Most 16, 17-year-old kids, they make a bad choice,
something gets broken,
they screw up in class,
hurt somebody's feelings,
show up at the prom drunk,
they get sent to the principal's office,
have their car keys taken away
or get grounded.
Then there's kids, they make a bad choice,
somebody ends up shot dead in a parkin' lot.
Those kids get sent here.
- Get off me, homey! - Hey, man!
I'll shut your mouth, punk!
- Weathers! Get off of 'im! Get off-a him! - You don't know me! Shut your mouth!
- Get off me! Don't you ever diss my hood. - I got him! Just get the door!
Goddamn 88.
Let's go, Weathers!
Go back to sleep, guys. Lay down.
What is wrong with you?
Shit!
G'night, Weathers.
Back to bed, gentlemen.
Mr. Porter?
Gettin' beat in the middle of the night, how do you like it, Roger? You like that?
Whatchu hitting me for?
What'd you hit Kelvin Owens for?
He dissed my hood.
And now he's up there asleep and you're stuck in here.
So what does that make you?
Hey, man. Can you do dat?
- Can I do what? - Be smackin' me and shit.
I guess I can.
Shit, man!
Roger, you're 17 years old. Where you gonna be in four years, huh?
I don't know.
Answer me. Where you gonna be when you're 21?
Probably in jail.
What?
Look at me!
What'd you say?
In jail.
No. You're not gonna be in jail. You're gonna be dead.
You're a good kid, Roger.
But you're gonna be back out on the streets tomorrow.
Back in your hood with your homeys.
You wanna stay alive, you gotta make a life for yourself outside of your set.
If you don't do that, if you don't find an alternative,
you're gonna die.
If you want any kinda help, if you want to talk, I'm here for you.
Think about it.
Man, the moon be playin' with me, dawg.
Locked up at camp, used to look up and see it all white and clean.
And think how it's the same o'er here in the hood, only it's all dirty and shit.
Look, man, you back in the hood now, man. You best forget that moon.
Keep your eyes on this here street, man. You're back, baby.
Yo, I remember this poem said once,
The moon is a friend for the lonesome to talk to."
Damn, girl.
You got a poem for everything that come up.
Didn't I tell you she was smart?
Yeah, she so smart why is she witchu, dawg?
Ya know, I ask myself that question all the time.
There they go. There they go.
Yo, lil' homeys. 9-5s just jacked my lil' bro's bike. We gotta get it back.
Yeah, man. Y'all got to come with us.
Case we gotta apply some force to these niggas, man.
Man, don't look to her when there's work to be done, dawg.
Look, man, I ain't got no heat. I'm out here naked, man.
That's cool. I got a extra fo-fo.
Man, what's the matter witcha'll two? What, you ain't ridin' for the hood no more?
Hey, yo, chill, C-Co.
Hold up.
So, whatchu wanna do here, man?
Look, man, if you wanna just chill, we don't gotta do this, man.
There she goes.
Yeah, there she go.
Man, we wastin' time out here. Come on.
I'm cool.
Yo, man, this ain't no damn math quiz. Is you ridin' or not?
Here, bro, you ain't naked no more.
- Come on, man. - Let's roll out.
Put that shit away, man. Hurry up.
Where these niggas at anyway, man?
They 95s, right?
Yo, where these...
- Damn, man! - See, the nigga ain't even breathin', man.
- Lil' Dove! - Shit! He's dead, man!
Shit, man, the damn niggas comin'... He's comin' back.
- Man, let's go. - Come on, nigga!
Shit! Damn!
Damn it!
Roger!
Baby! Roger!
Baby!
Oh, God!
I saw the whole damn thing, officer. Destroying the community.
Get all them damn gangs.
Drac.
Who did this?
95s, man.
One they call Klick.
Yeah, all right.
I know how it hurts. You and Raja like lil' brothers to me, all right?
We gotta do right by him.
Me, I'll deal with Klick.
You put in work on his brother.
His name's Anthony. Works nights, Parkside Market.
Free, let me go wit 'im. I want to smoke some 95s too, man.
C-Co, this here is Drac's work. Right?
For Raja.
Oh, God!
All right, put all reading and writing material and games away.
Hey, come on, homes.
If I see it, it's confiscated.
- Sean. - What's goin' on?
Back up a little bit.
Roger Weathers got killed in a drive-by today.
I said don't rush me, bitch!
See what happens?
What?
- Wassup? - Get back! Enough! Come on!
Wassup?
Junior. Hey!
To the box.
I know the way.
You get your hands behind your back, mister.
We got your back, homey.
That's the third time in the box this week for Junior.
Back in your bunks.
Anyone else wanna laugh and joke with him in the box? Is that it?
