Next Step: State

Before the Dons stormed the field to celebrate their victory, they had one last thing to cross off their checklist. Cole and Stephen gave each other a conspiratorial look. With cheshire grins, they snagged the fullest container of icy Gatorade left on the sideline, and snuck up behind Coach Long.

The crowd's roar drowned out the final whistle and Coach Long's shocked yells. Stephen and Cole thumped Coach Long on the back, yelling that they loved him before they jumped away from his clutches and joined the other Dons storming the field.

The boys weaved through Bears on their way to join the pile up on top of JJ. The Bears shambled aside, barely cognisant, zombified by the loss.

Denzel and John had wormed out from the bottom of the Dons' celebration, yet they were still in denial over what had happened. Denzel couldn't accept it even as he stared at the scoreboard, burning it into his memory.

The only Don who didn't throw themselves at JJ was Ty. He stood where he had when the final play began, watching with a smile. He'd just witnessed something special, and JJ had been at the nucleus of it … maybe JJ was SPECIAL too.

Together, maybe the two of them could really drag the Dons to the National championship. How couldn't they? Ty couldn't imagine anyone holding JJ back if he continued playing like he just had.

Coby was on his knees beside Ty, but Ty might as well have been in another dimension; Coby saw only the scoreboard. Just like Denzel, he burned it into his memory.

The Dons celebrating spread to the sideline; it was a party on the field, and it didn't look like it was stopping soon.

Over with the Bears, things couldn't have been more opposite. The whole team had been crushed. None of them thought they could've fallen at this hurdle. They'd overlooked the Dons, and suffered the worst defeat any of them knew.

Denzel had found his way to the bench, his head in his hands. He still couldn't believe it. He mumbled to himself, repeating the same phrase: 'It can't be over.'

Coby walked over to Denzel. It took a few seconds for Denzel to realise someone was standing in front of him. He looked up. That was when Coby socked him in the face.

He punched Denzel so hard he almost fell over, even though he was the one who threw the punch. Coby scrambled back up. Denzel's head was still turned from the impact of the first blow as he reeled back for the next.

Derrick snagged his arm, Zee grabbed his other arm, and Connor and Mack went for his legs. Together, they took Coby down as he thrashed and screamed.

'FUCK YOU! IT'S YOUR FAULT! IT'S YOUR FAULT WE LOST! I LOST BECAUSE OF YOU! FUCK YOU!'

Denzel's mutts dog-piled Coby, but Denzel made no move. He hadn't even reacted to the punch or insults. The coaches hurried over but struggled to pull the large boys off of Coby. His lip and nose were busted by the time they got to him.

Coby refused their help up, standing on his own. He was still staring at Denzel. He spat some blood on Denzel's boot. 'I quit. Fuck this shit. I'm never playing with you again.'

Denzel didn't even look at him as he stalked off, tearing off his Warren jersey. An adult went after Coby to console him, whilst others dealt with his attackers, reprimanding Connor, Zee, Derrick, and Mack.

As the chaos settled back into normalcy, and despair took over from shock, Jameis appeared before Denzel. Denzel stared up at the unapproving face of his father; it was as hard and cold as ice.

Denzel opened his mouth, but had to choke the words out. 'I-I-I … I tried.' He went on, the words coming easier, too easy as he blubbered and rambled. Tears stung his eyes. 'It wasn't my fault. I gave it everything I had! You know I've been training my ass off since last year. I gave everything …'

Jameis held a hand up. Denzel's rambling faded. He trembled, staring at that hand and the unreadable face behind it.

'I don't want to hear anymore excuses.'

'They're not—'

'ENOUGH!' Jameis shook his head. 'God. Just looking at you makes me sick. No wonder your mother left us. Don't bother coming home.' He turned away, walking off before Denzel could respond.

Everyone was leaving Denzel behind. His world was crumbling, and he could barely pick his jaw up off the floor before everything he once knew and held dear turned to ash.

And it was all his fault. HIS fault. Denzel's anger changed direction. Instead of flowing inward, it seeped out and trickled across the field, crawling along like a slug. He set his eyes on the man hoisted upon the Dons' shoulders, the heart of all their joy, and all his misery. Julian Jones.

It was all HIS fault. Denzel's jaw clenched so tight he almost cracked his teeth. He slammed his fist down onto the bench, leaving a dent behind before he stood. His anger carried him away from the field. He wouldn't get his revenge that day, he wouldn't even get it next year … but one day, no matter how long he had to wait, whether they met again in college or the NFL or wherever … Denzel would repay JJ for the humiliation, one way or another.

