All language subtitles for Gridiron.Gang.2006.BluRay.x265-RARBG.en

SEAN: 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.

(GRUNTS)

KELVIN: Get off me, homey!
BOY: Hey, man!

WEATHERS:
I'll shut your mouth, punk!

MALCOLM: Weathers!
Get off of 'im! Get off-a him!

WEATHERS: 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.

MALCOLM:
What is wrong with you?

Shit!

G'night, Weathers.

Back to bed, gentlemen.

(DOOR OPENING)

Mr. Porter?

Gettin' beat
in the middle of the night,

how do you like it, Roger?
You like that?

Whatchu hitting me for?

What 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 17 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.

(SIRENS WAILING)

WEATHERS: 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... I remember
this poem said once,

"The moon is a friend
for the lonesome to talk to."

Damn, girl.

You got a poem for
everything that come up. Yeah.

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.

LITTLE DOVE: 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.

WILLIE: So,
whatchu wanna do here, man?

Look, man, if you wanna just
chill, we don't gotta do this, man.

C-CO: 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.

C-CO: Come on, man.
LITTLE DOVE: Let's roll out.

WILLIE: Put that shit away,
man. Hurry up.

WILLIE: Where these
niggas at anyway, man?

They 95s, right?

Yo, where these...

(GUNS FIRING)

WEATHERS: Damn, man!

WILLIE: See, the nigga
ain't even breathin', man.

Lil' Dove!

Shit! He's dead, man!

WILLIE: Shit, man, the damn
niggas comin'... He's comin' back.

WEATHERS: Man, let's go.

WILLIE: Come on, nigga!

Shit! Damn!

(GUN FIRING)

(TIRES SCREECHING)

Damn it!

Roger!

(SIRENS WAILING)

(WOMAN CHATTERING ON RADIO)

Baby! Roger!

(SOBBING) Baby!

MRS. WEATHERS: Oh, God!

MAN: 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.

MRS. WEATHERS:
Oh, God! Oh, God!

SEAN: 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?

BOY: Back up a little bit.

Roger Weathers got killed
in a drive-by today.

(BOYS CHATTERING)

JUNIOR: 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.

BOY: 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.

(PEOPLE CHATTERING)

(SCREAMS) Go, baby! Go!

Don't do this, please.

I... I got
two little boys at home.

For my dead homey!

No, don't do this.

MAN: Oh, my God,
what are you do...

(GUN FIRES)

Oh, shit!

Damn!

(SIREN WAILING)

(MAN CHATTERING ON TV)

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.

WILLIE: '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?

(SHUSHING)

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!

SHARON: Stop!
Get off, lowlife woman!

WILLIE: 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!

(GUN FIRING)

(SHARON SCREAMS)

SHARON: Oh, God, no.
No, no. No, no, no, no. No.

No, baby. No. No.

He's dead.

(SIRENS WAILING)

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

SEAN: 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 high school teams.

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... 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.

(WOMAN CHATTERING
ON PA SYSTEM)

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 kidding? Teenage
boys'll kill to play football.

That's what
everybody's afraid of.

JUNIOR: 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.

BOY: 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.

(BOYS CHUCKLING)
Then I'm in.

How 'bout you, Bates?

I... 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.

SEAN: 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...

(CHUCKLING) 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.

(BOYS LAUGHING)
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?

BOY 1: Yeah!
BOY 2: Yeah!

We'll let ya know.

All right.

I'm gonna do my stuff, boy.

SEAN: Well,
it's not a jail.

It's a juvenile
detention center.

But they're criminals?

Yeah. Technically.

Sorry, I can't.

MALCOLM: 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... 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.

TORRANCE: 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."

Mmm-hmm.

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.

MALCOLM: Take a knee,
half-circle.

SEAN: 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 ese.

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.

SEAN: All right, let's go. Let's
have a good first day of practice.

Jumpin' jacks.

Everybody ready? Get set!

Begin.

ALL: M-U-S-T-A...

BOY: T!
A!

ALL: A-N-G-S!

(WHISTLE BLOWS)

You've got to be shittin' me.

You don't know
how to spell "Mustangs"?

This is gonna be a long-ass day.

(WHISTLE BLOWS)

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.

(WHISTLE BLOWS)

Bend your knees.

Damn.

SEAN: Concentrate. Focus.

Little lower, Bates.
MALCOLM: Bend your knees.

