but me, I ain't playin' no more.
Man, Coach Porter say we work hard, we gonna be winners.
We worked hard, but we got destroyed.
He didn't even tell me when I was supposed to be on the field.
Then he starts screamin' at me.
Man, what the hell y'all doin'?
Sean. Can I see you a minute?
- Can it wait till after practice? - No.
This better not be about stoppin' the program.
- Kids don't wanna play anymore. - Then let them tell me that.
Sean, I was hoping it'd work. But during the game, it...
Listen, if it's me, I'll let Malcolm take over the team. I'll quit.
We wanted to create self-esteem. But it was just the opposite.
These kids, they can't handle that kind of disappointment.
I'm really sorry, but I've gotta pull the plug.
So Donald Lopez. We need verification from Van Nuys court.
The document number is 2...
M-U-S-T
- A... - I'll call you back.
...N-G-S.
M-U-S-T-A-N-G-S!
Mustangs! Mustangs! Mustangs!
All right, clap it up.
Hey, Coach.
Sean, what's goin' on here?
I don't know. Whose idea was this?
Like I told you, Coach, we're tired of bein' losers.
You still with us?
I'm with the team.
Yo, Mr. Higa. Catch.
Yo, Mr. Higa. Hit me.
- Run a post pattern. - Paul.
Good catch, Kelvin! That's what I'm talkin' about!
4 1-yard gain by number 31, Kelvin Owens.
All right, Kelvin!
Bulldogs 21, Mustangs 14. 1... 12 remaining in the fourth quarter.
It's 21-1 4. We can maybe win our first game right here.
Coach said 23 counter.
It's all yours, Willie. It's all yours.
23 counter. On one. On one.
- Ready? - Break!
Set!
Gray 10!
Hut!
Go, Willie! Go, Willie!
Ball!
You don't like takin' a hit, now, do ya?
Scared to get hit.
It's all right. Let's go. Defense! Let's go, gentlemen!
Offense, let's go. Jog it off the field. You'll get it back.
It's all right, Leon. It's all right. Small gain.
Let's go. Short-term memory. You gotta let it go.
Keep it strong.
White 10!
Set! Hut!
That's the end of the game.
And the final score, Bulldogs 21, Mustangs 14.
You're a tough kid, Willie, but you give up on yourself way too easy.
You're a good football player, too. I think you may even be great.
And I'm gonna push you until we find out.
We gonna start with the circles to the front.
'Ey, yo. 'Ey, yo. What the...
- Man, what's he think he's doin'? - That fool crazy.
I've come for Willie Weathers.
What you want with me?
I'm here to find out just how good you are.
- This a joke? - Let's go.
Leon, throw Willie the ball.
You see this line, Willie?
You knock me past this line, you'll have my respect.
What if I don't wanna?
Then everybody will think you're a chicken shit.
"Chicken shit"? That's wrong.
Let's see what you got, Weathers.
Come on, Weathers, I wanna make it clear. Run through me. Run over me.
That's not gonna work, Weathers. Not like that.
Get back there and do it again.
It's all right, Weathers. Pick it up.
Come on, let's go! Let's go, Weathers!
Keep your head up and run through me.
Get up and do it again! Are you kiddin' me? Get back! Do it again!
Now, dip your shoulder, keep your head up and run through me!
Do it again! We're gonna stay out here all day if it kills us, Weathers!
You are gonna put me on my ass!
Now, keep your head up. Accelerate.
Put your shoulder down and run through me!
What are you lookin' at? Don't look at them. They ain't gonna help ya out here, Willie.
Ya got no homeboys, ya got no help!
Ya damn sure ain't got no gun! And ya can't run away!
Ya got nobody but yourself, but, goddamn it, that's all you need.
Believe in yourself and knock me on my ass!
All right, all right, all right, all right.
You know you're a idiot, right?
Well, I'm makin' progress. 'Cause I used to be an asshole.
Come on.
All right, listen up.
We've got to run this punt all the way back. You can do this.
Now get out there, do it together, work as one and go make it happen!
Let's go!
Kick return! Let's win it!
Lions lead by one with 15 seconds to go in the game.
Willie, let's go!
Come on, Willie.
Come on, Willie! Go!
Yeah, that's what I'm talkin' about, baby!
Oh! Y'all messed my arm up!
Hey! Hey! Come here.
Oh, it's my shoulder, Coach.
Hold up!
C'mere, lemme see.
That's it! That's it! That's it!
