It was now the second quarter, with the score the same as it was from the beginning of the game. The Devil Bats had been stopped deep in Taiyo territory by a pass that was tipped at the line that sent the ball off course and into the hands of a defender. He was immediately tackled and Sphinx's ensuing drive took up the rest of the quarter as well as the beginning of the second quarter that ended with an interception in the end zone.

There was just over a minute left to play in the half and the Devil Bats were on their own twenty-five yard line. They needed to drive seventy-five yards to pay dirt.

Ichigo hiked the ball and dropped back with his the all held behind his head as if he was going to pass. Kurenai ran up as if she was going to block but at the last possible second, Ichigo lowered the ball and handed it off to Kurenai who ran to the gap between the guard and tackle. As soon as she got there, the hole closed up and she ran off to the right, alongside the offensive line and then ran up past the tight end to see a cornerback had doubled back in case it was a run. She ran up to him and then, suddenly spun past him to the left and gained five more yards before being tackled.

Ichigo looked at the clock before going into the huddle that read one minute seven seconds, and it kept running. He then turned his attention to the huddle.

"Okay, we've got time for two more plays maybe three, let's try and waste as much time as we can."

The Devil Bats lined up in the standard I formation. Ichigo shouted out the cadence and Akira hiked him the ball to begin the play. Ichigo dropped back looking like he was going to pass. Ryan and Chris took off up the field as the Sphinx's secondary hesitated wondering if Ichigo was going to pull the same stunt as before to get yardage or was he really going to pass.

They got their answer when they saw Kurenai and Kyozo take positions on either side of Ichigo, protecting him as he waited to throw to an open receiver. However, their answer came too late. Ichigo launched the ball like a bullet straight to Ryan, who was running an In route. He caught the ball, took a few steps, held out the ball slightly and tossed it into the hands of Chris who was going the opposite direction and then took off up field. The defense had committed to Ryan catching the ball and didn't expect Chris to get it. Chris had his sights set on the end zone and could make as long as he out ran his pursuers. He figured he had out ran them since he was running full sprint the opposite direction they were when he got the ball.

He turned his head to look behind him just in time to see the Sphinx's safety on his heals, with an out stretched arm. "Oh bloody hell." He said as he felt a hand grab his jersey and begin to slow him down.

The defender was able to get both arms around him and bring him to the ground at the Taiyo nine yard line. Chris was disappointed that he didn't score but he had gained a good bit of yardage.

Ichigo explained the next play in the huddle and afterwards, the team lined up in their respective positions. Everyone lined up the same except for Kyozo and Kurenai. Ichigo stood in the shotgun formation with his two running backs on both sides of him. Ichigo eyed the defense that was set up into the nickelback formation.

The nickelback formation is when a defense uses five defensive backs in a possible passing situation. The Devil Bats weren't necessarily in a passing situation but it would be a wise decision considering they were low on time, with only seconds to play before the half.

"SET! HUT! HUT!"

The ball was snapped and Ichigo almost immediately cocked back his arm to throw it to Chris. He thrust his arm forward but didn't let go of the ball. The receiver put up his hands as if he was ready to catch the ball as a decoy to bring the cornerback to him. Ichigo then brought down the ball and held it behind his back as Kurenai came up to take it.

"IT'S THE STATUE OF LIBERTY PLAY!" Players of the Sphinx shouted in hopes to get their teammates who hadn't realized what kind of play it was to run for the quarterback.

Kurenai ran out from behind Ichigo with her body hunched forward and her arms held against her chest. The defenders ran towards Kurenai as Ichigo took off for the end zone. It only took the defenders a second to realize that Kurenai didn't have the ball but Ichigo had it but it was too late. In the actual Statue of Liberty play, the quarterback will fake a pass and then as he his bringing the ball down, he will hand it off to the running back from behind his back and the running back will run it as far as he can go. In this case, Ichigo never handed the ball off to Kurenai, who ran off acting like she had the ball, faking out the defense. With the defense distracted just long enough, Ichigo was able to pull the ball out from behind his back, tuck it in his arm and run into the end zone.

The referee ran up the line that separated the field from the end zone. He then shot both arms in the air with his fingers pointed straight into the air. And the Devil Bats cheered once again.

"TOUCHDOWN!"