'Nooo!' Jasmine slumped back into her seat, sighing.
'You'll get 'em next time, Titans!' Jackson shouted before tentatively placing a hand on Jasmine's shoulder.
'Jackie's right,' Tommy said—Rudy raised a brow at the nickname. 'There's still plenty of time for the Titans to get back into the game. Three quarters is a long time in football.'
'Geez! That quarter blew by!' Jasmine said, looking at the scoreboard in disbelief. 'Like, are we sure someone isn't messing with the time?'
Jackson laughed. 'Maybe the Eagles are trying to give us less time for our comeback, but even that wouldn't stop us.'
'Yeah, the only thing holding us back is Shane,' Rudy said. He had one hand propping his head up, elbow planted on his thigh.
Jackson, Kenny, and Jasmine glared at him. 'The hell you mean Shane's holding us back? He's our best player,' Kenny said. 'It's Grant and those other assholes who couldn't step up and help us get a touchdown,' Kenny added. Jasmine nodded her agreement. Tommy frowned and grumbled about the use of profanity again.
'Yeah, offensively, sure,' Rudy said, 'but even then, the guy Shane's been fighting is getting the better of him. And defensively, if Shane can't stop him, we're screwed.'
'Shane won't lose,' Jackson, Kenny, and Jasmine said together. The two boys shared a look, a wrinkle of concern worming its way onto their determined faces.
Jackson shook the worry away, telling himself that no matter what, football was a team game. Even if Joseph was better than Shane—however slight someone's advantage over Shane could be—it was the difference between the teams that mattered. He just had to hope the Titans were stronger than the Eagles.
Shane sat on the bench, face scrunched up, a visage of consternation. The touchdown had been his fault. He had to be better; there was still time to make up for it on offence. Though before the break, their current drive looked to be stalling on third down.
'Look alive,' Coach Otsen said, pulling the team together. 'It's our ball when we come outta this break.' Those first two drives had both been long, and Coach Otsen was still grimacing at the fact the Eagles had been more successful than the Titans. 'We started strong, but they started stronger. It's all about who can hold this pace the longest. Drag them deep and suffocate them.'
Coach Otsen put his hand in the centre of the huddle; others piled on top. 'Titans!' As the break ended, the offence emerged back onto the field. Coach Knight turned to Coach Otsen, raising a brow.
'Relax,' Coach Otsen said. 'Like I said, it's a marathon, not a sprint. You can't expect every drive to succeed, but sometimes what looks like failure can really be the key to a later success.'
Coach Knight said nothing but turned back to the field, watching as the Eagles' defence met the Titans head on again. Unfortunately for the Titans, the drive didn't last very far into the second quarter. It was like the Eagles had kicked them back down just as they were clawing their way up.
'C'mon,' Jasmine said. 'Someone's gotta get open.'
'Give them some time,' Tommy said, the calmest in the group. 'They're figuring out the defence.'
'They better figure it out quick,' Kenny said.
'Yeah,' Rudy added.
Jackson leaned forward in his seat, focused on the all-important upcoming drive. If the Eagles scored another touchdown, it could spell an early demise for the Titans. Eleven points wasn't normally an insurmountable lead, but if the game continued how the first quarter had, it just might be.
Coach Carson had come up with her own adjustments over the break, and the Titans' defence implemented them with the new drive.
Shane was no longer directly facing off against Joseph before the snap; instead, an extra Lineman was brought in, and the Eagles' TE was practically double-teamed at the snap, meaning he could no longer dictate the war of the trenches.
The Eagles' first run had little success, gaining only 2 yards. With the defences stepping up, the game looked slower and grittier.
'Woo! That's more like it!' Jasmine shouted.
Even Jackson pumped his fist, hissing out: 'Yes!' It was a small victory, but almost anything was worth celebrating when you were down and the game felt like it was slipping through your fingers.
Next, the Eagles looked to the air, going for a pass. No Play-Action led into the play, and without it, the Linemen attacking Joseph pushed by him, no longer interested in him if he wasn't blocking their path from the ball. Though with how close they stood to him before the snap, they bumped him as he started his run, slowing him up, which allowed Shane to move over and mark him.
A Curl opened up on the near side of the field, and the catch was made, resulting in a first down, but Joseph Fale had been nullified for two plays.
