Second Down - Chapter 32

Thankfully, whatever annoyed Melanie wore off by the end of the day, and we talked on the phone that night for almost an hour. The fact that I had to do it sitting on the couch, with the cord wrapped around from the kitchen to the living room, made me miss cell phones from my dream life.

It was one of a dozen subtle reminders I’d get each day about all the stuff dream me had taken for granted, that were missing. Thirty years didn’t seem all that long until you realized all the things that had not only been invented, but had come indispensable.

The internet and cell phones were the ones I think I missed the most.

While I was still wondering what had gotten her so riled up, I was also happy to just let it be. Friday night I walked over to her house ready for our date. I was really looking forward to it. My initial excitement about Melanie, mostly framed by my memories from the dream life, had started to be replaced by real affection for her here and now.

She was incredibly sweet, was maybe the most supportive person in my life when it came to football, and we had so much fun together. There was still that little thing in the back of my brain that Elijah had said, but after homecoming, there hadn’t been the inkling of anything else, so I just kept ignoring it.

I was smiling as I got up to the porch and rang the doorbell, just thinking about her. The girl had really done a number on me.

My smile faded when she opened the door. She was still in the same oversized Wheaton High sweater and jeans she’d worn to school and her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy, like she’d been crying. As soon as she saw me, she looked away, which was never a good sign.

“Hey,” I said. “Everything okay?”

“Blake, I...” She twisted the sleeve of her sweater. “I’m not feeling well tonight. I should have called earlier.”

Before I could say anything, movement past Melanie from the direction of their living room caught my eye. I could see Donna, Melanie’s sister, sitting curled on the living room couch. Even from here, I could see her eyes were red and puffy and it looked like there were tear tracks on her cheek. As soon as she noticed me looking, she got up and walked quickly out of the room.

I could see why Melanie would lie and say she was not feeling well, since whatever had happened, it had been serious. I had enough demons in my family, literally in Josh’s case, to know this wasn’t the kind of thing you wanted to discuss with outsiders, even the person you were dating.

At least not right as it happened.

I mean, I’d made excuses for Josh’s weird behavior the other day, but I hadn’t actually explained to her what was going on there either. Even the more reasonable ‘my brother is a little sociopath’ explanation, leaving out the dream stuff.

Melanie saw me looking past her and turned just in time to see Donna’s retreating out of the room. Her shoulders tensed.

“I’m really sorry about tonight,” she said, starting to close the door. “I just need to…”

“Wait.” I caught the edge of the door. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“Nothing happened. I’m just...” She started to say something else, then stopped. “I’m not feeling well.”

“Mel,” I said, trying to keep my voice gentle. “I can tell you’re upset. Whatever it is…”

“I said I’m fine.” Her words came out angry, but her eyes were pleading. “I just need to be alone right now.”

“Okay.” I held up my hands, letting go of the door. “I’m not trying to push. I just want you to know you can talk to me, if you need to. I’d just listen if you want, if you think it would help.”

Her expression softened.

“Blake, I,” She started, wrapping her arms around herself. “Thank you. Really. But I can’t...”

“Can’t what?”

“Nothing. I just need some space tonight.”

“No problem. I get it.” I stepped back. “I’ll head out, but call me if you need anything, okay? No judgment. Otherwise, I’ll see you at the game tomorrow.”

I turned to leave, but she took a step forward, halfway out the door, and grabbed the back of my jacket. “Wait.”

I stopped and turned. She was biting her lip, conflict written all over her face.

“The thing is...” she started.

Whatever she was going to say was cut off by Melanie, who’d come back into the living room doorway and was looking back at her sister, hard.

“Melanie!”

Melanie’s grip on my wrist jacket tightened. She glared at her sister, furious, the two glaring at each other.

“You should probably go,” Melanie said finally, letting go of me.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she said, her voice cracking. “Please.”

“Okay.” I said, reaching out and gently touching her shoulder. “But remember what I said. Call if you need me.”

She nodded without looking at me and took a step back inside, shutting the door. I turned to walk off the porch and down the path to the street when shouting erupted from inside, stopping me in my tracks.

“I don’t want to hear it!” Melanie screamed. “You gave up any right to tell me what to do fifteen years ago!”

