"Under the Friday Night Lights," by Ethan S.

The field at Flowers Park was not very fancy, but it felt like home to us. The grass was patchy and rough, the lines were painted for a soccer field, and the goalposts were messed up completely, but every Friday night it turned into a football field and playing there felt like playing in the NFL. The lights shined bright, and the sky slowly changed from day to night. Parents, and fans filled the bleachers, talking loudly and were all bundled up to stay warm. I stood on the sideline tightening my helmet strap, trying to ignore the fact that I am super nervous right now. My name is Warren, and I play wide receiver. I'm average size compared to the team, but I really rely on speed and focus rather than strength, since I am pretty skinny. This game meant more than any other because if we won, we would make the championship game for the first time in years, but if we lost, our season would be over. Will, our quarterback, walked past me and bumped my shoulder, smiling like he always did asking “You ready?” He hardly ever looked nervous, although the pressure was high. Coach Steff called the team together, reminding us to trust each other and be physical, and even though I nodded, my hands were still shaking inside my gloves.

The game started and it was intense, with our defense making big stops. The crowd was cheering loudly. Will was throwing dots, and for a while everything was going perfectly. Then in the second quarter, Will threw me the ball down the sideline on a go route, and it was a perfect playcall, I was wide open for a touchdown. It was a perfect spiral coming straight for my hands. I ran as hard as I could, reached out, and somehow the ball went right through my fingers and hit the ground. The sound of the ball bouncing off the grass felt louder than anything else. The crowd went quiet, and my mind was full of frustration. Will ran by and told me to “lock in” and “your good. Don't stress it., and I knew he was right, but I couldn't believe that just happened. After that, everything went downhill for me. I was hesitating on my routes, and even missed a block. By halftime, we were down, and the energy from before was gone. In the locker room, it was quiet, nobody wanted to say a word. Will slammed his helmet against the wall and said we were beating ourselves, and I stared at the floor replaying the ball going through my hands over and over again. Coach Steff came over and asked if I was good, and I admitted that I felt like I sold the game. He told me that you're going to mess up in life but what separates winners and losers is how you bounce back. I know I'm a good player. I just have to prove it again, to myself.

The second half started worse than we could imagine. The other team scored again, making the score a 10 point game. Then something unexpected happened, Will got sacked hard and stayed on the ground longer than he should have. The entire field went silent, my mind was racing with what could've just happened to him. Coach Steff ran out, and after a stressful moment Will sat up holding his shoulder. Coach Steff said he couldn't keep playing, and suddenly everyone thought the game was over. No chance we win now. Our backup quarterback, Logan, went in. He seemed more nervous than I was as he stepped onto the field. The first play didn't go great, the snap was bad, and he rushed the throw, but I still ran my route because I knew quitting wasn't an option. The next play was 2nd and 10. The ball came straight toward me on a slant route across the middle of the field, it was low and fast, and this time I caught it and held on to it as strong and tight as I could until I was tackled just after getting the first down. The crowd cheered as the chains on the side line were moving forward. All the nerves went away inside me. I felt like I had to prove myself and this was just the start.

 I caught another pass, then another one. We were quickly marching down the field. Logan started to get a hang of it. The team began cheering from the sideline motivating the offense even more.The energy quickly shifted. By the fourth quarter, we were only 3 points away from tying the game.The lights seemed brighter than ever. With just 2 and a half minutes left, we had one last drive. The ball was in our hands. The game was weighing on our offense. In the huddle, Logan called the play, and I had a corner route to the right side of the end zone. I could hear my heart pounding, but I nodded and lined up, ready to do this. My mind flashed back to me dropping the ball in the first half. I've been using it to motivate myself the whole game. “Come on. Come on.” I muttered to myself.

The ball was snapped, and I sprinted the fastest I could, my legs burned every step. Logan threw the ball high into the air towards the side of the endzone, and for a second, time slowed down. A defender was trailing right behind me. Then I jumped, caught the ball against my chest, and crashed to the ground while keeping 1 foot in bounds. When I looked up and saw the referee raise his arms signaling a touchdown, I felt a rush of happiness that I will forever remember. My teammates ran toward me, yelling and cheering, and even Will was screaming from the sideline. We won. We won the game. We’re going to the championship! As we walked off the field under the shining lights, I realized that the win was far from perfect. But we pushed through and the way we bounced back is what made us winners. Even though I got in my head during the first half after that one big drop, all it did was prove that one mistake doesn't define who you are.