The final game of the Titans' regular season would take place in the hostile territory of Mesquite. The Titans' JV team knew it was going to be tough beating the Wildcats on the road; it was hard enough scraping out a win at home.
Jackson and Tommy were at the Wildcats' stadium early enough to catch the teams' warm-ups, and whilst the Titans limbered up, Jackson kept a close eye on Rudy.
Tommy chuckled. 'You seem pretty worried.'
'Huh?' Jackson blinked, confused how Tommy read his mind.
'You're staring at the guy like he's gonna explode.' Tommy nudged him. 'I get it, but shouldn't you trust in your coach? Even if you can't trust the guy, you can trust Coach Otsen's judgement, right? He would've thought long and hard about how to deal with you guys being down a player again, and if this is the best solution he came up with, then everything should be fine.'
'Uh… y-yeah, I guess you're right.' While Jackson agreed with the sentiment and understood the logic behind it, he still couldn't stop worrying. He wasn't concerned about how Rudy would perform, but how he'd get along with the rest of the team. The team's chemistry was out of whack based on their training.
'What do you mean I'm not a captain?' Rudy said, scowling at the backs of Kenny, Pete, and Lonnie as they met with the officials for the coin toss.
'They've been with the team longer, they know how shit works,' Coach Otsen said calmly. 'They know the plays and how to adjust them out on the field. You don't have that kind of understanding with this playbook. But just because you don't have a badge, doesn't mean you can't be a leader.'
Rudy grunted but didn't argue further.
The Titans lost the toss, and after the Wildcats deferred, had to start on offence.
When they took the field for the opening kick-off, Rudy bumped Pete. 'Nice job losing the toss, idiots.'
'Jodete. Like you're some master of luck.'
'Oi, you,' Rudy said to Kenny. 'I'm returning the kick, just be a good blocker for me.'
'Coach Otsen didn't say shit about that. I'm the returner, you're a blocker.'
'Hahaha. You can try to catch it instead of me, you little shit.'
'What a douche,' Kenny said, watching Rudy run to the endzone.
'I have a bad feeling about this game,' Lonnie said.
The kick ended up in a touchback, so Rudy never had the chance to return it anyway. However, as the Titans huddled up to go over the plan for their first drive, Rudy butted in again. 'Yeah yeah, just get me the fucking ball, I'll do the rest.' He left prematurely and lined up on his own.
'Puta.' Pete spat in his direction.
Although the opening play was a pass, Pete completely ignored Rudy and threw in Kenny's direction instead.
Off a quick Slant, Kenny caught the pass and was swiftly tackled for a gain of 5 yards.
They ignored Rudy's complaints, and next play Pete handed the ball over to Isaac who charged through a gap in the Line for a first down.
Working on first down again, the Titans went back to the air, and this time Pete targeted Freddy on an Out route, but overthrew him.
Pete bounced back quickly and didn't let the incompletion get to him. Next pass he hit Lonnie over the middle, though Lonnie only picked up 8 yards.
In the huddle before third down, Rudy was fed up and wouldn't be ignored any longer. 'Hey! Gimme the fucking ball. You wanna screw up that badly? If you're not gonna use me I'll just fucking leave and you bitches can lose by yourselves.'
'I didn't ask for to be here,' Pete snapped.
'No one did,' Kenny added.
'Yeah, and I'm included in that. I don't want to be here either, but as long as I'm stuck with you losers, I'm gonna do my best to make you winners. I can't get back to varsity if you dumbasses won't pass the ball to your best player and we end up losing because of it!'
Pete heard Coach Otsen's voice in his ears. 'Pete. What's the hold-up? Are you going to stop ignoring Rudy, now? He's been open every fucking play. I know you're not blind.'
Pete shook his head. 'Let's just win this. Por amor de Dios. We'll bash each other after we bash the Wildcats, yeah?'
The team grumbled as the huddle broke away.
On third down, Pete finally looked towards Rudy. He'd shaken free of his man barely two steps into his shallow Cross.
