SKYHAWKS WIN NSCF HOME OPENER
Show Off Offensive Prowess
Written by Jacob Harding
Everyone was well aware when the news came out that, despite barely losing the national championship last year to the despised Corinth City Chargers, the Skyhawks would no longer be competing for a championship in the DCAO for football. While the original announcement was cryptic and rustled quite a few jimmies, all alarm was laid to rest a couple weeks later when DISC and the Sadeg State Athletic Department announced that Sadeg State would be taking the place of Drawk Corps University in the NSCF. Since DCU was playing like hot garbage and embarrassing us on the national stage, as well as the fact that DISC has access to hundreds of great college football programs, it was a no-brainer that they'd replace them with the Skyhawks, one of Drawkland's most exciting-to-watch football teams right now.
Enough with the expositional chatter. The season is now underway and any international sports fans should be getting hyped right now. In case you missed it, I'm gonna cover how the first game went down. Boy it was a good one.
In a home opener for the Skyhawks which resulted in a packed crowd, Sadeg State took on Arvid City National School of Wonders and Honors. Say that 10 times fast. Some fans started calling them by ACNSWH, which was really weird. Most people just called the school from Bortonania's capital city the Dragons, since that was their mascot. Unfortunately for them, it appears that Skyhawks hunt in packs and eat dragons. Hopefully this remains true for when we have to face Ramusok Capital (defending champs whoops lol) Dragons next week. With a final score of 30-7, the Skyhawks are already up and rolling to be a contender in the Horizon Conference, assisted further by the absence of previous powerhouse Harbor College.
After the marching band did their Skyhawk Strut parade thing as the players entered the stadium, the stadium began filling up. Not by any means a capacity crowd, but certainly a slightly larger turnout than an average game in previous years. The crowd got pumped up as the band came out to play their pregame show, featuring the Drawkian Anthem, Iarocav's Rouser, the Sadeg State Fight Song, a few crowd chants, and a new addition this year, "Soar Skyhawks," which is a fanfarish sort of song written by the Director of Bands at SSU, Dr. Heather Climar. It sounded really cool, and it was a perfect segue to the Skyhawks themselves storming onto the field from the tunnel entrance on the scoreboard endzone, as the crowd roared. Okay, ra ra. I know you care about what happened during the game.
So the main reason this game was really big was due to the emergence of Senior Quarterback Dustin Beck. Since the last quarterback, Zac Gold, graduated and went on to the GLD, this was the first game in which Beck was starting. For those not aware, Dustin Beck was one of the top dual threat recruits of his high school class, and showed a lot of his prowess in garbage time of games that Sadeg State had in the bag the last year or two. So that's why a lot of people showed up to this game as well, if you disregard that it's the home opener, and that it's the first SSU game in the NSCF.
While the Arvid City National School Dragons aren't the highest quality program to ever see the face of NSCF competition, they at least had a pretty clear gameplan. They played super conservatively during the game, both on offense and defense. The defense remained backed up at least 10 yards from the line of scrimmage, not wanting to give up the big play (however obviously opening themselves to get eaten up underneath. Their offense playcalling was extremely lackluster and routine, trying to prevent big turnovers or any excitement at all. Handoffs, quick pitches, and checkdown/drag route passes galore, I tell you. It's a miracle they got any first downs at all as a team. They looked imposing and had everyone on their toes for a minute, despite Sadeg projected to win by a couple touchdowns. The Dragons put the first points on the board after forcing a 3-and-out on the opening possession by the Skyhawks. With the Skyhawks in a safety blitz on their own 30 yard line, the Arvid quarterback threw a quick pass to a receiver on a screen. Eli Dyer, the sophomore cornerback, went straight for the pass to try and intercept it (which likely would've resulted in a pick 6), but he was too slow and the receiver had a wide open path since nobody was in the secondary. He barely managed to get into the end zone with Lenox Daley hot on his tail, but he did score, and after a quick kick, it was 0-7 Arvid City.
