Unwelcome Hurdles

After the JV team finished their celebrations and cleared out, the varsity players took over the locker room in preparation for their game.

Ty sat in front of the locker he had chosen, his helmet in his hands as he listened to Coach Long's pregame speech.

Bella had stepped aside now that it came to the varsity game, her father back in control. She was there to offer support and assistance, all with a beaming smile, still overjoyed from the JV team's earlier victory.

'We've bounced back with some good wins these past couple of weeks,' Coach Long said, 'but I don't want us to get complacent now, we need to keep this streak strong and keep playing our best. We can't underestimate any opponent, or take any game easy. We gotta treat every game like it could be our last. Get up here and bring it in like a family.'

Coach Long held his fist aloft and the team soon swarmed around him.

'Play as a family, win as a family,' JJ said.

'Couldn't have said it better myself, Julian. Family on three. One, two, three—'

'Family!'

'Woo!'

The Dons rushed onto the field like a surging wave. Ty hadn't noticed earlier, but the crowd was electric now that the main event was about to start, and the little stadium was almost entirely packed.

As he and the rest of the Dons made their lap around the otherwise empty field, they were showered with modest applause from their friends and families that had shown up and stuck around, and even some of the Mustangs' supporters gave them a few cheers as good sportsmanship.

Ty's gaze quickly found Meg, sitting alone behind the Dons' bench. They waved to each other and then Ty looked away; of course, she was still alone.

When the Mustangs emerged onto the field, the difference in cheers was gargantuan. The compact size of the arena only amplified the crowd's energy and the weight of their cheers.

Granted, the noise couldn't compare to last week against the Saints but Ty would still relish the moment those excited, hopeful cheers turned to despairing, horrified silence.

Ty looked his opponents over, it was his first chance to check them out properly. Again, nothing and no one exceptional stuck out to him. He hoped he wasn't good at noticing anyone "special" otherwise it seemed like he was in for a boring night.

After warming up with the rest of the team, Ty made his way to the bench whilst the representative captains from either team met at Centrefield for the coin toss.

'Coach Hoang, do we know their best Receiver?'

Coach Hoang turned from the gathering at Centrefield to Ty. 'You'll be handling number 87 this game.'

Ty leaned back on the bench, content with the answer. When JJ, Deshaun, and Jay returned, they informed the rest of the team that they'd won the toss and the Dons had deferred the opening kickoff, meaning they'd be defending the opening drive for the first half.

Ty grinned. It was the perfect way to start the game, and it meant he didn't have to waste any time before he could shut this crowd up.

The kick return didn't get very far, so the Mustangs would start their opening drive at only the 21-yard line.

As Ty took the field, his eyes scanned the oncoming Mustangs until he found number 87. He hurried over to them, a grin on his face.

Ty didn't initially think the boy who wore number 87 was anything special. They looked timid, and despite being bigger than Ty, they looked more child-like than him, even with the light fluff of facial hair they were struggling to grow.

87 stuck a hand out towards Ty. 'Number 21 of the Dominguez Dons; Tyrese Samuels, right? I'm Darby. Good luck today.'

Ty stared at the hand. He was puzzled, not by the fact that this boy was being so friendly, but because he knew who Ty was. He rejected the handshake. 'You're the one who'll need luck, but even that won't help you.'

'Hah… I suppose we'll have to wait and see. I'm sure the best man will win.'

'I'm sure I will.' Ty settled into his stance, his smile returning. His body burned with excitement. And then the ball was finally snapped.

The first play was a run. It was away from Ty's side of the field and a total buzzkill for the amped-up Ty.

The Mustangs gained 4 yards from the play and then ambled back to their huddle.

"Opening with a run is expected. They're scared, timid, they want to play things safe. But now they'll go for a throw." Ty sunk back into his stance and prepared himself for the next play.

'Hike!'

Darby feinted outside then dashed towards the middle of the field with a slant.

Ty was all over him. He was practically connected to Darby's outside hip, and his long arms were more than capable of stretching around him to swat aside any pass that might've come his way.

But the pass never did, instead, it went to the other side of the field again, where another Mustangs Receiver dragged it in for the completion, and for a first down after a gain of 8 yards.

'Hmm…' Ty was apprehensive. He didn't like the way the game was starting. He slowly made his way back to the huddle.

'My bad,' Deshaun said. 'He ain't as fast as I thought. I got him next time, no problem.'

'No problem at all,' JJ said. 'We got this, it's just one first down, it doesn't matter, we'll stop them this time.'

