Page 19 of A Game as Old as Time

He glanced over at Andy and JT, who were grinning as well. The rest of the group pulled in tight as Coach Bianchi bent down.

He was taller than Gunner had initially expected him to be. In fact, he was just a little shorter than JT, and his stocky build made his arms swing by his side. He continually adjusted the visor on his head to show his bald spot. Though Gunner only had a few weeks of practice with the man, he was beginning to believe it was a nervous twitch the coach didn’t realize he had.

“OK, guys. You’ve worked all off-season for this. You have made sacrifices and pushed yourselves to your limits. Now it’s time to play our game. It’s time to play Pioneer football. Play hard, play tough, and play smart. Pioneers on three: one, two, three!”

The team broke the huddle as Gunner and Coach Bianchi locked eyes.

“I got this for you, bro!” Ty jumped in between them as he prepared to return the opening kickoff, but they did not break the stare.

Does he want to say something to me?

Their gazes remained entangled until the referee’s whistle cut through the air. An explosion of cheers erupted behind them before Coach Bianchi finally pivoted away.

“We are seconds away from the opening kickoff to anotherseason of South Mountain football. Tyquan Carter will be back to return the opening kick, and you can already feel the anticipation in the stadium. And here we go, the kick is a long one and is taken by Carter at his own five-yard line. Carter sprints up the right side, breaks a tackle at the fifteen-yard line, and another at the twenty! Tyquan Carter is now at the twenty-five, the thirty, and is finally brought down around the thirty-five-yard line by two Neversink Bobcat defenders! What an electric player Tyquan Carter is!”

“Hell yeah, Ty!” Gunner sprinted onto the field and slapped his helmet.

Great start!

A sense of normalcy was beginning to wash across him as he made his way into the huddle. The feeling of being with his teammates, on this field, imparted a sense of control he had not felt in months. His eyes skipped across the two lines of players, five in front and five in back. All of them were waiting for him and the play call that would start the season.

“OK, men,” he said, nodding. “Let’s do this!” When he called out the play, the words floated out of his mouth like a song: “Gun Right, 24 pull trap on one.”

He pushed Emilio toward the ball, repeating the play as the entire huddle clapped in unison.

“Break!”

Gunner slowly inched his way to the line, surveying the field. The orange helmets of the opposing team were dancing; the reflections of the late summer sun and lights beaming off the plastic brought back his slight headache. He squinted, trying to focus, as he stopped five yards behind where Emilio was bent over.

Focus.

The orange helmets settled into position. A few players pointed out Ty in the backfield as Gunner inhaled.

Just hand it to Ty and let him go.

He brought his hands in front of his face again, blowing on his fingers, and repeated one more time.

“It’s what you do with your moments.”

“First and ten for the Pioneers as Gunner Weston approaches the line. I think we all feel for this kid playing with such a heavy heart, only 4 months after losing his father. Weston calls out the cadence and takes the snap out of the shotgun. He hands it to Carter, who moves to the right side and is stopped for a short gain. The Bobcat defense was waiting for Carter, and he picked up only a few yards on the play.

Second down for the Pioneers now as Weston comes under center this time. He calls out the cadence once again and takes the snap. He pitches to Carter, who tries to make it around the left side but is quickly tackled by a pack of Bobcats! Coach Bianchi has to realize that Neversink is going to be waiting for Carter to get the ball, and they’ll have to throw on third down.

Here we go, third down, and Weston is back in the shotgun. Weston HANDS OFF to Carter, and he is quickly wrapped up in the backfield. Wow! I was not expecting a run play on third down and long, but it looks like Coach Bianchi is not yet comfortable letting Gunner Weston throw the ball. It will be fourth down, and the Pioneers will have to punt.”

Gunner dropped his head as he ran to the sideline, throwing off the side of his chin strap.

“No worries, no worries!” Coach Bianchi was in full throat, clapping his hands. “Just keep playing hard, keep playing hard.”

Bullshit.

Gunner stomped to the bench and snatched a cup of water.

“What do you see?” Coach Bianchi had followed him back to the bench. His visor shifted feverishly as he leaned closer.

“I see they know our game plan,” Gunner said sarcastically as he reattached his chin strap. “We need to throw the ball if we’re going to have any chance of winning.”

Stupid play calling.

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