“Thirty-one eagle on three!” José shouted, scanning the defense. Spencer and Bunyon were creeping forward. Suddenly José raised his voice even louder. “Stampede! Stampede! Stampede!”
I had no idea what thirty-one eagle or stampede meant, so I just ran straight ahead as fast as I could. One of the Morons blew past me going in the other direction.
Behind me, I heard two thuds and suddenly everyone started running toward the line of scrimmage.
“Ball’s out!” I heard Bunyon yell.
I turned around to see José lying on his side with Spencer on top of him. Both teams were chasing after the football, which was bouncing away like a frightened rabbit. I watched as Julian scooped it up and ran for an easy touchdown.
José picked himself up and marched over to me. “What did I say?” he barked.
“About what?”
“Did you hear me call the play?”
“Yeah, but—”
“Did you hear me say stampede?”
“Yeah, but—”
“What does stampede mean?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “Nobody told me.”
José grabbed Aaron by the collar. “Did you teach him the calls?”
“I was going to, but—”
José glared at Aaron. “You brought him here. It’s your job to teach him the calls.” Then he looked at me again, a little calmer now. “Stampede means blitz. You know what a blitz is, right?”
“When the defense rushes the quarterback,” I said, remembering what Roy Morelli had taught me in the two-hand-touch game.
“Right. When the other team blitzes, you have to help block. If they send four guys, Planet and Ox can’t stop all of them. Got it?”
“Yeah, I got it.”
José had one more word for Aaron. “He better know everything by tomorrow.”
Aaron and I stood in the middle of the field after the game ended and everyone else had left. “Listen up,” he said. “I’m going to tell you what you need to know and you better not forget it.”
“I’ve been getting straight As since second grade,” I said. “I think I can remember a few plays.”
“I hope so,” Aaron said angrily. “Because if I get on José’s bad side, I’m done.”
“Hey, don’t yell at me,” I said. “It’s not my fault José’s mad at you. You were supposed to tell me this before we played.”
“Look, it’s pretty simple,” Aaron went on. “You already know that stampede means blitz. When you hear that, stay near the quarterback and block anyone who’s trying to sack him.”
“What does thirty-one eagle mean?”
“The first number José calls is always for me. The second number is always for you. The three means I’m supposed to run a slant route. The one means you run a curl. If he calls a number with a two in it, that means a post route.”
“One for curl, two for post, three for slant,” I said. “What does eagle mean?”
“When you hear an animal that can fly, that’s a pass. Anything that can’t fly is a run. Like if you hear thirty-two bulldog, that’s a run play for you. Otherwise you’re always the check-down.”
“What’s that?”
“It means you stay close to the line of scrimmage in case José needs to dump the ball off to someone.”
“So I’m like his emergency exit?”
Aaron nodded. “Something like that. Anything hurt yet?” he asked, flipping a stick into the trees.
“Not really,” I said, suddenly feeling disappointed for some weird reason. “I haven’t even been tackled.”
“You will be,” Aaron replied. “But don’t worry,” he added. “The first hit is always the worst.”
If that was Aaron’s way of comforting me, it didn’twork. The fear of pain was the reason Spencer Randle scared me so much. With his size and strength, he could do some serious damage to me, and I liked being able to walk and breathe. Still, deep down, I wondered if Aaron was on to something. What if getting hit was the key to not being afraid of Spencer? Maybe Brian Braun marched around town like he owned the place because the fear had been knocked out of him. I
I had no idea what thirty-one eagle or stampede meant, so I just ran straight ahead as fast as I could. One of the Morons blew past me going in the other direction.
Behind me, I heard two thuds and suddenly everyone started running toward the line of scrimmage.
“Ball’s out!” I heard Bunyon yell.
I turned around to see José lying on his side with Spencer on top of him. Both teams were chasing after the football, which was bouncing away like a frightened rabbit. I watched as Julian scooped it up and ran for an easy touchdown.
José picked himself up and marched over to me. “What did I say?” he barked.
“About what?”
“Did you hear me call the play?”
“Yeah, but—”
“Did you hear me say stampede?”
“Yeah, but—”
“What does stampede mean?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “Nobody told me.”
José grabbed Aaron by the collar. “Did you teach him the calls?”
“I was going to, but—”
José glared at Aaron. “You brought him here. It’s your job to teach him the calls.” Then he looked at me again, a little calmer now. “Stampede means blitz. You know what a blitz is, right?”
“When the defense rushes the quarterback,” I said, remembering what Roy Morelli had taught me in the two-hand-touch game.
“Right. When the other team blitzes, you have to help block. If they send four guys, Planet and Ox can’t stop all of them. Got it?”
“Yeah, I got it.”
José had one more word for Aaron. “He better know everything by tomorrow.”
Aaron and I stood in the middle of the field after the game ended and everyone else had left. “Listen up,” he said. “I’m going to tell you what you need to know and you better not forget it.”
“I’ve been getting straight As since second grade,” I said. “I think I can remember a few plays.”
“I hope so,” Aaron said angrily. “Because if I get on José’s bad side, I’m done.”
“Hey, don’t yell at me,” I said. “It’s not my fault José’s mad at you. You were supposed to tell me this before we played.”
“Look, it’s pretty simple,” Aaron went on. “You already know that stampede means blitz. When you hear that, stay near the quarterback and block anyone who’s trying to sack him.”
“What does thirty-one eagle mean?”
“The first number José calls is always for me. The second number is always for you. The three means I’m supposed to run a slant route. The one means you run a curl. If he calls a number with a two in it, that means a post route.”
“One for curl, two for post, three for slant,” I said. “What does eagle mean?”
“When you hear an animal that can fly, that’s a pass. Anything that can’t fly is a run. Like if you hear thirty-two bulldog, that’s a run play for you. Otherwise you’re always the check-down.”
“What’s that?”
“It means you stay close to the line of scrimmage in case José needs to dump the ball off to someone.”
“So I’m like his emergency exit?”
Aaron nodded. “Something like that. Anything hurt yet?” he asked, flipping a stick into the trees.
“Not really,” I said, suddenly feeling disappointed for some weird reason. “I haven’t even been tackled.”
“You will be,” Aaron replied. “But don’t worry,” he added. “The first hit is always the worst.”
If that was Aaron’s way of comforting me, it didn’twork. The fear of pain was the reason Spencer Randle scared me so much. With his size and strength, he could do some serious damage to me, and I liked being able to walk and breathe. Still, deep down, I wondered if Aaron was on to something. What if getting hit was the key to not being afraid of Spencer? Maybe Brian Braun marched around town like he owned the place because the fear had been knocked out of him. I
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