Title: Illegal Procedure (7/17)
Author: Romantique
Email:
Classification: Eric/Tami Drama/Angst
Rating: T for some language.
Summary: SPOILERS from Season 4. Coach Taylor was exiled to East Dillon because he refused to play ball with Joe McCoy. The power struggle continues.
Disclaimer: SPOILERS from Season 4. This fan fiction was written before Season 4 Episode 3 airs.
Legal: These characters do not belong to me. I'm just a fan and have not made a dime. Please email me to obtain permission to post.
Hermann Field was filled to capacity on the Dillon Panthers' side of the stadium, with a far, less than capacity crowd on the Visitor's side. The side of the Lions included District officials who had a point to prove about the equality of these obviously unequal schools, attempting to fill in some of the noticeably excess space on the side of the noticeably less popular school. In fact, every single East Dillon faculty and staff member and their families had been ordered by the District to attend tonight's game and sit on the Lions' side of the field … every faculty member, that is, except for Coach Taylor, who was technically still out on a paid suspension.
At the coin toss, Dillon High decided to receive the ball. After the kickoff, the Lions ascended downfield upon the Panther's opposition, stopping them dead in their tracks deep in their own territory.
Fired up, Riggins sent a pumped up defense out on the field with the message, "Just like we practiced … Do not let that little piece of crap move the ball."
The sneers and jeers traded between players on face off at the line of scrimmage were indicative of the bad blood between these two teams. The Lions blitzed the Panther offense not once, not twice … but three times, forcing them to kick the ball on their fourth down.
As the Lions' defense began to leave the field, Eric spoke into a wireless earpiece from his position from under the far end of the bleachers. "Repeat after me," he cupped his left hand over his earpiece, obscuring his recognizable face inside his dark hoody.
From the sideline, Coach Stan Traub listened intently into his headset and said in the same tone as Eric, "Repeat after me." Just as they had practiced the night before, Eric called his offensive plays to Coach Traub, who immediately repeated every word Eric said, verbatim, to Coach Crowley and the Dillon offense. On the third down, a 26 yard long pass connected with Vince Howard who ran it all the way downfield for a Lions' touchdown. The extra point was good; and five minutes into the first quarter, an astounded crowd watched the scoreboard change to 0 – 7 Lions.
Pumped up beyond belief, the Lions defense surprisingly dominated the field once again, repeatedly sacking J.D. McCoy and eliciting a war cry after each sack. J.D. was angry. He was red-faced and yelling at his team mates for protection. Unable to move the ball beyond the yard of scrimmage, the now humiliated Panthers were forced to punt the ball, yet again.
Boos from the Panther side were met with shrieks of joy on the Lions side. From the stands, Tami and Julie searched the crowd for Eric. They were so happy and wanted to see the look on his face at the unbelievable game that was unfolding before them.
On the sidelines, Coach Traub almost robotically repeated, "Luke, are you ready to put something on the Lions' scoreboard?"
With a surprised look on his face, Luke smiled and said, "Yeah, I'm ready." He needed to prove he could score against his old team. It was now or never.
Out on the field, a screen pass to Vince resulted in a run and then, Vince threw the ball and completed a pass in the end zone to Luke Cafferty.
"Touch down, Lions!" screamed the announcer. "I am not believing this! These Lions have been practicing when no one was looking. And tonight, the East Dillon Lions are on fire!"
The crowd went wild. After a good extra point, the score was now an unbelievable 0 – 14 Lions.
Pacing underneath the bleachers, Eric continued to relay the next series of plays that were immediately repeated by Coach Traub. Coach Crowley relayed Eric's call for calm and focus, pointing out to the players that they had a long way to go.
The next set of plays resulted in yet another huge sack. Riggins was going ballistic on the sidelines. "Yeah!!!" he yelled, animated and pumped up himself. He was having a great time!
So angry was J.D. McCoy, he lost his cool and threw an interception right into the hands of his old friend, Luke Cafferty. With blocking assistance from Landry Clarke, Luke ran the ball all the way down the field for another Lion touchdown!
After kicking yet another good extra point, the score was now 0 – 21 Lions. And the Lions skillfully ran out the clock to half time.
The sudden, deafening noise above from people standing and walking on the bleachers was Eric's signal to make himself scarce. Using a set of keys he'd had for years, he quickly entered a nearby equipment room to wait until the beginning of the third quarter. A moment later, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. It was Tami.
"Eric, where are you?" she asked. "Babe, are you seeing this?" There was elation in her voice. "All that hard, extra work you did with these boys is paying off for you!"
"Yeah, it's somethin' else, isn't it?" Eric spoke, trying to keep his voice down. "Tami, I'll see you after the game, okay?"
"Okay, but Hon," there was concern in her voice. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he tried to reassure his wife and quickly get off the phone, too. "I'll find you right after the game. I gotta go." And he disconnected the call.
Replaying the brief conversation in her head, Tami remembered her husband reiterated once again that he'd find her after the game. She surmised that he was up to something that he didn't want her to know about. The more she thought about it, the more certain she became. But she also knew that as Principal of Dillon High, it was probably better that she didn't know anything.
In the locker room, for the first time in the short history of the new East Dillon Lions, there was complete euphoria among the team.
"Oh, my God!" Riggins yelled. "You guys are doin' it! You're really doin' it!"
There was lots of frivolity going on among the Lions as they rehydrated and prepared to go out on the field.
Speaking through a smile, Coach Crowley said, "We can't start celebrating yet, fellas. We have another half to go through, and you can't lose your focus. You can't allow yourselves to become overconfident."
"Overconfident!" repeated Coach Straub.
And then Riggins tried to send the team back out there with a few thoughts.
Coach Crowley's right, guys. We gotta take this one play at a time. Take nothing for granted. Over in the other locker room, Coach Aikmen is kicking some half time ass, and they'll mix up their offense and defense just to throw you off guard. Be ready. But you got them where you want them. They fear you. J.D. fears you. Make sure they continue to fear you. They're soft and lazy and full of themselves. You're hungry and pissed off that they boo you and continue to think they're better than you.
Shut them down, cut them off. Show them who you are. This is the fight Coach Taylor was talking about. You got to finish your fight. Coach Taylor is here. He's with you every step of the way. He'll help you finish your fight. We'll all help you. And tomorrow, after you win this fight, tomorrow will be different … You can demand the respect you deserve from this town. You can demand the respect you've worked for and you earned.
Get out there and make J.D. McCoy go and cry to his Daddy! Get out there and kick their sorry Panther asses down the field!
"Kick their sorry Panther asses down the field!" repeated Coach Straub.
The team laughed at Coach Straub, who then began to laugh at himself. By now, most of the players, if not all, had figured out that Coach Straub was not making his brilliant calls on the field, alone. Smiling and confident, they were all pumped up and ready to go out there and finish their fight.
And once given the go ahead, they all exploded out of the locker room and back onto the field for the second half, ready with the next series of plays to receive the ball.
