Bab 145: Halfway: To victory? Or Defeat?
Neither team managed to break through the defensive slog the game had turned into, and the score remained 10–3 in the Cats' favour until the second half.
The Cats couldn't score because the Dons defence was still wrangling Archie. Not only was his hair a weakness that snagged him on outstretched arms multiple times, but the Dons were even able to use it as a way to gauge Archie's running pattern and how he juked, learning his timings to hit him square in the body and bring him down in a more conventional manner too.
Ty was draped all over Vance, and while the two played their own chess game within a game, they were at a stalemate, and the QB never looked their way for the rest of the second quarter. The rest of the Dons' secondary did a good job keeping their assignments in check as well.
On the other side of the ball, the Dons' passing game also struggled. The Cats' secondary seemed to be all over the field, like they had twice as many players as they were supposed to. No matter how open a Receiver seemed, whether it was Cole, Stephen, or Benny, a Cat was always there to pounce on the pass at the last moment.
Chris wasn't fairing much better on the ground; he was being run ragged. There wasn't a chance of going through the middle of the field, not with Blob in the way—not even Cameron could bust through Blob—and his runs to the outside always had diminishing returns.
Tempers had died down as both teams entered their respective locker rooms for the major break, and the crowd's excitement simmered quietly.
The Cats had the lead, but with only a touchdown between the teams, they weren't comfortable. What they were doing defensively was good, but they needed to find a way to widen the gap between them and the Dons. It'd be up to the offence to break the game open and secure the win.
Archie's feet tapped against the floor like he was standing on fire. He sat before his locker, helmet by his side, braid draped over his shoulder and across his lap as his fingers brushed the strong, thick fibres.
He looked at the nearest staff member and grabbed their arm. 'I need a pair of scissors.'
They looked at him confused. 'Uhh…'
When they looked away, Archie tugged on their arm, firmly pulling their attention back to him. 'Now!' He shoved them away and sent them running.
Vance watched Archie, his brow knitted with concern. 'Are you sure this is what you want to do?'
Archie pushed his shoulders back. 'It's what I have to do.'
Vance didn't say anything further.
Over in the Dons' locker, coaches Norman and Long were parked in front of the offence, a whiteboard displayed before them.
'Stephen is drawing a lot of attention, that's good, we're used to that, we just need to capitalise on it,' Coach Norman said. 'Benny, that's where you come in. When their Safety—number twenty-eight—gets sucked down by Stephen, I need you to run a deep Corner over the top.'
'Jay, if Benny's open, it's up to you to find him,' Coach Long added before turning to Stephen. 'That's not to say you'll only be a decoy in this second half, they need to fear you for the distraction to work, and for that, we need to get you away from their double-team. I'm thinking quick Outs and Hitches, something to keep you one-on-one with the Cornerback, where you can use your size. Then when they're getting jumpy, that's when we hit 'em where it hurts.'
'You can count on me, Coach. They can't guard me much longer.'
'I know they can't.' Coach Long offered a fist bump; Stephen gladly smashed his fist against Coach's.
Coach Hoang, meanwhile, rolled in front of the defenders as they caught their breath and prepared for the second half. 'I bet you think you've got it easy, huh? Happy with how well you've done so far?'
A few unconcerned, ignorant heads bobbed up and down.
'Wrong! Look at the scoreboard and tell me what you see. We're losing. You might've adjusted after their first two drives, but don't get complacent, don't imagine you'll be heading out to face the same team in the second half, because you won't. We have to be ready for whatever they throw at us. We have to draw a line in the sand, we can't allow them any further. Ten points, that's the line, remember that.'
'Yes, Coach,' the defence said.
'What?' Coach Hoang responded, cupping his ear.
'Yes, Coach!' they shouted, JJ loudest of all.
The Dons returned to the field, the defence fired up as they would be on first.
Holding the Cats scoreless in the second half was all well and good by Ty's standards… but it wasn't enough. He didn't like being behind, he didn't like having to rely on the offence to score for him—win for him. The question was, how could he impact the scoreboard if the Cats' QB was too much of a pussy to throw it his way?
Ty was given some reprieve from the puzzle as the Cats emerged from their locker room. He guffawed as he saw Archie lead them onto the field. It took the others a few seconds longer to figure out what was so funny that Ty of all people couldn't contain his laugh, but then they saw it—Archie had chopped off his braid.
'So much for a sign of his strength and culture or whatever bullshit they were spouting,' Ty said, still snickering.
'Keep your head in the game, Samuels. You can ogle your boyfriend when you're tackling him,' Coach Hoang said, drawing more chuckles from the team than the revelation of Archie's haircut had.
Ty scowled but kept his mouth shut as both teams took the field for the kick-off.
