Two Minute Drill (Bases Loaded Jam Series #2)

Ch. 23: Week 1 (Scout)

Brett and I watch from the owner's box as the team came out of the tunnel. It had been a week since I accidentally stumbled in her bathroom while she was taking a bath. I can inform you I saw nothing other than her pretty face and bare shoulders. Yet, she was quick to cover herself up. That night was also pretty awkward that I saw Brett make out with Luke, who was shirtless and was ready to have his pants unzipped by her. Fortunately, I managed to get out of the room by crawling before things got crazy.

Brett and I barely spoke for a week after that aside from some business deals with sponsors and such. We also made a few trades of players and cut some good talent from the roster during the week. Only on the night of the game did we discuss the incident and decided to never speak of it again. The next day, it was back to being partners and not once did a thought of Brett in a bath tub come entering my mind.

We clapped for the Texans as they ran out of the tunnel and saw their excitement. Our starting offensive players were introduced and they came out with some swagger. We were so thrilled to see the players we brought in for this season. Now, we just hoped they would produce the results.

Mr. Eisenhower came to us and place a hand on each of our shoulders.

"I just want to say that I believe in you two," he said. "I got a good feeling that you will do wonders for our team this season. Enjoy yourselves while you can."

"Thank you sir," Brett said while I nodded. We both looked at each other.

"I take it that means he's not giving us an extension," I said to Brett.

"I wouldn't hold out hope for that just yet."

We both agreed that it was Mr. Eisenhower's way of easing whatever pressure we were dealing with, but still reminding us of our hot seat. With everything we did in the offseason, it was time to open a new year.

Jacksonville won the toss and elected to receive. After we kicked off into the endzone for a touchback, the Jaguars got the ball at their own 20. Our defense went on to the field hoping to get an early stop. When the Jaguars broke their huddle, they went to the line with their new quarterback hoping to make an impression.

As soon as Jacksonville snapped the ball, Troy Paulson broke through the line of scrimmage and immediately hit the quarterback hard for a big loss. Well, he didn't actually hit him. He grabbed him and did some kind of alligator death roll for a big loss. The crowd roared with excitement over that play. As Troy got up, he did a celebration dance where he beat his chest and immediately hit his helmet with his hands.

"What a way to make your debut," I said to Brett.

"Let's hope he can contain that enthusiasm," was her reply.

Jacksonville failed to get the first down and were forced to punt bringing our offense on the field. Todd Sweeney handed the ball to Kwame Alexander for a 13-yard gain on first down. The next play saw him complete a screen pass to Otis Miner for 12-yards. So already, our offense gained 25 yards in two plays.

Unfortunately, that was where the fun ended. Todd's next pass was deflected and intercepted by the Jaguars' defense, who returned it to our 15-yard line. It was a tough break as the offense was booed off the field following that series. Yet, our defense would keep Jacksonville out of the endzone, but not off the scoreboard. A field goal made it 3-0 for the Jaguars.

The rest of the first quarter saw our offense fail to get anything going offensively. Whether it was nerves or the players still learning the system, they couldn't put together some strong drives. That seemed to carry into the second quarter as we were forced to punt yet again. However, our special teams made a great play by stripping the punt returner and recovering the fumble inside the 20. We then took advantage of the great field position as Todd connected with a receiver before handing it off to Kwame for a five-yard score and a 7-3 lead.