You up for the challenge, Bates?

Good job. Thatta boy.

All right, Bug,
let's get a water break. Bug.

MALCOLM: All right, good job.
Bring it in.

(ALL CHATTERING)

Hey, hey, hey,
hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.

Y'all don't behave,
y'all gonna die of thirst.

(ALL GROANING)
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.

ALL: 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.

(WHISTLE BLOWS)

MALCOLM: Let's go!
SEAN: 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!

(WHISTLE BLOWS)

SEAN: 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!

ALL: 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?

(BOYS CHUCKLING)
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.

(BOY GRUNTING)

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.

SEAN: Take it half speed
till we get it right.

(WHISTLE BLOWS)

LEON: Set.

Hut!

SEAN: 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.

BOY 1: Look out for Junior.

BOY 2: 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.

BUG: 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.

(LAUGHING) Here ya go.

MALCOLM: Junior, Willie,
is that your positions?

SEAN: Let's go.
Leon, let's see what you got.

LEON: Green 18!

Green 18! Hut!

(BOYS CLAMOURING)

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.
Weathers did.

And I'm working 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...

Your degree was in
social work, not psychology.

We need that equipment.

Guy's outta control.

SEAN: Not now I'm not.
But soon, very soon!

Come on, show us what you got!

SEAN: Come on, buddy!
Throw it!

No, no, no, no, no!

(WHISTLE BLOWS)
BOY: Evade!

LEON: 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 right!

Line it up!

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.

BUG: 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.

(CHUCKLING) I'm your mom,
that's my job.

Well, here we are.

Home sweet home.

Junior?

(BOYS CHATTERING EXCITEDLY)

Who needs helmets?

Bug, give this to
somebody who can use it.

Now, that's more like it.

BOY: Damn, J-dawg, that's
destruction of state property.

What the hell is this?

A nose guard.

It's for your balls, dawg.

(ALL CHUCKLING)

Man, that's for pussies.

Let's get it on!

Five tight, 32 dive. Run it.

Set.

Green 18!

Hut!

(GRUNTS)

(WHISTLE BLOWS)

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 going, Willie. Anybody
else forget to put their cups on?

Yeah. Half the team.

MALCOLM: 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.

(GROANING)

What's up, Coach?

Last year, when you were
dealing crack... Mmm-hmm.

...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.

SEAN: 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!

LEON: 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?

SEAN: Hey, Weathers.

You got a visitor.

Danyelle!
Willie.

Damn, girl.

How'd you get here?

Bus.

Bus?
Yeah.

It's musta taken you
like two days, huh?

Seemed like it.

Seemed... Seemed like it.

Well, I'm really glad you here.

PEAVY: 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!

PEAVY: Get off me!

GUARD: Settle down!

You want your family to go home?

Man, settle down!

(PEAVY SPEAKING SPANISH)

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... 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.

WILLIE: 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.

SEAN: 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.

(WHISTLE BLOWS)
Kelvin, lemme see.

(GRUNTS)

(WHISTLE BLOWS)

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!

MADLOCK: I'm so tired, man.

Rather fight five angry niggas

than mess
with this football shit.

Hey! Hey!
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!

(WHISTLE BLOWS)

They all pussies, Coach.

You better let me play
or else we ain't gonna win.

Shut up, Bug.

SEAN: All right, we're
runnin' this play to Junior.

I-five toss, Junior.
Run it, Leon.

Gray 10. Gray 10. Hut!

SEAN: Come on, Junior. Let's see
what you got, Junior. Go! Go, Junior! Go!

WILLIE: 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?

LEON: He gonna be a'ight.

SEAN: See you tonight.

(BOYS CHATTERING)

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.

(WHISTLE BLOWS)

MALCOLM: Good job!

SEAN: 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.

(BOYS CLAMOURING)

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?

(CHATTERING EXCITEDLY)

Hey, hey, hey, hey.
Take it easy, yo.

I got injuries.

PEREZ: 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.

(JUNIOR SIGHS)

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?

(ALL AGREEING)

Bring it in, y'all, come on.

MADLOCK: Let's do this.
JUNIOR: Let's do it.

I want it loud and clear.

Mustangs on three.
One, two, three!

ALL: Mustangs!

BUG: 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!

(CHUCKLING) 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.

(ALL CHEERING)

LEON: 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.

(ALL EXCLAIMING)
JUNIOR: Where?

