Chapter 7: Chapter 7

“It feels great, and I want to thank my team, without whom none of this would have been possible! Said Shane, modestly.

“Excuse me!” said the college scout interrupting the reporter as he wanted to speak to Shane in private.

“Yes?” asked the reporter.

“If you don’t mind, I would like to speak to this young man in private!” said the college scout in a serious tone.

“By all means!” said the reported backing away, the college scout was big inbuilt and had a sort of dominating presence about him.

“I am a college scout from Manchester University, and I can give a scholarship to only one individual from this entire tournament, and you young man, I have been very impressed with! If you can maintain your performances in the next two games being of the same level as that of tonight, then you will be granted that scholarship to Manchester University!” said the college scout first introducing himself then explaining his reason for meeting Shane in private.

“Yes, sir, I am very interested in getting that scholarship and doing justice to your perception of me. I’ll do my level best to maintain my performances and succeed myself to that scholarship!” said Shane, very focused and serious.

“Good, I’ll be sure to keep an eye on you!” said the college scout walking away.

“Dude, what was that?” asked Kevin, suddenly coming forward, wondering why Shane had spoken to him.

Shane explained exactly what happened.

“Awesome! But now you have to practice like there’s no tomorrow and hey, if you get that scholarship, then you’ll finally get to spend four years of college with Marissa!” reminded Kevin.

“Yeah! I know!” said Shane.

“I’m not sure whether to tell Mum or not? If I tell her she’ll have expectations from me to succeed, and if I fail, then she’ll be heartbroken!” said Shane.

“Ponder over it! Give it some thought and then decide!” advised Kevin.

“You’re right!” said Shane agreeing with Kevin.

They stepped out and met up with Marissa and Sam, who were waiting for them outside.

“You guys were fantastic! Thanks for treating us to an entertaining and thrilling encounter!” said Marissa greeting them.

“Yeah, it was an awesome evening!” said Sam.

“You boys played fantastically, Shane that goal that you scored was the most memorable moment of the entire tournament, and that penalty save along with the rest of your performance…absolutely priceless! And Kevin, wonderfully executed penalty!” said Marissa congratulating.

“We couldn’t have done it without your cheering! Marissa, I can’t thank you enough for leading the line for your cheerleading squad! We owe everything to you!” said Shane thanking her.

“I helped too, you know!” said Sam, feeling left out.

“Sam, you were terrific just as well!” said Kevin courteously.

They all laughed for a bit, then Kevin said: “I don’t know about you guys, but let’s get a taco to eat, I’m hungry!”

“Let’s all go for a taco!” said Marissa in agreement.

The four of them walked into the night in each other’s company to get something to eat, then headed home, each thinking just how lucky they were to have each other. They were grateful for each other.

The Delay

The next day as Shane woke up, he seated himself on the breakfast table. Mum asked him, “How was your game last night, dear?”

“Game was awesome, and I being a goalkeeper, got to score a goal and save a penalty. The entire crowd went wild after I scored and went even wilder after we progressed to the semi-finals!” said Shane with a lot of excitement.

“I’m glad to hear you had such a good time!” said Mum, pleased.

Shane thought for a second then spoke up “Hey Mum, you know they give scholarships for wonderful team performances, and a college scout was very pleased with my performance last night! He told me that if I were consistent with my performances, he would give me the scholarship to Manchester University!”

“Oh my! That is big, big news! I’m so grateful to hear that! Oh, Shane, I’m so proud of you!” said his mum Gertrude after hearing the fantastic news.

“Now, don’t get over-excited, Mum, it is there only if I can maintain my performances!” said Shane calming her down.

“Then you’ve got to perform to the best of your capacities! It’s the only way to get that scholarship and go to a decent college!” she said, ordering him.

“Give it your all, and just remember, no one will benefit from it more than you! If you can get that scholarship, then you will benefit from it for the rest of your life!”

“I’ll try Mum!” said Shane trying to calm her down after the kind of expectations she had from him now.

