Last Chance U (2016–…): Season 2, Episode 6 - The Curse - full transcript

[guitar playing]

[indistinct chatter]

[whistle blows]

[players exclaim and laugh]

[whistle blows]

[Steven Miller] Act like you got
a football game this week.

Let's act like we got a football game.

Buddy and the boys is coming
through Clarksdale.

They comin' in,

they just beat the number one team
in the nation last week,

and they beat 'em pretty handily.



They scored 51
against the number one team in the nation,

and we are a winless team,
so it's a big difference in there.

[coach] Now break, now break! Break!

[grunts] It's all right.

I mean, they got scholarship players
right now. We have walk-ons.

[Miller] Head down.
Stay with him, stay with him.

Okay.
[whistle blows] That's not bad.

And we're fighting
with undersized players.

For the level we're playin' on,
they didn't have the height,

or they didn't have the weight
for a Division I team,

but they give all they got.

Like we say, we always come out here
with a bunch of energy,

we're never down, all right?

We got two games to go.



We're playing East Mississippi here
on our turf...

and we gonna go out on Thursday
and give it all we got and win, right?

-[players] Yes, sir.
-All right.

Let's thank the Lord
for these opportunities.

[indistinct chatter]

-[player 1] Believe.
-[player 2 shushes]

[all] Our Father, which art in Heaven...

[Miller] This is not
a David and Goliath story.

That's not what I'm putting
in my players' head.

But at the same time,
we've faced the facts that,

you know, we're one of the worst teams
in the nation.

[player 1] Family on three!

-One, two, three!
-[all] Family!

[indistinct chatter]

[Miller] Now, we got this thing
they call the Mackie curse.

Coahoma hadn't won a game
since that Mackie curse.

And we tryin' to break the curse,

and let the... the good spirit
shine down on my new program, so...

[chuckles]

[marching band playing]

[Debbie Gibson's
"Only In My Dreams" playing]

♪ Every time I'm telling secrets ♪

♪ I remember how it used to be ♪

♪ And I realized how much I miss you ♪

♪ And I realize how it feels to be free ♪

♪ Now I see I'm up to no good ♪

♪ No, no good ♪

♪ And I wanna start again ♪

[Buddy] Look, y'all, it's been...
It's been a heck of a year.

I'm tired, I'm exhausted,
I'm mentally exhausted.

I'm tired of the cameras being around.

I'm tired of 'em sticking 'em
in our face, in my face.

You know, it's just...
It's wearing on me,

you know, I'm paranoid as it is.

And I've blown up on kids, on y'all...

I'm ready to have a little fun,

and I just think our guys being fresh
in the ball game is gonna mean a lot.

And so, you know,
not laid back, but let's have fun.

[Williams]
You gotta turn your hips, Snoop.

-[Trickett] Love the shorts.
-[Buddy] Don't start.

[Trickett] No, you just went blue jean
on us.

-[Buddy] Don't start.
-[player] Oh, yes.

[Buddy] What?

[Wood] Nothin'. I like your shorts.
Ready!

I'm gonna tell y'all,

y'all ain't gonna make fun
of my dadgum shorts.

[Wood] Bring 'em back, Coach!

-[Buddy] Y'all ain't making fun...
-Bring 'em back!

-[Buddy] Hey...
-[Wood] Don't be ashamed of your game.

[Buddy] Y'all ain't making fun
of my shorts.

[Wood] Don't be ashamed.

[Isaiah] Dorito, upside down.
Upside-down triangle.

[chuckles] That's what his body look like.
Body big, but legs small.

-Hey, Cade!
-[Wilkerson] Yes, sir?

Where's the music?

-I need some '80s rock, okay?
-[players laugh]

"Sweet Home Alabama" would be good.

-[Wood] Five-yard line, go!
-[player 1] Blue, you heard it.

All right, "Sweet Home Alabama,"
some Def Leppard...

[Wood] No.

[Trickett] Be clean!

[Buddy] That is clean.

[Wood]
He's talking about us offensively.

[Buddy] "Sweet Home Alabama"
and Def Leppard?

[Wood] He's talking about our offense.

[Buddy] Some Journey...
Some Journey... [chuckles lightly]

Some Debbie Gibson. [chuckling]

-["Only In My Dreams" continues playing]
-♪ No, no, no, no ♪

♪ Only in my dreams ♪

♪ As real as it may seem ♪

♪ It was only in my dreams ♪

[laughter and indistinct chatter]

[Buddy] I want a large order, traditional.

Give me half mild, half hot...

and I want two blue cheese
with it, please.

Two extra blue cheese. Please.

-[player 1] Did you see the video?
-Huh?

[player 1] The Northwest video
that they got together.

Let me see.

[Hunter] It's a five-minute video
of what we did.

-Are you kidding? Of what we did?
-[Hunter] Yeah.

[player 2] They slowed it down.

[player 1] They said we cheated
the whole game.

The posts were like,

"I heard it was hard to win
at East Mississippi, and now I see why."

[Hunter] Yeah, they said we pay refs
and stuff.

[players laugh]

[Buddy] There's a lot of people
that want to see us fall.

People worry so much about us.

Everybody thinks we cheat.
Everybody thinks we do something dirty.

Everybody thinks we do this or that,
blah, blah, blah... I get so sick of it.

You want me to tell you what we do?
We concentrate on ourselves.

Winners concentrate on winning
and losers concentrate on winners.

[Buddy] That's ridiculous.

We could send 'em a asterisk
and tell 'em they might need that.

[laughs]

'Cause they said-- They put out last year,
"No asterisk needed," you remember that?

So, maybe they need the asterisk now,
I don't know.

I said, "Even with the three touchdowns
that y'all say y'all got called back,

we still would've beat y'all."

[Buddy] How many
did we beat 'em by last year?

Oh, we killed 'em.

[Buddy] How many could
we've beaten 'em by,

'cause we took a knee, this year?

Could've scored again.

[player 3] Hey, Coach,
we can't kneel the next game.

[player 1] We gotta score.

-There will be no takin' a knee next time.
-[player 1] We gotta score.

I don't think there's any doubt
that jealousy plays a part

in how people have acted, and what
they've done, and what they've said.

We've changed the culture in this state

as far as football
with a community college.

