and their own team, taking notes on plays and where they could make adjustments going forward. By the end of the third, the rest of the first string was out, resting and letting the second and third strings get in good play time. Vanderbilt toughed it out and put a touchdown on the board, and the game ended 38–10.
Wes and Colton shook the Vanderbilt captains’ hands after the game as the rest of the team and the stadium exploded into celebration. Wes ran back to Justin and Nick, hauled himself up onto the railing, and kissed Justin right on the lips. “We’re going to the national championship!”
Justin cradled his face and beamed as every camera in the stadium turned to them. “You going to win that one for me, too?”
“Bien sûr, mon coeur.” And then Wes kissed him again.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Wes flexed his fingers inside his gloves. The locker room was quiet, only the sounds of athletic tape and the snapping of pads filling the air. Every breath Wes took was choked with tension, with the collective anxieties and nerves his teammates had carried within them all the way to this moment.
Colton slid onto the bench beside him. He leaned his shoulder against Wes’s and held out his fist. Wes bumped it, then leaned back against his friend. They said nothing.
Coach Young came out of the office set aside for him in the Kansas City locker room. “All right, everyone, gather around,” he called to the team. “Bring it in, bring it in.” He waited as the players shuffled forward.
“This is it,” he said, once everyone was near. He never minced his words. “This is your moment. This is what you worked all season for. The national championship title is yours, if you go out there and do what exactly what you have every single week you won: Believe in each other. Trust each other. Love each other.”
The team nodded. Eyes flicked to each other, then over to Wes.
“I know you’re nervous,” Coach said. “I can feel it. But you need to let that go right now. The team that is about to walk out of here and face off against Mississippi isn’t the same team that took the field against them over Thanksgiving. You were broken that day. Well, that’s changed. You are whole again. And you are more than a team. You are a family.”
Hell yeahs and scattered claps rose.
“You boys are the best team in the entire nation. Mississippi took something from you on Thanksgiving, and it’s time to go get that back. So you’re going to run out there, and you’re going to win. Not for me. Not for the university. Not for the NFL scouts watching you. Not for the glory. You’re going to go out there and win this game for you.” He pointed to individual players, naming them. Finally, he got to Wes. “You’re going to win this game today because this is what you were all born to do together.”
Coach let the silence grow and let his conviction, his faith in them, fill the room and seep into each player, push out all those unspoken nerves and anxieties, the fears and the hesitations. Wes closed his eyes and felt Colton’s hand on his back. Felt Art slap the back of his head. He grinned.
“All right!” Coach clapped his hands. “Get your helmets and get ready. Let’s go play football!”
They roared, and they grabbed their helmets and lined up in the tunnel. Wes and Colton were right up front, and they started jumping together, staying loose. Their teammates behind them joined in, a few more at a time, until everyone was jumping. Colton turned to the team and started chanting something Wes couldn’t quite make out over the roar of the stadium outside, but the rest of the team picked it up. Suddenly, ESPN and the other broadcast cameras surrounded them, capturing the shot. Wes turned to face the team, and what they were chanting hit him square in the chest.
They were chanting his name.
He grabbed Colton and shoved their helmets together. ESPN was right there, watching. “I love you, brother,” Wes grunted.
Colton grabbed his helmet. “I fucking love you, too. Let’s go win this.”
The team roared out of the tunnel, fireworks shooting off around them as they tore out to the fifty. Wes spun, trying to orient himself. It was so different in the stadium now, with the fireworks going and the lights dim, only the neon lights and the flash of fifty