It was Rachel's first game, and a home game. The crowd was roaring, or at least part of it was. The McKinley Titans were well known for being the worst team in the state, or at least they would be if people cared enough to learn about the worst team in the state. As such, it was quite understandable why Rachel's fellow schoolmates were pretty quiet. They all had reasons for coming; most were there to watch the Cheerios. Rachel was much the same during the past few years. Yes, she also attended games to support Noah, but she'd be lying if she that had paid attention to even half the game. Mostly she was distracted by Quinn.
But now things were different and Rachel's heart was racing. Her senses were on overdrive. It was a feeling similar to any of her big musical performances, but this was different because she was actually nervous. She looked calm, but she was shaking on the inside. It was do or die time, and she was really hoping that she wouldn't die. On the bright side though, if she did die, then at least she wouldn't have to face Quinn's rejection.
But that thought didn't actually make her feel any better.
She took a deep breath. The team captains for each team jogged out onto the field for the coin toss. Finn and Noah were two of them. Together they made a lucky guess and opted to receive. They came back to the sidelines and special teams took position. Rachel watched as the game started. The opposing team kicked the ball. It soared through the sky, landing in the hands of Mike Chang. He ran forward, his teammates trying to form a defensive wall around him as he advanced down the field.
They held off the opposing team as best they could and Mike managed to just get past the twenty yard line before being taken down. With the kickoff over it was now Rachel's time to hit the field. She double checked to make sure that her helmet was strapped on tightly and started to head out. After a few steps though, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Quinn. "Hey," she said, waving a pom-pom at her. "Be careful out there, okay? It would make me sad to see you get hurt." Rachel only nodded.
The last time that she had gotten hurt was because she was distracted, by Quinn no less. There was a bit of irony in that, she supposed, but there was no time to think about that. She got into the huddle where Finn told her that they'd start off with a running play. She nodded her understanding and they got into formation. As Finn got set, Rachel scanned the defense. Some of them were bigger than what she was accustomed to during practice. Despite that, she would hold firm. As she took a breath she heard Finn utter those words. "Hut. Hut. Hike!"
In an instant he handed her the ball. Rachel darted to the left where the offensive line had managed to hold back the defenders. She went to the outside and gained eight yards before being tackled by one of the cornerbacks. She quickly got back up and they ran another running play. Once more she ran to the left, but instead of going outside there opened a hole for her to get through. Rachel didn't get as far as she did initially, but she was able to get enough yardage to get the first down.
So far, so good. On their third play they continued to keep to the ground. Rachel gained five yards and she seemed to aggravate the opposing team. They blitzed the following play, fully expecting Finn to hand her the ball once more. That decision cost them dearly and left Mike wide open for a long pass that moved the Titans down close to the fifty yard line. Their next pass ended in failure though and once more they were counting on Rachel to help them get down the field. The Titans got into a shotgun formation to give off the impression that they were going for a pass. "Hut. Hut. Hike!" Rachel darted towards Finn immediately. He quickly placed the ball in her hands and she was off. Not a second later though, Rachel was on the ground.
The defender who tackled her got to his feet and yelled in her face. "Woo! Stay down!" Rachel considered doing just that but she couldn't. Noah came over and reached out a hand to help her up. He pulled her up to her feet and then checked to see if she was okay.
"You all right?" he asked.
"Fine," Rachel answered, although her ribs did hurt a little. Noah didn't look too convinced. He gave her a once over but decided not to argue with her. Regardless of whether she was lying or not, they both knew that she wouldn't be doing much for the following play. At third and twelve there was no point in running the ball, and although Rachel's passing had improved she was far from their best receiver. Not to mention the fact that her small stature would make it far easier for the opposing team to intercept the ball from her.
Her role ended up being little more than a poor decoy in a play-action pass. They didn't fool anyone though, and the defense was more than ready. All the Titan receivers were well covered and Finn was forced to scramble out of the pocket. He wasn't much of a mobile quarterback though and the moment he saw an opportunity he went for it. Finn threw a deep pass to Noah. It flew a bit high and Noah needed to jump to reach it. He got his hands on it but before his feet could hit the floor a linebacker smashed into his side. The ball came loose and they were then on fourth down.