If you wanna keep up,
you're gonna have to spend money.

If you don't wanna keep up,
then there you go, you know.

I just get sick of it.

The whining, the crying, the...

the, you know...

Gets to be old.

[guitar music playing]

-[door opens]
-♪ Monday morning ♪

♪ Monday morning ♪

[door closes]

♪ I dread Monday morning ♪

♪ Monday morning ♪

[Miller] That quarterback is good.

Yeah. Yeah, he's...

-He looks so confident with it.
-Yeah.

A lot of guys in this league
don't look confident.

No, he better than...

-the two that left there before.
-Yeah.

All of them guys at SEC schools.
[chuckles] Auburn, Ole Miss.

[Miller] Yeah, he better than them too.

Goddamn motherfucker.

[Lee chuckles] Who is that kid?

-[Miller sighs] That's four.
-Yeah.

-Told you, four the best running back.
-Isaiah Wright?

-Yeah.
-Yeah, he pretty good.

He took Florence,
was like five and something.

And he transferred from Memphis
his senior year

and they end up winnin' 11 games.

And it was because they put him
at quarterback and--

-They let him go.
-Yeah, they just let him go.

-He's good.
-Difference maker.

Shoot, basically,
we goin' scheme versus athletes.

-[chuckles] Yeah.
-[chuckles]

Know what I'm sayin'?
We can't match up.

We can't match up
with them athletes they got.

[whistle blowing]

-[player] Whoo! Whoo!
-[coach 1] Come on, Rickey May.

-[coach 2] Hit!
-[grunts]

Don't get no concussion now, boy.
Shit. We know you. That head soft.

You know what we gonna read?

Dependin' on where the back at,
the back on that side, there.

That's the back side. We read it whole.

The, uh... the guy from over there.

-The "Will." I want you to give it a name.
-There?

Then if we come over here,
we read it whole.

The "Will" there.

That's no "Will." That's the strong side.

You reading... Sam...

You gotta be able to speak football
when you go to that next level.

If that son of a bitch go over your head,
it go over your head.

But we can't give 'em the first down.

'Cause they ain't gonna throw
a damn fade route

on a damn ten-yard hitch... all right?

It's all smart. This JUCO now.

Ain't too many of them that damn smart.

If they were,
they wouldn't be out here. [chuckles]

-You trying to call us dumb?
-Huh?

-Trying to call us dumb?
-I went to JUCO.

-[chuckles]
-All right? I ain't called nobody dumb.

Just not smart. Put it that way.

I always wanted to finish my career
as a head coach.

Coahoma hadn't had
a lot of winning ways or tradition.

I figured when something
opened up like that

they'll give a young guy like me
a opportunity and they did.

But we take away that,
we got coverage over here,

that son of a bitch's gonna be
probably sacked.

-Ready? One more time!
-[whistle blows]

You're like the gun! That's it.

We do that a couple of times,
they gonna be screwed.

They run what everybody else run,
but to perfection.

They routes some really stick routes.
They running straight to the stick.

-[player 1] Yeah.
-Ain't nothin' past the sticks.

They ain't trying to go past
unless you're trying to go.

East Mississippi, they're pretty good.
Got a lot of athletes.

One of the top schools in the nation.

They can get anybody.

Most of their players, I feel like,
come from universities anyways.

They just couldn't make it there,

did something, got in trouble
and got sent back down, and...

All of our players came from high school,
you know what I'm saying?

So, the level is different.

Thank you, thank you.

We have the best water crew
in the world, I think.

-And also the most beautiful. Water crew.
-[woman] Thank you.

-I gotta compliment 'em.
-[woman] All right.

[Rejohn] Originally, I was at Co-Lin,

and I got redshirted there,
then I got cut.

So, Coahoma gave me a chance.

[indistinct chatter]

[player 1] You ugly.

Hey, look, look, look. Look at him.

[player 2] That boy got so mad, dog.

What's that coach's name?
Coach Stephens?

[players] Coach Buddy Stephens.

-That man got in a fight with a referee.
-Yeah, we saw.

He squared up with the referee.

Referee gave Buddy Stephens a beatin'.

Man, I swear he...

-He gave Buddy Stephens--
-He threw a jab at him.

[Miller] Watchin' the Netflix series,
and they say Last Chance U,

it's kinda...

It's more like Second Chance U
at a team like East.

Players can come in from Division I.
They get a second chance.

But the kid comes to Coahoma, it was
their last chance to get on the field.

They was not recruited,
not scholarship players by any means.

Well, that's your last chance
to get on the field and prove yourself.

[coach] Throw! Throw! Right there.

Let's go.
Snag, snag, snag, snag, snag...

[Brady Burse] They should be fine
playing East Mississippi.

I've heard they were good.

I know somebody from Olive Branch
that came from the high school I was at.

TJ Jallow, plays corner.
I know he's pretty good.

And their defensive line is probably good.
They're good every year.

I mean, we're 0-7,

but you can tell
we got talent for next year.

[indistinct chatter]

[Ed Holly] All right, here we go.
Listen, I got the floor. Now listen.

It's a 6:30 game. We're leavin' earlier.

Make time to get treatment
and take care of your body.

Hydrate, do what you're supposed to do.

When we go to Coahoma,
we're goin' on a business trip.

This ain't sightseein'.
We ain't goin' to listen to blues music.

We're goin' there to play a football game.

No matter what the conditions are,
no matter where we are,

or where we go, we play like Lions.

All right. Grab a Lion, baby. Here we go.

-[Chauncey] Kam, take a shower on three.
-[players chuckle]

One D on me. One D on three.
One! Two! Three!

[all] One D!

[Isaiah] I ain't gonna say
that they're booty, booty.

They ain't gonna just let us
come out there and whoop their ass.

They're gonna give us some effort.

-[Vijay chuckles]
-Their record's sorry.

-I mean...
-[interviewer] What's their record?

[Vijay] They haven't won.

[Isaiah] You're never supposed to
take a game off, or a play off,

no matter how bad the team is,
no matter what.

You're supposed to play.

You always have your chance
to win your first game.

No matter what.

[players chuckle]

[indistinct chatter]

-Hey, Isaiah.
-[Isaiah] Hey.

-What's up?
-Um...

