Two Minute Drill (Bases Loaded Jam Series #2)

Ch. 61: First Quarter (Gordon/Scout)

Gordon

Our kick returner made a good return to our own 26-yard line. I made my way onto the field with the offense. As I looked up into the stands, I realized that I was walking on to the field and playing in front of millions and millions of people. Not only was I playing in front of a sold out arena, but also in front of lots of people watching on TV.

Two years prior, I was just a regular guy in a small West Texas town. Now, I was playing in the Super Bowl. I started to get goosebumps as the crowd cheered when I walked on to the field. I became so nervous that I forgot what it was the play was supposed to be called. As soon as I made my way to the huddle, my mind completely blanked out. I forgot the call.

"So what's the play?" Duncan Elliott asked me in the huddle.

"Uh," I stuttered. "I... Let's..."

Jermaine started to chuckle. "The moment got to him boys. We're in trouble. Listen, we're nervous too. Let's just get the nerves out of the way. I say Slant Right Fire 5 on three."

"Good idea," our offensive line said and I agreed. We clapped to break the huddle and I walked to the line of scrimmage. I looked out to see what the defense was running and they weren't showing anything threatening. I knew the plan and that was to get Jermaine the ball. Taking a deep breath, I went under center.

"Ready, set, Blue 21, Blue 21, hike!"

Forrest Browning gave me the ball and I dropped back. The offensive line gave me great protection and I looked to Jermaine's direction. He ran a bit before turning to face me. I quickly fired the pass. He caught the ball and took a few more yards before being brought down just two yards shy of the first down. It was only an eight-yard completion, but I felt a big weight lifted off my shoulders.

"You calm now?" Jermaine asked me as he approached me.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Good. Now let's play."

That seemed to ease me more and I was able to get myself into a groove. I was able to relax and not think about the moment. Just play football and let the situation take care of itself. After a short pass to Otis to complete the first down, I started to catch fire. I hit Jermaine for a 27-yard completion that got us over midfield. Then, Kwame picked up two first downs to put us near the 25-yard line.

After another completed pass to Otis put us inside the 10, I was determined to finish the drive with a touchdown. We wanted to send a message to Dallas that they weren't going to intimidate us one bit. However, I made a few mistakes in the red zone. I handed the ball off to Kwame, who only got one yard on first down. On second down, I misread the defense and they forced me to run. Even though I picked up a good chunk of yards, we were still three yards short of the goal line.

On third down, I handed the ball off to Kwame and thanks to a great blocking scheme by our offensive line, he ran through a hole that was created and scored the touchdown. Everyone was surprised by our start. We drove down the field against a great Dallas defense and scored the opening drive. We made a statement that we weren't going to be intimidated by their schemes. Following an extra point, we were up 7-0.

Scout

We clapped and cheered after we scored the opening drive. High-fiving everyone, I was about to when I saw Brett, who wanted to high-five me. Yet, I simply refused. I was a bit uncomfortable being with her right then and there.

"Come on Scout," she said to me. "Please don't ignore me. Can we talk about this?"

"Not now," I replied. "We got a long way to go. Plus, your fiancee Luke is watching in the suite next door."