Chương 154: Counter Attack
With a turnover on downs, the Sentinels took over where 64 crushed Pete. The air changed as the Sentinels lined up in formation. Ash was back behind the Poster Boy, Zane, but now every Sentinel seemed as relaxed.
As Zane handed Ash the ball, maybe most of them knew they weren't directly involved in the play, and that's why they were relaxed, but the Sentinels didn't seem the type of team that would get so complacent.
Ash took the ball and cut towards the left side of the Sentinels' O-Line, running right behind 64, who forced Owen back off his feet.
Following 64's lead, Ash rammed the ball down the Titans' throat. The first run went 6 yards. The next play they did the same thing, and that run went for 5 yards. The run after that—still pounding down the left side—went for 8 yards.
64 picked Ash up after the latest run. Ash smacked him on the ass. 'Good shit, Bryce.'
Bryce only grunted in response as they returned to the huddle.
Coach Carson was just about ready to tear her hair out. 'Move over! Don't just let them get away with the same shit!'
Vincent shifted over, groaning. He was on Bryce's inside shoulder, whilst Owen was on his outside. Isaac shifted closer to the Line.
The Sentinels didn't seem to care. They snapped the ball and Zane gave it right to Ash like he had for the three previous plays. Still following the script of the last three plays, Ash rushed towards Bryce. Bryce burst towards Owen, ignoring Vincent as the Guard lunged towards Vincent instead, the Sentinels' entire O-Line shifting towards the left.
Isaac scrambled down, racing towards the expanding left edge to get around it before it was too late.
As the whole field shifted to the left (to the right for the Titans), Ash cut in the opposite direction, snapping his momentum into reverse as he sprinted against the flow.
The Counter caught the Titans completely off guard, and Ash scrambled into the open. Firm blocks held Freddy and Kenny in place as Ash flew downfield. Lonnie rushed over, eventually knocking Ash out of bounds, though only after a gain of 18 yards.
The Sentinels were flying towards the end zone. The Titans huddled together, dejected. Their fans worried. 'Come on, Titans. Get it together, stop the run,' Jackson mumbled.
The Sentinels were nearing field goal range, and they weren't slowing down, not yet. It looked like Ash was getting the ball yet again, like they were going to run him ragged, but as he and Zane passed one another, Zane finally held onto the ball.
Again, the Titans were wrong-footed. This time they weren't over-committing to one side, but the Sentinels' fake lured them all in.
Kenny, antsy to get around Rogers's block so he could affect the next run that came his way, had edged further towards the middle of the field, making it easy for Rogers to push away from him to the outside.
Kenny chased after him, but the gap had already opened, and he couldn't close it.
Rogers broke free down the sideline. Lonnie spun back and started pursuing Rogers too, but with how the Play-Action had drawn him in, he needed to take a long angle of pursuit just to keep up with the racing Receiver.
Zane lobbed the ball over, a perfect rainbow as it fell into Rogers's outstretched arms. Lonnie stretched out and dove, pushing Rogers out of bounds just before he got away.
The pass was still good for 25 yards and brought the Sentinels well within scoring range. However, instead of continuing to run, they dropped back with more passes, looking Neanderthal's way.
Rudy stood a little over a yard away from Neanderthal before the snap, but immediately jumped back. Neanderthal pressed forward calmly. He feinted outside, then snapped into a Slant.
Rudy was still leaning towards the outside and was a step behind, which was all the opening Zane needed. He whipped the ball to Neanderthal, and Neanderthal completed the catch.
Rudy was right on Neanderthal's heels, and they soon ran into Isaac. The two Titans dragged Neanderthal down after a run of 6 yards.
'Shade towards the middle!' Coach Carson shouted. 'Don't let him get inside, but stay back.'
Rudy barely heard the advice—more like an order—over the crowd. When he lined up opposite Neanderthal next, he shifted more towards the middle of the field.
The Sentinels kept attacking Rudy. Neanderthal feinted inside this time, but Rudy was all over it. Neanderthal shot towards the outside then, and it turned into a race down the sideline.
