Unforgettable ~ The Story of JC Rhodes (NCAA/Madden)

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Hello,

It has been years since I have done any type of dynasty/franchise on a site like this. Much of that has to do with the redundancy of replaying NCAA Football 14 over and over and over despite efforts to mix it up. I delved into Madden 20 some. Obviously, not the same but I believe my thirst for the entertainment of a great franchise made it enjoyable. However, that too grew rather old.

So, I have always enjoyed writing. Not just about sports but I am sucker for television, movies, etc. I think a story mixed in with sports can be something really fun even if it is fictional. My goal with this is to do something I have never done mixed in with storytelling. Of course, I will be molding the story to what happens within the game.

I will be starting with a Road to Glory player in his freshman season of high school. I plan to up the sliders high his ninth grade year then gradually move them back to down to normal levels by his senior season. Of course, I will have to restart the RTG three times to do this.

My ultimate goal is to take his career through college and into the NFL (if he makes it). All throughout this I will be writing 25 chapters per season. It sounds like a huge undertaking, and it is to an extent, but I am going to try to pace myself so the joy of this journey is more evident than the pressure to stay on pace.

Anyways, I hope everyone enjoys this.

Unforgettable: The Story of JC Rhodes

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Season One: Redwood HS (Ninth Grade)
Chapter One: Danny Ainge
Chapter Two: Carolina Sunshine
Chapter Three: Juicebar
Chapter Four: Red Tape
Chapter Five: Or Bust
Chapter Six: Eldridge
Chapter Seven: Gravel Lot
Chapter Eight: Real Guts
Chapter Nine: Double Jeopardy
Chapter Ten: How About It
Chapter Eleven: Anger

SEASON ONE STORY SUMMARY

Spoiler

CH1: JC Rhodes is a 14-year old boy who lives on a farm with his grandfather (Pap) and his older brother Tre in rural North Carolina. His brother has been a standout quarterback for the small town Redwood Raiders and is now a senior. Despite JC's bad experience with football and his love for basketball, Tre convinces JC to attend a summer workout. There, he is proven out of shape and is berated by the drill-instructor assistant Coach Sampson when refusing to not bend over. He walks off the field ready to never come back. He is approached by the veteran head man Coach Penny. The old man explains the reasoning behind them yelling and how they are just trying to mold them into tougher, better young adults. He also explains how football was instrumental in the success for many professional basketball players. JC decides to finish the conditioning and even do some extra.

CH2: JC and Tre have a conversation on the ride to practice on the first day of two-a-days. JC is annoyed with an article calling Redwood a rebuild and not crediting Tre enough compared a rival team's quarterback (Eric Ansley). Tre says to ignore the papers and that Ansley is better right now because Tre needs to improve his passing efficiency. At practice, Coach Penny immediately throws offense versus defense. Eventually, JC gets put in at wide receiver where he is immediately blindsided by a linebacker (Jeremy Knotts). His pride is hurt while the team is excited and Tre is mad. Later that evening during a dinner with Pop, the grandfather says he needs to call him out on the first day of pads. Tre also reveals he has two full-ride offer to Lenoir-Rhyne and Winston Salem.

CH3: It is JC's first day of high school. It is an adjustment for sure due to how respected he was in middle school. He was always well-liked and a especially praised by his classmates for his basketball ability. At the lunch table, he lies to his friend Christian and a curious girl about is place on the football as Jeremy Knotts watches in amusement. JC's two weeks of camp were not great. He was a developing wide receiver and defensive back on junior varsity. His inability to hit and ability to get ran over granted him the nickname "Juicebar" from Coach Sampson (implying that he goes down easier than a glass of juice). On the first live play of practice that day, JC tried to jump a bubble screen and was once again knocked down hard. He noticed Knotts laughing and confronted him in the huddle which led to Coach Penny pitting the two one versus one in a hitting drill.

