Chương 150: Strike First
Kenny took his position in the Titans' formation, and once again found himself standing across from the Steve Rogers look-alike.
Kenny took a cursory look around the field, and the other two captains he'd seen stuck out from the Sentinels' numbers. Poster Boy was hunched over seven yards ahead of the Line, positioned as a MLB. Meanwhile, the menacing number 64 was positioned at the right edge of the Sentinels' D-Line.
Rogers looked Kenny over, but didn't come close, he was standing a few yards back. When the ball was snapped and Kenny rushed forward, Rogers continued to back off, watching Kenny intently.
Lonnie crossed in front of Poster Boy, dragging him left, and deeper down the field, Kenny also broke towards the left, sprinting across the field on a deep Cross. Slow to react to the quick cut, Rogers was left behind a couple of steps.
Pete fired the ball over as Kenny found the soft spot behind the LBs but in front of the Safeties. He caught the pass, but Rogers was back on his heels, and dragged him down immediately after the catch.
Still, it was good for a gain of 11 yards. Kenny was helped to his feet, brushing himself off as the Sentinels all turned back to their huddle, pulling together tightly. Kenny looked at Rogers's back. "He's fast. Even if I get him out of position, he'll close the window quickly."
He relayed his findings to the rest of the team during the Titans' huddle, Pete acknowledged it. They'd have to wait to discover just how quick Rogers was, as the next designed play was a run for Isaac.
It wasn't a wide sweep, aimed just outside of Owen, coincidentally running away from 64. Isaac squeezed through the narrow gap in the Line and burst upfield. He lowered his shoulder as Poster Boy came forward, but was levelled after only 3 yards.
Isaac bounced back to his feet with the help of his teammates and shook off the hit. 'I'm good, I'm good,' he said when the others checked on him.
Rudy hurried back to the huddle, shaking his hands to keep them warm. He was growing restless even if they were only two plays into the game.
He'd still have to wait to get involved even after the next play. Rogers was playing a bit closer up on Kenny, and while Kenny tested his straight-line speed, he couldn't pull away from Rogers and free any space for a pass.
Pete's eyes turned to Lonnie in the middle of the field instead who drifted outside away from the LB help on his Option route. Pete flicked the ball over and Lonnie secured it before turning upfield. He didn't get much further before running into the brick wall that was Poster Boy. So the pass only resulted in 5 yards.
Lonnie rubbed his side as he trudged back to the huddle. 'His looks aren't just for show…'
Rudy stepped forward. 'Hey—'
'Yeah, yeah I know.' Pete waved him off, and continued before the scowl could fully form on Rudy's face. 'One Drop X-Slant. It's coming your way, Burro. Get open, and do it fast.'
Rudy smiled. 'Finally.' He trotted back to his spot in formation and looked his defender up and down.
Standing before Rudy was a DB that could look him in the eye, if anything, Rudy might've been the slightly shorter one, but the height difference was so small that it was negligible. The Sentinal was even more bland than his teammates, he looked like a slab of concrete, and his large, flat nose made it look like he'd run into a concrete wall full force. Based on his reactions—or lack thereof—to Rudy's verbal jabs at the start of the game, he had the same personality as concrete too.
He was too close for Rudy's liking as well. Concrete didn't look fast enough to cover him, yet with only one yard separating them before the snap, that wasn't a concern for the Sentinels. Whilst he couldn't punish that error in judgement with a Slant, Rudy had a good idea what his next route should be.
'Set-Hut!' Pete took the ball.
Rudy leaned outside then pushed off. He flew to the inside like he was fired from a slingshot. He turned to Pete immediately, and after just a few steps the ball was already in his hands.
Concrete had been a step behind on everything, though when Rudy caught the pass, Concrete dove at his legs. Rudy ripped his leg free, though tumbled over. He lunged forward, stretching out for another yard or 2, and managed to pick up a total of 4 off the quick pass.
With another first down picked up, the Titans were steadily moving the ball, and they stuck with the passing game for the next play. This time, they went back to Kenny's battle against Rogers.
