Ty hurried back to the sideline, each footfall expelling his anger bit-by-bit. Now wasn't the time for rage. He had to focus; had to find the answer.
'I know!' he shouted, moving past a concerned Coach Hoang, who's mouth opened then closed. Ty sat on the bench. If the offence could give him some time to think, he could come up with the solution. It couldn't be hard to find.
The rest of the Dons shared Coach Hoang's concern. Ty was their star, yet he was being slaughtered. Coach Hoang shook his head. He'd known this could happen. A double-team wasn't any use if it was so amateurishly utilised. He had to scheme smarter. Unlike Byrd, Rice wasn't the type of Receiver you could beat just by throwing bodies at him.
If the offence could just get the game back to one-possession, that'd halve the pressure felt by the staff and the defence. All the Dons could do was look forward, and take it one drive at a time. There was plenty of time, such was the silver lining of getting hammered so early.
Chris took a knee on the next kickoff, grounding the ball in the Dons' end-zone for a touchback, starting the Dons a yard closer to their goal than their previous drive had.
The rest of the offence met him on the field. More than a few cast worried glances up at the scoreboard, but Jay pulled them all into the huddle, and drew their focus to what mattered.
Their best—and only—success of the first drive had been on the ground, so that's how the Dons intended to start things off on the right foot for their second as well.
With a Stretch to the outside, Chris burst forward, following Benny's block. However, the Longhorns— expecting a run—were quick to collapse on the play. The defence swarmed, and it was Adam who wrapped Chris up again and took him down after a gain of only 2. Thankfully, the hit wasn't nearly as hard, but Chris popped back up with frustration in place of his pain.
Benny bumped fists with Chris, apologising for his poor block. Chris shook his head. It wasn't something to worry about. 'But if you wanna make up for it, get a first-down yourself.'
Benny nodded, though would have to wait. The Dons still weren't testing the air just yet. Another run came first, as they were determined to get somewhere on the ground. However, Chris's Dive up the middle followed the trend of diminishing returns, as the Longhorns shut him out, and he could only power his way through for a single yard.
Multiple Dons hoisted Chris clear of the wreckage and back onto his feet, dusting him off. Each face was grim, hiding worry and fear behind blank stoicism. Again, the Dons were facing third-and-seven. Again they'd have to go to the air. They hoped that's where the similarities ended; they didn't know if they could survive another turnover in the first quarter.
Jay took his position under Center. He steadied his hands. Everyone knew what they had to do, it was just about executing. Most importantly, HE had to make sure he wasn't sacked again. It didn't matter if he was hit, just so long as he got the ball away, and it was on target.
'Set…hike.'
He took the snap, back-pedalling. The corner of his eye was focused on the outside edge-rusher, but Chris was there, much more calm this time around. He didn't lunge out and throw himself off balance, instead letting Pippen come forward, engaging him when he tried to thrust past. Chris could only hold them off for a second, but more importantly than that, it forced Pippen to pick a side as he forced his way around. Jay stepped the other way, and kept his eyes downfield.
Benny occupied space over the middle, constantly probing for a weak spot in the Longhorns' zone. Yet even as Amon flashed across under him, the defence held strong, passing off assignments and covering for each other without any gaps. Above, Cole zoomed by on a Post route, dragging a Safety deep, and that left Stephen alone on the opposite sideline; Jay's only option.
Jay let the ball fly, and was bumped a moment later, stumbling forward. Another half-second and Pippen would've crushed him again. But he'd got the pass away cleanly, and it spiralled through the air towards its destination.
Stephen ran under the ball, looking back over his shoulder. He'd only need to adjust his stride and path a little. His arms formed a cradle, ready to receive and protect the ball. Juan lunged as the ball neared, reaching under Stephen's arm, wrenching it down just as the ball arrived. Stephen bobbled, and toppled, flailing at the ball again, but he couldn't get a grip on it with one hand as he crashed to the turf, and Juan fell with him. The pass was incomplete, and the Dons' giant had been staggered in a way not dissimilar to what Tyrese would've done.
The Dons hadn't turned the ball over again, but a three-and-out wasn't much better. The offence still hung their heads, even as their teammates and coaches welcomed them back to the bench with encouragement and sympathy.
Another downside to their drive was it did little to give the defence time to reset and strategise for how they could stop the bleeding. Ty sat, staring at a random patch of grass on the gridiron. In his eyes Kentavious's touchdowns repeated endlessly. How could he stop something he couldn't see? How could he stay in front of something he had to react to?
