"And we're back after the timeout called by Coach Richt," said the analyst once the timeout had ended under the referee's insistence and the commercials had also come to an end, with the viewers returning to see the playing field.
Katy, Texas
"He's back!" shouted Elena's voice. She was sitting on the sofa in the middle of the living room with a bowl of popcorn in her hand, calling for Ed, who had taken advantage of the break to go to the bathroom.
"Coming, coming!" Ed shouted hurriedly while finishing adjusting his belt buckle, taking his seat again next to Elena.
"You took too long," Rudy couldn't help but add, looking at his son with reproach while his attention remained fixed on the screen and on the players of both teams returning to the field ready to restart the game.
"There he is," said Caitlyn while pointing toward an orange blur on the screen who wore the number 17 on his back and stood behind the offense, ready to start the play.
At that moment, Wyatt was seen receiving the ball and immediately passing it to the running back, who bravely ran straight into the line of scrimmage while the offensive line charged with strength and speed, seeking to push back the Bulldogs' defense and give the running back the opportunity to cross the line of scrimmage.
The running back, without losing speed, immediately ducked his head slightly while charging like a runaway bull toward the line of scrimmage until he was lost from sight, as was the ball, ending up buried under several players from both the Tigers and the Bulldogs.
The referees present on the field immediately began to blow their whistles while making the players slowly stand up until the running back in question emerged from the pile of bodies on top of him, still with the ball firmly between his arms.
Seeing that, the head referee made a hand signal indicating there was no interception or fumble, giving a new 1st and 10 to the Tigers, who celebrated throughout the field, burying the running back who made it possible again.
"Oof, that must have hurt," Rudy couldn't help but add upon seeing the run the back made straight into the line of scrimmage only to end up buried among several players who weighed more than 200 pounds, then ending up buried again by his teammates.
"How lucky that my little boy never went back to playing as a running back," Elena said, relieved that it wasn't her son who ended up buried by the pile of players.
When he was just starting in football, Wyatt was originally a running back since he was one of the fastest players the team had. Once Elena went to see her son's first game, she couldn't help but be scandalized seeing how he ended up buried or tackled by players who clearly weighed more than him.
Luckily, later Wyatt developed his game vision more and moved to being the quarterback of his team in middle and high school, much to her relief. Of course, he was still brought down from time to time when the offensive line collapsed or when he attempted solo runs seeking to cross the line of scrimmage himself without passing the ball. But compared to being tackled multiple times during every game of the season, she clearly preferred the playing style Wyatt had now.
"After that brilliant run by McDowell, the Clemson Tigers are back at 1st and 10 with 22 yards remaining, putting the entire Bulldogs team in a bind," the analyst continued narrating to all the viewers who were tuned into the game.
"You bet!" Ed muttered toward the television as if they could hear him. "Woof, woof!" Max also barked at the screen while watching with attention, as if he knew something important was being seen on that device.
"And we must say that so far Sterling has given us a solid performance, knowing how to control the game rhythm and with great precision in his passes, with only one incomplete," the analyst continued narrating while both teams put themselves back in position at the 22-yard line on their own side.
In this play, Wyatt opted for a pass toward Laquon, who caught it before being tackled, but with the ball firmly held against his body despite the best attempts of the linebacker, who sought to make him drop the ball for a fumble.
The line judge, seeing how the situation was going too far when the play had clearly come to an end, blew his whistle several times, separating both while giving a clear warning to the linebacker not to try any dirty plays in the game.
After that, the game restarted with a few more offensive series featuring short passes from Wyatt, who controlled the game with total mastery and sought to burn as much time as possible to prevent the Bulldogs from having any chance to overcome the score.
"Let's go!!" Rudy shouted at the screen while standing up, seeing how the Tigers' advance was on the right track, being only 13 yards from the end zone in a critical area where a pass or run could be decisive, while they were on 2nd and 4 possession.
"It seems he has improved again," Ed said while taking a sip of the beer he had in his hands, without taking his eyes off the screen for a moment, where the camera focused on the Tigers' players, staying a bit longer on Wyatt, who was giving signals to all the players.
"He earned the respect of the players," Rudy added upon seeing how his grandson gave orders to players who were older than him and probably more experienced, but who still obeyed his orders and respected him, something he could say he felt proud of.
"That was to be expected," Elena quickly added without any hesitation in her tone.
She remembered all the conversations she had had with her son in recent months, in which they talked about his university life and how he had been adapting to life away from home. He also told her about how demanding the training sessions were and that the team's playbook was the most extensive he had seen in his entire life, but that he still studied it all the free time he had, seeking to memorize all the plays.
