NSCF 16 Everything Thread

[Cosumar]

The Roaring Dragon
Ramusok Capital University's Official Student Newspaper

Reviewing RCU's season ahead of Non-Conference opener
Will Danielson, Senior Sports Columnist

RAMUSOK -- Haven't been keeping up with RCU Football this season? Well, the defending NSCF champions finished conference play 8-2, falling short of a fifth Horizon Conference title on head-to-head point-differential with Harbor College.

Now, coming up this weekend is the team's first non-conference game of the season. Against Mineral Conference champs Mount Maris, it's a chance for Cliff Scuttlesmith's team to showcase themselves as deserving recipients of an at-large playoff selection. If you haven't seen much of the Dragons but are jumping on the bandwagon for the business end of the season, here's a preview for you to enjoy. We'll break down all ten games from the Horizon Conference slate.


Week 1: vs. Harbor College (39-33 win)
NSCF 16 kicked off with a real heavyweight throwdown. Capital Coliseum was amped-up with rare enthusiasm, memories of the NSCF 15 championship still fresh on the minds of Capital fans. Despite the hostile atmosphere, the explosive Honu offense immediately made itself at home. Cyril Peregrine threw for four touchdowns in the shootout, including two to star tight end Phineas Clocktower, but RCU senior QB Aldur Tronstad would have the last laugh in his long-awaited first NSCF start. The game appeared set for overtime with the two teams tied 33-33, but Tronstad found Cozmar Na'Bami open downfield on a blown coverage with two seconds remaining. The Vloo managed to just surge across the goal-line as time expired, sending the thousands at Capital Coliseum into frenzied celebrations. What a way to start the season! Reactionary responses proclaimed it proof the Dragons were destined to repeat. A feat that could still happen, but the coming nine games would prove anything but automatic.

Week 2: @ Drawk Corps University (24-20 win)
Coming off a statement win, RCU were heavy favorites in their road opener in Drawkland. The Corps proved formidable adversaries, however, backing up their preseason rhetoric about becoming legitimate Horizon Conference contenders. The size and length of David Sterling's secondary gave Aldur Tronstad fits, so the Dragons had to rely on the running game to grind out the victory instead. With his short stature but stocky build and low center-of-gravity, running back Otork Mtgivby was a nightmare for the tall Drawkian defenders to get to the ground. Mtgivby had his best game of the season in the victory, rushing for 131 yards and three touchdowns. 2-0.

Week 3: vs. Emmanuel Theological Seminary (29-17 win)
Who would've thought three weeks prior that this would be a battle for 1st place in the conference standings? Emmanuel were the surprise packages of the early season, racing out to a 2-0 start in their NSCF debut after defeating Stoneshore the week prior. Their versatile offensive threat Jeremiah Drake scored twice early in the game to unsettle the Capital Coliseum crowd, but the Dragons would fight back as the 12-man Pelicans tired. Aldur Tronstad threw three touchdowns in the second half to unseat Emmanuel from the Horizon Conference throne. The defeated opponents responded, oddly, by marching around Capital Coliseum in some kind of religious ritual, seeming not to notice all the puzzled stares, curious laughs and smartphone cameras. Welcome to NSCF, ETS. 3-0.

Week 4: vs. Stoneshore College (7-0 win)
The Dragons' third home game in four resulted in a fourth straight win. Our nemeses from Stoneshore did their best to slow down the game and suffocate the RCU offense with relentless physicaity and pressure... and it largely worked. The Bruins were the better team for three quarters and could've been up 21-0 if weren't for three red zone turnovers. But the Dragons hung in and it was somehow still 0-0 going into the fourth quarter. Then, the Bruins D just couldn't contain RCU star receiver Seth Greenman any longer. Held without a catch in the first three quarters, Greenman then exploded for eight catches - including the game-winning lone TD - in the fourth. 4-0.

Week 5: @ University of Stratison (24-16 loss)
Ouch. Even on the road, a meeting with 0-4 NSCF debutants Stratison should've been an easy win for the 4-0 defending champions. Stratison had lost its first four games by an average margin of 17 points. Instead, RCU will forever bear the ignominy of granting the Stacramonian school its first ever win. Admittedly, RCU should've had a chance to win the game in overtime. A potentially game-tying touchdown as time expired was incorrectly called back on an officiating error. Coach Scuttlesmith tried to argue his point to the referees, but the Stratison students were already swarming onto the field in euphoric disbelief. But the Dragons have only themselves to blame. It should never have gotten to that point. The offense was sloppy and wasteful across the board. The defense was slightly better, but made a few big errors at crucial moments that really bit them in the ass. "Let this be a lesson that you can never EVER simply not show up to compete in a NSCF game," Scuttlesmith said afterwards. "This is the international cream of the crop, and this is what can happen if you forget that." 4-1.

Week 6: @ Harbor College (24-7 loss)
Confidence shaken by the Week 5 debacle, the Dragons weren't even particularly competitive in Kalalau for one of their most anticipated match-ups of the season. Four RCU turnovers helped Cyril Peregrine throw for two impressive touchdowns, run for another and rack up 387 yards of total offense to draw the Honu level with RCU on 4-2. Jarpen Spoonemore's defense fought hard and showed spirit (Ansel Silverwyk's fumble recovery resulted in RCU's only touchdown) but had no chance with the exceedingly flat offense actively working against them. This game proved decisive in awarding the conference championship earlier this week, the 17-point margin reversing RCU's own six-point Week 1 victory in the tiebreaker. A loud section of the fanbase also began calling for Aldur Tronstad to be benched in favor of highly-rated sophomore Foldar Hammerstien II, who exacerbated the situation with a few controversial tweets about how much better he could've done. 4-2.

Week 7: vs. Drawk Corps University (34-3 win)
Back in the comforts of home, Aldur Tronstad and the Dragons offense snapped out of their funk in a big way. This one was over before it started. RCU jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. A 27-3 half time lead and a scoreless third quarter allowed Scuttlesmith to rest most of his starters for the final quarter-and-a-half. Receiver Bran Helmsman had his best game of the season with two touchdowns, the first multi-TD game of the junior's career. The defense also put in a disciplined shift. The secondary especially was impressively airtight against the larger Drawkian receivers. Overall, a much-needed confidence boost ahead of a crucial trip to the Remote Territories with the conference crown and even RCU's playoff hopes at stake. 5-2.

Week 8: @ Emmanuel Theological Seminary (27-17 win)
Eerily similar to their Week 3 meeting in Ramusok that ended 29-17, the Pelicans started strong to the delight of their home crowd but faded down the stretch as the Dragons superior depth paid dividends. The talented theologians-in-training led 14-7 at the half behind the efforts of Jeremiah Drake and Daniel Haceta, but RCU ended the game on a run of 13 unanswered points. Three takeaways from the Dragons' consistently strong defense (two Gilan Nairn picks) helped secure the second consecutive win and keep RCU in the hunt for the Horizon championship. Massive road victory against a potential playoff team. That'll help the OSPI. 6-2.

Week 9: @ Stoneshore College (17-0 win)
For the first time in the long history of this classic NSCF rivalry, one of the Cosumarite schools has shut out the other on the season. And, surprisingly, it wasn't the more traditionally defensive school that did it. The resounding 17-0 victory at Finglass Field brought the aggregate score on the season to 24-0 in favor of RCU. Not a single field goal allowed in eight quarters by the Dragons D against Mordred O'Hir and a talented Bruins O. Stoneshore were never completely out of this game, but they never really looked like they would mount a comeback either. The final score of 17-0 was set after three quarters, allowing RCU to milk the clock with Otork Mtgivby throughout the 4th. Aldur Tronstad went an efficient 16-of-26 for 223 yards and two touchdowns, with no turnovers. Another boost to RCU's playoff hopes despite Stoneshore's disappointing season. 7-2.


Week 10: vs. University of Stratison (36-3 win)
Not a chance RCU were going to fall into this trap a second time. In addition to the Horizon championship potentially being in play if Harbor College stumbled in Drawkland, the Dragons were also motivated to prove Week 5 was a fluke. Stratison were still 1-8, and being that "1" was still humiliating for the team. And so, they came out with a fire lit under them by Scuttlesmith and methodically deconstructed the Stacramonians at home. Even though the Honu survived the Drawk Corps, it was a performance worthy of winning a conference title. Otork Mtgivby ran for two scores and caught another out of the backfield from Aldur Tronstad in an easy win. The first team rested almost the entire second half, which should be a godsend as they prepare for a hard-hitting, heavy-pressuring Mount Maris team next week. 8-2.

...

Week 11: @ Mount Maris (Result TBD)
Probably the most interesting game of RCU's non-conference lineup this season. Last season, the Dragons held off the Friars 15-13 at home, a win that arguably sparked their run to the NSCF Championship. But the return leg will be a tougher nut to crack. Redvali schools are known for their hostile home environments, and Arena of Light is perhaps the most intimidating of them all. The Dragons and Friars stack up similarly on the field as well. If you discount the Stratison loss as an anomaly, the two sides would have identical 9-1 records and they already have near-identical points-for and points-against stats. Both have traditionally strong offenses that have also been carried at times this season by clutch, playmaking defenses with especially talented secondaries. Everyone knows that the hallmark of a championship team is finding a way to win big games on the road. This is one that will truly test whether this year's version of RCU has that NSCF 10 or NSCF 15 championship mettle.

[The Redvale]

A Tale Of Two Sisters

Chapter Ten: Respect

“I don't think most Castle fans hate Amalie Russey. I don't even think that most of them dislike her and I think that the attitude towards her is a lot closer to something different… I don't know, not sure which word to use to describe the way that Castle fans feel about her, but I think it's a lot closer to disappointment than dislike or hate. She was rated highly as a recruit coming out of Glenham and he waited her turn and learned the system, not starting until last season. We all thought that this daughter of Abel Russey would be like her father and would be our savior, and that wasn't really what happened,” said the Red Valley radio host that was reviewing the end of the season for the CVRU Hornets. “When she came in as a backup and led the team to the Mount Maris win, our expectations went back up, but maybe the truth is that she's just not the type of player that can lead a team in a major market like this to success. Maybe she doesn't have the head for that despite her bloodline.

“And of course, that bloodline is prestigious. Sometimes people forget how good Abel Russey was for the Janford Bats, and how much better he was in college… He really turned the program around at Janford College and we all assumed that his daughter would be able to do the same thing with a program like Castle, that was trending down when she made her commitment as a high school senior. That was supposedly part of the recruiting pitch. Former head coach Francis Allan called her up and told her that she could be the face of the second golden generation of Castle and that she would be the one to lead them eventually at quarterback to national titles, and that she was the perfect person for his system.

“Now, that wasn't even a lie. Coach Allan ran a different system than the one that Michael Cho does, and he had faith in Amalie always because she was the perfect one to run that. She was able to use her powerful arm without having to worry too much about her short accuracy being too high, because option runs were used more than short passes in that system. But when you bring in Paco Reyes as offensive coordinator, you add more short passing and you need a quarterback with great accuracy underneath the zones in the middle of the field. You need someone who can hit routes along a seam between the zones with perfect accuracy, and someone who can lead a receiver away from tight man coverage with a well placed pass. Peri Fothergill is that kind of quarterback. Amalie Russey is not, and never will be.

“But that doesn't mean that she's not a good quarterback and that doesn't mean that she doesn't have a powerful arm and some good traits such as strength, her ability to run, and leadership. I don't buy her own story about her being a failure… Look, for anyone that's just joining us, let me recap what happened. After the Frontier State loss, in which she threw the interception that sealed the win for the opponents, Amalie Russey allegedly checked into the hospital in Red Valley after passing out from drinking too much. Less than twenty four hours after the incident, which the school said she would receive no punishment for, she made a lengthy announcement on social media saying that she's officially leaving the university and heading back to her hometown, Glenham. The announcement… Looks something like a reaction to the bad relationship between her and the coaching staff that took over from Francis Allan.

“In the announcement, she sarcastically ‘thanks’ Michael Cho for, in her words, running this program into the ground. She also mentions feeling insulted by being made to play the fullback position for a few games, and says that Paco Reyes completely wasted her talent and ruined her chances of going pro. She says that a transfer may happen before next season, and she also says that she wishes Peri all the best and says that Peri is her ‘secret love’. Near the end of the announcement, she thanks her family and her twin sister Arielle in particular, saying that even though Arielle transferred because of her, it's all good between them now. The one notable thing about it, though, is how hard she is on herself.

“Amalie repeatedly calls herself a failure in this announcement and apologizes twice to the Castle fanbase for her performances, and in the end she says that the team will be in better hands and that a repeat of the Frontier State loss won't happen in the future. That's where I disagree with her, because while she was the first victim of a new system that isn't as favorable towards players of her play style, I don't think you can call her a failure. Last season she fought through adversity to lead the team to an unlikely playoff appearance and an unlikely playoff win, things that were never expected before the season. This season, she even led us to our most unlikely upset of the season, and if it wasn't for one mistake on her part, she may have been the one to lead us to a conference title. You can't just look at the mistakes and ignore the good things she's done for us.

“It's not that I'm against Peri Fothergill, because she's also shown that she can lead us and that she's a better fit for the system than Amalie, but she doesn't have the same leadership, nor does she have the experience with this team that can make someone a true legend. I feel like no matter where Amalie goes, she's always going to be a legend at Castle because of the way that, even though she didn't win anything, she symbolized the way that Francis Allan brought the team out of the dark years and made them a contender. And I feel like if the staff paid more attention to the roster that they have available, they would have stayed closer to the last system and she would have flourished. Amalie, if you're listening to this, you're no failure. Don't ever say that. You're a bad system fit but a failure is a different thing entirely, and if you ever decide to come back to the university, you'll see that you still have a legend on this campus.

“Now, onto other things… We’re heading into the final stretch of the season and it looks like Mount Maris will have the conference title unless a miracle happens. Stoltz doesn't have a win, and I'm not going to be the one to bet on them winning this one, against the top team in the conference… Supposedly the other Russey sister had something to do with spurring them on, even though she isn't playing, and they've been on a tear since losing to Castle. Their defense is looking like one of the best ones in the competition, with Bryan Costas looking amazing and looking like he could go one and done if he wants, and Eke Kuhn is still a monster, and they're getting lockdown corner play from Julien Preus. They picked a good time to get hot, because if they have a win here, they'll win the conference for the second time in two years of being in it.

“Of course they will. They're Maris, they're the Friars. They don't stay down for long and when they do stay down, they come back stronger. No matter how you feel about them, you have to respect the legacy of success over different periods that they've built up, and the way that they have titles under a handful of different coaches. Now that trend is continuing, with Arend Starke and Francis Allan having won the Mineral Conference in back to back years. They're in the playoffs automatically if they win tonight, so their tough non conference schedule is unnecessary, but it still looks like they have a point to prove. They'll play RCU, Utica, and Raynor, and I suspect that Allan is using this schedule as a way to silence anyone who thinks that Maris hasn't played anybody. If they can win all three games… Well, I think they have to be a number one overall playoff seed.

