The roar at Crestwood's ground mounted as the boys tore back out. 2–1 behind, forty-five minutes to save their season. Parents thumped on the barriers, classmates wielded homemade banners, and the chants of "Crestwood! Crestwood!" reverberated around the pitch.
The whistle went, and Crestwood immediately went on the front foot. In the 49th minute, Ethan wriggled free in midfield and played through Callum. Callum's shot beat the keeper but struck a post. The rebound fell to Mason, who fired it wide. Groans reverberated around the ground.
Westford reacted swiftly. In the 53rd minute, their winger sprinted down the touchline and cut inside, unleashing a curling shot. Crestwood's keeper went full length to palm it away. The travelling supporters were roaring, blood in their noses.
The game turned ugly, tackles flying in from everywhere. Ethan was chopped down twice, and Mason narrowly avoided coming to blows with Westford's captain following a late challenge. The referee's whistle wasn't given a moment to recover.
Crestwood responded in the 61st minute. Ethan jinked past two markers and played the ball through to the right winger. The cross was in perfectly for Callum, who headed it into the goal. 2–2. The roar of the crowd shook the earth as Callum strode over to hug Ethan.
"Back in it!" Mason shouted, pumping fists.
But Westford did not give in. Six minutes on, they did it again. A slick passing exchange sliced through the midfield, and their striker had room in the box. He hammered it past the keeper. 3–2 Westford. The bench went wild, the away supporters bouncing as one.
The Crestwood players looked stunned. For a moment, the noise dropped again. Ethan bent over, hands on his knees, sweat dripping into the mud. Callum jogged over and shouted in his ear, "We're not done! Not yet!"
And he was right. In the 73rd minute, Mason had brought play back in midfield and sprayed it out wide. Ethan took over, bursting into space before playing it to Callum. Callum beat his marker and smashed it low into the bottom corner. 3–3. The crowd at home erupted once more, the decibels unimaginable.
The last fifteen minutes were pandemonium. Every tackle, every clearance, every header elicited roars and gasps. Westford came within seconds of it in the 81st minute when their captain jumped highest at a corner, only for the ball to rebound off the crossbar. Two minutes later, Ethan came close to nicking it for Crestwood with a curling effort on the edge of the box that was tipped over by the keeper.
In the 88th minute, Callum was one-on-one for the third time. He tried to chip the keeper but his shot went inches wide. He collapsed to his knees in desperation as the crowd held their breath.
Four minutes of stoppage time were added. Both teams forwarded everything. At the end of it all, Westford's striker made his way through, but Mason slid in with a perfectly timed challenge to cut him out. The ball was cleared, and the referee blew the whistle.
Full-time: Crestwood 3–3 Westford.
The players crouched on the muddy grass, hands in their heads, some, others gazing up at the sky. The crowd cheered, having just witnessed one of academy football's toughest fights.
Mason sat on his crossed legs, gasping chest. "That was… madness."
Callum grinned through exhaustion. "And I still scored twice.".
Ethan leaned back on the grass, eyes shut, still ringing in his ears with the noise of the crowd. Win or lose the championship, he knew it was the kind of game he'd never forget.
And then the loudspeaker announcement: "With this result, Crestwood are champions!
The planet erupted in noise. Parents ran on to the pitch, fellow schoolmates hugged players, and scarves waved in triumph. Mason was carried on shoulders, Callum spun round with arms raised in triumph, and Ethan was surrounded by team mates.
Coach Warren held Ethan's hand firmly. "You did it. You all did it."
For the first time this season, Ethan let the pressure get to him. He wasn't Crestwood's playmaker anymore, he was a league champion.