As the third quarter started, I watched from the sideline as Coach Rivera made the call I'd been hoping for all game.
"Alright, first team, you're done for the night!" he announced. "Time to see what the future looks like. Second team offense, get out there!"
Finally. Time to show what Florida speed looks like.
I watched Jakari walk off the field after absolutely demolishing Serra's defense in the first half. Dude had four touchdowns and looked like he was playing against middle schoolers. The way he was running routes, making contested catches, talking shit to that four-star corner - it was like watching a completely different level of football.
That's where I need to be by my senior year. That level of dominance, that confidence, that skill. Jakari makes it look so easy, but I know that's years of work paying off.
I'd always been the fast kid. In Florida, I ran track before I ever touched a football. 100-meter dash, 200-meter, 4x100 relay - I was breaking records at my middle school. But watching Jakari out there, I realized speed was just the starting point. The route running, the hands, the football IQ, the way he used his body to create separation - that was the difference between being fast and being a football player.
I got the speed. Now I gotta develop everything else.
As we huddled up before taking the field, Jakari jogged over to us freshmen.
"Aye, young bulls," he said, pulling us aside. "Y'all about to get your shot. Remember what we worked on in practice."
He looked at Mason first. "Mason, when they press you, use that swim move I showed you. Get your outside arm over their shoulder and swim through. Don't try to power through them - technique beats strength."
Then he turned to me. "Joey, they gonna try to jam you at the line because you're small. Use your quickness to get around it, but don't run your routes too fast. Let the route develop first, then use your speed."
Real advice from someone who knows what it takes.
Antonio was pumping his fist as we jogged onto the field. "Y'all ready to see what the future of Malibu Prep looks like?" he yelled to the crowd.
I lined up in the slot on our first play, which was exactly where Coach Rivera had been using me in practice. At 5'10", 160 pounds, I wasn't built for the outside like Jakari, but I could create havoc from the slot with my quickness.
"Alright, young bulls," Antonio said in the huddle, already talking like a veteran. "Jet sweep to Joey. Let's show these dudes some Florida speed."
Jet sweep. Perfect. Time to get this show going.
I lined up about seven yards behind the line of scrimmage in the backfield. When Antonio got the snap, I was already in motion, running full speed toward the edge. The handoff was clean, and suddenly I had the ball in open space with Serra's defense scrambling to adjust.
Their outside linebacker was the only guy with an angle on me, but he was playing too aggressive, trying to make a big hit instead of just making the tackle. As he dove at me, I planted my left foot and cut back inside, watching him fly past me like he was diving into a swimming pool.
Florida move right there.
Now I had nothing but green grass in front of me. I could hear the crowd getting loud as I turned on the jets. Twenty yards, thirty yards, forty yards - I was flying down the sideline with their safety as the only guy left with a chance to catch me.
At the forty-yard line, he dove at my legs, trying to trip me up. But I jumped over his tackle attempt, keeping my balance and continuing to run. The end zone was right there, and I could see my teammates on the sideline going crazy.
TOUCHDOWN!
Fifty-five-yard touchdown run on my first carry. I crossed the goal line and immediately broke into my celebration dance - some moves I'd learned back home in Florida that nobody out here had seen before.
"FLORIDA SPEED!" I yelled, doing a little spin move followed by hitting the griddy. "Y'all can't catch this!"
MALIBU PREP 49, SERRA 7
The cameras were getting everything, and I could see Coach Rivera on the sideline pumping his fists. Antonio ran over and jumped on my back.
"That's my fucking receiver!" he yelled. "Welcome to the varsity level!"
Serra answered back on their next drive. Kendrick was feeling the pressure now and started taking more risks with his arm. He hit Brooks on a twenty-yard touchdown pass, showing they weren't going to go down without a fight.
MALIBU PREP 49, SERRA 14
When we got the ball back, Coach Rivera called a different play for me - a screen pass out of the slot. But first, he had Mason running a comeback route on the outside.
I watched Mason line up against Serra's backup corner, who was trying to press him at the line. Mason used exactly what Jakari had taught him - that swim move. As the corner tried to jam him, Mason got his outside arm over the defender's shoulder and swam through the contact, creating clean separation.
Antonio hit him with a perfect strike for a fifteen-yard gain.
"That's what I'm talking about!" Jakari yelled from the sideline. "Clean technique!"
Mason's picking it up quick. Kid's a student of the game.
Two plays later, it was my turn again. Screen pass out of the slot, just like we'd practiced.
"Screen right to Joey," Antonio called in the huddle. "Joey, make them miss, bro."
I lined up in the slot again, but this time I released like I was running a crossing route. After about three steps, I turned back toward Antonio, who was already dumping the ball off to me. Our offensive line had done their job, setting up a wall of blockers in front of me.
I caught the ball and immediately saw two linebackers coming at me. The first one took a bad angle, trying to cut me off before I got to the outside. I hit him with a nasty stutter step that got him to slow down, then blew past him to the outside.
The second linebacker had a better angle, but I'd been running track since I was eight years old. I knew how to change gears. Just when he thought he had me lined up for a tackle, I shifted into another gear and left him grabbing air.
Now I was in open field with just the safety to beat. He was coming downhill fast, probably thinking he could intimidate the little freshman. But I'd been getting hit by seniors since I was a middle schooler in Florida. I wasn't scared of contact.
