Chapter 22: making ECU history

Over the next couple months Zach and the rest of the team win one game after another and break all kinds of school records. Since the team ends the season with no losses, Lauren comes by the mansion to see if ECU gets to go to the college football playoffs.

Thanks for having me over Zach.

Fingers crossed.

I'm not getting my hopes up, we're only a small school after all.

Even if it doesn't end up happening, it's not like we could have done any better.

True, we can't fault ourselves.

After some talking from the analysts it's finally time for the announcement.

Good evening. I'm not going to leave you in suspense for too long. Heading to the college football playoffs are: Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson and... Oklahoma.

Lauren lets out a deep sigh.

The usual suspects... I don't know if we could have beaten them, but I would have like a chance to try.

I think we would have had a chance against them. The worst part is that we couldn't have done any better, and if I go to the NFL then we won't get another chance to do it together.

Don't feel guilty and start second guessing your decision, going to the NFL is the right thing to do. Finding another quarterback and making a new run at the playoffs is my responsibility.

True, but it would have been nice if we could have done it together.

A couple days later the team is called in for an unscheduled meeting.

Zach walks into the locker room and takes a seat next to Lars and Fred.

Do you guys know what's up?

Lars shrugs.

No, I just got a message from coach Turner to be here. Fred?

I know as much as you guys.

Then we'll have to wait and see.

Lauren arrives several minutes later.

Hey guys, thank you all for coming. As you probably know by now, we were excluded from the playoffs. It's probably because ECU is still working on establishing itself as a football program that is to be respected. I want you all to know that you guys did everything you could and I'm proud to be your coach.

Zach stands up.

And were proud to play for you. Aren't we guys?

The whole team claps and cheers.

Thanks guys, that was only the bad news though. We might not be going to the playoffs, but we were invited to play the Rose Bowl!

The entire team jumps up from their seats and starts celebrating.

Settle down guys! I'm just as excited as you are, but we have to work harder than ever before to win this game. We're playing USC and they beat us last time we played each other. But that was last year, so are you guys ready to go and prove that we're the best team in California?

They all answer in unison.

Yes ma'am!

That's what I like to hear. Let's get to work then.

A week of intense practice later and Zach is saying goodbye to Rebecca before he gets on the bus.

Don't forget the tickets when you drive down.

Your mom has them, don't worry. We'll be there in the first row to cheer you on.

Alright, see you in two days.

Zach gets on the bus and sits down next to Lisa.

You sure took your time loverboy.

Do I sense some jealousy?

You get to kiss a pretty girl on a daily basis, of course I am.

Do you want me to ask Ruby or Elle to help you out with that?

Don't you dare!

You should seriously stop holding yourself back, there is no reason to.

Putting yourself out there like that is scary.

Of course it is, but good things are worth taking a risk for.

It's a shame that I'm not old enough to drink yet.

Alcohol may "loosen you up", but it doesn't help you make good choices.

I know... I was just kidding.

Don't rush things, wait for the right person. You'll know it when you find her.

I'll keep that in mind...

When they arrive at the hotel Zach ends up sharing a room with Lars.

Lars, what does it feel like knowing that there are a bunch of cheerleaders in the building?

I see what you're doing. They're attractive... especially Elle, but I'm not some creep that would go and spy on them.

I know, I'm just messing with you. If you ever need a wingman, now is the time to ask for it.

No, that's not necessary. I'm graduating this year anyway, so I don't want to end up in a long distance relationship.

Makes sense, you would be moving away once you get drafted.

Lars chuckles and shakes his head.

You're a good friend and I appreciate how much you believe in me... but just because you're going to get drafted doesn't mean I will be.

You have to be positive. You caught over a hundred passes this season, nobody in the country caught more. Scouts take note of things like that.

I'll do my best, thanks for the pep talk.

Anytime. I'm going to go see how Lisa is settling in, see you in a bit.

