“Ohio Players” is episode eleven of season two of First Wave.
The Fairvale Falcons, a high school American football team, are apparently having a miraculous season and their first championship is around the corner. The team are practicing as a woman sits watching in a chair. One of the players, Lionel, is apparently missing blocks. They continue, then one asks Lionel if he’s okay. Lionel charges him and some of his teammates, tackles someone on the side lines then collapses, foaming at the mouth.
Cade arrives at the pitch during another practice; the woman is watching again. The Falcons are up 11 games to 0; an amazing turnaround for a team that has finished bottom for the past 9 years. Cade speaks to the coach, claiming to be a recruiter from the Cal U programme. The coach introduces himself as the woman watches. Cade asks about the turnaround and according to the coach, Jenkins, it’s down to Quentin Billup (Kirby Morrow), the quarterback. The one Cade, and everyone else, is interested in. It’s Quentin’s first year on the squad; his folks just moved there. Quentin has raised the level of everyone on the team. Cade would like to speak to Quentin after practice and the coach also recommends the running back, Trevor.
Afterwards, Cade introduces himself to Trevor. Trevor says Quentin is still in the locker room. On the coach saying nice things about Trevor, Trevor states the coach is his father. Trevor isn’t divisional material. Cade asks about Lionel; apparently, he’s in a coma. The doctors say an allergic reaction to a bee sting but Trevor has seen Lionel stung by 20 bees without an issue. Cade rings Eddie and says he has a feeling something is bothering Trevor. Eddie suggests the team is using performance enhancing drugs and he’s going to swing by.
The woman who was watching the team tells Trevor to slip it right in there. Her chair and cooler in the boot of her car. She asks about the team, because she’s their number one fan. And number one vamp it seems. She also asks about Cade.
Cade checks up on Lionel in the hospital and looks at his chart. He sees residue by Lionel’s eye and collects a sample of yellow goo. Quentin (Kirby Morrow) arrives and Cade introduces himself as the Cal U recruiter. Quentin is happily chatting about Cal U when his demeanour changes midsentence and he demands to know what Cade is doing there. After the personality change, he switches back to normal, continuing with what he was saying. When Cade asks about Quentin’s previous year’s performance, Quentin says he was lousy and gets agitated. As does one of Lionel’s monitors.
Eddie is going to get the yellow goo analysed and Cade explains that Lionel’s brainwaves – even though he was in a coma – went off the charts when Cade was questioning Quentin. Perhaps the Gua are doing mind control experiments. It’s easier to control a hostile population through mind control than brute force and a football team would be an ideal proving ground.
The vamp is watching when Cade arrives at the pitch again. There are more recruiters present and the vamp waves at Cade. Jenkins, after Quentin makes a pass, says that was a little something they cooked up to impress the recruiters. Quentin was wearing a blindfold when he threw. Cade asks about Lionel and about performance enhancing drugs. Jenkins gets upset at that suggestion; Cade apologises but says it was a question he had to ask. Jenkins pumps up Trevor some more; then pauses. He admits that every father wishes the best for his son.
Cade chats to Trevor again. His first guess for the turnaround was drugs, but he’s now convinced otherwise. But he’s watched a lot of teams play and his gut tells him there’s something strange about this one. Is there anything weird? Lionel’s life may depend on it. Trevor admits there is. It’s like he knows where he has to be before he gets there, like every kid is working in perfect synchronisation. He knows where to go and so do the other guts. It’s not natural. It didn’t happen when Quentin joined either; even he was at best okay. Then three other players loom over them.
The team is definitely acting odd, and it seems likely the vamp is connected in some way.