Free Football Nightmare by Matt Christopher Page B

him, okay?”
    Keith laughed. “If you say so. I was planning to win it for my sister. How about splitting it — half for Traci and half for little Stan?”
    He noticed Traci waving to him and waved back.
    The Bucks won the coin toss and elected to receive. They crowded around their coach, who advised them, “When we go on defense, remember that the Mustangs had a terrific running game last year and their top runner is back. He’s big and strong and he doesn’t get tired, so be ready for him. Make them go to the passing game if you can.
    “As for our offensive attack, you’re ready for them. I think we can use our passing to spread them out, and then we can do some serious running.” He looked around at the players and asked, “Are we ready for this one?”
    “YEAH!”
the Bucks yelled. They took the field, with Heck as the deep man to receive the kickoff. He fielded the kick on the fifteen and, with a particularly solid block from Cody, ran it back to the Bucks’ forty.
    Billy called for a first-down pass, sending Keith wide to the left. He faked a handoff to Heck and threw a bullet pass that reached Keith just as he made his cut. The play gained twelve yards. Another pass, this one to Heck in the flat, was set up by some good blocking. Keith drove a Mustang linebacker back several yards and Heck gained nine. The ball was on the Mustang thirty-nine, and the Buck fans were on their feet, yelling encouragement.
    Another pass to Keith, running a sideline pattern, brought the ball down to the eighteen. The Mustang coach, sensing that his team was confused, called a time-out.
    When play resumed, Billy sent Keith into the end zone but handed off to Heck. Heck darted through a nice hole formed by the blockers and made it to the four-yard line before being stopped. Billy then kept the ball on a bootleg, sprinting around right end for a touchdown.
    But the coach had been right about the Mustang running game. Following the kickoff their star player, a tall halfback, began ripping off big chunks of yardage, and the Mustangs moved the ball into Buck territory. Keith came out, replaced by Larry.
    As he passed Larry, Keith said, “That runner of theirs is tough — don’t try to tackle him high. Hit him low or he’ll just drag you or shake you off.” Larry nodded and raced on.
    Keith stood next to Heck on the sideline. “That back is humongous,” he said, and Heck nodded.
    “Maybe he’ll get tired,” he said.
    “Maybe … and maybe
we’ll
get tired trying to stop him,” Keith replied, as the Mustang runner gained another eight yards up the middle, with three Bucks draped all over him.
    Finally, the Mustang quarterback tried a pass. Cody almost tackled him in the backfield, so the pass was rushed and incomplete. The Mustang halfback then raced to his right, as if making an end run, but handed off to an end on a reverse, catching the Buck defense by surprise. Untouched, the Mustang receiver sped into the end zone. The extra point was good, and the score was tied at 7 apiece as the first quarter ended.
    On their next offensive series, the Bucks made some good yardage, with Jason at quarterback. He found Larry for a nice gain, and then hit Heck for another ten yards. But the drive stalled on the Mustang eight, so the Bucks had to settle for a field goal, putting them ahead, 10–7.
    The Mustangs were able to grind out more yardage when they got the ball. On one play, Keith met the Mustang halfback head-on as he moved in from his position in the secondary to plug a hole — he thought. The runner lowered his head and Keith bounced backward, grabbing desperately onto a leg as the back charged forward. With the help of three other Bucks, including Heck, the guy was finally brought down. The quarterback tried another pass, but Billy blitzed from his safety position, catching the opposing QB for a ten-yard loss.
    The Mustangs, however, tried and converted a twelve-yard field goal and tied the score at 10.
    Late in the half,