The teams still lined up for handshakes after the celebrations had died down enough for them to do so. The Bears line was sparse, their players few and far between. Of course, Denzel wasn't a part of it. None of his lackeys were either, nor Coby.

Afterwards, the Dons hurried to their locker room where their celebrations saw a second wind and resumed even greater than before.

Thumping beats reverberated around the walls as the music blared out from the room. Some players danced, others hopped on IG or Snapchat, already posting and bragging about their big win and "dethroning the King".

The coaches watched on, letting them have their fun. They'd come so far after such a hard year, they deserved it.

The partying and celebrating only grew stronger as time dragged on. They were still going even as they left the locker room and headed for the team bus.

Once everyone was aboard, that was when Coach Long told them to settle down. It still took him a couple of minutes to get them all under control, but he had a massive, bright grin stretching his face.

'I hope you've had your fun,' he said. 'Now, I don't want anyone getting too rowdy on this bus, alright? If you break something, I'm the one who pays for it.'

There was some laughter, but despite the adrenaline highs, everyone gave Coach Long their full attention.

'Enjoy yourselves this week—RESPONSIBLY, of course. I don't want none of you boys getting in trouble. But, don't forget the journey's not over. When we get back to training, it's going to be hard. What's coming after this will be harder than everything we've faced so far. Let me warn you now so you don't get punched in the mouth next week and start wondering why everything isn't all sunshine and rainbows.'

The mood started to turn; laughter died down, smiles faded and the jovial expressions on nearly every face along the rows of seats filling the bus turned serious.

'The tournament to crown the State champion will be hard. Every team in it is going to be just as strong as Warren, if not stronger.'

'Eventually, you can even expect to run into the team that beat Warren last year,' Coach Hoang interjected. 'They're the only team to beat them in nearly two years … aside from us, of course.'

A few laughs were sprinkled throughout the expectant listeners, others even cracked smiles again.

Coach Hoang continued: 'That team's Sierra Canyon, and they've won the California State Championship for the past six years. They're looking for number seven this year.'

'Thank you, Coach Hoang,' Coach Long said, 'but we can worry about the champs if and when it comes to that. More importantly, we need to keep focused on what's right in front of us. It's no good worrying about a potential matchup with Sierra Canyon down the line, if we overlook the opponents we need to beat to reach them, and end up losing because of it.'

"Is that what Denzel and the Bears just did?" Ty wondered. "Is that what happened with us and the Vikings?" As much as the prospect of facing a team even stronger than the Bears—as long as their star was a Receiver and not another RB—excited Ty, he wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

'On the topic of our opponents for next weekend, I'll find out who they are soon, and I'll let you know. Sierra Canyon are strong, but they can't be our focus right now. If we're going to run into them, it'll most likely be in the championship game. We have to get there first.'

Coach Long settled into his seat. Not long after his speech, the bus was back to its cheerful mood as it hit the road and started the journey back to Dominguez High.

As much as Ty didn't want to overlook their real opponents, he couldn't shake the thought of Sierra Canyon out of his head. Bella was sitting next to him again. He turned to her, maybe she knew something more.

'Do you know anything about that Sierra Canyon team?' he asked.

She looked up from her phone. 'Hm? A little, but we've never played against them … obviously, so I don't know much.'

'What do you know?'

'They're SUPER well-rounded. That's not to say they don't have any strengths, it's more like EVERY position is their strength. They'd have to rank in the top two or three for the state at every position. More often than not, they're number one.'

"Not in Cornerback, they're not," Ty thought. He doubted they were in MLB either, but he wasn't completely sure. Maybe JJ's performance today was an outlier.

'What about Wide Receiver?' he asked.

She shrugged. 'I don't know specifics. All I've heard is that they've got a new freshman star. He's already a five-star recruit, but that's it. … Maybe you should ask Ricky if you want actual details.'

'Egh, no thanks.'

She looked like she wanted to say something, ask a question of her own, but she stopped herself. She took a breath, then continued with a different line of thought. 'Yeah, it's probably best not to worry about them. Like Coach said, we gotta focus on what's in front of us.'

'I know.' He turned away from her, looking out the window.

Again, she went to say something more, but caught the words in her throat and kept them trapped. She went back to her phone and left him alone.

The bus ambled along the road. Ty watched the world slowly roll past, and a smirk spread across his lips. Sierra Canyon couldn't be that tough. So what they took down Denzel and Warren last year? Who fucking cared? That was last year, and the King would've been nothing more than a Prince. The Dons just vanquished a stronger King … but most of all, Sierra Canyon didn't have Tyrese Samuels on their team.

The State Championship already had Ty's name all over it.