Ty sat in the Dons' locker room, lacing his boots tightly. The vibes were a stark contrast to last week. The dread of the Bears and their King had been vanquished. Confidence—along with laughter and music—filled the room instead.
The coaches observed, keeping quiet as the boys relaxed and eased into their groove. Coach Long didn't think they were slipping into the realm of arrogance just yet. They were still focused on the important task ahead. It brought a smile to his face.
'This is the kind of attitude I like to see around here,' Coach Long said. 'Look at all those grins; now THAT'S a game face. No matter what happens, I want you grinning like that after the game, too.'
'What do you mean "no matter what happens"?' Deshaun asked. 'We're winnin' this game, Coach. Then we goin' to the championship and we winnin' that too.'
Most of the boys agreed with Dee's statement, echoing it.
'Let's not get too ahead of ourselves,' Coach Long said. 'Even if—when—we win today, we'll still have a couple more teams in front of us before the championship. Let's take it one week at a time.'
'But now that you've made such a promise, Banks,' Coach Hoang said, 'I expect you'll hold your man to zero catches?'
Deshaun shrugged, ignoring the looks and playful jabs he received after Coach Hoang's statement. 'You know how I do.'
Ty took a deep breath. Unlike their game against the Vikings, he wasn't worried about Deshaun's involvement. From the Monarchs' tape, most of their passing offence went through the Bullet Train's hands.
Nate Langford, Bullet Train, BT. Ty would turn these names into nothing more than a part of HIS story. Another fallen foe on his road to glory, like Denzel Kingston, Marshall Ward, and all the others before them.
JJ stood, moving into the centre of the room. He looked around, smiling as he said: 'Together, there's nothing that can stop us. We'll overcome everything, because we're family.'
Coach Long moved over and clapped him on the shoulder. 'I couldn't have said it better myself, Julian.'
The rest of the team soon gathered around them in the middle of the room. They raised their fists. Coach Long counted them down.
'Three, two, one—'
'—FAMILY!'
The Dons streamed out into the tunnel, then onto the field. The Monarchs were waiting for them again, but so was the crowd.
Warm cheers welcomed them into the even warmer sun. The stands were filling quickly and were a healthy mix of Monarch and Don fans, if a little Mater Dei favoured.
Few clouds dotted the sky, and a gentle breeze drifted along the field. Sometimes that breeze could hit you just right and remind you of the promise of winter it carried. It felt like an icy knife against your skin.
Ty didn't know if his goosebumps were because of being hit by such a chill gust, or from seeing the Monarchs fill the field. He easily found BT. They locked eyes for a brief moment before BT turned away, laughing with the QB tossing him the ball.
Ty turned his head forward and ran to the front of the Dons' pack as they circled the field.
Even with the breeze nipping at them occasionally, it didn't take long to work up a sweat and warm up under the sun's constant glare.
Representatives from both teams met in the centre of the field for the coin toss. The Dons came away scowling, muttering about the Monarchs' big jackass; BT's first impression was more unbearable than his online persona.
Another reason for all the scowls was because the Dons had lost the coin toss, and the Monarchs had elected to defer the opening kick-off. Ty clicked his tongue and thudded onto the bench, the wind knocked out of his sails. He'd have to wait for the offence to have their turn first before he got to derail the Bullet Train.
Coach Long gave the team a quick pep-talk, and told them to remember everything they'd been practicing and preparing, then sent the kick-return team out. Chris awaited the kick.
The Monarchs—under a low, rumbling cheer from both sides of the crowd—sent the ball sky-high on the kick-off. However, it landed shallowly in the end-zone, and Chris took it out for a return.
The Monarchs were fast in their coverage and converged on him like bugs to a zapper. They swarmed him before he knew it and brought him down at only the Dons' 17-yard line.
That's where the Dons began their first drive, and had their first taste of the Monarchs' speed.
With the crowd's cheers at their back, Jay trudged onto the field, leading the way for the Dons. Chris met them, still looking a bit like a deer in headlights. He apologised for the shitty start, but the others laughed it off and told him not to worry about it.
They lined up in formation: Cole and Stephen spread out wide; Chris was within arm's reach of Jay, who was in Shotgun behind the Center; and Benny was tucked in neatly at the edge of the O-Line.
Jay scanned his teammates, then looked beyond to the defence. From the tape, they preferred Cover Two Man coverage—both Safeties stationed up high, covering the sidelines more than the middle, whilst the rest of the defence underneath were matched up man to man with their opposition.
