"PIIII!!" With the sound of the referee's whistle, the game entered halftime.
"35-7" was the score that could be read on the stadium scoreboard and in the corners of the television screens of most of the viewers watching the game from their homes.
"And the first half of the matchup is over, in which Clemson knew how to assert themselves over Syracuse, pulling ahead with a lead of nearly 28 points," the voice of Sean McDonough said.
"And that difference would have been even greater if Terrell Hunt hadn't secured a touchdown in the final minutes of this last quarter," Chris Spielman added now that the ESPN cameras pointed at them while the players from both sides headed toward their locker rooms, ready to rest and adjust tactics.
In that aspect, the most desperate team in this regard is obviously the Syracuse team, since losing by such a large margin in their own stadium was something they were not willing to accept without fighting until the last minute.
"And in other scores, the Miami Hurricanes defeated the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets with a score of 45-30 at Hard Rock Stadium in Florida," Sean said, changing the subject to talk about other results in the ACC conference.
"Stephen Morris is having a great season this year at the helm of the Hurricanes," Chris continued talking while the television screens shifted to show highlights of the game that concluded before this one.
On the screen, one could see the Florida offense wearing orange jerseys against the white and gold uniforms of Georgia Tech, in a clear situation where Miami found themselves on offense.
Receiving the ball, Stephen Morris dropped back while the offensive line held off the Georgia Tech defense and the receivers began to run deep, heading directly toward the end zone.
Taking a few seconds to properly adjust his throw, Stephen launched the ball, which cut through the entire line of scrimmage and traveled like a homing missile in the direction of junior receiver Phillip Dorsett II, who hauled it in before falling with the ball in the end zone.
"That play was one of the highlights of the game and one of the 3 passing touchdowns that the state of Florida team secured," Chris said while both commentators appeared in a corner as they watched the play that had been executed.
After that, they continued talking about other highlights from past games and the players to keep in mind for this football season.
Locker Room
The Syracuse team's locker room was in a deathly silence, where even the sound of a pin drop would resonate in that space.
None of the players spoke; they just remained in total silence, still remembering the difficulty they had faced in this first half of the matchup.
"35-7." More than 4 touchdowns just to be able to catch up to the Tigers team, and that was if they prevented the other team from reaching the end zone as well, which to be honest seemed like an absolute challenge.
Outside the locker room, Coach Shafer had his hand on the doorknob, as if he still didn't dare enter the locker room to see how his players were downcast and with their morale on the floor after that disastrous first half.
"Let's get this over with," he thought, and then pushed the door open hard and entered the locker room, with the sound of the door echoing throughout the room, drawing the attention of some of the players who, upon seeing it was the coach, lowered their heads.
"Listen," the coach said, trying to capture the attention of all his players, who still felt demoralized, with some simply ignoring the coach's presence in the locker room.
"SLAM!" Suddenly, the sound of a blow echoed throughout the locker room, finally capturing the attention of every single player, who fixed their gaze on the coach.
Coach Shafer's fist had impacted against the locker room door, causing the coach to finally have the attention he sought so much from his players.
"Now listen up!!" Coach Shafer shouted, his voice resonating through the entire locker room as he paced around the room.
"I know we are losing by a wide margin, but the game is not over yet, did you hear me? We still have a half left to play," the coach continued with his speech while directing a meaningful look at each of his players, who did not break the gaze the coach gave them.
"So now I want you, when you go back out on that field, to fight with everything you have, because otherwise, I don't care who you are, I won't hesitate for a single second to send you to the showers right now," the coach sentenced forcefully, giving his ultimatum to all the players, who had kept silent.
"Did you hear me?" Coach Shafer suddenly asked upon seeing that none of the players responded to his words.
"Yes, coach," all the players inside the locker room suddenly said at the same time.
"I'm sorry, I can't hear you," the coach said while bringing a hand to his ear.
"YES, COACH!!" the players said this time with more force in their voices; this time, their voices even managed to be heard outside the team's locker room.
At that, a smile settled on the coach's face upon seeing that he was finally getting his players to react and focus back on the game.
One of Coach Shafer's assistants grabbed the whiteboard that was in one of the corners of the locker room and placed it in the middle next to the coach, who grabbed a marker and began to make the relevant adjustments.
"Alright, let's go back to what we know. This time we will prioritize the ground plays even more while limiting the passing game of the Clemson offense," while drawing on the board, the coach explained to each of the players.
