End Zone (2 page)

The band came off the field, their halftime performance done. They crowded past the team in the locker room, on their way to the music room where they would store their instruments.

Halftime was over. It was time to strap their helmets back on and take the field again. “Why didn't you say anything?” Ronde muttered to him as they headed for the field.

“Why didn't
you
?” Tiki shot back. It wasn't really an answer, but then, Ronde didn't have one either. The moment had passed, and neither team captain had seized it. Tiki only hoped it didn't cost them later on.

•  •  •

The opening kickoff was a disaster. Just like in the first half, the Bears caught the Eagles flat-footed. The returner was small and had good moves. The Eagles were flying at him, but they were missing sure tackles!

Before they knew it, the little guy was in the end zone, spiking the ball and doing a war dance. He got penalized
for clowning around too much, but who could blame him for celebrating? He and his team were on the verge of handing the mighty Eagles their first defeat of the season!

Ronde took the kick, and got fifteen yards out of the runback, which was the best he'd done since the opening kickoff.

Manny handed off to Tiki a couple of times, but the Bears were waiting for him, and the gains were small. Third down and nine, and Coach called a pass play, naturally.

The only problem was, the Bears knew it was coming, and they sent everyone straight at the quarterback. Manny got the pass off, but Tiki and Luke Frazier, the fullback, weren't able to stop the third blitzer. Manny got hit, and his head slammed right into the turf.

The Bears trotted back to their huddle, but Manny remained on the ground. Tiki ran over and knelt by his side. Soon they were surrounded by worried Eagles, including Coach Wheeler, the offensive coach, and the team trainer.

The trainer helped Manny up into a sitting position and stared hard into his eyes. “You okay, son?” he asked.

“I'm fine,” Manny said, but he sure didn't look it. His eyes were crossing and uncrossing, and he looked like he was going to do a flop any second.

“Bring a stretcher,” the trainer called. “Just a precaution, son,” he told Manny. “You're gonna be fine. We're just gonna have you checked out for a concussion, okay?”

“No!” Manny protested, trying to stand up but having to lean on Tiki for support. “I can play. Coach, tell him I can play,” he begged Wheeler.

“Kid, your health is more important than this game, or even this whole season,” Wheeler said firmly. “Don't worry, Hayden will get us through till you get back out here.”

“I'll be back for the next drive,” Manny said as the stretcher arrived and they loaded him onto it. “Just keep it on the ground till then. I'll get us back in this game.”

“Sure thing,” Wheeler told him, but Tiki could tell he was lying. Wheeler stared after Manny as the stretcher was taken off the field.

The fans applauded, but they sure looked worried. And Tiki knew it wasn't just Manny they were worried about. Without their regular quarterback, could the Eagles come back from fourteen points down?

“Maybe he'll be back,” Paco said hopefully.

“Don't count on it,” Wheeler said. “If he's got a concussion, and it sure looks like he has, he won't be back for a while. Certainly not for this game.”

“But Coach—!” Paco and some others started to protest.

“Don't ‘but Coach' me,” Wheeler told them sternly. “Manny's health comes first. We'll just have to find a way to win behind Hayden.”

Tiki blew out a breath as Hayden Brook, a seventh grader who had a lot of talent but who had hardly played
all season, came trotting out onto the field. Tiki saw his eyes before he pulled his helmet on. Hayden had the look of a deer in the headlights.

“Don't sweat it, kid,” Tiki told him, trying to sound sincere. “You're gonna be great. Just hand me the ball, and let's get back into this game.”

Tiki turned to the rest of the guys in the huddle. “Listen up,” he said. “Where's all that confidence I was hearing in the locker room? Is this a one-man team?”

“No,” most of the kids said, but not really loud.

“That's right! Every one of you is better than the guy he's facing on the other side of that line. If each of us does his job, we'll win this game!”

“Yeah!” they said, a little louder this time.

“Now, come on! You just beat your man, one play at a time!”

“Yeah!” It was a real shout this time. They clapped in unison, and broke the huddle.