Likewise, Coach Hoang's strategies were half-baked. He didn't want to leave more openings for the rest of the Longhorns' offence, as unused as they had been so far. The best he could think of was limiting the space Rice had to operate. If a Safety could be used as a barrier to section off the middle of the field and keep Rice to the sidelines, maybe Ty could work his magic.
As both teams prepared for the punt, Sebastian stood right at the Longhorns' 25-yard line, waiting. The ball was thumped into the air, and carried just a yard behind Sebastian, who backed up. He ran forward, catching the ball in flight. Accelerating, he squeezed past the first Don tackler, though was tripped up by the second. His the damage of his return was limited to 8 yards.
Ty stood. If there was no tell—no weakness—he just had to be better. He could be, couldn't he? And when they were even once more, it'd come down to who could reach the highest and pluck the brightest star from the sky.
"The air is MINE. Not even that giant Stringbean could hold me down."
The crowd welcomed the Longhorns' offence with raucous cheers and chants, excited to see another spectacular touchdown. The Dons were still restless as they took their formation. For most, they'd been spectators as much as those sitting in the stands. Not because of a lack of effort on their part. The ball had simply gone elsewhere; there wasn't much someone like Deshaun could do if it wasn't his Receiver being targeted. Donte on the other hand, felt just as responsible as Ty for the two touchdowns Kentavious had scored.
Again, he settled into a three-point stance before the seemingly impervious block of iron at the end of the Longhorns' O-Line. How much worse was Donte's ineffectiveness in the face of his opposite number's success. From the same position, George Pippen had already laid ruin to the Dons' offence once and caused a turnover. Donte didn't even NEED to go that far, but maybe that was the point, maybe his goal was too modest. He bit down harder on his mouthguard, glaring across at Lachlan Lance, determined to smash right through him and to the QB beyond, spearing through both of them hard enough to cause a fumble of his own. Lachlan stared down at him, as impassive as ever.
Kentavious stood before Ty, and for the first time, Ty saw anger in his eyes. 'Are you going to fight on your own and finally show me the skill and strength you used to get here?' Kentavious asked. 'Or have you come all this way to simply roll over and die in the first quarter?'
Ty shook his head. 'When will you get it? Just because you score a couple of times doesn't mean you've beaten me. I won't lose to the likes of you.'
'Maybe I'll get it when you can back up all that talk. Hurry up and show me what you think I am.'
The ball was snapped and Ty lashed out, spear thrusting once, twice, thrice even. The first missed completely, but the second and third struck as glancing blows Kentavious was forced to deflect. It slowed him enough, so Ty stuck close to his hip, not giving an inch as they charged down the sideline.
Kentavious feinted inside, but Ty didn't shift with him. Even with all the trash-talk, he didn't lose his head, and remembered Coach Hoang's adjustments. Sonny was covering the inside, though still keeping an eye on the rest of the Longhorns as well.
When Kentavious burst up out of his feint, Ty was right there. It was the best positioning he'd had since the first play; the single play Kentavious had needed to adjust and overcome Ty. Still Morrison tested them. Was his faith in Kentavious justified? Ty sought to shatter it.
They leapt together, and reached the same summit. Kentavious saw Ty climbing to the same peak he was standing on… but the ground underneath him wasn't stable. It soon crumbled, and Ty was falling away, yet Kentavious Skywalker stayed steady as if floating in the air. Ty stretched to his limits, but the ball still travelled just barely over his fingertips; he felt the rush of air from its passage before it landed safely in Kentavious's hands, and the two tumbled, landing hard together.
The 23-yard reception brought the Longhorns flying past half-field. Already they were on the attack again, looking to extend their lead to three-possessions before the first quarter's end.
Ty shoved Kentavious away, and stood up quickly. Another failure—another loss—even when he was in prime position to disrupt—if not, intercept—the pass.
Kentavious stood calmly. The crowd's cheers were only just beginning to fade. Kentavious looked towards the encroaching end-zone, then back at Ty, reminding Ty of how little time he had to figure his shit out and get a stop. Ty silently glared back.
Both boys returned to their huddles. Ty found more worry, and concern, even a little irritation finally. Deshaun slapped his shoulder, getting in his face.
'What the hell are you doin', Freshy?' Deshaun yelled. 'You think we came all this way just for you to fuck it up now?' But there was no weight or venom behind the words. Fear flashed over the false rage in Deshaun's eyes. Ty couldn't blame him, however. They were all at a loss. At least Deshaun was trying to motivate him no matter the method needed.
Even with the harsh words, Ty's reception in the Dons' huddle was kinder than Kentavious's in the Longhorns'. Outside of Morrison, the other Longhorns said nothing more to Kentavious than "good job", but the atmosphere was as cold as the arctic.
