Setting an Example

The on-field celebrations were cut short as Coach Otsen directed the players to the locker room, skipping any shows of respect with the other team. Coach Otsen himself, however, went over and gave the officials rough handshakes.

When Coach Otsen got to the head official, he pulled them close, not letting go. 'Don't get comfortable. The committee and I are definitely going to have a nice chat about this game.'

Before the official could respond, Coach Otsen turned away. He stomped towards the locker room, shooting Coach Kelly a glare.

The other members of the coaching staff escorted the varsity team to the locker room as well.

The locker room door slammed against the wall as Coach Otsen walked through 'I don't want you kids spending another second in this shit hole. We'll keep it brief, at practice we'll have a proper celebration—don't think your training will be any easier that day—but for now, I'm proud of the resiliency you showed. You all played incredible, and I'm sorry I let you down, Nick. Go home and rest up!'

Kenny left the room along with the others. He scanned the stands then went straight to Jackson and Tommy, though as he climbed the stands, he looked back, watching some of the Titans already leaving as they hollered loudly and shoved their victory in the faces of the mutts and their supporters.

Kenny couldn't contain his grin as he turned to the brothers. 'You see that? God, that was the best win ever.'

'Hah, yeah, that's the thing about rivalries, every win feels amazing… I wish these bastards didn't have to be so damn violent to get that kind of rivalry going though,' Tommy said.

'Ken!' Kenny jumped slightly from his mother's sharp voice. Both his parents descended towards him.

Now that Jackson saw them up close, they were older than he expected, with grumpy, intimidating faces. He thought they'd make great coaches with such piercing eyes.

'Hello, Thomas … and Jackson yes? Ken has told us great things.' They bowed their heads to the brothers.

'So good to see you again, Mr and Mrs Murata.'

Smiles softened their harsh faces for a moment, then they turned to Kenny and spoke with him in hushed, hostile voices, though the conversation was in Japanese so neither Tommy nor Jackson understood what was being said. But from the way Mr and Mrs Murata occasionally looked around at the surrounding crowd with disgust, it wasn't hard to guess what they might be saying.

Jackson looked at Kenny expectantly. 'Uh, is this a private conversation? Or what's happening?'

Kenny rubbed the back of his head. 'Ahh, well, they're saying that uh …' he leaned closer to Jackson. 'They don't like being around such gross people, like dirty, screaming monkeys.'

Jackson snorted but held back his laugh.

'So they want me to come home with them.'

'Hmm.' Tommy looked around before smiling at Kenny's parents. 'I understand your concerns, and honestly, hostile crowds like this can be intimidating but nothing will happen. Yes, there may be some animosity, but it's all about the game, and even fans know to keep things on the field, outside the game we don't have any differences. I'll be more than happy to look after Kenny like usual and see him home later, but if you want to take him now that's perfectly fine too.'

They mulled it over for a moment.

'I'll be fine, I promise,' Kenny added.

Mr Murata sighed. 'Very well. We're sure Ken will be fine in the hands of such a fine, well-spoken young man like you, Thomas. Thank you for looking after him. I'm glad he has a role model like you to look up to.'

'Oh, wow, thank you very much. That means a lot.' Tommy chuckled sheepishly. 'Enjoy the rest of your evening and drive safe.'

'It was nice meeting you properly,' Jackson said.

Mrs Murata stayed behind as her husband started down the stairs. She eyed Jackson's crutches. 'Ken never said, what happened to your leg?'

'Uhhh. Well, it was just kind of … I crashed my bike a while ago, but, I'm almost healed now.'

'Mm.' She nodded. 'I wish you a speedy recovery.'

Jackson returned her smile and she followed her husband down to the car park.

Tommy waved them off then turned to the boys. 'Who's hungry?'

The trio made their way over to a nearby food truck. 'Speaking of bad legs,' Jackson said, 'what happened with Nick?'

'They said it's just a sprain if you can believe that. But I'm not sure if he needs to sit out the next game or not. The doc didn't even want him to continue this one.'

'Probably would've been better just to rest and sit this game out, but I guess you guys wouldn't have won if he did that,' Tommy said.

'I hope it isn't too bad … and I hope he can play next week,' Jackson said.

'Me and you both, but shit.' Kenny sighed. 'We'll just have to wait and see.'

With corndogs in hand, the three settled back into their seats ready for the varsity game.

In the Titans' locker room, Coach Otsen was addressing the team.

'Those dirty bastards were trying to hurt your teammates, your brothers-in-arms, and you can be sure they'll try the same with you. But you can't let them get away with it, don't even let them try it. We attack first. Blow them out of the water fast and early. Punch them in the mouth, and they'll be too stunned to try any of their dirty tricks.'

