Resurgence

The punt, and its subsequent 6 yard return, brought an end to the first quarter. The break blew by in record time; it felt like Deshaun blinked and the second quarter began.

As he jogged out, Coach Hoang's message rung in his head.

Isiah met him, a spring in his step, that same grin plastered across his ugly face. 'Four more to go, bitch,' he said.

'You ain't gettin' another one. I promise you that.'

'Like you can stop me.'

Deshaun smiled. Such a knowing, self-assured smile caused Isiah's grin to waver for a moment. A modicum of doubt crept in, but he quickly stomped it down and kicked it out. There was no way he could lose.

He hopped forward after the snap. Deshaun swiped at him, but he slapped the weak press away. He jogged forward, then got to his break.

Left, right—Deshaun dove in just as Isiah broke left. Both Deshaun and the ball arrived at the same point simultaneously, with Isiah sandwiched between them.

Deshaun poked the ball away from Isiah's grasp, and slammed into him, knocking him to the ground.

Isiah tumbled, then stared at Deshaun in confusion. He didn't know what had happened. Every other time he'd left Deshaun in the dust. He thought it impossible that Deshaun clamped him.

His confusion quickly turned to anger. He sprung up with the help of his teammates, glaring at Deshaun who laughed and mimed buckling a seatbelt.

'You think you funny, nigga? Just 'cause yo ass got lucky.'

The Vikings pulled Isiah back to their huddle before he could start a fight. Deshaun was still laughing as he returned to the Dons.

It was just a fluke, that's what Isiah told himself throughout the huddle and when he lined back up against Deshaun.

'It was just a fucking fluke,' he said, more to himself than Deshaun.

'Fluke? Nah. I just figured out your weakness is all. My coach let me in on your little secret.'

'Weakness? The fuck are you talking about?'

Deshaun laughed before shushing Isiah.

Isiah's mind raced. He tried to figure out what the hell Deshaun was talking about. "Weakness? I don't have a weakness! There's no secret." He had no clue what Deshaun meant, not even an idea of any flaw in his own game. He couldn't see anything wrong with himself, he was PERFECT.

Because of seeing himself this way, he concluded Deshaun was simply talking shit and trying to psyche him out with bullshit. He wasn't about to let that happen. He was going to put this old dog down for good.

Isiah came forward much more aggressively on his next route. He pushed through Deshaun's press forcefully. Deshaun hopped back as Isiah shoved him, then he watched Isiah closely.

Isiah stuttered, feinting. Right, left, right, left—RIGHT!

Isiah cut to the outside, twisting around, already reaching for the ball before he'd even found it with his eyes. The pass was already on the way, and though it was a little behind him, he could reach back and turn more. He'd still grab it, because that's just how great he was. He didn't need a perfect pass.

And then something inconceivable happened. Something moved between him and the ball. A hand, and then another, and then Deshaun's body shielded the ball from Isiah's view.

Isiah stumbled and latched onto Deshaun. Deshaun snatched the ball, hugging it tight against his chest, even as Isiah pulled him down.

They crashed to the turf as half the crowd screamed for joy, and the other half screamed in despair.

Deshaun rolled away from Isiah, the ball still cradled in his arms. Isiah stared, slack-jawed, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

The Dons rushed past him like a stampede, parting around him as they swarmed to Deshaun, helping him up and celebrating with him. The ground rumbled as they jumped around like they'd already won.

Isiah popped up. 'WHAT THE FUCK?!' He turned to his own team, specifically Nathan. 'What the fuck was that?'

Nathan looked like Isiah had just punched him. 'The fuck you looking at me for? You're the one who needed to come back to the ball.'

'If you threw the ball in front of me, I wouldn't need to come back at all, you fucking dumbass.'

Deshaun trotted over, shaking the ball in their faces. 'Hey, hey, hey. No need to start cryin' 'bout it. You little bitches just got outplayed. Take that shit like a man.'

'I'll show you who's a bitch!' Isiah lunged for Deshaun but a thick arm as solid as steel wrapped around him and held him back. Mike didn't release Isiah until Deshaun was on the sideline.