Rachel watched Noah groan as he got to his feet. He was upset, mad even. They would have been so close to the end zone, but now they had to punt the ball away. Rachel wanted to make him feel better, but she didn't know what she could have done. She didn't even know if there actually was something that she could have done. Special teams hit the field and kicked the ball deep into enemy territory. The punt returned called for a fair catch which left them at the twenty seven yard line. Unfortunately, their offense wasn't as passive.
They came in strong and hard. On the sidelines Rachel felt helpless as her team's defense was but trampled over. Try as they might all they could do was slow the opposing team down. Slowly the opposition was gaining yardage, getting closer and closer to the red zone. After a good dozen or so plays they were within the twenty and threatening to make a touchdown. They ran straight down the middle. Their running back shoved his way through the defensive line and fought for as many yards as he could before being taken down by a pair of Titans.
On second and two they scored the first touchdown of the game while also striking a blow to the Titans morale. They had been working hard since the school year had begun. Rachel knew that even before she had joined the team. With Noah as her best friend it was only natural that she'd watch them practice from time to time. Admittedly, she often watched Quinn more during those occasions but nonetheless Rachel was quite familiar with how the Titans practiced. But they had been different in the past few weeks. They were working harder. They were more determined.
Noah was more determined. He would never complain to Rachel about how they would always lose. Talking about feelings wasn't something that he typically did, but it was clear to Rachel that he hated it. Noah had been on the team during each of the five years that he had been a student at McKinley. Don't ask how he managed to stay on the team after being held, even Rachel never figured that one out. Anyway, he had been on the team longer than the rest of the guys and thus he had faced more losses than the rest of the guys.
It hurt Rachel to see how upset he would get. She didn't exactly understand what the game meant to him, and she probably never would but she knew that it was important to him. She walked over to him while both teams got set for the kickoff. She tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. "We'll score this time," she told him, to which he simply nodded with a forced smile. Again, Mike got the ball and the results were more or less the same.
The offense hit the field and started once more with a running play. Rachel swerved away from defenders, thinking more about avoiding collisions as opposed to getting down the field. She had a good run and got out of bounds just short of getting a first down. Although she hadn't technically promised, she wanted to get that touchdown for Noah. She wanted to help him end his last season with a bang. Besides, helping him meant helping herself in trying to impress Quinn.
They ran again, and Rachel slipped in through the middle, just managing to gain the yardage they needed. Afterwards the Titans were for two downs but a long pass to Noah which got them fourteen yards and a first down. Their offensive options were pretty limited with Noah, Mike and Rachel being the only viable threats. Just short of the fifty yard line, the Titans went for a pass. Finn drew back and searched for an open receiver. He found Rachel. They made eye contact briefly. He hesitated, but defenders were closing in.
There was no other choice. Finn threw a bullet straight at her. Rachel jumped to get it, but the ball slipped right through her fingers. She groaned as her feet touched back onto the ground. She had been wide open, there wasn't a single person around, and yet she couldn't hold onto the ball. Rachel felt awful. She was able to make up for her failings in the following play with a good seven yard rush, but they were stopped on third down and thus had to punt the ball away again.
Rachel was angry. She was upset. Any bit of momentum that she or her team would get would fade as quickly as it was gained. After several more plays they were scored on again, but thankfully their defense was able to hold their opponents to just a field goal instead of another touchdown. At the end of the first quarter the score was ten to zero. It wasn't the worst of positions, but it was disheartening. They were able to score during the second quarter with a pass to Mike but they ended up giving up another field goal, and another one just before the end of the first half.
Needless to say, during halftime they sure needed a bit of a pep talk. Whatever Coach Beiste said though, Rachel didn't get to hear. Due to the odd circumstances, she was allowed entry to the boy's locker room while they had a game, but she didn't feel too comfortable with that idea. Coach told her that it was her decision. Maybe she had received some special treatment, which she shouldn't have, but no one complained. In all honestly, Rachel thought that some of the boys would have been uncomfortable with her in there as well.
Later on in the season she'd probably go in there, but for the time being she preferred being in the girl's locker room, although it was pretty lonely in there. But it was quiet too. "Rachel?" Or it was. Rachel got up from her seat. She knew that voice. It was Quinn. She headed over towards her. "Hey," she said once they found one another. "How are you?" Rachel put on a half-smile. "Yeah, I know. Don't worry though, you've been doing great." Perhaps she had, but Rachel had to do better if she was going to win the game, and then win Quinn's heart.
