"And we are back here at Carter-Finley Stadium in North Carolina for the second half of the game between the NC State Wolfpack against the Clemson Tigers," said the voice of the commentator as both teams came out of the players' tunnel and returned straight to the field of play.
10-7 was the current score of the game, with Clemson in the lead.
As the Wolfpack team's offense entered the field, the Clemson Tigers' defense took the gridiron with overflowing energy, knowing they had to return home with the victory.
"Set... Hut!!" was the unmistakable shout that came from the mouth of Pete Thomas, the starting quarterback for NC State, who is a native of California.
Originally, Pete was the quarterback for Colorado State University, where he had been putting up fantastic performances since in his freshman year he earned the starting job for every game of the season—something that caused a lot of talk as it was not very common.
Of course, one of the reasons in itself was that Colorado State University was by no means a football powerhouse, which was why competition within the team was no trouble for him to secure the position.
What did cause quite a controversy was his decision to leave the Rams and transfer to the Wolfpack team, thereby causing him to be unable to play the entire previous season in accordance with NCAA rules.
Now, although Pete was in his 4th year of college, even so, he was barely entering his third as a player, which was why, if he still wanted to, he could opt to play another year—something very uncommon, but there had been cases.
With the ball in his hands, Pete immediately saw how the Clemson Tigers' defense brought a blitz, causing the line of scrimmage to begin to collapse while his offensive line made their best effort to prevent the Clemson defense from running right over them.
With little time, Pete immediately locked his attention onto one of his receivers on the corners while cocking his arm back and launching a deep pass, hoping for the receiver to reach it and secure a new 1st and 10.
However, it seemed that under the pressure of the defense, Pete did not calculate the distance well, and the ball ended up falling to the ground without the receiver's hands even brushing the leather of the football.
"Incomplete," said the line referee, blowing his whistle while indicating that the Wolfpack had to attempt a pass again from the same spot as before.
Seeing that, Pete shook his head in resignation while making a gesture toward the receiver, telling him it was his fault, as the ball returned to the hands of the center and the down became a 2nd and 10.
The good news for the entire Wolfpack team was that at least the opposing team's safety had not been able to intercept the pass either; after all, an interception at that moment would be something much worse.
Bringing a hand to the headset he wore in his ear, Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren began giving instructions to Pete while holding his clipboard up over his mouth and discussing something with his offensive coordinator.
Nodding in the direction of the coach, Peter quickly gave instructions to the team's entire offensive unit, who, simply understanding the play, got into their positions, facing the Clemson defense once again.
"Syracuse 34! Syracuse 34!!" Pete shouted toward all the players while the center simply snapped the ball back to him again and headed straight toward the Tigers team's defense, as the ball was placed back into Pete's hands and he handed it directly to one of his running backs.
As soon as the running back got the ball in his hands, he began to run hard in a diagonal line, seeking to avoid in any way the collision taking place at the line of scrimmage.
One of Clemson's cornerbacks, upon seeing that, immediately headed in the same direction as the running back, seeking to break it up upon seeing that the play became a ground play.
But before he could even get close to the running back, the team's tight end blocked him, causing a struggle between the two while the running back passed by his side, running as fast as his legs allowed him.
Despite their best efforts, the Clemson team's linebacker managed to bring him down, but not before he completed a 12-yard run, giving the Wolfpack team a new 1st and 10.
"Yeahh!" was the shout heard in the stadium stands in a clear sign of support toward the home team.
With a smile, Pete raised his hands toward the crowd, who began to shout even louder in response, causing an excited smile to appear on Pete's face upon seeing how he was cheered by the entire crowd present.
However, perhaps it was because of the confidence he had gained from securing a new first down, but in the end, on the new set of downs, Pete attempted another run, hoping to get the same result as last time.
But the opposing team's defensive coordinator had already taken measures against that, causing the running back to be brought down this time after a mere 4-yard gain by the same linebacker from last time, who had been prepared.
"Tsk," Pete clicked his tongue, deciding that if the ground game wasn't working, an aerial pass would be the best answer then.
Unfortunately, on 2nd and 6, Pete attempted a short-distance pass toward the tight end, who, due to pressure from the opposing cornerback, could not secure the ball, causing another incomplete pass from Pete.
"It seems that Pete Thomas is not living his best night," said the commentator while the screen showed Pete's pass completion percentage tonight, demonstrating that barely 55% of his passes ended up completed—a very low percentage.
On third down, Pete decided to return to the ground game, but this time the running back was brought down long before he could even cross the line of scrimmage and accumulate yards for the team.