These Sentinels were too close, it wasn't just Rudy who thought so, and it was high time they were punished for their insolence. Kenny had been chosen as the Titans' preferred instrument of justice, and it was his Go route that they'd look to on the next pass.
Kenny rushed forward, Rogers backpedalled calmly. Rogers's eyes darted between Kenny and Pete as Kenny kept charging forward, then Kenny finally turned back when he reached his 10-yard mark. Rogers paused, however, it was only a feint and Kenny restarted his sprint.
Rogers turned, keeping clear of Kenny, making sure not to bump into him. Kenny had the step, and raised his hand, but as he looked back, Rogers was right in his face. The gap had been erased in an instant, and now Rogers was running right alongside him.
Pete still thought Kenny could pull away. He launched the ball deep. As it arced through the sky, Kenny couldn't break free of Rogers, no matter how hard he tried, no matter how fast he ran. At the same time, he couldn't keep up with the ball either, and it soared past both him and Rogers before falling harmlessly to the turf.
Pete groaned, and raised his hand in acknowledgement of his overthrow. Kenny hung his head back, panting a bit. He side-eyed Rogers, but Rogers was already returning to the Sentinels' huddle, there wasn't any taunting, no grandstanding at all. It was strange.
Putting the strangeness aside, Kenny knew going deep was going to be hard, and they'd have to get Rogers well out of position before testing him again.
'I gotchu on the next one, Kenny,' Pete said.
'Don't worry about it. That guy's fast, really fast.'
'If he can't beat his man, don't throw him the ball. I can, so throw it to me,' Rudy said.
Pete side-eyed him. 'I can beat him,' Kenny said, jaw clenched. 'He's just faster than I thought.'
'Chill… we've got all game to beat them guys, you'll both get plenty of touchdowns.' Lonnie smiled at Kenny and Rudy, placing a hand on their shoulders.
Kenny relaxed, but Rudy grumbled as the huddle dispersed and everyone took their positions. Both Kenny and Rudy would have to wait to challenge their opponents again, as Isaac got the ball again.
Unfortunately, the Sentinels didn't fall for the Draw and their wall held firm. Isaac was squashed down quickly for only a gain of a single yard. Rudy was irate when he returned to the huddle.
'The hell are you doing? It's like you want to lose, just get me the fucking ball. No one in JV can stop me. When will you retards get that through your thick skulls?'
'Do you have to be an asshole about EVERYTHING?' Isaac stepped up to Rudy, glaring up at him. 'If you spent half as much effort on defence as you do complaining, your stupid ass might not've gotten CUT.'
Rudy glared back. 'And if anyone else wanted to play your worthless position, you wouldn't even cut it on JV.'
Before Isaac—or anyone else—slugged Rudy in the face, Lonnie stepped in, pulling Isaac aside. He stared down at Rudy coldly, and Rudy grimaced slightly as he had to look up at the only one taller than him on the team. 'Petey? What's the play?' Lonnie asked, never taking his eyes off Rudy.
Pete sighed. Even after all that, the next play was for Rudy. He hoped one of the others got open first. 'Y. Z. Scissor, Guard & Go.'
There were groans around the huddle, but Rudy walked away with a smirk, multiple sets of eyes shooting daggers at the back of his helmet.
When the ball was snapped, Kenny and Freddy went deep. Starting on opposite sides of the field, they rushed ahead, then both cut towards the middle, passing across each other as they raced to opposite corners of the field. Isaac stayed in the backfield to offer extra protection to Pete, which was a good thing when 64 came spinning off Lonnie's block. (He'd been kept back too.) Isaac cut 64 down at the knees. The main focus was Rudy who rushed straight past Concrete and faded down the sideline.
Pete watched Kenny and Freddy make their breaks, but he sighed as they were covered, his eyes flicked to Rudy, and despite a sick feeling in his stomach, he lobbed the ball over.
Rudy looked over his shoulder. Concrete was closer than he expected, but still not close enough. Rudy twisted and leaned back, hands above his head. Without turning his head, Concrete swiped at the air where he thought the ball was, based on Rudy's actions, but he was just too far away, just too short to disrupt the pass. The ball arced over his hands and softly landed in Rudy's grasp.
