New Girl in Town Pt. 13

"Well he took that well." Ray chuckles as he and Jake watch the Wildcats receive the second half kick off.

"He probably won't have to pout too long." Jake says. "Yates said that he'll, and I quote, yank my ass outta the game if I don't call his plays."

"That's bullshit." Ray states. "Doesn't he remember that it was your play calling that won us the homecoming game?"

"He probably chalked it up to being some kind of fluke or something." Jake answers.

Des takes the kickoff to the twenty-two yard line before being tackled.

Yates waves Jake over as the rest of the offense takes the field.

"Let's see if we can surprise them on this one. Shotgun formation, fake the inside hand off then hit one of your receivers on the post route. Got it?" He asks.

"Got it." Jake nods.

A cheer rings out from the students in the stands when they see that it's Jake jogging out onto the field to start the second half.

"Took coach long enough to send you in here, Jake." Mitch comments. "You ready to pull off another impressive win?"

"I guess we'll find out." Jake tells him then tells them the play.

Jake lines up in the shotgun formation and barks out the cadence. The ball is centered and he fakes the hand off to Kendall perfectly then turns to look downfield. Ray breaks into the open and Jake heaves the ball towards him. The pass however sails on Jake and is intercepted by the defense. Yates looks on in disbelief as he sees his record disappearing in front of his eyes. He tosses his clipboard into the air while shaking his head.

"Fuck!" Jake shouts and runs towards the ball carrier. Kendall gets there first and together, the two force him out of bounds at the seven yard line.

"What the hell was that?" Yates shouts as Jake and the offense come off the field.

"It sailed on me coach." Jake answers as he heads towards the bench.

"Nothing just sails on you, Jake." Ray says as he joins him.

"Jake, are you all right?" Staci asks as she, C.C. and

Michelle walk over the fence just behind the bench. Somer starts to follow them but one glance towards the stands freezes her in her tracks. She can't spot Jessica in the crowd but she would swear that she can feel her eyes staring down at her so she turns back to the other cheerleaders.

"I guess I'm a little more nervous than I thought I'd be." He answers them.

"Come on, Jake, you've played in bigger games than this one." Michelle tells him.

"That's not why he's nervous." Staci answers.

"It's going to be his first night with Jess." C.C. tells her. "He's nervous over that."

"C.C., can we try to not advertise that to the whole school please." Staci tells her.

"Oops sorry, Jake." C.C. Apologizes.

"I won't say anything, Jake." Michelle promises. After her confrontation with Patrick on Monday, Michelle has gravitated towards the Misfits ever expanding group. Roxie is, of course, not a fan so Michelle has been keeping to the edges of the core group.

"It's fine, Michelle." Jake assures her. "I just need to concentrate on the game and let the other thing go until this is over."

The Wolfpack breaks off an end around run and darts into the end zone putting themselves up by three touchdowns.

"Get back out there and work another one of your miracles, Jake." Staci tells him. "Show'em why you rule this school now."

"We'll be cheering for you." C.C. assures him.

Jake nods and walks over to where the defense is coming off the field. He tells each of them that he's sorry and that the touchdown was on him.

"I'll try and get it back, guys." He promises them.

"You let me see about getting this one back, Jake." Des tells him as he slaps Jake on his shoulder pad. "You get your ass ready to get the next two. We're counting on you, baby!"

Jake nods as Des jogs back onto the field to for the kickoff.

****

The Wolfpack kickoff is a short line drive kick. Des catches it on the run at the fifteen yard line and is at full speed before the first defenders get close to him. He makes a move at the thirty that freezes a couple of would be tacklers before the passes them. At the fifty, he stutter steps the kicker who ends up flailing wildly at empty air. With no one between him and the goal line Des slows a bit then breezes into the end zone for the first touchdown of the game for the Wildcats.

"That's my one." Des says as he jogs over to Jake. "Now, it's on you, Jake. Let's get this game back on track."

"You got it." Jake tells him.

After getting some instructions from Coach Pennington, Antoine steps over to Jake.

"Are you going to get another touchdown for us?" Jake asks with a laugh.

"I ain't promising that but I will get you that ball back so you can get back out there and play hero in front of that Wildcat of yours!" Antoine laughs.

