Page 67 of A Game as Old as Time

Shit.

Gunner glanced over at Emilio, whose eyes were also wide.

“Coach!” Ty gasped. “I’m fine. Just give me some time to work this out.”

Coach Bianchi rested his hand on Ty’s shoulder.

“I’m not going to risk you going out when you’re not one hundred percent. You gave us everything you had tonight, Ty. Now it’s Bailey’s turn.”

Oh boy.

Gunner adjusted his facemask and tried to catch his breath.

“Coach, I don’t know if I can,” Bailey stammered softly. “I mean, maybe you should give Ty time to shake this off.”

“We don’t have time, son. You got this! Focus on your assignment. Just like we practiced.”

Gunner could see his young teammate’s limbs trembling.

Damnit.

This was obviously a terrible time for Ty to get hurt, as they had been struggling all game to keep the opposing team out of the endzone. However, Gunner knew Coach Bianchi was right. Ty would just be a hindrance on the field---that cramp was not going away anytime soon.

Come on, Gunner.

He tried to reset. The eyes of the entire team were on Coach Bianchi as he huddled them up.

“This is it. I need you all to play smart and concentrate. Focus on your assignments, and end this game!”

Coach Bianchi leaned over to Emilio and the defensive coach to make a play call.

“Coach---” Bailey was cut off by the whistle before he could say any more.

Do something.

Gunner pushed himself toward his teammate.

“You got this, Bailey!” he shouted, and he slapped the young man on the helmet. “I know you got this!”

The rest of the team took his lead. In an instant, the whole group was pumping up the young man before he took the field.

“Ty!” Gunner pointed to his best friend. “You gave us everything tonight. We’ll finish this for you.”

The pain in Ty’s eyes was clear as Gunner began to backpedal away.

This is not good.

Finally, Ty nodded and pumped his fist.

We need to win this game.

The scoreboard in the back of the endzone was too large to ignore, and Gunner could no longer fight looking at it.

We really can’t lose this game.

He knew a loss would mean they were out of the playoffs, but there was something else driving this feeling. Something that had him pivoting back to the bleachers, where he spotted a familiar face. He had been checking on her after each possession and, well, any time he could.

I don’t want Hailey’s first game to be a loss.

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