NSCF 23 - Everything Thread

by **Banija** » Mon Apr 05, 2021 8:44 am

The Coulibaly Corner: Your one stop shop for everything college football!

Hey guys! Welcome back to my corner of the internet for everything college football! I, of course, usually cover the NSCF, especially the two Banijan schools, as well as domestic college football here in Banija. I'm a University of Moravica grad- aka, we don't like either of the Banijan schools. But of course, due to physical proximity, they get the Lion's share of this blog's attention.

So I woke up today and chose violence. And I decided- why not start a debate that will piss off every single member of the college football universe? Everyone needs an outlet for anger, and sometimes, CFB is that outlet.

And so I'm going to do one of my boldest moves, and answer the question that will never have an answer. What conference, in NSCF 23, is the strongest conference?

We're going to use two metrics. The first, is a conference's total out of conference record. And the second, is OSPI. And the third? OOC record of the conference champion. If a conference can be defined by its best, if their best team did well, then- it reflects that the conference prepared them well. And then, with the magic formula devised by me and me alone, we'll rank the conferences, from six(weakest) to one(most depth). You may agree with me. But you probably won't.

And, as much as we hate to say it- we've got to give credit here to the Big 8 schools, the only conference where all six schools played a full slate of three non-conference games. The more games the merrier! Let's get going!

Which conference is the toughest conference?

Metric #1- Every Conference's OOC Record

Week 11
Big 8: 3-3. Wins by Cold Hill, Kohnhead City, and Richardson. Losses by Lismore Christian, Akers, and Swisston City. 
Celestia:  3-1. Wins by Northern Moravica, Loyola-Istria, and the Salamantic Universities. Loss by Northern Dinagat State. 
Horizon: 1-3. Win by Cavsar University. Losses by Felswyr State, Sadeg State, and Hoofstra University. 
Mineral: 3-2. Wins by Freedom's Altar, Trent State, and Vietussia Academy. Losses by UC-Baker Park and the Squid Armed Forces Academy.
Woodlands: 2-1. Wins by New Lakeland and St. Croix. Loss by Saguenay.
Zephyr: 0-2. Losses by Mar Sara Tech and Raynor University.

Week 12
Big 8: 2-4. Wins by Kohnhead City and Richardson. Losses from Cold Hill, Akers, Lismore Christian, and Swisston City. 
Celestia: 1-4. Win by the Salamantic Universities. Losses from Northern Moravica, Loyola, Fair Haven State, and Northern Dinagat State.
Horizon: 4-0. Wins by Felswyr State, Sadeg State, Cavsar, and Hoofstra. Undefeated. 
Mineral: 2-3. Wins by Freedom's Altar and Vietussia Academy. Losses by UC-Baker Park, Squid Armed Forces Academy, and Trent State. 
Woodlands: 2-1. Wins by Saguenay and New Lakeland. Loss by St. Croix. 
Zephyr: 2-1. Wins by Mar Sara Tech and Raynor University. Loss by the Stevan Vaalburger Academy.

Week 13
Big 8: 4-2. Wins by Richardson, Cold Hill, Lismore Christian, and Swisston City. Losses from Akers(formerly State) and Kohnhead City. 
Celestia:  2-2. Wins by Northern Moravica and the Salamantic Universities. Losses from Northern Dinagat State and Loyola-Istria.
Horizon: 1-3. Win by Felswyr State. Losses from Hoofstra, Cavsar, and Sadeg State University. 
Mineral: 2-2. Wins by UC-Baker Park and Freedom's Altar. Losses from Trent State and the Squidroidia Armed Forces Academy. 
Woodlands: 2-1. Wins by Université St. Croix and New Lakeland. Loss by Saguenay.
Zephyr: 1-2. Win by Mar Sara Tech. Losses from Raynor University and the Cenesis Naval Academy.

Total Non-Conference Record

Big 8: 9-9. Winning % of .500. 
Celestia:  6-7. Winning % of .462.
Horizon: 6-6. Winning % of .500. 
Mineral: 7-7. Winning % of .500.
Woodlands: 6-3. Winning % of .667.
Zephyr: 3-5. Winning % of .375

So what's the analysis here? It's interesting, and there are a few key takeaways.

#1- The Big 8 played the most games. Games played, of course, can effect these numbers. The Bgi 8 should be given bonus points for playing the most. All six teams filled their non-conference slate, something no other conference can say. 18 out of 18 possible games. That meant both their bottom adn their top teams were regularly getting tested, while other conferences, like Woodlands, only their top teams played.

#2- Woodlands have the highest winning percentage?? Not what we expected when we went into this. Some of this is a factor of the fact that only their top 3 teams played non-conference games, with the cellar dwellars foregoing weeks 11-13 entirely. But some of this is just that their damn good. Their brand new school, New Lakeland, is 12-1 and the #1 overall seed for the playoffs. The path to Busukuma goes through Cassadaigua. But both Quebecois schools behind them were strong as well. Saguenay had a big time win over the #2 overall team in the NSCF, Northern Moravica, while St. Croix notched a 2-1 conference record. Well done to those three schools.

#3- The only conference that had an undefeated week was the Horizon, whose Week 12 was absolutely stellar. 4-0 is 4-0, and there's no way around it. These weren't cheap wins either. Felswyr State won on Senior night at the Istria Lightning Yard. Cavsar whipped a solid Trent State team. And with Diamond Rhine back, Sadeg State were able to down Cold Hill University, at home. That week showcased overall excellence. Unfortunately for them, it was sandwiched by 1-3 weeks on either side.

#4- A few teams went undefeated in OOC play. New Lakeland, most famously. But what about a few surprising? The Salamantic Universities finished 6-4 in conference play, while Freedom's Altar was 4-6. But they both came out swinging in OOC play. The latter Celestia conference school beat the Squid Armed Forces Academy, Lismore Christian, and Raynor University. While Freedom's Altar downed Akers, Northern Dinagat, and Hoofstra.

Numerical Metrics

Now, let's dive deeper into the analysis. Part of what makes a conference strong are its numbers of elite squads. How many elite teams are in each conference? Let's find out. There are 36 teams in the NSCF- so we'll do a sampling of the top 6 of a number of advanced stats that the organization keeps. How many schools from each conference are in the top 6 of the following categories- Adjusted Offense, Adjusted Defense, Adjusted Win Margin, and OSPI? If you're in the top sixth of your league, in a sport like this, you are probably elite.

# of Schools in the top 6 of OSPI
Big 8: 1. Cold Hill(3). 
Celestia: 2. Northern Moravica(2) and Loyola-Istria(4).
Horizon: 1. Felswyr State(5). 
Mineral: None.
Woodlands: 1. New Lakeland(1). 
Zephyr: 1. Mar Sara Tech(6).

This is, of course, in a sense, the second most important ranking- behind the conference standings that determine an automatic playoff berth with three games to go. Here, the Celestia shows out. Both Banijan schools in the top 4, and it will be the first time both have first round byes from the playoffs since NSCF 19, when Loyola and NMU were ranked in the top 2. Considering the two schools combined for one playoff appearance and 0 playoff wins last year, it's good for the country. Well, our country. Every other conference has at least one. The Mineral Conference takes a hit here, with 0 teams in the top 6 of the OSPI.

# of Schools in the top 6 of Adjusted Win Margin
Big 8: 2. Kohnhead City(2) and Cold Hill(4).
Celestia:2. Northern Moravica(5) and Loyola-Istria(6).
Horizon: None.
Mineral: None.
Woodlands: None.
Zephyr: 2. Raynor University(1) and Mar Sara Tech(3).

Three conferences contribute to this section. The Zephyr, Big 8, and Celestia each having two teams here makes things interesting. Of course, you've got to put Raynor and Mar Sara Tech here. It is a dominance ranking- and all six of these schools showed that they could really dominate a game from start to finish. Cold Hill got blown out once too, which honestly makes it more impressive they found their way to the top 4 in adjusted win margin when they've got a 37 point conference loss on the books.

# of Schools in the top 6 of Adjusted Offense
Big 8: 4. Kohnhead City(1), Cold Hill(2), Swisston City(4), and Richardson University(5). 
Celestia: None.
Horizon: None.
Mineral: None.
Woodlands: None.
Zephyr: 2. Raynor University(3), and Mar Sara Tech(6).

Going into the season, everybody said that the Big 8 was going to be a shootout, and it was. How often do you have a year where Loyola doesn't' finish anywhere near the top 6 in Adjusted Offense? Loyola's not even in the top 10, all the way down at 11th. The Big 8 has four of the top 5 offenses in the NSCF. The other two in the top six, unsurprisingly, are the electric Vanorian schools. Three of these schools have automatic playoff berths, and it's likely that up to 5 could go into the playoffs.

# of Schools in the top 6 of Adjusted Defense
Big 8: None.
Celestia: 3. Northern Moravica(3), Northern Dinagat State(5), and the Salamantic Universities(6). 
Horizon: 1. Hoofstra University(1). 
Mineral: 1. Freedom's Altar(2). 
Woodlands: None.
Zephyr: 1. Raynor University(4).

The strangest part. Shoutout to Raynor University- they're the only school that is top 6 adjusted offense and top 6 adjusted defense, which is insanely impressive. They're a complete football team on both sides of the ball. Northern Moravica is the only other playoff team who was top 6 in adjusted defense. The state of the sport, eh? Freedom's Altar, Hoofstra, Northern Dinagat State, and the Salamantics, the other elite defense, are all unlikely to make the playoffs. If they don't, we could have a year where just two of the top six defenses in the sport go to the playoffs. Wouldn't that be insane?

Also, shoutout to the Celestia for playing real football, with three of the top 6 defenses in the sport, unlike the Big 8 which only wants shootouts. Defense wins championships, baby!

The Verdict

We've gone through all of the stats. We've crushed the numbers via our top secret formula, and we have a definitive ranking of the conferences. It is damned close. But we must make these decisions, right?

Get ready to get mad!

Conference Strength Ranking
#6 Mineral
#5 Zephyr
#4 Horizon
#3 Woodlands
#2 Celestia
#1 Big 8

This wasn't easy. But the arcade conference, as much as we hate to say it, is the toughest conference in college football. It's all about defense, of course- but their offensive revolution has led them to success, and they have to be ranked #1.

The Mineral Conference went .500, which is good. But they lack in the key categories. 0 teams in the top 6 of Adjusted Win Margin, 0 teams with a top 6 offense, and 0 teams in the top 6 of the OSPI. They're the only conference with 0 teams in the top 6 of the OSPI. After looking at that, we had really no choice but to rank them #6. And then 5th, is the Zephyr. Now, this is no knock on the Vanorian twosome- Mar Sara Tech and Raynor University should be feared. They're elite teams, and dominated the conference. But the conference is incredibly thin behind them, and most would agree. Even with historic schools in the conference, like Cenesis Naval and Bowerstone, those two have really fallen off in recent years. It's fairly clear cut they can't be ranked higher than this.

It got tougher after this. But decisions had to be made. In fourth, we'll go with the Horizon. There's a lot we like about this conference. But? No teams in the top 6 of Adjusted Win Margin. No teams in the Top 6 on Adjusted Offense. And their only team in the top 6 of adjusted defense, Hoofstra University, is not making the playoffs. It's clear. And then third, we have the Woodlands. The way New Lakeland came, in year 1, and are able to take in conference dominance and turn it into out of conference dominance, shows the depth of the conference. Saguenay and St. Croix are always great. You'd want to see a little more from the other three in the conference, though, before giving them a better ranking.

And then, for the top 2. The Celestia will have to rank second. From top to bottom, it is a strong conference. The Salamantics went 6-4, and weren't close to winning the conference, really. But- they still came out and swept their OOC schedule. It's a good sign for the Celestia. The three top AO schools constantly battle for supremacy. But the strongest conference has to be the Big 8. The most active conference. But it's the most chaotic conference. In that conference, anyone can truly beat anyone. And they've shown their strength in non-con. Sometimes, they cannabilize their own. Could Swisston City do better in a weaker conference? Probably, but look at them, sitting at 6-7.

There you have it!

Up next- if we got to design our ideal conference alignment setup, what would the NSCF conferences look like?

by **NSCF** » Tue Apr 06, 2021 9:37 pm

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

The NSCF Committee has also unanimously awarded the right to host the NSCF 23 Championship Game to...

Stadium of the Restoration (Capacity: 91,835)
Busukuma, Banija
Bid here

NSCF 23 PLAYOFFS - First Round
Full Bracket

_#9Raynor University (VAL) @ _#8Sadeg State University (DRK)
Winner plays #1 New Lakeland University (CDG)

_#12Kohnhead City University (KHD) @ _#5Felswyr State University (CMT)
Winner plays #4 University of Loyola at Istria (BNJ)

_#10University of the Commonwealth of Baker Park (CBP) @ _#7Université St. Croix (QUE)
Winner plays #2 Northern Moravica University (BNJ)

_#11Richardson University (RAN)@ _#6Mar Sara Tech (VAL)
Winner plays #3 Cold Hill University (RAN)

As for the Bowls, the information will be posted on the subsequent post.

by **NSCF** » Tue Apr 06, 2021 9:59 pm

Bowl Games

For this NSCF, I have received four bowl games. Among those, there are four approved bowl games this season, which covered all bowl-eligible team, as well as one school that fell right short of the mark but was needed for the Pioneer Bowl.

Due to the lack of eligible conference sides on one half of both Drawk Bowl and Welcome City Bowl games, two at-large selections were placed with Freedom's Altar University placed in Drawk Bowl and Bowerstone University to Welcome City Bowl, in order to avoid rematch from last year's playoffs. Both bowls' conference selections (Drawk Bowl- Saguenay, Welcome City Bowl- Salamantic) will be given home advantage.

As a reminder, the bowl games will be scorinated at the same time as the first round NSCF Playoff games above (Thursday), though they may ICly have taken place before. It will be scorinated with the first round of playoffs.

The Cannabiscorp Pioneer Bowl
Trent State University (TJU) vs. Swisston City University (KHD)
Best newcomer teams not in Playoffs
Iqaluit Stadium, Iqaluit, Royal Kingdom of Quebec

The Drawk Bowl
Université du Saguenay (QUE) vs. Freedom's Altar University (YSP)
Best remaining Woodlands team vs. At-Large Selection
Corps University Hub, Drawk City, Drawkland

An at-large team was selected in place of Best remaining Big Eight team, as the next best Big Eight team not in playoffs, Swisston City University, was selected for Pioneer Bowl.

