Next, during Austin's second extra point attempt, their quarterback easily scored another touchdown, earning two additional points.
The Austin quarterback, who had easily scored two touchdowns, looked strangely at Mike, Medford's new quarterback.
The ease with which the points were scored made the Austin quarterback feel somewhat unreal.
However, Mike seemed not to care much about giving up points. By this time, he had already led his teammates to midfield.
After exchanging possession, both teams once again lined up at midfield.
Looking at Medford's strange formation, Tank taunted, "What, have you realized the difference in strength and are you giving up? For you, that's a smart choice..."
This time, the Medford players on offense were all positioned very close together, forming a tight formation.
If you looked closely, you would notice that all the Medford players were positioned with Mike at the center.
Beep—
The whistle signaling Medford's offense sounded, and Mike, clutching the football, charged fiercely into the opposing team's formation.
The Medford players, close behind him, quickly followed, helping Mike block interference from both sides.
Realizing that Medford had not given up the game, Tank quickly shook off his entangled opponent and blocked Mike's path: "You won't get past me!"
Here, Tank's best course of action would have been to tackle Mike, using a wrapping motion to stop his opponent.
However, "Tank," having been humiliated twice by Mike, was now only thinking of revenge. So he bent at the waist and charged forward, preparing to deliver a heavy blow to his opponent.
Tank used to do this often, which was how he earned his nickname.
It was just that he had chosen the wrong opponent this time; Mike had never backed down from a head-on confrontation.
"Bang—"
"Tank," who hadn't yet picked up speed, collided with the rapidly charging Mike.
"Ah—" In a cry of pain, Tank was sent flying and then rolled painfully on the ground.
Mike, after adjusting his steps, again knocked away two approaching defenders, then sped away.
Mike covered the less than fifty yards in six or seven seconds, rushing into the opponent's end zone.
Then, he calmly turned and high-fived his teammates who had followed, celebrating.
Just then, the stadium announcement blared: "Medford's quarterback intentionally injured an opponent while holding the ball. This score is invalid. Furthermore, due to the severe nature of the malicious injury, he is ejected from the game..."
During a regular football game, there are six assistant referees and one head referee on the field.
The sole head referee carries a microphone and can turn it on for live commentary when necessary.
At this moment, the head referee on the field was exercising this right.
The ruling was announced three times in a row—
When Mike returned to midfield, he saw a yellow flag thrown by the head referee next to "Tank," who was lying on the ground.
To ensure the fluidity of the game, if a referee spots a foul that does not affect the outcome of the offense or defense, they will throw a flag on the spot.
The penalty is then announced after the offensive or defensive play concludes.
"How did I foul?" Mike protested to the head referee.
His previous offensive move was clearly clean; although he exerted a bit too much force, it shouldn't have triggered a foul.
At this moment, Austin's head coach also arrived on the field with medical personnel. After examination, "Tank," who was lying on the ground sweating profusely, had two broken ribs.
The head referee's meaning was clear: Mike's offensive action had caused a serious injury to his opponent and should be penalized.
"I protest!" Mike said, dissatisfied. "He also injured our captain's wrist earlier; why wasn't he ejected?"
Clearly, judging based on the opponent's injury did not satisfy Mike.
Moreover, this time Mike truly did not intend to deliberately injure his opponent. Who would have thought that this guy nicknamed Tank was so fragile?
Seeing the head referee about to uphold the original ruling, George, standing off the field, anxiously pulled a red flag from his pocket and threw it onto the field.
"I'm challenging the call!" George stood up and shouted.
In football, each team's head coach has one opportunity to challenge a referee's ruling.
Of course, this single challenge opportunity also means their team will lose one timeout.
It was just that George couldn't worry about that much now; Aaron was already off the field, and if Mike were also ejected, the Medford Team would truly not need to play anymore.
Seeing George throw the red flag, the spectators also understood what had happened. This act of challenging authority was also one of the audience's favorite parts of watching a game.
Amidst the commotion, George also entered the field.
He first patted Mike on the shoulder, calming him down, before saying to the head referee, "I'm challenging the call. I insist that my player did not commit a foul just now."
Regular football fields are surrounded by motion-capture cameras precisely to ensure the fairness of the game.
And the right to request a slow-motion replay once per game is also a right of every team's head coach.
Hearing George's request, the head referee could only grimace and, accompanied by both head coaches and others, went to the sideline to watch the slow-motion replay.
Three minutes later, the head referee's face was even darker as he picked up the microphone and re-announced the ruling.
Mike's offensive action was clean, and he had no intention of deliberately injuring anyone; all previous rulings were canceled.
Hearing this result, all the Medford players breathed a sigh of relief.
George also took advantage of the re-announcement to pull Mike aside: "What happened earlier? Why didn't you organize the players to defend when the opponent was on offense?"
To reassure his coach, Mike briefly explained his plan to him.
However, George, upon hearing Mike's plan, did not feel relieved. As he was about to say more, the head referee came over and sent him off the field.
On the other side, "Tank," still wailing, was also carried off the field on a stretcher. Given the extent of his injury, he wouldn't be able to play again this season.
With the injured player off the field, order was restored to the game.
Since the head referee had made a mistaken call earlier, Mike's previous touchdown was naturally counted as a valid score.
The score on the field was now 23:22, with Medford still trailing by one point. However, they still had an opportunity for a second extra point.
The two teams came to the five-yard line outside Austin's end zone and once again lined up in formation.
At this moment, Georgie stealthily approached Mike, gave him a thumbs-up, and whispered, "Mike, well done! You avenged Aaron—"
Aaron was a gentle and kind-hearted person, and his reputation within the team had always been good. His earlier injury and departure had made many Medford players feel indignant on his behalf.
Now, Mike had sent the culprit who injured Aaron off the field, which made all the players feel greatly relieved.
Seeing the gazes of the players, Mike quickly explained, "I didn't, don't talk nonsense—"
"I understand, I understand..." Georgie showed a knowing expression and went to his position.
The reactions of the other Medford players were pretty much the same as his.
Seeing this, Mike just wanted to say, 'You guys understand nothing.'
Although Mike had also wanted to avenge Aaron earlier, he really hadn't intended to send Tank off the field so quickly. Wouldn't it be better to leave him on the field to slowly suffer?
Beep—
Before Mike could think too much, the whistle for Medford's second extra point attempt sounded.
This time, Mike barely exerted any effort and was already being escorted by his teammates into the opponent's end zone. It was clear that by sending Tank off the field, he had earned the players' approval.
It could also be said that Mike had united the players through his actions.
23:24
Shortly after the second quarter began, Medford once again took the lead in scoring.