Texas has over a hundred colleges, split into four divisions, so each division ends up with about twenty-something teams.
Since it's a summer league using single-elimination playoffs, basically surviving three rounds locks you in as one of the state top ten.
And making the Texas top ten? That's a height Medford Public High School has never reached before.
In a way, this football team is making history right now.
After a long break, the clock hit 10:30. Captain Aaron rounded up the guys early and headed to the entrance tunnel to get ready.
From there, you could hear the roaring crowd outside, and it started making the players' faces tense up.
As game time approached, fans poured in. Over four thousand spectators pretty much packed Medford High's field to capacity.
"Mike, you nervous right now?" At the tunnel entrance, little Georgie fiddled with the straps on his helmet and whispered.
He was so jittery his hands were shaking a bit, and his breathing was off.
"Eh, not really," Mike said casually.
Having dealt with two supernatural incidents already, Mike's perspective wasn't like most people's. This? It was just small potatoes to him.
Georgie eyed Mike's chill vibe—it didn't seem fake—and said enviously, "Man, you've got some serious nerves of steel."
Mike just shrugged with a smile, not bothering to explain.
Over by the side door of the tunnel, little Sheldon and Tam were getting stopped by a student doing security.
"My dad George is the head coach, my brother Georgie's a wide receiver on the team, and the running back Mike—he's my friend too..." Sheldon explained earnestly, hoping for some special treatment.
The security kid knew Sheldon, of course. After thinking it over, he said, "You can go in, but remember—don't bug the players."
"Thanks!" Sheldon nodded, then led Tam inside.
Georgie spotted Sheldon right away and barked, "Sheldon, how'd you get in here? This isn't the place for you—get out."
"I'm not here for you..." Sheldon glanced past Georgie to Mike and said, "Mike, Tam wants your autograph."
Tam stepped out from behind Sheldon, holding out a photo and a pen, asking cautiously, "Is that okay?"
This quiet, introverted Vietnamese classmate had always left a good impression on Mike.
Plus, it was just an autograph—no big deal.
Mike took the photo, looked at his own handsome shot on it, and teased while signing, "Tam, when did the guys at school start collecting my pictures too?"
Tam gave an awkward little laugh, not sure how to respond.
Truth was, the autograph wasn't even for him. Some girls at school had roped him into asking.
Tam wasn't great at saying no, so he'd dragged Sheldon into helping.
Catching Tam's reaction, Mike seemed to figure it out. He smirked knowingly, then handed the signed photo back.
Right then, Coach George walked into the tunnel. Like his son, he spotted Sheldon immediately and said, puzzled, "Shelly, what are you doing in here? Get going."
Sheldon had gotten what he came for. Seeing his dad's stern face, he huffed dramatically and started sauntering toward the side door like a little diva.
Watching his youngest act all high and mighty, Coach George suddenly boomed, "Hurry up!"
Sheldon jumped, clamped his arms to his sides, and bolted for the door.
Tam, trailing behind, got so startled he spun around, bowed to Coach George, and squeaked "Sorry!" with a shaky voice before vanishing out the side.
After his little prank, Coach George watched Tam's over-the-top reaction, rubbed his chubby cheek, and muttered to himself, "Am I really that scary?"
Whatever. Time for business. He shook it off, clapped his hands to get everyone's attention: "Our opponents today are St. Mary's Academy—the only team that's ever made the state top ten before.
"Now the chance is right in front of us. Beat St. Mary's, and this year we're in the Texas top ten too.
"Medford High will be proud of us for it."
Seeing the guys' energy starting to build, Coach George kept pumping them up: "Boys, for glory— we've got one goal: victory!"
"Come on, kids!"
He held out a fist.
Everyone circled up, stacking their hands on his.
One, two, three...
"What's our goal?"
"Victory!"
"Victory!!"
(Wrong version? Nah—this is the real deal, fresh off the press.)
...
Seeing the fire in his players' eyes, Coach George nodded, satisfied.
Then, as the player entrance cue sounded, he patted Aaron and Mike on the back: "Go get 'em. This moment's yours."
As the team's dual stars, Aaron and Mike led the way out of the tunnel, soaking in the roar of the crowd.
Regina hadn't expected Mike to walk out with Captain Aaron.
Whatever plan she'd had against Mike? Yeah, that was dead in the water now.
None of the cheerleaders were worrying about Regina's feelings either—they were all waving pom-poms wildly, full of that teenage energy.
Mike did a half-lap around the field, basking in the cheers, then headed back to their side.
"Mike! Mike! Over here..." A little kid on the sideline with a DSLR camera was waving like crazy.
The kid looked about five or six—super cute, all fair-skinned and chubby-cheeked.
Mike looped over, crouched down, and smiled: "You calling me?"
"Yeah! Mike, I saw you on TV. I'm your biggest fan," the kid said excitedly. "I'm little Sean—can I get your autograph?"
Sean handed over a pen and yanked up the hem of his white T-shirt.
Having a little fan like this felt pretty good. Mike signed generously and said, "Thanks for the support, Sean."
But as Mike started to walk away, Sean piped up: "Mike, you know what? St. Mary's has a Michael too. His name's Michael Oher—he's family.
"Today's game? He's gonna shock you big time."
What was this—a declaration of war?
So the little brat was actually a hater.
Mike took back his earlier opinion: this Sean kid wasn't nearly as cute as Sheldon.
A little rattled, Mike shot a mock-glare back at his tiny heckler on the sideline.
Seeing the kid flinch, he nodded satisfied and headed to the team bench.