Keith slapped him on the shoulder.
During the halftime break, Coach Bodie said, “We can win this. I can’t believe that runner of theirs can keep this up for another half. He’s got to wear down, and they don’t have too many other weapons. I want to use the halfback option in the second half. Heck, you decide whether to run or to throw to Keith or Larry, whoever’s in at the time. And we might use that spread formation, too. Don’t get down on yourselves, and we’ll do what we have to.”
The Mustangs received the second-half kickoff and couldn’t get a first down on their first possession. Larry was clearly determined to make up for his error, and tackled the Mustang halfback in the backfield just as he took the handoff. The Mustangs were forced to punt.
On the Bucks’ first offensive play, Billy threw a screen pass to Heck, who got loose for fifteen yards when Larry leveled a linebacker with a beautiful block. The coach sent Keith in for Larry, saying, “Tell Billy to use that option.”
So on the next play, Billy flipped the ball to Heck, who circled to his left and looked downfield. Keith had faked a block, and when the man covering him charged to stop a possible run, he raced into the defensive backfield. Heck’s pass was wobbly, but Keith caught it and rambled to the Mustang one before being tripped up. Billy kept the ball on the next play and bulled into the end zone behind Cody’s charge. Following the successful point after, the score was tied at 17 all.
The two teams traded punts. As the coach had predicted, the Mustang halfback seemed to tire. The Buck defense concentrated on him, since it didn’t look like they had much to worry about in the way of a passing attack.
In the middle of the fourth quarter, however, the Mustang quarterback finally found his touch. He hit his tight end, a powerfully built receiver, who took the ball down to the Buck five. At that point the Mustang runner found some reserve energy and dived over the goal line, putting his team ahead by six. However, Cody blocked the extra-point attempt.
Neither the Bucks nor the Mustangs did much with the ball on their next possessions. The Bucks got the ball back after a Mustang punt with a little less than two minutes left, and put it in play on their own thirty-two. Heck gained five yards, and the Buck fullback picked up three. With third and two, Coach Bodie signaled for a time-out and waved Billy over for instructions.
Billy returned, bringing Larry with him, and Keith started off the field. Billy stopped him and waved him back. He gathered the team together.
“Coach wants to go to the spread offense. Guys, make your moves
fast
, because I don’t have much blocking with this play. I’ll find someone clear. We’re going on a quick snap count, and maybe we’ll catch them totally by surprise. Okay? Let’s
go!
”
Keith, Larry, and Heck all came to the right side of the line. The Mustangs looked startled and confused but didn’t call a time-out. Billy barked out the signals. As he took the snap, Keith took five steps downfield and made a fake toward the sideline. His man hesitated. Keith raced downfield. Behind him, Larry ran a deep crossing pattern.
Seeing that Keith had outrun the defense, Billy threw a high, deep pass in his direction. For one frightening moment, Keith thought that the ball had been overthrown, but he managed to find an extra burst of speed, grabbed the ball, and pulled it in. He looked back to see Larry erase a possible tackler with a perfect block. He dashed the last ten yards into the end zone for the game-tying touchdown.
With the successful extra-point conversion, the Bucks led, 24–23.
There were still forty seconds remaining, so the Bucks went into a prevent defense, with eight men back to guard against long passes. The Mustang halfback was able to pick up some ground, but not enough to score, and the Mustangs’ last two plays were desperation passes. Keith picked off the final pass and the Bucks won the game by a single point!
Keith ran off the field hugging the ball while happy teammates surrounded him, yelling and exchanging high-fives. Keith looked for his family and gave them a big, happy smile.
Heck grabbed Keith by the shoulders and spun him around. “All
right!
How does it feel, bud?”
“Totally awesome!” Keith yelled back. And that pretty much summed it up.
The nightmare was definitely over.