At the last second, I hit him with a spin move that I'd learned from watching Tyreek Hill highlights. The safety whiffed completely, spinning around like he was dancing, and I kept running.
TOUCHDOWN!
Forty-two-yard touchdown reception, and I was feeling myself now.
MALIBU PREP 56, SERRA 14
I did my celebration dance again, this time adding some new moves. The crowd was eating it up, and I could see people in the stands recording with their phones.
"Joey's different!" I heard someone yell from our sideline.
The rest of the third quarter was back and forth. Serra wasn't going to roll over completely - they had too much pride for that. Kendrick kept making plays with his legs, and their receivers started getting more aggressive on their routes.
They scored another touchdown to make it 56-21, but we answered right back.
On our next drive, Mason got his moment to shine. Antonio called a deep crosser for him, and when Serra's corner tried to press him at the line, Mason used that swim move perfectly. He got clean separation and ran across the formation at about eighteen yards deep.
Antonio's pass was right on time, and Mason made a beautiful catch while running full speed. He immediately looked upfield and saw he had room to run. Using his intelligence and field awareness, he made a subtle cut that caused their safety to overrun the tackle, then he was off to the races.
TOUCHDOWN!
Thirty-five-yard touchdown reception for Mason, and he did a little celebration that was way more reserved than mine but still showed his excitement.
MALIBU PREP 63, SERRA 21
"MASON!" I yelled, running over to celebrate with him. "That swim move was perfect!"
Jakari was clapping from the sideline. "That's what routes looks like!" he yelled. "Technique pays off!"
Both of us are learning from the best. Jakari's not just dominating - he's teaching us how to dominate too.
Serra kept fighting though. They scored one more touchdown in the fourth quarter to make it look more respectable, showing they weren't just going to lay down completely.
MALIBU PREP 63, SERRA 28
By the time the final whistle blew, we'd put up 63 points and shown that our whole program had depth. The cameras were capturing everything - the celebration, the scoreboard, the respect between both teams after a hard-fought game.
I was breathing hard but felt incredible. In my first varsity action, I'd scored two touchdowns and shown that Florida speed could translate to California football. Mason had shown his route-running was already advanced for a freshman.
Coach Rivera gathered the whole team around him at midfield. The cameras positioned themselves to get every word.
"Listen up!" Coach Rivera yelled, his voice carrying over the crowd noise. "This is what happens when you believe in yourselves! This is what happens when you prepare right and play together!"
The whole team was hyped, clapping and yelling.
"Serra came in here thinking they could sleepwalk through this game because we're ranked twelfth. They found out tonight that rankings don't mean shit when you come to play!"
"HELL YEAH!" someone yelled from the back.
"This was just the beginning!" Coach continued. "We showed the state of California that Malibu Prep is for real! But we can't get comfortable. This is just game one. We got a whole season ahead of us."
He looked around at all of us, making eye contact with the freshmen.
"Young guys, you showed tonight that the future is bright. But don't let this go to your heads. Keep working, keep getting better, keep proving you belong."
Then he looked at the upperclassmen.
"Veterans, you showed these young bulls what leadership looks like. You set the tone from the first play and never let up. That's championship mentality."
The cameras were getting everything - the emotion on everyone's faces, the pride, the excitement.
"When this hype video comes out, I want everyone in California to see what we did tonight. I want them to see that Malibu Prep is coming for everybody!"
"MALIBU PREP!" the whole team yelled.
"MALIBU PREP!" we yelled again, even louder.
As we walked off the field, I was still buzzing from the performance. Two touchdowns, 150+ yards, and my first taste of varsity football success. Mason had his moment too, showing that route-running precision that was going to make him special.
Jakari jogged over as we headed toward the tunnel.
"Young bulls, y'all showed out tonight," he said, slapping both our shoulder pads. "Joey, that speed is special, man. Mason, that route technique is already college-level. Keep working and y'all gonna be dangerous."
"Thanks, bro," I said. "Just trying to get to your level."
"Y'all got the tools," Jakari said. "Just gotta put in the work. Speed like Joey's can't be taught, and technique like Mason's shows real football IQ. But everything else can be learned."
That's real advice from someone who knows what it takes.
The bus ride back to campus was electric. Everyone was talking about the game, watching highlights on their phones, and reliving the best plays. Antonio was already talking about our next opponent, and Brady was quietly analyzing what he could do better despite having three interceptions.
I sat in the back with Mason and some of the other freshmen, watching the videos people were already posting on social media. My touchdown runs were everywhere - Twitter, Instagram, TikTok. Mason's touchdown catch was getting love too, with people talking about his route-running technique.
This is just the beginning. We got a taste of what it feels like to dominate at this level, and we want more.
As the bus pulled into campus, I thought about the text I was going to send to my boys back home. They'd probably already seen the highlights, but I wanted them to know that the Florida kid was making noise in California.
Jakari set the standard tonight. Now it's time for me and Mason to build toward reaching that level by the time we're seniors. Speed is my foundation, technique is Mason's, but we both gotta develop everything else.
The camera crew was still filming as we got off the bus, getting shots of us walking back to the dorms with our gear bags. When this hype video came out, people were going to see that Malibu Prep wasn't just about one player - we had talent at every level.
This is what championship teams look like. Veterans leading the way, young guys stepping up when called upon, and everybody buying into the system.
As I walked back to my dorm, I was already thinking about tomorrow's practice. Time to get back to work and keep building toward something special.