CHAPTER 5
That afternoon, Logan sat on the Wildcats bench. The special team took the field to receive the first kickoff.
It was still weird for Logan to watch his own team come onto the field in blue and white. He wasn’t used to the uniform or the team name. When the Cyclones took the field, he felt his spirits rise watching the players, with their familiar maroon jerseys and the silver tornado logo on their helmets.
Logan watched the start of the game from the bench. He was very glad his team had the ball first, not because it was an advantage, but because it meant he wouldn’t have to take the field for a little while.
The Cyclones defense wasn’t bad, he decided, although he was almost sorry to admit it.
They don’t seem to be missing me, he thought as he watched.
On third down, a huge hole opened in the Wildcats offensive line. I easily could have gotten through there if I were still on the Cyclones, he thought.
But his old teammates missed the chance. The Wildcats connected a twenty-yard pass and got a first down.
On the bench, the other defensive players cheered. Logan didn’t even think about cheering. For a moment, he had forgotten which team he was on.
When Logan didn’t get up, the others looked at him, and he felt stupid. Logan decided to make up for it. He clapped his hands and shouted, “Good job, offense! Keep it up!” But then he felt even stupider for being so late with his cheer.
Logan frowned. Whatever, he thought. We shouldn’t have completed that pass anyway, with that weak blocking.
The Wildcats scored a touchdown on the drive and got the extra point. When Logan took the field after the kickoff, his team was winning 7-0.
* * *
Logan stood behind the defensive line. As a linebacker, he started standing, while the linemen started bent over with one hand on the grass. That way, Logan could see over the line and call out to the other players what the offense might be planning.
On first down, Logan spotted some motion. He called out to his teammates to watch for the run to the left side.
Then he spotted the Cyclones running back’s number and name on his jersey. It was his friend Scotty Hansen.
“Hut, hut!” the Cyclones quarterback shouted. “Hike!” And he took the snap. Right away, he turned to his right and handed off to Scotty.
Scotty shot toward the left side and then cut up the field. Logan moved in to close off the hole in his defensive line, but Scotty spun and got around him. Logan ended up on the grass. He watched Scotty make a ten-yard run. One of the other Wildcat linebackers finally got him down at the forty.
Logan got to his feet. Suddenly Scotty was next to him. He was smiling and out of breath.
“Hey, Logan,” he said. “Are you out of shape or something?”
Logan looked at him. “What do you mean?” he asked.
“I could never get past you in scrimmages last year,” Scotty said. “Either you’re out of shape, or I’ve gotten much better.”
Logan tried to laugh as Scotty patted him on the pads and walked to the River City huddle. But then Logan turned and saw one of the other defensive players from the Wildcats.
“Hey, James,” Logan said. But James only glared at him, then walked off.
Great, Logan thought. He probably thinks I let Scotty get by because he’s my friend.
But then Logan wondered if he really had tried as hard as he could. The truth was, he didn’t know.