GRIDIRON GANG (2006)
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 1 7 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 Ionesome 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!
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!
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.
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.
L-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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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.
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,
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.
It's better not about stoppin' the program.
Kids don't want to play anymore.
Let them tell me that.
Sean, I was hoping that it'd work...
We wanted to create self-esteem,
but that was just the opposite.
These kids... They can't handle that kind of
dissapointment.
I am really sorry.
So Donald Lopez.
We need verification from Van Nuys court.
The document number is 2...
M-U-S- - 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.
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!
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!
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.
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!
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!
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.