Chap­ter 14: Aval­on brings the Cubs to a crit­i­cal semi­fi­nal match in the South­ern Cal­i­for­nia cham­pi­onship, set­ting the stage for an intense con­test against Aval­on. The Cubs, twen­ty-one strong, are led by their coach­ing staff aboard the Star­ship Express, a fer­ry mak­ing its way from Long Beach to San­ta Catali­na Island. Amidst the noise and excite­ment of the fer­ry ride, the play­ers com­mu­ni­cate through sign lan­guage, as the bois­ter­ous envi­ron­ment pre­vents them from engag­ing in any mean­ing­ful con­ver­sa­tion. This jour­ney is not just about reach­ing their des­ti­na­tion; it’s a moment where antic­i­pa­tion builds for the match that could define their sea­son.

On the fer­ry, news crews from var­i­ous tele­vi­sion sta­tions are present, adding to the pres­sure the Cubs already feel. The media atten­tion, although expect­ed, weighs heav­i­ly on the play­ers, as repet­i­tive inter­views and the con­stant spot­light start to cause media fatigue. They are deter­mined to prove them­selves, not just for their sup­port­ers but also for their own sense of self-worth. Upon arrival, the Cubs face Avalon’s coach, Nick Morones, a sea­soned leader with a track record of suc­cess. Morones, who pre­vi­ous­ly coached an unde­feat­ed mid­dle school team, has pre­pared metic­u­lous­ly for this game. He is aware of the chal­lenges that come with play­ing against a deaf team, but he also plans to cap­i­tal­ize on Avalon’s home-field advan­tage, believ­ing that the island’s atmos­phere and the phys­i­cal nature of his play­ers will help them out­mus­cle the Cubs.

Aval­on is buzzing with excite­ment in antic­i­pa­tion of the game, hav­ing heard of the Cubs’ remark­able abil­i­ties and strength on the field. The local com­mu­ni­ty is ful­ly invest­ed in the game, eager to see how the Cubs will per­form on their turf. The atmos­phere around the small sta­di­um is pic­turesque, with the icon­ic palm trees sur­round­ing the field and local sup­port­ers cheer­ing enthu­si­as­ti­cal­ly. Even the moth­ers of Avalon’s play­ers have got­ten involved, cre­at­ing per­son­al­ized cheers for their sons, mak­ing the game feel per­son­al and com­mu­ni­ty-ori­ent­ed. The inten­si­ty builds as the game approach­es, and both teams are filled with deter­mi­na­tion to suc­ceed. The stage is set for a high­ly com­pet­i­tive match, with both sides ful­ly aware of the stakes involved.

The game kicks off with the Cubs strug­gling ini­tial­ly against Avalon’s aggres­sive defense, which forces them to adjust their strat­e­gy. How­ev­er, as the game pro­gress­es, the Cubs find their rhythm, grad­u­al­ly revers­ing their for­tunes. Aval­on, on the oth­er hand, faces a series of turnovers and mis­takes that allow the Cubs to surge ahead. Yet Avalon’s resilience shines through, and after half­time, they regroup, com­ing out with renewed ener­gy that brings them back into the game. The back-and-forth bat­tle is intense, with both teams show­ing their strength and deter­mi­na­tion. Avalon’s resur­gence in the sec­ond half makes for a thrilling con­test, leav­ing fans and play­ers on the edge of their seats. Despite the fierce com­pe­ti­tion and Avalon’s attempts to mount a come­back, the Cubs emerge vic­to­ri­ous with a 62–51 win.

After the game, a moment of respect unfolds when Avalon’s play­ers, despite their defeat, acknowl­edge the Cubs’ per­for­mance and show great sports­man­ship. Felix Gon­za­les, one of the stand­out play­ers for the Cubs, reflects on the game with pride. He express­es how sig­nif­i­cant it was to him, not just because they won, but because it was the game he would remem­ber most fond­ly from his high school years. Felix’s reflec­tion speaks to the per­son­al tri­umphs and the spir­it of the game. This chap­ter beau­ti­ful­ly encap­su­lates both the fierce com­pe­ti­tion on the field and the deep­er con­nec­tions formed in the face of adver­si­ty. It is a moment of growth, achieve­ment, and the real­iza­tion that there is more to foot­ball than just winning—it’s about respect, cama­raderie, and the unspo­ken bonds that are formed in the heat of com­pe­ti­tion.