It’s cold; I can feel the freezing cold rain running down my neck and arms. My heart feels as if it’s trying to rip through my chest and out my padding. I feel sore and weak; it’s so cold, my teeth are chattering. I’m nervous; there is only 34 seconds left on the score board, its 21-22 we have the ball and its 4th down and 5. I’m on the sidelines and the ball is on the 35 yard line. The rain is pouring down so hard it feels like as if hail is hitting our helmet. The mist from the rain fills the air making it thick and making the ball slippery. We hike the ball, the quarterback runs right looking for and open player. You can see his eyes are huge and black making him look very nervous and I can tell it’s all up to him. He can’t find anyone, he sprints as fast as he can forward just to make it to the first.  The quarterback losses his lead blocker and spins around the linebacker. He runs out of bounds so the time stops the clock, there is 19 seconds left. He ran out on the 29 yard line making it a first down. My heart pounds even faster making me think we might have a chance to win the game. My coach yells my name “Connor, where’s Connor!?” I respond saying “here coach!” he says “alright Connor we have 19 seconds left I want you to make this happen! Can you do that?” My heart pounds even faster! Now I know it’s up to me to win this game. “Yes coach I can, I’ll do my best!” He replies “Alright, get out there!” I sprint to the huddle and tell the quarterback what play to run. I realize my legs are numb, I’m surprised I’m even standing. In the huddle I can feel the warmth of each player around me and I can see water, sweat, and mud dripping down their jerseys. Each and every one of them breathing heavily as if they just ran a mile. Their breathe making them look like dragon puffing out smoke. The quarterback calls the play and I get to my position. I’m shaking, I can feel all my muscles tighten up in my body. The center hicks the ball and I lung forward and can feel the wet ground under me falling apart and sticking to my cleat. I get passed my defender making me wide open. I look straight at the quarterback and his eyes lock onto mine. He throws the ball. As I sprint my legs fell like they are getting heavier with every step I take. I see the ball cutting right through the rain in a perfect spiral, the rain droplets spinning right off of it. There is no way I can catch it, I have to dive I used all my strength to dive as far as I can. The ball is right there above my figure tips and then I hear “Connor wake up! Wake up your gonna miss the bus!” I open my eyes and see my mom there at the end of my bed. My hearts still pounding as if I was still on the field. My legs are soar from yesterdays practice and it’s hard to move. I get out of bed and start to get ready and then I realized its Friday, its game day.
I sprint downstairs as fast as I can to get to the bus. I put on and undershirt and over that my football jersey. I’m number 28, I picked this number because of my favorite running back in the NFL which I bet you can guess, Adrian Peterson of course. I head down to the end of my driveway. It’s cool, the perfect weather for a game. I can feel the wind breeze through my jersey as if I’m sitting in front of a fan. The cold air running through my wet gelled hair making it feel like I’m at the North Pole. I can see the bus down the street.  All I can think about is the game tonight, my legs get numb whenever I think about it just like they did in my dream. The bus is at the end of my drive way, its engine sounding like a train putting on its breaks. Its bright red lights blind me. I get on the bus and inside it sounds like a school playground full of little kids, them all screaming and throwing stuff around. I sit in my seat, it’s so cold I can see my breath. The bus starts to move and makes its way to the school
I arrive at school and head to my locker, I can see everyone dressed up in our team colors. Every hallway in bright red, just like the leaves on trees during fall. I get to my locker and can see a poster taped right in the middle saying “Tame the Tigers!” My heart starts pounding again, I start to get excited just thinking about the game. I head to my classroom and I hear people in the hallways telling me “good luck at the game tonight” or “let’s get that win”.  I sit down at my desk and the bell rings for classes to begin and the teacher start lecturing, however all I can think about is the game.  Before I know it two classes have gone by and I start make my way to lunch.  I can smell the sweet smell of spaghetti all the way down the hall. I quickly get into line and grab a plate and start to dish up, the food steaming like hot lava flowing out a volcano. After getting my food I make my way to my table and sit down by my friends/teammates. As I get situated I hear each and every one of my friends talking about the game tonight and how it’s going to be close and we may win or lose.  The bell rings before I can even finish my food and I can’t believe school is already half way done. It’s all going by in a second, school never goes this fast I said to myself.  I start thinking about the game again, my legs start to feel weak, I start to sweat, and my heart starts to pound again. This game had so much on the line for the winner of this game is going to state, and it’s been my dream to go to state. I’ve always hoped I would go there and today is the day we can make it happen. I headed to my other classes. I’m in my last class for the day and I can’t believe that school is almost over. The game is so close, I thought to myself just a few more hours. The bell rings and class is over, I just sit there staring at the clock in shock that school went by so quickly.  I realize that I didn’t learn anything today, all that was on my mind was the game. I get up and pack up my books and take the bus home.
