I jogged over to the sideline anxious to hear the next call. The adrenaline was pumping through my veins like never before. My team was putting together what could be a championship winning drive. All we needed was one last first down to put the game away. As I approached my coach, I had a very good idea of what play he was going to call. It was the same play we had run many times before when we needed a big play. My team had been pounding the ball on the ground the entire drive. We had our big bruisers in the backfield clearing paths for our star running back. No one in the entire stadium expected what we were planning.

My entire life I had dreamt for this moment. I was born into a football family and have loved it since then. Our school had never won a state title and had only existed for ten years. We had reached the championship game once before but got embarrassed. This was our year. The group of friends I was playing with had played together since the third grade. The best of friendships had been made and our dreams had come to life right before our eyes. This was it. This was what we had all been waiting for.

I leaned in and received the play from our coach. It was exactly what I expected and I knew the call would win us the game.
'Right 40 up 149,' My coach yelled.
The play was designed for me to drop back and lob the ball up to our tall, versatile receiver. My jog turned into nearly a sprint back to the huddle to call the play. My heart sounded like a drum in my chest. I knew right then that I was living my life long dream. Nothing was going to stop this team from achieving this goal.

Months of training and years of hard work had put us where we were now. As 8th graders, we always told each other we would be the first team to win the state championship for our school. We all knew what we would have to do to build ourselves to this goal. While other high school kids were out swimming and lying around in the summer sun, we were in the weight room getting stronger. We were out running sprints to get faster and build our stamina. We weren't going to let this opportunity go to waste. The entire community knew we had a shot at bringing the first trophy back to our school. All we had to do was play to our potential.

I approached the huddle with even more adrenaline flowing in me than before. If we could execute this play, the trophy was ours. Looking around the huddle, I saw fire in everyone's eyes. They had the same desire built in their stomachs as I had. They waited for me to call the play. As I stepped closer into the huddle I said, 'Boys, this is what we've wanted for ten years. This is it. Lets do it! Right 40 up 149.'
They all nodded their heads. They knew this play was our best. As they nodded, they looked around at one another and realized that we were going to win if we completed this pass.

We walked slowly to the line, trying to kill as much time off the clock as possible. I waited as long as I could to snap the ball so if we didn't complete it the other team would have little time to score. The referee raised his hand indicating that I had only five seconds left to snap the ball. If I failed to snap it, we would lose ten yards on a delay-of-game penalty. I slowly counted to three then barked out, 'Go!'
The ball hit my hands and I was in rhythm to launch a perfect strike. I stepped back, away from the line, and raised the ball up to throw it. As I let it fly, my instincts were that it wasn't a good pass. My heart thumped even harder. My eyes caught the ball in flight. It seemed as if it hung in the air for an eternity. Finally, our receiver leaped over the defender and snagged the ball out of the air, falling to the ground. I threw my hands up into the air as I jumped up and down with joy. We finally won. Our dream had come true. Tears of joy began to build in my eyes. I pumped my fist in the air in satisfaction. All the hard work, the sweat, and the agony throughout the entire season had all paid off. We had made school history by being the first team to win a football state championship.


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