LEON: Damn!

Hey, I'd like to run a quarterback
sneak right into your end zone!

BUG: 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!

(ALL CHATTERING IN AGREEMENT)

Are you ready to go out there
and take what's yours?

ALL: Yeah!

What you've worked hard for?

ALL: Yeah!

Are you ready to accept
the Mustang challenge?

(ALL CHEERING)

Lead us!
Lead us!

(CROWD CHEERING)

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and
gentlemen, please welcome

the undefeated
Barrington Panthers.

(CROWD CHEERING)

SEAN: 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!

ALL: Mustangs!

SEAN: Kickoff team.
Kickoff team.

Let's go, Mustangs.

(CROWD CHEERING)

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

MALCOLM: 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!

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

First down!

ANNOUNCER: Fumble recovery,
number 31, Kelvin Owens.

That's what
I'm talkin' about, Madlock.

Great job, Kelvin.

BOTH: 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!

SEAN: Hustle up!

Go!

Pro right 25 and stuff.

(CROWD CLAPPING)

(CROWD CHEERING)

Willie, run their asses over.

Run their asses over.
It's all you.

Show 'em what you're made of.

LEON: Green 18!

Green 18!

Hut!

Yeah! Go Panthers!

Good run. Good run.
Right, let's get up.

Walk it off.

(BAND PLAYING)

ANNOUNCER: Tackled
by number 55, John Stevens.

Welcome to my world, boy!

(ALL CHEERING)

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.

LEON: Green 18!

Green 18!

Hut!

Throw the ball!
Throw the ball!

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

Son of a bitch!

ANNOUNCER: 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!

SEAN: Trouble, he's open!
He's open!

Whose man is that?
Number three!

Number three! Kelvin!

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

ANNOUNCER:
Touchdown, Panthers.

SEAN: Hey! I wanna see
some hittin' out there!

Set!

Black 20!

Black 20!

Hut!

(GROANING)

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

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!

SEAN: He's open! He's open!

Come on, Mustangs!

ANNOUNCER:
Touchdown, Barrington.

That was a 50-yard completion
by number 18, Michael Hays.

KELVIN: Damn, man.

Bates, you supposed to cut
when you see that dude cut, man.

We gettin' worked, man.

(HORN BLOWING)

ANNOUNCER:
And that's halftime

with the Barrington Panthers
leading 21 and the Mustangs 0.

SEAN: 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!

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

JUNIOR: Come on, baby!
Let's go!

SEAN: Let's go, Leon, let's
get 'em back in the game.

Get 'em back in the game, Leon!

LEON: Set!

SEAN: Let's do it!
Eyes on the prize!

Black 20!

Black 20!

Hut!

Bates is open!

SEAN: Throw the ball!

God! I can't believe that.
Right through his hand.

You gotta catch the ball,
Kenny! Catch the ball.

ANNOUNCER:
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!

ANNOUNCER: 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.

TEAMMATES:
Go! Go! Go!

Come on!

Afraid to get hit, boy?
Don't like it, do ya?

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

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!

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

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.

REFEREE: Dead ball.

Unsportsmanlike
conduct on white.

15 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.

(GRUNTING)

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

(HORN BLOWING)

ANNOUNCER:
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.

SEAN:
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.

BOY 1: Oh, shit,
it's the football team.

(ALL LAUGHING) BOY 2:
Those playas are weak. Losers!

BOY 3: You suck, man!

BOY 4: Pussies!

JONES: All right,
shut it down, gentlemen.

Shut it down!
Come on, you heard me.

BOY: 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.

This better not be
about stoppin' the program.

Kids don't wanna play anymore.

Then let them tell me that.

Sean, I was hoping it'd work.

But during the game, it...

Listen, if it's me,
I'll let Malcolm

take over the team.
I'll quit.

We wanted to create self-esteem.

But it was just the opposite.

These kids, they... they can't
handle that kind of disappointment.

I'm really sorry,
but I've gotta pull the plug.

So Donald Lopez.

We need verification
from Van Nuys court.

The document number is 2...

BOYS: M-U-S-T

A...

I'll call you back.

BOYS: ...N-G-S.

M-U-S-T-A-N-G-S!

Mustangs! Mustangs! Mustangs!

JUNIOR:
All right, clap it up.

(BOYS CLAPPING)

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.

