Mustangs Vs. Buccaneers 11/19/2011

[Westbrook Academy]

PREGAME

The Cutlass Isles Buccaneers were the one and only ‘normal’ school to enter the league. Coach Armstrong knew the reason, and he knew there would be rumors flying. Despite three coach turnovers in the past five seasons, the Buccs were well known as one of the most aggressive teams going, so much so that the National Federation of High School Sports suspended them from the normal league for two years.

On one hand, the fact that last year they had no season provided a little security - an entire season off essentially put them on the same level as a new team. On the other, Coach Armstrong knew the Mustangs needed this win if they wanted to keep State within reach. He’d made the decision this week to move Espinosa to both sides, his defensive captain would now be covering tight end. Right now, the Mustangs were tied for second in the league, and with Delmont’s recent win- they needed this game. But he also knew it wouldn’t come easy.

The Buccaneer fans were just as rowdy as the team was reported to be. Most wore eye patches and assorted pirate gear, some carried plastic swords and signs, and a few bolder students carried nooses with hanging stuffed horses.

“Don’t let them psyche you out.” Coach Armstrong warned his players. “And don’t let them under your skin. We’re gonna take this game, and we’re gonna take it fair and square. Keep a cool head, and we can count this as a win!”

Easier said than done for a team that off the field was being dragged through the ringer. They were edgy, Coach Armstrong could feel it on the bus. Most of them were internalizing everything. Break-ups. Power loss. Power swaps. Rage. Confusion. Of all weeks to play the Buccs? He’d have given his left ear to make it another one.

“We are Mustangs!” The cheer squad yelled as the Mustang football team ran on the field first.
“We couldn’t be prouder!
If you are a Mustang, shout a little louder!” The crowd shouted back, and the band played Mustang Sally as Westbrook took its sideline.

The much larger Cutlass Isles heer squad stood at the ready on the opposite end of the field, clapping while their band played a lively version of “A pirate’s life for me.” They even had a guy decked out in full pirate gear, riding high atop an ancient cannon that looked like it was pulled right from the set of Pirates of the Caribbean. The pirate waved his cutlass high in the air as four guys also dressed as pirates dragged and pushed the rolling monstrosity. It was kitch, it was goofy, but it riled up the Bucc’s fans as it was placed on the sidelines near the endzone.

“Your team is lame, your cheer squad sucks,
Give it up, here come the Buccs!”

And sure enough, when the last player crossed the line - the rowdy Bucc’s crowd yelled “Fire in the Hole!” right before the cannon went off, shooting not only a ball of confetti, but what looked like a stuffed Mustang onto the field. The pirate then hopped down and proceeded to destroy the stuffed animal with his wooden sword as the Cutlass Isles crowd made some noise.

[Flicker]

Peyton knew Becca would have scoffed at the short shorts and vest-over-crop tops the Bucc’s cheer squad wore, but the 14 member squad was spot on for the most part even if most of their cheers were trash.

“Hey, hey, what do you say?
“Your team’s going down today.
You can’t play ball, Your score is blank,
We’ll make the Mustangs walk the plank!”

Peyton rolled her eyes, before glancing at her squad of six. She nodded to Sondra, who gave the two claps to start the Mustang’s cheer.

““Hey Hey are ya Ready? Are ya Ready
Get fired up, get fired up!
Mustangs! Are! Dynamite!
Don't mess with dynamite!
If you mess with us we go
Tick, tick, tick, tick,
Boom Dynamite
Boom Boom Dynamite” She smiled as some of the crowd joined in. They didn’t need to trash the other team. They were Mustangs.

[Diya Behari]

Diya was a little rattled on the bus, considering the night before she'd been part of the Occupy Paragon protest debacle and after spending an entire afternoon today with her parents - which was a semi-disaster with them meeting Lauren and her parents and watching her demonstrate her new powers. But she was determined to take Coach's words to heart.

"Keep a cool head." Easier said that done when you were Diya Behari, but the game had to come first.

[Galactic Halo]

Chase sat in the back of the room, brooding mostly. Practice had not been going well for him, and his temper had shortened even more in the time frame. Espy tried to cheer him up earlier, but with the news of Faige leaving, his desire to cheer him up had plummeted fast. Peyton looked like she wanted to talk to him, but was debating about whether or not she should encroach on his personal space. It was all for the better. The farther away everyone else was from him until they got to the Power-supression fields the better.