'Bout time for practice, isn't it?
I gotta miss today. Goin' to the hospital.
How's she doin'?
Not that good. They don't give her long.
Sean, if you wanna take some time off, you know...
She won't let me.
Hey, shouldn't the team be out there?
Yeah.
He's on his way.
How come you guys aren't out there?
It's for your mom, Coach.
We all signed the card.
Yeah, tell her she needs to get better so she can come see us, Coach.
That's right, man.
For real.
Thanks.
You guys get out there and practice.
Hey, Coach.
My next touchdown's gonna be for your mom.
All right, y'all, bring it in. Come on. One, two, three.
Porter!
I see
Kenny.
- And where's Willie? - Right here.
- They're some good boys. - Yeah. They are.
Ya know, what's crazy, Mom, is next year I'll have a whole new group.
That's a long way away.
I'm so proud of you.
- Your father would be proud of you too. - Mom.
He tried, Sean.
He tried.
You're so darn stubborn.
I know.
Guess if it wasn't for bein' stubborn,
there wouldn't be no football team.
You know my greatest accomplishment?
I raised a good man.
A couple hours later, she was gone.
That game today was just like a dream.
I stood on those sidelines thinkin' about her
and all the games she watched me play.
All the times she bandaged my cuts, got me ice packs.
She washed my stuff.
She cheered me on.
She cheered me up.
I just felt so bad for all those kids who never knew that type of mother.
What about your dad?
I don't talk about him.
I'm glad to hear that things are getting better, Mom.
Maybe when I get out we can live together again.
Football is great. And I'm good at it now.
I love sackin' the quarterback.
Sometimes I can't even believe it's legal.
Throwin TD's don't pay as much as slingin' rocks,
but damn, it feel good.
Grandma, you'd be proud of me. I'm stayin' outta trouble.
I don't have enemies here anymore.
We done won seven in a row now.
I can't remember the exact number of touchdowns I scored.
I think about 60.
Dear Danyelle, I wish you would write back to me.
I'm different than I was.
I think you would like me again if you saw me play football.
How ya doin'?
Doin' great, sir. How can I help you?
- I've got a letter for a Danyelle Rollins. - Well, who from?
Willie Weathers.
- And who are you? - His football coach.
- Isn't that kid in jail? - Yeah, he is.
We've got a team now. And Willie's a hell of a player.
He's also a hell of a young man.
I just don't understand how you could read his letters and not write him back.
I never got any letters.
Look, mister, my baby's going to college. She's gettin' outta this place.
Daddy, you kept his letters from me?
And if she's going to fulfill her potential,
there's no room in her life for some gang member.
- Ya understand that? - Absolutely.
That's not who Willie is anymore.
With a little bit of support, maybe he'll stay that way.
I'm glad to hear it.
But I'm not willing to bet my daughter's future on it.
I understand. Thank you.
Thank you. Enjoy your visit.
- Who ya here for? - Willie Weathers. I'm his brother.
- You're awful big for a six-year-old. - Say what?
Says here Willie has one brother, six years old.
- That's wrong, 'cause I'm here, ain't I? - Yeah. Yes, you are.
But you ain't gettin' in.
Come on, man, I'm all he's got.
Sorry. Now, you have a nice day.
Bitch.
I'll catch you on the rebound, homey!
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome a new addition to the Mustang team...
Mustang Cheerleaders from Camp Scott, California.
Camp Scott, that's that girls' prison.
That's my girl Cherise! She's so hot, man.
Who? The one on the end there?
Go Mustangs!
Nah. Come on, now, the one in the middle.
Hot like the summer.
The one in the middle!
Hey, hey! All right, eyes front!
Hey, turn around! Turn around!
And at the end of the two-minute warning, the Mustangs lead 17-14.
Drac! Yo, Drac!
Do your thing, boy! Drac!
- Show these niggas what you can do! - What up, baby!
Willie! Get goin'. Let's go! Focus!
Green 18. Hut!
Yeah, baby!
Touchdown, number 13, Willie Weathers for the Mustangs.
That's what I'm talkin' about!
- 88, baby! - I'm gonna represent, baby!
Hut!
And that's the game, Mustangs 21, Eagles 7.
Mustangs! We're goin' to the playoffs!
Good game.
Good game, good game. Y'all did y'all thing.
Good job, good job. Wassup?
- Congratulate on the 88. - 8-8!
88 for life, homey.
What up, 95?
- Get up off of me, bitch! - What up?
