The Titans couldn't even pick themselves up and get organised as the Golden Hawks' offence moved onto the field. None of the Titans were in position, so Coach Otsen was forced to use a timeout.
Even then, he couldn't stem the bleeding that had begun.
In just two plays the game had flipped on its head. All it took was one chink in the Titans' resolve, a moment of hesitation, to let doubt creep in, then, so too did exhaustion.
'Oh come on… please, don't give up now.' Jackson clenched his fists tightly.
Tommy sat back with a sigh. 'They gave it a good shot, didn't they?'
Both brothers looked down at the Titans bench a few rows in front of them. Most players were hunched over in their seats, heads hanging as they panted like they'd just finished a marathon.
Petey had his head in his hands. Vincent lay on the turf, his big belly falling and rising greatly. Kenny rubbed his legs, trying to turn them back into a pair of rockets rather than the useless jelly they'd become.
Coach Otsen didn't say much—he knew they were too tired to listen. Coach Knight was the one who had the most poignant words. He simply said: 'You all played great.'
After the timeout was over, and the Titans were forced back onto the field, they no longer had the strength to resist the Hawks.
The Hawks switched from their rapid offence to a much more dragged-out game plan as they ran all over the exhausted Titans.
They put up another touchdown, extending the score to 37–16, where it'd stay for the remainder of the game.
The Titans shambled to their locker room after the final whistle blew. The crowd's cheers faded as they filed into the dark, depressing room. There was no celebrating for them tonight. There was only the uncomfortable quiet of a soul-shattering loss after they'd given their all and still fell short.
Coach Otsen looked around at everyone. A heavy silence hung in the air. It was Pete who broke it when he simply said: 'I'm sorry.'
'No,' Ken said. 'I'm sorry. It's my fault. If I could've stopped him from scoring, and if I caught that pass.'
'I'm the one who underthrew it, I missed too many passes.'
'Enough,' Coach Otsen said. The room fell quiet again. 'We are a team. We all share the glory of victory, and the fault in defeat. But winning and losing is not the end all, be all. Do you know what my job is as your coach?'
Many brows furrowed around the room before Freddy raised his hand. 'T-To ensure we're strong enough, and have the right game plan to win?'
'Partially correct. Winning is important, of course. But it is not my primary objective as your coach. No, what's most important is that you are all given the tools to succeed in your careers. I am here to ensure you all realise your true potential. Your development is the most important thing. This game—this loss—will be more rewarding for your development than all of your wins this year combined.'
There were muted murmurs around the room as the players seemed confused by the speech.
'Even as I stand here now, you boys are already much greater players than you were before the start of the game. Learn from this experience. Your careers as high school athletes have only just begun. You're going to be so much stronger after this. Now, go home, get some rest. You've earned it. I'll see you all at practice.'
Kenny bent down. He was sore all over as he fumbled with the laces of his cleats. Next to him, he heard Pete laugh. He looked over. 'What are you laughing about?'
'Hm? Oh, I don't know. I've just… never seen the coach so calm after a loss. I guess that means we really did give it our all this time, and there just wasn't anything we could do.'
Kenny looked away. 'This time. This is the last time we lose to them, EVER.'
Eventually, Kenny gingerly exited the locker room and walked to the stands as the varsity teams were warming up. Jackson and Tommy waved at him from their seats and he waved back. He checked in with his parents, then walked to Jackson and Tommy and sat with them.
'You're cool to drive me home again, right?' he asked.
'Of course,' Tommy said. He waved at Kenny's parents; they soon left and went on their merry way home.
Kenny slumped down in his seat, closing his eyes. He was glad the sun was finally setting, and hoped things would cool down quickly once it was gone.
'You guys… you guys were amazing out there,' Jackson said.
Kenny slowly opened his eyes and looked over. 'Thanks. Though, it still feels pretty shitty to have lost, especially after all that. I just … don't know what more I could've done. If I could've caught that pass maybe we'd come back, but my legs … they just wouldn't, they wouldn't move.'
'Sometimes you have games like that,' Tommy said. 'Where no matter what you do it's never enough. You just have to learn from it, keep moving forward, and keep practising hard so that the next time you face them you're even stronger.'
'When I get back, I promise they won't beat us,' Jackson said, his voice full of conviction.
Kenny smiled and held a fist up. 'I'll hold you to that.'
Jackson grinned, enthusiastically bumping fists. 'Bet.'
Kenny sighed. He sat up and settled in to watch the varsity game. 'You know, maybe if I was a bit better with my coverages and defensive play, we would've won.'
'Hm, yeah, it's tough though, having to do both, playing the full sixty minutes, especially when the other team isn't letting you even get breaks between plays.'
'I can't believe I let that guy burn me like that, though. So lame.'
'I wouldn't worry about it too much,' Tommy said. 'It happens, even to the best of us.'
'Still. He's not that good I just… I let him get in my head.'
Jackson looked away, biting the inside of his cheeks as he thought about the boogeyman plaguing his own mind. 'Well … you have to use them as motivation, and know that, next time you face them, you're not going to let the same thing happen.'
'Yeah.' Kenny nodded. 'Next time I'll show him.' Kenny remembered his personal score against Dexter—one touchdown and one interception versus just one touchdown by itself. The interception was what set them apart. The interception was what ended the game.
'But hey, you can worry about that later, after you rest and your body has recovered enough for another training session. For now, just sit back and relax as we enjoy some good football,' Tommy said, smiling as the varsity game began.
