connection

chapter three

when the coach is done talking with noah he heads back to where the rest of the offensive boys are standing and watching the current simulation.

ty and carter are standing off to the side and flag noah over when they spot him walking over.

"hey noah," ty says once noah is within ear shot. "that play you ran through earlier was fantastic! did you try something different?"

"hey! and no, i didn't try anything different. it's like that boy read my mind." noah responded. "he was exactly where i looked first."

ty looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, "i hope he makes varsity, he might be the spark we all need to win this season."

"i hope so too." noah replied.

after that the three boys went back to watching the play that was happening. kasen, the varsity center, was back in again, and the rest were freshmen boys, they did fine, but the situation would be completely different if they had some actual opponents.

after a few more plays, mostly the freshmen in rotation, the coaches called everyone over. offense and defense.

coach jennings split all the boys up into 4 different groups. 2 offensive teams and 2 defensive teams, with a few substitutes if it was necessary.

noah was on a team with mostly freshmen boys trying out, kasen, ty, and cole, the varsity tight end, being the only varsity boys with him. everyone else was either a sub or on the other team.

once they were in their respective groups, noah immediately recognized the wide receiver boy on his team. i need to learn his name.

before noah could go over and ask, coach jennings was yelling out the rules of the scrimmage match. they would go through 2 matches, the first offensive team against the first defensive team on the right half of the field, while the other two play on the other side, and then they swap for the second match.

the offensive team gets to play until the defensive team successfully stops them. if the offensive team scores a touchdown before the defensive team stops them, they win. if the defensive team stops the ball twice (meaning the offensive team has run out of downs twice) then the defensive team wins.

noah heads over to his side of the field with his team and the defensive team following behind. coach jennings and a few of the assistant coaches are watching their teams play and also reffing the scrimmage.

"alright everyone! huddle with your selected teams and decide your positions and the play you'll be running!" coach jennings yells. "i'll give you one minute. when i blow the whistle, get on the line."

the offensive boys gather around in a circle, surrounding noah. waiting for his call.

"alright boys, when kasen snaps the ball i want my linemen to give it everything they've got." the boys nod, staying silent and respectful as noah tells them the plan. "all i need is 3 seconds. ty, you're gonna run past me and pretend i gave you the ball." ty nods. "then i want my wide receivers and my tight end to gain as much distance as you can. find an opening and make sure you're ready for a pass."

everyone nods, agreeing with the plan. this is why noah was selected as quarterback. it's not all about skill and how far you can throw the ball. it's also about being able to come up with a plan with the time and the team you have.

"alright, on three let's yell mountain view!" ty yells, all hands pile in the middle of the circle. "one! two! three!"

"mountain view!"

the offensive team dispersed and heads to their respective positions. they all know the plan, and they're all eager to execute it to their best ability.

charlie is playing on the defensive team, so noah knows that his runners will be blocked, that's why he sent them all out as far as they can get. if at least one of them can get open, they'll get the point.

coach jennings blows his whistle signaling the end of their huddle time, and the defensive team sets up across from them.

"alright, when i blow my whistle you have thirty seconds to snap the ball." coach jennings says, then he blows the whistle.

noah looks around at his team of tryout boys, makes eye contact with ty, and then nods.

"hike!"

in seconds the ball is in noah's hand and he hears the sound of pads hitting pads, and the effort of his offensive team holding off the defenders.

ty runs past noah, mimicking the motion of taking the ball from his hands, and breaks through the wall of defenders and offenders acting like he's gaining ground.

noah then looks up at his tight end and wide receivers noticing that he was right. charlie had most of them covered, except that one wide receiver boy. he was wide open and ready.

noah instantly pulled his arm back, swung it forward, and released the ball in a perfect arch headed straight for the wide open boy. when he caught the ball he didn't stop running like in the simulation. he kept going, avoiding charlie and all the defenders going after him, making it to the end zone without a second glance.

the coach blew his whistle, notifying the teams of the win, or loss, they just achieved.

the offensive boys pumped their fists and cheered, while noah just stood in awe. it has been a while since he scored a point so effortlessly with someone.

he's the wide receiver i've been looking for.

"noah!" someone called. noah looked over and noticed charlie running at him. "noah! what the heck was that?"

charlie ran and practically tackled noah to the ground when he got close enough.

"i don't even know." noah was still speechless. he was feeling so many emotions. pride, excitement, awe, the list goes on.

"it was amazing! i've never seen you so flawlessly complete a pass!" charlie said. "and that boy escaped our defense too! i thought i had everyone covered... i always have everyone covered." charlie muttered that last part to himself.

"he wouldn't have been so open if it was you and maverick though. don't stress too much about it." ty said, butting into the conversation. "but i agree with you, charlie, it's like noah didn't even think. he glanced up and the ball was already out of his hands!"

noah looked over at ty's awe stricken face. i don't think i thought at all either. it's like that boy read my thoughts before i even had them.

i need to go find out his name.

this story keeps getting more and more exciting!!
btw i'm going to be updating pretty randomly. i don't really like the idea of having a set date to upload each chapter by, plus this story keeps coming to me randomly. but i will be consistently uploading chapters with around 1,000 words each :))
enjoy!!