You be payin' for that, nigga!
- You a bluff! You ain't got nothin', fool! - Don't let me catch you in the street.
I be like this! I know that! Take that, nigga!
Kelvin!
Go to sleep. Go to sleep!
Free!
- Any news? - No, he's still in surgery.
Sean,
they're makin' us forfeit the playoff game.
Season's over.
I told those kids
that no matter what happened, they'd be winners.
Hey, man, you did your best.
We all did our best, I guess.
- What do we tell 'em now? - That's what I don't know.
All right, gentlemen, line it up.
Come on, move! We've done this before. Let's go!
A line here. A line here. A line here.
I heard about you. You buster! Got your boy Free killed.
- I'll kill you! - Get off me!
I'll kill all you bitches!
- I'm 88! 88 for life! - It's Willie. Come on, man!
Did you hear me! 88 for life, bitch!
- He goin' crazy! - I'm a 88! 88! 88, man!
Get 'im off me!
Screw this bitch-ass football team!
- You're goin' to the box, Willie. - I don't give a shit!
Get 'im outta here!
And I don't need this football team shit!
I just got back from the hospital. Kelvin's gonna be okay.
Better for me if the nigga was dead.
Ya think so? I really don't think it matters
'cause you're screwed either way, Willie. Your homeys know what you did yesterday.
So you go back to the hood, they're gonna put a bullet in your head,
'cause they think you're not down for the set anymore.
No matter what you say now.
You know what? I think they're right.
Man!
You better be good to me, asshole, 'cause I'm all you got!
- Man, fuck you! - Who else cares about you?
I don't need nobody else!
You don't give a shit about me or anybody else!
Man, that's right!
Then why'd you try and save Kelvin yesterday?
Huh? Answer me that!
Why'd you side with the enemy over your own homeboy!
Man, 'cause-a you! And this damn football team, man!
That's bullshit! You made a choice!
No, I didn't!
I ain't even know what was happenin' to me! It was just so...
Everything so quick!
I don't know what's happenin' to me, man.
I do.
You're not the loser you were when you first got here, Willie.
You're just not used to bein' a winner.
My father said I was a waste of his time
and his money.
Your father was a loser, Willie.
My old man was the same way.
He spent so much time tellin' me I was no good, tellin' me I was nothin',
I believed him.
That why you so pissed off all the time?
Yeah, that's probably got somethin' to do with it.
I know how you feel, Willie.
You get to the point where you expect to screw up. You expect to fail.
If we wanna win, we gotta let 'em go.
Forgive 'em and move on.
- Forgive 'em? - Forgive 'em.
Otherwise we give 'em too much power over us.
And they don't deserve it.
Well, how long it take you to forgive your dad?
Till just now.
Kelvin's gonna be okay?
Yeah.
Whole football team's done, though, huh?
Maybe not.
After our game, Willie Weathers tried to save Kelvin Owens
'cause he didn't see him as an enemy, he saw him as a teammate.
Everybody wants to talk about us winning eight games in a row
and how great that is.
That's nothing compared to breaking the power that gangs have over these kids.
If you cancel this game, we're givin' that power back to them.
I admire what you're tryin' to do, Coach, I really do.
But how can I ask our parents to expose their kids to potential violence?
Yeah, you see, our problem is, while you didn't cause the shooting
you couldn't prevent it either.
What if we could?
What if we could guarantee it won't happen again?
Well, what you see behind us here is a force of volunteers
from the Department of Probation, the LAPD and the Sheriff's Department.
The County Board of Supervisors firmly believes
we can't allow gangs to dictate the terms by which our young people live.
M-U-S-T-A-N-G!
Well, I know they had their uniforms donated,
but where did they get those moves?
They're Mustangs, Coach. They accepted the challenge.
Relax, guys. What're you worried about? That they beat ya 30-nothin' last time?
38 to nothin'.
They didn't beat you. They beat a team that never played before.
But on this day it's gonna be different.
On this day, you're gonna have Mustang pride.
You're gonna go out there, you're gonna put your helmets on,
buckle your chinstrap, and hand out 38 ass-whoopin's!
You understand? Mustang pride!
Let's go, Mustangs!
Hi, Dad!
Go Mustangs!
- Kenny! - Mom!
I made it!
Willie! Willie!
Captains, let's go out for the coin toss.
That's a psych-job. Sending out eight guys to a damn coin toss.
Psych 'em right back.
Let's go, Willie!