The Karmin-Falce Auto Bowl
Squidroidia Armed Forces Academy (SQR) vs. Cavsar University (DRK)
Best remaining Points Scored and Point Differences
Karmin-Falce Superdome, Ranoria City, Ranoria

The Welcome City Bowl
Salamantic Universities (KOR) vs. Bowerstone University (ATH)
Best remaining Celestia team vs. At-Large Selection
Welcome City Stadium, Summersville, Barnettsville

An at-large team was selected in place of Best remaining Woodlands team, as Université du Saguenay, the only remaining Woodlands side not in playoffs, has already accepted the invitation to Drawk Bowl.

World Cup 81/82/83/84

UC to face St Croix on the road in First Round
Teresa Bramlege
Daily News College Football Writer

University of the Commonwealth will open the NSCF playoffs on the road for the first time when they travel to the Kingdom of Quebec & Shingoryeo to face the University of St Croix, with the winner penciled in for a trip to Mugisha II Memorial Stadium in Herzegovina City for a date (although probably without dinner or dancing) with Northern Moravica.

Head Coach Ryan Benton believes the matchup of 10-3 teams might be the best game of the first round, with the other lower bracket contest between Richardson and Mar Sara a close second.
"I don't think anyone looks forward to facing Richardson right now, they are the form team at the moment, no offense to New Lakeland. Even with (QB Deondre) Rhine back, there still has to be the question in the back of their (Cold Hill's) mind if he can stay healthy. Loyola (Istria) might be the luckiest team in the tourney, as they backed in to a bye and get the winner of the worst second place team and the last team in (Felswyr State and Kohnhead City U.). Have we ever gotten that kind of break?"

Benton talked about the USC game as an opportunity for the Warriors to show they aren't the champions of a sub-standard conference but have been the victims of inconsistent play in the non-conference portion of the schedule.

"The Quebec schools (U. de Saguenay/USC) have ruled the roost in their league, and obviously they both put up a lot of points. We have been really impressed with the video we've looked at of the two games they played against one another and the respective away games they played against (New) Lakeland (sic)."

He then shifted gears to address a related topic.
"Someone put together a ranking of the conferences based on numbers they picked out to prove their point, but we had our own people look through the numbers that matter and they found a completely different conclusion. Jenna Owens from our Sports Information Department will run through the results"

Owens stepped to the podium and presented the findings.
"We looked at the top 20 teams in the OSPI ratings, and it turns out that the Mineral Conference had 5 teams in the final ranking, and even excluding Vietussia Academy, who fell just below the cutoff to be eligible for bowl consideration at number 20, the MinCo still had four schools, with the other five conferences all having three each. In addition, Syracuse State had the highest OSPI of the six teams that finished in sixth place. We certainly believe that our conference mates Squidroidia Armed Forces Academy, Trent State University, Freedom's Altar University, and Vitussia had they reached the rating standard, all deserved consideration for bowl bids."

Benton resumed the mic and ended the press conference with a rhetorical question, "Who is the weak conference again?"

The current Warrior boss' confident and seemingly confrontational tone is a stark departure from the Scott Newell era at Gleason Field; the veteran coach might've used a similar presentation for the benefit of his players in private for motivational purposes, but it would never have been made public until the aftermath of the contest in question.

by **Ranoria** » Wed Apr 07, 2021 12:00 am

Rhine stood for a moment as the rest of his offense began strapping their helmets on after an opening-drive interception by Agnor Viridian, nodding to the Université du Saguenay defense, a unit that looked intent on taking his head off. "You see them Aurel?"

Strathos raised an eyebrow, looking up from the bench, "Uh, yeah?"

"You know what we call that?" Rhine slipped his helmet on, and didn't bother strapping it up.

"A 4-3," he craned his neck, "Looks like they're gonna run cover 3, but I'm not su-."

"No," Rhine cut him off, "Lambs to the slaughter." The mountain of a quarterback left it at that, running out and catching up with the rest of the squad.

Cold Hill Wasn't Perfect Against the Fighting Irish,
But Rhine Finally Passed the Eye Test in Monumental Win

Written By Will Jackson

Diamond Rhine stood tall in the pocket against Saguenay after shying away from hits in weeks 11 and 12

Incredibly, despite a brutal three game road trip of an out of conference schedule including perennial powerhouses in Saguenay and Sadeg State as well as last season's runner up in Felswyr State, Cold Hill has emerged 2-1. And after a couple weeks finding his feet - or maybe his leg - coming back from injury, the star of this Buffalo team was back in full force when they arrived in the iconic Schwartz Stadium.

It was a great thing to see the best quarterback in Cold Hill's history standing tall and letting go of whatever inhibitions he'd had in prior weeks. Now, we'll be honest; it might not have been enough to change the outcomes of either game, but he was playing scared. Clearly worried about his leg, Rhine was hesitant to move and quick to get rid of the ball, and it led to three interceptions against just two touchdowns in those games.

Well, there was apparently a conversation between Rhine and head coach Chris Dale this week about just that, and Rhine responded. He looked locked in before the game, just as he had so many times before, staring down his opposition until one of them had to take the field.

Well, it showed.

John O'Mara wasn't bad. He suffered while Koman Tabor locked up his number one target, Lara Hamm-Bouchard, holding the wideout to four targets, three receptions, and thirty one yards while snagging an interception to make up for what little he gave up. To be fair, Tabor couldn't do it all on his own. He had help from one of two safeties, Agnor Viridian or Cooper Hart, on most snaps, which was pivotal to helping disrupt O'Mara's reads. The freshman passer of the Fighting Irish had trouble adjusting to rolling and disguised coverages all night, but he still made his fair share of plays, displaying that, ultimately, there is no defense for a perfect pass on several occasions.

Unfortunately, it wouldn't be enough. While Cold Hill only managed to sack him twice, both coming from knifing the thin, athletic Candice Ferrett into the a-gap, the defense managed to force plenty of punts all night. Credit the Fighting Irish offensive front for that. Cold Hill's four edge rushers would finish with a combined 30 sacks this season, and they notched 0 from that edge spot tonight. As a matter of fact, that offensive line was able to mount a couple drives in which they picked up a few first downs running right down the throat of the Buffalo defense, but not consistently. And while O'Mara's talent may have been on display, but a brief flash here and there isn't enough to beat the best team in the NSCF.

So, O'Mara, who is bound for an incredible career with the Fighting Irish, put up 21. Not bad. Diamond Rhine showed him what a quarterback as talented as they both are can do once he hits his prime. Rhine eviscerated the Saguenay defense, turning his mediocre receiving core into an veritable arsenal of WMDs on his way to a 431 yard day in which he - finally - didn't throw an interception through four quarters. Django Reeves, number ten recruit out of Ranoria, generally struggled against big Vince Vermillion and Moses Busara, each coming in at six foot six and three hundred thirty pounds. That's not to say the Irish didn't get pressure all night, because they certainly had their moments, forcing Rhine to suck up his own reservations about his leg and take a hit to get the pass off.

The biggest benefactor of Rhine's showing out would be the shifty slot player Adam Rickiott, who would finish with six catches, more than a hundred yards, and a pair of touchdowns. Rickiott is technically the number one wideout for the Buffalo per the depth chart, and is second on the team in receptions this season after big tight end Dorian Browne-Clarke. We also got to see freshman Heath Heinz flash what looks to be some underrated potential as he hauled in a pair of touchdowns himself. Heinz, however, continued to struggle to pick up yards after the catch as he has all season. While perfectly capable of racking up catches, he seems to be hyper-focused on catching the ball - not entirely a bad thing. However, compounded with his lack of elite vertical speed, it turns him into a low yardage possession receiver who's better on third and short and goal to go situations than anything else. He'll have to improve in those areas if he wants to be a reliable threat for this squad.

For now though, he's certainly relegated near the bottom of the receiving room's pecking order despite his insistence, on the sideline and in practice, that he get more targets. At one point Rhine was seen talking pointedly to the young man, probably telling him he'll get the ball when he gets the ball. Fortunately the sideline didn't get any more heated than it needed to be, and the matter appears to have been settled for another week as the Buffalo head into a bye week. And, with week 13 and the regular season being over, let's look at some milestones the team has hit after this game!

1: Deondre Rhine adds some separation to Ranorian record for passing yards and touchdowns against NSCF competition

Now he already had this one by more than twenty scores. Thorn Davis finished his career with 67 NSCF passing touchdowns, and John Garrett with 88. Rhine, meanwhile, came in with 108, and his 21 passing scores this season will put him at a whopping 129 in four seasons despite missing six games as a senior. It's also unlikely we'll see anyone approach his yardage totals any time soon. John Garrett left with 10,897 yards and Thorn Davis with a flat 10,600. Rhine, who had 12,330 coming into the year, now ends NSCF 23 with 13,800, easily outstripping the competition. Rhine has established himself, Garrett or no, as the best Ranorian quarterback in NSCF history. Now, we just need to know if he can go into professional football already bearing three rings.

2: Running Back Brannon Hillis breaks 1,100 rushing yards

This is even more impressive as a Cold Hill running back. Where Richardson's runners will normally tally at least one thousand yards, Cold Hill's pass-centric offense often limits their rushing attack. With 55 rushing yards on 12 carries against Saguenay, Brannon Hillis will finish the year with a solid 1,152 yards on the year. With nearly 800 receiving yards and 17 total touchdowns as well, he became a centerpiece of the Buffalo offense this season, particularly in games where Aurel Strathos took over. Hillis also finishes with three games this season of 170+ yards from scrimmage.

3: Candice Ferrett Breaks the 10 sack mark, leads team in sacks as a freshman

In a stunning development, Candice Ferrett has managed to end her season with 10.5 sacks, edging Corrin Silva's 9 to lead the team. While she didn't get a ton of snaps domestically, mostly serving as a third and long rusher, Chris Dale and the coaching staff began to make a conscious effort to get her on the field midway through the NSCF season. It worked. Ferrett would manage four sacks alone on specialized blitzes up the middle that took advantage of her speed and smaller frame, and she gradually got more and more snaps as the season went. She's the spearhead, now, of a nasty four-player rotation at edge rusher. With her 10.5 sacks, Corrin Silva's 9, Brock Golden's 4, and Hughe Brown's 6.5, this team has a stable of pass rushers that will be able to come at offenses with a full tank of gas all day.

4: Cold Hill's top 3 in the defensive backfield total 13 INT, 6 sacks as a playmaking unit

What is this, praising the Buffalo defense? Well, we can't help it! Between sophomore safety Agnor Viridian and the duo of freshman phenoms in Victoria Mio and Koman Tabor, this unit disrupted plays all year. Viridian has the freedom to roam the field and make plays as he pleases. He tallied five interceptions, two sacks, and five tackles for loss. while Tabor and Mio have both been incredible. Tabor finished with a sack and five interceptions, perhaps challenging Richardson's Makang Secka for the title of "Banijan Ballhawk," while Mio herself ended the year with three picks, two being returned for touchdowns, three sacks, a forced fumble she recovered herself, and a dozen pass deflections. With these three set to return for at least one more year, expect opposing squads to have plenty of trouble against Cold Hill's defense.

Despite a few slip ups on our way to a 10-3 record, we'll be waiting in the Tundra for the winner of the game between Richardson and Mar Sara Tech. So who will we be getting? We're hoping, of course, for the former. Richardson and Mar Sara have squared off ten times, with the Governors emerging victorious in six of those outings, but in all reality, it's only one game over a .500 record. Neither school is far and away better than the other, both being world-class gridiron programs. Cold Hill, meanwhile, is 3-5 against Mar Sara Tech, so their chances of quenching our playoff dreams, should they get a shot at us, is something we don't want to play around with.

Now, some may argue: Cold Hill isn't the best team in the NSCF. That's fine. They have lost games, after all. But until proven otherwise, in the playoffs, it's all empty. Deondre Rhine still holds the crown of NSCF champion, and Deondre Rhine still firmly believes himself to be the best player in college football, and he could be right. We get it, Loyola-Istria is on a tear this season, and historically they're the most dominant program in the NSCF right now.

But are they the best right now? We'd like to think not. Heavy is the crown as they say, and anyone who sits on college. Loyola has given way to Cold Hill's recent dominion, and more recently we were crowned champions of the toughest conference in college football, per Banijan media. Yes yes, per conference records Kohnhead City is the Big 8 champion, but under official NSCF records...we still have it. Disputed, but a championship is a championship. And nobody in the world wants to play the Buffalo with Diamond Rhine at the helm.

by **Kohnhead** » Wed Apr 07, 2021 9:11 am

Recruiting updates

National Signing Day in Kohnhead has officially concluded and all ten of the top prospects in Kohnhead have now decided where they will be going, with seven heading internationally and three staying here in Kohnhead. In addition Swisston City and Kohnhead City have been quite active with recruits with Kohnhead City looking to follow a very strong class that netted them Hastroff, Gott, Alazar, and Gray all of whom contributed big time to the team this year with Gott and Alazar both starting, Gray returning and Hastroff getting involved as the third down back. I don't think the recruiting class of the Mighty Eagles quite stacks up to last years but they are establishing a foundation of international talent on the roster in the most active recruiting year ever in the NSCF.

The Top 10 - Where are they heading?

10. OLB Kenny Short - Swisston City University (Kohnhead)
Short committed to the Army Knives a while ago given that they have three Senior starters at the linebacker position he will definitely be starting day one for the program. Short will have to adapt from a very small school to a school playing the in the NSCF and one that plays in the best (see The Coulibaly Corner for more on that) conference in the Big Eight. Short should be a four year starter and it was a great move for Swisston to bring him in very quickly although they still need more linebackers.

9. QB Jeffery Bolton - Swisston City University (Kohnhead)
With all the quarterback talent in this years recruiting class and prior ones no one really wanted the game manager type of Jeffery Bolton. Heck if Leonardo Torrent wasn't getting any offers to start it just shows how many good quarterbacks there are in the NSCF. Bolton will go to Swisston City where he will stay as a backup who can come in and win with Swisston but if he's the starting quarterback that reflects poorly on the school. While Rodriguez is only a sophmore now next year Swisston may start hunting for their next quarterback.

8.C Claudia Atkins - Ceneisis Naval Academy (Abanhfleft)
Claudia Atkins saw no interest from either Swisston or Kohnhead City with both schools feeling solid at the center position with Cleverland currently a sophmore for the Mighty Eagles and the talented Cooper Lamb ready to start next year for the Army Knives. She will instead be going to the Ceneisis Naval Academy in Abanhfleft a program that has been historically great but has fallen on hard times as of late with a 4-6 record this season. Atkins is a talented center but was one of the last Kohnheadians to sign getting picked up by the Naval Academy right at the end of the recruiting period.