Did you get that e-mail from Mr. Johnson?

[Wagner] It's too late to register you
for an online class.

No, it's not.

-Says who?
-Says him.

[sighs] Okay,
I can't do that right now, but...

I'll, um...

-[Isaiah] Okay, 'cause...
-[Wagner] ...look into it.

I'm not gonna be able to pass that class.
I can pass it if--

-No, you can pass it being in a classroom.
-No, I really can't.

Look, there's not even a way
for me to come out with a D.

Okay, well,
I'm working with him right now,

so when I get done with him,

I will look into getting you
in an online class.

All right.

[Wagner] What's wrong with Isaiah?
He had a boot.

[Diamante Pounds]
You can tell he was hurt.

-[Wagner] You could? Really?
-Like, he was really hurt.

He stayed down. His face was red.

And then he got up.
He got to limping. Damn.

[Wagner] I thought that was
our best game yet.

We finally came together on both sides
of the ball and played a complete game.

-Yep!
-Very good job.

Thank you, Miss Brittany.

Y'all did awesome.

And y'all whooped their tail.

I think we'll jump to number two.

'Cause they'll probably put
Garden City in front of us.

I don't know. It depends.

We may jump to three, they may do...

-Garden City, Arizona Western, then us.
-No, we gonna jump.

No, we gonna be in the top two.

-How you know?
-Just 'cause.

No, we really...
We probably gonna be in the top two.

I think we'll be in the top two.

[radio host 1] Four Mississippi JUCOs
ranked in the top 18 in the country.

East Mississippi
is the number three team in the nation,

Garden City, Kansas, is number one.
Arizona Western is ranked number two.

[radio host 2] Look at East Mississippi.

Ranked third in the country.
They are 6-1 right now.

Last Saturday, a 51-32 homecoming win

over then number one ranked
Northwest Mississippi.

Put up 51 on the Rangers.

[radio host 1] Boy, guys.
Again, it's just that logjam,

where you have a half a dozen teams
chasing two spots.

[player] Ain't no way
they just moved us to three.

[Wagner] They did?
The rankings came out?

Ain't no way you set a team back
like that when they blowing people out.

Especially when they did
the number one team like that.

[player] Last year they did the same.

They did the same shit last year.

Think about it, bro,
we beat the number one team.

-That's what made me so mad, bro.
-[laughs]

Number three? [chuckles]

-One spot away.
-[indistinct chatter]

I'm not really excited about the way
we were doing on the ranks.

I mean, I feel like we should have been
a strong number two.

You know, you beat the number one team,
we could have put up 70 points on 'em.

It shouldn't be a question
who should be number one.

We should be number one.

I don't want Buddy
to let up off the throttle.

If we can put points on the board,
we need to put 'em on.

[Miller] Zulu.

Right there, Antowyne! Right there, good!

Hey. Great job, y'all two.

If y'all do that all night,
y'all three gonna have fuckin' sacks.

[players] Let's go, Kenon!

-[player 1] Got 'em!
-[player 2] Ooh!

-[players laughing]
-Got 'em!

I don't think Buddy runs a score up
to intimidate anybody,

but I think he gets the scores on a board

to get all the voters
and the computer rankings

so that his team don't get left out
for being in the Mississippi league

where you get a one loss,

but you get bumped out
the national championship race

just because of that.

[cheering]

To come out of the Mississippi league,
you got to be very, very impressive.

I think we had the most score
they ever scored in a game by East.

It was 90-something points.

[player grunts]

But at the same time, some lose
self-esteem in the game of football

after a game like that.

You know,
where the score is just outrageous.

You can see the kids on that Coahoma team
never played football much after that.

They really feel like it wasn't the sport
they need to be in.

So you demoralize a lot of the young men.

You got to show, put on a show
to make sure your rating's up.

I understand that.

But sometimes we just got to
take a step back and realize

there's some heart and soul
on that field and...

you got to look at the kids
that's playing the game.

Both sides of the ball.

[indistinct chatter]

[girl] We win all the time in baseball.

Getting my hair done, man,
before the game.

-Getting ready to beat East Mississippi.
-Trying to get ready.

You know what I'm trying to do.

-Yeah, we gonna get that win. Big win.
-W.

-They gonna be sad, sad faces.
-[all laugh]

Lot of sad faces.

[girl 2] CCC gonna whoop East Mississippi.

We gonna whoop East Mississippi.
Ain't no secret.

We gonna win. We gonna get this W.
The first W of the season.

-We got my boy Brady here.
-[girl 2] Brady's starting.

Gonna throw a lot of touchdown passes,
you know what I'm saying? [chuckles]

My boy, Brady. Number 12.

[all laughing]

The big thing is what we talked about,

and it's still the same thing.

It's about taking care of us.
Handling our business.

Don't drag. Don't go through the motions.
Get the most out of it today.

Understand what you're working towards,
trying to be perfect.

And finish up this season
in the North perfect.

Got me? Any questions?
Bye. See you out there.

[Buddy] We got good people here.
And we got good people that work for us.

You know, hey, Jones tried to hire
our offensive coordinator, Marcus,

during the off-season,
and he chose to stay.

And that's good.

If you wanna change your program,
come hire 'em. Pay 'em good money.

They'll come change your program.

[Wood] Right over left. Right over left.
Good stretch. Ready... Down!

I try to give 'em as much as I can
as far as...

if there's something they need,
we're gonna try to meet 'em

-and do things.
-I really like that one, though.

[Wood] It's gonna be a good lesson.
It's gonna be a good group.

A lot of 'em may not have a lot
that they come from.

Some do, some don't.
Uh, we just wanna make sure

we're loving 'em all
and taking care of 'em.

I mean, I don't know
about being necessarily a dad to 'em,

but I do want to treat 'em
like I'd want somebody to treat mine.

I've got my sons.
I'm really, really fortunate.

They're blessed. I have custody.

It's been a great deal.

We've grown a lot together over the years

and I rely on them
probably more than they rely on me.

So, been a good deal.

I started this thing out
as a single dad back in 2008.

There are some challenges. The hours
that you put in at night are different.

Some nights you leave
at a decent hour, 8:00 or 9:00.

Some nights you may leave later.

Sit down over top of the ball.
Work off of 'em now. Let's go.

