Hand-Off #4 by Michael Teitelbaum

Author:Michael Teitelbaum
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2010-03-01T00:00:00+00:00

“Hey, Pablo, your nose is on fire!” Ernie cried.

But Pablo still didn’t seem to notice that Ernie was there.

“Well, it’s been really great having this little chat with you, Pabs,” Ernie quipped. “We’ll have to do it again real soon. There’s nothing like a good lunch conversation. And this was nothing like a good lunch conversation.”

Then Ernie got up.

Pablo looked up from the playbook. “Huh?” he said as Ernie started to walk away. “Did you say something, Ernie?”

Chapter Four

A few days later, Pablo and his friends played another game against Ricky, Dante, and their teammates.

As Pablo lined up at wide receiver he thought of Joey’s words. It’s just you and me, Pabs. He tried to block out everyone else on the field, but when he looked out at the defense all he saw were players who were bigger and better than he was.

Joey called out the signals and took the snap. Pablo ran out a few yards then faked a move to his right and cut back to his left. The ball was already in the air, but Pablo had taken too long to do his fake, and he couldn’t catch up to the pass. The pass hit the ground just past his outstretched hands for an incomplete pass.

It’s so much easier in practice, Pablo thought as he joined his teammates back in the huddle. “A little faster on the cut,” Joey said. “Just like—”

“I know,” Pablo interrupted. “Just like in practice.”

As the game wore on, Pablo felt himself running crisper pass patterns and using his speed to get open more often. But despite his improved play, Pablo’s team trailed 21-10, with just over seven minutes left to play. They had the ball on their own forty-yard line. It was third down and eight yards to go.

“Let’s run the down-and-out to Pablo,” Joey said in the huddle.

Pablo knew exactly what the play was. He remembered where he had to be and what he had to do. He just had to execute all the right moves. As he lined up, Pablo saw that Ricky, who was faster than Kiesha, was now covering him as the defensive back.

Joey took the snap from Ernie, and Pablo took off quickly from the line. He knew his team needed eight yards to get a first down and keep the drive going. When Pablo was ten yards out from the line of scrimmage he faked sharply to his left.

Ricky went for the fake.

Pablo cut crisply back to the right. The pass was right there. He hauled in the ball for a twelve-yard gain and the first down. Then he stepped out of bounds to stop the clock and give his team more time for their comeback.

The ball sat at midfield as the team huddled up around Joey. “Let’s go with a play-action pass. Vicki, the fake hand-off will go to you. Pablo, you run a post pattern. I’ll hit you coming across the middle.”

Pablo felt himself getting into a rhythm. He glanced out at the defense.

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