ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
Seventh grade student. [May 2005]
Clutch Touchdown Nicholas J Pangborn
Clutch Touchdown
For years, the Ocala 99ers have rivaled the Gainesville Giants. But this year, the 99ers are nimble and being light in weight and quick could decide the game, but a team also needs good plays to win. The 99ers keep their plans secret because they know the other team will be able to plan their attack if they know the plans. In the past years, the Giants vanquished the 99ers by 20 points every game. This year, though, the 99ers have a new player named Ken Roethlesbergr.
When the first practice came, the 99ers were trying out Ken at quarterback. He went back to pass, braced himself, and was hit! He started wiggling. He tried squirming out of the tackle but couldn’t. But, he did throw a long pass, and the receiver caught it. What a pass from Ken Roethlesbergr! When he rolled back, before the tackle, Ken had the ball securely in his hand. A hammer couldn’t have taken it out. Looking at him at practice, the coach stated, “He’s determined to win games.”
The first game of the season was against the Giants. Ken warmed up. The 99ers won the toss and chose to receive. The Giants kicked it out of bounds. The first play of the game, Ken threw it long, and it was caught for a touchdown. The 99ers also made the extra point. The Giants had the ball on the kick off and returned it for a touchdown. They also made the extra point, so the score was tied. The 99ers had the ball and took it to the fifty yard line. They ran the ball to the ten yard line in ten plays. Then on the second down, Ken rolled right and threw to the corner of the end zone for another touchdown. The extra point was good. The Giants received the ball on the 30 yard line. The quarterback went back to pass and threw an interception. The 99ers recovered the ball but then fumbled. The Giants picked it up and ran it in for a score. The extra point was blocked.
The rest of the game was more mellow. Usually the teams went to fourth down without a score and then punted. Occasionally, they would throw interceptions or fumble the ball, but they would eventually end up punting until the last minutes of the game. Nobody thought it would happen, but it did.
The Giants drove the ball down the field. On the five yard line, they fumbled and the 99ers picked it up! There were 37 seconds to score. Ken threw a pass for 20 yards ending on the 45 yard line. They used a time out. Ken passed again for another 13 yards. Now, they were on the Giants’ 42 yard line. They used up the clock until there was one second and called another time out. The score was 13-13. The last play of the game, they used a shotgun formation with five wide receivers. Ken went back to pass and threw it. The ball seemed to float until finally being caught at the ten yard line. The receiver broke tackles and scored! They made the clutch play!
The 99ers had a big celebration after that close win, but they knew when practice time came they had to start working again. The very next game was a struggle for them. Interceptions, fumbles, and turnovers in the red zone killed them in their 36-12 loss. That put their record at one and one. After a really hard week at practice, the 99ers were determined in their next game. Their determination helped them crush their opponent 42-6. They knew they needed to step it up after their last loss. Now their record was two and one. it looked like it was going to be a breeze for them through the rest of the season, but they were wrong.
The next few games were tough for them. Sloppy plays hurt them more than anything. Four quick losses put them at two and five. They had to win the rest of their games to make the playoffs. They were determined to win no matter what. The 99ers took an early lead in the next game. They were winning 14-0. They held onto their lead and won 21-10. They did what they said they were going to do and won their next two games as well. They ended up winning the championship. They hope to do the same next year.
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