War of the Roses: Redux Edition
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Captain Canada
- Posts: 7957
- Joined: 01 Dec 2018, 00:15
War of the Roses: Redux Edition
Deion is going to smoke Caesar right in the fucking mouth.
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Caesar
Topic author - Chise GOAT
- Posts: 16960
- Joined: 27 Nov 2018, 10:47
War of the Roses: Redux Edition
House of Cards
A group of bleary-eyed men and women gathered into a meeting room in an old building on the far edge of East Baton Rogue Parish. Some of them had traveled all night to get to the state’s capital for its annual selection Sunday and they had a long day ahead of them as they set the brackets for the Louisiana’s five high school football playoffs.
“It’s gonna take us the longest to get through 5A so we might as well start with that,” the man at the head of the table said.
His assistant got up and placed a tablet in front of him. “We have four disciplinary hearings to go through before we do the selections.”
“Are any of ‘em at schools in the playoffs? If not, I don’t see why we can’t wait until after since they’re seasons are over, right?” He looked around the table and received nods of agreement from the others in the room.
“One of them is. A kid at Terrebonne High in Houma. Ejected for throwing a punch.”
A woman at the other end of the table sighed and got up, heading for the door. “I’m going to go get some coffee if we’re going to have to sit through someone plead their case about why they shouldn’t be suspended for the playoffs.”
“Well, that’s the thing. No one showed up. I called the coach and he said to just let him know what we decide.”
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve heard in a while. It must be one of their ‘less important’ guys if the coach doesn’t care.”
“Not quite.”
’You’re suspended for the first game of the playoffs. They’ll re-evaluate if we happen to advance whether you’ll be suspended for another game.’
Caesar deleted the text from Coach McCoy and tossed his phone on the nightstand. On one hand, maybe he got off lucky and they would only be suspending him for the opening game of the playoffs. On the other, they might just keep tacking on more games every time the team advanced.
He already knew there would be hell to pay from his father if his high school football career ended with a suspension – although that’s exactly how Deion Jenkin’s high school football career came to a screeching halt. Kicked off the team at the same school after being kicked out of Vandebilt.
Kaley walked out of the bathroom, tying her hair up into a ponytail. “I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to how clean they keep your bathroom. It’s almost weird.”
“I clean everything in here myself.”
“Huh,” she said, looking around. “I really thought that the housekeepers cleaned the entire house. So, you’re telling me that I’m just finding out that you’re a neat freak? You know you do seem like the type to be OCD.”
“Hardy har har. You so funny.” He pointed to her head. “You got something in mind? I could definitely use some head right now if we’re thinking the same thing.”
She plopped down on the bed next to him. “I’m willing to give you a free pass to call any girl in your phone to sort that out for you, because I’m not in the mood for any of that.”
“Not particularly interested in other girls if you weren’t aware.”
“Good answer,” she said, grabbing her phone from her bag and beginning to scroll through her messages. “Have you heard from your coach?”
Caesar nodded. “Suspended for a game for now.”
“Well, y’all will probably win that game so you’ll be able to play next week, right?”
“I don’t want to talk about this shit. I shouldn’t even have been ejected. They were fucking cheating and the fucking referees were helping them. Now, the LHSAA is piling on with the bullshit. Probably didn’t suspend not one other player this season.”
“Do you want to talk about it or do you not want to talk about it?”
“I don’t.”
“Alright.”
Caesar stood up and started pacing. “I just think it’s a little fucked up that you would suspend a senior and risk ending their career like that. What if some fuckery happens and the team loses? Danny’s not really that good of a quarterback. It’s possible.”
Kaley set her phone down. “I thought you said you didn’t want to talk about it.”
“I don’t.” He sat back down with her back toward her. “Talk about something else. I’m surprised that my mom hasn’t come up here to whisk you away to go do whatever the fuck y’all always doing.”
“You sound a little jealous, Caesar.”
He shrugged. “Guilty as charged.”
“Cut her some slack. She’s spent the last seventeen years being the only woman in a house with two men. Of course, she’s happy to have another woman around who isn’t too busy getting fucked in the ass to hold a conversation.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder.
“I think it was pretty obvious what I meant. The only girls you’d bring here were to fuck and then you’d kick them out. That’s what your mom said anyway. I like to pretend I don’t know that you are known to get around.”
Caesar snorted. “That’s pretty rich coming from you. Is that why your mom wanted David James around so much? Needed some testosterone because your stepdad’s never home and your brother-in-law is probably at least bisexual if not full on taking it up the ass and double fisting dicks when he’s out on the rig?”
“What’s your fucking problem?” Kaley’s voice was sharp when she spoke.
“I’m just saying that living here was no more fucked up than how you’ve grown up so think about that before you pass judgement.”
Caesar felt his weight on the bed shift as Kaley got up. He stood up as well, turning to see her gathering her things and pushing her feet into her shoes.
“Oh, you leaving now?”
She didn’t say anything as she looked around the room to make sure that she had all of her stuff, shoving any stray articles of clothing from the day before into her bag.
“Leave then,” Caesar said, waving his hand dismissively. “Get the fuck out and don’t come back.”
Kaley stopped and turned around. Her face blank. “Say that again.”
“Get. The. Fuck. Out. And. Don’t. Fucking. Come. Back.”
She flipped him off before swinging open the door and slamming it behind her.
Caesar scratched his head, ran his hand over his face and sat down on the bed. He stared at the wall for a moment. Then he ran behind her.
She had just made to the bottom of the stairs when he caught up to her. He reached for her arm, but she smacked his hand away.
“Fuck off, Caesar.”
In a couple strides, he was in front of her. He stood in front of the door. “Don’t leave.”
“Fuck you. It hasn’t even been a minute since you were saying the fucking opposite,” she spat. “Now move.”
“Kaley, I will get on my knees and beg if I have to. I’m pissed off about the whole suspension thing. I shouldn’t have taken that out on you, but I need you, okay? I’m sorry. Just don’t leave.”
He waited as she stared blankly at him. After a long pause, he was ready to move out of her way and let her leave.
“You don’t get another chance to tell me that. Period.” She jabbed him in the chest with her finger as she spoke. “Now, go get your keys. You owe me food for that.”
West Jefferson High School at. Terrebonne High School – First Round
The West Jeff receiver was slow coming out of his break and Devin took full advantage of it. He undercut the receiver’s route, gambling on the quarterback’s timing being off by the lackadaisical route running – and he was right.
He caught the interception in stride, the ball tucked under his right arm. He ran toward the sideline before cutting upfield. He picked up a block from Anthony. Then he got another. He cut back inside. Made the quarterback miss his “tackle attempt.” And found daylight.
There was no catching him and he jogged out the final few yards into the endzone before being mobbed by his teammates.
“Touchdown Terrebonne! It’s only the second quarter and this one is already starting to get ugly with the Tigers now up 30-0 over the Bucs!”
…
Danny caught the snap, in the zone from the team’s fast start out of the blocks. He went through his reads, climbing the pocket when he felt it starting to close in on him. Slipping out of a gap between two offensive lineman, he got away from a flailing edge rusher.
He kept his eyes downfield as he ran parallel to the line of scrimmage. Pulling the ball down, he took off to pick up the yards on his own.
He pump faked and a linebacker leapt in an attempt to bat the pass down. Spun out of the arms of a corner. Then he juked another Buccaneers defender. After picking up another few yards, he was finally whipped down to the turf from behind.
Feeling himself a little bit, he signaled the first down as he tossed the ball to an official and looked to the sideline for the next play.
…
“One, two, three, four! Tigers in the backfield as Marrero is sacked for a huge loss!”
…
“Watch out! Santiago bowled over Johnson for a bruising ten yard gain. That’s not something you see from Terrebonne’s Hasan Santiago that often but he’s letting them know he isn’t afraid of a little contact tonight!”
…
“Monster hit by King to dislodge the ball!”
…
“Jackson pitches it to Santiago and he waltz in for the touchdown!”
…
The sound of pads clattering against each other seemed loud enough to drown out the loud roar of the crowd in Thomas B. Smith Stadium as the chorus of highlight reel hits and blocks mixed in with equally impressive passing, running and catching played on repeat.
By the midway point of the third quarter, with the score at 55-0, every player with a white jersey on wore the beating they were taking in their body language. Slumped shoulders and hung heads littered the West Jeff sideline and there was still another quarter to go.
But Terrebonne didn’t let up yet.
…
“That’s a dart from Jackson to Schexnayder and the Tigers still have their foot down on the accelerator and on West Jeff’s neck.”
…
“Lodrigue is rocked as soon as he gets the handoff.”
…
“What a spin move from Santiago! I think that might have been an actual ankle breaker, folks. Benjamin is slow to get up.”
…
“Stopped at the line of scrimmage. Another punt upcoming from the Buccaneers.”
…
“What in the world?! I don’t know how he did it but Danny Jackson just channeled Patrick Mahomes from 20 years ago to complete that pass! And that’s another touchdown for the Tigers!”
…
“Pierce McCoy is finally sending his backups in with five minutes remaining in this game and Terrebonne leading 74-3.”
…
“And that’s it from Thomas B. Stadium as number three Terrebonne demolishes the thirty-seed West Jefferson to the tune of 74-10. There were a lot of questions coming into this one about how Terrebonne would cope without Caesar Jenkins, but it seems as though they came into this game ready to prove a point and prove a point they did. I’m hearing that the score just went final over in Lafayette with number fourteen Acadiana prevailing over number nineteen Comeaux, 23-20, which means that the Wreckin’ Rams will be coming to Houma next week to face the wrecking ball that is this Terrebonne team.”
…
“We goin’ to the ‘ship! We’ goin’ to the ‘ship! We’ goin’ to the ‘ship!” Hasan shouted as he, Devin and a few of the other guys left the Field House to head to parts unknown for the night. “That was a whole bloodbath out there tonight, huh?!”
“I thought coach was trying to hang a hundred on them,” La’Quan said.
“Shit, it look like it was going that way for a lil’ minute,” Kenyatta added.
A man wearing a Clemson windbreaker approached them with a smile. “Hey, guys. Great game out there tonight. One of the best performances I’ve ever seen from a high school football team. You mind if I grab Devin for a few minutes?”
“Clemson? You sure you don’t want to talk to the real MVP of the defense?” La’Quan asked, drawing laughter from Hasan and Kenyatta.
“You can’t even spell Clemson to talk about goin’ there,” Hasan said as they walked away.