The huddle broke apart, and Ty lined up with Darby again.

Still, the ball didn't come their way.

This time it was a play-action pass, but again the Mustangs targeted Deshaun. However, Deshaun saw it coming, and had played his man much tighter. The play resulted in an incompletion after he swatted the ball away.

On second down, the Mustangs tried another run, except this one was up the gut.

Big mistake.

JJ crushed the RB after a three-yard gain. Whilst it wasn't a horrible play for the Mustangs, it was something the RB would think twice about before doing again.

On third and long, the Mustangs looked to the air once more. Darby tried a curl route against Ty, but there was no separation. When Darby turned back towards the ball, Ty jumped forward excitedly, he was in the perfect position for an interception, but even the QB could see that and the ball still didn't come their way.

The ball never went anywhere, actually, and the QB was sacked for a loss of 4 yards which ended the Mustangs' first drive.

It was a positive result, and yet, Ty wasn't thrilled. "What are they hiding?" he wondered as he trudged to the bench.

Now that Chris had fully recovered from his concussion, he was back on return duties, which meant Ty didn't have to worry about them anymore, nor would Cameron be getting as many reps with the offence.

Speaking of which, the Dons offence was back in full force. They had no injuries to worry about, and the rust that had troubled a couple of their stars was well and truly worn off.

They moved the ball much more freely than the Mustangs had, but even so, they only managed a field goal from their first drive. They made it to the Mustangs' 25-yard line before they were stopped in their tracks and had to settle for 3 points.

But 3 was better than 0, and the Dons took an early lead.

After a kickoff return of 27 yards, the Mustangs had their second chance on offence. However, even on this drive that lasted a couple more plays than their first, Ty didn't see any action aside from getting involved to stop a run; no pass was thrown his way, and despite Darby's best efforts, he couldn't break free of Ty's tight coverage.

Again, the Mustangs failed to score any points. And again, Ty went to the bench conflicted. He was still worried about some kind of scheme or trick they were hiding, some reason why they weren't challenging him yet.

But, no trick would be revealed—at least not in the first quarter—as not a single pass was thrown Ty's way throughout the first 15 minutes of the game, and at the first break, the score was still 0–3 in the Dons favour.

Yet, Ty's trepidation and annoyance had turned to joy throughout the opening quarter, and as he sat on the bench awaiting the resume of play, he had the biggest grin on his face.

'Why are you smiling so much, Samuels? I thought you'd be pissed off seeing as you haven't been able to do anything.'

'Oh? Haven't I? How many points have they scored? How many catches does their best Receiver have? I haven't even needed to do anything, you're right… but, isn't that wonderful? I mean, I've never played these people before, yet, they're too scared to throw the ball my way. They know about me, they know how dangerous I am, they already fear me.' He stared into Coach Hoang's eyes. 'When we're national champions, this is what every game will be like.'

'Hmm. Don't get comfortable. Just because they haven't thrown to you YET, doesn't mean they'll go the entire game without trying. Don't fall asleep and give up a big play.'

'I won't. Don't worry, I know they'll get desperate eventually. If the rest of the defence can do their job and hold them down, if we keep winning, if they feel like they're slowly suffocating and the game is slipping away from them bit by bit, eventually they'll crack under the pressure, and they'll make the fatal mistake of challenging me. THAT'S when I'll finish them off.'

'As long as you stay focused I don't care what fantasy you tell yourself.' Coach Hoang moved away, and the game soon resumed at the beginning of the second quarter.

For the Mustangs' first drive in the second quarter, Ty kept his grin as he met Darby. 'Don't tell me you guys are SCARED to throw the ball near me.'

'Scared? If you're ever scared in football you might as well go home 'cause you've already lost. That's what my dad always told me.'

'Then if you're not scared, what is it? You might as well give up if you're already admitting defeat by never challenging me.'

Darby smiled. 'I don't think it's that, just, wouldn't it be stupid to try and throw the ball to me when I haven't ever been open?'

'Ohh, so YOU'RE the one letting your team down. Good to know.'

Darby frowned and looked away.

Ty couldn't lower his guard. This team wasn't defeated yet. Sure, they weren't throwing at him, but that wasn't because he had taken their souls already, it was because they were waiting, waiting for him to slip up and give them an opening, waiting for him to lift his boot off their neck. He couldn't give them that chance; he had to choke the life out of them.

