Volume 2

Mamori furiously chastises Hiruma and tries to take Sena away with her to find a different club. But Sena has a moment of clarity, slips his hand out from Mamori's grip, and states that he wants to stay with the Devil Bats, much to Kurita's relief and her confused dismay. Noticing how much Mamori frets over Sena's safety, Hiruma slyly convinces her to take on some of the managerial work, to which she happily agrees.

Meanwhile, at Oujou High School, White Knights coach Shouji "Shogun" Gunpei chews out Shin and Sakuraba for failing to tape the whole Cupids game. Shin accepts full responsibility, along with Shogun's penalty of not starting for their upcoming game against the Devil Bats. In the workout room, Shin admonishes himself for his mistake while exercising tirelessly.

Sena arrives at the clubhouse and is surprised to see that Mamori has cleaned it to a sparking shine. Kurita serves them tea with desserts to celebrate their first victory, but Hiruma flips the tabletop to its tactical board side, scattering food and drink everywhere. He shows off figurines he forced the Art Department to make so that he can show his counter-strategy against Oujou, which is just Eyeshield 21 running into the end zone over and over.

After this, Hiruma provokes Mamori into a quiz drill on American football basics, while Kurita calmly walks Sena through the fundamentals himself. The four later lift weights, with Sena benching 22 lbs (10 kg), Mamori 44 lbs (20 kg), Hiruma 165 lbs (75 kg), and Kurita a whopping 352 lbs (160 kg). Meanwhile, a Oujou High, Shin and Sakuraba converse with their bafoonish captain and guard lineman Makoto Otawara. Otowara proclaims that no other player can outrun Shin, but Shin wonders if he will someday play against someone he can't catch.

The White Knights arrive at the game and are met with a flashy media circus full of paparazzi and enthusiastic fangirls, all hoping to see Sakuraba. Bubbleheaded reporter Paako Andou interviews Sakuraba and his obnoxious manager Miracle Itou, who insists on making him wear promotional merchandise from his sponsor, American Burger. Sakuraba is noticeably uncomfortable under the pressure of being the team's "ace." The audience files into the stands, including the all-star Shinryuuji Nagas and their twin quarterbacks, Agon and Unsui Kongo.

Meanwhile, Sena is horrified to learn that two players sustained multiple broken bones during last year's game. He tries to sneak out, but not before he overhears fill-ins voicing their faith in Eyeshield 21. When Mamori shows a text from Sena saying he left to buy videotapes, Hiruma fumes and unleashes Cerberus to track him. But the dog quickly retrieves him in full Eyeshield 21 gear. Afterwards, Sena tells Kurita that he didn't want to run away with everyone counting on him, and that he will try his best.

The game begins with the Devil Bats on offense and the White Knights on defense. Sena makes a mad dash with the ball, but Otawara smacks it out of his hands. Both lines dogpile to catch it, with Kurita holding on at the bottom. Hiruma shows Sena how to hold the ball properly. From the bench, Shin concludes that while Eyeshield 21's speed is exceptional, he's an amateur who doesn't pose a threat. Unsui snatches the binoculars from Agon after he uses them to ogle Mamori's legs.

Hiruma orders the linemen and Ishimaru to hold off the White Knights' line for half a second, so that Sena can break through. Kurita tells Sena to think of them as his shields, a mental image that gives him a confidence boost. He skillfully cuts through the line of scrimmage as the Devil Bats' line secures him a path to the endzone, scoring them the first touchdown.

The Devil Bats take the lead with a 0-6 score, leaving many in the audience gobsmacked. Shin tells Shogun that he misjudged Eyeshield 21, and speculates that he honed his running over many years. Mamori is in awe of Eyeshield 21's abilities, wishing that Sena was around to meet this potential role model. Agon determines that it was a fluke due to one lineman's poor timing and Shin's absence.

Shogun realizes that Otawara covering the middle doesn't suit his poor intellect, so he tells him to rush Eyeshield 21 without thinking. Hiruma and Sena feign a kick play so that Sena to run the ball into the end zone for two extra points. But Otawara's sudden charge scares him into running the ball out of bounds, causing the Devil Bats lose possession.

Now that the White Knights have possession, they switch to offense and Sakuraba's fangirls scream as he enters. Entering also is their tall, meticulous quarterback, Ichirou Takami, who makes high, precise passes. Hiruma has the Devil Bats do a goal line formation, and Takami deduces aloud that they want Kurita to prevent him from passing. Otawara overhears this and tackles Kurita back. Sakuraba barely catches the pass and gains ten yards, causing the stands to erupt with his fangirls' screams.

Takami's passes succeed over and over again until they've closed in on the Devil Bat's end zone, poised for a touchdown. Shin is suspicious as to why they haven't attempted to intercept any passes yet, as Hiruma tells Sena to intercept Sakuraba. Once Takami throws the pass, Sena dashes towards Sakuraba and catches him off-guard.

Sena leaps backwards over Sakuraba and gets ready to catch, raising his hands with crossed thumbs like Hiruma taught him. He catches the pass, but inadvertantly flings it right towards Hiruma. Hiruma runs with the ball, then tosses it back to Sena, who runs a long length before being pushed him out of bounds. However, the Devil Bats catching while being on defense allows them possession of the ball.

The Devil Bats go back on offense, now 13 yards from the White Knights' end zone. Otawara charges Sena, but notices at the last minute that Hiruma's pass to Sena was fake and that he ran with it and gained five yards. Shogun, knowing that they can't afford any more mistakes, asks Shin to enter the game.

Shin emerges from the bench brimming with fearsome energy. Sena feigns his usual run, then turns and runs in the other direction. Shin speeds towards him as he begins breaking through the line, easily weaving past Kurita's block. Sena manages to evade at first, but not fast enough for Shin's signature move, the Spear Tackle. Shin grabs Sena hard by the chest and tackles him to the ground.

As a shaken Sena nurses his throbbing rib, Shin notices his scrawny arms. Knowing that his opponent isn't strong enough to push back, Shin uses the next play to grab Sena under his arms and lift him up in mid-run. Otawara then smacks the ball out of his hands again, in time for Shin to grab it and score the White Knights' first touchdown.

The White Knights trounce the Devil Bats in a rapid succession, widening their lead to 35-6. After taking numerous painful hits from Shin's Spear Tackle, Sena decides to drop out of the game, so he gets changed and writes up a fake note from Eyeshield 21. But when he tries to break the news, the Devil Bats express abandonment and he immediately feels guilty. Realizing that he isn't alone in trying his hardest, Sena crushes the note in his fist, vowing not to run away anymore. He texts Mamori about leaving again to buy batteries, then changes back into his Eyeshield 21 disguise.

Shogun is yelling at his team for slacking off when he notices one the American Burger sticker on Sakuraba's helmet. He rips it off and admonishes Miracle Itou for creating an injury risk. Itou takes Sakuraba aside and tells him to put the sticker back on, as he doesn't want the agency to lose their contract. Sakuraba ruefully places the sticker back on his helmet just as the second half begins.