Emergency Quarterback Read online

  “I don’t want Wade to do bad; I’m just afraid that he will,” Lamont said. “He can throw the ball, but he freezes up and panics whenever the rush is on. The thing I don’t like is that he acts like he’s so good.”

  Lamont tossed the ball to Jason, then started jogging toward the basket. “I’m open!” he called.

  Jason fired the ball to him and Lamont hauled it in, gently dunking it. “Whoa!” he said. “Nicked my ’fro on the ceiling.” He rubbed his head. “I think this room shrunk since the last time we played.”

  “Yeah,” Jason said, smiling. “We need bigger arenas now. Out in the spotlight, in the stadium.”

  5

  A Scared Rabbit

  Jason inhaled the crisp October air and glanced over at the bleachers. The Hudson City stadium was packed with spectators, and someone was beating out a steady rhythm on a drum. The crowds had grown each week as the Hornets extended their winning streak. Tonight’s game was huge.

  Jason watched from the sideline as Lamont teed up the ball for the opening kickoff. Lamont had been chosen as the new placekicker, but in practice his kickoffs had been at least ten yards shorter than Vinnie’s. And he barely made half of his extra-point attempts. Hudson City would be running two-point conversion tries in most circumstances.

  “Our night!” Jason shouted, rubbing his hands together and jogging a few steps in place. The Bayonne players were stretched across the opposite sideline, looking big and tough in their white uniforms with maroon trim.

  Behind the Hudson City bench, Wade was tossing a football back and forth with David Choi. Wade had been his usual arrogant self during warm-up drills, but his passes were on target. Jason had to admit that Wade had a decent arm; it was just that his inflated ego was so fragile. The self-confidence quickly disappeared when the heat was on. Any pressure from the defense forced him into bad throws and bad decisions.

  Lamont booted the ball with all his might. The Hudson City players raced down the field as the Bayonne return man waited for the end-over-end kick to come down. He bobbled it but hung on, racing up the center of the field and making a sharp cut behind a blocker. Miguel stopped him cold with a hard tackle.

  Assistant Coach Hector Melena tapped on Jason’s helmet and said, “Quick meeting of the offense.”

  Some of the offensive players—Anthony, Sergio, Miguel, and Anderson—also started on defense, but the remaining starters gathered by the bench with Coach Melena. “Patience and power—that’s the plan,” he said. “We need to establish the run. Jared and Miguel right up the center; Jason on an occasional reverse.”

  Coach reached over and gripped Wade’s jersey and gave him a hard look. “You’ve got a lot of options here—the running game, the short pass, the fly pattern to Jason. Don’t panic and don’t run unless you absolutely have to.”

  “I know,” Wade said with a scowl. He shot a glare at Jason. Jason just stared back.

  “Return team!” Coach Melena said loudly, looking up at the field. “It’s fourth down. Bayonne’s bringing in the punter.”

  Jason checked his chinstrap and took a deep breath as he ran onto the field to receive the kick.

  Bayonne hadn’t advanced far, so Jason lined up at Hudson City’s forty-five. The Hornets would have good field position. Gotta break one, Jason thought. All the way to the end zone.

  The kick was short and was drifting toward the far sideline. Jason caught it on the run, reaching full speed within a stride. He dodged past one tackler and was hit by another, but his momentum carried him forward a few more yards, dragging the grunting tackler with him. It was Hudson City’s ball inside the Bayonne forty.

  Rolling to his feet, Jason had that feeling of controlled excitement that always came with his first touch of the game. He wanted the ball in his hands.

  Wade called for a running play: fullback Jared Owen right up the middle. Jason split wide to the left as a decoy. Shoulder pads crashed and helmets collided. The play went nowhere.

  “Quarterback draw,” Wade said in the huddle.

  Jason let out his breath in a huff. Why would Wade call his own number on the second play from scrimmage?

  Wade looked up. “On three. Let’s go.”

  The play did catch the Bayonne defense off guard, and Wade shuffled forward for a three-yard gain.

