Last Man Out by Mike Lupica

Author:Mike Lupica
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2016-08-15T12:41:11+00:00

TWENTY-TWO

IT WAS 13–7 BEARS, with four minutes left in the fourth quarter, third and ten for Kyle Barnum from his own fifteen-yard line. The Bears had gone ahead on a Mike Fallon punt return for a touchdown, but missed the extra point attempt. A stop here and the Bears would get the ball back with good field position, and plenty of time to score again or make enough first downs to run out the clock. A win was so close Tommy could practically taste it.

Coach called for a blitz. Greck was taking the inside route this time. Tommy planned to come hard from Kyle’s right, sure he could beat their tight end off the ball, because he’d done that for most of the second half in passing situations. Tommy didn’t want anybody else to beat him to the quarterback. It was one of those moments when he didn’t just feel as if he were competing against the other team, he felt as if he were competing against his own guys.

Kyle took the ball out of the shotgun and looked left, setting himself as if he wanted to go deep down that side of the field. Tommy ran right past the tight end, brushing him like he was a speed bump.

Nothing between him and Kyle now as Kyle raised his arm to throw.

Somehow, though, maybe using that radar that good quarterbacks seemed to have, he saw Tommy coming for him at the last second, and pulled the ball down just as Tommy swung his arm at it. So Tommy didn’t get the ball as he swung his arm.

He got a handful of Kyle Barnum’s face mask instead.

Tommy stayed with the play, got his hand loose, and brought Kyle down. But it was too late, and he knew it. It didn’t matter whether it was intentional or not. The penalty was fifteen yards regardless.

What happened next was like a bad dream, Tommy feeling as if he were watching it in slow motion. The whistle. The flag landing right next to him. The ref walking off the fifteen yards, putting the ball down, then signaling first down, Chargers.

Still their ball. Still plenty of time left for them to tie the game with another touchdown and then win it with a conversion.

Almost like a repeat of last Saturday for Tommy Gallagher.

He felt sick. Especially because they had fought back after the Chargers took an early lead.

If they lost now, if they went to 1–2, they might have to win every game for the rest of the season to still have a shot at the championship, and even that might not be good enough.

Tommy Gallagher didn’t just feel sick, he felt as if he might cry, something he’d never done on a football field in his life.

“Bad luck,” Greck said.

“You’re the one always telling me you make your own luck in sports,” Tommy said, feeling as if he were spitting out the words.

“It was one play,” Mike said. “They’ve still got seventy yards to go. We got this.

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