Coach Dave, upon seeing that, let out a sigh of disappointment under his breath while gesturing to the special teams unit to enter the field and at least attempt a field goal, so as not to walk away empty-handed from this drive.
The distance was somewhat significant since they were 38 yards away from the goalposts, and to the team's bad luck, their kicker was not an elite one, which was why at the moment he kicked the ball, it ended up being a missed one.
"Shit!" was the shout of one of the team's fans as he threw his beer cup to the ground in a clear sign of frustration, watching how the team had not secured any points and how the Clemson offense returned to the field.
"Booo!" right after that, the same fan began to boo the Clemson players, hoping that it could prevent them from scoring points as well.
He was not the only person who thought that, since the majority of fans present in the stadium also began to boo the Clemson players.
Meanwhile, on the field, Wyatt could clearly hear the boos of more than 50,000 people inside the stadium, who hoped to get inside his head and desperately wished for him to fail.
But Wyatt considered that the boos were for a completely different reason. "They're afraid," was the thought that arose inside his head while he finished adjusting his helmet and lined up behind his offensive line.
They were on the 32-yard line of their own field, which meant they had to cover 68 yards to score a touchdown. While Wyatt analyzed that, his gaze also turned toward the scoreboard, which showed that 8:40 minutes remained in the third quarter.
"Plenty of time," Wyatt murmured to himself as he got into position and called for the ball.
As soon as the ball was between his fingers, Wyatt dropped back far enough to take a quick look around the field while his brain went a mile a minute, searching for what could be the best opportunity.
Without wasting the chance and seeking to test the defense, Wyatt launched a short pass in the direction of Leggett, who upon receiving the ball in his hands turned and began to struggle against the Wolfpack team's cornerback before both fell to the ground.
On second down, Wyatt repeated the play, causing the Wolfpack defense to be more prepared and manage to stop Jordan short.
Back in the huddle to discuss the third down, Wyatt immediately addressed some words to the team while whispering in Sammy's ear, who, upon hearing the tactic, immediately nodded in his direction as the entire offense returned to their positions.
"Set... Hut!" Wyatt shouted, while at the moment the ball was in his hands, he dropped back to scan the field again. Seeing how the defense had indeed crept forward a bit more than necessary, he took a few more steps back while gathering all the strength possible in his arm.
The moment head coach Dave Doeren saw how Wyatt dropped back while his arm went up, a look of panic landed on his face as he gestured wildly toward the defense.
"Don't let him throw the ball!!" he shouted, watching as the ball was released from Wyatt's hands and began its trajectory across the entire field, arching toward the right corner where Sammy was running without much pressure from the cornerback or linebacker in question.
Meanwhile, the entire crowd of people in the stadium watched in slow motion as the ball began to fly through the sky as if gravity did not affect it in the least, tracing a great parabola until little by little it descended, as if it were perfectly aimed in Sammy's direction. Calculating the distance and proximity of the ball heading toward him, Sammy immediately got into position.
Sensing the ball caught by his gloved hands, Sammy wasted no time and prepared to run straight toward the end zone while the Wolfpack defense panicked and the opposing safety rushed to run in his direction, seeking to tackle him.
But Sammy, through his peripheral vision, could see how the safety was approaching his side, which was why, at the precise moment the safety launched himself to make the tackle, Sammy spun on his own axis, narrowly avoiding the tackle and continuing his path until he was near the end zone.
At that moment, Sammy stopped running to begin a slow jog until his feet firmly touched the Wolfpack team's end zone.
Leaving the ball on the ground, Sammy brought a finger over his mouth in a clear sign of silence, causing the crowd in response to begin insulting him, considering that gesture a provocation, while Sammy remained standing without moving.
With the arrival of the rest of his teammates, the celebration began, completely unbothered by the curses they heard from the North Carolina team's fans.
"And Sammy Watkins completes a 28-yard run, reaching the end zone without any complication," the commentator said into his microphone while an excited smile appeared on his face. "But I think we can all agree that the vast majority of that touchdown is due exclusively to Wyatt Sterling's super long-distance, 40-yard pass," the commentator finished saying while on the screens, viewers could see the replay of the pass once more, which would probably be rebroadcast in the segment for the best plays of the week.
Under the insistence of the referee, the Clemson team players left the field while the special teams unit entered, and the kicker sent the ball split through the uprights, adding an extra point to the scoreboard.
17-7, current score.
On the other hand, Pete, who was sitting next to the rest of the players, lightly squeezed his hand while listening to the murmurs of the crowd and the mood of the stadium decaying completely in the face of such a pass.
Without saying another word, he adjusted his helmet over his head and stepped onto the field along with the rest of his teammates, ready to change that situation and narrow the score.
Authors thought's
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