him very violently. 'Welp that running back is dead,' I think to myself as I can see how pissed Chase is as he gets up from the field. 'Yep very very dead'. West High's offense gets to the line quickly, even before the chains have been set up. Anticipating another quick count the defense is down almost as quickly while Chase is relaying the play call that Coach Verne is giving him from the sideline. However, instead of a silent or a quick count West High opts for a hard count which draws Drake, a senior defensive end, offside. 

The offside penalty moves the line of scrimmage five yards forward putting West high firmly in our half of the field, and shrinking the distance they need for a first down from ten yards to five. Coach Brett starts yelling at Drake to get his head out of his ass as the refs move the line of scrimmage and set it up for the second play of the game. West High opts again to hard count the Defense but no one flinches this time, not even a muscle, because none of them were looking at anything but the ball. 

With the play clock ticking down West High's center hikes the ball to their quarterback who seems to drop back into a pass position. 'That's not a pass drop' I think as I notice the running back and two of the linemen break off as the quarterback continues to drop back. "Screen" I yell out at the top of my lungs, though I doubt I really needed to as Chase is already moving toward the running back that trucked him on the first play. The quarterback fails to notice Chase as he throws the ball to the running back who is immediately run over by Chase the moment his hands make contact with the football. 

I always loved the violent aspect of football. I've always loved how on the field we could quite literally be trying to kill each other but the moment we aren't on that field together that animosity just disappears. 'Well, most of us,' I think as I know both Chase and I are the type of people to hold a grudge for years at a time, though I typically need a good reason. 

Chase's tackle resulted in a three-yard loss for the Knights, who then chose to try to run the ball the next play, which was completely stuffed by the defense. Now on third and eight West High's offense is in a predicament. A pass play would be the obvious go-to, but our defense is already prepared for that, so our safeties are playing up right around the first down line. An inside run play would probably be an equally bad call because we'll probably blitz them. That only leaves sweeps, deep passes, quick or hard counts, and a few other gimmicky plays as a last resort. 'Decisions, decisions, decisions. Let's see what you do Coach Nehemiah,' I think as I look across the field to the portly African American Head Coach of West High's Knights. 

"Down…set" and the moment the quarterback says "set" the ball is hiked, he fakes a handoff and pulls out on a bootleg pass. Chase notices this like the other 2 linebackers but instead of charging him to get the tackle. He falls back and begins looking around for any open passing options. He is rewarded by finding his favorite punching bag–I mean running back–as he crosses the field just behind Chase. The quarterback notices the running back but somehow fails to notice Chase tailing him and throws the ball to the running back again for what would be a first down. However, in the blink of an eye, Chase is on the running back and hits the ball in an excellent display of textbook pass defense. 'With this, it is fourth down and West High will be forced to punt,' I thought to myself as I took one last swig of my water, rolled my shoulders, cracked my neck and my knuckles, and did some light stretches before their punt team and our punt return team took to the field simultaneously. This time Coach Nehemiah called for a simple punt, a punt that the kicker launched to the back of the endzone.

'Well time to get to work,' I think to myself as Coach Fuller turns to me. "Get out there and show 'em how we play ball," Coach Fuller tells me as I strap my helmet on and begin jogging onto the field. The moment I step on the field the rest of the offense follows suit and we enter the field as one unit with the offense forming a huddle around me without me even having to call for one. The first play of the evening that Coach Taylor calls is Oklahoma Black. Oklahoma Black is a simple run play to the left side between the offensive guard and tackle. 'So you wanna test their D-line huh Coach I think for a moment before telling my offense "Oklahoma Black, Oklahoma Black; on two, on two; and if you move before you supposed to It'll be hell week training for all of you, understood?" I tell them before breaking the Huddle with a "WILDCATS".