7. WR Stan Devlin - Felswyr State University (Chromatika)
Devlin will go to the now infamous and hated (at least in Kohnhead City) Felswyr State University of Chromatika where he will have some big shoes to fill. Alessandra Mio has been the best receiver on this FSU team as more than a deep threat for Sarai Gwenderyn in a no running back offense and with Mio graduating someone needs to step in. The hope for the uber talented yet oft injured Devlin is that he can replace Mio for the most part with his speed and big play ability on a true title contender. It should be a great fit for Devlin as it's an offense that loves to take deep shots down the field with Mio and now hopefully Devlin.

6. DT Dakota Cannon - Kohnhead City University (Kohnhead)
Cannon was the first member of this top 10 to choose the Mighty Eagles as he is set to join an already ultra talented defensive line unit that was the shining spot in an otherwise horrendous defense. Cannon will operate next to River, Lawrence, and Snow easing the pressure off of him for at least year one as he fills the role that Beech filled this season. With Lawrence starting as a true freshman and playing really well this past season, this defensive line has not only a dominant present but a bright future.

5. FS Samuel Church - Kohnhead City University (Kohnhead)
Zachary Norman played pretty well in the strong safety position last year next to Jonas Klein and Klein will be asked to switch positions a bit from the free safety position that he struggled in last season. Church should provide an upgrade on Klein from day one after receiving little attention internationally and he will join Cannon in coming to a defense that needs to improve if KCU wants a shot at doing something.

4. DE/Edge Erika Lewis - New Lakeland University (Cassadaigua)
Lewis will join the 12-1 Tycoons who absolutely dominated in their first NSCF season with a defense that surprisingly allowed 16 points per game including the out of conference section after allowing 15 in the conference part. Lewis will join this talented defense as a defensive end and many consider it a great fit for her given the gender politics of Cassadaigua. Lewis has talent and that talent should shine as part of this New Lakeland defense.

3. HB/WR Ty Gardner - Mar Sara Tech (Valanora)
Just what an already explosive Mar Sara Tech offense needed, another weapon offensively as Ty Gardner quickly accepted an offer from the Vanorian school. If there's any offense that will know how to use him well it's the Mar Sara offense which was one of the best in college football this past season and Gardner should have a role his freshman season even if he doesn't start.

T1. Julian Watt - Felswyr State University (Chromatika)
Julian becomes the second Kohnheadian to join FSU in this recruiting class following in the footsteps of Katie Sawyer last year. Julian as we know is a very good pass protector as opposed to Marcus and considering the offense of FSU it is indeed a good fit for Julian as again they don't have a running back. Watt is never one to shy away from a challenge and so he will have a camp battle probably with rising junior Jericho Kitt for the second tackle spot in his freshman season although with Ezekiel Lamia a current junior he will definitely be a starter by his sophmore season. While he isn't the favorite to win the camp battle the second tackle spot is definitely up in the air between the two pass protectors.

T1. Marcus Watt - Université du Saguenay (Quebec and Shingoryeo)
Marcus will not be joining Julian at FSU given his skills in the run blocking game and instead will be traveling down to play in Quebec and Shingoryeo for the team currently in The Drawk Bowl. Personally I think Watt will be able to get one of the starting tackle spots in his first season despite the fact that there will be heavy competition. While Marcus might have liked if Julian went to St. Croix for the sibling rivalry to be in full force, he is happy with his decision to go to Saguenay.

Who did we sign?
First up is Kohnhead City who after last season's star studded recruiting class only managed to sign two internationals both on offense as many of the defenders we were into did not want to play for what was a mid level defense statistically in the most offensive oriented conference in the NSCF which we understand. However it has become clear to everyone that our defense is a lot better than advertised given that we held SSU to 9, SAFA to 7, and FSU to 13 in our out of conference slate. In addition it must also be noted that Kohnhead City already picked up Samuel Church and Dakota Cannon as talked about earlier.

Athlete Blitz Taurus - Ranoria
Rank: 6th in Ranoria
The first signing Kohnhead City made was another addition to our already fast and explosive as can be offense with an athlete out of Ranoria in Blitz Taurus. The plan for Taurus at least in his first season will be in the Keith Gray role of this season, get him the ball on designed plays whether it be runs, screens, or passes but he will have to fight with Gray for the position of returner. Taurus was heavily interested in Richardson as his brother Gudbrand plays there and we love one-upping Richardson whenever we can. Taurus should be a starter by his sophmore year with Jodi Lawrence a current Junior and rising Senior which would give us a very diverse pass catching squad with Alazar from Banija, Gray from Northwest Kalactin, and Taurus from Ranoria assuming he can keep his grades at passable.

QB Emilee Johansson - Chromatika
Rank: 8th in Chromatika
An offensive player of the year from Chromatika who is undersized with speed and shiftiness on her feet who many thought might have to switch to wide receiver to get a shot in college, she's perfect for Kohnhead City at quarterback. Given how unique our option offense is specific quarterbacks are needed to run it and we didn't have a true succession plan for Joseph who is a Senior, quarterbacks with decent mobility are not a good fit even if they can run but Johansson will be the next starting quarterback for Kohnhead as she has more than decent mobility. I do think Kohnhead City is the perfect school for her given our offense and had we not signed her, we would have been looking at Anthony Newhouse as our starter, he's decent but this is an upgrade. Byron Joseph was a decent passer and Johansson is a decent passer at best although it could be a drop off given her age. Johansson is definitely better than her ranking of 8th among Chromatik recuits as it was a reflection on the questions surrounding her position and height.

Now let's move on to Swisston City who had a much better recruiting class than Kohnhead City without doubt as in addition to the two Kohnheadians whom they picked up, Swisston City got four players from other nations even two on the defensive side something that Kohnhead City was unable to do. While Kohnhead City got their quarterback the Army Knives got multiple key contributors who could help this team in making a playoff push for next season despite being in the loaded Big Eight.

FS Kristen Edwards - Cassadaigua
Rank: N/A
This season Barney North was our starting free safety but he is now gone having graduated and so we Swisston City managed to land Kristen Edwards who is not a typical free safety given that while she can pick up interceptions and be in the back she can also hit, tackle, and force fumbles something we desperately need. Edwards becomes the first from Cassadaigua to come to Kohnhead and given their talent she will be a big part of this defense from day one.

RB Kaytlynne Sellers - Chromatika
Rank: 2nd in Chromatika
Yes, Swisston City does not use the running back the way some schools use it but this could change with Sellers coming to Swisston to be an immediate starter and three down back. Sellers will never get touches the way Herman Whitworth would and she's okay with that, it will mean less milage on her legs when she graduates anyway. Sellers brings everything to the table with talent, production, and character as she is a 4.0 student who is majoring in Pre-Med to try and help with Breast Cancer awareness from a personal story given that her mother, aunt, and grandmother all had it. Sellers will get plenty of carries in this offense and even as a freshman she should be an instant upgrade on Senior Aidan Nobles.

K Nydia Leon - Chromatika
Rank: N/A - Junior Transfer
With Harry Wells having missed multiple kicks this season, Swisston City have decided to go to the nation known for its kickers and while Leon is no Sara McAllister (who is) she will be an upgrade on Harry Wells. Leon is not a recruit out of High School as she played in the CCGC last season for the Hellcats of Z'ai'ai Institute of Technology. There's not too much you can say about a kicker but Leon will be a junior next season and will start both seasons for us.

MLB Marcus Igama - Banija
Rank: N/A
When talking about Kenny Short earlier we mentioned that Swisston City had three Senior linebackers all of whom were key contributors and starters, Short could only replace one of three at the outside linebacker position and it wasn't looking good when Swisston City struck out on multiple other options. Then they got Marcus Igama out of Banija who will be an absolute beast in the run game from day one and will be the starter. Having secured both Short and Igama, Swisston City can feel a lot better about their linebacking options for next season. Igama will probably be a liability in pass coverage in his freshman season at least but he won't be asked to do much of that and the coaching staff will work with him on that.

by **Chromatika** » Wed Apr 07, 2021 9:42 pm

The Flame of the Firehawk: Rekindled
Part 13: Just A Moment in Time

Team   1Q  2Q  3Q  4Q   |  Tot
FSU     3   0   7   3   |   13
KCU     0   7   3   0   |   10

1Q
11:28 FSU FG - Sara McAllister 31 yard Field Goal

2Q
04:17 KCU TD - Rowena Hastroff 4 yard run (Seth Potter Kick)

3Q
12:22 KCU FG - Seth Potter 36 yard Field Goal
02:01 FSU TD - Alessandra Mio 61 yard pass from Sarai Gwenderyn (Sara McAllister Kick)

4Q
00:01 FSU FG - Sara McAllister 42 yard Field Goal

REBORN FROM ASHES, FELSWYR, MOUNTAIN DISTRICT, CHROMATIKA - It was Senior Night, but the football was ugly. Both FSU and KCU's defenses had shown up, and Gwenderyn was having a bad night, which had become commonplace in Reborn from Ashes for some reason. Thankfully, Sarai Gwenderyn had clawed the Firehawks back late in the third quarter after being quelled for most of the game - Alessandra Mio had fallen gotten free for a big play and the only touchdown for the game for Felswyr State University.

However, it had all came down to one play. Starting at their own thirty-five with 2:18 left, short passes from Gwenderyn to Gwivern and Gwenderyn to Jottle got the ball to the KCU 41. With a minute or so left, Gwenderyn took the ball on three consecutive plays to set up a 1st and 10 at the 41 yard line with a half minute left. With one timeout later, Gwenderyn found Clementine on a stick route to the 25, but Anne was tackled in the field of play. Sarai Gwedneryn rushed up to the line and snapped the ball to clock it with a second left.

The weather had played havoc on both sides all game long. With temperature in the twenties and winds gusting up to twenty miles an hour, punting was a nightmare.

Felswyr State had a weapon that not many collegiate teams did, though: Sara McAllister.

McAllister had kicked in adverse weather in the past, but never with the wind blowing into her face, toward the kicker and across the field. She knew she had to kick much harder than she would need to otherwise, and had voiced as such to her coaching staff. That was why the Firehawks were at the KCU 25.

It was her time, and there was a reason why she was the defending Special Teams Player of the Year. She didn't talk herself up much, but she did take pride in her work, and if she got the Firehawks this win in this weather...

The snap was perfect by Kaia James. Nellie Katt's hold was pristine. Sara hit it with all of her strength, at the sweet spot of the ball.

It seemed to travel in the air for an eternity, arcing high. The entire crowd looked to watch.

Right before it would hit the netting, it barely went over the bar.

Ballgame.

As she was carried on her teammates' shoulders afterwards, Sara McAllister looked up at the snow falling down in the wind.

It was truly beautiful.

by **Ranoria** » Thu Apr 08, 2021 9:17 am

#6 Richardson Brings Down #4 Loyola-Istria To Reclaim The Superdome

Written By Will Jackson

Richardson WR Illiad Cullen after catching a pass in the third quarter

Everything on the line for two quarterbacks. The graduate transfer from The University of Moravica in Ezekiel Bantoba and the ultimate example of waiting your turn and paying your dues: Amadi Ikenna. Both passers knew that a massive game like this would have massive implications for their legacies, although Bantoba has seen massive success domestically in both Banija and Ranoria, by now. They were coming into the biggest game of the season, perhaps of their careers, and all the world was watching the Rebel's Cannon Bowl at kickoff.

Kade Witt would take the kick and - after considering how hungry the Loyola coverage unit looked - the knee in the end zone to get the ball out to the twenty yard line.

So out marched Ezekiel Bantoba, who came into the contest just 39 yards away from matching John Garrett's program record for NSCF passing yards in a season - a mark of 4,200. We all know Bantoba's a gunslinger, it's part of his game and it's served us well all season, particularly against a shootout-oriented conference this season. However, when Bantoba dialed up number one target Baraka Hali on a go route from the opening snap...speculation is that he wanted to make a highlight reel throw to break that record.

Who can blame him? The Blue Thunder faithful, just over forty thousand strong, didn't complain. Banijan fans filled the stadium with noise many full venues would envy when Martin de Lafayette beat our man for the football. Hali scrambled to make the tackle, and he did manage to bring de Lafayette down, but after the problems he had against Victoria Mio in our clashes with Cold Hill this season, he's probably sick of Chromatik corners and hoping we don't have to get in the ring with Felswyr State any time soon.

Anyway, with a play that effectively meant Loyola would start with the football in both halves, Amadi Ikenna did what Bantoba couldn't: dialed up a freakishly tall, fast, foreign senior at wide receiver for a deep touchdown pass. We don't want to harp on Makang Secka, because the sophomore has been excellent all season, but he got slotted with one hell of a matchup against Khalil Hauptmann. With a skinny post, Hauptmann was able to get just a hair of extra separation at the break of his route, and on top of a four inch reach advantage, Secka had allowed more yards on his first snap than he had in any entire game this season. Hauptmann snagged the ball a little more than forty yards downfield on an in stride, over the shoulder pass from Ikenna, and shrugged off Secka's attempt at a tackle.

If we thought the Banijans were loud before, they were a cacophony now, cowbells sounding, drumming on the barriers in the front row, just incredible. Bantoba was unable to answer right away. Saul Thomas Sr. took the first two snaps of the drive for eight yards, and senior nose tackle Yisake Araya broke through faster than a man his size had any right to on third down. Before Bantoba could get into his drop, he saw the bear of a man well, bearing down on him, and tried to scramble and improvise only to be caught up in Araya's massive wingspan for a sack.

A punt, and fortunately Amadi Ikenna, despite picking up four first downs, would toss a third down incompletion to get the ball back. And believe it or not - freshman kicker Paul Franks nailed a thirty yard field goal, almost right down the middle. It's almost as if he knows Shirley Woo is going to take his job next season.

Well ladies and gentlemen, the first quarter wasn't exactly what we expected. Ezekiel Bantoba put up just 29 passing yards where Amadi Ikkena would head into the next period with 101. But everything sped up from there. Ikenna was locked in and potentially playing the game of his life. Alanso Isa and Dennis Zervos knew that this Richardson defense had exactly one strong position group as a whole, and that was the defensive line. Yes, Makang Secka at corner and Clancy Gluber at linebacker are studs, but they can't mask the otherwise atrocious back seven. And fortunately, Khalil Hauptmann was good enough to beat Secka. Perhaps not consistently, but enough to get the job done.