“Castle has a less high profile schedule but still has a hard one. They have to play Richardson next week in the Janford Classic, the annual non conference game at Janford Stadium. They won't be favored in that game and many of our own fans are doubtful about the odds. Of course, Peri Fothergill is scheduled to be the starting quarterback for that game, with Amalie officially dropping out of the team and moving back home. The school has been radio silent on that, and they're likely going to move on as if it hasn't happened and the staff are likely secretly happy that their depth chart problems are figured out. But anyway, let me tell you a bit more about the Maris-RCU game coming up.

“I think that even if you hate the Friars, you need to be watching. Last season, RCU edged the Friars late for a tough win, but the final sequence of play almost sparked a riot in the stands and caused a brawl on the field that involved both benches and coaching staffs, and saw several players and coaches tossed before the final seconds of the game. The brawl was sparked by Aleix Fuller being tripped before he could catch what would have been the game winning pass from Drago Morena, and after the play was reviewed and no penalty was called, Fuller got into a war of words with the cornerback that had been covering him, and punches were exchanged. That sparked the most famous fight in recent Redvali history, and saw the Friars drop in the seeding into a bad matchup that they would lose against none other than Castle.

“Aleix Fuller has since gone pro with the Mountaineers, but that doesn't mean that there won't be anything heated. Expect this to be a hateful revenge game, with several of the big personalities in Maris stepping up to get back at their rivals for the game that may have been the point at which their season went south. Bryan Costas will get his sacks, and expect him to be headhunting all game long. This linebacking corps will extra aggressive, and again, don't be surprised if one of them sparks a fight. On offense, expect plenty of big hits from both sides, and expect the Friars to use their ground and pound game more than usual. In a game like this, being the more physical team is often the edge, and they've shown that they can do that when they need to be.

“The crowd is going to be into it all game long too, and you know how it is at the Arena of Light. Everyone thinks that they can play there until they do, and until you walk inside of it at night and at game time, when the Friars are coming out in all black and the home crowd is in full voice, you have no idea what it's like. The stands are steep, it's like there's a wall of angry people wherever you look as an opposing player, and Marisian fans aren't known for being polite. Again, everyone thinks that they can handle it until they hear the kinds of insults that come from the stands in Maris. The game doesn't start until nine forty five, meaning that there's going to be all day to tailgate and get hammered before it's actually game time. It's going to be a crazy experience for both teams, to say the least. And if the Friars win, it will be capped off by taking down the goalposts. It's going to be a great football weekend for Redvali fans, that's for sure. First we get the Janford Classic, and then we get Mount Maris and RCU right afterwards. Let's all hope for a Castle win and for a great game in Maris.”

~

“What did I tell you a few weeks ago? That if you fought like dogs and not cats, we would manage to come back and win this conference again,” said Arielle Russey, stepping back into the Mount Maris locker room as the Friars prepared to head out against their latest rival, RCU. “Well, it's time for you to do the same thing, and hopefully, we’ll also get another good result. We’re playing the defending champs and if we want to have any shot at winning this game in front of our home crowd, we’re going to need to fight like a pack of wild dogs. Look, what I'm trying to say, is that you need to not hold back out there and you need to go out and play like tomorrow isn't coming.”

She paused and felt the others staring at her, but she wasn't intimidated. No, she fully intended to let them know how important this game was to them. “Hold nothing back. Don't be afraid to go out there and break bones and don't be afraid to make hits that aren't going to look good on replay the next game. We're Friars, we don't shy away from controversy. We welcome it, on the other hand, and we embrace it as part of our aura. I remember the days when the Arena of Light was feared because of the beat downs that we put on the teams who came here, both literally and on the scoreboard. I remember the days when the fans in Maris were infamous for being unforgiving, for making it the most uncomfortable place to play, and having the kind of arrogance that got under the skin of the opponent because we were able to back it up.”

The team was getting a bit more pumped up, and Arielle continued. “I remember when teams like Maris Tech and Janford College would come here and we would hang fifty points on them and the crowd would absolutely destroy them because of not being able to keep it close. Some cities would calm down when the game was out of hand, but I remember when we would be up by some score like 51-10 and the home fans would be baying sarcastically at the opposing team to try harder, and they'd still erupt on every third down when the defense got a stop. Now, we have a new rival coming to town, one that many of you are familiar with.”

She looked to Drago Morena, who was nodding because of the first game between the schools. “I’m asking you to bring the old days back and make sure that once they head back home to their campus, they never want to visit this place ever again. Show the world what you're made of. Show them the vintage Friars and what these teams are really like. Make the Arena of Light the biggest fortress stadium in the country again. We're undefeated at home, you know. Let's continue that and get even from last year. The rest of the world doesn't think that you're a legit team and they think that you haven't played anybody. Well, go out and prove them wrong.”

And that was when she turned around and started walking out, followed by the rest of the team that was clad in all black, heading out under the lights in the biggest stadium in the country. Once again, it was Saturday night in the town of North Coast. An undefeated home record was on the line, and playoff seeding was on the line, but most importantly, respect was on the line. It was the perfect chance to prove themselves, and everyone in the Friars black and cyan was set to take that chance.

This time, they would hopefully be the ones edging out the close victory.

[Kalalau]

---

Second Gear: Harbor College Revs Up For Non-Conference Schedule
Story by Abraham Shepherd

MOSAIC--The Harbor College gridiron team is set to make their final adjustments before hopping a plane north to the Royal Kingdom of Quebec for Saturday’s non-conference opener against Woodlands Conference champions Universite St. Croix. The heavyweight tilt headlines the games in the NSCF as the only bout to pit conference champions this week.

As such, it will answer a number of questions as the elite of the NSCF make their tuneups looking forward to the playoffs just a month away. For St. Croix and Harbor College, the game offers a chance to improve playoff seeding with both squads fully guaranteed a spot in the postseason. For other teams throughout the league, the non-conference schedule may be the last chance to impress playoff voters to make their case for involvement. The latter is a scenario all too familiar to Harbor College, having had to prove their playoff mettle the hard way four of their six previous seasons. The two anomalies stand at polar opposites to each other, with a playoff miss in season 13 and their first Horizon belt in season 14.

And while the pressure is certainly on for St. Croix and Harbor to up their playoff positioning in week eleven, the bit of security that comes with being a conference champion could haunt both teams if they don’t keep their eyes on the prize; as many NSCF conference champions of seasons past have discovered, complacency in the season’s second half could bury a contender in the seedings. A loss at this critical stage would drop the underperformer into questionable seeding. A win, of course, nets either team a closer proximity to home field advantage in the playoffs--a sizeable virtue in this league where visiting teams often travel thousands of miles to hear the home crowd deafeningly scream against them. Such is the case when Harbor College will settle in for the multi-stop, multi-mile long haul journey to Quebec City later this week.

The significance of the journey should not be overlooked. Even under the questionable circumstances that saw the beginning of the Samson Fisafua empire at Harbor College, we’ve liked the Honu’s chances since the week six dethroning of Ramusok Capital at the Plumeria Garden. But note the keywords there: at the Plumeria Garden. The Honu will certainly be longing for their tropical island paradise when nearly 100,000 Bleu et Blanc fans scream down at them from the bleachers. Even with Fisafua proving his mettle on a weekly basis, we at the South Seas Sentinel still don’t know that the team will have enough to overcome USC at the Stade.

Any such Honu hope to proceed victorious will no doubt hinge upon Fisafua’s game plan and how well he has masked it coming into the match. Fisafua has taken a jack-of-all trades approach as he mans the helm, calling essentially a different game plan in every single game this season. Earlier in the year, Fisafua even mentioned as much, noting that the team strategizes a game plan with their star players as well as an attack that pushes the envelope on lesser developed players. The hope, it appears, is that opposing teams will have too many things to consider and that players they had not spent ample time preparing for will get the best of them. For the Honu, it is a bold plan. Guess wrong, and the entire team could struggle to move the ball. Guess correctly, however, and it makes for a long afternoon for anybody facing the green and yellow. With such an offensive philisophy, Fisafua is gambling that by the time the opposition catches on to the featured stars of the game, it will be too late to make an adjustment without opening big plays to the Honu MVPs, or to opening other wrinkles in the offense.

Even more, Fisafua has openly declared that moving forward, his first 18 plays of the game will run on a predetermined script, a second gamble that Fisafua hopes will pay big dividends later in the game. While the opening act may shut down opportunities for the Honu to get into a rhythm early--a huge gamble against a team of USC’s caliber--it may also mask the attack emphasis enough for the Honu to have a respectable mismatch by the half. One may rightly suppose that when jockeying for playoff position, it is go big or go home.

Our take: the introduction of new wrinkles to the Fisafua offense will be too much of a gamble, forcing the Honu out of rhythm early and unable to make up ground with their “under the radar” players. Add in 100,000 fans to remind Harbor College of all their jet lag? Well, we don’t particularly like the sound of that against a conference champion.

Our prediction: USC outlasts Harbor College, 24-19.

And that is just the first week of non-conference play. With one of the toughest out of conference slates on the table, Harbor College won’t get many breaks before the playoffs. With a second away game--and another long-haul set of flights--at Big Eight runner-up Mar Sara Tech in week twelve, the Honu may very well be wishing they were on island time sooner rather than later. The later, of course, is the regular season home finale against one of the most storied teams in the NSCF, Utica University. And while the Tigers have slipped a few notches from their previous glory, we wouldn’t count them out of anything as they look to claw their way back into the playoff picture for NSCF 16.

Long story short: the heavyweight bout continues throughout the non-conference schedule and then through the playoffs. Either Fisafua can take his team punch for punch, or they are going to get knocked out early.

And since we gave our projection on USC, we’ll follow suit with our projections for Mar Sara Tech and Utica as well.

First, Mar Sara Tech. While this is a team that has performed admirably in the past, we’re not as certain that the moved to the Big Eight was one that was helpful for them. While upstart team and conference champion Richardson University looks very much to be the real deal, the rest of the conference leaves a bit to be desired, and we don’t think the strength of schedule or home field advantage will be enough to keep Mar Sara Tech afloat in this one. Harbor lays plunder to the Raiders, 27-13 in a game that isn’t nearly as close as the score indicates.

And Utica? Well, that may be a tougher call. They’ve certainly dropped a few pegs since their outright dynasty days, having finished a surprising third in the Woodlands Conference behind USC and USC’s Quebecois counterpart Universite du Saguenay. And that has us worried. Let’s face the facts: here is a team that has won it all three times and has made the playoffs in every single season. They know how to win. So that they didn’t get it done in conference play has us worried about just what Tiger coach Leon Saint will do to motivate his team. Being the last team on the Tiger’s schedule is concerning; what better way to make a playoff statement than a signature win--on the road--against the Horizon Conference champions? And while we can be vocal about the lack of schedule depth in the Big Eight, we certainly can’t say that about either the Horizon or the Woodlands Conferences. Still, home island advantage works both ways since the South Seas Islands are so remote to the remainder of the league. And since the Plumeria Garden, small as it may be compared to other stadiums, creates such a loud atmosphere, we think it will be enough to just tip the scales in the Honu’s favor in a defensive struggle. We think Harbor College will hold on, 12-10.

At any rate, we turn our attention as Fisafua and the Honu already have to Universite St. Croix. And as we in this space have said many times in the past, it is definitely time to stay tuned.

[Yesopalitha]

Cutoff for OOC MD 1.

Out of Conference Game 1
Universite St. Croix 23–10 Harbor College
Drawk Corps University 16–27 Leopord Central University
University of Konigsberg 7–0 University of Iqaluit
Universite du Saguenay 17–7 Republica's Naval Academy
Mount Maris University 10–13 Ramusok Capital University
Army Academy 0–23 Emmanuel Theological Seminary
Utica University 21–10 Stoneshore College
Castle Valle Rojas University 16–20 University of Angelwood-Aprilla
Richardson University 27–13 Frontier State College @ neutral venue
Sos del Rey University 0–21 Ampliamirada

[The Redvale]

A Tale Of Two Sisters

Chapter Eleven: Loss

There was nothing sadder than seeing a deflated Arena of Light, one hundred and thirty thousand fans standing around and waiting for the clock to read double zero at the end of a game where they had been expected to continue their run and win at home. These fans hadn't yet tasted defeat at their fortress of a stadium this season, finishing the regular season with the conference title behind an undefeated home record, but now, against Ramusok Capital, they picked up back to back losses against a single team for the first time since joining NSCF.

Their last game against RCU had ended under near riot conditions, but this time, things were much calmer and much more subdued. There would be no end of game fight, there would be no potential late heroics for the Friars as the Dragons ran the clock down with running plays and managed to break through the front seven to get a first down that would end the game. There wouldn't be any dramatics except for Eke Kuhn shoving the RCU center backwards on the final kneel down, causing nothing more than a quick exchange of heated words from both sides as the two teams had to be separated to avoid a repeat of last season.

The Marisian fans brought their typical hostility, but it was directed at both teams as the time on the clock went down and they grew restless, with the plan to let the fans drink all day before the night game backfiring big time for the hometown team. Whenever the players went too close to the sidelines, whenever they were near the end zone, they could hear the fans demanding more from them and telling them to step it up. Halfback Inko Sheffield had suffered through a particularly bad game, and had heard more than one comment about not being fit to wear the jersey of the Friars. But that was to be expected, and they were lucky that the fans in the biggest and most demanding city in the country hadn't turned completely on them.

For Francis Allan, the second loss in the last four games made him wonder if his game plan was unraveling completely, after Castle had given the world the blueprint to beat the Friars. Play aggressively at the line, and be physical and risk taking in the secondary, and you would have a shot at the upset. Castle had won against them for two straight years with that tactic, and now RCU had used it to come into their home stadium and walk away with what was almost an upset despite RCU coming into the season ranked higher. The teams coached by Diogo Reyes hadn't been stopped by his strategy, but once again, everyone was realizing that Francis wasn't Diogo.

And when they were losing, the pressure to be like the great college turned professional coach was immense, and it was like having a mountain on one’s shoulders. Diogo understood offense not just from studying it, but he seemed to have an intrinsic feel for it that hadn't been replicated by anyone else. An understanding of the game from the same level as Diogo was something that Francis would give anything for, but unfortunately, he wouldn't be coming up with any famous fixes on the fly, or any last minute adjustments to save the game. No, Francis was like everyone else, even if he did have his own special aura about him. He would head back to the study room and look at film just like anyone else did, and there was no telling if the solution to fix the game plan would come in time for them to repeat last season by winning their next two nonconference games.

They were already in the playoffs, of course, after winning the Mineral Conference, but seeding was something that was very important. Last season, they had won the conference and had been eliminated in their first playoff game because of getting drawn into a bad matchup with Castle because of the seeding. If they wanted a deep run and a run at a title this year, it would mean winning in Utica and in Raynor to show that they could continue their run when it took them out of the conference, a conference that wasn't that highly rated by the playoff committee. Their standing with that committee had already been damaged with this loss, and winning by a good margin on back to back road games would help them claw their way back to a good seed.

