World Bowl XXXV (35)- Everything Thread

[-Anthor-]

Anthoran National Gridiron Team
" Celridge Voodoo "

The Celridge Voodoo, also called the Voodoo or Vengeful V's, are the gridiron football team that represents the Kingdom of Anthor, and the Anthoran Gridiron League (AGL) on the international playing field. This will be their third, consecutive, appearance on the international gridiron stage, having debuted to a glorious quarterfinal worthy performance in WB32, only to fail to get out of the group stage in the last 33rd Bowl. With the domestic professional league, the AGL, in its fifth full season now, Head Coach Joel Turnbull is hopeful that the skill of now the more experienced players will perform at higher levels against staunch international opposition, such as group favorite Vagaziland. Nicholas Harriot has been named the starting QB and captain for the third time in a row, wowing domestic pundits as he helped guide the Jedborough Bards to their first championship.

http://i.imgur.com/lebrTml.jpg <-- Uniforms (Home/For Away, Flop the Color Scheme)

Head Coach: Joel Turnbull
Assistant Head Coach: Joseph Gough
Offensive Coordinator: Matthew Evans
QB Coach: Daniel Templeton
HB Coach: Joe Stanley
WR Coach: Sebastian Bull
OL Coach: Alfie Bartlett
Defensive Coordinator: Oliver O'Sullivan
DL Coach: Anthony Davemark
LB Coach: Jack Ralman
CB Coach: Adam Day
Safety's Coach: Scott Dean
Special Teams/Kicking Coach: Anthony Harvey
Physical Trainer: William Dean
Assistant Trainer: Bradley Field
First Medic: Charles Byrne
Second Medic: Bailey Potter
Therapy Specialist: Tyler Sharpe
Professional Advanced Medical Consultant: Bailey Ryan

Depth Chart

Quarterbacks:
#8 Nicholas Harriot
#16 Jason Clontz
#11 Harry Sherbourne

Halfback:
#31 Lewis Davis
#29 Gerard McCrea

Fullbacks:
#47 Randell Boone

Wide Recievers:
#40 Craig Gomez
#81 Lane Smith
#12 Sam Cameron
#86 Markus Spurr

Tight Ends:
#55 Robert Atwood
#49 Andrew Mendoza

Tackles:
#61 James Clark
#72 Matthew Bell
#89 Charles Farmer
#52 Riley Phillips

Centers:
#43 Archie Jordan
#77 Jay Green

Guards:
#59 Robert Dunn
#64 Joseph Smart
#69 Corey Peters
#74 Gordon Schneider

Defense

Defensive Ends:
#66 Sean Mitchell
#69 Charles Wright
#73 Brad Buckley
#75 Logan Pickering

Defensive Tackles:
#92 Liam Barrett
#98 Scott McKenzie

Linebackers:
#51 Finley Morey
#65 Lewis Noble
#62 Ryan Davison
#53 Frank Hammond
#87 Arthur Holden
#78 Elliot Hyde

Corners:
#11 Isaac Nolan
#58 Joshua Bishop
#57 Luke Chandler
#94 Alex Leftwood

Safety's:
#44 George Lawrence
#97 Michael West
#82 Peter Hardy
#84 Isaac Buckley

Punters:
#99 Kian Tyler

Kickers:
#19 Edward Coleman

RP Permissions
Choose my scorers: Y
Choose scoring events: Y
RP injuries to my players: Y, Telegram First
Godmod scoring events: Y
Godmod injuries: Y, Telegram First
Godmod other events: Y, Telegram First

[Alenburg]

Hungry for some Wolfs!



Today our boys are hungry for some wolf meat to get out on the big door on their first WB today will be go out giving everything as always,same roster,same team,same feeling

Archibald Koetzee (Loirgrunzodd Herald Sports Section Writer

[Main Nation Ministry]

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[Newmanistan]

Hope you are all ready! This is it!
The final cutoff of the group stage!

Group 1
Bostopia 20–7 The Frozen Forest
Lisander 0–20 Starblaydia
Allamunnic States 19–17 Abanhfleft

  Group 1                       Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Allamunnic States              10    9   1   277   82 +195    27  Q
2 Abanhfleft                     10    7   3   206  152  +54    21  Q
3 Lisander                       10    5   5   181  201  −20    15
4 Starblaydia                    10    4   6   161  143  +18    12
5 Bostopia                       10    3   7   103  180  −77     9
6 The Frozen Forest              10    2   8    89  259 −170     6

Group 2
South Covello 40–7 Nevis and Kitts
Jebslund 0–10 Main Nation Ministry
Razenthuria 3–23 Drawkland

  Group 2                       Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Main Nation Ministry           10    9   1   214   72 +142    27  Q
2 Drawkland                      10    7   3   162   95  +67    21  Q
3 South Covello                  10    5   5   199  175  +24    15
4 Razenthuria                    10    5   5    95  119  −24    15
5 Jebslund                       10    4   6   111  145  −34    12
6 Nevis and Kitts                10    0  10    64  239 −175     0

Group 3
Pridnestrovia 12–0 Ashkam
Taeshan 6–10 Banija
Azadeshia 0–17 Roglonia

  Group 3                       Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Pridnestrovia                  10    8   2   190  116  +74    24  Q
2 Taeshan                        10    7   3   158   93  +65    21  Q
3 Roglonia                       10    6   4   182  121  +61    18
4 Banija                         10    6   4   134  155  −21    18
5 Azadeshia                      10    3   7   140  175  −35     9
6 Ashkam                         10    0  10    81  225 −144     0

Group 4
Northwest Kalactin 23–22 Kaboomlandia
Holy Nazirealm 3–6 Vakolicci Haven & Celeria
Newmanistan 17–7 Qasden

  Group 4                       Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Kaboomlandia                   10    8   2   236  109 +127    24  Q
2 Qasden                         10    7   3   194   99  +95    21  Q
3 Newmanistan                    10    7   3   191  140  +51    21  Q (2nd wild card)
4 Northwest Kalactin             10    5   5   165  192  −27    15
5 Vakolicci Haven & Celeria      10    3   7    95  170  −75     9
6 Holy Nazirealm                 10    0  10    84  255 −171     0

Group 5
The Wolf Zones 6–23 Alenburg
Equestrian States 0–20 Alpine Union
Barunia 6–10 Free Republics

  Group 5                       Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Alpine Union                   10    8   2   186   43 +143    24  Q
2 Free Republics                 10    8   2   127   47  +80    24  Q
3 Barunia                        10    6   4   181   91  +90    18
4 Alenburg                       10    6   4   130  128   +2    18
5 Equestrian States              10    2   8    97  227 −130     6
6 The Wolf Zones                 10    0  10    24  209 −185     0

Group 6
Melbergia 0–3 Cosumar
Cassadaigua 17–0 The Greater Nordics
Royal Kingdom of Quebec 39–24 Ko-oren

  Group 6                       Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Royal Kingdom of Quebec        10    8   2   196  110  +86    24  Q
2 Ko-oren                        10    7   3   231  145  +86    21  Q
3 Cosumar                        10    7   3   227  120 +107    21  Q (1st wild card)
4 Cassadaigua                    10    5   5   128  131   −3    15
5 The Greater Nordics            10    2   8   107  238 −131     6
6 Melbergia                      10    1   9    44  189 −145     3

Group 7
United States of Devonta 7–7 North Prarie (7–14 OT)
Vangaziland 20–10 Irwil
Velstrania 10–28 -Anthor-

  Group 7                       Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Velstrania                     10    7   3   142  104  +38    21  Q
2 Vangaziland                    10    7   3   186  127  +59    21  Q
3 -Anthor-                       10    6   4   177  104  +73    18
4 North Prarie                   10    5   5   129  148  −19    15
5 United States of Devonta       10    4   6   121  116   +5    12
6 Irwil                          10    1   9    49  205 −156     3

Tiebreaker Notes (when possible playoff positioning was applicable):
Group 3:
-- Roglonia over Banija on H2H PD (H2H split), Roglonia +17 on H2H PD.

Group 4:
-- Qasden over Newmanistan on H2H PD (H2H split), Qasden by one mere point on H2H PD.

Group 5:
-- Alpine Union over Free Republics on H2H PD (H2H split), Alpine Union +17 on H2H PD

Group 6:
-- Ko-oren over Cosumar on H2H Results (2-0 vs Cosumar)

Group 7:
-- Velstrania over Vangaziland on H2H PD (H2H Split), Velstrania +2 on H2H PD

SEEDINGS NOTE: (per bid)
-- First place teams receive seeds 1-7, regardless of record.
-- Second place teams receive seeds 8-14, regardless of record
-- Wild cards seeded 15-16, regardless of record.

Playoff matchups: (bracket style, and there is no reseeding)
(1) Allamunnic States vs (16) Newmanistan (Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls)
(2) Main Nation Ministry vs (15) Cosumar (Gladiator Stadium, Olympia)
(3) Alpine Union vs (14) Abanhfleft (Empress Jessica I Stadium, Jessicaville)
(4) Kaboomlandia vs (13) Vangaziland (Centralia Stadium, Centralia)
(5) Royal Kingdom of Quebec vs (12) Taeshan (Emperor Michael I Stadium, Pocono City)
(6) Pridnestrovia vs (11) Drawkland (McAllister Stadium, Putnam Lake)
(7) Velstrania vs (10) Ko-oren (The Jungle, Loudon)
(8) Free Republics vs (9) Qasden (Keisler Stadium, Southport)

City and Stadium Information

[Drawkland]

Dak Waterman stood in the locker room, his right arm in a well-made sling. The rest of the Grid Corps sat before him. The coaches and coordinators stood at the edges of the room, all looking at him expectantly. The Big Man, who'd captained the Grid Corps and the Drawk Corps for many years, had fallen in the game against Main Nation Ministry. He'd been sacked and fell hard on his right shoulder, tearing the rotator cuff and ending his World Bowl season. He'd recovered, and now patrolled the sidelines during the games. Dustin Beck was now in charge for the entire game, rather than the latter half that he'd grown used to.

"Alright, fellas. This is it. We've talked a lot, the pundits have talked a lot, our fans have talked a lot. But none of that matters now. This," he said, pointing to his shoulder with his left hand, "isn't what matters. What matters is you all. You all know what we need. A win. Even a tight loss. Anything less than 2 touchdowns. This may be the away ground, but this is make or break."

The hushed silence remained over them all. Most of them were prepared. Keegan Masters, Leo Cross, they haven't been really nervous for a game in years. Some of the younger players though, especially young Beck himself, were feeling heavy in their chests.

"We're going out there full strength today," Waterman said, with an assuring look towards Beck, "And that's all we need. Defend the run. Keegan, Leo, Phillip. Eric, Max, Abram, Ed ... you know what to do. Stop them. Dead in their tracks. Their QB is injured too, but they don't have the backup that we have."

Everybody looked at Beck, a few chuckled positively. The game was on his shoulders. The defense would do their job ... but could the offense?

"We have the weapons. Now let's fire. Huddle up, y'all."

The team huddled around Waterman. He held up his left fist. "Grid Corps on three. One, two, three!"

"GRID CORPS!" the team said in powerful unison, and all shuffled out to the tunnel. Beck lagged behind, looking at Waterman.

"What if I-"

"Yes you can. I don't care what the people say. I see in you what I feel in myself. The desire to win. The ability to win. You have Jack backing you up, and Dan and Toby will catch anything in their way. You can. Don't listen to anything but your own mind. Your instincts."

"I still don't know ..."

"I do. Now kick some Razen ass out there. Prance around their defense, and show them what you're made of."