How you doing? How was school?

-Good.
-That's good.

The great thing with me, they had
an opportunity to kinda be there with me.

So, when we're at practice,
my kids are out there.

When we were at games,
they'd travel with us. Different things.

So the chance to raise my boys here
and not to have to push 'em away,

they're pretty much around it
all the time.

Coach Stephens is good with it,
so that part's been a blessing.

Buddy's been real good to me about that.

Give me a Y. Give me a Z. Go.

[Buddy] Seal the end!

[Wood] We're different.

He tells me sometimes
I'm sugarcoating something

and I tell him,
"You're fixing it with a shotgun."

So, I mean, that's kinda how it goes.

They named me the head-coach-in-waiting,

which Coach Stephens
has been pushing for for a long time.

So, uh, maybe. Who knows?

We'll see. Hope so.

-[sighs] Man, what the fuck?
-[indistinct chatter]

[Wagner] What are you trying to do?

[Kam] I'm trying to log into my e-mail.

-Okay. There you go.
-This is not my e-mail.

That's your East Mississippi e-mail.

I don't care about my East Mississippi,
I need my Gmail.

-Oh, I don't have a thing to do with that.
-Mine.

-[Dakota] Good morning.
-[Wagner] Hey.

-[Dakota] How you doing?
-Good. How are you?

-I'm all right.
-Just all right?

-Yeah.
-Me, too.

[Kam exhales heavily]

[players laughing
and talking indistinctly]

[loud thudding and laughter]

-[Wagner] No fighting in my office.
-[Tim] They weren't fighting, they were...

-[indistinct chatter]
-[Wagner shushes] Hey!

-Listen to me, there are--
-I thought--

[Wagner grunts] Be quiet!

-[speaks indistinctly]
-[Wagner] Quiet.

There are classes and offices
in this building.

You are not gonna come in here

and act like you are the only people
in this building.

-[Tim speaking indistinctly]
-Tim!

[players chuckle]

[Tim] They already had their opportunity.

[Wagner] How old are we?

I feel like I should just go work
in a kindergarten.

[Maleke] I like that.
That making me laugh.

[Wagner] It's 10:54.
You have an eleven o'clock.

-Hey, how you know?
-I know everything.

[laughs]

[Maleke] Are you smiling
to keep the frown away?

Or are you just smiling for real?

'Cause sometimes you would smile
just to cool yourself down from going off.

[Wagner]
That's a very good observation, Maleke.

[player] You got a nice little life,
Miss Wagner.

You do.
You get to travel when you want to.

-You just gotta--
-[player] Fine with the way your life is?

[Maleke] The hardest part of your day,
you gotta deal with us.

Am I fine with the way my life is?

[player] You can live like this
the rest of your life.

-Oh, no, no. Mm-mmm.
-[player] No? Whoa!

I can't. I don't know that I can live
like this for three more months.

-[player] Whoa! Wow.
-[laughs]

Might not make it.

[Miller] Gotta tell him, "Get up!"
I said, "I can't help you up either."

[coaches laughing]

-[Miller] I ain't no dog.
-I told Earnest... Earnest got up,

I said, "Lay down,
let the defense breathe."

[both laughing]

-Let them breathe.
-Yeah. Oh, no, the funny one...

The funny one are the frogs.

Oh, no, come on, we had
a five-minute conversation on frogs.

Watching the film,
I said, "Now, frog, anytime...

if you think you hurt,
just fall down, son."

[all laughing]

The kids all trust that fact, right?

-[whistle blows]
-[player laughing]

When I go to the classroom
to ask the teachers about you

and stuff like that,

they say you acting a fool, man.
That's bad.

That look bad on us.

Now I'm looking to ask them
to help us out,

give you extra work,
they ain't gonna wanna do it. Why?

-'Cause you wanna act a clown in class?
-I'll talk to him.

You know which professor
I'm talking about?

-Uh, Mr. Burr.
-Yeah, exactly.

I did. I told him... I'll talk to him.

-Okay. Did you apologize for your actions?
-I'll talk to him. Yes, sir.

Okay, good. Good.
Act a fool again, I'm gonna act a fool.

We don't have a Brittany on our staff
to help monitor and nurture

the young players that we have.

Coach Lee filled the shoes of Brittany.

-Hey, Miller, you goin' to the library?
-[indistinct chatter]

Give me that sheet like this
from the library.

[Kentrell] Hey, Coach,
I need help with physical science.

-I'm so serious. I ain't just playing.
-[chuckles]

All right, man. I don't even know
what that old dude be talking about.

I promise you. I be trying.

First, get me a syllabus,
then I'll get you a tutor.

[clicks tongue] Man, I don't even know
what he be talking about.

Damn, we be having our assignments due.
I'm like, man...

[sighs] It's hard out here
for a pimp, man.

Yeah, this is my gap. That's your gap.

-[player 1] Right.
-[player 2] They run that ball.

[player 3] That's our zone.

[players chattering excitedly]

[Williams] Hey, y'all seen Kam?

Hey, somebody go get Kam.
See if he in his room.

All right, would you like
to run the draw out of this?

Now he also would make sure...
He also...

He also would take the ball down
and just start running with it.

Okay?

Stay intact.

[players speaking indistinctly]

[player sniffles and coughs]

[whistle blows]

[Williams] Kam, I can tell
how you stretch, you ain't ready.

I had to come wake you up twice today.
You forgot your damn helmet.

I feel like you finna have a bad day.

[shouting and grunting]

[Trickett] Good. Score!

[whistle blowing]

[Wood] Good job. Good job!

Sideline team.
I guess we're not good enough to play.

I don't play good enough.

I start Thursday,
but I don't play good enough.

[Williams] Right there. There you go!

[player] Yeah! We got the ball.

[Williams] Tim!

He always do me like this.
Every week, bro.

Monday, I'm on the bench.

Thursday, I'm fucking starting.
That shit don't make no sense, Lil Bo.

Hey, back up, Kam.

There you go, get there, get there!

Run to the ball!
Whoo! Look at that field, Ray!

Look at that field, Ray. Get to the ball!

Man, fuck!

I'm trying to get some motherfuckin' reps,
but this shit fucking sucks.