There was a beat and then a door slammed somewhere in the house. For a second, I just stood there, trying to figure out what that meant, but then I realized I was still standing on her porch. I didn’t want her to catch me and think I was eavesdropping, especially since, whatever was happening, was pretty serious. I walked out to the street quickly and then went back to a normal pace as I headed home.

I tried to think about something I might know from the dream that would explain what was going on, but we’d never actually been friends in that reality. I’d noticed her and been infatuated, but I’d been kind of a jackass with Elijah and a lot of the cheerleaders had avoided us. By the time I’d started to figure out that wasn’t a great way to be, Dad had died and I’d dropped out of school.

Whatever she’d gone through, I had no idea. Which meant I could only wait for her to tell me what was going on, and hopefully be able to help then.

***

Saturday night we had our turn at taking on Lee High School after they beat our varsity team on homecoming. Of course, we had a bigger disadvantage, having to face off against them in their stadium. Even with that, I was pumped.

All week, Coach had not only had us practicing more passing, he’d specifically told us that, after how well things had gone in the second half of the last game, he was changing up the playbook. This even included some new formations, which even I hadn’t expected to happen. The seniors and juniors seemed completely in shock, and we all knew how far out of character it was for Coach Holloway to ever change the way he did things.

The guy was stuck in tradition in the worst way.

Or at least, that was the prevailing wisdom. Considering that with either the game last week or my argument afterward, he’d actually changed his mind, I didn’t think that was fair to him. At least not anymore.

Midland was going to see a whole new Wheaton JV team, and I couldn’t wait to show them we weren’t going to be pushovers.

To say the home crowd was hostile would be an understatement. The bleachers overflowed with maroon-clad fans ready to see their team crush us, and they were screaming for all their might. Thankfully, our town showed out, even if we weren’t varsity. I wouldn’t say our stands were overflowing, but they were far from empty too. True, of all the away games we’d play, this was the closest, but it was still heartening to know our neighbors would take the time to drive out and support us.

“Big game tonight,” Coach Holloway said as we gathered for warm-ups. “We have a new playbook. I know you’ve all wanted to shake things up, so now’s your chance. Show me this was the right decision and let’s change some history.”

Wheaton had lost every game we’d played against Lee High School for the last eight years, including varsity, JV, and freshman teams. So to say he’d put a lot on our shoulders was an understatement.

We at least started with some good luck at the coin toss, where Jerry called heads and it landed in our favor. We’d opted to receive the ball.

We followed that up with a solid kickoff return that got to our thirty before being dragged down. Not a bad start.

In the huddle, I could feel the tension. “Strong right, twenty-six dive on one,” We still kept the first play simple with a strong right, twenty-six dive. We knew their defense was solid, but Jerry managed to follow Cecil’s block through the hole for six yards.

Not earth-shattering, but I’d take it for a first drive.

On second down, the defense shifted to cover our three-receiver look, leaving Mickey one-on-one outside. At the snap, I hit my three-step drop and fired the ball as Mickey broke his route. The pass hit him in stride for a quick ten yards.

The momentum built as we pushed into Lee territory, making steady progress with a mix of mid-ranged passes, short passes, and runs. After two more runs, we had another good pass to Miles, who I hit just as he cleared the linebacker. He made the catch and picked up fifteen yards, giving us first at their thirty-five-yard line.

Their defense was giving us a lot of pressure, but with the playbook more open, every time they started to react to a series of longer passes, we’d start running it, and then switch back to passing.

It was how football was supposed to be played. A game of chess almost between coaches, trying to read the other guy’s mind and guess which play he was going to run.

Unfortunately, our luck didn’t hold out. Lee’s defense stiffened and Jerry got stuffed for a two-yard gain followed by a passing play where none of our receivers could shake free, forcing me to throw it away. That was followed by a third down where I had to go with the shortest option in my reads, which only got us two yards, putting us at fourth and six and effectively ending our drive.

The drive had shown we could be competitive with a less strict game plan, but we were also against one of the strongest defenses in the division. Gerald’s punt pinned them inside their fifteen. A good defensive stand here could get us right back in scoring position.

Lee had other plans. We’d heard the freshman running back they had was a stone-cold killer, and the word on him hadn’t been wrong. On their first play, he found a crease between Malcolm and Ronald, breaking into the second level for eight yards. The next play, he bounced outside containment for twelve more.

“Come on, defense!” I yelled from the sideline. “Wrap up!”