From what Jay saw on the field, the Monarchs were in that two high Safety formation. The Dons had the height advantage nearly across the board. Cole might've been equal, but Benny could almost see the top of his opponent's helmet, and Stephen was a full head taller than his single opponent, too.
That's where Jay would go. Rarely could a team match the giant in height, but it was disrespectful to guard him one-on-one when there was such a difference.
The Dons snapped the ball. Jay took a couple of steps back. Stephen came forward quickly. His man—fearing the size difference and what Stephen could do with it—had backed off. Stephen cut to the outside and Jay's pass met him in rhythm.
He threw the 5-yard out up high, where only Stephen could reach it. A good habit to have, and one that paid off. Despite the CB giving Stephen so much room, he'd sprung into action quickly, and flashed past, hand outstretched, the ball spiralling past his fingertips.
Stephen caught the ball and narrowly remained inbound. Seeing as his defender had gone sailing past gambling on an interception, Stephen was free to run ahead for a moment. Or so he thought.
Against any other team the first down would've been free, but the high Safety was crashing down low before Stephen expected. They ran him out of bounds just a yard shy of the first down marker.
Chris was up next. Even though the Dons already knew what to do, they took their time getting into position for the next play.
Chris took the ball and carved a path through the middle of the field. A hole opened easily in the Line, but after getting three yards beyond it, the Monarchs' LBs cracked down as fast as a whip and brought him to the ground for a run of 4 yards.
But that was plenty more than the Dons needed for the first down. The Dons gathered around Chris, helping him up and slapping him on the back. For his efforts, he got the ball on the next play as well.
It was a similar play, another run up the middle, though this one was angled to the left side of the Center instead of the right, and only resulted in a gain of 3 yards instead of 4 as the LBs reacted just a touch faster.
It wasn't what they wanted, but it was good enough. Chris looked back at the Monarchs, frowning as he walked to the Dons' huddle. The field looked so open when he first got the ball, and even when he came through the hole, but it all closed down in an instant and the Monarchs were on him before he knew it.
Next, the Dons got Benny involved. It was another simple, short route that sent him across the middle of the field on a shallow Cross. The defence gave him space like they did with Stephen, but once the ball was in his hands, they closed the gap quickly and brought him down. It was another 3-yard gain.
4 more yards was all they needed. The Dons went back to the well, and Jay looked Stephen's way again. It was that same 5-yard Out. It worked much the same as well.
This time, the CB didn't lay out fully for the interception. They went for it, but they also stopped after they just didn't get it again, and whirled around, stopping Stephen after he gained another yard after the catch, bringing the total reception to 6 yards before he was dragged out.
Once the two separated, the CB laughed. He shook his head, walking off, but before he left earshot he muttered: 'Don't try that shit again.'
Stephen sneered, watching him jog back to the Monarchs' huddle. His opponent wore twenty-one on his jersey, like another annoying CB he knew, but this one was taller, taller than he'd expected even if the height difference was still significant between them. It was their legs; the Monarch had long, powerful legs and a long, graceful stride. He looked sleek and strong. Stephen's sneer remained as he returned to the Dons' huddle.
He demanded the ball back. He'd show there wasn't shit that cocky asshat twenty-one could do to stop him.
Jay frowned. As much as he wanted to help Stephen out, Coach called for a run to the outside. With things going well and the Dons nearing half-field, it was time to test the Monarchs' speed.
Jay handed the ball to Chris after the snap, and Chris angled for Benny's outside hip. Benny held his man in check, securing the edge, but just as Chris rounded it, there was a LB in his face.
Chris curled around the ball, bracing himself. He was driven into the ground for no gain, though thankfully no loss either. The Monarchs' speed was legit.
Again Chris apologised, and again it was brushed off as nothing to worry about, though this time Benny apologised too.
Chris frowned. 'It wasn't your fault. You did your job, big guy.' It was the Monarchs. They were just so fast … too fast.
'NOW can we throw it to me?' Stephen asked. 'I've got some shithead to shut up.'
As if Coach Long could hear him, Stephen's number was the one that was called. This time they'd see how a Curl did with all that space the defence was giving him.
Stephen lined up opposite Twenty-One. He stared down at the shorter man, and Twenty-One stared back. His face was narrow. Black paint streaked down his cheeks in two smudged lines. Sharp, yellow eyes rested atop them, piercing into Stephen's red eyes.
The ball was snapped, and Stephen rushed forward. Twenty-One backpedalled rapidly, always keeping his distance.
Stephen grinned and whipped around into his Curl. He stood, hands raised high, and Jay fired the ball over to him.
