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MD - Chapter 218: To meet again
🕑 Added 2025-11-09 16:32:37 +0000 UTCThe quarterfinal game between Mater Dei and Lakewood (47–17), broadcast regionally on Fox Sports West, drew 205,000 viewers, a 25% increase compared to the first-round matchup against Crespi (165,000).
Another ratings record for the network.
Normally, Fox Sports West and its sister channel Prime Ticket don’t air quarterfinal games, let alone first-round ones. They usually reserve regional coverage for the semifinals or championship games of the playoffs.
However, after the buzz that Mater Dei and Andrew had generated on ESPN, the network couldn’t miss the opportunity, and it didn’t make a mistake.
Not even during Matt Barkley’s time at Mater Dei had there been a media push like this. But Andrew’s impact, his magnetism, and his record-breaking numbers justified the exception.
That’s why Fox Sports West repeated the formula, broadcasting both the Mater Dei–Crespi and Mater Dei–Lakewood games, two matchups unprecedented for the level of exposure they achieved.
On Saturday, a day after the Mater Dei vs. Lakewood game, ESPN officially confirmed what had already been rumored: it would air the Mater Dei vs. Mission Viejo semifinal nationwide.
The matchup featured two Top-5 programs in California, in a Pac-5 Division (CIF Southern Section) semifinal, one of the most prestigious stages in the country.
And Andrew entered that game with 48 touchdowns, just one shy of Jimmy Clausen’s state record (49).
With his average of five touchdowns per game, he not only had the chance to tie it but to surpass it.
Across forums and social media, the debate was already raging: Andrew or Clausen?
For most people, Andrew had already eclipsed what Clausen did, even before breaking the record.
The reason was simple: the difference in competitive level.
Jimmy Clausen had thrown his 49 TDs in 2006 while playing for Oaks Christian, a private school in the CIF Southern Section Division I, yes, a top division, but within a less demanding subgroup.
Division I was split into two groups:
-Pac-5 Division (Group A) – The titans: Mater Dei, Servite, Long Beach Poly, Mission Viejo, Bishop Amat, Los Alamitos…
-Gold Coast Division (Group B) – Powerful private programs, but smaller or newer: Oaks Christian, St. Bonaventure, Newport Harbor, among others.
Both groups were part of the Southern Section elite, but they didn’t face each other during the playoffs.
Oaks Christian dominated its sector and, thanks to that, moved up to the Pac-5 Division in 2007, although Clausen had already graduated.
Since then, the program has never won another championship nor reached a semifinal, highlighting the competitive gap between Gold Coast and Pac-5, the elite of the elite.
That’s why fans, analysts, and experts agreed that Andrew’s 48 touchdowns in the Pac-5 Division, facing powerhouses like Servite, Bosco, and Mission Viejo, carried far greater weight.
His completion percentage, efficiency, and the caliber of competition made it undeniable: Andrew hadn’t just matched Clausen, he’d surpassed him on the toughest stage in high-school football.
That Saturday, after uploading the Lakewood game highlights to his YouTube channel, Andrew spent the afternoon with Steve, Archie, Reggie, and Kevin.
They went over to Steve’s house, even though he wasn’t in the mood to see anyone after being eliminated in the quarterfinals against Long Beach Poly.
But his friends didn’t care, they went anyway. That’s how it worked. They didn’t talk about the loss or try to cheer him up with empty words.
They just hung out, goofing around, laughing about nothing, tossing passes in the yard, and letting time do its job.
It was her way of saying they were there for him.
The next day, Sunday, dawned gray and overcast, the kind of sky that looked ready to break into rain at any moment.
Andrew stayed home, and by the afternoon, he was completely alone, his parents had gone to visit Pepper, one of their closest friends, and had taken Lily with them.
The house was silent, unusually so for the Pritchett-Tucker household, and for Andrew’s usually hectic life.
But he didn’t find it depressing. In fact, he found it pleasant to spend a Sunday like that, calm and quiet, with the rain teasing at the windows.
It was rare for him to have the house to himself, and he wanted to make the most of it. As he prepared a cup of coffee and a small snack, the first drops began to tap against the glass.
Within minutes, the rain grew heavier.
Andrew leaned his elbow on the counter and stared out the window, a faint smile on his face.
'A perfect day to stay home and play video games…' he thought, taking a sip of his coffee while waiting for the toast to pop.
When it was ready, he carried the plate to his room, set it next to the controller, and turned on the console: Red Dead Redemption.
The sound of the main menu filled the room. Andrew stopped thinking about stats, games, YouTube, social life, any of it. He just wanted to dive into the story, to lose himself in that digital world while the rain outside drummed harder and harder against the windows.
His phone kept vibrating, but he barely glanced at it, notifications, messages, nothing urgent, probably.
He kept playing, time slipping away. The steady sound of the rain made everything feel even more peaceful, almost hypnotic.
Until the doorbell rang.
Andrew blinked, unsure if he had really heard it through the rain and the TV. He paused the game, listened for a moment… silence.