"The defense will have one of the most important tasks in the second half, since now they will have to prevent the Clemson team from managing to reach the end zone with complete ease." With that phrase, Coach Shafer's gaze directed toward the half where the majority of his team's defense was gathered, who upon seeing the coach's look, nodded in response.
Seeing how the defense was focused and the determined look the players had, Shafer nodded in a sign of confirmation while continuing to draw routes and plays they would execute in the second half of the game.
"Now then," he finished drawing the routes on the board, to then have his gaze settle on Terrell, the team's quarterback, who had had a mixed performance in the first half of the matchup against Clemson.
"Terrell, I don't think you want to leave the field with this humiliation, right?" the coach asked in Terrell's direction, who up until that moment had not spoken a single word, with his sight pinned completely forward.
Upon hearing the words the coach said in his direction, Terrell clenched his fists unconsciously upon listening to the coach's words while directing a look at his coach that said many things.
"No, coach," Terrell said while his teeth ground, since he clearly did not want to leave the stadium only for the media to not stop talking about how the Clemson team slaughtered his own team all throughout that week.
"That's what I like to hear. The offense will keep passing through your hands, so I hope you keep your composure in the upcoming minutes of the matchup," Coach Shafer told him before finally placing himself at the center of the entire locker room, addressing everyone who was in the small locker room.
"Gentlemen, in this last half, let's show those arrogant boys from South Carolina that we are not finished yet and that if they grow careless, we will end up turning the game around on them," the coach said, lifting the spirit of each of the players before putting his hand in the center.
"Everyone put your hands in the center," he said, so that gradually the players started to stand up and little by little approached until everyone was in the center of the locker room.
"Syracuse on three," the coach began to say. "1, 2, 3."
"SYRACUSE!!" all the players and team personnel shouted while driving their hands upward before the sound at the door indicated to them that it was already time for them to return to the playing field.
"Let's go show them what we are made of, boys," Terrell roared as he picked up his helmet and left the locker room, followed by several of his teammates who also walked out with their heads held high, ready to face the second half of the matchup.
Coach Shafer was the last person who remained inside the locker room until the last player of the team left the room. "I trust in you, boys," was the last thing the coach said before finally walking out and closing the locker room door.
Outside, the Clemson team was already in position, ready for the game to resume, with some of the players laughing and relaxing on the bench since they believed that the game was already won and there would be no surprises.
Nonetheless, one of them couldn't help but notice the change in the postures of the Syracuse players once they had come out of the locker room.
"They are more determined than when they entered their locker room," was the thought that assaulted Wyatt's brain upon seeing the postures of the Syracuse players and how their gazes were fixed on the Clemson players like hungry wolves in search of prey.
"This second half will be more difficult," was Wyatt's verdict before taking a seat and sitting next to the rest of the Clemson offense, since now it was Syracuse's turn to be on offense.
Without wasting a single second, the Syracuse team was already in position, waiting for the Clemson defensive team to enter the field and get into positions.
The moment everyone on the field was in position, and following the sound of the referee's whistle, the game resumed with the ball arriving firmly into the hands of Terrell, who wasted no time and set out to run with the ball firmly secured against his body.
Terrell knew his weaknesses very well, and that was that his medium and long-distance passes were not entirely reliable and in many cases ended up incomplete, but what he trusted most was his ability to run and evade defenses.
Maybe he would never manage to step onto the professional stage of the NFL and play as a professional, but at least for now, he was a player for the Syracuse Orange team and he would do everything possible to score a touchdown against the Clemson team again.
Running with all his might and thanks to the support of the rest of his teammates, Terrell managed to cross the line of scrimmage and keep advancing until finally being brought down by the Tigers team's safety, but securing a valuable new first down for the Syracuse team, who wasted no time and got into position, ready to continue with the drive in question.
Upon seeing how their team was gradually approaching the end zone and was managing to stack up more yards compared to the first half, the Syracuse team fans began to cheer with more fervor for their team.
"Come on boys, you can do it," one of the fans said from his seat, echoing the sentiment that the majority of people and fans of the Syracuse team felt at that moment.
Perhaps it was the atmosphere of the stadium, but gradually the Syracuse players crept even closer in the direction of the end zone, while the Clemson defense briefly entered a period of panic and committed slight mistakes, which were capitalized on by the Syracuse team.
Until finally, following a run by Terrell in which he managed to break through the line of scrimmage, he ended up falling directly into the end zone under the shouts and roars of the crowd of fans who had witnessed the play.
Standing up, Terrell couldn't prevent a smile from appearing under his helmet while heading straight to his bench alongside his teammates and watching how they secured an extra point, putting the score at 35-14.
Author thought
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