Devin hitched his duffel bag up on his shoulder. “I thought we were still in the quiet period or whatever it’s called.”
The man waved his hand at the comment and winked. “I’m not a coach. Name’s Steve Coppola. I’m like a marketing guy. But I will say that Coach Kelley has been doing a lot of talking about you and in a few weeks after they’ve knocked out the ACC Championship, he really wants to sit down with you and your folks and talk to you about what Clemson has to offer.”
“I’m just going to cut to chase, Mr. Coppola, and not waste your time. Clemson’s a great program and all, but I’ve already made up my mind.”
“You haven’t announced yet?”
Devin shrugged and nodded toward the field. “Focused on the playoffs. The big announcement can wait until we’re done.”
“ACC school?”
“Have a safe trip back.” Devin jogged off to catch up with the guys.
A group of bleary-eyed men and women gathered into a meeting room in an old building on the far edge of East Baton Rogue Parish. Some of them had traveled all night to get to the state’s capital for its annual selection Sunday and they had a long day ahead of them as they set the brackets for the Louisiana’s five high school football playoffs.
“It’s gonna take us the longest to get through 5A so we might as well start with that,” the man at the head of the table said.
His assistant got up and placed a tablet in front of him. “We have four disciplinary hearings to go through before we do the selections.”
“Are any of ‘em at schools in the playoffs? If not, I don’t see why we can’t wait until after since they’re seasons are over, right?” He looked around the table and received nods of agreement from the others in the room.
“One of them is. A kid at Terrebonne High in Houma. Ejected for throwing a punch.”
A woman at the other end of the table sighed and got up, heading for the door. “I’m going to go get some coffee if we’re going to have to sit through someone plead their case about why they shouldn’t be suspended for the playoffs.”
“Well, that’s the thing. No one showed up. I called the coach and he said to just let him know what we decide.”
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve heard in a while. It must be one of their ‘less important’ guys if the coach doesn’t care.”
“Not quite.”
-*****-
’You’re suspended for the first game of the playoffs. They’ll re-evaluate if we happen to advance whether you’ll be suspended for another game.’
Caesar deleted the text from Coach McCoy and tossed his phone on the nightstand. On one hand, maybe he got off lucky and they would only be suspending him for the opening game of the playoffs. On the other, they might just keep tacking on more games every time the team advanced.
He already knew there would be hell to pay from his father if his high school football career ended with a suspension – although that’s exactly how Deion Jenkin’s high school football career came to a screeching halt. Kicked off the team at the same school after being kicked out of Vandebilt.
Kaley walked out of the bathroom, tying her hair up into a ponytail. “I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to how clean they keep your bathroom. It’s almost weird.”
“I clean everything in here myself.”
“Huh,” she said, looking around. “I really thought that the housekeepers cleaned the entire house. So, you’re telling me that I’m just finding out that you’re a neat freak? You know you do seem like the type to be OCD.”
“Hardy har har. You so funny.” He pointed to her head. “You got something in mind? I could definitely use some head right now if we’re thinking the same thing.”
She plopped down on the bed next to him. “I’m willing to give you a free pass to call any girl in your phone to sort that out for you, because I’m not in the mood for any of that.”
“Not particularly interested in other girls if you weren’t aware.”
“Good answer,” she said, grabbing her phone from her bag and beginning to scroll through her messages. “Have you heard from your coach?”
Caesar nodded. “Suspended for a game for now.”
“Well, y’all will probably win that game so you’ll be able to play next week, right?”
“I don’t want to talk about this shit. I shouldn’t even have been ejected. They were fucking cheating and the fucking referees were helping them. Now, the LHSAA is piling on with the bullshit. Probably didn’t suspend not one other player this season.”
“Do you want to talk about it or do you not want to talk about it?”
“I don’t.”
“Alright.”
Caesar stood up and started pacing. “I just think it’s a little fucked up that you would suspend a senior and risk ending their career like that. What if some fuckery happens and the team loses? Danny’s not really that good of a quarterback. It’s possible.”
Kaley set her phone down. “I thought you said you didn’t want to talk about it.”
“I don’t.” He sat back down with her back toward her. “Talk about something else. I’m surprised that my mom hasn’t come up here to whisk you away to go do whatever the fuck y’all always doing.”
“You sound a little jealous, Caesar.”
He shrugged. “Guilty as charged.”
“Cut her some slack. She’s spent the last seventeen years being the only woman in a house with two men. Of course, she’s happy to have another woman around who isn’t too busy getting fucked in the ass to hold a conversation.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder.
“I think it was pretty obvious what I meant. The only girls you’d bring here were to fuck and then you’d kick them out. That’s what your mom said anyway. I like to pretend I don’t know that you are known to get around.”
Caesar snorted. “That’s pretty rich coming from you. Is that why your mom wanted David James around so much? Needed some testosterone because your stepdad’s never home and your brother-in-law is probably at least bisexual if not full on taking it up the ass and double fisting dicks when he’s out on the rig?”
“What’s your fucking problem?” Kaley’s voice was sharp when she spoke.
“I’m just saying that living here was no more fucked up than how you’ve grown up so think about that before you pass judgement.”
Caesar felt his weight on the bed shift as Kaley got up. He stood up as well, turning to see her gathering her things and pushing her feet into her shoes.
“Oh, you leaving now?”
She didn’t say anything as she looked around the room to make sure that she had all of her stuff, shoving any stray articles of clothing from the day before into her bag.
“Leave then,” Caesar said, waving his hand dismissively. “Get the fuck out and don’t come back.”
Kaley stopped and turned around. Her face blank. “Say that again.”
“Get. The. Fuck. Out. And. Don’t. Fucking. Come. Back.”
She flipped him off before swinging open the door and slamming it behind her.
Caesar scratched his head, ran his hand over his face and sat down on the bed. He stared at the wall for a moment. Then he ran behind her.
She had just made to the bottom of the stairs when he caught up to her. He reached for her arm, but she smacked his hand away.
“Fuck off, Caesar.”
In a couple strides, he was in front of her. He stood in front of the door. “Don’t leave.”
“Fuck you. It hasn’t even been a minute since you were saying the fucking opposite,” she spat. “Now move.”
“Kaley, I will get on my knees and beg if I have to. I’m pissed off about the whole suspension thing. I shouldn’t have taken that out on you, but I need you, okay? I’m sorry. Just don’t leave.”
He waited as she stared blankly at him. After a long pause, he was ready to move out of her way and let her leave.
“You don’t get another chance to tell me that. Period.” She jabbed him in the chest with her finger as she spoke. “Now, go get your keys. You owe me food for that.”
-*****-
West Jefferson High School at. Terrebonne High School – First Round
The West Jeff receiver was slow coming out of his break and Devin took full advantage of it. He undercut the receiver’s route, gambling on the quarterback’s timing being off by the lackadaisical route running – and he was right.
He caught the interception in stride, the ball tucked under his right arm. He ran toward the sideline before cutting upfield. He picked up a block from Anthony. Then he got another. He cut back inside. Made the quarterback miss his “tackle attempt.” And found daylight.
There was no catching him and he jogged out the final few yards into the endzone before being mobbed by his teammates.
“Touchdown Terrebonne! It’s only the second quarter and this one is already starting to get ugly with the Tigers now up 30-0 over the Bucs!”
…
Danny caught the snap, in the zone from the team’s fast start out of the blocks. He went through his reads, climbing the pocket when he felt it starting to close in on him. Slipping out of a gap between two offensive lineman, he got away from a flailing edge rusher.
He kept his eyes downfield as he ran parallel to the line of scrimmage. Pulling the ball down, he took off to pick up the yards on his own.
He pump faked and a linebacker leapt in an attempt to bat the pass down. Spun out of the arms of a corner. Then he juked another Buccaneers defender. After picking up another few yards, he was finally whipped down to the turf from behind.
Feeling himself a little bit, he signaled the first down as he tossed the ball to an official and looked to the sideline for the next play.
…
“One, two, three, four! Tigers in the backfield as Marrero is sacked for a huge loss!”
…
“Watch out! Santiago bowled over Johnson for a bruising ten yard gain. That’s not something you see from Terrebonne’s Hasan Santiago that often but he’s letting them know he isn’t afraid of a little contact tonight!”
…
“Monster hit by King to dislodge the ball!”
…
“Jackson pitches it to Santiago and he waltz in for the touchdown!”
…
The sound of pads clattering against each other seemed loud enough to drown out the loud roar of the crowd in Thomas B. Smith Stadium as the chorus of highlight reel hits and blocks mixed in with equally impressive passing, running and catching played on repeat.
By the midway point of the third quarter, with the score at 55-0, every player with a white jersey on wore the beating they were taking in their body language. Slumped shoulders and hung heads littered the West Jeff sideline and there was still another quarter to go.
But Terrebonne didn’t let up yet.
…
“That’s a dart from Jackson to Schexnayder and the Tigers still have their foot down on the accelerator and on West Jeff’s neck.”
…
“Lodrigue is rocked as soon as he gets the handoff.”
…
“What a spin move from Santiago! I think that might have been an actual ankle breaker, folks. Benjamin is slow to get up.”
…
“Stopped at the line of scrimmage. Another punt upcoming from the Buccaneers.”
…
“What in the world?! I don’t know how he did it but Danny Jackson just channeled Patrick Mahomes from 20 years ago to complete that pass! And that’s another touchdown for the Tigers!”
…
“Pierce McCoy is finally sending his backups in with five minutes remaining in this game and Terrebonne leading 74-3.”
…
“And that’s it from Thomas B. Stadium as number three Terrebonne demolishes the thirty-seed West Jefferson to the tune of 74-10. There were a lot of questions coming into this one about how Terrebonne would cope without Caesar Jenkins, but it seems as though they came into this game ready to prove a point and prove a point they did. I’m hearing that the score just went final over in Lafayette with number fourteen Acadiana prevailing over number nineteen Comeaux, 23-20, which means that the Wreckin’ Rams will be coming to Houma next week to face the wrecking ball that is this Terrebonne team.”
…
“We goin’ to the ‘ship! We’ goin’ to the ‘ship! We’ goin’ to the ‘ship!” Hasan shouted as he, Devin and a few of the other guys left the Field House to head to parts unknown for the night. “That was a whole bloodbath out there tonight, huh?!”
“I thought coach was trying to hang a hundred on them,” La’Quan said.
“Shit, it look like it was going that way for a lil’ minute,” Kenyatta added.