  Third and seven. Wade called for a quick pass to Lamont over the middle, with Jason as the second option. But the Bayonne rush was heavy, and Wade scrambled out of the pocket. The chance to pass to Lamont evaporated in a hurry, but Jason had found a seam and was streaking toward the center of the field, a step ahead of the cornerback.

  It didn’t matter. Wade got sacked for a six-yard loss. Jason smacked his hand against his thigh in frustration. At fourth and thirteen, the Hornets had little choice but to punt.

  “You guys have to block!” Wade scolded as the offensive players trotted off the field.

  “You have to hang in there,” Lamont shot back. “You had time to pass. You can’t be afraid to take a hit.”

  “You weren’t open,” Wade said, a little softer.

  “Fiorelli was. That was a touchdown if you hadn’t panicked.”

  Wade just walked away as they reached the sideline, heading for the cooler of Gatorade on the bench.

  Jason stood next to Vinnie, who’d been quiet all evening. He was wearing his jersey, but had a windbreaker over it with the cast tucked inside. The right sleeve hung empty. He gave Jason a tight smile. “Nice runback.”

  Jason shrugged. “Yeah. A wasted opportunity.”

  Hudson City wasted another one in the second quarter. Anthony made a jarring sack that forced the Bayonne quarterback to fumble, and Miguel scooped up the loose ball and ran it all the way down to the Bayonne seventeen. But a couple of incomplete passes and a two-yard run by Jared left the Hornets with fourth-and-long as the clock reached the two-minute mark. The game was still scoreless.

  If Vinnie had been ready, Hudson City might have tried for a field goal. There was no choice but to pass this time.

  Jason reached up and grabbed Wade’s face mask in the huddle. Not a single pass had come his way. “I’ll be open. In the end zone. Get me the ball.”

  Wade shook loose from Jason’s grip and shoved him away. He had sharp words for the linemen. “They’ve been getting through you guys like cardboard all day,” Wade said. “Hold the line. Give me a chance to pass the ball without having half their team in my face.”

  Jason split wide to the left. At the snap he darted forward, gave a hard step toward the sideline, then cut full-speed toward the end zone, freezing the cornerback for a split second. He felt a surge of excitement as he saw nothing but a clear field ahead of him.

  Bayonne had dropped a linebacker into the secondary in anticipation of a pass, and the Hudson City line was finally giving Wade the protection he needed. So even though Jason was a step and a half ahead of his defender, Wade couldn’t resist the giant hole in front of him. He tucked the ball against his body and barreled straight ahead.

  Jason saw the play unfolding and turned quickly, blocking the cornerback who’d been chasing him. Wade had been tackled by a pile of defenders, but he was inside the ten, close to a first down.

  The referee blew his whistle sharply, calling a timeout and waving for the yardage markers to be brought onto the field. The players gathered closely to watch the measurement.

  A groan came from the Hudson City bleachers, and the Bayonne players leaped and hollered. Wade had landed inches short. The ball went over to Bayonne.

  “Would have been a touchdown if you’d thrown the stupid ball!” Jason barked at Wade.

  Wade did not respond.

  The half ended in a scoreless tie.

  In the locker room, Coach Podesta had mostly praise for his players. “The defense has been great,” he said. “You’ve given us two big opportunities. So far we’ve dominated; we just haven’t been able to score.”

  Coach took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. “Games like this
one tend to be decided by one or two big plays. Our big-play guy barely touched the ball in the first half. So Jason, you’ll be going in at quarterback.”

  Jason swallowed hard, but he wasn’t really nervous. Without turning his head he shifted his eyes toward Wade, who was scowling slightly but didn’t say a word.

  Coach had Miguel return the second-half kickoff so Jason could stay on the sideline and take a few extra snaps from Sergio.

  “Don’t be afraid to try the fly pattern to Calvin,” Vinnie said. “Calvin’s got that track speed. He ought to be able to break one.”

  “I’ll look for him,” Jason said, taking a snap.

  Sergio stood and smacked Jason’s shoulder pad. “Their defensive line is big and quick, my man, like grizzly bears or something. Don’t expect to have all day back there to pass.”

