Page 104 of A Game as Old as Time

Tyquan strolled up behind JT and rubbed his friend’s shoulders.

“You see why I call her our fearless leader?” The bulky running back pointed at her and laughed.

Ms. Summers and Mr. Chen were also grinning.

“Nah, Ty,” Gunner said, jumping down from the table, his eyes locking with hers. “That’s our lead.”

Our lead.

It sounded natural, and this time, she refused to run from it. Instead, she stood upright and firm, squeezing her two friends against her as the rest of the cast began to cheer.

**********

“What a football game this has been, Pioneer fans! A back-and-forth game between two evenly matched teams with a trip to Hershey Stadium on the line. South Mountain has fought hard and now has a chance to take the lead, trailing 20-14.

Gunner Weston gets behind his center, Emilio Cortez, and calls out the cadence. He has been hit hard all night, but you have to admire the toughness he is showing in what must be an emotional game for him.

Weston takes the snap and drops back to pass. He is under pressure from the Eagles defense! Weston moves to his left side and…he breaks a tackle and is still on his feet! Weston is looking for an open receiver and throws it to Carter before taking a huge hit! Tyquan Carter has the ball at the twenty. He cuts inside to the fifteen. Tyquan Carter spins through a tackle at the ten. Carter dives for the endzone and…TOUCHDOWN! TOUCHDOWN PIONEERS! What a play by Tyquan Carter, and what a throw by Gunner Weston to keep the play alive!”

Not good.

Gunner ran directly to the bench as the screams from the crowd became deafening.

I can’t catch my breath.

He tried to inhale, but pain was shooting from his shoulder to his chest.

“Gunner!” The trainer came running over as he threw off his helmet.

“I can’t…” He was struggling to speak. A jolt that felt like knives digging into his shoulder blade took his breath away.

Shit.

“Look at me. Hey, look at me!” The trainer was yelling and trying to get his attention. “Gunner, I need you to look at me and tell me where it hurts.”

Everywhere.

He tried to take another deep breath, but exhaustion was clogging up his lungs.

It’s getting worse.

“Gunner, Gunner, are you OK?” Coach Bianchi ran over just as the trainer began to remove his shoulder pads.

“Coach, I need to get his pads off and get him back into the locker room. Now. We need to get his mother from the bleachers, and I need to get him to the hospital for an X-ray.”

Like hell!

Gunner shook his head, tears now running down his face.

“I’m not leaving. Just take it off.”

Their eyes stayed on him for a second, and he was unable to hide another jolt that shot from his shoulder.

“I understand, Gunner. But I need to see if it is dislocated. I need to get you to a doctor.”

Once Gunner threw the shoulder pads to the side, he felt less constricted. The cold, biting air hit his overheating body, sending an immediate chill down his back.

“G!” Ty pushed through the crowd that was gathering. “G…” His best friend’s face shifted from excitement to horror.

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