I'll send somebody's ass back to the box.
Christ, Malcolm, what are we doin' here?
We're like goddamn sheepherders.
We fatten 'em up and put 'em right back on the street where they get slaughtered.
Tell me about it.
We're not even makin' a dent.
Willie!
Where's Anthony at?
In the back.
Go, baby! Go!
Don't do this, please.
I got two little boys at home.
For my dead homey!
No, don't do this.
Oh, my God, what are you do...
Oh, shit!
Damn!
Where you been? I thought somethin' happened to you.
Naw, I'm a'ight.
Bro, y'all gonna shoot the boys killed Roger?
Dewayne, why would you say... Just shut up.
'Sup, man?
Come here.
- Wassup, Ma? - Here.
What's this?
- It was an accident. - "Accident."
Accident? Why you keep lettin' him do this to you, Ma?
Why you keep lettin' him back in here?
Hey, hey, hey, whyn't you stay outta this, boy.
- Stay outta this? - That's right. She know why she got it.
- This my mother. This is my mother. - Who you talking to?
Naw, Mama, I'm sick of it!
- You better calm him down. - He come and go whenever he please,
take your money and disappear till he need more? I'm tired of this lowlife!
- Stop! - Get off, lowlife woman!
I'm tired of this...
Show me some respect, you little punk.
Don't hit my son! Are you crazy?
- You better show me my respect! - Don't you put your hands on him!
Get off!
I told you, you hurt her again...
You ain't got the balls to shoot me, boy.
Just leave!
Oh, God, no. No, no. No, no, no, no. No. No, baby. No. No.
He's dead.
Listen, Paul, we convince a kid to stop gangbanging, all we do is create a void.
And unless we fill that void with somethin' better, we're gonna lose 'em.
According to the teaching staff, the kids here have trouble being punctual,
responding to authority, being a member of a team, and accepting criticism.
What one activity can improve 'em on all these areas?
- You wanna start a football team? - Exactly.
Sean, look at them.
Our whole system's designed to prevent them from making contact.
Our whole system right now is a joke.
Malcolm, you're not buying into this, are you?
Seventy-five percent of our kids end up back in jail.
How much worse could it be?
Well, who are they gonna play against?
I'll find 'em high school teams to play.
Wait a minute, you wanna take 'em out of the camp?
You really think you can trust these kids?
Not now, no. But if they were a football team...
Oh, come on, Sean. It's impossible.
Then let's try the impossible, because the possible just ain't workin'.
Paul, we've got to give these kids a target and we've gotta fill that void.
You played football, didn't you?
Defensive end. Second Team All League.
All right, we'll give it a try.
But your neck is way out on this.
Mom, they have wheelchairs, ya know.
- I'm okay. - Thank you.
Now, see, I've been tellin' you for years you should coach.
I know. I know, Mom, but I just think with you sick, maybe it's not a good time.
I completely agree.
Why should you do something you love
when you could be sittin' around watchin' me fade away?
So, what kinda offense you gonna run?
I don't even know if enough kids'll wanna play.
Are you kiddin'? Teenage boys'll kill to play football.
That's what everybody's afraid of.
Throw it in. Over here. Down low.
Hey, yo, fetch me that ball, man.
Yo, nigga, you deaf? I said gimme the ball.
What, you can't talk neither?
Yo, Junior.
Take that ball, dawg.
This cat think he king of Samoa 'cause he killed some Mexican with a baseball bat.
Yo, Junior, come on, man.
Catch you on the fly, homey.
Ball in, man.
Whatchu looking at me foul like that for?
I know you.
You a goddamn 88.
Yeah, that's right.
You lucky we up in here.
'Cause on the outs
you'd be dead.
I'll kill you right here, right now.
All right, gentlemen, let's line it up.
Owens, that's you too. Come on, hurry up. Everybody.
Hurry up. Move it.
You wanna play football with this team,
you're gonna live with the team, eat with the team and work with the team.
Is practice gonna be hard?
It's a lot harder than five homeboys beatin' up a security guard, Perez.
Then I'm in.
How 'bout you, Bates?
I don't know.
- Don't be scared. - I'm not scared.
You're on the team.
Yo. I'll play quarterback.
You got any experience, Leon?
Man, I got so much experience
I could give some away and still have more than I could use.
All right.
I'll play.
- I can't use you, Junior. - Why not?
'Cause you got no discipline. You'll be tryin' to start fights every time I turn my back.
You ain't even gonna give me a chance?
You've had plenty of chances.
Who else?
How 'bout you, Owens?
You played defensive back, didn't you? For Washington?
You wanna check your calendar and get back to me?
Or maybe you got another liquor store to rob.
Yeah, I'll play.
