Gladiators of the Gridiron

The varsity players took their seats behind the Dons’ designated bench to await the start of the opening game. Their juniors entered the facility behind the stands and found their way to the locker room.

Ty’s eyes looked across the empty field, locking on Kaiser’s varsity team opposite him. Seven and the two meatballs were as stoic as ever, whilst that mop-head DB was joking around about something from the broad smile on his face.

‘They looked pretty good from their tape, didn’t they?’ JJ said, noticing Ty’s glare.

‘I’m not worried about that.’

JJ chuckled. ‘You can say that, but I know it’s not true.’

Ty’s glare turned to JJ. JJ kept smiling. ‘It’s NOT that. I know I’ll win. The rest of the team needs to do the same. But, seems like I can’t shut up the most annoying fucker this game.’

‘Hm? You know them?’

‘No. Just had a run-in with them in the parking lot.’

Others leaned over, curiosity peaked by this new development. ‘What happened?’ they asked.

‘Nothing. Just the usual bullshit.’ Ty pointed out the mop of brown hair on the opposite bench. ‘They bragged about captaining the best pass defence in the nation. It’s bullshit. That’s us. Any defence that has me on it is the best in the nation.’

‘You ain’t the captain of shit yet, freshy, stop acting like you’re the only one playing D,’ Deshaun said, lips curling into a snarl.

Stephen looked across at the boy Ty pointed out. ‘He doesn’t look that bad. He’s too small to guard me, this should be an easy game.’

‘Size doesn’t mean shit,’ Ty said. ‘And he bragged about the defence, not just himself.’

‘Who gives a fuck, if they’re all pipsqueaks I’ll crush ‘em.’

Ty wouldn’t hold his breath waiting for Stephen to win the game singlehandedly. Jay yawned loudly. ‘Is that all you woke me up for? Just that?’

Everyone’s interest was waning as Ty’s encounter seemed to be a lot more boring than they hoped. ‘He did call Bella a bitch but yeah that was it,’ Ty added.

‘What?’ Everyone stared at Ty.

‘What?’

‘This fucker.’ Both Stephen and Deshaun went to stand but a hand from JJ kept them planted in their seats. Jay sat up straight, staring across the field. The whole team was on edge, animosity oozing off them.

‘He’s dead,’ Stephen said.

‘No way we’re losing now,’ Benny said.

‘Ain’t no way,’ Deshaun added.

‘Ya sure he doesn’t play offence?’ Donte asked.

‘I didn’t see him on any of the tapes.’

‘On my MAMA we ain’t losing.’ Deshaun stomped the ground for emphasis.

Ty blinked, it’s like they were different people. ‘Why do you care so much about Bella? Shouldn’t you be more pissed about what he said to us?’

‘You don’t get it. You’ve only been here a year, but Bella’s been here as long as us. Longer probably. She’s our little sister,’ Chris said. ‘You can’t let anyone talk to your sister like that.’

‘No one talks shit ‘bout Coach Short without getting their teeth kicked in,’ Deshaun said.

Ty glared at Stephen, he didn’t remember the team respecting his ACTUAL little sister. At least they were fired up now. It seemed like Kaiser had signed their own death warrant without even knowing it.

The teams soon emerged. The Dons were the first out. Muted cheers greeted them as the stands were mostly empty, only a few supporters dotted about. The way the JV team ran their lap around the field was enough for Ty to see how nervous they were. Their heads were locked forward like they were about to be shipped off to a war they knew they wouldn’t come home from.

Kaiser were out next and were met with slightly more, though still quiet, cheering. The varsity team looked disinterested as their juniors made their way around the field. The Cats looked more focused, somehow less rigid whilst keeping a disciplined and upright march.

The teams warmed up and the Cats continued their disciplined, almost robotic routine. They were too stiff for Ty’s liking, they looked like the kind of team that wouldn’t be able to deviate from a plan, from their programming; they’d crumble if they took one unexpected blow. But he wondered just how potent such a team could be at the inferior level that was JV.

The captains met in the middle of the field for coin toss, and parted after it without drama. Kaiser won, but elected to receive the ball from the opening kick-off.

