Goal Line (15 page)

Play proud.

Your friend,
Tiki.

Tiki put the letter in an envelope, put Cootie's name on the front of it, and tucked it into his book bag. There. That was one letter out of the way. Tiki turned to the other letters. “Okay, who's next?” he said aloud, reaching for the pile.

“What do you mean, your final column? You're quitting?” Laura blinked at him rapidly in disbelief. “But it's the most successful feature we've had in years! You can't quit now!”

“Sorry,” Tiki told her. “My grades are suffering, the team is suffering, and I'm suffering. I never thought there'd be this many letters to answer.”

“Just answer one per week, and forget the rest!” Laura offered, sounding desperate.

“Nuh-uh,” said Tiki. “Those kids deserve an answer just as much. It's not easy to reveal your problems to somebody in writing. I don't want to leave them all hanging. But don't worry. I'll start the column again after football season, and I'll have Ronde doing it with me.”

“Ronde?”

“You can call it ‘Dear Twins' or something like that.”

“Hmmm. Not bad,” she said, cocking her head to one
side and considering the idea from all angles. “Okay, that's fine. But what about this week?”

“Here's the letter to publish,” he said, handing it to her. “And here are the others, for the pickup box.” He gave her the other letters. The one for Cootie was still in his bag. He'd give it to Cootie later, at practice. He was always there, bringing water and sports drinks and towels to the players.

“Cool. Oh, and I'll need a farewell letter,” she said. “I'm not going to be the one who has to explain this to the student body.”

“Got it,” said Tiki, giving it to her.

She opened the note and read it. “Dear Students, I want to thank you for your support these last few weeks. Unfortunately, I will be taking a break from this column, starting next week, until the end of football season. I'm sure you understand that I want to give all my attention to the team. It's my last season here, and I want us to repeat as state champs. That plus schoolwork made doing the column and answering all your wonderful letters just too much for me to handle. However, when I come back, I'll have help. My twin brother, Ronde, the best advice-giver in our family except for my mom, will be joining me and writing the answers alongside me. I hope you'll support him the same way you have me. Thank you, and see you again in the spring semester. Your friend and adviser, Tiki Barber.”

She looked up and him. “Not bad,” she said, cracking a smile. “Who knew you could write?”

“Thanks, Laura,” he said, relieved. “Thanks for understanding. I know I promised you, but—”

“Oh, yeah, right,” she said. “Like I took that seriously. I knew you agreed just to get out of answering Suzie on the spot. You think I'm blind?”

“You knew that? And you still made me keep my promise?”

She shrugged and grinned at him. “Hey,” she said. “A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. The paper needed a boost, and I went out and got the biggest star in the school to work for us. Two points for me.” She gave him a quick punch in the shoulder. “See you around,” she said. “And come spring, I've got a commitment from both of you, right?”

“Right,” Tiki assured her, rubbing where she'd hit him. Man, that girl sure could throw a right hook!

The Jefferson game was a revelation. The Panthers had been a losing team last season, and this year was no different. Their offense was inexperienced, and their defense was weak. They had no answer for Tiki Barber—not this new Tiki, who was running with a focus and determination his fellow Eagles had never seen before.

By halftime he'd run for three touchdowns and more than a hundred yards. In the second half he was even
better, scoring three more times, twice with runs of more than fifty yards. By the time the game was over (the outcome had been inevitable since the first quarter), the Eagles had a 54–14 victory and were looking like the juggernaut everyone thought they would be.

No more bumbling, fumbling first halves. No more furious, desperate second-half comebacks. This was a massacre of the first order, and Tiki was looking like the beast of the league, a player who could take the heart out of a defense.

“We're gonna do it, Ronde,” he told his brother after the game. “We're gonna go undefeated this year.”

“You guaranteeing it?”

“No, man. I'm not that stupid. It's early yet. Anything could happen. Think of last year.”

Ronde nodded, and whistled. Last year had been a series of cliff-hangers, a roller-coaster ride filled with tension and flirting with disaster.

This year, now that they'd gotten over the hump, was looking like much smoother sailing.

“It does look good, doesn't it?” Ronde agreed. As he said the word “does,” his voice cracked, as it had lately begun to do.

“Uh-oh,” said Tiki. “There you go.”

“There I go what?”

“Your voice cracked, dude.”

“Did not.”

“Did too. Hey, don't fight it. Mine's been cracking for
months. It means you're hitting your growth spurt!”

“It does?”

“Yeah, man. You'll see. You'll start growing like a bean stalk any day now.”

Ronde nodded, picturing it. “Yeah,” he said. “Maybe I should try to make it crack some more.”

Tiki shook his head. “Don't bother. It'll just happen,” he assured his twin. “You'll see. Good things come to those who wait.”

“Hey!” Ronde said. “That's another famous saying!”

“Is it?” Tiki said, grinning. “And here I thought I made it up.”

CUTBACK:

A running play where the ballcarrier runs in one direction and then suddenly changes direction to advance the ball past the line of scrimmage.

DRAW:

A play where the quarterback goes back as if to pass and then hands off to the running back.

DROP KICK:

A play where the kicker first drops the ball on the ground and then kicks it for an extra point or a punt.

END-AROUND:

A running play where the ballcarrier runs around the end of the defensive line for positive yardage.

HALFBACK OPTION PLAY:

A passing play where the quarterback hands off or laterals the ball to the halfback who throws the pass.

LATERAL PASS:

A pass where the quarterback or ballcarrier tosses the ball behind them to another runner who can then advance the ball.

OFF-TACKLE RUN:

A running play where the ballcarrier runs behind the tackle.

QUARTERBACK OPTION RUN:

A running play where the quarterback runs right or left with either the fullback or halfback following and then the quarterback has the option of continuing to run or making a lateral pass to the following back.

QUARTERBACK SNEAK:

A running play where the quarterback takes a step back as if to pass and then runs the ball up the middle.

REVERSE:

A pass play where the quarterback hands off the ball to a runner who is running around the end and then another ball handler comes around in the opposite direction and is handed the ball.

SAFETY BLITZ:

A play where one or more linebackers cross the line of scrimmage to tackle the quarterback.

SCREEN PASS:

A pass play where the defense rushes the quarterback and then the quarterback throws over the onrushing line to a back or receiver.

SLANT:

A pass play where the wide receiver runs his route diagonally across the field.

TIKI BARBER
grew up in Roanoke, Virginia, where he wore number 2 for the Cave Spring Eagles during junior high school. From 1997 through 2006 he wore number 21 as a running back for the New York Giants, where he holds every rushing record in team history, and was a three-time Pro Bowl selection.

RONDE BARBER
wore number 5 for the Cave Spring Eagles. Today he is one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL and wears number 20 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Ronde is a Super Bowl winner, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, and the first cornerback in the history of the league to have at least twenty-five sacks and forty interceptions in a career.

TIKI and RONDE BARBER
have collaborated on seven children's books,
By My Brother's Side
, the Christopher Award–winning
Game Day, Teammates, Kickoff!, Go Long!, Wild Card
, and most recently,
Red Zone.

PAUL MANTELL
is the author of more than one hundred books for young readers.