From that moment on, the Eagles mounted a long, grinding comeback. Tiki ran the ball more times than he ever had in a single game. He only got three, four yards most carries, but somehow, he kept their drive going all the way to the end zone.

After the extra point, it was 21–14, Blue Ridge. Only seven points to make up!

That seemed to inspire the Eagle defense. They rose
up to stop the Bear attack, and handed the ball right back to the offense.

Hayden kept on giving Tiki the ball, and Tiki kept on running like a man possessed. He logged fifty-nine yards on the drive! Hayden ended up throwing only once, and it took Blue Ridge by surprise. Even Jonah James seemed surprised as he caught the ball for the touchdown.

After the game-tying extra point, it fell to Ronde to save the game for Hidden Valley. So many times over the past two and a half seasons, he'd pulled the Eagles' bacon out of the fire. Game after game, he'd stretched his small frame to the limit, intercepting or knocking away a pass, saving a sure touchdown.

Now that he'd finally hit his growth spurt and caught up to Tiki's size, his stride was longer, he could leap higher, and his longer arms could reach balls that used to elude him.

Now, in the game's final minutes, when he saw the Bear quarterback about to throw to the other side of the field, Ronde made a quick decision. He left his man uncovered. Suddenly acting like a free safety, Ronde closed the distance in a heartbeat, and leaped high into the air to intercept the pass!

“Wow!” Tiki yelled from the sideline, leaping along with his twin. “He came out of nowhere! Did you see that?”

With time winding down, the Eagles got the ball at
midfield. He was nearly exhausted, but there was no stopping Tiki. He pounded much bigger defenders, knocking them flat on their rear ends as he bulled ahead for yardage like a fullback.

Finally, on the Bear three-yard line, with first and goal, a surprise play came in from Coach Wheeler. “Quarterback reverse!” Hayden told them.

Another trick play! Hayden took the snap, faked a handoff to Tiki, then turned and ran toward the sideline, as if he were out of the play . . .

. . . except that he had the ball tucked behind his back! When Hayden snuck into the end zone, it sealed the Eagle victory at 28–21, and saved them from a terrible loss that would have tarnished their perfect season.

Tiki was so happy, so relieved, and so exhausted, that only after he'd showered and changed did he realize he'd forgotten something very important.

He found Manny in the trainer's room. “Hey, dude,” he said, “how's your head?”

Manny frowned. “I told Coach I could go back in there, but he wasn't having any. So go ask
him
how I am.”

Tiki could see Manny was upset. He felt like saying,
It's okay, man—we won the game. We're still undefeated!

But he knew Manny would take it the wrong way. When people are angry, Tiki knew, sometimes it's best not to try to reason with them.

“The main thing is, you're okay,” he finally said, clapping Manny on the back and retreating.

“I'm fine, man,” Manny insisted. “Totally fine. It was just a little bump on the head. No big deal.”

Tiki nodded. He sure hoped Manny was right.

RONDE WAS FEELING GOOD. THE TEAM HAD HAD
a scare, for sure—but the only thing that mattered was the final score. He couldn't help smiling as he looked around at the rest of the Eagles. They were close—almost like a family. They'd been through something amazing together—and they'd just had a big reminder of how incredible it was to be where they were.

“Do you know the last time there was an undefeated team in this league?” Coach Wheeler asked as they gathered around him.

None of them did.

“1965.”

A few low whistles sounded in their midst. “The last undefeated team that also won the
League Championship
was in 1954.”

“Wow,” Ronde said, along with several others.

“I want you to look around this room,” Wheeler said. “Look into the eyes of these young men who are your teammates—the ones you rely on week in and week out.”

Ronde caught Tiki's eye and they both smiled. Coach Wheeler had come a long way from the beginning of last year—his first game as a coach. They'd
all
come a long way. And there was nobody better than Coach Wheeler to remind them that they were on the brink of something very special.

“You guys are one victory away from an undefeated season. You are three victories away from being undefeated League Champs! I'm sure there have been undefeated
State
Champs—I didn't look that one up—but if we get that far, just imagine . . . Take a moment and picture yourselves there. . . .”