The refs whistle sounds and the play clock begins ticking down. We line up and get ready for our first offensive play of the game. "Down, set…hut" The moment the 'hut' sounds one of the West High D-linemen barrels into our O-line and the ref's whistle sounds. "Offside, Defense Number 56," the ref says, then he grabs the ball and moves us five yards up. After setting everything up again, we lined back up to run the same play. The ref's whistle blows and I call out the play again. "Oklahoma Black, Oklahoma Black, set…hutt hutt ''. Almost instantaneously the ball is in my hands as I turn to my right to hand the ball off to James as he crosses in front of me and heads to the left. I on the other hand just watch the linebackers and sure enough one of them blitzes and just so happens to blitz the correct gap, However, James just bounces outside, makes a man miss, and runs for about fifteen yards putting us on the forty-yard line. 

The next three plays we ran were all run plays. They got us two first downs and put us on West High's thirty-five-yard line. "Huddle! Huddle! Huddle!" I call out to my teammates who immediately rally around me. "Alright, we're running Omaha Black on one, Omaha Black on one. Nate, Travis, Dante, and Kentrell, get open. James, peel out the backfield after blocking for a few seconds just in case. That's Omaha Black on one, Omaha Black on one. Ready, Break".

With the play called, everyone has their orders, and we begin to line up in formation. "Down set…hut," and once again, a crisp snap puts the ball perfectly into my hands as I settle into the pocket while scanning the field. As expected, one of their linebackers blitzes leaving the other two to cover the midfield. The free safety is playing deep, between fifteen and twenty yards from the line of scrimmage, managing the field, and ready to run in the direction of wherever I pass. The strong safety is playing man coverage on Kentrell while the two cornerbacks are playing man on Dante and Nate. 'This'll be fun,' I think to myself for a moment. 

James, after blocking the blitzing linebacker, peels out into the flats and begins to sprint down the right side of the field as the play progresses and the pocket begins to collapse. As the pocket collapses I am forced to move in the opposite direction of James, and in the same direction that Nate, Dante, Travis, and Kentrell are. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice James is completely unmarked and uncovered and I think to myself 'Touchdown'. I continue to peel out towards the left side of the field and tuck the ball as if I'm going to run. However, at the last second I stop, just behind the line of scrimmage and I throw the ball toward the right back pylon while still looking the free safety, who is on the leftmost hash marks, in the eye. Without waiting for James to complete the catch I begin walking off the field. Sure enough, a few moments later, East High's stands erupt into thunderous cheers and applause that signal a touchdown. 

After stepping off the field the extra point team began to get ready while I congratulated James on the first touchdown of the game. The extra point was good so the kickoff team went out on the field for the kickoff while the defense got ready. However, we could only stop and stare as the kickoff returner received the kickoff at the ten-yard line and ran the ball across the field and to our goal line for a touchdown. 'Phew, tonight's gonna be a very long and fun night,' I think to myself as I got ready to go back out onto the field. 

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"Phweet. Holding, offense number 57. Ten-yard penalty replay third down. Timeout offense." the referee says as we begin to back up ten yards. It's the last two and a half minutes of the fourth quarter which is about enough time for one, maybe two possessions, but only if both sides use all their timeouts. The current score is fifty-six to forty-eight. Although we're winning, the score is much too close for my liking, which is why we must score on this drive and get a first down here and now. Tonight has been a hell of a ball game. Both my team and West High's Knights have played stellar football accompanied by equally stellar individual performances for the highlight reels. However, there can only be one victor tonight and I plan on walking out of this stadium as one. 

"Huddle! Huddle! Huddle! Alright men, listen up. We only have two and a half minutes left in this game and we need to score on this drive. It's third and eighteen. We're gonna get a first down on the next play, then we are gonna march down the field and put another seven points on the scoreboard and send these people home packing an L. You with me?" 

"WE'RE WITH YOU." 

"Alright, then listen. We're running New Mexico Red on two, alright. That's New Mexico Red on two. Ready, Break!" We line up for the play as the refs begin setting up the field to continue after the timeout. "PHWEET!" The referee's whistle signals the start of the play call as I begin to call the cadence. "Down, Set…Hut…Hut." After I finished the cadence the center hiked the ball back to me for the QB read option. Once the ball enters my hands, time seems to slow down as I immediately scan the defense. 