Deshaun's grin split his face in two. He bounced across the field like he was walking on clouds all the way over to Coach Hoang. 'Shit, Coach, I think this is for you.' He handed the ball over. 'You were spot on about that motherfucker always going the same way he first feinted.'

'You'd have spotted it yourself if you were really paying attention to the film. It's obvious when you watch his routes, his feints are always an even number, which means if he feints right first, he's going right.'

'Yeah, yeah… but why do I need to do that when I got you to watch film for me, Coach? Besides, some of us are busy, you know. We got exams and jobs and shit.'

'What's next? You gonna ask me to guard your man for you too, Banks?'

Deshaun laughed, shaking his head. 'You too funny sometimes, Coach.'

The Dons offence was already on the field after the interception, starting with the best field position they could ask for.

Stephen came straight over to Isiah, who was still scowling. 'I'm surprised they didn't bench your ass after that,' Stephen said. 'Shit was embarrassing.'

'Shut yo ass up!' Isiah snapped. 'Don't think this means I won't lock yo ass up, again.'

'Hah, yeah, your ass knows all about getting locked up, huh?'

'FUCK you, nigga.'

The ball was snapped, and Isiah didn't back down this time. He lunged right for Stephen. Stephen welcomed the contest and charged forward, bowling Isiah over as ran right over the flattened Viking.

Jay was surprised by how fast Stephen got open, but didn't miss a beat and fired the ball over immediately.

Stephen caught it in stride, then it was a mad dash between him and the Safety to see who could get to the end-zone first.

Stephen rumbled ahead like a freight train, and though the Safety closed the distance enough to knock him aside, he'd already reached his goal, and easily extended the ball across the end-zone as he was pushed out.

The officials signalled touchdown, and once again Isiah had to watch from his knees as the Dons swarmed the player that had just embarrassed him.

He got up slowly this time. There was no one else to blame but himself. No one else for his anger to be directed towards but himself. No one else for his fiery rage to consume but himself.

The extra point was successful, and the Dons took the lead again, the score now reading 10–7.

The Dons were still celebrating on the sideline, hyping up their supporters as the kickoff restarted the game. Marshall watched this one land deep in the end-zone, electing to take the touchback and have a clean restart for their next drive.

Suddenly, in what felt like a manner of seconds, the momentum had swung fully from being completely behind the Vikings, to now being on the Dons' side. It felt like they'd run away with the game with another stop.

Isiah remained in the game, but he no longer grinned when he met Deshaun. Instead, Deshaun was the one who wore the grin. 'Hey. I gotta hand it to you. It takes some real talent to single-handedly lose the game for your team.'

Isiah only snarled in response, looking more like a rabid dog than ever.

On the other side of the field, Marshall was calm, a serenity coming from him. Marshall's demeanour and the game's sudden reversal bewildered Ty; he hadn't even done anything yet.

"Deshaun did his job. Finally." Relief spread through him. "Now it's down to me." He eyed Marshall. 'You almost look happy. Why?'

'Do I?' Marshall shrugged. 'I guess I am. Maybe it's because I know that the game's finally in my hands now. Well, it's always been in my hands. OUR hands, don't you agree? But now we can stop pretending otherwise.'

Ty grinned. "He's right. It's always been about us. Now everyone else has realised that. I can end the game right here." Acknowledging that, he also knew that Marshall held the same power, maybe not to the same degree. The game wouldn't be over if the Vikings scored a touchdown, though he believed if he came away with a pick-six in the upcoming plays, a Dons' victory was assured.

Deshaun had done his job, and in doing so had passed on the responsibility of the game to Ty. Victory and defeat, both options were in his hands now.

At the snap, Marshall raced forward, going hard at Ty. Ty kept close even as he backed away.

Marshall weaved, and Ty weaved with him. A frown creased Marshall's brow as he stared down at Ty. It was his turn to solve a puzzle, but whilst he didn't feel like he was missing any pieces, they were all a jumbled mess.