Even though the season wasn't over yet, that wasn't the atmosphere in the stadium, as most of the fans started to leave when the clock hit zero and a few others stayed around as the band played the fight song. As that happened, Drago Morena, Inko Sheffield, and Bryan Costas were the three Friars players to approach the fans behind the northern end zone and to somewhat apologize for the performance, thanking the fans for coming by taking off their black and cyan helmets and raising them in the air in a salute. Arielle Russey hadn't been dressed to play, but she followed that group too and acknowledged the crowd that had been at their throats for most of the second half.

The moment was especially emotional for Drago, because depending on how the playoff seeding worked out, there was a chance that this was his last ever game at the Arena of Light, after spending the maximum five years with the Friars, being the starting quarterback for three and a half of them. He’d smashed some of their passing records, led them to a domestic championship and two domestic conference titles to go along with two international ones, and would leave as one of the highest regarded quarterbacks in the history of a school that was known traditionally for its strong offense and its over the top air attacks. But still, leaving them with the NSCF title had been his goal, and that goal had just become harder with their second loss of the season and their first home loss.

“Is this what I'm destined for?” Drago asked Arielle, as they walked off of the field and into the tunnel, the stands emptying out as they did so and the stadium announcer thanking them for their attendance before announcing the total season attendance, since the home slate of games was complete now. “Being the one that's known for winning things but never winning the biggest trophy? Seems like this happens every season in some way.”

“We’re still in the playoffs, though,” said Arielle, following him as they turned down the corner that led to the home locker room, with the rest of the team slowly following them. “It's just going to be a harder matchup, and Utica and Raynor will be decent wins if we can bounce back again. We haven't lost back to back games, you know. We're bound to come back from this with more experience and more motivation, since right now, it's like there's a fire burning under us, and these fans aren't going to take any more losses.”

“Are we going to be able to win if we keep playing like this and letting our entire game plan get shut down by some physical defensive backs and some trickery and stunts from the front seven? All I know is that we had our most success under Diogo and that this shit wouldn't fly when he was here. Sometimes it's adapt or die, and this is one of those times, but Francis hasn't shown the ability to do that,” Drago remarked, as they entered the locker room. “It's why we won the conference last year over Castle, too. They beat us in the first meeting and they didn't adapt, and then we came back and took the win in the second. We would have gotten a third win over them in the playoffs, if it wasn't for internal problems dividing everyone and getting them to stop paying attention completely to the matchup at hand, because we were all to busy biting at each other’s throats to study film and get ready for what we knew they were going to throw at us.”

“I'm confident that if it comes down to needing to adapt or take back to back losses for the first time since joining NSCF, Francis is going to find a way to evolve his game plan to something with less holes in it. It's not easy being the coach of the Friars, you know. On one hand, there's the needs of the current situation, and on the other hand, there's a past that few coaches recently have been able to balance with the current. The keys to success lay in the past, but the present has different needs of its own, as paradoxical as that sounds. Francis has balanced that better than Rori Callahan or Arend Starke, which is why we're still rated as a title contender no matter what happened tonight,” Arielle shrugged. “Let's wait and see what happens in the Utica game to pass any judgements, because that's the real turning point here. Like you said… It's adapt or die. I think we're going to adapt.”

“I hope you're right, then,” stated Drago, as the rest of the team made it into the locker room and the “Because no matter what happens, there's no more time for me on this team beyond this season. I'm going out afterwards either way, and I'd prefer to go out on top.”

[Yesopalitha]

Cutoff for OOC MD 2.

University of Konigsberg 20–20 Drawk Corps University (26–23 OT)
Army Academy 0–31 Universite St. Croix
Mount Maris University 33–16 Utica University
Leopord Central University 16–30 Ampliamirada
Raynor University 17–23 Ramusok Capital University
Stoneshore College 3–7 Castle Valle Rojas University
University of Angelwood-Aprilla 13–0 Grove University
Frontier State College 30–3 Republica's Naval Academy
Mar Sara Tech 9–9 Harbor College (16–9 OT)
Emmanuel Theological Seminary 0–23 Karl Marx University

[The Redvale]

A Tale Of Two Sisters

Chapter Twelve: Adapt

“Are you sure that this is what you want? What you really want?” Drago Morena asked, as the Mount Maris Friars wrapped up another practice session and headed out of the stadium, the top two quarterbacks from the recent practices moving faster and staying ahead of the others. “Because let me tell you something that I've learned over the past four seasons and something that's been reaffirmed to me every single year that I put on these pads and go out there as the starting quarterback… Being the starter here in Maris isn't what you would expect it to be and it's not what it looks like as the backup. It's demanding as hell and it's even more demanding than it is for the backups, and when we don't win, there's more pressure and blame than ever.”

“You don't think I can handle it?” asked Arielle, as the two stepped out of the locker room and headed down the hallway towards the parking lot. “Because I know it's going to be hard, but I've been around quarterbacks for my entire life. I think I'm more qualified than some random wide eyed recruit that's showing up here one season and then red shirting and then getting thrust into the starting role the next.”

“I'm not saying that you can't handle it, I'm saying that you should ask yourself why you want this and how much you're willing to sacrifice for it. Are you willing to spend less time with your friends and give up your sanity at times because you have the press on your back and it seems like the whole world is going to end because of it? Are you willing to be the figurehead of the team not just when they're winning, but at times like this?” Drago asked. “Because I think that this is one of those roles that's just hard for others to understand, unless they experience it for themselves. It's the same as being an FC Maris striker, or a Castle Devils pass rusher. The positions have become famous for being intertwined with the team itself, and they aren't just positions anymore, but critical parts of the team. And when you don't have someone strong in those positions, the entire team suffers. Maris has always played through the quarterback, and you have less experience and that position that anyone else around here.”

“So you are saying that I can't handle it. Like I said, I'm not just some random inexperienced quarterback that's switching positions and learning the position from complete scratch. It's in my blood, I already have a feel for the position. My father dominated at it and my sister plays it too, and I spent years learning the ins and outs of the position so I could better defend it. I have enough experience with this, albeit indirectly, to be able to handle the job. I've been a good enough backup, haven't I? I would have been a starter if it wasn't for sitting behind one of the best quarterbacks to come out of this school.”

“Not the point. The point isn't about you being able to handle the spotlight or the role but about if you're really willing to sacrifice for it and lose friends and lose your free time and take attacks from the press on behalf of the rest of the team. It's not a decision that everyone can make easily and if you look at the history of failed quarterbacks around here, the majority of the busts turned out that way because of all of these reasons, and not because they weren't talented. You actually have rare physical talent, a long frame and a good ability to read the field to go along with a howitzer of an arm, but you haven't had to deal with the off of the field aspects of being a quarterback. And that's where I think you're going to have a harder time and where you'll run into troubles early on.”

Arielle paused, and they stepped out of the hall and into the parking lot. “Well, Drago, I think that just means that you're going to have to be more of a teacher to me and show me how to handle it, because I’ve already decided. Amalie isn't even playing anymore at Castle, and I intend to carry on the quarterbacking legacy of my family. I'm not just going to let my family fade out because she couldn't handle the quarterback battle at her own school. If you think that I'm not going to do a good job and handle all of the off of the field stuff, then that just means I have to work a little bit harder. But, I don't think we should be focusing on this right now. We have a matchup in a couple of days with Utica, and that's what's important right here and right now, and not what happens in the offseason and next season.”

~

The Arena of Light had seen a sea of disappointed fans at the end of the last game, when the undefeated home record was ended at the hands of RCU. This time, those same crowds were back, and they were demanding better results against one of the biggest powers in the game, Utica University. Utica wasn't doing as well this season as they had done historically, but the matchup was symbolic nonetheless. If you wanted to be the best, you had to beat them, and Utica had been the best in the not too distant past. Once again, the stadium was sold out, and once again, the Friars were coming out in their alternate uniforms under the lights, and everyone on the sideline could feel the pressure.

But the difference between this game and the last one was that they weren't afraid to come out swinging this time. It was only the first drive of the game when they drew blood and showed their intent to blow the metaphorical doors off of the matchup before their opponents could get settled in and could get focused on disrupting the gameplan of Francis Allan in the same way that the Dragons had been able to do in the week before.

Eli Desjardins got the Friars off to a flying start by returning the opening kick of the game all the way to the Utica forty yard line, and Drago Morena didn't take too long to take advantage of the good field position that his star freshman had given him. Four passes later, which had been spit between Eli and Gerard Lopes, the Friars were on the Utica ten yard line and were threatening to score a touchdown without a single incompletion so far. The Friars fans gathered in the Arena of Light wouldn't have to wait long for some points to show up on the scoreboard for their team.

Even though they were performing well early and they were pushing for a score, Francis Allan was still on the sideline pressing the importance of the opening drive and behaving with all the intensity that would typically be found from a coach that was down big, not one that was about to watch his team take the lead. He shouted the adjustments that the players needed to make, and signaled with his hands to the receivers and the offensive line, and Drago was giving his own instructions by shouting out tweaks for the offense to make, and those adjustments paid off big time.

Drago took the snap and quickly looked to the right side of the field, the weak side, where Markel Weiss was taking advantage of the defense loading up on the left to run a flare route and duck inside before cutting to the inside and getting into position near the goal line. With the defense focusing on the other end of the field and the coverage being one on one, Drago waited for Markel to cut back one more time to the inside before throwing a bullet of a pass in front of his receiver, allowing him to catch it in his stride. Touchdown, Friars, on their first drive of the game.

The crowd erupted, and the energy in the building was completely different from what it had been in the last game. “Touchdown, Friars!” said the stadium announcer, as the special teams unit came out for the extra point. “Scored by number eleven, Markel Weiss, on a pass from number ten, Drago Morena!”

The extra point would be good, and the Friars would quickly kick off and come out guns blazing on the return, pinning Utica at their own five yard line. Calvin Bennett and the offense would come out looking not to get a safety, and after running the ball two straight times, they would be faced with a third and one conversion that presented them with the option to either run the ball or throw it, now that they weren't backed up right against their own goal line. Still, caution was needed, because this Clarke Hunter defense was both aggressive and quick, able to punish opponents who passed while they were too close to their goal.

Ky Augustus was at the heart of the Maris defense as Utica lined up, barking out commands and screaming for his defenders to adjust to look for the play action pass. He was the one that they would look for to make a big play, and he indeed was the one that was going to deliver and set up what would be one of the plays of the game for the Friars. And it was all because of quick thinking and aggression, something that this defense was known for as of late.

Bennett took the snap and took a short two step drop to avoid going too close to his goal line, and looked down field on the surprise passing play, but the Maris defense had managed to adjust quickly enough to drop back into zones instead of coming forward for the run, and there was already some pressure on the quarterback from Eke Kuhn, who had started rushing to the outside and had performed a swim move to get inside and rush the gap between the tackle and guard. At the same time, Ky made a snap adjustment and rushed forward to go to the outside of the tackle that was being beat by Kuhn, and the two defenders were nearing the backfield before Bennett even saw them.

When he did turn and saw them blitzing towards him, they were already very close and Ky was the closer of the two, and he made a diving tackle attempt that saw him wrap up the quarterback and force Bennett to throw the ball before he had planned. The throw was a tight spiral, but that wasn't a good thing in this situation, because the defense now had a much easier job of catching it. Julien Preus had been a step behind his man, but now, he was able to turn and catch the pass in his stride, running towards the end zone and diving over running back Antoine Myers as he crossed the line for a touchdown. Soon, it would be 14-0 to the Friars, and they were indeed off to quite the flying start against one of the more traditional powers in college football.

And as some of his players had said, Francis Allan had been forced to adapt or die. This time, however, the Friars adapted and struck with an intensity and a daringness that hadn't been found in the last game, and their plan had evolved enough to get them off to this lead already. The playoffs were looming and the committee would be watching for seeding, but it looked like the boys in blue would live to fight on for another day...

[Ranoria]

Richardson University vs Frontier State College, Neutral Site: Week 11

"Week one! This is a new season, men! This is the post season!" Richardson's head coach walked back and forth before the benches, his face absolutely deadpan as he observed his football team. "We had an incredible run in our first international season, a nine and one record that astounded schools who'd competed here in years past, with a quarterback who'd never taken a college snap before and an overall young core of players, we managed to take the Big Eight Conference by storm. Now, aren't fighting for a playoff spot, we're fighting for seeding. We're playing this game to give our fans back at home a game, and maybe more, at home in the playoffs, something that they weren't able to see back home in our domestic season."

"Coach," the referee, in his black and white stripes, tapped his wristwatch, "Two minutes."

Steinheil nodded, looking at his assembled team, his army, "That's all I have to say. If any of you want to give some words to the rest of the team, you may do so now."

The head coach stepped aside as Kevin Gerhart, that monster of a defensive tackle whom had become, last season, one of their core players, stood to address the team he'd been elected as a captain by.

"I know this has been rough, believe me." The linemen paused, looking into the eyes of each of his teammates, "Ten games already, and more to come, added on to our regular schedule with a full international competition. When Derek decided to opt out, it put us in for quite a spin, but one man stepped up to the plate and lead our football team through an injury plagued year," he extended an arm towards John Garrett, their talented, young, and very new quarterback, "This man has managed to carry our offense, even when our running game was negligent, even when his receiving core had lost a man. John has performed admirably, as all of us had, and now, he's going to lead us into the playoffs."

Richard Steinheil blew on his whistle, and they all knew what that meant, leaping to their feet in a disorganized mass and charging out of the locker room, hooting and hollering like madmen when they came out onto the field to face their first non-conference opponents in Frontier State College.

---

John Garrett crouched behind his center, trying to calm his thoughts. This wasn't an opponent in their overall weak conference, and despite the school's losing record, they very well could be better than many of the teams he'd played in the Big Eight. And if he was honest with himself, he was nervous, and on the first snap, when he handed it off to Elijah Sampson up the middle, Bradley Johnson, their mammoth of an offensive gaurd, opening a massive hole for the back to gain only two yards, his worries only grew.

Of course, on second and eight, he took the ball, looking to Javier Gilmore on the post route, fifteen yards or so deep. Elijah Sampson, despite his inefficient running, provided a solid block, giving Garrett ample time to draw his arm back and let the ball rip, only for an expletive to slide from his tongue when he realized he'd under-thrown the pass, which landed right in the linebacker's hands, only to fall harmlessly to the ground.

What the hell am I doing? We've thrown that pass a half million times.

He clapped his hands frustratingly as the wasted play turned into a third and long, Steinheil calling another pass in order to make up for the long yardage situation. This time, he looked to Johnny Farmer, running a slant, but this time overthrew the ball, cursing himself as it flew.

Then, of course, he remembered that it's hard to overthrow a six foot six target, Farmer's arms shooting up to snag the football out of the air, triggering flashbacks of their boyhood in the exact same scenario. If anything, the overthrow managed to cause the linebacker in coverage's angle of pursuit to be just slightly off, Farmer shedding the arm tackle and charging downfield, shrugging off a second tackler before picking up some more speed. Garrett saw the safety coming, and cringed slightly, thinking that he friend was about to be hurt, but instead of trying to avoid him, Farmer lowered his shoulder and smashed into defensive back, losing a good deal of speed but bowling through him before accelerating again, the fans, largely neutral, here, nonetheless excited to see the tight end go for sixty eight yards and a touchdown.

