Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2016 11:47 pm
The All-Banija Sports Magazine
The only nationwide publication that is all sports, all the time!
High-flying Banijan offense powers team to 2-0 start in World Bowl play; sets up showdown with Main Nation Ministry for First place in the RT&T Division
Vena Resnick(#87) celebrates with quarterback Dennis Zervos during 55-13 home victory over Vettrera
BUSUKUMA- The Kingdom of Banija is entering this World Bowl with its highest ever ranking, #5 on the planet. Now, of course, Banija has risen that high in the rankings thanks to deep runs in the last two tournaments, where they have achieved 2 straight 4th place finishes. Which means, of course, they've battled their way to the semifinals of two consecutive World Bowls. This also means, however, that they are combined 0-4 after the quarterfinal round of the World Bowl, losing two semifinals and two third place matches. Of course, this time around, they have a real battle on their hands, after some serious reformatting happened for this tournament.
Banija, in their opening game, met Abaja, who was a group stage rival with Banija in World Bowl 30. While Banija achieved the sweep back then to win the group, and ultimately eliminated Abaja on matchday 10 of the group stages in a defensive battle, this game was the exact opposite of their last meeting. Banija scored 3 touchdowns, hit 3 more field goals, and even had a safety, while Abaja scored four touchdowns. Abaja's last touchdown was with 27 seconds left, and they failed a 2 point conversion. While they recovered the onside kick, they fumbled the ensuing snap, which was recovered by Banija for the victory. While the Banijan offense was clicking on all cylinders, in a way we never saw with Myles Debaba at the helm, the defense seemed much, much weaker than the ones who had taken Banija to two straight semifinal appearances.
While Abaja is a quality opponent, in their second game, they played tournament newcomers Vettrera, who were clearly overmatched. The score was 31-0 at halftime, and Banija simply cruised, obtaining a massive 55-13 victory. We believe that this is Banija's biggest victory ever on the international level in the sport of gridiron football, while it is definitely a record for points scored at the Stadium of the Restoration. But the team to watch- no, the story to watch- has to be the Main Nation Ministry, who is in Banija's division, ahead of them in the division standings, and visits Busukuma in week 3 for a massive showdown.
Main Nation Ministry is built like the Banijan football teams of old. Built behind the back of a dominating defense, the stories people would hear from training were disturbing. So disturbing, in fact, Ezekiel Daniachew felt it was best if he didn't tell his players what was going on at a Main National Ministry practice. So the fact that they are 2-0 right now means that this is a big matchup in Busukuma, Banija's 3rd straight home game to open this tournament.
While this game is on Banija's home field, the strength vs. strength matchup will have to be the Main Nation Ministry defense, against the suddenly high-flying Banijan offense. Usually, Banija is on the other side of these strength vs. strength matchups, so we'll see how this team is built to react to a situation like this. They will have the crowd at their back, of course, which will be a big help, and, crucially, this team hasn't left Banija yet. There aren't any miles on these guys bodies yet from this tournament, and it is crucial to maximize home stands like this, because they are always followed by grueling road trips. Of course, in this season, they will play 6 of 7 on the road after matchday 6, which includes 2 3 game road trips.
The key to this game has to be Dennis Zervos. This will be the first time he will be facing an elite defense at this level. Of course, he has shown at the NSCF level that he is capable of dealing with pressure. He quarterbacked a 2 loss Loyola-Istria school all the way to the NSCF 14 championship, even if he won it in Istria. He faced plenty of elite defenses in the NSCF, and he was able to dispatch them all en route to an NSCF title. The two teams that had beaten Loyola- Northern Moravica and South Seas University- lost to them the 2nd time round that season, as Northern lost in the last game of conference play, while South Seas lost in the Final.
He will never be hit as hard like this defense will hit him in week 3. They are capable of putting quite a few nasty hits on players, and that fear will be in the back of Zervos' head. He needs to be able to stay in the pocket and make those throws, and if he can keep his composure, he should be fine, as this aggressive defensive team leaves for lots of winnable one on one matchups on the outside. But if Zervos cannot keep his composure, or the pressure gets there a little too quickly, then look for him to get rattled. He, of course, is still extremely young. If he gets rattled, that is how Banija turns the ball over, and that is how Main Nation Ministry can walk out of here in sole possession of first place.
Ultimately, considering Banija's experience, the fact that they've been here before, as well as the fact that they are playing at home, they are at a slight advantage over the visitors. We predict a 28-24 victory over Banija, but we expect this to be a division race that is tight all the way to the finish, where these two teams duke it out to the very end of the group stage to see who gets the division's automatic berth in the Round of 16.