The first drive sputtered out due to the Dragons locking up at the line to gain. With Sadeg State not totally prepared for this, as well as not being able to break a couple tackles, they were unable to get anything going. After talking with the offensive coordinator Art Beckham and the head coach Brand Manlio during the defensive possession, the Skyhawks had a few ideas in mind. A couple power runs by exceptional trucker super senior Brody Krusen brought the offense into a rhythm and broke up the defense a bit, giving them some leeway with playcalling. After a quick 2-yard drag route turned into an 8 yard gain thanks to the Dragon defensive space, the stage was set for a great play. Dustin Beck took the ball from under center and rolled out for a bootleg. Driscoll and Jockey ran for streaks on the opposite side of the field to make space, and the tight ends Black and Murray ran other routes in the middle of the field. Then shifty Sam Artair ran up in front of Beck to draw the defenders. Beck then straight up ran forward, with tons of space, twisting and turning all around to try and break free. While he was eventually tackled down at the Arvid 35, it wasn't before a 31 yard gain. The crowd got super fired up, and despite the fact that the offense needed to convert three consecutive 3rd downs to get to the goal line, it still didn't stop the hype. When the handoff to Artair ended in a Skyhawk touchdown, the crowd exploded.
Unfortunately, action stalled for awhile in a nervous standoff by both teams, punting back and forth after measly drives. I can't tell if it was nerves or what, but the Skyhawks' receiving corps dropped a lot of passes which was pretty depressing and obviously not good for Beck's completion percentage, but whatever. The action came in the last seconds of the second quarter. The Dragons had managed to drive upfield and get to the goalline, sucking up clock and making a solid drive. However, with 20 seconds left on the clock, Super Senior Linebacker Harvey Donovan got home on a blitz, managing to slam the running back in the Dragons backfield so hard that he coughed up the ball. With so little time remaining, Donovan took off, only to realize that he'd likely be caught before he could return it all the way and by then the clock would be done, nullifying the turnover. In a savvy move, he merely slid down at about the Skyhawk 29 yard line, and with their final timeout used and 8 seconds left on the clock, the Skyhawks were going to try and score. Of course, the conservative Dragons ended up only rushing 2 men, and all but one of their players were over 20 yards back from the line of scrimmage. In the classic Hail Mary formation, the Skyhawks snapped it and tried to get something going. Even Nico Rigi, the running back for the play, went on a streak to try and get open. Beck, uncomfortable in the pocket after a few hot seconds, rolled out, surveying the scene. From practice film we've seen, we know that Beck can easily chuck a ball at least 70 yards. And it looked like he did. He pump faked, and suddenly sprang into action. The 3 offensive lineman unoccupied from the scant rushing powered forward into the dozens of empty yards, and Beck followed after them. With all the defenders occupied downfield, Beck went into a full sprint around the middle of the field. By the time the defense realized what was happening it was too late. The receivers and O-line went with sudden and solid blocking, and Beck was confronted with only one defender between him and the end zone. With the clock showing zeroes, Beck shoved the defender aside with a solid arm and coasted into the end zone to score and make the game 14-7 at the half (as well as making all the fans go wild).
After halftime, the team came back out to raucous cheers, especially Dustin Beck when he came out a little behind the rest of the team. Now, the Sadeg State special teams is not especially notable. Not that they're bad or anything, they've just never been the forefront of special teams highlights, at least from a kicking standpoint. Pace Napoli, a Senior and now starting punter now that Rick Gatsky graduated last year, came to play and prove why he's the new starter as well. As the kickoff specialist for the beginning of the second half, he delivered an amazing opening kick that left Arvid City stumped. It arced down towards the sideline inside the 5, and not wanting to field it and instead allow it to drift out for a penalty, the Arvid returnman simply let it bounce. That was a mistake. The ball struck the ball with incredible backspin in the far corner, making it shoot straight up into the air and actually away from the sideline instead of going out of bounds. Panicking due to it being a live ball, the returnman had to turn back around and field it. When he did cradle it he was on the threshold of his own end zone, and when 3 Skyhawks came rushing at him, pinning him in the corner, it was all he could do to just take the safety and not fumble it too. Right out of halftime, the 'hawks had more points on the board and now, the "opening" possession. The score was now 16-7 with 14:58 left in the 3rd quarter.
The ensuing drive ended up petering out just outside of field goal range, and the resulting punt drifted for a touchback. Then a punting game was played similar to the first half, all of the drives until late in the 3rd quarter ended with kicks (all punts except a missed 49 yard field goal by Roger Henry of the Skyhawks). At the end of the 3rd quarter, Sadeg State had put together a solid drive, highlighted with an over-top pass to Jarrod Driscoll which brought SSU to the red zone. 3 plays later and it's 2nd and Goal on the 3 yard line, where Beck rolled out to the left and fired a bullet into the gut of tight end Calvin Black for a touchdown pass.
