MD - Chapter 269: The End of an EraMarch 11
Andrew returned to his room and found that Leonard, Howard, and Steve's computers were already connected.
To install everything, they had dragged an extra desk to the center of the room.
Even so, there was still plenty of space left.
Andrew's room was much larger than the one he had in his old house, spacious enough to set something like this up without it looking like a complete mess.
Three monitors lit up the room, cables ran across the floor, and the tower fans began to hum softly.
"You sure took your time, man," Steve said, turning his head from his chair.
Howard nodded without taking his eyes off the screen.
"We're already in," he announced solemnly, as if they were seconds away from starting an extremely important mission.
Andrew sat down in his chair, turned on his PC, and rested his arms on the desk.
"My parents told me UCLA's athletic director called…" he said while the computer booted up. "Dan Guerrero."
The three of them immediately looked at him.
"What?" Leonard said.
Andrew explained briefly, "Basically, he said they're going to make some big changes in the next few days and that he'd appreciate it if I waited to see who the new head coach will be before making my decision."
There was a brief silence.
"They moved fast…" Leonard muttered with a strange expression. "They lost by fifty points a few hours ago and they're already calling your parents."
"And they basically told you they're going to fire the coach," Howard added, bringing a hand to his chin thoughtfully.
Steve snorted.
Everyone looked at him.
"Come on… you don't have to be a genius to know Neuheisel is finished," Steve said. "After a 50–0 in the rivalry game, that guy's done."
"Fair point," Howard admitted.
Steve leaned back in his chair with a grimace.
"Anyway, I still prefer UCLA over those damn rich kids at USC," he added. "Did you see the comments they're throwing around? Like you already regret not visiting them."
Howard let out a small laugh.
"That's the spirit," he said. "Besides, between us… I'd take a big, diverse, competitive university a thousand times over some private club for Hollywood heirs."
UCLA was a public university. Much more economically accessible for students from the state of California. The annual cost, including housing and other expenses, was around $25,000 for residents.
USC, on the other hand, was a private university. Its annual cost easily exceeded $55,000, which for years had given it the reputation of being associated with wealthy families.
USC's social profile was often closely tied to the children of business owners, families influential in the film industry, large business networks, and very powerful fraternities on campus.
Many in Los Angeles saw it as the university for the city's rich kids.
Among them, Steve and Howard.
UCLA, on the other hand, had a very different profile.
Its students were academically very strong, and the campus brought together a much broader social mix. There was money, of course, but the environment was more focused on academic performance, sports, and personal merit, not so much on family connections or the economic power of your last name.
It was an elite university. But not an elite built on money.
"So, are we playing LoL or what?" Leonard asked, now clearly impatient.
"Of course, my friend. Tonight we reach Platinum," Howard said, stretching his fingers in front of the keyboard with a confident smile.
Andrew glanced at him sideways, "You're way too optimistic. Only six percent of players make it to Platinum."
That said, they weren't bad.
They played as a team with pretty solid coordination and stayed in Gold, which at the time meant being roughly within the top 18–20% of players. Nothing spectacular, but still a respectable rank in League of Legends in 2011.
At that time, the competitive system was fairly simple.
There were only five main ranks:
1. Bronze
2. Silver
3. Gold
4. Platinum
5. Diamond
Higher divisions like Master, Grandmaster, or Challenger didn't exist yet, something Andrew remembered from his previous life.
Because of that, being in Gold carried a certain prestige, and Diamond was practically the territory of semi-professional players.
Howard leaned back in his chair with a determined look, "I know what my team is capable of," he said in a motivational tone, as if he were giving a pre-game speech before a football match. "Besides, tonight I have extra motivation."
He reached into his backpack and pulled out a bottle of vodka.
Holding it up in front of them, he said gravely, "For every match we lose… I'll take a shot of this."
The others stared at him.
Howard grimaced and added, "And believe me… I don't want to. I have very bad memories with vodka."
Steve, Leonard, and Andrew exchanged glances.
"Well, it looks like tonight we're going to have a drunk and pissed-off Howard," Leonard commented, and the other two laughed.
