Invictus
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Captain Canada
Topic author - Posts: 7856
- Joined: 01 Dec 2018, 00:15
Invictus
She just a walking, talking, bowl of fun, brudda. Malik a hoe.
Like I've said, American Sun got yall fucked up. They just friendsShireNiner wrote: ↑23 Feb 2026, 18:46Zane was taught a lesson. Someone is always watching so go hard young man.
Katie def about to Netflix and chill with Bianca. Malik paying her to make Zane's girl cheat.
Sometimes ya gotta tell a youngin' to take a seat
(its great slang, I can't even hate. Didn't know it was a Louisiana thing fr)
Sometimes no comment is better, you get me?
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Captain Canada
Topic author - Posts: 7856
- Joined: 01 Dec 2018, 00:15
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Richards, Jones powers Upper St. Clair to upper echelon of Pennsylvania football
By Andy Villamarzo
October 3, 2025
At the beginning of the season, Upper St. Clair was considered a team knocking on the door to consideration amongst their conference’s top teams. Many considered letting them go and come back when they weren’t so fresh off mediocrity.
The Panthers have opted to kick in the door instead.
After key victories against top schools such as Harriburg and, lately, St. Cathedral, the Panthers find themselves on the inside not even looking out as they continue an early run through regional matchups. With only a few matchups left on the schedule that could pose a threat to Upper St. Clair, many are warming to the possibility that the Panthers can run the table and finish the regular season undefeated.
This comes largely on the heels of breakout seasons from players in key roles, namely three-star wide receiver Zane Jones and incoming transfer quarterback, three-star Malik Richards.
We’ll start with Richards, who comes over from the eastern side of the state, transferring over for an opportunity to play for a school with vast resources and a hearty schedule that with it, comes the potential for national spotlight.
A three-star recruit and one of the highest ranked dual threat quarterbacks in Pennsylvania according to 247Sports, Richards has springboarded up the rankings and is theorized to be largely on the cusp of unlocking a fourth star. He holds key scholarship offers to schools such as Penn State, Florida State, and lower-tiered schools like Buffalo, Connecticut, and Ball State. He currently has a Crystal Ball to join Mike Norvell down at Tallahassee, but remains steadfast that he’s in no rush through the process despite being almost halfway through his senior year.
“This process means a lot to me and my family,” he said. “Rushing it would be doing all of that a disservice. And the school that lands me won’t mind leaving a seat at the table vacant for me for a little while longer.”
Joining Richards as one of the more mercurial recruits in the state is his number one wide receiver, Zane Jones.
Jones launched onto the scene this year after an impressive end to his junior season as well as noteworthy performances at college camps this summer. Five games into the year, Jones has yet to finish with under 100 receiving yards in a game, and even took some reps on defense at cornerback against St. Cathedral, landing three tackles and two pass breakups to help Upper St. Clair to victory.
Head coach David Shazier laments that this isn’t something the team is leaning too hard into, saying Jones was ‘temporarily filling a need’ at the position.
“He’s such a dynamic athlete,” the coach was reported as saying. “He has the rare mix of athleticism and work ethic, mixing along a personality that is extremely coachable. I think he’s mature far beyond his years.”
Jones has been rocketing up the recruitment rankings, entering the season as a fringe, two-star recruit, but now a firm three-star recruit well on his way to a fourth star with most recruiting pages if he continues to play his cards right.
Only a few games into legitimacy, and Jones finds himself with scholarship offers to legit P4 teams such as Indiana, Pittsburgh, and Vanderbilt, but analysts expect blue blood teams to start sniffing around any day now to fill their last few spots, if they haven’t already.
“I’m not sure, I guess I’m not one of those guys too eager to get a move on and forget to enjoy the moment,” said Jones on why he hasn’t jumped on his newfound notoriety as a full-fledged recruit. “I’m going to take all of my visits, and have all the right conversations, and really feel my way through the process.”
Richards, Jones and co. will continue to power through their schedule, a slate of out-of-district games on the slate, including matchups against DeMatha Catholic (MD), Detroit Catholic Central (MI), and St. Edward (OH), before returning to PA to face off against big-time rivals, Mount Lebanon.
October 3, 2025
At the beginning of the season, Upper St. Clair was considered a team knocking on the door to consideration amongst their conference’s top teams. Many considered letting them go and come back when they weren’t so fresh off mediocrity.
The Panthers have opted to kick in the door instead.