When the teams lined up on the field, JJ rose from his seat. ‘Come on, Dons! Show them your ¡cojones! This is what you’ve been training for!’

The few supporters that were there for the Dons, along with most of the varsity team, roared as the Dons launched the ball high into the air and chased after the kick. With the added momentum from the crowd, the Dons swarmed the returner and brought them down at the 17-yard line to start the game off strong.

Kaiser were unfazed and their offence entered the game with their heads held high. With the two teams on the field together, the differences could be clearly seen and compared. The Cats were larger, more composed, they looked more comfortable and mature, and made the Dons look like a ragtag bunch of children in comparison.

The game started with a run right up the gut, the Cats wanting to make a statement that they could dominate the game whenever they wanted. The play ended in a gain of 5 yards after the gruelling run was put to a stop.

‘Squeeze the middle!’ JJ shouted. He was by far the most vocal supporter, his voice even louder than the coaches as they barked orders. Speaking of, Bella prowled the sidelines, chewing on her nails. Coach Long was at the forefront; he was calling the shots today.

The Cats kept the ball on the ground but this time targeted the outside. The Dons scrambled to defend their edges, and whilst the RB beat them to the outside with long strides, they were able to corral him and use their numbers to bring him down after only a 4-yard gain.

‘Good stop, good stop!’ JJ shouted, clapping loudly. Ty thought about swapping seats if all that racket was going to be in his ear all game.

Whilst the Cats had been moving the ball, and found some success with their run game, they were now facing a third down, and the Dons had a chance to put their stamp on the game early by forcing a three-and-out.

The Cats handed the ball off for the third play in a row, returning to the middle with another Dive. The HB charged ahead stubbornly, pushing a wall of bodies forward before collapsing after a gain of 2 yards.

Whilst it was their smallest gain so far, it was still enough to earn the Cats a first down, and keep their offence on the field.

The Dons weren’t disheartened, they’d been stopping them faster and for fewer yards each time, they just needed to keep squeezing and they’d stop them completely soon enough.

That was when the Cats decided it was time to stretch their Receivers’ legs and try a pass. It was off of Play-Action, and the fake worked to perfection as it sucked the defence in and created openings over the top.

A Receiver was hit on a crossing route and the play was a success for 17 yards before he was stopped.

It was an early body shot to the Dons, and the bench and crowd felt it too. Coaches and supporters alike tried to keep up morale and get the team focused on the next play.

The Cats stuck to passing, though skipped the Play-Action for the next one. It still worked well with a quick Screen out wide, and the WR scrambled ahead for 6 yards before they were tripped up.

The Cats had passed half-field, and their march wasn’t about to slow down. Another run was called, this one a Sweep to the outside. The Dons were slower to react, slower to get to the edge, and as such, the RB managed to pick up 7 yards.

With another first down, the Cats were drawing nearer to field goal range, until they made their first misstep. It was another pass, this one down the sideline, targeting Rabbit. The Cats felt they had a good mismatch with the size discrepancy and tried to exploit that fact.

The back shoulder throw was well-timed, if a little misplaced, overshooting the Receiver as the QB tried to put it up high to get past Rabbit’s tight coverage, and leave it up for the taller Receiver to grab. It was too high, and sailed out of bounds instead.

‘Good D, Max! That’s more like it!’ JJ was on his feet, clapping and hollering.

Ty wasn’t impressed. It was a poor pass, and Rabbit didn’t affect the outcome much, if at all. “If that was me, it would’ve been a pick.”

The Cats weren’t bothered by the slight mistake, and didn’t lose their composure as they returned to the game plan. Next was a quick slant, a simpler pass to keep the QB in his rhythm and get him an easy completion after the previous overthrow.

It worked, for another gain of 7 yards, but the Cats were back on third down.

‘Watch the run,’ Coach Long called out.

‘Don’t get sucked in!’ Coach Hoang warned. He watched the game with a constant frown, trying to find the flaws in this well-oiled Kaiser machine.

