QB Sneak

Chapter 17: A Final Push

Our defense was exhausted. Wes was too busy pouring water on his head to get out for the first play, so we had to send out Devin Servant. Devin got smeared into the first-down marker by Davion Bone, who stepped over him with very little respect. Wes, enraged, sprinted back into the game, nearly throwing Devin to the sideline to reclaim his spot.

I walked over to Geo, who was standing near the defensive coordinator next to a kid I didn't recognize. Geo was absently swiping on a tablet, while the other kid was scribbling on a clipboard, carefully copying down every word coming out of the defensive coordinator's mouth.

"Hey, watch this," the kid next to me tapped me on the shoulder.

"What are they running?" I asked him. I had to look down to talk to him.

"Base Cloud Whip."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I dunno. I've been here two days." I noticed a number 37 on the kid's jacket. I couldn't remember seeing a 37 on offense, defense, or even at the JV practices I attended as a "mentor".

"Who are you? I've never seen you before."

"Alex Argyros. I just joined 2 days ago." Alex readjusted his beanie.

"JV call up?"

"Nope. Soccer season ended and I lost a bet."

"I see. Punter?"

"Kicker." Alex was up against some stiff competition. I looked over at Miles. His face was obscured by a balaclava. I was pretty sure I saw him putting on a scuba suit on underneath his pads.

I looked up. "You said it was base cloud whip?"

"Wes is blitzing." Geo blurted. Wes blitzing was always a treat to watch. As Long Lake's QB extended his hands to catch the snap, Wes seemed to turn on his spidey-senses. He jumped the snap, perfectly timing his charge through the offensive line to just barely get behind the snap. Bone was blocking for the QB as he dropped back and began scanning the offense. Wes slapped a lineman away, before chucking Bone to the ground and rattling the QB. We all whooped. The ball squirted free.

Bone came to his senses before anyone else and scrambled to his feet to scoop it up. We all screamed for Wes to stop cackling and get on the ball. Bone scooped it up and began scrambling upfield. PJ, who was on the other side of the field, and Arlo Martinez, who had to disengage a lineman, gave chase. Arlo had no chance at catching Bone, but PJ almost caught him when Bone shoved him down by the face mask. PJ crashed like a plane. His little punt-returner pads offered him skimpy protection as he crumpled to the ground and Bone cruised into the end zone. The fans went nuts.

"Olson fumble on the play, forced by number 91, Wes Milton. Recovered by number 4, Davion Bone for a Tiger touchdown!"

The Tiger kicker chipped the extra-point in. I searched for PJ in the backfield to return the ensuing kickoff, but instead I found him laying on the medic's table, weakly moaning in pain.

"Number 49, Alex Workman ready to kick it away for the Tigers. Back deep to return for Meadows Ridge is number 7, Kekee Bush." I always thought his name was Keykay. As the Long Lake kicker booted the ball into an awaiting Kekee's arms, the return team charged forward. 

Consisting of various JV guys, the special teamers considered themselves expendable and as such threw caution to the wind, risking injury to lay down that touchdown block and get noticed. You could definitely tell who was willing to lay down the most, as Chase Lovato cowered away from a charging gunner, while Eddie Rapp threw all of his 5 foot nothing 99 pound frame at the kicker, who seemed to shoo him away like a fly.