AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"I don't think kookaburras are chickens," Bam remarked.
"Now they are." Hawk grinned.
"Let's go, " Coach Quinn grunted. He was a man of few words at the best of times. On game day, he had even fewer to say until afterward.
As you might expect, what he said after the game depended on how well we played. If we played badly, he'd let us know at length. If we played well, he'd still tell us where we could improve. His words of praise were rare at best.
We trotted out again, to an even bigger roar from the crowd.
I found my place on the line of scrimmage and waited, my posture loose, but ready.
The coin toss went in our favour, which I decided was a good sign for the day. The coach opted to have us start on the offensive. Great, all the better to jump straight in and whip some chicken ass.
Blood pounded in my ears.
I once read that men going into battle, sword in hand, had much the same feeling. The anticipation of the fight. The need to smash, thump, drive the opponents into the unyielding ground, face first, blade through their heart.
We weren't fighting for our lives, but we might as well have been. The need to win was greater than anything else right now. It encompassed the entirety of my thoughts. That and thewhereabouts of the ball. Even when it wasn't in play, I kept my eyes on it.
Ollie snapped the ball to Hawk and the world, which had slowed for a few minutes, went into overdrive.
Hawk caught the ball. A nanosecond passed while I ran, searching for an opening in the field.
I found one, just as Hawk threw the ball to me. The opposition closed in on the other wide receiver, leaving me relatively open.
Their first mistake. I caught the ball and tucked it into the crook of my arm.
I ran three or four long, fast steps before I felt one of my opponents. His presence bore down on me.
I swerved, but his weight slammed me to the ground. I grunted with frustration as I lost the ball.
I got to my feet and we resumed our places before the ball was back in play.
This time, Hawk threw to the other receiver and all I could do was follow it forward, in case it came to me again.
We moved it ahead, bit by painful bit, before the Kookaburras took us down with the sixth tackle.
Coach gestured for me to swap out and I trotted to the sidelines.
All the guys had the same expression on their faces. No one wanted an easy game, but this was going to try us all. And it was going to hurt tomorrow. I'd been down twice already, both times hard.
I couldn't be happier. This was exactly what I loved to do, what I wasbornto do. Right here, right now, was everything I worked my whole life for. There was no bigger rush.
Still, watching sucked. Cheering the team on was a poor second to being out there, playing.
The Rapids delivered tackle after tackle to the Kookaburras, until finally the opposition scored a touchdown.
I groaned.
The crowd groaned.
The Kookaburras celebrated by strutting around as though they barely noticed their success.
It was short lived. We went back on the offensive and quickly scored a touchdown of our own.
High fives and the roar of the crowd and I was back off while we went on the defensive again.
Our blockers were on point. The Kookaburras couldn't scramble past for another touchdown.
