The Big Game
By: Devyn Lozada
I played the best game of my life on November 9th, 2014, junior year of high school, the year I had to step up into a captain role for the team. I had been playing varsity since my freshman year so I was already used to the big stage in high school. On November 9th, we had a game at home, under the lights, full crowd, and an opponent trying to embarrass us in front of friends and family. For the first quarter and most of the second quarter they did just that. Being sharper and all around better than us gave them a 19-0 lead. However, with a couple of minutes left in the first half I snatched a pass out of the air and ran 'til I crossed the goal line. I had covered 65 yards by the time I reached it and made the score 19-6 going into the half. Once the clock hit all zeros in the second quarter we all felt a little shame. All these people came out to watch us win not to see us get humiliated. Being under the lights can be the best feeling in the world or the worst. You can feel like the king of the world or you can just feel like the lights are just beaming on you, getting heavier and heavier as you lose by more and more points.
After a pep talk from coach, we were all fired up and ready to go to war. I started quarterback in the second half. The first play of the second half I threw a 12-yard pass and right after I got hit. When playing quarterback, you’re pretty much defenseless when you’re throwing the ball. So if someone is coming to
hit you, you just have to deliver the ball and take the hit. They would blitz the middle linebacker almost every play so I was getting hit every time I threw the ball. However, I took the beating and we continued to drive down field, if not a pass, it was me running. First down after first down, we were getting down the field in chunks. Not 3 to 5 yards each play, more like 8 to 12 yards each play. After 6 plays on the first drive with me at quarterback, we were on the 7-yard line and I threw a pass toward the sideline to one of my receivers and he got tackled into the touchdown. The score was now 19-12 and that touchdown gave the team hope.
The opposing team came back and scored again. They also got the 2-point conversion to top it off, leaving the score 27-12. The offense got back on the field and still we were consistently getting yards. They had no answer for me at quarterback, someone who can complete a pass or run if there’s no one open. I finished the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run.
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