After key victories against top schools such as Harriburg and, lately, St. Cathedral, the Panthers find themselves on the inside not even looking out as they continue an early run through regional matchups. With only a few matchups left on the schedule that could pose a threat to Upper St. Clair, many are warming to the possibility that the Panthers can run the table and finish the regular season undefeated.
This comes largely on the heels of breakout seasons from players in key roles, namely three-star wide receiver Zane Jones and incoming transfer quarterback, three-star Malik Richards.
We’ll start with Richards, who comes over from the eastern side of the state, transferring over for an opportunity to play for a school with vast resources and a hearty schedule that with it, comes the potential for national spotlight.
A three-star recruit and one of the highest ranked dual threat quarterbacks in Pennsylvania according to 247Sports, Richards has springboarded up the rankings and is theorized to be largely on the cusp of unlocking a fourth star. He holds key scholarship offers to schools such as Penn State, Florida State, and lower-tiered schools like Buffalo, Connecticut, and Ball State. He currently has a Crystal Ball to join Mike Norvell down at Tallahassee, but remains steadfast that he’s in no rush through the process despite being almost halfway through his senior year.
“This process means a lot to me and my family,” he said. “Rushing it would be doing all of that a disservice. And the school that lands me won’t mind leaving a seat at the table vacant for me for a little while longer.”
Joining Richards as one of the more mercurial recruits in the state is his number one wide receiver, Zane Jones.
Jones launched onto the scene this year after an impressive end to his junior season as well as noteworthy performances at college camps this summer. Five games into the year, Jones has yet to finish with under 100 receiving yards in a game, and even took some reps on defense at cornerback against St. Cathedral, landing three tackles and two pass breakups to help Upper St. Clair to victory.
Head coach David Shazier laments that this isn’t something the team is leaning too hard into, saying Jones was ‘temporarily filling a need’ at the position.
“He’s such a dynamic athlete,” the coach was reported as saying. “He has the rare mix of athleticism and work ethic, mixing along a personality that is extremely coachable. I think he’s mature far beyond his years.”
Jones has been rocketing up the recruitment rankings, entering the season as a fringe, two-star recruit, but now a firm three-star recruit well on his way to a fourth star with most recruiting pages if he continues to play his cards right.
Only a few games into legitimacy, and Jones finds himself with scholarship offers to legit P4 teams such as Indiana, Pittsburgh, and Vanderbilt, but analysts expect blue blood teams to start sniffing around any day now to fill their last few spots, if they haven’t already.
“I’m not sure, I guess I’m not one of those guys too eager to get a move on and forget to enjoy the moment,” said Jones on why he hasn’t jumped on his newfound notoriety as a full-fledged recruit. “I’m going to take all of my visits, and have all the right conversations, and really feel my way through the process.”
Richards, Jones and co. will continue to power through their schedule, a slate of out-of-district games on the slate, including matchups against DeMatha Catholic (MD), Detroit Catholic Central (MI), and St. Edward (OH), before returning to PA to face off against big-time rivals, Mount Lebanon.
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Captain Canada
Topic author - Posts: 7856
- Joined: 01 Dec 2018, 00:15
Invictus
Sometimes you gotta call your own number. Malik a hoe, I'm glad you realized that brother
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Captain Canada
Topic author - Posts: 7856
- Joined: 01 Dec 2018, 00:15
Invictus
Season III | Chapter XI: So Many Tears
The office felt smaller than it ever had.
The fluorescent lights hummed overheard, casting that pale institutional glow over everything - the trophies, the stacks of scouting mail, the whiteboard still ghosted with formations from the week before, Zane stood just inside the door, his hand still on the lock Coach Shazier had told him to turn, his pulse already starting to climb.
Malik sat across from the desk, elbows on his knees, fingers laced together, staring at the floor like he had been carved there.
Zane's stomach dropped.
Coach Shazier didn't sit. He stayed standing behind his desk, arms crossed.
"Close it," he said.
The click of the lock sounded louder than it should have.
Zane took a breath, forced his shoulders loose, and pulled up a chair beside Malik, but not too close. This invisible Great Wall of China would continue to remain.
"Why am I here?" he asked, keeping his voice even. "I have no reason to be here. I haven't said a bad word to the guy."
"Do you want to win football games?" Coach Shazier said, unmoved.
Zane blinked. "Yes."
"Then, that's why you're here. Because, I want to win football games too. Malik told me he does too before you arrived."