How 'bout you, Evans?
I mean, I played Pop Warner when I was younger but that's about it, though.
You're on the team.
I got experience. I played for, like, three years.
- What position'd you play? - Out to the side.
Was that out to the side on offense or defense?
If the ball's thrown from...
Man, I don't know what I'm talkin'.
All right, Bug. How 'bout you be water boy?
- Cool. - All right.
Yo, Mr. Porter. Can I play?
You're getting out in a week, Madlock.
I wanna stay in.
You wanna stay in jail?
Yeah, man. South Central in summertime gets hot.
Gets crazy. People start shootin' each other and stuff.
I'll talk to your case worker.
- All right? - All right.
New booty? What's your name?
Willie Weathers.
Get vertical when you talk to me.
You any relation to Roger Weathers?
He was my cousin, man.
I want you to play on this team, Willie.
Naw, man, it's a'ight.
You're playin'.
Why?
'Cause I want you to live longer than your cousin.
Hey. Who we gonna play against?
We'll let ya know.
All right.
I'm gonna do my stuff, boy.
Well, it's not a jail. It's a juvenile detention center.
But they're criminals?
Yeah. Technically.
Sorry, I can't.
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Coach.
Our players will be closely supervised, no problems.
Sounds fine, as long as there's no gang members.
See, that's the thing. We don't have our own home field.
So you expect to bring 'em here.
Yeah, that's a great idea. We love your field.
I'll come tomorrow.
Sorry, guys, I don't think it's gonna work.
Most of our starters have been in this program for three years.
You have four weeks to prepare your team.
Do you really wanna go up against those kinda odds?
I'll bet ya $100 we win.
We're a Christian school, we don't gamble. I...
Look, I have to be honest with ya.
I don't think it's in the best interest of my kids to play you.
Well, what about our players? Don't they deserve a chance to play?
Well, frankly, no. They lost that chance when they broke the law.
Well, maybe we shouldn't let 'em eat, either. How 'bout that?
Sean.
Mr. Torrance, let me ask you. You a Christian, right?
Yeah.
Now, I'm not that familiar with the exact words,
but didn't Jesus say somethin' like,
Be merciful, just as your Father's merciful,
don't pass judgment and you won't be judged"?
It's the book of Luke.
Give and it'll be given in good measure.
For whatever measure you deal out to others,
it'll be dealt to you in return."
You're not too familiar with it, huh?
No, look, Bob and Mel said it's fine with them if it's fine with you.
I didn't know you were religious.
I ain't religious, but we need all the help we can get for this program.
Wouldn't hurt for you to pray some yourself.
Well, scheduling games on Saturday afternoon,
it isn't easy,
but I think I just got you a full schedule.
- Thank you. - Welcome to the Camino Real League.
Hey, thanks a lot.
Take a knee, half-circle.
Everybody take a knee.
Gentlemen, we ain't got all day.
Bring it in.
All right, everybody, listen up.
Whatever neighborhood you came from,
whatever gang you claim,
whatever hood you're from,
this is your hood now.
You're no longer a Blood, no longer a Crip,
no longer an es�.
You're Mustang.
This football program will be three-pronged.
Number one, the dorm.
You're gonna have to learn to get along with people from other neighborhoods.
Different backgrounds.
Number two, school.
You're gonna have to apply yourself. Become a better student.
And number three, the gridiron.
Hey, Coach. What's the gridiron?
You're standin' on the gridiron.
The gridiron is a football field.
On the gridiron, we play football.
On the gridiron, we do it my way.
Not your way, my way.
Your way got you here.
And you're here 'cause ya lost.
Right now, you're losers.
Mustangs are winners.
And if you accept this challenge,
when it's all over come December,
you're gonna be winners.
All right, let's go. Let's have a good first day of practice. Jumpin' jacks.
Everybody ready? Get set!
Begin.
M-U-S-T-A...
- T! - A!
A-N-G-S!
You've got to be shittin' me. You don't know how to spell "Mustangs"?
This is gonna be a long-ass day.
Evans, what in the blue hell is that?
Get up, Evans!
I bet ya there's a piece-a chicken down there you'd go for it, wouldn't ya?
Hell, yeah, Coach. I love chicken.
Then get your ass down there on my whistle.
On my whistle, get that chicken.
You're gonna make it, you're gonna make it. Get your feet pumpin'.
Feet pumpin'. You got pride.
Bend your knees.
Damn.
Concentrate. Focus.
- Little lower, Bates. - Bend your knees.
You up for the challenge, Bates?
Good job. Thatta boy.
All right, Bug, let's get a water break. Bug.
All right, good job. Bring it in.
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
Y'all don't behave, y'all gonna die of thirst. Y'all got that?