A man wearing a Clemson windbreaker approached them with a smile. “Hey, guys. Great game out there tonight. One of the best performances I’ve ever seen from a high school football team. You mind if I grab Devin for a few minutes?”
“Clemson? You sure you don’t want to talk to the real MVP of the defense?” La’Quan asked, drawing laughter from Hasan and Kenyatta.
“You can’t even spell Clemson to talk about goin’ there,” Hasan said as they walked away.
Devin hitched his duffel bag up on his shoulder. “I thought we were still in the quiet period or whatever it’s called.”
The man waved his hand at the comment and winked. “I’m not a coach. Name’s Steve Coppola. I’m like a marketing guy. But I will say that Coach Kelley has been doing a lot of talking about you and in a few weeks after they’ve knocked out the ACC Championship, he really wants to sit down with you and your folks and talk to you about what Clemson has to offer.”
“I’m just going to cut to chase, Mr. Coppola, and not waste your time. Clemson’s a great program and all, but I’ve already made up my mind.”
“You haven’t announced yet?”
Devin shrugged and nodded toward the field. “Focused on the playoffs. The big announcement can wait until we’re done.”
“ACC school?”
“Have a safe trip back.” Devin jogged off to catch up with the guys.
Last edited by Caesar on 13 Mar 2021, 15:55, edited 1 time in total.
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djp73
- Posts: 13234
- Joined: 27 Nov 2018, 13:42
War of the Roses: Redux Edition
Whoopin'
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Captain Canada
- Posts: 7957
- Joined: 01 Dec 2018, 00:15
War of the Roses: Redux Edition
Hope you at least showered before that fornication.
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Caesar
Topic author - Chise GOAT
- Posts: 16960
- Joined: 27 Nov 2018, 10:47
War of the Roses: Redux Edition
Not All It’s Cracked Up to Be
“This is my favorite one yet. ‘Freshman quarterback Ron DeRossi is revolutionizing the college game and he’s just getting started. A thread.’”
Ron laughed as he rested his head against the wall behind him. His hand ran languidly along the naked body of the blonde laying across his lap.
Anna, the daughter of the Congressman who’d pleaded with Ron to attend TCU, scrolled through social media pages for all of the high praise that he’d been getting as the Horned Frogs had gone from number twenty-four in the preseason rankings to number one heading into the final weeks of the season with a lot of that on the back of Ron’s performances.
“Wait, this one is really sucking your dick. Like you could make some money from this person if you sent them a bottle of your bath water. ‘Forget every quarterback in the GOAT conversation. In twenty-five years, everyone will know it’s DeRossi.’”
“You have experience selling your bath water? I’m going to need a crash course if that’s something I’m going to do.” Ron reached for a pipe and lighter, taking a hit of the weed packed into it. Anna took it from him to do the same.
She sat up and reached over him to toss the pipe and lighter onto the nightstand. Ron didn’t hesitate to cop a feel of the breasts hanging in front of him. She glanced at him and winked as she sat back against the wall.
“So, you really never look at this stuff? C’mon. You don’t have to lie to me. You probably have it all printed out and on a mood board somewhere. My dad has a legislative assistant whose only job is to scour the internet and find shit like this and read it out to him every morning.”
“I hope they don’t go into depth about that on their resume. ‘I read stuff I found on the internet to a grown man every morning during my time in D.C. It was an enlightening experience and I think it’s a skill that will benefit you.’”
Anna raised her eyebrow. “As if Donald Trump didn’t have people reading to him for four years back in the day.”
“I haven’t taken a history class since sophomore year in high school, but if we’re using Trump as the barometer of what politicians should be doing then your dad should have someone carrying something for him to watch OANN everywhere.”
“Probably does,” she said, shrugging. She picked up her phone again. “I need to find one that makes you admit that you read this junk.”
“Want to know the real reason I don’t look at that shit?”
“Yep.”
He held out his pinky. “You have to swear to secrecy or you won’t get any more of this excellent dick whenever you want it.”
“Excellent is an exaggeration. Besides, you aren’t the only game in town. But my lips are sealed. Cross my heart and hope to die and all that good stuff.”
“Do what now?”
She shrugged. “Something my grandma said they used to say way back in the day. Anyone don’t change the damn subject. What’s the secret?”
Ron plucked the phone out of her hand and tossed it onto the bed. “I don’t really like football anymore. I’m not going to up and quit on the team because I like to keep my commitments but this shit about being this or that in the pros? I’m not interested in the NFL.”
“Weird that you feel that way when you’re a freshman on top of the world.”
“Might be. It just doesn’t matter. It’s irrelevant. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter if someone wins or loses a fucking football game. A couple days later, the bullshit starts all over and everyone acts like it’s the center of the world until Saturday when their team wins or loses. It’s just stupid.”
“So, what are you going to do instead?”
“Round three.” He slipped down the bed and spread her legs.
“Oh, this I can get behind.”
Acadiana High School at Terrebonne High School – Second Round
The ball cut through the crisp fall air, a perfect spiral as it went. The Rams defensive back turned his head to watch it begin its arc back down to the Earth. He jumped to make an attempt at batting the ball down – or better yet getting an interception. His timing felt perfect.
Then he watched as red flashed above him and a pair of gloved hands plucked the ball out of the sky well out of his grasp.
As he came down, Caesar shifted the ball to his left hand and shoved the defender away with his right, using the stiff arm to catch his balance and turn toward the endzone.
The rest of the defense tried to give chase, but he was too fast.
Instead of crossing the line, he curved his run and all but came to a complete stop before walking into the endzone – just enough to give the Rams defense time to get a little closer to him while he took it in for the score.
Caesar caught the angry glare of the referee as he tossed the ball to him and jogged to the sideline.
…
“Terrebonne’s picking up from where they left off last week and are looking every bit a state title favorite – especially with Caesar Jenkins back on the sidelines after spending last week serving a one game suspension.”
…
“Jenkins throws the brakes on and Fazzio goes flying by him. A couple of Rams try to bring him down, but Jenkins drags them for FIVE yards before going down! And he’s flexing his muscles to show off after that run.”
…
Devin tumbled to the turf as his legs got tangled up with the receiver’s. He rolled through the fall. Sprung to his feet and lowered his head, pumping his arms and legs, to catch up with the receiver who was running a fly route and calling for the ball.
He reeled the receiver in. Like a fisherman easing in the day’s catch. Throwing himself forward, he swiped his arm down on the ball from behind.
It jarred free and bounced toward the sideline before taking a bounce back to the middle of the field. Devin scooped it up with one hand, high stepping to avoid the receiver diving at his feet to make the tackle.
He cut toward the opposite side of the field, looking for a gap to turn the return into something big. Dodged a few attempted tackles by the other receivers coming back the other direction. He planted his foot and slipped on the turf before being pushed down.
…
“Jackson’s directing traffic as he gets outside of the pocket. He floats it to Jenkins who catches it in stride. He’s got breakaway speed and he’s using it! 40, 30, 20! One man left to beat! Bang! Touchdown Terrebonne! And that’s going to make it 39-7 here late in the third! Jenkins lowered his shoulder and left Guidry in a heap on the turf to power his way into the en—Now, that’s uncalled for. Caesar Jenkins is standing over Davie Guidry as he struggles to get to his feet and the referees are going to call something here and rightfully so!
Ruston High School at Terrebonne High School – Quarterfinals
“For fuck’s sake, ref. You can’t be serious! That’s the one you want to call! That one?!” Coach McCoy shouted, a couple of players holding their coach back as he toed onto the playing surface. “Let the kids play! This is the fucking playoffs!”
“Watch it, coach. It was taunting,” the line judge said.
Coach McCoy wagged a finger on his left hand and pointed at it with his right. “This is what we’re calling taunting now?! Mothers the world over have been wagging their fingers since the beginning of time. Game’s gone soft!”
Sighing, he turned to the field and signaled the next play to Danny as the offense got set after a fifteen-yard unsportsmanlike for taunting.
Thanks to Caesar.
…
“Terrebonne are looking for another early night here in the quarters. Jackson sends John in motion. Calls for the snap. He hands it off on the jet—No, it’s a fake! Running to his right, he flicks it forward to Jenkins and he’ll waltz into the endzone for the touchdown with everyone biting on the fake. No celebration from Jenkins as he politely hands the ball to the referee. 29-0 pending the extra point – or likely two-point attempt – from Terrebonne.”
…
“That’s a rare sight! Devin King records a sack and Yates never saw him coming off the edge. The Bearcats will be forced to punt it away.”
…
“Santiago takes the handoff to the outside, cuts up field and he’s going to scoot! No one’s catching him and that’s another touchdown for the Tigers!”
…
“Big hit by LeBlanc to stop Martinez short of the first down marker and it’s going to be another punt from Ruston.”
…
“First down Terrebonne.”
…
“First down Terrebonne.”
…
“Another first down for Terrebonne.”
…
“That’s a first down for the Tigers.”
…
“First down Tigers.”
…
“Jackson takes it in himself and that’ll increase Terrebonne’s lead to 30 with the score at 49 for the home team and only 9 for the Ruston Bearcats with time running out in the fourth quarter. It’s been another complete performance by Pierce McCoy’s team as they have one- and one-half feet in the semifinals.”
…
Hasan dapped up Devin as he jogged onto the sideline with Coach McCoy pulling the starters out of the game with only a few minutes to go. The two of them squatted down to watch Keilan and the twos get some run in and be able say they played in another playoff game.
One of the JV receivers caught a pass along Terrebonne’s sideline for a short gain.
“Hey, two! Two!” Caesar shouted from the sidelines at the Ruston defensive back who’d made the tackle. The player turned around as he got up. “Hang ‘em up, bro. Football’s not for you! Call it quits, bro. You’ve been getting cooked all night.”
“Is this shit fuckin’ necessary?” Hasan asked Caesar, standing up. “You’ve been bumpin’ your fuckin’ gums all night. Shut the fuck up.”
Caesar raised his eyebrow. “Calm down, Midget Mac. We’re going to the semis because of me. You should be thanking me, you bitch motherfucker.”
Hasan took a step toward Caesar, but Devin jumped up and got between them.
“Chill, man. It’s not worth it,” Devin said.
“Yeah, it’s not worth it, man,” Caesar said.
Hasan sucked his teeth and turned back to the field. Devin glanced at Caesar before shaking his head and doing the same.
…
“We have the final results from around the state and the semifinals are set. Number one Catholic High will be facing number five Zachary, and one with a little bit of controversy, number two West Monroe will welcome number three Terrebonne. Some people feel that Terrebonne should’ve been one of the top two seeds but they’ll have their chance to prove it on the field next week.”
