Santa Ana Stadium – 5:57 p.m.
Just a few blocks from Mater Dei, the Santa Ana Stadium stood bathed in the golden light of the late afternoon sun.
With a capacity of 9,000 spectators, its stands were already about seventy percent full, buzzing with a mix of chatter, laughter, and the metallic echo of the marching band tuning their instruments.
The aroma of cheesy nachos, freshly made hot dogs, and popcorn hung in the air, blending with the fresh scent of recently watered grass.
At that hour, the entrances were packed with groups of students arriving in waves, most wearing Mater Dei's red and white jerseys, others waving pompoms or holding up homemade signs. Whole families searched for seats, friends greeted each other with hugs and playful shoves, and the band was almost ready.
Among the crowd, Andrew's family had arrived more than an hour early, determined not to miss a single second.
Cam and Mitch chatted animatedly as they got Lily settled, her little eyes scanning everything with curiosity. Claire and Phil took seats next to them.
Phil fully dressed in red, his cheeks painted with Andrew's number 19, and wearing a matching jersey.
Jay stood nearby, arms crossed, surveying the field with a serious look. Gloria was next to him, wearing a red jacket that matched the team colors, she was chatting with Manny who dressed impeccably as usual.
The younger group sat together: Haley, Willa, Pippa, Leonard, Howard, Alex, and Luke.
Haley was snapping pictures and recording video with her phone, impressed by the size of the stadium, much bigger than Palisades, and by the atmosphere. There was still an hour until kickoff, but the place was already nearly full.
Next to her, Willa wore a red Mater Dei jersey with the number 19 on the back. She chatted with Haley while her eyes scanned the field.
Howard, as usual, had his camera in hand, filming everything for the video Andrew would later upload to his channel, although he silently admitted he was spending a few too many seconds on the cheerleaders' practice routines.
Luke, sitting beside him, wore a red cap with the letters "MD" embroidered on the front.
"Look, Luke, over there!" Howard said in a conspiratorial tone, lowering his voice and pointing with his chin. "That's called a basket toss."
Luke followed the camera's direction and saw one of the cheerleaders being launched into the air by her teammates, spinning before landing safely in their arms.
"Whoa!" Luke exclaimed with his usual enthusiasm. "I wish I was the one throwing her!"
"Well said. I know there are guys who help the cheerleaders with that stuff, maybe you could join in high school. Though… it's not the most masculine thing," Howard muttered at the end.
You also needed to be in good shape to throw or catch a girl mid-air, even if she weighed 110 pounds or less.
Claire, sitting in the row behind them, overheard the conversation and couldn't help but frown.
"We've only been here ten minutes and you're already talking about the cheerleaders," she murmured in a dangerous tone, her eyes locked on Howard.
"What's wrong with that?" Phil asked with an innocent smile. "Howard's just giving Luke some motivation to follow in my footsteps as a cheerleader! I was one in high school. Like father, like son!"
Claire shot him a sideways look. "I think you're confusing Luke's motivations with your own…" she muttered under her breath, letting Phil go on believing his son wanted to be a cheerleader for the acrobatics, and not for more hormonal reasons.
Next to Howard and Luke, oblivious to the cheerleader conversation, sat Leonard, Pippa, and Alex.
Alex was observing the students with academic interest until she commented, "They say Mater Dei's academics are really good…"
"They are," Leonard said, adjusting his glasses. "The average SAT score here is 1880 out of 2400. The national average is 1500."
"And they have advanced programs with a very high standard," Pippa added. "Though Palisades for a public school, is actually pretty good."
She didn't say it to defend her school, but because it was true. While Mater Dei might be a tougher step up, it wasn't an impossible leap. In fact, many Palisades students could probably outperform some at Mater Dei on the SAT, just as she and Leonard likely would.
Alex nodded, studying the students' faces. They didn't look much different from them, nor like the stereotypical "snobs" Andrew joked he didn't want to become.
The truth was, with a solid family income, a household could send their kid here without falling into that stereotype.