Coach Carson growled on the sideline. 'Tighten up!'—Tommy smirked at Jackson, nudging him, eliciting a groan—'Watch your zones and trust in your teammates!'
On first down, the Eagles went with another pass, this one attacking the middle, though still ignoring Joseph. They looked to exploit the middle seeing as Shane was distracted, but the other LBs were more than capable of defending it in his stead. They batted the ball down for an incompletion.
Momentum was seesawing back and forth with each play. A Draw earned 4 yards, but brought the Eagles to third down still with 6 yards to go.
A pass was the only thing that'd save them, so the RB was kept back as extra protection. Joseph—instead of going across the field, or up through the middle—flared out to the sideline, slipping away from the Linemen hindering his release AND running away from Shane.
Joseph was open, the throw an easy one, and he turned upfield, Shane giving chase. Shane knocked him out of bounds, but not before he picked up the first down. Joseph wouldn't be held down forever. He walked back to the huddle, a smile on his lips, enjoying the challenge.
The next play was another pass, this one also going in Joseph's direction. He'd lunged towards the sideline at the snap, just like the prior play, but after getting past the Linemen, and when Shane was in pursuit, he cut back inside. The Angle route got him the space he needed, throwing Shane off by a step, which Joseph turned into an 11-yard gain as he bulldozed through the middle.
'C'mon, Shane,' Rudy muttered.
Jackson looked at Rudy, worry once again flashing across his face. "It's a team game. The team needs to step up, not just Shane."
And they did. The Eagles went for another pass, and this time, when Joseph shot towards the sideline, there was an OLB waiting to cut off his route. Shane remained in the middle as Joseph's Wheel route had to bend much wider and was smothered. Elsewhere, the QB found only a check-down, which gained a single yard.
The Titans adjusted again, and for the moment, the Eagles were out of answers. Their drive extended to just barely within field goal range, but the Kicker came out and slotted the following field goal; he signed a cross over himself and pointed to the heavens after the ball sailed through the uprights.
It was better than giving up a touchdown, but the 50-yard kick had felt like a gut punch right before the bell. 'No way!' Jasmine said, annoyed her screams and stomps hadn't distracted the Kicker enough.
'It's still only one score,' Jackson said. 'The team has Shane's back, and they're gonna help him win this game.'
'We'll see,' Rudy muttered, his pessimism earning a few glares.
The Titans looked at the scoreboard, frowning as it ticked over to 3–10. 'Put it behind you,' Coach Otsen said. 'That was a strong effort, and the defence still did its job. There's only a touchdown between us, so you know what you need to do!'
With the offence marching onto the field, Coach Otsen turned to Coach Knight. 'What do they need to do?'
Coach Knight grabbed a small whiteboard, and uncapped a marker. Drawing out the formations, he made it clear that the Eagles had a chink in their armour, a rather obvious one once you knew where to look, and it was surprising at that.
With Joseph Fale dominating one side of the Line, they left that side of the field in his hands, giving him minimal help as they overloaded the opposite side. So if one could pull Joseph away, then his side of the field would be under-manned.
Though that meant a temporary end to their RPO. Wesley was still happy to pass more, and the other Receivers were happy with the news, too. With Shane pulling Joseph across to the opposite side of the field, it left more room for Grant and the others to exploit, sliding in for catches with quick Outs, short Slants, and shallow Crosses.
Micky could still get involved by slipping out into the exposed flat if all else was covered. He was a rarely used but valuable safety valve. And they could still get him going along the ground if they sent Shane in motion before the play.
Shane would switch ends of the Line, and if Joseph followed, then a Counter could attack the side they'd left, or if Joseph stayed where he was, then Micky would follow Shane and run behind him for a solid gain as well.
The Titans were marching across the field, momentum building, pushing them further. The crowd was stretched towards a crescendo, their cries and cheers urging their team onwards. Then Joseph and the Eagles slammed the door on them.
The defence evened out. A Safety, the short, sharp boy who had joined Joseph for the coin toss, dropped lower, and wherever Joseph went, someone shifted over to take his previous place. He followed Shane in motion before the snap, and the entire Eagles' D-Line shuffled over a yard to fill in the gap.
Coach Otsen called a timeout before the ball could be snapped. The other Coaches looked at him confused, but they held their tongues, knowing better than to second guess him. If he felt the need to burn a timeout, it was because he had a good reason.