Rudy stumbled back, and before he could turn to continue his run after the catch, Concrete lunged forward and shoved him out. Still, he had gained 15 yards and saved the Titans from fourth down.
Freddy was the only Titan who hurried over to help Rudy up and congratulate him on the catch. Rudy grunted but accepted the hand up.
Was Rudy rewarded for his catch? Were his demands met? Did he receive another target immediately after? Of course not. The Titans started their next set of downs with another run from Isaac. This one went wide, straight past 64. Big mistake.
As Isaac rounded the corner, 64 thrust a massive paw out and latched onto his arm. Isaac would've had an easier time breaking free from a pair of shackles, but being tackled was the least of his worries. As his arm was yanked down, the ball was dislodged from his grip.
Isaac quickly readjusted, and despite the small bobble, was able to wrap the ball up tightly before 64 crunched him to the ground for no gain at all.
Isaac was again helped back to his feet, though he wasn't as rattled as before. He still clung to the ball even when he was standing.
Pete got through the huddle quickly to shut down Rudy's complaining before it could start. He snapped the ball quickly too, wanting to get those watchful eyes off him. Before every snap, the Sentinels always stared. Sure, every team stared—there wasn't much else they could do—but it was the way the Sentinels' dull eyes stared THROUGH him that was so off-putting.
He dropped back, and watched the Mesh concept unfold between Lonnie and Freddy then he looked up at Poster Boy. Poster Boy, watched the Mesh. He shifted left, looking to follow Freddy. Pete swivelled and threw to Lonnie, but at the last moment, Poster Boy sprung towards Lonnie. He dove across and batted the pass down before Lonnie could snatch it.
Once more, the Titans were facing third down. Rudy stomped to the huddle. 'Okay, you've had your fun fucking around, now it's time for me to save your asses again, right?'
Kenny groaned. 'Will you shut the fuck up?'
'Hahaha, you know the price of that,' Rudy laughed. 'Admit it, you can't do shit without me.'
'I could run circles around that statue guarding you.'
Rudy scoffed. 'Yeah right, you think they put their best guy on YOU. You're the one making him look good.'
'G-Guys… P-Please stop fighting. W-We're on the same team.'
'Shut up!' Rudy snapped at Freddy. Kenny had to catch himself from joining in.
Vincent and Owen stepped in front of Freddy. Pete reached through his helmet to pinch the bridge of his nose. 'Dios, dame fuerzas.'
On the sideline, Coach Otsen stood, one foot tapping slowly as he watched the field, staring not at the Titans' huddle, but the Sentinels'. Their defence was tougher to crack than he expected, and he realised he couldn't waste any time figuring out every detail he wanted. He already knew one current weakness, and he couldn't miss the chance to exploit it; he didn't know if he'd get another one.
He looked to Coach Knight. 'Let's drive the nail home.'
Coach Knight nodded, his stone-faced expression unchanging.
With disdain filling his voice, Pete relayed Coach Otsen's message, and informed the team of the next play, once again, Rudy was the emphasis.
Rudy swaggered to his spot, grinning. Concrete's blank expression greeted him. Rudy's grin only grew when he saw the Sentinels hadn't sent help over the top or outright doubled him. Concrete had backed off another yard, however.
Rudy bolted forward after the snap. Concrete backed off further. Rudy turned his shoulder back, Concrete staggered and lurched forward; Rudy blew by him.
With Concrete left in the dust, Pete threw the ball over to a shockingly open Rudy. Rudy made the catch in stride, still running forward until the Safety rushed over and fought through Rudy's attempted stiff-arm to push him out of bounds after 24 yards.
Rudy's confidence was soaring beyond arrogance as he returned to the huddle. Freddy was the only one to greet him. 'N-Nice catch.'
'See what happens when you throw me the ball?' The others didn't acknowledge Rudy's question. They weren't going to admit how easily he'd taken them deep into the red zone. The Titans were just outside the goal line, and a touchdown was well within reach.