Pete hit him right on the chest, and Rudy cut upfield immediately. He already had a first down but he didn't slow down. He broke one tackle, stiff-arming the LB. When he got into the secondary, a Safety wrapped up his legs, but Rudy still dragged him along for a couple more yards before falling.
The short reception had resulted in a 14-yard gain, and over 10 of those had been after the catch.
Rudy's face was warped by a smug grin when he returned to the huddle. 'See! See what happens when you fucking target me? It's that damn easy. Just keep getting me the ball and we'll win this game, easy.'
The Titans immediately went away from him and instead kept the ball on the ground with a Draw play. Isaac ripped up half a dozen more yards.
Kenny claimed another reception with another quick Slant, and the Titans kept the chains moving with another first down.
Rudy was getting antsy. 'Stop messing around with all this short shit. Just get me the ball already.'
'Dios mío, will you shut up?'
'Get me the ball and I will.' Rudy grinned.
Pete grunted, but he relented. The next play Rudy ran a Fade down the sideline and Pete threw the ball to his back shoulder.
Rudy twisted and leapt into the air, coming back to the ball as the throw had missed its rather tight window by a fair margin. Whilst it wasn't a great throw, Rudy made it look perfect, snatching it from behind his defender's head, who had never turned around to see the ball.
Rudy crashed to the ground with ball in hand, and earned the Titans another 18 yards.
'Wow.' Tommy gave the reception a round of applause.
'That…That's the guy who was riding the varsity team's bench?'
'Hey.' Tommy grabbed Jackson's shoulder firmly. 'That was a great catch, but you could do that too. There's a reason he was on the bench, and there's a reason he was dropped back to JV. Maybe he didn't have the motivation. The skills could've been there, but the effort and heart might've been missing. Maybe being cut from varsity lit a fire under his ass. Maybe that was just a lucky catch. But, of course, even someone who rides the bench for varsity fought for and earned their spot there. Varsity is a whole different level, but it's a level that you'll be ready for, lil bro.'
Jackson bit his cheeks. Every time he thought he knew the difference between each level, his expectations were blown to smithereens.
Rudy was laughing as he came back to the huddle. 'You see that shit? That's the kinda shit I can do. They can't fucking guard me, even if they double-team me I'll still catch that shit. Just throw it up. I'll make even your shitty floaters look good.'
'What was that about shutting up if I throw you the ball?' Pete's eyes narrowed.
Rudy snickered. 'Just be a good puta and gimme the ball.'
If it wasn't broken, why fix it? The Titans would try the same deep pass along the sideline, however, this time, Rudy would have to shake his man first instead of settling for such a contested catch.
That wasn't going to be an easy task with how far back Rudy's opponent lined up. Rudy grinned, licking his chops. The CB—who wore number 24—was diminutive in comparison, and Rudy could see him shaking in his boots.
Rudy had to wonder if the kid opposite him was even old enough to be out there, they looked so small, frail, and SCARED.
"Is this their best guy? Or haven't they figured out I'm the only threat?"
He knew there was only one thing going through that tiny CB's tiny mind—don't let him get over the top. He knew the whole team would've chewed number 24 out and warned him not to get beaten deep again, but Rudy was still determined to do just that.
After the snap, he ran forward. He ran with no other goal in mind, staring down the tiny CB who backpedalled frantically.
They were now locked in a game of chicken. And 24 had already fallen into Rudy's trap.
"Come on, turn those hips. You know you need to turn around and run with me if you're gonna keep up."
With each step, Rudy closed the distance and grew closer to blowing right by 24. 24 knew that every step closed the window he had to turn and keep his lead bit by bit. If he waited too long, Rudy would run straight by him and he wouldn't be able to catch up. But if he turned too early, Rudy could cut back and be wide open on a Curl or Comeback.
But the deep ball. That was the biggest threat.
24 shifted their hips, turning around. Rudy planted his feet. He stopped more suddenly than a car ploughing into a tree.
24's panicked eyes widened. He lunged back around to cover the Curl.
