Blood, Sweat and Tears Part 73
Adam smiled to the video camera, "Good afternoon, ladies and gents. Welcome to the first round of playoff match ups for the American league. We join you now for a meeting of gladiators with the Pittsburgh Wolverines challenging the Cincinnati Hawks for the right to move on for their shot at the championship. And for neither team is the win guaranteed."
"That's right, Adam," Tim nodded firmly. "In one corner, we have the Wolverines. The youngest collection of players in the entire football league, only Duo Maxwell has ever been to the playoffs before. And in the other corner, you have one of the most experienced teams in the Hawks. While they have seen the playoffs for five consecutive seasons, some unfortunate injuries to some of their key players will make this post-season run one of their most challenging yet."
Sounds of thousands of feet stomping and feet clapping to the music flowing through the Patriot Stadium speakers rose into the commentator booth. Chuckling deeply, Adam stated, "Well, as you can hear, the Pittsburgh fans are anxious for the show to get on the road. They've waited a long time for this, so no one can blame that. With even more 121's painted on faces and signs bearing references to their team players, fans have come from far and wide to support the underdog Wolverines to make a sea of red and gold in the packed stands."
In the locker room, Heero was sitting on the bench before his locker in full uniform. Lost in thought, his right hand was clutching the silver cross pendant around his neck. Rubbing the metal between his fingers just as Duo would whenever he was in deep contemplation, he went over plays and strategy ideas in his head.
Quietly sitting beside him, Duo finished pinning his braided bun in place and smiled, "Breathe, Yuy." he chuckled when he received a half-hearted glare from his lover in response. Pulling out the grease jar from his bag, the running back shrugged, "Just try and enjoy this as much as you can." Without the use of a mirror, he dipped his thumb into the black grease and painted a perfect horizontal line under each violet eye.
Raising an eyebrow in amusement, Heero smirked, "You realize as overcast as it's going to be all day, you don't need to worry about sun glare to bother with those smudges, right?"
"Oh, I know," his lover nodded. Grinning widely, he shrugged, "I just love how tough they look." Letting out a loud laugh, the quarterback just shook his head.
Duo cast his eyes around the quiet room and sighed, "Sheesh, guys, you'd think we were getting ready to head off to the electric chair! Don't make me start forcing you all to sing Kumbaya!" The banter served to make his teammates lighten up enough to chuckle. Slowly, the athletes began coming out of their stupors and actually began having conversations with each other.
Pleased with his efforts to relax his friends, the running back snickered to himself as he finished tying his shin guards in place while Heero looked on with a look of awe on his face.
Dorothy entered soon after with the coaching staff. When every eye turned to her, she smiled warmly, "To add on to what Zechs had told you yesterday, I want to let you all know that regardless of the outcome today, I could not be prouder of any of you.
"Pittsburgh had been put back on the map thanks to all of your tireless efforts. Win or lose, everyone in this city will benefit from that. So there will not be any 'good luck's' from me because you will not be letting anyone down out there this day. Just try and enjoy this experience as much as you can. I will be watching with a very light heart as well as a filled owner's booth." At the last sentiment, everyone had a good laugh.
Winking and waving to her team, the young owner took her leave so that Zechs could take over. The head coach just grinned, "Enough said, let's go." Yelling loudly, the team jumped to their feet and charged down the long corridor.
* * * * * *
"It's heads," the referee announced with a raised hand as he gathered up the tossed coin from the cold ground. At the miked call, the crowd let out a loud roar as they jumped to their feet.
Unable to help themselves at the rare coin flip victory, Duo, Heero and Trowa jumped around and cheered as though they had just scored a touchdown. Eyebrows rising and amused smirks tugging their lips, the three Hawks representatives and referee crew watched the trio embracing.
Suddenly remembering where he was, Heero was the first to compose himself while clearing his throat. "We'll take the first possession of the ball," he told the head referee.
Still smiling, the white-capped man replied, "Very well." Bringing the whistle to his lips, he gave a loud blow and the players turned to run back to their sidelines.
Over the broadcast, Adam's voice laughed, "Well, if there was any question to how inexperienced the Wolverines are in these playoffs, celebrating as if they won the game on just the coin toss would be a sure testimony to that. Though, I must admit that any team wants the first chance to score in any game."
"And even more so for a playoff game," Tim added. Chuckling, he commented, "It is quite refreshing to see this kind of excitement from such a young team. Most of the teams in the playoffs have been there for years and have lost that thrill as they just go through the motions."
Zechs patted his representatives on the back as they returned to their team. "That was just a small battle, guys," he grinned to his celebrating players. "We still haven't won the war yet. Let's make this first possession count."
* * * * * *
That first possession did count. Some of the replacement Hawks' defenders had never been up against the Wolverines before. Between Heero's arm, Duo's speed, Wufei's impeccable catching abilities and the offensive line's strength in protecting them, Cincinnati soon found themselves behind by seven points in less than three minutes.
Having to shout over the deafening crowd when his team returned, Howard praised, "Very well done, you little shits!" To their chorused 'Thanks, Pops,' he raised a finger and warned, "But try not to get too confident. They're going to be analyzing everything we do to try and stop us the next time. And we have seen these guys come back to win games against other teams with a bigger gap than seven points."