"I already invited you, accept it," Howard said, ignoring them as he set the bottle on the table.
And so four hours passed.
Match after match of League of Legends.
Until finally, "Shit!" Howard exclaimed furiously, slamming the desk.
On his monitor, the word "Defeat" appeared in red.
Just as they had predicted at the beginning of the night, Howard ended up drunk and fairly irritated.
Not because they had lost too many matches, in fact, the team still had a win rate above 50%, but every loss came with a shot, and that had been enough for Howard to overdo it a little.
"The next one!" he said quickly, leaving the end screen to start another match.
Steve sighed, "Dude… it's almost four in the morning. I'm going home."
"Oh, come on! One more," Howard insisted. "We can't go to sleep with a loss."
Leonard looked at him with resignation, "We've already played too much."
"It's never too much, right Andrew?" Howard said, trying to recruit an ally.
But Leonard answered before he could, "We already won more than half the matches. That's good. We're finishing with more elo than we started."
He gestured toward the screens, "And besides, it's just a game. Don't take it so seriously."
Howard's expression changed completely, "A game?" he repeated, in a much lower voice.
The room fell silent.
"This is not a game, you son of a bitch!" Howard suddenly shouted. "Nothing is a game!"
He looked at Leonard with blazing eyes, "What do you mean, a game? Are you an idiot or what's wrong with you?"
Leonard remained still in his chair.
"Ask Tom Brady if his games are just a game!"
"Jesus… okay," Leonard said, raising his hands slightly.
Howard stared at him for a few more seconds and then slowly exhaled.
"Sorry. I think the vodka is already getting to me. We'd better stop playing for today."
And so the night passed, and Monday arrived.
With it came the news that practically the entire college football world had been expecting.
The firing of UCLA's head coach: Rick Neuheisel.
The news itself wasn't a surprise.
After the 50–0 beating in the Los Angeles rivalry game, combined with four inconsistent seasons, most people already assumed Neuheisel's tenure was over.
What did surprise people was how quickly it happened.
The announcement came Monday morning. Less than 48 hours after the game.
And the most controversial part of all: UCLA still had to play the Pac-12 Conference Championship that very Saturday against the Oregon Ducks.
In other words, the Bruins would play the most important game of their season with a head coach who had already been fired.
Andrew wasn't too surprised.
Not only because Dan Guerrero had called his parents the same night as the game.
It was also because, thanks to the memories from his first life, Andrew already knew this would happen, that Neuheisel would be fired. And in a week or two, the next head coach hired would be Jim Mora.
Andrew also knew that, no matter how much universities wanted him and competed aggressively to recruit him, UCLA wouldn't make a decision as important as hiring their next head coach based solely on one player, a player who might not even choose them in the end.
They were thinking about the program's long-term future.
Because of that, Andrew assumed that, unless something completely unexpected happened, Mora's arrival would likely remain unchanged.
From what Andrew remembered, Mora's first season was fairly good.
He didn't remember the exact record, but he did remember something important: that year UCLA defeated USC, breaking a streak of more than ten consecutive losses in the rivalry game.
And that made it even more interesting given the context.
Because Matt Barkley, to the surprise of many, decided to stay an extra year at USC for his senior season, turning the Trojans into one of the teams that started the year as serious national title contenders.
Looking at that situation, if Andrew decided to go to UCLA under Jim Mora, the immediate future didn't seem bad.
With him at quarterback, and Steve also on the team, they could quickly transform the offense.
But there was one detail that worried him.
Jim Mora was primarily known as a defensive coach.
On his teams, the offense was usually almost entirely left in the hands of the offensive coordinator.
And that was precisely the problem.
Many modern offensive coordinators were adopting spread offense systems.
That meant lots of passing, high tempo, no-huddle, accelerated offenses…
A style Andrew didn't like at all.
He preferred something different.
A pro-style system, more balanced, with control of the game's tempo, a solid running game, and a structured passing attack.
Andrew tried to remember the name of the offensive coordinator Mora would eventually hire, but he wasn't sure.
