James clapped his hands together and patiently waited as the pigskin drew closer to his finger tips. He flipped it around in his hands before getting a good grip, tightening on the laces before slinging the ball across his body, remembering to follow through. It was a relatively cool summer night but no matter how often James wiped his face with his towel, he would be drenched in sweat within moments.
The band had arrived and was now getting the crowd into it even though kickoff was still a few minutes away. With each passing taps on the helmet and the shoulder pads, it got more and more real for James. He had attended countless games as a kid, watching his dad from the stands and eventually the sidelines, even dressing out for the past three seasons but this was different. He was now the man in the arena, who face would soon be marred by blood and dust.
"Quick and decisive, calm and collected. Take what they give you and when they don't, you go get that shit. It's simple as that," his dad muttered to him from behind as they completed warm-ups, "By valor."
"And arms."
"Love you, boy."
...
"Folks, it is a beautiful night here in Shaw, Mississippi in what promises to be a tightly contested game between your East Side Trojans and Shaw High School."
"Don't let last year's score fool you folks as even with an 0-2 start last season that included a 63-12 loss to the Trojans at the beginning of the season, the Tigers made it all the way to the state championship game last year, rattling off twelve straight wins before losing in the final."
"They return a lot of starters while the same can't be said for East Side who has a brand new quarterback in James Earl Little Jr, a name that is familiar to most fans but unproven."
"The son of legendary coach James Earl Little Sr. but he will be making his first start and his first varsity appearance period tonight so a lot of question marks on offense. Coach Little hired Carl Harrison three seasons ago to modernize this offense and it's worked so far but with a new quarterback, it'll also be a real test for Harrison to see if he's able to keep it going after having such great success with Roger Burton for the past two seasons."
...
"Let's get him going early," James Sr. pulled his offensive coordinator and former quarterback Carl Harrison to the side, "How are you feeling about the first fifteen?"
"If the line holds up?" coach Harrison swayed his head from side to side, "If not, we'll still get it done."
"He can tough out some runs," James Sr. reminded his play-caller, "Don't be scared to run him now, he might be little but he ain't no bitch."
...
"Twins Pro Left X Curl Y Flat," James kept muttering to himself as he jogged onto the field before joining his men in the huddle who awaited him with beady eyes, "Twins Left Pro X Curl..."
"Twin Pro Left," his center, Jarvis, corrected him.
"Right, you know the fucking play, we've been practicing it all week. On two, on two, break!"
James tried to calm himself down as he walked up to the line of scrimmage. It didn't help that Shaw lined up in an odd formation with just three down linemen and three linebackers that just kept floating from inside the box before jumping back outside.
"Ready, ready! Black 30 trap, black 30 trap! Down, set, hut! Hut!"
He got the snap and was slightly flustered as the defense dropped into zone coverage, causing him to panic and escape a clean pocket before dumping it off to his tight end on the flat which picked up a few yards.
"That's a clean look! Stay in there! You're good in there!" his father barked from the sidelines.
...
"Another quick pass to Husein and it's another first down for the Trojans as the passing game is working tonight."
...
"Little drops back, finds his target and it's a pick up of six yards on the play."
...
"Another check down for Little and so far, no answers for this passing attack."
...
James was gaining confidence as the first fifteen scripted plays were working to perfection with quick plays to the slot and the flats where James felt comfortable. Sticking with the curl flat concept, coach Harrison dialed up another one and the team hurried to the line of scrimmage, beaming with confidence. Shaw was showing press which was a favorable matchup for the Trojans with James fully expecting their corner to be in his Craig's inside hip as he comes out of his break with James planning to place the ball right on his outside shoulder, just as they had drilled for months.
When the ball was snapped, Craig struggled to get off the press, causing James to fall out of rhythm with his drop as he continued to stare down Craig who he fully expected to get open any time soon. Just as Craig got off the press, James released the ball only for the trailing corner to turn his head around and pluck the ball from the sky.
"Fuck!" James yelled to himself as he jogged to the sidelines.
He was greeted by coach Harrison who advised him that it was a good read and just a great play by the defense while his father didn't mutter a word but his eyes said plenty enough. The rest of the team tried to pick him up but he couldn't help but notice the roll of the eyes and the shaking of the head by some of the defensive players that jogged onto the field. They had gotten the best of James throughout the off-season and through one series, so were opposing defenses.
...
"Mann takes it in from two yards out and Shaw jumps out to the early lead."
...
The Trojans went back to their bread and butter, their quick passing game which centered around their all-district tight end Michael Weisbecker, one of the few white players on the team who was known by all as 'Baby Gronk', an ode to the New England Patriots all-pro tight end Rob Gronkowski.
With the running game starting to get going, coach Harrison dialed up the final play in his scripted first fifteen.
James stuck the ball in Alex's belly before pulling it out, using his smaller stature to his advantage as he hid the ball and himself behind his offensive line before popping up and throwing a dot to Michael on a flag route who had no problem barreling his way into the end zone.
James did his best to hide his emotions as he jogged off the field, holding back tears as the traveling band went into their routine. After all those years, it was finally happening.
"Keep it going," his father greeted him on the sidelines, "Great fucking throw."
...
"Little hands it off the Howell whose going to score! East Side responds to take the 14-10 lead here in the second quarter!"
...