All right? Hey, hey, I gotta do it, I gotta do it.
Here y'all go, here y'all go. All right, now.
Y'all doin' good out there, that's what I like to see.
M-U-S-T-A-N-G-S!
Mustangs! Mustangs! Mustangs!
Come on, bring it! Hustle. Touch that line and get back!
Way to go, Leon! Think you got that!
You ain't cheatin' me, you're cheatin' yourself. Behind the line.
- Let's go! - All the way through.
Come on, Weathers! Hustle! Get down here, Weathers! Good job!
Good job. Now, get back! Good hustle, come on!
Come on, Weathers. Come on. All the way through, Willie!
Come on, Kelvin. Get 'im!
Look at you go, Evans! I like that! I like it!
Touch the line!
Evans, this is wind sprints, not wind walks.
All the way through, Evans. Come on, come on. Come on.
- I'm too tired. - You're too tired, my ass. You're too lazy.
But that's gonna change. I promise you that's gonna change, come on.
Come on, back in line. Through the line, Evans.
Man, I quit, dawg. I had enough of this shit, man.
Y'all niggas is trippin'.
Five hundred degrees and y'all doin' wind sprints?
If you can't accept the challenge,
then you're not good enough to call yourself a Mustang, Evans. You hear me?
You wanna come back out here, we'll be out here workin' our asses off.
You wanna come back out, make sure you bring a heart with you next time.
What's everybody lookin' at? Who else wants to quit?
Come on, Bates. We're almost done, Bates. Don't quit on me.
Hand on the line. On my whistle.
All the way through, touch the line and get back.
Come on, Bates. This is where we win the game, in the fourth quarter.
You will be mentally tough when this is done.
All right, bring it in.
Great practice, great practice.
Way to work, way to work.
Everybody in close. Get in close. Take a knee.
You guys worked really hard this week. You should be proud.
You haven't heard that a whole lot, have you?
You've earned it.
Boys, it's a whole new world out there when you earn things.
All right, bring it in.
Everybody in. Everybody in.
Mustangs on three. One, two, three!
Mustangs!
Jog it off the field. Jog it off! You want water? It's on the sidelines. Jog!
Three weeks from this Saturday, we open our season against Barrington High School.
They any good?
They've only lost five games in three years.
We about to make it six.
All right, all right, listen up.
Madlock, look up here. I want you to tell me what the offense is tryin' to do.
Which is the offense?
The O's.
Man, I don't know what all this shit mean.
It means, "Have a nice day" in Japanese, Madlock.
Naw, man, Japanese for "Nissan Sentra," right, Bates?
What does that mean, Bates?
Bates jacked a Nissan Sentra. That's why he's here.
It's sad. If you gonna jack a car, jack a Mercedes or a BMW.
If you jack a Sentra, you gotta drive backwards so nobody can see your face.
All right, listen up.
You got a pass, Junior?
I had a phone call.
From who?
It's my boy's birthday, man.
He's two years old.
He's two years old and I missed it.
I wanna be a Mustang, Coach.
Why should I trust you?
'Cause I ain't gonna mess up.
That's what you told the judge the last time you got out.
No more.
I'm tired of bein' a loser, man.
Makin' a mess of everything.
Coach, I wanna show people I can play. I can do somethin' with my life.
I just wanna make my son proud.
Take it half speed till we get it right.
Set.
Hut!
Junior. Junior. Junior. Junior!
Hey, get back. Madlock, get back.
Just 'cause we call it a run-through
doesn't mean you run through your own men.
No contact till we get equipment.
- Look out for Junior. - Wait till you get some pads.
Bug, give 'em water.
I'll be down with it, Coach! Come on, guys, let's go!
Coach, how 'bout you have that water boy go fill up the swimmin' pool?
Let us do a little backstroke before we get heatstroke.
I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll put a quart of water in that pool
for every pass you complete.
- How 'bout that? - Okay, that's what's up.
Drink it up, drink it up, drink it up.
You want some water, 88?
My dead homeys drink water before you do.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, y'all doing good out there. What I like to see!
Keep it up, I'll provide some extra water.
Now that's a funny kid. He always smilin'.
It's all about the water, man.
I wonder if he was smilin' when he stabbed that old lady for her purse.
Here ya go.
Junior, Willie, is that your positions?
Let's go. Leon, let's see what you got.
Green 18!
Green 18! Hut!
What was that about?
Man, just send me to the box!
No, you start trouble on a football field, we finish it on a football field!
- I ain't doin' shit wit 'im! - Why not?
Was his set smoked Raja!
- 88s killed my best friend! - Shut up!
How long your sets been at war?
Ancient times, dude.