And he knew UCLA had promised him something important: the freedom to build the offense around his strengths.
But even so, if the offensive coordinator they hired turned out to be a spread offense specialist, that wouldn't be a particularly good sign for him.
He wanted to work with an offensive coordinator and a quarterbacks coach who could truly help him develop his game completely.
A coach who shared his vision of a pro-style offense, closer to professional football.
'Well, I'll find out who Mora hires soon enough,' Andrew thought as he drove to school.
He parked in his usual spot, and the routine of classes and practice began.
The days flew by and Friday night arrived.
The state championship.
…
[Here we are at the Rose Bowl! On a night that will be remembered for a long time! The California elite state championship: Mater Dei versus De La Salle. A rematch that promises to be the best high school football game in the country,] said ESPN commentator Will, enthusiastically from the broadcast booth.
His partner Dave nodded while looking over the enormous stadium.
[Absolutely. It's the same final as last year, the same stadium, but with nearly twenty thousand more people in the stands,] he said with some disbelief as he scanned the Rose Bowl, which, although not completely full, showed more than seventy percent of its capacity occupied.
[How many people exactly, Dave? Because from here it looks like a massive crowd!]
[Seventy-two thousand tickets sold. Seventeen thousand more than last year's final,] Dave replied.
[Wow! That's already college and NFL territory,] Will said in amazement. [And the final game of the best high school player in the country, and arguably in history, has a huge impact. His season has been even more dominant than last year's.]
Dave nodded while looking at his stats sheet, [Exactly. Andrew already has 72 touchdowns this season, the same number he reached last year, but with one fewer game played. It's crazy how much he keeps improving year after year.]
[A historic season that could become perfect again if Mater Dei is crowned champion tonight. And in many ways it's even bigger than last year: this season broke television ratings records that already seemed hard to surpass, attendance records at the stadium, and several high school football statistical records,] Will commented.
Then he paused briefly before asking:
[Now Dave… do you think head coach Bob Ladouceur has prepared something special to stop Pritchett tonight?]
Dave didn't take long to respond, looking toward the area where the legendary head coach stood.
[Without a doubt. Ladouceur is a true veteran. If Andrew is considered the best high school prospect in history, Ladouceur could very well be considered the greatest head coach in high school football history. We're talking about a coach with more than 300 wins and fewer than a dozen losses over decades leading the Spartans.]
He let his words sink in for a moment before continuing.
[It's obvious that, watching Mater Dei's season and remembering what happened in last year's final, Ladouceur has probably been preparing for this game for weeks, predicting that the paths of these two teams would most likely cross again right here, in this very final.]
And the game began before the eyes of more than seventy thousand people in the stadium and millions watching the broadcast from their homes.
As had happened in previous games throughout the season, many people had traveled from other states just to see Andrew play in person.
But this time something different could be noticed in the stands.
Among the crowd you could see shirts, caps, and groups of fans from Texas, Missouri, Georgia, and Palo Alto, basically from the places where Andrew had taken his official college visits.
Along with, of course, fans who had come from many other parts of the country.
The game began, and it quickly became clear that it would be one of the toughest games the Monarchs had faced all season.
Probably the toughest, along with the game against Notre Dame.
But unlike that matchup, this one was much slower, more methodical, and more tense.
No frantic pace and explosive offenses.
The Spartans' defense was executing their plan perfectly. Every advance by Andrew's offense came at a cost, and every down had to be fought for.
Meanwhile, Mater Dei's defense was performing well compared to their previous matchup.
When the third quarter ended, the scoreboard perfectly reflected how even the game had been.
Mater Dei 17 — De La Salle 17
Andrew had thrown two touchdown passes, along with a field goal scored by the Monarchs' kicker.
On the other side, De La Salle had answered in exactly the same way, two touchdowns and a field goal.
The state championship was still completely open.
The fourth quarter began with the Spartans' offense and it was quite obvious what the plan would be.
The Spartans' trademark style.
A long, patient drive, seven or eight minutes long, slowly moving down the field while the clock kept running.
If they managed to execute it as they had so many times before, the result would be clear: leave Andrew and the Monarchs with barely four or five minutes to respond.