It was the knowledge of that very thing that kept the Wolverines from getting too carried away with their score. While thrilled over their keeping the Hawks from scoring at their first attempt, the team was still reasonable in their minimal celebrating, knowing that anything could still happen at this game.
As quickly as they had scored on their first attempt at reaching the end zone, the Pittsburgh players had a bit of a time on their second run. Held back to a field goal, the Wolverines brought the score to 10-0.
Returned to their bench after their brief cheer following the added three points, the cheerleaders looked back to the field with anxious expressions. Biting her lip nervously, Relena muttered, "I was hoping they would have a bigger lead than this by now."
Quickly finishing a sip from her water bottle, Catherine frowned, "No one said this was going to be easy. I have a feeling we're all going to have stomach ulcers the size of quarters by the end of this game." her blonde friend nodded enthusiastically.
Trent stalked up and down the field as he watched his defensive line showing their first signs of struggle. On an easy snap, the Hawks quarterback was protected for more than five seconds as he gazed down the field for a receiver. Gripping his blonde hair in tight fists, the defensive coach yelled, "Somebody break through that line and sack him before he makes something happen here!"
And that opportunity came in a received that broke free of the guards on his tail. The moment his man was in the clear, the quarterback hurled a clean throw right into his teammate's outstretched arms. A safe distance from any opponent, the receiver charged the rest of the thirty-plus yards into the end zone. Growling deeply, Trent shook his head in frustration as his deflated team returned to the sidelines. "Shake it off, guys," he reassured with a sigh.
It was well into the second quarter and the score was now 10-7. Not a comfortable lead by any means with so much time left in the game.
Clapping his hands together, Darren rallied up his offensive team. "Let's get it together, guys," he told them. "Let's get another score on the board before half-time. Give them something to really talk about in their locker room when we have to break."
Smirking at that idea, the players took the field and went into a huddle. "All right," Heero began as he snapped his helmet's chin strap in place. "No huddle for the next five plays. Throw, run, run, throw and run again in that order. Again, throw, run, run, throw and run." His teammates nodded and clapped broke the huddle with a clap of their hands.
Once everyone was in place, Heero stretched his hands forward and yelled, "Set! Set!" he paused briefly before crying, "Hike!" Bodies collided together before him in a violent onslaught as the ball was snapped back into his hands. Quickly stepping back a couple of paces, he looked down the field for an open receiver.
Just as the last few possessions following his scoring the first touchdown, Wufei was being covered well by the Hawks' defenders. Scott, however, was wide open. Instantly spotting him from twenty yards away, Heero's cobalt eyes narrowed on their target and he threw the ball up. Just as it left his fingers, the quarterback was knocked to the ground from behind. Crashing to the ground roughly, he looked up to see what had become of the toss.
Scott charged on at spotting the ball and finding that it was soaring a few yards ahead of him. Forcing his legs to carry him as fast as they could, he realized that he was going to be short of reaching the ball as quickly as it was descending. He jumped forward with his arms extended to make up the distance.
On his way down, his hands gripped the ball and clutched on tightly. The jolt from landing on his stomach nearly knocked the wind from him. Despite the sharp pain in his chest, the receiver held onto the football with everything he had. "Dailey made the catch!" Adam shouted as he jumped to his feet. "He held on for the catch! A beautiful toss by Yuy for almost thirty yards!"
Coming up slowly, Scott winced through a smile as his teammate ran up to him cheering and shouting. Wufei was the first to reach him, clapping him on the shoulder while laughing, "Nice work there, Dailey. I couldn't have done it better, myself!"
Sweat dripping from his brow, the second-string receiver panted to his counterpart, "Can you help me back to the sideline? Something's wrong. I... can't catch... my breath." His eyes widening in concern, Wufei quickly composed himself and wrapped an arm around his teammate's shoulders to offer support.
In seeing the gesture, Heero, Duo and the others all froze before they could reach their hero of the play. Instantly alert, Sally met Scott and Wufei with the med card and assisted in the injured receiver's climbing aboard. Shifting to the back with her patient, the physical therapist gave the wheel over to Darren. Hearts heavy, the other Wolverines watched as their own was driven down the long tunnel below the stadium.
Grasping the front of a stricken John Carlton's uniform, Howard pulled the second-stringer receiver close and old him, "You're in, boy. And for God's sake, don't get hurt out there! We can't afford to lose you, too!"
With a rough swallow, the dark-haired young man nodded, "Okay, Pops." Throwing his helmet on, he ran onto the field to join the rest of the offensive line. There was a brief huddle to bring the newcomer up to speed on the order of plays before the athletes took to their positions at the forty-second yard line.
More than ready for the chance to have a shot at gaining some yards, Duo dug his cleats into the hard ground. At the snap, he sprang towards Heero just as the quarterback turned to hand off the ball to him. Finding a crack in the wall of bodies building before him, the running back pushed through and broke into the open for a long sprint of twenty-seven yards before he was finally taken down.
