บท 124: Break the Stalemate
The Titans had the ball to start the second quarter, and right away they could tell the Wildcats had made some defensive adjustments during the break. To combat the deep threat that Rudy posed, a Safety was positioned right over the top of him.
However, the remaining Safety, who had to guard deep balls over the rest of the field, was easily pulled out of position by Lonnie or Freddy, which gave Kenny free rein on his side of the field.
The Wildcats were assaulted from all sides. When it came time for them to pick what hill to die on, they decided to die on Rudy's hill and let Kenny overrun them.
Off a 7-yard reception, the Titans responded with another touchdown, keeping the scoring streak alive for both teams. Freddy even successfully booted through the extra point to restore the Titans' 7-point lead.
When it was the Titans' turn on defence again, they refused to copy the Wildcats' mistakes, though that meant leaving Rudy on an island with Aaron.
Aaron almost felt sorry for Rudy … almost. 'I gotta ask. What did you do to make them THAT mad? I mean, your team must REALLY hate you if they're still letting me embarrass you like this.'
Rudy pointed to the scoreboard. 'Embarrass ME? I'm not the one losing.'
'It doesn't change the fact you can't guard me.'
'And that doesn't fucking matter as long as you're losing. Take a good, long look at that scoreboard. When we're done, I'll still be greater than you.'
Aaron's eyes darkened and he went quiet.
Rudy gloated over Aaron's silence. 'That's what I thought.'
When the ball was snapped, Aaron charged straight into Rudy, catching him off guard. He shoved Rudy to the ground and rumbled right over him. He caught the ball in stride and kept moving down the sideline, leaving Rudy in the dirt.
Lonnie sprinted over. Lumbering up to speed, he took a long angle of pursuit and eventually caught Aaron, knocking him out of bounds after a 32-yard gain.
Freddy approached Rudy and offered him a hand up. Rudy ignored it and stood on his own. 'Piss off,' he said.
'You'll get him next time, you just need to stick to his chest.'
'If I wanted your advice I'd ask for it.'
When they reached the huddle, Kenny turned to Rudy. 'Yo, you have to keep your distance, watch his hips.'
'Shut up!' Rudy snapped.
'Well make a fucking stop and we will … idiota.' Pete shook his head.
During the next play, Rudy was, of course, targeted again. Except, this time, when Aaron cut inside on his Dig, Rudy was right there, hanging onto his hip. Rudy threw himself forward, tugging Aaron back at the same time, and was able to knock the ball away.
Aaron spun away from the contest, throwing his hands up in an appeal to the officials but no flag came.
'Stop complaining. Bitch,' Rudy said, walking past.
'Ohh you dirty motherfucker.' Aaron stepped in Rudy's path, pressing helmet to helmet. 'You can't stop me so now you gotta start grabbing me again?'
'Just like you gotta run me over? You know they should've called your ass for Pass Interference.'
'Break it up!' An official quickly came over. The two players pushed away from each other and returned to their respective huddles.
'I stopped him,' Rudy said. 'Happy now?'
'Good job.'
'Yeah, good work.'
'Keep it up.'
The team expressed their compliments before focusing on the next play.
The Wildcats returned to the ground, picking up 3 yards with a run to the outside before Isaac stopped them.
On third down, with around 7 yards to go, the Wildcats resorted to another pass. This time, Rudy had his hooks into the ribs of Aaron's pads early on, and Aaron couldn't go anywhere.
The pass went back to the RB, who split the middle gap between Isaac and Pete, and squeezed ahead for 7 yards before the two MLBs converged and brought him down together.
The officials conferred with one another, and brought out the measuring chains to mark where the ball had been downed … and by mere inches … the Wildcats had picked up a first down.
Rudy was irate when he reached the huddle. 'What the fuck?! So I do my job and stop my guy and you rejects let them get a first down anyway?'
'Cierra la puta boca. God! Just cause they let you get away with holding doesn't mean you're stopping shit.'