The room grew silent. “Okay,” Coach finally said. “Now I want you to
forget
all that, and concentrate on only one thing—next week's game against Pulaski. I don't have to tell you about them. Last time, we beat them by one point—and they're a whole lot better than the Blue Ridge Bears. Nobody's going to hand us this prize. We're going to have to get it on our own.

“So from this moment on, it's one game at a time. It's one
play
at a time. Each of you will have to reach deep down inside himself, if we're going to achieve our goals. Remember character is everything in the game.

“Now go home, but don't lose your focus over the holiday weekend, because you'll be mentally ready when game time comes. Of course, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy yourselves—eat some turkey, have some laughs,
and remember how lucky we all are to know one another. Be thankful that we're Eagles!”

There was a thunderous cheer, and people began pounding on their lockers to make even more noise. Ronde was really enjoying it—but then he saw Manny covering his ears and wincing in pain.

“Hey, guys, that's enough!” Ronde shouted, motioning for calm. “Let's go—everyone's waiting for us outside.”

They filed out of the room—all except for Tiki, Manny, Coach Wheeler, and Ronde.

“You okay, Manny?” Ronde asked.

Manny sprang to his feet and headed for the door. “I'M FINE!” he yelled. “When is everybody going to stop asking me that?”

The door slammed behind him, leaving Tiki, Ronde, and Coach Wheeler to look at one another in bewilderment.

•  •  •

“Ma, this is the best turkey ever!” Ronde said. But with his mouth stuffed full, it came out more like “Mafishbshtrkvr!”

“Ronde Barber!” their mom scolded him. “How many times have I told you boys—”

“Not to talk with our mouths full!” Tiki finished for her. But of course, it sounded more like “Mtkfmfsfl!”

Mrs. Barber had to laugh, even though she did set high store by good manners. Ronde knew she took great pride in her cooking, and turkey dinner wasn't something the family had every day, or even every month.

“Mind your manners, both of you!” she scolded, trying hard to frown. “Now, before we move on to the desserts—”

“Desserts!”
cooed Aunt Flora, her eyes widening and her hands coming together as if in prayer. To Aunt Flora, who was more than slightly chubby, dessert was something to be prayed for—and nobody's desserts were better than Mrs. Barber's.

“Why, Geraldine, you are something else! How do you do it all?”

Mrs. Barber beamed. “The
boys
made the dessert,” she declared.

Aunt Flora's smile weakened just a bit. “Oh?”

“Yes! It's Jell-O and marshmallow pie.”

“Jell-O and . . .”

“Marshmallow. Lime Jell-O. With whipped cream.”

“Oh!” Aunt Flora said. “I'm sure it's delicious—but I am rather stuffed.”

“Flora, no!” Mrs. Barber said. “I won't allow you to refuse. The boys are famous for their Jell-O-mello pie. Aren't you, boys?”

“We sure are!” Ronde and Tiki said, slapping five across the table.

“Mmm. Well, then,” said Aunt Flora, giving them each a smile. “I suppose I must try just a little. . . .”

“As I was saying,” Mrs. Barber resumed, “before we have dessert, I would like us all to say what we're most thankful for this year.”

Ronde saw Tiki roll his eyes. He knew how his twin felt. Sometimes, their mom could seem corny. But that was only if you weren't paying close attention. Really, she was trying hard to teach them the right way to live, so they'd grow up to be good, successful men. And being thankful for what you had was a big part of that.

“I'll start,” said their mom. “I'm thankful for the jobs I have—the jobs that put this food on our table. Lord knows it was hard to get them, and it's hard to keep them too. I'm most thankful for my two wonderful sons, and for our family. . . .” Here, she looked at Aunt Flora, Uncle Henry, and their three children, Kwame, Patrice, and Theo. “All right, who's next?”

Everyone said what they were thankful for. Tiki talked about being a star on the Eagles, how he was thankful for getting good grades and having the world's best mother . . . and brother. “I'm thankful for
all
the gifts I've been given—and the mind to use them well,” he finished.