In theory, that wasn't a problem for Andrew. He had led drives in even less time throughout the season.
The real problem was something else.
The Spartans' defense.
They were playing an extraordinary game. Without a doubt the best defense Mater Dei had faced all season, the best in the state, and probably the best in the country at the high school level.
De La Salle's plan seemed clear: Score with a long drive, and then trust their defense to do something no team had truly managed all season.
Stop Andrew.
Up to that point, they had been more successful than any other opponent.
Andrew had already suffered several sacks, some incomplete passes, and even one drive that ended with no points, something rare in such a dominant season.
Even so, he remained one of the most influential players in the game.
Two touchdown passes and the drive that ended in a field goal.
And if Andrew managed to respond with a touchdown, the most likely outcome would be a tie game, which meant De La Salle wasn't taking a big risk in this scenario.
Yes, the Monarchs could attempt a two-point conversion to win outright.
But in a state championship, with so much at stake, that would be a very risky gamble.
The most likely outcome would be a tie.
And if the game ended tied at the end of regulation, it would go into overtime.
In the California high school football overtime system, each team receives one offensive possession starting from the opponent's 10-yard line.
They have four downs to score.
Then the other team receives its possession from the same spot.
After both teams have had their opportunity:
If one team has more points, they win the game.
If the score is still tied, another overtime period is played.
The clock no longer runs the way it does in a normal quarter. Each overtime is essentially a mini offensive battle, and several overtime periods can be played in a row if the tie continues.
But when De La Salle had already spent four minutes on the drive and were still far from the end zone, something happened that surprised everyone in the stadium.
[And the Monarchs' defense stops them!] Will exclaimed from the booth.
"YES, BABY!" shouted Nick, Mater Dei's running back, springing out of his seat the moment he saw the play.
The offensive sideline exploded. The other players and substitutes reacted immediately, high-fiving each other, pounding their chests, hugging tightly while pointing excitedly toward the field.
Andrew, who had been sitting and watching the entire drive carefully, stood up as well.
A smile appeared on his face. He began clapping loudly, looking toward the field and congratulating the defense as they returned to the sideline after forcing the punt.
The stadium exploded too. A huge portion of the crowd rose from their seats, celebrating the play as if it were just as important as a touchdown.
[Great defensive play! The Spartans come up short on third down and have to punt!] Will added.
Everyone in the stadium understood what that moment meant.
It could be the play that decided the game, and perhaps also the mistake that would end up costing the Spartans the championship.
As Mater Dei's offense began to take the field, Will couldn't help but ask the question.
[Dave, do you think we're about to see another long drive, but this time executed by Pritchett-Tucker?]
The reference was obvious.
Many people remembered perfectly what had happened in the Southern Section final a few weeks earlier. The same situation. And almost the same moment in the game.
Andrew had led a long, perfect final drive, draining the clock and leaving Notre Dame with no time to respond.
If Andrew did the same tonight, De La Salle would have less than a minute to try to tie the game. And in reality, they would have it even harder than Notre Dame had that night.
Because the Spartans weren't exactly known for fast offenses. Their system was based on ball control, long drives, and discipline, not explosive comebacks.
And they also didn't have a quarterback with the arm strength or precision necessary to execute a quick aerial drive like the ones Andrew had repeatedly shown he could run.
[A long drive is difficult, more difficult than a regular one, and sometimes even harder than a fast one,] Dave replied calmly.
[Trying it against a defense like the Spartans' will be a huge challenge. But if there's anyone capable of doing it's Andrew Pritchett-Tucker. And honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if he pulls it off.]
Dave wasn't wrong.
Mater Dei began the drive exactly the way they had weeks earlier against Notre Dame. Slow and patient.
The clock began to run. One minute passed, and everything seemed under control.
But the Spartans' defense also knew exactly what Andrew was trying to do, and everything that was at stake.
The tension could be felt throughout the stadium.
Every play was more physical than the last.
Every tackle drew either a roar or a groan from the more than seventy thousand people inside the Rose Bowl.
