I'M BEAT UP but adrenaline is keeping me hyped. I give a single clap and we break huddle. We've done this next play a million times and it's usually good for a few yards. I fake a handoff, drop back, and lift my arm. A Scorpion hits me from behind and the ball flies away. Luckily, a Pronghorn picks it up and scrambles for those few yards we needed so desperately. I pick myself up from the field and feel a twinge in my hip.

No time to think about it.

We make steady gain ...