The next day, on his way to Aberdeen High, Shane met up with Kevin and asked him where he ranked and what the review was given to him on the website. “You’ve been given an excellent review, and it said that you stand the most chance of receiving that scholarship from the University of Manchester since the college scout was impressed by your performance most! Also, you were rated highest and given the man of the match. It also says that you justified your nickname of ‘Aberdeen High’s good keeper’!” answered Kevin, who was answering a very anxious Shane.

“Okay, that’s good, so far so good!” said Shane, who was feeling very conscious about his individual rating.

“And when do you plan on asking Marissa out?” asked Kevin changing the topic.

“I don’t know, I was thinking this Friday night, but we’ll be so exhausted after football practice, and she’ll be tired after her cheerleading practice that day. Also, we’ll have a very hectic training schedule this entire week, so I want to make sure that Marissa doesn’t say no to me when I ask her out!” explained Shane.

“And did you tell your mum about the scholarship?” inquired Kevin

“Yeah, I did, and now she’s got expectations of all sorts from me! Now I really do need that scholarship at all costs!” answered Shane.

“I told you something like this was going to happen! Oh well, at least try your best!” said Kevin reminding and consoling.

“Sigh yeah!” said Shane with a sigh as he and Kevin were on their way to class.

Having reached class, they saw the whole football team was there and talking to each other about the previous Saturday night.

“Well, hey, it looks like our ‘good keeper’ is here!” said Oliver welcoming Shane and Kevin as they entered their classroom.

“Hi Oliver, nice to meet you too!” said Shane shaking Oliver’s hand.

“Hi guys!” said Kevin greeting everyone.

“Just remember you guys, no plans with friends, no dates with girlfriends, and no other commitments of any sort for this week! This week you all give it your all in training and practice sessions for our semi-final match against Crystal High on Saturday evening!” instructed Oliver to all his teammates.

“He’s right, you know!” said Marissa as she and Sam walked into class.

“Hi Marissa, thanks for all the cheering you girls did for us on Saturday!” said Oliver thanking.

“Oh, it was nothing! Just glad to have helped!” said Marissa modestly.

“Rats!” whispered Shane to Kevin after seeing the apparent attitude Marissa had towards Oliver’s ideologies.

“And how’s the ‘good keeper’ of Aberdeen High doing this morning?” asked Marissa greeting Shane.

“I’m great, and so is Kevin!” answered Shane.

“That’s good to hear!” said Sam.

“We’ll do our best we can in training this week to help you guys get to the final! Oliver’s right, no other commitments for this one crucial week!” said Marissa determined.

“Great to know you girls are with me on this one!” said Oliver, graciously smiling.

“Well, it looks like you better wait until after Saturday night!” whispered Kevin to Shane as they sat down for the start of their class.

Mr. Crawford came in and conducted class.

“Please seat yourselves and take out your textbooks,” said Mr. Crawford conducting the class.

Later that day, as soon as regular school hours were done, Shane and Kevin made their way to the training ground.

“Rats! This puts a monkey wrench into my plans! I soooo badly wanted to ask Marissa out, but she won’t even be interested if it’s before our fixture against Crystal High on Saturday evening! There goes my plan, and now this new obstacle stands in front of me right now!” complained Shane to Kevin.

“Dude chill! Marissa still very much likes you, and besides, you’ll stand way better of a chance when asking her out if we win against Crystal High on Saturday evening!” said Kevin trying to console Shane.

“But that’s just it! IF we win against Crystal High!! There’s now a big IF in the plan now!!!” slammed Shane, who wasn’t taking all of this very positively.

“Bro, there’s nothing you can do about it! Take it like it is and do your best against Crystal High on Saturday evening…that’s the sincerest advice I can give you. Hopefully, things’ll work out,” said Kevin in one last attempt to calm down Shane and get him to turn his attention towards playing football.

“Sigh!” said Shane letting out a big sigh as they reached the training ground.

Once they entered, Oliver Peabody, captain of the Aberdeen High Football Team, called for all his teammates to make a circle around him.