Their D-line is being stopped by the O-line. However, they blitzed the strong side linebacker which will probably make it past the O-line within the next second or two. His eyes are on the ball, but he's blitzing from my left and the running back is coming across the front of my face from my right to the left, and heading straight in the blitzing linebacker's direction. This makes handing the ball off tantamount to forfeiting this down and then punting the ball back to West High on fourth down, which is something we cannot do right now with only a seven-point lead. 

Moving on to the other two linebackers, the middle linebacker is playing midfield with his eyes on the running back while the weak side linebacker is playing coverage on the tight end. The corners and the strong safety are playing man coverage on Nate, Dante, and Kentrell. As time seems to resume its normal speed I already have a plan for how to get the first down and maybe more. I fake the handoff to the running back and turn from left to right in a 270-degree that shows my back to the line of scrimmage. 

As I complete my spin, I put all of the strength in my legs to work as I accelerate to reach my top speed almost instantly. With that one movement, I'm almost to the line of scrimmage on the right side of the field. I blow past the middle linebacker, who tried and failed to meet me at the line of scrimmage, as I begin to run between the hash marks and the sidelines down the field. The weak side linebacker breaks off the tight end and sprints to try and tackle me however a stutter step to the inside and a 360-degree spin back outside sends the linebacker flying past me as I hurdle the cornerback that broke off Kentrell for the first down and continue to run downfield. 

The free safety sprints in the direction he thinks I'll be as I continue to sprint downfield. Past the thirty-five-yard line, then the forty as the free safety comes from the side to try to tackle me. While still sprinting I put a hand out and stiff-arm the free safety and send him flying five yards to the side as I cross the forty-five-yard line. After that, East High's crowd erupted into cheers and from that point on I ran unencumbered and unhindered to the end zone where I practically just walked in. 

 A few moments later, I am joined by the rest of my offense as they all come to congratulate me for what is most likely the game-winning touchdown as we begin to jog to the sideline to celebrate with the rest of the team. Once on the sideline the cheers of both the crowd and my teammates intensified to an almost deafening level. We shared hugs and handshakes as the coaches gave me pats on the back for a phenomenal play. While enjoying all the praise I look to the stands to see my wonderful girlfriend alongside my loving parents waving and cheering for me in heartfelt support and joy. 

The extra point was good and the kickoff pinned the Knights inside their fifteen-yard line. Before the defense stepped onto the field I pulled Chase aside to tell him to give the Knights something to remember us by. After I told him that he just grunted in affirmation and charged onto the field with the rest of the defense. Although Chase and I seldom see eye to eye when it comes to winning games we can work fine together. The defense was able to force a turnover at midfield by making the Knights go for it on fourth and three. After that, the offense came back onto the field to finish out the game by kneeling to bleed time off the clock. 

Once the game was over both of our teams lined up on the fifty-yard line. We shook hands and congratulated each other for a competitive game and we wished each other the best for the remainder of our seasons. After that was over the team met up in our end zone where Coach Anderson announced that film would be tomorrow at 9:00 and that whoever was late would run suicides for the entirety of the next practice. Once he was done with his announcement Coach Anderson asked if any Coach or player had anything else to add, to which most of the coaches only offered simple remarks on how well we executed the game plan and played well and whatnot. 

Some might think that it's shameless how they aren't congratulating us for winning but that's not the case. Winning has simply become the expectation for us here at East High. Over time we have cultivated an atmosphere, a culture, of winning. Therefore winning is what is expected of us and losing is completely unacceptable. 

After the announcements were done, the team went to thank the fans who came out to support us. Then we went to the locker rooms to shower and get changed. After arriving at the locker rooms, I went to talk to my parents, Rachel, and her parents for a few minutes before heading back to the locker room for a cold shower. After a quick shower, I changed clothes and packed up all my dirty football equipment in my bag. I threw my bags in their usual places in my car and headed home. Once I got home I threw my clothes in the washing machine, before heading to my room and setting an alarm for 08:00. Once I got into my bed I immediately fell asleep.