The Guy Named Harrison: Book Two

86

To Harrison, playing in prime time was the best. And to be playing it in front of the home crowd was even better. The Panthers hosted the Rams for this weeks Sunday night game.

What made the game even better was that Luke had gotten cleared yesterday afternoon to play tonight. And they were bringing back some old uniforms for the game. The black jersey and black pants combo hadn't been worn since the 2014 season. It was the perfect weekend to bring out the old alternate jerseys. It wasn't too hot for the players to wear them. Back when the black on black was their main alternate, beating out the blue, they usually couldn't wear it for the first few games of the season because the heat was too much.

Today was also Salute to Service night. Harrison and the rest of the guys were wearing camouflage gloves, towels, cleats, and even his captains patch was camouflage. Before the game, players from both the Panthers and Rams went out onto the field during the national anthem and held the flag that spanned the entire 100-yard field with the members from the U.S. Army.

He jogged onto the field beside Luke for the Panthers first drive on defense. "Have a game Luke."

"Let's hope I'm not rusty," Luke answered with a smile.

They joined their teammates at the 25-yard line. While the Rams were in their huddle, Harrison knelt down in his. "Alright, we're going man to man on these guys all night long. They don't have anyone that's going to burn us up top. But we're going to press on them. Stay with your man. Don't let him get away from you, and don't touch him. Okay? LET'S GO!"

The team clapped hands before going to set up for the play. Running man to man had its risks especially on deep plays. The defensive backs were on their guy and weren't going to get any help from the safeties over the middle. Guys usually reached out and grabbed the receiver if they were getting away, but that would bring a pass interference penalty. Those were costly now.

"Hike!"

The Rams ran the ball right up the middle. Their running back Todd Gurley squeezed through a block on Julius Peppers and out of the backfield. He cut to the right just as Harrison came in and tried to outrun him.

Harrison felt so slow on that play. He reached out and grabbed his legs, but Gurley was able to slip out of his grasp and break the tackle to gain a few more yards before he was brought down by Luke.

He was mad at himself for not making the play and giving the Rams six extra yards. Harrison punched the ground. He made tackles one handed before. There was no excuse for missing that one.

As he got to his feet, Todd Gurley came walking by to his side of the field. He patted Harrison's shoulder and stopped right beside him. "Step it up old man."

Harrison simply yanked his arm away as Luke swore at him as he walked away. "You good?"

"I can't believe I f**king missed that."

"Relax, get it next time."

➄➈

Harrison used what Gurley had said to him as motivation. And he finally got his revenge. The Rams ran to the outside and Harrison was quick to close in on the play. As Todd Gurley was forced to the outside, Harrison caught him and wrapped him up. Before they hit the ground, Harrison easily punched the ball out from his arms. He pushed the running back and jumped on the ball.

After the refs separated the pile and confirmed that Harrison did indeed recover the fumble, Harrison jumped to his feet and began part two of his revenge. He knew everybody's touchdown dances and wasn't afraid to mock them if they pissed him off enough.

He did just that. Harrison held his hands up in the air and took a few steps before taking a bow to the crowd just as the Rams running back did every time he scored. He could hear laughter coming from the Panthers players behind him.

Harrison then stepped in front of Gurley before he could jog over to the Rams sidelines and placed a hand on his shoulder. "A little tip from the pros, maybe think about protecting the ball with two hands next time rookie."

More laughter came from the Luke and the rest of the Panthers defense as Harrison jogged with them off the field. Todd Gurley wasn't even a rookie. Calling someone who wasn't a true rookie a 'rookie' in the NFL was a big insult.

➄➈

The Panthers easily won the game to improve to 8-2 while the Rams fell to 6-4. After shaking hands with the Rams, Harrison gave Luke a pat on the shoulder. Luke did very well after missing the last four games. He had two sacks and a tipped pass that was nearly an interception.

"LUUUKE FREAKIN KUECHLY!"