Created by: Ciara Hancock
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“ My celebration was short-lived. As I continued to dance around with the
ball in my outstretched arms, I sensed a commotion on the field a few
feet behind me. I glanced back. Nate Brown, the Milbury tight end, was
still lying on the ground. Something wasn’t right (3).”
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During this conflict everyone’s attitude changes in the story. Something is
wrong with one of the characters, Nate Brown. He is still on the ground
not moving. This event could effect his whole life.
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“ The paramedics brought a stretcher with them as they crossed the
field. They had another device I recognized from TV medical shows. It
was a “halo” used to keep an accident victim’s neck stable in the case of
a spinal injury.(5-6)”
Didn’t have time to put pictures on the rest of the slides.
This incident is important because Nate Brown could have a spinal injury.
This accident could change his life forever if it is serious. This doesn’t
really change the characters attitude right now because he is
unconscious.
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“ I nodded. One of the first things my tackle football coaches had taught
me in Pop Warner was never to lead with your helmet. It was illegal.
They called it spearing. Still, I had seen plenty of kids do it over the
years. But nobody had ever been paralyzed before.(8-9)”
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This explains everything about the conflict. This conflict reveals that
something serious could happen to one of the characters. This could
change everything about Nate Brown’s life, he could never walk again.
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“ The crowd went wild. Everybody in the stadium, including the close to
two thousand Lincoln fans dressed in black and white, stood and
applauded. Nate Brown came from the Milbury sideline, walking with the
aid of a cane. I couldn’t believe how quickly he made it out to
midfield.(159)
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This conflict reveals that Nate Brown can walk again and won’t be in a
wheelchair for the rest of his life. Nate Brown’s attitude completely
changes from the beginning of the story when he and everyone else
thought he would never be able to walk again.
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“ The referee motioned for us to return to our benches. From the
sidelines, I looked out to midfield where Brown still lay. He was
surrounded by Milbury coaches and training staff. Dr. Steven’s , who was
on-call for all out Lincoln home games, was out there too.(4)”
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In this setting this is after Nate Brown gets hurt. He is just lying on the
ground surrounded by coaches and training staff. This action reveals that
something is wrong with Nate Brown, and he can’t get up.
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“ That’s the Intensive Care Unit. It’s on the third floor. But he can’t have
visitors unless you’re family.(26)”
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In this setting Reggie is trying to go see Nate Brown at the hospital. But
he is not aloud to see him if he is not family. This reveals that Nate is in
serious condition if he is in the ICU.
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“ ‘Before we begin tonight’s game, I’d like to have your attention for a
special introduction, ‘ the announcer continued. The crowd hushed.
‘Please welcome back to Miner Stadium to take the ceremonial kickoff,
Milbury’s own Nate Brown!(159)’”
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This setting is important because Nate is walking onto the field to do the
kickoff, which means he can walk again. Since Nate can walk again this
changes his attitude completely at the end of the story.
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“ I leaped, stabbing out my right hand and batting the football from the
air. It fell into my left arm, and I slapped both hands over it.
Interception! Plays like this were what every high school middle
linebacker lived for.(2)”
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Reggie Scott is excited because of what just happened. He just made an
interception, and every high school linebacker lived for one of those. So
at that moment his attitude is positive.
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“ I was stunned. A few minutes earlier, we had all been full of adrenaline
and emotion. Now we were silently trudging back to our locker room.
This was a worse than a loss. A lot worse.(7)”
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This reveals that something bad has happened. All the characters in the
story are now silent, and they had to stop the football game. Everyone
during this time is in shock and confused so everyone’s attitude has
changed.
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“ I mulled it over for a few seconds. I wasn’t really feeling hungry. In
fact, my mind was not on food at all. It was on Nate Brown. I kept seeing
him being carried off the field. I kept seeing his mother breaking down
on the field.(13)”
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This text reveals that Reggie’s attitude has changed completely from
when he made his interception. He doesn’t have an appetite anymore. All
he can think about is what happened to Nate Brown and how his mom
started crying.
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The author’s purpose of this novel is to show that if you play
sports then play the way you should and the way you were
taught.
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One example would be that since Nate Brown tried tackling
Reggie Scott and did it the wrong way by leading with his
helmet that caused him to end up on the hospital.
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Another example would be that since Nate Brown did that he
caused himself to have a spinal injury which could have
paralyzed him for the rest of his life.
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The last example is that they always teach you how to do
certain things and if you don’t follow what you were taught it
could change your life, like Nate was almost paralyzed.