Zane lobbed the ball high, where both boys could jump for it. The Titans' fans and coaches cried out, announcing the ball was in the air and up for grabs.
Rudy's head whipped around. Neanderthal's arm sat on top of his, subtly holding him down. Rudy batted him aside and leaped. They both jumped, the contest going aerial. They both grabbed the ball and, as they fell to the ground, the ball tumbled from their grasps.
The incompletion pushed the Sentinels to third down. They remained calm. Resurgent hope filled the Titans. If they could just hold the Sentinels to a field goal, maybe they'd even miss.
Zane took the snap. Ash left the backfield and went to the flat. Zane only had eyes for Neanderthal, however. Neanderthal didn't use any feints or stutters, he just tried to brute force his way past Rudy to the inside.
Rudy didn't exactly smother him, but there was less than a yard's distance between them. Rudy was right on top of Neanderthal as they streaked across the field to the opposite sideline. Zane didn't like the look of it, and finally dragged his eyes from Neanderthal and down to Ash.
He flipped the ball over as Ash drifted further away from Pete, who chased him relentlessly. When Ash caught the ball, he tried to cut back towards the middle of the field but ran right into Pete instead. Pete took him down for no gain at all.
Coach Otsen looked at the clock. Time had already slipped away so much, the half was almost over. The Titans needed to regroup and go over their game plan drastically, so he decided against calling timeout.
The Sentinels set up for a field goal. Despite the Titans' fierce attempt to impact it, and the fans' prayers for it to miss, the kick went through the uprights and the Sentinels took their first lead: 10–7.
'They could've pushed for a touchdown,' Tommy said. 'Right, Jack?' Tommy looked at his brother, but Jackson didn't respond. He focused intently on the game and the problem before the Titans, that large, imposing problem named Seton Catholic Sentinels.
It really seemed like they had settled, but why? What were they afraid of, if they were afraid of anything at all? Was it something the Titans were doing? Or were they conserving themselves, trying to hide their full hand from their next opponent? "If you looking past us, you're in for a harsh reality check when we beat you …" He knew they could do it. 'Please win,' he said.
The following kick-off landed short of the end zone, but Coach Otsen had been adamant about taking a touchback. Rudy showed immense restraint when he let the ball bounce into the end zone before he downed it.
After that, the Titans ran out what little remained of the clock, allowing the game to roll into the second half. Coach Otsen marched straight to the locker room, and the rest of the team followed behind, as close and dark as a shadow.
'Mm, that Seton team, they really started playing well in the second quarter, didn't they? It's like they were still waking up when the game started,' Dad said.
'What if the Titans fell asleep at quarter time?' Mom asked. 'I'm sure they'll wake up again in the second half and kick their butts.'
'Kick their butts, Titans!' Chrissy screamed.
Jackson struggled internally. He wanted to go down into the room and check on the team, try to raise their morale, but he worried if that would be too distracting. "They don't need to be reminded of me, right? They shouldn't be worrying about me, just the game in front of them." Ultimately, he stayed where he was.
Tommy saw Jackson struggling with his conflict, the worry painted on his face. But Jackson said nothing, and didn't move, so Tommy didn't push it.
'Ah, it's no good worrying about what'll happen next. We'll just have to wait and see when the game resumes,' Dad said. 'What we CAN do, however, is get up and give our legs a good stretch. Come on, it's no good sitting around all day.'
Jackson sighed and stood. The family filed out of their row and down the steps. Chrissy tugged on Mom's hand and said: 'How long do we have to wait?'
'It'll only be fifteen minutes, sweetie, over in a flash, I promise.'
Coach Otsen hoped fifteen minutes would be long enough to get his players back in the right head space. They were fighting an uphill battle, much greater than what the scoreboard showed. "If I just took the points, we'd be tied right now. It'd be so fucking easy to get through to them. I should've known our limits."
He stood before the team, wasting crucial time in silence, but he needed to find the right words. 'We've got a lot to work on in the next half. Don't get discouraged, it's a good thing, means we can play that much better. Besides, they're only a field goal away from us, even with all the fuck ups.'
The players muttered amongst themselves. It wasn't the best start to his speech, but life didn't give you re-dos.
