Free First and Ten by Jeff Rud Page A

zone, it’s our game.”
    James nodded, the sweat dripping from the portions of his face visible inside his helmet. “I want to run the ball—quarterback keeps—for the next two downs,” Coach continued. “Keep the ball in the middle in case we need to go for a field goal.”
    Once again, the Stingers trotted onto the turf. Central’s defense was already lined up and waiting. On first down, James stumbled slightly as he took the snap from Steve Donnelly. Pierce smelled the play right away and leveled James behind the line of scrimmage. South Side had lost a yard. It was second down, and the clock was ticking.
    The next play wasn’t much better. James took the snap and tried to bull his way up the middle. But he wasn’t going anywhere against the swarming Central defense. He had gained just over a yard. It was third down, and Coach Reynolds had seen enough. “Time-out!” he shouted.
    There were thirty seconds left on the clock as the players once again headed to the sidelines. “We need to go for a field goal on this play,” Coach told the players. “If we try to score again, we might run out the clock before we get a chance to kick. The field goal’s the way to go, especially with Nate out.”
    Matt looked over at Brown, who by now had a large ice bag taped to his right ankle. Assistant coach Kevin Stone interrupted his thoughts. “Hill, you’re holding,” Stone reminded him.
    Matt hadn’t immediately realized what Brown’s injury meant. Of course he would be holding for this kick. Nate was the first-string holder and he was Nate’s backup. Matt quickly pulled on his helmet, did up the chin strap and listened intently.
    â€œIt’s not a long kick,” Coach Reynolds said to Ricky Jackson, who had been warming up by booting a ball into a practice net on the sidelines. “You’ve made a million of these in practice, son.”
    Ricky nodded confidently at the coach. The players once again broke their sideline huddle, heading onto the field for the game-deciding play. Matt felt pretty confident. He had held the ball for plenty of field-goal attempts since practice began a month ago. Just as long as he got a good snap from Donnelly…
    Matt’s thoughts were broken in the huddle by Ricky Jackson. “Guys, we’re going for the win,” he said, looking around at his teammates. “Hill, when you get the snap, lateral it to me. Then head for the shallow end zone, right side. I’ll get it to you, okay? Just catch it.”
    â€œBut Coach said—” Once again Matt was interrupted.
    â€œI’m changing the call,” Jackson said. “Let’s go. On two.”
    The South Side players broke their huddle and lined up in field-goal formation. Matt, now nervous, waited for the ball to be snapped by Steve Donnelly. The snap came, right on target. Matt caught it and saw Ricky Jackson run toward him as if he was going to kick the ball. As Jackson had directed in the huddle, Matt did not place the ball down for the field goal. Instead he lateraled it to the backup quarterback and headed for the end zone.
    Matt was wide-open as he crossed the goal line. He looked back for the pass but instantly knew it wasn’t coming. Lionel Pierce had once again guessed the Stingers’ play from his middle linebacker position. The Wildcat star had streaked around the line of blockers and leveled Ricky Jackson before he could even raise his right arm to pass. As Matt looked backward, Pierce’s imposing figure was still prone on top of the dejected Jackson.
    Matt glanced across the field at the South Side bench. Coach Reynolds had thrown his clipboard to the ground in disgust. The Stingers had lost the game 10–7 and, just as the coach had feared, the clock had run out before South Side could re-huddle. It was not going to be a happy bus ride home.
    The players from both teams shook hands, and the