"Coach, I can't help the team if I'm running routes for cardio because he won't throw me the ball."
Malik scoffed under his breath but didn't look up.
Coach Shazier exhaled hard. "The school doesn't pay me to be a therapist, so I'm not going to be one. I can't keep ignoring what's going on, praying two of my captains can figure it out like the men they're supposed to be growing into being. Malik - you are not making the reads when they're there. Zane - you are not handling it the right way. We're 5-0 and we're acting like we can't win a quarter."
Silence.
Then Malik spoke.
"Do you know why you're the fucking worst?" he said, still looking at the floor. His voice was flat, controlled. "Because you think you're the hero of your story."
Zane blinked. "What?"
"You walk around like you're some good guy. Like you're Superman. Never does anything wrong. Never has any bad intentions. Just puts his head down and works." Malik finally looked up, eyes cold. "You're build on a foundation of lies."
"What the fuck are you even on about?" Zane said, confusion rising in his voice. "What did I ever lie about?"
Malik leaned back in his chair, gaze shifting from Zane to Coach Shazier, then back again.
"Let me tell you a story."
Zane hesitated, before lamenting and leaning forward.
Malik's voice changed. Lost its edge. Went somewhere else.
"I grew up in a house full of men," he said. "Cousins - my Uncle's kids. My dad wasn't around, skipped out as soon as he could for something better and my Mom needed all the help she could get. I always had somebody. Somebody to show me how to tie my shoes. Ride a bike," he chuckled, no humour to be found. "Throw a spiral."
He swallowed.
"My cousin Ronnie. He was the one. He had done a couple of bids in lock-up, but he was a good guy. Dumb stuff - petty thefts, a couple of assaults for fights that went a shred too far. He was everything to me though. Once he knew ball wasn't in his future because of his past, he decided to pour everything into me."
Zane stayed still.
"I was this little fucking kid in a jersey meant for a man, holding a Tyke football, trying to throw farther than I ever could. And he was there every time, telling me I could do it."
Malik's jaw tightened. The memory taking a sharp turn.
"One night, he ain't come home."
The room felt like it lost oxygen. You had to strain a bit harder to find the relief of air.
"My cousins - they tried to explain it, but I was just too damn young. I just knew I didn't have anybody to throw the ball to anymore. No one to tell me I could do it."
His voice dropped to just a hair above a whisper now.
"You ever been in a room full of grief? The kind that sticks to your clothes? Gets in your bones?"
Zane didn't answer.
Malik finally looked straight at him.
"Your father? Took everything from me."
The words landed somewhere thats foundation was unprepared for its arrival. Zane's head began to swim.
His brain stalled. No sound. No thoughts at the sentence echoed.
Malik turned to Coach Shazier, voice sharp again.
"Excuse me if I don't like watching the son of a murderer get put on a pedestal, mentioned in a bunch of articles about how great he is."
Coach Shazier opened his mouth as if to respond, no sound coming out. He closed it again, reassessing his thoughts.
"I want my reparations," Malik cut in. "Ronnie wants his pound of flesh. This fucking guy-" he said, pointing at Zane. "- doesn't get to hide behind this good guy act anymore."
The chair scraped violently as Malik stood.
He didn't look at Zane again.
He walked to the door, unlocked it, and left.
The door slammed.
The office went dead quiet except for the hum of the lights.
Zane sat frozen, hands on his knees, staring at the spot where Malik had been. His ears rang. His chest hollowed out.
The hallway door slammed against the stopper as Zane burst through it, the sound cracking across the corridor like a starter's pistol.
"Malik!"
His voice echoed off the cinderblock walls.
He didn't wait for a response. He was already running.
Out past the lockers, through the double doors, into the quad where the late afternoon air hit his face - cool, sharp, real. Malik was halfway across the concrete path, backpack slung over one shoulder, moving fast but not fast enough.
"You piece of shit!" Zane shouted. "Who the fuck do you think you are?"
Malik turned, caught off guard, brows knitting. "Who do I think I am? Did you not fucking hear me back there?"
Zane closed the distance in three strides and shoved him hard in the chest. Malik stumbled back, heel catching the edge of the curb as he fought to keep his balance.
"Four! I was four years old!" Zane yelled, fists clenched so tight his knuckles blanched. "My dad went out one night and never came home either!"
Malik's jaw tightened once again, as if it was about to rip the skin apart. "He's a fucking killer."
