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Rating: American football, like and more so than rugby, is a sport based on territorial gain. The basic rule of this sport is that, to continue playing, teams must gain 10 yards every 4 actions ("plays"), otherwise possession of the ball passes to the opponent, and your team goes on defense, losing the chance to score a touchdown.
The match in question is the final for the State Championship of Tennessee High Schools, between a team from the East (South Pittsburg Pirates, colors black and orange) and a team from the West (Union City Golden Tornadoes, colors purple and gold). In the United States, high school sports are taken very seriously by people, comparable to professional-level sports. Despite this, even being played in a state where football is practically a second religion, this game did not have high expectations. The reason is easy to understand: an overwhelming victory for the Pirates was expected almost unanimously. They had already won the trophy four times, and in the playoffs, they had literally massacred the opponents, scoring more than 150 points (in just 3 games), while conceding less than 20. The Golden Tornadoes had reached the final 3 times but had never won. In the playoffs, they had performed excellently but had struggled significantly in the semi-finals, winning 31 to 21. Bets on their victory were given at 5 or 10 to one.
The Pirates fans were very confident, boasting the certainty of a victory by at least 5 touchdowns. They had good reasons to be boastful: their quarterback, South Pittsburg (#6, 192 cm, 82 kg), was recently named Mr. Football Back of Tennessee, while one of their defensive linemen, Jiajuan Fennell (#90, 192 cm, 100 kg), was one of the finalists for Mr. Football Lineman. The Tornadoes, on their side, had Ronnie Fair (#56, 178 cm, 110 kg), also a finalist for Mr. Football Lineman.
Two completely different styles of football were facing each other, one could say that the two game philosophies were present on the field. On one side, the Pirates, coached by Mr. Vic Grider, were based on an explosive and lightning-fast style, with light, quick, and very hard-to-tackle players who ran like lightning bolts. Their tactic was based on passes, thanks also to a phenomenal quarterback, and on taking other teams by surprise, scoring loads of points in the first quarter of the game and discouraging opponents, aiming for big plays to gain about twenty yards each time. Their weakness was their not excessive physical strength: the players never lifted weights during the season. The key players in this strategy were the quarterback and the wide receivers.
On the other side were the Golden Tornadoes, rather slow, with a strategy based on running the ball, trying to gain 3 or 4 yards, usually on the shoulders of back Josh Nicks, exhausting the other team thanks to greater physical prowess, having weight-trained every week throughout the season. Their coach, Mr. Darren Bowling, was a follower of old-school football: wearing down the other team physically and launching a player directly into the middle of the line. Passing was something not even remotely contemplated. In the whole game, the Union City team attempted to pass the ball once, and it was intercepted. On their side, Bowling's players were much bigger. The backs averaged 90 kilos, while the linemen averaged 110 kilos, peaking with the enormous center Will Arnold (#77, 180 cm, 170 kg), who bench presses 180 kilos; the player who was supposed to try to get past him, the nose guard of the opposing team, weighed about half. The diamonds of the team were offensive guard and linebacker Rance Barnes (#55, 190 cm, 106 kg), the already mentioned defensive end Ronnie Fair, the two very fast runningbacks and corners Josh Nicks (#27, 182 cm, 100 kg) and Kendrick Price (#28, 187 cm, 90 kg), the defensive tackle and linebacker Trey Maddox, described by opposing team fans as a "fire hydrant on steroids" (#53, 160 cm, 80 kg) and the enormous defensive tackle Antuwan Powell (#77, 188 cm, 130 kg).
At the game, played in Cookesville, at Tennessee Tech College, about 10,000 people were present, roughly 5,000 for each team. The fans had traveled an average of 5 hours to reach the stadium (4 hours for the Pirates fans, 6 for the Golden Tornadoes). The kickoff of what everyone, except for the Golden Tornadoes' fans, expected to be the worst game, was at 12:00. The Pirates had possession of the ball. For the first quarter, neither team scores a single point. The Pirates, used to having teams surrendering to their speed, are shocked by the Golden Tornadoes' stubbornness. At the start of the second quarter, the Pirates score their touchdown, which is followed by one from the Golden Tornadoes, followed again by one from the Pirates. The main difference is that, while it takes the Pirates 3 minutes to score a touchdown, it takes the Golden Tornadoes 9. At the end of the first half, the score is 14-7 for the Eastern team.
The teams return to the field. The Golden Tornadoes have the ball, and score a touchdown in 9 minutes. Remember that in football, the actual time is playing time. Therefore, a 48-minute game actually lasts 2 and a half hours. In the next kickoff, South Pittsburg makes a 98-yard return. After just 18 seconds, the Pirates are ahead again, to the despair of the coaches and players of the Union City team. The score is 21-14. The Tornadoes have the ball, and manage to score a touchdown thanks to the lightning-fast Kendrick Price, who covers 19 yards for the touchdown; the score is 21-21. The Pirates have the ball, but during an action Terrell Robinson, fearing being tackled and losing yards, seeing the immense Antuwan Powell, who weighs about 50 kilos more, running towards him, gets scared and throws the ball randomly; it is almost miraculously intercepted by freshman Keylon Hyde (#25, 172 cm, 85 kg). The stadium is delirious. Thanks to an explosive play by Kendrick Price, covering 39 yards, the Golden Tornadoes take the lead for the first time, 28-21. The Pirates are not discouraged and, after a controversial play (the receiver's knee was on the ground at the time of the catch), they manage to score the touchdown. The score is 27-28, and the Pirates, instead of attempting the usual kickoff, go all-in and try the two-point conversion. They succeed. The score is 29-28, with 3 and a half minutes on the clock. The sideline of the Golden Tornadoes is in total silence, South Pittsburg is ecstatic, they already see the trophy and the rings in their hands. The Golden Tornadoes are not discouraged, and use their strategy. With 6 seconds left, they have gained many yards, but have not managed to score a touchdown. Coach Bowling decides on a field goal, worth 3 points. A timeout is called.
The tension in the stadium is terrible. The silence is palpable, as kicker Jorge Guerri (#23, 185 cm, 75 kg), an exchange student from Spain, prepares to kick. A timeout is also called by Coach Grider, to increase the pressure on the kicker. No one dares to breathe, throughout the stadium.
Everything is ready. The player prepares to kick.
The referee whistles. One step, two steps, three steps. The kick is good. The ball flies straight through the posts. 31-29.
The Union City Golden Tornadoes are the Champions of Tennessee.
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