  “I know. I seen ’em.”

  Sergio leaned closer. “Wade was too scared to hang in there. So move if you have to. At least a scared rabbit can get away. Not like that scared giraffe. ”

  Miguel made a good return, and the Hornets set up shop at their own thirty-seven. Jared gained two yards on first down and Miguel got three more on second.

  “Wingback pitch,” Jason said, calling for his favorite running play. He had scored on that play a couple of games ago, but this time he’d be getting the ball to Calvin.

  At the snap, Calvin ran parallel to the line toward Jason, who flipped him the ball and led the way forward. Jason made a nice block on a linebacker, and Calvin slipped ahead for a first down.

  “We’re moving the ball!” Anthony said with passion as the players huddled around Jason.

  “Keep opening those holes,” Jason said. “Right down that field.”

  A couple of running plays moved the ball forward a few yards, but at third down and seven to go, Jason knew it was time to pass.

  “Nothing fancy,” he said in the huddle. “I’ll be looking for Lamont on a slant over the middle or Calvin in the flat. On two. Let’s go.”

  A Bayonne lineman burst into the backfield and Jason was forced to roll out, racing toward the sideline and searching for an open receiver. He didn’t see any. And here came another defender, bearing down in a hurry. Jason had to get rid of the ball or take a deep sack.

  Calvin was tightly covered, but he was Jason’s only option. If he could sling it far enough, maybe Calvin would chase it down.

  Jason stopped short, heaved the ball as far as he could, and was immediately tackled hard. He hit the ground with a thud and quickly rolled away from the tackler.

  Getting to his knees, Jason was momentarily confused. Players from both teams were running back toward him. And a Bayonne player had the ball!

  Jason leaped to his feet and joined the pursuit, but the player was too far ahead. Obviously the pass had been intercepted. And the Bayonne player was on his way to the end zone. He wouldn’t be caught.

  Jason sprinted after him but never got closer than five yards away.

  “Should have taken the sack,” Coach said as Jason stepped glumly to the sideline. He put his arm around Jason’s shoulder. “Rookie mistake. Let’s get back to it. We’re still in the game.”

  Jason looked nervously at the clock as Bayonne grinded out a lengthy drive late in the fourth quarter. “Gotta get the ball back,” he said to Vinnie. “I just need one more chance.”

  The score was still 6-0, but Bayonne was eating up a lot of time. Jason knew that he could pull this one out if the defense could keep the deficit down to one score.

  “Stay calm,” Vinnie said. “It’ll happen; I can feel it in my bones.”

  Finally, on fourth-and-one at the Hudson City seventeen, Anthony plugged a hole and stopped the Bayonne tailback for a loss. The Hudson City players shouted. The momentum suddenly seemed to be theirs.

  Jason raced onto the field and gathered the offensive players around him. “Long way to go,” he said. “Just like last week: a couple of big plays and we’ll stay undefeated.”

  The Hornets had two timeouts left and a little less than two minutes to work with. But they also had eighty-two yards to go.

  Jason called a play that targeted Calvin as the receiver fifteen yards upfield near the sideline. “Preserve the clock,” he said. “Get out of bounds if you can.”

  He took the snap and stepped back into the pocket, but the defenders were already closing in. Anthony and Sergio and the others were battling to give Jason protection, but white-uniformed arms were reaching high to thwart any passes and the Hornets were being driven backwards.

  Jason darted to his left and managed to escape from the horde, but a linebacker brought him down after a three-yard gain. More importantly, the clock was still running.

  Jason scrambled to his feet and motioned for his team to line up. He grabbed Calvin’s arm and said, “Same play.” He hoped the rest of the players would assume that.

  The rush this time was even more intense, and a blitzing linebacker was zeroing in from Jason’s left. He took off at a sprint to his right, away from Calvin’s side of the field, and frantically stayed a stride ahead of the linebacker.

  There was Lamont, running parallel to Jason about twenty yards upfield. Jason threw the ball on the run but got little power behind it. It fell to the turf a few yards shy of the receiver.