Rachel sighed and nodded. "I know."
"And you've kept your promise." That made Rachel smile, really smile.
"I did, didn't I?"
"Yeah." For a moment there was silence. "Well, I should get back out there."
"And I should too."
"Good luck."
"Thanks. Good luck to you too." Quinn looked at her with a confused expression on her face. "With your um... cheering... and uh, keeping the crowd... motivated." Quinn laughed.
"Um, sure. I'll try."
Clearly Rachel's mind wasn't thinking while she was speaking. She headed outside to start the third quarter. The Titans kicked the ball off, and after a painful looking drive they stopped their opponents at their forty two yard line. They were overconfident went for a long field goal which flew wide right. It wasn't much of a momentum changer, but Rachel was going to take whatever she could. She got back onto the field and was immediately handed the ball.
With some newfound energy, Rachel zoomed past the defense, juking left and right and gaining nearly twenty yards before being forced out of bounds. It was her best run of the night and with it the Titans were once more closing in on the red zone. They then went short pass to Noah and then another run which got them another first down and within field goal range, but Rachel wasn't going to settle for a field goal. The next chance she got, Rachel made a breakaway for the end zone.
She got some yardage, but soon after getting a first down Rachel was tackled, hard. She felt like her body had snapped in two. It hadn't though. "Woo!" She had heard that voice earlier. "Told you before, bitch! Stay down! This is a man's sport!" Rachel hadn't minded his taunts before, but it was personal. She got to her feet quickly. She wasn't exactly sure what she was going to do but before she could even think about it, Noah came rushing in. He got in between the two of them and shoved the guy away.
"What did you call her?! Huh?!" Rachel tried to hold him back, but she wasn't strong enough. A referee came in and broke them up. He probably should have thrown a flag, but he didn't. Rachel took Noah by the arm and led him away.
"Forget about him," she said. "He's not worth it."
Noah couldn't really argue; they were still in the middle of a game, but that didn't change the fact that he really wanted to hurt that guy. He could get like that sometimes even though he was really a sweet guy deep down. It probably wouldn't have been smart to hand him the ball anytime soon while his emotions were getting the best of him, but as one of their few weapons they didn't have much choice. After a couple of unsuccessful plays, Finn threw a short pass to him. There was no way that they should have gotten the first down, but Noah fought for extra yardage, shoving his way through defenders and getting them close to the end zone.
The Titans scored soon after, narrowing the gap in the score to only a pair of field goals. One touchdown and they would have the lead. The next several minutes were a fight for the ball. Back and forth it went with neither team scoring a single point. The third quarter ended, and a good chunk of the forth passed by and still the score was the same. It was close, but the Titans were on defense and they were out of timeouts. Their opponents ran wasted a few precious minutes as they tried to run out the clock before they had to punt the ball.
With less than three minutes on the clock and no timeouts, things were looking grim. It was only made worse for Rachel as they couldn't risk a ground game. Play after play was a pass and with only two reliable receivers, they were easily being stopped. Rachel felt so helpless. There was nothing for her to do. After many failed passes and only a couple of completed ones they were just past the fifty yard line with only a few seconds left on the clock.
Their next play would possibly be their last. Coach Beiste set them up for a Hail Mary with Rachel as a receiver on the outside. "Hut." This was it. "Hut." It was win or lose. "Hike!" Rachel darted down the field, faster than any other player on the field. She was wide open, and closing in on the end zone. Rachel looked back. Noah was being guarded closely, and Mike had two guys on him. Neither of them was going to get the ball. And then she saw it flying right at her. She reached up and closed her eyes, too afraid that she would let everyone down. It was a stupid thing to do, but miraculously the ball fell into her hand perfectly.
Rachel had caught it. She couldn't believe it, and for a moment she was frozen in shock. Then she heard Coach Beiste yell at her to run and she saw the defenders rushing towards her. Rachel started to run. She ran as fast as she could, not daring to look back in case someone was catching up with her. She kept going and going and then she stopped. Rachel looked down at her feet. She had done it. She had scored. She had won the game. They had won.
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