Shaw responded with a touchdown and after modest pickups on their first two downs, the Trojans were faced with a third and two on their first set of downs as they approached the line of scrimmage with a pass play dialed up. Shaw lined up with six man in the box, prompting James to motion his right hand across his neck in a slashing motion.
"Kill! Kill!"
He audible to a run play and got under center, handing it off to Alex who got promptly stuffed to bring up the punting unit.
"Run the fucking play!" James Sr. yelled towards his direction as James came off the field, still believing he made the right call.
...
"It's another third and short here for East Side and it looks like Little Jr. is making some calls at the line of scrimmage as they change formation with him going under center now. He hands it off to Howell whose going to be stopped well short of the first down, punting time again."
...
"I don't need another fucking offensive coordinator!" James Sr. was losing his mind on the sidelines, "I need a fucking quarterback, run the goddamn play!"
"Why even have fucking kill calls then? There was nobody in the box!" James defended himself and the call, "We work on that shit just not to run it?"
"It's alright, we're good. Come on," coach Snoop Mitchell, the long time offensive line coach, tried to calm both sides down.
Snoop was practically James' uncle and James Sr's best friend, serving as the best man at his wedding and the godfather to all of his children. He was actually supposed to take Leanne on a date Saturday afternoon but he broke his foot the night before at the football game and couldn't make it so he sent James Sr. instead out of respect for her time with the rest being history.
"Just run the fucking play," James Sr. told him in a more calm manner, "You ain't no Einstein."
It was a decision of no real consequence as the defense held, giving East Side the ball back which they had no problem driving down the field using the quick passing attack and a running game that was now getting online. Faced with another third down, this time near the goal line, James stuck with the called passing play despite the light box and completed the touchdown pass to Alex to extend their lead with 44 seconds left in the game.
Even before they were done celebrating on the sidelines, the offense was right back on the field as the defense forced a turnover to get them the ball near the goal-line with 9 seconds left, enough for one or two plays.
"Gun Trips Close Right 800 Z Spot," coach Harrison was very deliberate as he dispatched the play call to James who wouldn't have imagined three first half touchdown passes in his wildest dream.
He rolled to his right as the play intended and right away spotted that Husein was breaking free from his man on his corner route. James fully expected the outside defender to come crashing down hard on Michael's flat route to the nearside pylon only for him to stay neutral, allowing him to fall back into play and intercept the pass intended for Husein.
As James came crashing down to the grass, he could hear the opposing sideline erupt into cheers. He slowly got himself up off the ground, staring into the heavens once more as his near perfect half was now becoming a nightmare.
"You need to beam that shit bro," Husein complained to James as the team walked off the field and headed towards the makeshift visitors' locker room, "That's six right there."
"You left them off the hook," James Sr. told the team, specifically his son as they got to the grass area that separated the track around the field from the outhouse, "That's chicken shit football right there."
...
"It's another completion for Little Jr. and just like that, from a drive that started near their own endzone, they're near midfield."
...
"The defense has no answers for Michael Weisbecker as the senior tight end picks up another first down."
...
"Howell dashes through the defense and you know it folks, first down!"
...
"Little drops back, nothing there, rolls to his right and he's going to try to get there and touchdown! The senior quarterback punches it in himself from eight yards out!"
...
"Another long drive to East Side as they try to put this game away, up 27-24 with a little over a minute remaining in the third. It's third and one and they come out in the gun, oh wait, looks like James Earl Little Jr. is going to change the play and they go under center."
"He's done that a few times tonight."
"It's the right call as he hands it off to Alex Howell whose having himself a night, goes over a hundred yards and gets the first down."
...
"The field goal is no good and the score stays the same!"
...
"This is a big drive here, up three points with a chance to put this game away but it's 3rd and twelve with seven minutes left. Little drops back, looks deep and finds Craig Ostrander for a pickup of 20-yards!"
"They haven't connected often tonight but they'll need to get it going as the season gets going because Craig must just be their best outside receiver."
...
"Third and goal here from the one-yard line, five minutes left in the game, this might be the game."
...
"Trips Close Right 800 Z Spot, from under center this time, you got it. Forget about last time. It'll be there," coach Harrison instructed his quarterback, using the opportunity to both calm his nerves and waste some time.
A former quarterback himself, Harrison knew the importance of going back to a play that a young and inexperienced quarterback had issues with before. From James' perspective, he was fine if that play never got called again for the rest of the season.
With James under center, he was tempted to audible it to a quick run play up the middle as they had the numbers with Shaw being forced to deploy defenders on the outside to contend with the two receivers and Michael at tight end on the right side. He bit his tongue as he began his cadence.
"Ready, ready! Red 80! Red 80, set!"
The ball being snapped caught James by surprise as he had been focusing so much on the play that he forgot the cadence that he had called out. With the ball secured, he rolled to his right and coach Harrison, ever the genius, was right as James had his pick of open receivers with Husein breaking free and Michael being left open as the defense crashed inside to the defend the run and then Craig's spot route inside.
Overwhelmed by his options, James tucked it and sprinted into the endzone as he was too scared to even attempt a throw and potentially miss a wide open receiver. Even with the touchdown that sealed the game, he wasn't free from criticism from both his huddle and the sideline.
"I'm wide fucking open," Husein held his hands up as the offensive line ran past him to celebrate with James.
James tried to seek him out on the sidelines to reason with him but was soon met with his father who shook his hand and brought him in closer, "Good play, you need to make that throw though."