The Heart of the Storm: Visit from Stoneshore Surprises South Seas
Story by Abraham Shepherd
Mosaic--The South Seas University football program received its first loss of the NSCF 13 season at the hands of Stoneshore College on Saturday. The loss came as the Honu had little time to prepare for the defensive-minded Bruins as a result to a scheduling change from the Horizon Conference Commission.
South Seas University had originally been slated to travel to Cosumar to battle Ramusok Capital University. However, hurricane force winds in Cosumar’s Eastern gulf forced an emergency hearing from the Horizon Conference governing authority, with representatives from each of the six schools in attendance either in person or via internet. With both Ramusok Capital University and Stoneshore College affected by the weather, it may have been easier to simply reschedule the Cosumarite schools, but in a show of solidarity, the Commission voted rather to entirely swap the conference’s week four and week five schedules. In further show of support for the institutes from Cosumar, the Honu wore a special helmet sticker depicting a map of Cosumar nation during the game.
On just two days’ notice, South Seas had been forced into the position of changing their travel plans while simultaneously looking to switch their focus from the offensive juggernaut that is Ramusok Capital to the defensive stonewall that has characterized Stoneshore College. Playing behind a team motivated by concern for their loved ones back home, Stoneshore College came away with a narrow victory, 16-14.
While South Seas had been able to remain close to the Bruins, a late safety with just 3:04 remaining in the game put the Honu behind for what would turn out to be the definitive score after Stoneshore stymied a late comeback attempt. After the ensuing free kick, the Honu defense was unable to keep Stoneshore College from running out the remaining clock time and could only watch as time expired.
It is a common adage that defense travels well, and in this tumultuous shortened week facing a squad motivated by external circumstances, this adage proved true against the Honu.
Asked about the loss after the game, Honu coach Goose Carneghy noted the difficulty of preparing on such a short week. “Yeah, that was tough. We had prepared for a different game philosophy, and then the horrible news out of Cosumar really changed that up. But let’s not get lost in that. Hell of a job today by Stoneshore to come in with all of the distractions and win on the road. I’m sure their thoughts and prayers must be with their loved ones, hoping they remain safe. And please don’t try to misconstrue this as South Seas getting the short end of the stick. First off, Costa Aluria is safe right now, which is more than we can assume for Cosumar. Secondly, we prepared for an elite team, and we lost to an elite team. The name on the jersey means nothing. The fact of the matter is at the end of the game, the other team had more points on the board.”
The Honu had been unable to move the ball with any regularity all afternoon, fueled in large part to the one dimensional gameplan which Stoneshore forced. With this battle being fought in the trenches, the South Seas running game sputtered from the opening gate, and Carneghy was forced into a passing heavy aerial attack. The Honu achieved only 68 rushing yards on the day, and without the running game to open up passing lanes, the entire offense had difficulty. Ezra Talbot managed to salvage his statline with two passing touchdowns, but otherwise this was a day to forget for the Honu offense.
Or, perhaps, it was a day to remember for the Honu offense. As South Seas University continues to prepare for the remainder of the schedule, fans should note that the upcoming gamedays are loaded with matchups from teams ranked in the Cosumarite Courier’s top ten rankings. South Seas still must face Ramusok Capital twice, as well as another tilt, on the road at that, against Stoneshore College. And that is just in the Horizon Conference. Also on the schedule is a matchup against Northern Moravica, who currently rests at #12 but could easily return to the top ten by week twelve. And let’s not forget about the upcoming battles with St. Croix University and Utica University. What does this all amount to? Well, the Honu better remember what happened against Stoneshore on this day, because if they don’t, it may be a season to forget.
Assuming the storm passes by Cosumar, the Honu will head on the road to take on undefeated Ramusok Capital in week five. However, despite the additional week of preparation for the current first place team in the Horizon Conference, it is anybody’s guess how the ongoing weather concerns may impact the game. This will certainly be a storyline to watch as the week develops.
The Honu have announced they will continue to wear the Cosumarite map helmet sticker as they travel to Ramusok Capital.
Box Score | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | F |
Stoneshore College | 0 | 7 | 0 | 9 | N/A | 16 |
South Seas University | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | N/A | 14 |
Scoring summary:
2nd Qtr, 10:28 (SC) Stoneshore College touchdown (XP good) [SC 7-SSU 0)]
3rd Qtr, 4:12 (SSU) Ezra Talbot 10 yard pass to Satchel King (Ranger Cisterns XP) [SC 7-SSU 7]
4th Qtr, 13:44 (SC) Stoneshore College touchdown (XP good) [SC 14-SSU 7]
4th Qtr, 7:36 (SSU) Ezra Talbot 6 yard pass to Barclay Beckett (Ranger Cisterns XP) [SC 14-SSU 14]
4th Qtr, 3:04 (SC) Ezra Talbot tackled in endzone for a safety [SC 16-SSU 14]