First and Ten by Jeff Rud

the warm-up intently. A few feet past Mr. Jackson, Matt saw his own father, leaning casually against the chain-link fence. Suddenly he felt more nervous than he had before any game in his life.
    Coach Reynolds and his assistants rounded up the South Side players and steered them back into the locker room for their pre-game talk. The forty kids filled every spot on the locker room benches, and several players, including Matt, took to one knee on the floor as the coach stood before them.
    â€œOkay, boys,” Coach Reynolds began seriously. “This is what we’ve been practicing for. This is what all the hard work is about. North Vale is going to be a good test for us. All I ask is that you give me every ounce of effort you’ve got. That’s always going to be good enough for me, all right?”
    Helmets bobbed up and down. Nobody said a word. The coach continued.
    â€œNow, let’s go out there and play some Stingers football!”
    The players roared and met in the middle of the floor, their arms extended. “Who are we?” Kyle James yelled.
    â€œWe’re the Stingers!” his teammates answered back in a collective shout.
    â€œWhere are we going?” James screamed.
    â€œAll the way!” came the reply.
    The team charged out of the locker room door and toward a large rectangular wooden frame that some South Side students had constructed in shop class. Across the opening was a paper banner with the painting of a huge hornet, the Stingers’ mascot, on the side facing the crowd. Kyle James led the charge as the Stingers broke through the paper banner, forty players strong. The home crowd erupted.
    Matt had never felt so pumped up before any game in any sport. It was kind of weird, since he wasn’t likely to get much playing time today. He was penciled in second, behind Nate Brown, in the lone wide receiver’s spot on offense. Brown, a senior, would get most of the playing time and the majority of the passes today, he realized.
    Still, Matt found himself on the field to begin the game as South Side kicked off to the visitors. He was part of the kick coverage team, so at least he would get a chance to run down the field and shake some of the jitters early on. The official blew his whistle, and Ricky Jackson laid his boot into the ball, sending it on a high arc down to the twenty-five-yard line, where the North Vale return man caught it and spun toward the sidelines. It hadn’t been a great boot. Ricky Jackson had been handling kicking duties as well as backing up Kyle James at quarterback, but he wasn’t nearly as strong with his leg as he was with his right arm. Jackson could certainly punt but was weaker on field goals and kickoffs.
    The North Vale return man didn’t get far, however. Matt and Ron Evans both descended upon him at the thirty-five-yard line, Matt wrapping his arms around the Nugget player’s waist and Evans taking his legs. It was a terrific hit to start the ball game. The crowd roared, and Matt came off the field feeling as alive as he could ever remember.
    That play seemed to set the tone for the game too. North Vale was simply no match for the Stingers. Kyle James used a combination of deft handoffs and short accurate passes to pick apart the Nuggets’ defense, with Nate Brown on the receiving end of most throws. Meanwhile, the Evans twins anchored the South Side defense, attacking ball carriers and pass receivers with redheaded abandon.
    By halftime it was 28–7 for South Side. At the end of three quarters, the Stingers led 35–7. Coach Reynolds began emptying his bench. “Jackson, take over for James at quarterback,” he barked. “Hill, go in for Brown at receiver.”
    Matt had expected Jackson to get some quarterbacking time well before then. He had been looking good in practice, particularly with his ability to throw deep. Although he wasn’t quite as experienced or patient as Kyle James, he certainly had