Chapter Fifteen: Marcus

The game started out just awesome. First possession, Caleb hooked up with me on a post pattern, then a stop and go...I gained 35 yards in just two plays. Then for some stupid reason, Coach Dell called three straight running plays...what's up with that foolishness. We barely got a first down off of those running plays. I mean, like two minutes into the game, and I'm dominant and I've got the other team already on the ropes.

Then Coach Dell wised up and called for me to run a route across the middle, but Caleb threw the ball behind me and it was almost intercepted. A draw play came next, for like four yards...just another wasted play. It was third and six, and Coach Dell finally got smart and called an end around for me. The other team was in their prevent defense, the linebackers bit on that it's a pass play when Caleb dropped back...he handed it to me...and all of a sudden I zoomed around the left side and it was hello end zone for me from 52 yards out! The crowd just went wild. I looked for Kylee up in the stands to see if I could find her. I reminded myself to tell her all about my moves when we double date with Joshua and Jordan after the game. Yep, it's going to be an awesome first date with the hottest girl in the freshman class.

The other team ground out a touchdown on their first possession; it was like an eight-minute drive and our defense couldn't stop a single third down play. But when we got the ball back, I dominated again. First play, Coach Dell called for a fade pattern, and, man, I made that cornerback look silly.23 yards worth of silly in fact. Then Joshua got his number called for the first time all night, and he went across the middle for a 12-yard catch and run. Two more wasted running plays picked up all of six yards, and then Caleb hit Joshua for five yards across the middle again...first down.

We're on around the midfield marker, and Coach Dell came to his senses and called for the bomb. Caleb threw it too short, the cornerback and me both go up for the ball...like you know who's going to come up with the football in a jump ball situation. We got our feet all tangled up, the corner fell, I caught the ball and righted myself and boom, I was gone. Like, the second quarter had barely started and I'd already scored two TDs.

The other team made a field goal their next possession, and nobody scored again before halftime. Caleb kept messing up with his passes. By then, the other team had put a corner and a safety on me every pass play...well, duh...and Caleb kept throwing it too long or too short. And for some reason, Coach Dell forgot all about that I can't be stopped on an end around, and he hadn't called it again. At halftime, I told Coach Dell that I needed the ball more, and he gave me this long, angry stare and told me to go hydrate. I swear, we should have been ahead of this team by three touchdowns by halftime...they've got no game, especially their defense.

The second half didn't start off well. Caleb got sacked on third down three straight possessions...our offensive line sucks...and by the end of the third quarter Caleb was screaming at them. I mean those guys are juniors and seniors...haven't they learned how to block yet. It was still 14-10 at the end of the third quarter, and Caleb really let Paul, our junior center, have it on the sideline, telling him that if he couldn't block any better than that, he was going to tell Coach Dell to put somebody else in. Then Paul got up in Caleb's face and shoved him, and some of the guys had to get in between them. Our defense, which hadn't done much all night, then intercepted the ball and one of the corners went in for a score. We're up 21-10, but the other team went right in for a score on the next possession and then, to everybody's surprise, went for a two-point conversion to make it 21-18. Then Caleb tried to hook up with me across the middle, and, man, he threw it behind me again, and they intercepted it and ended up kicking a field goal and the score was tied.

Okay, tied score and we're down to two minutes left in the game and we take over just short of midfield. Like, who do you think needs to get the ball. We got into our two-minute drill and Caleb hit Joshua on two straight dump offs, and we were down to the 35. A draw play to the halfback got us five yards closer to pay dirt, and it was my time to shine. Coach Dell called for a hitch play to me, I grabbed the football at the 20, slanted away from the safety and outran the corner to the end zone and that was that. My first three touchdown game, and I send the crowd home happy.

After the game, Joshua and Jordan and Kylee and me went out for pizza, and I could tell the girls were impressed with their menfolk. Joshua and me were way too tired to do much more than chow down on pizza, and by then, it was nearly 11 anyway and Kylee has a curfew. After we dropped off the girls, Joshua lit into me about my trying to tell Coach Dell his business during halftime. And that I had better tell my good buddy Caleb that he needs an attitude adjustment or Joshua was going to do it for me...and it won't be pretty. Man, we won the game because of Caleb and me. Big brother, lay off.