On the field, the Wolfpack return the ball to the thirty. The first play nets them five yards, then a sack costs them that gain plus another three yards leading to a third and thirteen situation. Coach Pennington sends both Antoine and Jamie on a blitz. The Wolfpack quarterback panics so his throw floats out of the backfield like a dying quail. Des breaks for the ball but he's just a step too slow as it bounces to the ground just an inch from his fingertips.

"Damn, I almost got that for you Jake." Des says as the defense comes off the field.

"You did great, Des." Jake tells him. "I've got this now."

Monte is the punt returner but the kick is a floater so he has to call for a fair catch at the Wildcat thirty one yard line.

"Gibson!" Yates shouts.

Jake jogs over to his side. "Yes, Coach?"

"We're running up the middle." He tells him.

"But coach, we're still down two scores." Jake argues.

"And your last throw was crap! Run the damn play!" He orders him.

Jake nods then runs to the huddle.

"Half back dive right on..." He starts to say but stops when they all groan.

"Come on, Jake, we're down by two touchdowns and running out of time." Kendall tells him.

"Don't get gun shy now, Jake." Ray says.

Jake sighs, looks to sideline then back to the guys in the huddle.

He blows out a breath and tells them, "All right, but when I get yanked out of here, you guys better hope Patrick's able to do something this half." He then tells them that he'll audible out of the play at the line and just what the audible is.

"You throw it up and I'll..." Ray begins to say as the huddle breaks.

"Throw it up nothing." Jake states. "I'm bringing the heat on this one so you'd better be ready. Monte, Mitch, that goes for you two, too."

"I got you, Jake." Monte nods as he heads to his position.

"What about me?" Scott asks as he hangs back.

"I thought you wanted nothing to do with me being quarterback, Scott?" Jake asks.

"That party changed a lot of things, Jake." Scott answers. "I got left there by Patrick's stupid ass but damn if I didn't have a blast once they were gone. You're all good with me so give me a chance here."

Jake thinks for a second then nods. "All right, we can use all the help we can get. Give me a streak route but be ready to block if I manage to hit Monte or Ray first."

"Got it. And, Jake, thanks." He smiles as he jogs to his side of the line.

They line up for the hand off and the Wolfpack's linebackers cheat up closer to the line. Jake taps the center on his back then jogs back to the shotgun formation.

"Hike!" He shouts before their linebackers can get back into position.

"What in the hell is he doing?" Coach Yates asks as he watches the play unfolding.

"Being Jake." Coach Pennington answers. "He's pretty great at it in case you haven't noticed."

Monte, Mitch, Ray and Scott all take off downfield at the snap while Jake drops back a few steps. The linebackers are caught out of position when Ray makes his cut across the middle of the field. Jake plants his back foot then fires a laser of a throw at where Ray should be in a step or two. There's an audible smack that rings out when the ball hits Ray in his hands. He hauls it in and lets his momentum carry him towards the Wolfpack sidelines. He attempts to turn up field but steps out of bounds at the Wolfpack's twenty four yard line. Jake looks to the sideline but doesn't see Patrick running onto the field to replace him.

Jake jogs over to the sideline as the referees are spotting the ball.

"Coach?" he asks.

"Just play your damn game, Jake." Yates tells him as he shakes his head.

Jake smiles and nods before running back to the huddle.

"I guess that means that we're stuck with you then." Ray chuckles.

"Lucky you. I hear that there are recruiters from Clemson, Maryland, Duke and Florida State here tonight and you know that I make you look good." Jake comments. "All right, lets see what we can do to get this game back on track."

On the next play, Jake finds Scott in the end zone on a post route for a touchdown that puts them only one score down.

"Nice catch." Ray comments as they head to the sidelines.

"Thanks." Scott answers. "When you threw that block on the blitz, it helped me get open. Hell of a block."

"All right, defense." Coach Pennington says at the Wildcats kick their extra point. "Des got us one back, Jake got us another but they're still winning and we're not going to stand for that, are we?"

"No!" the defense shouts together.

"We're not going to let them come to our house on our last night here and beat us, are we?" He shouts.

"NO!" the defense answers even louder.

"Then let's get out there and get it after it!" He tells them then sticks his hand in the middle of their huddle. "Wildcats on three. One... two... three... WILDCATS!"

****

The fired up defense forces another three and out for the Wolfpack and the punt is again less than spectacular giving the Wildcats the ball with great field position. Jake begins to work the ball down the field using short passes to both Ray and Scott. Monte breaks free from his defender on a play but Jake's pass leads him too far and Monte's foot comes down out of bounds.