'Like you're stopping anything. I'm not your fucking scapegoat.'
Lonnie stepped between Rudy and Pete. 'Guys… this isn't helping. We need to get stops … as a team.'
'Stop acting like I'm holding you losers back,' Rudy said before stomping away.
Immediately after, Aaron caught another reception for 12 yards despite the holding penalty that was FINALLY called on Rudy. The penalty was declined as it would've resulted in fewer yards than the reception, and play continued.
It wasn't long before Aaron hauled in his second touchdown of the game.
He didn't have any words for Rudy after this touchdown, instead, he rushed straight to his bench, and the Wildcats' head coach as the kicking team was coming out.
'Coach Friedman, we gotta go for two. Trust me, that nobody can't stop me,' Aaron said.
The lenses of Coach Friedman's glasses caught the sun as he looked across the field to Rudy. His eyes were hidden behind the bright glare but his face remained smooth and relaxed. His seaweed-coloured hair was pulled back into a messy bun. His tall frame slouched forward slightly, his hands were stuffed into his pockets as he observed the field cooly before responding.
'Alright,' he said, 'but you're off the team if you screw this up. Still wanna do it?'
Aaron didn't hesitate to answer. 'Yes.'
Coach Friedman shrugged. 'Alright, if you say so.' He motioned for the kicking team to come back off. Then looked over the top of his glasses at Aaron. His brown eyes were as alert as a meerkat's. 'Weak Trips Bunch. Eighteen Duel. Single Inside B. Go.'
Aaron excitedly relayed the encoded message as he and the offence hurried back onto the field.
On the other sideline, Coach Carson screamed for the Titans to switch to a goal-line zone. Three Wildcats Receivers bunched together on one side of the field, Aaron was left all on his own … with no one but Rudy for company.
'What the fuck are you trying, bitch?' Rudy said.
'Just watch that scoreboard,' Aaron replied.
The Wildcats got the snap off with little time to spare. Aaron hopped forward and again Rudy was stunned by indecision. Would it be another Curl, or was THIS the fade? Would it be a quick Out, or a Slant?'
Aaron leapt and twirled in the air. Rudy's eyes flicked towards the QB. The ball was already coming their way in a flat arc. He jumped, hand stabbing the sky. The ball brushed the tip of his middle finger on its way to Aaron's mitts.
Rudy desperately swiped at the ball as he fell to the ground. Aaron landed on his feet, ball clasped firmly above his head, and he stayed that way as Rudy crumpled.
The two-point conversion was a success. The crowd chanted Aaron's name once more.
Aaron dropped the ball in Rudy's lap and pointed to the scoreboard. 22–21. The Wildcats had the lead. Aaron didn't even care if he was penalised 15 yards for the unsportsmanlike taunting—which applied to the next kick-off. The damage had been done; the lead was still his.
'You okay?' Kenny stood by Rudy, offering him a hand.
Rudy took it and chortled. 'Yeah, yeah I'm fine. So what if they got two instead of one. We started that, they're just copying us. We'll still be ahead after the next touchdown.'
Kenny pulled Rudy up. 'Exactly. Fuck those guys.'
Rudy kept a cool demeanour as he prepared for the kick-off. Thanks to the penalty, Kenny was able to return the ball to the 44-yard line where the Titans would start their next drive.
Keen to impose himself, Rudy, of course, demanded the ball right away. He rushed forward, getting right up in Kev's chest before shoving him away and cutting in. As he made a diving catch, a flag hit the ground; the 10-yard Reception was voided, and Rudy was penalised for OPI, pushing the Titans back 10 yards instead, and they'd have to replay first down.
'But 18 gets to run all over me? Bullshit!' Rudy grumbled.
'I didn't see any foul play before,' the ruling official said. 'You've been antagonising everyone this game.'
'Just walk your dumb ass back. You been cheating all game,' Kev said.