And that's when John Garrett shook his head, smiling and remembering just who he was playing with, while also reaffirming what that meant: He had to play at his very best. Effort just wasn't enough if he couldn't produce.

So he decided to produce.

---

In the fourth quarter, up twenty to thirteen, Garrett was at the fifty yard line, and that far away from a touchdown that would put this game away. Unfortunately, it was also fourth down, fourth and four, just out of Elijah Sampson's usual yards per carry. If they punted, then the strip sack that ended Frontier State's last posession would have been nothing than burning the clock out.

So, of course, their head coach decided to run the ball. And as much as Garrett wanted to audible, he had a gut feeling that this was a good call, the same play they'd run on the first snap of the game, but he grabbed Sampson before the offense lined up, looking into the back's eyes and almost growling at him, "You have to make this, Elijah, you have to."

He looked at the defense, every instinct, as they had loaded the box, telling him to call a slant pattern, but he took the snap and extended an arm, the ball leaving his hands before he got the idea to pull a trick out of a veteran RFL quarterback's handbook: he pump faked.

The linebacker who should have made the tackle was in the air when Sampson ran right around him, already past the first down marker, and then, for one of the few times this season, broke a tackle before the safety brought him down after a twenty five yard sprint. After watching the film later, it was evident that he could have gotten through him, too, had he not been so focused on protecting the football.

Needless to say, John to Johnny happened a second time on the very next play, the massive tight end getting wide open in the end zone for his second touchdown of the game, one that, with only one and a half minutes on the clock, had sealed the game for the Richardson Governors.

---

"Hey, Elijah, you played great today." Kevin Gerhart, the leader of the football team, had made his way down from the defensive line's lockers towards the running backs, where Sampson gave him a hearty smile.

"Aw, thanks Kev, but I really just had that one big play. Honestly, I didn't do that well for the most part. I mean, there was the touchdown and all, but that was an inch away from the end zone." It wasn't hard to tell that this kid had no confidence. If Kevin was right, this back had potential, he had the talent and the work ethic, but, like their quarterback in the beginning, he didn't believe that he had the talent to pull it off. So he tried to change that.

Gerhart rolled his eyes, "That's exactly what I was getting to, actually," he put a hand on the younger player's shoulder, dead serious now, "Consistency is important for sure, and you haven't found that yet. That's alright, it's your first year of eligibility. But you have big-play ability, that clutch factor that some of the better, but not the best, players in the RFL would kill for. It's not something learned, it's just something you have, and you have it. So I'm proud of you, kid. This has been your best game all year, so good work, and keep it up. I wouldn't mind seeing a three-back rotation come the playoffs, would you?"

There was a moment of silence before Elijah Sampson realized what he was implying. A three headed rushing attack with himself, Shorts, and Strong all pounding away at the defense.

And he loved it.

"Not at all, Kev, not at all." The image of walking onto the field, even just to give Melvin Strong and Soup Shorts a bit of a breather, was a fascinating one, and one that tantalized his imagination.

Gerhart slapped his shoulder with a wide grin, standing up with his parting words, "That's what I like to hear, kid. We know you're a worker, so keep it up and we'll see."

---

Richardson University Governors Win over Frontier State 27-13, Third Stringer Elijah Sampson Shows Potential

Today, away from home, the Richardson University Governors beat their opponent by a two touchdown differential, with first year starting quarterback John Garrett passing for 275 yards and two touchdowns in the contest, 130 yards and both of those scores going to tight end Johnny Farmer, who had a sixty eight yard trip to the end zone on the first drive of the game.

The defense, meanwhile, allowed only 185 total yards and forced two turnovers despite the 13 points put up by Frontier State, the Governors's speedy pass rusher Jarett Hauptmann with a strip sack and freshman strong safety Maxwell Blunt, nicknamed 'the Hammer' forcing his first career fumble, which he himself recovered. Middle linebacker and solid centerpiece of a sturdy defensive unit, Ross Monarch, racked up seven tackles and a sack in the contest, while Kevin Gerhart, the team's first captain and one of the two best defensive players on the team, in contention only with shutdown corner back Davon Stovall, had two tackles for a loss and a sack himself. Other players with outstanding performances are Stovall himself, with a sack, three tackles, and two pass deflections, allowing one rare catch for negative yards, and defensive end Tank Briggadine with a sack added on to his solid total this season.

But despite their solid performances, the biggest story of the game is freshman running back Elijah Sampson. Sampson had eleven carries, starting out the game looking like his usual self with a two yard gain after impressive blocking, but later on managed not only a touchdown on the goal line, something that had previously eluded him,
and a big run on fourth and four that set up the game winning touchdown pass to Johnny Farmer.

With this win, the Governors sit at 10-1, an impressive record, their only loss coming when both starting running backs, Anthony Foster, their #2 receiver, defensive end Tank Briggadine, and John Garrett himself were out with injuries. Is a deep playoff run possible for this team who lacks the presence of Derek McNair and is in its inaugural season on the international stage? Only time will tell.

"You know, John, I think we have one thing over all the other teams competing in this thing." Johnny Farmer was smiling in a goofy way as he caught a pass out on the open grass one-handed, the two of them throwing for no other reason that relaxation, throwing the ball back with accuracy impressive for a player of his position whilst tossing the newspaper he'd been reading aside.

"Oh, and what would that one thing be?" His long time friend caught the ball, knowing that something utterly ridiculous was coming and stepping back before throwing again, gently.

"We're Ranorians." He caught the ball again with ease, throwing it back in an instant, "Therefore, we have the better genes."

"You're absurd, Johnny."

[Yesopalitha]

Cut of OOC MD 3.

University of Konigsberg 16–16 Universite St. Croix (26–23 OT)
University of Iqaluit 17–14 Stoneshore College
Mar Sara Tech 10–14 Drawk Corps University
Harbor College 17–24 Utica University
Republica's Naval Academy 0–13 Ampliamirada
Ramusok Capital University 45–14 Universite du Saguenay
University of Angelwood-Aprilla 10–14 Emmanuel Theological Seminary
Grove University 0–20 Castle Valle Rojas University
Richardson University 20–24 Army Academy
Raynor University 6–33 Mount Maris University
Karl Marx University 13–3 Frontier State College

[NSCF]

The regular season is over! Congrats to the seven conference champs. Those schools have qualified automatically for the NSCF 16 Playoffs:

Richardson University (RAN)
Leopord Central University (FND)
Harbor College (KAL)
Mount Maris University (TRV)
University of Jackson (KWP)
Universite St. Croix (QUE)
Ceneisis Naval Academy (AFT)

As for the other five places, three will be allotted to the teams with the highest remaining OSPIs. As per the seeding spreadsheet, these are now confirmed to be:

Ramusok Capital University (COS)
Thereisnogodistan Community College (NGD)
Castle Valle Rojas University (TRV)

The remaining two Playoff spots will be voted on at-large by the NSCF Committee. As soon as we know the OSPI qualifiers, I will telegram NSCF Committee members to ask for their nominations. The final 12-team Playoff field should be finalized by Yesopalitha's usual cutoff time on Sunday. The match-ups for our four bowl games will also be announced. That will give everyone 48 hours to RP before the postseason begins Tuesday. Good luck to all competing schools.

[Ranoria]

Army Academy @ Richardson University

An expletive flew out of John Garrett's mouth when his pass his receiver Anthony Foster in the hands, only for his big target to take a hit and the ball to go flying as the clock hit zero, the final score 24-20, with the Governors taking their second loss of the season, and finishing up at 11-2. Not a bad mark at all, but not what they'd been hoping for, having been looking for a higher placement in the playoffs, and ending up with 3rd, meaning that they wouldn't have the home field for more than one game.

But more than that, they'd lost their home finale in the regular season, which bit deep, to this other school.

At the same time, something could have been said about Melvin Strong having not played despite being ready, a decision by the coaching staff, and Soup Shorts, who'd been their starter week 1 at running back, appearing to be ready to play as well. He'd probably take an RB3 role in the playoffs until they had evaluated him better, while Elijah Sampson, who'd performed well these last two games, scoring a touchdown in both, would split time evenly with Melvin Strong to keep the latter from going down again.

Really, their entire team was going to be healthier. John Garrett's leg was feeling better and better, and Tank Briggadine, in this game, finally appeared to have come into his own.

That didn't take away the sting of losing this game, though, as the team walked back into the locker room downcast after such a hard-fought battle. The two teams had been very even both on paper and on the field, and Davon Stovall had given the Governors the ball back with just over a minute to go in the fourth quarter with an interception that, by now, seemed to be routine coming from him. They'd slung the ball around to drive downfield, but three incomplete shots at the the end zone had been the end of the game for them.

John Garrett took off his helmet, frustrated, and wiped the sweat from his forehead, watching as Johnny Farmer fell in beside him, neither of the two star players saying a word on the way back to the locker room, neither, obviously, happy with the results of this game.

The entire team walked away in silence, the stands emptying gradually as a dejected fanbase left Dietrich Stadium, having hoped for one last win that their football team would be able to ride into the playoffs. Instead, they got a close, hard-fought game that had given Army Academy a major upset win over the new competitors in this international competition.

---

Richard Steinheil had given a long speech about forgetting their last game, and about moving on to the playoffs, now. But in his office, he was scheming, with the other coaches, knowing that this would quite possibly be the most difficult game they'd coached in their careers. Yes, they'd been in the playoffs before, but that was not only against Ranorian competition, but with Derek McNair, who could have led a tiny school to success against virtually anyone, at the helm.

"It would have helped if that red-shirted kid was available." Eric Dietrich, the defensive coordinator, mused, referring to a 6 foot, 9 inch mammoth of a defensive end who hadn't been high end talent, but he had work ethic and most definitely had the size.

"Redshirting him was the right move. We already have Carlos and Tank at defensive end, and they're both productive players. Plus, it gives the kid another year to put on the bulk he needs. As massive as he is, he's only two hundred fifty pounds. That's not a lot of padding on his skinny frame. Besides, we should be focusing on this game."

Steinheil gestured to their trainer questioningly, "Will Shorts be ready this week?"

He nodded, "He could have played this week, honestly. I'd suggest divinding the snaps evenly amongst the three, though. Melv isn't big enough to take a lead back's pounding yet, but Shorts isn't quite ready to do that either. Elijah's the healthiest of the three, besides that."

"We'll think about it. You can go."

So their running back core would be as strong as it had ever been with three backs ready to pummel anyone who stood in their path.

Excellent.

---

"It's good to be back boys." Melvin Strong was grinning ear to ear, having gotten a good amount of snaps in practice for the first time in over a month, now all healed up, and looking fresh after all his time off, Soup Shorts right there with him in that regard. Both appeared more than ready to go and bring nothing but pain to whomsoever stepped in the way of their path to the end zone, much to the gratitude of John Garrett, who'd been carrying this team's offense on his shoulders without them in the backfield.

"Maybe we'll finally be able to avoid using the empty formation on half of our snaps." Due to only having one back, their offense had been somewhat strangled from its usual gameplan, as Elijah, like anyone else, had to take a break every once in awhile, and that meant that they didn't have another running back. So they went four wide and tried to make do. No doubt the coaches were thanking the heavens that they had a competent passer, otherwise this season could have turned out very differently.

"More like we'll be able to do something besides pass the ball on every down." Johnny Farmer laughed, "Honestly, it gets annoying when you aren't run blocking and taking it to the D-Line every once in awhile, you know?"

"No, I don't. That's your job." Their quarterback looked up at the massive tight end, getting no more than a shrug out of him in response. "It's nice, too, that we get a week off. You guys get another week to recover and we all stay fresh for our first playoff game."

"Not that it matters for you," Melvin laughed, "You're just going to throw the ball, anyways. How's that leg doing, by the way? Watching you run with the football is always exciting, and you haven't done it in awhile."

He frowned, looking down at the calf in question, which had cost him a full game, as well as his scrambling ability and a good deal of pocket movement for a good time now, "It feels a hell of a lot better, but hopefully I'll be at a hundred percent by the time we play."

We'll need every bit of our talent to get through this one, after all.

It was then that he passed by Jack Clyde, their junior second string quarterback, who'd pulled off an impressive 13-for-35, 97 yard, 3 interception performance in Garrett's absence. Clyde had a scowl on his face before turning away, having no love for the man who, in his opinion, had stolen his job.

But that's when John Garrett got an idea, walking up to the quarterback as a plan was already formulating in his mind. "Clyde, do you have a minute?"

[Cosumar]

The Roaring Dragon
Ramusok Capital University's Official Student Newspaper

Mtgivby, RCU sweep non-conference slate, enter NSCF Playoffs on a roll

RAMUSOK -- Ramusok Capital University (11-2) continued a recent dominance of Quebecois schools in its final game of the regular season, routing Universite du Saguenay (9-3) at Capital Coliseum 45-14. With the emphatic win, the Dragons locked up a #2 seed and first round bye despite failing to win the Horizon Conference. The last Quebecois school the Dragons played was Universite St. Croix in the NSCF 15 Championship - a game that ended with a similar score of 44-30.

Otork Mtgivby had the best game of his four-year NSCF career with 219 yards and four rushing touchdowns, which tied the program's single-game record. And he only played three full quarters, leaving early in the fourth after having the wind knocked out of him by Saguenay's Theodurik Waalturs.

Long respected as the bruising sledgehammer second or third back in RCU's rotation, Mtgivby has shined of late in his long-awaited chance to be the featured back. "O-Mit" has found his footing over the course of the season, some up-and-down early performances building up to this: three consecutive 200+ yard rushing games in non-conference.

"The last four years have required a lot of patience, but I'm blessed to be where I'm at now," Mtgviby said post-game.
"I'm proud to have played with all the great runners that came before me. Nic. Ziram. They made me the runner I am today, and helped me tune out all the voices saying I was too heavy or not fast enough to be an every-down back in NSCF. I'm also thankful to Coach Scuttlesmith for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to finally show myself."

Mtgivby will never be an elusive runner. He'll never outrun your secondary in the open field or break ankles. But what he is is a bulldozer. A bowling ball rolling downhill. He just lowers his thick shoulders and runs through defenders in a straight line, with no pretense of fancy moves or footwork. There were valid concerns that he would wear out over the course of the season, but look what he just did against a very good Saguenay team in Week 13.

After the Dragons aired it out for two touchdowns on their first two drives, Mtgivby took over in the second quarter and broke five tackles on a 24-yard touchdown run directly through the middle to make it 21-0. He then dominated the third quarter, running up the score with powerful TD runs of 11, 17 and 8 yards. The Fighting Irish simply could not fight him.

Mtgivby did, however, lose multiple fumbles - for three of RCU's four turnovers on the night. Normally, giving the ball away to Saguenay is a recipe for disaster, but star quarterback Dexter Ahn was sidelined with an injury. Backup QB Payette was solid but lacked Ahn's ability to singlehandedly make plays against top defenses. The Dragons defense matched Mtgivby with one of their best games of the season. They intercepted the senior backup twice, forced two fumbles of their own, registered ten sacks and held Saguenay to 3.2 yards per play.