At this point the defense was just attempting to get turnovers and big hits on the conservative Dragon offense, which they mostly succeeded in doing. The Sadeg offense was content to run the clock out, giving plenty of touches to all 3 running backs and keepers for Beck as well. With about 4 minutes left in the game, the Skyhawks pulled a play action shot play (after 8 consecutive running plays), with Beck firing the ball deep to Joey Ash who had absolutely burned the covering corner and safety. With seemingly no effort, Dustin Beck flung the ball 40 yards in the air straight into the bread basket of Ash, and Ash finished the play by cruising cleanly into the end zone. The score after the PAT was 30-7, and that's the score it remained until Beck took the knee 4 minutes of game time later to end the game on a high note. The crowd, which was still strong, roared at the conclusion as Sadeg State chalked up their first ever international football win to compare to their excellent international basketball track record.
SCORE: 30 4 TD+PAT, 1 SAFETY
RUSHING: 347 Artair 134, Beck 122, Krusen 71, Rigi 18, Jockey 2
PASSING: 219 Ash 81, Driscoll 65, Jockey 32, Artair 25, Black 16
KICKING: 0/1 FG, 4/4 PAT, 4 TB
DEFENSE: 7 PA, 2 FR, 2 INT, 202 YA
Now we know some of you fans are rabid and/or new to this whole thing so we're gonna highlight some good games for you to watch this week before you head down to SSU Gridiron Park or tune in on primetime to see the Sadeg Game. We'll highlight one from each conference that's most intense and one from each time slot that we think is best.
BIG EIGHT: Richardson University @ University of Paulo,
Raynor University @ Cold Hill University, Mar Sara Tech @ Zequoia State.
There's no big titlecard matchup this week in the Big Eight, but keep your eyes on the Cold Hill vs Raynor matchup. With Ranoria's new second school desperate for a win, as well as coming in to their first home game of the season, this will be a key one for them. More is at stake when you consider that this will be Raynor's first road trip and that both of these teams were beaten by the opponent's fellow nationmates last week. Bad blood? Let's not be excessive, but it'll certainly be a loud crowd.
CELESTIA: Solomons Land City College @ Northern Dinagat State,
Loyola University @ Fair Haven State University, Northern Moravica University @ Coral Coast University.
The dead walk the earth! Just kidding. For real though, the Celestia Conference has not one, not two, but 4 schools returning from the depths of budget problems, time warps, temporary ceasing of existence, what have you. If you count Coral Coast as a returning school due to being a school from Frenline Delpha, you have 5/6 teams with a history in this conference. Anyhow, Loyola University hasn't seen action in the NSCF since it won the title against Harbor College in NSCF season 14. Technically, counting their Week 1 shutout of Solomons, they have an unbeaten streak that spans over 2 seasons. Ignoring the fact that they didn't participate. Even so, the stakes are high, and with Fair Haven State also returning from an (even longer) hiatus, this could turn out to be an epic clash of the "old school." Haha, get it? Okay I'll stop now.
HORIZON: University of North Tunheim @ Arvid City National School of Wonders and Honors, Stoneshore College @ Southern Rochelle University,
Ramusok Capital University @ Sadeg State UniversityNo no, we swear this isn't an ego boost. The other games are either a crapfest or an inevitable blowout. The primetime matchup of Ramusok Capital and Sadeg State is set to be a solid one. Not only is this the second consecutive home game for the Skyhawks, but they also have a chance to play the defending champions. Drawk Corps U pretty much failed epicly in the NSCF, this is SSU's chance to prove to the world that they mean way much more business than the previous Drawkian representatives. And this isn't a huge deal either, but there's the fact that Sadeg State and its Drawkian counterparts have completely spanked everybody in the NSCAA, including Cosumarite schools, so this is also a chance to affirm dominance in this realm too. Don't count on it though. While it'll be exciting, I doubt it'll be competitive.
MINERAL: Lindon Technical College @ Grand Danican State, Rel City University @ Gallian Military Academy, Oulu State University @ University of Konigsberg.