Archie was out there for the Cats as the return man, and with an extra pep in his step, he weaved through defenders until he reached the 30-yard line where he was run out of bounds.
"A haircut doesn't mean anything, he's still the same loser," Ty reminded himself as he ventured out with the rest of the defence.
It's what he told himself at least, but the opening play told a different story. The ball was handed off to Archie, somewhat predictably, but he burst through the Line with renewed vigour, and bounced away outside, slipping by defenders until Zayden eventually forced him out, 12 yards further downfield.
Ty's lips curled into a snarl. He turned the snarl on Vance. 'Oi, what was that bullshit about his hair representing strength? Looks like it was just holding him back.'
'What's the matter?' Vance asked, not even looking at Ty as he was already on the way back to the Cats' huddle. 'You're not scared now you've lost your dirty crutch, are you?'
'Scared?' Ty sneered at the word.
Archie seemed rejuvenated with his fresh new look, and the Cats along with him. Instead of gains of 1 or 2, like the Dons had been holding him to since the field goal, he was back to getting 5 or 6 yards a carry, like he had been on their touchdown run.
They were even more free with their passing game now that they were more comfortable on the ground again. A few passes went awry over their intended Receiver's head, but Vance was getting back in the flow of things, able to fend off Ty for long enough to get a few quick grabs; Slants and Hitches, only resulting in a few yards at a time, but they were receptions nonetheless.
It didn't take too long for the Cats to pass half-field, and a 9-yard reception to Deshaun's side of the field pushed them closer to field goal range and gave the Cats another set of downs.
Archie was given the ball after that, and he dashed through the middle of the field. The D-Line was left scrabbling at the air as they couldn't break through the wall or away from the sticky grasp of Blob and the other O-Linemen.
JJ met Archie head-on and wrapped him up securely, dragging him down, but not before a gain of 7 yards.
JJ stood, dusting himself off, his mouth set in a tight, narrow line. He stood in the huddle, hands on his hips. 'C'mon, hermanos. He's just one man. Changing his hair hasn't changed him. We didn't NEED that before. Getting your hands on his arm or his leg is the exact same. We can still bring him down, we just have to go at him, we can't wait for him to come to us, that's exactly how he wants things to go. If you try to tackle him with flat feet, you're bound to fail. We gotta attack!'
The speech was directed to himself as much as it was to anyone else in the huddle, and JJ was the first to leave back to his spot, muttering to himself in Spanish.
Ty knew JJ spoke the truth. Archie was still the same player he had been in the first half. He trusted the defence would cotton on to him again, and he'd be suffocated once again. He didn't have to worry about that, but he still worried about what HE could do. If the run game dried up, they'd have to pass more, his chances would come. He resolved himself to this ideology.
After the snap, the QB kept the ball, and Vance pushed through to the outside, hands keeping Ty by his side, preventing Ty from getting in front of the route and smothering it. But there was no need for that, because the ball was underthrown.
What should've been a pass at Vance's back shoulder, ended up a yard behind his feet. Vance saw it coming, saw the trajectory, and hung his head, keeping to his line as he slowed to a jog.
Ty, however, spun around when he saw it. In his haste to twist and stop, he tripped on Vance's heel, staggering the larger man, while he tumbled to the ground. He most likely wouldn't have gotten to the ball anyway, but he cursed at the missed opportunity all the same.
The praises for his teammates regarding his good defence felt like empty platitudes and did nothing to brighten his mood.
The teams lined up opposite each other again for a third down that felt routine. The Cats had only 3 yards to go, and with the way Archie had been running, they were certain they'd pick up the first.
They handed the ball off to Archie, and Blob carved open a hole up the middle. Archie darted towards it, and found JJ waiting for him. JJ barrelled through the gap, and in the narrow corridor, Archie had no space to juke. He was speared to the ground for no gain at all, and the Cats were forced onto fourth down.
The Dons rallied around JJ, whilst the disparaged and shocked Cats slowly pulled Archie back to his feet.
Ty laughed, grinning widely. 'Huh, I guess that hair really was his source of power. Looks like he's nobody now.'
Vance clenched a fist, but walked away from Ty, going over to check on Archie. He kept the slight against his teammate in the back of his mind, however.
The Dons on the sideline were also eager to congratulate JJ when he returned. The special teams for both sides set out onto the field, and the Cats prepared for their field goal attempt.
The ball was snapped, the kicker marched forward with a steady stride and planted firmly … the kick was shanked wide to the left, and fell before the stands at the back of the endzone.
The Dons cheered in the Cats' misery; nobody was louder than Ty who cheered and clapped like he was intentionally trying to draw the Cats' ire. The score remained 10–3, and the Dons would take over from where the Cats had attempted their kick, with a chance to tie the game.