'What are they doing?' Jasmine asked, looking down at the sideline as the Titans gathered around Coach Otsen.
'Coach musta got spooked by how much the defence was shifting around or something,' Kenny answered.
'And he must've known that it'd take too long to make an audible, so he called timeout instead,' Tommy said.
'An audible?' Jasmine asked, facing Jackson.
'Yeah, it means changing the play,' Rudy answered.
She frowned, even as Jackson nodded his agreement. 'But he must've seen something important,' Jackson added. 'Maybe they exposed a new weakness when they moved over.'
All eyes turned to the Titans as they huddled close around Coach Otsen.
'We're going back to the Option,' Coach Otsen said. 'I know how we can tie the game, but it'll need some setting up.'
The Titans nodded, keeping quiet as they listened to the plan before they stormed onto the field, heads held high. The Eagles met them hurriedly. Joseph watched Shane closely, but he would've had an easier time reading the expression of a brick. Shane gave nothing away as the Titans set up their option.
When all was ready for the snap, Wesley instead leaned forward. 'Hey, bingo. Bingo!'
Shane couldn't help but smile at the code word. This one meant nothing. Wesley could've said anything, and Shane would've got the message. Shane stepped back from his position at the end of the Line, and shifted out wide, standing closely with two other WRs—Daniel and Demetrius—to form a tightly bunched trio.
Joseph followed, but his bewilderment was clear. An identical expression was on the face of every other Eagle; they didn't know how to adjust to this new formation. And then the ball was snapped.
Wesley kept it, attacking the empty edge as Shane shot across Joseph's path and blocked him off. Freed up, Wesley raced ahead for 8 yards. Instead of celebrating, he and the Titans hurried back to their formation, skipping their huddle.
Shane was once again nestled in at the end of the Line, though with another shout of "bingo" he moved back out to form another bunch with the other Receivers.
This time with the Option, Wesley handed the ball off, and Micky carved through the middle of the field for 6 yards.
'Looks like that was a good timeout,' Tommy said, watching the Titans once again forgo their huddle to keep the Eagles on the back foot.
'It was,' Jackson said. '…But…'
'But what?' Jasmine asked. The others looked at Jackson, awaiting his answer.
'There's something more… something everyone else is missing. Shane's still the key. I think he's the… he's the dagger.' Realisation dawned on Jackson, but before he could explain, the ball was snapped.
Again, Shane had moved out wide after the initial formation, but this time, there wasn't much of an Option. Wesley rushed towards the edge right away. Shane jumped out in front of Joseph, and Micky lunged for the free rusher.
Joseph rushed forward. Someone had to stop the ball, or else Wesley would run ahead for 10 yards or more. He had so much empty grass in front of him. But instead of meeting resistance from Shane like he suspected, Joseph stumbled over air. Shane slipped away from him, running upfield.
Joseph looked back, but Wesley was before him, unguarded now. There was no time to turn and chase; Joseph just had to plough ahead and smash through what was in front of him.
Wesley danced back, darting from Joseph up to Shane and back. He shifted back into a throwing stance. Joseph raised his hands, ready to swat down any attempted pass. And that left his chest free for the Guard.
Pulling from the opposite side of the Line, the Guard rammed into Joseph, knocking him down. But even with the free space ahead of him, Wesley still looked to pass, his eyes locked on Shane.
There was just one hawk-eyed Safety standing in Shane's way. Whilst Daniel had simply drifted out to the flat, Demetrius ran along the sideline. He was the key to freeing Shane; he was the one who'd make the Dagger play work.
Demetrius cut infield, his cross DEEP. With a burst of speed, he cut across in front of Shane, catching the Safety's eye for a second. In that brief hesitation, Shane burst ahead as well, keeping vertical. Wesley launched the ball into the end-zone as the Dagger slipped through the cracks of the Eagles' defence.
Shane sprinted under the ball. He was clear of the Safety, alone in the end-zone. He caught the ball on his chest, dragging his feet even though there were multiple yards between him and any boundary.
Roars and cheers bounced across the field from stand to stand as the officials signalled the touchdown, and the Titans soon tied the game at 10 all.
'Ohmygod! That was amazing!' Jasmine said, jumping out of her seat. Jackson joined her on their feet, eyes sparkling with amazement as he stared down at the field. Tommy rose as well, clapping slowly.
