Go Long! (14 page)

But that didn't happen. Pulaski had gone four and zero with its Wing-T, and one scoreless half was not about to make them change their ways.

“That's a mistake,” Ronde told himself. “Coach Wheeler would have changed everything up. He's really good at strategy.”

And so the rout continued. Cody threw a long bomb to Fred early in the third quarter for another touchdown. Then, after Pulaski came back with a long field goal, Cody found Tiki on a screen pass that turned into a long gainer, followed by a chip shot field goal by Adam.

At the end of the third quarter, the score was 31–3, Eagles. Ronde turned to the stands and waved to his mom, who beamed back at him and blew him a kiss.

Matt Clayton waved too and gave Ronde a thumbs-up. Ronde smiled and strapped his helmet back on. The Wildcats had just taken possession on their own twenty yard line. “Ronde time,” he said to himself as he trotted onto the field.

With a big lead, he reasoned, the Wildcats would have to go to their passing game to try and catch up fast. But if they did, he would make them pay, big-time.

Pulaski tried a long bomb on first down, but it was way overthrown. On second down, they ran a crossing pattern over the middle, but the receiver dropped the pass.

Ronde winced. He knew how badly that kid must feel right now. He'd been there himself. Hadn't they all?

The Wildcats' QB hadn't thrown to Patrick Walsh since the first half, Ronde noticed. That was smart of him, since Ronde was the Eagles' best cornerback and already had an interception and a touchdown.

But sooner or later they would have to try again—and now was the perfect time. On third down and long, needing a first down in the worst way, Ronde guessed that the Wildcats would try a quick square-out pattern.

He dropped back in coverage. But as the ball was snapped, he sprinted right at his man. Sure enough, Walsh wasn't looking at him, but back at the quarterback, waiting for the quick pass.

As soon as he saw Walsh make his move, Ronde cut in front of him and picked the pass right out of the air. In full gallop, he streaked right down the sideline untouched, straight into the end zone!

It was the final, crushing blow for Pulaski. For the rest of the game, the Eagles kept the ball on the ground, running out the clock.

They barely even tried to score. After all, there was no need to humiliate a beaten opponent, and Coach Wheeler made sure they didn't pile on the points in the last five minutes. A 38–3 shellacking of a powerhouse like Pulaski was enough of a statement.

When the final gun sounded, the victorious Eagles ran over to the bleachers to hug their fans and families. They danced up and down in one another's arms.

After hugging his mom and giving Matt Clayton the Eagles' handshake, Ronde happened to notice the reporter for the
Roanoke Reporter
in the back row of the bleachers, scribbling away and shaking his head in amazement.

“Well, why not?” Ronde said to himself. “I'd be shocked too, if I hadn't seen it coming.”

“THAT WAS A DIFFERENT TEAM I SAW OUT THERE
tonight,” Coach Wheeler said to an excited Eagles team after the game.

The final gun had sounded more than half an hour ago, but only now was everyone back in the locker room. They'd all been doing a lot of celebrating.

It was only a regular season game, Tiki thought, but it meant so much more! It could have been the end of their playoff hopes—but instead, it had brought the Eagles back to life.

Everyone broke out into the team song, clapping their hands and whistling. It seemed like Hidden Valley Junior High was just one big happy family.

It was the first time all season that things were turning out the way Tiki had dreamed they would be. He pinched himself on the arm, hard. No, he wasn't dreaming. This was for real. In fact, it felt like they had all just woken up from a long nightmare!

“You guys really took it to them!” Coach Wheeler told
them. “You brought your A game all night long—and that includes your mental game!”

“You da man, Coach!” Paco shouted, and everybody started chanting, “COACH! COACH! COACH!”

Wheeler raised his hands to quiet them down. “Now you can all see what it takes to beat a powerhouse team like Pulaski. And for tonight, I just want you to enjoy this victory. Because you sure earned it. But one word of warning . . .”

