Ty sat on the bench, head in his hands. The crowd was silent aside from the shuffle of their steps. Were they leaving to get food? To use the bathroom? Or were they leaving to avoid watching their Dons lose?
Where was the praise, the support? Where was the answer? Ty thought he had it, but the key had disintegrated in his hands.
Coach Hoang had been thinking a lot, his mind racing; ironic that the conclusion he came to was that they needed to stop thinking.
'Tyrese,' he said.
Ty looked up. Coach Hoang was relieved by the hatred and fight filling his eyes. 'What?' Ty asked.
'I'm sorry. This game's been a mess. But I've got one last piece of advice for you. No. One last order—forget everything. Everything you've learnt about the Trailblazers and Lennox, forget it.'
Ty burst out of his seat. 'What the fuck are you talking about? How many new strategies do we need for this guy? Why won't he just die like the rest of them?!'
'There's no more. This is the last one. I know it's frustrating, but it's a new fight now, and this is the last one. This is the one that decides it all.' Ty settled at Coach Hoang's words, taking a deep breath as he sat back down. 'But this guy's different because he's like you, Tyrese.'
'He's not special,' Ty growled, eyes bulging with fury.
'No. He isn't, and that's why you'll win. You just need to stop treating him like all the others, and play like you would against yourself.'
Ty's brow furrowed. Coach Hoang left him to ruminate over the words of wisdom.
The break was ending, but JJ gathered the team around him for a motivational speech. 'I hope this one won't be my last,' he muttered.
The surrounding faces were a mess of emotions. Resolve, despair, frustration, anger, acceptance, confusion, determination, even a joyful smile; it'd been one hell of a last ride.
'This shit is too good to give up,' JJ said. 'I never want it to end … sadly, it has to. But not today. I won't let it be today. We've come back from worse, and there's a reason for that.' He looked around, moving into the circle that'd formed around him. He slapped Stephen's shoulder. 'We can all be as big as Stephen.' He slapped Chris's helmet next. 'As quick as Chris.' He walked around the huddle, touching and slapping more of his hermanos. 'As proud as Cameron. As protective as Javier. As diligent as Cole. As courageous as Amon. As tenacious as Deshaun. As reliant as Tyler. As fierce as Donte. As cunning as Sonny. As calm as Jay. As fearless as Zayden. And as fast as Tyrese.' He stopped before Ty, holding out a fist.
Ty bumped JJ's fist. Others cheered and slapped JJ on the back. 'There's one thing ya forgot,' Deshaun said through his grin.
'Two actually,' added Benny, resulting in laughter all around the huddle.
'And we can all have cojones like Benny,' JJ said. The laughter intensified.
Stephen took one of JJ's hands, clasping it tight. 'Nah. We can all be as strong as our leader, JJ.'
JJ grinned, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. 'My strength comes from mi familia.'
Stephen raised his and JJ's hand into the air. Soon they were encased by a fist from every Don. Their cry of "family" was the loudest that day.
With shaky legs, JJ found his seat. He'd have to wait, and his family would have to restart the comeback without him. But he trusted they would. They'd find a way, and he'd hold the Trailblazers back until they did so.
Ty hunched forward in his seat on the end of the bench. His eyes were locked on Lennox like they had been for most of the day. If Coach Hoang thought they were the same type of player, the evidence would be irrefutable on defence.
He'd get his chance to learn right away, as the Dons took to the air. Ty watched closely as Lennox jabbed at Stephen before backing off, hindering the giant's release without getting caught in his clutches and dragged into a game of strength and body control. It was smart. Ty would've done the same.
As Lennox backpedalled, he offered the outside. Stephen rumbled forward, then suddenly Curled. Lennox was off a step, and seemed late to react, but his gaze was locked on Jay. "Don't throw it," Ty thought. In the same position, he'd be baiting the QB into throwing an interception—a pick-six in this case—Lennox was trying to seal the game before Ty had time to wrestle it back.