"And that's not for me to own!" Zane shot back, stepping into him, chest heaving. "You've got some sort of vendetta to iron out? Talk to him. Inmate #24566. He's not very hard to find."
"If I have to live with Ronnie's death and wear it on my jacket every day," Malik snarled, eyes blazing. "Then you have to wear your father's burden."
Zane threw his hands in the air, incredulous.
"Why the fuck would I have to do that?" his voice cracked, raw and shaking. "Why should I own that? I was a kid. He did something awful - I'm not proud of it. But I'm not going to sit in it for the rest of my life. And neither should you."
Malik didn't answer.
Zane's voice dropped, but it didn't soften. It sharpened.
"I've never done anything to you. Ever. And you're out here sabotaging games, sabotaging me, because of something I had no control over."
He swallowed hard, the anger boiling into something heavier. Something he didn't think he had a choice to leave out.
"You had cousins," he said, quieter now but more cutting. "An uncle. Your mother. People who stepped up. People who showed up. I had a grandfather who had nearly worked himself to death to keep a roof over our heads and a grandmother desperate to fill a mother's void for the one who decided to leave it in the first place."
His eyes were wet now, rage and grief tangled together.
"I'm sorry about your cousin, Malik," he said. "I really am. But I refuse to carry something I didn't do. I'm not living in a cell someone else built."
Malik just started at him, the fire in his expression flickering into something uncertain, something he didn't have a response for.
Zane's breath came in ragged pulls.
"You want to hold this over my head?" he said. "Go for it. But you're wrong. I think you know that."
The words hung between them in the cold air.
For the first time since he had met him, Malik had nothing to say.
Zane turned before the silence could swallow him whole and walked away, shoulders rigid, vision blurred.
The office felt smaller than it ever had.
The fluorescent lights hummed overheard, casting that pale institutional glow over everything - the trophies, the stacks of scouting mail, the whiteboard still ghosted with formations from the week before, Zane stood just inside the door, his hand still on the lock Coach Shazier had told him to turn, his pulse already starting to climb.
Malik sat across from the desk, elbows on his knees, fingers laced together, staring at the floor like he had been carved there.
Zane's stomach dropped.
Coach Shazier didn't sit. He stayed standing behind his desk, arms crossed.
"Close it," he said.
The click of the lock sounded louder than it should have.
Zane took a breath, forced his shoulders loose, and pulled up a chair beside Malik, but not too close. This invisible Great Wall of China would continue to remain.
"Why am I here?" he asked, keeping his voice even. "I have no reason to be here. I haven't said a bad word to the guy."
"Do you want to win football games?" Coach Shazier said, unmoved.
Zane blinked. "Yes."
"Then, that's why you're here. Because, I want to win football games too. Malik told me he does too before you arrived."
"Coach, I can't help the team if I'm running routes for cardio because he won't throw me the ball."
Malik scoffed under his breath but didn't look up.
Coach Shazier exhaled hard. "The school doesn't pay me to be a therapist, so I'm not going to be one. I can't keep ignoring what's going on, praying two of my captains can figure it out like the men they're supposed to be growing into being. Malik - you are not making the reads when they're there. Zane - you are not handling it the right way. We're 5-0 and we're acting like we can't win a quarter."
Silence.
Then Malik spoke.
"Do you know why you're the fucking worst?" he said, still looking at the floor. His voice was flat, controlled. "Because you think you're the hero of your story."
Zane blinked. "What?"
"You walk around like you're some good guy. Like you're Superman. Never does anything wrong. Never has any bad intentions. Just puts his head down and works." Malik finally looked up, eyes cold. "You're build on a foundation of lies."
"What the fuck are you even on about?" Zane said, confusion rising in his voice. "What did I ever lie about?"
Malik leaned back in his chair, gaze shifting from Zane to Coach Shazier, then back again.
"Let me tell you a story."
Zane hesitated, before lamenting and leaning forward.
Malik's voice changed. Lost its edge. Went somewhere else.
"I grew up in a house full of men," he said. "Cousins - my Uncle's kids. My dad wasn't around, skipped out as soon as he could for something better and my Mom needed all the help she could get. I always had somebody. Somebody to show me how to tie my shoes. Ride a bike," he chuckled, no humour to be found. "Throw a spiral."
He swallowed.
"My cousin Ronnie. He was the one. He had done a couple of bids in lock-up, but he was a good guy. Dumb stuff - petty thefts, a couple of assaults for fights that went a shred too far. He was everything to me though. Once he knew ball wasn't in his future because of his past, he decided to pour everything into me."