The days that I don't want reps,
he put me in every fucking play

but the days that I want reps,
he never put me in.

[player] You gotta want reps
every day, bro.

Fuck that shit.

Hey.

-[Trickett] Open it. I wanna see it.
-Oh.

[Trickett] That's the head coach.

I will throw it at you.
I will slap you in the face with it

-if I wanted to.
-Hey! [chuckles]

"Isaiah, you can be
the difference maker for us."

[player] Where you going?

I don't know.

["Ever Since" playing]

♪ Ever since I found the Lord ♪

♪ I've had to pray to the Lord ♪

♪ Ever since I found the Lord ♪

♪ I've had to pray to the Lord ♪

[Wagner] These kids' futures
in recruitment depends

maybe on the fact that we can play
in the national championship.

The better your opponents get, you know,

the more those coaches
are out to look at you.

I mean, last year,
we were all sitting around,

twiddling our thumbs, wondering
when coaches were gonna come in.

And just the difference in this year,

there's been a steady stream of coaches
coming in, looking at our guys.

[recruiter] Is Chauncey
gonna graduate, Coach?

I think that a Power Five
will come in here and pick him up

because of his skill set.
He can do everything.

He can do so much.
Uh... but they haven't yet.

[Ed Holly] Tim Bonner is an edge rusher.

As far as pass rushing goes, Coach,
you won't find any better in the country.

-[Wagner] I think he'll pass everything...
-Yeah, it's just...

-...and graduate.
-Yeah. Right.

I think the issue could be the two-five.

[Wilkerson] He's been injured
this season.

Right. Okay.

[Wilkerson] Hopefully, if we continue,

he'll get bigger and bigger
and bigger offers,

so... which is what we want for the kid.

[recruiter] Let me ask
about the quarterback.

-[Wagner] He will graduate in December.
-Okay. Oh, good.

-He's a good student.
-Good. I'm just... Yeah.

-I like him.
-Yeah.

I have no issues with him.
I mean, I think he's mature.

-I think he made a terrible mistake.
-Mm-hmm.

And he's paid for it. And it's done.

I mean,
he has not given me any indication...

-Not one single day has he...
-Okay.

It's like it's not even
the same person, to me.

Like, I can't...

The guy that I know didn't do that.

[chuckles] I don't know what happened.
I don't wanna know.

-Like, you know, I don't know...
-Right.

But the guy that I know,
that sits in here every day...

is not that guy.

-It's good, it's good. It's really good.
-Yeah.

[Trickett] I understand

he's a hell of a quarterback
and people need players, so...

Absolutely. Appreciate it, Coach.
Thank you.

All right. Bye.

Talking to Tulane about De'Andre.

Coach wanted to know
a little more about him,

so I tried to plead the case
for him a little bit.

Trying to get him
in front of as many coaches

and as many eyes as possible.

You know, just do my due diligence. So...

if you need a good player,

and he is a phenomenal player
and a great kid too, you know.

But they don't know that.

So they see he's a really good player,

he has a bad past, a mark on his record.

You know, I have to address this.

There's a talk that has to be made that
sometimes people don't wanna have.

You know, we know
that there is some interest out there.

We've talked to some teams and stuff,
but no one's gonna be the first one

to offer and then take all that slack.
It'll come back up,

everything, every news article
from the past will come back up

and then, you know,
he goes somewhere else.

So they took the brunt of all,
you know, even offering the kid

and they didn't even get him.

So everyone's trying
to avoid that, which I get.

Um... but at the same time,

if you want him, start showing some trust.

So that's why people are kinda
talking to him a little quietly.

Um... but we'll see,
we'll see how it plays out.

A lot of schools don't really wanna
take a chance on me right now.

But they don't know if I learned...

They're not sure if I learned
from my mistake

or if I have any legal troubles,
which I don't.

See, I could play college football
at the highest level.

I'm just not right now.
It's not even 'cause I'm not good enough.

It's because I made a mistake,

which cost me
for not being at the top right now.

But it's all right

because whichever school decides
to take a chance on me

and bring me in, you know,
I feel that they wouldn't regret it.

I feel that I would make
a great impact there.

As well as that university make
a great impact with me as a young man.

[indistinct chatter]

[Rejohn] We gonna score.

-[man 1] Who?
-[man 2] No, y'all gonna go.

-[Rejohn] We gonna score.
-[man 2] Who gonna score?

-[Rejohn] We gonna score.
-Y'all might win.

[Rejohn] We gonna win.

Y'all gonna win?

-[Rejohn] We gonna win.
-[man 2] "Might" can't get you there.

-"Might"...
-"Might" can't. We gotta do it.

-'Cause he got to.
-[man 3 laughs]

Hey, if y'all beat them,
I'll cut my hair off. Real talk.

-I'll cut my hair if they beat them.
-[man 2] This on Netflix.

-[indistinct chatter]
-[laughs]

When we win,
there's gonna be no more school.

-[man 3] No more school...
-For a whole week.

There's gonna be no school
for a week. Or next two weeks.

[overlapping chatter]

That still don't make sense.
Y'all's not finna beat these guys.

That's what I'm saying, when we beat them,

-they gonna say, we canceling school.
-When y'all gonna beat them?

It's gonna be a extra long fall break.
That's what they gonna say.

When is y'all gonna beat 'em?

Thursday night.

The video you just show me,
Coahoma not finna win.

-The video you just show... No.
-[overlapping chatter]

[man 3] Dude got slammed on his neck.

-That's a football player, number five.
-No ways.

Pick a nigga up in the sky
and just put him up on his neck, man.

Picked a man up
then slammed him on his neck, fool.

That ain't just no regular football.

Look at that.
That ain't no regular football. [laughs]

-Them boys are turnt!
-[man 3] That ain't no regular football.

-[man 2] You scared!
-[all laugh]

Who? Who?

[guitar playing]

♪ Evil ♪

♪ I say evil ♪

♪ Evil ♪

The curse.

-[interviewer] What is it?
-Tell us.

So the curse about Mackie.

I don't believe in curses. I believe...

[woman 1] She put a curse on us...

-[woman 2] What you think happened?
-[player] I don't know.

I heard somebody died in the school.
But I don't believe that.

[woman 1] Mackie, she died in the lake.