The only nationwide publication that is all sports, all the time!
High-flying Banijan offense powers team to 2-0 start in World Bowl play; sets up showdown with Main Nation Ministry for First place in the RT&T Division
Vena Resnick(#87) celebrates with quarterback Dennis Zervos during 55-13 home victory over Vettrera
BUSUKUMA- The Kingdom of Banija is entering this World Bowl with its highest ever ranking, #5 on the planet. Now, of course, Banija has risen that high in the rankings thanks to deep runs in the last two tournaments, where they have achieved 2 straight 4th place finishes. Which means, of course, they've battled their way to the semifinals of two consecutive World Bowls. This also means, however, that they are combined 0-4 after the quarterfinal round of the World Bowl, losing two semifinals and two third place matches. Of course, this time around, they have a real battle on their hands, after some serious reformatting happened for this tournament.
Banija, in their opening game, met Abaja, who was a group stage rival with Banija in World Bowl 30. While Banija achieved the sweep back then to win the group, and ultimately eliminated Abaja on matchday 10 of the group stages in a defensive battle, this game was the exact opposite of their last meeting. Banija scored 3 touchdowns, hit 3 more field goals, and even had a safety, while Abaja scored four touchdowns. Abaja's last touchdown was with 27 seconds left, and they failed a 2 point conversion. While they recovered the onside kick, they fumbled the ensuing snap, which was recovered by Banija for the victory. While the Banijan offense was clicking on all cylinders, in a way we never saw with Myles Debaba at the helm, the defense seemed much, much weaker than the ones who had taken Banija to two straight semifinal appearances.
While Abaja is a quality opponent, in their second game, they played tournament newcomers Vettrera, who were clearly overmatched. The score was 31-0 at halftime, and Banija simply cruised, obtaining a massive 55-13 victory. We believe that this is Banija's biggest victory ever on the international level in the sport of gridiron football, while it is definitely a record for points scored at the Stadium of the Restoration. But the team to watch- no, the story to watch- has to be the Main Nation Ministry, who is in Banija's division, ahead of them in the division standings, and visits Busukuma in week 3 for a massive showdown.
Main Nation Ministry is built like the Banijan football teams of old. Built behind the back of a dominating defense, the stories people would hear from training were disturbing. So disturbing, in fact, Ezekiel Daniachew felt it was best if he didn't tell his players what was going on at a Main National Ministry practice. So the fact that they are 2-0 right now means that this is a big matchup in Busukuma, Banija's 3rd straight home game to open this tournament.
While this game is on Banija's home field, the strength vs. strength matchup will have to be the Main Nation Ministry defense, against the suddenly high-flying Banijan offense. Usually, Banija is on the other side of these strength vs. strength matchups, so we'll see how this team is built to react to a situation like this. They will have the crowd at their back, of course, which will be a big help, and, crucially, this team hasn't left Banija yet. There aren't any miles on these guys bodies yet from this tournament, and it is crucial to maximize home stands like this, because they are always followed by grueling road trips. Of course, in this season, they will play 6 of 7 on the road after matchday 6, which includes 2 3 game road trips.
The key to this game has to be Dennis Zervos. This will be the first time he will be facing an elite defense at this level. Of course, he has shown at the NSCF level that he is capable of dealing with pressure. He quarterbacked a 2 loss Loyola-Istria school all the way to the NSCF 14 championship, even if he won it in Istria. He faced plenty of elite defenses in the NSCF, and he was able to dispatch them all en route to an NSCF title. The two teams that had beaten Loyola- Northern Moravica and South Seas University- lost to them the 2nd time round that season, as Northern lost in the last game of conference play, while South Seas lost in the Final.
He will never be hit as hard like this defense will hit him in week 3. They are capable of putting quite a few nasty hits on players, and that fear will be in the back of Zervos' head. He needs to be able to stay in the pocket and make those throws, and if he can keep his composure, he should be fine, as this aggressive defensive team leaves for lots of winnable one on one matchups on the outside. But if Zervos cannot keep his composure, or the pressure gets there a little too quickly, then look for him to get rattled. He, of course, is still extremely young. If he gets rattled, that is how Banija turns the ball over, and that is how Main Nation Ministry can walk out of here in sole possession of first place.
Ultimately, considering Banija's experience, the fact that they've been here before, as well as the fact that they are playing at home, they are at a slight advantage over the visitors. We predict a 28-24 victory over Banija, but we expect this to be a division race that is tight all the way to the finish, where these two teams duke it out to the very end of the group stage to see who gets the division's automatic berth in the Round of 16.