Zane stayed still.
"I was this little fucking kid in a jersey meant for a man, holding a Tyke football, trying to throw farther than I ever could. And he was there every time, telling me I could do it."
Malik's jaw tightened. The memory taking a sharp turn.
"One night, he ain't come home."
The room felt like it lost oxygen. You had to strain a bit harder to find the relief of air.
"My cousins - they tried to explain it, but I was just too damn young. I just knew I didn't have anybody to throw the ball to anymore. No one to tell me I could do it."
His voice dropped to just a hair above a whisper now.
"You ever been in a room full of grief? The kind that sticks to your clothes? Gets in your bones?"
Zane didn't answer.
Malik finally looked straight at him.
"Your father? Took everything from me."
The words landed somewhere thats foundation was unprepared for its arrival. Zane's head began to swim.
His brain stalled. No sound. No thoughts at the sentence echoed.
Malik turned to Coach Shazier, voice sharp again.
"Excuse me if I don't like watching the son of a murderer get put on a pedestal, mentioned in a bunch of articles about how great he is."
Coach Shazier opened his mouth as if to respond, no sound coming out. He closed it again, reassessing his thoughts.
"I want my reparations," Malik cut in. "Ronnie wants his pound of flesh. This fucking guy-" he said, pointing at Zane. "- doesn't get to hide behind this good guy act anymore."
The chair scraped violently as Malik stood.
He didn't look at Zane again.
He walked to the door, unlocked it, and left.
The door slammed.
The office went dead quiet except for the hum of the lights.
Zane sat frozen, hands on his knees, staring at the spot where Malik had been. His ears rang. His chest hollowed out.
***
The hallway door slammed against the stopper as Zane burst through it, the sound cracking across the corridor like a starter's pistol.
"Malik!"
His voice echoed off the cinderblock walls.
He didn't wait for a response. He was already running.
Out past the lockers, through the double doors, into the quad where the late afternoon air hit his face - cool, sharp, real. Malik was halfway across the concrete path, backpack slung over one shoulder, moving fast but not fast enough.
"You piece of shit!" Zane shouted. "Who the fuck do you think you are?"
Malik turned, caught off guard, brows knitting. "Who do I think I am? Did you not fucking hear me back there?"
Zane closed the distance in three strides and shoved him hard in the chest. Malik stumbled back, heel catching the edge of the curb as he fought to keep his balance.
"Four! I was four years old!" Zane yelled, fists clenched so tight his knuckles blanched. "My dad went out one night and never came home either!"
Malik's jaw tightened once again, as if it was about to rip the skin apart. "He's a fucking killer."
"And that's not for me to own!" Zane shot back, stepping into him, chest heaving. "You've got some sort of vendetta to iron out? Talk to him. Inmate #24566. He's not very hard to find."
"If I have to live with Ronnie's death and wear it on my jacket every day," Malik snarled, eyes blazing. "Then you have to wear your father's burden."
Zane threw his hands in the air, incredulous.
"Why the fuck would I have to do that?" his voice cracked, raw and shaking. "Why should I own that? I was a kid. He did something awful - I'm not proud of it. But I'm not going to sit in it for the rest of my life. And neither should you."
Malik didn't answer.
Zane's voice dropped, but it didn't soften. It sharpened.
"I've never done anything to you. Ever. And you're out here sabotaging games, sabotaging me, because of something I had no control over."
He swallowed hard, the anger boiling into something heavier. Something he didn't think he had a choice to leave out.
"You had cousins," he said, quieter now but more cutting. "An uncle. Your mother. People who stepped up. People who showed up. I had a grandfather who had nearly worked himself to death to keep a roof over our heads and a grandmother desperate to fill a mother's void for the one who decided to leave it in the first place."
His eyes were wet now, rage and grief tangled together.
"I'm sorry about your cousin, Malik," he said. "I really am. But I refuse to carry something I didn't do. I'm not living in a cell someone else built."
Malik just started at him, the fire in his expression flickering into something uncertain, something he didn't have a response for.
Zane's breath came in ragged pulls.
"You want to hold this over my head?" he said. "Go for it. But you're wrong. I think you know that."
The words hung between them in the cold air.
For the first time since he had met him, Malik had nothing to say.
Zane turned before the silence could swallow him whole and walked away, shoulders rigid, vision blurred.