[Roglonia]

Things are looking grim now for the Roglonian National Team, despite their pretty good run including a victory over Taeshan, who are the number 1 ranked team leading in to the tournament. David Spighetti, the Chairman of the National Gridiron Football Committee of Roglonia, has decided to call the coaching staff to his office for a meeting. "We've had a good run guys, despite the tough road early on you guys made some good coaching decisions and almost saved our season. Right now even if we win every game we'll still need other people to lose their games." Spighetti says as he addresses his coaching staff "Despite possibly not making the knockout stages, I've decided that you will all keep your jobs for the next tournament. This was our first World Bowl and we showed that we have some of the best athletes in the world and once our football program is fully developed they all will have something to worry about." Spighetti's assistant, Michelle, hands each of the coaching staff and trainers a booklet. "We decided that we should honor the stand out athletes of our National Team with awards. You guys will each vote for a player in each category and the winner of each category will get an award. We've spoken with the Silver House officials and they agreed to have the President of Roglonia himself honour the standout players with their awards for this tournament. Wake Up, Roglonia will be covering the ceremony. The Committee hopes an event like this will increase the popularity of football in Roglonia which means more money at the club level so that they can develop young players better."

(OOC: I wrote this before the cut off but didn't post it until after. So the timeline of this post happened before the last matchday)

[Ko-oren]

The fullway report - Dragonflies still all right, but in this time

The Green and Blue have qualified for the knockout stage of the World Bowl as the 10th seed, much better than the 23rd ranked position the team started in. Quebec and Cosumar will both join us there: Quebec as 5th seed and Cosumar as the 15th seed.

Ko-oren 17–0 Cassadaigua
QB: Merolidhothen - 28/35, 215 yds, 1 TD, 101.7 QBR
Rushing: Thorebourne - 20 carries, 94 yds, 1 TD
Receiving: Tharadhen - 7 rec, 80 yds, 1 TD
Def: 5 sacks, 1 FF, 2 INTs

Cosumar 13–20 Ko-oren
QB: Merolidhothen - 20/27, 157 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT, 85.0 QBR
Rushing: Thorebourne - 13 carries, 83 yds, 1 TD
Receiving: Whitlock - 6 rec, 57 yds
Def: 4 sacks, 1 INT

Ko-oren 34–14 The Greater Nordics
QB: Merolidhothen - 30/38, 302 yds, 3 TDs, 126,1 QBR
Rushing: Thorebourne - 14 carries, 103 yds, 1 TD
Receiving: Whitlock - 8 rec, 135 yds, 2 TDs
Def: 7 sacks, 2 INTs, 6 pts

Ko-oren 19–3 Melbergia
QB: Merolidhothen - 21/30, 217 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT, 87.8 QBR
Rushing: Robertson - 9 carries, 48 yds, 1 TD, 1 F
Receiving: Tharadhen - 7 rec, 68 yds, 1 TD
Def: 5 sacks, 2 INT, 2 pts

Royal Kingdom of Quebec 39–24 Ko-oren
QB: Merolidhothen - 25/36, 281 yds, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 99.4 QBR
Rushing: Thorebourne - 14 carries, 52 yds, 1 TD, 1 F
Receiving: Lokaguthen - 12 rec, 80 yds, 1 TD
Def: 3 sacks

The second half was decidedly better than the first. In the first five games, the Dragonflies won 60%, and in the latter five, the win percentage was 80%. The one loss was again to Quebec, who win the group 8-2 despite not having named any starting player, which means a horde of Quebecois gridiron players just showed up to games and figuring out what to do pretty much as the other team was kicking off. The organised chaos was too much for the meticulously planned Green and Blue - and that's two of our three losses. The third loss was a 14-10 loss to newcomers Cassadaigua in round 1. The Dragonflies took revenge by shutting them out 17-0 in the second game. On top of that, Ko-oren has beaten Cosumar twice, both upsets, 26-23 in overtime and then 13-20 away in Cosumar. The other two weak teams were easy prey in both instances. In the second half of the campaign, this was a 34-14 win in a rare game that saw the offence take centre-stage and a defence that was doing a lot of breaking but not a lot of bending. The other game was a 19-3 textbook win, and the Dragonflies' only safety of the campaign.

Merolidhothen has developed into a true first quarterback for the team. Hitting a 100+ QBR in two games and being basically a completion away from a third 100+ rating in a third, his completion percentage across the entire campaign is 73,8%, though interceptions have remained an issue. He never threw two in one game, and he was down from 5 ints in the first five games to 4 right now. He's even hit 300+ yards in a game, and threw at least a touchdown in every game, so our QB situation is all figured out, if it was a question to begin with.

The rushing attack has also stabilised into something great, with Alastair Thorebourne rushing for a touchdown in all of his four games. A minor injury saw him out of the Melbergia game, but Robertson started that game with aplomb. Ko-oren has played to its strengths a lot more in the latter half of the group stage, giving the ball to the better players far more often. Even if defences knew what the plan was, it was hard to stop anyway and Thorebourne had a great 8 games.

The receiving squad remains a big question mark. Tharadhen and Pwlh have done great, but they also had blocking duties as tight ends. Lokaguthen was often a good target though struggled getting yards after contact and was never the elusive receiver that he was selected to be. Whitlock was still the only deep threat and got a few spectacular 50-50 catches down the stretch.

The defence has continued to be amazing. The secondary has given the front seven enough time to break through the O-line for sacks, while the front seven on occasion pressured the QB into throwing into coverage, where the secondary amassed 7 picks. Overall, the defence averaged 1,5 INT per game, which is a number we can only hope will continue into the knockouts. The number of sacks is a little inflated given the average opponent, but we should still hope to see a few sacks per game going forward against stronger opposition. Run defence is still a problem given the strong secondary (who aren't around to stop the run, usually) and weak D-line (giving the running backs a lot of options to run through). If that is addressed, this team could go far. The defence even helped to put points on the board (a pick six and a safety).

Special teams vary. Kicking is pretty good, with only misses on 50+ yard field goals. Punting is a weapon still, sending the opponent inside their own 20 a good 50% of the time. Returning is mediocre, with no points on returns, and even no returns upwards of 15 yards.

Unsurprisingly, the Allamunnic States are first seed, yet the Main Nation Ministry are an unknown at second. All in all, seven wins from the 10 qualification games was enough, with both wild cards on exactly seven wins, and every team on six or fewer wins going home.

[Union of Socialist Alpine Republics]

The Alpine Union defeated the Equestrian States, finnish in 1st place in group 5

Canterlot, Equestrian States - (NAP) On the final week of the group stage, the Alpines travelled to the Equestrian States. Because Alpine pilots doesn't have the certification to fly to the Equestrian States, the Bisons took a flight to Electrum, and another flight to the land of the ponies from Electrum. The Equestrian States recieved the ball first but their drive ended with a punt. On the following drive, quarterback Haylie Woo made her World Bowl debut and she completed her first pass, a 22 yards pass to Jennifer Killebrew. This drive ended with a 8 yards rushing touchdown by Coconut Riddick and the Reprezentacja Alpejski are leading 7-0! The Alpine Union made two field goals in the 2nd quarter and were leading 13-0 at the halftime. The Equestrian States tried a come back in the 4th quarter but it was a little late. Quarterback #10 passed to Wide Reciever #81 for 17 yards and the Equestrian States have the ball at the 44 yards in Alpine territory. They're in Alpine territory for the first time in this game. Qurterback #10's pass intended to Wide reciever #85 is intercepted by Kevin McGinnis who returns the ball to the 40 yards line. Coconut Riddick runs for 5 yards. Coconut Riddick runs for 2 yards. Coconut Riddick runs for 5 yards. 1st and 10 at the 28 yards line. Barkevious Hawkins runs for 6 yards. Barkevious Hawkins runs for 4 yards. After measuring, the Bisons gets the 1st down. Barkevious Hawkins runs for 3 yards. Haylie Woo makes a screen pass to Montavious McBryde who runs to the end zone for a touchdown and the score is 20-0 Reprezentacja Alpejski! Coconut Riddick was shown eating an hamburger on the big screen in the stadium during the two minutes warning, which angered many vegetarian ponies, dragons and unicorns in the attendance. The game is over, the Alpine Union defeated the Equestrian States 20-0!

Equestrian States  0   0   0   0   -   0
Alpine Union       7   6   0   7   -  20

BOXSCORE

1ST QUARTER
9:39 - Touchdown by Coconut Riddick (8 yards run). Extra point by Crockett Burkhead.

2ND QUARTER
12:23 - Field Goal by Crockett Burkhead (42 yards)
1:44 - Field Goal by Crockett Burkhead (25 yards)

3RD QUARTER
No score

4TH QUARTER
4:48 - Touchdown by Montavious McBryde (15 yards pass from Clifford Jenkins). Extra point by Crockett Burkhead.

Abanhfleft you're next!

The Alpine Union finished 1st in group 5 with a 8-2 record, tied with the Free Republics, but the Bisons wins the tiebreaker on points difference against each other. The Reprezentacja Alpejski have the 3rd seed and will face Abanhfleft in the 1st round, while the Evil Repubicans, seeded 8th, will play against Qasden. Abanhfleft is an opponent that the Alpines wanted to avoid in the 1st round, considering their history, not just in football, but in any other sports.

This is not the first time these two nations are facing each other. The Alpine Union surprised everyone during the World Bowl XXXII with a 34-13 win over Abanhfleft in the semi finals. Highlights of the game were an halfback pass from Coconut Riddick to Jarius Floyd in the 2nd quarter and a fumblerooski play in the 4th quarter to seal the victory for the Bisons.

The Alpines also played a couple of times against Abanhfleft's allied nations and our allies also played against Abanhfleft. You remember the baptism of Iron? The final of the Baptism of Iron 12 was played between the Southern Democratic States and Thereisnogodistan. The SDS won 13-7 in overtime. At the Baptism of Fire 57, Abanhfleft and our friends Pays den Haut were drawn in the same group. On matchday 1, Abanhfleft defeated Pays den Haut 2-1. Pays den Haut had a 1-3 record in the group stage and were eliminated while Abanhfleft lost in the quarterfinals against Isula ĝe Ru. Both teams also played each other in the WBC and maybe the defunct International Baseball Slam.

Clifford Jenkins will be back at quarterback for the Bisons against Abanhfleft. Hunter Mahoney is questionnable with an arm injury and Jarrod Houston is probable with a buttock injury.

[Main Nation Ministry]

The Truth News

Main Nation Ministry vs Cosumar

"After several World Bowl games, Main Nation Ministry has finally qualified for the main playoffs! The first matchup with be the nation of Cosumar, who have been listed as the 1st Wild Card in the World Bowl. Several journalists have already traveled to the city of Olympia, Newmanistan to have coverage for the next matchday. Also, remember that vendors will arrive to give fans their favorite snakefish-based seafood dishes, including the famous snakefish on a stick."

[Abanhfleft]

Gaelic Gamers
Presents...

Gabbing on Gridiron
with Dara Keane

WORLD BOWL XXXV RECAP: MATCHDAY TEN

Allamunnic States       10  3  3  3  19
Abanhfleft               0  7  0 10  17

No revenge on the Regulars for us, unfortunately. Once again the Fanboys proved to us just why they have been the dominant force in gridiron since we Flefts first took interest in the multiversal sport. Although I have to say that there were times when the Fanboys didn't look like they were actually dominating the game, as you can see by the sheer number of field goals that they scored to keep the scoreboard ticking. Now I understand where Denis of The Unofficial PGSL Blog comes from. (Shameless advertising right there. What has our site come to?)

You would be forgiven for thinking that we might just have another high-scoring game in our hands when the Regulars scored the first touchdown of the game in the first quarter courtesy of a run from 20 yards from Ole Haensley, but little did we know that that was to be the Allamunnic States' first and only touchdown in the game. The rest of the touchdowns in this game would come from us, but sadly it wouldn't be enough to give us victory as it normally would.