"Defensively, we just wanted to make it as hard as possible for them to move the ball," head coach Cliff Scuttlesmith said. "Our defensive line in particular was outstanding and got constant pressure on the quarterback. I think we got in their offensive linemens' heads and some of our top guys just overpowered them. We played very well."

Payette finished 17 of 27 for 186 yards, but he did have one highlight-reel play. He hit his back-up tight end on a deep seam route as the first half expired, placing the ball perfectly over his shoulder and allowing him to sprint into the endzone without slowing a step. Payette was hit by Kol Chessmore as he threw, making the accuracy and power of the throw all the more impressive.

Even though they had a difficult time at Capital Coliseum, shrinking under the bright lights of Ramusok, Universite du Saguenay remain one of the favorites to be voted into the playoffs as an 11 or 12-seed by the NSCF Committee. They exceeded expectations this season by finishing 2nd in Woodlands Conference ahead of the Utica Tigers. That makes the 31-point win all the more impressive for Scuttlesmith's Dragons as they morph into a team that looks more and more like the one that won NSCF 15.

Game Summary	1	2	3	4	F
Ramusok Capital University	14	7	21	3	45
Universite du Saguenay	0	7	7	0	14

1ST (11:17) - RCU TD - T. Nalta 16 yard pass from A. Tronstad [7-0]
1ST (7:19) - RCU TD - B. Helmsman 15 yard pass from A. Tronstad [14-0]
2ND (6:35) - RCU TD - O. Mtgivby 24 yard run [21-0]
2ND (0:00) - UDS TD - M. Bundchen-Miller 45 yard pass from G. Payette [21-7]
3RD (11:45) - RCU TD - O. Mtgivby 11 yard run [28-7]
3RD (5:58) - RCU TD - O. Mtgivby 17 yard run [35-7]
3RD (4:04) - UDS TD - D. St. Paul 18 yard pass from G. Payette [35-14]
3RD (1:37) - RCU TD - O. Mtgivby 8 yard run [42-14]
4TH (5:41) - RCU FG - A. Highsmith 42 yard kick [45-14]


RCU Offensive Leaders
QB Aldur Tronstad - 19/29 for 325 yards, 2 TD, INT
RB Otork Mtgivby - 26 carries for 219 yards, 4 TD, 2 FUM
WR Piet Talaat - 6 rec. for 87 yards
WR Bran Helmsman - 5 rec. 64 yards, TD

RCU Defensive Leaders
DE Fillip Stellar - 8 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 sacks, FF
DE Cristian Andriva - 5 tackles, 3 sacks
DT Kol Chessmore - 4 tackles, 2 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 2 FR
S Gilan Nairn - 4 tackles, 1 deflection, INT

RCU-UDS Comparison
RCU: 654 yards, 34 first downs
UDS: 233 yards, 13 first downs

RCU: 4 Turnovers (INT, 3 FUM)
UDS: 4 Turnovers (2 INT, 2 FUM)

RCU: 35 minutes of possession
UDS: 25 minutes of possession

RCU: 9 penalties for 85 yards
UDS: 10 penalties for 77 yards

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

Anty's Corner, South Bend Sports - 99.9 fm

"'Tis not a very easy time to be a Fighting Irish fan, as we wrap up the regular season part of of spring practice season in the 2029 Nation-States Collegiate Football season. I know many of you, including my mother and 7-year old daughter, panicking over the loss of Dexter Ahn shortly before non-conference games and also getting pissed at the Irish's away loss to Ramusok Capital earlier this weekend," said Antoine Blais-Dusang, the local sports radio station host. "It was a blowout loss that really negated its earlier win over Republica's Naval Academy and really, did not do the Fighting Irish any favours entering the selection period when we'll find out 2 lucky teams who will make the final selection to the playoffs."

"Whether the Irish make it or not is one question we will find out the answers sooner than later. The bigger question that we have to answer moving forward is about who's going to be taking reins after next year. While the Irish, when with the Number 18, plays like no other team could in such excellence, his heart attack the night before the home match against RNA pretty much shut him out for the rest of this spring season and may cause his offseason workouts to be delayed as he will try to recover and start doing summer coursework on top of recovery, to allow himself to enrol a year early to grad school.

"And of course, it's not his fault. Sometimes we play ourselves into the commercial hands too much and forget that these guys are student-athletes, not athlete-students. Missing last remaining month of his spring season doing coursework and getting himself back up to full, Saguenay qualifying for playoffs or not, is fine while he recovers in his bed. It's something that the Ahn family, whether in fencing, football, baseball or volleyball, emphasised and perhaps there's no surprise that he's shut down for the rest of offseason - just to make sure that he doesn't return prematurely and so on. It's fine if he decides to return early because of a minor injury, but something like this is entirely different. You simply shouldn't expect a guy like Dexter, the one who have his paths set even without football in his agenda, to go in paths like most others would. It simply won't make sense.

"So, it was because of such aforementioned reasons that Saguenay, entering the remainder of this spring campaign, to rely on two quarterbacks heading: Georges-Marc Payette and Walter Brown. In Ahn's place Saguenay did as expected, with Payette playing full time on both games. I know y'all were disappointed and whatnot, but let's look at it this way folks: Payette's not meant to be a full-year starter at all. Payette's overreliance on his rushing game to compensate for inaccuracy clearly did him no favours in times this year, the fact only highlighted by 2 interceptions, 10 sacks and 2 fumbles he allowed in 45-14 away loss to Ramusok Capital. Not only he failed to use the time he's allocated to by running out of pocket his O-Line's built up all this game, but also made unnecessary runs and hesitations to get himself in such trouble. That would be enough to explain how Dexter, in his freshman season, easily earned the backup spot and eventually the starter position because he's had this problem all this time. His arms may have been piece of fire, but man did he lack the smarts and ability to stick himself in the goddamned pocket.

"Fortunately, he's graduating with pomp and circumstance this June so that leaves us to two possible options after: Walter Brown and Simon Gacek. For those who wonder what I'm going to say about Walter Brown, I'll just say that he's a much better quarterback, perhaps the one who will get his backup spot next year and eventually a starter role once the Dex moves on. It's not because of guy's athleticism, but his smarts. A freshman sociology student completing his first year with 3.8 GPA and earning his academic scholarship, he's clearly a smart kid. And I didn't even mention about his playing style and how he's arguably the one fitting even better on the system that Mikael Rudd uses, as in mixing the short passes very well with occasional long-bombs and without mistakes.

"The only bummer, however, is that his injury history's far from stellar. Back in high school he's received two concussions and a leg injury that kept him off turf in JV and senior for combined 11 games. That's not just an issue, it's a very worrying issue, the issue that we'll have to start remembering as we watch the Irish contend for national title this fall. Walter's survived through this year without an injury for sure, but such risks carry on and creep up any moment- without a notice, and it can be scary.

"And now let's move on to the very next candidate we know of so far, Simon Gacek. He probably came with the best resume possible for
a high school quarterback in many years to South Bend. His days in Saguenay College starting every game in his high school career, winning 3 2A championships and 4 division titles while landing 11208 yards and 149 Touchdowns say enough on one end. But that's not it either- he's an one-field phenomenon. Let me list out some descriptions I have for this kid while writing about him earlier: Laser, rocket arm with superb accuracy. Could read the field well. Deceptively mobile, could break the pocket and extend plays like always. What's there not to like about?

"Of course, there are some downers with this kid as well. Heck, those are fairly long-listed. He's not a game manager type, not even close. He loves to take risks and would sometimes force throws and often this shows with a surprisingly high number of Interceptions thrown by that kid. While academically he was solid, there were rumours of him being a heavy drinker, who spent countless nights at bars and parties. There's also signs of him using his profile to full advantage on his liaisons, clearly evident through social media and whatnot. His teammate and longtime friend Bae Joon-Ho may have helped him all along, but you see, lots of worrying signs for a guy looking to be the next Fighting Irish superstar. Oh, not to mention him being a parent of an one-year old at this stage.

"So those two are the future face of Saguenay we have to decide on, folks. It's not an easy choice. Both are very talented kids, one a perfect fit but with an injury issue, while other's the opposite- the true gunslinger but also not the one fitting the Saguenay offence we came to know of under Bernard's last years, not to mention Rudd's, and with lots of off-field issues. This is different from Dexter who's been just splendid on everything in life, aside from two heart attack he's had in a span of just ten months. But then nobody can be that perfect or lucky in life like Dexter. Remember this, guys, that they're clever and dedicated kids, and both have more than enough capability to take advantage of their OL and splendid receivers and ends we have to full utility. Okay, maybe not to Dexter Ahn's level but nobody before him's done that since Tricoma in 1977. And of course, there is always a high school commit or upperclassman transfer we could keep an eye on after next season, so really we have lots of options to prepare before the Number 18 heads into pros after next year.

"So Saguenay fans, do not panic. The more you panic, the less you'll get stuff in your lives done and that won't help anybody. Let the Coaches Chang and Rudd figure out on their own because while our messiah of Dexter Ahn's sidelined due to illness, any of our backups can take over in their place. This isn't Sarnia Tech or Sherbrooke in year 2015, after all. Thank you, and good night."

[NSCF]

The deadline for NSCF Committee voting is here. It was very close, but the votes for the final two playoff spots are as follows:

Konigsberg University - 4
Universite du Saguenay - 3
Emmanuel Theological Seminary - 2
Karl Marx University - 2
Utica University - 2
Mar Sara Tech - 1

Therefore, the final two schools in the playoffs are Konigsberg University of Valorem and Universite du Saguenay of Quebec. Committee members were not allowed to vote for schools they control, as per NSCF Procedure. Nor did the Commissioner vote.

---

NSCF 16 PLAYOFFS - First Round
Full Bracket

_#9Universite St. Croix (QUE) @ _#8Universite of Jackson (KWP)
_#1Ceneisis Naval Academy (ABF) - Bye

_#12Harbor College (KAL) @ _#5Thereisnogodistan Community College (NGD)
_#4Mount Maris University (TRV) - Bye

_#10Universite du Saguenay (QUE) @ _#7Castle Valle Rojas University (TRV)
_#2Ramusok Capital University (COS) - Bye

_#11University of Konigsberg (VOR) @ _#6Leopord Central University (FND)
_#3Richardson University (RAN) - Bye

---

As it was the only bid, the right to host the NSCF 16 Championship Game is awarded to...

Millennium Park (70,000)
East Portus, Iron Syndicate
Bid here

---

Bowl Games

There are four approved bowl games this season. Since all were proposed as automatic berths based on statistical performances, it was not necessary for the respective organizers to send out invitations themselves.

The Pioneer Bowl (best remaining newcomer teams)
Emmanuel Theological Seminary (RMT) vs. Calix Institute of Archaeology (KBC)
Leviathan Arena, Kaldukosic, Cosumar

The Reiner Bowl (best remaining strengths of schedule)
Universidad del Hermanas de Ampliamirada (AQL) vs. University of Luvenstat (KCZ)
Hobbs Stadium in Valorem-Meritus Urban District, Valorem

The Lei Bowl (best remaining offense vs. defense)
Raynor University (VAL) vs. Karl Marx University (BAU)
The Plumeria Garden, Mosaic, Kalalau

The Drawk Bowl (best remaining Celestia/Big8 teams)
University of Angelwood-Aprilia (USS) vs. Mar Sara Tech (VAL)
Corps Core Stadium, Drawk City, Drawkland

[Valorem]

Valorem-Meritus Dispatch
The University of Konigsberg's Fusiliers battled their way through the non-conference games established at the start of the season, emerging 3-0 on the other side with two overtime victories. In week 1, the Fusiliers defeated the University of Iqualuit 7-0 at Buckley Stadium, with the only touchdown scored occurring in the first minutes of the game on an aggressive drive by the Fusiliers.

In week 2, the Drawk Corps visited the Fusiliers at Buckley Stadium, in a game that stayed interesting up until the very end. Every time one team was able to score, the other immediately responded to tie the game back up. Eventually, the score was tied at 20-20 in the last minute of the game. Despite the heroics of the Drawk Corps, they were not able to score in the last minute, forcing the game into overtime. The Drawk Corps received the ball first in overtime, and scored a field goal. The Fusiliers were able to score a touchdown thanks to a shotgun pass from Iseya, as the Corps defenders left one of Iseya's eligible receivers uncovered. Thus, the game ended 26-23 with a hard-fought Konigsberg victory.

In week 3, the Fusiliers traveled to Universite St. Croix, defeating the Bleu et Blanc 26-23 in overtime in a game that was oddly similar to the preceding week's game against the Drawk Corps. Near the end of the fourth quarter, the game was tied up at 16-16, and despite the Fusiliers' best efforts they could not score in time. Thus, the game went to overtime, where both teams managed to score a touchdown and extra point. This brought up a second overtime (for the first time in the Fusiliers' history in the NSCF). In 2OT, the stalwart Fusilier defense managed to keep the Bleu et Blanc from scoring, and Fusilier kicker Mark Janus managed to kick a field goal to end the game.

Much to the surprise of anyone who has been following the Fusiliers for this entire season, the NSCF Committee voted for Konigsberg to join the NSCF 16 Playoffs alongside the Universite du Saguenay. Despite a rocky 6-4 start and an absolute failure to defeat the two Redvalian teams, the Fusiliers have been awarded a second chance. However, to seize this chance, they have to defeat Leopord Central University (9-3) - a powerhouse defensive team much like the Fusiliers have tried to be, whose defenders managed to prevent their opponents from scoring at all in two games. Through regular season play, Leopord Central established a +197 point difference.

Additionally, the Dispatch welcomes Universidad del Hermanas de Ampliamirada and University of Luvenstat to the Valorem-Meritus Urban District, as they have been automatically selected by the NSCF to compete in the Reiner Material Sciences Bowl. The Reiner Bowl rewards those teams that have dealt with the most adversity by selecting based on strength of schedule, rather than aggregate game performance. Reiner seeks to advertise its professional-grade sports safety equipment, such as the newly released line of helmets that have been shown to reduce the probability of concussions by up to 50%. Currently, the Fusiliers are the only team in the NSCF equipped with these helmets, although the restriction on sales of these helmets outside Valorem lifts after this season.

[The Redvale]

A Tale Of Two Sisters

Chapter Thirteen: War

Heading into the playoffs, the Friars of Mount Maris were in a good spot. They had just traveled to Raynor for their final non conference game, and they were coming back to North Coast with a blowout win under their belts and historic performance that saw quarterback Drago Morena tear into the defense of the former Mineral Conference title holders and throw for over four hundred and fifty yards along with four touchdown passes and no interceptions. And they'd looked good in their win, with their defense keeping the end zone safe and ensuring that the opponent only scored in field goals, and the offense running like a well oiled machine.

On the defensive side of the ball, Bryan Costas had been an absolute monster as usual, and had changed the game by getting three sacks in addition to his first career interception in the first quarter, which would see him drop off of the line and into coverage, picking off the ball and gaining a few yards to set up Drago and the offense at midfield for their second touchdown pass of the game. But that hadn't been their only interception, because Julien Preus had also gained his ninth of the year and had continued to step up as the lockdown corner that allowed the rest of the offense to be as aggressive as they were recently. Eke Kuhn had also stepped up with another sack, and had been dominating in recent games at both defensive end and nose tackle.

