Page 120 of Scored

JD’s footwork got him open. The ball sailed through the air. JD caught it on the twenty-eight-yard line and ran toward the end zone. A defender brought him down on the two-yard line. With only seconds left to play, Coach Tilson called a time-out.

“Put your helmet on, Graham. You’re going in.”

I did as I was told.

Pratt spoke to Troy and me. “We don’t have time for more than one play. I could put the kicking team in, but instead, Graham is going in for a quarterback draw.”

Troy patted my shoulder pad. “You’ve got this.”

“I do, Coach.”

I ran onto the field and into the huddle.

We lined up to look like I was going to pass. After the snap, I faked a handoff to Treshawn Morgan and dropped back. The defensive linemen rushed forward, giving me a path straight up the middle. With the ball tucked, my legs were running before I had truly considered any other options. I was brought down with a vicious hit.

I assessed my location.

End zone.

Fireworks exploded.

“You scored” came through my helmet.

JD offered me a hand. As I got to my feet, he patted my shoulder pad. “You fucking scored in the Super Bowl in SoFi.” His smile was ear to ear.

I did.

With the extra point, we went into the locker room ahead 21–14.

While out on the field, a spectacular halftime show was being performed; in the locker room, it was talk of shutting down the Eagles’ offense and outsmarting their defense. They had already been called for one late hit. There was a questionable roughing the passer that wasn’t called.

“It’s going to get more physical out there,” Coach Tilson said. “If this stays a close game, tempers will flare. Do not be sucked into their mindset. The Coopers are a fucking great team. We can win fairly. If someone comes at you, let the refereeing team take care of it. They’re the NFL’s best out there.”

Coach Garcia, our QB coach, showed Troy, Josh, and I aerial photographs of Dennison’s plays. He pointed out where receivers were open, yet Troy sent the ball in another direction. We were winning. He wanted whichever one of us would be playing to check all of our progressions.

The third quarter began with the Eagles receiving. We held them to four and out. They punted. Late in the third quarter, a Philadelphia defensive end lunged at Dennison. The ball was clearly out of his hand.

Whistles blew.

Flags flew.

The pass had been incomplete.

After a conference with the other referees, the official came on the jumbotron. “Eagles, No. 97, Montague, illegal hit of the Coopers’ quarterback Dennison. Fifteen-yard penalty, automatic first down.”

The score was still 21–14 at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Our defense misread the Philly offense, allowing them to score. Philadelphia went for two points and we stopped them. The score was now 21–20.

Dennison had a long drive, making it into the Eagles’ red zone and eating over six minutes on the clock. On second and goal, he handed the ball off to Jamir Bennett who ran eight yards into the end zone. The extra point was good.

Coopers 28–20.

With five minutes left in the game, the Eagles scored. Again, they tried for the two-point conversion. This time, they made it.

We were tied at twenty-eight.

Dennison stepped back for a long pass. The ball was in the air. The Eagles’ defender was draped all over our wide receiver, Kylon Lewis. The pass was incomplete.