No matter what Darby tried, it didn't work against Ty. A straight battle of speed? Ty was faster. Contest of strength? Ty was stronger and his longer reach gave him the leverage. Double and triple moves? Ty never bit on any of them. Quick releases and catches on one-step slants or screens? Ty never gave him any room to breathe even from the snap.

It didn't seem like there was anything Darby could do. By the time the first half was over, he felt as if he'd played two whole games, not quarters. He was exhausted and he had NOTHING to show for it.

Despite their best Receiver being taken out of the game completely, the Mustangs hadn't been held scoreless for a full half. They managed a field goal of their own in the second quarter.

The Dons had managed to answer back with another to keep their 3-point lead, and even extended it when Stephen caught the first touchdown of the game.

The Dons held a 10-point lead during halftime, with a score of 3–13.

And while Ty realised that the team was on track for a near-perfect night, he was still full of energy … and the crowd was still full of hope; they hadn't stopped cheering once during the first half.

"Maybe I'll need to run home." As for the problem of the cheers? He had no idea how to solve that if he couldn't get involved in the game.

'Get some rest boys, you deserve it,' Coach Long said as every filed into the locker room. 'Let's re-energise so we can keep up the good work in the second half, because if we played like this every game, we'd be undefeated, you hear me?'

There weren't many adjustments to make or issues to address during this halftime break, the coaches were mainly worried about predicting the adjustments the Mustangs would make.

Offensively, they reckoned Stephen could expect a bigger opponent to guard him, which would hopefully give Benny more of a mismatch. For the run game, they'd give more attention to protecting the edges and blocking the outside off, which could open them up inside and maybe Cameron would see more play if power was needed instead of speed.

Defensively, Coach Hoang worried that they would try and get Darby involved, no matter what they had to do to accomplish that, whether it was Jet Sweeps or Screens.

'Don't worry about that,' Ty said. 'It doesn't matter what they try, he won't go anywhere. I won't let him gain a single yard.' Ty spoke without any arrogance or showboating bravado, and Coach Hoang trusted that he'd do everything in his power to stick true to his word.

'He hasn't had a single catch through the first half, Samuels. Try and keep that clean sheet for the rest of the game. Any less and it'll be counted as a failure on your part.'

'Hahaha, of course!'

The Dons opened the second half receiving the ball, and with a kickoff return of 30 yards, they started in a good position to carry their momentum over and extend their lead.

And in fact, that's exactly what they did.

Stephen was being covered with a larger defender now, a LB instead of a CB was in charge of guarding him. Whilst it did free up Benny, it only slowed Stephen down instead of shutting him out, and he was still able to contribute to the offence as well.

Rushing-wise, there were a few plays where both Cameron and Chris were lined up in the backfield, and the Mustangs didn't know whether to defend inside or outside until it was too late, and one of the two HBs had the ball in their hands, streaking away for a big gain.

It was Chris who eventually walked into the end zone untouched for a touchdown. And after the first drive of the second half, the Mustangs were staring down the barrel of a 17-point deficit. Still, they and their crowd hadn't given up. But they were getting desperate.

Their desperation wasn't helped when the first two plays of their drive immediately after the Dons' touchdown resulted in 0 yards, and then a loss of 1.

Darby's eyes kept flicking to the scoreboard during the Mustangs' huddle. Overcoming a 17-point margin wasn't unheard of, especially with nearly a whole half remaining, but something drastic would have to change if the Mustangs wanted to pull a feat like that off.

'I think… I think you should throw the ball to me.' He stared at his QB, a boy with tree trunks for arms and a dirty mullet that looked like someone had dyed a skunk's tail brown.

'Uhh, I mean if you can get open I can. But you can't get open, Darby.'

'I don't need to get open! Look, just, I'll get open enough, but you're gonna have to trust me. I'll beat this guy in the air, throw it my way, and I'll do the rest. Or do you guys want to not do anything and lose by 10 points rather than keep fighting and lose by 30?'

The QB looked around the huddle for any kind of support but found none, so he relented to Darby and promised to throw him the ball this play no matter what.

Darby said nothing as he lined up opposite Ty, but Ty could tell something was different just by his demeanour. The way he stood, the way he stared at his QB, the way he anxiously fidgeted with his gloves.

'They're finally gonna throw it this way, huh?'

Darby didn't respond—Ty's smile grew.

'HIKE!'

Darby pushed forward through Ty's tight press. He shimmied right towards the inside, then brushed Ty aside and burst to the outside.

Ty was right with him the whole way, glued to his hip. Darby stuttered and Ty did too. Ty's head turned back to the QB and he saw the ball get launched into the air. His eyes lit up as they followed it. The stadium's bright lights were like stars in them.