CH4: JC and Knotts go at in a one versus one hit-and-drive drill. JC handedly loses the first bout but gets another shot. Feeling like he has nothing to lose, he actually gets the advantage and begins winning versus the stocky, mean linebacker. However, after several seconds he has defeated but not without winning over some pride. Later after practice, Coach Penny is on the phone with a reporter talking about his star returning players (Tre Rhodes, Lamar Perine, Max Hightower) when he notices a business-looking man out in the lockerroom. After he gets off the phone, the man comes into his office to give a friendly greeting to Coach Penny. He casually says his name is James Beck, and he has moved from South Carolina due to his job and wanted to build a relationship with the coach to help with anything monetary. When Coach Penny says he will contact the booster club, the man agrees to join the boosters but says he knows how their can be a lot of red tape and politics and if Coach Penny needed something done- he was his guy.

CH5: In Redwood's final set of scrimmages (one week before they open against Mount Randolph), the varsity plays fantastic especially Tre, Max, and Lamar. They also notice that their rival Central Hills is also very good (their last game of the year) though they don't scrimmage. The JV had not won a game all day but JC had a decent afternoon at wide receiver and defensive back. In their final game, up by seven against Marion High School's JV, they were being ran all over. They made it all the way to the goalline until JC made a great play on a play action and made a pick six to seal the win. Later in the week, Redwood had their preseason show at a pizzeria. JC had become good friends with two players named Jaden and "Sweet Lou". In the finale of the event, the radio hosts previewing their team asked the captains their outlook on the season. Lamar gave a modest answer, Max said they would kick Mount Randolph's ***, and Tre proclaimed "State Championship or bust!" to the crowd's enthusiasm.

CH6: It was Redwood's opening game. The tensions were high but the key pieces had been here before. Mount Randolph was a good team with a Power 5 recruit at runningback named D'evionte Eldridge. The game started in the Raiders' favor but both of their big drives stalled into field goals. Only up 6-0, Eldridge took the game over to put the opposition up 14-6. Tre played well but overall mental mistakes crippled them. In the third, they went down 21-6. JC got a chance to sub in at cornerback due to injury and stopped a receiver on a drag which immediately set up a blocked punt by Max. After an early fourth quarter drive, Tre put a masterclass together of runs and passes to pull within 24-21. However, Eldridge's steady running took nearly the entire clock off the board. The game was out of reach despite another let Redwood score. The Raiders were 0-1.

CH7: Immediately following the game, JC and Pop discussed the game in the gravel lot outside of the school. Pop just mentioned that Eldridge was a man among boys and that they would be alright. The two also overheard the back-up quarterback's, Kyle Erlewine, mother complaining about Tre's performance- JC was held back from speaking up by his grandfather. Tre came out and was in good spirits. Pop left just as Tre's girlfriend of one year, Kaylie White, showed up to cheer him up and immediately ask if he wanted to attend a party at "The Thompson's". He declined and rode home with JC talking about all the things that he was going to change to make them better. He also mentioned that the loss took away some pressure on the team. Early the next morning, JC awoke to a flurry of text messages in his group about something serious that had happened.

CH8: It was the Monday following the Mount Randolph game and the incident. Coach Penny addressed the team while giving way to what happened. Nine players, seven of whom started, were arrested at a party Friday night for being highly intoxicated and being reckless with fire. Coach Penny expressed his deep disappointment and admitted he would have cut them if it were up to him, but he was only able to suspend them five games. Later in the week, JC is at home and reflects on his life prior to living with Pop. Around three years ago he lived with his real father, Jeremiah Rhodes II (Pop's son-in-law). He had an issue with drugs and their life was hard. He was arrested and Pop won custody. Finally, we talked to Jaden and Sweet Lou about their roles coming up in the Lewis County game. JC and Jaden had failed to become a starter despite the suspensions but Lou would be Friday. They helped build each other up.

CH9: The Redwood Raiders squared off with the Lewis County Warriors- a team that had not lost to in seven years. Despite the trend, the Warrior ground game was punishing on Redwood. They went down 14-3 early. Tre showed immediate bounce back to lead a big drive with the help of sophomore tightend Billy Reynolds. A late pick in the redzone by Max felt like a pivotal moment but Tre immediately tossed a pick to put Lewis County in scoring position to go up 21-10 at the half. The second half was all the same. Tre led some big drives, but the defense couldn't get off the field. JC had a big moment, sort of, when he threw a huge hit while on kickoff but at the same time abandoned his responsibility of contain. Despite more late heroics by Tre, Lewis County would win 35-30. Later on that night while Coach Penny frustratingly watched film, their athletic director and his former quarterback Josh Quesenberry paid him a visit. He brought bad news as a disgruntled parents of the suspended players were joining to forward a lawsuit on him for giving their children double jeopardy punishment.