'Job's not finished,' Kentavious said, reminding them they—HE—couldn't let up yet.
The huddles broke away and the teams took their formations again. Sebastian wasn't the only Longhorn staring up at the scoreboard as they waited for the snap. How much longer—how much higher did the score need to be—before the Kentavious show would stop hogging the spotlight?
Ty and Kentavious had nothing to say to each other before the snap, even with the figurative spotlight upon them.
The ball was snapped, and Kentavious rushed forward, ducking through to the inside lane as Ty's spear struck outside. As they ran further downfield, it became clear Sonny was cutting off the middle again. But to Kentavious, such a strategy was little more than a challenge, and he'd already proven he could beat Ty in the narrow corridor left to them.
He cut inside for a Post route, charging right towards Sonny, fearless. Sonny turned to keep ahead of the pair, but with them already at top speed, they were soon overrunning him, and then the race became a congested three-way. That was exactly when Morrison threw the ball over.
Kentavious navigated the traffic beautifully. His precise, one-motion movements were impossible for Sonny to stay in front of, as Kentavious slipped around him and laid out for the ball. Ty tried to follow, but with Sonny's delayed reaction, he blocked off the path only when his own teammate was trying to use it. Kentavious reeled in the ball, securing his catch before he fell out-of-bounds, as Ty and Sonny collided with one another, crashing to the turf.
Ty quickly pushed himself up, stumbling away from Sonny, who held out a hand to be helped back to his feet. Ty was snarling at him, and was about to storm off, before he had a double-take. He took Sonny's hand and yanked him up, pulling him close instead of releasing him.
'Stay the fuck away from us,' Ty snapped. 'If Coach says to double him, tell him to fuck off. I got this.'
Sonny glanced back at Kentavious, who shook his head and walked off. Sonny pulled away from Ty's grasp, sighing. 'Whatever, Freshy. You better hurry it up and figure him out. I know you can, but it won't matter if they've already run up the score by the time you do.'
Ty watched Sonny go, a frown creasing his face. You think I don't know that already? he thought. But, of course, Sonny was just worried. All the Dons would be. It was their fate he was fucking up, after all. It didn't matter if they wanted to rely on him or not, they had no choice at the moment. Ty had everything he wanted from an opponent, and it was too much for him to handle.
In the huddle, Ty learned the Dons' zone was switching. Whether Coach Hoang got the message personally, or if he could just tell based on the interaction Sonny and Ty had after the play, he knew something had to change. Kentavious would have free reign over the top, but JJ would be shadowing any underneath routes. Ty was back to what was essentially a one-on-one; Kentavious didn't want anything short, not when his deep routes had been working so well. The last one had earned them another 26 yards, and brought them right within striking range of the end-zone; the Longhorns wouldn't settle for anything less than a touchdown.
The Dons lined up again. Ty didn't need Kentavious to point out how close the end-zone was. Ty could feel it at his back, like the empty expanse beyond a cliff's edge.
'Do you struggle with your teammate's expectations?' Kentavious asked. 'Such is the burden of being the best. They expect you to pull them from the fire. To be honest, I don't blame them. It's the least we can do if we're going to hoard all the opportunities.'
'They have their job, and I have mine,' Ty said irritably. 'It's only right they'd be pissed I'm fucking my end up while they're holding down theirs.'
'Hm. They're helpless.' Kentavious looked around the field, focusing on the Dons. They all looked forward, seemingly focusing on the task in front of them; their helmets prevented him from knowing how anxious they were. 'But are they as helpless as you?'
Ty snarled just before the ball was snapped. Kentavious shot outside, and Ty was glad to push him towards the sideline, running shoulder-to-shoulder as they pushed and ground past each other, fighting for leverage and positioning. It was a straight shot to the end-zone, and Kentavious didn't deviate. He surged towards the corner, but the pass came before it; there was no point in going so deep Ty could shove him out again. So with plenty of room still left in the end-zone, Kentavious leapt. Ty followed soon after. Kentavious twisted in the sky, index fingers and thumbs pressed together to form a diamond as the ball floated towards them. Ty began to fall before it arrived. He swiped desperately, clawing only at Kentavious's arms, pulling one away, but even with just one hand, Kentavious clung to the ball as if it was stuck to his palm. Ty wrenched down as he fell, pulling Kentavious with him, who hung on to the ball, holding it away from the ground.
Another explosion of noise followed the latest in a series of remarkable touchdowns. Kentavious was victorious again, and the haymakers kept falling upon the Dons. How much more could they, and Ty, sustain.