“This is my favorite one yet. ‘Freshman quarterback Ron DeRossi is revolutionizing the college game and he’s just getting started. A thread.’”
Ron laughed as he rested his head against the wall behind him. His hand ran languidly along the naked body of the blonde laying across his lap.
Anna, the daughter of the Congressman who’d pleaded with Ron to attend TCU, scrolled through social media pages for all of the high praise that he’d been getting as the Horned Frogs had gone from number twenty-four in the preseason rankings to number one heading into the final weeks of the season with a lot of that on the back of Ron’s performances.
“Wait, this one is really sucking your dick. Like you could make some money from this person if you sent them a bottle of your bath water. ‘Forget every quarterback in the GOAT conversation. In twenty-five years, everyone will know it’s DeRossi.’”
“You have experience selling your bath water? I’m going to need a crash course if that’s something I’m going to do.” Ron reached for a pipe and lighter, taking a hit of the weed packed into it. Anna took it from him to do the same.
She sat up and reached over him to toss the pipe and lighter onto the nightstand. Ron didn’t hesitate to cop a feel of the breasts hanging in front of him. She glanced at him and winked as she sat back against the wall.
“So, you really never look at this stuff? C’mon. You don’t have to lie to me. You probably have it all printed out and on a mood board somewhere. My dad has a legislative assistant whose only job is to scour the internet and find shit like this and read it out to him every morning.”
“I hope they don’t go into depth about that on their resume. ‘I read stuff I found on the internet to a grown man every morning during my time in D.C. It was an enlightening experience and I think it’s a skill that will benefit you.’”
Anna raised her eyebrow. “As if Donald Trump didn’t have people reading to him for four years back in the day.”
“I haven’t taken a history class since sophomore year in high school, but if we’re using Trump as the barometer of what politicians should be doing then your dad should have someone carrying something for him to watch OANN everywhere.”
“Probably does,” she said, shrugging. She picked up her phone again. “I need to find one that makes you admit that you read this junk.”
“Want to know the real reason I don’t look at that shit?”
“Yep.”
He held out his pinky. “You have to swear to secrecy or you won’t get any more of this excellent dick whenever you want it.”
“Excellent is an exaggeration. Besides, you aren’t the only game in town. But my lips are sealed. Cross my heart and hope to die and all that good stuff.”
“Do what now?”
She shrugged. “Something my grandma said they used to say way back in the day. Anyone don’t change the damn subject. What’s the secret?”
Ron plucked the phone out of her hand and tossed it onto the bed. “I don’t really like football anymore. I’m not going to up and quit on the team because I like to keep my commitments but this shit about being this or that in the pros? I’m not interested in the NFL.”
“Weird that you feel that way when you’re a freshman on top of the world.”
“Might be. It just doesn’t matter. It’s irrelevant. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter if someone wins or loses a fucking football game. A couple days later, the bullshit starts all over and everyone acts like it’s the center of the world until Saturday when their team wins or loses. It’s just stupid.”
“So, what are you going to do instead?”
“Round three.” He slipped down the bed and spread her legs.
“Oh, this I can get behind.”
-*****-
Acadiana High School at Terrebonne High School – Second Round
The ball cut through the crisp fall air, a perfect spiral as it went. The Rams defensive back turned his head to watch it begin its arc back down to the Earth. He jumped to make an attempt at batting the ball down – or better yet getting an interception. His timing felt perfect.
Then he watched as red flashed above him and a pair of gloved hands plucked the ball out of the sky well out of his grasp.
As he came down, Caesar shifted the ball to his left hand and shoved the defender away with his right, using the stiff arm to catch his balance and turn toward the endzone.
The rest of the defense tried to give chase, but he was too fast.
Instead of crossing the line, he curved his run and all but came to a complete stop before walking into the endzone – just enough to give the Rams defense time to get a little closer to him while he took it in for the score.
Caesar caught the angry glare of the referee as he tossed the ball to him and jogged to the sideline.
…
“Terrebonne’s picking up from where they left off last week and are looking every bit a state title favorite – especially with Caesar Jenkins back on the sidelines after spending last week serving a one game suspension.”
…
“Jenkins throws the brakes on and Fazzio goes flying by him. A couple of Rams try to bring him down, but Jenkins drags them for FIVE yards before going down! And he’s flexing his muscles to show off after that run.”
…
Devin tumbled to the turf as his legs got tangled up with the receiver’s. He rolled through the fall. Sprung to his feet and lowered his head, pumping his arms and legs, to catch up with the receiver who was running a fly route and calling for the ball.
He reeled the receiver in. Like a fisherman easing in the day’s catch. Throwing himself forward, he swiped his arm down on the ball from behind.
It jarred free and bounced toward the sideline before taking a bounce back to the middle of the field. Devin scooped it up with one hand, high stepping to avoid the receiver diving at his feet to make the tackle.
He cut toward the opposite side of the field, looking for a gap to turn the return into something big. Dodged a few attempted tackles by the other receivers coming back the other direction. He planted his foot and slipped on the turf before being pushed down.
…
“Jackson’s directing traffic as he gets outside of the pocket. He floats it to Jenkins who catches it in stride. He’s got breakaway speed and he’s using it! 40, 30, 20! One man left to beat! Bang! Touchdown Terrebonne! And that’s going to make it 39-7 here late in the third! Jenkins lowered his shoulder and left Guidry in a heap on the turf to power his way into the en—Now, that’s uncalled for. Caesar Jenkins is standing over Davie Guidry as he struggles to get to his feet and the referees are going to call something here and rightfully so!
-*****-
Ruston High School at Terrebonne High School – Quarterfinals
“For fuck’s sake, ref. You can’t be serious! That’s the one you want to call! That one?!” Coach McCoy shouted, a couple of players holding their coach back as he toed onto the playing surface. “Let the kids play! This is the fucking playoffs!”
“Watch it, coach. It was taunting,” the line judge said.
Coach McCoy wagged a finger on his left hand and pointed at it with his right. “This is what we’re calling taunting now?! Mothers the world over have been wagging their fingers since the beginning of time. Game’s gone soft!”
Sighing, he turned to the field and signaled the next play to Danny as the offense got set after a fifteen-yard unsportsmanlike for taunting.
Thanks to Caesar.
…
“Terrebonne are looking for another early night here in the quarters. Jackson sends John in motion. Calls for the snap. He hands it off on the jet—No, it’s a fake! Running to his right, he flicks it forward to Jenkins and he’ll waltz into the endzone for the touchdown with everyone biting on the fake. No celebration from Jenkins as he politely hands the ball to the referee. 29-0 pending the extra point – or likely two-point attempt – from Terrebonne.”
…
“That’s a rare sight! Devin King records a sack and Yates never saw him coming off the edge. The Bearcats will be forced to punt it away.”
…
“Santiago takes the handoff to the outside, cuts up field and he’s going to scoot! No one’s catching him and that’s another touchdown for the Tigers!”
…
“Big hit by LeBlanc to stop Martinez short of the first down marker and it’s going to be another punt from Ruston.”
…
“First down Terrebonne.”
…
“First down Terrebonne.”
…
“Another first down for Terrebonne.”
…
“That’s a first down for the Tigers.”
…
“First down Tigers.”
…
“Jackson takes it in himself and that’ll increase Terrebonne’s lead to 30 with the score at 49 for the home team and only 9 for the Ruston Bearcats with time running out in the fourth quarter. It’s been another complete performance by Pierce McCoy’s team as they have one- and one-half feet in the semifinals.”
…
Hasan dapped up Devin as he jogged onto the sideline with Coach McCoy pulling the starters out of the game with only a few minutes to go. The two of them squatted down to watch Keilan and the twos get some run in and be able say they played in another playoff game.
One of the JV receivers caught a pass along Terrebonne’s sideline for a short gain.
“Hey, two! Two!” Caesar shouted from the sidelines at the Ruston defensive back who’d made the tackle. The player turned around as he got up. “Hang ‘em up, bro. Football’s not for you! Call it quits, bro. You’ve been getting cooked all night.”
“Is this shit fuckin’ necessary?” Hasan asked Caesar, standing up. “You’ve been bumpin’ your fuckin’ gums all night. Shut the fuck up.”
Caesar raised his eyebrow. “Calm down, Midget Mac. We’re going to the semis because of me. You should be thanking me, you bitch motherfucker.”
Hasan took a step toward Caesar, but Devin jumped up and got between them.
“Chill, man. It’s not worth it,” Devin said.
“Yeah, it’s not worth it, man,” Caesar said.
Hasan sucked his teeth and turned back to the field. Devin glanced at Caesar before shaking his head and doing the same.
…
“We have the final results from around the state and the semifinals are set. Number one Catholic High will be facing number five Zachary, and one with a little bit of controversy, number two West Monroe will welcome number three Terrebonne. Some people feel that Terrebonne should’ve been one of the top two seeds but they’ll have their chance to prove it on the field next week.”
-
Captain Canada
- Posts: 7957
- Joined: 01 Dec 2018, 00:15
War of the Roses: Redux Edition
I mean, feels as though Terrebonne could have won that game without Caesar too 
-
Caesar
Topic author - Chise GOAT
- Posts: 16960
- Joined: 27 Nov 2018, 10:47
War of the Roses: Redux Edition
Golden Son
Caesar shut off his car, rubbing his neck as he grabbed his bags from the passenger seat. Coach McCoy had seemingly found a way to pack two practices into one with only a couple days left before the team would head up north for the semifinal, and Caesar’s body was feeling the wear of the paces the team had been put through.
His head was down as he walked to the door, answering a handful of messages that he’d missed during practice. His stomach rumbled and he hoped that Pierre had stashed some food that could be rewarmed in the fridge, so he didn’t have to go back out.
He dropped one of his bags. Sighing, he crouched down to pick it up.
And barely avoided the laptop that was chucked through the window and out onto the driveway. With a new opening in the house, the sound of his parents’ voices boomed out of it. It didn’t take a marriage counselor to know they were having a disagreement.
Caesar picked up the laptop as he walked into the house. He made sure to slam the door to let his parents know he was home, but they kept going.
Following their voices to the kitchen, he found them on opposite sides of the room. His father was standing closest to the window, so Caesar assumed that it had been his mother who’d thrown the laptop.
He dropped the computer on the counter between them, and they stopped yelling to look at their son.
“I think one of y’all lost this,” Caesar said. “Everything alright?”