CH10: Some of JC's friends joke about him needing to quit football for basketball at the lunch table. Some girl joins in to talk about how bad the football team is. JC is mad but Jeremy speaks up and bluntly tells them to shut it while gaining JC's appreciation. The disgruntled girls leave. Later on, Tre calls a player-only meeting in which he says they need to back up Coach with the lawsuit if asked because he was in the right. Him, Lamar, and Cason Jones (a role-player senior linebacker) then give speeches to get everyone right heading into their "sure-win" game with North Point. That Friday, Tre starts red hot but has two bad picks to let them back in the game. A swing moment occurs when back-up QB Erlewine's mother yells in the crowd to bench him. From then on, he would have an electric game alongside a big defensive performance that included Sweet Lou picking up a Cason Jones' forced fumble- to win 35-21. Tre was given the game ball and informed he had broken the school record for passing yards in a game with 493.

CH11: JC, Tre, and Pop go on a visit to D2 Lenoir-Rhyne- a school that offered Tre. JC is underwhelmed by the size and thinks it's too small for his brother but Tre is just glad for any opportunity. The following Monday, Redwood had their first JV game of the year and were losing 20-0 at the half. JC, a captain, was frustrated as was their young JV coach, Coach Hays. However, Coach Hays brought in recent Redwood grad and Division One tight end Braxton Sampson to give some tips. They worked as JC had a big second half but they still lost. The coming Thursday Tre complimented JC's performance but the younger brother knew he still needed to get better. They then listened onto the radio about their game tomorrow against Midland. A lady called in and bashed Coach Penny before being cut off air.

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Title fixed. You can now post.

[Tyro11]

CHAPTER ONE: DANNY AINGE

JULY 12, 2017 (Redwood, North Carolina)

JC squinted at the sun. Checking out the surrounding sky for spots of clouds. He found a straggling puff of cotton floating off to the right. Wiping his face with his forearm covered in dirt and sweat he patiently waited for the cloud to cross the sun’s path giving him some relief from the overbearing North Carolina sun rays. To his benefit, he worked more ferociously to finish the section of weeding he was responsible for in the tobacco fields. Yes, there were machines made a century ago for some of this work but JC’s grandfather found it a source of character building for the youth.

After finishing he started his trek across several acres of a flat farmland. Passing a barrel, he tossed his brown-stained gloves inside. He approached the farmhouse he had been living in for the past four years. It was a gorgeous home to say the least. Three stories with an intricate design that almost appeared to twist the roof upwards. Its bottom floor was wrapped in a cliche porch with enough chairs and swings to give everyone at a family reunion a seat.

With it being midday in the middle of July, his grandfather was yet to take to his evening seat on the rocking chair facing the road. Instead, someone else was in his place. His older brother Tre. Though still a hundred yards away, he could tell Tre was there waiting to talk to JC… and he knew exactly what for.

As the fourteen year-old approached he shouted, “I ain’t going.”

“You are. Pap said you had to.”

“Bull****. He don’t care if I play.”

Tre stood up from the rocking chair stopping his younger sibling from crossing him into the front door. The two were spitting images of each other except Tre’s three year age gap gave him a five inch height advantage. He knew how to use his superior size. JC looked up at his older brother with an annoyed glare.

Tre started again, “Give it one try. These coaches ain’t like the ones you had. They’re alright. It’s just conditioning.”

“Man I’ve been working all day. I don’t wanna go run and ****.”

His brother sighed, “Go grab your shoes.”

__________________________________________________ ___________

“You’re gonna like it man. You like to grind,” Tre said while behind the wheel of a ‘97 Accord.

JC just stared out the window as they passed countless amounts of tobacco crops, “I’m just not trying to listen to some dude yell at me.”

