End Zone by Tiki Barber Page A

had all the momentum now.
    Gone was the shaky, tentative, scared quarterback who’d gotten them into the hole. This Hayden Brook was playing out of his mind—having the game of his life (or at least the second half of one!). He was throwing pinpoint short passes to Tiki, Luke, and Jonah, mixed in with an occasional long toss to one of the Amadou twins.
    North Side’s defense was on its heels, panicking. Ronde could see it in their body language. Some of them were yelling at their teammates who’d been caught flat-footed. Turning on one another.
    Ronde had seen that kind of behavior before—even among his teammates—when things went wrong. It was never a good thing.
    Before the Rockets could make any adjustments, the Eagles had racked up another score, on a mad twenty-yard sideline dash by Tiki.
    It was Ronde’s turn again. This time he contributed a thundering sack on a blitz, forcing the Rockets to punt after only three plays.
    By the fourth quarter, the score was 31–17, Eagles. The Rockets had the ball, but now, fourteen points behindwith only fifteen minutes to play, they had to go to their passing game.
    Coach Pellugi put an extra defensive back out there—Rio Ikeda. That made it possible for one of the five to rush the quarterback on every play, and still cover the receivers man-to-man.
    With so much pressure on him, it was only a matter of time before the Rockets’ quarterback made a mistake. Seeing that his other receivers were covered, he threw it to Ronde’s man—something most teams had avoided doing all season, and with good reason.
    Ronde, a step behind, easily made up the lost ground once the ball was in the air. He leaped at the last minute to make the interception, then avoided being brought down by the receiver.
    With the ball in his hands, in the open backfield, it was like running back a kickoff. Once again, Ronde shifted into that extra gear he’d had ever since his growth spurt.
    He was all over the field, running toward one sideline, then doubling back toward the other, only to spin back inside and dart down the center of the field, blazing all the way to the end zone.
    He was going so fast that he had to keep going, right up the stairs of the bleachers. Some of the home crowd grabbed him so he could stop himself. They clapped him so hard on the back that he said, “Ow!”
    The Eagles were rolling now, and they never lookedback. The final score was 45–17—a complete rout of the demoralized Rockets! The final ten minutes was a rollicking, loud celebration by the Eagles and their fans, cheering for the League Championship they so richly deserved.
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    Hayden and Ronde got game balls from Coach Wheeler. Ronde saw Hayden give his to Tiki, along with a big bear hug.
    Ronde knew Tiki had said something to Hayden when the kid was falling apart in the first quarter. He didn’t know what it was, but it sure had done the trick.
    Whether Manny came back for their next game or not, the Eagles now had a quarterback they could rely on from here on in. Someone they could ride—hopefully—all the way to the State Championship!

CHAPTER ELEVEN
PLAY-OFF BOUND!
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    TIKI HOISTED HIS BOOK BAG OVER HIS SHOULDER, left his last-period math class, and headed down to football practice.
    Tiki was happier than he’d been in a long time. For one thing, he’d done well on his big tests—which meant that he could take it easy for the rest of the term. All his teachers were in holiday mode too. The vacation was less than two weeks away, and most of the serious teaching was over until January.
    But that wasn’t the only reason Tiki was feeling light. The Eagles had won the League Championship, keeping their perfect record intact. Even if they lost in the Regionals, at least they would have accomplished something great—something no one could take away from them, ever.
    He and Ronde would graduate and go on