He makes his way to Lisa's room and knocks on the door, Ruby opens up.

Hey, what's up?

Just came to see how you were settling in. Where's Lisa?

She's next door with Elle. We have a door in that connects our rooms over there.

He walks over and opens the door. His jaw falls to the floor when he catches Lisa and Elle in the middle of a passionate kiss.

Lisa immediately jumps away from her in a panic, drags Zach into the room and closes the door behind him.

You weren't supposed to find out like this... you should have knocked!

I'll apologize for that later... I see you took my advice from earlier to heart. Or has this been going on for a while?

Lisa looks at Elle.

When you and Rebecca went to Yosemite. I took her to see my grandma... since then.

That's a long time ago, why didn't you tell me?!

Lisa looks at the ground.

I don't know...

What do you mean? We've been friends for a decade. Out of all people I would think that you would tell me!

Elle stands up and snaps her fingers in front of Zach's face with authority.

Don't raise your voice like that.

You're right, I'm sorry. Why did you leave me in the dark? Don't you trust me? This hurts.

Lisa tries to hold her emotions in check but she slowly starts breaking down.

It's not easy to explain. Looking at girls and liking them is different from actually kissing one... and developing feelings for one. Up until a couple months ago I was still partially "in the closet" now I'm fully out... it's scary.

I get that, but have I ever given you the feeling that I wouldn't accept that? If so, then I'm very sorry.

No you haven't.

Was I not important enough to you? what did I do you wrong?

You didn't do anything wrong, you're the most important person in the world to me... sorry Elle.

That's ok, give me a couple years and that spot is mine. She didn't want to tell anybody until she learned to accept it herself, that's how it felt to me anyway.

Zach grabs Lisa's arm and pulls her against him.

Leave it up to you to overcomplicate things. We've been looking at girls butts together for years, I accepted who you are a long time ago.

Finally a smile appears on Lisa's face and she chuckles.

And now we've both found butts that we want to spend the rest of our lives with.

A bit dramatic, but not wrong.

Elle can't help but laugh.

You two are unbelievable. Sorry that I didn't tell you Zach, I was respecting her wishes.

I get it, you did the right thing. That practically makes you my sister in law, and that means we'll be spending the holidays together every year from now on.

We've been living together in the same house for almost two years, I can handle your antics a couple times a year.

Lisa, the number of guys that would be jealous of you right now must be off the charts. Lars definitely, I know that for sure.

She grabs a hold of Elle and playfully starts kissing all over her face.

Hehe... mine, all mine!

You two can be so immature. It always makes me laugh though. Why did you actually come over here?

Just curious about how you were settling in, nothing in particular. Are you going to tell my mom and Rebecca about this? I think you should.

Lisa cringes and turns to Elle.

Only if you're there with me.

Of course I'll be there.

Zach pulls them both in close and gives them a short hug.

Good, then I'll see you both tomorrow.

When he opens the door to leave Ruby is lying on her bed. She waves at them with an awkward look on her face.

You three were pretty loud... so I heard everything, I didn't mean to.

Lisa shrugs.

It's ok, I'm going to have to get used to telling people anyway.

I'm totally fine with it, just so you know.

Zach nudges Lisa.

Told you that it's not a big deal. Just behave yourselves while sharing a room with her.

Fine... that's a shame though, I was just about to propose a "menage a trois" to Ruby.

Ruby's face goes bright red and looks at her with her eyes wide open.

What?!

Lisa bursts out laughing.

Relax, I'm just fucking with you... metaphorically of course.

Elle slaps her on the back of the head.

If you don't leave the poor girl alone, you'll be sleeping alone for a week.

Fine, you win.

Zach starts walking towards the door.

See you tomorrow. And good luck Ruby, looks like you'll need it.

It's the next day, the game is minutes away and Lauren is addressing the team.

Alright guys, this is it. We practiced hard all week and now were going to go out there and show how far we've come since last year. Zach, do you want to say something?