So finally, the confidence had returned to Maris after the loss to RCU, and the atmosphere on the flight back home was somewhat jovial, somewhat boastful, and definitely not fearful. Whoever they met in the playoffs, they were convinced that they could beat, and no matter what seed they ultimately received, they were confident in their ability to adapt and to neutralize the strengths of their opponent, just like they had done to Raynor to potentially take their opponent out of playoff contention completely. Castle Valle Rojas would be stuck having to play in an opening round game that would see their path to the championship being one game longer, and that one game and less rest and practice time might see them exit earlier than they did last season. For Friars fans, that was great news because it didn't just mean that their team was in better position with the first round bye, but it meant that their rivals would be in worse shape when it came to making it into another matchup with the Friars, which was the game that they had won last season.

However, things wouldn't stay this happy for long, because even though the team looked like they were on the verge of breaking through and winning a championship after getting back to back conference titles and keeping the conference crown away from their rivals down south for the second straight season, there were some dark clouds that were swirling around the program that hadn't been addressed all season and that were looking like they might come back to haunt them now, when it would hurt them the most. Those problems didn't have as much to do with the players themselves as they did with the front office side of the team and the organization that was responsible for all college sports in the Redvale, the RCAA. The organization that had come down on Mount Maris once before, before the punishment was drastically scaled back because of the school’s own actions, and they had also recently come down on Lazaga State University for actions that had been taken in basketball recruiting. Now, with the momentum behind them, it looked like the RCAA was ready to strike once more.

“Have fun celebrating while you can, everyone. Looks like there's going to be some men in suits coming to look at our rings and make sure that nothing outside of the rules happened on the way to getting them,” announced Julien, as the players were on the plane that was heading back to Maris. “Usually when those people show up, they don't leave happy faces behind. And any of us who followed what happened in Lazaga should know that they don't mess around anymore and that if they're poking their heads into our business, it isn't going to end well for us.”

“What's this all about? I haven't heard anything about the RCAA coming after us or looking into our championships. We've spent all season without being bothered, why would they start right now?” asked Arielle Russey, raising an eyebrow and looking in the direction of Bryan and Julien, who were sitting next to each other. “Hell, it would have been nice to know about this before we poured all of our blood and sweat and tears into winning the conference, only to have it taken away by them.”

“We didn't know about any of it until not that long ago, when Bryan got a call. They want to talk to him and they want to talk to a few others, like Inko and Eke, about recruitment and about the events that led to them choosing Maris over some of the other schools that were after them. Bryan especially, because he was the biggest target for the new coaching regime that came in this season, and they had to fight to keep his commitment with other teams interested in him.”

“Yeah? Well, we're going to be fine. You didn't do anything too crazy that's going to get the attention of the suits, did you? Just little stuff that they can hand us a verbal warning on and then leave us alone and let us continue to carry this nation in the conference-”

“We’re perfectly fine, Ari, they don't want to get rid of us or do anything that's going to hurt our profit margin. Because our margin is their margin and we're bringing in more money to their sport than anyone else, and they also make money off of that because of the way that TV deals work-”

“That could have been said about Lazaga, and look what happened. They had to fire their coach because of recruiting stuff, and they still lost scholarships over what happened. This isn't the old days and these aren't the days where a school can run a slush fund for years and get off with a warning after making a staff change and saying that they promise to not do it anymore. Plus, we have a history with this kind of thing-”

“You sound paranoid-”

“Because I only get one season to play here, and the RCAA are already looking at punishing us for that season. You think I want to redshirt for a season only to find that I'm going to have to play my last season in college under sanctions? And Bryan, you didn't answer the question.”

Bryan finally spoke up, looking up from his phone. “Nah, I didn't do anything too bad, just standard fare stuff that always happens with five star recruits. You know… Going to parties hosted by the school, which you technically aren't supposed to do but everyone does anyway, and going drinking with the school’s cash, and sleeping around a bit… This stuff happens at every school, the RCAA isn't going to do anything about it-”

“Wait a minute, didn't you take a truck from the school?” asked Kaden Moore, who knew Bryan well as his roommate. “And didn't they give you a bunch of cash too after you visited, and when you came to campus? You better hope they don't look into your classes, either. You're screwed if they do, but if they find out about the truck, you're screwed either way. Lazaga fired their coach for less, remember?”

“You're assuming that they can trace anything back to the school and not to my family. If anyone asks about the truck, it's always my family that gave it to me. Which, isn't a complete lie,” Bryan muttered, rolling his eyes.

“You know that everyone doing it isn't a valid excuse in the eyes of the RCAA, right, Bryan?” asked Arielle, sounding exhaspersted and looking around to judge the reaction of the others. “Like I said, this isn't the old days. They've realized that they don't have any power over the wild circus of a sport that we call college football, and they're trying to get that control back by coming down whenever they can and flexing their muscles. They nearly did it to us in the past but we aren't going to get out of it twice, not after they started coming down on others to do what I said, and flex their muscles and remind everyone who runs this game in this country. It looks like our income isn't going to protect us in this case and if it doesn't, we should be worried for sure.”

“Everyone, calm down,” said Francis Allan, who had been silent for the earlier part of the conversation. “I've received the same message that some of you have received about the RCAA coming to investigate some things, and while I'm not happy about it, there isn't anything for certain. They might not be coming with a punishment and they might not be coming to take our rings or anything along those lines. There's a chance that this is a routine look into the way we've run the program recently, or an investigation into some unsourced rumors, and until we know that it's something more, we shouldn't panic.”

“Yeah, right. There's no such thing as these random routine investigations that you talk about. Arielle is right to be worried, and we should all be worried that we didn't spend the last two years working towards something that they're going to take away because of violations in recruiting or in classes or something,” said Inko. “It'll even go against our recruiting efforts this year, trust me. Because nobody wants to play for a team that has sanctions looming overhead and that might have all of its wins taken away in a few weeks when a decision is made. There's a reason why Lazaga had so many decommits in basketball when they got in trouble.”

“They can't really take our rings, you know. Just because they say the games happened doesn't mean that they actually didn't. The official record books might say what the RCAA wants them to say, sure, but there's a big difference between their version of history and the version that the fans and the media will remember,” remarked Francis. “I still think that we don't need to be worrying about this right now, because even though it's concerning, we have a matchup in the playoffs to worry about. Unless you all want to go one and done again in those playoffs, I suggest you focus on training for that and getting ready mentally for whatever team we face. One part of that is not unnecessarily worrying about things that may or may not happen in the future.”

“Whatever,” said Arielle, rolling her eyes and turning to stare out of the window as they continued to pass through the clouds on the way back home. “If they come to my part of campus, I'm doing everything I can to keep this investigation from getting anywhere. I'm sure as hell not going to play my one year as a quarterback at a program that's banned from the postseason or some shit like that because of RCAA sanctions. And I recommend that all of you do the same. We're bigger than they are, as far as brand goes, and we can hurt them by directly affecting their bottom line. If they want to go to war with us and start poking around in our program to prove a point, so be it. It seems they still haven't learned it yet… The Friars always win in the end.”

[West Phoencia]

The Archaeopteryxs celebrated in style at the University of Jackson Glory Week in honour of the teams progression to the Top 16 playoffs where they will come up against the University of St.Croix.

After a bedazzled show by The Archaeopteryxs cheerleaders, musicians and other Spirit squad members which included enough turns, backflips and pyramids the night moved onto the players

The current line up were introduced to all Students, parents and faculty who attended the events at the Queen Alotta Bush Stadium by Head Coach Trevor Adelaide. And the crowds listened attentively as the coach replayed each magic moment which had gotten The Archaeopteryxs where they are today.

The night ended with a beautiful 30 minute firework display and which kicked off the Glory Week of amusement park rides and games, food fenders and an exhibition match all designed to set the campus into a frenzy as they move forward.

[Yesopalitha]

Cutoff.

---

NSCF 16 PLAYOFFS - First Round
Full Bracket

_#8Universite of Jackson (KWP) 0-23 _#9Universite St. Croix (QUE)
_#1Ceneisis Naval Academy (ABF) - Bye

_#5Thereisnogodistan Community College (NGD) 0-26 _#12Harbor College (KAL)
_#4Mount Maris University (TRV) - Bye

_#7Castle Valle Rojas University (TRV) 13-7 _#10Universite du Saguenay (QUE)
_#2Ramusok Capital University (COS) - Bye

_#6Leopord Central University (FND) 9-23 _#11University of Konigsberg (VOR) @
_#3Richardson University (RAN) - Bye

---

The Pioneer Bowl (best remaining newcomer teams)
Emmanuel Theological Seminary (RMT) 24-0 Calix Institute of Archaeology (KBC)
Leviathan Arena, Kaldukosic, Cosumar

The Reiner Bowl (best remaining strengths of schedule)
Universidad del Hermanas de Ampliamirada (AQL) 13-0 University of Luvenstat (KCZ)
Hobbs Stadium in Valorem-Meritus Urban District, Valorem

The Lei Bowl (best remaining offense vs. defense)
Raynor University (VAL) 20-3 Karl Marx University (BAU)
The Plumeria Garden, Mosaic, Kalalau

The Drawk Bowl (best remaining Celestia/Big8 teams)
University of Angelwood-Aprilia (USS) 0-6 Mar Sara Tech (VAL)
Corps Core Stadium, Drawk City, Drawkland

[The Redvale]

A Tale Of Two Sisters

Chapter Fourteen: Parallel Construction

Away from the biggest cities such as Maris and Janford and Avgaria, and even some of the middle tier cities such as Castle and Markham, there was a place that was known for being a major city but that was also somehow more subdued and relaxed, because of the urban sprawl and the large suburbs, along with the environment that kept too many people from moving there. That city, of course, was Glenham, the city of swamps and forests and the city that was on the map recently for a sports resurgence in gridiron football that saw the Glenham Green win the G-League under legendary head coach Diogo Reyes.

Glenham was a city that had factories and density towards the center and that turned into a sprawling series of suburbs as you went further outwards, and even heading towards the swamps that were around the city, you could still find many smaller neighborhoods that made up the Glenham metro area that was known for being one of the largest in Midvale despite having a small town feeling. And the people of Glenham were a proud one, proud of the fact that their area was different than the bustling Markham, which had factories everywhere and was as industrial as a city could get, and they were also proud that they were one of the oldest cities in the country and not one of the new money cities to the north, such as Janford and Maris.

There were a lot of famous and well known people that called Glenham their original home because of the size of the metropolitan area, and there were celebrities from Glenham from many different fields, but one of the fields where Glenham had the most famous figures was in sports, where they could claim plenty of famous faces from Aki and Hiroyo Nunez to the Sheffield brothers, Nick and Inko, who both starred at their respective levels and had led both of their teams to domestic titles while playing big roles. And in the case of Nick, he could claim that he had led his professional team to a resurgence and a title game, too. One of the other famous families from Glenham, however, was the Russey family.

Abel Russey had starred in Glenham as a high schooler and had become known as one of the most dominant quarterbacks to come out of the region, before spurning to local Glenham College to head northwest and revitalize a Janford College program that had been down for some years before his commitment to them changed everything. After becoming the greatest quarterback to play for them, he would go on to have a pro career where he starred for the Janford Bats, and after becoming a legend in two cities, he would return to his hometown to go into coaching and to have a family of his own.

That family would see Abel have two daughters that would also eventually go into the business of quarterbacking, but now, only one of them would be active in that business and the one that was supposed to be the heir to the family legacy was the one that eneded up back home in Glenham, while her sister was redshirting in Maris and lining up behind fan favorite Drago Morena to take over when the more popular and experienced team leader finally finished his college career with five years. That was what Arielle was doing, and it looked like she would eventually become a successful quarterback after initially playing at corner for most of her career, but Amalie was a completely different story. She was back home, in Glenham, thinking of her next moves and trying to find out where her formerly promising career had gone so wrong.

When she first arrived in Castle after a storied high school career that had made her one of the most hyped up female prospects in the history of the country, she was supposed to be a savior figure. She was supposed to do the same thing that her father had done for Janford College, and she was supposed to be one of the better quarterbacks in the conference after learning behind more experienced players and redshirting before she ever played for the Hornets. When she first started playing, she showed promise and room for improvement, displaying the right traits even when the good results weren't there.

But sometime last season, maybe because of conflict with her sister before she transferred, the wheels came off for Amalie and she was bad enough that Castle had one of the worst offenses in the competition, and she was bad enough that the team chased a foreign recruit that would later replace her as the starter next season and effectively end her hopes of ever starting for the Hornets again. That quarterback, Peri Fothergill, was almost a better version of herself, with a small stature but high accuracy and toughness that made her a fan favorite, and Amalie’s own feelings towards Peri had affected her badly on the field and ruined her chances of coming back in a quarterback battle.

Now, Glenham was watching yet another one of their heroes coming back home, but not under the circumstances that they hoped for. Amalie Russey wasn't coming back victorious, but defeated, and nobody had suffered a more steep fall than her. She wasn't in college anymore, she wasn't playing any kind of football now, and in the weeks after leaving Castle officially, the most she'd done was thrown the ball around the yard behind the family mansion with old high school friends that had stopped by to provide comfort, while she evaluated her next options.

One of those days where she was throwing the ball around the yard with friends wasn't like the others, however. One of those days, something happened that was finally giving her a chance to be relevant again, and that was something that she would do anything for. It was a break in the action and she was leaning against the fence and sipping from a bottle of energy drink and talking about transfer options, when she saw a car pull up outside that looked like it was here for some official purpose, clad in black and with shaded windows that made it seem like the police were here. Amalie raised an eyebrow at first, not making much of it at first, but she did stop talking and look up when a pair of men in suits stepped out of the car and started towards the house. “Wait a minute,” she told her friends, walking out of the yard and towards the front door to talk to the men.

They were heading to the front porch but she reached them first, and they noticed her immediately and turned to her as if she was the one that they were looking for. “Can I help you?” she asked, and both men nodded and turned their attention from heading to the porch to talking with her.

“Yes, we'd like to see if you're available to talk about some things relating to your time with Castle Valle Rojas University. You don't have to talk with us, but some people at the office said that you might be a reliable source that's willing to speak to us, now that you aren't with the university anymore,” said the first man, who did look very much like the police with a black suit and dark shades.

“And who would you be with?”

“The RCAA, from the capital branch. We're on a team that's investigating recruiting violations from teams coached by Francis Allan, after rumors began going around about the recruitment of Bryan Costas. We're looking for people that have experience with the programs that are willing to talk and tell us about some of the things that have happened under Coach Allan. Many of those that we've approached aren't willing to talk with us, but since you aren't tied to the program anymore, the office suggested that we find you,” explained the man.

Amalie shrugged, looking back at her friends and leaning against the fence gate while curiously running a hand through her short hair, not showing much of a reaction either way. “Yes, I would be willing to talk… Just tell me what you need to know, because I know a bit about how Francis has run both of his programs. My sister plays for the one that he's at right now, of course. I'd like to say that I'm an expert about Castle and the things that go on there.”