“Your coaches in Pop Warner were *******s. Not all coaches are like that. Pretty sure that dude got arrested anyways. Coach Penny ain’t like that. I mean, he got Coach Sampson out there but he only yells trying to make us better. Just don’t take it personal.”

“How am I not supposed to take it personal when some dude is calling me soft and ****?” JC responded.

JC pushed his brother playfully, “If you can’t take being yelled at sometimes than you are soft.”

__________________________________________________ ___________


A dozen and a half of players kneeled down in the corner of the endzone, or what was thought to be the endzone considering the lines had not been painted. JC kept to himself as his brother socialized with his team. There was a size difference with JC and the other kids. The real big kids, probably lineman, had huge arms compared to him. Their chests naturally protruded and some of them even had more facial hair than his own grandfather. Even the more slender players had profoundly more muscle with vascularity wrapping their forearms and shoulders that appeared three dimensional. JC was small and weak compared to these guys.

“Ay, is that your little brother?” he heard someone ask amidst the group.

“Oh yeah, hey JC come over here?” his brother called.

JC stood up and walked through the small groups that talked and found his brother with two other players- one substantially larger than his brother and the other much smaller. They were also the only other non-white players on the field at the moment.

“What’s good man?” the bigger fellow respectfully greeted with a dap up.

JC obliged and the smaller friend dapped him up as well.

“You playing this year?” the large friend asked.

JC side-eyed his brother who kind of just shrugged, “I keep telling him to play. I brought him today to let him see what it’s all about.”

The little dude spoke up, “You need to play lil’ man! I’m telling you, ain’t nothing like playing under these lights. I know you’ve been in the stands but trust me, it’s different down here. Out here playing with your brothers.”

JC still remained silent but nodded to the recruiting pitch from his brother’s friends. The big friend was about to follow it up with more dramatic overkill but a shrieking whistle blew closeby. All the players scrambled and fell to a knee at the corner of the endzone- JC followed suit while hanging in the back.

Crossing the track to the mildly well-kept grass field was the spitting image of a high school football coach. Twenty year old gym shorts hiked up halfway up the thigh exposing pale white legs. Equally high white socks with old black Nike’s that looked like they had been worn through nine paint jobs. A worn out polo with a faded school logo on the chest and an even more worn hat that’s bill had been bent from countless slams to the ground.

He was a small man, roughly five feet eight inches. He was pretty skinny too except for a small gut that stuck out. If you didn’t know, you would probably guess he was in his late forties but in fact he was well into his sixties. Not only masking his age, he masked his emotions by wearing dark aviators so you could never see get a beat on what he was about to say or do.

“Alright, alright, thank you all for being here today. There’s a lot of players around the state sitting on their asses and watching cartoons right now. I plan for you all to kick their asses. There’s also a lot of players outside working just like us! That means we need to go hard. How many points did we lose by last year to Milton East?”

“ONE!” the players yelled back.

The experienced coach nodded, “One damn point. They weren’t better than you. You kiddin’ me? They didn’t have a Tre Rhodes. They didn’t have a Lamar Perine. They didn’t have a Max Hightower. You know why we lost? Because we were tired. You guys attacked conditioning with all you could week one though eight. Then what? You took your foot off the gas. I did too. That’s not on you all- that’s on me. This year I am going to be better. I am going to keep pushing until we get to BB&T Field. But, y’all gotta come with me. Y’all gotta hold me and each other accountable.”

Players all around nodded in agreeance so JC began nodding too.

The coach removed his glasses revealing sunken green eyes that really showed his age, “I ain’t going to hold y’all long today. But that’s under the agreement that we go 110% on every rep. I plan for skill to go twelve reps of 100 yards and linemen to go twelve for 50,” a select few players groaned, “I know a lot of y’all are just getting back from vacation so make sure you hydrate. All you fat boys, there’s a difference between being tired because you’re fat and having an asthma attack. Wellington’s the only one here who has an inhaler so don’t try to play me. Alright, let’s get to stretching!”

__________________________________________________ ___________

What rep was it? Nine, ten, eleven? JC’s hands were planted on his knees as he was bent over gasping for air but nothing soothed his burning lungs and weak legs.

“Stand up,” his brother said to him while also trying to catch his breath.