"You'll hit me on the next one." Monte encourages him.

"You got that right. Same play, same routes." Jake tells the offense. "I'll get you in bounds this time, Monte."

True to his word, Jake's pass is caught by Monte on the Wolfpack five yard line. He's pushed out of bounds at the two and Jake hurries the offense up to the line. Ray gives him a nod at the line of scrimmage and Jake barks outs a quick cadence. The ball is snapped and he lobs a pass towards the far corner of the end zone. It falls perfectly into Ray's outstretched hands for the touchdown.

"Nice job, offense." Yates calls out as they reach the sideline.

As Ray and Jake head towards the water cooler, Ray shakes his head.

"Dude, I think we're in an episode of Black Mirror or something. Yates just complimented you." He states.

"He complimented us." Jake answers as he grabs a cup of water.

"He's working up to complimenting you then." Ray laughs as the pair take a seat on the bench.

"Yeah right." Jake laughs.

On the field, the kick off is fumbled by the Wolfpack but the receiver manages to come out of the pile of bodies holding the ball.

The Wildcat defense clamps down and after a seven yard loss on a sack, a hand off that gets stuffed at the line of scrimmage and a pass that is thrown away to avoid a second sack the Wolfpack sends their punting unit back out onto the field. This time the punter hits a booming punt that sends Monte scrambling backwards. He snags it at the Wildcats twelve and is immediately swarmed by the Wolfpack players.

"Just under ninety yards to go and two minutes twenty seconds to work with." Coach Pennington says to Jake before he heads onto the field. "Are you ready to go get it, Jake?"

"Always, Coach." Jake answers with a smile.

Pennington nods and Jake hurries out to the huddle.

"All right, we need to eat up some clock." Jake tells the offense. "Kendall, you ready to be our workhorse for a few plays?"

"Let's do this, Jake!" Kendall agrees.

Jake nods. "All right, inside dive to the left on two."

Kendall cranks off a twelve yard gain on that play which brings them close to the two minute warning. Jake lets the remaining seconds tick down then jogs to the sideline.

"Good job with that run." Coach Yates tells him. "Get us a few more of those and we'll be in field goal range."

"Got it, Coach." Jake answers as he squirts a shot of water into his mouth.

He jogs back to the huddle and calls for another run. The Wolfpack is ready for it those time however and stuff Kendall after only a two yard gain. The next run is a bit better but not by much which leaves the Wildcats looking at a third down and six yards for a first down.

"Okay, lets try a quick hitter to the sidelines." Jake tells them. "Receivers, get to the first down line and start looking for the ball. It'll be coming quick."

"Like Patrick." Mitch chuckles.

"Goddamn, dude." Kendall says with a laugh.

"Fucking brutal." Scott comments with his own laugh.

"On one you guys." Jake tells them as he shakes his head.

Jake takes the snap and drops back but the Wolfpack has sent an all out blitz. He doesn't have a chance to look for a receiver so he tucks the ball and spins to his left. A tackler grabs him by the jersey but loses his grip when he spins. Jake can hear his pursuers footfalls just behind him as he begins to run. He makes the first down marker and makes a couple more yards before he sees a defensive back barreling towards him. Jake steps out of bounds then takes another step before being slammed into by the defensive back.

Whistles blow and flags fly from the referees as Jake lays on the sideline trying to catch his breath. A melee nearly breaks out as Antoine and Des jump in the face of the DB. Coach Yates and the referees manage to separate the group before any punches are thrown.

"Don't move, Jake." Coach Pennington tells him. "Listen to me this time, will you?"

"Just... help me... sit up." Jake tells him.

Pennington shakes his head and assists Jake to a seated position.

"Jake, you all right?" Yates asks as he kneels beside.

"Just... had the wind... knocked out of me coach." Jake tells them. "Give me... a second."

****

In the stands Jessica is on her feet and she starts moving towards the stairs but Jake's dad stops her.

"He's okay, Jess." He assures her then points to where Pennington and Yates are kneeling over a now seated Jake. Pennington turns towards the stands, looks up to where Jessica and the group are usually seated and gives them a thumbs up.

"He's got to sit this play out but he's okay." He tells her.

On the sideline, Jake is helped to his feet and he tosses a wave to the stands. She waves back, unsure if he can spot her out of the crowd but she does it anyway before taking her seat.

"Want me to check him once the game is over, Jessica?" Dr. Golden offers.