That was when she realized that she would indeed be presented with a chance for revenge and that even if she couldn't get this starting job back, she would have a chance to punish the new staff at Castle for snatching it from her in the way that they did, costing her the dream that she had chased ever since she realized that she could be like the son that her father never had. Yes, Castle had committed some sins in the past, and she now had a chance to bring those back to light and get revenge for the situation that had led to her leaving the school. They had made a mistake, taking her dream from her. A mistake that they would pay for, very dearly.

~

It was an early morning at the Arena of Light in Maris, and as the team was gearing up for one of the final practices before their matchup against Harbor College in the playoffs, which would be hosted right here in the stadium that they had maintained a one loss record at, the ones who got in early were some of the more important members of the coaching staff, and the quarterbacks. Francis Allan, Irwin Browne, and Clarke Hunter were the coaches that had to show up early to get everything set up before the rest of the team arrived, but they were also accompanied by Drago Morena, Arielle Russey, and Kaden Moore, who put in even more work than the others as the ones who played the position that was the most crucial to the success of the Friars.

“I know you're all eager to warm up, but can you three come help me dig some of these files out of these cabinets? I'm looking for some specific plays and systems that we haven't used for a long time, we're going to change things up at some points against Harbor College instead of giving them a look that they'll have seen on film. I wasn't sure about it, but I know now that we'll have enough time to practice the new plays and get these formations installed in the game plan by the time the game comes,” Francis said, leading the group down the hall as they unlocked some of the offices that were within the stadium and that belonged to some of the members of staff and the medical team. “We might be cutting it close, but I always have a bad feeling about going into a big matchup like this and using the same old, even though Diogo won that way.”

“I think you're selling short our ability to learn quickly,” stated Drago, nodding as the group approached the offensive coordinator’s office and went inside, unlocking some of the file cabinets and starting to look through them for the old plays from the Reyes era that had been stored away for future reference by some of the future head coaches of the Friars, such as Francis. “Which plays are we looking for?”

“The ground and pound system, the one that we ran against the real physical teams to give them a taste of their own medicine back in the day. I don't know what the actual terminology is, you'll have to look through some of the plays and see which series matches the style,” said Francis, before looking through a cabinet of his own and flicking through the folders that were inside. “You all know which formations I'm talking about. Single set back, heavy protection, two tight ends…”

“Right. No wonder those plays are stored away somewhere, we haven't played that style for… Years, I think, not since Diogo and his earlier seasons here,” replied Kaden Moore, looking through the folders in the cabinet next to Francis.

“Hey, wait a minute, be quiet,” said Arielle, and then she stepped to the door and poked her head out to see if anyone else was around there. “I hear talking. Seriously, I think it's coming from your office, Coach. You might want to check that out, because there's definitely voices and I know I'm not going insane.”

Kaden stepped away from the cabinet, following Arielle to the door as Francis tossed him the keys. “Go check it out, then. Maybe someone else on the staff had to stop by unscheduled. Not that many people have keys to that office, or most of these offices for that matter,,” he said, and the two players nodded and went some steps down the hall and stood outside of the office to listen for voices. And there definitely were voices, but the words couldn't be made out by the players, just the fact that there was talking.

“The hell?” muttered Kaden, and he slid the key into the lock and turned it slowly, pushing the door open as quietly as possible and revealing a scene inside that hadn't been expected when the players said that they had heard voices down the hall. There were four men inside, all wearing black suits and black shades, and they were in the process of picking the locks on some of the cabinets and going through the files that were there, while one of them typed away at the laptop that was on the desk. And as soon as the others stepped in, the men looked up, and there were a few seconds of pause, before they said something to each other and then all four of them got up and started to run, flying out of the door and down the hall to some unknown destination.

“The RCAA,” Arielle explained, quickly. “They're here looking for evidence of wrongdoing that they can later use parallel construction to take advantage of. They're going to find stuff here and then you're going to see that same stuff get brought against us later after they attach their findings to the name of some anonymous whistleblower who may or may not actually exists. Or they'll get some student on board with it and say that they found everything that the RCAA is making accusations of, when really, they broke and entered to find it. I heard rumors about that happening in Lazaga, and now it's happening right here.”

“Fuck,” muttered Kaden, before grabbing Arielle by the wrist and leading her down the hall. “Come on, let's not let these guys get out of here. If they're taking any information, let's make sure we get it back from them before they leave. The fact that they were willing to drop everything and run suggests that they have something and that they're content with leaving now and taking what they already have with them.”

“And what are we going to do if we find them?”

“We're going to use our right to defend ourselves from people breaking and entering on our property,” said Kaden, and with that, the two players took off running, chasing the investigators in black suits that had finally come after Maris and that had the potential to ruin everything for them before they could even play one playoff game. There was no doubt to them that there had been damning information in that office, but the question was if the men had been able to find it, and if they would be able to explain those findings to the rest of the country if they got out with the data… And right now, the most important thing was making sure that they didn't.

~

The news that night in Maris was quite interesting, with the main story not being about what the football team was doing on the field, but what had happened off of it in preparation for the playoff game, as the newscaster explained at the top of the hour. “To start off, we have a story about the Friars football team, but not one about their playoff matchup against Harbor College and their chances of capturing the NSCF title after winning the Mineral Conference for the second straight season. No, this story is about the arrest of two players that are well known by the fans; Arielle Russey, the famous transfer from Castle that is believed to be the starting quarterback next season, and her main rival, former number one recruit Kaden Moore.

“Both Russey and Moore were arrested in the morning on campus, after reportedly showing up before a morning practice with some members of the staff and finding members of the Redvali Collegiate Athletics Association inside the Arena of Light, investigating violations into the Friars program after illegally staging a raid on the stadium. The players then chased the four men out of the stadium and when the men entered a car and attempted to drive away, the players entered a vehicle of their own and chased them across town before forcing them to exit the vehicle and assaulting the men over a hard drive that was reportedly taken from the laptop of head coach Francis Allan.

“The assault, however, was broken up by nearby campus police officers and both players were arrested and are being held for an unknown amount of bail at the North Coast central police station. A video of the assaults has been made public by media outlet Red Valley Media, and they supposedly received the video from a bystander that stepped out of his car to record the assault and the arrests after traffic was stopped by the players when they stopped the car being driven by the RCAA investigators.

“The Friars program has not yet released a statement on the assaults and has maintained radio silence since the incident happened in the morning, with the only media statements since then being an announcement of the time of the game against Harbor College, which will be scheduled for a nine forty five PM start time in accordance with the Friars tradition of playing their most important games under the lights. We, of course, will be the first ones to provide updates when the situation develops further and the school says something about the fate of their two players that were arrested this morning…”

[Valorem]

Valorem-Meritus Dispatch
Against all expectations, even by the most die-hard Fusilier fans, the Fusiliers managed to defeat Leopord Central in the first round of the playoffs - and did so in style, 23-9. This was just one of three upsets that occurred in the first round, as our rivals at Castle Valle Rojas were the only better-seeded team to survive their matchup this week. Next week, the Fusilier face an even greater challenge in #3 seed Richardson University. We shall see if the apparently magical rebound the Fusiliers have been experiencing continues for another week.

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

Anty's Corner, South Bend Sports - 99.9 fm

"...And as you already know, we lost our last spring game to Castle Valle University yesterday. It wasn't great, and many traveling fans have said the same thing, even though they injured the hospitality and whatnot," said Antoine Blais-Dusang, the local sports radio station host. His voice clearly sounded like he's had tough luck the previous night. "The team didn't really do that spectacularly on that game, and I'd say it was arguably the worst offensive display we've seen, even on a match where we had good number of starters out of the game due to upper year examinations and whatnot. Mikael Rudd, clearly without his best weapon and passing game, and of course stuck with either an oft-injured or incompetent backup, really had to run a game that was not his specialty. We already know how smashmouth football's been never their thing since early 90s when they had the long-time Steelers legend, now hall of famer Jean-Sebastien Joubert. But then nobody can be like him as a Saguenay running back, so there you go.

"Defensively we were lot better. Having Iacovetta and Yoon Seong-Hyuk picking Fothergill off 4 times, and the Theodurik Waltuurs running all over double teams was a pleasure to watch for sure. This guy, ever since the first year he's been here, has been a beast and his 8 tackle, 4-sack performance should keep all the scouts in line to watch our games next year. And for Yoon, what can we say? His high-profile performance during past year or so may have skyrocketed his draft potential. Guaranteed to be undrafted last year, he's really amped up and now looks to be at least 4th rounder. Good job, kid. You've proven me wrong and now you have a possible future in pros. Not the first time, so I hope it won't be the last time either.

"As for the rest they contributed pretty well, even though Polyneaux-Ginn looked quite exhausted and Platon Danilov rather slow. If the Irish wish to compete for Tiger Bowl next year, they will need to make sure that their defensive depth is going to be much better than what they have shown us this spring, because really they looked mediocre depth-wise and terrible otherwise. The defensive line looked, barring Waltuurs, looked rather inept in run defence and linebackers were getting out of formation to the point where I have to start questioning the capabilities of Manu Ano under crunch time situations. It was just disappointing.

"And now, this does not mean that I blame the guys for not being their 100% in terms of their performance. I know they tried their best and made sure that they were going to make it a tough challenge for their opposition. Especially with exams all getting in their way and scheduling all makes it convenient for which player to start and which to back up, what can you do about it? Nothing really, unless you wish to jeopardise many student-athletes' academic careers as some of y'all have suggested. If y'all start suggesting that, go watch Gyeongbuk A&M or Saguenay State games. I'm sure all of you would be welcome there anyway if you are going to bash over that matter.

"Anyway, let's move onto the victors of that match. Great job for you guys to figure things out when it mattered the most. You Rojas didn't do the best either and your offence looked crap, but the defence did the job right when asked to and ultimately the team with better defence and better-timed offence won. Kudos to that. Also, for those doubting on Fothergill back in Redvali Realms, I'll tell you one thing: don't hate on her. She may have been picked off 4 times and sacked a bit too often because the offensive line collapsing and whatnot, but at least she knew when to strike when it mattered. That last drive of the game that led to Rojas touchdown? Splendid. Accuracy, tempo, all was there when it mattered. This was not something that you lot would have gotten under Amalie Russey, who I really see as in similar fold to Payette....strong legs, strong arms but man, terrible decisionmaking skills and mentale. No shit she left the program instead of competing for another position because she didn't have what it takes to succeed.

"Now, if there's one thing that we could learn from the cases of Castle Valle, as some of you fans watching overseas collegiate football leagues recall all too well with their past quarterback controversy and Amalie Russey, and it's that player and playing time management's always the issue first and foremost current and future coaches must keep in mind. As a former collegiate scout and Saguenay native, not to mention longtime South Bend native, every year I hear at least one coach, old or new, saying that they're having a trouble keeping a group of overly character players intact and focused.

"And really, it's fine. With the newer generation of student-athletes being not as easy to coach, this is going to be an even bigger issue.
It's just that you have to be careful with doing right measures to keep them focused, healthy and in right mental shape, or else you might see another spoiled, glass-mentale brat refusing to give up one's position and just give up one's possibilities to excel in another position, well down to pros. Sometimes you have to weed out guys like that, other times you just have to use them in different situations. Such headcases, there are two types: a) those not necessarily happy with their playing time and whatnot but still willing to work with their coach and pour it all out if you give them their time b) leave and run away just because they're not getting what they want. You know which case they have to be weeded out and which case they have to be kept. Most likely in this case, I believe that the inevitable has happened, on an overhyped media conference statement by Russey, and I gotta say this. Congratulations to Michael Cho and his staff. Can't be happy enough for you lots. I'll leave it up to you to think more about it.

"Okay, I just got a tweet from a local listener of my radio corner asking if I had lots of drinks last night. No, I clearly did not...it was only a couple of glasses of beers, though combined with lots of shouts and screams I've had to do to kick an annoying bastard out of a bar me and my . Believe me, guys. I have wife and three kids. I have no money for drinking expensive stuff in this time of the year anyway....."

[Yesopalitha]

Cutoff for the Quarterfinals!

---

NSCF 16 PLAYOFFS - Quarterfinals
Full Bracket

_#1Ceneisis Naval Academy (ABF) 18-27 _#9Universite St. Croix (QUE)

_#4Mount Maris University (TRV) 17-14 _#12Harbor College (KAL)

_#2Ramusok Capital University (COS) 12-10 _#7Castle Valle Rojas University (TRV)

_#3Richardson University (RAN) 30-3 _#11University of Konigsberg (VOR)

---

[Ranoria]

NSCF Playoffs: Quarterfinals
University of Konigsberg @ Richardson University

Coming off a loss, Richardson's Governors were certainly not considered the 'hot' team coming into this one, against a Konigsberg squad that had won all three of its out of conference games in narrow contests, two of them in overtime, but at the same time, after losing in their final home game of the season, the Governors felt that it was their duty to make up for that loss.

Or just to get to the semifinals, for now, that was their main goal, and all that any of the players were thinking about.

John Garrett watched from the sideline as Koignseberg's offense seemed to grind away for each and every yard, but they were picking up first downs, even if Kevin Gerhart's tackle for a two yard loss forced a punt. This wouldn't be one that they could relax in, he thought, this team showed up confident, but ready to fight for every yard of grass under their feet.

That didn't make much of a difference for the Governors, though, with all three of their running backs available, now. Soup Shorts, for the first time in well over a month, took his place behind John Garrett, Elijah Sampson playing the role of fullback to his right, in a Strong I formation. Their first playcall, despite the run-based format, was a play action pass, Strong coming across as if to take the handoff, only to bring back his elbows and blast the rushing backer, Sistrunk, who managed to stay on his feet and even push back the back a bit, Soup Shorts stepping up to protect his quarterback, that 240 pound frame just as powerful as it had been before his injury, while Garrett dropped back, scanning the field quickly and getting the ball out in an instant for a quick hitter to Anthony Foster, the defense having made the mistake of putting him in press coverage. He didn't have the speed to burnt he cornerback, but he did have the size to create separation, shedding the contact at the line of scrimmage and getting a step on the back before reaching out to grab the ball, expertly placed at the edge of his catch radius without forcing him to dive, and charged up field before taking a hit from the deep safety.

The next play came from the same formation, Sampson this time ramming into the A-gap, giving Soup Shorts more than enough space to make his first cut and get a decent run before going down.

I'll be damned if he isn't just as effective as he was before the injury happened.

Garrett took the next snap and spun the ball in his hand in an automatic motion, fingertips finding the laces just as his arm darted forward in a tight motion, trying to fit the ball into a tight gap, but giving it enough time to let the safety run through. The defensive back picked up on what he was doing, crossing with his partner in the secondary, and tried to reverse course, but slipped on the grass, Johnny Farmer's massive hands snagging the football out of the air for their first touchdown of the game, achieved in all of three snaps.

---

"I have to say, that quarterback is a lot better than the coaches made him out to be." Richardson had been forced into a quick three and out late in the third quarter, up 14-3 at the time, but their punter, excellent as he was, had pinned Konigsberg on the one yard line while Iseya, their quarterback, was under pressure, Richardson showing blitz with their backers. Garrett sipped on his cup, watching intently as Iseya gave his count, trying to get a jump.

