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Offensive struggles the source of Banija's first loss at the World Bowl as they fall 13-3 at home to Taeshan
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Quarterback Slawomir Kovach reacts after throwing his 4th interception of the game in the 4th quarter
BUSUKUMA- The Kingdom of Banija has had a very simple strategy when it comes to competing in this World Bowl. Play solid defense, do not turn the ball over, keep possesion of the football, and they will come out on top. Their defense has delivered magnificent performance after magnificent performance in a row, and even with an offense that only averaged 12.8 points per game in the first 5 group stage games, Banija escaped the group stage with an undefeated 5-0 record that put them in the driver's seat to win this group. While their offense struggled heavily to move the ball against their opponents, they at least were taking care of the football. Kovach was not playing all that well, but he was not going out there and losing games. We mentioned that a little in our last article, in how Banija would need improved quarterback play to compete in this tournament.
Of course, there was always going to be a game where the quarterback seriously struggled. The question was, how would the team respond? And that game was today, a home game against Taeshan, where Banija had a chance to probably put away the group with another victory over Taeshan. However, Slawomir Kovach had an absolutely horrible game. This brings us back to flashbacks to his NSCF 12 season, where he was temporarily benched, though he missed the end of that season due to a separated shoulder. In this game there was no injury, but Slawomir Kovach had 5 turnovers in the game. He had 4 interceptions and 1 lost fumble, and his struggles were the source of the Banijan loss, as his three 3rd quarter turnovers(2 interceptions and one fumble) led directly to Taeshan's 13 points, which were all directly off of turnovers.
The trouble should have been noticed in the first half. With Banija up 3-0 towards the end of the 2nd quarter, the game's difference being a 47 yard Beyne Yemane in the 1st quarter. Slawomir Kovach ran a very effective 2 minute drill, moving Banija 68 yards down the football field, to get to the 13 yard line of Taeshan with 14 seconds left. Kovach was then supposed to throw a fade to schoolmate receiver Vena Resnick. Instead of doing that however, Slawomir Kovach rolled and tried to force the ball into the middle of the field, trying to force it to star tight end Chritos Cosse. Cosse was overthrown, and the ball was intercepted by a Taeshan safety in the back of the end zone at the end of the quarter. A great scoring opportunity was blown, but it was a sign of worse things to come in the 2nd half.
The third quarter was an absolutely terrible quarter for Slawomir Kovach. On three straight drives, he threw interceptions, and those led directly to every single point that Taeshan put on the scoreboard. They won this game, but terrible play from Kovach let their opponents have it. On the 3rd quarter's opening drive, Kovach was looking over the middle of the field to an open Chritos Cosse, but he was overthrown and the ball was intercepted at the Banijan 33 yard line. Two first downs and a short field goal later, and the game was tied. On the very next drive, Banija was able to get a few first downs on the ground. But, on a 3rd down & 3 at the Taeshan 44, Slawomir Kovach had an ill-advised throw towards the sideline picked off by a Taeshan cornerback and returned to the Banijan 23 yard line. Banija did force a 3 & out, but a short field goal was kicked and the next thing you know, Banija was down 6-3.
The final turnover of the 3rd quarter turned out to be the nail in the coffin. Banija was able to drive down the field after that 2nd Taeshan field goal, and it seemed as if this time, Slawomir Kovach would be able to make the throws. The kid has tons of confidence, especially winning two Celestia Conference titles in the NSCF, and he was able to drive his team down to the Taeshan 15 yard line. However, Slawomir Kovach would make another poor decision in the red zone, making Banija 0-2 on the night in the red zone. In the face of pressure under a heavy blitz, Kovach wildly threw the ball over the middle of the field to receiver Robel Kassa. Unfortunately, the ball was picked off and then returned 97 yards for a score the other way. The Banijans, who had at the end of the 2nd quarter thought they could go up 10-0 on Taeshan, were stunned as the Taeshan secondary, in their own stadium, conducted a turnaround of epic proportions and gave their team a 13-3 lead halfway through the 3rd quarter.
Slawomir Kovach played for the remainder of the game, but the Banijans never threatened again. His 4th quarter fumble sealed the deal, as Taeshan was able to run out the clock after that. Head Coach Ezekiel Daniachew was not happy with his team's performance, especially on offense. "This tournament is going to make you face adversity. The teams at this level are too good to play like we did today. Five turnovers? All of their points coming from turnovers? That means we are simply giving away points, and that is absolutely unacceptable at this level of competition. All options, and when I say that I mean absolutely everything is on the table, will be evaluated to make sure that this kind of offensive performance does not happen again."
While he did not mention Slawomir Kovach by name, the implication was serious. It was rumored that there would be a quarterback competition, and that was only confirmed when Head Coach Ezekiel Daniachew avoided a question when asked about his confidence in Slawomir Kovach right now. He laid it out in pretty bare terms how the Banijans, if they wanted to achieve their goals, needed to have consistent play at the quarterback position. It is unclear who he will choose to start at this point, though he is known to be a head coach that favors continuity. That gives the inside track to Kovach, but with Kovach's confidence shot, he might turn to the more experienced veteran Myles Debaba, who would definitely be itching at the chance to prove himself on the global stage.