Lacrosse Firestorm Read Free Page A

Michael held it instead of passing. He dodged and feinted his way around two defenders, including Todd, and fired the
     ball into the empty net.
    “Oh, yeah!” Evan bellowed.
    Michael raised a hand to acknowledge the praise, and then pretended to lick his finger and make a tally mark in the air. “One
     for the good guys,” he said as he strode to the center X.
    Garry bit his lip to keep from remarking about how easy it was to score when there wasn’t a goalie to block the shot.
Let yourmoves do the talking for you
, he told himself as he squatted for the face-off.
    Christopher put the ball between them, then trotted back out of the way and yelled, “Game on!”
    This time, Garry’s stick covered the ball before Michael’s did. With a practiced flick, he sent the ball bouncing across the
     grass to Pedro. Pedro scooped it up and made a dash for the goal.
    Once more, Samuel challenged him. He mirrored Pedro the length of the field, positioning himself between the attackman and
     the goal.
    Pedro saw he didn’t have a clean shot. He couldn’t find an open man to pass to either, so he kept moving until he was behind
     the goal.
    Garry hurried to the top of the crease, in case Pedro came around the other side ofthe goal. Todd was several steps behind him, with Michael defending him.
    Conor, meanwhile, raced down to take up position behind the goal with Pedro. “Pick!” he said urgently as he ran by the Wallis
     brothers.
    Garry glanced at Todd to see if he’d heard Conor. Todd was cutting to the left of the goal, Michael at his side. Garry grinned.
     His brother had heard, all right!
    The pick was one of Garry’s favorite plays. While Conor and Pedro played keep-away from Samuel with the ball behind the net,
     he darted back and forth in front of the goal, stick up as if he were waiting for a pass. Jeff matched his every step. Todd,
     meanwhile, was dancing around as if trying to elude Michael.
    Then suddenly, Garry hit the brakes, backpedaled away from Jeff, and planted himself near Todd.
    At the same time, Todd rushed toward his brother. Michael followed, watching Todd intently.
    Blam!
Michael ran smack into Garry! The blow nearly knocked Garry off his feet, but that was the price one paid when setting a
     successful pick.
    Now free of his defender, Todd raced on, caught the throw from Conor, and rocketed the ball into the net.
    Garry whooped and ran to give his brother a jumping high five.
    Michael pounded his stick into the ground and snarled, “Enjoy it now, Wallises. It’s the last time either of you will touch
     the ball this afternoon!”

5
    M ichael backed up his threat by winning the third face-off. But his team didn’t have possession for long because Carl missed
     the scoop, giving Andrew time to dash forward and nab the ball out of the grass.
    “Go for it!” Garry yelled.
    Andrew threw over to Brandon. Brandon relayed it to Todd. Todd ran with the ball for several feet and then sent it downfield
     toward Pedro …
    … who didn’t get it because Samuel stoleit, turned on a dime, and flashed it back the other way to Eric. Then Samuel, Eric, and Evan thundered down the field, passing
     back and forth, with Michael, Jeff, and Carl racing along in front of them.
    “Pass it up already, will you?” Michael yelled.
    Eric obeyed — only to see Todd leap up and slap the ball down to the ground.
    “Whoo-hooo!” Garry whooped, marveling at how much his brother had improved since spring.
    Todd scooped up the ball and threw to him. Garry made a clean catch and started down the field. Pedro, running parallel and
     just a bit ahead, signaled for a pass. Garry fired the ball to him.
    Wham!
Moments after the ball left his stick someone slammed into him from behind, knocking him to the ground!
    Tweet!
The sharp whistle brought play to a halt.
    “What’re you doing?” Coach Hasbrouck bellowed. “This is lacrosse, not football!”
    Garry rolled over, spat out his mouth guard, and sat up, dazed. “What