Coach Long and Norman pressed their heads together. The offence still wasn't working well enough. Field goals were nice, but the Eagles' resurgence just before the end of the third quarter reminded them they didn't win games. They'd need a change, but what?
'Benny's still the key,' Coach Norman muttered.
Coach Long nodded in agreement. 'If that Fale boy keeps guarding him … should we drag him deep? We'll have time since he won't be blitzing.'
Bella stepped forward at the same time Jay sat up. 'What if Fale Blitzes?' she asked.
'We can't go deep 'cause …' Jay trailed off. The coaches acknowledged his concern but addressed Bella first.
'We'll have to figure that out,' Coach Long said, 'but we need to focus on perfecting plays before we worry about contingencies for contingencies.'
Coach Norman turned to Jay. 'What were you about to say?'
Jay sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. 'Their Safety … he's watching everything deep … can't throw it deep … he'll pick it off.'
It was a real problem, and one the coaches had to think about. Bella still had her blitzing issue, so the answer wouldn't come from her. Nor did it come from the coaches. Stephen provided it, shocking those who heard.
'What if I distract the guy?' he said.
'Is it really that simple?' Coach Long asked.
Stephen shrugged. 'I don't know, I'm not a Safety or whatever, but I'm looking at it this way. If me and Benny both go deep, who's he gonna think needs more help? Their star Linebacker? Or the helpless, tiny Cornerback trying to guard my big ass?'
'It could work,' Coach Norman said.
'Stephen, don't let anyone tell you, you aren't creative.' Coach Long slapped him on the back. 'We'll try it. It's a good idea, and it'll work if you boys can MAKE it work.' He met Jay's eyes, a sense of knowing passing between them. It'd come down to Jay. He'd be playing a game of chicken against Hawk.
Stephen sat back down next to Jay, reminding Jay he could always throw the ball to him if Hawk didn't take the bait.
However, Coach Norman's worries weren't assuaged. 'What happens if Joseph Fale blitzes instead of guarding Benny?'
'I think I have something,' Bella said.
Coach Long turned to his daughter, smiling proudly as he gestured for her to continue.
'Chris could slip his blocking assignment and provide a quick check-down to be an outlet for the pressure.'
Coach Long scratched his chin. 'It's tricky, but I think our boys can pull it off.'
Bella sighed, relieved to be of some use.
On the other side of things, Coach Hoang was drawing up another formation. With the Eagles' reasserting their dominance on the ground, he once again had to stuff the box to slow them. That would leave Sonny as the single high Safety, as Zayden helped with the run. The rest of the secondary would be left in man coverage.
He relayed the changes to his troops, meeting their grim faces with his own. They could stop the Eagles. They assured him of such, but he already knew they could. His gaze landed on Ty.
Wheeling closer he stopped beside Ty. 'We'll stop the run,' Coach Hoang said. 'It'll be up to you to stop Fale after that, Samuels.'
Ty clicked his tongue. 'Haven't I already proven I can? I have two picks since I've started guarding him.' He held up two fingers. 'And in that same time he has zero touchdowns.' He made a circle with his hand, looking through it at Coach Hoang, who nodded and left Ty be.
Ty's confidence was at peak levels. Had he missed the change? Impossible. Despite what his arrogance made you think, Ty's awareness and instincts were top-notch, he knew his opponent better than anyone. He would've noticed that Fale was special before anyone else.
Ty was special too … yet he hadn't changed gears, hadn't pushed beyond to that next level. Perhaps he didn't think he needed to. Unfortunately, Coach Hoang didn't buy that. It was more likely Ty still didn't know how to turn that valve, how to throw off his restraints. It was still an instinctual, unconscious release.
But that was okay. If Ty hadn't made that shift, then it meant he'd not yet been in a crisis worthy of going all out. No matter what Coach Hoang told himself, his hands were still shaking as play resumed and both teams took the field.
Ty and Fale began their fourth quarter showdown. The game was still tied, but with the Eagles on the attack, it'd take another turnover to keep it that way.
The Eagles started with a pass. Ryan only had a short drop back before he fired the ball over to Fale, catching Ty off guard. He was still backing off, giving Fale space when the pass came in. Fale made the catch undisturbed, then turned to face Ty. He didn't try to avoid him, simply ran through him. Ty latched onto him, even after being run over, but failed to drag Fale down. Instead, it was Fale dragging him across the first down marker before more help arrived and they finally brought him down.
Ty was hoisted back to his feet before he could refuse the help. Fale stood amongst a host of Dons and pushed his way through to the Eagles' huddle without so much as blinking.
The Dons backed up further, pushed ever closer to their goal-line. They set up again, erecting their wall as the Eagles charged forward with a run. The Dons met them head on, pushing them back after a gain of 4. Not great for either side, but it was a step in the right direction for the Dons. The next play was an even bigger one.
Another run had a much worse result for the Eagles. Only 2 yards were gained before the Dons overwhelmed them and crushed the RB into the turf. The Dons had made a statement. Coach Hoang's new formation was working. The run game had been stopped. With the Eagles forced to take flight, it was Ty's responsibility to stop the Eagles by stopping Fale.
Ty breathed deeply, readying himself for what came next. He'd get the stop, put an end to them right there. The offence could strike harder, could take the lead with a touchdown even if the Eagles scored a field goal. If he couldn't intercept the ball, he'd stop them.
