Chap­ter 7: Sta­mi­na focus­es on the con­trast­ing dynam­ics between high school foot­ball teams in Cal­i­for­nia, with a par­tic­u­lar empha­sis on the Cubs, a small­er Protes­tant school team. This chap­ter sets the stage by intro­duc­ing the dom­i­nance of large Catholic schools like Mater Dei and St. John Bosco, known for their state-of-the-art facil­i­ties and con­sis­tent­ly rank­ing among the top foot­ball teams in the nation. These schools are pow­er­hous­es in the world of high school foot­ball, and their suc­cess often casts a shad­ow over small­er teams like the Cubs. In con­trast, the Cubs face off against small­er and less com­pet­i­tive teams ear­ly in their sea­son, where they enjoy impres­sive vic­to­ries. How­ev­er, these wins also serve as a reminder of the upcom­ing chal­lenges they will face when their sta­mi­na and skills are test­ed against the more for­mi­da­ble oppo­nents in lat­er rounds.

The inten­si­ty ris­es in a chal­leng­ing game against Cal­vary Chapel, where the Cubs strug­gle to main­tain their ear­ly rhythm. Despite a promis­ing start, their quar­ter­back, Trevin Adams, is swift­ly sacked, throw­ing off their offen­sive flow and result­ing in a rare three-and-out. The set­backs com­pound when the Cubs face dif­fi­cult plays and find them­selves scram­bling to regain con­trol. How­ev­er, they man­age to regroup and pull togeth­er, tak­ing a 38–19 lead by half­time, reflect­ing their abil­i­ty to bounce back from adver­si­ty. But as the sec­ond half unfolds, fatigue begins to set in, and the game’s pace starts to take its toll on the play­ers. The Cubs, vis­i­bly exhaust­ed, begin mak­ing unchar­ac­ter­is­tic mis­takes, includ­ing dropped pass­es and missed tack­les. These errors high­light the crit­i­cal impor­tance of stamina—both phys­i­cal and mental—as fatigue sets in and threat­ens to derail their chances of secur­ing a win.

As the game enters its final stretch, the Cubs’ lead begins to shrink as Cal­vary Chapel makes a strong come­back. The once com­fort­able lead of 38–19 dwin­dles as the game heads into a nail-bit­ing con­clu­sion. With just min­utes left on the clock, the Cubs cling to a slim 66–57 lead, but Cal­vary Chapel threat­ens to take the game with a fourth down and inch­es to go. The pres­sure mounts as every play becomes more crit­i­cal, and the atmos­phere grows tense. In a piv­otal moment, a wide receiv­er for Cal­vary is tack­led just short of the first down mark­er, shift­ing the momen­tum back to the Cubs. This play keeps their hopes of vic­to­ry alive, but the pres­sure remains. The Cubs attempt to run down the clock and secure their win, but a tense moment aris­es when Trevin throws a pass that almost results in a fum­ble. The game is ulti­mate­ly saved when Jory Valen­cia, with a calm and com­posed demeanor, catch­es the ball just beyond the first down mark­er, seal­ing the Cubs’ vic­to­ry. This dra­mat­ic play under­scores the unpre­dictable nature of foot­ball and high­lights the crit­i­cal impor­tance of men­tal for­ti­tude in high-pres­sure sit­u­a­tions.

After the dust set­tles, Coach Kei­th Adams reflects on the game, acknowl­edg­ing the chal­lenges and mis­takes but empha­siz­ing the lessons learned. He express­es cau­tious opti­mism about the Cubs’ poten­tial play­off run, know­ing that the team has shown resilience in the face of adver­si­ty. The chap­ter not only show­cas­es the phys­i­cal demands of high school foot­ball but also high­lights the emo­tion­al and psy­cho­log­i­cal chal­lenges play­ers face. The game against Cal­vary Chapel serves as a reminder that sta­mi­na, both in terms of endurance and men­tal focus, is cru­cial for suc­cess. This chap­ter con­veys the sig­nif­i­cant role of con­di­tion­ing, team­work, and resilience in over­com­ing set­backs. As the Cubs move for­ward in their jour­ney, they car­ry with them the lessons learned from this intense game, know­ing that each chal­lenge pre­pares them for the bat­tles ahead. The team’s abil­i­ty to stay focused, even when faced with exhaus­tion and pres­sure, marks a turn­ing point in their sea­son, solid­i­fy­ing their iden­ti­ty as a team deter­mined to suc­ceed.