The team gathered around him, fists together in the air.

'Remember what they did to your juniors, your teammates in the JV game, we're all on the same team, we all need to look out for each other. Are you going to let them get away with the bloody murder they attempted?'

'Hell no!'

'Then you need to crush them! Make them regret putting on their pads today! Crush on three. One, two, three—'

'CRUSH!'

The Titans sounded like a stampede as they rushed onto the field. The stampede was quickly drowned out by boos, but the Titans were unaffected. Their heads were held high, eyes set in a steely, determined gaze.

When the Coyotes emerged, the stands were as raucous as they'd ever been.

Coach Otsen smirked. He knew the Coyotes would need all the help from their "home-field advantage" that they could get.

The help wasn't enough.

The game was a rout. It was over in the first quarter when the Titans put up over half of their eventual total score. Hell, it was over after the first touchdown considering the Coyotes didn't score so much as a single point.

The final score was 0–55. All of the Titans' starters got to sit out the last quarter, the damage was already well and truly done by that point.

The offence had been fast and efficient, never giving the Coyotes time to breath or think before piling on the points and pressure.

Shane hauled in three receiving touchdowns, with Grant securing another. Mickey ran in two, and even Wesley had a rushing touchdown of his own.

The defence offered no reprieves either. They were smothering with the perfect amount of aggression that never spilt over into the realm of penalties and personal fouls.

They'd even caused two turnovers, though unfortunately, they hadn't been able to run either of the fumbles back for a touchdown.

It was one of the worst beatings the Coyotes had ever received, and it was Coach Carson's proudest performance. Not only had the Coyotes been completely shut out, but they only managed three first downs for the entire game as well.

For Kenny and Jackson, it was the best game they'd ever seen. They loved every second, and made a game of cheering loudly every time they saw a Coyotes fan get up and leave the game early rather than sit through the entirety of the shellacking.

Sure, their antics earned them some dirty looks, but one glance at Tommy and even those with only an ounce of sense walked away without a confrontation.

Again, no handshakes were exchanged between players, and even this time Coach Otsen as well as the Titans' other staff members skipped the fake pleasantries and went straight to the locker room, which echoed with the whoops and celebrations of the players; none had enjoyed every second of their landslide victory more than the players themselves.

'Alright, alright. You're giving me a headache, you idiots,' Coach Otsen said with a smile. 'That was a hell of a game. Now, if you could only play like that every week, we'll win State this year no problem.'

'Shit, we play like this, that National championship is ours,' Wesley said.

Some of the other players shared Wesley's enthusiasm.

'None of that counting our chickens before they hatch, shit. We've got one more game, then it's Regionals. For now, get the fuck out of here and enjoy the rest of your weekend before it's back to training!' Coach Otsen practically shoved them out of the locker room and on their way.

Jackson, Kenny, and Tommy watched with smug satisfaction as the remaining Coyotes' supporters filed out of the stands with disappointed, hung heads, muttering curses at the Titans, and blaming Coach Kelly for letting "their boys" down as they went.

'I think these are the best wins I've ever had,' Kenny said. 'I'm so fucking happy those dirty mutts got what was coming to them.'

'Just you wait for when you guys win State this year.'

'Fuck yeah, that'll be the day, won't it?'

'Just wait for me,' Jackson said. 'I'll do my best to get back to the team as soon as possible, then we'll be unstoppable.'

The trio eventually walked to Tommy's car. On the ride to Kenny's home, they had the windows down, speakers blaring as their voices belted out, screaming into the night as they "sang" along to the best of Linkin Park.

The elation didn't fade until they said their goodbyes to Kenny.

On the way back home, the drive was quieter, but both brothers still had a smile plastered on their faces. Though Jackson's mind soon turned to Nick and his injury.

'I hope Nick can play next week.'

Tommy turned the music down. 'Hm, I don't know, even the most minimal of sprains usually need a week of rest, or two.'

'He should rest … but I don't know if he has that option.'

'I doubt they'd make him play through injury, even if it means they'll be down to ten players. And they wouldn't let him play if it was going to make things worse. Today was special because he was finishing the game, not starting a whole new one.'

'Maybe he won't need to play and they could still have a full team. Maybe I could be ready for the next game.'

Tommy raised a brow, glancing over. 'I'm not sure about that…'

'I mean, it'd still suck to be down a Kicker, but it's better than being down a Kicker AND only having ten players. Plus, I think I could do it.'

'Well, if you're that confident, and you're willing to give it a try, there's only one way to find out. Why don't we test how your leg's holding up?'