Mustangs Vs. The Blue Devils 9/9/11

[Faige Harrison]

Faige re-tightened the belt of her jacket, the lazy warm summer evenings were starting to succumb to the chill air of autumn and she was inappropriately dressed for the occasion, little goosebumps forming on the bare skin of her legs.

"Yeah!" she said, raising her voice as well over the general din of the crowd "We need to bug the right people, I bet we could get somethin' going for a marching band! I dunno if we have enough drummers though."

She stuffed her hands under her armpits, eyes moving over the field before settling on the scoreboard. "Looks like the game is tied, so we get to be here for the real 'exciting' parts at least." The crowd began to chant as halftime neared it's close and Faige joined in somewhat with a "Yeah!" or "Go Mustangs!", school spirit and all that jazz.

[Flicker]

THIRD QUARTER:

On the field, the Mustangs huddled around the quarterback on their own twenty after a tense first half.

"Green Twenty One! Green Twenty One!" Hawkins called out. Dumarr looked open, but Hawkins knew the Devil’s would be expecting a big play. If he tossed the ball in that direction, they'd close in fast. Still, that's what he wanted them to think. He cocked his arm back and took the steps as if he was making a long toss, but at the last second handed the ball off to Masters. Taken slightly off guard by the change in plans, the Devil’s defense was left scrambling. Masters made his way up the Mustangs sideline as his team stood and cheered him on. He sidestepped a diving safety and cut across laterally as he passed the midfield stripe. The coach wound his arm as if to urge the boy on, and the small but vocal cheer squad clamored with approval. Mike Jackson and JD Dumarr kept step with the running back, stiff arming the Devil’s cornerback before being pushed out of bounds himself. Masters was finally brought down shy of the 20. He held his finger up in a #1 sign to the crowd, and blew a few kisses towards the opposing team’s cheer squad before making his way back to the huddle.

"Don't get cocky!" Coach warned from the sidelines. "Field goal range." He muttered. "Ready up, Behari. Field Goal or extra point, just ready up."

“Put me in coach!” Diya called enthusiastically as she dug her cleats into the grass. But unfortunately, they were not to be needed.

As soon as Hickson snapped the ball back, The Blue Devils outside linebacker managed to skirt past Walter Hickson and Cody Ward, sacking Hank Hawkins before he got the toss off to a wide open Dumarr.

“Hickson! Ward! What are you watching out there?" The coach called through cupped hands, as the defensive team returned to the bench. "You'd be better off on the bus! Maybe we can get the cheer squad to cover the field!"

“Let it go.” Lauren said calmly, patting Peyton on the shoulder. “Let it go.”

The Devils had their first turnover of the game, but what they didn't count on was the Mustang's super strong defense, who managed to keep them at bay for the rest of the quarter.


Score: Blue Devils 7, Mustangs 7.

[Flicker]

FOURTH QUARTER:

"Shut -em-down, Defense, Shut-em-down!" The Devil’s cheer squad lead the crowd in chanting, but Hawkins had other ideas. He huddled the team up and called the first play.The ball was snapped and he faked a hand-off to Masters, while Quest and Dumarr tried to get clear. JD Dumarr saw an opening, a small hole in the Devil’s defensive line, thanks to some blocking by Masters. Putting his head down, he turned on the steam, finding himself virtually alone in the endzone. Hawkins faked a pass towards Quest, then tossed a spiral which bounced around in Dumarr’s hands. The crowd was on it’s feet, most holding their breath. Dumarr’s heart thumped as the ball near got away from him, but at the last second he brought it in to his chest and held tight.

“JD!” Sondra called before launching into a cartwheel roundoff.

Diya Behari trotted onto the field, high-fiving her teammate, as the cheer squad called out:

Check out the score!
We want Three more!
We ain't needy, needy!
We're just greedy, greedy!

The two could later argue over what caused Diya’s kick to go wide, but it left the score 13-7.

"Good try, good try." The coach called. "Defense, keep it going!"

The Blue Devils were a running team, and they were successfully marching the ball down the field, and sure enough that's what they tried in the fourth quarter as the clock started to wind down. The Devils drives were short, but enough to earn them downs keeping the ball in play, and they managed to cross midfield to the 35 yard line, field goal range. With under a minute left on the clock, the Devils knew that a field goal would do them no good- they had to go big, or go home. With double coverage on their running backs, the Devil’s quarterback saw his chance. He fired the ball in a perfect spiral to a seemingly open receiver in the end zone. Once again, Mustang fans held their breath as they watched the ball sail.

They weren’t the only ones watching. Like a proverbial bat out of hell, Guillermo Espinosa took off towards the receiver. The well seasoned veteran poured on the steam, keeping his eye on both the opposing team and the ball. His practice, his experience paid off, and taking a leap he snagged the ball just outside the 1 yard line. It took him a split second to realize he was out of the endzone, and he hugged the ball tight to his body. Years of playing both offense and defense were about to pay off as Espy snaked his way up the field.

“ESPY!” The cheer came from the crowd. “RUN!” The players on the sidelines ran along side him encouraging him along. The players on the field ran defense, but with the unexpected catch and a fresh team like the Blue Devils, Espy ran the ball the length of the entire field, extending his arms as he crossed the Mustangs goal line. He took a moment to point towards Mia Cobol, letting her know that goal was for her, as the Mustang crowd cheered.

With a few seconds remaining on the clock, Behari redeemed the last kick of the game as the ball easily sailed through the uprights.

FINAL SCORE: Devils 7, Mustangs 20

GO MUSTANGS!!!

[Galactic Halo]

Chase cheered from the sidelines as Espy ran the last touchdown in that sealed the deal for the Mustangs, giving them their first ever victory. "Yeeeeaaaah! Mustangs!!!!" Jumping in the air and pumping his fist to the sky, Chase rushed forward to wrap his arms about Espy as he came back to the sideline, giving him an enormous bro-hug. "Dude that was wicked freakin' awesome!" He cried, grinning widely, his helmet off and wet, sweaty hair plastered about his head. The energy was electric, and the atmosphere was charged with pride and excitation. There was only one thing Chase could think of at a time like this.

"Party at Westy's!"

[Lorne Hazlewood]

Lorne jumped up and down yelling as Espy ran in the final touch down. He couldn't believe it. Their first game and they didn't just win it. They thrashed 'em!

[Mia Cobol]

Mia grabbed Peyton's arm as the ball landed in Espy's hands and he took off. She didn't seem to notice how tightly she squeezed the captain as she started jumping up and down, yelling. "Run! Go, go, go!" She grinned as Espy crossed the goal line and finally let go off Peyton, clapping excitedly as she hopped in place. When Espy pointed at her, a blush spread across her face and she gave him a small wave.

It took her a moment to realize the cheerleaders around her had started a cheer, and she quickly fell in step, smiling apologetically over at Peyton.

The night was perfect.

[Black Solace]

Sondra was practically exhausted from the constant jumping and shouting, but still found the energy for a final high kick and a "WOOO!!! GO MUSTANGS!!!" when the final whistle blew. She wanted to immediately find JD and congratulate him but was quickly lost in a crowd of maroon and grey.

[Flicker]

AFTER PARTY!