After stretching, the team separated for drills. The freshmen definitely had talent, but it would take much more time and practice before any of them would start seeing field time. The new additions to the offense were the "golden boys" form across the nation, but the dynamic was greatly lacking. [i]College ball is nothing like high school.[/i] The same could be said for the defense, except those boys were making bolder moves. Even during the first practice, these guys were playing as if they were on a mission. Shit talk followed every hard hit, and Coach Carriel applauded the enthusiasm. Rafa wasn't all for it, and a mixture of interest from the talent on the field and frustration from the Freshmen's cockiness boiled in him.

Through practice, Rafa was able to watch his backup's fuck-up and the Freshman Bustamante lay out Colin. Even after the follow-up play and Colin's TD, he still wondered if Bustamante would still have been able to do it. Off to the side, Rafa and Coach Carriel exchanged a couple words, and both agreed for a little show before the end of practice: the starting offense vs. a predominantly Freshman defense led by Brick.

Rafa called the play, and both sides fell into place. He saw his tight end to his left, and McKenna lined up in the gap before him. His fullback stood behind to his left, and Adam to his right. Both his receivers were to his left, with Colin behind the line. These were technicalities, though. This was the play that got them into the post-season last year.

The center snapped the ball, and Rafa already knew where this one was going. The tight end moved forward past the line, but McKenna gave the guard a slip and could see him approaching. Rafa jerked his head to his FB and shouted "light him up!". In his sights, he could see Brick ready to lay out the TE and Rafa re-audibled and made a 25-yard pass to Colin before the tackle by Bustamante. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the FB fly backwards towards him. Rafa stepped aside as McKenna toppled over the monster. Rafa was furious that a Freshman managed to flat-back his FB, and the shit talk that followed only aggravated it. He helped his FB get back up on his feet, and was ready for a second go. He was bent on some form of retaliation or validation.

But, Coach Carriel blew the whistle. He gave a little congratulations to the Freshmen that made it here, expressed hopes for the season, and ended it with the typical, semi-joking "Don't fuck up my streak".

---

In the locker room, Rafa lightened up a bit. He was ready to get back to the Watchtower and relax in his very-much deserved Captain's room. It was essentially the master bedroom, and had a doped-out full modern bath to itself. He was surprised Bustamante got a room in there and not in one of the Freshman dorms, but he supposed it was part of the agreement to secure the kid.

"Party at the Watchtower tonight!" announced Rafa. His voice echoed through the locker room, and a cheer erupted. He turned towards Adam and Brick, who had lockers adjacent to his: "You ready for the biddies tonight? Cheer team has been here all summer, and I'mma get the Alpha Phi's and DG's that are still around to come through."