Ty rolled away from Kentavious, though stayed down for a moment longer. Why couldn't he reach it? The ball was always so close, just a fingertip away, but every time it ended up as out of reach as the dome's lights were.
Kentavious stood, swallowed by the noise and excitement of the crowd, yet he hung his head as if he was the one who had been defeated. Even when Morrison came over to congratulate him, he didn't look up or smile, simply muttering that Morrison's throw did half the work, so it was his touchdown to celebrate as well.
They left Ty in the end-zone, though he finally stood and wandered off the field as the special teams units came on for the extra point attempt. Once Kentavious reached the bench, Coach Bourne pulled him aside with a look of concern.
'Everything alright, Kentavious?' he asked.
Kentavious nodded. 'I'm fine. But my challenge is finished.' Finished indeed. Ty wasn't close to the mountaintop, he never had been. In the end, he was nothing but bravado, as Senior had warned him. How tragic.
Coach Bourne glanced back to the field as another cry went up around the stadium. The extra point was good; the score was then 21–0.
'Well, it's only the first quarter, Kentavious. There's plenty of time for Dominguez to make a comeback—they're a resilient team, after all—so keep trucking.'
'I know my father would've told you to feed me the ball as much as possible today, even more than usual, but you can forget about that. It shouldn't be forced.'
Coach Bourne winced, then thumped Kentavious on the shoulder. 'Rest up, Kentavious. We'll do what's best, and play this game out until it's over.'
Kentavious sighed but waited for the Head Coach to leave before he turned to Morrison, who was sitting beside him. 'If you see someone who's more open than me, use them. And don't be scared to switch to a run.'
'Hahaha. You know me, KJ. Always gotta do my best to keep everyone happy. Shit, sometimes I think that's the hardest job a QB has. For some reason it's my fault instead of the coach's if people don't get plays called for 'em.'
Another kickoff restarted the game. Feeling the pressure, Chris leapt out of the end-zone with this one. However, he only managed to scramble forward to the 21-yard line before he was dropped by the Longhorns' relentless pursuit. The game was slipping further from the Dons' grasp, and nothing they tried was working.
Even starting their drive with Play-Action didn't provide any meaningful openings, and Jay had to throw the ball away before Pippen crushed him with another sack.
A screen was their best play of the day, but even that surprise only got them 5 yards, not nearly enough on second down. Finally, Cam was brought in, and after a Draw, he picked up another 3 yards on the ground. Still, the Dons were 2 yards from the first-down marker.
Their best drive of the day resulted in yet another three-and-out. Frustration was boiling over as the offence returned to the bench. Helmets were slammed, heads were in hands, and not a word of encouragement was heard. It was perhaps the worst first quarter the Dons had suffered all season, and in their biggest game ever, no less.
The following punt was thumped to the Longhorns' 18, and held there on a fair catch. The Longhorns took over in the dwindling seconds of the first quarter.
JJ led the Dons' defence onto the field, energetic enough for the whole side; he hoped that energy would spread to his teammates. They weren't finished yet. Not as long as he was still on the field, and he had total faith his brothers could turn the game around.
Kentavious was colder than usual as he lined up opposite Ty, and Ty said nothing, his face scrunched up with hatred. Whether his hate for himself or Kentavious was greater at that moment, even he couldn't say.
At the line, Morrison called an audible. One Sebastian was all too happy to oblige, even if it drew some looks from the Linemen, Lachlan included. Morrison simply grinned and took his position under Center. Everything was going to be fine. They just had to trust him as much as he trusted them.
After tapping his foot back, Sebastian turned and ran across the formation, darting behind Morrison. Deshaun followed, and the ball was snapped as they were in transit. Morrison turned, instantly handing the ball to Sebastian who blazed away from Deshaun at top speed, though the whole defence was shifting to cover him.
Kentavious held off Ty, and Lachlan sealed the edge completely, pinning Donte down and away from Sebastian's running lane. So when Ty shed Kentavious's block and lunged forward, Sebastian had plenty of room before him to cut up and shoot past before the gap could be closed. Thankfully, Deshaun was still trailing, and JJ was rapidly closing the distance as well. Even with the surprise of the Jet Sweep, the play only picked up 7 yards. A tiny amount compared to Kentavious's chunky gains, but still too much to be giving up on a single run.
Time wound down, and as the players involved in the tackle were helped up, then dusted down, the first quarter came to a close. Returning to the sideline for the break, the Dons stared down one of their worst deficits yet. Could they find an answer in the few minutes reprieve they had? Or would the gap only widen in the second quarter?