Rudy blew right by him; the Curl had only been a feint. His goal had never changed from the touchdown.
The CB was stuck in two minds, stuck trying to go in two directions. Their legs split and they crumbled to the ground as Rudy raced into the open.
A Safety scrambled over as Pete threw the ball flat and long.
Rudy gave the Safety a quick glance, but then turned his eyes skyward to the ball. He launched into the air, turning in mid-flight. He smashed back first into the Safety, shielding them from the ball. Rudy reached back, plucking the ball from its low arc, and crashed into the endzone on top of the Safety.
An official ran over, signalling a touchdown, and the Titans opened the scoring to shocked silence.
Tommy led the cheering from the Titans' small section of fans, this time giving Rudy a standing ovation for the catch.
Jackson was amazed. It looked like he had nothing to worry about in the end. Rudy was fitting in with the offence perfectly, and that meant a huge boost. It's a pretty big jump, replacing your second, or sometimes third aerial threat with a guy who's now your new number one.
Jackson turned his attention to Kenny, wondering how he reacted. After all, it was Kenny who had been knocked off that number one spot.
Even Kenny was amazed by the grab. The drive itself had been incredible. He couldn't remember the JV team's offence ever being that fluid or moving the ball that easily. They tore up the defence, and it wasn't just because of one lucky deep play. Every play had been a good gain, and the field felt wide open compared to every other game.
It was time to put the final exclamation point on the drive. The Titans lined up for the kick. Pete reminded Freddy to keep calm. It's just like practice, he said.
Freddy ran into the kick and swung his leg mightily. He closed his eyes after he impacted the ball; he couldn't watch. He didn't need to. With how the crowd cheered, he knew he'd missed. He hung his head and shuffled back to the bench for a quick breather.
The Titans—bar Rudy—patted him on the back encouragingly. But, after witnessing the ball flare wide of the uprights, they were reminded of what Nick had brought to the table.
They looked to the scoreboard, and even though they were adjacent numbers, six looked a whole lot worse than seven underneath "Away Team".
Before the kick-off, Coach Otsen pulled Freddy aside. 'Take your time with this one, alright? It's just you out there, you and the ball, and the ball ain't going anywhere this time.'
'I'm sorry I missed the extra point,' Freddy said meekly.
'Don't worry about that, focus on this one. Nobody's coming to stop you this time, you've got all the time in the world. You can do this, Frederick. There's a reason I chose you, so believe in yourself.' Coach Otsen patted the boy on the helmet and sent him back onto the field.
Freddy took a deep breath this time, and the play clock wound down to the last second before he charged forward. He made good contact this time, and while it didn't go as far as Nick's kicks, it got the job down, and most importantly, it stayed in bounds.
The Titans swarmed and did their best to take the returner down quickly, but he still got out to the 32-yard line.
Then it was the Titans' turn to play defence, and Rudy wasn't as boisterous or boastful during the first huddle.
The Wildcats opened with a run, gaining only a few yards on the ground before they tested the air the next play.
They had better success through the air.
All it took was a little shoulder shake for Rudy to bite and jump the gun, then his man—number 18—was wide open on a Post route for a 15-yard gain before Lonnie thankfully brought him down.
Rudy drew some looks in the next huddle, but no one said anything yet. Lonnie just reminded them that it was only one play, and they'd stop them on the next one.
The next one wasn't any better.
This time, the Wildcats came out with the same look, however, Rudy didn't bite on the shoulder shake. Except, it wasn't just a shake, and 18 cut sharply to the outside.
The Out route led to another 11 yards, and a first down for the Wildcats.
Back in the huddle, Pete and Kenny didn't hold back. 'Alright, what the fuck are you doing? You're letting him do whatever he wants,' Kenny said.
'Relax, it's just two catches. I'll shut him down next time.'
'Shut him down? You're not even in the same field as him. Burro.'
'Fuck off! I'm not used to this shit. I didn't even play defence on varsity. I can't believe you losers don't have enough players for two squads, what is this poverty shit?'