Until finally, when the drive had already lasted three minutes and thirty seconds, the play happened that once again threw everything into suspense.
Andrew dropped back into the pocket. He looked for his receiver on an intermediate route.
But the defender arrived just in time. The ball touched the receiver's hands, and fell to the ground.
Incomplete pass.
"Shit," Andrew muttered to himself, clicking his tongue.
[Incomplete pass!] Will announced from the booth. [Mater Dei now faces fourth down.]
Dave looked at the scoreboard and then at the position of the ball.
[They're at the opponent's 42-yard line…]
Will nodded. [So here comes the big question. What do you do in this situation?]
Dave answered quickly, [A field goal attempt from here would be extremely long for a high school kicker. A fifty-fifty shot, even for a very good one.]
Will looked toward the field, [The other option would be to punt.]
Dave nodded, [Probably the safest decision. The game is still tied, and even if De La Salle gets the ball back, that doesn't mean they'll score. They could be stopped just like in the previous drive.]
[This game is really tied. Each team has two touchdowns, a field goal, and a failed long drive,] Will said, clearly not expecting such a tight state final.
[Very tight. Both teams tried that long drive and both failed. And it's not easy to pull off, especially in a setting like this, where the pressure can be felt on every single play,]Dave said.
[It's difficult even for a disciplined team like De La Salle, which is used to controlling the clock and executing these long drives. And it's difficult even for a prodigy like Pritchett-Tucker. Even great players can fail in moments like this.]
Will nodded, but suddenly frowned while looking toward the field, [Wait a moment… I don't see the kicker coming out!]
The stadium began to murmur.
Will continued, surprised, [And the punt team isn't coming out either!]
Mater Dei's players were grouping together in the offensive huddle.
[Mater Dei is staying on the field!] Will said with obvious surprise.
Dave watched carefully, [That means they're going for it. Fourth down, they need ten yards to keep the drive alive.]
Will immediately added, [An extremely risky decision. If they fail, De La Salle will get the ball in this part of the field.]
Dave let out a small incredulous laugh, [Well this just got a lot more interesting.]
The cameras focused on the Monarchs' sideline.
Head coach Bruce Rollinson stood there, completely serious, watching the field.
Dave pointed him out, [Look at Rollinson. He doesn't seem to have any doubts. He's putting the game in the hands of his quarterback.]
Will nodded, [Total trust in Pritchett.]
Andrew needed ten yards to keep the drive alive.
The ball reached his hands.
The Spartans' defense exploded at the snap. The defensive line penetrated with brutal intensity, completely fired up by what that play meant.
If they stopped Andrew there, they would recover the ball in extraordinary field position.
Everyone expected a short or intermediate pass. But Andrew didn't throw. He secured the ball against his chest and began to run.
[And Pritchett-Tucker runs!] Will called.
A linebacker lunged toward him.
Andrew made a quick hip fake, slightly changing direction, and the defender flew past him.
[He avoids the first defender!]
The stadium began to rise to its feet.
[There are the ten yards! First down! The drive stays alive!]
The roar of the Rose Bowl came immediately.
But suddenly the noise changed. Because Andrew was still running.
[He's still going!] Will shouted.
15 yards.
A defender came from the side.
Andrew spun his body with a spin move, a maneuver where the player rapidly rotates on his axis to evade a defender, briefly turning his back to avoid direct contact.
[Twenty yards!]
Now the entire stadium was on its feet.
[Thirty yards!]
Only open field remained.
Will practically jumped from his seat in the booth.
[Pritchett-Tucker is still running!]
The last defender tried to catch him from behind.
Too late.
[Touchdown Mater Dei! A forty-two-yard run by Pritchett-Tucker!]
The Rose Bowl exploded.
Thousands of people shouted at the same time, the noise sweeping through the stadium like a wave spreading across every section of the stands.
Nick, Sedric, and the rest of the offensive players began sprinting with all their strength toward the end zone to celebrate, looking at each other in disbelief.
One put his hands on his head.
Another raised his arms to the sky.
