Chapter 10: Battlefield Standoff
Underestimate your opponent strategically, but respect them tactically.
Lance's nerves were completely on edge.
At the start, Lance used a move similar to a Marseille Turn, a sudden stop and pivot to shake off Allen. He then deliberately broke toward Foster on the left. However, this time Allen's quick reflexes came through—despite being off-balance, he managed to trip Lance's leg with his arm, causing Lance to lose his momentum.
Stumbling forward, Lance couldn't shake off Foster right away. Although his quick reaction allowed him to change direction, he was soon caught in a pincer between Foster and Humphrey. This is what truly frustrated Lance.
He saw a gap! He tried to stop abruptly and make Foster and Humphrey collide with each other, planning to loop around Humphrey's outside. Even though Jackson was already moving to intercept, Lance still had a chance!
But in that fleeting moment, his footwork failed to control the emergency brake, and he ended up getting tightly grabbed by both Humphrey and Foster.
Even after being surrounded, Lance kept trying to break free, kept pushing forward. Humphrey and Foster, off-balance and struggling to secure their hold, were nearly shaken off by Lance's sheer will. But Jackson arrived just in time, snuffing out Lance's last effort to escape, and Lance was finally brought down, regretfully.
Three big men piled up in a heap.
Lance was still kicking himself—
Even in that situation, he had a chance! Just a bit more, just a little bit more!
However, he had to admit that the collisions, the breakthroughs, the offense-defense standoffs in football were intense and explosive enough! The solid, bone-crunching hits reverberated with deep thuds, and the power struggles set his adrenaline on fire.
It was exciting!
But when Lance stood up and turned his head, he was stunned to see the entire field frozen in place, everyone gaping in silence as if someone had hit the pause button. Lance blinked, confused—had he just entered some kind of Flash mode? Was he moving so fast that everyone else seemed to be standing still?
Lance flashed an apologetic smile and called out to Burns, "Sorry, Coach, I didn't do too well this time."
Allen: Cough.
He almost choked on his own spit. "Rookie, are you serious, or is this trash talk?"
Lance couldn't help but smirk. "If this is trash talk, then your reaction is a bit…"
Too dumb?
Lance didn't finish his sentence, but Allen immediately understood, awkwardly coughing into the sky before looking back at Lance. "If that was a poor performance, then our defense needs to go sit in a corner and think about what we've done."
Embarrassed but still earnest, Allen began explaining, and only then did Lance understand.
Earlier, Burns had mentioned that football is turn-based. But how exactly are these turns defined?
It's actually quite simple.
For each offensive drive, the attacking team has four downs. If they can advance ten yards within those four attempts, they earn a new set of four downs to continue pushing forward. This process repeats until they reach the end zone.
Conversely, the defense must stop the offense from advancing ten yards within those four downs, thereby ending the opponent's possession and forcing a turnover.
If the offense fails to advance ten yards in four downs, the turn ends, and possession switches at the spot where the fourth down ended. The defense then brings in its offensive unit to start its own drive from that spot.
For this reason, to avoid coming up empty-handed on the fourth down and leaving their defense in a bad spot, the offense usually only uses three downs to advance. On the fourth down, they bring in the special teams unit to punt the ball, pushing the opponent's starting position as far back as possible.
Of course, the offense can choose to go for it on the fourth down. If they fail, the ball changes hands right there.
However, there's an exception.
If the offense is close enough to the end zone after three downs, they can bring in the special teams not to punt, but to attempt a field goal. If the ball goes through the uprights, they score.
These rules form the backbone of football—a turn-based battle of offense and defense.
Although Allen's explanation was a bit scattered, with Humphrey and the others chiming in unhelpfully, Lance managed to grasp the concept—
It seemed complex at first but was actually straightforward.
Essentially, football is like a turn-based version of soccer. In soccer, the offense and defense can switch at any moment, but in football, it's about advancing ten yards within four downs. If the offense succeeds, they keep going; if not, the defense takes over.
Everything else is just refining this basic framework, but it doesn't stop anyone from understanding the game.
Lance suddenly realized, "So that fork at the end of the end zone isn't just for decoration."
Humphrey, Foster, and Jackson: …
A fork?
Seriously?
Allen burst into laughter. "Yeah, that's the goalpost."
"In football, there are three ways to score."
"First, reach the end zone, a touchdown, six points."
"Second, enter field goal range and kick it through the goalposts, three points."
"Third, if the offense gets tackled in their own end zone, not only do they lose possession, but the defense scores a safety—two points."
"Oh, and after each touchdown, you get a chance for an extra point with two options."
"You can either kick a field goal from the fifteen-yard line for one point, or go for another touchdown from the two-yard line for two points."
This time, Allen's explanation was much clearer.
Lance nodded, enlightened. "So, football really does involve using your feet… Wait, field goals and extra points, those are done with your feet, right?"
"Ha-ha." Allen laughed heartily. "Yep, and so are punts, kickoffs, and more."
Ah, so that's why football can keep the "foot" in its name. No need to compete with handball for the title.
Humphrey glanced between Allen and Lance, then couldn't hold back any longer. "Hey, so now do you get why we're so surprised?"
Lance blinked innocently.
Humphrey clutched his head and shouted, "Rookie, we only need to gain ten yards each time we attack. Running backs average less than five yards per carry, but you—! You ran fifty yards for touchdowns twice, and on the third try, even when we gave it our all, you still somehow pushed through for a first down!"
Lance tilted his head slightly. "First down means another set of four downs, right?"
Seeing Lance's eager-to-learn, nonchalant expression, Humphrey sighed deeply, his shoulders slumping. "Yeah, that's right."
That was the real reason for everyone's shock—
In the third attempt, Lance somehow managed to advance ten yards in a brutal clash! Such a strong and fierce performance definitely caught everyone's attention.
Lance waved it off humbly. "Just a fluke, just a fluke."
Foster looked devastated. "It better be. If it happens often, you're going to be a nightmare for defensive linemen and linebackers."
But before he could finish speaking, Foster noticed Lance's eager expression and slapped himself. "Sorry, you probably don't know what defensive linemen and linebackers are, do you? My bad."
Lance gave an awkward yet polite smile.
Allen laughed again. "You did it, Rookie. I really did end up dancing three times. Well done! Welcome to the Crimson Tide."
As he spoke, Allen raised his right fist and extended it toward Lance—
Facing his defeat with grace.
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