Page 4 of Chasing Sunsets

“See you tomorrow,” Kasey said as they left.

He smiled. Fearful he’d been set up for these friendships at first, he was now grateful to Cal.

~

Four years later

Zack jogged alongside his friends from the locker room. They were at the front of the pack with the other seniors. The humid fall night was chilly, causing everyone’s breath to form puffs of smoke. The scent of grilled burgers filled the air.

“Here are your Stallions,” Mr. Greevy announced over the loudspeaker.

They busted through a paper sign and trailed the flip-flopping cheerleaders onto the field. The crowd cheered as the players rushed to their sideline. Zack found his spot beside Cal. He loved being the backup quarterback. As such, he motioned plays to Stephens.

At home, he and Cal frequently went through down scenarios and play options. Four years as backup, he’d rarely entered a game, and when he had, it involved a hand-off to Dre or he spiked the ball. He practiced endlessly, although he liked the sideline much better. Most guys hated the bench, but in his position, Zack felt like a coach. Offensive players who needed help came to him, and he worked with them until they learned the plays. That was one reason the Stallions were two games away from the playoffs. With Dre as running back and Stephens as quarterback, they were state championship hopefuls.

Down 21 to 17 in the fourth quarter with a minute thirty on the clock, and no timeouts left, Cal faced him and murmured, “Reverse left.”

Surprised, because they never used that play first in a series of downs, he performed the signal to Stephens. Once the offense lined up, Stephens shouted the sequence for the hike. The ball went over his head. He spun around and dove for it.

Defensive linemen piled on top of him, along with a few offensive linemen trying to block. The whistle blew and the players, one by one, lifted from the pile. In the end, only a writhing Stephens remained on the ground.

Cal and the trainers hastened over to Stephens.

Instantly silent, the crowd waited. Players on both sides took a knee.

Kasey grabbed Zack’s jersey. “Come on. You need to warm up.”

He got to his feet and froze.

“Simon and I will help you.” Kasey pulled on his arm, and they dodged around their teammates until they were ten yards from Simon.

Kasey held out a football.

In a daze, Zack grasped the ball and settled it in his grip like he’d done thousands of times. He threw it to Simon, who then tossed it to Kasey. Kasey muttered, “Relax. You do this every day.”

“No, I don’t,” Zack replied through gritted teeth.

Kasey shoved the football into his chest pads. “Yes, you do. This is like practice, the beach, and our backyards. Make the hand-off or the throw. You know every play and every scenario. Trust your teammates and trust yourself.”

His friend was right. Zack threw to Simon until he heard applause.

Stephens was helped off the field by two trainers. Grimacing, clearly in a lot of pain, Stephens caught Zack’s gaze and yelled with unwavering confidence, “It’s my turn to feed you the plays. You got this.”

“You’re going to the hospital,” the head trainer said.

“I’m staying until the game is over.”

All the trainers gathered around to argue with Stephens.

Cal hastened over to Zack. “Two, three, dive.”

Nervous, excited, and not wanting to let anyone down, Zack checked the clock as he ran to the huddle. A minute and twenty left. He leaned forward and called the play. With a clap, the guys took their positions. He handed the ball to Dre. The defense anticipated a running play, and Dre gained a mere two yards. Cal named another running play for the third down, and it went much the same way.

He looked at the game clock, thirty-five seconds and counting, then to the sidelines. Stephens sat on a table and gave the sign for Dracula Out for the fourth down.

They’d never run this play. Zack designed it, and the team only practiced it a handful of times. But when Kasey, Dre and Zack spent time at the beach or threw the ball around in their backyards, they’d rehearsed it a lot.

He glanced at his stepdad. Grin on his face, Cal nodded.

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