"Defense! Damn it, hold them!"
Coach George, usually calm, was now waving his baseball cap above his head, shouting loudly at Aaron on the field.
Medford High, which should have been on offense, was forced into a "defensive" position.
If the opponent scored in this round, it would be a blatant humiliation. Not only would it be a huge blow to morale, but Medford High could also be branded with shame because of this play.
All the pressure was now on Aaron the quarterback . He was battling the opposing quarterback while looking for an opportunity to counterattack.
Finally, he spotted Georgie behind the crowd.
As a wide receiver, Georgie's current positioning was very agile. As long as the quarterback could make a successful long pass, the situation on the field could immediately be reversed.
Any qualified quarterback would not miss such a good opportunity.
"Give me the ball!" Aaron found an opportunity to break free from his opponent's entanglement and shouted loudly to Sam, who was struggling to protect the football.
Sam had been pushed by his opponent within his own five-yard line. The best way to deal with this now was to hand the ball back to his own quarterback.
However, Sam seemed to have gotten fired up from clashing with his opponent. At this moment, he was single-mindedly thinking of overturning his opponent, carving out a bloody path, and completing a "savior" feat.
Football is very much like a rehearsal for storming a fortress; who doesn't have a hero's dream?
However, Sam overestimated his own strength and missed the opportunity Aaron had created.
It wasn't until he was pushed to his own end zone that he realized he needed to pass the ball.
Opportunities are fleeting. Just as Sam was thinking about how to get the ball out, two opponents attacked from front and back, knocking the football to the ground.
Seeing the football about to roll into his own end zone, Aaron dove forward, pinning the ball firmly under him just outside the end zone line.
"Damn it!"
Accompanied by shouts and curses from outside the field, the players from both sides on the field engaged in a grand pile-up over the ownership of the football.
"Beep—"
The head referee blew the whistle for a dead ball, indicating that Medford High still had a second down opportunity.
At this moment, the situation of Medford High on the field was very similar to that of the Longhorns, which had punted in the third quarter.
To be honest, the situation was probably even worse.
Seeing this, Coach George quickly used a timeout.
He pointed at Sam, who was standing dumbfounded on the end zone line, signaling him to come off the field.
"Punter, prepare—" Assistant Coach Wayne loudly called out the team's punter.
Under normal circumstances, if three downs yield no results, punting is the best option.
"Go cool down for a bit…" Coach George did not scold Sam who came off the field. However, the disappointment on his face could not be hidden.
Sam's previous play, whether it was throwing the ball or choosing to organize the offense himself, could be understood.
But he hesitated at the critical moment, which was nothing short of a crime.
His actions also betrayed the trust of his coach and teammates.
Sam, having calmed down, also realized his mistake. He took off his helmet in annoyance and sat down on the bench nearby.
After dealing with Sam, Coach George turned to look at the punter preparing to go on the field, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind: Sheldon's evaluation of punting.
In a flash of inspiration, he had a crazy idea.
"Wait—" Coach George stopped the punter who was about to go on the field, then shouted, "Mike, come here!"
Mike, who had already been prepared, put on his protective helmet and came to the sideline.
"Do you think we should punt?" Coach George asked.
"I have confidence in myself!" Mike's voice was muffled through his padding.
It comes back to the same point: any tactical choice must be based on the players' abilities.
Mike seemed not to answer the coach's question, but the number twenty-one jersey he was wearing was the best answer.
A running back's profession is to offense, offense, and offense again—
"Very good, go—" Coach George patted Mike's shoulder, encouraging him, "Go send that damned football to the opponent's end zone..."
The timeout was only two minutes, so Coach George couldn't make many arrangements. He could only choose to trust his players.
Mike made an OK gesture and stepped onto the field amidst cheers.
Indeed, this feeling of being the center of attention was quite good.
Unlike the unknowing spectators, Assistant Coach Wayne looked at Mike's back and grumbled to George, "You're crazy, we still have plenty of time. The best option now is to punt…"
Generally speaking, after exchanging possession in the third quarter, Medford High would have at least one four-down opportunity in the fourth quarter.
From a long-term perspective, Medford High still held a slight "advantage."
"I am crazy—" Coach George shook his head, offering no further explanation. His mood was very complicated now, and the decision he had made earlier was just a spur-of-the-moment thing.
At this moment, his heart felt empty and uncertain.
An football field is known as a grill, with a total length of 120 yards and a width of about 75 yards (about 70 meters). The two goalposts are 110 yards (about 100 meters) apart.
On the field, there are horizontal lines, with a dashed line marked every five yards and a solid line every ten yards, which is also the origin of the "grill" nickname.
Mike jogged along the sideline to his own end zone.
"Why is it you? Where's the punter?" Aaron asked in surprise when he saw Mike approaching.
"We're not punting this round; prepare for a second down." Mike said, stopping at the end zone.
"Oh, huh?" Aaron just realized that Mike was coming on as an offensive player.
This situation had never happened before. Aaron glanced at the coaching area and saw that neither coach had further instructions.
So, he implicitly assumed that this second down was the coach's arrangement.
As quarterback, Aaron immediately gave his teammates a few hand signals, organizing the second down.
When Medford High lined up in a single-line offensive formation, the spectators finally realized that this was not a punt.
Never having seen such a response, a chorus of scolding erupted from the stands.
Love runs deep, and so does criticism.
"Damn it, why aren't they punting! Have the coaches lost their minds…" Sam's father, Greer, in the stands, roared in anger.
Amidst his curses, he even attributed his son's earlier mistake to the coach.
And in the adjacent seats, not far away, was the Cooper family.
"Perhaps punting isn't the best option?" Mary retorted upon hearing him.
Greer's words had just denied both Sheldon and George, and as a family member, Mary naturally couldn't tolerate it.
"What do you know? Now is the time to punt and maintain the advantage…" Greer seemed to look down on Mary as a woman and continued, "Even if we're going for a second down, Sam should be in. I don't trust that number twenty-one…"
Compared to Sam's burly physique, Mike indeed looked a "size" smaller.
Moreover, Greer also had a bit of a personal grudge with Mike, so there was prejudice.
As Greer babbled, Connie, nearby, recognized him.
"I don't think Mike will be worse than Sam. How about we make a bet?" Connie spoke up.
Soon, Greer also recognized Connie. He said heatedly, "How do we bet?"
"I bet Mike scores in this round." Connie placed her wager: "One hundred dollars, how about it? Do you dare?"
"Deal!" Greer was in a fit of pique and didn't think much about it.
A small bet was thus established.