He addressed them all, saying, “Alright now, lads! I’ll need every single one of you to raise your game and your level of playing football for our clash against Crystal High this Saturday evening! They have a combative style of play as they play very aggressively and are very physically fit specimens when it comes to body structure and powerful framework! A lot of their previous matches have seen their opposing teams witness injuries to their players as the Crystal High football team plays a very physical game. They practically prey on the weak and consider themselves to be dominating and strong in front of opposition teams!”

“Gulp,” Shane gulped at the very prospect of him having to save and defend against strong muscular opposition.

Oliver continued, “So we must raise our game as if we were boys playing in the previous stages of the tournament, and now we go on and play like men for the rest of the tournament to come. It has to seem as if the boys have turned into men! That’s how good we must be if we’re to stand any chance of progressing, and who knows, maybe even win the whole tournament!”

“He’s right!” cut in Benjamin Cross, who seemed to side with Oliver and how Oliver was getting the team behind him.

Oliver concluded, “And the tournament has only been won once before in the history of Aberdeen High! This means we’re in the semi-finals, and we actually have a chance of cementing our legacy in the history books of Aberdeen High and of the entire Inter-State High School Tournament as a whole! But we can’t let our guard down for even a second as anything could happen, and we must remain physically fit and active…. Remember, I, too, along with anyone of you could get stretchered off in the fixture against Crystal High! They’re that physical of a team, and their playing style is that combative! But together we have to unite as one, remember…united we stand and divided we fall, so it’s very important to have each other’s back and not get carried away with achieving personal goals, we must put the betterment of the team in front of our each and every individual goal that we each have!”

“We’re with you, Oliver!” chanted Jerome Castle, raising his fist in the air in anticipation of their new resurgence and motivation to take on Crystal High on Saturday evening.

“Man Oliver really knows how to get his team behind him, and the influence he has both on and off the pitch is something else!” remarked Marissa Walker, who was observing with her friend Sam Lawless in the near distance.

“Well, maybe that’s why he is the captain of the Aberdeen High football team!” stated Sam Lawless.

“Indeed he is!” said Marissa bringing their conversation to an end.

That day the football team performed all sorts of exercises in an attempt to improve on their physical fitness and anything to improve on their physical appearance. Particular importance was laid on each individual performing push-ups.

“Put more effort into it! I want to see each one of you being able to push yourselves further and further throughout the rest of this week till Saturday’s game!” ordered the coach to his players continuously pushing them to continue improving themselves.

“Pant, pant, this is hard work! I don’t remember training being this rigorous ever before!” said Shane to Kevin constantly panting while performing push-ups alongside Kevin.

“Hopefully, it’ll pay off! Pant, pant!” replied Kevin.

That day after training was done with for both the football team and the cheerleading squad, as Shane and Kevin were waiting for the girls, Shane wailed, “Ouch my aching body!….that Oliver and our coach knows how to tire a guy out!

Just then, Marissa and Sam came forward to meet those two.

“Wow! That was some intense workout you boys were made to put yourselves through! It’s evident by the way you’re whining about it, Shane!” remarked Marissa as she greeted those two.

“You don’t know how much our body hurts!” wailed Shane stretching his back.

“He’s right, we did go through some pretty intense stuff back there!” said Kevin in agreement.

“Well, you boys better not complain about it much because it looks like it’s only going to not only continue but get more rigorous soon to come!” warned Sam.

“Let’s just start walking now,” said Shane trying to get a move on.

The four teenagers started to make their way home. As soon as the intersection came from where the boys would part ways with the girls and wave them goodbye, Shane, after having said goodbye to Marissa and Sam addressed Kevin.

“Aww, man! I was looking forward to asking Marissa out, but now I have to go through so much intense physical training throughout the week, let’s just hope it all pays off!” wailed Oliver.

“Well, you’ll be starting on Saturday evening, so you had better make it count!” reminded Shane.\

“Sigh, you’re right! I should at least try and put in my absolute all on Saturday evening against Crystal High to make it all count or, at the very least, try to get some gain out of all the pain I’m putting in!”

“Attaboy, no pain, no gain!” said Kevin slapping Shane on his back as the two of them walked off into the sunset heading for their homes.