"He shredded our secondary on that last drive, and he made a good pass on that last play in the second, but from forty yards out, trying to exploit the so-called one-on-one when Davon's the other 'one' was just a mistake on his part."

Maybe it was due to having figured out the snap count, maybe he just got lucky, but Ross Monarch was on the young quarterback almost before he'd taken the snap, punching the air to get free of half-hearted blocking attempts, but when he got to the quarterback, Johnny Farmer let out an 'oh,' a beautifully executed juke sending the centerpiece of their defense flopping as the passer pulled his arm back to throw the ball, only for another player's arm to collide with his, this time Kevin Gerhart, the ball hitting the turf in the end zone on the broken play. Gerhart tried to grab it for a defensive touchdown, but Iseya managed to grab it, rolling, and darted to get out of the end zone, but he couldn't get up in time, the massive defensive tackle leaping on his back and bringing him down for a safety, his second of the year.

"Jeez, he did everything he could, there." Farmer winced, knowing just how hard Gerhart could hit, but at the same time, up 16-3, they could put the game away with this next drive, especially with the field position they'd be getting from the punt.

"Can't blame him for that." Garrett strapped up, and was already running onto the field by the time Javier Gilmore got up and handed the ball to the referee. "Let's put a nail in the coffin boys!"

Their defense tried, desperately, to stop them, managing two sacks on a single drive, but it was all for naught, Melvin Strong running a wheel route on third and fourteen. He was uncovered long enough for Farmer to hit him for the first down, but what he did afterwards was much more impressive, sidestepping a tackler and running almost horizontally to give himself space. By the time he moved upfield, he only had one man to beat, slamming into the strong safety, who successfully tackled him, but ended up falling into the end zone regardless.

23-3 as the fourth quarter rolled around. One more touchdown, this one from Soup Shorts, his second score and his first through the air, put the game on ice, a short out route from the backfield on the one while the home crowd screamed 'Jugular, jugular, jugular!'

Looking later at the stats behind the dominant performance, it wasn't hard to notice a trend. Despite not passing as much as they had recently, their overall offense had performed much better with a three-headed rushing attack that had three productive runners making plays for them. A veteran coming off an injury and trying to make his statement for the pros, a developing, big-name talent with all the skills and explosiveness, and a younger, inexperienced back who was still learning the nooks and crannies of the game.

And to Richard Steinheil, their head coach, it was beautiful.

[Cosumar]

The Roaring Dragon
Ramusok Capital University's Official Student Newspaper

University rallies behind NSCF football in wake of deadly attack

Rowan Ericsson
Student Life Reporter

RAMUSOK -- Two hours ago, twelve times the usual amount of students attended the pep rally traditionally held before home NSCF Playoff games, but it wasn't all chants and cheery school spirit. RCU Football used the pep rally to bring people together in solidarity after the devastating attack on Koivusaari Dormitory earlier this week and pay tribute to the 10 killed and 65 hospitalized.

The solemn atmosphere was thick in the evening air as the massive crowd managed to fill all levels of Capital Plaza for the first time in school history. The ceremony was appropriately mournful, yet concluded on an uplifting note with thousands of students, faculty and well-wishers singing school song "Take Flight" as ten blue balloons - one for each of the deceased - were released into the air.

Dragons captain Gilan Nairn also gave a powerful speech, Capital Coliseum looming large behind him.

Tomorrow night, we'll run onto that field a couple blocks away as we've done dozens of times. It'll be a sell-out and people will scream and yell, just like always. But we'll run onto that field with more pride in our minds and conviction in our hearts than ever before. Every single one of us. Because we know we're not just fighting for a place in the NSCF 16 Final. We're fighting for something much bigger, much more meaningful. We're fighting for Stuart! We're fighting for Alf! We're fighting for Pendula! We're fighting for Mackenzie, Michal, Joey, Safiro, Monikka, Fabian and Dr. Odin! We're fighting for all 75 victims and their families, friends and classmates. RCU community... we're fighting for you!

The names he referenced are the ten lives taken in the attack: Stuart Bayliss (20), Alf Berg (21), Pendula Marsalis (23), Mackenzie Rosenthal (19), Michal Du Brey (20), Joey Medallion (20), Safiro Gallo (22), Monikka Nightingale (18), Fabian Molloy (19) and Professor Odin Thomason (46).

Historically a safe and harmonious campus, Ramusok Capital University was deeply shaken by the tragedy. It hadn't seen a student homicide since two roommates fought to the death with kitchen knives almost a century ago. This time, the violence was far more sophisticated.

The attack took place just over four days ago. There was still a buzz on campus from the game-winning field goal against Castle Valle Rojas just two days earlier. But the high came crashing down when dozens of ambulances began racing to Koivusaari Dormitory, casting a fog over a bright and sunny morning. There had been no shooter, no lockdown, no alarms, no notice of danger from RCUPD. Instead, dozens of students simply began collapsing with their trays or slumping forward in their seats all across Koivusaari's dining hall, which had just opened its buffet for lunch hour. Complete pandemonium.

In the following hours, the information gradually dissipated to the confused rest of RCU: this was no ordinary school shooting, this was a mass-poisoning.

The perpetrator was quickly identified as 21-year-old Botany junior Kezzia Kubica. The night before, she checked out large quantities of Moonflower (Datura metel) seeds, which can be lethal if ingested, using her privileges as an upperclassman research fellow. She then grounded the seeds into a clear powder and distributed it into several food and drink items at the Koivusaari buffet once it opened at 11 a.m. - before many others had arrived.

76 people, including Kubica, ingested the powder before the dining hall was shut down. Thanks to the rapid response of the emergency teams, all unconscious and semi-conscious individuals were in a hospital bed within the hour. Doctors were able to save most but, unfortunately, ten still succumbed to the effects of the poison.

Emmerich Bukkalew, a freshman receiver on the football team, is among the survivors. He will not dress for the semifinal against Richardson but may be available for the final if RCU advance. Kezzia Kubica herself also recovered, and is now faced with life imprisonment. The latest press conference from RCUPD chief Mark Gallows shed some light on why Ms. Kubica committed such a horrific crime.

"Those who knew her best describe Kezzia as a sweet girl, but shy and often easily upset. They also describe an uncharacteristic pattern of erratic behavior in the last few months. After thorough investigation of her actions leading up to the attack and numerous interviews with her since, our team of medical experts now believe Ms. Kubica has been dealing with the onset of schizophrenia," Gallows announced from a podium.

"Schizophrenia begins gradually manifesting itself in early adulthood and is typically not dangerous, but her onset was very sudden and severe. This led to especially acute symptoms of psychosis," Capt. Gallows continued. "We believe she was experiencing hallucinations and paranoia that led her to lash out. While it will not make this any easier for those who lost loved ones, Ms. Kubica has expressed deep remorse in her moments of clarity. At other times, she has expressed relief that she was able to 'take out' those who were 'plotting to kidnap' her. She will be admitted to West Avalon Psychiatric Hospital until her first court date."

It appears to be an open-and-shut case, but what's less clear is how the RCU Dragons will respond on the gridiron. Emotions will be high after a big pre-game tribute to the ten victims (all 80,000 spectators will be given matching "Win For the Ten" t-shirts upon entry), but history has shown that this kind of emotion can either push a team to new heights...or leave them weary and distracted.

Last year, the national soccer team beat 95X 1-0 with a stirring stoppage time winner after a permanent monument to the 129 supporters slain in Gregoryisgodistan was unveiled before the game. It was also the final game of World Cup Qualifying, with stakes not dissimilar to this NSCF Semifinal. If they can do it, so can RCU! Cliff Scuttlesmith's defense, however, will need to put in as resilient of a shift as our center backs did against 95X if it wants to have any chance of slowing down red-hot Richardson.

The Governors just piled 30 points on a solid Konigsberg defense and have put together one of the most dominant newcomer campaigns in NSCF history. They ran away with the Big Eight, an expansion conference, at 9-1 with little opposition from the Vanorian schools expected to bout for the title.

Now, they'll need to take down another old NSCF power if they want to take their Cinderella story all the way. One with something bigger than thoughts of a record third NSCF title to keep their legs churning and arms pumping.

"This is all about bringing healing and joy to a community that desperately needs it right now," Scuttlesmith said after tonight's ceremony.

RCU... it's time to Win for the Ten.

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

OOC : I'll add more over time.

Anty's Corner, South Bend Sports - 99.9 fm

"Good morning, everybody! This is your host, Antoine Blais-Dusang speaking, all the way from the heartlands of northern Saguenay in South Bend, where the sun has never shone this brightly before in a million years. This is Anty's Corner, brought to you by Irvine Produces. Our guest of the day, Mikael Rudd, will join us in few minutes....he's just having a tough time getting past the usual early-hour traffic on Highway 34 from campus. I do feel that sense of groan and disappointment going forward because man, isn't it never easy to commute in this city? There's always traffic in the city and it's not hard to contain that for sure.

"But before starting the corner, I would like to first start by remembering the souls far and abroad whom we have to remember. As we all know, there was a senseless act that hospitalised 65 and killed 10 people in Ramusok Capital University last week. Please join us in the moment of silence as we now pay our respect to those who lost their lives, and families of all those affected.

30 seconds later

"Thank you. May they win for the Ten. This is me saying as in half fuck USC sentiment, but more or so on wishing that the spring season trophy can be used to commemorate in honour of ten lives lost in Ramusok earlier this week. Now I'll start by answering some of the questions the listeners have sent me since last week's show. There's a good number, triple the last week's amount so I won't answer all of them right away. That can be done after the half-time intermission so don't stress out if I only read a couple.

"So the first question of the day is from Brenda in Ipchon, so not far from where we're standing: Anty, it's always a pleasure to listen to your corner. However, your comments about the whole Castle Valle mess made me wonder about your stance on this matter; What should I do if I were a high school coach and my star football player, the one you need to win games and possibly banners, happens to be a headcase similar to Amalie Russey you mentioned earlier?

"Well, I'll just have to clarify first that this gets lot more complicated in high school stage because unlike in college, where you get the best of best athletes, not everybody is going to be running sub-5 seconds for 40 yard dash or do 500kg of pressers. So there will always be good number of athletes who are freakishly talented but also lack in many things that allow them to adjust well to college. Often that's the fault of parenting, the rest of the time it's the fault of coaches. When it comes to building the whole team and coaching difficult athletes, coaches play the 99% in the process. It lies on you to figure out. Just remember that in any stage no player is greater than his or her team, so if one's becoming inconsolable, cut him. Bench and make him learn that you can't simply get everything handed. Else your team will remain unbalanced and unstable, because everybody else is going to complain and boy, would that be messy.

"And up next we have Henri-Louis from Chicoutimi: Hello, Anty! It's Henri-Louis from Gyeongbuk A&M a while ago. My wife, who's 8 month pregnant, is a huge fan of yours and she asked me to ask you this question. What do you think of the recent trends in spread offence becoming more and more of a thing in high school and college football?

"Hello to Henri-Louis and his wife! Haven't heard of you guys in ages, not after I had to delete my old Facebooke account. Congratulations on pregnancy and I wish you guys the best with next few months, some of the most intimidating, nervous but also anticipating months in your lives! With that being said, I'll have to admit that I am getting more worried and worried at the spread offence becoming more of a thing up north as well in high school scenes.

"This isn't because I'm an old-ass nuthead, but actually because it's been leading to producing fundamentally-challenged quarterbacks who can't read defences and lack accuracy, as well as offensive linemen who can't get into the stance and get out of a stance and pass protect, let alone pick up stunts, blitzes, handle audibles. And this is not high schoolers we are talking about; we're talking about college linemen as well these days. For those doubting on me, just look southwest. It used to be just Ontario-Frontenacois thing and you know how OUA's still at their Tiger Bowl drought for 55 years and the number of QFL prospects coming out of those schools steadily dropping, especially on the quarterback and the offensive line. So if I were you, I would say one thing- make sure to be careful on offences you coach because sometimes schemes you choose really cost the players proper opportunities to learn their craft.

"With that being said, we have our man of the morning here! Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Mikael Rudd of Saguenay Fighting Irish!" A huge round of applause was heard right behind them on the studio. "Mikael, what a pleasure to see you in this show!"

"Dandily always for sure," Coach Rudd responded in a much thicker northeastern Sagueneean accent, "It's always a thrill to join you for the show. It's been...how many weeks since we last saw each other?"

"Six weeks, six weeks. Six long weeks as I could say because since then Chicoutimi somehow made the QHL playoffs and just won the conference quarterfinals, Irish had a decent run in the NSCF and state championships are wrapping up for winter sports. It's been long, that's for sure," Antoine continued, before asking the question of the week, "Anyway, let's get back to business. All those news aside, there's one news that Saguenay fans have been excited or should I say, worried about, over the past week or so. Can you care to explain further about the possible transfer of a high-profile quarterback into Fighting Irish program and how this may affect the commitment it carries with Simon Gacek?

"Sure, since the whole matter is now declared over and done by the program," Rudd responded with relative ease. "I would like to confirm that there was a transfer request, with paperwork submitted to the Universite du Saguenay a couple of weeks ago to the Fighting Irish athletics administration, as well as the very aforementioned student's graduate school application to Saguenay's Kinesiology program."

"So what you're saying is that the very athlete of concern is currently upperclassman and should be graduating within next 2 months?" Antoine asked.

"That is correct," Rudd responded, before clearing his throat and returning to speak. "However, sources from Faculty of Natural Sciences have informed us that the very student's application to Master's programs in Integrated Biomedical Sciences and Ecology, Evolution & Behaviour were refused because of many reasons the authorities have not stated to me, but were clear enough.

"What would those be, Mikael? Would it be because of academics or just paperwork?"

"Unfortunately I do not have all the details regarding the potential recruit's rejection, but what I have heard from others was that it's because not only the student was late in submitting her grad school application, but the student's grades simply weren't good enough. As you and I both know, Saguenay would sometimes give exceptions to grad school applicants with late applications depending on their academic status, but those only come under rare circumstances. And the university did not make an exception to the aforementioned student."

"How ridiculous can he or she be to just think that one could get away with all this! No surprise that those in Golden Dome refused. Can you care to tell who it was?"

"Oh, it's easy. Amalie Russey was the very student-athlete who applied. Unfortunately, her application did not pull through and with situation not going to change for another year, we don't expect for Russey to come to Saguenay this fall. Coach Chang was personally content about the quarterbacking situation in our university as well, and that's where we look to improve inwards."

"Awesome news for sure. Had she made it through, where would she have stood on the depth chart, Mikael?"

"I would say that unless Dexter suffers another injury that sidelines him, definitely not a starter," Mikael responded, to give everybody some assurance. "As you could see, our offensive scheme is much more complicated and requires stable decisionmaking abilities and accuracy from our quarterbacks in order to work. For a quarterback inept in doing such, we have to design a separate scheme for her and the offence, which requires additional time to adjust and learn. Because of this matter, I think that Dexter would have been the starter, with us looking at options in Brownie and Sims as well. Nothing comes easy in South Bend, and for those not attempting to work his or her, in this case, problems through hard work...."