Two Minute Drill (Bases Loaded Jam Series #2)

Ch. 67: Two-Minute Drill (Gordon)

As a little boy, I had dreamt of this moment. To have the ball in my hands with a chance to win the Super Bowl. This was the moment I had prepared for all my life. This was the moment that made me win a state championship in my last high school game. This was the moment that made me win a conference title while at Florida. This was the moment that helped me win so many games at Big Bend. This was every quarterbacks' fantasy.

This was the two-minute drill.

While I was on the sidelines watching our defense stopping Dallas, I try to see in my arm was okay. I could barely rotate my arm without hurting it more. This was the worst injury for a quarterback. To have limited ability in your throwing arm on the biggest stage was not what I wanted.

I didn't tell the coaches because I knew they would probably pull me from the game. But, I also didn't want to jeopardize my football future, if there was to be after the game, by making the injury even more painful than before. I swore I could feel my start to break with every rotation.

To make things worse, when our defense stopped Dallas from scoring, the ball was spotted at our own one-yard line. This meant we had to go a long way. It would be 99-yards for the game-winning touchdown. However, in my mind, I wasn't thinking about a 99-yard drive. I was thinking about getting us in field goal range for Diego to attempt a game-winning kick. If I could get him to the perfect spot, the game was over.

Once our defense did their job, I go right up to him as he gets ready to kick.

"Where to?" I ask.

"Somewhere over 40 to 45-yards," he replied. I nod and soon went on the field. I look up at the clock to see 2:14 left. That was just enough time for us to get down for a field goal. But we had to move right then and there to start the drive.

I decided to test my arm and see if I could even try to get a short pass off. So I called for a quick screen to my right immediately on the first play which Duncan was going to get the ball. We approached the line of scrimmage and immediately got the snap. I dropped backed after dealing with the quick pain of having caught the snap and looked to see Duncan break to his right. I try to toss the ball, but the sharp pain struck me and I couldn't get it off. Knowing we needed something, I opted to scramble for three yards on the play before going out of bounds.

Once I got up from the sideline, I returned to the huddle.

"You okay Gordon?" Duncan asked me.

"I'm good," I say and then call for a running play. After taking the snap on second down, I hand Kwame the ball and he winds up getting three more yards. It was now third-and-four from our own seven just as the two-minute warning went off. I trot off towards the sideline where Coach Robinson greets me.

"Are you okay?" He asked me.

"I'm fine. I can finish the game."

"Get a trainer here to check the arm now."

"No coach," I said. "I'm going back out there." Before Coach Robinson could answer, I run back out to the field to join the huddle.

"We need a big chunk here," Otis said when I returned. "We can't get short-yardage plays.

"Don't worry," I replied. "I got one coming."

I called for a deep pass, which I hoped would be used a diversion for our defensive backs while I looked to run on this play. Yet, when the ball was snapped, I dropped back and saw a cornerback coming at me. Feeling rushed, I didn't know which hand my ball was on and I just threw the ball. It was a terrible pass and it just barely went out of bounds incomplete.