He cast his eagle-eyed gaze around the room, looking each one of them straight in the eye for a moment. “We've got to bring this kind of effort, and do this kind of preparation, every week—that's
every single week
—if we expect to reach our goal this season.”

Again, he looked around the room. And this time, when his gaze met Tiki's, he gave his former student a quick little wink.

Tiki knew Coach Wheeler was thanking him for his help that day at Kessler's. He saw the coach wink at Ronde, too.

“We have what some people might call a ‘softer schedule' coming up,” the coach continued. “So let me warn you right now—if we fall into the trap of looking past teams, and thinking we've got them beat before we step onto the field, I promise you, one of those ‘softer' teams is going to rear up and bite us.

“But that's for tomorrow,” he finished. “Today, you can give yourselves a great big pat on the back, and score one for our side!”

A huge cheer erupted in the locker room. It echoed off the metal lockers as the stomping of a hundred feet shook the floor.

“COACH, COACH, COACH!”

After Wheeler left the building, the players got showered and changed back into their regular clothes.

Tiki, Ronde, Paco, and Adam walked together out into the parking lot, where Mrs. Barber was waiting by her car to drive them back to the Mews, where they all lived.

“Hey,” Adam suddenly said, pointing to the bleachers. “Isn't that? . . .”

“It's Cody,” Paco said. “With the guy from the
Roanoke Reporter
!”

Sure enough, Tiki saw the man speaking into a small digital voice recorder. Then he held it up to Cody's face, to record what he said.

“I've got to hear this,” Ronde said.

“Man, you are nosy,” Tiki said with a laugh.

“Come on with me, Tiki. You know you're curious.”

“You are not going over there and snoop on them,” Tiki said. “Mom's right over there watching!”

“Okay,” Ronde said. “You go—if you get in trouble, just tell them you're me.”

“Do it, Tiki!” Paco urged.

“Yeah, man,” Adam echoed. “We want to know—and it's important to the team! If he's taking all the credit, and it gets into the paper . . .”

“Don't worry about Mom,” Ronde said, seeing Tiki's eyes go to the car. “I'll tell her you're getting interviewed by the paper.”

Tiki frowned. “That would be lying, Ronde.”

“Not really,” Ronde said. “If you work it right, that reporter's bound to ask you a couple of questions too.”

Before Tiki could protest, Ronde, Paco, and Adam had already moved off toward Mrs. Barber and the car.

Tiki wandered over toward Cody and the reporter, pretending he didn't notice there was an interview going on.

When he got close enough to hear, he came to a halt, leaning against a lamppost and pretending to fix the zipper on his equipment bag.

“So how does it feel to have a breakthrough performance like the one you had tonight?” the reporter was asking.

Cody smiled. “Well, as far as I'm concerned, the important thing is that the team got a win today.”

The reporter nodded. “Yes? And what about your own performance? Seventeen completions on twenty-one passes, three touchdowns, no interceptions or fumbles, seventy-four yards rushing? . . .”

Cody shrugged. “I had good protection, good blocking, my receivers ran great patterns, we all held on to the
football, and our coach had a great game plan. I'm just one guy—it takes all fifty of us to play a game like this and win.”

The reporter laughed. “You're just being modest.”

“Whatever,” Cody said. “Just don't write about me being some kind of star, okay? It was a team effort—make sure your article says that.”

The reporter put away his pad. “Thanks, Hansen,” he said, shaking hands. “And we'll be talking again next week.”

Tiki shook his head with a grin. Listening to Cody now, he wouldn't have believed it possible just a few days ago. Cody had gone from being a hotdogging brat who blamed everything that went wrong on somebody else to a real leader who could rally his players behind him.

Cody had changed so much in such a short time! They all had.

Somehow, everything had fallen into place. Coach Wheeler had found a way to get through to Cody. And the Eagles had come back from the brink of disaster.

