Without anyone guarding him, Georgie easily scored a touchdown.
After kissing the football in his hands, he turned around and spread his arms, ready to embrace his teammates' celebration.
However, this time he received the same treatment as Mike had earlier.
On the field, apart from the cheers and shouts of the spectators, both teams' players gathered at midfield.
On the midfield line, Aaron lay on the ground, clutching his right wrist with a pained expression, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
"Doctor… Doctor…" George rushed onto the field with a tense expression, shouting for help.
The intense physicality of football can easily lead to injuries in players' most vulnerable areas, like their arms.
At this moment, the unnatural bend in Aaron's right hand clearly indicated a dislocated wrist.
This situation wasn't severe; normally, it would only require a bone setting and some rest to recover.
However, with the game currently in progress, Aaron's condition meant he was out of the rest of the match.
George pushed through the crowd and came to the center, asking with concern, "Aaron, are you alright?"
More than the pain in his hand, Aaron felt a deep sense of unwillingness.
Hearing his coach's question, he shook his head numbly.
Soon, the team's medical staff arrived on site with a stretcher.
Two doctors performed a quick full-body examination on Aaron and found no other injuries besides his wrist, then helped him up.
"How is he?" George asked.
"Dislocated wrist, severe contusion of muscle tissue.
He needs immediate treatment…" The doctor explained the situation.
Looking at the dejected expression on Aaron's face, George comforted him, "It's alright, Aaron, you'll have many more games to play in the future.
Right now, your main task is to cooperate with the doctor for treatment."
"I know, Coach…" Aaron murmured.
Then he perked up, walked over to Mike, and said, "The rest of the game is up to you.
Just don't be impulsive…"
At this moment, Mike was staring intently at the opponent's number twenty-three, looking ready to act.
That's right, Aaron's injury this time was caused by Tucker's tackle.
"Don't worry, with me here, they won't have an easy time." Mike gave him a reassuring smile.
That's precisely what made Aaron uneasy.
Medford High had finally achieved such good results, able to play in such a grand stadium.
Even if they lost, Aaron hoped that the Medford Team could play an exciting game witnessed by the many spectators.
As Aaron was about to say something more, Mike spoke again, "Alright, Aaron.
You need to go get treatment.
Leave things on the field to us."
By now, anyone could see that the Austin Team had come with ill intentions.
Moreover, Medford's Summer League this year, at the moment Aaron was injured, was essentially over prematurely.
Rather than passively defending in the upcoming game, Mike preferred to have a head-on confrontation with the opponent.
He wanted to see just how tough the Austin Team truly was.
"Alright, you be careful." Aaron looked at Mike's determined gaze, seemingly understanding his intention.
After scanning the field one last time, Aaron picked up his protective helmet and walked off the field.
Beep—
With Aaron's injury and departure, the head referee finally blew a defensive foul on Austin Team's number twenty-three.
Afterward, the Medford Team, now without a quarterback, called a timeout.
Generally speaking, every football team has a backup quarterback.
Unfortunately, the weak Medford Team did not have such preparations.
George had planned to train Mike as a quarterback, but this idea had not yet been fully implemented.
After scanning the faces of his players, George's gaze finally fell on Georgie.
In football, there is a tactic where the team's quarterback and receiver swap positions.
This also indirectly shows that receivers and quarterbacks have similarities.
The difference might be that the physical quality of a wide receiver is far less robust than that of a quarterback.
Given the emergency, George couldn't afford to be too picky and had to try whatever he could.
"Georgie, going forward, I need you to take on the duties of quarterback.
Any problems?" George asked.
"I, I…" A look of panic appeared on Georgie's face.
To be honest, Georgie hadn't yet recovered from the series of events that just transpired.
Faced with his father's sudden question, he didn't know how to react for a moment.
As Georgie hesitated, Mike spoke up, "Coach, why don't you let me try?"
This time, it was George's turn to hesitate.
He thought for a moment and asked uncertainly, "Mike, are you sure?"
The quarterback is the most skilled and versatile person on a team.
He not only needs to organize the players' offense and defense but also needs to have good vision and the ability to find opportunities.
Things like long throws and receiving abilities are also essential fundamentals for a quarterback.
"I'm sure." Mike nodded affirmatively.
Then, to add conviction, he continued, "I already have the ability to make long throws; Georgie can attest to that."
Beside him, Georgie nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
The importance of the quarterback position dictates that the person in that role will face immense pressure.
At this moment, Georgie was clearly not ready for that kind of pressure.
George saw both of their reactions.
Finally, he made up his mind: "Alright, from now on, Mike will be the team's quarterback.
Does anyone else have any objections?"
This question was completely unnecessary.
At this moment, the Medford Team players all looked disheartened, seemingly having lost hope for this game; they just wanted this torment to end quickly.
Yes, because of the vast difference in strength between the two teams, this game felt like torture for the Medford players.
Seeing that no one spoke up, George said, "Since everyone has no objections, then Mike will serve as the team's quarterback from now on.
On the field, everyone must follow his instructions…"
The quarterback's leadership ability can often determine a team's minimum performance.
To facilitate communication with teammates, every qualified quarterback almost always has a unique set of hand signals: a clenched fist might be calling for teammates to block, while open fingers might be telling teammates to spread out…
Of course, Mike didn't have time for all that now.
His commands would likely be conveyed verbally.
After confirming the quarterback, George looked at Sam and said, "Sam, if I put you back at the running back position now, can you fulfill your duties?"
Because the Medford Team adopted a dual-core strategy, the tactical status of the running back was significantly elevated.
It could be said that in the Medford Team, the importance of the running back was not much less than that of the quarterback.
"I can, Coach." Sam excitedly promised.
With Mike's successful example, Sam, returning to the running back position, only needed to emulate him.
Moreover, Sam also wanted to prove himself again; his previous performance at tight end was not good at all.
It could be said that Sam, who still wanted to prove himself, was one of the few people left on the team who still had fighting spirit.
Just then, Mike raised his hand.
"Is there anything else?" George asked.
"Given the team's current situation, I think we need to change our tactics.
A rushing strategy would be good—" Mike suggested.
In Mike's opinion, with Aaron gone, continuing to use the dual-core interweaving tactic would only be slow suicide.
Rather than that, it would be better to have a head-on battle with the opponent.
This was also Mike's plan from early on.