Free Gym Candy by Carl Deuker

Star-Spangled Banner," and then finally the kickoff.
    All through the first half, I wasn't quite sure what I was watching. It was supposed to be a game between the two best teams in the state, but Rogers seemed mediocre. They had only a handful of plays, and they ran them from the same formation: two backs, a wide out, and a receiver in the slot. Sometimes they'd send
their fullback right up the middle; sometimes they'd run off tackle with the halfback; sometimes the slot receiver, coming in motion just before the ball was snapped, would take a handoff from the quarterback and go wide. They were incredibly crisp, just as you'd expect after watching their warm-ups, but the whole offense was simple.
    On most of their possessions, Rogers made a first down or two, and then Pasco would stop them and they'd punt. They did have great special teams—time after time their punter would pound the ball down the field, and the cover team would pin Pasco deep in their own territory. But it didn't look as though Rogers could ever score.
    When Pasco had the ball, the game kicked into high gear. Leander was like the Cheshire cat—now you see him, now you don't. Their quarterback didn't throw much, but when he did, he rifled the ball to his two wide receivers, both of whom had great hands. Pasco pushed Rogers around as if they were a JV team. Or at least, Pasco pushed them around until they got inside the twenty-yard line. But once they reached the red zone, something always seemed to go wrong. On the first drive it was a penalty for a block in the back, on the next drive Leander was hit so hard he coughed up
the ball, on another there was an interception in the end zone. Pasco outgained Rogers four to one, but it wasn't until just before halftime that they finally pushed the ball into the end zone on a fourth and inches play, and even then no one was really sure Leander made it.

3
    Throughout the game, Carlson sat with one group of guys or another. He'd talk to them for a few minutes and then leave. At halftime, he came down and sat with us. I tensed up, and I could tell DeShawn and Drew did, too. "Tell me your names again," he said, "and your positions." When I told him my name, his eyebrows went up. "You're the freshman who got stopped a yard short on the last play against Foothill. I was at that game. Very exciting."
    "A foot short," Drew said. "He was only a foot short."
    He smiled wryly at Drew. "Okay. A foot." Then he paused before saying: "Short."
    None of us spoke for a while. Carlson scratched the side of his face and then looked back to me. "So, who's going to win?" he said.
    It was a no-brainer.
    "Pasco," I answered.
    "You boys think so, too?"
    Drew and DeShawn nodded in agreement.
    "You sure?"
    "Pretty sure," DeShawn said. "They're ahead by six, and they could be ahead by twenty-six. I think they'll blow Rogers out."
    Carlson nodded, then looked at Drew. "You're a quarterback, right?"
    "Yes, sir."
    "Okay, Mr. Quarterback. Tell me this. It's fourth and one. You've got the ball. Which defense scares you more: Pasco's or Rogers's?"
    Drew laughed. "Fourth and one? Those Rogers guys are tough, that's for sure. I guess I'd rather go against Pasco."
    Carlson stood. "Enjoy the second half, gentlemen." With that, he walked over to another group of guys.
    "He actually thinks Rogers is going to win," DeShawn said. Then he shook his head. "What's he been smoking?"
    I kept quiet. If I'd had to bet, I'd have picked Pasco. But something my dad said kept running through my mind:
Let a team hang around, and they'll end up beat
ing you.
Pasco had definitely let Rogers hang around.
    The third quarter seemed no different than the first two. Pasco kept piling up the yardage but would then self-destruct in the red zone. Rogers would squeeze out a first down or two, and out would come their incredible kicker. After the punt, Pasco would drive down the field again but never push it all the way into the end zone.
    Near the end of the third