"Maybe... maybe just a question or two." Jessica answers. "Just don't try to send him to the hospital to get us out of our weekend together, mom."

"I... wasn't going to suggest that." Her mom states.

"Mom, we talked and talked about this all week. It's going to be fine." Jessica tells her. "You agreed that some time alone together would be good for Jake and me."

"I know but I am your mother so I have a right to worry about you." Dr. Golden answers. "I also know that you're in good hands with Jake but I still worry."

"I'm a little worried too, mom, but I'm also ready." Jessica answers hoping that she sounds more confident than she feels.

****

When Patrick manages to not fumble the hand off to Kendall on the next play, Yates keeps him in the game for another play. The pass Patrick throws leaves much to be desired. Mitch ends up playing defender and just manages to knock the ball from the hand of his cover man.

"Tell me Gibson is ready to go back in!" Yates shouts towards the trainers.

They give him a thumbs up and Jake grabs his helmet. "I'm good to go, coach." Jake tells him.

"Good, then get the hell out there." He orders him.

Jake nods and heads onto the field. Patrick looks pissed as he passes Jake on his jog back to the sidelines but Jake just shrugs.

"Are you all right?" Ray asks as they huddle up.

"I'm good." Jake answers then looks at the yard marker that indicates it's third down with five yards for a first down. "A minute forty five to win this thing. Okay, shotgun formation, Mitch, you and Monte give me crossing patterns ten yards out. Scott you run a post and be ready because if you break loose, I'm letting it fly."

"Got it." Scott answers.

"Ray, you and Kendall get to what we need for the first down and sit on it. You're my safety valves on this play so be ready for a dump off if anything goes wrong." He tells them and gets affirmative nods from them both. "All right, we're going on one."

The offense lines up and Jake looks over the defense. It's a nickel package with the linebackers cheating up towards the line.

"Kendall, they're coming." He says just loud enough for the running back to hear him. "Chip and go."

"Chip and go. Got it." Kendall confirms.

Jake barks out and the ball is snapped. Sure enough, the Wolfpack sends two of their linebackers on a blitz. One gets slowed in a traffic jam created by the line and Kendall bumps the other wide as Jake steps up to avoid his grasping hands. Ray starts cheating back towards the line when Jake points down field. Ray spins and takes off down the field. Jake flings the pass his way and Ray catches it in stride. He makes it to the Wolfpack forty yard line before being hauled down from behind.

The Wolfpack coach calls a time out with a minute twenty two left on the game clock.

"All right, Jake, we aren't quite in Martin's range yet." Coach Yates tells him during the time out. "Five more would be good, ten would be better."

"How about a touchdown?" Jake asks.

"Don't get cocky out there. The last thing this team needs is another hero quarterback." Yates tells him. "Get out there, get the yards and get to the locker room with the win. Got it?"

"Got it." Jake answers.

When the time out ends, Jake calls for a running play and Kendall squeaks out a five yard run. Another time out is called by the Wolfpack stopping the clock with a minute thirteen on the clock. On second down another run play is called but Kendall is stopped for no gain. The Wolfpack calls it's third and final time out stopping the clock with a minute nine seconds to go. "Okay, let's see if we can get them to bite on a fake hand off up the middle. I'll pitch it to Kendall on right hand side and see if he can't score."

"Jake, we can just get the ball to the middle of the field and give Martin his shot at it." Mitch says.

"Do you want to put the fate of this game in his hands, Mitch?" Jake asks. "You know how nervous he gets when he's under pressure and we're just inside his wheelhouse. I'm talking a hairs breath inside it."

"If Kendall doesn't lose any yardage that is." Ray points out.

"I get it. If they're jamming the middle then we'll go with my call if they aren't I'll audible to a straight hand off. How's that?" Jake asks and the team nods. "We'll go on two."

They break the huddle and line up in the I formation. Jake looks over the defense and notices that they are stuffing the middle with bodies so he keeps with his play call. Once the ball is snapped, Jake fakes the inside hand off to the fullback then pitches the ball out to Kendall. The Wolfpack defense swarm the fake ball carrier while Kendall streaks into the open field with nothing but daylight between him and the goal line. He jogs into the end zone for the go ahead score and glances at the game clock. It reads forty nine ticks left to go.

"Great call, Jake." Kendall says as they head to sidelines.

"Great run, Kendall." Jake answers with a nod.