Unfortunately for us, that first touchdown would not come until the second quarter, and even then it was only because we were carrying over our possession from the previous quarter, and barely one minute had even passed in the second quarter before Saddam Hussain caught the pigskin inside the end zone to put us within three points of the opponents. That glimmer of hope wouldn't last very long however as the Fanboys extended their lead to six points with a 38-yard field goal from Kaarl Hunt.

And so it went for the rest of the second half, with Hunt kicking field goals whenever it was within his range to do so. Hunt actually kicked a 55-yarder midway through the third quarter, and although it has been said specifically that 55 yards is Kaarl Hunt's absolute field goal limit, you wouldn't think so when you saw him shoot that ball right between the posts, not bending too far to the left or the right. Hunt's fourth field goal was a tamer 40-yard attempt, but the simple fact that he was able to make those kinds of field goals seemingly at will seemed to either motivate or demotivate our Armored Revolutionaries. I can't really tell, to be honest.

But the Fleftics eventually got enough motivation back to go for a field goal from 50 yards, which isn't that far off from Cleveland Hyneman's absolute range, but still, the fact that he felt like he could make the field goal (which he did, by the way) was telling of the team's mindset. A rare three-and-out on the part of the Regulars then gave us another chance to draw even closer, and boy did we take it. Harrison Aumann, who up to that point had not been able to find a Fleftic receiver with a deep pass (he was however routinely being picked off by the Fanboys whenever he attempted a deep pass in the previous three quarters), was finally able to put the ball in the hands of Denis Nguyen who ran 18 more yards before finally getting the touchdown. Cleveland scored the PAT as well to put us just two points away from the Regulars.

And then an uncharacteristic fumble from the Regulars afforded Abanhfleft the chance to win it all and get a modicum of revenge against the Fanboys, as the fumble took place on the Fanboys' own 30-yard line; more than good enough field position for the likes of Cleveland Hyneman to kick and win the game. Alas, it was not to be. Cleveland Hyneman, the man who once scored an improbable 60-yard field goal in the FNLAF, could not even get a mere 38-yard field goal on target. How's that for bad luck?

Still, despite this loss, Abanhfleft advances to the World Bowl playoffs, where they will be up against the Alpine Union, er, the Union of Socialist Alpine Republics. Or whatever they call themselves now. Fleftic fans will have some not-so-sweet memories against the Alpines, most notably "The Fumblerooski" that padded the numbers for them and essentially punched in their ticket to the World Bowl XXXII final and led to them lifting the trophy itself. Would I call this a grudge match? Probably. Would both teams be fired up for some gridiron action? Definitely. Who will win? Why, Abanhfleft, I hope, but knowing our track record against teams who have beaten ours at least once before, confidence might just very well be at rock bottom. So, while in my heart I hope Abanhfleft will win, in my mind I just know that we will find some way to cock things up and give the game to the Alpines. Satusa Heyedy, Satusa Heyedy, Satusa Heyedy....

[Trans-Dniesters]

Приднестровская Гридиронная Суперлига
PRIDNESTROVIAN GRIDIRON SUPER LEAGUE
SEASON II RECAP

Well, hello there, friends, comrades and fellow fans in gridiron. Today, as a special bonus, we will cover the last five days of the second season of the Pridnestrovian Gridiron Super League in one post. Are you ready, comrades? I sure hope you are ready because once you get on the wild PGSL ride, there's no getting off! On to the games!

MATCHDAY EIGHTEEN

Sheriff Tiraspol         3  7  3 10  23
Admiral Novorossiysk     3  3  0  0   6

Antakya Hawks            7  3 10  7 0  27
Kesselburger Kestrels   13  0  7  7 3  30

Yeralenko Torpedoes      3  0  3  6  12
Novonikolaysk Sharks     6  7 10  6  29

Rheinburg Spartans       0  0  0  7   7
CSKA Tiraspol            9 20  3  7  39

Macaresti Gladiators     0  6  7  3  16
Dinamo Bender           10  7 14  3  34

It just seems so fitting that on the day that two football teams who resorted to field goals to grab victory against the other ended up having to do the same thing just to separate the winner from the loser. And that winner would turn out to be the Kesselburger Kestrels, who have their kicker Luis Tragan to thank for making the 36-yard field that would turn out to be probably the most crucial in Kesselburg's gridiron history. At the very least, it keeps their playoff hopes alive for at least a few more matchdays. It's most certainly revenge for the Hawks beating them in their last meeting.

In other news, Dinamo Bender continues their relentless pursuit for a perfect season. The Macaresti Gladiators are the latest victim of this seemingly unstoppable team from Bender, and if Rodion Tarasenko and company can keep up this level coming into the playoffs, they might just be able to start up a gridiron dynasty that would rule the league (for as long as Tarasenko can keep it up). Also, CSKA Tiraspol have won another game once again! And it's all thanks to their 20-point explosion in the second quarter. 20 points! In one quarter! I cannot believe it myself! Is this what it feels like to be a Dinamo Bender fan this season?

MATCHDAY NINETEEN

Dinamo Bender            6 10  3 10  29
Rheinburg Spartans       0  7  3  0  10

CSKA Tiraspol            3  7  9  3  22
Yeralenko Torpedoes      0  6  3  6  15

Novonikolaysk Sharks     0  7  3  6  16
Antakya Hawks            3  0  7  0  10

Kesselburger Kestrels    7  7  0  0  14
Sheriff Tiraspol         6 10  3  7  26

Admiral Novorossiysk    10  0  3  0 3  16
Bratsk Dolphins          7  3  3  0 0  13

Dinamo are simply unstoppable! There is no other way of describing it! And in the second rematch of last season's Pridnestrovian Bowl, the team from Bender absolutely smashed the Spartans of Rheinburg, grinding them into the dust and eating the remains before spitting and shitting it out in the form of a 29-10 result in favor of Dinamo. I know, not the most pleasant of metaphors for me to use, but it is the only one that I could come up with to describe what exactly happened between the two teams.

We also have another game go into overtime this week, and that is the game between Admiral Novorossiysk and the Bratsk Dolphins. Personally, I thought the bye day might actually have come to the benefit of the Dolphins as the rest might just be what they need to recharge their batteries, so to speak, but it looks like they might need a little longer to get back up to speed. Still, the fact that they were able to push the Seamen of Novorossiysk all the way to overtime before finally succumbing is a testament in and of itself to the Dolphins' ability to play and fight with the best.

MATCHDAY TWENTY

Bratsk Dolphins          3  7  6  7  23
Kesselburger Kestrels    7  3  7  0  17

Sheriff Tiraspol         6  9  7 21  43
Novonikolaysk Sharks     3  0 14  3  20

Antakya Hawks            7  0  3  0  10
CSKA Tiraspol            7  7 16  7  37

Yeralenko Torpedoes      3  3  0  0   6
Dinamo Bender           10 10 10  7  37

Rheinburg Spartans       7  6  0  0  13
Macaresti Gladiators    10 10  7 21  48

No rest for the weary, as they say, although looking at Dinamo Bender's performance against the Yeralenko Torpedoes, you would be hard inclined to find someone who would believe that the Dinamo put in a labored performance. In fact, it was the Fleftic rookie halfback Garrett McGarvey who was responsible the most for keeping the Dinamo offensive machine moving. And yes, while putting 37 points up on a board is impressive, it's not like they're the only team to do it in this matchday. Can you guys already imagine the smug grin on my face?

Meanwhile, misery continues to pile on top of the other for the Rheinburg Spartans, whose chances of making it back to the Pridnestrovian Bowl looks less and less likely with each passing matchday. A blowout defeat against the Macaresti Gladiators is the latest blow to their playoff hopes, while the Bratsk Dolphins appeared to have recovered with victory against the Kesselburger Kestrels, who will feel disappointed to have lost against a team that is known to be rusty every second half of the season. But that's the nature of gridiron football for you.

MATCHDAY TWENTY-ONE

Macaresti Gladiators     0  3  0 10  13
Yeralenko Torpedoes      0  0  0  0   0

Dinamo Bender            0 13  7  3  23
Antakya Hawks            3  0  0  3   6

CSKA Tiraspol            3  6  0  0   9
Sheriff Tiraspol         7  3 14  7  31

Novonikolaysk Sharks     7  0  7  3  17
Bratsk Dolphins          3 10 17  0  30

Kesselburger Kestrels   10  3 10  3 0  26
Admiral Novorossiysk     0  3 13 10 3  29

Dinamo Bender are unstoppable. CSKA Tiraspol are stoppable. Yeralenko lost a game. What else is new this matchday, eh? Nothing, that's what. I don't want to go back to that fucking Tiraspol derby again. I just don't. I'd rather focus my attention on either the Bratsk Dolphins' 30-17 victory over the Novonikolaysk Sharks where the Dolphins managed to post 17 points in one quarter (what!?) or the fact that the Yeralenko Torpedoes were shut out by the Macaresti Gladiators. Now doesn't that make for much more pleasant and palatable reading?

MATCHDAY TWENTY-TWO

Admiral Novorossiysk    13  3  6 14  36
Novonikolaysk Sharks     3  3  0  3   9

Bratsk Dolphins          7 10 10  3  30
CSKA Tiraspol            0  3  7  0  10

Sheriff Tiraspol         0  0  3  0   3
Dinamo Bender            3  6 10  6  25

Antakya Hawks            0  0 14  3  17
Macaresti Gladiators     7 10  7  6  30

Yeralenko Torpedoes      7  0  7  7  21
Rheinburg Spartans       0  7  0  7  14

Now I don't know whether to be happy that Bratsk won yet another game in the second half of the season or whether I should just rage quit because CSKA Tiraspol lost yet another game. I am conflicted, truly, and to the core. I have no words anymore, comrades. I literally cannot even anymore.

Final PGSL Regular Season Table

                          Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD
 1 Dinamo Bender           20   20   0   496  263 +233     Regular season champions, qualified for playoffs
 2 Sheriff Tiraspol        20   15   5   491  298 +193     Qualified for playoffs
 3 CSKA Tiraspol           20   12   8   456  360  +96     Qualified for playoffs
 4 Bratsk Dolphins         20   11   9   386  353  +33     Qualified for playoffs
 5 Macaresti Gladiators    20   11   9   405  394  +11     Qualified for playoffs
 6 Admiral Novorossiysk    20   10  10   435  351  +84     Qualified for playoffs
 7 Antakya Hawks           20    8  12   381  500 −119     Qualified for playoffs
 8 Novonikolaysk Sharks    20    7  13   356  485 −129     Qualified for playoffs
 9 Kesselburger Kestrels   20    6  14   369  451  −82
10 Rheinburg Spartans      20    6  14   321  451 −130
11 Yeralenko Torpedoes     20    4  16   301  491 −190

So there we have it. Dinamo Bender takes home the regular season championship for the 2023-24 PGSL season. Sheriff Tiraspol bags the bragging rights of being the best of the rest, while the Yeralenko Torpedoes remain rooted to the bottom of the table. The Antakya Hawks have managed to squeeze themselves into the playoffs practically by the skin of their teeth, while the Kesselburger Kestrels will be left wondering what could have been.

World Bowl XXXV Bonus! Group Stage Matchday Ten

Pridnestrovia      3  3  0  6  12
Ashkam             0  0  0  0  0

And now for one more look at the World Bowl group stage! Well, I say look, but this will be more like a cursory glance as I can assure you that nothing much of note occurred in this game. Wislaw Sokoloff scored four field goals, two in the first half and two in the second half. That's about it. I could go into a little more detail about every field goal or why Sokoloff spread out two field goals across two quarters in the first half but went two for two in the fourth, but really, there is nothing else to be talked about. Pridnestrovia scored four field goals and won the game. That's it. Game over.