He cut to the inside, sharp, and fast, but Ty was just as fast. He was still in front of him, not close enough to trip Marshall up and be called for interference, but Marshall couldn't get into stride with Ty's proximity.

Nathan never even looked Isiah's way on this pass attempt, and whilst Ty covered Marshall closely, he still tried to find the sweet spot. He flung the ball high, too high and wide. It sailed over both Ty and Marshall, who couldn't get a proper jump at the ball.

Fortunately—for the Vikings—the ball sailed over Zayden's head too and fell harmlessly into the turf rather than his waiting hands for another interception.

'Fuck!' Nathan looked at Marshall, exasperated, gesturing for him to dive. 'You can catch that shit, man. Come on.'

Marshall returned to the huddle, not saying anything to his teammates. He was thinking. Ty was too close. He couldn't run and dive like he wanted, but if Ty was trying so hard to stay in front of him, maybe he could exploit that.

When they next came face-to-face, Ty could see Marshall thinking, putting the puzzle together. He didn't like that. 'You guys get a new QB or something? He throws like shit now.'

'I don't need a good QB to beat you.'

Ty chuckled. When the ball was snapped, Marshall came out much like he did the first play of this drive. However, instead of cutting to the inside, he whipped around on a Curl.

If Ty was going to be in front of him, he thought the best way to combat that was to go backwards. But Ty undercut the route and jumped ahead of him again.

Nathan dragged the ball back to his chest just before he released it. He was staring straight into Ty's eyes. That would've been another pick if he'd thrown it, and he didn't doubt Ty would've taken it to the house.

He looked to the opposite side of the field, but Deshaun smothered Isiah. Even when Isiah tried to cut away from the pressure, he slipped and crashed to the turf.

'The fuck are you doing, idiot?' Nathan muttered.

His eyes darted around the field, looking for ANY target, but he saw none. He didn't even see the pressure in his face.

Donte wrapped his arms around Nathan's, then slung him to the ground for a sack. The crowd roared again and Donte roared with them, banging on his chest, his heart already thumping like a drum.

'Good shit, hermano!' JJ chest-bumped Donte and the two ran back to the huddle, grinning.

The Vikings found themselves deep in a hole facing a Third and Long. The Dons' energy continued to rise. Nathan picked himself up, hands shaking. He knew the blitz was coming again, but with 15 yards to go for a first down, he couldn't afford to get the ball out quickly.

'We got you,' Mike said before clapping him on the back. 'That's our mistake, won't happen again.'

Nathan calmed a bit. He'd have to trust in his O-Line, but standing behind Mike always settled his nerves. You could take on the universe with someone like Mike on your side.

Marshall was getting annoyed, but he still had time to figure Ty out. If Ty wanted to stay in front of him, he'd test that. "Good luck keeping up, you little midget."

Again he shot forward like a sprinter out springing out of their blocks. Ty backpedalled, but Marshall lowered his head and single-mindedly ran forward. It wasn't long before Ty had to twist around and run alongside him.

Marshall looked back, raising a hand, calling for the deep ball. Nathan obliged. He stepped up into a clean pocket behind Mike, avoiding the pressure as Donte flew deep around the edge, then Nathan lobbed the ball towards Marshall in a tight spiral.

Marshall turned and launched into the air, hands outstretched. Ty looked back and spotted the ball. He planted his feet and jumped into the air, twisting around mid-flight. He stretched up, teeth piercing his mouth guard.

Ty wouldn't reach with both hands. Realising this, he shifted to just one, bending to further his extension.

Just before the ball fell into Marshall's grasp, Ty got his fingers to it, and slapped it away and break up the pass.

Both boys landed on their feet beside each other, Ty staring up at Marshall defiantly. 'Get that shit outta here.'

The Dons' bench stepped forward. Stephen wrapped an arm around Ty's shoulders, shaking him as the others cheered. 'Woooo!'

Throughout, Marshall and Ty never broke eye contact. Ty had won the first battle, but he knew there was more to come. And whilst it felt like the Dons were firmly in control of the game, Marshall knew he could flip the tide again with another touchdown.