They tried mixing it up with a quick slant to their tight end. Luke came up to make the tackle after a five-yard gain. But two plays later, their freshman found daylight again, nearly breaking Wilbur’s ankle tackle attempt as he cut hard. Ernest had the angle but this guy had rockets on his feet and we couldn’t catch him. Twenty yards later, he was celebrating in our end zone.

The extra point sailed through 7-0.

I gathered the offense as we prepared to take the field again. They’d all seen what I’d just seen, which made everything a lot more serious real fast.

“We can’t do anything about what happens on defense,” I said, trying to keep everyone focused. “Let’s focus on what we do and play our game. Plenty of time left so let’s answer them back right here.”

But watching their defense celebrate that stop, I knew we were in for a fight. The crowd was fully into it now, and Lee’s sideline was jumping.

We started with a run again, this time from our twenty-one, but I didn’t think this was coach reverting to his old ways. I think he felt we needed to wear their defense down, but part of me wanted to air it out, take some shots downfield. We’d proven we could move it through the air on that first drive. We should do it again.

I took the snap on first down, gave Jerry the ball, but Lee’s defensive end crashed inside, forcing Jerry sideways. He bounced off a tackle but ended up losing a yard as he tried to get outside. On second and eleven, Mickey ran a short crossing pattern. He got a step on his man, but the pass found his hands at the same moment a linebacker arrived. Mickey was driven back, though he held on. We gained about four, not enough to spark anything big, but we’d chipped away.

That wouldn’t last. Lee’s defense was freaking everywhere, pushing our line and all over our receivers. I swear I wanted to count and make sure they didn’t sneak extra players on the field.

On the snap, their line bull rushed us, but Andre and our guys held strong long enough to make my reads.

Unfortunately, my reads sucked. Dwight tried to shake his corner on a post route, but he was stuck to Dwight’s hip, Mickey’s route was completely jammed up, and Miles was surrounded. The pocket started to collapse, so I tried to throw over the middle and drop it into Miles’s hands, since the other two were impossible to hit. Miles jumped and reached for it, but a defender got his fingertips on the ball and it ended up incomplete.

We ended up having to punt again. Not the answer to Lee’s drive I’d hoped. Worse, the snap was terrible and soared over Gerald’s head. He jumped for the ball, but only got a piece of it, and it hit the ground behind him. He raced to grab it and, with defenders crashing in, he had no choice but to cover it. The official’s whistle signaled the end of that fiasco, with Lee getting their first down deep in our territory.

Coach was livid. While the rest of the first quarter was marginally better, it was not the rousing start we’d hoped for.

Thankfully, our guys kept from repeating that mistake and they stopped the drive there, when Lee managed to bang a very doable field goal off the right goal post, keeping us within a touchdown of tying it up.

Coach finally broke the pattern of starting every drive with a run and instead called for a deep post route for Dwight. That allowed for some separation as Mickey ran a short route on the opposite side of the field and Miles cut a little in for Dwight, so they couldn’t just swarm us.

So they went for their next favorite move, to try and plow over the line and get to me instead. I could feel the pressure in the pocket as I made my reads. My first time through, everyone was covered, forcing me to go through a second run of my reads, which would probably end up with me having to dump it before I got all the way back around again, unless someone got open in a hurry.

Thankfully, just as I switched from Miles back to Dwight, he cut inside his defender, giving just enough separation to make the pass doable. I stepped up in the pocket and released the ball. Dwight stretched out, snagging it in stride, picking up three more yards before his defender managed to get a hold of him and pull him down.

After a six-yard run, we were back to a pass, although this one had everyone running shorter routes. The defense brought pressure, sending both outside linebackers and forcing me to backpedal as I looked for open receivers. I wasn’t going to get my full read and Mickey was going further, so I skipped him and looked for Miles.

Thankfully, the rush on the center left him open enough for me to get the pass off before I got hit. With the defender closing in, I planted my back foot and fired the ball between two of their guys. As soon as it was out of my hand, I got hit and plowed into the ground.

I didn’t get to see what happened, but the ball ended twenty-five yards farther down the field, so he must have made a hell of a move to break free and get that far, since he’d only been about ten yards past the line of scrimmage when I’d hit him with the ball.

It also put us within four yards of the end zone and four chances to get it across the line.

We didn’t need all four. On our first down, Jerry took the handoff and a solid block from Cecil opened up enough room for him to score.

