End Zone

by Tiki Barber

  “Hey,” Hayden replied, without looking up.

  On the field, North Side broke a long run. They were in the Eagle red zone again, with a first down at the twelve yard line. Tiki winced.

  “Listen,” he said, putting a hand on Hayden’s back. “This game is not over.”

  “No?” Hayden said bitterly. “I don’t know about that.”

  “Hey—no matter how bad you feel right now, you’ve still got time to turn things around. Remember, you’re the same guy who won the last two games for us.”

  “Uh . . . in case you forgot, there were a bunch of other guys who helped win those games too.”

  “And those guys are right here with you now!” Tiki said, jumping on any opening Hayden gave him. “We’re all ready to stage a huge comeback. We just need you to take charge!”

  “I think the guys are pretty steamed at me,” Hayden said, wincing. “I can’t blame them. I’m stinking up the joint.”

  “Forget it—it’s in the past, dude. We’ve got three quarters—well, two-plus quarters—left to make up a measly ten points.”

  Just then, the Rockets threw a touchdown pass that Ronde narrowly missed batting away. The crowd groaned. Hayden looked down at the ground again.

  “Make that seventeen points,” he said, even before the extra point was notched.

  “Look, just keep to those few simple pass plays we’ve got down,” Tiki told him. “Let’s take it one score at a time, okay? If we can hang onto the ball from here on in, we can beat these guys! We’ve beaten them twice already this year, and we scored forty-two points both times!”

  “That was with Manny at QB,” Hayden reminded him.

  “Dude,” Tiki told him, “you can do this. WE can do this. Just forget what’s already happened, stick to the game plan, and hold on to the ball. In fact, give it to me a few times to start us off. I’ll get us some field position, and then you can do your thing.”

  Tiki patted him on the knee and stood up to get back on the field.

  Hayden rose to his feet. “Tiki,” he said, “I don’t know if—”

  “You can do this, kid,” Tiki cut him off. “I’ve been in your shoes, more than once, and I know what you’re going through. I’m telling you—you can do this.”

  Hayden took a deep breath, blew it out, and nodded, his jaw set firmly and his eyes burning with intensity. “Okay, let’s go,” he said. Not waiting to see if Tiki was following, he ran out onto the field, clapping his hands together, all fired up.

  “Geez, what did you say to him?” Paco asked as they jogged toward the huddle.

  “Tell you later,” Tiki said, grinning. “Let’s play some football!”

  CHAPTER TEN

  BACK FROM THE BRINK

  * * *

  “ATTAWAY, TIKI!!” RONDE YELLED. HIS VOICE WAS drowned out by the general noise of two thousand fans screaming their heads off. Tiki had gotten the home fans excited with three straight runs for big gains.

  North Side was throwing everything they had at Tiki, but it didn’t matter—he just would not go down.

  Of course, the Eagle offense couldn’t just keep handing the ball to Tiki. He already looked exhausted, and why not? He’d been dragging defenders on his back play after play. The Eagles were on the North Side twenty-seven, but now they were going to have to try something else.

  Hayden dropped back, then flicked a quick pass to Luke Frazier. It happened so fast, and the ball got to Luke so quickly, that there was no time for the defense to react.

  It wasn’t a difficult throw for Hayden, and the pass rush had no time to put pressure on him. In short, it was exactly the kind of play Hayden could succeed at, and Ronde knew that every successful play—no matter how small the gain—would add to Hayden’s confidence.

  Confidence was everything, Ronde knew. Up until now, the Rockets had had the Eagles doubting themselves—especially Hayden. Now that the Eagle offense was moving, Ronde could feel the momentum shifting.

  He watched as Tiki took the ball again, and drove it down to the five yard line. Ronde could barely contain his excitement. The Eagles were about to score a touchdown, he was sure.

  Then it would only be a two-touchdown lead. It was just the first half. The Eagles had come from even further behind this season, so there was no need to panic.

  Except for one thing: The defense was going to have to stop North Side cold. They’d already given up seventeen points, but that was because the Rockets had started deep inside Eagle territory due to Hayden’s mistakes.