Through a combination of quick verticals that saw poor coverage players get burnt, screen passes to take a frothing-at-the-mouth front four out of the equation, and plenty of quick slants and curls, Amadi Ikenna looked to be perfectly control, hitting 8 of his nine passes on the first drive of the second quarter before lofting his second touchdown of the night. Fortunately for the Governors, the defensive line couldn't be totally wiped off the stat sheet, as Carlos Schmidt broke through to bat down the point after attempt, but there were no illusions that this game was going to be an easy one now, as Richardson was already trailing 13-3, with flashbacks of their first showdown with Loyola in the Superdome playing through the minds of plenty of those watching.

And the Governors did try to get something going. But on a twelve play drive that saw Bantoba officially pass up John Garrett's single season program record for passing yards in the NSCF season, they were forced to punt when Ezekiel Bantoba was pressured on his third and long pass. The Blue Thunder never took their feet off the gas pedal of course, and Ikenna - with more than two hundred fifty passing yards already on the night - lofted his third touchdown pass. Whatever he was doing, it was working against one of the worst Richardson defensive units in recent memory. He had yet to be sacked and had been pressured just twice, both seeing him expertly manipulate the pocket in a fashion that must have had many scouts perking up from their notes.

So what now? With the second quarter coming to an end, the Governors went down the field once more and managed a chip shot field goal for their efforts. Ikenna took a knee to get out of the half up 20-6 now. Commentators across the country were calling this the kind of walloping that shows, for all the competition in the Big 8, that the Celestia still holds the crown as the toughest in college football. Loyola-Istria making it clear again that while the Governors can beat them if they're at their best, the Blue Thunder can blow them out of the water at their own peak.

Fortunately Gudbrand Taurus would have something to say about that on the first drive of the second half. After Ikenna opened the half with three straight completions for first downs, Taurus broke through on the next one for a sack, throttling the Blue Thunder offensive line with sheer, untamed power. That slowed them just enough to force a punt, and BantobaMania finally returned. Saul Thomas Sr. had been running hard all day, and Loyola-Istria finally bit on a hard play action that got Illiad Cullen wide open down the field. Of course Ezekiel Bantoba hit him. Knowing damn well he didn't have the luxury of slowing down again, Bantoba took two more snaps to get his team to the goal line, where linebacker Marcus Sandoval would lay the hammer down on tight end Blake Hawthorne. It wouldn't matter too much, as Saul Thomas would take the handoff for his fifteenth rushing touchdown on the season - the second best tally by a Governors back in the NSCF season.

Unfortunately, it appears the initial reaction to Paul Franks knowing he had to play lights out to keep his job was wrong, as he doinked the kick - off the bottom of the goal post - on the point after attempt. Ridiculous.

Unfortunately for us, the comeback was getting more and more unlikely as Amadi Ikenna answered late in the third quarter with a fourth touchdown - again to Khalil Hauptmann, who had now cleared 160 yards - after the teams traded punts on the next two drives. The young man's been solid all season, despite being shouldered with the legacies of legends like Isaka Jawara and Amazu Chibuzo, Omar Jassey even. But tonight, all those comparisons were thrown out. Tonight, with now a 27-12 lead, he could be the hero, and he could etch his name in Blue Thunder lore forever.

Amadi Ikenna had a night for the ages against Richardson, easily clearing four hundred passing yards with four passing scores as a cherry on top

Bantoba's own crew charged down in their own right. Loyola-Istria was giving our starting runner, Saul Thomas, all he could handle. The runner had been limited to 23 yards on 11 carries so far, and that left Bantoba to take the reigns. Elliot Roach would come in at running back to spell the older back, and would see a good deal more success in the yardage category than Thomas on the day.

Before the fourth quarter rolled around, Bantoba would hit his first touchdown pass of the night, making it Baraka Hali's fourteenth of the season. Number two target Illiad Cullen ran up and headbutted his running mate in the end zone after the score, drawing it just a bit closer now at 27-19, even if this game was far from over.

The Blue Thunder would settle for a handoff to Eric van Geel on the first snap of their drive, the final of the third quarter, with the unfortunate result of Carlos Schmidt taking him down for a loss. The redshirt sophomore defensive end has been an animal this season, and brought his TFL number to a baker's dozen. His sacks? He'd finish the regular season with 14.5. He nearly managed to bump that number up after busting through Loyola's offensive line on a beautiful long arm-club combo, but Ikenna tossed the ball into the dirt just as he reached him.

Ikenna wasn't quite able to make up the lost yardage on the next play, and Ezekiel Bantboba had finally hit his stride. After Kade Witt - a much better return man than cornerback - got him within forty yards of the goal line, he decided to just take it all in one go. One deep shot to Illiad Cullen and his work, for that drive, was done. Richardson was within one point of defeating their arch-rivals for the second year in a row, a 27-26 ballgame. Ikenna and crew wouldn't go quietly, managing a field goal the next drive, but Bantoba didn't mind. He just did it again.

Sixty four yards in six plays the Governors went, this time ending it with a red zone strike to big tight end Blake Hawthorne to take their first lead of the game. By virtue of sheer numbers, the Superdome erupted in applause even greater than the Loyola faithful had managed earlier in the contest. BantobaMania was in full force, finally taking a three point lead over their opponents.

So here it was - the biggest moment of Amadi Ikenna's career, perhaps his life up until this point. Down 30-33, all he had to do was score. Score, and force overtime, or score and take home the Rebel's Cannon with their heads high. Well, he managed the former, with just under a minute left. The four minute wasn't always pretty, with a pair of fourth down conversions mixed in, but he pulled it off. He got his team into field goal range, albeit barely. The special teams unit, led by kicker Sainey Kabbah, hit a Karmin-Falce Superdome record 51 yard field goal to draw it even one last time.

The only problem, of course, was that Ezekiel Bantoba had three timeouts.

Predictably, the Blue Thunder secondary played outside leverage to prevent any more clock stoppages than were necessary. It made sense, force the Governors to choose between burning the clock or risking an interception. What they didn't account for was Ezekiel Bantoba's absolute belief in himself, in his arm, in his teammates. This would be his, and Baraka Hali's, biggest moment of the season.

The drive started at the twenty five. After one throw to Hali, it would be at Loyola's 49 with 44 seconds to go. A second throw to Hali, the 31 with 33 seconds left. Richardson burned their third timeout on Illiad Cullen's only catch of the drive, one that got them to the three yard line.

Twenty four seconds. Ikenna had a towel over his face on the sideline. He couldn't watch. The crowd's consolidating noise only told him to keep that towel on for now.

The Blue Thunder defense stopped a run play from Elliot Roach, a bold move by Richardson with so little time, but they didn't panic.

Hali motioned twice before the snap, once slow, the second much faster. De Lafayette never had a chance to catch up on the direct snap to the 225 pound wide receiver, who came right off of Howitzer Peter's hip, untouched as he charged into the end zone.

Ikenna slouched on the sideline when he heard the crowd's thunderous applause. The point after attempt was but a formality, and a squib kick that ate away the last few seconds meant the starter never got a chance to make one more of those plays, highlight-reel throws, that he'd been making all night.

On to Mar Sara Tech the Governors will march, coming off one emotional rivalry win, and prepared to lock horns with a team that's given them more hell than anyone this side of Cold Hill. We're not sure who's coming out of that one.

What we are sure of is that the Richardson clock will continue ticking for one more season, and that the Rebel's Cannon is staying right where it belongs - the centerpiece of the trophy case in Richardson University's athletic complex. We are sure that Ezekiel Bantoba is now the only Richardson quarterback to have gone undefeated against Loyola-Istria, and that he had the single best passing yardage mark in Richardson history through the NSCF season.

If you're not familiar with the Richardson Clock account, well, just check twii.tur once you're done reading this article.

@RichardsonClock 731 days days since Loyola's last win over Richardson in football. #Richardson

by **Valanora** » Thu Apr 08, 2021 2:10 pm

Let us not beat around the bush, no one inside the Empire that had been following the NSCF this season is happy at all with the way the playoff matchups and bracket have taken shape following the last week of non conference games. This is especially true in Raynor City, where the Rockets are bemoaning the obvious pro Ko-oren refs who refused to call a single penalty in the entire game against the Salamantic Universities despite numerous obvious cases of replay showing that the defensive backs were constantly holding or interfering with the Rockets wide receivers. This is not even taken into consideration that there was at least five plays where the Salamantic defensive ends were lined up offside and were able to free rush on the quarterback that the referees just swallowed their whistle for the home side, while the smallest of infractions or even fifty-fifty calls were called against the visiting Rockets. It was a miserable experience that predictable allowed the home side to win and win by a huge margin, inflating a record and scoreline that was not reflective at all of the skill between the two teams, evidenced by the fact that it is the Rockets who are in the playoffs and not the Ko-oren based institution. The Raynor University president lodged a complaint about the capabilities of the officials during the match but is not expecting anything to come of it.

The Raiders were thought to be in a fairly good mood, having finally been able to overcome their rivals of Sadeg State, edging out the Skyhawks with a last minute touchdown drive in front of the home crowd in order to get a much needed victory. Freshman wideout Kawsu Gaye caught a short slant route from Arquímedes Concepción on the five and was able to dive forward and stretch out the ball to break the plane even as the Skyhawk secondary was attempting to bring him down before the end zone, looking to run out the clock with the Raiders having no time outs. Yet the young Banija wideout was able to cross the plane with the ball and give the Raiders a three point lead before the PAT advanced it to four. A squib kick afterwards wasted the remaining seconds of the game and the Raiders were victorious in their annual rivalry match with the Skyhawks and with all of the NSCF crowd watching, having had the primetime game slot for the week. Yet when the playoff matches were announced, it seemed that the impressive victory over one of the best teams of the season had nearly no effect for the pollsters.

Despite the Rockets having won their conference, they are going to have to play in a play-in game and away from home as well, which is quite infuriating for the players, fans, and staff of the Rockets. They had fully expected to have at least had a single home game if not multiple home games to their side given that they had won their conference quite comfortably, yet they are on the road when a four loss team in the form of Felswyr State University gets to host a home, as well as Université St. Croix, a team that had been comprehensively beaten by Mar Sara Tech. It seems to the fans and coaches of the Rockets that their is a lot of bias going on in the pollsters, pushing these two teams in particular above them in the final rankings and taking the Rockets advantage away from them, as even the Raiders will be getting to host a game despite having finished second in the conference. Thousands of comments across internet message boards are calling for investigations towards the calculation of the rankings and the bias of the pollsters in an attempt to keep the capital university from becoming a true powerhouse.

For the game itself, the Rockets will be traveling to Sadeg to take on the same Skyhawks that the Raiders just had their mammoth game with and escaping with their late victory. The Rockets had the better defenses between the two teams during the conference and they will be hoping to improve upon what the Raiders were able to do against the high flying Skyhawks, keeping the offense in check, forcing the Skyhawks to have to settle for field goals rather than touch downs, having only let the Skyhawks into endzone twice in the game in Mar Sara. The Rockets have a very experienced defensive unit and one that had played well above themselves for most of the season, barring that sham of the game in Ko-oren, which gives Andy Magnusson a bit of hope that his team will be able to keep the Skyhawks in check much like their countrymen. The question is surprisingly with the offensive side of the ball, an offense that was one of the best not only this season but in all of NSCF history. The non-coference has seen them go against two high defensive units and struggled, something that the Skyhawks are not. There were times this season that the Skyhawks looked vulnerable but they always found a way to win, bar one game against Felswyr. The keys to the game is if the high flying offense of the Rockets from conference play can tavel to Sadeg and if the defense can play up to the same level that they have for most of the season, if the answer to both or maybe even just one of those questions is yes, the Rockets could leave Drawkland with a victory.

The Raiders will be putting their undefeated home streak on the line against elite competition, as none other than the Governors of Richardson University will be coming to Mar Sara for the play-in round, which the winners of this mammoth game will then get to travel to the current holders of the NSCF trophy of Cold Hill to play in the Quarterfinals. Richardson emerged from the Big Eight but not without some scratches and scares for the trouble, but will be riding high into the playoff after they two were able to defeat a dreaded rival in the last week of the out of conference play, knocking off Loyola-Istria. We have seen Richardson be at times during the season a sort of team that you would be expecting to be contending for the NSCF title, while at other times they had looked quite pedestrian, particularly against their fellow good schools in the Big Eight. Tech has looked like a world beater in Mar Sara, they have yet to be beaten in the Lathalein Celestial Stadium, even beating the Rockets here, with a bit of comeback magic for the Raiders in both the game against the Rockets and Skyhawks in their home stadium. Should the Governors show the good side that looks like title contenders, then the Raiders will have quite the game on their hands, though if they show their lesser side, the fortress that their stadium has become might be enough to see the team into the Quarterfinals for the first team in years for the former NSCF champions.

by **Kohnhead** » Thu Apr 08, 2021 7:58 pm

Pain

Everyone knew the implications of the Kohnhead City-Felswyr State matchup, we were ready to try and seek our revenge for our Week 13 loss on Senior Night last season and the playoff semifinal loss that sent us home after a very good first year in the NSCF. In addition OSPI (a metric used to determine how good teams actually are) apparently didn't like our 9-3 record with blowouts against Cold Hill and Richardson as well as out of conference victories over SAFA and Sadeg State meaning that if Kohnhead City lost we would have to go through a committee vote that we were largely expected to get in from however.

Revenge was on the mind for everyone on our side and while FSU had struggled this season with losses to Sadeg State, Cavsar, and Rickendor Central out of nowhere however in the two weeks of out of conference play they had looked better losing to Cold Hill by only 7 in Rhine's return and a big 31-15 win over the University of Loyola-Istria from Banija a week before this one, both teams looked good the week prior with us squeaking out a 13-7 win in the second ever Squidhead Cup improving our record to 2-0 against our rivals in SAFA.

The big question for Kohnhead was what offense would show up against one of if not the best defense in the NSCF in Felswyr State University. Would it be the offense that put up over 44 points per game during conference play and hung 47 on Cold Hill in the unofficial Big Eight Championship Game or would it be the offense that had a combined 30 points against SAFA and SSU that saw former frontrunner for MOP Herman Whitworth struggle to play through yet another ankle injury. When you offense is in a slump if you could pick any team to play to try and break out of it, FSU is probably the last team on your list and they showed why limiting us to 10 points while Whitworth who had such a good start to the season was forced out of the game by halftime as it's in doubt whether he will play again this season.

