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Sam looked back and forth between his two coaches, the stadium lights glinting in his hazel eyes.

“You can trust me.”

He sounded sure, and Jade knew that she had no other choice, so she took a deep breath of her own and nodded once. “Get your guard in and your helmet on, and get out there. Tell them what I said about four-three.”

The boy barely had time to get himself together before the referee blew the whistle, signaling that the time-out was over.

“Vonte,” Jade called out. “You keep an eye on him out there. No matter what happens tonight, that boy is your responsibility from now on. Think of him as your own little mentee.”

Vonte’s grumbling was an agreement, but Jade knew she’d be hearing an earful about this from him later.

She and Lim stood side by side with their arms crossed.

“You scared?” Franny spoke just loud enough for her to hear.

“Terrified. If we lose after all this…”

“We won’t.”

“We’d better not.”

“We won’t.”

A 4-3 defensive strategy called for four down linemen and three linebackers. The players were aligned so they could try to control the gaps in West Beaufort’s offense, which would allow Greenbelt to aggressively keep them from moving up the field with the ball. This type of play was less popular these days in favor of showier ones, but Jade figured that just meant the other team wouldn’t expect them to use it.

They’d spent months running this defense in practice, but she’d never had them bring it out in a game before. It was a risky move, and she was betting everything on her boys having it down to a T.

The second the scrimmage started, West Beaufort’s quarterback took off with the ball tucked. Greenbelt’s two outside linebackers spread to protect their gaps, and the down linemen in the middlespread just enough for coverage. West Beaufort’s QB stalled for a moment, his feet skidding on the turf as he attempted to decide which way he was going to try to run the ball.

This was all the time Sam needed to charge forward, an unexpected force taking over the field. The seconds ticked by, the number on the clock growing smaller and smaller. Jade held her breath as Sam sprinted closer to the quarterback; any sudden movements or changes and the kid’s trajectory could be thrown off. If he missed this tackle, it could mean missing out on their last chance to keep West Beaufort from scoring again.

They were only one touchdown away from Greenbelt’s lead becoming a tie, and they damn sure did not want a tie. They wanted a win.

The sound of the bodies impacting seemed to process faster than actually watching it happen. One moment, Sam was throwing himself into the air, taking the other player down to the ground, and the next, the final buzzer was going off.

Jade’s heart thundered in her chest, and her stomach heaved like she was about to throw up.

“Jade!” Lim’s voice was frantic. “Oh my God, Jade. They did it. They did it, Jade.”

Jade couldn’t speak. Her head was filled with static as blood rushed to her ears. All she could do was nod.

The players ran onto the field, but she couldn’t follow them. All she could do was stand on the sidelines and watch as the joy overtook her team. All the sounds of the world faded out as she watched them jumping through the air, arms wide, mouths grinning. They had all worked so hard for this. Grueling hours on the field practicing in the cold and heat until blisters formed on their hands and their bodies were too tired to stand upright.

Coaches who had forgone family dinners and time at home totravel the state for games all season. Folks who had worked tirelessly with her to foster strength and camaraderie among these kids. All of them watched on as their players were unabashed in their exuberance.

She couldn’t help but think about herself too. All those years of waiting and hoping and pushing. The fighting and clawing she’d had to do to prove to everyone that she was fit to coach football at all, let alone as head coach. Just for her to bring the team to their first championship win during her first year as head coach. No, she hadn’t done it alone—and she would never claim that she had. But this win was hers too.

All her senses flowed back into her body slowly, and the first thing she heard upon coming back to herself was the announcer’s tinny voice through the booming stadium speakers.

“And there you have it, folks! Greenbelt is our new 2024 South Carolina state champion.”

It was one of the most beautiful things she’d ever heard.

Jade had been coming to Minnie’s for the better part of three decades and never once had she gotten to sit in the giant half-circle booth in the back. That table had always been reserved for large parties and, well, she’d never been part of a party large enough to earn a seat at it.

Until now.

It was a Saturday night in January. Too hot for the time of year in Greenbelt but still beautiful out. Instead of being out at a bar or hanging around someone’s backyard, her friend group was sitting around a table at Minnie’s Diner eating peach cobbler like it was their last meal. Truthfully, she wouldn’t have had it any other way. She was sandwiched between Franny and Miri, with Aja and WalkerAbbott on Miri’s other side. Across the table, Olivia and Leo Vaughn sat in chairs. In the center of the table were two whole cobblers and half a gallon of ice cream. Their waitress had simply left them with the scoop and told them to go nuts. Which they had, judging by the tightness in Jade’s belly.