  The Eagles could not afford for their QB to keep fumbling and throwing the ball away. He seemed steadier now, throwing another quick pass to Luke at the three. On third down, Coach Wheeler called a rollout.

  Felix Amadou was covered in the end zone, and the linebackers weren’t fooled by the fake handoff to Tiki. They stayed with Hayden, and brought him down at the five yard line. The Eagles had to settle for a field goal that made the score 17–3.

  “Well, we’ve gotta do what we’ve gotta do,” Ronde said to himself as he strapped his helmet on. For the Eagles to win, he was going to have to make a big impact on this game—starting right here and now.

  The Rockets started their next drive at the thirty yard line. With a two-touchdown lead, they tried to eat up the clock by keeping the ball on the ground. But the Eagles were ready for them, and soon it was third and long.

  Here came the pass play, Ronde knew. They’d probably try to keep it simple—a quick throw to avoid the blitz, just long enough for a first down.

  Ronde gave his man a hard bump, sending him reeling backward. Then he headed for the forty yard line, which was exactly how far the Rockets needed to get with the pass.

  Sure enough, their halfback had sneaked through the Eagle defensive line and now turned quickly to receive the throw. But Ronde was there first, leaping in front of him to grab the ball out of the air for the interception!

  It was exactly the break the Eagles needed. No sooner was the offense back on the field than Coach Wheeler called a pass play—this time, going straight for the end zone. And Hayden, suddenly feeling it, threw a perfect strike to Frank Amadou in the corner of the end zone for the touchdown!

  By halftime, the score was 17–10, Rockets. But everyone in the Eagle locker room was focused and ready. Nobody crowed, or bragged, or fooled around, or even talked much. They were a bunch of men on a mission.

  It wasn’t life or death, of course—but it might as well have been. Ronde saw the looks in their eyes, and inside his heart, he knew—this team was not going down in defeat. Not today. Not this game. No way.

  • • •

  As Ronde waited for the second half kickoff to come down into his arms, he tried to still his pounding heartbeat. “Breathe,” he told himself. “Breathe . . .”

  He took the ball and squeezed it hard to his chest, making sure he had a good grip before he began to run. Somehow, he felt an extra sense of alertness. It was like everyone else was moving in slow motion.

  Starting with a stutter step that made two rushers trip over themselves and tumble to the ground, Ronde darted this way and that, spinning away from one tackle, ducking under a leaping rusher, and finally finding a seam of daylight.

  That was when he kicked it into high gear. Two more defenders skidded to the ground, grabbing for his legs but ending up clutching nothing but air. Ronde’s legs whirred at amazing speed, and everything turned red in his vision as he raced for the end zone!

  He felt hands grab his ankles just as he crossed the goal line. Clutching the ball even tighter, he hit the ground hard, but kept possession. Touchdown, Eagles!

  The crowd went nuts, and the band launched into a victory march, with the big bass drum pounding. Adam raced onto the field, and his extra point was true, as usual.

  Tie game, 17–17! And after the Rocket offense went three and out, it was the Eagles’ offense turn.

  Ronde couldn’t wipe the grin off his face as he stood on the sideline. With the great runback he’d given t
hem, the Eagles had all the momentum now.

  Gone was the shaky, tentative, scared quarterback who’d gotten them into the hole. This Hayden Brook was playing out of his mind—having the game of his life (or at least the second half of one!). He was throwing pinpoint short passes to Tiki, Luke, and Jonah, mixed in with an occasional long toss to one of the Amadou twins.

  North Side’s defense was on its heels, panicking. Ronde could see it in their body language. Some of them were yelling at their teammates who’d been caught flat-footed. Turning on one another.

  Ronde had seen that kind of behavior before—even among his teammates—when things went wrong. It was never a good thing.

  Before the Rockets could make any adjustments, the Eagles had racked up another score, on a mad twenty-yard sideline dash by Tiki.

  It was Ronde’s turn again. This time he contributed a thundering sack on a blitz, forcing the Rockets to punt after only three plays.