With the extra point, we had them tied up 7-7.

It was back to our defense, and they tried hard, but Lee’s running back was a different breed. Every time we thought we had him contained, he’d find another gear or make a cut that left our guys grasping air.

Our defense finally stiffened inside our red zone and managed to at least slow them down. They even got a little of their own back when Malcolm stuffed their star running back into the dirt for a loss and then Luke broke up a pass attempt. Lee ended up having to settle for a nineteen-yard field goal.

This one didn’t bang off the post, and they were back up, 10-7.

We had two minutes left in the half, and we all knew it was going to be important to get something going so we went into halftime ahead. There was something to be said for the psychology of being behind at the half, and a lot of teams didn’t manage to come back from it.

Our first play was another long pass to Dwight, with Mickey and Miles both keeping it close this time. I was a little worried that they would figure out we were running something similar to the play we’d run on that first drive, but they bit when I faked a handoff, pulling the ball out of Joe’s stomach as soon as I went to put it there and stepping back.

For the second drive in a row, I hit Dwight at twenty yards. We followed that up with a run, just like the last time, and got six more yards right up the middle.

Coach didn’t keep us on repeat after that and changed it up. At the snap, Miles faked like he was running outside then broke for the post. The safety bought it. He was two steps ahead of his coverage and their safety was out of position as he pulled the ball in. He turned and hauled ass downfield, staying just outside of their receiver’s reach until he crossed the goal line, giving us our first lead of the game, at 14-10.

That lead didn't last and a hell of a return kick followed by one of the best runs I'd seen all year, they managed to get in range for long field goal with seconds left on the clock.

Going into the locker room ahead 14-13 had everyone pumped. It had been one of the harder games we’d played this year, but it felt like for the first time, we were actually playing football instead of just going through an old playbook, regardless of what happened.

I’d like to say the second half started off a lot better. But it didn’t.

Lee took the kickoff, and their running back showed why everyone talked about him. He bounced off Ronald’s tackle attempt, then spun away from Malcolm before Ernest finally brought him down at their forty.

The biggest problem wasn’t just the running back. He was good, but we couldn’t just focus on him, either, since their quarterback was also pretty decent. When we put too much attention on the running back, he’d pick up fifteen yards on us in passing. When we tried to stay on top of the receivers, their running back would grind out the yards. Our guys got hands on him, but he’d power through or bounce off. Even when we had him stopped, he’d fall forward for positive yards.

The drive ended with Lee crossing the line and getting the lead on us again, 20-14.

Our first play after the kickoff was so close to beautiful. Dwight broke free cutting across to the center of the field and I hit him with this beautiful pass that had to be close to thirty yards, only for a yellow flag to go flying as we got called for holding.

The rest of the drive went about the same way. A run for a two-yard loss followed by a pass Mickey couldn’t quite get his hands on and then a punt that their returner managed to pick up way more yards than we would have wanted, putting them in a really solid position.

Our guys managed to keep them from getting much forward momentum, but they were in line for an easy field goal and kicked it through, putting the score at 23-14.

After a not terrible start to the game, or at least one that kept us in reach, the third quarter had gone terribly for us.

I wasn’t ready to give up yet, but a lot of the guys seemed to be losing faith. I knew if we didn’t get something going soon, we really would be out of it. It seemed like that may be what we were destined to happen when, on our first drive of the quarter, our first two plays went nowhere, with an incomplete pass and a run stopped at the line of scrimmage. We had one more shot before punting, and I didn’t want to end our first drive four and done.

Coach called another running play, trying to throw the rhythm we’d been under so far. The fourth quarter started with us getting the ball back. The play was a handoff to Joe, but I could see them creeping up as we got set. They’d predicted our run and were ready to hammer us at the line again, but they were favoring the left side, giving us an opportunity.

We’d worked on, not quite a trick play, but one we hadn’t really used. In college, they’d started having halfbacks receive short passes occasionally, and I knew it was going to be a thing in the NFL in the coming years, which is why I’d pushed for us to try it.

Coach let us play around with stuff like that, although he’d made it clear this wasn’t a play he ever wanted to see us use.

So we’d see how he’d feel about it.

“Orange 32! Orange 32! Hut!”