FSU struck first with an early field goal from the Special Teams Player of the Year in Sara McAllister who has probably even taken a step forward from her great season a year ago. From the start it was clear that if we were going to win Byron Joseph was going to have to shoulder the offense even if it meant taking more hits than anyone was comfortable with. He is a warrior and in his last collegiate regular season game he did it all constantly taking hits and standing tall in the pocket or moving outside to hit receivers. While we only managed 10 points it was because Joseph really did it all with Whitworth clearly nowhere near 100% and Hastroff still a freshman with high upside.

Late in the second quarter we found the endzone for the first time on a classic Kohnhead City play except it wasn't Whitworth in the backfield with Joseph it was freshman Rowena Hastroff who was given the option and scored from four yards out to give us the 7-3 lead heading into halftime. A 36 yard field goal from Seth Potter shortly into the second half made it a 10-3 lead and Kohnhead City had hope that maybe we could finally avenge the demons against FSU.

Sarai Gwenderyn the reigning MOP and her star wideout Senior Alessandra Mio playing on Senior Night finally connected after Zion Irving had taken her out of the game for most of the first half limiting Mio to just two catches for 17 yards. There was nothing Irving could do against a signature Mio double move and just like that Mio got a 61 yard touchdown and the game was tied at 10. After this both offenses fell apart really unable to do much in the gusts of wind that circled the field.

Kohnhead City's defense played well the rest of the second half after the big touchdown to Mio that is until late in the fourth when FSU had a chance to win the game with a two minute drill. With the score tied at 10 you knew letting them into field goal range even with the wind blowing against them would spell doom for the Mighty Eagles. Unfortunately our defense just looked gassed and allowed way too many short passes with a defensive line now failing to get pressure after having been a factor all day and Gwenderyn diced up our defense with short passes that culminated in the ball at our 25 with a second left.

Despite the almost 20 mile per hour winds in her face Sara McAllister was not phased and ended the hopes and dreams of so many of our fans, players, and coaches in one kick to give FSU the win and to bring KCU down to 15th in OSPI and needing a committee vote to get them into the playoffs.

However Kohnhead City got the vote they were looking for by an overwhelming majority and even ahead of the other team voted in which was none other than Richardson (how did they get in, Richardson sucks) who take up the 11 seed in the playoffs due to OSPI. Kohnhead City meanwhile will be the worst team in the playoffs with our 12 seed but I have confidence we can beat any team in the playoffs except for maybe one that being none other than Felswyr State University.

And of course as fate would have it, Felswyr State University are the 5 seed in the playoffs meaning that Kohnhead City will travel back to Reborn from the Ashes next week for another matchup in Chromatika the second time we play them in the playoffs (the other one was there to) as we hope to improve our record against them to 1-3 although if you're doubtful don't fret I already have the loss circled in. Of all the teams we have to face next week of course it's the team that we just cannot beat, maybe however we play them the second week in the row and so our offense will be ready to dominate although I doubt it.

Please let us win this.

Swisston City defeat Trent State in Pioneer Bowl preview

Kohnhead Vs. TJUN-ia is a rivalry that all tennis fans know exists in the NSTT and how fitting was it that schools from their respective nations met in Week 13 of the NSCF with the Army Knives traveling to Sherwood Field to take on the Feathercaps of Trent State. Trent State had a very respectable first season in the NSCF starting out 0-3 but rebounding to finish conference play at 6-4 with a win over Mineral Conference winners in the University of the Commonwealth.

While Swisston City had started out of conference with an 0-2 record following losses to New Lakeland and St. Croix that were both really close and gave us lots of hope, Trent State had actually pulled off an upset taking down 9-1 Mar Sara Tech in week 11 before following 40-17 to the butt of many jokes in Cavsar University. Trent State while by no means a playoff team with a 7-5 record had pretty much clinched a spot in The Cannabiscorp Pioneer Bowl for the top newcomers while Swisston City needed to beat Trent State to force a spot in the Pioneer Bowl against that same Trent State team as 5-7 Vietussia Academy were right with us in the battle for that spot in the Pioneer Bowl.

Diego Rodriguez didn't play too well in this one but Aidan Nobles in his second to last game in a Swisston City uniform had his best game of the season rushing for 177 yards and two scores and we would kick four field goals in addition to that as the offense consistently found itself stalling out in Trent State territory and in the redzone with their defense proving to be stingy at keeping us out.

Gareth Baldwin would lead the Trent State offense to two scores throwing both of them with one going to wideout Fremont Whitehorse and the other going to Nia Jaxon-Fuller a tight end. In addition Trent State would get a safety taking down Rodriguez for a nine yard loss midway through the third in what was their first actual score of the day with our defense having played fantastic and helped us go up 19-2 (a very odd gridiron/football score).

However after a safety the team that gets the two points also gets the ball back and so Trent State scored a touchdown to make it 19-9 this one being the one to Whitehorse. Fortunately Nobles scored from 19 yards out to make it a 26-9 game and pretty much put it out of reach although the Feathercaps managed another score. Swisston City had improved to 6-7 with wins over Trent State, Richardson, and Kohnhead City to name a few marking quite a successful debut season.

However the Army Knives look to have success in the postseason as well with a trip to Iqaluit Stadium in Quebec and Shingoryeo for The Cannabiscorp Pioneer Bowl that we have been invited to along with Trent State as the two best newcomer teams. So while Kohnhead City get a rematch of their week 13 loss to Felswyr State University, we get a rematch of our week 13 win against Trent State although this time at a neutral site venue.

It's been a good season for the Army Knives, can they cap it off with a bowl win?

by **Chromatika** » Thu Apr 08, 2021 8:32 pm

Disclaimer: nscfbet.cmt is a small, private website run by a group of students at Chromia Central College University. Their views are not to be taken seriously.

nscfbet.cmy's Odds for the NSCF 23 Title:

Not Likely, Unless a Miracle Run Happens:
University of the Commonwealth of Baker Park (CBP) - 15/1
Université St. Croix (QUE) - 12/1
Kohnhead City University (KHD) -10/1
Richardson University (RAN) - 9/1

These four schools all have major issues heading ahead in terms of opposition. Kohnhead City has to exorcise their demons in Felswyr State before even looking ahead to Loyola-Istria, St. Croix and Baker Park will knock one of each other out before facing Northern Moravica, and Richardson has to deal with Mar Sara Tech before potentially getting to their rivals in Cold Hill.

Contenders:
Raynor University (VAL) 7/1
Felswyr State University (CMT) 7/1
Sadeg State University (DRK) 6/1
New Lakeland University (CDG) 6/1

Raynor and Sadeg State are here because they'd be favorites against New Lakeland, the newcomers of these playoffs; New Lakeland is here because Felswyr State has proven that just because you're new to the playoffs doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to fall. For Felswyr State, beating Kohnhead City for a fourth time (the second this season) and then taking down Loyola-Istria again seems just too much of a tall order.

Favorites:
Cold Hill University (RAN) 5/1
Mar Sara Tech (VAL) 4/1
University of Loyola-Istria (BNJ) 3/1
Northern Moravica University (BNJ) 5/2

The two Banijan schools probably have the easiest path to the Title Game, and have had the best showings (before the Out of Conference schedule, anyway). Cold Hill, after Rhine's return, has really gained a step - taking down both Felswyr State and Loyola-Istria. Mar Sara Tech was one of the very best teams on paper before heading into the Out of Conference Games, and should they get hot, woe to anyone that gets in their way.

by **Drawkland** » Thu Apr 08, 2021 9:53 pm

indie-doca-recruits.com
Drawkland's #1 unofficial source on college recruiting info
main -> football -> nscf -> commits

With the NSCF season starting to roll to the playoffs, it appears most recruits being targeted by NSCF squads are officially committing. Most recruits have already done this, but the Drawkian kids were a little behind, this being the first time any Drawkians have shopped themselves overseas. Of the seven that got any attention, all seven have committed to an NSCF squad outside of Drawkland. We're excited to see how they'll perform in coming seasons.

Prokopios Vortigern Rooijakkers (ATH) -> Cold Hill (RAN)
In perhaps the most anticipated recruiting battle for a Drawkian this season, the supposedly legendary "Proko" committed to Cold Hill, the #1 school from his mother's homeland, Ranoria. Cold Hill is a perennial title contender known for producing pro-level talent and having a roster loaded with stars from several nations. This is a best case scenario for a player who is likely to be a star if and when he gets to the league. His abilities on both sides of the ball will probably be utilized at Cold Hill, so it'll be interesting to see where he thrives the most.

Otto Mitchell (WR) -> Felswyr State (CMT)
Mitchell took the chance at going overseas, hoping his short-for-a-Drawkian-wideout height would be enough to coax a regular human squad into giving him a scholarship offer and a chance to be getting a lot of playing time. This paid off in spades, as several schools targeted him, especially Drawkland's Horizon rivals in Felswyr State. The Firehawks ended up giving Mitchell the attention he wanted, and so he'll be heading to Chromatika for next season. It'll be interesting to see him match up with Drawkians in Sadeg State and Cavsar, but against every other team the Firehawks face, he'll be the unanimous deep threat.

Colin Morris (DT) -> Raynor (VAL)
Morris has been a solid defensive line recruit, getting a lot of attention in Drawkland and overseas. It appears that the Rockets at Raynor had the right program he was looking for, as well as a scheme where he'd be able to make an impact very quickly on their team. A lot of Drawkian teams will be disappointed to see he won't be playing for their colors, but as a player you gotta look out for #1, and that's yourself. Hopefully Morris gets what he's looking for in Valanora.

Lukas Prince (CB) -> Brat Tech (CDG)
From the equivalent of a blue blood high school in Drawkland, Lukas Prince was looking to play at the NSCF level because he (and his parents) feel that he had the skillset to play internationally. Unfortunately, neither Sadeg State nor Cavsar were interested. Prince was probably disappointed that not many NSCF schools looked his way, in fact, the only school to really pursue him was Brat Tech, a Dagan school that hasn't even participated in this season but are a lock to be in next season. Still, the Brats had enough of a pull that Prince was willing to chance on the new school, where they probably won't be big contenders until he's an upperclassman.

Brice Bullard (RB) -> New Lakeland (CDG)
Prince won't be alone in going off to Cassadaigua next season, as Brice Bullard also got attention from the Rushmori powerhouse nation. Instead of the unproven Brat Tech, it's instead the first-timers of New Lakeland who appear to be on their way to a deep playoff run as we speak. A massive guy like Bullard will be an interesting addition to the Tycoons, who will be itching to replicate their success next season, regardless of how this season ends up.

Axel Goddard (K) -> Thereisnogodistan CC (AFT)
The somewhat mediocre kicker took a gamble that his "long" range, more standard for a Drawkian, would make him more appealing overseas. This almost didn't pan out, but late in the season Thereisnogodistan Community College came knocking, apparently. With no better offers in sight, Goddard snagged the one offer he had, and he'll be sending off to Abanhfleft next season. I hope he didn't care much about getting a really high quality education!

Dakota Regan (QB) -> Ceneisis Naval (AFT)
Finally, the highly-touted QB recruit who had offers all across Drawkland made his decision. As many of us suspected, he wasn't content to miss the chance at playing at the NSCF level, and with SSU and Cavsar giving him the cold shoulder, he decided to look overseas. He found even more cold shoulders there, and the main school to give him attention was Abanhfleft's Ceneisis Naval Academy. CNA hasn't been a contender recently in the NSCF, but perhaps Regan could change things around there once he has the starting job. In the tough Zephyr Conference, the Ensigns will have their work cut out for them to try and outpace the Vanorian outfits. At least if Regan doesn't pan out as a player and falls short of making the league, he'll have a great opportunity to join the Drawkian Navy back home.

Those were the Big Seven recruits that managed to make their dreams come true and play for an NSCF team. Maybe someday they'll be big players in the GLD or elsewhere, or maybe they'll be huge busts we'll never talk about again. That's the beauty of recruiting! Be sure to bookmark our site and follow our socials to always stay up-to-date on college recruiting in Drawkland.

by **Quebec and Shingoryeo** » Thu Apr 08, 2021 9:55 pm

Playoff First Round and Bowls Cutoff!

NSCF 23 PLAYOFFS - First Round
Full Bracket

_#8Sadeg State University (DRK) 37–23 _#9 Raynor University (VAL)
Winner plays #1 New Lakeland University (CDG)

_#5Felswyr State University (CMT) 30–21 _#12Kohnhead City University (KHD)
Winner plays #4 University of Loyola at Istria (BNJ)

_#9Université St. Croix (QUE) 23–21 _#10University of the Commonwealth of Baker Park (CBP)
Winner plays #2 Northern Moravica University (BNJ)

_#6Mar Sara Tech (VAL) 27–16 _#11Richardson University (RAN)
Winner plays #3 Cold Hill University (RAN)

The Cannabiscorp Pioneer Bowl
Trent State University (TJU) 27–29 Swisston City University (KHD)
Best newcomer teams not in Playoffs
Iqaluit Stadium, Iqaluit, Royal Kingdom of Quebec

The Drawk Bowl
Université du Saguenay (QUE) 10–6 Freedom's Altar University (YSP)
Best remaining Woodlands team vs. At-Large Selection
Corps University Hub, Drawk City, Drawkland

The Karmin-Falce Auto Bowl
Squidroidia Armed Forces Academy (SQR) 13–40 Cavsar University (DRK)
Best remaining Points Scored and Point Differences
Karmin-Falce Superdome, Ranoria City, Ranoria

The Welcome City Bowl
Salamantic Universities (KOR) 20–21 Bowerstone University (ATH)
Best remaining Celestia team vs. At-Large Selection
Welcome City Stadium, Summersville, Barnettsville

by **Banija** » Fri Apr 09, 2021 11:20 am

The Coulibaly Corner: Your one stop shop for everything college football!

Hey guys! Welcome back to my corner of the internet for everything college football! I, of course, usually cover the NSCF, especially the two Banijan schools, as well as domestic college football here in Banija. I'm a University of Moravica grad- aka, we don't like either of the Banijan schools. But of course, due to physical proximity, they get the Lion's share of this blog's attention.

So I woke up today and was thinking- how can we piss everyone off at the same time? And I knew it- we could run with bad idea time! Our most famous edition of this was not in our primary sport, college football, but in soccer, when we suggested the WCC adopt regional-based World Cup Qualifying. From that, a team from Northwest Kalactin actually ran a simulation of what regional World Cup Qualifying could look like.