  By the fourth quarter, the score was 31–17, Eagles. The Rockets had the ball, but now, fourteen points behind with only fifteen minutes to play, they had to go to their passing game.

  Coach Pellugi put an extra defensive back out there—Rio Ikeda. That made it possible for one of the five to rush the quarterback on every play, and still cover the receivers man-to-man.

  With so much pressure on him, it was only a matter of time before the Rockets’ quarterback made a mistake. Seeing that his other receivers were covered, he threw it to Ronde’s man—something most teams had avoided doing all season, and with good reason.

  Ronde, a step behind, easily made up the lost ground once the ball was in the air. He leaped at the last minute to make the interception, then avoided being brought down by the receiver.

  With the ball in his hands, in the open backfield, it was like running back a kickoff. Once again, Ronde shifted into that extra gear he’d had ever since his growth spurt.

  He was all over the field, running toward one sideline, then doubling back toward the other, only to spin back inside and dart down the center of the field, blazing all the way to the end zone.

  He was going so fast that he had to keep going, right up the stairs of the bleachers. Some of the home crowd grabbed him so he could stop himself. They clapped him so hard on the back that he said, “Ow!”

  The Eagles were rolling now, and they never looked back. The final score was 45–17—a complete rout of the demoralized Rockets! The final ten minutes was a rollicking, loud celebration by the Eagles and their fans, cheering for the League Championship they so richly deserved.

  • • •

  Hayden and Ronde got game balls from Coach Wheeler. Ronde saw Hayden give his to Tiki, along with a big bear hug.

  Ronde knew Tiki had said something to Hayden when the kid was falling apart in the first quarter. He didn’t know what it was, but it sure had done the trick.

  Whether Manny came back for their next game or not, the Eagles now had a quarterback they could rely on from here on in. Someone they could ride—hopefully—all the way to the State Championship!

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  PLAY-OFF BOUND!

  * * *

  TIKI HOISTED HIS BOOK BAG OVER HIS SHOULDER, left his last-period math class, and headed down to football practice.

  Tiki was happier than he’d been in a long time. For one thing, he’d done well on his big tests—which meant that he could take it easy for the rest of the term. All his teachers were in holiday mode too. The vacation was less than two weeks away, and most of the serious teaching was over until January.

  But that wasn’t the only reason Tiki was feeling light. The Eagles had won the League Championship, keeping their perfect record intact. Even if they lost in the Regionals, at least they would have accomplished something great—something no one could take away from them, ever.

  He and Ronde would graduate and go on to Hidden Valley High, but they’d never be forgotten. Their photos would be on the wall outside the gym, holding up all those trophies and awards they’d won. Kids years from now would try to live up to their achievements.

  It was a great feeling. But there was still much more to accomplish. And if they won their next three games, they would reach the greatest goal of all—a repeat State Championship, with not a single loss in the whole season to spoil the perfection of the achievement.

  The cherry on top was, the Eagles now had Manny back the rest of the way. His scrambling ability, and his feel for the game, were better than any QB Tiki had played with so far. With Manny behind center, it would be a huge boost for the Eagles.

  All this time, he’d had to worry about their chances. Now, at last, he felt good about things. That broken mirror, and those black cats, were just a thing of the past. The Eagles had weathered the storm, he was sure.

  That is, until he arrived at practice, and heard what Coach Wheeler had to say.

  “Okay, listen up, offense,” Wheeler began, putting one foot up on the bench and balancing his playbook on his knee. “Manny’s back—but he still has to be treated carefully. That means he won’t be practicing with us, except for noncontact drills. Nobody comes near him, got it?”

  Tiki frowned. He got it, all right. But without real repetition, complete with the defense going after him, it would be hard for Manny to get back his rhythm.

  “I’m going to give Hayden lots of reps,” Wheeler went on, “because if Manny gets hit during the game, and has to sit down, we’re going to need Hayden to be ready.

  “I’m also putting you offensive line guys on notice—you too, running backs—that your number one job on pass plays is to keep your quarterback from getting hit. Now, let’s go over the plays for our game with Loudon. . . .”