- Little flag. - We've got a clipped ball
- on the receiving team. - Flag on the play. No touchdown.
- You gotta be kidding me! - Clipping on the receiving team!
That was a fair hit!
Clipping on number 88, Kenny Bates.
Bates! Bates! C'mere!
Don't worry about it, we'll get it back, all right? You hear me?
Take it easy on the ref, he knows he made a horrible call.
That's okay.
- Offense, let's go! - Kenny, it's okay!
Come on, Mustangs!
Goin' right.
Set!
Gray ten!
- Goin' right. - Gray ten!
Hut!
You remember me? I'm gonna be in your face all day, loser!
Hut!
Touchdown Barrington.
Great effort. All right, come on, offense, let's go!
Run 18! Run 18!
Hut!
Come on, Leon! You got Willie open! Throw it!
Damn it!
Barrington recovers the ball on the Mustangs' 40-yard line.
Leon's intimidated.
He's too worried about throwin' another interception.
Yeah.
First down, Barrington Panthers.
Come on, defense, let's go! Get out there!
Leon! C'mere. Look at me. You're a great quarterback.
Believe in your teammates and believe in yourself. You understand?
Let me see you smile. Come on.
Attaboy.
Blue 15! Hut!
Perez!
Come on, man!
Touchdown, Barrington. Number 3, David Smith.
I smoked that!
Halftime!
We got a whole half to play. We got a whole half of football left.
Come on, guys.
Hold your head up, come on!
Sean, you gotta get 'em ready for the second half.
- They're ready. - What?
Just wait.
They're ready.
Man, those fools are whippin' our ass.
For real, man.
Shit.
They ain't that good, man.
We're better.
And it means much more to us. You know?
When this all started, man,
Coach, he said we'd be winners.
I thought he was full of shit, man.
I hated y'all.
Didn't want no part of it.
But then
we made a team.
We showed people somethin'.
Coach is right.
We changed.
We're not losers no more.
All we gotta do is go out there and show it one more time.
You know what I'm sayin'?
Let's get out there and kick some ass!
- Break! - Let's go!
In the third quarter the score remains Barrington Panthers 14,
Kilpatrick Mustangs 0.
Let's go!
Boom!
That's what I'm talkin' about! Let's go!
Man.
Damn! Damn, that white boy be killin' us!
Woo! I'm back, nigger!
Stevens, come on, man.
Don't go nowhere, dawg, I'll be right back.
Huddle up.
Let's get back in the game, baby. On one.
- Let's make it a 625 swing. - Coach called a flood.
You can call a audible if you see an opening, right?
Look, I got an opening.
- Ready? - Break!
That's not the right formation. What the hell are they doin'?
Leon! Leon, what're you doin'?
Get in the right formation!
Set!
Black 20!
Hut!
Go, Willie, go! Go, Weathers, go!
Yeah, baby!
That was number 13, Willie Weathers. Touchdown for the Mustangs.
That's what I'm talkin' about!
Woo! You all right, nigga?
Great job! Great job!
Fourth quarter, Barrington's ball on the Mustang's two-yard line
and we have one minute of play remaining.
You stop 'em now, we got a chance.
Unless they score again, then it'll be all over, man.
Man, shut up, Bug!
Shut the hell up, Bug.
Left! He's throwin' left!
Blue 16! Hut!
Ball! Ball!
All right! Go offense!
Fumble recovery, number 5, Miguel Perez.
The Mustangs have possession with the score 14 to 10
and 50 seconds remaining.
Coach, I'm goin' deep.
- Ya think? - Yes.
Leon. Bates. Feel like catchin' a ball, Bates?
Coach, the deep pass always goes to Perez.
Everybody knows that, including Barrington.
- Coach, I don't wanna... - Hey, it's only a game, Kenny.
You just get out there and give it your best shot. Catch the ball.
Let's go. Get out there. Come on.
Let's go, Hayes.
We got the ball back, let's go!
- What's up, man? - Help me out with somethin'.
All right, man, come on, let's ride. Watch out, y'all.
Come on, come on, come on, come on, you can do it.
Set!
Green 18!
Green 18! Hut!
You're mine, boy!
- Go! Go! Go! Go! - Go! Go! Go! Go!
That was a Mustang gain of 50 yards.
The first reception by number 88, Kenny Bates.
Come in.
Bring it in! Come on.
With the ball on the 20-yard line, the score is 14-10.
Come here. All right. We got time for one play.