Always something fun people talk about on the internet. And not really something ever considered. But let's explore it, eh? We can create some fun conferences. Not that they should be used- a number of these would violate NSCF protocols. But jump down that rabbit hole!

Bad Idea Time- Conference Re-Alignment

Now, before we do this, we need to present some ground rules.

1. We're going to break away from NSCF protocol regarding conferences. Obviously. Nobody is tied to their historic conference. And also, schools from the same nations will be split, instead of placed together. Let's throw some spice on it!
2. We're going to try and do our best to have conferences of relatively equal strength
3. No historic schools. We're only going to use the 36 schools in NSCF 23.
4. We are going to keep the same format(6 conferences of 6) that we use in the NSCF.
5. We, for simplicity's sake, will keep all the conference names that are in use for NSCF 23.

Now, so you know. We tried to maximize entertainment value, rivalries, potential future rivalries, and whatever else. Geography did not play a part. Without further ado!

Celestia
Loyola-Istria(BNJ)
Richardson University(RAN)
Raynor University(VAL)
Fair Haven State(BAR)
Cenesis Naval Academy(AFT)
Lismore Christian College(NWK)

First, let's start with a new look Celestia! Anchored by Loyola-Istria, it is a conference that has potential for a ton of rivalry building, especially among the top 3. Raynor and Richardson already have a history from Valanora's Big 8 Days. The Vanorian schools eventually left the Ranorian schools and went to the Zephyr Conference, as having four of the NSCF's top 10 consistent teams in one conference was clearly a bad idea. Loyola v. Richardson- the Rebel's Cannon Bowl twice a year? Who would say no? The biggest change, besides obviously playing twice a year, is that this is a rivalry that would be played on campus. These two schools have played each other 7 times(Richardson leading the series 4-3), and only two of those games have been on campus. Nobody moves conference games on campus. And that's how the sport should be played, eh? And then, Loyola v. Raynor. Raynor is the closest NSCF school to Istria that is not NMU. Each school repping the biggest city in their country in the Glorious Southwest. Easy rivalry, no?

The rest is filled out with intriguing matchups. Cenesis Naval Academy has a history with Raynor, of course. Fair Haven STate has one with Loyola. Lismore Christian has no really significant history with any of these schools, but they would be a great fit. A second Christian school alongside Loyola. The fourth AO school. And a long NSCF history. Who'd say no?

Horizon
Northern Moravica(BNJ)
Salamantic Universities(KOR)
Université du Saguenay(QUE)
Vietussia Academy(UNV)
Syracuse State (CRL)
Thereisnogodistan Community College(NGD)

And now, for the new look Horizon! Plenty of rivalries here. We're biased, of course, but a number of rivalries for NMU in particular as we look at this conference. Northern Moravica and the Salamantic Universities, of course, have a history with each other in the Celestia. We'd finally have a guaranteed Banija/Quebec matchup, with NMU v. Saguenay. The three big schools in this conference are all in AO as well, which adds to the rivalry. The Salamantics and Saguenay would be great natural rivals- both in northern AO, both cultures that love the sport. Great rivalry building for the top 3 of this conference(this is a theme!)

The rest, of course, fit nicely in. Vietussia is NMU's oldest foreign rival, therefore, they had to get a spot. Syracuse State and Thereisnogodistan Community College round it out. Vietussia Academy is the wild card. In their Celestia days, they were pretty damn strong, but not so true recently. If they can regain form, this would probably be the toughest conference on this list. Or would it?

Mineral
Cold Hill(RAN)
Squidroidia Armed Forces Academy(SQR)
Kohnhead City(KHD)
Rickendor Central(HTK)
Universidad de Barvard(BOH)
Stevan Vaalburger Academy(ALS)

Cold Hill. The class of the NSCF. How do you build this conference? We thought about this long and hard. We threw them into the Mineral, which has the Squidroidia Armed Forces Academy. Cold Hill University is elite in so many ways. But this is a tough conference for them. Squidroidia won the Mineral in year 1, ending four consecutive seasons of utter and outright dominance by UC-Baker Park. Kohnhead City is already a rival of Cold Hill who has proven that they are capable of beating Cold Hill, so they'd make this conference pretty damn competitive.

Now, this is probably the conference where the difference between the top 3 and bottom 3 in the conference is the most vast. That top three trio, however, is good enough and entertaining enough to be worth it. And hey- anyone who's ever seen a World Bowl knows the Allamunnic States has potential. What if Vaalburger put it all together? Then what a conference this would end up being.

Big Eight
Felswyr State(CMT)
Université St. Croix(QUE)
Trent State(TJU)
Freedom's Altar(YSP)
Xannerian PolyTech(XAN)
Bowerstone University(ANT)

New look Big 8! And look- there are schools that actually play defense in this conference. Can someone call the Kohnhead/Ranorian/Kalactanian schools and tell them that yes, recruiting elite defenders is actually allowed? Anyways, this would be a highly entertaining conference. Anyways, let's run through it. Felswyr State and St. Croix, of course, are both in Northeastern Atlantian Oceania- making that a potentially very competitive rivalry. Those two schools would have some epic matchups playing twice a year.

And then, throw on Trent State. This would suddenly be a fun as heck conference. The TJUN-ian school is up and coming, and if you threw those three together, it'd be a party. And now, some more defensive excellence. Freedom's Altar. The Xannerian and Anthor schools round it out, but the entertainment value of this conference is high.

Woodlands
New Lakeland University(CDG)
Sadeg State(DRK)
Mar Sara Tech(VAL)
Akers University(NWK)
New Springs University(APY)
University of Waikoloa Village(UVI)

Now, this would be a fun conference, wouldn't it? First, one famous international rivalry would be on here- Sadeg State v. Mar Sara Tech. This is one of the NSCF's present best non-conference rivalries, and moving it to be a conference rivalry would only make it that much better. Both schools are elite, having great offenses, and do not get along. Giving the rivalry the stakes of a conference title would only enhance it that much more. And then, throw in New Lakeland. Cassadaigua and Valanora are both ancient sporting nations- World Cup titles in the 40s and 50s, well before anyone had ever heard of Banija.

You don't think New Lakeland could develop an excellent rivalry with Mar Sara Tech? Of course they could. And then New Lakeland and Sadeg State. It wouldn't be long. Both schools are elite on the hardwood, and it wouldn't take that long for them to become rivals on the gridiron. Now, you throw on Akers University, New Springs, and Waikoloa Village to round it out, and you have the potential to have one hell of a fun time in this conference.

Zephyr
UC-Baker Park(CBP)
Cavsar University(DRK)
Swisston City(KHD)
Hoofstra University(KRD)
Northern Dinagat State(BAR)
Laneca University(GRC)

Last, but certainly not least- the Zephyr! UC-Baker Park, Cavsar University, Hoofstra, and Swisston City would highlight the conference. WE think that there would definitely be potential for some excellent rivalries here. UC-Baker Park is a force unto themselves- 5 conference titles in six seasons in the NSCF. That's elite level play if I've ever seen it. Now, Cavsar and Swisston City would both be in interesting situations in this scenario. Both holding the dreaded title of 'second school' in their own nations, they'd both have the chance at the spotlight. Both would take huge shots at UC-Baker Park, and would have a solid chance of winning the conference.

Now, Hoofstra in here as well. The #1 defense team in the NSCF. If they can put it together on the other side of the football, there's no reason they couldn't make a run, right? Defense wins championships! Northern Dinagat State, too, has been in the NSCF for a while. Could they win it most years? Probably not. But they can beat anyone on any given day, throwing all sorts of wrenches into what would certainly be a fun title race.

What about national rivalries?

Now, we didn't forget about those. All the national rivalries, in this case, would be played in Week 13! My belief is that this would enhance the rivalries. Everybody loses money with these not being played twice a year, of course, which means this proposal would never happen. But in this scenario, we aren't worried about that. Don't gotta worry about outside factors when these rivalries are played if you play them non-con. It's just two teams that hate each other. Plus, the tension of only playing once a year. That Richardson clock twii.tur account triggers every Loyola fan on both sides of the Jinja River. And it's hilarious.

But what would Week 13, aka rivalry week, look like in this scenario? Let's plot it out.

Potential Rivalry Week
Northern Moravica(BNJ) v. Loyola-Istria(BNJ)
Richardson University(RAN) v. Cold Hill(RAN)
Mar Sara Tech(VAL) v. Raynor University(VAL)
Sadeg State(DRK) v. Cavsar University(DRK)
Swisston City(KHD) v. Kohnhead City(KHD)
Université St. Croix(QUE) v. Université du Saguenay(QUE)
Akers University(NWK) v. Lismore Christian(NWK)
Northern Dinagat State(BAR) v. Fair Haven State(BAR)
Felswyr State(CMT) v. Salamantic Universities(KOR)
UC-Baker Park(CBP) v. New Lakeland University(CDG)
Trent State(TJU) v. Squidroidia Armed Forces Academy(SQR)
Hoofstra University(KRD) v. Freedom's Altar(YSP)

Wouldn't that be the most insane slate you've ever seen? Who would say no?

Now, let's hear your thoughts. Why do you hate it? Do you like it? What conferences would you make it if you had the power? Let us know in the comments below!

Subscribe to Coulibaly Corner PREMIUM if you want to read the case of why Vietussia Academy should be added back to the Celestia Conference!

by **Ranoria** » Sat Apr 10, 2021 11:57 pm

Richardson University: All Time NSCF-Era Team

If you want to just skip to the end and see the squad, go ahead and go to the end! But if not, we're going to break down each selection! With some of these guys, we've included links (including one from the globally respected All-Banija Sports Magazine) to remind you of some career highlights! And to kick things off, we'll get the special teams out of the way, because let's be honest, no Ranorians really care for it!

Returner: Javier Gilmore

Easy selection. A small, shifty athletic freak with 4.3 speed and dominant flashes during his tenure in this role. Besides, who doesn't love this guy?

Kicker: Nillman Johnson

Can we just go ahead and say Shirley Woo? No? Not yet?

Fine. Quite literally the best Ranorian gridiron kicker ever, no question. Johnson has 4 all pros in the RFL now, and is a dual sport athlete, as he competes in the World Cup and the World Bowl for the Krauts.

Punter: Bobby Armstead

Again, we'd like to just go ahead and slot in that Chromatik punter, Hillary Mercator, who'll be coming in, but that's off the table. Armstead was a solid punter - for a Ranorian. He was very occasionally able to flip the field or pin an opponent inside the 20 yard line. That's about all we can say.

Strong Safety: Judas Wolfson

NSCF Career Stats: 181 tackles, 8 TFL, 13.5 sacks, 16 INT, 20 Pdef, 4 FF, 3 FR, 3 TD

Wolfson was an injection of swagger, angst, and attitude to a Richardson team that needed new leadership with John Garrett departing. In two seasons, he was an NSCF Defensive Player of the Year finalist once, and won the award the next season with a monster campaign. A true do-it-all safety, Wolfson could blitz, hang in coverage, and lay the hammer down when necessary while being the playmaking running mate for the centerpiece of this defense - Isaiah Bryce. Wolfson's most memorable performance likely came in NSCF 19, when he was used as a quarterback spy on Isaka Jawara in the Rebel's Cannon Bowl, and absolutely terrorized an electrifying Blue Thunder offense. (No pun intended, and don't you dare tell them we gave them a compliment)

Free Safety: Candle Brown

NSCF Career Stats: Candle 'Thanks' Brown: 4 INT, 40 tackles

Not as much of a highlight here, but Candle Brown was a ballhawk for Richardson in his four years against domestic competition, and a two time Ranorian National Champion. He was a key cog in a Richardson defense that featured the likes of Ross Monarch at linebacker and Davon Stovall at corner, holding the Big 8 to 81 points against the Governors in our introductory season.

CB: Davon "Lights Out" Stovall and Makang "The Banijan Ballhawk" Secka
NSCF Career Stats, Stovall: 61 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 TFL, 14 INT, 32 PDef, 2 FF/FR, 1 TD
NSCF Career Stats Secka: 83 tackles, 21 Pdef, 11 INT, 1 TD

This was one of the toughest position groups to grade. With studs like Spencer Houston and freakish athlete Jabyess Hawkins in the mix, plus a couple solid guys like Xavier Yannick-Lotz, Millard Johnson, or Bryan Gray having played, it's tough to leave them out. But Davon Stovall takes the cake. Stovall was in the running for NSCF Defensive Player of the Year after a monster senior season, and was generally a complete blanket at cornerback. Secka, meanwhile, was a playmaker from day one, reeling in four interceptions as a true freshman and a whopping 7 as a sophomore. He's been the most electric playmaker of all the great corners we've had outside of Stovall, and it's possible that after next season, he takes the cake there.

Linebackers: Isaiah Bryce, Ross Monarch, Clancy Gluber

NSCF Career Stats, Bryce: 372 tackles, 30 TFL, 12 sacks, 3 INT, 11 Pdef, 6 FF/6FR
NSCF Career Stats, Monarch: 112 tackles, 15 TFL, 3 sack, 4 Pdef
NSCF Career Stats, Gluber: 225 tackles, 14 TFL, 7 sacks, 4 PDef, 2 INT, 1 FF

Admittedly, we're cheating a bit here, as all of these guys primarily play as the middle man on a defense. But can you blame us!? The idea of the absolute terror this trio would inspire in a running back is thrilling. Run at them? Good luck! Ross Monarch is a star for the Ranorian Krauts now, and has always been a savant at stopping the run with an emphasis on hitting hard. Isaiah Bryce, if you couldn't tell by the tackle numbers and forced fumbles, is similar with an added capability to actually cover passes. Bryce didn't win an NSCF defensive player of the year award for nothing, and got Richardson to their first and only NSCF championship appearance, if you remember.

In NSCF 19, Bryce was the leader of this team with the quarterback room in turmoil. And despite breaking his scapula against Cold Hill in the semifinal, he ground it out, stopping Cold Hill legend and former #1 overall recruit in Ranoria Thorn Davis on a goal line, 4th down stand.

And of course, we can't forget Gluber! The Baker Park native came in like a freight train as a freshman with a hundred tackles, and only build on that total this season. Gluber has a penchant for making plays, and is probably the fastest of this trio.