-That's why it was called Mackie Lake.
-Mackie Lake.

Yeah, it's like a myth
but no one believes in myths.

-I do.
-I just stay away from the lake.

That's the best thing to do.

This supposed to have been
after a game one night.

A bunch of footballers raped this...

-Supposed to be in cheerleading.
-...cheerleader.

And they raped her and killed her
and threw her in the lake.

[chuckles] And so they say
our team is cursed because of that.

Yeah.

-That's why it's called Mackie--
-At the same time,

it almost seem like it's true

-'cause they don't win.
-They never win. Never.

I ain't believe it,
but when I seen they was losing,

I'm like, "Ah, that might be true."
[chuckles]

Might, I don't know. Something wrong.

But the lake nice, though.

♪ You know evil took my woman ♪

♪ Now evil tries to take my wife ♪

[Duck] About 40 years ago,
that was a cotton mill.

All this would've been loaded with cotton.

Every building in this town was occupied
with some type of retail business.

Every one of them.

They fell prey to an interstate
start bypassing the town, and...

they killed a lot of these small towns.

It is what it is.

And that's life, period.

It is what it is.

And once you get past it,
it was what it was

but now it is what it is.
Is that true or not true?

[Miller] Every team in the league probably
have a kid from our region,

our district, on their roster.

They come up
because there's a lot of talent here.

But they have things to offer down there.

I mean, you got kids on our own backyard
that stay right down the street.

They're playing against you
on every Thursday night, which...

We trying to keep those kids here
and play for us

and continue to go to a four-year program
just like any other junior college.

If we can keep the local kids at Coahoma,
we'll be fine.

[whistle blowing]

[coach] New group, new group, new group.

You got, you got...
So, what? What am I supposed to do?

[player mumbles indistinctly]

-'Cause you got to take a dump?
-Yeah.

You should have did that before.

Come on. Yes, sir.
Come on, man. Stop playing.

I've been blowing up back there, Coach.

-I ain't got nothing to do with that.
-You can't time stuff like that.

I ain't got nothing to do with that.
You got to take a dump.

Why you can't on your own time?

-'Cause you can't time when--
-And then you gonna come...

"Coach," 'cause you gonna ask,
can you take a sh...

Embarrassing me.
Talkin' 'bout taking a sh...

-I'm gettin' ready to do number two.
-You... Go. Go. Go.

Matter of fact, don't you come back out,
nasty booty boy.

[laughs and chuckles]

[woman 1]
Well, I think, in the first quarter,

it's probably gonna be 26-7.

But the way we're working,
they gonna pull it up.

We ain't gonna get beat
that bad but it's--

As long as we just play hard

and stick to the script
and don't get mad at each other

and do what we supposed to do,
we're gonna be all right.

In Jesus' name.

-Amen.
-We pray. We pray! [chuckles]

-[woman 2] We really got to pray now.
-We got to pray. We doin' do some praying.

'Cause we got milk and cookies tonight.
'Cause them boys need their milk.

[gospel music playing]

[Miller] Get one and go now.
Get one and go. You on camera.

[player] Milk and cookies.

♪ Come to me ♪

[coach over PA]
When you get your cookies and milk...

[mouthing] It's so good.

Walmon's gonna imitate Coach Miller.

[laughing and cheering]

[imitates Miller]
We got off to a rough start, man.

I know.
You son of bitches know where you goin'.

[all laugh]

♪ Give thanks to the Lord ♪

You guys should be punishing everybody
in this league.

We leaning on 'em. We leaning on 'em.
We leaning on 'em.

We gonna run power. We gonna run power.
We gonna run power.

We gonna put...
We gonna put fuckin' power.

[all laugh]

♪ Give thanks to the Lord ♪

♪ We thank, thank the Lord
We thank, thank the Lord ♪

Guys, y'all guys have a blessed night

and let's get out and enjoy
the football game tomorrow. Okay?

Family on three. One, two, three.

[all] Family!

[player] One, two, three.

-[player 1] Just back up.
-[player 2] Later, bro.

[De'Andre] Go! Hell yeah!

Whoo!

[all screaming and cheering]

[Ed Holly] Tell you what,
they are having fun.

You can take all this
big stadium and all that.

It comes down to playing and having fun.

[Williams] No matter what age you are.

[Ed Holly] That's awesome.

I thought they were gonna hit Snoop
in the head. [chuckles]

Coach, it probably would have helped him.

[player 1] Oh!

[laughs]

Yeah! D up! D up!

[Buddy] Hey! Coaches,
get them where they're supposed to be.

[player] Let's go, man, let's go!

[Buddy] Get 'em
where they're supposed to be and stretch!

Hurry up!
Your ass has been inside for an hour!

Let's go! Stretch!

[Williams] Let's go. Hurry up. Let's go.
Circle up, guys. Circle up.

Damn, I got to tell coaches to do it?

-[Williams] Hey, get in the circle.
-Shit!

-[zipper zips]
-Whoa!

[players laughing]

-If I was him, I'd be...
-Coach, come here.

I'd give him a 94. He throws it back.

[Buddy] Hey! Hey! Get your ass over there
and watch what's goin' on.

It ain't a damn party.

It ain't a damn show.
Get your ass over here.

[Trickett] Get over there. Go.

-[Buddy] Shit!
-[Trickett] I know.

[De'Andre] Damn, man. Fucked up.

[Buddy] Get your ass whooped
and be wondering why.

Why? 'Cause I got other shit on my mind.

Damn. Surrounded by dumbasses.

[Trickett] Cover, cover, cover. Now, run.

[Buddy] In the last nine years,
we've won 85, 86 ball games.

Pretty good record.

But people will stop coming
to watch you win

and they'll start coming
to see if you lose.

When we first got here,
winning was just...

We were so elated.

And now it's like winning is a relief.

And losing is just, you know...

It's not something
you deal with very well.

The thing that I've wanted to do this year
is try to enjoy the wins a little more.

And it's been very, very hard.

All I care about is us playing
in a national championship game.

Hey, uh, look.

I know how hard it is sometimes
to try to get ready for a team

that you think you're gonna go over
and just absolutely waylay.

Hey, you're plenty talented
to go beat their butt.

Plenty talented. And you probably will.

