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.
Another pass attempt resulted in a sack and a loss of some yards. With fifteen yards to go and only two downs before they would be forced to punt the ball away the Titans had little choice but to keep trying to advance the ball through the air. Their next pass resulted in an incomplete, and the one after that only gained twelve yards which wasn't enough to get the first down. Once more Rachel had to sit on the bench while special teams took over.
They kicked the ball deep inside the ten but a good punt return got the Cobras good field position at their own forty two yard line. They had the momentum on their side and they weren't letting up. Just as they had with their first drive they steadily made progress down the field. Five yards here, seven there; they were taking their time, keeping the Titan defense on the field and wearing them out. Things were looking bad.
But a bad call had their running back collide straight into Azimio. On the next play he and Dave put some pressure on the quarterback. He searched for his best option but in the end the pass came up as an incomplete. At fourth and seven the Cobras went for a field goal extending their lead by another three points.
On the Titans second procession they pushed the field. They were down by ten and if they had any hope of winning the game they needed to get on the board before the Cobras scored again. But the Cobras had already seen their secret weapon at work and they were doing everything they could to shut Rachel down and they were doing a pretty good job.
They knew that she wouldn't go through the middle so they had their linebackers go to the outside so that they'd be ready to stop her before she could break away. Every so often they'd blitz as well. Coach Beiste deemed it too dangerous to put Rachel in that kind of harm. She was banking on the hope that the threat of Rachel getting a big run would be enough to open up the passing game but nothing was ever that easy.
With only two receivers that posed any real threat, it was easy for the Cobra defense to keep them covered. The Titans would have to go with a slow and steady approach as well, but they didn't have the luxury of time. By the end of the first quarter the score was still ten to zero with the Titans only at the thirty four. They ended up wasting a couple of minutes of the second quarter to get their first touchdown. And while it may not have seemed very important at the time, the Titans needed each one of those minutes. The Cobras were able to score once more and halted the first half long enough to run out the time.
The Titans would be getting the ball back, but they were feeling particularly good about the state of the game. Rachel felt especially useless. Apart from the yards she had gained early in the game she had done little to nothing to contribute to her team's efforts. She sat back down on the bench with an anguished sigh. A few moments later she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Rachel took off her helmet and looked over to see who it was. "Quinn?"
"Hey, come on. Smile," she requested. "The game's still close. You have a lot of time," she assured. Rachel tried to think optimistically like she normally would, but then she decided to break eye contact and check the field for a moment. They were being run over. Quinn followed her line of sight. When Rachel turned her head back the expression on Quinn's face was grim. But then there was a glint in her eye and her lips curved into a smile.
"Quinn, what are you-" Rachel was unable to finish her question because Quinn ran off to gather the Cheerios. She huddled them together and started giving out instructions. Rachel was curious about what she was doing but she had her own team to worry about. She brought her attention back to the game. Maybe if she knew more about football she'd be able to find a weak spot in the Cobra defense or even make a suggestion or two for her own defense.
But no, as it was there was nothing she could do except act as a potential threat.
Rachel didn't want to give up. She didn't want to just give the Cobras the win, but with each passing minute they continued to make their way down the field. The Titan defense was exhausted. The rest they had during halftime wasn't even close to enough for them to get their strength back. But then Rachel heard it. "Defense! Defense! Defense!" She got to her feet and turned around. "Defense! Defense! Defense!" The crowd was on their feet and the Cheerios were rallying them on.
The Cobra offense looked surprised, as did the Titan defense. The Cobra quarterback tried to issue out commands to get his team to focus but the deafening cry of 'Defense' seemed to interfere with his orders. The play clock was running down so he had the ball snapped without waiting for his teammates to get into position. A few seconds later he was on his back. The crowd cheered along with the Titans who were watching from the sidelines.
"Defense! Defense!" Rachel glanced over at the Cheerios. Her eyes met Quinn's and she smiled at her. "Defense! Defense!" With the crowd rallying them on, the Titans were able to put an end to the Cobra offensive and gain a huge momentum shift. By the end of the third quarter they had managed to score another touchdown shortening the Cobra lead to a mere field goal.
