Page 57 of Scored

Our team stood shoulder to shoulder as a local children’s choir sang our national anthem. My father’s pregame mantra, his directive to accomplish three objectives throughout the game ran through my mind.

Learn something—anything.

Never give up.

Play your absolute best, better than your last game, but not as good as your next.

I added another thought, a message not to my father but Vee’s.

‘I hope you’re watching. Thank you for taking a chance on me.’ Coach Pratt was right when he said there were rumors my career was over after LA. Standing with this team, playing for Vee, it was all more than I dreamed.

“Dennison and Johnson,” Coach Tilson called, “out for the coin toss.”

There was a good chance I wouldn’t see playing time. That didn’t stop the adrenaline from coursing through my circulation. I hopped from one foot to the other.

The official’s voice reverberated throughout the stadium. All five faces on the jumbotron. “Good afternoon, captains. Here is our coin.” He rotated the coin. “This is heads. This is tails. Buffalo, you are the visitors. You will call the toss. What is your call, heads or tails?”

Wilson, the quarterback from Buffalo answered.

The official repeated his answer. “The Bills choose heads.”

The official took a step back and tossed the coin into the air. It landed on the turf near his shoes. “It is tails. The Coopers win the coin toss.”

The fans cheered.

He looked at Troy and Malik. “Do you receive or defer.”

Troy Dennison answered.

The official repeated what was said. “The Coopers will defer. The Bills will receive first. Let’s have a good game.”

The Bills would have the first possession. We would have possession of the ball at the start of the second half. The Coopers’ kicking team ran out onto the field.

I turned to Vee, seeing her check her watch with a smile.

The game was on. Like the well-oiled machine the NFL was, everything was on time.

The kickoff landed in the end zone. The Bills would have the ball on their thirty-five-yard line. It was time for our defense to go to work. Marquette Wilson, their QB, had a solid long and short game. I knew for a fact that our defense had studied his every move. A smile curled my lips. If Marcel Pickett studied enough film, he would know every one of Wilson’s tells.

The Bills got a first down on our forty-six-yard line.

When the Bills were third and inches, the crowd was deafening. Whistles blew, and yellow flags flew. The call was a time-clock violation, resulting in a five-yard penalty and replay of third down. Now, they were on our forty-eight-yard line. Once again, the crowd was on their feet. The stadium was even louder with the roof closed.

Wilson stepped back with the ball.

Our defense was tight.

As Wilson checked his progressions, Tyler Wood, our nickelback, made it around the offensive line. Wilson tucked the ball and tried to deflect. Wood pulled him down with a loss of yards.

A sack.

The crowd erupted.

It was fourth and twenty-two. The Bills were forced to punt.

By the end of the first half, the Coopers were up 14–10. Dennison and the offense scored two touchdowns. The Bills made one touchdown and one field goal. The locker room vibrated with testosterone and nerves. The officials were calling a tight game.

“I don’t want penalties,” Coach Tilson said. “I know it can be loud. Our fans want this win. Do you?”