I do. As you all know... this will be my last game at ECU. I want you all to know that I'm grateful for every catch, run, block or tackle that you guys have made. I want to make this last game together something special. Are you with me?

The entire team nods with determination and puts their hands together.

ECU on three, one last time. One, two, three!

ECU!!!

As they take to the field, they're overwhelmed by the wall of noise coming from the thousands of spectators.

ECU has a tough time concentrating because of the crowd noise and they fall behind in the first half. During halftime Lauren addresses the team to find a solution.

The crowd noise is throwing our timing off, resulting in penalties that are killing us. Thankfully the defense has kept us in the game. We need a nonverbal way to snap the ball. Fred, that's your job. Any suggestions?

How about I hold up one hand until everybody is in position. When I lower it, I'll snap the ball after three seconds. Keep a close eye on the ball just to be safe.

Good, that takes care of that. I don't care if our opponent ends up figuring it out, beat you man. We're seventeen points behind, that means we'll have to take some risks. That means big plays, Zach?

Their cornerbacks have played very aggressively so far, we should take advantage of their greed. Daquan sell that you're going for a short route, then break it deep. Lars, make sure you keep an eye on me. I'll point towards where there's room for you to get open. Our running game has been getting us nowhere, I suggest we pass the ball to Damien in space and catch them of guard like that?

Lauren takes out a marker and walks to the white board.

I'll draw the plays on the board, pay attention.

The second half starts of promisingly and ECU marches down the field. They huddle up around Zach.

Much better guys, time for some trickery. We're rolling everything to the right and send Damien to the left behind a blocker.

Zach goes to the right and draws attention to himself, stops dead in his tracks and throws it back across the field to Damien.

The blocker acts as his shield and springs Damien free. He leaps for the endzone and scores with relative ease considering how the game has been going so far.

Zach runs over to him and high fives him to build positivity.

Good job, lets get this comeback going!

When they get to the sideline he nods to Lauren.

We're still in this coach.

All we need is one big play on defense to turn this around. Guys, go for the ball! Knock it out of the quarterbacks' hands!

Knowing that they have to take risks, Lauren sends everybody possible after the quarterback when it's obvious that USC has to pass. The ECU defense gets into position and as soon as the ball is snapped they send more players than USC can block. One of the ECU players comes flying through unblocked and the USC quarterback panics. He throws a reckless pass straight at one of the ECU corners who intercepts the pass and starts running the other way.

Lauren screams as loud as she can.

Go, go, go!

She runs down the sideline with him until he gets brought down at the five yard line.

That's it, good job! Offense, finish the job!

Zach fakes handing the ball off to Damien and throws a quick pass to Lars at the corner of the endzone for an easy touchdown.

They're losing their composure guys, let's keep this going!

The fourth quarter starts and USC drives down the with ease, causing nerves to rise.

Lauren goes for broke one more time and sends and extra defender after the quarterback. This time he stays a bit more composed and manages to throw it towards one of his teammates.

At the last second the ECU safety gets a touch of the ball to knock it up in the air and out of bounds.

The USC coach decides to go for a field goal making the score thirty to twenty-four in favor of USC.

Lauren huddles up with the offense for a final pep talk.

We managed to hold them to a field goal, one more touchdown plus an extra point and we win. We still have five minutes to do it. Don't rush this, we don't want to leave them any time on the clock.

Damien runs for a couple yards and Zach passes to Lars for a first down.

Ok guys, three minutes left. Daquan, time for a double move. Sell the short route, I'll fake a throw to you and then go over the top.

Got it.

Zach drops back. As soon as Daquan turns around, he starts moving his arm backwards. The defender eagerly takes the bait and jumps in front of Daquan. He wastes no time, starts running deep down the sideline and puts his hand up to signal Zach that he's open.

Zach launches the ball and hits Daquan in stride. A defender manages to barely chase him down and pushes him out of bounds.