The rest of the week was spent in a similar fashion, with the entire football team incurring rigorous and exhaustive workout regimes.

Come Saturday night, Shane and Kevin made their way towards the stadium and looked in better shape than ever before.

“I don’t know about you, but my body’s never felt more ready to get on the pitch and show the world what I’ve got!” said Kevin, who felt super pumped up for his side’s clash against Crystal High.

“I’m also looking forward to stepping on that pitch, especially after all those intense training sessions.” agreed Shane.

Those two made their way inside their team’s dressing room and met up and joined with the rest of their team.

“Hey! Good to see you, boys!” said Oliver shaking hands and warmly greeting those two.

Then he told everyone to make a circle around him as he addressed his team:

“Now remember… our opposition side Crystal High plays a very combative style, and they tend to get very aggressive when slide tackling or going for the ball. This is why it’s vital that you all stay calm and keep your head in the game and not start panicking of any sort, especially if one of us incurs an injury of some sort. If I get injured, then put the captain’s armband around whom you think is most deserving of it, the one who displays team spirit, individual brilliance, and above all, an ability to lead and an ability to command respect from every single one of you!”

“Right!” they all said in reply.

Just then, the coach came in.

“Are you boys ready to play against Crystal High tonight?” he asked.

“These men sure are!” answered Oliver for his team.

“I’m glad to hear that cause tonight’s game against Crystal High is going to be a brutally tough match, and every single one of you will have to give it your all tonight!” said the coach.

“I can rest assure you that these men positively will!” replied Oliver for him and his team.

“Good…now get out there and play like warriors! Go, go, go!” said coach giving his players their marching orders to go and play like warriors on the football pitch.

The football players of Aberdeen High started making their way onto the pitch from where they would clash with their opponents Crystal High.

“Oh, and Foster… one more thing!” said the coach calling Shane back for a moment.

“What is it?” asked Shane innocently.

“No bloopers tonight!” warned the coach in a stern tone.

“Ugh, I’ll do my level best!” replied Shane with a groan.

“Good, now go out there and play like a soldier!” said coach slapping him on the back before he marched onto the field.

As soon as both team players had made their way out of the dugout, they were received with a warm response from each of their supporters who greeted their High School team with cheers and chants of their High School name.

“And both teams make their way to the football pitch in what looks to be a hotly contested match here, ladies and gentlemen! It’s Crystal High versus Aberdeen High, and both teams will be looking to give it their all in tonight’s match, after all, it’s the only way they can hope to progress to the Finals of the Inter-State High School Tournament!” said the commentator as each team had their players on the pitch.

When the two teams stood together for the match photo between the two sides and as each player of each side shook hands with the other, it became apparent to the Aberdeen High football fans and to their players as to who was clearly superior in physical structure and body fitness as the Crystal High players had a sort of empowering trait to themselves due to their strong muscular physique.

The college scout from Manchester University could be seen seated on the stands as he had to monitor this one closely.

Marissa Walker and Sam Lawless were on their cheerleading stands opposite to the Crystal High cheerleaders.

Shane started for Aberdeen High in goal to try and defend for his team whenever the need would arise. Kevin meanwhile started on the bench for Aberdeen High.

Oliver went over and shook hands with the Crystal High team captain John Funk during their coin toss and their picture together with the referee for their fixture that evening.

“And Aberdeen High has won the coin toss and will kick off first!” said the commentator after Aberdeen High had won the coin toss.

“Man these Crystal High players are like so much more buff than our players, what do these guys take steroids or something?” remarked Marissa on the physical appearance of the Crystal High football team.

“I agree! Our boys do look like boys in front of them! It’s almost boys versus men at the moment, whereas physicality is concerned!” remarked Sam agreeing with Marissa.

“Not to mention their kind of cute as well! Their captain John Funk has such broad shoulders…. I wish Shane could develop shoulders like those as well!” said Marissa with a giggle.

“Oh girl!” said Sam shaking her head but at the same time agreeing with Marissa for even she thought they were very good looking.

“I just hope I don’t get creamed out there!” thought Shane to himself as soon as kick-off was about to get underway.