A distant whistle blew as the trampling of linemen scurried across the field. It hadn’t rained in so long that dust rose from the field like a stampede of cattle in West Texas.

It had been one minute and JC realized it was only rep five. Not even halfway. He felt the pain and weakness go through his body. He didn’t even want to be here. During this whole period he heard nothing but drill sergeant screaming from the assistant coach, Coach Sampson.

“No air down there! There ain’t no air down there!” Sampson yelled from across the field.

JC knew he was yelling at him but he didn’t care. Several other teammates told JC to stand up, but he was drained. He was weak. He was tired of this already.

“Stand him up!” Sampson yelled again now walking over.

Tre tried his best to get his brother to stand up but JC ripped his arm away saying nothing. Tre knew his brother well and knew when he had reached a point of unbreakable stubbornness.

“Son, stand up or get out!”

That’s all JC needed to hear. He stood up and slowly walked off the field.

“Don’t you walk on my field. If you gotta get off, run off!”

JC ignored the coach’s screams. He didn’t care. He really didn’t.

He walked all the way off and sat down on the bench while grabbing a water bottle from the rack. Tre shook his head in annoyance but immediately took off once the new whistle blew. JC sat there with thick sweat falling off his face. He looked up and around at the stadium. It definitely wasn’t anything special. The homeside could fit a few hundred but the visiting side bleachers were practically falling apart. This place was a joke anyway.

A hand came down on his shoulder. He looked up to see Coach Penny. He looked up and then redirected his eyes forward as he prepared for another scolding. The head coach sat down next to JC and watched the rest of the team continue their conditioning.

“You alright? Feeling lightheaded?”

JC nodded, “I’m good.”

“I didn’t even see you come in today. I would’ve adjusted your reps down. These other boys been training for years. Hanging around for that many reps wasn’t bad considering you ain’t played since PeeWee.”

JC remained silent.

“Tre told me he was trying to get you out. He also told me you ain’t much into football. More of a basketball guy, right?”

“Yeah, I can ball.”

“Well, football can help your basketball career. A lot of things you can learn from this sport. You ever heard of Danny Ainge?”

JC looked at the coach and shook his head, “Nah.”

“What about Lebron James? Allen Iverson?”

JC made the expression that of course he knew the two NBA stars.

Coach Penny continued, “Both were high school football stars.”

JC finally opened up a little, “It’s just all the extra stuff with football. The yelling and ****. I don’t get how coaches preach family then we come out here, and they yell at us to run until we pass out.”

Coach Penny nodded and reflected himself, “I mean, that’s a pretty honest perspective. I’ve been doing this for thirty seven years and never looked at it that way. You know, maybe our methods aren’t perfect but trust me when I say that Coach Samspon and I would do anything for you boys. I’ve driven twenty minutes out of my way the last three years taking your brother home before he got that car. You know why?”

JC realized he wasn’t going to continue until he asked the rhetorical question, “Why?”

“Because I believe in him and want to see him succeed. I want to see all of you guys succeed. Football can open a lot of doors. It forces you to get good grades. I love that. But, being great isn’t easy. And, you can never rely solely on yourself to be great. You have to put yourself around people who will push you to be great even when you don’t want to be. That’s all we’re doing here. Trying to make you and everyone great. And maybe, if everyone buys in and probably a little bit of luck- we could go out and do something special.”

The younger Rhodes brother wholeheartedly expected his time with football to be over the time he sat down on the bench. He would listen to his brother complain the entire ride home and then hear how his generation is soft from his grandpa. However, for some reason in that moment, JC felt the urge to stand up and go back out there and at least leave on a good note. He wanted to prove that he could finish and be great.

He looked at Coach Penny and nodded. JC stood up and jogged back out into the group. No one was more surprised than Tre. Coach Sampson yelled something snarky but JC ignored it. A bolt of adrenaline ran through JC’s body. For the first time in a long time, he felt the urge to prove something. For the rest of the session, he won every rep by ten yards. He kept going afterwards to make up his missed reps. He then went for six more as the rest of the team huddled and broke in the corner. Coach Penny watched on. He wasn’t sure exactly what chord he had struck within JC Rhodes but something significant happened.