The bus arrives filling our neighborhood with black smoke making it look like as if a huge forest fire was here burring everything in its path. I get off the bus and head to my room, I lay down on my bed and just think about the game tonight. I can already see it, me in my uniform and the bleachers shaking, everyone wearing red and screaming at the top of their lungs. My stomach feeling funny because I’m both excited and nervous for the game to start. I just lay there, my eyes start to get heavier and heavier and soon I fall into a deep sleep. I wake up and I see my mom at the end of my bed. “Connor get up you have your game in 1 hour” I race out of bed and get dressed and I get into my mother’s car. Every mile I get closer my heart pounds faster and faster. I arrive at the school and the stadium is packed. Everyone in red just like I pictured earlier today. I go to my locker and start putting on my padding. My padding is all soaked from yesterday’s intense practice, feeling like someone threw it into a lake. My gloves have a strong odor smelling like a swear rats fur. I sit there in the locker room alone looking at myself in the mirror thinking this is it. I start to shake, it feels like my bones are going to snap in my body. My teeth are hurting from my mouth chattering. I put on my helmet and head out to the field. I jog out onto the field my stomach starts to feel funny and the crowd is so loud that my ears start to hurt. I start to warm up with my team. Then all of a sudden I fell something hit my glove. It didn’t feel like a nudge or anything but like a light poke. I look at my glove and see nothing, but then I feel it again but on my neck. I look up and it starts to rain. We get done with our warm up and get to the sidelines waiting for the game to start. The coach starts giving a speech, I don’t hear a single word he says because I’m too focused on the game.  Our kicker sets up the ball on the tee and signals to the ref that he’s ready, the game is about to begin. It rains heavier each play. In the first quarter we took the lead 14-0 and we are just plowing down the field, each and every one of our teammates believing we will win this game. In the second quarter before halftime we score one touchdowns making our score 21 points, however the opposing team scored two touchdowns making their score 14 points.  In the third quarter both defenses stood their ground and did not allow a signal score.  This continued into the fourth quarter, both defenses playing solid football.  But with a minute and thirty-seven seconds left the opposing team scored on us and to make things worse they went for and made the two point conversion making the score 21-22.  We get the ball back and start to drive down the field.  My heart starts beating again and I start to think of my dream. My coach yells “Connor! Where’s Connor!?” I hesitate, thinking my dream is coming true. I feel as if I can barely move but I run up to my coach and yell “Here coach”. He tells me exactly what he told me in my dream “Alright Connor we have 19 seconds left I want you to make this happen! Can you do that?” My heart is just racing I feel like I’m about to faint I can’t believe that this is happening. I say “yes coach I can, I’ll do my best!” I sprint out to the field and I saw exactly what I saw in my dream. My teammates breathe looking like a dragon breathing out smoke. The warmth of their bodies steaming from the cold wet rain. I tell the quarter back what play to run and we line up to the line of scrimmage. I look straight into my opponent’s eyes knowing I have him beat. Just like in my dream I can feel the grass under my cleat falling apart turning into mud from the rain. I can see in the corner of my eye the ball move and I bolt forward as fast as I can. The crowd is cheering knowing that this will be the last play of the game and knowing it’s all up to us. I get around my defender and look back the ball is in the air cutting through the rain. I have to dive, I jump as far as I can just to catch the ball. I can see it above my figure tips, its right there. All I have to do is catch it! I try to grip the ball and is slips out my hands. In that moment time stands still and I start to think the games over and we lost…but in the corner of my eye I see my teammate, sprinting as hard as he can towards me. The ball is in the air from bouncing off my hands. My body slides across the wet grass, hoping that my teammate will catch the ball. I can’t move, I don’t want to look up, but then all of a sudden I hear the crowd go crazy.  I look up and I see my teammate did catch the ball. I get up as fast as I can in joy thinking it’s a miracle. The crowd runs out to the field and my friends from the side lines tackle me and my teammate in joy. I can barely breathe and all I can do is smile.  We are going to state!