Even in the morning, no one cared that Ty and the Dons had made it past their first hurdle in Regionals.
Father was already gone. Victoria only cared about others using up too much time in the bathroom—when, of course, she always spent twice as long in there as everyone else. Devon was back from wherever he had been, but he was sleeping in, inevitably going to be late to school. Mother was too busy worrying about herself and wrangling the twins.
No matter how much he changed things, they always stayed the same.
Eventually Monday came around, a day all others dreaded, but Ty relished. He rode to school headphones on, blocking out the world. Mr Morale and the Big Steppers were always there for him, at least.
At school, he weaved through the halls like a shadow. No one took notice of him yet. They would soon, but not yet. Contrary to home, he wanted to blend in here. Although he didn't fear the day they understood he was the greatest thing to come out of this shit heap of a school, he wasn't looking forward to being swarmed by the masses.
He slid into his classroom. His headphones came off, he slumped in his seat, and tuned out the noise. The first bell rang. He eyed the clock. Seven hours of purgatory lay between him and heaven—practice.
Maybe such time could've moved faster if Ty opened himself to the few teammates he had in class. Maybe it wouldn't feel like purgatory if he talked to them. Instead, like always, he walked past Zayden, Bella, and Rabbit as if he hadn't seen them.
None of them were about to walk through all his warning signs to approach him, either.
Eventually, after what felt like seven days rather than hours, Ty was back on the practice field, back where he belonged.
Thoughts of Marshall and the Vikings had filled Ty's head along with his studies for the day, but now that the final bell had come and gone, he was free to focus on his upcoming rematch with Downey.
His mind drifted as he stretched and warmed up. If he could control where Marshall went, then maybe he could eliminate the spectacular catches that had given him such trouble in their first meeting.
Even with the methods he'd learned from their previous encounter, and his recent battle with Vance, that probably wouldn't stop Marshall from trying his bullshit. "And what if he gets away with it?"
The thought rang through his head. Just a fingertip. That's what the game could come down to. Success and failure hung on a nail's edge.
Just when he finished stretching, he realised he'd needed to stretch further and began the routine all over again.
There was a thud beside Ty. He looked up, and the sight of Deshaun surprised him. The older DB had dropped next to him and was stretching as well. For once, Deshaun wasn't only on time, but actually early. Early enough to arrive before JJ, Rabbit, or any of the coaches.
'What?' Deshaun snapped when he caught Ty staring.
'Does this mean you'll finally start pulling your weight around here?'
'Shut the fuck up, freshy.'
'There's an entire field you could've gone to, but you sat next to me.'
'And if ya make me get up, ya gonna have a fuckin' problem.'
Deshaun's deadly gaze slowly turned away from Ty. His locked-in focus was clear on his face; you didn't need to know this was his first early arrival to see it. He knew better than anyone that he'd played a role in their previous loss, and even if nobody had announced they were facing Downey yet, he knew a meeting with them was inevitable.
JJ and Rabbit weren't too far behind Deshaun. Then came the coaches, along with Bella. After them, it wasn't long before the whole team arrived. Even Ricky showed up before training began.
Ty, already with a light sweat, broke away from the field and approached Ricky, needing a little chat with him before training began.
Ricky, thinking there could never be a good reason Tyrese sought you out, tried to veer away from him and seek the safety of Coach Hoang's presence. Ty stopped him, his hand like a manacle around Ricky's arm.
'Where are you running off to?'
'Running? Who me? Nah, I wasn't running. Were you running? I didn't even see you there.'
His rambling didn't interest Ty. 'Did the Vikings win their game?'
Ricky smiled, relieved that was all Ty wanted. 'Y-Yeah, sure did. Got some footage of it right here.' He patted his pocket with his free hand. 'But I uh… gotta hand it to your coach, y-you'll see it later.'
'Hm.' Ty nodded and let him go. The footage interested him little, but it still interested him. Maybe there were more insights he could gain from seeing someone else battle against Marshall, even if they performed worse. He knew the film from their own game would be more helpful, but every little thing added up.
