CHAPTER 1 IMPROVISED It was Thursday afternoon At Westfield Junior High the eighth grade Wildcats football team was having practice Carlos Suarez the star quarterback crouched five yards behind his center for a shotgun snap Hut he shouted Hut After a pause the center snapped the ball Carlos caught it perfectly and turned to his right The running back came around him for the handoff Carlos motioned to the running back but faked
the handoff for a play action He spun to his left fooling the defense completely Carlos looked up the field for a receiver His best receiver Andrew Tucker darted across the field The defender stuck with him though Carlos looked around the field trying to find someone to pass to The other receivers were also having trouble losing their defenders No one was open for a pass Carlos considered the options It's only fifteen yards to the end zone he thought I can do it So he ran the ball himself Some of the defensive linemen were still distracted by the running back But one defender recovered quickly He went after Carlos Carlos was only five yards from the end zone when the defender caught him Carlos felt the tackler's arms close around his waist But Carlos was just as big as the defender and he didn't go down He dragged the tackler right into
the end zone with him Touchdown Coach French shouted blowing his whistle Nice play Carlos he added Thanks Coach Carlos said He walked over to the coach and tossed him the football The coach turned to the rest of the team Did everyone see how Carlos handled that play he asked the team as everyone gathered around It was supposed to be a long play Andrew said He pulled off his helmet Carlos could tell his teammate was angry The coach nodded Yes it was he said But the defense was tight on the receivers upfield Carlos improvised It was a smart move and it worked Carlos smiled Right he said I saw the best move would be to run the ball myself Andrew crossed his arms Next time I'll get
