Chapter 112: Bowl Race (3)
"Beautifully defended! Good job, Jackson! ”
Although the team dropped points first, Lions' head coach JD Jones gave timely encouragement and care to the defensive team. Their defense was already very strong, especially against Brooks, and it was very successful.
After all, the game has just begun, and the first quarter of the game is not over yet, so there is no need to dwell on who concedes points first and who concedes the ball first.
The points that are lost are won back by attacking.
However, the Lions' attacking group clearly did not find their form, or rather, was thoroughly targeted.
In particular, the opposing defensive linemen put a lot of pressure on Baines.
Several times he rushed straight in front of him, forcing him to throw the ball off the touchline.
Several passes with wide receiver Frank also missed frequently, and the pass offense couldn't be opened at all.
In this case, the only person they can rely on is Boozer.
However, attacking from the ground alone is too easy to target.
Boozer was pressed behind the tee line on several occasions to get the ball, and instead of rushing the ball, he lost yardage.
After a few trips, the Lions couldn't even get past half time.
Instead, it was Brooks' push that gave them a 30-yard free-kick.
There was no suspense in the result, and the opposing kicker sent the ball into the goal steadily to get three points again.
The first quarter ended with the Trojans taking a 0-0 lead.
Even if this point difference is nothing, psychologically, it puts a lot of pressure on the Lions' offensive team.
0 points, two balls to get back the score, the next attack, must be played.
Such thoughts unconsciously hovered in the minds of Baines and others.
However, at the beginning of the second quarter, the Trojans' defensive team gave the Lions another blow to the head.
Twenty yards of attack.
Baines picked up the kick-off and made a fake hand with Boozer before finding Smart at the left side.
Smart was left unguarded at the close end and Baynes played the ball over.
Unexpectedly, at this time, the security guard in front of Smart quickly returned to defense, leaped forward with an arrow step, and stuck in front of Smart to hold the ball one step earlier.
At this time, because the offensive players on this side ran out, there was not even a single Lions defender in front of him.
The Trojan security guard ran effortlessly for a dozen yards with the ball in his hands, and stepped straight into the touchdown zone with ease to complete the interception.
Baines never expected that the opponent's action was so fast, such a large distance, and he pulled back in the moment of passing.
The subsequent additional points, the Trojans also won steadily.
7-0!
Step by step, the game is losing its suspense.
Although there are still more than two quarters to go, and no one knows what will happen next, the current Lions team has no morale.
Two turnovers to give the opponent 4 points.
And he couldn't score on his own.
The pressure on the attacking group is getting bigger and bigger.
That's when Jackson stepped up just in time.
He knew that if he didn't do something about it at this point, the game might end there.
"Hey guys, the game has just begun! It's up to us to do the rest and not let them score any more. You just have to defend and attack, we're the strongest, aren't we! Jackson encouraged.
He patted his chest and spoke with confidence, he was the lion king of the court.
With his encouragement, the team's morale was rekindled, and with the support of the cheerleading squad, they were once again on the field.
In the next few offensive rounds, the two sides exchanged blanks, and Jackson used his excellent play to completely limit Brooks, not giving the opponent the slightest chance to run.
And the special service team appeared to be in high morale under his infection.
In the face of the abandonment after the fourth-gear attack, the special service team players rushed forward as soon as possible.
The ball fell quickly from a height of tens of meters and happened to hit the foot of the opponent's catcher.
The moment it turned into a live ball, the Lions' special service team immediately scrambled for it.
Due to the speed and spin of the ball, it slipped through the hands of several players from both teams.
In the end, the Lions' players were quick to hold it tightly and crush it underneath.
Not only was it a conversion of possession, but it also pushed the attack to 15 yards in the opponent's half, giving the attacking team great confidence.
The opponent's end zone was close at hand, and there were four offensive opportunities.
This is probably the closest the Lions have come to scoring.
“ATTAK!”
Baynes picked up the kick-off, and running back Boozer and the weak-side wide receiver moved closer from the left to the middle to draw attention to the opposing lineback.
With the help of the cover of close end Smart, Frank moved laterally from the strong side, ran directly to the left, and easily received Baines's pass.
With little to no defense, run all the way along the left front, running straight to the end zone after running past the first line.
Unfortunately, at the last moment, he was pushed out of the sideline by the opponent's cornerback and failed to get a touchdown.
But with this push, there is only one yard left from the opponent's end zone.
Baines opted to get the ball to Boozer and let Boozer cover the one-yard arch with his teammates in the cover.
In the face of more than a dozen players on both sides, although Boozer failed to crash into it on the first shot, he was pushed into the end zone by a reasonable push from his teammates.
Won the yard and struggled to get a touchdown for the Lions.
After getting the extra points, the score was narrowed to 7-7.
Although it will take two waves of offensive to equalize or even overtake the score.
But there was more or less hope of victory.
But J.D. Jones had to admit that this game was not so much an overestimation of super-running back Brooks's offensive ability as it was an underestimation of the defensive ability of the opposing defensive group.
Halfway through the third quarter, the Lions made several advances and finally reached 23 yards in the opposing half.
Although they faced the challenge of three gears and six yards, it was already within range of free kicks, and even if the attack did not work, there was no problem in getting three points.
If the score is 7-0, it will be a different story.
“ATTAK!”
The offensive begins!
Because it was a crucial three-gear transition, Baines was extra careful after receiving the ball.
But the assault of the opposing lineman did not give him time to observe.
The four of them picked up Baines like dumplings and kneaded them completely between the muscles.
What's even worse is that Baines was dizzy under the impact of many people, and his body was not controlled at all.
Not to mention passing the ball out of the sideline, just if you want to fall to the ground, the opponent won't give a chance.
Several people snatched the ball out of his hand like bandits, and quickly launched a counterattack.
Although the return attack distance is not very long, only a dozen yards.
But another ball switch at a critical moment directly ruined the Lions' hope of a comeback.
Brooks, the star of the game, exploded in the situation, running back from the strong side to the weak side, and after receiving the quarterback's pass from 35 yards, followed by the cover of his teammates' linemen and wide receivers, he went straight up the left touchline, quickly through the crowd, and a little chill came first, and then the gun came like a dragon.
Like a beast that had been suppressed for a long time, he ran straight into the end zone with unparalleled speed, defending his dignity as the first running back while almost killing the race.