'Talk when you get a stop!'
'Hah! Keep that same energy for yourself.'
'Keep it moving boys, don't make me penalise the both of you.' The official scattered them to their huddles.
When Rudy returned, Isaac asked: 'You good? What was that?'
'Don't worry about it. Just gimme the ball.'
'Chill out for a play, compadre. You need to cool down before you dig a deeper hole.'
Rudy gave Pete a death stare—Pete ignored him.
Pete turned to the rest of the team. 'We don't need to get it all back in one play, we've still got plenty of downs to work with.'
On the next play, the Wildcats shifted away from doubling Rudy and instead put more focus on Kenny's side of the field. When Pete looked towards Kenny, he was well-covered.
Rudy broke away from Kev with a shake to the outside, a fake to the inside, and then finally went back outside.
Pete looked lower to Lonnie, but went against his own advice of not needing all those yards back in one play; he wanted something more. Freddy was no help, he ran straight into a couple of Wildcats.
Pete looked towards Rudy, but by the time his eyes reached Rudy, Kev had recovered. Getting back to Lonnie, even he was covered and Kenny was still out of the question. Finally, Pete resorted to Isaac with an outlet pass short to the flat, though Isaac was soon driven out of bounds and they only gained 3 yards.
Rudy stormed towards the huddle. 'Hey! I was fucking open, use your eyes next time.'
'I didn't see it, okay? Mierda. I said we didn't have to get them back all at once, relax.'
Pete quickly urged the team into formation and they snapped the ball without hesitation. This time, Pete tried to get to Kenny faster, though overshot the mark with the pass and it flared out of bounds.
'MierdaaARGH!' Pete ignored Rudy's glare during the next huddle. 'That one was on me.'
'No shit,' Rudy said.
'It's all good, we'll get them on the next one,' Freddy said.
'Just. Get. Me. The. Ball. There, I spelt it out real slow, so even an idiota like you could understand.'
Pete looked darkly at Rudy. 'Get. Open.'
Rudy smirked. 'I always do.'
Coach Otsen called for a major formation shift. Kenny, usually kept away from Rudy, was moved next to him, and it was Freddy who was isolated.
Kenny smiled at Rudy. 'I bet you can't take this next one to the house.'
'Hahaha. Bet? Bet what? Twenty bucks?'
'Deal.'
'Yeah right, you're going back on defence after this play,' Kev said. 'None of you are catching anything, let alone scoring.'
Kenny rolled his eyes but then looked at his direct opponent, a kid with a rather long neck, and a long, narrow face. They wore number 28. Everyone in the little group was soon looking at him as he'd stayed quiet.
It took 28 a second to realise everyone was staring at him but when he did he took a step back, looking rather startled. 'Uhh… let's all … do our best?'
'Don't encourage them, Greg, you dumbass!' Kev crossed the short distance between him and Greg and punched Greg's shoulder before quickly returning to his position.
'Ow! Why'd you hit me, Kevin?'
'Stop talking!'
Rudy and Kenny looked at one another, barely containing their laughter.
After the snap, Kenny and Rudy ran forward together. Kenny was positioned on the inside, with Rudy further out. They both got ten yards out when Rudy staggered and Kenny ran forward an extra step. Kenny cut sharply to the outside and Rudy continued forward, angling inside as Kenny cut across his path.
'Sw-Switch?' Greg asked, coming to the crossroads.
'No! … wait y-yes! Switch!'
As there was confusion amongst the two CBs, Kevin switched to guarding Kenny, whilst Greg skittered before turning to follow Rudy. But that small misstep from the confusion was enough for Rudy to get the step.
Pete fired the ball over the middle. It hit Rudy's outstretched hands so hard he winced and bobbled the pass before securing it. And not a moment too soon. Rudy hunched down and rammed shoulder to shoulder with a Safety. He spun off the impact, and the Safety careened into Greg, taking him out of the chase. Rudy kept running, soon getting back up to speed as he carved ahead.