But it's not game over just yet, as Pridnestrovia are moving on to the playoffs of the World Bowl. There they will face Drawkland and their vaunted Grid Corps. We all know how the Drawk people are just that little bit different from ordinary humankind (being that they are very tall and live longer than vanilla humans and all) so the passing game might be a little bit more difficult to pull off against these Drawks, but I have faith in the Red Army. But I often find that that faith is not always repaid in a victory or at least a good performance from the team. What else can we expect from the Pridnestrovian national gridiron football team, after all?

Well, that takes care of the regular season of the second season of the Pridnestrovian Gridiron Super League. Depending on whether we still qualify for the next round of the playoffs after Drawkland, I might include more World Bowl action in my recap posts, but don't expect too much. Hope breeds disappointment after all. До свидания.

[Drawkland]

CORPSGUY725'S BLOG


Is Beck The Answer?

It's no secret, guys. We may be totally, completely boned.

As you all may or may not know (I'm sure true Drawkian fans have known and lamented this already), but Dak Waterman is now out of commission. The Big Man tore his rotator cuff on an awkward-looking throw after being sacked the previous play. This is pretty much a crushing blow for the Grid Corps, as Waterman has been the absolute field general for the team ever since it came to the World Bowl stage. As the man is now approaching his 30s, his career is entering the middle stage for QBs in the Drawkian league. This injury likely won't be the end of his career by any means, but he's out of this Bowl for good.

So now we have a dilemma. With the clutchest member of the team now unable to play, are we screwed? Especially considering our inability to score points and leaky defense against decent opponents, we could easily be right out of the playoffs without a second thought. All our hopes now lie on Dustin Beck's shoulders. The rookie QB sensation from Sadeg State may have plenty of raw talent, but based on what we've seen in the group stage, he may not have what it takes to bring the Corps to the promised land for the second time.

There's no doubt that Beck has the ability for a deep playoff run. He did what Drawk Corps U never could, take his school to the playoffs of the NSCF. And that's in the same tough conference as DCU had been in. He's an electric playmaker, with both a cannon arm and extremely quick & shifty legs. He's faster and more agile on the ground than some elite running backs, and he can still throw great balls to receivers. The problem with him, of course, is that he's no longer the BMOC. He's now a small fish in a much bigger pond, and he's inexperienced against professional schemes. The defenders are faster, the playbook is more complex, and his mistakes are more amplified.

For the most part, he's performed well over the course of the group stage. But that's really a different circumstance. He was serving the role of a closer for the team: take over at the half and don't blow it. There's a couple games where the game did spiral out of control into a loss in the second half, but it wasn't always Beck at fault. Now he's not just a relief pitcher for the team, though, he's the starter and he's expected to see it all the way through. Against Razenthuria, he thrived, but that's mainly a credit to the defense. Razenthuria's pass game is completely nonexistent, and the front 7 for the Corps stymied their run game at every turn. It's easy to be a QB when your defense is winning. Defense wins championships, after all.

The defense is another story entirely.

Cross Strip Sack -> Masters Fumble Six

Our defense, so far, has been way too hot and cold, imo. Sometimes they're shutting down teams with no question (Razenthuria, anyone?), and sometimes they're literally choking on their own spit and giving up easy touchdowns (... Main Nation Ministry). There's really no predicting how they're going to play. I think, in an amateur's opinion, that it's mainly bad playcalling. Really, that's our entire problem coming up into this.

We have talent. We are absolutely loaded in talent. When I think of the Corps defense, the offense even, there's no place where I go, "yeah, that's a weak spot." The GLD is one of the premier domestic leagues in the multiverse. I'm biased, so I feel wrong in saying it IS the definitive best, but it sure seems like it. And this Corps squad is utterly the best of the best. So why are we not 50 points ahead in every game by now? All of that blame lands on Quentin Averfel.

Don't get me wrong, Averfel is one of the greatest coaches in our generation. He's led the Drawk Corps to several championships and was the one to finally get the Grid Corps to win the World Bowl. He can be a genius sometimes, but I feel that he's much too aggressive at others. Hell, it was his idea to do an all out blitz on the goalline in the World Bowl semis against Velstrania, and that completely exposed our weakness when they pulled a flea flicker on us to score and win the game. Like, goddamn! We had that game in the bag, and likely could've won another World Bowl! But his arrogance cost us deeply.

The same happens here. The Corps' tendency to blitz on early downs and keep pressure going constantly can easily crush lesser teams, but if they can figure out the patterns and guess what's coming, we're extremely vulnerable. Who cares if you get a hit on the quarterback every play if he just zips a slant route for 7 yards every time? Drawkland has now been out on the international scene long enough that there's oodles of film on us. We've had very few scheme and personnel changes over the years, and now teams are starting to catch on. Don't even ask me how Allamunnic States managed to win 6 World Bowls in such a dominating fashion. I'm legitimately not sure if we, or anybody else, could ever repeat that feat.

Now, I'm not in charge of anything at DISC, I'm just a dude who wastes all his income on football tickets, but if I were DISC I'd be firing Averfel this Bowl. If we can't get past the quarterfinals (as a Top 4 ranked team!!) this Bowl, I say Averfel should be shown the door. He's done wonders for us, and his playcalling getting us to a World Bowl championship can not be overstated. But with a team as talented as this, and with a situation as good as we usually have, there's no reason we shouldn't have at least made it to another final by now. There's a plethora of other talented minds knocking around the GLD, surely some of them could do something more with this squad.

Jack Hoy May Be Our Savior

So going forward into the playoffs, what's the deal? What is our path to victory here? Firstly, we're playing Pridnestrovia in the first round. They may be seeded higher than us now, but they're not ranked as highly as us. I hesitate to type that considering the Main Nation Ministry debacle, but at least we'll be playing on neutral ground. They had an 8-2 record with a +74 point differential. Basically, if you erase the Main Nation Ministry game from our record, we're basically tied with them record-wise. To be fair, they were the Pot 2 team in the group containing reigning champions Taeshan, so perhaps they worked a little harder for their record. In my opinion though, we could easily overcome them.

I am excited to be travelling to Newmanistan and Putnam Lake for this game. Hopefully I'll be able to see more of Newmanistan, considering the Corps does what they need to and actually win games, but at least the first location is nice. I've heard the weather is always temperate, and that the beaches lining the lake are second-to-none. McAllister Stadium seems like a pretty run-of-the-mill outdoor arena, so it's unlikely the massive Drawkian crowd there will be making an enormous difference.

When If we win this first matchup, we'll be going against the winner of Alpine Union and Abanhfleft. Alpine Union went 8-2 like Pridnestrovia, but with almost double the PD at +143. Formidable opponents for sure, and I wouldn't be surprised if we go down against them. Frankly, it's our own fault for pissing around in the group stage, and we'll reap what we sow there. The other option is Abanhfleft, who had a similar group stage to us, if not a bit shoddier. I'd honestly very much like to see Abanhfleft win this first round matchup, because we all know how Abanhfleft does against us in the playoffs (37-7 World Bowl championship? 40-22 World Bowl 3PPO? Anyone?)!

Provided we even make it this far without Averfel choking himself and the team to death, we'll be facing either Main Nation Ministry, Cosumar, Velstrania, or Ko-oren. This is a real hit-or-miss situation. Cosumar and Ko-oren likely aren't going to make it this far to the semis, but if they do, we'll be sure to end their cinderella runs there. Dustin Beck is especially tuned to winning against Cosumarites. Main Nation Ministry is a much scarier matchup, considering our inability to convincingly beat them throughout the group stage, even at home. Let's not talk about 40-10. Assuming we're in this situation, I'm just going to pray. I don't see Drawkland making it past them, but at least we'd have the 3PPO awaiting us. Then there's the final option, which would be facing Velstrania. I really do hope this happens, because we want revenge. Sweet, sweet revenge on those assholes. Another semifinal against those that fluke won over us to make it to the final? We won't be fooled twice there.

At this point, I find it highly unlikely that we make it to the final. Maybe the 3PPO. Either way, the most likely opponents I see here are Kaboomlandia or Allamunnic States. Perhaps Taeshan. I would love a matchup against any of these teams, because I believe we could reasonably beat any of these teams. Kaboomlandia is famous for choking in the playoffs save their one championship run. Taeshan, despite being the number 1 ranked nation, is still a rather weak opponent from a game standpoint, and I believe we can shut them down from repeating a title. Allamunnic States, the Regulars, may have history on their side, but we won't be the ones to let them get 7.

This is a little ambitious, sure. We just need to hit the basics. If I were the coach, I'd be running the Jack Hoy train all the way until the end of the line. I've watched his games on the Waxton Pilots, completely tearing up and through defenses and never seeming to run out of gas. The Pilots' offensive line is pretty bad as far as offensive lines go, and yet Hoy still rips through them. If we lean on the direct snap/power/toss combo that Hoy gets for the Pilots, we could go far. Their QB, Chance Orton, is the worst idiot quarterback I've ever seen, yet still the Pilots are a perennial playoff contender due to Jack Hoy. So imagine that, but with an elite offensive line, a not-terrible QB, as well as receivers that can catch the ball ... it paints a beautiful picture for our future in these playoffs.

Like I've said before, we have the talent. We have the advantage. Why are we not 50 points ahead? Until next time, folks.

[Free Republics]

One minute and 48 seconds remained on the clock in Barunia as Wibe Rus led the Republican National Football Team back onto the field for one last drive. Barunia's Josh Bell had just booted his second field goal of the game, a 41 yarder, to give the Sea Cows a 6 to 3 lead. The television cameras showed the road team surprisingly calm on their sidelines even though their offense had done almost nothing all game long. The only Republican field goal of the game had been kicked way back in the first quarter after Barunia's William Flaherty fumbled the ball. After 3 plays produced 2 incomplete passes and a 1 yard gain for Matthijn Admiraal, Dean Kevin had come on to kick the field goal.

Through 58 minutes and 12 seconds, the Free Republics had a grand total of 23 yards from scrimmage in a game that had largely consisted of 3 and outs followed by punts. Barunia had a mere 98 yards from scrimmage and more or less had two long Alex Rushton punt returns to thank for their two field goals. The game had been almost unwatchably ugly as neither team could get anything going offensively. WOLF Network had been extremely unhappy with television ratings for the World Bowl, though the story hadn't been covered by Sporting World due to Henriette Lecuyer's extreme pro-Jak Hamilton bias, and this snoozer of a game wasn't going to make them happy. Television viewers could even hear the commentators Reece Naylor and Susan Myers yawning in the booth and clearly struggling to stay awake. The previous week's 20 to nothing victory over the Wolf Zones had been more interesting though the commentators had spent a good bit of the game talking about the Stand Up to Sexism protests outside of the game.

The Republican offense took the field at the 20 yard line after a touchback. Wibe Rus tossed a screen to Matthijn Admiraal, who managed to pick up a gain of 7 yards before stepping out of bounds. On second down, Rus dropped back to pass but upon seeing nobody open, he stepped up into the pocket and took off down the middle of the field for a first down. Rus hurried his team up to the line and spiked the ball. On second down, he found Carl Curtis on a corner route for a 9 yard gain. On third down, Rus handed off to Jacob Naylor who was stopped inches short as the Republicans used their first time out. For fourth and inches, offensive coordinator Niels Juhl made a gutsy call of a play-action. Rus faked the handoff to Admiraal who was promptly tackled by 5 Barunian defenders and found Roman Vesely wide open a few yards down the field. As it looked like Veseley might be able to take this ball for a touchdown, he forgot to actually catch the ball. As the ball fell to the ground, the crowd thought they'd just pulled off the upset until the stadium announcer said "There's a flag on the field."

