“Down, set, hike” The Quarterback barked to his team as he readied them for the upcoming battle that was to be the next play.  The football jerked as the center snapped the football to the quarterback. The game had worn on for 38 long minutes and everyone was feeling like their bodies may collapse at any given moment .  The young men were gasping for air, drenched in sweat, and had battled through their own ailments for the best of the team as a whole.  They had been trying to give every ounce of effort left in their body for the entire game but there were a few that had begun feeling defeated after looking at the scoreboard. The quarterback handed the ball to the running back who had been not only the real leader of the team he was the strongest player, the person who would most likely carry the team to victory, or so they hoped. 

The running back juked and jived through the opponents  entire defence. After he broke free from everyone on the field he sprinted towards the white painted line in the grass signifying the end zone. As he ran over the white paint on the field into the endzone he was kicking his feet high in the air celebrating. There was a silence from the home side that was almost as crushing as the touchdown itself. Meanwhile the Rockets players were screaming and jumping in unison as they knew they had done the impossible. The scoreboard had ticked over showing Home 0, Guest 41. 

The loud, high pitched voice of the announcer broke the silence, “63 yard touchdown run by number 5 Parker Raymond!” 

There was one minute still remaining in the game and the Bison coaches and players were filled with embarrassment and anger. The Bison coach told his quarterback, “Just take a knee to end this embarrassment of a game.” Coach Wilson, the head coach who was an old school type of coach who wanted to make the players into men and teach them life lessons. 

“That was of the worst beatings I have ever seen on this field,” Coach Wilson said with a muffled tone. “Remember this, this feeling of loss and embarrassment, ” He said slightly louder. On the other side of the field the Rocket players are dancing, singing, and celebrating a monumental victory for their team. “How was that, boys?” Coach Thomas screamed at his players with excitement in his voice. Coach Thomas was a young cocky coach who loved to rub his winnings into  the faces of his opponents, he had a particular swagger to him that mocked the older coaches. 

“Embarrassment. That horrible, hatred that you feel, that’s what I remember,” those were the words that Coach Wilson first uttered when he walked up to his players for the first time since that tremendous loss they endured. But this was a new year, one with high potential. There were strong leaders that had taken the reigns of the team last year from the seniors who just quit. “There are tremendous expectations put on you young men for the upcoming season, but the question is can you live up to, if not even surpass them,” Coach Wilson spoke in a soft tone. He knew what this rag tag bunch of young men had in store. “You guys have been working hard during this offseason and put your all into this team,” The tone starts to become more stern with each passing breath. The players were beginning to realize the tension that had begun to build due to the circumstance,  and they started to get antsy and anxious but were not only ready, but determined to take on the world. 

“And the home of the brave,” The National Anthem was played loudly and pridefully throughout the small stadium. The air was thick with anxiety and tension throughout the warm ups and especially now. This was the first game of the year and was a major milestone for the Bison. There was a lot of doubt surrounding the entirety of the Bison team as a whole; they did not think that they would have any wins and their hard work would just result in a terrible team . The kickoff was well worth the wait. There were guys running loose  and just looking out for someone to put all of their anger and rage into. By halftime the score was already 35-0 Bisons and the game was complete and utter annihilation. Midway through the third quarter the coaches had decided to start bringing in younger players. “Jv offensive, start warming up,” Coach Wilson yelled at the sidelines. This decision brought some anxiety, nervousness and also happiness because the other team was being beaten so badly that the Jv team got to go into the game and finish it out. “Now how does that feel? That certainly is a hell of a lot better feeling that last year,” Coach Wilson said with an accomplished tone of voice. 

The next few weeks of the season went on in the same fashion. The players were practicing as hard as ever because they knew in a few weeks that one of the biggest games of the entire season was coming up. There was a big red X marked on everybody’s calendar, Rocket Week. But just before that huge game there was a major roadblock. Reginald James-  a key piece on the team- who started on offense and defence was thrown out of the game. On the previous play that got ol’ Reg ejected from the game the player tried to get his hands in Reginald’s face and gouge his eyes out. Reggy was known as quite the hot head on his team, other teams in the league had caught wind, and the teams used that to their advantage. They would do small things to anger Reginald which caused him to go into a fit fueled by pure rage and adrenaline. Which led up to the moment he ripped the other players helmet off and tried to pound the kids face in with his fist. The referees saw what had transpired and separated the players, throwing both of them out. 

The Bison were on the road once again but they were down one major player. Reginald was suspended for a game as well as having been ejected from the previous game. The Bison had no chance to dwell on the fact that they were down a major player. They had to focus up on the task at hand. Revenge on the Rockets for the embarrassment of a game they played last year. “This is what we have worked so long for, those long days in the gym, the sprints that you didn’t want to run, and that pain that you have gone through, that's what this is all about,” Team captain Roger said. Roger was the master motivator for the entire team; he had been doing it for a few years and just knew what buttons to push with those men to make them play their best football. The pent up emotions that had been steadily building up over the past year had started bubbling to the surface, not just from the players though the coaches were excited for the game and just as pumped as the players. 

The first three quarters of the game went just as everyone had known it would be, a dog fight. A rough and tough, “see who wants to win more” kind of game. All of the linemen in the trenches were fighting their tails off and playing with heart, they all wanted to give their best efforts to help win the game and get over that hump of being the best team when no one thought they could be. All of the Skill guys are running hard and with that same passion that the rest of the team was playing with. But there was a sudden change in the fourth quarter. The rocket’s seemed like they had begun running out of steam, they lacked the same drive that they had come out with. The Bison scored once more making the score 20 home 34 away with 3 minutes left in the game. The Rockets had all but given up and it was obvious that a few more plays the game was over and the Bison got their revenge. They embarrassed the Rockets in front of their own home crowd full of their friends and family. 

“Great team win,” Coach Wilson said with excitement and pride in his voice. “We won the whole thing; this means we are the number one team in the state!”