But when we misread a quarterback,
when we drop balls,

when we're missing who to block,
that's just not thinking.

Now, hey. You can come out here
and you can half-ass it all you want to

and see what happens. See what happens.

I've done this a long time.

This is y'all's first trip
through this shit.

Some of you may think
you know it all, but you don't.

I don't know it all.

But I know one thing.

You half-ass prepare,
you will get jacked up in a ball game.

And it'll make you look bad and it'll ruin
some scholarship opportunities for you.

Think I'm messing around? Try me. Try me!

Go ahead. Don't prepare yourself
and see what happens.

Don't take nothing for granted.
Not anything.

-[Brady] Y'all have ibuprofen?
-[nurse] Yes. Let me have a look.

Here you go. Good luck.

[Miller] Listen up.

You know what's out there?
East is out there.

We're accepting the challenge like always.

People are going to say a lot of things.

They're gonna say,
"They're gonna get blown out,

gonna do this, do that."

There's no reason for us to go out there
and not to perform the best way we can.

All right? It don't matter
if it's the first quarter or the fourth,

we're gonna give it all we got.

-We always do, right?
-[all] Right.

Always give it all we got.
And that's all we askin'.

The coaches, staff, and myself,

all we want you to do is give us
everything you got until that horn go off,

then we'll let the chips fall
where they may.

Got it? Let's go. Let's go have some fun.

We got nothing to lose.
Let's go have some fun. Let's go.

[Joey Zanaboni] Well,
ladies and gentlemen, good evening

and welcome
to Coahoma Community College Football.

My name, Joey Zanaboni.
Right alongside me...

Brian Fennelly about to get started
with East Mississippi,

the number three ranked team
in the country.

[Crowder] Good evening and welcome
inside Coahoma Tigers' stadium

where it is a battle between EMCC,
ranked number three this week,

taking on an unranked and winless
Coahoma Tiger team here in Clarksdale.

[Zanaboni] East Mississippi
coming off a win

against the number one team
in the country.

If we can get this upset,
it would be absolutely monumental.

[Crowder] They've played 40 times.

Coahoma has only defeated EMCC one time...

Let's get real.
Hit squad on three. One, two, three...

-[all] Hit squad!
-[coach] Let's go.

[Crowder] This is one of those games
that could be challenging mentally,

because you're taking on a team

that you should beat
in every statistical category.

[Winfield] They haven't been good
on the offensive,

haven't been good on the defensive side...

[Fennelly] Just watching the new energy
that's coming in with Coach Miller.

A bunch of guys that are so young,
starting to build something special.

[Crowder] De'Andre Johnson,
offensive player of the year,

rolls to his left
as he had some inside pressure.

[Zanaboni] He's under pressure
from Hankins. He spins away,

finds a receiver downfield
about the 30 of Coahoma.

[Crowder] Tries to spin out of a tackle.
He does!

At the 20, 10, 5... Touchdown, EMCC!

-[grunts]
-Come on!

Touchdown! There you go, thank you!

[Zanaboni] How did he get away
from Antonio Nelson there?

Just a very crafty move.

[coach] God damn, man!
Get your fucking feet!

[Zanaboni] East Mississippi
with a 60-yard scoring drive

to get on the board first.

But CCC with an opportunity
to strike back.

[Fennelly] Brady Burse, the freshman
from Olive Branch High, under center.

Burse, pressure coming and down he goes.

[Crowder] Hit and sacked
in the backfield, inside the 20.

Coming in is Rodney Jackson
to make a huge hit.

[Winfield] A negative drive
to start the game.

We ain't gonna have time
to play action shit now.

That motherfucker back there
before we got the snap.

So we should have...
The jitters are gone, right?

-[player] Yes, sir.
-[coach] All right. Guys,

just run the assignment.

They ain't got on
no fucking cape, all right?

Ain't no capes on over there.

-Yes, sir.
-They put their pants on like us.

Keep playing. Defense, go get them off.

Get ready. Let's go.

They're gonna go fast
and try to get another one now.

[Zanaboni] Johnson really moving
this offense quite quickly.

-Fires toward the 30.
-Hey, watch out! We got him.

[laughs]

[Crowder] Dropped. Oh, Daniel Crowell
looked downfield and just dropped it.

Get his ass out. Now. Now!
Jesus Christ.

[Crowder] Lions gonna bring up

-a third down and long.
-Right away, South 60!

[Zanaboni] Third and five here.
Be wonderful to send the Lions out.

Three and out. Johnson dropping back,
he's under pressure...

Come on! Goddang!

Why don't we not go
and block somebody? God!

[Crowder] So now EMCC's gonna
have to kick the football away.

-[Miller] Good job, good job, D.
-Get off the field! Let's go!

[Miller] Good job. Hey, good job.

[Zanaboni] That's excellent work
by the CCC defense.

[Buddy] You gotta give them time to throw!

Step your ass up inside and help somebody!

[Crowder] Offensively,
after that first drive,

they've just had some hiccups.

[Buddy] Get your rear off the field.
Don't walk your ass around and pout,

you understand?

You gotta give him time.
He can't throw off his back.

And you can't get beat on this move.

He's not that good, I told you!

Stay inside, make him beat you around.

He can't beat you around the edge.

He's not good enough.

I feel like it's just like, "Mm-hmm."
You're all just, "Mm-hmm."

Not fired up, and you sit there
and go, "Mm-hmm."

But you don't do anything.

Y'all all got this look of, like...

[Wood] Play! Let's go play!
Next play. Let's go.

Let's go!

[sing-song] Let's go, offense, let's go!

[Fennelly] Pressure coming,
Burse eludes it.

Henderson on him, flings.
This is Eric Moore.

And he's able to pedal his way
to the 45-yard line for a first down.

Yeah! Yeah!

Dadgummit! First down.

[Crowder] All of a sudden,
starting to see confidence

into this football team, on this drive.

-Let's go! Let's go!
-Make the tackle!

For crying out loud,
pick the damn thing off!

[Crowder] Coahoma
finding some rhythm now.

Burse is gonna take
a fade pattern near side

and a one-handed grab.

[Zanaboni] He comes up with a wonderful
one-handed catch. How about that?

Get inside! Come on, Daniel!

[Crowder] The second first down
for Coahoma.