Interior Defensive Line: Kevin Gerhart and Julius Volt

NSCF Career Stats, Gerhart: 98 tackles, 47 TFL, 21 sacks, 1 safety, 2 Pdef, 1 FR
NSCF Career Stats, Volt: 120 tackles, 29 TFL, 25 sacks, 1 safety, 5 Pdef

Monster duo here. It was tough to leave Spencer Crutchfield out, a beast who paired with Malik Sherman to form the teeth of Richardson's defense for three seasons, but Gerhart's being an immovable wall against the run, and Volt's hybrid DE/DT role along with much stronger production won out.

Gerhart, a 2x All Ranorian, racked up 47 TFL in his 2 NSCF seasons and plenty of sacks to match. He was the best player on that defensive front, and at his size, no offensive lineman wanted a piece of him, double team or no. Alongside that 3x captain, we have Julius Volt, who slots in nicely as 3-technique with a lot of speed for a defensive tackle, or a lot of brawn for an end. His versatility was key in aiding his production, and it will be invaluable on this imaginary lineup.

Defensive End: Malik Sherman and Emmanuel Miller

NSCF Career Stats, Sherman: 150 tackles, 30 TFL, 28 sacks, 3 FF/2FR, PDef
NSCF Career Stats, Miller: 163 tackles, 30 TFL, 30 sacks, 1 FG Block, 1 INT, 1 safety

You're all familiar with Malik Sherman, the kid who showed up in NSCF 20 and immedietely took the starting defensive end role with 6 sacks and 6 TFL. Once he bulked up a bit as a sophomore, he only got better, with 61 tackles, 15 tfl, and 12.5 sacks that season. Unfortunately, as a junior his potential DPOY run was cut short when he tore his ACL in week 8, finishing that campaign with 9.5 sacks and 9 TFL in that stretch. Still more than enough dominance to land him on this list.

Miller was tougher. We've had quality edge rushers, such as Jarrett Hauptmann, Douglas Starling, or more recently Robin James and Carlos Schmidt. The latter two haven't quite done enough to seperate themselves from the pack yet, while Hauptmann and Starling were pure pass rushers, poor against the run.

Miller, meanwhile, was 6'7" and clocking in at a lean 300 pounds, perhaps better suited as a defensive tackle. Miller was a balanced disruptor, finishing with 30 TFL and 30 sacks in three seasons, along with a nice total of 163 tackles.

Tackles: Howitzer "Howie" Peters (LT)and Thrane Valentine (RT)

Career Highlights, Peters: Former 5 star recruit and a walk on, respectively, who each started as freshman. These two took over when Vice Jackson III first came onto the scene, and helped him reach a 1,000 yard campaign when Ifeatu Chineze had a down season. They also paved road for a year with two 1,100+ yard, 14 TD rushers in Vice Jackson III and Kuenda Sello before taking over and blocking for Kuenda Sello's junior outburst that saw the runner tally 1,955 yards and 15 touchdowns. The two have allowed 7 sacks between them in their NSCF careers, and more recently were the spearhead behind a Saul Thomas Sr led rushing attack in which the back tallied 1,422 yards. Howie was a 2x first team all Ranorian tackle, where Valentine won the honor once himself.

Guards: Bradley Johnson (LG) and Richard Silva (RG)

Bradley Johnson is an enigma. A former #9 recruit in the nation, he came in at a staggering 6'5", 365 pounds, and won two All-Ranoria honors while playing until his senior season. Helped establish John Garrett as the passer he is in his freshman season, not allowing a single sack. He's been embattled as a pro with a myriad of injuries due to his size, but in college? He was untouchable.

Richard Silva meanwhile falls into the same category as Valentine and Peters. He was a pivotal piece in that NSCF 21 season that saw Kuenda Sello at 1,181 yards and Vice Jackson III at 1,301. With his nasty presence in the middle, the Governor goal line formation became something to be feared.

Center: Chance Horst

Horst is also on this list with the merits of having blocked for and elevated some incredible running back seasons, including the dual 1,100+ yard campaign and Vice Jackson's other two seasons. Not as remarkable as the others on this offensive front, but certainly reliable.

Wide Receivers: Kieran Kweo-Atkison, Baraka Hali, Calvin Hale

NSCF Career Stats, Kweo-Atkison: 296 receptions, 4,027 yards, 27 TD, 1 rush, 12 yards
NSCF Career Stats, Hali: 224 receptions, 3,287 yards, 27 TD
NSCF Career Stats, Hale: 163 receptions, 2,390 yards, 21 TD, 1 rush, 0 yards, 1 TD

No question with Kweo-Atkison. Currently a top 3 receiver in the RFL and the record holder of the marks for 1^st, 5^th, and 7^th most productive receiving seasons in terms of yards during Richardson's NSCF seasons. He also holds marks for 1^st and 4^th for most catches in an NSCF season for the program, with that 5^th mark coming below only Johnny Farmer's two seasons and Baraka Hali's most recent, and his record season being a 135 catcher, blowing away the tight end's marks of 90 and 92 receptions.

Baraka Hali is another easy one. He cleared 100 receptions this season, and nearly matched Kieran Kweo-Atkison out for the most yards in an NSCF season with a whopping 1,646, just two shy of the program's record. This Banijan sensation was consistently dominant, with more than 2,000 total receiving yards between his freshman and sophomore seasons.

Calvin Hale was tough, with Javier Gilmore sitting on the outside looking in. However, Gilmore was inconsistent as a receiver and despite his speed, he was the number two guy with Johnny Farmer on the field. Calvin Hale though, emerged as a lethal #1 target for Ifeatu Chineze once Atkison left for the RFL. With 1,195 yards as a junior, he was the go to guy, where Gilmore fell off - and hard - in his final campaign. And statistically, Hale beats him out. 45 more receptions, another hundred yards, and more than twice as many scores as our beloved speedster.

Tight End: Johnny Farmer

NSCF Career Stats: 182 receptions, 2,435 yards, 24 TD, passing 1/1, 43 yards, 1 TD

Easiest selection on the list. Probably the best player on this list. Farmer was a #1 recruit and he went to Richardson, of course. 1x NSCF offensive player of the year, 1x NSCF Most Outstanding Player. Farmer led the Governors to a win in their first ever NSCF playoff game against Konigsberg with two touchdown catches, and was the key cog to the entire operation the next season, operating as a pass rusher, pass blocker, and pass catcher. Absolutely legendary football player and arguably the best tight end in the world, now.

Running Back: Kuenda Sello

NSCF Career Stats: 680 rush, 3,712 yards, 5.46 yp/c, 32 TD, 88 receptions, 893 yards, 5 TD

The man who forced Vice Jackson III to leave early for the draft. We're not entirely sure if Kuenda Sello is human. After all, he did take flight in an NSCF 22 showdown with Sadeg State. Sello came in out of Banija. While in his first season he was largely regulated to a short yardage specialist behind Vice Jackson, he quickly became the 1B to Jackson's 1A as a sophomore when both ran for 1,100+ yards and 14 touchdowns. His junior campaign, though, was downright legendary. Sello would tally a program record against NSCF competition with 1,955 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 2,307 scrimmage yards in his OPOY finalist campaign.

And finally! The moment you've all been waiting for - who's the helmsman, the field general, gunslinger of this all-star team?

Quarterback: John "Farmboy" Garrett

Now, we get it - Richardson has had two other great quarterbacks, both out of Banija. Ifeatu Chineze led the team to a championship game as an embattled freshman before lighting the world on fire as a junior. Ezekiel Bantoba just tossed 4,501 yards! But ultimately, despite both of their accomplishments (including a national championsip for Chineze), they just can't quite make a real case against Farmboy.

Garrett would post a whopping 10,897 yards, 88 touchdowns against just ten interceptions as the successor to Derek McNair, dubbed the best Ranorian college football player ever. Garrett, who was only given a preferred walk on spot at the behest of his best friend, Johnny Farmer, came in as a sophomore, beat out two strong candidates for the backup spot in junior and heir apparent Jack Clyde and fellow sophomore Barron Dawson.

When Derek McNair opted not to participate in NSCF 16 after winning a second straight national championship - citing injury concerns - Garrett was a godsend. While certainly not the playmaker as a sophomore that McNair was as a junior, he would finish the season with 3,742 passing yards and 28 touchdowns as the team's run game floundered behind him. By the time the team clinched the conference, he had earned their trust as their leader.

After that, he took on that role unquestioningly both on and off the field over the next two seasons He would earn All-Ranoria honors and captaincy in both campaigns, winning a pair of national championships, (four straight for Richardson), set the Northeastern Conference record for season passing yards (5,101), career passing touchdowns (95) in just two seasons, and passing touchdowns in a season (52). All of this while being the rock that guided the roster, and helped to calm the stormy spirits of guys like Kieran Kweo-Atkison and Judas Wolfson.

Garrett would struggle with injuries in the next season, but still have his moments, including coming into a game against Cold Hill with a spine injury before leading what was nearly an absolute miracle comeback. In his senior season, the team's defense collapsed, but Garrett marched on, rattling off 4,200 yards even and 38 touchdown passes as he did everything in his power to get his squad to the post season, only to fall short and end up with a bowl game.

Regardless, Garrett was easily the most impactful of the Richardson quarterbacks, although Beacon Murray and Angelo Rosin may have an argument for that...just in a different way. So there you have it! Richardson's all time NSCF team! Critiques? Suggestions? Arguments?

Send them our way! It's just more material for us!

by **Drawkland** » Sun Apr 11, 2021 6:53 pm

Another Season, Another Bowl Title
Gladiators beat SAFA in Karmin-Falce

Hello there, and welcome back to the Cavsar Chronicle! Unfortunately for us, we fell short of a playoff berth, and had to settle for a bowl game as our postseason. This is somewhat similar to last season, though last season we had a pedestrian regular season record and were never really a threat to make the playoffs. This season was different. We still have yet to overcome the Skyhawks, but we did manage to defeat the Firehawks in their own stadium on the back half of the Horizon slate. This didn't do much for us, as we'd already lost to Sadeg State twice and would be upset by Rickendor Central on the final conference week to end 6-4 like last season. It did have a huge impact on the conference though - the win set Felswyr State a game behind our rivals in Sadeg State, who would go on to capture the conference title at 9-1.

Unlike last season, however, our out-of-conference slate went a little smoother. Last season, we blew out the non-Akers school from Kalactin (NW Ballina), then lost two straight (one-score loss to Saguenay, overtime loss to UCBP). This season we started the out-of-conference slate playing the non-Akers school from Kalactin, this time being Lismore Christian. We absolutely crushed Lismore in a battle between Seb Rosario's turnover tendencies and the rest of Cavsar's offense. Instead of following that with a home loss like last season, we had a massive home win against fellow midmajors in Trent State University (TJUN-ia).

At this point, we'd have the toughest test of our season, going up against New Lakeland University. The debutants from Cassadaigua had a remarkable breakout season, rivaling that of Felswyr State's debut last season. They won the Woodlands Conference with a 9-1 record, and proceeded to make quick work of Akers and Swisston City in the out of conference slate. With a little bit of home field advantage, we had the chance to upset the team ranked #1 by OSPI and hand them their second loss of the season. Given the fact that they hadn't played a tough team in about a month, there was a chance we could come away with the upset victory.

Unfortunately, this would not come to pass. Seb Rosario's turnover problem could've been our downfall against Lismore, but the rebound game against Trent State was much cleaner and it seemed that he would be in good shape and confidence to play New Lakeland and compete for the win. This would turn out to merely be smoke and mirrors. Our Gladiators would get the ball to start the game, but we couldn't get past midfield and were forced to punt. The boot from Cyrus Taverna was a beauty though, falling in the corner and bouncing out of bounds at the two yard line for the coffin corner. From there, the Tycoons had to deal with the raucous crowd in Roy Memorial. They were backed up on their own goalline, and had to contend with a totally fresh Cavsar defensive line. Taylor Oakes' first down run was stuffed, and they faced 2nd and 10. Maybe it was nerves, maybe it was just luck, but Trey Beasley pulled a nasty swim move on the next snap and got through the O-line instantly. He leapt and knocked down Erika Traynor as she tried to hand the ball off to Oakes. Instead, the ball shot from both their grasp and out of the back of the end zone for the safety.

Starting the game 2-0 was a huge hype moment, but the hype was calmed down considerably when the next four offensive drives for both teams ended in punts. The Cavsar defensive line was doing their job in making life hell for the Tycoon O-line and backfield, and it was clear NLU's offensive scheme wasn't working out exactly how they wanted. For all that though, the NLU defense was also doing their job in limiting the run game and forcing Rosario to throw passes, usually under pressure. You can assume how well that was working out.

Midway through the second quarter, NLU started getting the breaks they needed on offense and strung together an impressive grinding drive. It was capped off with a red zone slant from Traynor to Shannon Ross, a bang-bang play that resulted in six for the visiting Tycoons and gave them their first lead of the game. The rest of the half was scoreless, and the only score in the third quarter was a field goal attempt just outside the red zone by NLU. They got the ball coming out of the half and the drive they'd drawn up had excellent execution. Unfortunately, a sack on third down forced them to only come away with three. At that point though, they sat in the lead at 2-10, and Cavsar's offense continued to do the opposite of impress.

The second half was hallmarked by the Cavsar offense getting on the other side of the field, but turning the ball over, either by failing on fourth down at the edge of field goal range or by Rosario throwing an interception. He ended the game with three picks, all of them in the second half. We wouldn't get those lucky breaks until late in the fourth quarter. With a minute left in the game and still trailing by eight, the Gladiators once again faced fourth down on the Tycoon side of the field. After three straight incompletions right outside the red zone, all hope seemed lost for us. On 4th and 10, we needed a small miracle to stay in the game. Rosario, after being garbage all game long, pulled one out of his ass. Running a streak route, Jonathan Kimbrough had gotten just enough space in the middle of the field for Rosario to rocket the ball to him. Kimbrough caught the pass in stride, and turned with a nose for the end zone. He delivered a stiff arm to Hannah Bailey, and trotted into the end zone to give us one last chance at staying in the game. With the crowd still going wild, Mike Banks got the handoff on a read option on the two-pointer, and barreled his way in to tie the game at 10.