Ricky hurried away and handed the film over to Coach Hoang just before practice officially began.
It was only when Coach Long called the team together that Ty and Rabbit noticed a lot of the JV players weren't present. Coach Long's disappointment was clear even before he let out a heavy sigh.
Coach Norman mirrored the disappointment and echoed Coach Long with his own sigh. Whilst anger dripped off of Coach Hoang's expression.
'They'll be running for miles if they even make it through tryouts next season,' Coach Hoang said.
'It's sad to see. But I appreciate those of you who DID show up. Your absent brothers are only letting themselves down. Just because you've been knocked down doesn't mean you have to give up. That's what they've done. Let's not waste any more time on them and focus on ourselves. We've got a lot to get through today.'
Even with that said, Ty didn't think this training session was anything special. It started as any other did, then transitioned into a focus on run defence. The back-ups and the JV offence were the tackling dummies for today.
Tackling the ball carrier wasn't the only focus, however, blocking and block-shedding was another priority to begin the day.
They set up a drill using ropes to define a narrow corridor. The runner and the tackler started on opposite ends, and between them was a single blocker helping the runner. If you could get around the blocker and tackle the runner, or force them out of bounds, you won; if you couldn't and they got past you, you failed. Simple.
After each battle, the runner, tackler, and blocker switched out to the next group.
Ty stood back, letting most everyone go ahead of him. Such drills never excited him, and especially today, in the lead up to his battle against Marshall and the Vikings, they were a distraction he didn't think he could afford.
"Think of it as an early preparation for the Bears." That's right. Even if he couldn't overlook the Vikings, he still couldn't forget about the next challenge after that. Denzel and the Bears. They were a more daunting challenge simply because of what position their best player was. "I have to stop Denzel if we're going to beat the Bears. This is practice for that."
With that thought in mind, he could fully invest in the drill. He initially struggled with getting around the blocker. Receivers weren't protecting the ball-carrier, but actual Linemen. It felt unfair compared to what Ty usually dealt with in an actual game, but if it wasn't unfair, how else was he going to improve?
After his first failure, he watched others more closely, specifically how the prospective tacklers got around—or at least attempted to get around—their blockers.
JJ had the most success, of course. From what Ty saw, JJ set a powerful base at first, held his ground, then when the runner came close he waited to see what direction they went and exploded after them. Power in controlled bursts. Obviously that wouldn't help Ty. "Maybe it could against weaker Receivers. … that sleepy fucker number fourteen doesn't look that strong."
Unfortunately, his next opponent was much stronger, and Ty went nowhere. Rabbit rushed right by him and he couldn't do anything.
That infuriated Ty more than anything. RABBIT of all people had got by him. But Rabbit got by most people. Getting through the block didn't guarantee you were going to succeed. More often than not, Rabbit could skip and hop away from clumsy tackles and duck under outstretched hands.
He and Cameron were the strongest runners in the drill, though for opposite reasons. Whilst Rabbit was evasive, Cameron was a raging bull who relished in the head-on collisions that the tight corridor promoted, and he could smash his way through just about anyone.
Ty knew he could tackle—his long arms were good for wrapping people up—but if power couldn't get him past the block, he had to find another method.
He watched Deshaun, someone who was closer in stature to him—though just about anyone was closer to Ty than JJ was. Deshaun didn't use power, he didn't even engage the blocker if he could avoid it. Speed and feints were his game. Spins too. He was successful as well … at first, but there were only so many times you could spin one way, or fake the other, before the blockers figured it out and started going at you rather than letting you run circles around them.
Ty found success with this method as well, at least the first time, the second time around, not so much. Maybe it could be good for a play or two, but after that, he'd need something else.
Ty would have to wait for the opportunity to test more methods as the team moved on to the next drill and practice continued.
On the other side of the ball, the offence tried more passes and Stretches. There was a heavy focus on quick passes, Slants, shallow Crosses, and Screens too.
It was a short day on the field before the team moved into the gym. Ty went straight for legs. If his battles against Marshall were going to come down to who had the greater reach, he needed to dive and jump higher.