“It’s none of your business,” Deion snapped then he looked back to his wife. “This conversation is over. You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Candice scoffed. “If I didn’t know what I was talking about, you wouldn’t be trying to run away from the fucking truth. That’s always been your fucking problem, Deion. You want to run when things aren’t going as you planned.”
“You seem to be doing quite alright with all my ‘running.’” He gestured around at the house.
“Oh, fuck you.”
Caesar opened his mouth to again try to diffuse the argument, but his mother kept going.
“I’m not going to stand here and let you use your own son for a few extra bucks that you don’t even fucking need. I covered sports long enough to know that the NCAA always finds out about this fucking shit. Stop it. Right now.”
“You covered it. I was in it. I’ve been in it. I’m still in it while you sip fucking mimosas and buy Gucci handbags. You don’t think I wouldn’t be doing this if I thought that something would go wrong? This is the game. Stop being so naïve, Candice.”
Caesar waved his hand between them. “Whoa, whoa. What are y’all talking about? What is the NCAA going to find out about?”
“The NCAA isn’t going to find out about anything because there isn’t anything to find out.” Deion turned to Caesar. “You just focus on not fucking up in the semifinal and championship game, so the recruiters know that you’re worth the trouble.”
“What a fucking pep talk. Maybe instead of selling your kid’s commitment to the highest bidder, you should pick up a visor and become a fucking coach,” Candice said. “Caesar, your father is risking your college career by concocting some foolish pay for play scheme. So, when you’re declared ineligible, you know who to thank.”
“What?” Caesar asked, confused.
“Don’t listen to your mother,” Deion said, staring at his wife. “I haven’t even told you where to commit, have I? It’s still your choice where you want to go so how would I be involved in any schemes regarding your recruitment?”
“Yeah, but you told me to put out there that I had a top three. Do I have anything to worry about?”
Deion ran his hand over his face and sighed. “Why did I have to be stuck with an idiot for a kid? Didn’t I just say that it’s your choice where you go? Besides, this entire thing is your fault anyway. If you had just committed to fucking Oklahoma State, we wouldn’t even be talking about recruitment in fucking December.”
“Don’t talk to him like that!” Candice shouted.
“I’m done going around and circles on this shit. You can argue with yourself,” Deion said, throwing his hands up before he grabbed the laptop from the counter and started for the door.
Candice grabbed the nearest thing to her hand, a glass, and chucked it across the kitchen at her husband. It shattered on the wall over his head causing him to duck. “Yeah, go ahead and leave, you coward! Maybe run back to that bi—"
She stopped herself, looked at Caesar and then walked out of the kitchen.
Caesar looked at his father who only shook his head before leaving the house, slamming the door behind him.
Caesar scratched his head, running his hand over his hair a few times. He set his bags down on the floor and walked around the island to the fridge. Opening it, he found a few containers of various meals that Pierre had cooked that morning.
He grabbed a penne pasta, popped it into the microwave then sat down at the island before taking out his phone and scrolling through his social media pages while he waited.
Unfortunately, their participation in the latter stages of the playoffs didn’t preclude him from his coursework and he had papers due Friday – when the team would be leaving midway through the day to make the five-hour trip to West Monroe.
It was times like this that he could see why some of the guys got others to do their work for them. At least, during the fall, anyway.
His parents were sitting in the living room watching a news program.
His mother looked over her shoulder when she heard him walking down the hall. “There’s some chicken in the oven if you want. I don’t think we have any sides left, though.”
“Nah, I’m good. Thanks. I just want to get started on knocking out a few things before Friday since I have to turn in everything early,” Devin said.
“I don’t know why they don’t have those football games on Saturday to avoid having high school students out of school early,” his father said.
Devin shrugged. “I guess because they don’t want to force parents to choose between going watch their kids play and making use of their season tickets at LSU. If we win, though, the championship game’s next Saturday so there’s that.”
“Right, a week before finals to make you all waste a day that would be better served studying than who knows where thinking about football.”
“New Orleans.”
“What?”
“The championship game? It’s in New Orleans. 5A’s the last one. Kicks off at 7. Coach told us if we make it, we’ll leave Houma at 1 that day.”
“I see.”
Devin tossed his bags into his room and walked back to the living room. “Hey, can I talk to y’all about something right quick?”
“Sure, honey,” Janice said.
“I don’t really want to get into the nuts and bolts of it right now, but I’ve decided where I’m going to go to college. I’ve already started working with my guidance counselor to make sure that everything is in order. I wanted to enroll early, but I have to take another class in the spring to meet all of the requirements. I just wanted to let y’all know.”
“Where are you going?”
“Yes,” his father started. “Where are you going?”
Devin sighed. “So, I know y’all are going to want to have a whole breakdown of the decision and what not and I just want to focus on football and finishing out this semester first before we started having all those arguments. I promise I’ll tell y’all first but I’m not going to do that right now if that’s okay.”
“That doesn’t even make sense. If you want to focus on everything else, you can tell us now and just wait to have any conversations about it for a couple weeks,” his mother said.
“Well, I also don’t want you to tell anyone where I’m going before the early signing period and if y’all mention it to grandpa, he’s definitely going to tell everyone. It’s just easier if I tell y’all when we get knocked out of the playoffs or they’re over.”
“Must be a party school if you don’t want to tell us,” Devin, III said. “I always knew that football was going to lead you to choosing a school based on where you can have a good time instead of where you can get a good education.”
Devin gestured to his father. “See? I haven’t even said anything and we’re already getting to pulling the decision apart. It’s not a party school. It’s one of the better schools in the country – or at least that’s what they told me. I just want to focus on one thing at a time. Just asking y’all for a couple weeks and then I’ll have all the conversations.”
He could see that his father wanted to say something else, but his mother spoke first and cut him off.
“Okay, honey. We understand. We just want what’s best for you, that’s all. I’m sure that you made the right decision, and we’ll wait until you want to tell us.” She looked at her husband. “Right, Devin?”
Devin, III knew when to argue with his wife and when not to. He nodded his head. “Yes. Right.”
“Thanks, ma,” Devin said and gestured over his shoulder. “I’m going to go get started on these papers.”
Devin left his parents to their news program and went to his room, closing the door behind him to drown out the newscasters discussing the latest hostilities in the world and how the United States would factor into them – things of no consequence to him.
He booted up his laptop and pulled his phone from his pocket as he waited for it to come on. He responded to a text from Carla telling him that she missed him by promising that he’d make time to see her Saturday before leaning forward and getting ready to pull an all-nighter on the papers.
Caesar shut off his car, rubbing his neck as he grabbed his bags from the passenger seat. Coach McCoy had seemingly found a way to pack two practices into one with only a couple days left before the team would head up north for the semifinal, and Caesar’s body was feeling the wear of the paces the team had been put through.
His head was down as he walked to the door, answering a handful of messages that he’d missed during practice. His stomach rumbled and he hoped that Pierre had stashed some food that could be rewarmed in the fridge, so he didn’t have to go back out.
He dropped one of his bags. Sighing, he crouched down to pick it up.
And barely avoided the laptop that was chucked through the window and out onto the driveway. With a new opening in the house, the sound of his parents’ voices boomed out of it. It didn’t take a marriage counselor to know they were having a disagreement.
Caesar picked up the laptop as he walked into the house. He made sure to slam the door to let his parents know he was home, but they kept going.
Following their voices to the kitchen, he found them on opposite sides of the room. His father was standing closest to the window, so Caesar assumed that it had been his mother who’d thrown the laptop.
He dropped the computer on the counter between them, and they stopped yelling to look at their son.
“I think one of y’all lost this,” Caesar said. “Everything alright?”
“It’s none of your business,” Deion snapped then he looked back to his wife. “This conversation is over. You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Candice scoffed. “If I didn’t know what I was talking about, you wouldn’t be trying to run away from the fucking truth. That’s always been your fucking problem, Deion. You want to run when things aren’t going as you planned.”
“You seem to be doing quite alright with all my ‘running.’” He gestured around at the house.
“Oh, fuck you.”
Caesar opened his mouth to again try to diffuse the argument, but his mother kept going.
“I’m not going to stand here and let you use your own son for a few extra bucks that you don’t even fucking need. I covered sports long enough to know that the NCAA always finds out about this fucking shit. Stop it. Right now.”
“You covered it. I was in it. I’ve been in it. I’m still in it while you sip fucking mimosas and buy Gucci handbags. You don’t think I wouldn’t be doing this if I thought that something would go wrong? This is the game. Stop being so naïve, Candice.”
Caesar waved his hand between them. “Whoa, whoa. What are y’all talking about? What is the NCAA going to find out about?”
“The NCAA isn’t going to find out about anything because there isn’t anything to find out.” Deion turned to Caesar. “You just focus on not fucking up in the semifinal and championship game, so the recruiters know that you’re worth the trouble.”
“What a fucking pep talk. Maybe instead of selling your kid’s commitment to the highest bidder, you should pick up a visor and become a fucking coach,” Candice said. “Caesar, your father is risking your college career by concocting some foolish pay for play scheme. So, when you’re declared ineligible, you know who to thank.”
“What?” Caesar asked, confused.
“Don’t listen to your mother,” Deion said, staring at his wife. “I haven’t even told you where to commit, have I? It’s still your choice where you want to go so how would I be involved in any schemes regarding your recruitment?”
“Yeah, but you told me to put out there that I had a top three. Do I have anything to worry about?”
Deion ran his hand over his face and sighed. “Why did I have to be stuck with an idiot for a kid? Didn’t I just say that it’s your choice where you go? Besides, this entire thing is your fault anyway. If you had just committed to fucking Oklahoma State, we wouldn’t even be talking about recruitment in fucking December.”
“Don’t talk to him like that!” Candice shouted.
“I’m done going around and circles on this shit. You can argue with yourself,” Deion said, throwing his hands up before he grabbed the laptop from the counter and started for the door.
Candice grabbed the nearest thing to her hand, a glass, and chucked it across the kitchen at her husband. It shattered on the wall over his head causing him to duck. “Yeah, go ahead and leave, you coward! Maybe run back to that bi—"
She stopped herself, looked at Caesar and then walked out of the kitchen.
Caesar looked at his father who only shook his head before leaving the house, slamming the door behind him.
Caesar scratched his head, running his hand over his hair a few times. He set his bags down on the floor and walked around the island to the fridge. Opening it, he found a few containers of various meals that Pierre had cooked that morning.