Unfortunately, Coach Hoang’s fears came true and his warning went unheeded. The Cats used Play-Action again before flipping the ball over the top of the overeager defence to their TE for a simple catch of 9 more yards.

The Cats had burst into field goal range and were knocking on the door of the red zone before the Dons even knew what hit them. Coach Hoang had a lot of work to do if he wanted to not only keep the damage to a minimum on this drive, but keep the game from getting out of control in the first quarter alone.

Another pass was up next. The RB was kept in the backfield as extra protection for the QB as a longer play developed. The QB kept his eyes Rabbit’s way, like he was going to go for the touchdown right now with a throw to the back of the end zone, but he switched his target and instead found the TE running a Corner on the opposite side of the field.

He lobbed the ball into the open space over the top of a Curl, and the TE barely had to break stride to catch the pass. He turned upfield, though didn’t get much further before he was forced out by a Safety. Still, it was a gain of 20 yards, and the Cats were less than 10 yards away from scoring.

On the goal line, Kaiser enforced their will and reminded the Dons who had the upper hand when it came to a contest of strength. Three straight run plays were called, all up the middle of the field, all brought the Cats closer to glory until the RB finally dove across the plain and ran the touchdown in.

Cheers from the west stand drowned out groans from the east as Kaiser celebrated their opening touchdown, and the score soon sat at 7–0.

The Dons’ defence sat on the bench with their heads hung low, though Coach Long rallied around them. ‘Hey, keep your heads up, it’s just the first drive. They’re strong but we’ve still got this, we can stop them. It’s only the first drive, there’s still plenty of game to go.’

As the Cats kicked off for the first time, the Dons’ fans made their voices heard once more. The Dons did at least have a better kick-off return than the Cats, and brought the ball out to the 23-yard line before falling.

Thus started the Dons’ first drive of the game, and they were eager to level the scoring. Perhaps taking a page from Kaiser’s book, the Dons started with a run. Rabbit was starting for both offence and defence now, so he was the RB who got the Toss. He sprinted to the outside and with blazing speed managed to gain 8 yards before being run out of bounds.

The Dons’ bench got around him, slapping him on the helmet, hyping him up before sending him back out. ‘That’s it, Rabbit!’

‘They can’t catch the Rabbit!’

Rabbit lowered his head, trying to hide his grin as he jogged back to the huddle. Seeing as the first run did so well, the Dons would try another. This time a Counter to the opposite side of the field.

Rabbit came forward for the hand-off, secured the ball tightly against his sternum, but as the QB passed by, there was already a defender right in Rabbit’s face. He tried to squirm out of the way but to no avail. He was crushed into the ground for a loss of 2 yards.

The confidence the Dons’ had after their first play took a serious blow.

On third down, the Dons went to the air. It was still so early into the game, but it felt like so much hinged on this play. To fail with a three-and-out after just giving up a touchdown would be a devastating blow hard to recover from.

Rabbit was given a breather on the bench after the big hit, and a WR was sent out to replace him as the Dons went with an empty backfield. They snapped the ball, and pressure came thick and fast from an aggressive Kaiser defence.

The QB dropped back quickly and flung the ball out. His intended Receiver bobbled the pass before securing it, falling to the turf as hugged the ball tight against his chest. His short Cross had just earned them enough yards for a first down. The Dons had a second chance.

The Dons kept Rabbit on the bench and went with another empty backfield. This time the TE stayed as an extra blocker, though pressure was still quick to arrive. Off his back foot, the QB hurled the ball over the head of a Receiver and out of bounds, though at least avoided a sack.

Rabbit was sent back in on second down, and utilised right away as the Dons went back to the Toss. The Cats were much better prepared for it this time, and while Rabbit’s quickness was still an issue, he was only able to gain 2 yards before being dragged down.

On 3rd and 8, things weren’t looking good for the Dons. A slant was called, hoping to avoid the aggressive blitzing with a quick, one-step pass, and pick up the remaining yards after the catch.

However, to Coach Long’s and Norman’s surprise, no blitz came, and instead the Cats dropped back. The pass was caught, but the defence swarmed the Receiver and downed him before the first-down marker.

The Dons would have to punt. Now the chase truly began.