So Chase decided to sit in the back, detached from the rest, and waited until they took the field, where he could finally let out all of that bottled up emotion.

[Brodi Andrews]

Brodi looked over at his motley crew after the first play through of Mustang Sally... and it was odd for him to see fear. It wasn't over any nearby threats or a forgotten tuba (Due to the new Jitters - Eddie Brunts), nor was it because the bleachers were squealing loudly under the giant Jitters who had gotten Eddie's powers. No, the fear came from a crossed the field. Not the players or the fans... the band.

The Mustang band wasn't tiny, but Brodi wouldn't call it huge. In truth, they probably could be considered 'cute' in the size region of things. So, with that in mind, Brodi would classify the band a crossed from them as 'Goliath'. They had multiple tuba players, several drummers, and the flute section alone out numbered the entire Westbrook band.

Brodi tried to put on a straight face. He turned towards the crew, raised his fife high in the air, and shouted, "Tonight, we play in Hell!"

That got a few blank stares his way. Brodi cleared his throat once more, slowly lowering his fife. "Fine, this isn't Hell so clearly it could be worse! So come on! In every 'ABC Original Movie', who are the people who end up coming from behind to win the big 'thing'? It's the small guys! So, guys, since life is like a movie - clearly - let's do this right!"

Brodi flashed a grin and then pressed his fife to his lips. He gave an enthusiastic nod of his head before they began the Westbrook fight song!

[Westbrook Academy]

FIRST QUARTER:

Henry Hawkins smiled and Guillermo Espinosa pumped his fist into the air as the coin landed on heads. "We'll receive!" Espy yelled as he cleared the field to make way for the offensive line, The Cutlass Isles section of fans booed and put their thumbs down in a show of disapproval, but the lively Westbrook crowd tried to drown them out.

"Fans on the left, c'mon yell go, 1, 2, 3 go!” The cheer squad shouted as Jason Dumarr and the offensive line took the field.

“GO!” The crowd called back, enthusiastically.
“Fans on the right, c'mon yell fight, 1 2 3 fight!”

“FIGHT!” The team on the sidelines clapped their hands and yelled encouragement at those on the field.
“Fans all together yell go, fight, win, go! fight! win!”

“GO, FIGHT, WIN!”

The Buccaneer’s punter set the ball sailing into the air right into the hands of Matt Quest at the 30 yard line. With Mike Jackson and Chase Masters blocking for him, Matt made it back to the fifty before being stopped by the Cutlass Isles cornerback. The cornerback hit hard and low, par for the course for the Buccaneers, known for their often overly aggressive defensive line. Jackson gave Quest a hand up, and Hawkins called for the next play.

Chase Masters seethed. It didn’t take much to trigger his buttons these days, and even with his ‘darker’ powers suppressed - to say he was in a foul mood was an understatement, an over aggressive team was the last thing he needed, and he was confident they’d soon know it.

Hawkins heard that the Buccs had one of the toughest defensive lines going. His best bets would be short passes or running plays- keep the ball tight. Right now, Cutlass Isles was leading the league in interceptions.

“Red nineteen!” He called. “Red nineteen!” The ball was snapped back, Dumarr took three steps out then cut towards the inside, and Hawkins connected. JD tucked it in tight, and dropped his head, holding out his arm as Winston Mitchell blocked the Buccs middle linebacker.

“GO!” The crowd called out. Dumarr zigged left and ducked, narrowly avoiding the Buccs safety, who was stopped hard and fast in his tracks by Chase Masters. The crunch of shoulder pads connecting with a moving object made several nearby spectators wince with the hit. The Buccs cornerback was quickly hot on JD’s heels and he was taken down just shy of the thirty.

“Stay down, bitch.” The cornerback taunted, shoving off of Dumarr to get back up.

“Field goal range!” Pierce Drummond called, pounding Diya’s shoulder pads with enthusiasm. She chuckled in response, and shoved the boy back.

“Touchdown range!” She predicted with confidence.

