Page 45 of A Game as Old as Time

Gunner clenched his helmet, his knuckles going white from the force.

He had played out this entire speech in his head while sitting alone at his locker but had never actually gotten to the end of it, to his friends’ decision.

One chance.

“You…” Emilio broke the silence and grabbed his shoulder pads. “You’re my brother, G. And I would help you, no matter what.”

JT and Andy joined instantly, and the rest of the team followed their lead.

“I know who you are,” Andy said, smiling at him. “You are a damngood football player, and---” He wrapped Gunner up in his arms. “You’re my brother.”

My brothers.

Gunner grinned as the team came together. However, he noticed that one of his teammates was missing.

Ty.

“No matter what happens tonight…” Emilio did not seem to notice the absence, and he broke into an impassioned shout. “No matter what happens, we do it together. We do it as brothers! They want to come to our field and beat us. Let’s show them what Pioneer football is all about! Family on three: one, two, three!”

Gunner broke the huddle and allowed the kickoff team to run by.

“Ty.” He grabbed his best friend, who was trailing behind. “Ty? We good?”

At first, Ty didn’t turn toward him. Finally, he smirked and twisted with a powerful thrust into Gunner’s chest.

“Yeah, man, let’s play some football.” It was not dismissive, but it was also not the impassioned shouts of his other teammates.

OK, Ty.

Gunner knew they needed to talk; the look on his best friend’s face made that clear. However, right now, they needed to play. They needed to win a football game.

“Well, here we go. It will be first down and ten for the Mount Joy Red Knights as they come to the line. Quarterback Blaine Sullivan gets behind center and calls out the cadence. He takes the snap and hands it off to his running back who… WOW! What a hit by Gunner Weston, who came flying up the field from his safety position and delivered a huge hit on the running back! That has to feel good for the young man who has struggled so much in the last few games.

OK, Sullivan brings his team back to the line for second down. He calls out the cadence and takes the snap. Sullivan drops back to pass…but is put under pressure by Cortez! Sullivan just throws it deep, looking for his wide receiver. He has a man down the field, and it is…”

While Gunner had never been a target on the scouting report in the past, he was sure the opposing team had watched tape from the last two games and would be looking to throw at him.

He had been lost, out of position, uncomfortable.

Not tonight.

Gunner felt the weathered pigskin nestle into his hands as he left the ground.

Hold it.

On this play, he was in the perfect position, and as he fell to the ground, he held tightly to the football he had snatched out of the air.

“G!” Ty shouted when he finally rolled to a stop. A roar from the home crowd reverberated into the air.

There’s that feeling.

It was one he used to love so much. The ground would almost shake after a big play. It was the sound of an entire town cheering for you. Cheering for all the hard work you had put in over the last week, the last month, the last year. He had missed it so much, and as Ty pulled him back onto his feet, he extended the football into the crisp night, holding it up for the town to see.

Interception.

He started screaming the single word as he took off, running toward his teammates. This time, it was his sideline jumping in celebration.

“That’s how you play defense! That’s how you play defense!” Coach Bianchi was still clapping when Gunner made it over.

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