From here on in, if they stuck to Coach Wheeler's game plan, they would become a legitimate contender for the playoffs, just like everyone thought they would be at the start of the season.

Tiki smiled and blew out a relieved breath.
Coach Wheeler was right,
he thought.
It's all about the mental game!

A defensive play. The defensive team rushes the quarterback of the offensive team right after the snap. In this play the defensive team's goal is to sack the quarterback.

In this offensive play the quarterback pretends to hand off the football to the running back. Instead, the quarterback runs to the other side of the field so that he can pass or run the ball himself.

This is an offensive play that is called by the quarterback while the team is in a huddle. The quarterback gives the players two different plays that he wants to run. When they are at the line of scrimmage, the quarterback tells the team which play they are going to do.

A double reverse play where the quarterback passes the ball to a running back, who passes it back to the quarterback in a double reverse, and then the quarterback passes the football to a receiver.

At the beginning of each half, and between field goals and touchdowns, this kicking play is used. The kicking team gets to choose how they want to line up behind the football. Meanwhile, the receiving team has to be at least ten yards away from the ball.

This is a risky offensive play. The quarterback throws the football with no particular receiver as his target. He hopes that someone on his team will catch it. This play is used when the offensive team is in the end zone.

Nickname for “Hook and Lateral.” This is a pass play. The receiver catches the football while he is facing the line of scrimmage. Then he laterals the ball to another team member who is already running to the end zone. This is often called a trick play.

This is an offensive play. The fullback goes through a bubble in order to block the linebacker. The ball carrier follows him.

This kind of offensive play fools the defensive team. The play starts to go in one direction and then goes in another instead.

In this offensive play the ball carrier gets to choose if he will keep the ball. He can also pass, run, or pitch the football to another teammate.

The quarterback fakes a handoff to the running back but really turns around to pass the ball. This tricks the opposing team into thinking that the running back is running the ball.

The ball is snapped to a fullback in this offensive play. After the fullback catches the ball, he spins 180° to throw the football to the running back or the quarterback. Sometimes he fakes this and keeps the ball for himself.

In this play the ball carrier raises his arm like he's going to pass it. But instead of him throwing the football, another player from his team runs up behind him to grab the ball. This is a fake pass play.

This is an offensive play. The quarterback pitches or hands the football to the running back. Then the running back can turn the ball upfield more easily.

A trick play. The offensive team lines up on one side of the field, leaving the running back and the quarterback unguarded on the other side. The defense is then forced to create a defensive play on the spot.

This play uses a block that can fool the defensive team. At the same time as the snap, an offensive lineman pulls out of the line. This tricks his defensive target into thinking that no one will block him. The lineman really traps the defensive player to make a hole for one of his teammates to get through.

This means an unusual play. Since trick plays aren't expected by the opposing team, they are usually successful. They can't be used too often, however, or they won't work as well.

TIKI BARBER
grew up in
Roanoke, Virginia, where he wore number 2 for the Cave Spring Eagles during junior high
school. From 1997 through 2006 he wore number 21 as a running back for the New York
giants, where he holds every rushing record in team history, and was a three-time Pro
Bowl selection.

RONDE BARBER
wore number 5 for the Cave
Spring Eagles. Today he is one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL and wears number 20 for
the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Ronde is a Super Bowl winner, a five-time Pro Bowl selection,
and the first cornerback in the history of the league to have at least twenty sacks and
twenty interceptions in a career.

TIKI and RONDE BARBER
have cowritten several children's books for young readers,
By My Brother's Side
,
Game Day
which received the Christopher Award and was a Reading
Rainbow Selection,
Kickoff!
with Paul Mantell was called “appealing” by
Booklist
, and
Kirkus Reviews
described
it as “straightforward . . . will be popular with boys.”
Go
Long!
,
Wild Card
, and
Red Zone.
Their other titles include
By My Brother's Side
, and
Teammates
—all written with Robert
Burleigh and illustrated by Barry Root.