QB Sneak

Chapter 8: Hope Is Lost

As soon as Geo called his first play, we knew it was all over. 

"Ready, set!" Geo called. "Go!" Geo dropped back. Terrified, he managed to get off one throw to a bolting DeeDee. The good news is, the ball came in for a touchdown. The bad news is, DeeDee didn't catch it. A corner had been glued to him the entire time and picked him clean for an interception, running it back to the house and escaping a diving Geo for six. Pretty much what you'd expect. Whitewater had a weak secondary, adding insult to injury. This may have been their first pick all season for all we know. Geo, of course, got zero jabberjaw. Our first half drive summary will shock you.

Pick 6.

3 and out. Punt.

3 and out. Punt. 

Interception.

Interception. 

Punt.

Fumble.

Touchdown.

Punt.

Kneeldown to end half.

We just imposed our will on offense, right? 35-7 at the end of one half. We all came into the locker room for our coach's rousing halftime speech.

"Listen. Geo. I want you to know that I'm proud of you. Going out there in a HIGH SCHOOL PLAYOFF GAME as your first start as a freshman and even scoring once is no small feat. Glad you managed to get some reps out there. But, I'm sure you all noticed that the score is 35-7. For that reason, we have to make decisions to put the team first, and right now, the best decision is to make a change under center. Paddock, you're gonna be our guy this half."

The entire team let out a cheer and crowded around me as my stomach sank. The pressure always goes to my stomach. It was bad enough that I had to go out and play, but what did Coach mean by 'our guy'? From outside the huddle, Geo looked crushed. His head sank and his hands pressed against his skull. I wanted to go console him, but I feared it would make it worse. I latched on my helmet as the QB coach motioned for me to exit the locker room. Miles exited with me, along with Nate Catanzaro, who would catch my passes. We trotted out and as Miles kicked field goals, I threw with Nate. After a little bit of throwing, the rest of the team came out to applause. No cheering, just applause. For the guys who may be playing their last downs of football tonight. 

The second half began with a Whitewater kickoff that PJ fielded to the 30 yard line. The offense trotted out with me as we huddled up.

"23. 23!" Geo shouted from the sideline. I checked my cheat sheet and trotted into the huddle. 

"HB Dive Liz."

The huddle broke and we lined up.

"Blue eightyyyy! Set!"

My hard count made a defensive tackle jump. Andrew Pike and Tad Ellis stood up and began pointing at the guilty d-lineman to get the ref's attention. A flag went up, a short ref conference happened, and then the head "white hat" ref, turned his microphone on.

"Encroachment. Defense, number 72. 5 yard penalty, first down."

Just like that, we gained 5 yards.

"Dolly. Dolly." I shouted, and we instantly lined up.

"Green 25! S'hut!" The ball was snapped, I trotted back, looked behind me, and handed the ball off to Blake. Blake hammered through the line and engaged a linebaker, spinning right into another linebacker who would smear him into the grass, but not before picking up a first down.

"Blake Gilbert on the carry, gain of 8 which is enough for a Raven!"

"FIRST DOWN!" The crowd cheered.

We continued to march down the field until being halted on fourth and goal at the goal line.

"34!" Geo shouted from the sideline. QB Sneak. The same play that ruined Alex's season. Now I'm running it.

No time to be scared though, I had a job to do. 

"QB Sneak." I told the huddle. We all clapped and headed out to our positions. 

"Green 17! Greeeen 17! S'hut!"

I took the snap and immediately charged into the gap. I felt a force from behind and realised it was Blake shoving me into the endzone. It worked as I fell on top of a linebacker who seemed prepared for a pass. Our O-Line paved the way for me to run right on in with Blake's help.

"Touchdown Ravens!" As you would expect, the crowd cheered. Miles' extra point made it 35-14.