Bruce, on the sideline, brought his hands to his head for a brief second, unable to believe what had just happened. Then he quickly regained his composure and made a calming gesture toward the bench, especially toward the other coaches.
There were still minutes left.
On the Spartans' side, several defenders remained completely still on the field, staring toward the end zone, stunned by what they had just witnessed.
Andrew dropped the ball in the end zone and kept running toward one corner of the field.
Then he let himself fall onto the grass.
He slid on his knees with his arms spread wide and a broad smile on his face, looking toward the packed stands of the stadium that roared in celebration of the play.
It didn't take even two seconds for them to reach him. His teammates came running and piled on top of him, forming a mountain of red jerseys that practically made him disappear beneath the celebration.
[And there he is! Just when it seems like he's having an ordinary game by the standards he's set… when it looks like the opposing defense has finally slowed him down… then he does something no one expects. It's useless trying to write a script for this guy,]Dave said excitedly.
In one of the sections with the best views of the stadium, Andrew's family jumped from their seats celebrating.
Jay was even celebrating with an enthusiasm that was unusual for him. On impulse, he gave Phil, who happened to be closest, a tight hug.
"Let's go!" Jay shouted loudly.
"That run was phenomenal!" Cam exclaimed, his face completely painted red and white.
On his shoulders sat Lily, with Andrew's number painted on her cheeks, celebrating with her arms spread wide.
"No doubt," Mitchell said, already calmer after the initial celebration.
Then he looked at Cam jumping around and Lily on his shoulders for a second, thinking that perhaps it wasn't the safest thing, but given the atmosphere in the stadium, he decided it wasn't the moment to be strict.
Nearby, Howard watched the field where the Mater Dei players were still celebrating.
His hands were on his head. His eyes were watery and he wore a huge smile.
"Are you going to cry?" Alex asked from beside him, her tone slightly teasing.
Leonard, Steve, and Haley, who were still celebrating the play, looked at him and smiled mockingly.
"Do you want a tissue?" Steve added.
Howard quickly wiped his eyes, "Of course not," he replied. "I'm just a little emotional, you know? It's the end of a stage in our lives… even if we didn't play a single game."
He was referring to Leonard, Haley, Alex, and himself.
Steve was there as well. Though in his case, he actually was a player.
For the first time in the entire game, Mater Dei decided to go for a two-point conversion, and it was successful.
The scoreboard changed and the difference became eight points.
That meant the Spartans still had one chance.
With roughly four minutes left on the clock, they needed to score a touchdown and then convert a two-point conversion as well to tie the game.
But the Monarchs' defense took the field completely fired up.
They had already been playing a great game all night, but now they had something extra: the lead on the scoreboard and the emotional momentum from Andrew's touchdown.
The Spartans tried to advance.
First with their characteristic running game. Then trying to open the field with a few passes.
But the pressure was enormous. Every play was met by the roar of the stadium.
Finally, in one last desperate attempt, the ball fell incomplete once again.
The game was over.
The final score appeared on the Rose Bowl screen:
Mater Dei 25 — De La Salle 17
The stadium exploded again.
Mater Dei were state champions for the second consecutive time in their history.
Andrew, with that decisive third touchdown along with his game statistics, was named MVP of the final.
But at that moment, the award almost felt secondary.
When the announcement appeared on the stadium screen, the stands began to roar. More than half the stadium rose to their feet and began chanting his name.
"AN-DREW… AN-DREW… AN-DREW…"
He had heard his name many times during the season.
But never this loud, and never with so many people.
It was, without a doubt, the most powerful ovation he had ever heard in his life, in both of them, in fact.
His teammates didn't take long to surround him. Laughing and shouting, they lifted him onto their shoulders.
"One, two, three!"
And they threw him into the air.
When he came back down into the middle of the group, someone appeared with a bucket full of water and dumped it over him while the others celebrated around him.
'These bastards,' Andrew thought with a smile.
A few minutes later, after the trophy presentation and everything else, Andrew walked over to Ladouceur to shake his hand and say a few words that the cameras didn't manage to capture.
And with that, the game officially came to an end, and with it, Andrew's high school football chapter.