The crowd waited with anticipation, hoping that the flag was against the Free Republics. They would be disappointed. "Holding defense #36. 5 yard penalty. Automatic first down." Barunia's corner Orlando Kendrick had been called for holding for pulling the jersey of Anes Kokoravec. The Free Republics still had a shot as they started a new series of downs on their own 48 yard line with just 73 seconds left on the clock. On the following play, Rus went straight for Kokoravec, finding him in the middle of the field 23 yards downfield. Tim Bishop would make the tackle, holding him to a gain of 25 and giving the Republicans a new series of downs at the 27. Rus quickly called timeout #2.

From the 27, Rus would find Admiraal on a swing pass. The Republican tailback would be tackled after a gain of 10. Rus rushed his team back to the line for a quarterback sneak that picked up the first down, starting a new series of downs at the 16. Rus spiked the ball with 28 seconds left. Moments later, Rus found Bartha Myricoorish at the 2 yard line to set up first and goal. He then deliberately allowed the clock to run down to 15 seconds before calling timeout. Now, the Republicans were out of time outs and a sack or other tackle in the field of play would end the game. On first down, Rus attempted to find Myricoorish in the end zone but the Republican tight end dropped the potential game winning touchdown. On second down, Rus's pass intended for Vesely was batted down by Kevin Roach. On third down, Rus dropped back to pass again but saw an open running lane and took off. Luke Becket saw what Rus was doing and starting tackling him but Rus reached the ball across the goal line for the game-winning touchdown with 2 seconds left on the clock. Dean Kevin's extra point was a mere formality.

Moments later, it was time for Ewan Wilkinson to take the field to kickoff to Dan Fowler. Wilkinson made sure to kick it short so that Fowler couldn't take the touchback. The Barunian kick returner promptly managed to find a lane and get away from every Republican defender. He looked almost certain to score but then he decided to start showboating. Jens Klug chased after him and managed to punch the ball out of his hands as he crossed the goal line. The referee called a fumble and awarded the ball to the Free Republics on a touchback with no time remaining. The Free Republics had beaten Barunia 10 to 6.

After the game ended, the Republican National Team made sure to get out of Barunia on their private plane as quickly as possible. When their flight landed in Pocono City, Newmanistan, they discovered that they would be playing Qasden at Keisler Stadium in Southport. After refueling, they boarded their private plane once again for a flight to Southport where they rented hotel rooms and spent the next week preparing for their Round of 16 game against Qasden...

[Vangaziland]

Vangaziland Advances To Team's First World Bowl

Vangaziland's national gridiron team was not expected to advance. They were the 4th best team in Group 7, ranked 25th. The Royals played a great stretch through most of the season. They split the series with #3 Velstrania at one win apiece. Vangaziland entered the last game of the season following a two game losing streak. In both games, Vangaziland took their opponent to overtime.

The Royals lost by a touchdown to Devonta and a FG to North Prairie. Many saw the close losses as a sign that the season was wearing away on the Vannish players. "We fought hard in both games", said HB Filip Skog. "Devonta was a better team and we pushed the fight to the last minute. North Prairie had nothing to lose. But we made them work for the win. We'll need to clamp down on the last game of the season."

Vangaziland found itself in danger of elimination as they entered the final match against Irwil.

"Everyone better show up tonight", said Coach Ken Tillford. "We should have advanced in past seasons, especially last year. We just didn't get it done late in the group. This year, we need to advance to really start making a name for ourselves."

Vangaziland was heavily favored to win the match against the unranked side.

"We did well to get this far with just 3 losses. It was not easy to beat the tougher teams", said receiver Parker Vangaard. Parker would finish the match against Irwil with 1 TD reception and 108 yards. The cornerback marking him struggled to keep up. Bundison noticed this at QB. When he noticed certain defensive shifts, he hit the TEs.

Fred Loxingsen caught the second touchdown. Both receptions occured in the second half of the game. His reception came off a playaction pass where the receivers spread. Loxingsen cut up and over to make the catch over a safety. He was dragged down behind the line after the leaping catch.

The story of the first half was Antonio Herrera's field goals. The Royals had a tough time getting started. Herrera went 2 for 3, missing a 49 yard attempt. The kicker has been excellent this year, missing 3 goals throughout the season.

Vangaziland's defense allowed only 1 TD and a FG. "We had to step up", said cornerback Amante Ellison. He picked off a pass early in the 4th. The play took a lot of momentum away from a team that still had a chance at the time. "I read the route and jumped it off. The receiver didn't expect me to cut back like that." It was Ellison's 5th interception of the season.

The Royals scored twice through the air, but still established the run. Filip Skog finished with 92 yards. Bundison threw for 210 yards, completing 70 percent of his passes. In the end, his receivers may have made him look better with a few big catches. The game was well managed on both sides of the field.

Bundison spoke on the team's next opponent in Kabloomlandia days after the Irwil match. "Nobody expects us to beat the 2nd ranked team in the world", said the QB. "In that sense, we have little to lose. But if we pull off a win, it will have a big payoff. It's the kind of game where a legacy can start to be established."

The Royals are expected to show up in the World Bowl highly motivated. The advancement says good things for the program in the future. "We need to build on this", said Coach Tillford. "But it's not a bad place to be starting from."

[Newmanistan]

It's playoff time! First cutoff.

Allamunnic States 26–6 Newmanistan

Main Nation Ministry 20–15 Cosumar

Alpine Union 0–10 Abanhfleft

Kaboomlandia 23–7 Vangaziland

Royal Kingdom of Quebec 10–20 Taeshan

Pridnestrovia 24–30 Drawkland

Velstrania 10–13 Ko-oren

Free Republics 10–0 Qasden


Quarterfinals:
(1) Allamunnic States vs (8) Free Republics (Empress Jessica I Stadium, Jessicaville)
(2) Main Nation Ministry vs (10) Ko-oren (Emperor Michael I Stadium, Pocono City)
(11) Drawkland vs (14) Abanhfleft (Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls)
(4) Kaboomlandia vs (12) Taeshan (The Jungle, Loudon)

[Main Nation Ministry]

The Cascade

It was a quiet night in the Compound, as scientist Joey Steinberg was examining from a distance, a mysterious black wooden door dusted in sand that seemed to act as a portal to an unknown universe. While he was taking notes, he examines some old notes on the "influencer" artifact, which so far, most attempts to feed it information has failed.

Meanwhile, inside of the testing lab, several new children test subjects were watching what appeared to be a magic show, where a magician was using his magic wand to make flowers appear from vases. However, some scientists observing noticed on screen that most of the magic could be done with basic editing tricks. "Now, kids. I'm going to make all of your wishes come true. All you need to do.." the camera zoomed in on the magician, as he showed some sort of malice in his expression. "You see this toy bulldozer?" on-screen, the magician held up a yellow toy bulldozer and set on the floor where the camera focused on it. "I want you kids to use your imagination to wish it here! Your imagination will benefit our species, so we can exterminate your own and rid you of the boredom of modern day society."

The kids watching the TV of flesh cheered, while the scientists nearby looked horrified, knowing something bad is about to happen. "Shut it down. Shut it down!" one of the scientists demanded, as the other tried to reach for the "plug" to turn it off. "It's wet?" the scientist near the plug said. "Just unplug it!" The scientist reached down, grabbing it with his gloved hand, until suddenly, behaving like a downed exposed power line without the laws of reality, proceeded to electrocute the scientist. Sparks started flying behind the TV screen, as the scientist's hands became charred. His heart stopped, before any more damage was done. However, the evil from the other world wasn't finished.

The bulldozer on screen started to drive towards the fourth wall, if it was planning on driving over the viewers. In a loud and thundering crash that caused all of the Compound's alert to light up, the bulldozer ripped into this reality, as the portal it left behind was visible. Beyond was a caricature of typical cartoons mashed together into a colorful hell.

On the Surface

"Uhhh... Leader, sir?" a nervous soldier with an urgent telegram came into the office with important information. "There has been a destructive breakout of several "artifacts". The sector around the Compound is filled with memetic activity. Should we activate the nuke?" "Nuke? What rank are you, because that is the most idiotic thing you could have asked me! Guards!" The Leader screamed for more of his men, so the trigger-happy soldier was escorted for re-education with amnesiacs. When he was gone, the Leader activated his monitor to check the surveillance camera feed from the sector around the Compound.

To say, it was complete chaos could have been the perfect description. A citizen was being covered by cockroaches, a soldier was punching a 3 eyed dog that had teeth made outta shrapnel, a T-Rex stomped a car while walking near the river, and groups and groups of mysterious faceless orange construction workers were fighting against a group of soldiers send out to contain the mess. He knew that he would need her, since she had the vessel, however to convince and find them was going to be a difficult task. The Leader sighed, as he become to send out several messages to the other higher-ups.

"This is the Leader speaking for orders in the name of national security. Sector XX is to be closed and contained! Provide air support to prevent any anomalous from leaving the nation, if necessary. Also, have a travel warning to all tourists visiting the nation. They can still visit, but they need more surveillance for their safety."

[Abanhfleft]

Gaelic Gamers
Presents...

Gabbing on Gridiron
with Dara Keane

WORLD BOWL XXXV RECAP: FIRST PLAYOFF ROUND

Alpine Union        0  0  0  0  0
Abanhfleft          0  3  0  7  10

So there it is, finally. Revenge for the World Bowl XXXII semifinal. Revenge for "The Fumblerooski." Revenge for Thereisnogodistan College losing against the Southern Democratic States in the last ever Baptism of Iron. Abanhfleft has triumphed over the Union of Socialist Alpine Republics, but strangely enough, this particular piece of revenge doesn't really sit well with me. Maybe it's because I don't consider the Alpines as a rival like the way we might think of Nephara, Brenecia, or Pasarga. Maybe it's because we didn't win with a lot of style. Maybe it's a combination of these factors or all of them. But this just simply does not feel like a Fleftic win for me.

While I would love to say that we thoroughly deserved to win this game, I cannot do that because by doing that I would be lying to you, my dear readers. Because the simple truth of the matter is that we barely scraped past the Alpines on this one. Clifford Jenkins was misfiring for the whole game, sure, but we should also recognize the fact that the Alpines' offense was simply not firing on all cylinders, and the same could be pretty much said for our own offense as well. In fact, these two poor offenses made things easier for both teams' defenses to just stay still and weather out the storm.

Game highlights? There's not a lot of that, I'm afraid. I'm talking about nothing happening in the first quarter and the third one. Well, maybe there was that fumble by Jarius Floyd that, while the Alpines were able to retrieve the ball and get themselves a new set of downs, didn't actually contribute to much if anything in the long run. Okay, so Cleveland Hyneman redeemed himself (a little bit) by kicking a 49-yard field goal midway through the second quarter, but that's about all the action there was in the first half.

You could say pretty much the same thing in the second half of the game. Even the Alpine fumble midway through the first quarter of the half happened, although this time it was Jennifer Killebrew who fumbled, and Talib Wahhad actually managed to get a hand on the ball, but alas, even the Alpine recovery of the fumble occurred as well. But like I said, that's the only noteworthy thing that happened in the third quarter.

The fourth quarter, ah, now that's another story. While I have to admit that it took some penalties going in our favor to keep the drive alive and going for the end zone, it wasn't until our Armored Revolutionaries were actually inside the 15-yard line that the offense finally came alive. A couple of incomplete passes later and Jeremy Lacazette was triumphantly holding up the pigskin inside the end zone. Touchdown Abanhfleft.