Ty turned sideways and leapt into the air; it was as if Darby wasn't even there beside him. He eclipsed the Receiver, jumping higher than Darby ever could. His hands reached further than Darby's. He was the first one to lay his fingers upon the ball.

He hauled it against his chest as he hit the ground running. Darby fell to the turf, flailing at Ty as he swiped at his jersey desperately and clung on, but Ty broke away and didn't stop running.

He wheeled around, having the whole field before him. There were twenty bodies between him and his goal, and half of them were coming at him with killing intent. The Mustangs thought they could still win. As long as Ty was standing, they could cave his chest in and cause him to fumble, then they'd simply recover and they'd still be in the game.

But Ty could snuff out that hope, if he could just get to the end zone over 50 yards and ten enemies away.

He ran forward, and every Dons player instantly sought out the first Mustangs jersey they saw, smashing into them to stop them from getting to Ty. Though they tried their best, some Mustangs slipped through.

A slow-footed Linemen lunged at Ty but he deftly dodged aside. He had 40 yards to go.

The RB came charging forward and clawed at Ty, but Ty spun away. Only 30 yards left.

He'd sprinted to the outside and passed by the rest of the Linemen and now there was only 20 yards left and the QB. But they were playing the inside of the field, and Ty was running out of room. He didn't think he'd reach the end zone before they pushed him out of bounds … he'd have to cut inside again.

Just before he made his move, JJ roared past and slammed into the QB, taking them out of the play entirely, and clearing the path for Ty to run into the end zone.

Touchdown Dons.

There was a final, dejected gasp from the crowd, and then silence.

Ty sighed as euphoria rushed through his body. He stretched his arms out wide and drank it all in.

This game was over.

If the Mustangs weren't fearful of him already, they surely were now.

The kick was good, and after a touchback, the Mustangs' offence had to shamefully crawl back onto the field.

However, they didn't last long. It was only a few plays into their next drive when they turned the ball over again, this turnover was a fumble thanks to a massive hit JJ gave the RB.

Thanks to the fumble and the extra short field, the Dons were able to score another touchdown—Cameron ran this one in from the goal line.

After that, the only score in the fourth quarter was a field goal from the Dons, and the game finished with a score of 3–37 for a Dons blowout victory.

Whilst the crowd outside was dead, the Dons locker room more than made up for it with their celebration.

Coach Long let the excitement run its course, but after a little while he called for attention. 'Alright, alright, let's settle it down for a minute.' It still took a minute for the locker room to reach absolute quiet. 'Yes, I know you all played better than I could've asked for, give yourselves a pat on the back. It was a great TEAM effort, you ALL played exceptionally today, and I wish I could give you all tonight's spoils.' He held aloft the game ball.

Ty stared at it. Even though the game was over, his desire to snatch that ball was as great as ever.

'But, unfortunately, I can only hand this out to one player, and tonight that player can be none other than … JJ. Julian, come over here, this is for you.'

JJ jogged over and claimed his prize. 'Ahh, I couldn't have done it without my hermanos. This goes out to all of you.'

Coach Long laughed and clapped him on the back. 'Ever the team player, isn't he? That's why it goes to him tonight, he was the anchor for that spectacular defensive performance, and without him, who knows how many points we would've given up. But even outside of that, it's the little things that Julian does so well that you can all learn from. From that amazing forced fumble and the recovery, to the touchdown sealing block he had on Tyrese's runback, he always gives one hundred percent.'

Coach Hoang sat by Ty. 'Don't worry. Your praises might be unsung, but we couldn't have won this game without you. You did exactly what you promised. Number 87 didn't have a single catch or a single yard, and you even got a touchdown of your own on top of that. Congratulations, Samuels, you played a hell of a game.'

Ty only nodded in response. He didn't have anything to say. Sure, he felt he was the star player—like always—as he had locked up their best Receiver all night, and the only time they threw the ball his way, he picked it off and returned it for a Dons touchdown instead. But he could understand why someone like JJ would get the game ball instead. He forced a turnover too, and he had been involved in a lot more plays. He even played a part in Ty's touchdown like Coach Long said, who knows if he would've beaten the QB if JJ hadn't taken him out of the equation. Plus… JJ had something. Ty knew JJ was the second-best player on the team—only behind Ty, of course—and while he might not've been "special", there was still something that made up for whatever he might've lacked individually, something Ty didn't have—JJ was a leader.