"Keep it moving, guys!" Heero shouted over the roar of the crowd as he charged to his new mark. Coach Browning was pacing heatedly on his sideline, face red as he screamed orders for his players to hold their challengers back.
Not allowing themselves a chance to celebrate their small victory, the Wolverines fell into place and the ball was snapped again with a minute and forty seconds left on the clock for the first half of the game. Handed the ball, Duo was caught off guard when two linemen managed to break through the offensive line out of sheer desperation.
Instantly finding hands grabbing onto him, threatening to pull him down and strip the ball from his hold, the running back pushed on. Dragging along the weight of three Hawks clawing on him, Duo growled deeply in his effort and managed to still move ahead another eight yards before two more defenders piled onto him.
Less than a minute ticked away on the clock as the Wolverines ran into their new spots on the field. "Set!" Heero cried as the crowd only grew louder around them. "Set! Hike!"
The moment the football was in his hand, he looked for a receiver now that it was time to throw once again. As the Cincinnati linemen began to push through his teammates, he saw both Wufei and John in the end zone with defenders right on top of them.
Frantic to get rid of the ball before he was taken down, the quarterback dodged and weaved past a few attackers. "Heero!" Duo's voice called from far down the line. When he looked over to his lover, the team captain found him as tied up as the receivers. "To your left, Heero!" the running back shouted over the noise.
Instantly looking to his left, Heero found what his partner wanted him to see. There was an opening in the pile of players fending each other off. Eyes narrowed in determination, he ran ahead and through the breach just before it closed up again.
Realizing the move being made a moment too late, Hawks made some last minute attempts to catch the quarterback. Without looking back at the players on his heels, the team captain ran into the end zone.
"Touchdown Pittsburgh!" Tim cried in the commentator booth. "Left with no other option, Heero Yuy ran the touchdown in, himself! And with a whole two seconds left in the first half of the game! It's now 17-7!"
Duo laughed and wrapped his arms around his lover's waist to hoist him up as the others ran in to join in the celebration in the end zone. When he lowered the smiling quarterback, he stripped off his helmet and asked, "So how did it feel to earn your own touchdown for a change?"
Panting, Heero chuckled and yelled over the spectators, "Pretty damn good! But I wouldn't want to make a habit of having to do that! I'll leave this up to the rest of you!" His teammates had a good laugh at that as they ran back to their sideline together.
* * * * * *
In an interesting chain of events after the halftime break, Cincinnati seemed to lose their momentum. Several mistakes and turnovers were made at their expense.
Those backup players had extended their bodies as far as they could go, not having the same condition as the star players they were replacing. They were able to get one last push for a touchdown, but it would prove to cost the last of their strength.
On the other hand, the Wolverines were in the best condition of their careers thanks to their strenuous practice sessions.
Even Coach Browning seemed to lose his steam along with his anger and just began accepting the inevitable. Arms crossed, he looked across the field to the Pittsburgh sideline and smirked, "I'll be goddamned. Beaten by a bunch of kids."
Come the forth quarter, Duo ran for forty-six yards into the end zone without a single defender able to keep up with him. John proved his own worth by bringing in a beautiful catch for another score. With the score at 31-14 and less than two minutes left in the game, the Hawks' quarterback took the last knee before a jubilant crowd.
Jumping and cheering along with their fans, the Wolverines charged the field to join their defensive line for a round of embraces. "Ladies and gentlemen," Adam grinned from ear-to-ear, "the Cinderella story of the year is still alive! Pittsburgh moves on in a strong victory over Cincinnati! Unbelievable!"
The head coaches met in the middle of the field to shake hands. "I have to hand it to you and your boys," Browning smirked. "You're doing one hell of a job. I'll be pulling for you."
Zechs smiled warmly, "Thank you." Before he could say anything further, he was doused with the remains of the huge ice water jug. Shocked at first, he looked over to a slyly grinning Heero, Duo, Wufei and Trowa. "You know, I could actually start getting used to that," the tall coach laughed.
Running into the scene, Relena threw her arms around Wufei and kissed him fiercely in congratulations. Before long, Duo's family also made it to the field along with Dorothy, Lady Une and Quatre. Surrounded by their friends, loved ones and fans, the Wolverines continued on with their victory party.
* * * * * *
Later that evening, Treize sank into his living room couch. Turning on the television, he quickly paged through the channels for an update on the Pittsburgh game.
He paused on a sports network just as Tim and Adam wrapped up their summary of the day's games. "Well, it came as no surprise to anyone that the San Francisco Cougars trampled on the Carolina Phoenix today." The head coach smirked smugly at that. It had been a magnificent win, indeed.
"Yes, well, there were a lot of expected wins in some of the division games this weekend," Tim nodded. "However, I don't believe that any sports fan will be able to stop talking about Pittsburgh's shocking win over Cincinnati today."
Eyes widening and quickly narrowing, Treize growled deeply and turned the television back off. Left in the darkness that enveloped him, he folded his hands together and smirked, "All right, Dorothy. Enjoy your little victory while you can. It won't be long before your luck finally runs out."
TBC...
Back to SkyLark's Fanfictions Page