Eyeshield 21: Sabretooth
Chapter 2: Grit, Sweat, and Love (Kobayashi Wolfpack vs. Shinryuuji Naga)
The League hates us. I'm starting to come to that realization. Otherwise, why would they pit one of the best teams in the League against us for our first game? There's no other way to explain it. After a summer of training and conditioning, we are ready. Our uniforms look just like the Alaska Wild from the Indoor Football League with some minor tweaks
The helmets are silver with silver facemasks and black chinstraps. The logo on our sides are three snarling wolf heads with the middle head being silver, and others are teal. Teal also replaces the dark red color that was on the Alaska Wild uniforms. My facemask style is like that of Terrell Davis when he played for the Broncos, but with a mirrored visor.
"Alright guys, Halfback-Iso weak on one," said Junior,
We broke the huddle, and I got in position behind the quarterback. My eyes met those of Agon Kongo whom called me 'Trash'. Well, guess what? This 'Trash' is about to raise some hell, "2-56! 2-56! 2-56-HUT!" said Junior calling out signals from behind the center. The ball was snapped into his hands, and handed off to me to run off the weak side.
There is a saying: 'Following your blockers makes you a good runningback, but following your instincts makes you a great runningback'. I managed to get through the hole in the defense provided by the offensive line. A great job on their part. A clinched down on my mouthguard. It was an eight yard gain, but I wanted those extras yards for a statement.
With my strong legs pumping and my shoulder leading the way, I ran over Agon Kongo before I was tackled from behind by Gondayu Yamabushi. A gain of eleven yards, a first down, "Way to hit, big man," I said to Gondayu, patting his shoulder pad, and jogging back to the huddle. When I don't get a ball, I have another job. Protecting the quarterback
"You're dead, Trash," Agon snarled, I was not phased,
"My name is Chiara Kojima," I replied, the next play Junior dropped back to pass. We had a drive going, so it was best to not let it stall now. There was no way I'm letting Agon get to the quarterback as I made the key block. Junior got the ball down field to Tavon Johnson for thirty yards. You know what happens when you anger a wolf pack? The hunt.
We turned the game into a nightmare for the Naga. On this game, we are hammer and the Naga are the nails. They would only manage a single field goal for the entire game. That was all they would get. I get my carries, and screen passes while I got my yards carrying defenders on my back and running them over. I'm not trash. I'm a runaway train.
"No...," Agon growled, clinching a tight fist,
"It's just a game, Agon," I said, revealing that I'm a girl,
"Take your middle school trash somewhere else," he snarled,
"Wrong attitude there, buddy," I advised to him,
I think Tavon Johnson and Aeneas Wright both got over a hundred yards receiving and a touchdown for both of them. Not a bad way to start off the season. I was slightly taken by surprise when Agon tried to attack me only to get shoved back by Aeneas and Tavon, "Hey, cool off, you get me? cool off," Tavon demanded of one of the Naga's star players.
"And don't you dare say that kinda shit to her, you feel me?" Aeneas further warned to Agon only to have the player smirk back, not taking Wright's words seriously. He put a hand on my shoulder pad, "don't let him get to you, just plant him on his ass when you get the ball," and I did, and even ran the longest touchdown run of my career, 83 yards.
We got some words from coach going to the sidelines, "Hey...good job sticking up for your teammate there, remember you guys are a Wolfpack, no one gets left behind," Coach Wells stated to us. We came out fighting, and the 83 yard touchdown was the dagger. Good blocking, good player communication, and good play execution led to a 28-3 victory.
"Good game, I'm sorry about my brother," said Unsui,
"Don't worry about it, I'm a big girl," I replied, grinning,
"We're not exactly fans, but he's my brother," replied Unsui,
"It's just a game, that's what it all boils down to, good luck with the rest of the season," I said with a grin to the older brother, and went back to the lockers. I showered up in the ladies room, and dressed back up in some tight blue jeans, a blue t-shirt, and my favorite black Converse All-Stars while carrying my gear in a duffle bag. Well, most of it.
"Not all games are going to be like this, I'm proud of you all, you all have to keep fighting, keep pushing, hands in everyone," said Coach Wells, we gathered our hands in around the coach's hand, "I can promise you this, keep working the way you do and the rewards at the end will be much greater, family on three, 1-2-3," we all said 'family' in unison,
To us, 'family' is not just a word. It's how we play, and how we look after each other on and off the field. Despite all the times we made it to the Christmas Bowl and lost every single one of them, we still stick together because we know our time will come. Coach is right. The harder we work, the more we gain. We will be back, and we will be stronger.
