CHAPTER 10
As busy as he was, Andrew could hardly believe a week had gone by. But it was game day again, and this week, Westfield was facing their rivals, the Lions from Libertyville.
This time, though, Andrew wasn’t tired. He was rested and in great shape.
In the first quarter, Andrew stepped up to Carlos before a huddle. “Throw it to me,” he said. “I can lose this defender, easy.”
Carlos shook his head. “And you can slip on the grass and give him the ball to catch, too, huh?” he said.
“That won’t happen today,” Andrew said. “Look, call whatever play you want. But keep an eye on me, okay?”
Carlos looked at Andrew for a moment. “Fine,” he said. “I’ll look for you, but no promises.”
The boys joined the huddle. Carlos called an option, and then shouted, “Break!”
The offense formed their line and Carlos called for the snap: “Hut!”
Carlos drew back, and Andrew took off like a shot. He ran out about thirty yards, then cut hard back and to the left sideline. His defender cut too, but not as smoothly.
Andrew was wide open. Carlos was watching, and he drew back quickly and released for the long pass. It flew at Andrew’s chest. Andrew closed his hands over the ball and dodged quickly as his defender dove at him.
Andrew turned toward the end zone, but two defenders were on top of him. He went down at the forty.
“Nice!” Carlos called out, clapping and running up to the new line of scrimmage. Andrew jogged to the huddle. His teammates gave him high fives.
“Way to lose that defender, Andrew,” Carlos said. “You’re starting to look like Marcus out there.”
Andrew smiled and got ready for the next play.
* * *
By the fourth quarter, the score was 7-10, Wildcats.
Andrew was playing his best, but passing games were tough. He’d made some nice receptions, but the Wildcats points came from a quarterback sneak and one field goal.
Meanwhile, the Lions’ short game was really on that day. With only a few minutes left in the fourth quarter, their running back took a surprise hand-off. He ran up the sideline for forty yards and a touchdown. After the extra point kick, the score was 14-10, Lions.
“All right, guys,” Carlos said in the huddle after the kick-off. “We need to score, fast.”
“There’s less than one minute on the clock,” one of the Wildcats linemen said. “This game is over.”
“Nice attitude,” Carlos replied, shaking his head. He looked at Andrew. “Can you lose that defender again?”
“Sure,” Andrew replied. “Just say when.”
“Now,” Carlos said. “I want you to go as long as I can throw. Go out to their forty and cut to the right. I’ll find you. Okay?”
Everyone nodded. “Good,” Carlos said. He clapped and said, “Break!”
At the line, Andrew’s heart was racing. He thought about the last week and how hard he’d worked. He’d missed a couple of movies, and Marcus was now much better at Championship Soccer than he was.
But none of that mattered now. What mattered was the effort and the game.
“Hut,” Carlos called. “Hut!”
The center snapped the ball, and Andrew took off. He had five yards on his defender right away.
Andrew pumped his arms at his side. He was at the Lions’ forty in no time, and he faked to the left, then turned right. He looked up just as Carlos released the pass.
Andrew’s defender stumbled a bit when Andrew cut. By the time he recovered, the ball was at Andrew’s open hands.
He caught the pass perfectly and took a sharp left toward the end zone. The field was wide open, from the forty to the one. He was home free. And Andrew ran, as fast as he could.
Andrew’s legs seemed to move on their own. He imagined he was on his own street, running over the broken sidewalk, past his neighbors’ houses and the blue mailbox on the corner.
He smiled, and then kicked up his speed even more.
“Touchdown!” the referee called out, throwing up his arms.
Andrew stopped on the far side of the end zone and threw down the football. Then he pulled off his helmet and looked up at the clock. Only two seconds remained.
Carlos came sprinting up the field. “Now it’s over,” he shouted. The whole offense was right behind him. They picked Andrew up and carried him to the bench.
Coach French and Andrew’s brother were there, cheering like crazy.
“Great reception, little brother,” Marcus said. “I guess the schedule is working.”
“You know it,” Andrew said.
Coach French said, “If you keep up this hard work, I have a feeling you’ll be up against your brother in the pro draft before you know it.”
Marcus and Andrew laughed.
“I don’t know, Coach,” Andrew said. “I think I’ll keep making academics a priority for now.”
The coach nodded. “Good idea,” he said.
“Besides,” Marcus added, “I’m sure Andrew and I will get a chance to face each other when we’re both in the pros.”