Northern Moravica confirms status as Banija's premier college football program with 48-21 blowout victory over Loyola in Week 2 of the NSCFNorthern Moravica players celebrate a touchdown in the first quarter against Loyola-Istria HERZEGOVINA CITY, MORAVICA- This rivalry has long been the biggest domestic rivalry in Banijan sports. These two schools, Loyola-Istria and Northern Moravica, have never liked each other, and were almost made to be rivals. Both schools created right at the beginning of the 2nd Quebecois colonization period, and between them, they are Banija’s two oldest, two largest, and two most prestigious Universities. Not to mention, the richest, biggest fanbases, etc… This rivalry has been chronicled on the pages of this magazine for years. And even though both are in the Moravica region, with Northern Moravica in Herzegovina City and Loyola-Istria in, well, the City of Istria, this is a rivalry that does not simply divide the region- though of course, almost everyone in Moravica either puts on Northern red or Loyola blue as a baby. This is a rivalry that transcends the entire country. Not everyone is a fan of Northern Moravica or Loyola-Istria of course. But as the country’s biggest draw in the country’s biggest college sport, almost everybody watches, and almost everybody picks a side. Even if you’re a fan of the University of Ankole, or of the University of Moravica(whose basketball program is rapidly ascending, as was seen in their run to the NSCAA title game), or if any other school, you generally watch this one- as there are almost fireworks.
And the last few seasons, the schedules have been set in stone- Northern Moravica hosting in Week 2, with Loyola-Istria hosting in Week 7. It works, as two of the NSCF’s most dominant programs get each other out of the way early on. But then, of course, the last two seasons, we have seen these two schools meet in the NSCF playoffs, both at the Istria Lightning Yard. Loyola-Istria’s victory in the NSCF 18 Quarterfinals helped catapault them to their second consecutive NSCF championship game appearance, though with all the pressure heaped upon them in trying to win 15 games in a row to win the NSCF 18 title game, they were not able to finish the job down in the nation’s capitol, as they fell to a very young Mar Sara Tech team and did not repeat as the champions of college football. At that point, however, with Northern Moravica’s historic postseason struggles, and Loyola-Istria’s 3 championship game appearances leading to a pair of titles, it seemed as if Loyola-Istria, ever since the schools had gotten to the NSCF, had the upper hand. Even with Northern Moravica’s dominance in the realm of conference titles, it was Loyola’s dominance of the postseason that took all the headlines, and naturally, their momentum as the country’s strongest college football program.
It took a long time for the tide to turn. Horace Browning, otherwise an excellent football coach, got fired in NSCF 18 for the sole purpose of allowing his side to fall behind Loyola-Istria, and of course, for consistent postseason struggles. He had four Celestia Conference titles to his name as head coach, however, but the dominance of the archrivals, and the prominence of the rivalry, saw his reign end. Of course, he ended up being hired as Athletic Director after that, when the school’s Board of Regents decided to remove the Athletic Director, which put him in the odd position of finding the replacement of the job that he had just been fired from. And last season, it seemed as if it would be more of the same. Northern Moravica winning the early meeting and the conference championship, but once again, late season struggles in non-conference play saw Loyola-Istria get a higher seeding than they did, and saw the new head coach, Lance Kabuye, face the same criticisms as the old one- could he get his team over the hump?
What an opportunity he had last season. They finally were winning playoff games, and they had finally gained some playoff momentum. After a blowout 34 point victory on home soil, they went to the Academy of Space- obviously the toughest trip in the NSCF- to play the #1 seeds, and the NSCF 17 runner-ups. They put a smack down on the NSCF’s top ranked side, 33-13, to set up one of the most anticipated
North v. South Showdowns of all time- a semifinal, at the Istria Lighting Yard. This was the opportunity for Northern Moravica- the playoff choker reputation that they had developed over the years, was now disappearing after their big road win at the Academy of Space. But could they get over the hump? The mental hump that was what would surely be an electric Istria Lighting Yard, their archrivals, the Blue Thunder?