And it seemed that all that bore fruit because now he was stepping onto the field of Memorial Stadium under the spotlights and the attention of thousands of people watching him in the stadium and from their home screens like them right now.
"And here we go with the Tigers' second down, Sterling takes the ball," the analyst narrated while on the screen Wyatt received the ball in his hands again and stood still for a few seconds with his gaze up, looking for what was probably a passing lane.
Suddenly, Wyatt cocks his arm and the ball flies in a perfect parabola in what is a mid-range pass, which is caught by number #23, who was Laquon, who had to jump to get the ball. Once the ball was secured in his hand, Laquon planted his feet firmly on the ground before running again toward the opposite field, gaining some extra yards before being tackled.
"And what a good pass from Sterling toward the rookie receiver Treadwell," the analyst began while the play was repeated, this time in slow motion on the televisions of all the homes tuning in to the game.
"This rookie combination has phenomenal chemistry," he continued repeating. "Let's remember that the two met at this year's Under Armour All-America game," the analyst added a piece of data that perhaps some viewers didn't know about both players.
"And another curious fact is that Laquon gave an interview a few months ago saying that the reason why he had opted to go to Clemson instead of other programs was because of Wyatt Sterling's insistence," the analyst finished saying.
While he spoke, the Tigers called a timeout because the situation they were in was a critical position and they needed more time to define what the best possible play for that situation would be.
The position the Tigers were in was a critical zone since they were only 3 yards from the other team's end zone; therefore, the Bulldogs' defense would be more compact, making air passes or ground runs more complicated.
As soon as the timeout began, Dabo was discussing with Chad which play would be the best and the probabilities of it working out, since there was still no need to force a field goal as they had 3 opportunities to play with the ball and burn more time on the clock.
At the other end, the players took the time to rehydrate and dry the sweat from their faces, letting both coaches discuss the plays until Wyatt was called by both and they began telling him some words which the camera could not discern, as Dabo's clipboard covered his mouth; they could only see how Wyatt nodded and put his helmet back on to head straight to the field.
In the first play, Wyatt attempted a direct pass toward the corner of the end zone, which could not be caught by any of the players from either team, ending in an incomplete pass before everyone returned to their positions ready for the second down.
The second down was a ground attempt entrusted to McDowell, who could only advance one yard before being buried again by the amount of players' bodies piled up in the end zone.
Now they were on the third down and the most crucial one, since if they didn't manage to score on this one, most likely on the fourth they would opt for a field goal to add points. That was the assumption all the spectators had, which was only confirmed upon seeing the special teams taking position, ready to enter as soon as this opportunity ended.
But on the third down, Wyatt opted to do it himself, because as soon as he received the ball along with the offensive line, he began to run in a straight line with all his might, while the offensive line used all their strength seeking to move the Bulldogs' defense.
Jumping high, Wyatt dove straight into the end zone under the stadium spotlights, ending in a touchdown. After that, the stadium seemed to shake under the roar of the spectators, which became even stronger when the extra point was scored.
Los Angeles, California
In a mansion in Beverly Hills, Kendall was lying on her bed while watching the live broadcast of the Clemson Tigers' game on her laptop with attention.
"I see you're still the same," she said to herself with her gaze fixed on the screen, which showed Wyatt celebrating the touchdown with the rest of the team. Seeing how the game had lost its suspense, Kendall closed the laptop while she got up from her bed and stretched. "Time to get back to work," she muttered as she stood up.
Framingham, Massachusetts
"That's what I'm talking about, you see Susan, they should have listened to me from the beginning," said a man with a mustache and slightly overweight while he had his gaze on the television and a beer can in his hand.
"You're absolutely right, Matty," said his wife Susan while she sat quietly on a sofa next to him.
"Yes, because he can magically make the people on TV listen to her," said a sarcastic voice belonging to a girl who was reading a book on her lap without paying attention to the screen.
"Hey, have more respect, young lady," Matty suddenly said, fixing his attention on his niece.
At that, she simply rolled her eyes. "I work more than 8 hours every day and now I just want to sit and enjoy this beautiful game," Matty said while taking a large sip of his drink.
"Sure, because the most sexist and violent sport that exists is something very important," was the next comment that came out of the young woman's mouth as she looked up and fixed her gaze on the screen.
On it, the camera showed a close-up of Wyatt as he took off his helmet and took a seat while the Tigers' defense entered the field.
"I think I'd better go read in my room," the girl said, standing up and going up the stairs, still hearing the noise from the television.
"Blaire, honey, don't forget that dinner will be ready soon," Susan said with a smile toward her niece, while she simply nodded and disappeared up the stairs.
Authors thought's
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