The two-minute timeout quickly passed, and upon returning to the field, Mike noticed three or four pairs of eyes from the opposing team subtly glancing his way.
George was right; he was indeed being specially targeted by the opponent.
Mike looked towards midfield, and Aaron's situation was much the same. He was being marked by three opponents, including Tucker.
This timeout had made the opposing coach's strategy clearer: thoroughly restrict the movements of Aaron and Mike.
Their goal was to completely shut down the Medford Team on both offense and defense.
It must be said that while this "beheading" strategy was crude, it was quite effective against the current Medford.
Beep—
As the whistle for Austin's new offensive drive sounded, Mike was immediately entangled by three opponents before he could even move much.
These three formed a triangle around Mike, not actively engaging in a direct confrontation but continuously compressing his range of movement.
It seemed their true objective was merely to tie Mike down.
If Mike were allowed to run, or if it were a one-on-one situation, he was absolutely confident he could defeat the three in front of him.
However, in this kind of situation, with insufficient space to maneuver and opponents surrounding him without attacking, Mike found it difficult to break free in a short amount of time.
Moreover, the situation on the field was constantly changing, and these three didn't need to hold him for long.
They only needed to hold Mike for a few seconds to create enough offensive space for their quarterback.
In the center of the field, Aaron was also surrounded by three opponents, including Tucker.
In just that short time, the opposing quarterback easily broke through Medford's first line of defense.
Meanwhile, Sam, who hadn't received enough attention from the opponents, quickly organized a second line of defense with the remaining teammates.
Sam, who had been watching the opposing quarterback, suddenly launched a surprise attack, charging fiercely from the side towards the opposing quarterback holding the ball.
This time, Sam's timing for the sneak attack was excellent.
George on the sidelines noticed the situation. He was almost ready to cheer for Sam's action…
"Bang—"
A violent collision sound rang out!
However, the result was not ideal; the opposing quarterback merely staggered a few steps before regaining his balance.
Conversely, Sam, who had initiated the attack, was bounced off by the opponent and landed on the grass with a thud.
The fierce expression on his face now turned bewildered.
Mike, still in the encirclement, also noticed the situation over there. Seeing Sam's comical fall, he really wanted to go over and ask, "What are you doing?"
After withstanding Sam's sneak attack, the opposing quarterback, protected by his own linemen, easily scored a touchdown.
After a round of offense and defense, Mike pushed away the opponents still blocking him and walked towards midfield.
There, Aaron, who had also been double-teamed, was once again knocked to the ground.
As Mike approached, the three opponents who had been holding Aaron back appropriately retreated.
However, Tucker, who was walking last, deliberately kicked Aaron's helmet as he passed him.
This kick might not have caused much harm, but it was extremely insulting.
"You're asking for it—" Seeing this, Mike immediately rushed over.
Sensing Mike's anger, Tucker's face showed a disdainful expression. Then, his body tensed up, ready for a collision.
Neither of them said anything more; a conflict was inevitable.
"Bang—"
In the violent impact, Tucker, who was a size larger, fell to the ground.
It wasn't until Mike stepped forward and grabbed the opponent's chest protector that the two Austin players, who had been preparing to watch the show, reacted.
They quickly stepped forward, trying to pull Mike away.
Beep—
Just as Mike was grappling with three opponents, the head referee arrived at the scene of the conflict.
Amidst the enthusiastic jeering from the sidelines, the head referee pulled out a yellow handkerchief and called a foul on Mike.
Then, the referee looked at the three Austin players a few more times, hesitated, and then put away the handkerchief.
Seeing this, Mike stepped forward to argue, "Number twenty-three just kicked our captain's head; he should receive a warning penalty."
Perhaps the jeering from the sidelines prompted the head referee to explain, "I didn't see number twenty-three kick anyone; I only saw you unnecessarily collide with the opponent."
Clearly, this was an intentional bias.
Many of the spectators who were jeering on the sidelines had seen the actions of Austin's number twenty-three. As the head referee responsible for calls on the field, how could he not have seen it?
Mike was mentally prepared for receiving a foul, but he was very displeased with the head referee's obvious favoritism.
Just as Mike was about to step forward to continue arguing, Aaron, who had gotten up, quickly stopped him. On the field, getting into a conflict with the head referee was not a wise choice.
At this moment, number twenty-three Tucker, who was being helped up by his teammates, saw the indignant expression on Mike's face.
He took advantage of the moment the head referee turned his head to make a throat-slitting gesture to Mike, then looked at Aaron, revealing a provocative sneer.
Aaron, focused on the game, didn't pay much attention to the opponent's provocation. Seeing Mike about to lose his temper again, he quickly advised, "Mike, don't be impulsive. It's still game time. If you get sent off, we're done for in this game."
In this game, Medford could truly only rely on Aaron and Mike. If one of them left the field, then this game might as well be conceded.
Realizing this, Mike's mind calmed down. He gave a cold glare to Tucker, who was looking smug, then turned and walked towards the backfield.
...
The game continued. Outside the Medford end zone's five-yard line, Austin High was preparing for a two-point conversion.
For this conversion opportunity, Austin High chose a more conservative scoring method; they sent in their kicker.
Compared to rushing for two points again, kicking the ball through the goalposts above the end zone from the five-yard line was simpler.
Beep—
With the whistle for the extra point, Austin High's kicker, under the cover of his teammates, successfully kicked a good ball.
After the football passed through the goalposts in mid-air, the Austin team steadily gained one point.
15:8
Austin High once again extended their lead.
Subsequently, both teams returned to midfield and rearranged their formations.
This time, the offensive possession went to Medford.
Beep—
After the kickoff, Aaron, carrying the football, only advanced two steps before being stopped by Tucker again.
Afterward, Aaron made two changes in direction but still couldn't shake off his opponent's entanglement.
With the offense intercepted, Aaron's best option at this moment was to pass the ball. However, when he looked towards Mike, he saw him being double-teamed by four opponents.
Clearly, forcing a pass to Mike now was not a good choice.
It was at this moment that Aaron keenly noticed Georgie, the receiver, who was very well-positioned in the opponent's backfield.
At the last moment before being tackled, Aaron changed his posture, using his waist to power his arm, and threw a long pass.
The football arced through the air and landed in Georgie's arms in the opponent's backfield. This ball flew over fifteen yards, an absolutely perfect long pass.
Georgie, who caught the football, was momentarily stunned, and then he realized that he and Aaron had completed a beautiful play.
Excited, Georgie reacted quickly, immediately cradling the football and rushing towards the opponent's end zone.