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so Manny hustled to get his uniform on, and his dad drove him to the school.
    “See you at the game,” Dad said.
    “Right,” Manny said. He was looking forward to the game, but this was nothing like the week before, when he’d had a hollow, nervous feeling, knowing he’d be in the spotlight on those kickoffs. Today he’d be little more than a spectator. He missed the anxiety of the week before.
    Donald and Manny sat together on the bus. Players whooped and smacked each other, getting psyched up for the game, but the two of them stayed pretty quiet. Manny didn’t even feel like part of the team.
    Coach Reynolds gathered the players at the sideline just before the kickoff. “This is one tough league we play in, gentlemen. Week after week, we go against big, quick opponents. We lost a tight one last week, but a win here today will get us right back in the race. Are we ready?”
    “Yes!” shouted the players.
    “I said, Are we ready? ”
    “Yes!” they yelled even louder.
    Coach was quiet for a few seconds. “Then let’s do it,” he said.
    “Let’s go!”
     
    The players spread out along the sideline, waiting for the kickoff. Hudson City was receiving the ball. Manny bounced up and down a few times, feeling a surge of energy. The day was the coolest in quite a while, just right for a football game. Manny was ready to hit somebody, to bring somebody down. But it didn’t seem likely that would happen.
    Hudson City mounted a short drive on its first possession, but wound up punting before reaching midfield. The Newark team didn’t have much luck either, and Fiorelli broke a long return on the Newark punt, sprinting down the sideline in front of the Hudson City bench as his teammates shouted and leaped.
    Fiorelli stumbled slightly as he crossed the 10-yard line, enabling a Newark player to tackle him from behind. But the Hornets had a first-and-goal opportunity.
    “Let’s punch it in!” Coach Reynolds yelled as the offense took the field.
    Vinnie DiMarco called signals and took the snap. He handed the ball to the fullback, Jared Owen, who barreled ahead nearly to the goal line before being stopped. DiMarco dove into the end zone on a quarterback sneak on the very next play, and his extra-point kick gave Hudson City a 7–0 lead.
    “That’s the way!” Coach called. “Kickoff team on the field!”
    Manny felt a sudden chill as the coach called for the kickoff unit. That should be me , he thought. He glanced over at Donald, who was looking out at the field with a scowl.
    Manny turned toward the bleachers. He knew right where his parents and Sal were sitting. He hadn’t told them he was no longer on the kickoff squad. Sal was standing, looking up and down the field. Manny turned back to the game. He swallowed hard.
    The kickoff team did its job, and Newark began at its own 25. The home team had a pair of strong running backs, and they began to find their groove. Eating up 4 or 5 yards at a time, Newark moved down the field, using an occasional short pass to keep the defense on their toes. The drive ate up several minutes and was capped by a 7-yard end-around dash into the end zone.
    Newark attempted to take the lead with a two-point conversion, counting on their fullback to hammer it in for the score. But Anthony muscled past his blocker and filled the hole quickly, bringing the ball carrier down short of the goal line. So Hudson City retained the lead, 7–6.
    Halftime came, and Coach Reynolds was pleased. “They haven’t broken any big gains on us,” he said. “If we can contain those running backs in the second half, we should come out of here with a win.”
    Manny jogged back to the field with his teammates. He wasn’t likely to get any playing time in a game as close as this one, but he’d be ready if the chance arrived.
    “Great play on that extra-point attempt,” he said to Anthony.
    “I was mad that they’d been running all over us on that drive,” Anthony said. “Had to do something