Banijans punch ticket to the knockout stages in style with blowout victory over Vangaziland
Isaka Jawara reaches the ball over the pylon to give Banija a 14-0 lead over the Royals in the 2nd quarter
EAGLEBURY, KO-OREN- Like we said. a win over Vangaziland would likely be enough to clinch a spot in the knockout stages, and boy, even though it came about in circumstances different than we thought, that certainly remained true on this day. The Serpent Eagles not only punched their ticket to the knockout stages, they did so in style- blasting away Vangaziland, to the surprise of almost everybody, by a score of 47-7. Did anyone see this coming? I don't think any Banijan observers, any Vannish observers, or any neutral observers, would have predicted a score like this. And yet, the gap between these two teams is not as big as the score indicates. A few big plays went the way of the Banijans, some good coaching and a little good fortune, and an excellent game turned into a blowout victory, Banija's most important one probably since World Bowl XXXVI- as it put Banija into the postseason.
Let's get right down to it, eh? The last game between these two opponents was a defensive slugfest, one that finished 3-3 after regulation, that had to go to overtime for the Serpent Eagles to finally pull away, and pull off an 18-10 victory over their Group F rivals. In the early beginnings of this game, there was a feeling that the same thing would happen. Both teams traded punts for the entirety of the 1st quarter. They were moving the ball better than they had been, but still- no points were being put on the board. With the first quarter ending 0-0, many assumed that both teams would bunker down.
But the Banijans had a new weapon that hadn't been unleashed yet. Kieran Kweo Atkison, the starter and stud at Richardson University, got his first start of the tournament, this time playing in the slot receiver role. The Head Coach, Alastair Jobs, said that Atkison had earned it. "Over the past couple of weeks, he's had an excellent run of practices." Said Coach Jobs. "He's always had the ability, but as a present college athlete, being able to compete on the international level is another thing entirely. But he's catching up now, and we felt that this would be a great opporunity for him. We guessed, correctly, that they wouldn't have scouted much for someone who spent the rest of the World Bowl as our fifth string receiver, and that he could create both opportunity and separation."
Alastair Jobs was correct. Atkison announced his arrival in the second quarter. There was a mixup in coverage, and he had a linebacker covering him, one on one, while the Vannish nickel back was covering Christos Cosse, the tight end. Atkison, being well aware of his mismatch, took a couple of steps towards the sideline, and then flew up the sideline. Isaka Jawara hit him in stride, and just like that, it was a 66 yard touchdown pass that gave the Serpent Eagles their first regulation touchdown against Vangaziland of this tournament, and a 7-0 lead in this ballgame. He spoke about that touchdown later on. "It shows great instincts by Atkison- he's had some great coaching at Richardson. That was not a designed streak route, but he saw the mismatch, and had the football smarts to turn up field. That's a credit to him, to have that kind of cognitive ability. That first touchdown was well deserved."
The pair of defenses really stood up, until Banija had the ball at their own 41 yard line, with just 1:07 on the clock. It was a 20 yard punt return that gave them this excellent field position, and the Banijans were going to take advantage of it. Isaka Jawara marched them down the field, moving the full 59 yards in just 7 plays, with the last play an 11 yard touchdown run by Isaka Jawara where he dove for the pylon and reached the ball in with just 14 seconds left in the first half, to give the Serpent Eagles a 14-0 lead going into halftime. A much better game this time around for the Banijan offense, but still, only a two score game- and the Royals were trying to stave off elimination.
Throughout this tournament, poor kick coverage has been a staple of the Serpent Eagles team. And it all went wrong on the opening kickoff of the second half, when the Banijans kicked to the Vannish. Erik Bergum, the speedster, fielded the ball a yard deep into his own end zone. He came blazing out, picked up a key block, and pretty much outran the Banijan kick coverage all along the Banijan sideline, finally getting pushed out of bounds at the 7 yard line. The ROyals scored on the very next play, on first and goal, and they had now cut the Banijan lead in half- to 14-7, and also had all of the momentum.
After a 35 yard run by Devon Hanssen to put the Royals in the red zone for the first time, it was the Serpent Eagles who rose to the occasion. When Hanssen got the ball back, he fumbled the football, knocked out by Musa Janneh, the big, burly, defensive tackle from the Serpent Eagles. The ball was recovered by defensive end Elias Mulu. That was a momentum shifter, and a big time game changer. When the Banijans had their backs against the wall, that happened, and it gave the Serpent Eagles new life. From that point forward, early in the 3rd quarter, everything started to fall into place for the Banijans.
Justice Greenspan, on the first play from scrimmage, ran the football 78 yards to the house. He had taken the ball up through a hole on the right side of the line, ran through a Vangaziland safety, and was not going to be caught from behind, as he won the foot race. The score, at that point, was 21-7 to the Banijans. Then, on the next drive for the Banijans, they moved the ball 72 yards in only five plays, with the drive ending in a Jawara touchdown pass to Christos Cosse. The next drive ended in a touchdown pass to Margolin, and the following one ended in a touchdown pass to Kujabi. That means, of course, four drives in a row that ended in touchdowns for the on fire Banijan offense, which made the score 42-7 midway through the fourth quarter.
Elias Mulu had a sack in the end zone that forced a safety, and they had a field goal later on in the game, to make the score 47-7. A second half route for the Banijans, where the offense was unstoppable. Four touchdown passes and a touchdown run for Isaka Jawara, a breakout game for Atkison, A stunning offensive performance, where the considerable amount of Banijan fans in the building stood up and gave their team a standing ovation, as a "playoffs" chant overtook the building as the clock ticked down to zero. An excellent performance from this squad- a dominating late game performance, an excellent one.
The Banijans, of course, are now in the knockout stages for the first time since World Bowl XXXI- an excellent accolade for a team that got knocked out in the group stages of both World Bowl XXXIV and World Bowl XXXV. Still one more game left, against One Jamaica- a team that struggled in the first half, but second half wins over both Taeshan and Vangaziland have bolstered both their resume and reputation, even if they are only 3-6. So this game for Banija and One Jamaica is anything but a given. But the Banijans must put out their best, even if they've already clinched their playoff berth. IT will effect seeding, and if Taeshan fall, an unlikely but possible prospect, then it is the Banijans that will be the winners of Group F.
What a tournament, that will be extended by at least one more game. And, as always, go Banija!