He was about to resume when the bell rang again, twice this time, followed by insistent knocking at the front door.
“Who the hell comes to bother on a rainy Sunday?” Andrew muttered, annoyed, as he stood up and left the room.
He crossed the house toward the front door, and just as his hand touched the doorknob, the knocking came again, louder this time. As he opened it, he said, “I heard you, no need to be so—”
But he stopped mid-sentence, freezing in place.
“Pippa?” Andrew asked, eyes wide in surprise.
Standing before him was Pippa, his ex-girlfriend.
Her short dark hair, usually neatly framing her face, was now plastered to her skin, dripping wet. She wore a green striped T-shirt, soaked through and clinging to her figure, and maroon pants splattered with mud up to her knees.
Pippa was breathing unevenly, lips trembling from the cold and tension. Her gaze locked on him, a mix of panic, relief, and confusion.
“I’m sorry…” she said, her voice breaking. “I didn’t know who else to go to.”
Andrew blinked, trying to process what he was seeing. “What happened?” he asked, still not fully moving.
“Barney…” Pippa managed, swallowing hard. “I lost him.”
Barney, her family’s golden retriever, friendly, playful and, beloved. Of course Andrew knew him.
“You took him for a walk at Gateway Park?” Andrew asked, and Pippa nodded frantically.
Andrew knew the park, about fifteen minutes away on foot, five by car.
A huge park, with rolling hills, tree-lined trails, and wide open grassy fields where neighbors often walked their dogs.
He and Pippa had gone there many times together, on dates or quiet afternoons, while Barney ran happily off-leash.
Seeing that there was no car parked in front of the house, Andrew deduced that she must have walked to the park and been caught in the rain.
“I was reading,” Pippa said quickly, words tumbling out in her usual nervous rush. “I let him off the leash like always, you know he never goes too far. I sat on the bench, opened my book, and… I don’t know how much time passed, but when I looked up, he was gone.”
She continued, her voice cracking slightly. “I looked everywhere, for twenty minutes, I shouted his name, but nothing. My parents went out of house with my brother to visit some aunts, and Cara isn’t answering my messages. I didn’t know who else to go to,” she finished, her tone fast and strained.
Andrew listened attentively before cutting in gently, before she could spiral further. “Hey, hey, relax. I’ll help you. We’ll find him, okay?” he said softly.
Pippa shook her head, on the verge of tears.
“Andrew, the park is huge. If he went into the canyon trail or up the ridges, he could be lost. There are areas with no signal, steep slopes… and with this rain—”
“Pippa, listen to me,” Andrew interrupted again, placing his hands firmly on her shoulders.
“Barney’s not stupid. He’s not going to fall off a cliff or anything like that. He’s probably soaked and scared, but fine. You know how he is, the second he hears your voice, he’ll come running to you like always.”
Pippa swallowed hard, trying to slow her breathing and calm down, comforted by the warmth of his hands.
“But first, you’re coming inside. You need to dry off and put on something warmer. You’re shivering, and it’s cold out,” Andrew said firmly.
Outside, the temperature hovered around 50°F (10°C), not freezing, but unusually cool for Los Angeles, where November was usually mild and it barely rained a few days a month.
With the coastal wind and rain, the chill felt even sharper, and Pippa, soaked, coatless, and exhausted, was trembling from head to toe.
She opened her mouth to protest; she wanted to go search for Barney immediately. But Andrew cut her off before she could speak.
“Just five minutes, and we’ll go. Not a second more. I promise.”
Pippa looked at him uncertainly, then finally nodded. She stepped inside quietly, leaving a trail of water and mud across the floor.
Andrew closed the door behind her. There was no time for awkward small talk, no mention of their breakup. There was still emotional tension between them, things had ended coldly the last time they met, but right now, something far more urgent demanded their attention.
Pippa stood motionless, afraid of making a bigger mess on the floor. Andrew quickly went to the bathroom and returned with a towel.
Without hesitation, he started drying her off carefully and efficiently, it would be faster if he did it himself.
Pippa didn’t move, barely looking at him, lips slightly parted and exhausted.
“Where are your parents?” she asked quietly.
“They went to visit a friend and took Lily with them,” Andrew replied, then frowned as he took in her outfit.
“Seriously? You went out wearing just a T-shirt, in mid-November, with the sky looking like that?”
“Yes…” Pippa murmured, scratching her cheek, a little embarrassed. “I didn’t think it’d be that cold.”
Andrew let out a short, incredulous laugh. “Always so meticulous about everything, except when it comes to yourself. Then you forget the basics.”
Pippa gave a faint, tired smile. “I guess so.”
“Wait here a sec,” Andrew said, heading to his room. He came back with a black sweatshirt.
“Here, put this on.”
Pippa nodded, though her movements were slow and clumsy from the cold. Andrew sighed and ended up helping her.
She raised her arms, and he carefully slipped the sweatshirt over her head. It was big on her, almost like a blanket, but it did the job, it kept her warm.