  The incomplete pass stopped the clock, but now it was third and seven. The team huddled up. “Let’s not panic,” Jason said, as much for himself as for his teammates.

  “I was open,” Calvin said.

  “Couldn’t even see you,” Jason replied.

  “I know. I mean, that play can work again.”

  “We ran it twice in a row already. Split to the other side.” Jason looked up, scanning the defensive alignment. “Lament—sorry that pass was so lame. Run the same pattern. Let’s go!”

  The Hornets’ line held fast this time, and Jason stayed in the pocket. Calvin was a step ahead of the cornerback and Lamont was also clear. Either option would work. Jason took a step forward and prepared to launch the ball.

  A massive, unexpected hit forced all the air from Jason’s lungs and sent him sprawling to the ground. Things went black for a fraction of a second as the ball rolled backwards. Jason struggled to get up but the linebacker had him pinned. Players were running past him like a stampede of cattle.

  When Jason got to his feet, a Bayonne lineman was in the end zone, holding the ball aloft with one hand as his teammates celebrated around him. The fumble had been scooped up and returned for a touchdown. The Hudson City winning streak was over.

  6

  MandatoryPizza

  Jason had a rough night, tossing and turning and punching his pillow a couple of times. The coaches and his teammates—most of them, anyway—had insisted that he shouldn’t feel responsible for the loss. But there was no disputing those two costly turnovers. He spent several hours just staring at the ceiling of his bedroom. It was well after three A.M. when he finally nodded off.

  In his dreams, he was chasing a football around a muddy field, feeling it slip through his fingers every time he thought he had a grip on it. The ball sprouted short, chubby legs and started squealing like a pig, staying just out of Jason’s reach as he chased it round and round. Spectators in the bleachers were laughing loudly and hooting at him. Every few seconds, a giant linebacker would knock him flat.

  He woke with a start and looked around the room. The sun was just coming up. He put on a sweatshirt and went downstairs. His parents weren’t awake yet.

  The Sunday newspaper was on the stoop, and Jason carried it in. He scanned the results of the high-school games—Hudson City had lost to Memorial—and read the preview of that afternoon’s Giants-Eagles NFL game. Then he turned to the youth sports section.

  Dad came down after a few minutes and put his hand on Jason’s shoulder. “You all right?” he asked.

  “Yeah. I’m embarrassed mostly.”

  “Don’t be.”

  “Hard not to be.”

  “You’re still
in first place.”

  “Just barely.”

  Saturday’s scores:

  Hoboken 36, Liberty 6

  Arlington 21, South Bergen 20

  Bayonne 13, Hudson City 0

  West Newark 19, Greenville 16

  Next week:

  Hudson City at Palisades

  Arlington at West Newark

  Hoboken at Bayonne

  Liberty at Greenville

  “If you win the next two, you’re the champs,” Dad said. “It’s as simple as that.”

  “Yeah. As simple as beating Hoboken.”

  Dad gave a slight laugh. “It’s possible. Believe me, you’ll bounce back. That was your first time at quarterback in a real game.”

  “And probably the last.”

  “You never know,” Dad said. “You made some mistakes. That doesn’t mean you’ll make them again.”

  Jason rolled his eyes. Those mistakes had been so big that they seemed to overshadow every success he’d ever had in sports.

  “It was just two plays, buddy,” Dad said. “Two little plays.”

  “Two huge plays,” Jason replied. “Two plays that might cost us the entire season.”

  Anthony phoned in the early afternoon. Jason had been staring at the TV, not really watching the Giants game, just thinking about his failures at quarterback.

  “Bro, you okay?” Anthony asked.

  “I guess.”

  “You guess? What’s not to be okay about?”

  Jason sighed. “Like you don’t know?”

  “Get over it. Meet us downtown in fifteen minutes.”

  “What for?”

  “We’re going for pizza,” Anthony said.

  “I’m not hungry.”

  “Sure you are.”

  “I don’t know....”

  “I’m telling you,” Anthony said. “Villa Roma. No excuses.”

  “I’ll think about it.”