Chương 22: A Stunning Performance
Lance remained incredibly calm and immediately noticed that Allen's balance was off. Even though the substitute team's offensive line wasn't perfectly blocking every defender, they were still charging forward like a train, disrupting Allen's balance.
Despite Allen's quick and timely reaction, when he rushed at Lance, his lack of balance was obvious. His body leaned forward too quickly, and the slight gap became Lance's opportunity to break through.
With a running start, Lance sprinted and jumped forward.
Allen lunged low, reaching out as much as he could to grab anything, but came up empty-handed.
Whoosh.
A gust of wind blew by.
Allen hit the ground.
Lance had successfully broken through.
Gasps echoed through the stadium.
Bryant-Denny Stadium wasn't prepared for this moment, and the crowd drew in shocked breaths, stunned by what they had just witnessed.
Lance landed.
His light steps, like those of a cheetah, turned his slim frame into an advantage. Though Lance appeared thinner than Bateman, his agility helped him find a gap in the defense.
Thud.
With a leap and a sprint, Lance didn't hesitate. He bent his knees to absorb the impact of his jump, then immediately pushed forward.
Out of the corner of his eye, Lance saw cornerback Humphrey trying to step up and cover, but his feet were caught up by a substitute player in a white away jersey.
It was likely a wide receiver.
This gave Lance precious space, as he saw the crowd of players crashing into each other to his left. The offensive and defensive lines were tangled up, but they were also closing in on Lance.
Stay calm.
Lance didn't speed up; instead, he slowed his steps, weaving through the chaos of offense and defense, spinning through the battle between red and white jerseys. It felt like time slowed down, allowing him to slip through the cracks toward the right side.
Humphrey was tied up, leaving a small gap on the right.
If Lance could get through, the field ahead would be wide open.
But then, Foster appeared.
Calm but decisive.
He had broken free from tight end Hale Hentges, who was supposed to block him. Foster kept his eyes locked on Lance, determined not to let him escape.
Unstoppable.
Hentges was doing his best, but he couldn't hold or hit Foster without drawing a penalty. Foster showed why he was the starting linebacker and a co-captain of the defense. With a clever move and a sudden burst of speed, he shook off Hentges.
With a juke.
Hentges was left behind.
Foster closed in on Lance.
The field was a blur of bodies, shoulder-to-shoulder, everyone colliding and fighting for control. The spectators couldn't see clearly through the chaotic movement. Even Lance and Foster could barely make each other out in the chaos.
Through all the bumps and hits, neither player could fully unleash their speed or strength, but Foster made his move first, stepping in to cut off Lance.
Danger!
Lance instantly recognized the situation. If Foster landed his hit cleanly, Lance could lose his balance and fly out of bounds.
What to do? Face it head-on.
Without hesitation, Lance made a quick decision, slammed his right foot down, and moved toward Foster.
Foster's heart skipped a beat—
He remembered the second hit from the tryout. Lance had intentionally crashed into him only to spin and break free. He hadn't forgotten that move. Was Lance about to try the same trick again?
The problem was that during the tryout, there had been plenty of space for Lance to pull it off. Today, space was limited. If Lance's momentum wasn't enough, he could end up handing Foster a perfect opportunity to tackle him.
Foster thought: Is this my chance?
In a flash, Lance and Foster collided.
At that moment, Lance extended his left arm, straightened it, and powered through—
A stiff-arm.
In football, this is a running back's signature move. Though not exclusive to them, running backs often rely on it, and it's one of the most important weapons in a top-level running back's arsenal.
It tests both explosive power and raw strength.
Lance didn't have the absolute strength just yet—three weeks wasn't enough—but explosive power? That was his specialty. And now, he had to unleash it.
The stiff-arm is a football move, both an action and a term, and it's exactly what Lance was doing now—
Lance extended his left arm, and as Foster closed in, he forcefully pushed against Foster's shoulder, not just creating a barrier between them, but also trying to throw off Foster's balance.
This move wasn't just a push; it was an attack.
Bam! Lance and Foster collided hard.
Ugh! Lance's power exploded, pushing into Foster's left shoulder with enough force to disrupt his balance and send him tumbling.
Foster grunted. The impact of their collision threw him into a spinning whirl, like he was on a high-speed Ferris wheel. Just a bit more, and Foster would've gone down completely.
He hadn't expected this.
To be honest, Foster hadn't anticipated Lance using a stiff-arm to face him head-on, nor did he expect Lance's explosive power to be this fierce.
In just three weeks, their knowledge of Lance revolved mostly around his speed and agility, as well as his knowledge of the playbook—and his remarkable ability to read and expand on tactics, which had surprised the coaches.
But now? Damn it!
He'd been outsmarted again.
The difference this time was that Foster had prepared himself. Despite his panic, he didn't lose control. He grabbed hold of Lance's left arm, clinging to it like a lifeline to regain his balance. He hung onto Lance's arm, refusing to let go.
He pulled. And pulled.
Foster turned himself into a weight, slowing Lance's momentum.
Just a few more moments, and the other defenders would swarm in and stop Lance.
Lance also sensed the danger, realizing the red jerseys were closing in around him.
A quick decision.
A second stiff-arm.
One push, one punch.
Lance unleashed his full strength.
Foster groaned.
With that final push, Foster lost his grip, and his world spun out of control.
The entire stadium gasped—
Lance had broken free.
Lance had overpowered Foster, shaking him off, and gained open space once again. He restarted his sprint.
One step. Two steps.
He had barely taken two steps when another linebacker lunged at him, racing in from the side, just about to bring him down.
At the last possible moment, Lance slammed on the brakes, dodging to the side. The linebacker flew past him, missing completely.
But Lance didn't stop. He kept running, pushing off with his legs and cutting to the left, driving his body forward.
He broke free!
In the blink of an eye, the field ahead was wide open.
The entire stadium fell silent, shocked by what they had just seen. Lance had fought through the chaos, bursting through the defensive line, evading three tackles in a row, and single-handedly tearing apart the defense.
And then—
That number 23 jersey darted forward like an arrow.
Rip.
The defense had been torn wide open.
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