They all watched, Kenny's cheers for the varsity Titans were a lot quieter than Jackson's and Tommy's, and the stands were just about full now, further drowning out the minimal support for the away team.
But that didn't seem to hinder the Titans at all, they played with their sole focus on the game on the ground, not caring what happened in the stands surrounding them.
As the game progressed, at one point, Shane utilised the route he had been practising leading into this game to better combat double teams. The same route Kenny had tried; the same route the JV Hawks had stopped.
When Shane performed it, however, it went off flawlessly and looked like a work of art. The play resulted in a touchdown for the Titans, securing them a lead they'd never let go of.
'He makes it look so easy, doesn't he?' Kenny said.
'Yeah. He does,' Jackson said, still in awe.
'Man, I hope he's in a Cardinals jersey one day.' Tommy laughed and then looked at Kenny. 'Hey, didn't you run that same play too?'
Kenny rubbed the back of his head a little sheepishly. 'Yeah… I might've. Obviously didn't work out like that for me. I guess I've still got some things to practice.'
'I saw you struggled a bit with their zone defence. It looked pretty frustrating from up here, so I can't imagine what it was like to deal with on the turf.'
Kenny frowned. 'Frustrating doesn't even BEGIN to describe it.'
'Something to work on before you meet them next. It's good to have goals like that, makes for the perfect motivation. Plus.' Tommy nudged Jackson. 'Next time you face them I bet you'll have this guy out there with you, so that'll make things easier. The defence won't be able to focus on you as much.'
'Hah, yeah?' Kenny looked at Jackson.
'Uhh, well, y-yeah. I'm trying my hardest to get back as soon as possible, just, doing what I can you know, to make sure my recovery is as smooth as can be. So, we'll see. Maybe I'll be there in time for Regionals.'
Kenny grinned. 'Hell yeah. We'll be unstoppable then.'
Jackson nodded.
'Then you guys will be called up to join the varsity team in no time. Nobody would be able to stand in your way, State would be yours for the taking,' Tommy said.
'And after that, Nationals,' Kenny said.
Jackson's mind drifted. The State tournament. Would HE be there? He hadn't seen HIM at all, so HE wasn't in this division. Maybe Regionals? Or maybe HE would be waiting in Nationals.
Jackson had to be ready, but he wasn't sure if he could be.
As the game went on, the Titans were in control from wire to wire. Their victory never looked in doubt, and after the final whistle blew, their winning streak was still alive and strong.
Shane had a stellar performance on both sides of the ball, but offensively he was something else entirely. Even while double-teaming him the Hawks barely had an answer.
The final score was 28–42 for a Titans victory, with Shane contributing to half of the Titans' touchdowns.
'Did I say how badly I wanna see Shane in a Cardinals Jersey yet?' Tommy asked while the trio was heading to his car.
'Yeah, I think only after every touchdown.' Jackson and Kenny laughed.
'But, dude. Forget how easy it is for just us two to tear up defences together, imagine when we're on the varsity team playing alongside him, and he's getting doubled every play. We'll both be so open; defences won't know WHAT to do. They won't have any answer; we'll be unstoppable.' Kenny was already a bit re-energised, just from seeing the varsity team play.
'Hahaha, oh I can't wait to see that,' Tommy said. 'I'll be losing my voice cheering after every touchdown, watching as you score a hundred points a game.'
The car ride home was pretty cheerful, the misery of the JV game all but forgotten tonight after the excitement and the spectacle of the varsity team's win.
The brothers dropped Kenny at home, before driving back to their own. On the way, Tommy said: 'I mean what I said.'
'Hm?' Jackson looked at him.
'With you three playing together. Shane, Kenny, and you. It's gonna be awesome. I seriously believe you guys could win not only the State championship but that National title too.'
'Oh, right. I mean, yeah, that's the goal, isn't it? That's what everyone's striving for.'
'Yeah, the difference is, no one in the nation would be able to stop you guys.'
Jackson leaned against the window. "No one in the nation." He held onto the thought.
Hours later, whilst everyone was in bed, and the family home was perfectly quiet, Jackson lay awake, staring at the ceiling of his bedroom.
He couldn't sleep. Dreams of a national championship wouldn't leave his head. 'Unstoppable… the three of us.' He saw Shane and Kenny standing before him, helmets in hand, jerseys on as they stood proud and tall, their backs facing him. They were so far ahead of him.
Jackson swung around to the edge of his bed. He sat there, his feet on the floor as he looked at his injured leg. He looked at his crutches leaning against the bed, but he ignored them.
He stood on his own and then carefully shuffled out of his room. He was as quiet as he could be, using the walls for support as he sneakily made his way to the back door.
He unlocked it and squeezed out into the cold night air. He stepped out further until his bare feet were buried in the cool, soft grass of their backyard. He stared up at the moon.
Kenny and Shane were already giving it their all. He had to do his best too.
He put more weight on his bad leg until he was standing flat and normally. He tested it out and grimaced. He pushed through. He took a step, and then another. He built into a gimpy jog, gritting his teeth through the pain.
His speed increased until his jog turned into a run, then a sprint, still with one leg limping and dragging behind slightly.
He reached the back fence and stopped, then turned and ran back to the house. Back and forth he ran until his form smoothed out into what it should be normally, and the pain faded. He turned and ran along the fence, sprinting along the boundary of the backyard, running freely as the pain was gone and adrenaline surged through his veins.
He was running! He was free! He ran towards his hopes, his dreams. He chased after the backs of his teammates and blew by them. He ran towards the national tournament. He ran away from HIM.
He was alive.