And that's all she wrote, folks. Next up we have the Grid Corps of Drawkland. They blasted our Pridnestrovian friends 30-24 in what was for me the greatest game of gridiron football ever played. I sure regret having watched our own game against the Alpines instead of the Pridnestrovia-Drawkland game. And that's got me afraid of the Drawks. They used their size to their advantage and reduced the Red Army to pretty much a running game, although if you want more in-depth analysis of the Pridnestrovia-Drawkland game, head on over to Denis Avtushenko's Unofficial PGSL Blog and tell him I sent you his way. Meanwhile I will prepare my drinks cabinet for when Abanhfleft inevitably falls against the Drawks. Toumain Vincelot, Toumain Vincelot, Toumain Vincelot....

[Free Republics]

Reco, Jolarus, Free Republics

Scarlett Nicholls was watching the World Bowl on television from her hotel room in Reco. The Liberty Party's presumptive nominee for Consul of the Free Republics, Nicholls was the daughter of Consul Robert Nicholls and at just 31 years old was already a leading candidate to become the first woman ever elected Consul of the Free Republics. She was a famous pop singer on her father's Nicholls Music label who had appeared at WorldVision several times, putting on provocative performances that were designed to deride the Holy Party and shock them. Most notoriously, she once had live sex on the WorldVision stage and that still wasn't enough to win the singing competition.

Scarlett had made her support for the Stand Up to Sexism campaign a focus of her campaign but in private she still watched the misogynistic National Football Team because she loved the sport of football and the Free Republics and she wasn't going to let the fact that Jak Hamilton was a bigoted old piece of shit affect her enjoyment of the World Bowl. In public, however, she could never admit to watching this current World Bowl team because she'd look like a complete hypocrite and her poll numbers would collapse.

The Free Republics scored quickly after Qasden's kick returner fumbled the ball while being tackled on the opening kickoff of the game. Wibe Rus tossed 3 incomplete passes in a row, Dean Kevin kicked a field goal and the Republicans led 3 to nothing with 14:38 remaining in the first quarter. The game quickly turned into a total snoozefest just like the final group stage game against Barunia. Between the two teams, they would manage a total of 50 yards of offense for the entire game as Wibe Rus somehow managed to be even worse against Qasden. Rus completed just 1 pass out of 24 attempts for a 7 yard gain. The announcers for the WOLF Network, in hopes of preventing at least some viewers from changing the channel to FBC and watching Newmanistan play Schiltzberg for a spot in the WBC finals against the Free Republics, soon began talking about the upcoming Ultimate Wednesday primaries where 147 Republics would hold their primaries. They discussed the Radical Alliance's disavowal of Nessex primary winner Tsukihiko Fukuhara, who attained all of 7% of the vote to win all of the delegates from Nessex. They also discussed the complete logjam that was the Moderate Liberal Conservative primary where the 4 frontrunners were effectively tied for first place.

After halftime, the commentators were joined by Responsible Progress Party candidate Sebastian Trudeau. Trudeau spoke with the commentators for the entire 3rd quarter but did not say anything new. He merely reiterated his support for an individual mandate to own a firearm, for mandatory firearms training for all Republicans, for a guaranteed government job for anybody who wants one and for a number of new labor laws to protect Republican workers from abuses. Finally, they put Trudeau on the spot by asking for his stance on the Stand Up to Sexism campaign and Coach Jak Hamilton's opposition to women and girls playing football.

Sebastian Trudeau - I've always been a big believer in the idea of freedom of association. You see, I own a company and its the biggest and most popular firearms company in the Free Republics. In a free country, I should have the right to hire whomever I like and not hire whomever I like. I shouldn't be required to hire a foreigner, a woman or a homosexual if I don't want to. I only want the best people working for my firearms company. I don't want to hire and I won't hire some slut with a dozen tattoos and green hair or some street thug who's been sent to jail a dozen times for robbing the local convenience store. The reason why I'm proud to run the Trudeau Firearms Company is so that good, honest, decent, hardworking people can protect themselves and their families from riffraff. I don't want my granddaughters anywhere near a football field and I'll sure as hell shoot any son of a bitch who tries to pull anything funny with them. The Employers Bill of Rights will protect an employee's right to disagree with my politics but I'm sure as hell not going to force any employer to hire any trashy degenerates. If they want a job, they can clean themselves up and actually look like a civilized human being or they can take a government job and the government will help them learn how to look presentable.

Scarlett Nicholls was infuriated as she listened to Trudeau's words and was beginning to have flashbacks to Samuel Izmailov, Reino Kulseth and Caleb O'Reilly. While Trudeau had managed to convince everybody he was a mainstream candidate, Scarlett noticed that the mask seemed to slip for a minute there. At that moment, she realized just how important it would be that she win the election and prevent Sebastian Trudeau from plunging the Free Republics into a third dark period. Scarlett decided to take a walk outside to compose herself. When she returned, the score was still 3 to nothing and Qasden had the ball with 3 minutes and 15 seconds left.

On a third down and long, Qasden's quarterback dropped back to pass and lobbed a deep ball right down the middle of the field. Canine Berggren's zone defense had been giving Qasden fits all game long and, this time, their quarterback had decided to take a shot downfield, in the vain hope that it would be successful, Qasden would score a touchdown and they would escape with a victory over the Free Republics. However, Ismail Holm somehow came down with the ball in the chaos and started bringing it back down the field. The 40-year-old strong safety was not a particularly fast player but with a few well-timed blocks by his teammates on the Republican defense, he soon had only the quarterback to beat. Holm trucked right through the opposing quarterback, knocking him to the ground, and he was gone. Moments later, Dean Kevin added the extra point to put the Free Republics up 10 to nothing. Moments later, Big Mo Henderson would sack Qasden's quarterback on 4th and 4, forcing a turnover on downs and bringing out Wibe Rus to take a knee 3 times to put this game in the books.

Scarlett Nicholls had a speech scheduled the following morning at 11 in the AllMartDome so she laid down to go to sleep as soon as the game ended without even waiting to find out whether the Allamunnic States could hold onto their lead over Newmanistan...

[Ko-oren]

The Amandine

Canon #5: Architecture of Ko-oren
1. Tiered Boulevard of Aminey, Aminey's brilliant coastline and its hundreds of gardens, podiums and patios
2. Double Bridge of Greencaster, where both of Greencaster's rivers pour out into the ocean
3. Parliaments of Gehrenna
4. The Willowbowl Arena in Willowbourne, built in 1927
5. The Harbours of Schemerdrecht
6. Mayara-oren Mountain Retreat, a religious village in western Mayara province
7. Santa Teresa Fort, a defensive structure, lighthouse and city in one
8. yBherafon Hills Cricket Stadium in Llandy, Mawryshire
9. Caves of Cirelbourne, a resonant temple in southeast Ko-oren
X. Courtyards of Katashi, the many connected buildings and courtyards in the East
=. Ferrovente Shrines, a city within a city devoted to foreign religions, a joint effort to have been built.
0. Palaces of Straudum, a small natural enclave in the frontier city.

[Drawkland]

Pridnestrovia vs Drawkland, World Bowl XXXV Round of 16, 0:10 remaining ...

"And so, with 10 seconds remaining, the Pridnestrovians are now trotting out their field goal unit. The Grid Corps have used their last time out to stop the clock, in hopes they can get a miracle play if this field goal goes through. A 45-yard field goal, certainly no issue for the experienced Sokoloff. The game has gone back and forth, and with only a few minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Pridnestrovians have clawed tooth and nail up the field to get into field goal range. This could send them to the quarterfinals.

"They're all lined up now. Sokoloff now to give the Pridnestrovians a 24-23 lead. The snap, hold by Saller, the kick ... sails right through! No doubt about it. Drawkland tried to apply some pressure but he got the kick off no problem. And now, with 6 seconds left on the clock, Drawkland has to find a way to get a point on the board to keep their World Bowl dreams alive. More, after this commercial break."

It had been a tough game. Back and forth, back and forth. Pridnestrovia had taken an early lead with a touchdown on their first drive (a 38-yard run by Zelenko), and Drawkland responded a couple drives later with a pick six by Jordan Max, supplemented by a Jack Hoy toss play for 2 to make it 7-8. In the middle of the second quarter, Pridnestrovia again scored a touchdown (1 yard run by Zelenko on 3rd and goal). With the final drive of the half, the Corps went for it on fourth down on the goalline and failed, passing up the easy 3 points to try for the touchdown. With their failure, the half ended, 14-8.

The third quarter warranted another Pridnestrovian touchdown, this time a quick low slant route to Kozel who just managed to duck the linebackers and dive into the end zone. At 21-8, it seemed to look bleak for the Corps. However, they didn't stop then. Their very next drive had Jack Hoy run a power play out of the wildcat formation, running for 70 yards for a touchdown. With the Corps looking to catch the Pridnestrovians off guard, as they usually go for 2, they instead opted for Dustin Beck to run a drop kick into the goalposts for the 1-point conversion, which wowed the crowd but still had the score sitting at 21-15.

Around the start of the 4th, the Pridnestrovians were driving and got close to the goalline, but Phillip Tomek managed to shed a block and destroy fullback Sokolov on the attempted carry into the end zone. The fullback fumbled the ball, which was picked up by Edmund Snyder and returned for a few yards. The Corps drove up the field methodically and slowly, sucking up all of the clock they could. When they finally scored via a fade pass to Madison, the score was 21-21 and there were only 2 and a half minutes left in the game. Beck ran in the 2-point conversion as a QB draw, and the Corps was up 21-23. Unfortunately, the Pridnestrovians still had some pluck in them, and mangled their way to field goal range to kick a field goal. Their attempt was good and left 6 seconds on the clock. Drawkland was now down, 24-23. With so little time, there was no way they could get a field goal.

"And now the kickoff personnel have taken the field. The crowd here in McAllister Stadium is going wild. If I were the Pridnestrovians, I'd be squib kicking this to get as much time off the clock as they can, and to keep them on their heels. Jack Hoy and Daniel Madison are both deep. They're known for being extremely dangerous on returns, so this is not an easy moment for anyone on the field.

"Now Sokoloff is going in action. They indeed elect for a squib kick. The ball rolls up to Riley Hoyt in the middle of the field, and he hands it behind him to Hoy. Hoy takes it, he's coming up the sideline at top speed, running out of room at the sideline ... he's stopping, about to be tackled, turns around and laterals it across the field to Madison! The Pridnestrovians are all out of position! Madison has open field! Madison taking huge strides towards the other sideline, only the kicker to beat ... he stutter steps, gets around him, and he's free! He prances into the endzone untouched with no time on the clock!! Drawkland wins it! I can't believe it!"

Daniel Madison, once he'd passed the kicker, looked around him and saw nobody, high stepping and waving his arms freely into the end zone to score. He spiked the ball in excitement and jumped around in the air as the rest of the team ran to mob him in the end zone. Truly, the Pridnestrovian team had not seen the lateral coming at all, as all their personnel had been anxiously tracking Jack Hoy as soon as he had his hands on the ball. And knowing Madison in the open field, there was no chance Sokolov could've tackled him to end it.

"Just like that, Drawkland has beaten Pridnestrovia and are going on to face Abanhfleft in the quarterfinals! You know the Fleftics are not going to want to take on this team."

It was true. Drawkians with a full head of steam? Drawkians with fire in their veins and fury in their hearts? Drawkians against Abanhfleft in the playoffs? This was unlikely to end well for the Revolutionaries; Drawkland has the silverware to prove it.

Pridnestrovia    7  7  7  3   24 
Drawkland        8  0  7  15  30

[Newmanistan]

Cutoff time for the quarterfinals!