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CHAPTER TWO: CAROLINA SUNSHINE

August 8th, 2017 (Redwood, North Carolina)

JC sat in the passenger seat while gripping a newspaper. His brother reached over and forced him to buckle up. He usually did it out of habit but was angrily focused on the article he was reading. Tre’s old car turned on blasting thick hot air out of the vents forcing JC to quickly roll down his window to gather some oxygen. The only problem was that outside was equally hot and dense with the humidity of the rising sun and morning dew evaporation. The first day of the two-a-days.

“They saying we’re gonna be rebuilding? What?” JC said while pointing to an article in the local paper.

Tre laughed, “Bro, you can’t read into that stuff. Those writers got quotas.”

“Whatcha mean?”

The air of the car finally began to cool down to at least mid-seventy degrees. Still not enough for the windows to be rolled up. A breeze of tobacco farming at thirty miles per hour was completely necessary.

Tre answered, “They can’t predict every team good or bad. They gotta throw in some of the cliche labels. We lost a bunch of seniors so they’re gonna call us a rebuild. Redwood never been good until the last two years so they aren’t used to it. We’ll be fine.”

“That’s what I’m saying. And they barely said **** about you in here. You had more points than this kid from Lowell East.”

“Who? Ansley?” Tre asked, “I mean he’s solid. They only look at passing yards. They don’t even pay attention to my running.”

JC nodded, “Like Mike Vick.”

Tre shook, “Nah. I mean Mike Vick was good but he didn’t have that GOAT factor.”

JC wasn’t very familar with football history. He knew the big names. Michael Vick. Tom Brady. Cam Newton (since he was the star quarterback for the nearby Carolina Panthers). From everything he gathered, Vick was the legend.

“Legit QB’s win. Vick was talented… changed the game… but no rings. Brady, on the other hand, he has the rings. He got skill but it’s all up here,” as he pointed to his head, “that’s what makes GOATs and that’s what wins rings. So, yeah, my running is good but I need to be a better passer. Right now, Ansley is better.”

His little brother listened but disagreed, “Nah, man. It ain’t even close. We’re gonna beat their *** this year. How bad y’all beat them last year?”

Tre laughed, “We lost 48-7.”

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“Bring it in! Bring it in!”

The Redwood Raiders 2017 football squad jogged from their stretching positions to surround Coach Penny- still wearing the same old get up. Most of the players listened to the instructions to wear light gray shirts but some were forgetful enough to be wearing some red, some black, and even one blue. They would pay for that after practice.

JC was readying to take off his helmet but he realized everyone else kept it on. He did unbuckle his chinstrap though as it was truly irritating his chin. His helmet was also highly uncomfortable with the stiff pads protruding into his temple and forehead. He tried to move it around some to alleviate the unpleasantry.

“I don’t like the energy right now. I see feet dragging. I see heads flopping. Like I said: accountability. We’re nipping that **** in the bud right now. We’re going to try something different… idea of Coach Cunningham. We got some new faces around here. Instead of throwing y’all in drills for two weeks, we’re just gonna run it up. Offense versus defense. No contact but we’re tagging up. Full-speed. Let’s get it.”

JC looked through the crowd trying to find Tre. He did and his brother shared the same confusion. This must be something new. Half the team didn’t know where or what position to get into. The coaches sorted them out. Most of the starters on both sides got into huddles. JC naturally went to the offensive side.

After several confusing minutes, the team had been cleanly separated and plays were being called. And, just like Coach Penny said. They did begin running full-speed plays at one another. This probably broke several regulations but no one was up early enough at 8AM to come check or turn them in. The offense was surely better than the defense. Tre definitely stood out on the team. JC was proud to be his brother, and he felt inspired to play like him. He was thankful that he had been dragged onto this team.

After ten to fifteen minutes, Coach Cunningham, the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach, pointed out JC from the crowd of young freshmen and motioned him over. JC realized that he hadn’t even thought about getting thrown in this early. He thought they might teach him some things first. Nope, Coach Cunningham put his arm around JC and lifted up a written paper with routes written on it, “That’s you. You got a five and out, got it?”