'Incredible,' Tommy said. 'See, that's the type of play you can only find at this level from a Titans game.'
'I told you!' Jackson said. 'Shane's amazing. We can't lose with him. He's gotta be the best Tight End in the country. … At the high school level,' he quickly added, blushing as he looked at Tommy.
Tommy punched his shoulder, grinning. 'I know what you mean, little bro, but you don't have to sugarcoat it. If we were the same age, Shane would take my spot in a heartbeat.'
Jackson rubbed the back of his head, looking away as he sat back down.
Kenny shook his head, his eyes glossy, looking towards the future. 'If we could play beside that, we'd be unstoppable.'
Rudy laughed. 'Yeah, sure. Let me tell you from experience. It's harder than it looks.'
Kenny frowned, the shine fading from his eyes as he returned to the present. He was smart enough not to tell Rudy maybe he was worse than he thought he was and that's what made it so "hard".
The kickoff was another short return, only out to the 18-yard line, and then the Titans' defence was back on the field. Shane not showing any ill-effects from the minimal breaks he'd had throughout the game. Even after the touchdown, he marched out, stone-faced as ever.
Joseph led the Eagles' offence, head down as if he was carrying a heavy burden. In a way, he was. The burden of his failure was heavy. But it was also motivating, and he'd use that to help propel the Eagles back into the lead.
The Titans were still marking Joseph as they had been. An OLB and a DE marking him pre-snap. If it wasn't broken, why fix it? But presented with the same frustrating wall, Joseph resolved to break it himself and bring the Titans crashing back down to Earth.
He stuttered out of the gate; the OLB drifted wide rather than coming after him. Joseph lurched that way, the DE trying to snake through the gap between him and the Tackle. Joseph slammed into the Lineman's side, bowling him over. It was a Draw, and Rocket, the RB, was coming Joseph's way.
The OLB scrambled forward, but Joseph had already moved to meet him. They slammed together, and Joseph sealed him out with ease. Rocket cut through the gap, rushing up, heading straight for Shane, who'd been pushed back by the Draw.
Shane dragged Rocket down, ending the run at 5 yards. 5 yards was too much to be giving up on a run, but after that play the Titans felt lucky to have given up only that much. Joseph Fale had practically dismantled their first line of defence by himself.
The Eagles even took a page from the Titans' playbook, and before the next snap, Joseph shifted over to the opposite end of the line. The OLB scrambled to follow, but Shane also dropped down just before the ball was snapped. It was utter confusion as both Titans went to cover Joseph, which left gaps all throughout the rest of the defence for the Eagles to choose from. A pass over the middle earned 13 yards.
Coach Otsen almost exploded on the sideline. A timeout was called. Coach Otsen was still fuming when the defence made it to the sideline, but Shane stepped forward, taking the brunt of the criticism as any good captain should. He should've been the one to step in as leader on the field and should've trusted in his teammates to sort out the assignment whilst he stuck to his own Zone.
'Is this timeout because the coach sees something we don't?' Jasmine asked, though she didn't sound hopeful.
The others shook their heads. Even a few rows back as they were, they easily heard Coach Otsen's initial reaction to the disastrous play.
Coach Otsen cleared up the issue, telling the OLBs to switch assignments if the Eagles tried another trick like that with their TE.
Then, the boys were back out on the field. Unfortunately, the timeout did little to slow the roll the Eagles had going. It didn't seem to matter what side of the field they attacked on the ground; with Joseph's newfound strength, he could hold his own in a two-on-one. On the other side of the Line, the stout Tackle, iron strength under a flabby exterior, could move faster than any kid his size should've, and could clear a path just as good as anyone.
The Eagles rumbled along the field, steamrolling the Titans despite their best efforts to hold them back. The drive was slow and calculated, a drawn-out crushing battle of strength. However, once they were in the red-zone, they turned to Joseph to drive the nail home.
Another Wheel route, now knowing what kind of resistance to expect, got Joseph open down the sideline, but the pass was a fraction off, and sailed just beyond his reach and out the back of the end-zone.
Failure wouldn't dissuade the Eagles, and Shane knew they'd go back to Joseph again on the next play. He stood in the middle of the Titans' formation, eyes darting between Joseph and the Eagles' QB. He didn't know if he would've preferred Joseph going outside, or coming back in and becoming his duty again.