Allamunnic States 0–10 Free Republics

Main Nation Ministry 19–7 Ko-oren

Abanhfleft 27–31 Drawkland

Kaboomlandia 3–12 Taeshan


Semifinals:
(8) Free Republics vs (12) Taeshan @ The Jungle, Loudon
(2) Main Nation Ministry vs (11) Drawkland @ Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls

[Taeshan]

While it wasn't exactly the Group Stage the team had hoped for the number 1 team in the world continues to be strong in playoffs as they have managed to make it to a third straight semi-final. It started with a playoff matchup against Quebec, which the Fitin' Falcons would have been favored in based on historic play, but given their group stage blunders it seemed a tall task for the team. But with an impressive performance they walked away with a 20-10 victory over a nation that has a historic relationship with Taeshan. The Falcons were mostly able to get this win thanks to a strong performance from Quarterback Sam Clentimack who led the side for a second straight year over Quebec in the Round of Sixteen.

The Quarter-final was another interesting affair a rematch of the 33rd World Bowl, pitting the champions of that, Kaboomlandia, against the Champions of World Bowl 34, Taeshan. It was an interesting matchup between the World Number 1, and the World Number 2, and it was a defensive affair that let down no one. While both teams attempted to score, the defenses were more than up for it. The Knights got a first half lead thanks to a Peter Fisher pick 6 deep in Kaboomlandia territory. While neither team would know it at the time, it proved to be enough to win the game. The extra point was missed, and a field goal in the dying seconds of the first half made it 6-3. But the Falcons would do the only second half scoring, two Martin Xavier field goals, and would return to the semi-finals.

There will be an interesting opponent for the Falcons in the Semi-finals. A team they defeated in the very same round only a tournament ago, Free Republics. The Free Republics is the highest seeded second place finisher and had an interesting Group stage finish just behind the Alpine Union, a team the Falcons defeated in the last two knockout rounds. They will surely be looking for revenge after the Falcons earned the glory in the last tournament, after a 17-7 victory in the Semi-Final against the Free Republics. The side will have to beat them once again to earn a spot in their third straight World Bowl, and looking at the teams left they will surely hope to get at least a podium finish. That said they must not look beyond, because they could be found wanting.

[Drawkland]

World Bowl XXX. Abanhfleft's first-ever run to the championship. Drawkland's first-ever run to the championship. Rank 9 versus rank 17. Slight veterans versus slight newbies. The Anniversary Edition of the World Bowl, a beautiful spectacle. The stage was set, and everybody was expecting the Fleftics to run away with their first World Bowl championship. After all, they have a clear advantage. The anti-Abanhfleft sporting cabal can't deny them this time! Or so they thought.

Lo and behold, after 15 minutes of playing time, the score was stuck at 7-7. Abanhfleft's offense was being stopped, the passing game stymied, the run game stumped, and Randomel Santos being sacked at every seemingly every turn. Drawkland's offense was ticking, a well-oiled machine, only stopped by not hitting the gaps fast enough or inexplicable butterfingers. Was this to become a defensive shootout? Whoever has the ball last will kick a field goal and win? Everyone watching was thinking this, but this changed. Soon enough, Abanhfleft were in the red zone, 2nd and goal, surely about to score with less than a minute in the half. Then William Peers got his hands on the ball, and charged the other direction with so much momentum he couldn't be caught. A pick six to end the half, and now the score is 7-14.

Surely Abanhfleft would make a comeback here. Drawkland are upstarts, playing over their heads! Only a matter of time until they come crashing down, right? The Fleftics got the ball to start the half. They drove up the field methodically and with ferocity. In the red zone once again, but who is it but William Peers again forcing a fumble at the goalline to turn the ball over back to the Drawkians. The drive seemed to be stopped at midfield, a 4th and 2, but then Jason McFarland comes out to punt ... and instead slings the ball to Madison at the sideline who cruised up the field and into the end zone to score on the fake punt. 7-21. The next drive forced a 3 and out on Abanhfleft, which turned into a field goal for the Drawkians. 7-24. A Santos interception led to a touchdown being run in by Antonio Anders. A fake PAT didn't work out, but when the score is 7-30, do you really care?

The 4th quarter was simply a rout. Both backup quarterbacks were put in, Trace Hayes for Drawkland to enjoy some limelight and to save Dak Waterman from injury, and Chad Ramirez of Abanhfleft because Santos wasn't getting the job done. Both QBs were getting sacked and throwing ducks, but eventually a toss play to Bennett Morgan took advantage of a badly called Fleftic defensive scheme, and Morgan got a 38-yard touchdown. The game slowly ticked by, the clock sucked away, until finally the game was over. 7-37, World Bowl XXX goes to the Grid Corps. Abanhfleft goes home and drowns their sorrows. They'd be back. They wouldn't forget.

Drawkland       7  7 16  7  37
Abanhfleft      7  0  0  0   7

---

World Bowl XXXII. Two cycles later, two slightly different teams, and two losses bringing the pair together once again to duke it out in a third-place match. Two teams angry at losing in the semifinals to two teams that probably shouldn't have made it there. Abanhfleft, a brutal 34-13 beatdown that tossed them aside. Drawkland, an embarassing 12-14 loss due to being baited on a last-second flea flicker for a touchdown to end the game in a loss. Both teams looking for redemption. Both teams, pretty pissed off. Both teams remembering their last meetup two cycles earlier. Abanhfleft couldn't be blown out again. Drawkland couldn't risk letting Abanhfleft getting the upper hand in their history. It was set to be a titanic matchup, probably more interesting of a 3rd place match than the actual final (no offense of course, Alpine Union).

In a change of pace, Abanhfleft's defense showed up and shut Drawkland out in the first quarter. Drawkland, with their first major roster changes since their inception in World Bowl XXVIII, were still a little bit shaky and parts weren't fitting in right. The offense couldn't get anything together, while Abanhfleft's offense was running smoothly. A 37-yard passing touchdown and a field goal made the game a quick 0-10. The thought began creeping in everyone's mind. Would Abanhfleft shut out Drawkland? Finally beat the bogey and claim some lost glory from failing to defend their title? Hell, by the midpoint of the second quarter, the Fleftics were leading 0-16 thanks to two consecutive field goal drives. But the Drawkian defense had found out how to stop Harry Aumann. The passing game had been stopped. On the other side of the ball, Drawkland had found its mojo. Dak Waterman had his faithful connection to Daniel Madison get in for a 40-yard passing touchdown, and Matthew Watts booted a 41-yard field goal through the uprights at the end of the half to make the score 10-16.

So you can't shut out Drawkland. Nobody can do that, Abanhfleft and their fans were being silly. But they still have the game firmly in control! A six-point lead and a good defense, they already have the bronze bowl in their grasp, right? Wrong. The opening drive of the half led to a goalline stand for the Drawkian offense. A genius fake playcall had Waterman look like he was attempting a sneak, when in reality he lateraled the ball back to Miller on an end around run to get the touchdown. 17-16 Drawkland. Abanhfleft would get the lead back though, right? Wrong again. The next drive was an interception on Aumann leading to Watts getting a field goal. Then Abanhfleft's Hyneman got a field goal, then Watts got another field goal on the next drive. Very suddenly, going into the 4th quarter, the score was 23-19.

Only a one score lead! Abanhfleft are still the World number 1! They can get it back easily, right? You can guess the answer to this one. Abanhfleft was scoring less and less each quarter, and Drawkland was scoring more and more each quarter. The momentum had reversed, and there was no stopping it now. The Drawkian defense was now solidly exerting their will on Abanhfleft, interceptions, sacks, fumbles, and huge hits plaguing their every drive. The offense was now unstoppable. Waterman got himself a 7-yard rushing touchdown, Watts got fourth field goal to his name on the game, and the Waterman-Madison connection once again paid dividends for another touchdown. All Abanhfleft could muster was a field goal late in the fourth, just pity points coming out from a failed fourth down conversion by Drawkland deep in their own territory.

Just like that, Drawkland had obliterated Abanhfleft once again. A 40-22 scoreline in a third-place game between the number 1 and number 2 team, a huge blowout. This wasn't just one unfortunate circumstance anymore ... this was truly bad blood. If and when these teams were to meet again, it wouldn't be a friendly match.

Drawkland       0 10 13 17  40
Abanhfleft     10  6  3  3  22

---

It would be 3 cycles before the two titans would meet again. This time, it was a very different circumstance. Both teams, rather than attempting to flex their might on the World Bowl community, were struggling to retain relevance. Drawkland, despite being ranked 4th, was being propped by their thrashing of the Fleftics in the third place match three bowls earlier and decent group stage records. They hadn't succeeded in the playoffs since the last time they defeated Abanhfleft. Abanhfleft themselves were even worse for wear, falling to 10th in the rankings, not even a Pot 1 team despite being the World #1 and champions 4 cycles prior. This match wasn't even for silverware, it was just a tooth and nail effort to get to the upper echelons of the World Bowl once again. And considering their past history, neither team was going down without a fight.

The match as a whole was more of a waiting game, a defensive shootout, daring the other team to go for a big shot and then making a deadly mistake. All the drives were carefully planned and surgically executed, but the conservative play style resulted in a lack of huge points going on the board throughout the game. Abanhfleft opened up the game with a slow drive that ended with Dimitri Faure running in a touchdown up the gut on the goalline. The early lead gave hope to the Abanhfleft fans, whose previously injured spirits were probably expecting they'd enter the game throwing 4 straight interceptions or something. Drawkland responded in turn with an equally time-consuming drive that ended in Toby Miller catching a slant pass from Dustin Beck for the touchdown. Drawkland, following their new methodology of going for two whenever possible, managed to convert for two points by a play-action pass to Madison.

The next drive by the Fleftics bled into the second quarter, but they were stymied by the Drawkian defense for the first time and forced to kick a 32-yard field goal. The always faithful Hyneman shot the ball through the uprights to make it a 8-10 game. With their next drive, the Grid Corps got up the field in big chunks, 10+ yard passes and runs, alternating them and keeping the Fleftic defense on their heels. Eventually, it was a Beck screen pass to Jack Hoy that resulted in Hoy clambering up the field for a touchdown. Hoy took a direct snap from the wildcat and powered into the end zone for the 2PC. Abanhfleft were determined to not be stopped though, and they managed to get into field goal range and kick it through before the end of the half. With a score of 16-13, the game was still open for anybody to take it.

Drawkland got the ball to start the half, and started to open up the defense even more. Similar to their last drive of the first half, the Grid Corps were opening up the defense, alternating runs, passes, play-action, and QB draws with Beck. Unfortunately for Beck, he threw an interception in the red zone to Talib Wahhad while trying to reach Rich Convington on a corner route. Abanhfleft, glad to finally have some momentum, took the ball up the field in a similar fashion ... before Jordan Max cut on a WR screen pass to Jeremy Lacazette and ran the interception in for six. Beck ran the 2-pointer in, and the game remained in Drawkian control at 24-13. Abanhfleft wouldn't allow that to stay very long, with a touchdown being scored on their next drive via a Harry Aumann pass to Oren Makkabi in the middle of the field for a post route touchdown. The game was now 24-20 approaching the 4th quarter.

With possession to start the quarter, the Grid Corps was doing fine, until they were stopped on 3rd and 2 just outside the red zone. Shockingly, they decided to go for the conservative playcall and make it a touchdown's lead over Abanhfleft with a field goal. Matthew Watts' kick attempt, however, was blocked, and returned for a few yards before Beck managed to tackle Andre Alexander, the Fleftic who recovered the blocked ball. Abanhfleft, now with appropriate momentum, sucked away as much as the clock as they could. On a third down at the edge of the red zone, Faure once again managed to run the ball in for a touchdown, placing Abanhfleft in the lead for the first time since the first quarter. 24-27 was the scoreline ... and now Drawkland had all of 3 minutes to tie the game or win it.