No one was in front of him. No one was between him and the endzone. He could go all the way.
A tap to the ankle disrupted his gait and he crashed to the turf. He slid to a stop and looked back. Tiny picked himself up, brushing grass off his green-stained jersey.
Freddy came to help Rudy up. Rudy accepted the offer and Freddy struggled to lift him to his feet. Kenny rushed over as well. 'Man! You almost had it. That was great though.'
'Yeah. I...I could've scored if I didn't bobble the catch. Fuck. My bad.'
'Man, don't worry about it. They can't stop us.' Kenny held a fist out.
Rudy looked at the fist for a moment before accepting the fist bump. 'Yeah, you're right.'
However, scoring was rudimentary after the 29-yard gain. The Wildcats were once again stuck in their unwinnable situation of leaving either Kenny or Rudy unattended, and it didn't take long for Rudy to grab another touchdown.
After the touchdown, it was Rudy's turn to run to his coach and plead for two points. 'Coach, sir, please, we can go for two. You've seen it, they can't do anything to stop us. We can't let them steal the lead like that.'
'Hmmm.' Coach Otsen looked to the scoreboard, thinking it over.
Coach Vasquez laughed loudly. 'Yes! Maximum points! Hahaha, that's the spirit we need! Why settle for one when you can get two!'
The offence was moving the ball with ease, and in this kind of shootout, every point mattered. … Plus without a reliable Kicker, it made going for two all the more enticing.
'That's why I'd go for two,' Tommy said. 'What would do?' He turned to Jackson.
'It's hard. It's so early in the game still. We're not even in the second half. A six-point lead is a lot better than five, but seven is better than six… then again, it's so early none of this might matter; it could turn into a blow-out for either team in the second half.'
'That's true. Knowing all that, what would you pick?'
Jackson bit his cheek. '…I…I don't know.'
Coach Otsen did, however, and he decided to trust his players and go for two.
Rudy couldn't stop grinning when he lined up in front of Kevin again. Kevin shook his head. 'Cocky motherfuckers.'
Pete took the snap and dropped back. His eyes scanned the shallow field, and he saw a sea of Wildcats before him. He stuttered in his drop back, surprised as only two Wildcats were actively trying to sack him. The rest had fallen back into coverage, though one stayed relatively close to the Line and was watching him the way a predator stalks its prey.
There was hardly any room in the endzone and EVERYONE was covered tightly. Both Kenny and Rudy were doubled, Lonnie couldn't find any space in the congested endzone, and looking for Freddy amongst all the Wildcat jerseys was like looking for a grain of rice in a sand pit.
Without any extra rushers, Isaac leaked out of the backfield and to the flat, though even he was quickly covered by a defender.
Pete drifted out of the pocket, trying to find a different angle. The "Spy" watching him drifted with him.
(In American football, a Spy is a defensive player assigned to cover the opposing team's quarterback man-to-man.)
'Just throw it!' Rudy waved his hand in the air, darting to the sideline. His two tails were right on him.
Pete gritted his teeth before tucking the ball under his arm. He made a beeline for the pylon right on the edge of the endzone. It was a mad sprint between him and the defence, but he was determined to make it there first.
The Spy closed in on him. Pete arched his back. He was almost there. Another Wildcat dropped down from coverage and also pursued him. Pete hesitated, looking to the open space now emerging. It was too late; he couldn't stop to throw. He stretched the ball out, lunging for the pylon.
The hesitation cost him. The defender slammed into his ribs and crushed the air from his lungs. Pete crashed to the ground, the ball spilling from his hand and tumbling out of bounds.
The nearest official waved the play dead. The two-point attempt was unsuccessful. The score was 22–27.
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SeipoltMP
SeipoltMP Trying some new stuff with term explanation... probably should've done that earlier in the series, oh well. It's a learning experience for us all.
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