There were no fucks I had to give. Brushing the defender off, I sat up in time to see JD with the catch in the endzone.
Fireworks spouted from the stadium as the crowd screamed.
“Good job, Fin,” came from inside my helmet.
As we ran off the field, I turned away from the coaches and peered where Vee had been. The tears she’d shed for Dennison were gone, replaced by a beautiful smile.
“Any word on Troy?” I asked Coach Garcia as our extra-point special team took the field.
“Concussion protocol,” he said. “We’ll know more after the docs do their thing. He’s moving all extremities. You’re in for the rest of the game.”
For Dennisonbecame our mantra. The Coopers’ defense was on fire. Going into the final two minutes of the game, the score was thirty-one Coopers to nineteen, Titans. They’d been held to field goals.
Miscommunications with our kicking team unexpectedly had a Titan rushing eighty-seven yards for a touchdown. Within only seconds, we were now only up by six. The Titan offense went back on the field trying for a two-point conversion.
Crystal Light Stadium was the loudest I’d ever heard. The fans were as rabid as the players on the field. A chant came from the stands— “For Dennison. For Dennison.”
Our defense held.
“Offense, prevent, offense. Use the clock,” Drew said. “We don’t want to let them back on the field.”
The first two plays our offensive line created holes. The backs made three yards and five yards respectively. We were now third down and two. The play in my ear was for another run. As we lined up in split formation, I scanned the defense. Their cornerbacks were tight. I called another RPO.
The ball was snapped.
I read my progression.
JD Downing was covered.
Kylon Lewis, one wide receiver was blocked.
Ramel Patel, our other wide receiver was open.
I threw the ball.
Patel caught the ball on the Titan’s forty-seven-yard line. Patel was tackled, staying in bounds. The clock kept ticking. The next play was a run play. We needed one more first down to run out the clock.
On second down, I threw the ball to Morgan who went wide left. It was now third down and one. The ball was snapped. I held on and ran, Morgan and Bennett tush-pushed behind me.
“First down,” came from the speakers above.
The Titans had a timeout remaining, but so did we.
The game was over.
Coopers won.
Tilson met me at the sidelines. “Tomorrow we’re going to talk.”
I could have argued my case for not following the play call, but experience told me to wait, wait for tomorrow. We’d know more about Troy by then and cooler heads would hopefully prevail.
Vee was standing near the tunnel after I’d had a chance to be interviewed by a few of the broadcasters on the field.
Her smile was stunning. “Good game, Graham.”
“And you didn’t want me here.”
She tilted her head. “I can admit when I’m wrong. Can you?”