Beck and the rest of the Drawkian offense were now under the gun. It was now or never, and to make it further in the playoffs they had to get points on this drive. They executed this well. The Fleftics were running a prevent style defense, which opened up the middle of the field easily for Drawkland to march up and move the sticks. They finally made it to the red zone, but here is where the defense truly locked down. They seemed to just have the right playcall ready to stop the Corps from scoring. A Jack Hoy run from the 9 yard line was stopped. An incomplete out route in the end zone to Trey Council, and then Daniel Madison being tackled on a slant at the 4 yard line. By now, all the time had drained from the clock. Drawkland used their last time out with 3 seconds remaining, and trotted out Watts and the field goal unit. Despite the blocked kick earlier in the third quarter, it was the right call now to just get the 3 points, bring it to overtime, and end the game. Or so you'd think. The field goal unit got out onto the field, mere yards away from the end zone. The crowd was roaring. Watts took his steps back into his stance, with Beck kneeling to take the snap and hold. The ball was snapped, Watts went to kick it, but Beck suddenly swept the ball off the ground and shot to his feet, turning to his right and firing a pass to Rich Covington, who had broken through the line and was standing, alone, in the end zone. The Fleftic special teams, trying their hardest to block the kick, hadn't anticipated nor were in a position to cover the tight end, and the fake field goal became the game winner for Drawkland.

Watts came on again to actually kick this time, making the PAT and his only point of the game. Drawkland, once again, had done it. They'd defeated Abanhfleft for the third time, and now they were on their way to reclaim their former World Bowl glory once again. Who knows what circumstances will bring these two teams together to face each other once again, and how it will play out? All we know is ... you better put your money on the Corps.

Drawkland       8  8  8  7  31
Abanhfleft      7  6  7  7  27

[Free Republics]

The Federation of Free Republics and the Allamunnic States were probably the only two nations in the World Bowl that had a specific National Team organization that had its own roster, year-round training and year-round practices. Jak Hamilton's National Team looked at the Allamunnic States and saw a younger, more athletic, and probably better version of their own team. On paper, the Free Republics should have had no chance in this game. The Allamunnic States were, without question, the greatest team in the history of the World Bowl. They had been one of the best teams in the multiverse for over 2 decades. Starting with their 3rd place finish at World Bowl XIV, they would go on to win the World Bowl a record 5 times including a victory over a Saintland team that looked unstoppable in World Bowl XXIII with King Petrus XX at quarterback. At the time, Saintland was in the middle of their 62-6 run from World Bowls XXII-XXVI (which included wins off 66-3 and 61-0 over future champions Schottia in World Bowl XXVI). Two of those 6 Sanctii losses over that run were to the Allamunnic States.

The Free Republics, in the World Bowl, have always been in the shadow of their World Bowl XXII co-hosts. There was the years of mediocrity under Logan Allen, who was closely aligned with the Holy Party and Consul Kulseth. Then, there were the early years of Jak Hamilton's team before the team's improbable run to the semis last year before they became known for their shutdown defense and their wholly non-existent offense. There was the 10-4 run in World Bowl XXXI when this team outscored their opponents by a margin of 351 to 186. In fact, the Republican defense hadn't really come into its own until last year when they held group stage opponents to just 19 points in 10 games. The Allamunnic States, on the other hand, had been a great team for years but this was their first quarterfinals appearance since World Bowl XXXI. They had been on the wrong end of a blowout loss to Abanhfleft in World Bowl XXXII and consecutive losses to Alpine Union. However, this year they defeated the hosts convincingly to make it to the second round.

The game was the usual Free Republics game. The Allamunnic States attempted to power into the Republican defensive front but neither Derrik Staalburg nor Grenn Jordsunn could make any headway against the likes of Big Mo Henderson, Gregorio Trevisano and Valentin Immonen. On the other side of the ball, the hapless Republican offense was hapless once again. Ryanna Mueller seemed to find some running room at times on the outside as the Republican defenders had trouble keeping up with the speedy back but a big hit from Daniel Friedman toward the end of the first quarter managed to knock him out of the game. Going into halftime, the game was still scoreless.

On the opening kickoff of the second half, Pomeroy Therriault found a gaping hole in the kick coverage and soon had only the kicker Kaarl Hunt to beat. Hunt tried for a tackle but Therriault powered through, taking the opposing kicker off his feet with a hard kick to his kicking leg. The Free Republics soon had a touchdown and the Allamunnic kicker seemed to be fine. The Regulars would manage to put together a drive into Republican territory after Rowan Daanyls picked up 53 yards on a scramble to move her team into field goal range. Marcus Ikonen eventually brought her down with a particularly hard tackle as the Republicans continued to play a bit dirtier than necessary and get away with it, for the most part. After the Allamunnic drive stalled at the 23 yard line, Hunt came in to attempt a field goal. He got it off but the 40 yard field goal attempt was short as the normally automatic kicker missed a field game he always makes. He left the field, still showing signs that he wasn't 100% after the cheap shot on the earlier kickoff return.

The Free Republics would put this game out of reach early in the 4th quarter after Grenn Jordsunn fumbled the ball while running into Big Mo Henderson. Michel Lizotte jumped on the ball and the Free Republics took over at the 37. After running Matthijn Admiraal into the Regular defense for 3, 3 and 3 yards, Jak Hamilton decided to send Dean Kevin out to boot a 45 yarder. Kevin's kick would bounce off the right upright, hit the crossbar and ricochet over it for 3 points. Before long, the Regulars would get another deep drive but would turn the ball over on downs at the Republican 11 with 3 minutes left on the clock. The Republican offense finally managed to pick up some positive yards once they went into their 4 minute offense and they eventually sucked the clock dry enough that Wibe Rus could kneel down 3 consecutive times to end the game. Rus had a quiet game, attempting just 7 passes and completing 2 for a grand total of 17 yards.

After the game, the WOLF Network's interviewer would ask Jak Hamilton why he continues to play Rus when the quarterback obviously can't complete a pass anymore. Hamilton responded with some generic coachspeak about how "Wibe Rus gives us the best chance to win football games." However, what he really meant was that the other quarterbacks on his roster were even worse than Rus so he was stuck with the worst quarterback in the World Bowl. A rematch now loomed with the Taeshan Fitin' Falcons who had defeated the Free Republics 14 to 13 in the Round of 16 two years ago and 17 to 7 in the semis last year. Taeshan was the #1 ranked team. They were the defending champions. They had been the runners up the year prior. Both Taeshan and the Free Republics had gotten worse over the past year. Both teams had disappointed in the group stage this year but nonetheless they had managed to meet again in the semis. The only question now was whether Jak Hamilton's team, playing in their 5th and final World Bowl, would be able to finally beat the team that had ended their season two years in a row and earn a spot in the finals against either World Bowl XXX champion Drawkland or a Main Nation Ministry team that had come out of nowhere in their second World Bowl to make the semis...

[Drawkland]

The Meeting

Somewhere within Main Nation Ministry's airspace, The Leader had send one of his jets to fly towards Drawkland to have a messenger send an important message to the leader of Drawkland Iarocav. Having not been at Drawkland before, the messenger operating the jet has started sending a message to any air control personnel, who may be patrolling the skies.

"This is a message from one of Main Nation Ministry's messengers, currently approaching your airspace! The Leader has send me to negotiate a meeting with your ruler Iarocav. You're to let me land at one of your closest airports, as we are currently facing a threat of national security at our nation! This message will repeat, until I have landed." the messenger had made sure the message kept repeating, as he started to see signs of land ahead of him. "Let's hope this works." the messenger said to himself.

As the Main Nation Ministry jet entered Drawkian airspace, several airports began to pick up the signal being broadcasted around the skies. After a few minutes of flying, the communication panel crackled to life. "This is the Drawkland National Airport in Drawk City contacting. Please direct your vehicle towards our location for landing. We have contacted the authorities and you shall be transported to Iarocav's office within this city."

"Copy that. Currently approaching Drawk City. Landing will be within 20 minutes." the messenger replied, as he saw the runway lights, knowing where to land. "Now currently descending into runway, I will take care of parking the jet away from the runway to not interfere with air traffic." The messenger landed, as he proceeded to move his jet to an empty space, where no other aircraft would accidentally bump into it. "I have landed. Proceed to send the escorts." the messenger radioed, as he exited the jet with an electronic fold-able video screen, where he waited for the authorities to take him to their leader.

The messenger was quickly met by a group of authorities who appeared to be police officers. They drove through the bustling metropolis of Drawk City before arriving at a tall skyscraper. "Iarocav has been in town on various business. This is where he lives and where his office is located for when he needs to be in Drawk City for any amount of time," one of the officer explained as they took an elevator up to the correct floor. The messenger focused on not being distracted by the different environment he was in. He was on a mission and he cannot fail the Leader here.

He waited patiently, as the elevator stopped at the office of Iarocav. The doors slid open to reveal a hallway with only a few doors. The officers walked to one of the doors in the hallway and knocked. "Come in!" said a cheery voice inside. The door was opened and inside was an ornate office, simply furnished, with a desk in the middle. Behind it sat Iarocav, looking intently at the messenger.

"What service of mine do you require, sir? I hear you hail from the Main Nation Ministry. Are things going well there? What brings you to my office?" the Drawkian leader asked.

"I have arrived by orders of the Leader. We require a service of assistance. Please let me get this ready." the messenger started to set up the fold-able video screen in front of the desk, as the messenger unfolded it to cover the width and height of the area around the desk. After finishing setting up the screen, it has expanded to resembled a large projection screen. The messenger pressed a button on the back of it, where the screen proceeded to show the office of the Leader.

The Leader with his purple hair was shown to be a bit nervous, as he was drinking a snakefish cocktail, when the Leader gave the cue to know the screen was working. "Mr. Iarocav. I couldn't come over here to negotiate our problem, so I have sent a form of communication to easily discuss things. I can't discuss the nature of our problem, as it is confidential. However, currently there are casualties, as they might grow unless this is treated with proper help."

The Leader sipped his drink, before continuing. "In the middle of the night yesterday, we suffered a catastrophe sector attack from some anomalous force at our governmental research area. I have come to ask for assistance, as if the nation cannot stop this. It could spread to our main cities, which would result in the deaths of millions."

Iarocav seemed unfazed by the sudden communication and the video screen, as well as the Leader himself. "You're suffering from an attack of anomalous proportions, you say? I do have a special force which can assist you. They're experts in the field and highly trained, armored, and armed. Would this be enough to assist you in your current situation?"

"I would recommend they bring some incendiary weapons, also. The special forces might be able to help our troops advance, though I do caution that they be ready to adapt to any situation that happens here. What happening here is solvable, however some more firepower will be needed. I'll say, that will be enough. Though, do warn your men." The Leader said, as he ate a piece of snakefish near his glass.

"Sounds like a plan," Iarocav said. He reached into a drawer, pulling out a small phone-like device and tapping a few commands into it. After a moment of him regarding the device, he turned back to the screen in front of him to face the Leader. "It is done. My men will be on their way to your nation as soon as they possibly can. You'll be in charge of directing them from here on out. I do request that you return them in as good a condition as you can manage, of course," he finished with a small grin, "Good luck with your plight."

"Well, I can't guarantee the best. Though, we will explain to them how to deal with the enemies we're facing. We will have medics on stand-by to make sure your men are still fit. I will stay this operation will go smoothly, as long as our strategy is still clear." The Leader smiled a bit, tipping his glass towards him. "I'll await your men."

With that, Iarocav gave a casual two-fingered salute and ended the call. He dismissed the messenger from his office and went about his regular business of the day.

From an undisclosed location in Drawkland, a small yet extremely fast aircraft launched, its destination being Main Nation Ministry. The Drawkian elite forces were prepared to face anything, but still were rather clueless as to what exactly they'd be facing now.

This part is related to the series Main Nation Ministry has been running throughout this Bowl. This was written as a co-op between us. The rest of the story should be posted by Main Nation Ministry themselves at some point soon.