The Running Back

Chapter 12

Rachel could hear the cheering of the crowd as she exited the locker room. Maybe it was her imagination but she it sounded as though her name was being yelled among the roars. But it wouldn't have been the weirdest thing ever if they were calling out her name. In such a short time she had gone from being more or less invisible to being the star of the football team. She met up with her team and they marched out onto the field. It didn't take long for them to realize that things were different.

There had always been a large variety of Titan fans. Of course that it was kind of hard to really call them fans. There were those who were loyal and really believed that the Titans could make the playoffs. They would often been seen as delusional but they would never give up on their team. And then there were the girls who only attended the games to see their favorite players. Rachel would have more or less fit into that group except for that fact that she came to games to see Quinn and to support Noah as well.

Similarly there were also a few guys who showed only showed up to support their friends. Some of the actually cared about the game and some didn't, but their main objective was typically to cheer their friends up after a humiliating loss. And aside from them there were the hecklers. Rachel had seen them in action plenty of times. On more than one occasion she had given them a piece of her mind. They were jerks, every single one of them.

For one reason or another they weren't around during the Titan's first game of the season but they were back and in full force. Rachel could see them lounging, not a care in the world, just waiting for a mistake so they could start with their insults. Rachel would never understand why they would even waste their time, but she herself wouldn't waste time on them. Their second game surely wouldn't be one of their easiest, and after only one close win it would be dreadful for morale if they lost.

The coin toss resulted in the Titans having to kickoff. They kicked the ball deep inside the twenty yard line and held off the kick returner to just short of the twenty five. Their opponents started out with a running play which was quickly stopped by Dave. He seemed to move faster than he usually did. Apparently all that practice had paid off. On the next play he managed to get through the defensive line to put some pressure on the quarterback.

With a big guy like Dave closing in on him, he was forced to make a bad pass. Unfortunately, the skill of their receivers made up for the sloppy throw. They gained eight yards, and a run through the middle at third and two was enough to get them the first down as well as a few extra yards. Their next set of downs progressed in a similar fashion. Slowly but surely they were making their way down the field. There was no need for big, flashy plays. All they were going was gaining small chunks of yardage; a simple yet effective plan.

Not five minutes into the game they were already in the red zone and threatening to score. It was nerve-wreaking for Rachel to watch, as well as a bit intimidating. They were good, better than she had anticipated and she had only seen their offense in action. Their star player was actually on defense; a corner known best for his ability to deflect passes and to intercept the ball as well as being a bit of a ladies' man, not that the latter mattered at all to Rachel. It was simply what she had heard.

Despite how hard they fought the Titans ended up giving up a touchdown. Special teams hit the field. They got as far as the twenty and from there Rachel and the offense would have to even things up again. On her first run Rachel gained seven yards before being forced out of bounds. On her second run she gained an additional six yards which was more than enough to get them the first down. After that they ran a couple of passes to help mix things up but Finn couldn't connect, and on third and ten the Titans fell back on Rachel to keep their drive alive.

It was risky but with some good blocking Rachel was able to squeeze in just the amount of yardage they needed. They kept to the ground but a well called blitz effectively stopped Rachel's attempts at moving the chains. Good coverage on second down forced Finn to go a short pass, and on third he needed to get out of the pocket and run for the first down himself. He was able to make it, but the defense wasn't making it easy.