BUG: Good catch, Kelvin!
That's what I'm talkin' about!

ANNOUNCER: 41-yard gain by
number 31, Kelvin Owens.

All right, Kelvin!

Bulldogs 21, Mustangs 14.

1:12 remaining
in the fourth quarter.

LEON: It's 21-14. 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?

ALL: Break!

Set!

Gray 10!

Gray 10!

Hut!

Go, Willie! Go, Willie!

(WHISTLE BLOWING)
Ball!

You don't like
takin' a hit, now, do ya?

Scared to get hit.

MALCOLM:
It's all right. Let's go.

Defense! Let's go, gentlemen!

SEAN: 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.

BULLDOGS' QUARTERBACK:
White 10! White 10! Set! Hut!

(HORN BLOWING)

ANNOUNCER:
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.

(WHISTLE BLOWING) 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.

(ALL SCOFFING) BUG:
"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.

MALCOLM: Come on, let's go!
Let's go, Weathers!

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

SEAN: Keep your head up
and run through me.

Get up and do it again! Are you
kiddin' me? Get back! Do it again!

SEAN: Now, dip your shoulder,
keep your head up and run through me!

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

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!

(BOYS CHATTERING)

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 CHEERING)

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.

SEAN: 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!

MALCOLM: Kick return!
Let's win it!

ANNOUNCER: Lions lead by one
with 15 seconds to go in the game.

Willie, let's go!

Come on, Willie.

Come on, Willie! Go!

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

(CROWD CHEERING)

BUG: 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.

(ALL CHEERING)

MALCOLM: 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.

JUNIOR: All right, y'all,
bring it in. Come on.

One, two, three.

ALL: Porter!

(BOYS CHEERING)

I see

Kenny.

And where's Willie?

Right here.

They're some good boys.

SEAN: 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.

(COUGHING)

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.

SEAN: 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.

BATES: 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... I'm good at it now.

MADLOCK: I love sackin'
the quarterback.

(GRUNTING)

Sometimes I can't
even believe it's legal.

LEON: Throwin TD's don't
pay as much as slingin' rocks,

but damn, it feel good.

KELVIN: Grandma,
you'd be proud of me.

I'm stayin' outta trouble.

I don't have enemies
here anymore.

BUG: We done won
seven in a row now.

I can't remember the exact
number of touchdowns I scored.

I think about 60.

WILLIE: 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, uh, 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!

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and
gentlemen, please welcome

a new addition
to the Mustang team:

Mustang Cheerleaders
from Camp Scott, California.

BUG: Camp Scott,
that's that girls' prison.

That's my girl Cherise!
She's so hot, man.

Who?
The one on the end there?

GIRLS: Go Mustangs!

Nah. Come on, now, the one in
the middle. Hot like the summer.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

The one in the middle!

Hey, hey!
All right, eyes front!

Hey, turn around!
Turn around!

ANNOUNCER: 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!

LEON: Green 18. Hut!

Yeah, baby!

ANNOUNCER: Touchdown, number
13, Willie Weathers for the Mustangs.

That's what I'm
talkin' about! 88, baby!

I'm gonna represent, baby!

LEON: Hut!

ANNOUNCER: And that's the
game, Mustangs 21, Eagles 7.

Mustangs!
We're goin' to the playoffs!

(ALL CHEERING)

LEON: Good game.

BUG: Good game, good game.
Y'all did y'all thing.

Good job, good job. Wassup?

FREE: Congratulate on the 88.

8-8!

88 for life, homey.

What up, 95?

KELVIN: Get up off
of me, bitch! What up?

You be payin' for that, nigga!

KELVIN: You a bluff!
You ain't got nothin', fool!

Don't let me catch you
in the street.

FREE: I be like this!
I know that!

(GUN FIRES)
Take that, nigga!

Kelvin!

(CROWD SCREAMING)

Go to sleep. Go to sleep!

Free!

(SIRENS BLARING)

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.

JONES: 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.

WILLIE: I'll kill you!
C-CO: 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!

C-CO: Get 'im off me!

Screw this
bitch-ass football team!

JONES: 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!

(SOBBING)

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?

(BOTH LAUGH)

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?

(SIRENS BLARING)

(MAN CHATTERING
ON POLICE RADIO)

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.

ALL: M-U-S-T-A-N-G!

(GIRLS CHEERING)

(BOTH LAUGHING)

Ooh.