The ball was snapped. Fale stutter-stepped—in, out, in, OUT! Ty followed as Ryan dropped back to pass; it was another short one, but Ty knew it was coming. He was there, if he could just dart around Fale he'd stop them.
He shot forward, watching. How had Vance stopped him? The legs. Vance's attack and body control was all about footwork. Fale was wider, but even his footwork wasn't as precise or disruptive as Vance's. Ty could do it.
If Ty got his foot inside, he knew he could spin around Fale and cut off the pass. He planted his foot down. He was there. The pass was as good as his, best case another interception, even a pick-six. Worst case, a deflection and an incompletion.
Something held Ty in place, like his feet were stuck in rapidly drying cement. Fale was like a castle wall before him, towering above, and Ty couldn't even begin to scale it because his feet wouldn't listen to him. He couldn't lift them, and the harder he tried to push off, the deeper it felt like he sank. Maybe it was quicksand not cement. But how?
The pressure lifted as Fale caught the pass, and though Ty's feet were finally free, that wall was still there, tall as ever—insurmountable. Fale dragged the ball in tight against his chest and turned. Even as Ty lunged Fale dragged him and continued onward, unabated. Ty was scraped onto the turf like he'd been flattened by a steamroller. Fale gained a total of 8 yards before he was stopped, easily picking up the first down.
Donte helped Ty peel himself off the ground and asked: 'You alright?'
'I'm fine,' Ty repeated.
Every damn play they asked. It must've looked like Fale was killing him. Like it was comical he was even attempting to guard the Samoan. Like when Rabbit tried guarding anyone. "I'm not like him!"
Ty was still figuring out what had just happened when the two team's returned to their formations. The air felt heavier. Fale's change was perplexing. An immovable force and unstoppable object rolled into one.
Confusion still clouded Ty's mind when the Eagles dropped back for another pass. Only, it was a Draw. Fale charged forward, getting further upfield before smashing Ty over. The rest of the Dons were tapped in, but with Fale roaming, the Eagles squeezed out 5 yards from the run. It was good, but they could do better.
Fale picked up 8 or 9 with his short passes. Hitches, Drags, Outs, it didn't matter. Ty couldn't stop him, that wall was too formidable, and there was always something stopping him from starting his climb. That quicksand, or mud, or cement or whatever the hell it was. Ty couldn't figure it out, couldn't avoid it.
He tried closing the distance faster, but that only got him stuck harder. He waited and attacked at the last possible moment, but the wall was too much to overcome in such a short time. Even when he tried a running start, like leaping up the wall via starting his spin or his zigzag around Fale from a greater distance, that only resulted in them getting tripped up and Ty called for Pass Interference.
No matter what Ty did, Fale pulled the Eagles closer to the goal-line play after play. It wasn't long before the Dons found their backs against the wall, standing in their own end-zone, as the Eagles prepared to smash the last wall down.
Ty was out of ideas, but not hope. He didn't need a trick or some fancy strategy. He just needed his body. Speed, explosiveness, springs. He'd use his legs, power through, get himself in range to use his long arms and spear the ball out of the sky with them.
A line was drawn in the turf, one inch in front of the end-zone. The Eagles wouldn't cross it, Ty promised. Even though he didn't say a word of it to anyone, the rest of the Dons made the same promise.
Ty faced off against Fale, unyielding determination mirrored in both faces. Only one could survive.
The ball was snapped. Fale jutted outside. Ty threw out his spear again. It slammed into Fale's shield but didn't stagger him; he pushed through. Out two steps then up, a rapid cut which only built his momentum. Ty shadowed, flashing his spear again, another ineffective blow. The short field squeezed them, but Fale feinted out before cutting back in, curling.
That was it. Ty pounced. He'd break through the wall if he couldn't climb over it. The wall held strong, kept Ty back, kept the ball safe until Fale could claim it. His meaty hand wrapped around it, settling it into the crook of his arm, both hands encasing it. Then the wall started to crumble on top of Ty.
Fale pushed back, not even turning as he forced his way through. Ty dug his cleats in, tearing up the turf as he was shoved into the end-zone. Fale didn't stop, shoving Ty deeper as whistles screamed at them.
JJ and Zayden moved in, grabbing Ty and helping him hold Fale up. The surge was finally stopped. Much too late. The fans rejoiced as the officials signalled touchdown. Fale spiked the ball down, not even acknowledging the Dons who had stopped him. He'd have backed Ty into the stands if the others hadn't stepped in. But Fale didn't care.
On the way to the bench, Fale was more animated than Ty had seen. It even surprised his teammates when he bumped chests with them and looked down at them, teeth gritted and eyes wide. It was frightening, but he was on their team. Whatever got the job done, they were happy to be on his side.
'You did your best, hermano,' JJ said.
Zayden sneered at Ty before stalking off, not feeling as forgiving about the fuck up.
Ty shrugged JJ's hand off his shoulder. He didn't deserve forgiveness. He screwed them all. He stayed silent as he returned to the bench. No cheers would greet him this time.
The rest of the stadium was bouncing with joy. You'd have thought the Raiders just won a playoff game based on the screams and stamping. It was enough to rock the seats and send tremors through the air.
Ty turned his head, looking at the scoreboard. There were no breaks left to regather and reorganise, but thankfully they weren't too far into the last quarter. Ten minutes remained. But with the Eagles' extra point succeeded their lead extended to 7 at 14–21.
Ty had broken his promise. And now the only ones who could save him from the personal hell he'd created, was the offence.
"I can't lose like this … I WON'T lose like this."