How'd it get started? You even know?
They started that shit, dawg!
- Man, that's a goddamn lie! - Shut up!
Willie, lemme ask you something.
How'd you feel when Roger died?
Did you cry?
How 'bout you, Kelvin?
How did you feel when your friend was killed? Did you cry?
Yes, sir, I did.
Yeah. So it's just gonna go on like this forever?
Killin' each other 'cause ya live five blocks in the wrong direction?
How 'bout we call a peace right here?
God damn it, why not?
I mean, we just, like, little gangsters. It wouldn't even mean nothin'.
It'd mean somethin' here. Right here, right now, it would mean somethin'.
Paul, a delay in funding?
Well, there's a lot of red tape and paperwork we gotta...
How are we supposed to play without equipment?
I just read Willie Weathers' file. Have you seen it?
Yeah, what about it?
We had an agreement. No killers on the football team, right?
Dexter, if there's more than five kids on that team that aren't killers,
it's because they have lousy aim.
- They're not in here for that. - 'Cause they didn't get caught.
But Weathers did.
And I'm workin' my ass off to make sure he doesn't kill anybody again!
You sure that's it?
What?
Well, you were a college football star. Maybe this team is...
Dexter, your degree was in social work, not psychology.
We need that equipment.
Guy's outta control.
Not now I'm not. But soon, very soon!
Come on, show us what you got!
Come on, buddy! Throw it! No, no, no, no, no!
Evade!
Come on, man!
You gotta be kiddin' me! Hold on, hold on!
Cut it out.
For three days, we been runnin' this play. You still don't know where you're goin'!
Get your asses on the line and do it again, and do it right! Line it up!
Coach, you said we'd have a water break.
Not until you do it right. Line it up!
Line it up! Move!
Weathers, get up.
Not till we get some water.
Bug, give 'em some water.
- Here you go, boys! - Finally did something as a team.
The water man's back in town. Here you guys go.
These kids have never worked hard for anything in their life.
And teamwork. Teamwork to them is four homeboys robbin' a liquor store.
So I gotta push 'em. But I know if I push 'em too hard I'll lose 'em.
You couldn't expect 'em to work as hard as you did. Not right off the bat.
Now, see, you had a God-given talent.
The minute you put on a helmet, you were a star.
I always had faith in you.
You're my mom. That's your job.
I'm your mom, that's my job.
Well, here we are.
Home sweet home.
Junior?
Who needs helmets?
Bug, give this to somebody who can use it.
Now, that's more like it.
Damn, J-dawg, that's destruction of state property.
What the hell is this?
A nose guard.
It's for your balls, dawg.
Man, that's for pussies.
Let's get it on!
Five tight, 32 dive. Run it.
Set.
Green 18!
Hut!
Madlock, what happened?
He broke my biscuits, man.
Broke your biscuits. Are you wearin' your cup?
No.
Naw, he ain't wearin' his cup. Because cups are for pussies!
Hey, yo, Coach. I think I need to go back to the gym.
- You gotta go back to the gym? - Yes, sir.
Put your cup on, maybe?
Yeah, me too.
Get goin', Willie. Anybody else forget to put their cups on?
Yeah. Half the team.
Come on, Madlock, walk it off.
Walk it off, Madlock.
Yeah, limp it off, Madlock.
Hey, Coach.
I got mine on but it ain't nowhere near big enough to hold me.
- Is that right? - Yeah, I need the extra-large, Coach.
Well, come here, tiny. Let me talk to you for a second. Y'all get back to work.
All right, line it up, gentlemen.
What's up, Coach?
Last year, when you were dealing crack,
I heard that you made five times my salary.
And I ain't paid no taxes.
- No taxes? - No taxes.
Means you're pretty good at math, memorization.
Yeah, I'm pretty friendly wit it.
Here's the problem.
I'm worried about Madlock not being able to learn our playbook.
What's that got to do wit me?
If he can't learn it, he doesn't play, which means he doesn't block for you,
which then means I'm gonna have to put in Aguilar to protect you.
I see, Coach.
- You understand? - Yeah, yeah, yeah. I understand.
Get back to work. Come on.
Let's go!
Mr. Porter, can I talk to you?
I tried to tell ya.
Hey, Dexter.
You signed for $10,000 worth of equipment?
We got a helluva deal.
You're not authorized to do that.
Really? I thought I was.
You're gonna get suspended, you know that, right?
Yeah, I know, but first you're gonna have to write up a 784,
and then they're gonna schedule a hearing,
which I'm gonna have to postpone due to a family illness,
then I'm gonna appeal that ruling, and by that time, the season's gonna be over.
Look, Dexter, the equipment's used already, we can't give it back.