Stephen reached up for it, touched his fingers to the ball, then Twenty-One slammed into his back like he'd been shot out of a cannon.
The ball bounced off Stephen's hands and he crumbled to the ground. Thankfully, the ball fell to the turf as well.
Twenty-One pushed himself up off of Stephen. Stephen hunched over, clutching his back and huffing loudly. It didn't hurt like anything was broken. He just needed to refill his lungs.
The nearest Dons hurried to Stephen's side and helped him up, helping him over to the huddle. When they asked what was wrong, he told them—in rasping breaths—that he was fine.
The Dons weren't. They were on third down, and still needed the full 10 yards for another set. They tried a screen. The target was Chris, and it went to Cole's side of the field.
The Linemen scrambled that way, leaving Jay open as he shuffled back. He had less time than he hoped for with the Monarchs bearing down on him rapidly, and he flipped the ball over to Chris. Luckily, Chris had been watching and was ready to catch the pass, even if it came faster than expected.
However, after he secured the ball, he turned right into the waiting arms of another Monarch. The defence had pierced through the screen even before the blockers had a chance to set up. Chris was crushed 3 yards behind the line of scrimmage, and the Dons were pushed to fourth down.
They punted. They had little choice in the matter, but they booted the ball out of bounds rather than let it fall into the hands of the Bullet Train.
The film on the Monarchs had shown plenty of touchdown returns from the most prolific kick and punt returner in the state, and the Dons wouldn't make the mistake of thinking they could stop a runaway Bullet Train.
The Monarchs took over at their own 20-yard line. The crowd went wild as the Monarchs' offence strode onto the field. BT looked around, grinning. They'd finally get what they came to see, HIM.
Ty came over and stood face to face with BT as the teams lined up opposite one another. BT's bright grin widened as he laid eyes on Ty.
'I know who you are,' BT said. 'I've been looking forward to this. You think you're quick enough to catch the Bullet Train?'
Ty looked around. The crowd was chanting "Bull-et Train". BT laughed, hyping them up into a frenzy of cheers with a simple wave of his arms.
'You hear that?' BT asked. 'Everybody is here to see ME. Nobody here for you, they're all my fans today.'
'I hear them, but I'm listening for the silence,' Ty responded.
BT's grin wavered as confusion seeped into his expression.
'Their silence, full of shock and despair. The shouts and screams will make it all the sweeter. But trust me. When they watch you crash and burn. There will be nothing but silence. And in that silence, all will know that I'm the greatest.'
BT laughed again. Around him and Ty, it drowned the cheering out. 'Oh shit, you crack me up, mon. Hey, maybe I can get you to run my socials after this. You gotta know all the best memes with comedic genius like that.'
Ty sighed before he shifted his hips, altering his stance. He was nearly facing BT side on, still within arm's reach, but now he was blocking off the inside and freely inviting BT to the sideline … challenging him to a race down it.
BT looked at Ty as if he were mad. 'What ya doing, mon? Think about this.'
'I know what I'm doing,' Ty said.
'Yeah? What?'
'Proving a point.'
BT laughed again. 'Mon, as funny as you are, I feel sorry for dumbasses like you. You need to be locked up in a crazy house or something, mon. Didn't nobody tell you there are better ways to kill yourself than jumping in front of a train?'
Ty said nothing, awaiting the snap of the ball.
Coach Hoang watched from the sidelines. He wasn't expecting this from Samuels. They'd gone with only a single Safety up high—Zayden—in their opening formation, and he was shading further towards Deshaun's side of the field as he'd been told to do.
But he said nothing, and he made no alterations. He was content with watching what Ty would do, and what the outcome of this brazen challenge would be.
The ball was finally snapped as the cheers reached a crescendo. Ty, eyes still on BT, took off in a sprint. BT lunged forward like a sprinter out of the starting blocks.
Even with Ty's single yard head start, they were quickly side-by-side after just a few strides. Ty watched BT. Almost everything else pushed from his mind. He could almost forget they were even playing a football match. He watched with widening eyes as BT started to pull ahead.
BT kept his head forward, breathing heavily but controlled as he stomped at the ground and pushed forward. He found his stride, hit top speed, and kept speeding away from Ty. He looked over his shoulder, flashing a grin. He didn't even have to wave for the ball, it was already on his way.
Ty grit his teeth and tried to push beyond his speedometer, but BT wouldn't come any closer, he only got further away.
BT caught the ball perfectly in stride. Ty dove after him, caught only air, landed on his face, and watched from the turf as BT raced away into the end-zone for the game's first touchdown.