11 The Moose Goes Nuts

Chapter 11 The Moose Goes Nuts We ran out onto the field and got ready to receive the kickoff. One of the Sharks walked by me. "You guys are toast." He sneered. That guy totally made no sense at all. Toast is bread that was in a toaster. I'm a person, and I've never been in a toaster. How could a person fit inside a toaster, anyway? He'd have to be really small. I'd rather be one of those muffins made of rags. We lined up, and the Sharks kicked off to start the second half. Andrea picked up the bouncing ball. She faked left, and some Shark went flying by her.

She faked right, and another Shark missed the tackle. Andrea was faking left and right, and the Sharks were falling all over themselves trying to tackle her! Everybody started screaming with excitement. Andrea was running downfield, dancing and leaping past the Sharks. She pirouetted and Irish stepped and hip-hopped around the Sharks. They couldn't lay a hand on her!

Finally, Andrea clog danced into the end zone. Touchdown! We actually scored! Everybody was going crazy. Football is a lot like dancing, I guess, except that you get to knock guys on their butts. Suddenly, I didn't feel tired or sore anymore. Andrea is a really good soccer player, so Coach Hyatt said she could kick the extra point. Sharks 77, Moose 7. After we all calmed down, Andrea kicked off. We ran down the field and gang tackled the Shark with the ball. He fumbled it. Andrea scooped the ball up and ran it all the way into the end zone! Sharks 77, Moose 14. Coach Hyatt called time-out and

gathered us all around her. "Okay, A.J.," she said, "from now on, I want you to be our wide receiver." "But I'm the quarterback!" I protested. "That's my position." "We're going to try something new," the coach told me. "From now on, Andrea is the quarterback." "WHAT?! That's not fair!" "Do you want to win?" Coach Hyatt asked me. "Or do you want to complain?" "Can't I do both?" "We're a team!" Coach Hyatt barked. "You ragamuffins picked up my car as a team, and you play as a team! Now go out there and win this one for the Chipper!" "Who's the Chipper again?" I asked. I had forgotten who the Chipper was.

"My hamster!" Coach Hyatt barked. "He got run over by a bulldozer, remember?" "Oh, yeah." I didn't feel good about being replaced as quarterback, but I ran out on to the field anyway. Well, I'm glad I did. Because after that, the Moose just went nuts! With Andrea at

quarterback and me at wide receiver, we were unstoppable. Every pass she threw went right into my hands. When the Sharks had the ball, Andrea would intercept their passes and run the ball all the way down the field to score. We made touchdown after touchdown. Field goal after field goal. Andrea was leaping and diving and spinning and clogging and hip-hopping. The Sharks were totally dazed and confused. It was amazing! Everybody in the bleachers was going crazy. Sharks 77, Moose 44. Sharks 77, Moose 51. Sharks 77, Moose 58. Sharks 77, Moose 65. Sharks 77, Moose 72. After Andrea scored that last touchdown, one of the Sharks went over to her and said, "Hey, kid! Where'd you learn how to play