26 toss to Willie. Can you get the 20 yards?
- Come on, Willie. - All right, it's cool.
- Definitely. - Exactly. You believe. We believe in you.
Get in the end zone. Come on. Go. Go.
Let's go!
Touchdown! Let's go!
A'ight, team, this is it. We goin' with the l-right, 26 toss.
- Hey, who's 36? Who's 36? There's no... - Who the hell is that?
That's Junior!
Look, it's your daddy!
- Yo, Junior. - Shit.
- Move out. - Junior, what the hell?
Slipped disc, my ass. Get behind me.
Let's do this together.
A'ight, y'all, we gotta go. We gotta go!
This is it, right here. L-right, 26 toss. On one. On one.
- Ready? - Break!
Green 18!
Go! Go!
Not this time! I'm gonna kill ya, boy!
No, you ain't! No, you ain't!
No, you ain't!
Touchdown, number 13, Willie Weathers.
You're the best!
Hey. C'mere!
Mustangs, baby!
We played the championship game the next week.
We lost 17-14. But we played a helluva game.
And no one called us losers.
I told 'em, far as I was concerned, they were champs.
Since then all the kids have been released.
24 are goin' to school. Three are working full-time jobs.
And only five are back in jail.
That's a lot better than the average failure rate of 75 percent.
After his release, Junior Palaita got a job working for a furniture company
and lives with his family.
Kelvin Owens recovered from his bullet wound.
He's gonna play for Washington High next season.
Miguel Perez and Donald Madlock went back to their old gangs
and are now in California Youth Authority prisons.
Kenny Bates is goin' to school in Redondo Beach and living with his mom.
Leon Hayes is trying to resist the crack dealer's lifestyle.
He's gonna play football for Dorsey High this year.
Bug Wendal was killed in a drive-by shooting in Compton.
Willie Weathers got a full scholarship to play football for a top boarding school.
A school that's a long way from 88th Street.
And how'd things change for me?
Not a whole lot.
On the gridiron we do it my way. Not your way, my way.
Right now you're all losers.
That's why you're in here. 'Cause ya lost.
But if you accept this challenge, if you accept the Mustang challenge,
then come this December, when it's all over with,
I promise you
you'll be winners.
Ready?
M-U-S...
A!
A-N-G-S!
Mustangs!
You don't know how to spell "Mustangs"? You have got to be shitting me!
All right.
Here we go again.
M-U-S-T-A-N-G.
Tell me to shoot somebody, I'll shoot 'em.
They would have killed me if I wouldn't-a killed them first.
I played football in high school and college and most of my life.
You know, I had people work with me as a kid and they made a difference in my life,
and I was just hopin' to pass that on to somebody else.
The Kilpatrick sports program is three-pronged.
The dorm, where you're at now.
You've gotta learn to get along with people from different neighborhoods,
different backgrounds. And school.
Apply yourself, learn, become a better student.
On the field, you do it my way. Not your way.
Your way got you here.
You played a game, sellin' drugs, robbin' people, rippin' people off,
and you lost. Right now you're a loser.
Mustangs are winners.
Why'd you take 'em off?
Good job, man.
- Where you goin'? - I'm goin' to put my shorts on.
Why'd you even come out with 'em off? Why'd you even walk off the field?
You quitting again? You know your program.
Your program is you run, you get in shape, and you get a uniform.
You just keep walkin'. Football team's here. You wanna be part of it, we're here.
But you bring a heart with you next time.
I'm tired of bein' a loser.
Out there on the field, I can just show 'em that I'm somebody.
Show 'em that I can play.
This program has helped me get a relationship back with my mom.
I want her to hold me
and tell me she loves me.
It's up to you to accept the challenge.
If anyone tells you it's gonna be easy, they're lyin' to you.
I'm gonna push you. I'm gonna challenge you.
Put your helmets on and go shake their hands.
But I still don't believe that they're 26 points better than you.
I still think you're the better team. I still would not trade you for them.
These kids, the anxiety's weighing them down, it's holdin' 'em back.
It's almost a fear of the unknown.
It's gonna be a whole new experience for 'em.
We wanted to thank you for not giving up on us,
even though we didn't want to put out the effort at times.
Thank you for teaching us more than football.
You taught us about the game of life.
This ball, I wanna give it to our head coach,
Sean Porter.
When they came in here a lot of people thought of them
as criminals and delinquents.
No way.
You did a great job.
You're a helluva group of young men.
You guys are champs.