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Sacramento won the coin toss and chose to receive. The Condors immediately went to work utilizing a short passing game. Jake couldn’t waste any time getting the ball out of his hands, quickly hitting the receivers a few yards downfield and limiting the ability of the Stallions' defensive line to bring pressure. The Condors marched down the field quickly. With the Condors on the Stallions' thirty-yard line, Dwayne lined up to Jake’s left. Jake took the snap and rolled out to his right as Dwayne dashed downfield. Dwayne beat his coverage, and Jake hit him in stride at the five-yard line. Dwayne sprinted into the end zone, untouched. Oh, and did he give them a show, wiggling his hips, even tossing in a little line dance before Coach Easton signaled him off so they could kick the extra point.
“That’s how we win,” Dwayne yelled into the air, almost skipping off the field. Coach Easton shook his head, chuckling silently into his elbow.
Coach Mark hit Jake on the back. “Looking good out there, Skyler. Keep it up. I see you have a lot of fans in the seats.”
Jake met his conspiratorial smile. “The ladies did show up, Coach, but I’m only focused on the game. That’s all I care about…”
“Sure, who you foolin’? I have a suspicion that there’s one special lady wearing a white jacket in that ocean of white.”
The Stallions’ offense got off to a tough start, and they went three and out. The Condors and the Stallions went back and forth without scoring for the rest of the first quarter.
Quarter 2
On the Stallions’ opening drive of the second quarter, they pulled together a number of long plays advancing down tothe Condors’ fifteen-yard line. The Condors blew a coverage assignment, leading to one of the Stallions’ receivers being wide open. An easy toss by the quarterback resulted in a Stallions touchdown. For the rest of the quarter, the Stallions and Condors made some offensive progress but, for the most part, traded punts. They went into halftime, all tied up at seven.
Taking this into the locker room at halftime tied up with a team that is favored to beat us is not a bad place to be, Jake mused.
Slapping Rodger on the back, he said, “I think if our defense can hold, I’m sure we can break through the Stallions' defensive schemes a few times, giving us a chance to win. You take the lead in the next quarter, that will jazz our O-line to lock out their D,” he murmured closer to Rodger's head, ignoring the jolted look on Rodger’s face.Yes, you get this Rog…Jake thought…you helped get us here, put up with all my young buck shit.
Quarter 3
“You sure about this, Skyler?” Coach Mark whispered close to Jake’s ear. “Just sayin’ they are probably looking at you for MVP when we win this—if you give up playing time−just sayin’…”
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Rodger. No way he doesn’t get in this game…his family’s here and so yes, I’m very sure…”
In a surprise move, the Condors sent Rodger out for their opening drive. He led the Condors down the field with a mix of running plays, a few short passes, and in a complete surprise, they dialed up a play to Dwayne that covered thirty-five yards. The drive bogged down once the Condors got inside the Stallions’ twenty-yard line. Rodger came off the field with the look of a guy who knew he did his job when called upon. He gave Jake aI know what you didlook, smiling broadly. Jakethrew him a chin-nod that said,That’s the least I could do. The Condors settled for a field goal. Condor led 10 to 7.
The Stallions responded by marching down the field with authority. A few long passes and some timely runs had the Stallions looking like they were in command. That drive resulted in a touchdown. Stallions ahead 14 to 10.
Jake went back for the Condors’ next drive. The Stallions’ defense made adjustments, and the Jake-led offense only managed to get two first downs before punting back to the Stallions. The next few possessions for both teams resembled a tennis match rather than a football game, as if there was an invisible net at the fifty-yard line: a first down or two was gained, and then a punt back to the other team.
Jake wasn’t pleased with the way the Condors were playing, but he had enough years under his belt to realize the game was well within reach. A single touchdown or a couple of field goals would yank them ahead. That gave him confidence since he had learned from Rodger that a quarterback’s skill is second to his ability to execute pragmatically under pressure. Jake was sure that if they could keep it close throughout the game, the Condors stood a great chance of pulling it out in the fourth quarter. Not a bad way to go into the last quarter.
Quarter 4
On the opening drive of the fourth quarter, Jake and crew managed to keep the Stallions’ defense off-balance with a mix of runs and longer passes, which enabled the Condors to stretch the field and make the Stallions have to cover more ground. The big play during the drive was when Jake hit the tight end, the new kid Grady, on a crossing route. Grady stiff-armed the first tackler to the ground, allowing him to gain an extra few yards. The play covered forty yards and put the Condors deep into Stallions' territory. On the next play, Dwayne did a hitch-and-go route that froze the cornerback, letting Dwayne get behind coverage. Jake saw Dwayne streaking down the sidelines and hit him with a perfect pass. Dwayne followed Jake’s chin, knowing exactly where that pass would go, catching it in stride and quite literally sauntering into the endzone, waving at the Stallions’ fans as their boos and hisses filled the air. He turned and did a little curtsey to the Condors’ faithful. The stadium erupted, fans stomping their feet, and cheering like crazy. Condors 17 Stallions 14.
On the sidelines, Dwayne caught Jake’s eyes, smiling. Jake threw his hand up gesturing,Not yet, buddy.
During the next Stallions’ possession, they were able to put together a drive that put them in field goal range. The Stallions had one of the best kickers in the league, and once his foot connected with the ball, it sailed right down the middle of the goalpost. The camera caught Jake shaking his head, his eyes wide, concern contorting his features. He directed his gaze to the stands like he knew exactly where to look. He peeled his eyes away before the camera could figure out which white jacket-wearing woman was the ‘Skyler Cheerleader.’
Back to a tie score. Damn, the air around him seemed thicker to Jake, like his lungs had to work to pull in a deep enough breath.
“Skyler, look ahead, look ahead,” he heard Coach Easton say gruffly behind him. “There’s nothing back there, ahead, push ahead.”
Nodding, Jake ran onto the grid. He heard his mom, he was sure: “Dance, Jake.” That same adrenaline intertwining with focus that he’d felt back in high school drove him. At that moment, he owned that field; tapping into the momentum from their last possession, the Condors managed another drive deep into Stallions’ territory. The Condors were on the Stallions’twenty-five, which allowed the Condors to kick another field goal. Condors 20, Stallions 17 with 2:25 remaining on the clock.
Dwayne could feel the ring on his hand, riveted from the sidelines to the activity on the field, feeling a win deep into his core. He blinked hard, thinking about his dad. “Not for you, you left…You knew you were going, and you left her to do everything. Mom, this is for you,” he hissed into his helmet.
The Stallions had one last drive to tie or take the lead. They got a few first downs and were at the Condors’ forty-eight-yard line with fifty-two seconds to play. Jake, Dwayne, and Rodger stood with arms around each other, watching with rapt attention, eyes on the field, then the clock, then the field. The next play was a pass play; the ball was tipped by a Condor lineman, fluttered like a duck, and was intercepted by a Condors’ safety. Chest-bumping bear hugs erupted from the Condors sidelines as the realization of a Super Bowl win took hold.
“Dwayne, we’re going to do this!” Jake shouted, then quickly glanced up. He knew exactly where she was, standing and cheering.
She caught his eyes. She subtly pointed to her heart with a quick pucker of her lips.
He matched the gesture, his hand hitting his chest. “That’s right,mybeautiful girl,” he said in a barely contained whisper, batting away the niggling feeling that he was jumping ahead.
Jake ran back onto the field with his team, taking over the ball. He took a knee three times, letting the clock run out. The game was over. The Condors had won the Super Bowl!