Mitch, for example, earned over $8,000 a month. Paying an annual tuition of $14,000, about $1,166 a month, was perfectly doable. Even with two children, it would be manageable.
On the other hand, for the Dunphys, with three kids and only one stable salary, that figure of over $3,000 a month would be a serious headache.
Jay, owning his own business, could easily afford it for one, two, or three children. In short, Mater Dei's students weren't from a social world so far removed from Palisades.
"Speaking of the SAT…" Alex asked with curiosity, "Are you guys already preparing for this year's?"
"Of course," Pippa answered without hesitation, and Leonard nodded.
"What are your target scores?" Alex asked, raising a brow at both of them. She'd never thought she'd be closer friends with her cousin's friends than with her own classmates.
She got along very well with Pippa and Leonard, sharing a lot, especially in the academic world.
"I'm aiming for at least 2000 out of 2400," Pippa replied.
Leonard gave a cautious smile. "I'll do my best," he said, avoiding giving a number.
Alex and Pippa stared at him in disbelief.
"Come on, Leonard…" Alex said. "With your IQ of 173, if anyone can get a perfect score, it's you."
Alex never would have thought that the first day she saw Leonard arriving at her house with her cousin, she was looking at someone with such a high IQ.
"Exactly," Pippa added. "You're way smarter than almost everyone here, including us."
Leonard shrugged, uncomfortable with the praise. "Being smart doesn't mean I can't make mistakes."
"You're right, but in your case, the odds are pretty low," Alex replied, looking him straight in the eye.
Next to them sat Haley and Willa. The last thing Haley would do at a Friday night game was start talking about a test that was still more than six months away. Even though she now had a clearer goal for her future, she wasn't about to waste a moment like this thinking about the SAT.
"I love your shirt, it looks great on you," Haley said, eyeing Willa's red top with approval.
"Right?" Willa replied with a confident smile. "I bought it online, Andrew's number 19 and all."
Pippa, close enough to hear, glanced sideways at Willa, narrowing her eyes slightly. She didn't say anything, but she couldn't help recalling her conversation with Andrew days ago, and the expensive gift Willa had given him.
Seeing her here now, at the game, wearing his jersey number, was an uncomfortable reminder. Alex and Leonard, absorbed in their academic talk, noticed nothing.
"And," Willa continued with a small, mischievous smile, "it matches Phil. He's wearing the number 19 jersey too."
Phil, overhearing, raised his hand to high-five Willa like they were old stadium buddies.
"Team 19!" Phil exclaimed enthusiastically.
Willa matched his energy. "Team 19!" she echoed playfully.
The band began its show, filling the air with vibrant music and choreographed movements that kept the crowd on its feet and energized.
At exactly 6:45, the cheerleaders and band formed a perfect lane down the center of the field. Two cheerleaders held a giant banner with the Mater Dei logo and colors. Thousands of eyes turned toward the tunnel entrance, expectant.
Suddenly, the announcer's ceremonious voice boomed through the speakers:
"Ladies and gentlemen… please welcome… the Mater Dei Monarchs!"
A roar of cheers and shouts exploded in the stadium. From the tunnel, the team charged onto the field, breaking through a cloud of red and gold smoke pouring from portable machines on each side.
Andrew, at the front, tore through the banner in a burst of paper as the band played the Mater Dei fight song at full force.
Andrew looked toward the stands and was stunned, the stadium was completely packed, triple the crowd that Palisades could hold. The scale of it was real, and you could feel it in your skin.
As for why he was leading the entrance instead of Kevin Brown, a senior, defensive leader, and four-star prospect, it was a direct decision from Bruce. He wanted Andrew to make a statement as the new starting quarterback.
Once on the field, Andrew scanned the crowd for his family, Pippa, and the others. When he spotted them, he raised his hand in greeting. In return, he got a mix of cheers, waves, and encouraging gestures from that entire section of the stands.
After the home team's introduction, it was Narbonne's turn. Their entrance was much more low-key; the smaller visiting section couldn't come close to matching the atmosphere in the rest of the stadium.