[Zanaboni] Burse, he's gonna hand
this one off. Hammond.

[Crowder] And he goes up the middle,
breaks tackles, stays on his feet.

Down the numbers and he's gonna be
spun down at the 20-yard line.

[Zanaboni] And suddenly CCC

-is knocking on the door...
-[screams]

It don't matter.
We playing the best team in the state.

We gonna get at 'em. They go.

It don't matter who it is. No matter.

[Fennelly] When you're looking at
the Coahoma sideline here, man,

guys are pumped up.

Yeah, you're down 14
but you're in this game.

We gotta punch one in.
Let's go, punch this one in, all right?

[Zanaboni] Fourth down.
Brian, do we go for it?

[Fennelly] I think you do.
You take a shot at the end zone.

-Let's go, Rooh!
-[Fennelly] Go for pay dirt...

[Zanaboni] Pass here
from Burse but it's broken up.

[Crowder] Batted down by EMCC.

-Yes!
-[stadium announcer] Incomplete.

[Williams] Good job, Zeke!

[Fennelly] Ezekiel Rose,
who just made that pass breakup

is actually from Clarksdale, Mississippi.

And East Mississippi
will take over on downs.

[Williams] Great job! Let's go!

Look, man.
Let's get our swagger back, man.

We know what we see out there.
Let's just do it, man.

Let's get off our ass. Let's move, man.
Everybody, man. Let's go, man.

[grunting]

-[Zanaboni] Johnson fakes a hand...
-[Miller] Get 'em, Antowyne!

[Zanaboni] Fires towards the goal line.
He has a man!

[Wood] Great job! Hey, great job, fellas!

[announcer 1] Beginning to get
tempo and rhythm with that offense.

We let the guy get away.

You gotta make the tackle.
Just wrap up and tackle.

[cheering]

We can't give 'em that.

Come on, man!
Man on man, man coverage.

You gotta keep your feet and play.

Keep your head up and play.

[Fennelly] Roll out, Burse flings,
intercepted at the 30-yard line.

[Ed Holly] Yes! Yes, yes!

[Crowder] This EMCC football team
looks to blow this one wide open.

[Ed Holly] You got the ball! Great!

[CCC coach] Don't make that throw.

[announcer 1] One thing you can ill afford
if you are a Coahoma Tiger: turnovers.

Yo, man. Just play ball, bro.
This ain't nothing new.

So all you gotta do is play the pocket.

Okay, you say that though,
but they can run up from the pocket, too.

They gonna get pushed back.

-Then there's no pocket.
-Yeah.

[Zanaboni] Johnson looking like
he wants to air it out.

He's going for it. Oh, down toward
the end zone and he has his man.

-[Crowder] Touchdown, EMCC!
-Fuck! What happened on that shit?

[Winfield] Boy, I tell you what.
That's a very good throw by Johnson.

Great job, guys. Y'all playing great, man.
That's what we built for.

[announcer 2] Injury update,

it looks like Rejohn Franklin
is on the sideline. He...

[Miller] We are fine.

They're getting frustrated because,

"Oh, we East.
We're supposed to be up 30 now."

You're doing everything
we asked you to do.

I promise you, you are.

And now their coach mad,
screaming, yelling.

Ain't no helmets flying around
in this damn locker room.

[Buddy] We're not finishing! That's...

Hey. It ain't got nothing
to do with anything,

where the guy lining up... [mumbles]

It has to do with, we're not finishing.

We're thinking that three steps
against this bunch is good enough.

Nobody plays like we do.

They just got a lot more
experience than we do, all right?

We're up 28-nothing.
Doesn't mean there's bad things, okay?

But you...
Hey. You gotta drive second half now.

I wanna start off. Let's get one.

I ain't proud because
we down by 24 and that's all.

I'm proud because I know we playing
to our maximum potential.

That's the best team in the nation.

They're gonna win
the national championship.

I promise you that.

We playing the national champs,
and we playin' our asses off.

We wanna show the world we can hang
with the best. That's all we wanna do.

[Chauncey] Go, Snoop. Come on.
Get a tackle!

[Rodney] Get a sack.

[Crowder] Making the tackle
is Lemerrell Smith,

freshman from Canton, Mississippi.

[Chauncey] Snoop! You gotta make a play!

Man, he turnt.

[chuckling] He turnt.

Ain't did a goddamn thing.

[Crowder] Boy, I'll tell you what,
Johnson, talent-wise,

may be the best in the country.

Three-yard touchdown run.

[Winfield] You know what that does.

[Crowder] That means
the clock begins to run.

-[Winfield] The Buddy rule is in effect.
-[Crowder] It's in effect.

Well, for Brian Fennelly,
I'm Joey Zanaboni.

Our final score,
East Mississippi 42, Coahoma 0.

You a good motherfuckin' man.
I don't care what nobody say.

-[both laugh]
-I don't give a fuck what they say.

-I'll see you.
-[Miller] Yeah.

[Zanaboni] Coahoma returning to action

against Mississippi Delta.
Until then, so long.

[Miller] Good news and bad news.

You played your asses off, okay?

You look at the score,
that's the bad news.

Good news is, we got one more game, right?

They haven't won, we haven't won, right?
Somebody gotta fucking win next week.

-That shit over with.
-[player] It's over.

All right, our Super Bowl
is next fucking week.

I don't give a damn.
I don't give a damn what you say.

We got a chance to go out there

and we gonna go out there and give it
every fucking thing we got next week.

We gonna win that game,
we'll break the streak, you got it?

-Everybody gotta be with me.
-[player] Family on me. Family on three.

-One, two, three!
-[all] Family!

[Zanaboni] Fumble here, late,
and Butler scoops it up!

Oh, my word! What a finish!

Earnest Butler scores

on the last play of the game!

And what a finish! What an ending.

Coahoma Community College
wins this one, 40-19.

[guitar playing]

[Duck singing] ♪ Well, I thought ♪

♪ I thought all of these years ♪

♪ It is
Is what it is ♪

♪ But there's one thing, woman ♪

♪ I just can't understand ♪

♪ Yeah, there's one thing, woman ♪

♪ I just can't understand ♪

♪ You told me you love me ♪

♪ But you're running around
With another man ♪