Good job Daquan, we're almost there.

He looks towards the sideline and Lauren makes a hand signal to him emulating a bird.

The ball is handed to Damien who after taking a few steps forward pitches the ball back to Zach. He's immediately chased down and starts running to the left. He points for Lars to go left with him. As soon as Lars gets a step on the defender Zach throws the ball to him. Lars dives to the goal line, stretches out and ties the game. Leaving only kicking the extra point to win the game.

Back at the sideline Zach walks up to Stanly.

It's up to you. If you make this kick we win.

Yeah, no pressure...

Don't think to much about it, you've been making kicks all season long. Turn your brain off and rely on your instincts.

I'll try.

Stanly gets into position and looks towards the sideline. Zach nods in an affirming way, indicating his belief in him.

The ball is snapped, Stanly swings his leg and the ball goes straight down the middle.

The entire ECU team storms onto the field and lifts Stanly up high.

Zach embraces Lauren.

You coached your ass off today.

Couldn't have done it without you.

Right back at you.

The players run towards the section of the stadium where the ECU fans are sitting to celebrate with them. Zach jumps up to hug Rebecca and his mom.

Afterwards they assemble at the podium for the trophy reception. Lisa approaches Zach as they're waiting for the ceremony to start.

Congrats, you were amazing.

Thanks, you seem more cheerful than usual.

I guess opening up to you last night lifted a weight off of my shoulders.

Happy to hear it. It's only going to get better from now on.

Normally I would have given some snarky reply, but I actually feel like you're right. Looks like it's time for your trophy mister superstar.

The players group up around Lauren as she puts her hands on the trophy. When she raises it above her head the all cheer and jump around her.

Zach and Fred lift her up and place her on their shoulders, parading her around the podium.

When their buss arrives back at ECU the next day, every student on campus has assembled to welcome them back.

During the celebrations Zach runs into Claudia who is enjoying the festivities with a big smile on her face.

You seem happy, I didn't know that you're a football fan.

I'm not, besides our team I don't really keep up with sports. The smile is because this win should draw in new sponsors or donators, and that should allow ECU to give out more scholarships for people who otherwise wouldn't be able to go to college. And that's all I ever wanted when I took this job... thank you.

You're welcome. But it was mostly Lauren who dug us out of a big hole in the game, she deserves your thanks even more.

I'll get right on that, excuse me.

After the festivities Lauren comes by the house with Caleb and her dad.

Caleb raises his hand for a high five as soon as Zach opens the door.

Hey buddy! Your mom is a champion, how awesome is that?

So cool, she was on tv!

They sit down for a bit while Caleb plays with Elle's dog. Zach sees the opportunity to talk with Laurens's father.

What did you think about the game?

That you did a good job adjusting at halftime, every coach needs to be able to analyze an adapt.

Lauren puts her hand on her fathers'.

You taught me to always keep looking for a way to gain an advantage. Next year is going to be tough with Zach leaving, luckily Claudia believes in me.

Don't overreact, this big win will draw in more talent.

And most players are staying. The only ones leaving this year are Zach, Fred and Lars. My three most important ones though...

In college football there is a turnover with players every year, that's simply how it is. You'll figure it out.

At the end of the evening Zach walks them to the door and says goodbye. When he heads upstairs Lisa walks out of his room.

Did you tell Rebecca about you and Elle?

Yup, she's happy for us.

Told you.

You were right, rub it in... goodnight.

Goodnight... you two behave.

As soon as he closes the bedroom door Rebecca clamps onto him.

Finally, some alone time with my champion.

Did you miss me?

Of course I did. I was all by myself here... and I'm used to snuggling with you.

What did you think about Lisa's announcement?

Surprised, but very happy for them.

I walked in on them "getting it on"... talk about awkward.

I can imagine... how about you come to bed with me and I'll make you forget all about it?

Zach laughs.

Somebody is eager.