Pete got through the huddle quickly again and readied the next play. As the saying goes "If it isn't broken, don't fix it" and the Titans had nothing to fix if they continued targeting Rudy.
Concrete was standing well back from Rudy pre-snap. Still, no help had moved over, the defence hadn't even shifted closer to Rudy's side of the field one inch.
This time, Concrete was backing off, and when he got to the endzone, that's where he was going to hold his ground. So Rudy curled back to Pete and caught an easy pass at the 5-yard line. Concrete quickly rushed up to meet him, and once he got hold of Rudy, Rudy couldn't move.
But the Titans were chipping away, and they weren't about to stop. Rudy's number was called again. Concrete was standing on the edge of the endzone now, right where the colour of the turf changed.
When Rudy went for his curl this time, Concrete lunged forward prematurely. Pete hadn't thrown the ball yet, it was just a feint. Concrete bumped into Rudy, knocking him off balance, and when Rudy tried to spin away, he was a step too slow to catch the actual pass that was thrown to the back corner of the endzone. The pass ended in an incompletion, but a yellow flag rested upon the field.
As Concrete's penalty occurred before the ball was in the air, it was ruled as Illegal Contact rather than Pass Interference, so it was only a penalty of five yards. But, seeing as the Titans were only five yards away from the endzone, the penalty pushed them half the distance to the goal line instead.
With a fresh set of downs thanks to the defensive penalty, and with the endzone so close they could smell the paint on the grass, Coach Otsen decided to test the waters with another run.
Isaac burst towards the endzone, and whilst he gave his all to break through the wall of bodies in the middle of the field, he could barely make any headway, and only came away with a yard for his efforts rather than a touchdown.
Even so, the Titans still had two or three more chances at a touchdown, and all the momentum was with them. The Sentinels' supporters desperately cried out for a defensive stop, whilst the Titans' fans cheered like a crowd twice their size, willing their boys on.
With so little space to work with, Concrete had practically been forced to press up against Rudy. Rudy wasn't fazed by this, nor had it changed Coach Otsen's confidence in the mismatch. He was sure the outcome would be the same.
Pete took a breath, looking towards Rudy and Concrete. They seemed so isolated, still no other Sentinel had moved towards the pair. Pete thought it HAD to be a trap. But Coach Otsen didn't think so, or even if he did, he was willing to risk it, so Pete trusted in his coaches. He called for the snap.
Vincentflicked the ball back. Pete caught it and took only a step back before he turned to Rudy. He lobbed the ball high to the corner.
Rudy batted down Concrete's hands as they came forward, pushing them off his chest. He lowered his shoulder against Concrete and forced his way to the outside. He turned his head, found the ball in the air. Twisting, he leapt, hands outstretched above his head. Concrete leapt as well, throwing himself at Rudy, reaching up to his hands.
Rudy adjusted, hands reaching forward, reaching beyond Concrete's disruptive arms. He snatched the ball out of the air, stretched his toes down, and dragged them against the turf as he fell out of bounds.
Officials ran over, signalling touchdown. The Titans' section of the stands shrieked loudly (mainly Jackson's mom and Chrissy), and the Titans rushed over to pile on top of Rudy, forgetting all about their dislike of the cocky bastard.
Whilst the other coaches celebrated—some more modestly than others, Coach Vasquez was leaping about like they'd already won the game—Coach Otsen watched with a slight frown.
His gaze turned to the opposite sideline, where his opponent—the Sentinels' Head Coach—stood. Questions filled Coach Otsen's head. Why didn't they help? Why did they let us do that even though it was so telegraphed? What are they up to?
Even though he worked his way through each question individually, he couldn't come to a satisfying conclusion for ANY of them. He'd just have to take solace in the fact that his own plan worked, and the Titans had gotten the best result from their opening drive.
He hoped it was a precursor for how well the rest of the game would go, but he wasn't holding his breath.
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
SeipoltMP
SeipoltMP I hope my American readers had a great Thanksgiving. And to everyone else, I hope you've had a good weekend. How hilarious was that Lions v Bears ending?
As always, thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, see you in the next chapter.
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