He grabbed a penne pasta, popped it into the microwave then sat down at the island before taking out his phone and scrolling through his social media pages while he waited.
-*****-
Devin walked into the house, kicking off his shoes at the door and shoving them against the wall with his foot. His feet ached when he flexed them to walk and, despite being off for the next two weeks, he cursed his job for even having the thought to try to schedule him for a few hours every day. Coach McCoy would’ve had a fit if he or Hasan had gone to work distracting them from the goal of getting to the state championship.Unfortunately, their participation in the latter stages of the playoffs didn’t preclude him from his coursework and he had papers due Friday – when the team would be leaving midway through the day to make the five-hour trip to West Monroe.
It was times like this that he could see why some of the guys got others to do their work for them. At least, during the fall, anyway.
His parents were sitting in the living room watching a news program.
His mother looked over her shoulder when she heard him walking down the hall. “There’s some chicken in the oven if you want. I don’t think we have any sides left, though.”
“Nah, I’m good. Thanks. I just want to get started on knocking out a few things before Friday since I have to turn in everything early,” Devin said.
“I don’t know why they don’t have those football games on Saturday to avoid having high school students out of school early,” his father said.
Devin shrugged. “I guess because they don’t want to force parents to choose between going watch their kids play and making use of their season tickets at LSU. If we win, though, the championship game’s next Saturday so there’s that.”
“Right, a week before finals to make you all waste a day that would be better served studying than who knows where thinking about football.”
“New Orleans.”
“What?”
“The championship game? It’s in New Orleans. 5A’s the last one. Kicks off at 7. Coach told us if we make it, we’ll leave Houma at 1 that day.”
“I see.”
Devin tossed his bags into his room and walked back to the living room. “Hey, can I talk to y’all about something right quick?”
“Sure, honey,” Janice said.
“I don’t really want to get into the nuts and bolts of it right now, but I’ve decided where I’m going to go to college. I’ve already started working with my guidance counselor to make sure that everything is in order. I wanted to enroll early, but I have to take another class in the spring to meet all of the requirements. I just wanted to let y’all know.”
“Where are you going?”
“Yes,” his father started. “Where are you going?”
Devin sighed. “So, I know y’all are going to want to have a whole breakdown of the decision and what not and I just want to focus on football and finishing out this semester first before we started having all those arguments. I promise I’ll tell y’all first but I’m not going to do that right now if that’s okay.”
“That doesn’t even make sense. If you want to focus on everything else, you can tell us now and just wait to have any conversations about it for a couple weeks,” his mother said.
“Well, I also don’t want you to tell anyone where I’m going before the early signing period and if y’all mention it to grandpa, he’s definitely going to tell everyone. It’s just easier if I tell y’all when we get knocked out of the playoffs or they’re over.”
“Must be a party school if you don’t want to tell us,” Devin, III said. “I always knew that football was going to lead you to choosing a school based on where you can have a good time instead of where you can get a good education.”
Devin gestured to his father. “See? I haven’t even said anything and we’re already getting to pulling the decision apart. It’s not a party school. It’s one of the better schools in the country – or at least that’s what they told me. I just want to focus on one thing at a time. Just asking y’all for a couple weeks and then I’ll have all the conversations.”
He could see that his father wanted to say something else, but his mother spoke first and cut him off.
“Okay, honey. We understand. We just want what’s best for you, that’s all. I’m sure that you made the right decision, and we’ll wait until you want to tell us.” She looked at her husband. “Right, Devin?”
Devin, III knew when to argue with his wife and when not to. He nodded his head. “Yes. Right.”
“Thanks, ma,” Devin said and gestured over his shoulder. “I’m going to go get started on these papers.”
Devin left his parents to their news program and went to his room, closing the door behind him to drown out the newscasters discussing the latest hostilities in the world and how the United States would factor into them – things of no consequence to him.
He booted up his laptop and pulled his phone from his pocket as he waited for it to come on. He responded to a text from Carla telling him that she missed him by promising that he’d make time to see her Saturday before leaning forward and getting ready to pull an all-nighter on the papers.
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Captain Canada
- Posts: 7957
- Joined: 01 Dec 2018, 00:15
War of the Roses: Redux Edition
I like how you haven't shown much of a leaning towards Devin is considering going. Building up some suspence.
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djp73
- Posts: 13234
- Joined: 27 Nov 2018, 13:42
War of the Roses: Redux Edition
excited to see the commitments, curious if they'll be the same as the first time around
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Caesar
Topic author - Chise GOAT
- Posts: 16960
- Joined: 27 Nov 2018, 10:47
War of the Roses: Redux Edition
Winning is the Only Option
Terrebonne High School at West Monroe High School – Semifinal
The crowd above the visitors’ locker room seemed to shake the concrete construction and metal lockers. The sounds of the band, the roar of the crowd and the occasional “rebel yell” were unlike anything the team had experienced before and many of them would never experience anything like it again.
It put them off their pre-game routines and made them truly feel as if they’d crossed into enemy territory.
Coach McCoy and the rest of the coaching staff walked out of the tiny office West Monroe made available to opposing coaches. He stepped into the middle of the team and motioned for them all to take a knee.
“Y’all hear that? All of West Monroe is here to watch you lose.” He paused. “When you go out there, I want you to remember that they lost twice this year and we’re playing at their house. I hope you feel disrespected because I do. This game should’ve been in Houma, in front of our fans, our parents, our friends. The powers that be chose the blue bloods over you.”
“If our season ends tonight… Ends here in this godforsaken, country, podunk town, no one is going to remember what we did this year. What we achieved.” The coach put emphasis on “we achieved” when he spoke.
“Y’all been with me long enough to know I’m going to tell you how it is and I’m not going to sugarcoat anything. This isn’t a ‘try your best’ game, gentlemen. Winning is the only option. Let’s make it happen.”
…
“Football may have moved away from the run game, but fans know what they’re going to get from the Rebels. I-formation, big hog maulies, smashmouth, in your face, hat on a hat, three yards and a cloud of dust football just how God intended it.”
It felt weird for Devin to gaze down the line of scrimmage at the well-fed offensive linemen crouched down across from the Terrebonne defense. Nothing like you saw in the southern part of the state where speed was king, and the linemen were slimmer.
The ball was snapped. The line shot off the ball and the running back ran straight through the A gap with both arms wrapped around the ball and his shoulder down. He gained a few yards before stumbling down under the weight of a gang tackle.
…
“Nathan Wilson up the middle again for a gain of 4 on the play. Expect West Monroe to go to the senior early and often. He’s carried the ball 351 times this season already. For you among us that aren’t good at math, that’s 27 carries a game.”
…
“Wilson picks up 3 on a bruising run that seemed to need the entire Terrebonne defense to bring him down and it’s first down West Monroe.”
…
“The Tigers are stacking the box and the Rebels hand it off to Wilson right up the gut anyway. Gain of two and a bit on the play.”
…
“Anderson comes in for a play for Wilson and he gets the hand off for a gain of three on the play. Third and five coming up and that’s a bit of a long one for West Monroe’s style.”
…
“Reed hands it off to Wilso—Fake! He dumps it over the top to Connor Watkins and he’s got nothing but green grass ahead of him. The 40, the 30 and he’s finally pulled down at the Terrebonne 21 by Devin King. Terrebonne’s entire defense bit on that one, but great recovery by King to catch Watkins and prevent a touchdown.”
…
“Back to basics with Wilson taking it up the middle for a gain of 4 to the 17.”
…
“Wilson with a gain of 3.”
…
“Wilson for 4.”
…
“Anderson takes it outside for the first time tonight and gains 8.”
…
“Wilson powers his way into the endzone behind those big hogs and West Monroe are on the scoreboard!”
…
Caesar flexed his hands as he waited for the snap. He glanced at the corner who was peeking inside, and it didn’t look like he had safety help over the top.
He shot out of his stance when Danny called for the snap, going outside of the corner who stumbled trying to turn and run with him. Caesar looked back and threw his hand up. Danny obliged his call for the pass and the ball was in the air moments later.
He watched it into his hands and secured the catch. He caught a glimpse of a safety trying to get an angle on him to make the tackle.
But it was no use.
Caesar turned on the jets and created space between them with ease as he ran into the endzone.
“Touchdown Terrebonne! One play, one score for the visitors! We might have a classic folks.”
…
“Reed drops back on first down and fires it into Dantin for a gain of 11 on the play. Nathan Wilson might be the star man on the Rebels offense, but Derrick Reed was an all-district selection, too, so Terrebonne shouldn’t forget about him.”
…
“Wilson takes the handoff and you know what I’m going to say, gain of three right up the backside of that defense.”
…
“Wilson…”
…
“Wilson…”
…
Devin could only watch as the Rebels pounded in another touchdown. It wasn’t surprising to see the guys in the box hang their heads and glance up at the clock as they trudged off the field. That was only the second drive of the game and they already looked worse for wear.
…
“Jackson drops back and scans the field. He floats one up to Jones who comes down with it for a gain of 15.”
…
“Toss to Santiago who hits the edge and rips off a big run off 24! That’s what you call a chunk play!”
…
“Jackson finds Jenkins on the slant route and that’s a gain of 13.”
…
“Jackson fakes to Santiago and throws a bomb downfield to Jenkins who has a step on his man. He reels it in and cuts inside. What a move! He leaves the safety grasping at air with a ballerina-esque spin move and it’s another touchdown for Terrebonne!”
…
“Reeds finds Watkins on the bootleg and he takes it into the endzone to make it 20-14 Rebs!”
…
“Santiago cuts upfield and he’s got a lane! Touchdown Tigers! 21-20!”
…
“Terrebonne manages to force a punt here late in the second quarter and they can take a lead into halftime with a score here!”
…
“Jackson drops back and fires a laser into Jones who falls backwards into the endzone to make it 26-21 Tigers!”
…
“Jackson takes it himself for the two-point conversion to increase Terrebonne’s lead to 7!”
…
Coach McCoy cut their halftime activities short to get his team back on the field as soon as possible and keep their mind in the game. As he stood on the sideline, with his arms crossed over his chest, he watched as the West Monroe marching band performed their halftime show.
Behind him, Danny kept his arm warm by throwing passes to Keilan.
The coach could feel the tension slowly ratcheting up in the stadium as the West Monroe fans returned from their halftime pisses and getting nachos. They weren’t used to watching their team losing and definitely weren’t used to it happening in the semifinals.
He sucked his teeth and spit on the turf next to his foot before waving for one of the team managers to bring him a cup of Gatorade.