Shane got his answer when the ball was snapped. Joseph burst through the press of the two Titans around him, charging forward with such sudden ferocity that he rushed by before they could even slow him, their arms merely brushing against him.
Shane slid over hurriedly. Joseph rushed towards him like an out-of-control freight train, then cut across the field with all the agility of a RB. Shane shot back, turning and following alongside Joseph. He was there; he could cover the play. Then they'd just need one more stop and the Eagles would have to settle for another field goal.
The ball was lobbed towards the back corner of the end-zone, this time on target. It'd fall just within bounds, just where only Joseph and Shane could reach it. Except, that wasn't the case; Joseph made it so Shane never had a chance.
Joseph shoved his body between Shane and the ball at the last moment. He fell with the ball, wrapping an arm around it tightly, clutching it against his chest. Shane draped over him, reaching for the ball, but he couldn't poke it free from Joseph's grasp before they crashed to the ground. The ball was lodged in tight, unmoving.
It was another Eagles touchdown, and just like that, they'd pushed the lead back out to a touchdown. The extra point secured it at 7 points, 10–17.
Joseph Fale had elevated his game to another level. He was always the engine for the Eagles' offence, and so far the Titans didn't have an answer for him. Shane should've been the answer, but even he was at a loss for solutions.
The wind had been ripped away from the Titans' wings, just as they began soaring with the Eagles. Falling behind, they still had one slim chance to get the game back on even footing.
The two-minute warning was nearly upon them—one play after the kickoff, it was. All the Titans had to do was go 70 yards in under two minutes. Simple, right? Maybe if the Eagles weren't the ones stopping them from doing so.
It would've helped if the Titans had more than one timeout remaining as well, but Coach Otsen wasn't worried. He had a plan, and now it was up to his players to execute.
Whereas most teams in such a situation would target the sidelines to preserve the clock, the Eagles would obviously expect that, and could easily throw their all into protecting the sideline. So, the Titans would attack the middle of the field instead.
Even with this plan, progress was slower than Coach Otsen would've liked, and each play ate up valuable seconds.
Also, after getting over the initial shock of the courageous plan, the Eagles adapted and shifted their defence back to something more traditional rather than focusing their efforts on protecting the sideline.
With time winding down, a missed pass followed by an ill-advised scramble from Wesley led to the Titans facing third down. But Coach Otsen held strong, and kept panic at bay. He held onto the timeout, with one last plan in mind.
It was a desperate Screen pass that broke the Eagles' dam. Whilst Shane shrugged Joseph off and sent him through to Wesley relatively unimpeded, the minor hitch bought just enough time for the blockers to set up, and for Wesley to hit Micky in stride.
Shane led the way with a contingent of blockers as Micky raced across half-field for one of the longest gains of the day, which brought the Titans into field goal range. Coach Otsen stopped the clock with their final timeout, and with three seconds remaining in the half, Nick strode out for a 53-yard field goal.
'Please let this go through,' Jasmine said, barely hanging on the edge of her seat, fingers crossed on both hands.
'Yeah, he better fucking get this,' Rudy said, arms crossed over his chest, bitterness still clear in his voice.
'He will,' Jackson and Kenny said. The two looked at each other, bumping fists. Even if Jackson hadn't played beside him, he still felt like Nick was his teammate. They'd been through summer training camp—hell on Earth—together. Nick had made it to varsity for moments exactly like these.
As Nick stood out there, isolated behind everyone else, he looked like an iceberg. Strong in his solitude, and cool even in the heat of the moment.
The ball was snapped; the snap was caught, and the ball planted. Nick stepped into the kick, eyes locked on the ball as if nothing else existed. His boot slammed into it, a picture of grace and beauty as he followed through.
The ball sailed through the air, wobbling in its flight, but just like an arrow, it still found its mark, and split the uprights straight through the middle.
Joy and relief washed over the Titans. The players surged around Nick, lifting him up and carrying him off the field. They'd take all the advantages they could get going into the half, and they hoped the last-second field goal was enough to pluck out the Eagles' hearts.
Just like at the end of the first quarter, the lead was a fragile 4 points. Going into the half-time break, the score read in the Eagles' favour: 13–17.