Away game

A depressingly few hours later Mark stood on the sideline of Westminster’s field, sweat running down the back of his neck. His head throbbed and his mouth was dry. He wouldn’t have changed a thing about his wild night with Winter, but he was paying for it today.

He watched as Westminster fans screamed from the bleachers, a wave of blue and gold jeering down. Every time their offense lined up, it got louder. It was the morning of Halloween so the fans were drunker, rowdier, and generally dressed in ridiculous costumes.

Coach barked his name. “Rodger, you’re in!”

He sucked in a breath and jogged out. His legs were heavy. The scoreboard said 17-14, Westminster. Fourth quarter, under six minutes. They hadn’t won a game in weeks, and this was the closest they’d come. He lined up behind Bryce and prepared for the play.

The snap came. Bryce faked the handoff to Mark the dropped back into the pocket looking for an open receiver. But the defensive line was too strong, as they had been all day, pushing through and blitzing him. Bryce went down a second later and the ball popped free.

Mark didn’t think. His body moved before his brain caught up. He dove, arms out, chest slamming into the ground. He curled around the ball like it was life itself. A helmet smacked into his ribs. Another player landed on his back. A whistle blew.

He didn’t let go.

A second passed. Then another. The ref pointed their way. “Ball recovered—away team!”

Mark opened his eyes, still clinging to the ball. His ears were ringing. His heart thudded against his chest like it wanted out. Bryce helped him up.

“You good?” Bryce asked, panting.

Mark nodded, though his vision was blurry. When he got to the sidelines his stomach lurched and he vomited into on of the trash cans. When he finished throwing up he looked up to see Tiffany looking over at him from the cheer line concerned. He could tell she wanted to come over and check on him but couldn’t because of her her role as head cheerleader.

Although this was probably more from the hangover than the tackle this triggered the concussion protocol and he was put through a test.

This caused Mark to sit on the sidelines helplessly and watch. The team managed a field goal, following his fumble recovery, tying the game and sending it to overtime.