Benjamin Cross and Jerome Castle had led the kick-off for Aberdeen High.

“And this one is underway here, ladies and gentlemen! This one promises to be a thriller!” said the commentator as soon as kick-off had gone underway.

Aberdeen High initially decided to keep the ball within their half and pass amongst themselves as they wanted to play defensively in the initial stages of the match.

Five minutes had gone up, and the ball had not even gone into the opposition half for Aberdeen High as they were keen to pass amongst themselves in their half and play dry, dull, and defensive football.

“And it looks like Aberdeen High aren’t looking to attack here at all! They seem to be passing the ball within their half only and don’t fancy themselves going forward to attack at all!” said the commentator who observed from his commentary box up in the stands.

“This is dull! I wish these guys would go forward and attack, I mean I feel sleepy watching them pass to themselves and completely keep themselves out of harm’s way!” complained Marissa feeling restless.

“Me too, I wish they would pick up the pace a little bit!” agreed Sam.

Two minutes later, Oliver leads a surprise charge along with Benjamin Cross and Jerome Castle by his side. They sneaked past two defenders with a quick one-two between them and marched straight at goal. Oliver charged forward with every single thing he had in him and passed the ball to Benjamin, who was on his right after three players from Crystal High were coming forward to tackle Oliver. Benjamin raced past everyone and tried unleashing a powerful shot just at the edge of the box as he came near the box.

But unfortunately for Benjamin, a strong, bulky defender for Crystal High by the name Patrick Savage, had slide tackled Benjamin on the edge of the box from where he was trying to take his shot. It was a clean vicious challenge that left Benjamin flying inside the box.

Patrick would then pass the ball to his teammates, and they would subsequently have possession for the first time in the match.

“Ouch! That has to hurt! Patrick Savage sends Benjamin Cross flying with a vicious slide tackle. Let’s just hope he’s able to get up on his feet after that one quickly!” said the commentator observing.

“Ouch! That one must’ve hurt!” said Marissa observing.

“Indeed! Let’s hope he’s able to recover soon!” added Sam.

“Come on Benjamin, get up!” thought Shane while observing that Benjamin was slowly getting to his feet.

As soon as Benjamin had joined Oliver and the rest, Oliver shouted to his teammates, “And that’s only a small example of what these guys are capable of doing! Stay strong and alert all of you!!”

Oliver’s teammates were now taking Oliver’s words very seriously as they had a small real-life example in front of them as to what could happen in this fixture.

As soon as Crystal High got possession of the ball, they immediately went into the attack with full force as their captain John Funk who played as a right-winger, called his teammates behind him to try and go forward with the attack. Soon there were six players alongside him all charging ahead with full pace to the Aberdeen High goal.

Shane looked on realizing that he had to act fast and remain alert; otherwise, his team would much suffer because of him.

“Guys, Bring them down!” he shouted, giving instructions to his defense in front of him.

But it was of no use; they were physically so much more robust and faster due to their robust muscular framework and physical structure, and their fast-paced one-to-one passing with each other made matters even more difficult.

The captain John Funk, after having made his way near the box, sent a through ball to his teammate Sebastian Wales. Sebastian Wales, although having to out power William Barry for the ball, a defender for Aberdeen High, would still manage to unleash a powerful shot straight goalwards. Shane had to jump straight into its path and make a save with his face as he jumped straight into the chance, and it hit his nose from a very near distance with a lot of force and power! The ball went wide of the post and for a corner kick as a result.

“Ouch! That has to hurt! I guess anything to keep his team in this one! Shane Foster pulls off a remarkable save but hurts himself in the process, making a save that saves his team but hurts his nose in the process!” said the commentator after witnessing Shane’s heroics.

“Ouch! I feel bad for Shane! I hope he’s able to recover soon!” said Marissa bringing both palms of her hand to her mouth as she looked on in horror as to the amount of pain Shane had gone through to make the save for Aberdeen High.

“I hope so too that he’s able to recover soon!” said Sam agreeing with Marissa.

