‘What needs to be done?’ asked Jaden, now talking seriously.
‘Everything they won’t expect us to do. We’re running first and every match Jaden has started as our runner. They’re expecting that. This time I’ve given the band to Corey. They won’t expect it with his injury. Corey, I want you to take it home for us.’
Corey blinked slowly as he lowered his head to show acknowledgement.
‘It’s as we’ve said—Jaden fakes the run and draws the defence, we back him up while the real runner races behind. They’re bigger than us, so we have to rely on skill. Got it?’
‘Got it,’ they echoed.
‘Right, boys, this is it,’ said Bo. ‘When we’re set, the game begins. Ready?’
‘Ready!’
‘Go!’
They quickly split apart to find their respective positions of offence, signalling for the referees to blow the whistles to start the match. The battle between Jaden’s team, the Dynasty, and Ardim’s Pioneers would begin.
This was the tennagen field of so much history, where so much of Callibrian culture had been changed. The field was two hundred yards in length, divided into four sections of fifty yards apiece with a different type of natural hazard in each. Jaden warmed up his legs in the first section, while the four others were in the next. The game was simple enough; a team of five must choose a player in secret to wear the runner’s band under their left sleeve and get across the other end of the field without being caught by the defence. The strategy needed to complete such a task, however, was anything but simple. At the centre line the stream that ran across the entire field forced players to choose between two wooden bridges seventy yards apart, or swim across it, which would cause them to lose valuable time and energy. Players were then required to navigate through large rocks, ditches, trees and dense fern plantations without being caught by the defence.
Once held, a player was treated as out and caused the surrounding fifteen yards to become known as a dead zone after two seconds. This forced the attacking team to be careful where they were tackled and held, for fear of hindering the runner’s path. The defenders were often separated for this reason also, so that they wouldn’t cancel out their team before they were able to make a tackle of their own.
All tackles were legal, so long as the harm inflicted was not intentional. Players had mastered the ability to make things seem accidental, but had become reluctant as the ones being tackled learnt of ways to harm their attacker in a similar manner. Among the best players, there were rarely injuries sustained, as much from mutual respect as ability to counter anything that came their way.
Another whistle was blown. The round had begun. Jaden had moved up to his team in the second section and jumped into a full sprint with them toward halfway. They knew they would need speed to defeat their opponents. If caught behind the bridges, they would be tackled with ease.
They made it past the bridges with a good twenty yards to spare. Dion made first contact with a defender, pulling him down to the ground and creating the first dead zone on the left side. Konnor soon followed his lead as he took the next defender down with him, and Bo jumped at Ardim’s ankles to pull him down before he could chase after Jaden. Corey was running side by side with Jaden on the right side of the field, appearing as a protector. He dropped back a little, allowing the two defenders remaining to think they could grab Jaden without hindrance. They often used a double team, as Jaden had shown in the past that one usually wasn’t enough to keep him from dodging past them.
It worked. Corey faked that he was going to tackle the first defender that reached them, then dodged to the left past the next defender as they both ran full pace at Jaden. Jaden was tapped on his ankle and tripped a little before being brought down a few yards later, but the rest of the field had been left open for Corey to make an easy run to the end line. The crowd erupted in cheers as he displayed the runner’s band triumphantly, and then he casually ran back to the praise of his friends, who celebrated with a one-to-nil start on the Pioneers.
Their cheers were silenced in the next round as Ardim made a valiant and unexpected effort at jumping almost the entire distance of the stream. He passed the defence and scored what was looked upon as one of the easiest points ever made. Bo called out to his team to stay focused, assuring them it was still early, but they had to be a little more cautious than to leave such a wide opening.
The next rounds saw the Dynasty gain a lead of four points, the Pioneers unable to break their defence or halt their offence. Ardim cursed at his team, shouting at them to get into their positions as practised. It was almost a walkover, nothing as Bo had anticipated from what he had heard of the new coaching.