At 10 AM, with the increasingly enthusiastic cheers from the surrounding audience, the invitational tournament officially began.
During the coin toss, Medford once again had good luck and got the first offensive possession.
"For the first quarter, we'll use the long and short ball tactics. Does everyone understand?" Before the game started, George called the eleven players of the offense team to him and instructed them on the upcoming tactics.
The long and short ball tactics, which emphasize teamwork, are a sign of a team's maturity.
When a team can skillfully unleash the power of these tactics, it means that team has become a strong team.
George was also consciously developing the abilities of other players on the team. After all, it's not every year that he can encounter a player as talented as Mike.
For ordinary people, football is a team sport. Only when the overall strength of the players becomes stronger can the team go further.
"Understood," Mike replied along with the others.
With his super high IQ, he immediately guessed George's thoughts.
"Very good, go!" George watched the offense team players take the field, lingering on Mike for two more seconds.
This week, the team trained most on the star tactics centered around Mike, but now they were using another mediocre tactic on the spot. George was a little worried that he would get upset.
On the other side, Aaron, who was heading to the center of the field, had the same concerns as George.
He whispered, "Mike, the coach must have his own considerations. Everyone knows your strength, and you'll definitely have a chance to show it later."
"It's alright, I'm also a member of the team." Mike's expression was calm, without any dissatisfaction.
Although he didn't say it explicitly, his meaning was clear. As a member of the football team, he would follow the coach's arrangements.
Seeing Mike's reaction, Aaron nodded with relief; everything was unsaid.
...
Beep!
As both teams lined up at midfield, the game whistle blew.
On offense, after receiving the football from the low-position passer, Aaron, at quarterback, threw a short pass to Mike behind him without thinking.
"Stop number 23, don't let him get going!"
Seeing Mike with the ball, Coach Cotton of St. Mary's High immediately became highly nervous, directing his players to double-team him.
Clearly, this coach still vividly remembered the Medford Team's dual-core tactics from last year.
Having specifically studied the weaknesses of these tactics before the game, he was now specifically instructing his players to use local defensive tactics.
It was just a shame that the Medford Team was not currently using dual-core tactics.
Taking advantage of Michael and two opposing defensive players rushing forward to double-team, Mike, with the ball, immediately executed a short return pass, throwing the football back to Aaron in front of him.
In just this short time, the other players of the Medford offense team had already taken the opportunity to spread out their formation.
When Coach Cotton of St. Mary's High on the sidelines loudly called for his players to double-team Aaron again, the football was again thrown by Aaron with a long pass to the wide receiver who was positioned very far forward.
"GO! GO!! GO!!!"
Accompanied by the huge cheers from the audience outside the stadium, the Medford wide receiver, with little defense, lived up to expectations and rushed into the opponent's end zone with the ball.
Touchdown—
Medford Score +6.
"Well done! That's it!"
In the Medford rest area, George excitedly waved his fist, and then cheered along with the audience.
Facts proved that even without relying on star players, the Medford Team had the potential to become a strong team.
Afterward, in the subsequent extra point attempt, the Medford Team also relied on teamwork to achieve another touchdown.
Medford Score +2.
The Medford Team, which scored a full 8 points in the first round of offense, had a perfect start despite a major lineup change.
And the audience, seeing the new look of their school team, felt relieved and cheered even more enthusiastically.
Shouts, cheers, and whistles intertwined—
Turning the scene into a sea of joy...
Subsequently, during the ball exchange, Sam led the defense team for Medford, taking over the game.
"How is this possible..." Coach Cotton of St. Mary's High showed a surprised expression as he watched the changing situation on the field.
Teams that can form a defense team are all strong teams.
Coach Cotton also didn't expect that in just half a year, Medford had formed its own defense team.
In fact, St. Mary's High, as a strong team's gatekeeper, had considered forming its own defense team a long time ago, but it had always lacked a bit of foundation.
Therefore, Coach Cotton was even a little envious of George now.
"Alright, don't get distracted, kids. Play according to the tactics we practiced before. Victory belongs to St. Mary's!"
After the envy, Coach Cotton did not forget his job. Taking advantage of the break before the offense, he loudly encouraged his players.
Beep!
The whistle for St. Mary's High's offensive round sounded.
The opposing quarterback, under the cover of Michael, charged forward relentlessly towards Medford's end zone.
Sam, seeing the unfavorable situation, was about to go forward to block him when he was knocked to the ground head-on by Michael.
Sam indeed had some talent in football, but compared to the top tier of players, he still had a lot of room for growth.
Michael Oher from St. Mary's High had actually only recently joined the football team.
This big guy, who was not good at talking in life and a bit Silly (simple-minded), unexpectedly showed his powerful talent on the football field.
Coach Cotton also used this to devise a set of offensive tactics suitable for him.
The offensive tactics currently used by the St. Mary's Football Team can be considered a variation of star tactics and dual-core tactics.
Among them, Michael, as a star player and one of the dual cores, does not carry the ball, but instead uses his strong body and powerful protective instincts to help his team's quarterback score points.
In these tactics, Michael does not need to think; he only needs to follow and protect his own quarterback.
It can be said that Coach Cotton, who could come up with these strange tactics based on the players' individual characteristics, had quite a bit of coaching ability.
Subsequently, the St. Mary's Football Team also steadily scored 8 points using these tactics.
When the ball possession was exchanged again, George looked at Sam, who had been substituted off and was looking dejected, and comforted him, "Don't be discouraged, Sam, you've already performed very well. Later, we'll try the double-team tactics on that big guy too..."
In sports, the gap in talent can indeed be very disheartening.
During team training, Sam had been crushed by Mike countless times, and in today's game, he was completely crushed by the opponent's big guy again.
It seemed his luck was really bad.
Even if the opponent was slightly more normal, Sam wouldn't be as disheveled as he was now.
On the other side, the game on the field continued.
Mike, on offense, once again faced the multi-person double-team from St. Mary's High. Without special tactical requirements, he leisurely led the opposing defensive players in circles near midfield.
His distraction of the opponent was very successful.
It wasn't until the football entered the opponent's backfield that Mike stopped and kindly reminded the big guy in front of him, "You don't need to be so focused on me, the football isn't with me at all..."
As he spoke, he deliberately spread his hands, indicating that he was not a threat.
However, in the face of his teasing, Michael remained sullen and silent, still diligently executing the man-marking tactic.
It was clear that before the game, the instructions Michael received were very likely to mark Mike for the entire game.
In a way, that was not wrong.
Beep!
Just as Mike was once again leading the opposing defensive players in circles, the Medford Team completed this scoring round.
At this point, Coach Cotton on the sidelines couldn't sit still. He seemed to realize that the Medford Team had no intention of using dual-core tactics until now.