Rachel started the fourth quarter on the bench with the cry of 'Defense' starting up once more. The Titan defense was tired but the Cobra offense was in disarray. They couldn't hear one another over the roar of the crowd. They wasted precious time getting set up and had to prematurely use up two of their timeouts. From what Rachel could tell, it looked like there were internal issues. They were arguing; blaming each other for letting the game get as close as it was. Needless to say all that fighting didn't help them get another touchdown. With a good chunk of time left over they punted the ball.
The Titans received it and made it down to the thirty four yard line. And with that Rachel hit the field once more. They started with a run, gaining only two yards. Afterwards, even though it wouldn't seem like the brightest move Finn handed the ball to Rachel again. She brain told her to move to the outside, as the play was written, but her body went through middle instead. Using her small size to her advantage, she slipped under the defenders. The Cobras were completely taken off guard and only the middle linebacker was close enough to stop her.
He lunged at her but a timely intervention by Noah allowed Rachel to gain some more yards before being taken down by a corner. Even as Rachel hit the ground she was smiling. They were going to win, she knew it. She didn't quite know why she had done what she had but her move paid off, and in a big way. The seemingly impenetrable wall of the Cobra defense was crumbling.
But they were still much more rested than the Titan defense so the game was far from over. For the rest of the quarter the game kept going back and forth with neither team getting close enough to the end zone to score. It was discouraging, having to see the clock run down while they were still down but the Titans didn't falter in their resolve. They pushed through, and with less than two minutes left in the game and only timeout, they started what was likely to be their final drive from the twenty two yard line.
Every yard they gained was a fight, and with the clock ticking down the Titans couldn't go with a ground game. It made them predictable and thus the Cobras were able to stop them just past the forty yard line. A field goal would tie the game up and force it into overtime, but their kicker was no good, not at that distance. They had to go for forth down. Victory or defeat; it would all be decided at that moment.
Finn called for the snap. He dropped back. One of the linebackers shoved through his offensive line. He had to think quickly. His eyes darted back and forth, scanning the field and searching for the open man. He tossed the ball up. Rachel leapt up. The ball fell right in her hands. She started to run. She was going to make it. But then she felt it. Someone had come up from behind her; someone had caught up with her. He tackled her hard, knocking the ball loose in the process.
"No!" Rachel cried. It was over. They lost. She could feel the defender pushing himself up to his feet. He went for the ball. Rachel chased after him. It rolled away. He was getting close. She couldn't get there in time. He reached for it, but suddenly someone else snagged it away before he could. Both he and Rachel were shocked. It was Mike. The defender chased after him but Rachel got in the way as she cheered Mike on.
Mike darted down the field, creating a huge gap between himself the Cobras before scoring a touchdown. For the first time in the game the Titans had the lead. There was still time on the clock, but not nearly enough. The Cobras didn't even get to the fifty before the game ended. The Titans celebrated their hard fought victory. After which, Rachel went to search for Quinn. It didn't take long to find her. She waved her hand and Quinn responded in kind. Quinn ran up to Rachel as she took off her helmet. "You did great out there."
"No, I didn't," Rachel laughed. "I..." Rachel's words got stuck in her throat as she saw the defender who had tackled her approaching them. She didn't realize it during the game, but she knew him. "J-Jesse?"
"Hi Rachel," Jesse greeted. "Quinn."
"You know each other?" Rachel and Quinn asked each other at the same time.
Jesse laughed. "You don't know, Rachel here is my biggest fan," he stated to which Rachel rolled her eyes.
"I am not," Rachel huffed. "Jesse and I have met at various competitions as well as some classes," she corrected. Rachel would never give Jesse the honor of being named her nemesis, but if anyone were to be given that title it would most likely be him. "So, how do you two know each other?"
"Our parents are good friends," Quinn explained.
"Yeah. My dad's still upset that you decided not to attend Carmel," Jesse added. "Well, anyway. I just wanted to congratulate you on your win. Enjoy it while you can because next time we're not going to hold back." Rachel was used to his attempts at intimidation. They wouldn't work on her, even if her record against him wasn't exactly favorable. He left without another word, a smug smile on his face.
"He can be such a douche." A laugh escaped Rachel's lips. "What? I'm just telling the truth." Quinn then wrapped an arm around Rachel and kissed her on the forehead. "Come on, let's get you home okay?"
AN: hey guys! So, I guess none of you saw that coming or if you did then you must be a mind reader or a fortune teller or something. But anyway, I'm just tossing characters in here, aren't I?