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  A murmur rumbled across the locker room as they all looked at one another and shrugged.

  “The same team we beat today. That’s right, and they’ll be looking for revenge. So let’s not give it to them, huh?”

  “Whoooooo!” came the deafening reply.

  “One more thing before I let you go get cleaned up,” said the coach. “First I want to thank Coach Pellugi and Coach Ontkos. You guys are the best!”

  “Coach! Coach! Coach!” came the chant, accompanied by applause.

  “And now for today’s game ball. It goes to none other than our long-lost kicker, Adam Costa!”

  The loudest cheer yet went up as Adam came up to accept his muddy, frozen football.

  “Costa, you finally passed a test!” Paco teased, and everyone laughed.

  “Thank you, thank you,” Adam said, flashing his goofy grin. “But I have to say, this really belongs to Tiki and Ronde, because without their help with my studying, I wouldn’t have even been here today.”

  That caught Ronde totally by surprise. He felt his face flush as everyone turned to him and Tiki, and started chanting “Bar-ber! Bar-ber!”

  But he knew it was true. Without the help he and his twin had given their friend in his time of need, the whole team would have suffered.

  What do you know? he thought. Coach was right. Football really is a mental game.

  • • •

  Ronde and Tiki rode home in the station wagon with their mom, who’d been waiting patiently for them to clean up and finish their locker room celebration.

  “I’ve got a special surprise for you two at home,” she said with a sly grin.

  “What is it?” Tiki asked.

  Ronde rolled his eyes. “If she told you, what kind of surprise would it be?”

  “Hmmph,” said Tiki, who loved surprises but couldn’t stand the suspense.

  “Hey,” Ronde said, changing the subject, “can you believe we really made the play-offs, after all we’ve been through?”

  “No doubt,” said Tiki. “I thought the season was over when Coach Spangler left.”

  “Yeah, and I thought we were done after we lost those first two games.”

  “Me too,” Tiki admitted. “We all did. Cody was such a mess, and Coach Wheeler looked so lost . . .”

  Ronde laughed and shook his head. “Amazing,” he said. “And that was just the first two weeks!”

  “I’ll tell you,” said Tiki, “when they made me the kicker in place of Adam, that was the worst. I knew it was all over!”

  “You got that right,” Ronde agreed, laughing. “Man, you are a terrible kicker!”

  “Hey!” Tiki said, suddenly insulted. “I wasn’t that stinky.”

  Ronde gave him a look, and they both cracked up.

  “Okay. I was that stinky,” Tiki said.

  “Nah, I’m just playin’ with you, man,” said Ronde.

  They got home, and their mom made them wait in the living room while she went into the kitchen to get their surprise.

  Then she came walking out with it—a cake in the shape of a football, with the head of turkey! It had chocolate icing, the twins’ favorite, and on it was written, Play Proud, Eagles!

  “WOW!” the boys said together.

  “Mom, that is awesome!” Ronde said.

  “Mmm, let’s eat!” Tiki said, rubbing his hands together. “I’m hungry for chocolate!”

  As they ate together, feeling warm and dry and happy and excited, Ronde said, “Isn’t it amazing we made the play-offs, after all those things went wrong?”

  “It is amazing,” Tiki said. “It’s totally unreal!”

  “And I want you boys to remember every minute of it,” said Mrs. Barber. “Every last moment. Because life is going to throw you lots of unexpected challenges and obstacles. Just remember, Tiki and Ronde, you can get through anything, and survive to fight another day, if you believe in yourselves—and if you always, always play proud.”

  FOOTBALL SIGNALS

  Ball ready for play1 Untimed down

  Start clock

  Time-out Discretionary or injury time-out (follow by tapping hands on chest)

  TV/Radio time-out

  Touchdown Field goal Point(s) after touchdown

  Safety

  Dead ball foul Touchback (move side to side)

  First down

  Loss of down

  Incomplete forward pass Penalty declined No play, no score Toss option deferred

  Legal touching of forward pass or scrimmage kick

  Inadvertent whistle (Face Press Box)

  Disregard flag

  End of period

  Sideline warning

  First touching (NFHS) Illegal touching

  Uncatchable forward pass (NCAA)

  Encroachment (NFHS) Offside defense or freekick defense (NCAA)

  False start Illegal formation Encroachment offense (NCAA)

  Illegal shift—2 hands

  Illegal motion—1 hand

  Delay of game

  Substitution infraction

  Failure to wear required equipment

  Illegal helmet contact

  Unsportsmanlike conduct Noncontact foul

  Illegal participation

  Sideline interference (Face Press Box)

  Running into or Roughing kicker or holder

  Illegal batting/kicking (Followed by pointing toward toe for kicking)

  Invalid fair catch signal (NFHS) Illegal fair catch signal

  Forward pass interference Kick catching interference

  Roughing passer

  Illegal pass/forward handing (Face Press Box)

  Intentional grounding

  Ineligible downfield on pass

  Personal foul

  Clipping

  Blocking below waist Illegal block

  Chop block

  Holding/obstructing Illegal use of hands/arms

  Illegal block in the back

  Helping runner Interlocked blocking

  Grasping face mask or helmet opening

  Tripping

  Disqualification

  TIKI BARBER grew up in Roanoke, Virginia, where he wore number 2 for the Cave Spring Eagles during junior high school. From 1997 through 2006 he wore number 21 as a running back for the New York Giants, where he holds every rushing record in team history, and was a three-time Pro Bowl selection.

  RONDE BARBER wore number 5 for the Cave Spring Eagles. Today he is one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL and wears number 20 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Ronde is a Super Bowl winner, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, and the first cornerback in the history of the league to have at least twenty-five sacks and forty interceptions in a career.

  TIKI and RONDE BARBER have collaborated on eight children’s books, By My Brother’s Side, the Christopher Award–winning Game Day, Teammates, Kickoff!, Go Long!, Wild Card, Red Zone, and most recently, Goal Line.

  PAUL MANTELL is the author of more than one hundred books for young readers.

  ALSO BY TIKI BARBER AND RONDE BARBER

  By My Brother’s Side • Game Day • Teammates

  Kickoff! • Go Long! • Red Zone • Goal Line

  If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

  SIMON & SCHUSTER BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020

  www.simonspeakers.com

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2009 by Tiki Barber and Ronde Barber

&n
bsp; Football signals on pages 149-156 created by Einav Aviram based on NCAA rules

  Copyright © 2009 Simon & Schuster

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  SIMON & SCHUSTER BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.

  Also available in a Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers hardcover edition

  Book design by Krista Vossen

  The text for this book is set in Melior.

  First Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers paperback edition July 2012

  The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:

  Barber, Tiki, 1975–

  Wild card / Tiki Barber and Ronde Barber, with Paul Mantell.

  p. cm.

  “A Paula Wiseman Book.”

  Summary: Through the course of a difficult season, Ronde learns that his coach is right about football being a mental game, as he tries to fill in as kicker while he and his identical twin, Tiki, help Adam improve his grades.

  ISBN 978-1-4169-6858-0 (hc)

  [1. Barber, Tiki, 1975—Fiction. 2. Barber, Ronde, 1975—Fiction. 3. Football—Fiction. 4. Twins—Fiction. 5. Brothers—Fiction.] I. Barber, Ronde, 1975– II. Mantell, Paul. III. Title.

  PZ7.B23328Wil 2009 [Fic]—dc22

  2008046641

  ISBN 978-1-4169-6859-7 (pbk)

  ISBN 978-1-4169-9657-6 (eBook)

  1 Numbers 25 and 26 are for future signals.