Ty's heart rocketed up to his throat when Jay tossed the ball towards Stephen. Lennox pounced. Stephen moved towards the ball, but noticed Lennox would reach it first. He jutted a hip out, knocking the CB slightly off course. The ball bounced off Lennox's fingertips and fell to the ground.
Ty settled back into his seat, heart returning to his chest, pounding frantically. In his mind, Stephen was lucky not to be called with Offensive Pass Interference, but then again, Receivers never got penalised.
Ty could definitely see how he and Lennox played CB similarly—though that would've been an interception for Ty—but he didn't see how that would help him guard Lennox. Ty hadn't played WR, never WOULD play WR. He was a CB and ONLY a CB until the day he died. He couldn't even imagine what it'd look like if he played WR.
On third down, the Dons had to pass again, but with Lennox back in top form, Jay couldn't rely on Stephen to bail him out of the situation. The others would have to step up in his place.
Jay took the snap, backing off as he scanned the field. Cole and Benny would need time to get open, but he had faith that after their Cross and Post "scissored" across one another, one of them would be open. If not, Chris was a last resort down in the flat, or maybe Amon's vertical.
Jay never saw Lennox coming.
Lennox, knowing Stephen would be ignored thanks to the previous play, abandoned his post guarding the giant, and sprinted down to blitz Jay from far outside. Too far outside for the Line to pick him up or stop him. It was such an unexpected move that nobody saw it until it was too late, and Lennox had already speared Jay into the turf.
The ball bounced free across the field, a fumble which Chris dove upon, ending up at the bottom of a heavy pile of Linemen from both teams.
The Dons had recovered the fumble, but they'd lost 7 yards, and most importantly, they'd failed to pick up the first down. The comeback wasn't off to a good start, as the punting team replaced the offence.
The Trailblazers' next drive started at their 30-yard line. The fate of the game would hinge on this drive. Another touchdown and the trail Sierra Canyon blazed would be too far out of reach for the Dons. And to start, Ty still didn't know how to put down the rabid beast troubling him.
Lennox stalked onto the field, shooting a look Kieran's way; a look that said if he passed to anyone else, the loss would be on HIS head.
Lennox and Ty stood face to face, each boy hunched over in their stance. 'All that work and you couldn't force a turnover,' Ty said. 'And you won't get a touchdown on offence either. Do you feel like the game's slipping away yet?'
'So you admit the game's not even in your grasp anymore?' Lennox snarled.
The ball was snapped, and Lennox burst forward, batting aside Ty's press. Ty didn't know the trick to beating Lennox, but he felt like there wasn't any trick. It was just something he had to do; he just had to be better than Lennox.
He watched as the boy raced forward, watched his feet jab outside, inside, outside, in. Lennox cut inside. He'd been gliding across the field like a gazelle, and just like a gazelle, he changed directions without warning.
Lennox slid into a catch, Ty dove and prevented him from getting back up. The reception was good for 9 yards. Still, the Trailblazers wouldn't run. Still, Ty didn't feel any closer to understanding Lennox.
The Trailblazers took their time to set up their next play. The clock was their friend, and they weren't in any hurry to slam the final nail into the Dons' coffin; they wanted to enjoy the experience of such a hard-earned conquest, and to make the Dons suffer that little bit more.
Lennox jumped out of the blocks with a Slant this time, but turned vertical as soon as Ty moved to follow the Slant. He brushed by Ty, continuing on his way. Ty expected a shimmy, a shake, a feint, anything to build more distance. He could catch Lennox in a footrace, and Lennox knew that too. But Lennox just kept running straight on.
The ball came over their shoulders. Lennox leapt, twisting around. Ty did as well, closing the distance at the last moment. Twisting in the air, he locked onto the ball. It was his! Lennox and Kieran had fucked up again. They still underestimated him.
