Chapter 2 Scouts

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~~~

As the ball left my hand, the time that seemed to slow the moment the snap hit resumed its normal pace as Newton's law took over. The sound of helmets and pads clashing with each other resounded but other than certain refs everyone's eyes were focused on the ball. The crowd roared, but I couldn't hear them over the sound of my own heartbeat. The spiral was perfect, cutting through the air like a missile locked on its target.

J-Street was already in fifth gear and started burning through his rocket fuel as he left his man in the dust. The safety backpedalled too late, realizing too late he was out of position. J-Street's burst had turned a tight matchup into an open lane, and the ball was on its way floating perfectly in front of him on the 45yrd line.

He nearly had to stretch as the ball comfortably dropped into his open arms as he tucked it just the way Coach Cash taught us. The OG was a street dude turned Christian but sure loved the game like no other and taught us his brand of it. Heck, he turned a street kid like me into a five-star quarterback in just 3 years with his crazy version of get-money training.

'You're not holding a ball boy, that's my money right there, that's his hope, and your destiny so don't let me see you drop it, boy,' haha, the man could make you believe anything you needed to hear to get the best out of you. The crowd's roar Snapped me out of my wandering thoughts just as J-Street crossed the opposing 30-yard line.

However, I could already see him slowing down seemingly out of gas as he entered cruise mode. It's weird how he would start to slow down whenever he escaped traffic and only had the open field ahead of him. He probably overworks his engine to weave through traffic that by the time he escapes he's running on fumes.

As expected, he was brought down around the 20-yard line, but I'll take a gain of 60 yards any day of the week. "Let's go Street, you had that boy hit the You trying to catch you," TJ shouted not at all caring about the dirty looks he was getting from the Sierra boys.

~~~

(Gen POV)

"That boy sure knows how to throw a ball, if not for his attitude the Longhorns would bend over backwards to have him," a chubby man wearing a cowboy hat stated as he watched Jace scramble to escape the defence after his O-line was overrun to throw a touchdown pass to his wide receiver.

The score quickly changed to Sierra 21, Crenshaw 13, as the Crenshaw special teams side lined up for the 1-point conversion. The different scouts in attendance could all sense the change in atmosphere the moment Jace Lyon took the field. However, ever since losing his coach Cash late last season, his character has become a problem.

Some say he is just acting out after losing a father figure but for the more established powerhouse colleges, this was a flaw they couldn't accept. If not for the fact he is one of the best natural athletes, they have seen since LeBron most would have already withdrawn their offers. Plus, no college wanted to risk giving up on the next big thing, especially given that Texas Tech had recently birthed the next Tom Brandt in the form of Patrick Mahomes.

For Soley this reason Bill the chief scout for the Longhorns was still watching this chaotic 5-Star quarterback. He wasn't the only one as he could see a few of his rivals in the stands intently watching the game. "Mind if I take a seat?"

"Sure," Bill subconsciously nodded his head only to regret it in the next moment.

"Surprised to see you so far east. But then again, the Longhorns lost the race to that dual-threat freak to the Colorado Buffaloes," the man commented with a cheeky smile as he eyed Bill knowing exactly how much the University of Texas at Austin had spent in this recruitment class.

"Always fun to see you Max, are the Bruins looking to recruit some extras for a Netflix documentary or something? Cause I know Hollywood doesn't need any real players," Bill commented causing the tanned man next to him to clench his fit in annoyance.

"Can't be missing from this game, especially when our home-grown talent is showing so much promise." The man retorted with a wide grin as his gaze refocused on the field as Sierra attempted their first drive on the 20-yard line after their special team took a knee on the touchback.

"I'm surprised a strict coach like Baker would even want a quarterback like Jace," Bill commented after a moment of silence between them.

"You know just as well as I do that this choice is not entirely in the hands of the coaches. A player of his calibre, who is from LA isn't something any Cali College can ignore." The man in the Bruins colours commented without taking his eyes off Isaiah who snapped the ball before promptly passing it off to his running back for a 5-yard gain. "Plus, with his popularity in the city not giving him an offer will only lead to backlash, especially with the NIL law being activated in June. His attitude is just seen as the eccentricity of a genius."

Listening to his explanation Bill could only sigh in disappointment since the longhorns wanted him for similar reasons. His story one of rags to success will sell well which will not only give him money but also bring a lot of eyes to whichever college he joins. To Bill it felt like they needed to consider a player's marketability along with his talent which felt wrong on so many levels.

"You know what Jack I hope he doesn't pick our college despite our offer; I just want to get back to Football without the Drama." Bill honestly stated as he stopped focusing his note on Jace and started checking out other players.

Isaiah was also a good choice for a quarterback for the Longhorns. Despite only being ranked as a 3-Star recruit he has great fundamentals and a solid pass completion ratio. With a year in their development as 3rd string quarterback, he could be trained to an acceptable level.

(7 minutes later)

The Sierra offensive ended in failure as the Crenshaw Cougar's defenders stopped them at the 10-yard line. The score stood at 24:14 after Sierra scored their field goal gaining 3 points. A couple moments later Jace once again jogged onto the field with the offence after a touchback of 25 yards.

He had about 1:50 minutes till the quarter ends but he didn't seem to feel the pressure. Unlike when he came on, he actually listened to Coach Carter nicknamed Beverly's plays. They seemed to have come to an understanding during the period the defensive squad took the field.

He took a quick snap routinely dropping back 3 steps before unleashing a bullet pass into the safe hands of TJ after a double-slant route. Having gained 15 yards he shouted a play which resulted in a run from the running back catching the Sierra defenders off guard. Jace is known for his arm for the simple reason he throws 80% of the time.

He does this especially when he gets comfortable or after scoring a touchdown. So, it came as bit of Suprise to see him hand the ball off. Late to react gave 3-star running back Tariq the needed space to make a play for a gain of 12 yards.

Sierra had miscalculated in their thoughts as they weren't getting the regular season Jace. No, this one was in playoffs mode where he wasn't focused on highlighting his and his team's talents. No, his only goal was to reach the endzone no matter the tactics even if that meant cooperating with Coach Beverly.

He was proud but understood he was only as good as his most recent achievement, so he never let his ego guide him on the gridiron. At least he thought as much until he found himself unleashing a 30-yard cannon looking to claim a chunk of yards.

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To Be Continued...