Football Champ Read Online Free PDF

midst and tapping the rolled-up paper that was their game plan against the palm of his free hand. “We’ve got a plan.”
    “Better plan on lots of ice and ibuprofen,” Nathan said. “Sheesh.”
    “You can block them, Nathan,” Seth said. “Just hit them low.”
    “I’d have to be seven feet tall to hit them high,” Nathan said.
    “Every pass play we run is going to be a roll-out,” Seth said, “so you just trip them up. Troy’s faster than any of those defensive linemen, and he can throw on the run.”
    “Are we going to use any running plays at all?” Troy asked.
    Seth shaded his eyes from the sun, squinting across the field at the Dragons. He cringed and shook his head. “I don’t think that would be a good idea. Go on, they’re calling the captains for the coin toss. You three get out there and give us some luck.”
    Their cleats sunk into the fresh turf, kicking up the warm smell of dirt and cut grass to mix with the scent of popcorn, hot dogs, and burgers cooking in theconcession stand. The Dragons’ three captains stood nearly as tall as the referees, and the one Troy figured to be Jamie Renfro’s cousin was actually taller than three of the five adults. When Troy shook their hands, the cousin clamped down on Troy’s fingers and flashed him a wicked smile. Troy snatched his hand away and sneered right back.
    They flipped the coin. Nathan chose tails. It came up heads.
    “How about best two out of three?” Nathan asked the ref.
    The ref curled his lip and said, “What are you talking about? No.”
    Nathan said, “You can’t blame a guy for trying.”
    As they parted from the middle of the field, Troy felt someone tug his arm. He turned to see Jamie’s enormous cousin glaring at him through the bars of his face mask.
    “We’ll see how bad you want to play quarterback after I mash your bones,” he said in a nasty whisper that the refs couldn’t hear.
    Seth rallied the team together in a tight circle and said, “Look at you guys. All I see is a bunch of kids ready to lay down and get beat. Well, that’s not going to happen. You guys got to realize where you are. We win this and we’re playing under the lights for the Georgia state championship on TV! Do you realize how many great athletes work their entire lives and never wina championship? It’s something no one can ever take away from you, but you got to go get it! I don’t care how big they are. You got to take it from them!”
    Seth’s face turned red and his chiseled jaw rippled with intensity. He stabbed his finger at the other sideline with the thick muscles in his arm bulging.
    “But you’re bigger than everyone,” Tate said quietly.
    Seth’s face softened.
    “Not when I play I’m not,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m as small on an NFL field as you are against these guys. It’s not all about size. It’s about here and here.”
    Seth pointed to the center of his own chest, then his head.
    “Heart and brains,” he said, pulling the game plan out of his back pocket and brandishing it at them like a kid showing off a straight-A report card. “Me and your team captains? We got the brains part handled, but you guys got to have the heart. You gotta believe we can beat them, and I promise you, we will.
    “Now, bring it in here and let’s hear it: ‘Heart’ on three. Ready? One, two, three—”
    “Heart!”
    The word echoed through Troy’s skull. They broke the circle, and the kickoff team jogged out onto the field. Troy paced the sideline, willing the Tigers’ kickoff team to hold. Behind them, hundreds of fans from Duluth cheered and waved the blue and gold pom-poms Troy’s mom and the other moms had handed out to relatives,friends, and Duluth football fans. On the other side, a sea of red, twice the size of the Tigers fans, roared while performing a sweeping wave. Troy shuddered at the demonic sound the Dunwoody fans called their Dragon Roar.
    Tate kicked the ball to start the game. End over end it sailed,