…
“Terrebonne will get the ball to begin the second half and are in a great possession to extend their lead to two scores.”
Danny wiped his hands on his jersey before putting his mouthpiece in his mouth. He waved for Noah to motion to the opposite side of the field.
Once he was set, Danny called for the snap and dropped back. He had his right tackle in his lap almost instantly and tried to turn to bail out of the pocket, but his foot got caught under someone else’s and he rolled his ankle as he went down.
He shouted in pain and kicked away from the pile. He tried to get back to his feet but fell straight back down to the turf.
The trainers ran onto the field and a hush fell over the Terrebonne sideline and their section of fans. One of the two trainers looked at Coach McCoy and shook his head.
“Keilan, warm up!” he shouted.
…
“Senior Keilan Ward is checking into the game for the injured Danny Jackson. Ward didn’t play a single down this season until the first playoff game with Coach McCoy preferring to keep his starters in. In fact, those snaps in the first round were Ward’s first of his career. Second and long for Terrebonne coming up.”
Keilan called for the snap and handed it off to Hasan who was only able to get a few yards before being tackled.
…
“A conservative call on third and long from Terrebonne as they hand it off to Santiago again and here’s a rarity from the Tigers’ bingo punch card as the punting unit is jogging on.”
…
“West Monroe are back in business here and are putting together another long bruising drive that is sapping the energy out of that Terrebonne defense.”
…
“Wilson powers it over the line and the Rebs pull to within one pending the extra point!”
…
“A promising drive fizzles out for Terrebonne as Ward airmails the pass on third down and the punt team is headed back out. No word yet on the extent of Danny Jackson’s injury but it looks like he’s still down on the sideline.”
…
“That’s a stop on third down by this beleaguered Terrebonne defense and they kept the Rebels just out of field goal range so it looks like they’ll opt to punt it back to the Tigers.”
…
“Another errant pass from Ward and the Tigers will be forced to punt it back to West Monroe here in the fourth quarter.”
…
Coach McCoy threw his tablet down and kicked it across the turf as the West Monroe went on another insanely long touchdown drive that chewed up most of the time remaining in the game. He sighed and ran his hands through his hair.
“Let’s get this touchdown back!” he shouted to the offense, clapping his hands.
He glanced up at the clock that read 2:39 left to save their season on the back of a quarterback with less than 50 attempts in his career.
…
“Terrebonne’s sorta moving the ball on this drive but they’re taking up a lot of time.”
…
“Jenkins catches that one and fights forward for the first down, refusing to go down on first contact!”
…
“Ward is running backward and he’s taken down for a huuuuuuuge loss!”
…
Danny all but hopped on one foot up to Coach McCoy. The coach looked at him for a moment then back at the field then back at his quarterback.
“What are you doing on your feet?” McCoy said before shouting something to Keilan, who looked confused.
“Put me back in the game, coach.”
Coach McCoy glanced at Danny out of the side of his eye and gave him a little shove, causing Danny to put more weight on his injured ankle and making the sophomore wince. “You can’t play. You can’t even stand on it. We’ll need you for next week.”
Keilan sailed a pass a mile over Jurgen’s head.
“Does it matter if we aren’t playing next week? I’ll come out if it gets too bad,” Danny said, trying to make a show of being able to stand fully on both of his feet.
McCoy eyed him before turning to the field and beckoning for Keilan. “Keilan!”
…
“Danny Jackson is checking back into the game, but it doesn’t look like he’s one hundred percent. He’ll be facing a long third down after Ward was unable to get the offense moving.”
…
Danny winced as he stepped forward to shout at the linemen over the din of the crowd. And he winced when he stepped back. Hasan shouted something to him, but he couldn’t hear him so Danny chose to ignore it.
He called for the snap and dropped back, fighting through the pain when he planted his feet at the top of the drop.
He felt the pressure and instinctively climbed the pocket before he had players falling at his feet. He jumped over one and threw the ball off-platform to Noah on a crossing route. Noah cut up field and dove for the first down marker before he was taken down.
…
“Jackson’s limping his way to the next spot, conducting the offense from one foot. He settles back into the gun and here’s the snap. He hands it off—no, he keeps it himself and scampers for a gain of five before being brought down at their own 37.”
…
“Jackson drops back and finds Jenkins for a first down, but he was hit on that play and is slow to get up.”
…
Danny eventually got to his feet but could feel his ankle throbbing and he didn’t bother trying to put any weight on it.
“You good, bruh?” Hasan shouted.
“Yep,” Danny said through clenched teeth as he hopped his way forward to the next spot.
…
“I don’t know what’s keeping him going, but Jackson’s still out there, folks. He takes the snap and it’s a quick pass out to Jones who powers forward for a gain of 7.”
…
Hasan ran over to Danny’s injured side and threw his arm over his shoulder. With some way to stabilize himself, Danny’s hop turned into an awkward three-legged sprint to the next spot.
…
“Santiago takes this one up the middle and cuts it outside for a pickup of 10 and the Tigers are down to the Rebels 33!”
…
“Jackson throws to Jenkins on the bubble screen who chews off a gain of 15 in a hurry! Terrebonne’s picking up the pace and Santiago is all but carrying Jackson between plays at this point!”
…
“Jackson hits Jones on the quick out and he’s shoved out of bounds at the 3! First and goal!”
…
“Jackson under center for this play. Only Jenkins is out wide. Jackson takes a step back and lofts it up to Jenkins who outjumps his man and comes down with it for his third touchdown of the night! That’ll make it 35-34 with a tie coming if Terrebonne kicks the extra point but we know better than to expect that from Pierce McCoy. Only a minute left in the game so this is a big call!”
…
“It looks like the Tigers are going to try another fade to Jenkins for the two-point attempt. It’s snapped and Jackson pumps toward Jenkins and – hands it off to Santiago behind his back who slips into endzone untouched! Terrebonne takes the lead! 36-35!”
Danny tried to make his way off the field, but only managed to fall to his knees. A couple of the linemen scooped him up off the turf and carried him off the field to the cheers of the traveling fans.
Coach McCoy slapped him on the helmet when they reached the sideline. “Stuff of legends, son! Stuff of legends!”
…
“West Monroe looking at fourth down here from their own 40 with 37 seconds remaining in the game and only one timeout. Reed will have to get it past the first down marker and to the boundaries if the Rebels want a chance of a game winning field goal. Here’s the snap…”
Devin and the receiver fought each other at the line before he managed to get some space to get into his route. The receiver planted his foot and cut for an out route, his eyes immediately looking to the backfield.
Devin turned his head and saw the ball spiraling through the air toward the receiver. He dove at the last second and shot his hand out.
And felt the ball smack against his palm. Then watched it fall to the turf, sending a roar through the visitors’ section as the referees signaled turnover on downs.
As the West Monroe offense trudged off the field, the celebrations were already starting on the Terrebonne sideline.
…
Keilan lined up behind the center with Hasan, Caesar and Jurgen around him. He called for the snap, took a couple of steps back and then kneeled, starting the clock on its journey to 0:00.
He kept the ball as the referee came to take it from him before the players flooded the field, throwing their helmets off and celebrating. Keilan found Danny, now sporting a set of crutches, and gave him the game ball.
…
“What a game, folks! What a comeback! What a story! Fueled by sophomore Danny Jackson playing through injury on that last drive, the Terrebonne Tigers are headed to the state championship game for the first time since 1983. If they want to banish the ghosts of losing their lone championship appearance from 68 years ago, they’ll have to overcome another perennial powerhouse in the shape of the Catholic High Curdogs!”
Terrebonne High School at West Monroe High School – Semifinal
The crowd above the visitors’ locker room seemed to shake the concrete construction and metal lockers. The sounds of the band, the roar of the crowd and the occasional “rebel yell” were unlike anything the team had experienced before and many of them would never experience anything like it again.
It put them off their pre-game routines and made them truly feel as if they’d crossed into enemy territory.
Coach McCoy and the rest of the coaching staff walked out of the tiny office West Monroe made available to opposing coaches. He stepped into the middle of the team and motioned for them all to take a knee.
“Y’all hear that? All of West Monroe is here to watch you lose.” He paused. “When you go out there, I want you to remember that they lost twice this year and we’re playing at their house. I hope you feel disrespected because I do. This game should’ve been in Houma, in front of our fans, our parents, our friends. The powers that be chose the blue bloods over you.”
“If our season ends tonight… Ends here in this godforsaken, country, podunk town, no one is going to remember what we did this year. What we achieved.” The coach put emphasis on “we achieved” when he spoke.
“Y’all been with me long enough to know I’m going to tell you how it is and I’m not going to sugarcoat anything. This isn’t a ‘try your best’ game, gentlemen. Winning is the only option. Let’s make it happen.”
…
“Football may have moved away from the run game, but fans know what they’re going to get from the Rebels. I-formation, big hog maulies, smashmouth, in your face, hat on a hat, three yards and a cloud of dust football just how God intended it.”
It felt weird for Devin to gaze down the line of scrimmage at the well-fed offensive linemen crouched down across from the Terrebonne defense. Nothing like you saw in the southern part of the state where speed was king, and the linemen were slimmer.
The ball was snapped. The line shot off the ball and the running back ran straight through the A gap with both arms wrapped around the ball and his shoulder down. He gained a few yards before stumbling down under the weight of a gang tackle.
…
“Nathan Wilson up the middle again for a gain of 4 on the play. Expect West Monroe to go to the senior early and often. He’s carried the ball 351 times this season already. For you among us that aren’t good at math, that’s 27 carries a game.”
…
“Wilson picks up 3 on a bruising run that seemed to need the entire Terrebonne defense to bring him down and it’s first down West Monroe.”
…
“The Tigers are stacking the box and the Rebels hand it off to Wilson right up the gut anyway. Gain of two and a bit on the play.”
…
“Anderson comes in for a play for Wilson and he gets the hand off for a gain of three on the play. Third and five coming up and that’s a bit of a long one for West Monroe’s style.”
…
“Reed hands it off to Wilso—Fake! He dumps it over the top to Connor Watkins and he’s got nothing but green grass ahead of him. The 40, the 30 and he’s finally pulled down at the Terrebonne 21 by Devin King. Terrebonne’s entire defense bit on that one, but great recovery by King to catch Watkins and prevent a touchdown.”
…
“Back to basics with Wilson taking it up the middle for a gain of 4 to the 17.”
…
“Wilson with a gain of 3.”
…
“Wilson for 4.”
…
“Anderson takes it outside for the first time tonight and gains 8.”