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!

(ALL CLAPPING)

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.

SEAN: Let's go, Willie!

(CROWD CHEERING)

(WHOOPING)

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

Little flag. REFEREE:
We've got a clipped ball

on the receiving team.

ANNOUNCER: Flag on the play.
No touchdown.

You gotta be kidding me!

Clipping on the receiving team!

That was a fair hit!

ANNOUNCER: 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!

JOHN: Goin' right.

LEON: Set!

Gray ten!

Goin' right.
Gray ten!

Hut!

You remember me? I'm gonna
be in your face all day, loser!

(WHOOPING)

Hut!

ANNOUNCER:
Touchdown Barrington.

(CHEERING)

MALCOLM: Great effort.

All right, come on,
offense, let's go!

LEON: Run 18! Run 18!

Hut!

Come on, Leon!
You got Willie open!

Throw it!

Throw it!

(WHISTLE BLOWING)
Damn it!

ANNOUNCER: Barrington recovers
the ball on the Mustangs' 40-yard line.

Leon's intimidated.

He's too worried about
throwin' another interception.

Yeah.

ANNOUNCER: 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!

EVANS: Come on, man!

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

ANNOUNCER:
Touchdown, Barrington.

Number 3, David Smith.

DAVID: I smoked that!

(HORN BLOWING)

Halftime!

We got a whole half to play.

We got a whole half
of football left.

JUNIOR: Come on, guys.

SEAN: 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.

MADLOCK: For real, man.

PEREZ: 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'?

(ALL CHEERING)

Let's get out there
and kick some ass!

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

ALL: Break!
Let's go!

ANNOUNCER: 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.

LEON: 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?

Yeah.
Look, I got an opening.

LEON: Ready?
ALL: Break!

That's not the right formation.

What the hell are they doin'?

SEAN: Leon!
Leon, what're you doin'?

MALCOLM:
Get in the right formation!

LEON: Set!

Black 20!

Black 20!

Hut!

Go, Willie, go!
Go, Weathers, go!

(CROWD CHEERING)

Yeah, baby!

ANNOUNCER: That was number 13,
Willie Weathers.

Touchdown for the Mustangs.

MADLOCK: That's what
I'm talkin' about!

Woo! You all right, nigga?

(ALL CHEERING)

Great job! Great job!

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

ANNOUNCER: 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.

ALL: Man, shut up, Bug!

Shut the hell up, Bug.

Left! He's throwin' left!

Blue 16! Hut!

Ball! Ball!

(ALL CHEERING)

All right! Go offense!

ANNOUNCER: 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.

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

LEON: Set!

Green 18!

Green 18! Hut!

You're mine, boy!

Go! Go! Go! Go!

Go! Go! Go! Go!

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

(ALL CHEERING)

ANNOUNCER: That was
a Mustang gain of 50 yards.

The first reception
by number 88, Kenny Bates.

Come in.

Bring it in! Come on.

ANNOUNCER: 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.

MADLOCK:
All right, it's cool.

Definitely.
Exactly.

You believe.
We believe in you.

Get in the end zone.
Come on. Go. Go.

MADLOCK: Let's go!

Touchdown! Let's go!

A'ight, team, this is it. We
goin' with the I-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!

MADLOCK: Yo, Junior.
PEREZ: Shit.

Move out.

Junior, what the hell?

Slipped disc, my ass.

Get behind me.
Let's do this together.

LEON: A'ight, y'all,
we gotta go. We gotta go!

This is it, right here.

I-right, 26 toss.
On one. On one.

Ready?
ALL: Break!

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

LEON: 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!

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

(ALL CHEERING)

ANNOUNCER: Touchdown,
number 13, Willie Weathers.

(ALL CHEERING)

You're the best!

Hey. C'mere!

Mustangs, baby!

SEAN: 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?

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

ALL: M-U-S...

A!

A-N-G-S!

(WHISTLE BLOWING)
Mustangs!

You don't know
how to spell "Mustangs"?

You have got to be shitting me!

All right.

Here we go again.

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

ALL: 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.

PORTER: 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.

PORTER: 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.

JUNIOR:
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...
get a relationship back with my mom.

I want her to hold me

and tell me she loves me.

PORTER: 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.

PORTER: 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.

(CROWD CLAPPING)

BOY 1: 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.

(CROWD CHEERING)

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.

(CROWD CHEERING)