In the middle of the field, the two coaches were shaking hands.
"Congrats on the win and making it to the state top ten," Coach Cotton said with a smile, though he still looked a little sore about the loss. "And hey, congrats on having a standout player. That No. 21—just needs a bit more coaching, and he'll be a pro-level star someday."
Coach Cotton wasn't about to admit the defeat came down to his own tactics. He wanted to pin Medford's victory entirely on their No. 21.
Classic "graceful in defeat" move—sort of.
But Coach George didn't catch the shade at all.
He was just relieved they'd pulled off the win.
So he grinned back and said, "Your No. 74 ain't bad either. Kid's got real talent—his future in football's bright too."
Winners gotta be classy, right? Coach George nailed the mutual hype session.
Pretty words go down easy, and Coach Cotton was no exception—especially since he genuinely saw Oher as his pride and joy.
His smile turned more real as he suggested, "How about we set up a rematch for next spring's invitational?"
"Absolutely, I'd love that," Coach George agreed right away.
Unlike the intense summer league tournament schedule, spring invitationals were way more relaxed—basically exhibition games.
They were flexible, and the matchups usually kept things pretty even.
Cotton throwing out a spring invite now? It was his way of quietly acknowledging Medford's strength.
With the coaches wrapping up, the battle for state top ten was officially over.
On the sideline, after finishing his post-game interview with reporter Jack, Mike turned around—and there was Regina, beaming like nothing had ever gone wrong.
"Hey, Mike," she said all bubbly, acting like the past drama never happened. "Wanna come over to my place later? Just you and me."
Her eyes had that flirty spark too.
But Mike had wised up. This queen bee was full of schemes—her "favors" came with strings.
Plus, compared to Regina and all her mind games, he'd rather hang with sweet, easygoing girls like Karen or Lina.
"Sorry, I've got plans this afternoon," he shot back without hesitation.
"That's too bad..." Regina didn't look fazed. She stepped in for a cheek kiss, acting super familiar. "Hit me up next time you're free—we'll catch up properly."
Thanks to her little performance, any outsiders watching probably thought they had something going on.
Truth? With Mike's popularity skyrocketing, Regina just wanted to lock him down quick to solidify her queen bee status at school.
Her whole "forgive and forget" act? Super calculated.
It felt more like a business deal than genuine interest.
Mike saw right through it. No way he was gonna be her pawn.
He didn't stick around to chat. Turned on his heel, called over little George who'd been hanging out nearby, and they headed to the locker room together.
Watching Mike walk off without a backward glance, Regina's face darkened.
But it didn't last—she snapped back to her gorgeous, confident self quick. Then she rounded up the rest of the "hot bod squad" girls and left the field together.
Ever since figuring out Mike was a player, Regina had been keeping a tight leash on the other girls in the group.
Sure, he was a flirt—but he had plenty of other perks. Like that killer handsome face? Total girl magnet.
No way she wanted one of her own friends stabbing her in the back before she reeled him in.
...
That afternoon, with nothing else going on at home, Mike called Karen to invite her over.
Turned out the hot bod squad had plans—she couldn't make it.
Not one to stay bored, Mike dialed up Lina next.
Lina had been on her best behavior around her family lately, no slip-ups. So her mom had eased up on the supervision.
When Grandma Connie saw Lina at the door again, she sneakily gave Mike a big thumbs-up, then made up some lame excuse to head out—giving the two hormonal teens plenty of alone time.
[Charm +8], [Flexibility +5]... [Constitution +1]...
After an afternoon of "hard work," Mike's stats had ticked up again.
Dinner time at the Coopers' table.
Maybe because of the team's win, Mary had gone all out with a huge spread.
"George (Mary), I've got some good news..."
Once everyone was seated, George and Mary both spoke up at the same time.
"Uh, you go first~" George said gentlemanly.
Mary didn't argue. She gathered her thoughts and announced, "Over at the church, Aunt Susan stepped down from her assistant job because of health issues... so now I'm Pastor Jeff's assistant."
"So why exactly is Pastor Jeff eating dinner at our house?" George followed up smoothly.
Yeah, there was an extra face at the table tonight. George had planned to ask about it over food.
Since Mary brought it up, he figured he'd get it out now.
"Well..." Mary glanced at the corner of the table, where Pastor Jeff sat slumped under a cloud of gloom.
He was in a rumpled suit, his skinny frame looking even more defeated.
Right now, he was blowing his nose into a scarf nonstop, looking downright pitiful.
Feeling everyone's eyes on him, Pastor Jeff waved weakly with a smile that was more grimace than grin. "First off, Mary got the church job because she killed it at that last potluck. Plus, she's a devoted Christian..."
George wasn't super interested in how his wife landed the gig. Seeing Jeff veer off-topic, he nudged: "So why are you at my house?"
This time, the question hit harder—Pastor Jeff hung his head and started sobbing quietly.
Mary swatted George's arm, like he should've read the room.
Luckily, Jeff didn't wallow long. A runny nose gave him something to do.
Whoosh—
The white scarf fluttered as he blew into it.
Under little Sheldon's disgusted stare, Jeff mumbled, "Sorry~"
Then he went on: "It's not George's fault—it's all me..."
As he explained, the story came out.
Basically, with Serena gone, Jeff couldn't stand being alone at home—it brought back too many memories.
So he figured he'd crash at the Coopers' for a few days to shake off the sadness.
Watching Jeff's meltdown, Mike wondered if those men in black had paid him a visit and scrambled his brain.
Last time they'd met, Jeff didn't seem that head-over-heels for Serena.
Plus, it was obvious the newlyweds weren't equals—Jeff was always bending over backward for her. That kind of lopsided relationship usually wears one person out.
Without Serena, Jeff should be feeling free, not wrecked.
...
"Alright, your situation really is rough," George said. He didn't know much about Jeff's love life, so sympathy first. Then, in big-brother mode: "I told you ages ago—the key to marriage is honesty. You should've come clean to Serena sooner about not being some rich kid."
Hearing that advice, Jeff burst into tears again.
"Did I say something wrong?" George asked, confused.
"N-no, you're right," Jeff sniffled. "It's just... when Serena left, she took the red sports car. That thing's huge loan? Still got a year left to pay off."
He cried even harder after that.
Looked like the real heartbreak might be those massive bank payments.
Eventually, they left the inconsolable Jeff to pull himself together alone.
Back at the table, Mary turned to her husband, softening her tone: "George, what was your good news?"
"Thanks to the team's run, the school gave me a raise—two hundred bucks extra a week," George replied.
With the football wins piling up, George's stock had risen big-time among the teachers.
The principal even set aside a private office just for the football coach.
Huge honor for him.
But after Jeff's emotional interruption, George's excitement about sharing it had fizzled a bit.
"Really? That's awesome!" Mary beamed, genuinely thrilled for his raise.
She still had that classic homemaker vibe—tending to put her husband's wins first.
Seeing her reaction put a smile on George's face. He didn't say it out loud, but he kinda loved being the man of the house.
Some folks happy, some down in the dumps.
Dinner wrapped up soon after.
Mary didn't even clear the dishes first—she grabbed sheets from the bedroom to set up a makeshift bed on the couch for Jeff.
As Grandma Connie got ready to head out, she eyed the mopey pastor sitting off to the side and offered, "Jeff, wanna go for a drive? You can take the wheel."
Grandma Connie had a big heart.
As someone who'd been through it, she knew distracting him was the best way to help Jeff move past the breakup blues.