Down 29: Druids vs. Pumas, The Fabled Druid Court vs. the Plant Tornado

The Druids were lined up in a different defensive formation than what they had used against Dade. In the Dade game, they used a simple 4-4-3 set. Now, they were using a 4-1-6, using four corner backs, in groups of two one in front of the other. Greg looked at it, trying to figure out if to continue with the regular play (run up the middle) or change it up. Sena could see he was struggling, as the play clock wind down. He whispered, "Keep it the same; we don't know what this is all about."

Greg nodded, taking the snap from Carson and giving it to Sena. Using the double tight end set, Fred was able to open up a hole for Sena to run through on the inside with a trap block. Carson went second level, taking on the linebacker, Kyle. Eggnatz stared down Carson, whipping his body around, trying to evade Carson's body. He was using Plight moves on defense, trying to defeat a block.

"What is this?" Carson asked. Carson's large body was too much for Kyle to evade, being pancaked in the process of his whip. Sena had open space, as the line had opened up the gap. Sena burst through, expecting to get distance. From dust came a thing black kid, taller than Sena. Wakeen trailed him, a look of fear on his face. It was one of the corner backs that was covering Wakeen. He had changed direction, letting the other corner take the zone, blitzing on his own. Sena, surprised, has no time to react, getting taken down with a 2 yard gain.

Mr. Daze started, "Here it is, the Fabled Druid Court. Even if you beat the one line backer, two of the corners will blitz. But which one is it? In this case, Wakeen, the receiver, was fooled, having realized the plan too late." Time skip: next play. "The Pumas just cannot get distance, this time both sides had a corner back blitzing, Wakeen only being able to block one on his side. A one yard gain."

Sena addressed Greg, "What do we do to stop this?"

Greg looked up, "I am clueless. I'll try a pass to Wakeen, but if they gauge it is a pass, Wakeen will have double coverage. Fred could open up, but even then, the other corner could branch off to him instead." He took the snap from Carson, stepping back for a pass. Sena ran into the line, going for a short distance pass, hoping to draw Kyle into him. The double corners didn't move at all, they gauged the pass perfectly. Greg looked toward Sena, but Kyle was up in his face. Greg looked toward Wakeen, but he had double coverage. He looked at the other receiver, but he was covered (one was enough to beat Devin). Fred was covered by the other corner. Seeing no targets, Greg ran the ball up the field, calling for blocks. In an instant, Kyle and the two extra corners stopped their coverage and rushed in. Sena tried to block Kyle, but his finesse was too much. Kyle brought Greg down with only a yard gain. A mortified Greg came back to the huddle.

"This isn't power, or speed. It isn't even technique. This Druid Court is magic," he said, wearing a face of despair. The punt placed the Druids on the 40 yard line, having 60 yards to go till the end zone.

"What a horror. The Druid Court is magical. Even more magical than I, Mr. Daze," he announced. Sena, faced with a powerful true foe, had no answer. Shin, faced with the same foe, could only sulk in his failure from before.

Mr. Daze called the constant first downs that Kyle had gained from using the Plight. If it was outside, he fended off Steve of Roger. If it was inside, he fended off Shin, getting extra yards where Sena and Doug were able to bring him down. Play after play, Kyle was getting slightly quicker, growing more accustom to the defenders. He was learning the positioning, finding holes in it. Only one thing could be done, a time out (coach Finkle called) during the second half, with ten minutes to go. The Druids were on the Pumas 25 yard line, gaining an average of 5 yards a carry, progressively more yards with each play.

Coach Finkle walked around in a circle as the defense huddled around him. He spoke with a raspy voice, as if strained, "We worked on this. Why is this not working?" he asked. "Enough!" he yelled, "We are switching up the defense lineup. Sena and Shin will switch places, while Fred will join the linebackers (moving from defensive end), with Rogers replacing him. With a linebacker set up of Fred, Shin, Sena, Doug, and Steve, perhaps this can work. The Wild Forest, that is. We haven't used it in so long, it will catch them off guard." The defense nodded in unison, going to the huddle, lining up in it, awaiting the offense to get ready.

The Wild Forest is a 3-5-3 formation. The outside two linebackers stagger down to a yard behind the linemen, outside of the three. The other three linebackers are stacked up with the three linemen. The linemen are head up on the tackles and center. For this play, Sena is over the nose guard, while Shin and Doug are over the ends over the tackles. Corners and Safeties are in man to zone, when needed.

The Druids lined up in their standard formation, attempting a run up the middle. Sena felt weird being in the middle, where Shin usually was. This would mean he would end up going up against Kyle. He wondered if he would be able to take him down, a feat Shin was unable to do. Sena could see Kyle, who was looking at the defense. Kyle was gauging where to run to. He nodded to his quarterback, who hiked the ball to him instantly. The center burst through, while the nose guard tried his best to clog the center. Both ends, Paul and Rogers, took steps outside, while Shin and Doug zone stepped down. Sena stood where he was, waiting for Kyle. The runner passed the line of scrimmage, signaling Sena to pounce. "I can beat this Plight" he mouthed, watching Kyle's body as it moved, just as he had done for many other opponents. Kyle cut to the left, then back to the right. Sena lunged out, grabbing cloth.

"Plight time number 21" he addressed, dropping his hip down low, pushing Sena's hand off. Yet, Sena simply got back his balance, grabbing more cloth on the other side. Using the momentum, he twisted Kyle down as he tackled him, similar to his tackle against Rush the game earlier.

