The offense received cheers from their teammates. Fin and JD embraced, patting one another’s shoulder pads. I turned back to the field, fighting my desire to keep my eyes on one man. By the third quarter, the Coopers were up by two touchdowns. With three minutes left in the third quarter, Drew sent Cody Simpson into the game.
I exhaled. Fin was on the bench where the big guys couldn’t get to him.
Drew’s calls were conservative. The defense was reading the room, stopping our backs and closing the gaps. With fourth and inches, Tilson sent in the punting squad.
A glance down the sidelines and I saw Fin take a seat next to Cody.
Less than one minute remained in the third when the Cardinals’ quarterback threw a Hail Mary pass. The spectators took a collective gasp as the Cardinals’ wide receiver caught the ball and ran into the end zone. Their extra point kick was good.
Our lead had been cut in half.
Our offense headed out to the field for the beginning of the final quarter. Simpson was benched. Fin was back out.
I was relieved and worried at the same time.
On the eighth play of the drive, the Coopers were on the Cardinals’ six-yard line, second down and goal. The Coopers had kept the offense going with short completions using seven minutes of the clock.
Their defense stopped us cold on the second and third down.
The offense lined up for fourth down. Fin shouted the play. The play clock was ticking.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
Whistles blew.
Play clock violation was a five-yard penalty.
Drew called for the field-goal team.
From the way Fin walked off the field, I knew hewas upset. He wanted the touchdown. He’d gotten the penalty on purpose. Five yards gave Holt a better field position for his kick.
The field goal was good.
Our lead was back to ten points.
The Cardinals took the field with eight minutes to go in the game. Methodically, they moved the ball toward our end zone. Time was on our side.
Our defense was on fire.
On second down, Tyler Wood, our defensive end, broke past the offensive tackle, sacking the Cardinals’ quarterback. It was a loss of nine yards. The Cardinals were now on third down and nineteen. The quarterback faked a handoff to his fullback and threw long.
Malik Johnson was covering their wide receiver. Malik turned.
An interception.
Malik was still on his feet.
“Run,” I yelled.
He made it all the way to the Cardinals’ thirty-two-yard line. I remembered him telling me to watch the defense, saying they were the real heroes. Malik was right. He was definitely one of today’s heroes.
Five minutes to go and we were in field-goal range.