The game began with the opening kickoff. Narbonne put the ball into play, so Mater Dei set up their return team. Andrew, meanwhile, watched from the sideline.
At Palisades, he was usually part of the return team, but here the coaching staff was firm: a starting quarterback doesn't get exposed in a play like that. The risk of injury was too high for such a valuable position.
He knew Nick and Victor had the perfect combination of reflexes and acceleration for that role. And while he himself was quick, with sharp reflexes and even better strength numbers than both, he understood there was no sense in taking the risk.
It wasn't common for a QB to be in on a return, especially not in an elite program like Mater Dei.
The game started evenly. Narbonne showed why they were back-to-back LAUSD regional champions. Their offense was solid both on the ground and through the air, and Mater Dei's defense had to be careful and fully focused.
Still, it was Andrew who opened the scoring with a 45-plus-yard pass to Victor, who, after catching the ball, cut toward the middle and ran the rest of the way into the end zone. The stadium's roar rose above even the band's music.
The two-point conversion was good. Even so, Narbonne answered with a sustained drive that tied the score.
In the second quarter, Andrew struck again: a 25-yard pass to Sedric, who slipped into the end zone between two defenders. Another successful conversion: 16–8.
But Narbonne didn't back down. They kept attacking and managed to keep the gap close. Mater Dei's defense was struggling more than expected.
In the third quarter, Andrew connected on a deep 38-yard pass to Victor once again, showing great chemistry and precision.
24–15.
In the fourth quarter, Mater Dei's defense finally managed to get the ball back without Narbonne scoring. It was the perfect chance to pull away on the scoreboard and, in the process, run down the clock.
Andrew led the offense, pushing toward the end zone. Everything pointed to him getting his fourth touchdown of the night, capping off an impeccable performance.
However, halfway through the final quarter, he made his only mistake of the night. He forced a pass into an area where, suddenly, two defenders had closed the gap.
The opposing cornerback jumped in front of the receiver and snatched the ball.
"The cornerback, number 47, intercepts our quarterback's pass and starts running like there's no tomorrow!" the commentator exclaimed, leaning forward in his seat.
Neither he nor anyone else in the stadium had expected an interception from Andrew that night. With three flawless touchdowns up to that point and surgical passes, he was the undisputed MVP.
'Damn,' Andrew thought, pivoting sharply and taking off at full speed.
The pass had been long enough that he still had time to catch him, if his teammates didn't bring him down first.
But neither Thomas nor Nick, who were the closest, managed to stop him.
Andrew calculated the angle precisely, and just a few yards before Mater Dei's 40-yard line, he hit him with a low, clean, and powerful tackle.
The impact tore up chunks of grass and drew a roar from the crowd. Andrew got to his feet immediately, brushing grass off his leg with a frustrated grimace over his mistake. Even so, he received cheers from the stands and pats on the helmet from his teammates.
When he returned to the sideline, Bruce and Rick greeted him with approving looks.
"Well done," Bruce said curtly.
"Not every quarterback throws himself in for a hit like that," Rick added. "Though I'd rather you didn't, because of the risk of a shoulder injury or something like that… then again, with your strength, I doubt it would happen," he finished, chuckling more to himself than to Andrew.
Andrew nodded, though he wasn't satisfied.
He knew that a decent quarterback in a program like Mater Dei could finish the season with ten or fifteen interceptions without anyone panicking. For example, Max Wittek, in his previous season as a junior, had finished with nine interceptions in nine games, an average of one per game.
But Andrew didn't see himself as a "decent" quarterback. At Palisades, he had finished his freshman year with just three interceptions all season. In his sophomore year, the same: only three. Playing 14 or 15 games, that meant an average of 0.2.
And although he had prevented a pick-six, that blemish burned inside him.
A pick-six is a play in which a defensive player intercepts a pass and then runs the ball all the way into the end zone, resulting in a touchdown.
Still, thanks to his tackle near the 40-yard line, Mater Dei's defense managed to stop Narbonne and force them to give up the ball without scoring.