Hawkins called for a running play next, faking the ball to Jackson before handing it to Masters. Chase barely had time to drive a yard before the Bucc’s saftey oped for some payback, bringing him to the ground. Much like the cornerback, he gave Masters a shove before standing up. Masters was about to return the action when Espinosa stepped in.

“Easy, man, easy.” Espy told him. “Game’s still early. Plenty of time to kick his ass on the field.” Chase grunted a response, glaring hard at the safety, who made a ‘bring it!’ comment. Hawkins patted Masters on the back, which Chase quickly shrugged off. Figuring the Buccs would anticipate another throwing play, Hawkins this time handed the ball to Jackson with pretty much the same results.

“Espinosa, three and out.” Hank told Guillermo in a lowered voice.

“Green forty two, Green forty two!” he called, and the ball was snapped back. Espinosa took three steps, and then cut away from Hawkins, only to have the ball tipped out of his hands by Cutlass’ defensive end. Walt ‘DeWalt’ Hickson made a quick recovery, covering the ball just in case. Coach Armstrong let out a sigh, and nodded his head.

“Get us on the board, Behari!” Coach bellowed, tapping her on the back with his clipboard. She donned her helmet as she ran onto the field, looking out into the stands.

“Hey Butch!” A Bucc player called out to her while another gave a wolf whistle.

“Going down, powder puff!” a third mocked. Diya rolled her eyes and concentrated on the ball.

DeWalt snapped the ball back, and Henry placed it on the ground – laces out. Diya wound up for the kick, three stepping to it, and watched as the ball sailed towards the crossbars, keeping her arm raised in anticipation of the score. Her foot had already touched the ground when the Cutlass Isles linebacker hit, careening into the side of the small place kicker as the two sprawled to the ground. The ball sailed through the goal, and the crowd cheered – the Mustangs drew first blood, 3-0.

“You that hard up to get touched?” the linebacker gloated, wiggling his eyebrows from behind the face mask. Diya huffed and pushed him off.

“Asshole.” She muttered, getting to her feet.

“Was good for me, too!” He laughed, jogging back to his side. Hawkins gave her a hand up, and she shook it off. The Mustangs were in the lead.

“B-E-A-T Beat 'em!
B-U-S-T Bust 'em!
Beat 'em, Bust 'em,
That's our custom
Come on Mustangs, let's re-adjust 'em! GO DEFENSE!“

Score at the end of the first quarter: Mustangs 3 Buccaneers 0.

[Guillermo Espinosa]

Espy was excited to play offense, but at the same time, he couldn't really find much to be happy about now that Faige was moving away.

He went about the game as usual. Football was about more than just one person's problems, and he'd be damned if he let his emotions get in the way of his playing.

He'd done a solid job blocking at the tight end position, but dropping the pass weighed heavily on him. They'd been practicing for nearly two weeks, and they still had to work out some of the kinks. He glanced over to the marching band after their drive ended in a field goal, giving a small wave.

He walked over to the bench and found a seat, chugging down a cup of gatorade. He needed as much energy as possible if he was going to play both sides. He just hoped Shanna and Cork would be able to hold down most of the work on D.

[Diya Behari]

In the stands, Diya's parents cringed to see their daughter knocked down by the brute from the other team.

When Diya stood, she looked out at the stands to find her parents - her dad was standing and shouting, though luckily she was too far away to hear. Probably calling on the ref to throw out a red card or something. Her parents knew nothing of American football. She'd sent her dad a Wikipedia page, but who knew if he'd actually read it.

She'd gotten the team on the board though. Whose score was blank now, assholes?

[Westbrook Academy]

SECOND QUARTER:

Derrick Cork had been making threats throughout the week that anyone on defense who performed less than stellar would find themselves face down in a toilet during half time, but with all the hard work they’d been putting in on their own, they performed like champs, holding off offense in the first quarter. Hawkins was unable to make any headway the first play of the quarter, and Diya was called to the field for the punt.

“Let’s go Dee!" Peyton called called, clapping her hands. Behari’s kick warbled a little, and was received at the Buccs 40 yard line. Derrick Cork and Shanna Lasseter closed in fast, Shanna diving and taking the quick receiver down by the midfield. Lasseter stood up, rotating her arm, grimacing a bit from the impact.

