Coach grunted as he watched them get ready for third down. “Woods better move his ass,” Coach told me.
“He’s got it covered,” I said as I watched ninety-nine move slightly just as the ball was snapped. Jamie was off like a rocket and almost ran through the offensive linemen, and I saw Spence, the ’Bama quarterback, panic and run. Jamie wasn’t to be put off, and I was cheering him on as he made the sack and took Dante Spence down.
“Yes!” I was bouncing. Coach was still as he stood beside me. “No?” I asked Coach with a grin.
“Let’s cheer when he does it again,” he said grimly. “Be ready to run,” he said as he looked at me.
“No more protecting the pocket?” I asked with my hand over my mouth.
“Use the legs,” he told me, and walked down to the assistant coaches.
“You moving?” Gray asked beside me.
“Gonna try,” I told him as we both watched Spence move his offense down the field.
“You got this,” Gray said as we stood together.
As ’Bama came off and I picked up my helmet to go play, I met Gray’s hard look. “I got it,” I told him with a wink. The very first snap, I was already running, my legs eating up the yards. Turning my head, I saw the ball come arcing toward me, and Icould see the safety running toward me. I needed to catch this ball and not let go.
I caught it, and I felt him breathing on me as I put in an extra burst of speed. I couldn’t hear, I couldn’t see anything except the end zone. I had no idea how close they were, and I needed to move us as close to the end zone if I didn’t make it myself.
My body jerked to the side as I felt the hit. I was already moving through the air, the ball tucked tight into my body. Stretching out, I extended my arm as I reached for the line.
Come on, come on, come on.
Yes!
Touchdown.
The pile of bodies on top of me brought me back into the stadium as I took the hard knocks. I could hear the cheering, the screaming, and the hoots from my teammates. When I was finally on my feet, Jett was in front of me, and we knocked heads together.
“We fucking got this,” he screamed at me, and I high-fived him as we both ran to the sidelines together, where Gray was waiting, his grin wide as he fist-bumped me.
“Good job, Santo.” Coach patted me on the back as I ran to the bench, eager for a drink.
We just needed to keep the lead, and we were playing in the conference championships for sure. We ended the third quarter in the lead. Halfway through the fourth quarter, we were tied again.
“Is Woods on his fucking period?” Ben spat out as we watched Dustin race down the field again.
“Dust is fast,” Jett grunted as we watched him finally get taken down. “Was always like a greyhound,” he muttered as we exchanged a look.
“He should have been a Saint,” I grumbled as I watched our high school wide receiver jump to his feet. I turned to ourteam’s wide receivers. “See that, that’s called the running game,” I snapped.
“Fuck you, Santo,” someone growled behind me. “You’re the only fucking one our QB’s passing to.”
Jett and I both whipped around at the same time. “Because he’s the only onecatchingthe ball,” Jett snarled. “You’ve fucking dropped it three times.”
“Now let’s focus on the game still to be played, not the routes we’ve played already,” Gray said, cutting off any protests. “We’ve got time, we can do this. For now, let’s support our defense.”
Jett and I exchanged a look as we turned to see Dustin hit the end zone.
“Fuck!” I groaned as I turned to get my helmet. “Keep them coming, cousin,” I said to Jett as we made our way onto the field.
“I’ll throw—”
“I’ll catch,” I finished.
We could do this. We could. I knew it. Cranking my neck, I got ready to move as I prepped myself to run. I could catch anything he threw.
