They all nodded, and we took the field.
I lined up next to Tim, and we surveyed the Eastside formation. They usually spread everyone out to force us to cover the whole field. This time, they had four receivers lined up on my side of the field and only one on Tim’s. I looked at Tim.
“Bubble screen,” I told him as I ran out to help, leaving him to man the middle.
A bubble screen was when a receiver on the outside ran towards the quarterback on the snap to receive the ball. Either receivers or pulling linemen will try to outnumber the defenders to give the receiver room to run. If done correctly, it’s almost impossible to defend against.
I read it correctly and darted between all the blockers to make the tackle. When we saw it on film on Monday, it looked like Eastside was set up for a big gain; their blockers had gained a good head of steam. Then I flashed through all of them, and the receiver’s momentum changed instantly from moving forward to flying backward to land on his butt.
The kid was tough. I might have fumbled if I’d been hit that hard. Even then, it turned out to be the third consecutive play where the training staffs were busy helping a player off the field.
Eastside was able to drive to just over the middle of the field, but we stopped them, forcing a punt. Their kicker shanked it, and we started our next drive at the 36 yard line. I chuckled when Coach Mason called the same play again. I don’t think they thought we would do it again because they pulled a safety up to defend against the run. It was a simple pitch and catch for Roc as we took a 14–0 lead.
On the next series, Eastside made the mistake of throwing over the middle on a crossing pattern. Coach Rector wanted us to drop back and keep everything in front of us. Once they caught the ball, we were to punish them. Their receiver caught the ball, and I think he thought he could outrun me. He saw that wasn’t the case and should have gone down, happy for the gain. Instead, he juked towards the center of the field. This time, the kid’s helmet went flying when Tim laid the wood to him. I saw the helmet pop loose, and at first thought it was the football.
While we waited for the training staff, Tim pulled us all into a huddle and checked to make sure all our chin straps were tight. I kept my smart comments to myself because Tim was showing leadership. The implied message was he expected all of them to hit the Eastside players as hard as he’d just done.
Eastside’s receivers gained my respect. They didn’t back down as we made them pay for every yard they gained. Our rivals put together a nine-play drive that resulted in a touchdown. They were now within one score.
On the ensuing kickoff, Ty ripped off a big run to put the football on their 45 yard line. The Eastside coaches called another blitz, this time from a safety. He snuck through our line, and I spotted him at the last second. There was enough room to step up in the pocket to avoid him as he ran by me. He made a desperation move and reached for me, grabbing my facemask and about jerking me off my feet.
My dojo training kicked in, and I delivered a palm strike to his shoulder, which caused him to release me. Since my freshman year, my neck had been injured several times. I felt a sharp pain and instantly saw red. I was pissed and ready to dish out some retribution. The referee had thrown his flag to give us a free play. I decided to tuck it and run as the pocket began to close on me.
Their defensive tackle grabbed a handful of jersey, but I brushed off his attempt and stepped forward, intent on plowing through the line. Johan, Brock, and Bryan got tangled up with their linemen, which created a huge pile. I was stopped, but I wasn’t giving up. By force of will, I began to push through the mass of humanity that blocked my escape. I just kept digging and suddenly burst out of the pile.
Two of their linemen had hold of me, and I just ripped loose. I almost fell, but gathered myself and ran up the middle of the field. The stadium erupted. It was loud enough that it nearly drowned out our cowbells. I think practically every defender either had a shot at me or failed to finish the tackle. I pounded my way across the goal line. We were now up 21–7.
Right before the half, Eastside put up another score on an illegal pick play. They had one of their receivers ‘accidentally’ run into Ed, who was defending the receiver that scored. Coach Rector made his case, but the officials let the play stand.
◊◊◊
At halftime, we split up between offense and defense and made adjustments for the second half. I had Marshal capture the halftime show the marching bands put on. For once, I did care that the other team might know what we planned.
“Did you see David’s run? Did you notice his determination, his reckless abandon?” Coach Mason asked. “I want to see more of that from all of you. This game has turned physical. Something I’ve learned is, when that happens, you need to be the ones delivering the punishment. The worst thing you can do is to jog out of bounds because that’s when you’re going to get hurt.”
“I agree,” Roc shared. “They’re playing through the whistle, and I’ve been hit trying to get out of bounds. I would rather face it than get caught unaware.”
The times I’d been hurt had occurred when I wasn’t prepared. If I could deliver the blow, I was fine. It was when they came out of nowhere that I was worried about.
“Be sure to secure the ball,” Coach Mason warned, and then gave us our directions.
I skipped out of the end and stepped over to the defensive coaching session.
“This could get contentious before it’s over. I want the linemen to be extra careful. When tempers flare, I’ve seen offensive linemen try to take the legs out of a defender. I don’t want any of you to get hurt,” Coach Rector warned.
In my opinion, that was one of the dirtiest plays in football. Hitting someone in the knees could ruin their football career.
“Something else,” Coach Rector continued. “If the referees aren’t going to call the pick play, I want you to flatten the obstructing receiver. If they’re going to cheat, they need to pay for it.”
I was never one who thought two wrongs made a right, but if I was going to get hit, I wanted to make it worthwhile.
“When it happens, you have to switch. If your receiver’s on the ground, pick up the one running free. I want the safeties to keep an eye on this potentially happening. You must warn your teammates. If you have to, tackle them both. I would rather take the penalty than give up a score,” Coach Rector instructed us.
We’d practiced against this play and knew what to do. The problem was that we’d prepared for the referees to make the call if it were an illegal pick. The offensive players could cross, but they couldn’t run into the defenders while doing it. It gave them an unfair advantage.
It was almost time to go back out. Coach Hope had us all gather around.
“We did okay in the first half, but this one isn’t over. This is the game that Eastside circled on the calendar this year as the one they wanted. They caught a break on that last score. You need to know that no one is going to give you this game. I want the defense to get us some turnovers. We can’t let them drive down the field with ten-play drives.
“They get the ball first in the second half. I don’t care what you have to do, get us the football. When we get it back, I want all eleven men on the field to do their job. If we do that, we can start to take over this game. I thought we were there in the first half, but they found a way to close the gap.
“Now go out there and win this,” Coach Hope concluded.
“Who are we?” I barked.
“Bulldogs!”
◊◊◊
On the first series, Eastside started to move the ball down the field.
Then ‘the tip’ happened. There are some plays that get a name and are remembered for years to come. Auburn has ‘the prayer.’ In 2013, they had a 20-point lead over Georgia. However, three straight touchdowns from the Bulldogs, including the go-ahead score with 1:49 left on the clock, quieted a stunned hometown crowd. The Auburn offense struggled to respond and faced a 4th-and-18 at its own 27 yard line. Then ‘the prayer’ happened. They threw a pass into triple coverage and hit a Georgia defender in the hands. But it bounced off him and to the Auburn receiver, who scored a seventy-three-yard touchdown to win the game.