  Tiki could barely focus on the rest of Coach Wheeler’s talk. The thought of Manny hitting his head on the turf again gave him the shivers. The Eagle defense might take it easy on him in practice, but it was up to Tiki and the offensive line to protect Manny against Loudon’s pass rush. And that, he knew, was not going to be any picnic.

  • • •

  The Loudon Giants were 13–1, counting the play-offs in their league. They were as fast as the Eagles, even if they weren’t quite as big. And they had home-field advantage, because this year it was their league’s turn to host the regional play-off.

  This was the Eagles’ first away game in five weeks. They’d gotten used to having the home crowd behind them. So it was weird to run out onto the field, yelling at the top of their lungs, and not hear the crowd roaring with them.

  That roar was reserved for the Loudon Giants. When they came running out, fast as a stampede of horses, their fans went wild. Tiki winced, thinking how hard it would be to hear Manny’s signal calling with all that racket.

  “How’re you feeling?” Tiki asked his quarterback as they paced around on the sideline. “You ready for this?”

  “Ready as I’ll ever be,” Manny replied, shrugging. “Gotta get my feet wet first, then we’ll see. Hopefully, I won’t get hit too hard.”

  “You’re not going to get hit at all,” Tiki promised. “I’ve got your back, Manny. I’ll be sticking to your blind side, just in case they come at you that way. Count on it.”

  “Thanks, dude,” Manny said, clapping Tiki on the shoulder. “Hey, I’m not worried – as long as we’ve got you to carry the offense, my job’s a breeze.”

  They slapped five, and ran out onto the field for the coin toss. When it went up, Manny called heads—and heads it was.

  A good start—but from there on, things didn’t go so smoothly for the Eagles. Ronde gave them pretty good field position with his runback, and Tiki got them eight yards on first down. But on Manny’s very first pass play, the ball sailed high, and right into the arms of the Giants’ free safety!

  “Don’t worry, yo,” Tiki told Manny as they walked off the field together. “You’re just a little rusty. Stay with it, and you’ll find the range.”

  The Eagle defense bent but didn’t break. After eight plays, the Giants tried a lo
ng field goal—and missed.

  “See?” Tiki told Manny as they strapped their helmets back on. “No harm done. Just put that throw behind you, and let’s go get ’em!”

  But on their second drive, the same thing happened. Manny threw a third-down screen pass, but the ball floated too much, and the Loudon cornerback was able to get between the ball and the receiver. He came down with it, and this time, Loudon drove the ball into the end zone with a series of quick passes and a mad dash by their quarterback, for a 6–0 lead after the extra point.

  On their next drive, Coach Wheeler had the Eagle offense go to the ground game—specifically, to Tiki. The Giants’ defensive line was smaller than Pulaski’s or North Side’s. And fast as they were, they were no match for Tiki’s hyperdrive speed and quick moves. He tore them up for fifty-two yards—and that was just on the ground. Manny also found him with a quick buttonhook pass in the end zone to nail the touchdown!

  Adam’s extra point tied the game, and that’s the way it stayed until just before halftime. With a minute left on the clock, Tiki got the Eagles into the Giants’ red zone with a long run, breaking away from two tackles along the way.

  Then, on the last play of the half, the Eagles pulled a double reverse—Manny handed off to Tiki, who ran toward the sideline, then handed off to Luke, who was going in the opposite direction. Luke turned the corner and dove into the end zone, stretching the ball out in front of him—touchdown, Eagles!

  The halftime score was 14–7, and things were looking good. Other than scoring off the interception, the Giants hadn’t shown much offensive power, and they had yet to find a way to stop Tiki.

  • • •

  The second half began with surprises, and none of them was good. On the kickoff, Loudon’s return man lateraled the ball to one of his teammates, just as he was getting tackled by Ronde. The second guy made it all the way to the Eagle thirty before he was brought down.

  From there, the Giants pulled a stunt play on first down: a flea-flicker. It began the way the Eagles’ double-reverse had in the first half. The quarterback handed off to the running back, who handed it to the fullback going the other way. But the Giants added another twist—the fullback lateraled it back to the QB, who launched a bomb into the end zone!