'Life doesn't give you re-dos. You only get one chance. It's unfortunate, cause I would've had us kick that field goal instead of going for it. But we can't get bogged down with what we should've done in the past, and have to focus on what we should do in the future. They're a strong team. I don't think they've lost yet this season. That's their weakness. Nobodies pushed or tested them. We've gone through plenty of adversity this year and each time we've come out the other side of the flames, stronger. When push comes to shove, we know we can fight back. When we get knocked down, we know we can get back up. When they get punched in the gut, they won't know what do to. We just have to land that first punch, wipe that smug veneer off their faces, and crack their perfect shell. They might look flawless on the outside, but they're just another team. Crack them open and they're full of filthy worms, squabbling in the mud, trying to stand on top of the messy pile. But they've always been at the top. They've never had to fight for anything, not like us. Once we drag them down to our level, they'll be in big trouble, they'll shit themselves, they'll be that scared. They might be the bigger, more efficient army, but you're stronger warriors. Go out there and show me why you're Titans!'
Freddy rose first and stormed out of the room. There was no huddle—they didn't need it. The others followed Freddy's determined march, and the Titans thundered out onto the field, ready for the kick-off.
As Rudy left the room, he pulled Pete aside. 'Hey, get me the ball. We ain't scoring shit without me. And I'm not about to lose here. I'll show those motherfuckers that they can't guard me.'
Pete sighed. 'If you're open, I'll find you, so GET OPEN.' He pulled away from Rudy and joined the march.
The stand for the Titans was full, and the fans made themselves heard as the Titans reemerged.
The Sentinels' march was much more controlled than the Titans' had been, but their fans were much more wild. It sounded like a crowd five times the size.
The Titans' passionate flames, which Coach Otsen's rousing speech had stoked into a blazing inferno, reinforced their defence first, as the Sentinels received the kick-off to start the second half. Surprisingly, Ash didn't rush out to meet the short kick, and instead let the ball roll and bounce into the end zone for a touchback.
When the Sentinels took their formation, a sense of unease spread through the Titans' coaching staff.
'Whoa, that's new,' Tommy said.
'What are they doing?' Jackson said. He stared at Concrete who was now in the backfield, taking Ash's place. Ash was still on the field, only now he was positioned out wide to the near side of the field. Neanderthal and Rogers occupied the opposite side, Rudy and Kenny once again standing side by side.
Rudy stared ahead, whilst Kenny flashed a worried glance his way. Kenny and Rudy mirrored the positioning of Rogers and Neanderthal, with Kenny on the outside and Rudy on the inside.
The Titans pushed their worry to the wayside when the Sentinels snapped the ball. Concrete stepped forward, another blocker protecting Zane. Bryce shoved Owen WIDE around the pocket as he desperately tried to break through.
Both Neanderthal and Rogers skipped forward in unison, though Neanderthal's larger frame carried him an extra half yard forward. Simultaneously, Neanderthal burst up and to the outside, whilst Rogers burst inside.
Kenny tried to cut through the swathe as Neanderthal and Rudy blocked his path. He squeezed through, but Rogers had already straightened, leaving Kenny behind.
Neanderthal dragged Rudy deep down the sideline. On the opposite side, Ash had sprinted past Freddy before turning into a deep Out, attracting Lonnie's attention.
The middle of the field was wide open, and with the extra space granted from the initial rub, Rogers was wide open, too. When he cut across on his Post route, Zane fired the ball over the middle, just above Pete's outstretched hand.
Rogers skipped in his stride, caught the ball on his chest, and straightened again. Kenny lowered his head, pushing harder. His legs burned, but he pushed further. He needed to be faster; he needed to catch Rogers! It was down to him. Kenny looked up and saw the gap hadn't decreased at all.
With a single play, Rogers raced into the end zone. The Sentinels had scored just seconds after the half began. The fans stomped and trumpeted like a herd of elephants, and the Titans reeled, trying to pull themselves back together after what felt like the killshot.
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
SeipoltMP
SeipoltMP Do the Titans have the firepower to answer back from such a blow? More importantly, can their defence come together to stop that from happening again?
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