JC nervously nodded and jogged into the slot position replacing an older player. He didn’t get to see Tre’s reaction but lined up anyway. A coach yelled for him to back off the line of scrimmage. He tried to emulate what he saw as a wide receiver stance from memory but felt awkward.

The snap count went off- JC probably would have been flagged for a false start in a real game but the play went. It was like a battlefield to him. He heard helmets collide yards away inside the box. Every player had their own personal battle. All engaged. All giving it their all to prove their worth. JC followed his feet, going forward. He saw about five yards up to make his cut but before he even got there he was looking at the sky. In the snap of an instance, JC was on his back. North Carolina morning sunshine blinded him as his back was now damp.

Before he knew it, the play was dead. He wasn’t sure what had happened but he sat up to see his brother screaming at one of the defenders. His linemen held him back but everyone else was hooping and hollering over who JC assumed was the guy who had laid him out. Embarrassment ran through his body. Everyone surrounded and hyped up some small, pudgy kid while basically laughing at JC.

“We ain’t even got pads on! Cheap ****!” Tre yelled in anger.

His dispute fell on deaf ears while the team got hyped up. Whistles blew and Coach Penny called for everyone to come back to a knee. JC did not have to move, he just stood up and kneeled down with his pride hurt and head hanging. Tre watched from the other side of the gathering- still pissed off.

“Alright, alright. I can’t let y’all boys kill each others in the first ten minutes. I love that intensity. I can feel the energy you boys are capable of. Knotts,” Coach Penny pointed at the boy who had blindsided JC- a short, pudgy red-haired boy with pasty skin and built densely, “I love linebackers that hit. I do. However, you went to the head. You do that in a game, guess what? Fifteen yards, first down, and your *** goes and twiddles your thumbs in the lockerroom. Also, no more of that without pads on. These are your brothers out here. Can’t be hurting each other. Knotts, you need Rhodes just as much as he’ll need you on that field. Don’t forget that. Alright, let’s break up into indy!”

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A faded orange tint took over the room. It was a large, hollow space with a long oak dinner table occupying its middle. Despite its grand size, only three people sat at it. JC, Tre, and their grandfather. Their dinner continued as it always had. Pop would say an extended prayer and no one would speak until their plate was finished. That actually never took long when you considered that there were two growing boys and Pop was an excellent country-style cook. Tre was the first to finish his assortment of steak, potatoes, green beans, and corn.

“Had a good first day today. Real good.”

Pop, a 79-year old farmer born and raised, raised his gray eyebrows while continuing to slowly eat, “Y’all boys gonna be good again?”

“Oh yeah. I mean, we gotta everybody back on offense. But, we’re still missing some dudes on defense. Won’t have the hitters we did last year.”

Pop nodded in his cliche overalls and darkened black skin that had definitely been weathered, “Jeremiah, how you like it?”

JC swallowed some steak and shook his head, “Well, I got jacked up. First play out there and some dude just cheap shotted me. Bull****.”

For a 79-year old, Pop was no slouch. He might move slow here and there but his strong hands and stern demeanor never aged. As soon as the curse word left his lips, Pop’s hand dropped his fork and smacked him upside the head quicker than JC saw coming. The young brother quickly and adamantly apologized for the emotional language.

Pop cleared his throat, “Well, you gotta go back out there and get ‘em back. No cheap shot though. You do it straight up like a man. Y’all still do them hitting drills where it’s just two players?”

Tre nodded.

“First day of pads. Coach always gets them boys out there to hit each other. Call him out.”

JC nodded.

“I’m glad you’re out there playing. It’s good for you. I know you’re into basketball but football will toughen you up.”

JC and Tre agreed. Once Tre had heard what Coach Penny had said to JC that day of conditioning, he was relentless with his strategy to get JC to play football. Constantly bringing up more examples of great NBA players who played football. Film clips of basketball players doing football-inspired movements or just how durable some of their play was.

Tre also had something to get off his chest, “I got some news today, too. Coach Penny pulled me in after practice. Said he got a call from Lenior-Rhyne and Winston-Salem State over the weekend. They’re both offering me full-rides.”

[djp73]

Great start. Following!