Let's just give the kids what they worked really, really hard for, huh?
I got a Mustang football T-shirt for you, Dexter.
Get 'em goin', Coach.
Madlock, I'm gonna work witchu 'cause you got what it takes.
I'mma just, you know what I'm sayin', get you together.
Hey, watch out, man! We workin' here!
Come on, Madlock, just stand in front of me, don't let nobody hit me.
You gonna come see me play? See Daddy play football?
Hey, Weathers.
You got a visitor.
- Danyelle! - Willie.
Damn, girl.
How'd you get here?
Bus.
Bus? It's musta taken you like two days, huh?
Seemed like it.
Seemed... Seemed like it.
Well, I'm really glad you here.
Why don't you move your fat ass to another table with your McDonald's and shit?
I know you not gonna disrespect me in front of my family!
Jermaine, let it go!
Get off me!
Settle down!
You want your family to go home?
Man, settle down!
What's up, mija? You wanna swing low on this or what?
Hey, yo, shut your ass up, Peavy!
Willie, Willie, Willie, don't do that!
- Nah, you ain't nothin' but a bluff, nigga! - No! Come on!
Man, you a bluff. See you when you get out the box.
Don't even worry about him. I'll take care of him later on, all right?
Come on, let's go sit down.
I wanna go.
You wanna go?
How you gonna take care of him, Willie?
You gonna kill him?
Danyelle.
Come on, girl.
Mom, you can't just get up and leave.
Just don't look at me like that, all right? Whaddya want me to do about it?
I'm not the one who put you here, all right? You put yourself here.
Damn it.
What's goin' on, buddy?
It's my mom.
Things are just so messed up.
Gets so I just hate her.
No, you don't.
Just want my mom to love me, you know?
I know.
You know what I was thinkin'?
'Bout we try you out at receiver?
You mean, like, I'd be catchin' the ball?
Sometimes. Mostly blockin'.
That'd be cool.
Why don't you get your playbook.
I'll meet ya up here. We'll go over some plays.
- All right. Right now? - Right now.
You guys got any letters to go out before the weekend, I gotta screen 'em tonight.
Dear Danyelle.
Look, I'm sorry you felt bad here.
I don't like it either but I'm tryin' to change.
My mama moved to Oakland.
She don't want my little brother havin' nothin' to do with me.
Danyelle, you're the only one who cares anything about me.
The only really good person I know.
Please write me back.
Let's go. It's that 28 toss, Leon. Get 'em goin'. It's a big play for us.
Come on, Weathers, show me your wheels.
Let's see what you got, defense. Kelvin, lemme see.
Kelvin, good job, good job. Way to get in there.
Come on, Weathers, you're better than that!
Don't worry 'bout it, man. Hey, you'll get it.
All right, let's go! Run that same play. Let's go!
I'm so tired, man.
Rather fight five angry niggas than mess with this football shit.
Quit bitchin', quit moanin'! We've got five days till we play Barrington.
If you don't get this stuff down, if you don't get it right,
they're gonna kick your asses.
Can't nobody kick our ass, Coach.
Yeah, no, clearly, Junior. Yeah.
After what I just saw from Weathers, you guys are gonna run over everybody.
Run the play!
Ten hut!
They all pussies, Coach.
You better let me play or else we ain't gonna win.
Shut up, Bug.
All right, we're runnin' this play to Junior. I-five toss, Junior.
Run it, Leon.
Gray 10. Gray 10. Hut!
Come on, Junior. Let's see what you got, Junior. Go! Go, Junior! Go!
Hey, come on, man.
Hey, Coach! He down, man, come on!
Back up. Junior.
Junior, talk to me. You okay?
Talk to me, Junior.
I don't know what's wrong if you don't talk to me.
We're gonna get you to a hospital, get you all taken care of,
everything'll be okay, you hear me?
He gonna be a'ight.
See you tonight.
Listen up.
We just got back from the hospital.
The good news is Junior's gonna walk outta there, he's gonna be okay.
The bad news,
he has a concussion and a slipped disk.
Without Junior we gonna suck, man.
Well, that's up to you, Leon. And you, Bates.
And you, Willie. Madlock, Perez, Kelvin.
It's up to all of you. Then we'll find out what this team is made of.
You gotta imagine there's a goal post right there to the right and to the left.
Good job!
Everybody in. Take your helmets off.
Circle it up. Circle up the wagons. Bring it in. Bring it in.
Great practice, great practice.
Take a knee.
Next time you put those helmets on, it'll be for real.
Learn your assignments, get ready.
- Madlock. - That's my homey, man.
These are your homeys. You're not gonna do 'em any good in the box! Sit down!
Chill, man.
Yo, whatch'all niggas lookin' at?