Pete trailed off into a string of curses as he walked away from the huddle.
'Unbelievable. … You weren't even good enough on offence to get off the bench,' Kenny muttered.
'Fuck you, I'd still clamp your pathetic shit any day. And at least I can make it off this sorry team.' Rudy stepped forward but Lonnie stepped in front of him.
'No time for this. Line up.' Lonnie shoved the others towards their positions as the Wildcats were taking their formation.
The struggles continued as Rudy got beat for another reception over 10 yards.
'Don't get beat deep,' Lonnie urged.
'Stick close to him and push him around at the snap. You're a WR, right? Just do the stuff that really annoys you,' Isaac suggested.
'Shut up and worry about yourselves! I got this shit,' Rudy growled.
He stuck to their advice as best he could and focused on not giving up anything deep, but the Wildcats could still take free chunks of yardage right from under his nose. Every time they looked his way, he'd give up 5, 6, or 7 yards for free.
Rudy wasn't the only one struggling. It was like a domino effect. As Isaac and Lonnie shifted over, trying to cover for him and give him less area of the field to worry about, they left gaps in their own Zones which the Wildcats quickly exploited.
The Wildcats were rapidly moving down the field, and looking unstoppable while doing so. It didn't take them long to reach the red zone.
'Enough!' Rudy slapped his hands against his helmet, glaring at 18.
18 snickered. 'I think you need to stick to offence, brother. You couldn't guard a rock.'
'Shut the fuck up! I don't even need to guard shit, I'll score more than you fuckers by myself if I had to. But I'm not letting YOU score ever.'
18 smirked and shrugged. 'It's your funeral.'
18 was much more suited for this level of football, they at least didn't look like an elementary schooler for starters. They were more Rudy's size. Though they had a bit of an opposite effect, it wasn't that they looked too old to be here, but they were geared up way more than a JV player had any right to be.
A dark visor hid most of their face, but Rudy saw the glint of gold around the neckline of their pads. They wore black compression sleeves on BOTH arms from their wrists to the middle of their biceps, but their gloves and shoes practically glowed with silver and gold.
'Hike-hike!' The QB's cry sent everyone into action.
18 brushed aside Rudy's swiping hands as he hopped forward. He skirted by the inside and pushed past Rudy who turned in pursuit. He ran forward until the 5-yard line, then cut inside just as another Receiver flew by.
Rudy kept following, trying to stick close to 18 but lagged behind.
'Rudy! Look out!' Freddy shouted.
'Huh?' Rudy looked over just in time to see Freddy, but not soon enough to avoid the crash. Freddy bounced off him and tumbled to the ground. Rudy collapsed to the grass.
'Sorry! I'm so sorry!' Freddy kept frantically apologising as he scurried to his feet and chased after his man. The ball was already in flight. Freddy's man was wide open in the endzone. It was an easy catch.
Just like that, the scores were levelled.
Not long after, the Wildcats even took the lead with a successful kick on the extra point.
Defensively, things looked horrible for the Titans. Coach Otsen was fuming on the sidelines, and Coach Carson was furiously trying to come up with a plan to avoid further disasters.
Jackson realised he might've brushed off his worries too soon, and now they returned with a vengeance. 'That wasn't good,' he said.
'No… the offence looks fine, can't even tell if they're lacking chemistry… but defence is a whole 'nother issue.'
'I just, don't think he's supposed to be playing defence… I'd play better defence than that.'
Tommy guffawed but quickly cleared his throat. 'Maybe, but the thing is, a clash of egos on offence doesn't really hurt the team. I mean, especially for a Receiver, it can actually be a good thing, look at guys like Terrell Owens, Chad Ochocinco, or Antonio Brown. But… defensively you need that chemistry, everyone needs to mesh together and work as a cohesive unit. Just one guy going against the grain is detrimental on defence.'
Jackson's good leg bounced up and down. If the Titans didn't get their shit together soon, he knew they'd be in real trouble real fast.