Ty latched onto the ball, both hands gripping it. Lennox got his hands on the leather as well. They landed together. Lennox snarled and tore at the ball, ripping it from Ty's grasp. They fell back, Lennox crashing first, Ty on top of him.
Ty rolled off of Lennox quickly, staring at him and the ball in disbelief. That ferocity… that strength. He needed to hit the gym more. It wasn't enough. That ball was HIS … it should've been his, but he'd been too weak.
Lennox stood, glaring down at Ty. It was the kind of look that said, "I'll take everything you have, and there's nothing you can do about it".
Lennox continued to tear through the Dons' defence, leading the Trailblazers closer to the end-zone. Ty couldn't stop him. Not yet. Ty had been watching though. What Lennox did, didn't make sense when thinking about it from a football perspective. He wasn't going for the most logical play with the highest chance of success. He was more like a prey, rushing away from its predator, doing everything in its power to stay alive and stay out of the predator's clutches. Even going against what should be obvious to confuse and distract.
That was the flaw in Coach Hoang's logic. Lennox and Ty were similar, wild, sure, but they weren't the same. Deep within them, their instincts were different. Ty was the predator, not the prey. … But he'd been studying this prey, chasing it long enough, that he could understand how it thought.
Ty's tongue swiped across his teeth. Lennox grimaced, flashing his fangs. A response of fear, trying to dissuade the predator with a show of false strength and danger. Ty grinned.
The ball was snapped, Lennox came forward. Ty swiped at him. A press that was easily pushed aside. Good. Give the prey a false sense of security, of hope. They ran across the field, tracking deeper into their lonely wilderness.
Ty stared deep into Lennox's eyes. Lennox stuttered, left right left in rapid succession—Ty mirrored the movements. Lennox lunged towards the outside. Ty widened his stance but knew it for the fake it was. They burst inside together, Ty still in front of Lennox, eyes still locked on his. Lennox knew he was caught. Fear overrode his body, and he stumbled.
Kieran hesitated, holding onto the ball for an extra second. He had to find another target. Lennox was stuffed. His eyes lowered, not to any other Trailblazer, but to the Don barrelling towards him.
Donte had been chipping away at the outside, play after play. But he felt he was only wearing himself down. No matter how hard he'd tried, he'd not got a hand on Kieran yet. But this play, this play, he knew he needed to do something different.
The Trailblazers had grown used to his stubborn, bullish attempt to get by the outside; Donte had noticed the Guard stopped even glancing his way after the snap. They knew he wasn't coming back inside. So that's exactly what he did.
When the ball was snapped, he lunged outside, low and wide, just like he always did. As the Tackle lunged out to meet him, Donte rose, brushing the outstretched hands aside—beating away the shield preventing him from reaching Kieran—and spun inside. The Guard was slow to react, and by the time they did, Donte had already squeezed through the gap. There was nothing between him and Kieran.
'Oh shit,' Kieran said. He fell back, heaving the ball. Donte crunched into him mid-throw. They slammed into the ground, all the air leaving Kieran's body. The ball wobbled through the air.
'BALL!' The cry rippled across the field, emanating from both teams. Ty and Lennox stopped, looking around, but the ball was too far from them.
As the ball fell towards the earth, everyone scrambled towards it. But only one person reached it before it hit the turf. From all the Dons and all the Trailblazers, Deshaun was the one who got his hands to it, diving, scooping it from the air just before it hit the ground. He held the ball tight against his chest, scrambling to his feet, but was shoved back down by a Trailblazer, feeling like a cannonball had hit his ribs.
Still, he held onto the ball, even as he was crushed under that Lineman, and then another. The officials rushed in, whistles shrieking, as they signalled for the interception, and that it was the Dons' ball.
The crowd erupted again. Hope reignited for the Dons. It was a small flame, one that Jay and the offence would have to nurture into the inferno required to burn away the Trailblazers' entire lead and win the game. A hard task, and as hard as it was, it was just as easy for the Trailblazers to snuff out.