…
“Wilson powers his way into the endzone behind those big hogs and West Monroe are on the scoreboard!”
…
Caesar flexed his hands as he waited for the snap. He glanced at the corner who was peeking inside, and it didn’t look like he had safety help over the top.
He shot out of his stance when Danny called for the snap, going outside of the corner who stumbled trying to turn and run with him. Caesar looked back and threw his hand up. Danny obliged his call for the pass and the ball was in the air moments later.
He watched it into his hands and secured the catch. He caught a glimpse of a safety trying to get an angle on him to make the tackle.
But it was no use.
Caesar turned on the jets and created space between them with ease as he ran into the endzone.
“Touchdown Terrebonne! One play, one score for the visitors! We might have a classic folks.”
…
“Reed drops back on first down and fires it into Dantin for a gain of 11 on the play. Nathan Wilson might be the star man on the Rebels offense, but Derrick Reed was an all-district selection, too, so Terrebonne shouldn’t forget about him.”
…
“Wilson takes the handoff and you know what I’m going to say, gain of three right up the backside of that defense.”
…
“Wilson…”
…
“Wilson…”
…
Devin could only watch as the Rebels pounded in another touchdown. It wasn’t surprising to see the guys in the box hang their heads and glance up at the clock as they trudged off the field. That was only the second drive of the game and they already looked worse for wear.
…
“Jackson drops back and scans the field. He floats one up to Jones who comes down with it for a gain of 15.”
…
“Toss to Santiago who hits the edge and rips off a big run off 24! That’s what you call a chunk play!”
…
“Jackson finds Jenkins on the slant route and that’s a gain of 13.”
…
“Jackson fakes to Santiago and throws a bomb downfield to Jenkins who has a step on his man. He reels it in and cuts inside. What a move! He leaves the safety grasping at air with a ballerina-esque spin move and it’s another touchdown for Terrebonne!”
…
“Reeds finds Watkins on the bootleg and he takes it into the endzone to make it 20-14 Rebs!”
…
“Santiago cuts upfield and he’s got a lane! Touchdown Tigers! 21-20!”
…
“Terrebonne manages to force a punt here late in the second quarter and they can take a lead into halftime with a score here!”
…
“Jackson drops back and fires a laser into Jones who falls backwards into the endzone to make it 26-21 Tigers!”
…
“Jackson takes it himself for the two-point conversion to increase Terrebonne’s lead to 7!”
…
Coach McCoy cut their halftime activities short to get his team back on the field as soon as possible and keep their mind in the game. As he stood on the sideline, with his arms crossed over his chest, he watched as the West Monroe marching band performed their halftime show.
Behind him, Danny kept his arm warm by throwing passes to Keilan.
The coach could feel the tension slowly ratcheting up in the stadium as the West Monroe fans returned from their halftime pisses and getting nachos. They weren’t used to watching their team losing and definitely weren’t used to it happening in the semifinals.
He sucked his teeth and spit on the turf next to his foot before waving for one of the team managers to bring him a cup of Gatorade.
…
“Terrebonne will get the ball to begin the second half and are in a great possession to extend their lead to two scores.”
Danny wiped his hands on his jersey before putting his mouthpiece in his mouth. He waved for Noah to motion to the opposite side of the field.
Once he was set, Danny called for the snap and dropped back. He had his right tackle in his lap almost instantly and tried to turn to bail out of the pocket, but his foot got caught under someone else’s and he rolled his ankle as he went down.
He shouted in pain and kicked away from the pile. He tried to get back to his feet but fell straight back down to the turf.
The trainers ran onto the field and a hush fell over the Terrebonne sideline and their section of fans. One of the two trainers looked at Coach McCoy and shook his head.
“Keilan, warm up!” he shouted.
…
“Senior Keilan Ward is checking into the game for the injured Danny Jackson. Ward didn’t play a single down this season until the first playoff game with Coach McCoy preferring to keep his starters in. In fact, those snaps in the first round were Ward’s first of his career. Second and long for Terrebonne coming up.”
Keilan called for the snap and handed it off to Hasan who was only able to get a few yards before being tackled.
…
“A conservative call on third and long from Terrebonne as they hand it off to Santiago again and here’s a rarity from the Tigers’ bingo punch card as the punting unit is jogging on.”
…
“West Monroe are back in business here and are putting together another long bruising drive that is sapping the energy out of that Terrebonne defense.”
…
“Wilson powers it over the line and the Rebs pull to within one pending the extra point!”
…
“A promising drive fizzles out for Terrebonne as Ward airmails the pass on third down and the punt team is headed back out. No word yet on the extent of Danny Jackson’s injury but it looks like he’s still down on the sideline.”
…
“That’s a stop on third down by this beleaguered Terrebonne defense and they kept the Rebels just out of field goal range so it looks like they’ll opt to punt it back to the Tigers.”
…
“Another errant pass from Ward and the Tigers will be forced to punt it back to West Monroe here in the fourth quarter.”
…
Coach McCoy threw his tablet down and kicked it across the turf as the West Monroe went on another insanely long touchdown drive that chewed up most of the time remaining in the game. He sighed and ran his hands through his hair.
“Let’s get this touchdown back!” he shouted to the offense, clapping his hands.
He glanced up at the clock that read 2:39 left to save their season on the back of a quarterback with less than 50 attempts in his career.
…
“Terrebonne’s sorta moving the ball on this drive but they’re taking up a lot of time.”
…
“Jenkins catches that one and fights forward for the first down, refusing to go down on first contact!”
…
“Ward is running backward and he’s taken down for a huuuuuuuge loss!”
…
Danny all but hopped on one foot up to Coach McCoy. The coach looked at him for a moment then back at the field then back at his quarterback.
“What are you doing on your feet?” McCoy said before shouting something to Keilan, who looked confused.
“Put me back in the game, coach.”
Coach McCoy glanced at Danny out of the side of his eye and gave him a little shove, causing Danny to put more weight on his injured ankle and making the sophomore wince. “You can’t play. You can’t even stand on it. We’ll need you for next week.”
Keilan sailed a pass a mile over Jurgen’s head.
“Does it matter if we aren’t playing next week? I’ll come out if it gets too bad,” Danny said, trying to make a show of being able to stand fully on both of his feet.
McCoy eyed him before turning to the field and beckoning for Keilan. “Keilan!”
…
“Danny Jackson is checking back into the game, but it doesn’t look like he’s one hundred percent. He’ll be facing a long third down after Ward was unable to get the offense moving.”
…
Danny winced as he stepped forward to shout at the linemen over the din of the crowd. And he winced when he stepped back. Hasan shouted something to him, but he couldn’t hear him so Danny chose to ignore it.
He called for the snap and dropped back, fighting through the pain when he planted his feet at the top of the drop.
He felt the pressure and instinctively climbed the pocket before he had players falling at his feet. He jumped over one and threw the ball off-platform to Noah on a crossing route. Noah cut up field and dove for the first down marker before he was taken down.
…
“Jackson’s limping his way to the next spot, conducting the offense from one foot. He settles back into the gun and here’s the snap. He hands it off—no, he keeps it himself and scampers for a gain of five before being brought down at their own 37.”
…
“Jackson drops back and finds Jenkins for a first down, but he was hit on that play and is slow to get up.”
…
Danny eventually got to his feet but could feel his ankle throbbing and he didn’t bother trying to put any weight on it.
“You good, bruh?” Hasan shouted.
“Yep,” Danny said through clenched teeth as he hopped his way forward to the next spot.
…
“I don’t know what’s keeping him going, but Jackson’s still out there, folks. He takes the snap and it’s a quick pass out to Jones who powers forward for a gain of 7.”
…
Hasan ran over to Danny’s injured side and threw his arm over his shoulder. With some way to stabilize himself, Danny’s hop turned into an awkward three-legged sprint to the next spot.
…
“Santiago takes this one up the middle and cuts it outside for a pickup of 10 and the Tigers are down to the Rebels 33!”
…
“Jackson throws to Jenkins on the bubble screen who chews off a gain of 15 in a hurry! Terrebonne’s picking up the pace and Santiago is all but carrying Jackson between plays at this point!”
…
“Jackson hits Jones on the quick out and he’s shoved out of bounds at the 3! First and goal!”
…
“Jackson under center for this play. Only Jenkins is out wide. Jackson takes a step back and lofts it up to Jenkins who outjumps his man and comes down with it for his third touchdown of the night! That’ll make it 35-34 with a tie coming if Terrebonne kicks the extra point but we know better than to expect that from Pierce McCoy. Only a minute left in the game so this is a big call!”
…
“It looks like the Tigers are going to try another fade to Jenkins for the two-point attempt. It’s snapped and Jackson pumps toward Jenkins and – hands it off to Santiago behind his back who slips into endzone untouched! Terrebonne takes the lead! 36-35!”
Danny tried to make his way off the field, but only managed to fall to his knees. A couple of the linemen scooped him up off the turf and carried him off the field to the cheers of the traveling fans.
Coach McCoy slapped him on the helmet when they reached the sideline. “Stuff of legends, son! Stuff of legends!”
…
“West Monroe looking at fourth down here from their own 40 with 37 seconds remaining in the game and only one timeout. Reed will have to get it past the first down marker and to the boundaries if the Rebels want a chance of a game winning field goal. Here’s the snap…”
Devin and the receiver fought each other at the line before he managed to get some space to get into his route. The receiver planted his foot and cut for an out route, his eyes immediately looking to the backfield.
Devin turned his head and saw the ball spiraling through the air toward the receiver. He dove at the last second and shot his hand out.
And felt the ball smack against his palm. Then watched it fall to the turf, sending a roar through the visitors’ section as the referees signaled turnover on downs.
As the West Monroe offense trudged off the field, the celebrations were already starting on the Terrebonne sideline.
…
Keilan lined up behind the center with Hasan, Caesar and Jurgen around him. He called for the snap, took a couple of steps back and then kneeled, starting the clock on its journey to 0:00.
He kept the ball as the referee came to take it from him before the players flooded the field, throwing their helmets off and celebrating. Keilan found Danny, now sporting a set of crutches, and gave him the game ball.
…
“What a game, folks! What a comeback! What a story! Fueled by sophomore Danny Jackson playing through injury on that last drive, the Terrebonne Tigers are headed to the state championship game for the first time since 1983. If they want to banish the ghosts of losing their lone championship appearance from 68 years ago, they’ll have to overcome another perennial powerhouse in the shape of the Catholic High Curdogs!”