The snap hit my hands clean and Joe, instead of taking the ball and trying for a power play to punch through, faked taking it into his stomach and then ran to the left, right into their teeth while Jerry slipped through the line. The defense bit hard and I had already taken a step back and planted by the time they realized Joe didn’t have the ball. I fired it to him in the flat as soon as I saw him look for it, and hit him right in the numbers.

He turned upfield, picking up ten yards and a first down before they wrapped him up and took him to the ground. Not the best pass I’d ever made, but having one of our running backs take the pass had put them in a tizzy.

I looked over to the sideline to coach, who was just shaking his head. He was smiling, so maybe he wasn’t pissed after all. He made the sign to run the same play again, although I knew he meant run the same running play.

“I cannot believe that shit worked,” Joe said as we got into the huddle.

“I can. Watch out, I’m coming for your position next,” Jerry said, grinning at Mickey.

He was going to be insufferable after this.

It had done the trick, though, and broke the spell Lee had over us since we’d gone in for the half. We managed to start converting after that, marching the ball down the field in short spurts before opening it back up with a longer pass. Not every play was perfect, of course. For every fifteen-yard pass we had an incomplete or a run stopped at the line.

Still, eight plays later we were at third and six. We were going to score, one way or another, but I wanted seven points and wasn’t ready to settle for a field goal.

I hadn’t needed to worry. I snapped the ball, put it in Jerry’s stomach, and he managed to plow in behind Cecil getting just over the goal as everyone collapsed on him.

With the extra point, we were 23-21, putting us in range to tie it up if our defense could hold them.

Unfortunately, our defense didn't hold them. Their running back broke through our line on their very first play of the drive, spinning out of the way of our safety and breaking into open field for a sixty-three-yard run, making the score 30-21.

It would have been incredible if it hadn’t been done to us.

And then fortune smiled on us. After we burned a lot of time on the clock with coach marching the ball down the field, going back, we put up another score on the board, bringing us to 30-28. While I didn’t love how much time got eaten in the drive, coach’s switching back to our old playbook did work, since they’d prepared for the ‘new’ us, they kept expecting the passes that never came.

That wasn’t the fortunate thing, though. On the first play of their next drive, it looked like their star running back was about to have another crazy run when he cut hard to avoid a tackle, and something happened. I don’t know if his cleat got stuck or what, but his leg turned and his foot didn’t, and he went down hard, grabbing his ankle.

He did manage to walk off, but he was limping pretty bad as he did it. Lee’s offense kind of fell apart after that, not able to really get much on the drive, having to punt it away.

Not that they were all the way out. They still had a solid defense. If they could lock us down, it didn’t matter if they scored or not.

It really looked like that might be how it was going to work out, after the next two drives, ours and theirs, both died after in the first series, forcing a punt in four plays.

That worked in their favor, and the clock kept ticking away.

The next time we got the ball, we were at our twenty with less than two minutes to play. I think we all knew this was going to be our last drive.

As if to completely change it up again, Coach ditched the old playbook after having picked it back up. On our first play, Mickey broke free on his route, and I hit him in stride for fifteen yards. I followed that up by hitting Dwight on a long thirty-yard pass to give us two first downs in two plays and move us forty-five yards downfield in the process.

The next play passed again, the third in a row, to Miles this time, who managed another ten yards before getting pulled down, putting us at twenty-five with forty-five seconds left on the clock. I don’t know if their defense had gotten tired or just lost steam because we followed that up with two more good plays putting on second down at eight and goal with ten seconds left on the clock.

We were out of timeouts, so if we didn’t convert this time, we had to get the clock stopped, or there was a good chance we wouldn’t get to play the fourth down.

In the huddle, I could feel everyone’s eyes on me. “Trips bunch right, divide on one! Miles, you’re primary. Dwight, be ready on the back side.”

Coach would normally have called a running play this close to the goal line on a second down, but again, we couldn’t risk time on the clock. We needed it caught and out of bounds or in the end zone.

I snapped the ball and fell back, going through the reads. Miles was covered. Dwight had a step...

I never saw the defensive end break through, and none of my guys called it out. One moment I’d been pulling my arm back, about to rocket a throw to Dwight for the game, and the next I was hit on my blind side by a freaking freight train. Worse, he didn’t just put me in the dirt, he hit me low and lifted up, sending me over his shoulder and bending in half.

The entire world went upside down, and then I smashed headfirst into the cold turf, which might as well have been concrete.

And then the world went black.