Y'all a buncha busters and shit! Doin' everything they tell you.
Run, jump, roll over. Like little pets. Little pussy pets.
Man, shut the hell up, Peavy! Yeah, you the pussy.
Man, you ain't got half-a what it takes to play football.
Keep walkin', Peavy.
What's up, Mustangs?
Hey, hey, hey, hey. Take it easy, yo. I got injuries.
Hey, Junior, what's up, man?
That's enough, though.
When I was in the hospital,
I thought a lot about you guys, man.
The team.
How you guys are like my family.
And I wanted to show my family what I could do.
I just wish I could play witchu guys on Saturday, man.
But I'll be there.
I know you guys are gonna kick ass, right?
Bring it in, y'all, come on.
- Let's do this. - Let's do it.
I want it loud and clear.
Mustangs on three. One, two, three!
Mustangs!
Come on, guys! Let's do this!
That's what I'm talkin' about! Let's do it.
We got a ass-kickin' for Barrington waitin' for 'em.
We're gonna see what you're made of, Weathers. On the bus.
Y'all ready, baby?
Evans.
Still wanna be a Mustang?
Of course I do. But I can't fulfill the physical requirements, Coach.
Evans, you don't have to be an athlete to be a Mustang.
Look at me.
You just gotta have heart. I know you have heart.
We could use an equipment manager. You interested?
Hell, yeah, I'm interested!
Come on.
Can I get one of these Mustang shirts, though?
Oh, it's a lot of fabric, but yes. Gimme some time to find your size.
Hey, Mustangs. Meet the new equipment manager, Evans.
I'm tellin' you, Barrington about to get their ass whooped when we step on the field.
'Ey. Don't forget, you work for me now, Jermaine.
Shit, man, long as I don't gotta run, I'll call you "boss," homey.
You know what I'm sayin'?
Hey! Look at the girl in the Mustang.
Where?
Damn!
Hey, I'd like to run a quarterback sneak right into your end zone!
Hey, she wavin' at me! She wavin' at me! She want me bad!
Jesus Christ, man. You got this all messed up.
How many times we do this in practice?
All right, bring it in. Let's go.
This is it. The day you been waitin' for.
I know you're nervous. So am I.
My first game too.
Now it's time to go out there and put it on the scoreboard.
Now it's time to see who has the heart.
Now is the time to prove to yourselves and prove to everyone out there
that even though you're locked up,
you are somebody.
And you are worthy of something!
And you're able to do something special that no one else in the world can do,
which you can walk through those doors, hold your heads up high
and call yourselves Mustangs!
Are you ready to go out there and take what's yours?
Yeah!
What you've worked hard for?
Yeah!
Are you ready to accept the Mustang challenge?
Lead us!
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the undefeated Barrington Panthers.
Let's go, Mustangs.
Let's go, let's go.
Now, gather in. Hands in. Hands in. Hands in.
I wanna see everybody's eyes. Everybody's eyes.
You get out there on that field and you earn their respect.
Mustangs on three. One, two, three!
Mustangs!
Kickoff team. Kickoff team.
Let's go, Mustangs.
Let's go! Let's go!
Nail that son of a bitch. Let's go, Kelvin.
Kelvin! Great hit! Great hit!
Madlock! Madlock! Set the tone! You set the tone!
Set hut!
Fumble! Fumble!
First down!
Fumble recovery, number 31, Kelvin Owens.
That's what I'm talkin' about, Madlock. Great job, Kelvin.
We bad, we bad, we bad.
Offense, get out there.
Ace, right cross! Let's go.
Leon, come here.
C'mon, listen. Pro right 25, toss.
C'mon. C'mon, damn it! Let's go!
Oh, shit!
- Hustle up! - Go!
Pro right 25 and stuff.
Willie, run their asses over. Run their asses over. It's all you.
Show 'em what you're made of.
Green 18!
Hut!
Yeah! Go Panthers!
Good run. Good run. Right, let's get up. Walk it off.
Tackled by number 55, John Stevens.
Welcome to my world, boy!
- Coach said to throw a 97 pass. - Pass?
Yeah, man, 97 pass.
Yeah, man, what the hell is wrong with you?
You ain't never thrown a pass in a real game, have you?
Naw, I played games. I played Madden.
What? This ain't EA, homey.
- A video game? - I controlled the quarterback. What?
That ain't football.
- Man, come on. 97 what? - 97 pass.
97 pass right now is what we about to do and I'mma throw it.
- 97 pass. On one. Ready? - Break.
Green 18!
Hut!
Throw the ball! Throw the ball!
Son of a bitch!
First down, Barrington Panthers.
Leon! That's okay! Get it behind you!
