With no one covering him, Little George easily scored a touchdown.
He kissed the football in his hands, then turned around and spread his arms, ready to accept his teammates' celebration.
However, he ended up getting the same treatment Mike had earlier.
On the field, aside from the cheers and shouts from the stands, both teams had gathered at midfield.
On the fifty-yard line, Captain Aaron was lying on the ground, clutching his right wrist in pain. Beads of cold sweat covered his forehead.
"Doctor… doctor…" Coach George rushed onto the field, panic written all over his face as he shouted for medical help.
Football is an intensely physical sport, and players' arms—where protection is weakest—are especially prone to injury.
The unnatural bend in Aaron's right hand was an obvious sign of a dislocated wrist.
Normally, this wouldn't be considered a serious injury. In everyday circumstances, a quick reduction and some rest would be enough for a full recovery.
But this was during a game. That alone meant Captain Aaron was done for the rest of the match.
Coach George pushed through the crowd and knelt beside him. "Aaron, are you okay?"
More than the pain in his hand, what hurt Aaron the most was the frustration in his heart. Hearing the coach's question, he shook his head numbly.
Before long, the team's medical staff arrived with a stretcher.
Two doctors quickly gave Aaron a basic full-body check. After confirming that his wrist was the only injury, they helped him up.
"What's the situation?" Coach George asked.
"Dislocated wrist, with severe muscle bruising. He needs immediate treatment," the doctor explained.
Seeing the disappointment on Aaron's face, Coach George tried to comfort him. "It's okay, Aaron. You've got plenty of games ahead of you. Right now, your job is to cooperate with the doctors and focus on recovery."
"I know, Coach…" Aaron murmured. Then he pulled himself together, walked over to Mike, and said, "The rest of the game is up to you. Don't let your emotions get the better of you…"
At that moment, Mike was staring intensely at Austin's number 23, looking like he might jump him at any second.
That's right—Aaron's injury had been caused by a hard hit from Tucker.
"Don't worry. With me out there, I won't let them have it easy," Mike said with a reassuring smile.
That was exactly what made Aaron uneasy.
Medford High had worked so hard to achieve the results they had this year, earning the chance to play in a massive stadium like this.
Even if they lost, Aaron hoped the Medford football team could put on a great show in front of all these spectators.
Just as Aaron was about to say something else, Mike cut in again. "Alright, Aaron. You need to go get treated. Leave what happens on the field to us."
At this point, anyone could tell that the Austin team had come prepared for a fight.
And the moment Aaron went down, Medford's summer league run had essentially ended ahead of schedule.
Rather than playing passively for the rest of the game, Mike would rather meet them head-on.
He wanted to see just how tough the Austin team really was.
"Alright. Take care of yourself out there," Aaron said, looking into Mike's determined eyes, as if he finally understood his intentions.
After taking one last look around the field, Aaron picked up his helmet and walked off.
---
Whistle—
With Aaron injured and out of the game, the head referee finally called a defensive foul on Austin's number 23.
After that, with no quarterback on the field, Medford called a timeout.
Generally speaking, every football team has a backup quarterback. Unfortunately, as a weaker team, Medford hadn't been able to make that kind of preparation.
Coach George had planned to develop Mike into a quarterback, but that plan hadn't yet been fully put into action.
After scanning the players' faces, Coach George's gaze finally landed on Little George.
There's a common football tactic where the quarterback and a receiver swap roles.
That also shows how wide receivers and quarterbacks share certain similarities. The biggest difference is that receivers are usually far less physically durable than quarterbacks.
With the situation so urgent, Coach George had no choice but to roll the dice.
"Little George, I need you to take over as quarterback. Can you do it?" Coach George asked.
"I—I…" Panic flashed across Little George's face.
To be honest, he still hadn't recovered from everything that had just happened. Faced with his dad's sudden question, he didn't know how to respond.
Just as Little George was struggling internally, Mike spoke up. "Coach, why don't you let me try?"
This time, it was Coach George who hesitated. After thinking for a moment, he asked uncertainly, "Mike, are you sure?"
The quarterback is the most well-rounded player on the team. Not only does he organize the offense and direct plays, but he also needs excellent field vision and the ability to seize opportunities.
Long passes, accurate throws, and clean handoffs are all basic skills a quarterback must have.
"I'm sure," Mike said, nodding firmly. To strengthen his case, he added, "I already have long-throw ability. Little George can vouch for that."
Hearing this, Little George nodded in agreement.
The importance of the quarterback position also means enormous pressure.
Right now, Little George clearly wasn't ready for that kind of responsibility.
Coach George had taken in both of their reactions. In the end, he made his decision. "Alright. Mike will be our quarterback from here on out. Anyone have objections?"
The question was completely unnecessary. The Medford players all looked dejected, as if they had already given up hope for the game. All they wanted was for this ordeal to end as soon as possible.
Yes—because of the massive gap in strength between the two teams, this game felt more like torture than competition for Medford.
Seeing no one speak up, Coach George said, "Since there are no objections, Mike will serve as our quarterback. On the field, everyone follows his lead…"
A quarterback's ability to command the team often determines the team's floor.
For easier communication, every competent quarterback usually has a set of hand signals of his own—clenched fists might mean calling for protection, an open hand could signal receivers to spread out, and so on.
Of course, Mike didn't have time for any of that right now. His commands would likely be shouted out directly.
After settling the quarterback position, Coach George turned to Sam. "Sam, if I move you back to running back, can you handle your responsibilities?"
Because Medford used a dual-core system, the running back's tactical importance had been raised significantly.
You could even say that on this team, the running back was nearly as important as the quarterback.
"I can do it, Coach," Sam promised excitedly.
With Mike's success as an example, Sam only needed to follow his lead after returning to the running back position.
More importantly, Sam wanted a chance to prove himself again. His earlier performance as a tight end had been far from impressive.
At this point, Sam was one of the very few players on the team who still had any fighting spirit left.
Just then, Mike raised his hand.
"Is there something else?" Coach George asked.
"Given our current situation, I think we need to change our strategy," Mike said. "A blitz-heavy, power-run approach could work."
In Mike's view, with Aaron out, continuing to use the dual-core crossing offense would be nothing short of slow suicide.
Instead, they might as well go toe-to-toe with their opponents head-on—something Mike had been planning for a long time.