Chapter 56: Hail Mary

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"Santa Ana’s core players have been together for years," the host said. "That chemistry may be why they had a package like this waiting."

"Maybe they were saving it for a deeper round," Roy Feldman said. "A CIF Southern Section semifinal, maybe even the broader California title conversation. But Beverly Hills has pushed them to the edge, and now the Saints have to show it early."

"Both teams have given us a tactical fight worth remembering."

Feldman’s voice had turned electric.

Changing a player’s position in the middle of a game was rare. When timed correctly, it could wreck every defensive answer an opponent had prepared.

This game had already risen above its level. In scheme, execution, and individual performance, it felt bigger than a normal high-school playoff matchup.

On the sideline, the local regional crew began calling back to the station. Staff from ESPN’s high-school desk and Prime Ticket did the same, asking for postgame reporters as soon as possible.

On the field, Santa Ana’s system changed with its personnel.

An elite receiver with real passing ability created a nightmare. The defense had prepared for Eric as the quarterback and Elvis as the explosive target. With the two roles flipped, BHHS had no clean answer.

Santa Ana scored fast, then added the two-point conversion.

Nolan answered with a touchdown drive, but the forced two-point try failed. Matic could not get to the ball.

The gap sat at six.

When Nolan came off, Thomas had pulled off his cap and was nearly clawing at his hair.

He did not have a solution for Santa Ana’s adjustment.

Over the next few possessions, the Saints used the position swap to push the lead back out. Santa Ana added another touchdown and two-point conversion. A bad special-teams snap handed BHHS a safety, but by the time the bodies separated, Santa Ana still led 68-56.

Eric and Elvis switched back after that. Elvis clearly had only a small quarterback package prepared. Once it served its purpose, Eric returned behind center.

Then the Normans took an even worse blow.

Their defensive end went down during a collision and had to be rushed to a medical center near the school.

"Why now?" Thomas muttered, overwhelmed.

BHHS was on the cliff’s edge.

"If their quarterback can change positions," Nolan said suddenly, "why can’t ours?"

Thomas turned toward him.

It was almost the same question as before.

"Do you know what a defensive end’s main job is?"

"Defend the run, pressure the pass, chase and tackle the quarterback," Nolan said.

At least this time, he knew something.

After spending half the night fighting Alberto, he had learned the position by force.

"Do you know even one real defensive call?"

Nolan shook his head.

"Do you know how to play defense?"

Nolan mimed lowering his shoulder into someone.

Thomas nodded.

"Good. Better than last time."

The last time Nolan had been thrown into a new position, he had taken over at quarterback and led the team into the playoffs.

Now?

"Number 43 cannot continue," the announcer said. "The Normans have a hole on the defensive front. Let’s see who Thomas sends in. Wait. That is Nolan Callahan. Coach Thomas is putting his quarterback on defense."

"From a pure body standpoint, Callahan is the rare football athlete who can survive almost anywhere," Feldman said. "Remember, his first game was at wide receiver. He only became quarterback in the fourth quarter."

"How many surprises does this kid have?"

Nolan crouched across from Eric, half-set like a fighter waiting to explode.

Eric smiled at him.

"Ready... set... go!"

Santa Ana snapped the ball.

Nolan drove straight toward Eric and met the right tackle head-on.

Even prepared, the collision punished him. He had not fully adapted to the violence of trench play.

The next second, he wrapped both arms around the tackle’s waist, dug his legs into the turf, and roared.

The man weighed at least 250 pounds.

Nolan lifted him anyway.

He shoved the tackle sideways and tore into the pocket. The tackle grabbed for him and caught only jersey cloth.

By the time Nolan broke free, Eric had already thrown.

"Ever chase something you cannot catch?" Eric said with a smile. "That is you right now."

He wanted Nolan wasting energy. Of course he did. The more the Normans’ core player ran himself empty, the safer Santa Ana became.

On second down, the Saints got the first.

On the next series, Eric went deep. Nolan’s reckless charge cost him. He lost contain, the receiver came open, and Santa Ana pushed the ball to the BHHS 23.

One more Santa Ana touchdown would put the game out of reach.

"How does it feel getting dragged around?" Eric asked quietly.

This time, the others joined in.

"Go home, idiot."

"You want to be a sports star? Maybe Hollywood needs stuntmen."

Eric leaned in farther when Nolan did not answer.

"I heard you are chasing the girl you grew up with. Planning on making some freak-show baby and taking the act on tour? I will buy the first ticket."

He knew Nolan and Katherine were not related by blood. That was the point. The insult only worked if it was dishonest.

Nolan smiled.

"I will remember that."

It was simple.

He would make sure Eric Barrera did not leave the field on his feet.

Before Santa Ana’s scoring play, Nolan murmured instructions to several defensive players.

The snap came.

The receiver on Nolan’s side was immediately bracketed by two defenders.

Nolan read the play through a quarterback’s eyes: the formation, Santa Ana’s tendencies all game, and Eric’s choice to taunt him right before the snap.

The answer snapped into place.

The outside linebacker closed toward Eric. Roberto had already drifted away on his blocking assignment.

Eric had one clean lane left.

Nolan’s lane.

Eric kept the ball and charged.

Nolan started too.

At the last second, Eric tried to cut.

He realized too late that Nolan was faster than he had allowed himself to believe.

There was no time to brake.

Nolan turned his body and showed the shoulder.

Eric hit him like a car hitting a concrete barrier. His arms flung upward with the helpless motion of a crash-test dummy. The impact threw him backward, and his helmet struck the turf first as he folded into the ground.

Nolan’s full-force hit knocked Eric unconscious.

It might have ended more than one game.

That had been the point.

Nolan had not truly been defending. He had been hunting.

Santa Ana players shoved him away and shouted in his face.

Nolan looked innocent.

"This is football," he said. "Isn’t it?"

Losing their core player broke Santa Ana’s rhythm. Their backup quarterback came in with less talent, no time to breathe, and the full weight of the moment on his shoulders.

He made the mistake.

The Normans intercepted him.

The return became a touchdown, and BHHS converted the two-point try.

Santa Ana still led, 68-64.

Nolan looked at the scoreboard.

The game had tilted, but time had almost disappeared.

Twenty-five seconds remained.

"Do not forget what I told you," Nolan said before the final drive. "We win this game."

His confidence was absolute as he called the last play.

The snap came.

Nolan did not throw immediately. He dropped, then kept dropping. Santa Ana’s first instinct was to protect the end zone. They believed deep coverage would finish the game.

Then the Normans released all at once.

Every eligible receiver sprinted toward Santa Ana’s end zone.

Santa Ana’s coach saw it first.

"What are you waiting for?" he screamed. "Go get Callahan!"

The Saints finally charged.

Nolan did something even stranger.

He ran backward toward his own end zone.

Ten seconds.

A Norman receiver crossed into Santa Ana’s end zone.

Three seconds.

Nolan launched the ball.

This throw carried everything. It left his hand like a shell from a cannon and climbed over the field. Santa Ana defenders jumped, but the ball passed beyond their fingertips.

"Hail Mary!"

The host and Feldman both rose out of their seats.

The whole stadium seemed to hold its breath.

Three seconds felt like a century.

The ball flew nearly the length of the field.

In Santa Ana’s end zone, Flea rose among bodies, arms wide.

He secured it.

Touchdown.

The clock hit zero with the ball in Flea’s hands.

No extra point was needed.

BHHS 70, Santa Ana 68.

Nickoll Field exploded.

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