The only returning school to the Mineral Conference this year is the "little brother" team of the University of Konigsberg, who's traditionally been playing second fiddle to the teams from The Redvale in this conference. Luckily for them, their demons are gone, but replaced by what looks like similar powerhouse schools from The Gallian Union. Honestly, with no history to any of the teams in this conference and no big-ticket or intra-national matchups, this week is pretty bare for the Mineral Conference. For the sake of picking a best though, it's a tie. Oulu State scored 0 points last week and Konigsberg put up 41, so that could be an interesting blowout. Rel City only put up 3 points against a Gallian opponent, while Gallian Military put up only 10 and allowed none against their opponent. Close game perhaps? It's our choice to watch. Well, our actual choice would be to watch a different conference, but whatever.
SEQUOIA: Akers State University @ Marabesh Elite Academy, The Academy of Space @ Gyan Johnson University,
University of Luvenstat @ Calix City University of Archaeology.
This is another conference with not much happening. A bunch of teams with next to no history and no identifiable up-and-comers. All we really have to go with has gotta be the "primetime" for this sad tree-based conference, and that's the Calix City vs Luvenstat game. Both of these teams won their outings last week in their home stadiums, and Luvenstat against Gyan-Johnson, who's one of the favorites to compete for the conference title. Calix has the home field, so it'll likely be a relatively easier win for the Archaeology school, but still, if you're a Sequoia conference fan for some reason, I guess that's your form of high entertainment.
WOODLANDS: University of Iqaluit @ University of Arkinesia,
Universite St. Croix @ Universite du Saguenay, Palæontological-Centered Research @ Utica University.
Now here's a conference, folks. What with the big 3 Quebecois schools, the number 1 most legendary school in NSCF history, an underachieving but historical program, and an underachieving but up-and-coming program. This is one to keep an eye on for sure. Our pick for the big game is obviously USC vs USag (I don't think that's how they abbreviate it but it's too funny to pass up). Not only is it the first nation vs same nation matchup this season, but it's also between the two french-based Quebecois schools, which is a pretty big deal. USC is obviously the better program but the rivalry is fantastic and USag has the home field. Expect an intense matchup in the midday.
ZEPHYR: University of Auster @ Innusburg University, Imperial Military Academy @ Rensuleir University,
Thereisnogodistan Community College @ Ceneisis Naval Academy.
The Zephyr Conference, to cap our roundup, is filled with schools that have been in the NSCF for awhile but have never made a huge splash. Despite this, the rivalries still run deep and strong. The big one this time is also the late game, being between Thereisnogodistan CC and Ceneisis Naval. Thereisnogodistan is a frivolous and atheist nation which is really just a proxy of Abanhfleft, the nation where Ceneisis is from. This is the next best thing to an intra-national rivalry matchup and both of these schools have decently quality programs as well. Hence, a pretty great game.
BEST GAMES FOR SLOTS:Morning/Noon: University of Iqaluit @ University of Arkinesia
Afternoon: Universite St. Croix @ Universite du Saguenay
Evening/Night: Ramusok Capital University @ Sadeg State University
Honestly, we'd just suggest you sleep in this Saturday. None of the morning games have any big rivalries or high stakes matchups. The closest you have is a semi-big name in University of Iqaluit taking on the historical but mediocre University of Arkinesia. Like we said. Just get wasted Friday night and you won't have to shake your hangover until 4 when the actually interesting games start.
Speaking of which, the best matchup to watch once you do get your ass out of bed has gotta be the USC/USag game. USC is the best team playing in the afternoon, being 2 time championship ... losers, and #5 on the all-time legacy leaderboard. Couple that with the fact that it's an intra-national rivalry game at the rival's school, and you're set for an intense battle between the Bleu-et-Blanc and the Fighting Irish.
And of course, we have to give ourselves the best primetime slot. We're not lying though, this will be an intense matchup. The defending international champions, Ramusok Capital, facing one of the biggest schools in one of the biggest gridiron nations in recent history (and that's not even counting the semi-sorta-rivalry from other sports). The Skyhawks have a tough task but it is what it is. Whatever the result, if it's a close game it'll be exciting to watch, and if it's an utter blowout by a team you'll either be seeing the current champs at peak form or an upstart team taking the reins and showing how good they actually are.
Whatever games you end up watching though, enjoy them. After all, it is football, and god bless football. See y'all next week.