Mr. Daze sounded stunned. "It was an instant. The Plight didn't lose its magic, Sena just gained some of his own. Kyle moved in an instant, using finesse to gain ground. Yet, number 21 pushed his way through, twisting Kyle down. It was no gain. Could this new defense positioning force Kyle to go up against Sena? Is this what renowned coach Finkle planned?" Time Skip: Several failed offensive plays later. "Just as predicted, this new lineup, being called the Wild Forest, forces the running back up the middle, where Sena, the speed linebacker, can safely bring Kyle Eggnatz down. The Druids make a field goal, increasing their lead to 9-0. The Pumas are going to have to play catch up fast if they will want to win this."

Coach Finkle handed Sena a list, "These are the plays we will be running. Do not stray from them, and we can drive up the field," he said. Sena nodded, scanning the list with his eyes. It was the Wild Cat, with double full backs.

'This could be interesting,' Sena thought. He told the offense what the play was in the huddle, going behind Center in shotgun formation. Shin and Greg were his full backs. He took the snap, trying to go up the middle as Shin and Greg ran in front of him. The defensive line was holding strong, but with Shin and Greg, the force was too great. The defensive line tumbled, forcing Kyle, the only linebacker, to step back, opening up room. Once Sena passed the line, a corner back was on his right. Sena lifted his elbow, pushing the corner away. Then Kyle took him on.

Kyle Eggnatz vs. Eyeshield 21 (Sena)

Kyle stood in a linebacker stance, his upper legs parallel with the ground. Sena twisted, initiating a Puma Dash. Kyle exploded out with his hips, grabbing Sena's waist. Sena, presented with Kyle, continued his spin, using pure force to break through. "This power, you cannot possess it." Kyle said in disbelief, falling off Sena's body defeated.

"Correction, this is my power limit," Sena responded. "I might not be powerful, but my legs have gained enough power to break past you. I have seen you get past Shin and Doug. Yet when presented with me on defense, you failed. Now you know why, I focused on power last change of possession. Lion Dash!" Sena yelled as he pushed his way through Kyle, who flailed as he whipped around Sena, losing his grip.

Victory: Sena

Past Kyle, Sena was presented with another challenge, three corner backs, one 2 feet in front of him. Using the Puma Dash (ghost moves with added power and speed), he got past with ease. The other two corners formed a wall, trying to double tackle Sena. They were numbered 11 and 15.

Numbers 11 & 15 vs. Eyeshield 21

Both 11 and 15 came at Sena standing next to each other with little room in between. Sena couldn't run to the outside, or they would surely get him. His only route was to take them head on. Sena went for the smaller of the two, number 11. Standing closer to one of them, the other closed in, trying to prevent the movement and ease into the tackle. Sena, with speed and power, used a Lion Dash to cut back and hit the middle of the two, breaking through. "This is my power, power only Eyeshield 21 can possess," Sena said, remembering the running of Yamato and his Caesar Rush. With the Lion Dash, the fear of Eyeshield 21 could live on in America once again. The fear tacklers have of the power run.

Victory: Sena

Sena ran the ball in for a touchdown, looking up at the waving American flag positioned at the Wild Forest playing field at Plant High.

"Dagad? What a wonder. Sena has reawakened his Eyeshield 21 spirit, using a run similar to the Eyeshield 21 of two years ago from Notre Damè in Texas. While only in middle school, that eyeshield far surpassed many high school players. He moved back to Japan the next year, where Sena met him. Convinced to try out America, Sena is here now, but not once has he had to live up to a name until now. Eyeshield 21 is born again in that Sena combined all aspects of running in one fluid rush, speed, power, technique, and will. Before, Sena had lacked several points, which is why Rush of Manatee was able to catch him, as well as Kyle earlier this game." Mr. Daze commented, reading from a copy of Rise Magazine. "The score is now 9-7, Lakeland still leads. But with Eyeshield 21 finally reawaken from his slumber; will the Druids be able to compete?"

Back on defense, Sena stole the show, making all the tackles in the center, while Fred and Steve made the outside tackles. Fred stood up after taking down Kyle for a loss after a failed run on the outside, shouting, "Nothing can go to the outside!" Kyle attempted another run in Fred's direction, using Plight moves as he went. "I have seen this motion. In such short distances little dude, you cannot win." Kyle disappeared as he normally would, as if by magic. However, instead of appearing behind Kyle, he appeared on the ground, belly down. Fred had caught him mid finesse move, and dropped him similar to the way Visca did in the season game. Fred stood over Kyle, commenting, "Does that hurt? You got injured last time someone did that to you dude. Run up my alley, and you will be injured." The Druids offense had failed. They punted the ball, the Plant Pumas receiving it with 49 yards to the end zone.

Sena decided to use another play on the set coach gave them. It was a fake run. Sena presented it to the offense. They all nodded in agreement. Sena scanned the field, seeing the corners were a bit more run heavy, leaning in more than they would if one of them was covering a receiver. He took the snap, noticing all four started a blitz. 'This is perfect' Sena though, handing the ball to Greg as he took on a block from one of the faster corner backs. Shin took on two corners at once, pancaking both in the process. Greg eyed the field, seeing Kyle was covering Wakeen like butter (slippery coverage). He shot a spiral in the direction, knowing Wakeen would get it for the gain. Kyle jumped across, stretching his arm wide, using his fast finesse reflexes to get in position. Wakeen started at him, "What are you doing kid? That ball is mine, no matter how much you try. Greg has a special pass, a curve ball. Watch …" he said. He pointed at the ball as it curved away from Kyle's jumping coverage.

"A curve pass?" Mr. Daze announced in wonder. "Why is this not in any of the magazines? Greg Bower seems to possess a unique to Florida High School passing ability, the curve. Wakeen easily catches the ball, having an open field. He scores a touchdown easily. The score is now 14-9, the Pumas have finally come back."