Andrew pulled the hood up over her head, covering her damp hair. “That’s better,” he said, their eyes meeting for a brief moment.
But there was no time for distractions. Andrew quickly grabbed two umbrellas, and they headed out.
In total, they had spent barely four minutes inside. They stepped into the rain and ran toward the Camaro. Andrew started the engine and began driving toward the park.
He drove cautiously, the rain was too heavy to go fast, so it took them a few extra minutes to get there. The water pounded hard against the windshield, the wipers moving nonstop.
When they arrived, he parked near the main trail. The sound of the rain was deafening. They opened their umbrellas and got out of the car.
The cold hit Andrew immediately. The umbrella didn’t help much; the wind blew the rain sideways, soaking him anyway, but it was better than nothing.
He couldn’t believe that just a short while ago he had been enjoying a calm afternoon, playing video games and listening to the rain from his room… and now he was drenched under a storm, searching for a lost dog in a massive park.
Pippa walked ahead, moving quickly, her energy renewed compared to how she had looked minutes earlier. “Over here! This is where I was reading, where I lost him!” she shouted, pointing toward a wooden bench half-covered by tree branches.
Andrew nodded and followed her, splashing through puddles with every step. He looked at the empty bench and couldn’t help wondering what had happened to the book Pippa had been reading.
It was probably soaked, lost somewhere in the mud, or carried off by the wind. He pushed the thought aside, it didn’t matter now. The only thing that mattered was finding Barney.
They walked through the park for nearly twenty minutes, calling his name between gusts of wind and distant thunder. Water streamed down the paths in small rivulets, washing away footprints, erasing any trace.
The umbrellas barely worked anymore, the wind bent them backward, the rain attacking from every direction. Their clothes grew heavier, colder, clinging to their bodies.
“Barney!” Pippa shouted for what felt like the hundredth time, her voice drowned out by the storm.
No response. They kept walking a bit farther, but there was no point.
Andrew looked around and pointed toward a small covered lookout with metal tables and benches. “Come on, let’s rest for a minute.”
Pippa didn’t say anything, she just followed him. They sat under the roof, still soaked, but at least sheltered from the rain falling directly on them.
They sat half a meter apart, in silence, the only sound the relentless rain.
Andrew glanced at Pippa out of the corner of his eye. The black hood covered most of her face, he could barely make out her profile in the shadows. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her gaze distant.
A few seconds passed before Pippa spoke.
“I’m sorry, Andrew…” she said without looking at him. “For dragging you into this. For showing up like that, out of nowhere, soaked, and pulling you into this whole mess.”
She let out a shaky sigh. “We’re nothing now, and yet I still went to your house. I didn’t even realize how absurd that was until now.”
Andrew looked at her silently for a few moments before replying.
“It’s fine, really. Even if we’re not together anymore… Barney still matters to me.”
Pippa lifted her gaze, surprised by his answer. The last time they’d talked, things had ended badly, cold and tense, with words she’d said out of anger and sadness when he broke up with her.
Words she now regretted.
Pippa had thought that after Andrew’s initial surprise, he would act more distant, maybe even a bit cold, considering the situation his ex-girlfriend had dragged him into.
'No… he’d never do that. He’s too kind,' she thought. She knew him well, but the breakup had made her forget, for a moment, who Andrew really was.
“And you too,” Andrew added after a brief pause. “I wasn’t going to let you look for him alone in the middle of a storm. Besides, it’s not the end of the world to get a little wet.”
Pippa looked at him, and for the first time all afternoon, a smile appeared on her face. “Thanks,” she whispered.
Andrew stood up, stretching his arms. “Let’s keep looking,” he said, raising the umbrella. “What do we have to lose? Maybe we’ll get struck by lightning and end up on the news. Meanwhile, Barney’s probably already back home, sleeping on the carpet.”
Pippa let out a small laugh, shaking her head. “This isn’t the time for your jokes, Andrew.”
“It’s always the time,” he replied with a faint grin. “And look, the rain’s eased up a bit. Luck’s on our side now.”
Pippa got to her feet and grabbed her umbrella. The rain was still falling, but softer now, more bearable. The sky remained gray, though the storm seemed to have lost some of its strength.
They started walking again along the path, the sound of water beneath their steps, the air still damp and cold. They moved in silence, calling for Barney every now and then, and then, in the distance, through the trees, a faint bark broke the quiet.
Pippa stopped dead in her tracks. “Did you hear that?” she asked, her voice caught between disbelief and hope.
Comments
Josh Muggs
Thanks for the chapter, kinda missed Pippa , Andrew has his pick of girls I guess Pippa wants him Rachel wants him Maddison really wants him and Monica too probably,,,,What a headache !!!🤣🤣
Natalie l.
What a surprise! Tftc
Alkole
Fuckkkķkkkkk this is bringing back all those good memories damn. Making me want them together again 😫💔💔
Corkie
Thanks for the chapter!