Upon seeing the Cats' kick miss so badly, the Dons' offence swaggered onto the field, feeling the Cats were crumbling, and a touchdown here would snatch the game entirely away from them.
Ready with their new game plan, Jay looked to Stephen on the first play. Stephen staggered forward and after a fake to the inside, burst towards the sideline. The throw came in hot and high, and Stephen stretched above Smoke's hands, dragging the ball down as he dragged his toes along the turf and fell out of bounds.
The pass was successful, and the reception netted them five yards. Even with just a slight gain, they were already nearing half-field.
Chris got the ball next, and his Sweep to the outside picked up four yards. The Dons were quickly facing third down, but their spirits remained high. Chris was called to the bench, and Cameron replaced him.
With the bigger, bulkier RB behind Jay, and the Dons only needing 1 more yard, the Cats pinched their D-Line closer together and the LBs snuck down further. It seemed obvious a run up the middle was coming.
But the Dons knew the Cats knew that, so they did the opposite. Cameron was slower than Chris in the open field, even so, the Cats hadn't been expecting another run to the outside and Cameron had all the space he could ask for. Even when he was confronted by Jahsiah, he was too much of a force for Jahsiah to tackle alone so it was all Jahsiah could do to hold him up until reinforcements arrived.
When Cameron was finally tackled, he had gained 15 yards for the Dons and brought them close to their field goal range.
After that, the trickery was put aside for a moment, and the spotlight was shined on Stephen once more. Three passes in a row, two of them quick little Hitch Curls, and another Out, and Stephen had three more receptions, 14 more yards to his name, and the Dons had another first down.
Smoke was still impassive, not letting his frustration show, but he'd crept closer to Stephen before each snap, and during the route he was more handsy, tugging and bumping where he could get away with it.
Jahsiah too had crept closer, his frustration more evident as he wore a grimace. He wasn't about to be locked out of the game just because Stephen and Jay were getting the ball out quickly.
The next play, Jahsiah was by Stephen before Jay had even finished his dropback. The curl was smothered, and even Benny over the top was being shadowed by the second Safety. Jay looked across to his outlet—Chris—and dumped the ball off to the flat for a gain of only a couple of yards, but that was better than nothing.
In the huddle, Jay gave Stephen "The Look". 'Coach says you're up … also says you know what to do.' An easy-going smile was plastered across Jay's face, more than happy to follow Stephen's lead in the upcoming play.
He turned to Chris and mentioned for him to stay in for blocking this time, and then the huddle broke apart.
Jay eyed Jahsiah before the snap. Both Safeties had crept further to Stephen's side of the field, Jahsiah down to better cover him and shut off the annoying quick routes, and the second Safety had been pulled in his wake to cover the middle of the field. Everything was set up perfectly.
'Set … hut.'
Stephen overpowered Smoke's press, pushing through it like it didn't exist. Smoke hissed and grabbed onto Stephen's jersey but Stephen jerked towards the outside, pulling Smoke with him; a flag fluttered through the air.
As Stephen cut to the outside, Jahsiah jumped across. He'd sprinted down to help cut off the Out route. That was when Stephen planted his foot and cut back across the middle of the field, streaking towards the goalpost in the back of the endzone.
With Benny crossing through the middle of the field heading to the corner of the endzone, the second Safety had been pulled across to cover him.
Stephen was wide open. Jay lobbed the ball high as Smoke and Jahsiah scrambled after Stephen. The pass was out far enough and high enough for Stephen to catch it mostly unchallenged, even as Jahsiah caught up to him through the long race to the endzone.
Stephen grinned as Jahsiah lunged, and even though Jahsiah draped himself around Stephen, becoming dead weight as he pulled at Stephen in an attempt to drag him to the ground, the giant gritted his teeth and heaved Jahsiah forward, dragging him along as he crossed through the endzone and in for a touchdown.
Jahsiah released him when they were in the endzone, staring at Stephen in disbelief. Stephen spiked the ball, launching it into the nearby stands, then turned to face Jahsiah. He lowered a hand to the ground, signalling Jahsiah was too small. 'Get the fuck off me, you fucking midget.'
Jahsiah's shock turned to rage, though his retaliation was prevented as the Dons surged forward and got between him and Stephen, celebrating their touchdown.
The earlier flag was for holding against Smoke, but the Dons declined the penalty and kept the results of the play instead. With a successful extra point, the game was soon evened up at 10–10.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
SeipoltMP
SeipoltMP The game is back to equal footing. Will the Dons continue their dominance? Or will the Cats answer back with a haymaker of their own?
As always, thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, see you in the next chapter.
If you want a few more chapters head over to my patreon: M.P.Seipolt
https://patreon.com/user?u=84433485
Shout out to my patrons: Howellsy, and Trey Caraballo.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone