A Beast Made Man

The long ride to the field hadn't been exactly quiet for Lennox, but it had been isolated and focused. Perched in the back corner of the bus, his bag took up the seat next to him, though no one really wanted to sit next to him normally anyway, if you did, you'd be able to make out every lyric of the "shitty screamo rap"—as others called it—blaring from his AirPods.

Instead of staring out the window, Lennox stared at a tablet throughout the trip, reviewing Ty's film one last time in order to find any new strengths or weaknesses he might've missed previously.

Ty's reach was nearly all-encompassing, something that caught a lot of teams off guard, but it wouldn't surprise Lennox or the trailblazers.

Despite Ty's thin frame, his press was fierce, relentless, and oppressive, another challenge to overcome; you had to be alert every second you were on the field with him, from before the snap, to beyond the end of your route.

And, of course, Ty was fast. Not just in straight-line speed, but his recovery was great. If you somehow got him on the back foot, he wouldn't be there long, meaning you had to utilise your advantage immediately.

But you COULD put Ty on the back foot. He could be shaken off and he could get lost. It was all about capitalising on those rare, brief moments. Though Lennox would make sure they were anything but rare in the upcoming game.

Unfortunately, in all of Lennox's obsession over the film, he still couldn't puzzle together the oddities that surrounded Ty's few spectacular plays. The ones where he snagged a ball that should've been destined for the Receiver's hands, or drifting out of reach. It was like the world warped around him.

But that was absurd. Just because Lennox couldn't figure it out from the film didn't mean it was black magic. He chalked it up to the camera angles playing tricks with the flight and trajectory of the ball.

Once he'd squeezed every answer out of the film he could've, Lennox shut off the tablet and stood up. He muted his AirPods and leaned over, tapping Kieran's shoulder. 'Hey, you got a minute?' Lennox asked.

Kieran looked up, removing his own AirPod. 'What is it?'

Lennox shared his findings about what Ty's strengths and weaknesses were. Even if Kieran had done his research as well, it was important they came to the same conclusion. A Receiver went nowhere if they weren't on the same page as their QB.

'We'll only get tight windows,' Lennox said, 'so you have to make sure your passes are sharp.'

'My passes are always sharp,' Kieran said. 'Just sit down and relax. We've been here plenty of times. Dominguez ain't in our league. It was a fluke they made it this far, but their luck runs out today.'

Lennox frowned, but Kieran was probably right. He hadn't given much time and thought to the rest of the Dons—Stephen Day had been the only other on his radar, but it only took a few minutes to know his only asset was his height—but there wasn't anything flukey about Tyrese Samuels.

However, the Trailblazers had always had an "easy win". Even when the whole team knew it was going to be an easy win, they still gave it their all. Lennox was sure today would be no different for the others, and even if he had to put in a bit of extra sweat, he'd get the better of Ty. He couldn't be the only Trailblazer to lose.

The field came into view, and the bus soon pulled into the carpark outside it. Lennox spotted the Dons' bus and scooped up his bag. He contained his smile as he pushed his way to the front of the bus, needing to be the first one out. He stopped in the doorway and locked eyes with Ty; Lennox couldn't help but grin.

Ty walked away, a scowl on his face. It was their first look at one another, and it had assuaged Lennox's worries. Yet both boys came away with the same feeling—their opponent was nothing special, nothing to worry about, they'd win, and they'd use their full might to crush the boy standing in their way to do it.

As Lennox watched Ty lead the Dons towards the field, his teammates shoved him off of the bus, seeing as he wasn't getting out on his own.

The Dons headed to their locker room, and Sierra Canyon marched towards theirs, the teams separating for a bit longer before their war started.

Sierra Canyon were the epitome of relaxed as they prepared. All of them had been in this situation before, most multiple times, and all of them had won. To them, it was natural they were in the State championship game; it was right where they belonged. It might as well've been a home game for how comfortable they were.

Lennox, on the other hand, and despite his confidence, was trembling. Just his hands, but it was enough to betray his nerves, nerves that wouldn't settle until he heard that first cry of "HUT!". It was his first time at this grand dance, but the importance wasn't lost on him. He knew what winning this one specifically meant as well—a trip to the National championship—and that's why he HAD to win.

The Dons' locker room was abuzz with nervous energy. Music tried to drown it out—heavy trap beats—but it was still there, still waiting just below the surface.

Coach Long's voice boomed over the music, trying to add another calming layer of noise with his soothing words.

'Nobody expected us to make it this far,' he said. 'Hell, I bet even we didn't expect it, but we made it anyway. Still, even now, I bet there's not a lot of people who expect us to actually win. But I do, and so should everybody else in this room. So, we're going to do what we've always done—prove everybody else wrong.'

There was a lonely, solitary clap from JJ, but no one else picked up his show of confidence or acknowledged Coach Long's words in any other way.

Ty looked around the room. Despite the joviality earlier at the revelation of Jay's new haircut, the laughter and banter had faded the closer the bus came to the field. Now it was dead.

Yet despair hadn't taken its place. The face's within the room weren't grim, they were focused, laser-focused. Everyone knew how serious this game was, how their backs were against the wall, but everyone was prepared to go down swinging, to die fighting.

'How are you feeling, Samuels?' Coach Hoang asked, sitting beside Ty.

Ty rolled his shoulders. 'I feel good, strong. Why wouldn't I? We're going to win. No matter what.'

'I like the confidence, Samuels.' Coach Hoang turned his attention to everyone else, but stayed by Ty's side. When he spoke again, his words were still for Ty alone. 'I suspect EVERYONE would've answered the same. You know what else I suspect? That you're the only one who really believes what you just said.'

Looking around, Ty couldn't find what Coach Hoang saw. He saw confident, concentrated faces. They hadn't given up; they all looked ready to lay down their life for the team. He told Coach Hoang as much.

'Those are just masks,' Coach Hoang said. 'They've all been around the block enough to know they can't look hopeless now. One look of doubt, and the whole team will crumble. But deep down, they'll all have that little voice telling them there must be a reason why we're such big underdogs today. A team can only be underestimated by so much. At some point, there has to be a bit of truth to those odds.'

Ty frowned. Who cared what the odds were? They didn't mean anything. He doubted the odds had been in their favour against Warren, or Downey, or Mater Dei, and they'd overcome all those teams.

Coach Long stood in the centre of the room. At his request, the music was shut off. No one spoke, not even a murmur, and no boots scraped against the floor. Everyone sat in silence for the coach's last speech.

'I want you to remember how far we've come. Further than ever before, but we've never been this united before. We got here because we're a family! We fight as a family, lose as a family, get knocked down as a family, get back up as a family, train as a family, celebrate as a family, and we sure as hell WIN as a family. You just have to remember that. It's one simple word, but it's the most important part of everything. We can do anything together, and we can move mountains for one another, because we're family.'

The team crowded around Coach Long, all the other staff as well as the players, JJ and Jay right by his side, fists clumped together in the air.

'Three, two, one—'

'FAMILY!'

The Dons filed out of their locker room, boots echoing down the tunnel as they marched towards the field.

Someone yanked Ty from the line. Bella stood against the wall, one trembling hand wrapped around his, the other on his chest.

He stared at her, his eyes questioning. The tunnel was dark, his helmet was already on, shrouding his face further. His eyes were black pits in those shadows.

Bella squeezed his hand. 'Promise me you'll win,' she said.

'Of course,' he said. He looked towards the rest of the procession, which was leaving them behind.

She reached up, gripped his face-mask, and pulled his head around back to her. She pushed his helmet up ever so slightly, like she was about to take it off, then stopped. Confusion held Ty's tongue in place. Eventually, she let him go, smiling.

'Okay,' was all she said.

A quiet rumble welcomed the Dons as they emerged onto the field. Ty hurried after them. The crowd was loud, but few, though they crawled through the expansive stands, more finding seats with every passing second.

As Ty followed the team on their lap around the field, he scanned the crowd and those arriving, but saw no sign of Meg or any other family members. His only family was on the field with him.

Another raucous cheer welcomed Sierra Canyon to the field, and people continued to find their seats as the two teams warmed up before their contest.

As Ty stretched and ran through some light, low-effort press drills against Stephen, Cole, and the other Receivers, he fought the urge to look over and find Lennox amongst the pack of Trailblazers warming up on the opposite end of the field.

Throughout the drills, his skin prickled at multiple instances. But even with the sensation of being watched calling for him to look back, Ty kept his focus on what was in front of him. Mental warfare. He didn't need to look; he wasn't interested or worried. The edge had gone back to him. The score was even after his little loss regarding their unofficial staring contest back in the carpark.

When it came time for the coin toss, the stands were almost at their capacity. Ty scanned them quickly again, then once more, in case he missed something. They still weren't here. None of them.

He was about to look for a third time when he heard Coach Long call out for him. 'Tyrese, I want you up for the coin toss.'

Ty blinked with surprise. There were some grumbles from Stephen and Deshaun, but he stood and joined Jay and JJ's side.

Looking across the field answered Ty's unanswered question of "why him?" when he saw Lennox leading the trio of of Trailblazer captains out to the centre of the field, alongside a tall young man with scraggly brown hair, pinned back by a thin headband at his temples—their QB, Kieran Valentine—and a stone-faced man, square and sharp all over, even his high-top hair was cut crisp and square—their MLB, Mason Eubanks.

Ty strode onto the field, the middle of a triple "J" sandwich. He kept his eyes on Lennox, though a new question arose regarding those standing by Ty's side. He wondered if there was another reason Coach Long selected them as representatives, and if that was because he saw them as the three keys necessary for a Dons victory.

Reaching centerfield, Ty didn't even hear the instructions the officials levied towards both groups. His focus was caught by Lennox as the two finally came face-to-face with one another. Lennox showed off his sharp teeth once more.

And it was Lennox—still grinning—who spoke first. ' 'Sup?'