What happened, dawg?
Let's go!
Coach, I suck, man. Just take me out.
Hey. No. Not gonna take you anywhere, do ya understand?
I ain't takin' you out and you ain't quitin' on me. Ya hear me?
You can do it. Now, come on. Get your head in the game.
Come on. Come on.
Defense! Just get the ball back! Get the ball back!
Set! White 20!
Hut!
Trouble, he's open! He's open!
Whose man is that? Number three! Number three! Kelvin!
Touchdown, Panthers.
Hey! I wanna see some hittin' out there!
Set!
Black 20!
Hut!
Perez, you can't catch?
What's up? You can't hit me in my chest, dawg?
- You coulda dove for that. - That was too low, man.
- You coulda caught the ball. - Just gonna push me like that?
Hey! Stop fightin' amongst yourselves. Take it out on the enemy, for chrissake.
Catch the ball.
Down, set! Hut!
He's open! He's open!
Come on, Mustangs!
Touchdown, Barrington.
That was a 50-yard completion by number 18, Michael Hays.
Damn, man.
Bates, you supposed to cut when you see that dude cut, man.
We gettin' worked, man.
And that's halftime
with the Barrington Panthers leading 21 and the Mustangs 0.
Told you guys they wanted to kick your asses.
That's exactly what they're doin'.
I've seen only two or three hits out there!
Linebackers, defensive backs, they're runnin' right over you!
You're titty dancin' with 'em!
Defensive line! You're standin' up, that's why they're takin' your legs out!
Madlock, come here! You're standin' straight up!
If ya jam on him, you get your hands on him, use upper body violence,
throw their ass to the dirt and make the tackle!
And if you get your hands on the ball, hang on to it.
Don't give it back!
Come on, baby! Let's go!
Let's go, Leon, let's get 'em back in the game.
Get 'em back in the game, Leon!
Set!
Let's do it! Eyes on the prize!
Black 20!
Hut!
Bates is open!
Throw the ball!
God! I can't believe that. Right through his hand.
You gotta catch the ball, Kenny! Catch the ball.
Interception, Barrington.
Barrington's ball on the Mustangs' 32-yard line.
Unbelievable how we're playin'. Absolutely ridiculous.
Let's go. Lemme see.
Tackle him! Tackle him! Tackle him! Tackle him!
Damn it!
Another touchdown, Barrington Panthers.
Listen, we may not win this game, but on the next kickoff,
let's salvage some pride. All right?
Ya get out there, you run their asses over and don't quit.
Go! Go! Go!
Come on!
Afraid to get hit, boy? Don't like it, do ya?
Willie. Willie. What are you doin'? You're waitin' for them to hit you.
Put your shoulder down and run their asses over!
Grow some balls! Get out there and hit 'em!
Willie, shoulder down! Run their asses over!
Comin' for you, boy.
Black 20!
Hut!
You better stay down, boy. You better stay down.
- Hey, get off me, bitch! - Oh, you the bitch.
Willie, get off the field! Choi, get in there for Weathers.
Dead ball.
Unsportsmanlike conduct on white. Fifteen yards.
C'mere. What was that?
This ain't no street fight out there.
- You gotta have discipline and self-control. - Tell me about it, Coach.
That's the final score.
Barrington Panthers 38, Kilpatrick Mustangs 0.
Get off the field. Off the field.
Madlock, what're you doin'? A six-year-old girl could...
All right, come on. Bring it in. Off the bench, come on. C'mere.
Everybody. Off the benches. Come take a knee.
Let's gather 'round. Let's go. Take a knee.
C'mon.
First one is always the toughest.
We made a lotta mistakes out there today. All of us.
Me too.
No shit.
They were ready.
They've been playin' together for three years.
We've been together for three weeks. Lemme tell you somethin' else,
I still don't believe that they're 38 points better than you.
I still don't believe that they're the better team.
I would not trade you for them.
I want you to hold your heads up high.
We got nine games left. We're just gonna have to work harder.
Shit, not me.
I don't need this shit.
I didn't just let 'em down. I brought 'em down.
- I completely lost it. - It's a long season, Seany.
I don't even know if I'll have enough kids to field a team next week.
Oh, they'll come back.
Do you remember how low you used to get after a big loss?
You always took everything so personally.
Well, that's 'cause there was someone on the other end of the dinner table
tellin' me how much I sucked.
Mom, that was the worst part about it.
Yesterday, when I was chewin' those kids out, I sounded just like him.
Oh, shit, it's the football team.
Those playas are weak. Losers!
You suck, man!
Pussies!
All right, shut it down, gentlemen. Shut it down!
- Come on, you heard me. - Mustangs suck!
Thank you.
I don't know about everybody else