“You okay there, bro?” asked Oliver grabbing Shane’s hand and picking him up.

“Yeah, it hurts for a bit, but hopefully, I’ll be fine! Let’s save from the corner now!” said Shane getting to his feet.

“Attaboy!” said Oliver, pleased with his positive attitude.

Shane quickly got ready to defend from the eventual corner kick.

The corner kick was taken quickly, and the ball came in high and right in the middle of the box. Oliver jumped high as soon as he could and headed the ball outside the box with as much force as he could muster within him.

The ball after having gone outside the box was quickly picked up by a Crystal High teammate George Lima who struck the ball with a lot of power from twenty-five yards out through all the bodies that stood in his way and the goal. As soon as the ball was shot, Shane immediately rose to the occasion and dove forward to block the shot away. The ball came to Oliver’s path who quickly cleared the ball away with a quick kick sending it far and wide for a Crystal High throw-in.

“And Crystal High take another shot on goal! This time from their center-back George Lima who shoots from twenty-five yards out only for the shot to be blocked away by Shane Foster and further parried away by Oliver Peabody! My what a game this young lad Shane Foster is having so far! Not to mention how alert their captain Oliver Peabody has to remain for the sake of his team in this tournament! ” said the commentator impressed by Shane and Oliver’s performances so far.

“Phew, Shane didn’t concede! He’s made two saves up until now, and both were decisive!” said Marissa breathing a sigh of relief as the score was still nil-nil in this fixture.

“Yeah, and he’s got Oliver to thank as well!” stated Sam.

“Good job, buddy!” said Oliver patting Shane across the shoulders.

“Thanks, now please go forward and defend for the team; they’ve taken their throw-in already!” said Shane advising Oliver to go forward.

After the throw-in, the Crystal High teammates decided to keep the ball amongst them and maintain possession of the ball for some time. They were passing to each other within their half only. It was difficult for the Aberdeen High players to try and steal possession as the Crystal High footballers were so much more muscular and quick as compared to them.

“Benjamin! Jerome! Try going forward and steal the ball!” instructed Oliver to his teammates up front.

“We’re trying, Oliver! But they’re too big and fast for us!” complained Benjamin Cross.

“Ugh!” groaned Oliver at his side’s lack of ability to match up to the physical appearance and capability to that of their counterparts in the match.

After twenty minutes of play had gone by, John Funk, the Crystal High team captain, had instructed his teammates to go forward and try to attack their opposition goal.

“Now!” he said as he, along with six of his teammates, had charged forward to try and put one in the Aberdeen High goal.

They skillfully passed to each other in rapid succession, making sure not even to lose possession of the ball for even a split second.

As soon as they came near the Aberdeen High goal, they immediately started causing problems of all sorts as they spread out in multiple directions inside the Aberdeen High box. Their captain John Funk tactically shot with a lot of power from a distance of twenty yards. This led to Shane diving forward and blocking a shot, which also immediately came straight to the feet of Crystal High’s Joseph Caleb as a rebound. He immediately took his shot from close range, but fortunately for Shane, he could see it coming as he dove forward to block the ball with his fists and sent it for a corner from the left-hand side of the post.

“Dude a good job, but try to grab onto the ball with your palms!” said Oliver addressing his goalkeeper.

“I’m trying! It’s just that they strike the ball with so much power that it makes holding onto the ball very, very difficult!” explained Shane trying to justify his actions.

“Let’s just try and defend properly!” moaned Oliver as they got ready for the corner kick.

The corner kick was taken quickly, and Joseph Caleb had soared high above everyone else to head the ball with a lot of power straight at the near post. Shane immediately jumped to keep that one out, sending himself flying in his goal as a result. He could only get back on his feet and try to defend from the resulting corner since he had no time to rest after the sudden shot on goal, which he had to save.

As soon as that corner was taken, Shane was forced to pull off a string of excellent saves as there was a sea of shots fired his way as the Crystal High footballers, due to their strong and muscular physique were able to outmuscle the Aberdeen High football team and continue firing shots on goal. Shane, with every save he had to make, became the undisputed star of the evening.