“Holy shit, you’re a girl?” the receiver asked with a sneer. “Palmer, did you know that was a girl?”

“Maybe she’s gonna cry.” His teammate scoffed, thumping his receiver on the helmet.

“I’ll use you for my tissue!” Shanna shot back, trotting towards the line of scrimmage.

Pierce Drummond was ready. He stood with his hands on his knees, facing off against the Cutlass receiver who mouthed off to him a couple of times, but the bigger outside linebacker
managed to maintain his cool. He focused on the ball and evaded the scrimmage, breaking to the left and closing in on the quarterback. The QB released the ball, and Drummond ceased the charge, turning on his heels as his eyes following as it headed towards it’s mark, the Bucc’s tight end. But Drummond wasn’t the only one ready. Derrick Cork kept his eye on the ball, and managed to tip it from the fingertips of the tight end, right into the hands of Shanna Lasseter, but caught off guard by the shift in play, she was tripped up by an offensive guard at the Buccaneer’s 45.

“Great play! Great play!” Coach called, clapping his hands. “Offense! Let’s move that ball!”

“Up...up...
Down...down...
Mustangs don't get pushed around,
Boom Dynamite!
Go, Mustangs, go! Go Mustangs, Go!”

But even with the cheers and trying their hardest, the Bucc’s defense was just too intense. Two failed pass attempts lead Hawkins to try keeping the ball on the ground, only to be blitzed by the Bucc’s cornerback. The Bucc’s players chest-bumped to celebrate while their cornerback made an over-exaggerated gesture of notching his belt to the unhappy crowd.

The Buccs called for passing play attempt, boxing in the smaller, faster defensive players while their receiver snaked through the line, Espinosa on his tail. The wiry Bucc tight end was fast, one of the fastest the Cutlass team had to offer, and Espy made a last ditch diving attempt to keep the boy out of the end zone. The crowd stood on their feet as he connected, holding their breath waiting for the call. Espinosa knew it before they had, the tight end’s knee went down across the goal line. He’d made it in. The Buccs held their hands up victoriously as the ref made the call, some flipping off the Westbrook crowd, others high-fiving and over-celebrating. As was their trademark, the Bucc’s cheer section and crowd called out “FIRE IN THE HOLE!” as a large, ceremonial cannon was rolled into the endzone and fired. The Bucc’s kicker took the field, and despite being pressured by Pierce Drummond managed to make the extra kick good.

SCORE at the half: Mustangs 3, Buccaneers 7

[Roach Copeland]

Roach lazily slurped from his soda as the crowd around him erupted in a cheer. Something about a touch down and needing to wave their crazy swords around. Brook sat to the side of him, just scanning the crowd with her optics, an occasional click coming from her neck each time she turned it. Oh, of course they were doing there thing - sitting in the opposite section. Why? Cause they were crazy kids who had nothing to lose.

Roach might have fit in. While he wasn't dressed exactly like a pirate, his bandanna and torn coat was enough to get a few pats on the back from the Buccaneer crowd when he sat down. Apparently, flare was 'in' for these guys. Brook, however, made fitting in nigh impossible. For one, she was here as her drone. Two, she had painted her exposed chrome in the color of the school. That and she continued to cheer loudly for Diya whenever the kicker's name was called.

"Go back to your own section!"

"Freaks and pirates don't mix!"

"Take your toy and go home, Westy!"

While Roach didn't find the comments that amazing, he would occasionally toss a glance over his shoulder, smirk alittle, and then wiggle a touch of 'magic' between his fingers. A trick Mr. Max had taught him to keep him from wanting to use 'blood magic' - Right... cause light shows were equally cool as creating deadly golems. Anyways! That was enough to keep the 'Bucs' from doing more than shorts and occasionally tossing trash their way.

"I don't know why you insist on sitting in the -" Brook began only for Roach to wave off the question.

"I'm a man of crazy desires. Accept me or leave me. Those are the choices," He stated just as the cannon was fired!

"What?"

"Accept me or -"

Another cannon shot for good measures.

"What?"

"Accep-

BOOOM!

Roach twisted around, his lips peeled back with rage. That was when it was decided... he would be the end to that cannon.