And that is exactly what happened. In the highest rated college football game in Banijan history, with both teams playing for a chance to get into the NSCF 19 title game, it was Northern Moravica who broke the hearts of the home fans, and the Blue Thunder faithful everywhere, when they stormed into the country’s largest city and came out with a 31-20 victory away from home. A shocker of a score, it would be the game that would end the career of Isaka Jawara, who had played his way into Blue Thunder lore as one of, if not the, school’s greatest quarterback ever. And not only the school’s greatest- one of the Celestia Conference’s greatest ever quarterbacks, as well as one of the greatest players in NSCF history. Isaka Jawara tormented Northern Moravica for years. As a four years starter, he did so when Loyola was playing domestically, during NSCF 16, while the BCSG was in a dispute with the pair of Moravican schools over their participation in the NSCF. He did so in NSCF 17, when he won the NSCF 17 Offensive Player of the Year award en route to win the NSCF 17 championship. He did so in NSCF 18, when he won the Most Outstandign Player award and eliminated the Cougars from the NSCF 18 Postseason, by leading his time to a thrilling win at the Istria Lightning Yard in that season’s quarterfinals. And then, of course, the writing was on the wall for Jawara to do so one more time, at what would be his final home game at the Istria Lighting Yard, the senior trying to get what would be a fantastic sendoff.
But Northern Moravica had other plans. The championship starved school hadn’t ever won a NSCF championship, and with this 31-20 win, they got over that hump. Those demons would be, at least, on the backburner- defeating their archrivals en route to their first ever NSCF championship game. Ending Loyola’s vaunted 35 home game winning streak. And who was their opponent? None other than Richardson University of Ranoria, a quality and deserving school. However, destiny seemed to be on Northern’s side- and they have finally shed their old reputations by winning the NSCF 19 title game by a score of 24-20 over the Ranorian school. Now, of course, the opportunity was there. Now that they had a NSCF title under their belt, and defeated Loyola-Istria at the Istria Lightning Yard, no less, to get there, the chance was there to re-establish Northern Moravica as the country’s dominant program.
Would they seize on that opportunity? The answer is absolutely. Both teams had blowout victories in their home openers in Week 1, with Northern Moravica stomping all over New Pathshala for Military Training Priests by a score of 48-3, with Loyola-Istria debuting new quarterback Omar Jassey with a 52-14 victory over University of Rasisikenev. Of course, neither of those schools are expected to challenge for the Celestia conference crown, so those games served as a tuneup for this big one- Northern v. Loyola. It was at this game, rather than their week 1 home opener, where the school chose to officially give out rings to members of the NSCF 19 Championship squad. And, of course, make the Loyola team and fans witness that ceremony. Is it petty? Of course. But this is college football- what do you expect?
Northern Moravica has a lot of experienced players returning, especially at the skill positions. Chae Heung-Kim, the Quebecois quarterback, is back for his junior season, and his 3rd season at the helm. He is ready to take the next step in his own development, and become a star in his own right. With Jawara now graduated and playing professionally for the Black Mambas, is he going to step into the spotlight as Banija’s top college quarterback?
That is a question that can wait for another day. First, of course, getting to the game. Northern Moravica put on a truly complete performance- one of their best of the Kabuye era. It was thoroughly dominant- touchdowns on their first three possesions saw them go up 21-0 late in the first quarter, and they never looked back, as their quickly earned lead forced Loyola-Istria to try and play catch up. Omar Jassey struggled- he threw three interceptions against only one touchdown against the vaunted Northern Moravica defensive unit, as his first participation in Banija’s biggest rivalry game caused his own nerves to be rattled.
In what was seen as a struggle for Loyola-Istria, is surely to be seen as a massive triumph for Northern Moravica. After the game, Northern Moravica fans chanted the number 8- as in, 8 wins Northern Moravica has over Loyola in NSCF play, which juxtaposes well against the five wins that Loyola has over Northern Moravica in NSCF play. Lance Kabuye said that it was “a fantastic, all-around game by our boys- let’s see who brags about who is the best college football program now.” And then, he said that they could not celebrate too much, as they had another tough matchup coming up- when they would have to travel to Ko-oren to play the Salamantic Universities. Loyola-Istria, after that smackdown, will go back to the drawing board surely. But this much is certainly true- right now, with Northern Moravica’s NSCF 19 title, combined with this beatdown of their archrivals, means that Northern Moravica is certainly, at least currently, Banija’s dominant college football program.