With just over five minutes on the clock, Mater Dei's offense returned to the field. This time, Andrew took control calmly, executing safe plays, moving down after down, running down the clock, and inching dangerously close to the opposing end zone.
Finally, on one play, as he took the snap, Andrew dropped back three steps and began scanning the field. One… two… three seconds. Just as he reached the fourth, a defensive lineman weighing over 220 pounds broke through on the right side, forcing Andrew out of the pocket.
Instead of throwing in a rush, he faked a short pass, and just as the defender lunged at him, Andrew made a sharp body feint, shifting his weight to the left, only to change direction at the last moment and go right.
The defender bit on the fake, ending up just a step short of grabbing him.
Andrew accelerated through the gap, leaving the big man behind. He crossed the line of scrimmage and kept going. Fifteen yards… sixteen… and, with one last burst, crossed into the end zone after an 18-yard run.
The stadium erupted in cheers. The band played at full force. The cheerleaders did their routine. From the sideline, Bruce allowed himself the faintest smile, a rare gesture from him, while Rick clapped with a smile; it had been a long time since he'd had a true dual-threat quarterback.
The two-point conversion was good, and after that, Narbonne didn't have time to score.
Final score: 32–15 for Mater Dei.
Andrew finished the night with an MVP-worthy performance: 4 total touchdowns, 3 through the air and 1 on the ground, over 300 passing yards, and just one interception.
When the final whistle blew, the crowd sent him off with an ovation. His teammates surrounded him with pats on the back and congratulations; the coaching staff did the same, acknowledging he had done an excellent job.
After changing, Andrew met his family at the stadium exit. He was greeted with enthusiastic hugs. Pippa practically jumped on him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him on the lips while congratulating him with a radiant smile.
"Feelings about your first star performance?" Howard asked, holding up the camera and raising his voice to make sure it was recorded clearly.
"Good. We played a solid game. The defense responded really well from the third quarter on…" Andrew began to answer.
"Oh, come on, spill it," Willa cut in with a mischievous smile.
Andrew arched a brow at her. "Spill what?"
"That you're clearly still upset about the interception," she shot back.
Andrew stayed silent for a few seconds, staring at her until he couldn't help but smile, raising his hands in mock surrender. "True… is it that obvious?"
Everyone nodded at once.
"When you tackled that guy, I could feel your hatred toward number 47 for catching your pass," Howard joked, making everyone laugh.
"It's not a big deal," Haley chimed in. "You threw four touchdowns. And I did some digging…"
Andrew looked at her in surprise, raising a brow and waiting for her to continue.
"Last year, the starting QB, this guy Max, threw 24 touchdowns in nine games. That's an average of 2.6 per game. You're already crushing that average with 4. If you keep it up…"
Haley and the others also knew that even these preseason games counted toward official stats. The previous season, Max had played 2 friendlies, 5 league games, and 2 playoff matches (Mater Dei was eliminated in the section quarterfinals), for a total of 9 games.
While anyone might think that because it's a friendly it's easier to pad the numbers, the reality wasn't that simple. In these kinds of matchups, opponents are often from the same Division, as in this case with Narbonne, who were two-time regional champions in their section.
And since it was the first serious game of the season, not a summer tournament or an intrasquad scrimmage, it was normal for teams to still be "warming up" and gaining rhythm as the weeks went by.
It's not when the offense is at its sharpest or the defense at its strongest.
That's why opening the year with a performance of four touchdowns, over 300 yards, and just one interception against a rival of that caliber isn't something you see every day, especially for a quarterback debuting in a new program.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence. We'll see soon enough if I can keep up the average. I didn't know you were a sports analyst now," Andrew said with a faint smile as he walked with them toward the parking lot.
"Shut up, it's just an easy internet search," Haley replied with a dismissive wave.
And so, Andrew headed home with his first Mater Dei game in the books.
-------------------------------------------------
You can read 15 chapters in advance on my patreon.
Link: https://[email protected]/Nathe07