The coaches made sure everyone worked legs, however. Legs were the most important, Coach Long said—though he always glanced at Coach Hoang after he said it, only for an instant, but those observant listeners noticed—legs were the key to everything. Blocking, block-shedding, tackling, avoiding tackles, receiving, defending passes, even passing itself. It all started from the legs.
The team revolved around JJ during their time in the gym, just like always, and once everyone's legs were nice and wobbly, the coaches said that was enough. Here, they dismissed the JV team, though they could continue if they wanted. It was time for film study, and so Coach Long brought the team through to the projection room.
Everyone slumped into their seats with relieved groans, happy to be off their aching feet. Once everyone settled, they played the first film, courtesy of their little secret scout, Ricky. It was here when Coach Long finally announced who they would face next and confirmed what Ty and Deshaun already knew—they'd be playing the Vikings.
Ty learned little from the film of the Vikings' most recent game. He couldn't even bother to remember their opponent.
Nobody pushed Marshall during that game. He rarely had to leave his feet, let alone dive for anything. He supposed it was better for learning tendencies regarding the Vikings as a whole than anything related to his one-on-one with Marshall.
When it turned over to looking at what the Vikings' did in that game, Ty didn't exactly tune it out, but you probably would've thought he was sleeping through that section of study if you looked at him.
It transitioned from that, into the Dons' own game against the Vikings, though stuck with the Vikings' defence.
The offence had plenty of their own problems to deal with, namely the Vikings' imposing DT, Mike who had the middle of the field locked down, especially for the run game, and the other twin terror, Isiah, who'd kept Stephen in check last time. They hoped the recent battle against the Cats and their strong secondary had sharpened Stephen enough to give him the edge he needed this time around.
If that wasn't the case, then they hoped the Stretches and quick passes they worked on today would ease some of the burden. Mike definitely clogged the middle of the line, but Chris's speed could exploit the edges, and if Stephen failed, Benny and Cole could pick up the slack.
Ty perked up when Coach Long announced they were finally going to talk about the Vikings' offence and how to shut them down.
His mood soured when the first clip shown was himself getting beaten for a touchdown. 'Did that wake you up, Samuels?' Coach Hoang commented, drawing a few laughs.
Ty frowned but didn't answer. Watching the game back on film, from a different perspective, highlighted just how far the gap between him and Marshall had really been. He felt like he was only a fingertip away on the field, but it was much more than that.
A little over a hand length, that's how much higher—how much further—Marshall reached.
Coach Long stepped aside and let Coach Hoang take the floor. 'Their main threat is their pass game, with two great Receivers, probably two of the best in the state. But what we can't overlook is how good their Quarterback is too. Threading the needle isn't an exaggeration with this offence. As much as I'd like to give some help to our outside Defensive Backs, with the way they pass the ball, we can't leave any openings. It might just come down to who's better—our backs, or theirs.'
Coach Hoang's gaze landed on Ty and lingered. Ty was fine with that assessment. He'd win, needle precise passes, and one-handed grabs be damned. He wouldn't lose again.
'Of course, that doesn't mean the rest of you are going to be sitting on your ass. If we can't double the Receivers and help that way, there are other ways we can. Burns?'
Donte raised a hand.
'You and the four up front have a big job. If the Quarterback feels pressure, those throws won't be as accurate. You can help your Defensive Backs out that way.'
'You got it, Coach!'
Coach Hoang smiled and rolled aside. He let the remaining film speak for itself.
When it was over, Coach Otsen shut the projection down. 'Good practice today. I know we lost to these boys once before, but that's okay. I know you can win this time. You're a lot stronger than you were all those weeks ago. Make sure you show them that strength. Come get your copy of the film from Bella up the front here, study it throughout the week, then go home and get some rest.'
Ty stood with the rest of the herd. He was already burning the film into his memory, but he knew he'd go home and watch it on repeat until he fell asleep. Even in his dreams, he doubted he'd escape it.
"I can't lose. I can't let him think he's better than me. My arms can reach ANYTHING." He burned the resolve into his heart, taking his copy from Bella before leaving without a word.