It would come down to overtime. The last time Cavsar played in Week 13, they took University of the Commonwealth to overtime, but lost. It was starting to feel a little similar, but we hoped this time the trend would be bucked. We would have the chance to take down the top-ranked team in the NSCF! New Lakeland got the ball to start. We hoped the defense would stand strong and take down the Tycoons for good, but a Taylor Oakes run on 2nd and Goal from the 6 yard line busted past the front seven and she dove into the end zone to put up a touchdown. We had our work cut out for us, and a couple big runs by Mike Banks got us to 1st and Goal with a chance to answer. Unfortunately, a second overtime would not be on the cards. Rosario tried to fit the ball to Bennett Ruskel on an out route, but Meghan Quinn saw the throw coming and got the step on the route. Interception, and Cavsar would lose the game.

We went from having a shot at making the playoffs as a bubble team to having the door shut pretty firmly. Still, with a winning record, we were pretty much a shoo-in for some sort of bowl. Last year we went to the Pioneer Bowl as the best non-playoff newcomer team, but that's a one-time thing. We would end up getting a berth in the Karmin-Falce Auto Bowl. This was a matchup between the best remaining Point Scoring and Point Differential teams in the NSCF, so our opponent was the Squidroidian Armed Forces Academy. It was a battle of two sophomore programs, though SAFA had made the playoffs last season unlike us.

This was set to be a pretty close game by all accounts. It was a neutral site game in Ranoria City, far away from both Drawkland and Squidroidia. For some reason though, the neutral crowd seemed to be really hostile. What do Ranorians have against us, of all teams? It was really bizarre, but our offense managed to get the job done, for the most part. At halftime, the score was pretty close. We'd scored two touchdowns, one of them a kickoff return by Ozzy Otten on the opening kick of the game. Seb Rosario would fumble the handoff for the two-point conversion, so our opening lead was 6-0. SAFA would punt on their first drive, then Rosario would throw a pick, so the Squidbreak got the short field and Chris Landi cashed in with an 11-yard run to bring the score to 6-7 early. The next two drives would result in field goals for both squads, making the score 9-10. Rosario would lead the Gladiators down the field in an efficient drive which was capped by a Mike Banks run on the goalline. Banks would get the handoff on the two-pointer again, and the score would come to 17-10. The Squidbreak responded with a drive of their own, marked by several third down conversions, but ultimately they'd settle for a field goal after a huge sack by Jarrod Millard brought up fourth and long in the red zone. A few unsuccessful drives later, it was halftime, and the score was 17-13.

Coming out of halftime, it was an entirely different ballgame. SAFA got the ball to start, but would go three-and-out. The first Gladiator drive of the second half was more successful, petering out in the red zone thanks to an awful play where Rosario lost 15 yards on a sack, but at least he held onto the ball. Lenox Upton would cash in his second field goal of the night thus far. From then on, the SAFA offense just seemed to not be in sync. The Cavsar D-line had really woken up and was making Jankowski's life hell. The pressure was just too much, and the Squidbreak simply couldn't manage to get the ball down the field efficiently anymore. The Gladiator offense, on the other hand, was starting to get a rhythm, and Rosario somehow limited the turnovers. SAFA would not score for the rest of the game, while Cavsar would go touchdown (Rosario to Kimbrough, Banks 2PC), field goal, touchdown (Otten punt return, failed 2PC), touchdown (Rosario to Banks screen, failed 2PC). By the time the final whistle blew, the blowout was apparent, and Cavsar walked away with the Karmin-Falce Auto Bowl title, winning the game 40-17.

Though we fell short of the opportunity to play for the real NSCF title, it's always nice to cap the season with a win. We're now 2-0 in the NSCF postseason, and have two Bowl titles to show for it. That's something Sadeg State can't take away from us! It will be hard next season, as the Horizon Conference will be as competitive as ever. Going into our third season, though, I feel like we'll have the experience and the drive to make something happen. We beat Felswyr State, and came close to beating Sadeg State and New Lakeland, two teams that are of deep playoff quality. With upside like this, there's no telling what we'll accomplish in NSCF 24. We'll see you there. Go Glads!

Written by Dawson Rogers

by **Chromatika** » Sun Apr 11, 2021 8:12 pm

The Flame of the Firehawk: Rekindled
Part 14: Deja Vu, Squared

Team   1Q  2Q  3Q  4Q   |  Tot
FSU    10   7  10   3   |   30
KCU     7   7   0   7   |   21

1Q
13:42 KCU TD - Kalu Alazar 22 yard pass from Byron Joseph (Seth Potter Kick)
08:31 FSU TD - Alessandra Mio 71 yard pass from Sarai Gwenderyn (Sara McAllister Kick)
02:58 FSU FG - Sara McAllister 41 yard Field goal

2Q
10:01 KCU TD - Byron Joseph 4 yard run (Seth Potter Kick)
04:15 FSU TD - Niles Gwivern 21 yard pass from Sarai Gwenderyn (Sara McAllister Kick)

3Q
12:13 FSU TD - Sarai Gwenderyn 31 yard run (Sara McAllister Kick)
07:23 FSU FG - Sara McAllister 37 yard Field Goal

4Q
13:21 FSU FG - Sara McAllister 39 yard Field Goal
05:18 KCU TD - Benny Devlin 17 yard pass from Byron Joseph (Seth Potter Kick)

REBORN FROM ASHES, FELSWYR, MOUNTAIN DISTRICT, CHROMATIKA - For the second weekend in a row, it was Kohnhead City University that came to Reborn from Ashes. For the second season in a row, it was Felswyr State University against Kohnead City University. For the fourth time since the two universities entered the NSCF ranks, it was the Firehawks that came on top as Sarai Gwenderyn threw two touchdowns and added another on the ground to lead the way.

Kohnhead City came to play this time around, and Byron Joseph was someone that the Mighty Eagles were able to lean on. The Quarterback added two touchdowns in the first half and helped the Mighty Eagles be within three points of the Firehawks in the first half; for the Firehawks, it was Alessandra Mio and Niles Gwievern that caught the passes from Gwenderyn.

In the second half, though, the Firehawks defense showed up. Mi-Hyeon Park forced a fumble, Ozioma Mazzi had an interception, and Gwenderyn added another touchdown on the ground to finish things out.

Next up for the Firehawks? FSU's Athletic Director, Aimée Brouchard, might deserve a raise: The Firehawks head to University of Loyola-Istra to take on the Blue Thunder - a rematch in both venue and opponent as Week 12. The Blue Thunder have been a mainstay in the NSCF for a long time, and the Banijan side will be looking to post a different result than the first time around. Will Martin de Lafayette be tasked with guarding Alessandra Mio again? Will the Firehawks continue their ridiculous unbeaten road streak?

Alastair Jobs Field @ The Istria Lightning Yard. Be there as history is made.

Spotlight on MLB Mi-Hyeon Park, Defensive Captain

At first glance, there is no way you'd miss Park Mi-Hyeon. She stands at 6 ft 6 inches and 210 pounds, and has a very chiseled form that doesn't stand out. Her hair is buzzed exactly at shoulder level, and her gaze is one that pierces through schemes, souls, and any attempts at deceit. Not that one would try to lie to her - she just seems like someone you don't mess with.

Who is Mi-Hyeon Park? How did she end up being a gridiron player? How did she end up at Felswyr State, starting as a freshman?

It isn't known whom Park Mi-Hyeon's parents are. She was a baby taken in by the state during the early years of the Rainbow Revolution. For a while, there was a discussion on what to name her due to her mixed heritage (she looks to be Korean mixed with Eastern European); this would be later decided by Park herself at age thirteen. She grew up in orphanages throughout the country in childhood till age ten - five years at the then-Chromatik Home for Young Girls and five years at the Alnio Center for Displaced Youth. At age ten, she was fostered into a caring family of Dr. Sandra Bowles and Mr. Keith Bowles of Chromia.

Dr. Bowles is a psychologist specializing in PTSD for soldiers that have gone through traumatic events while Mr. Bowles is the building maintenance guy for three big apartment complexes in the greater Chromia area. They don't have any children of their own, and were happy to provide a loving home for Park. She took to them in time, and now refers to them as her Mother and Father; interestingly, they were always okay with her keeping her ethnical last name after due discussion, leading to her name being Park Mi Hyeon and not Mi-Hyeon Bowles.

Park showed an aptitude in both academics and athletics from a young age, and the Bowles family encouraged that. She played football at the local level from the ages of ten through thirteen, and then she discovered Gridiron. She'd learned that she was a bit bigger than most kids her age, and was learning to apply that in constructive ways; gridiron football gave her the perfect outlet to explore that further. She settled on middle linebacker because you could use both your mind and your body while communicating with your teammates, and there was a chance on every play to make a difference.

In the infant days of Chromatik gridiron football at the high school level, Park was the standout player in Chromia for Chromatik Central High School. She averaged double digit of tackles per game in her high school career and once had a game where she scored three defensive touchdowns. During high school play, she also played running back at times, rushing over 1,000 yards in her Junior and Senior year. The team never went too far in the National Playoffs due to it not having too many playmakers elsewhere on the team.

When Felswyr State announced that it would enter the NSCF, one of the very first players that Kasen Harrowitz recruited was Park. He came to her Senior Night game at Chromatik Central High and spoke to her in person to recruit her to FSU. He made a promise that she would never have to take any plays off unless she was injured and that she would have full autonomy to change plays at the line of scrimmage as she saw fit. She responded by promising that she would work with him to make sure that the players on the field would be on the same page at all times. This was the start of a brilliant, dynamic partnership that has resulted in where Felswyr State is at today.

The Firehawks' scheme means that it's the Safeties, Corners, Outside Linebackers, and Defensive Ends that get most of the press. With a 3-3-5, Park is often left trying to penetrate the offensive line, take on the lead blocker, or take on a Tight End or third Receiver in passing situations. However, she's not someone who minds sharing the spotlight. She knows that for every accolade Sage Sterling, Ozioma Mazzi, Paul Mattieu, and Amber Li earn, it's another feather on her cap as the defensive captain.

That is how a Sophomore remains one of the most important players on the Firehawks' vaunted defense. She's a natural at the game as well as a devout student; someone who knows how to handle herself in most situations that she's found herself in. Someone who's had to deal with adversity, deal with subpar situations turning out to be okay, and made the most of her life.

Mi-Hyeon Park defines what it means to be a Firehawk - face adversity head-on and make the most of the consequences.

by **Drawkland** » Sun Apr 11, 2021 10:44 pm

BACK WHERE WE BELONG

And Likely Where We'll Stay

Written by Randall Lucas

Sometimes, all you need is a little consistency. Consistency is what brought Sadeg State to #2 in the preseason NSCF rankings this season. Consistency is what seems to ensure that, no matter how the season goes for the Skyhawks, we always end up duking it out in the quarterfinals of the NSCF playoffs. Consistency is what guarantees that, regardless of seeding, prior performance, home field advantage, or momentum, Sadeg State goes home before the NSCF semifinals. Once again, we find ourselves playing in the NSCF quarterfinals. Now we must ponder this seemingly eternal question: can the Skyhawks break tendency for once?

More on that later. First, we're going to talk about how we got to these quarterfinals at all. Despite a last-minute loss in a hotly contested rivalry game against Mar Sara, a bit of a downer after our upset of Cold Hill, we still looked good going into the playoffs. Our reward? Playing our near equals, and another Vanorian school in Raynor University. Raynor very clearly felt slighted after a Week 13 loss to Salamantics University sent them skidding down the OSPI rankings, one below yours truly. They ended up being the ninth seed to our eighth seed, meaning this playoff tie would be contested in Sadeg.

The 10-3 Zephyr Conference Champions were obviously extremely annoyed at not getting a single home game for the playoff run, which we understand. The truth is, the Skyhawks and Rockets were a pretty evenly matched squad. 9-1 in the conference stage, winning the conference title thanks to a win over the biggest threat in the conference. 1-2 in the out of conference slate thanks to uncharacteristic losses and close games. The only difference between the two was that Raynor had a much higher point differential in the Zephyr conference, but you could chalk this up to the Zephyr being a weaker conference. After all, who did the Zephyr have before the Vanorians moved in? Their champion was never a real playoff contender, and they haven't had a truly competitive conference in years before the elves moved in.

Raynor Review

All this to say, the Rockets were absolutely fired up going into the match. They had chips on their shoulders so large you could see them from space, and we were just trying to get out of the round without being embarrassed on home turf. The game was going to be the tightest on paper, and very nearly was the tightest on the field of play. The good news is that home field advantage would be in full effect for the matchup. This was going to be the only playoff match held in Skyhawks Gridiron Park this season, so the Sadeg faithful knew that it was now or never to show up and will the team to victory.

The first half was a back-and-forth barnburner where both offenses were hungry to score and both defenses were just thankful to keep it from turning into a Big Eight matchup. The run game was solid for both teams to start. Sadeg State lost the toss and got the ball to start the game, which they put to good use. Nick Parks and Raymond Morgan started the game with a few well-run option plays to get a bit of a rhythm before starting to mix in some RPO and quick passing game. The Rocket defense was getting an early workout, but it was at least draining a lot of clock to start off. The drive would be capped with Nick Parks taking the read option in for the score. Raynor would respond with a solid methodical drive of their own. Håkon Schau tied the game with a low curl route to Toshi Sánchez in the end zone.

The Skyhawks and Rockets would trade punts, then they'd trade failed fourth down conversions just outside field goal range. Sadeg State would get back on the board with a long field goal for Nat Knox, and Fredrik Mundal would respond on the next drive with three points of his own. The underneath game, which was being sometimes effective and sometimes detrimental, was all apart of Sadeg State's plan. Halfway through the next drive, Abram Navis would pull a double move route that Adrian Sandnes bit much too hard on, and the final year senior shot out of a cannon to get open deep. Parks loaded up and launched the ball, and Navis caught it and brought it in for the score. A couple bum drives later, Raynor would put more points on the board right before halftime with a long drive and a slant to Chinweuba Jelan.

With the score deadlocked at 17 going into halftime, it was sure to be an even wilder second half. The third quarter was a little bit of a disappointment in that regard. Both defenses made the perfect halftime adjustments, and both offenses were coming up short on plays they needed to keep drives going. Over the course of the third and early fourth quarter, both teams would score a pair of field goals apiece, making the score 23-23 midway through the fourth quarter.

This is when Nick Parks heated back up again. Having not scored a touchdown since the second quarter, he was itching to hit paydirt once again. This drive looked to be turning into a three-and-out after a stuffed first down run and a second down incompletion, but a surprise scramble on a third down pass moved the sticks for the Skyhawks. The big play lit up Parks and the Park, and the crowd was starting to get back into the game. Parks was making better reads than he had earlier in the second half, and his improvisation behind the line of scrimmage was making things harder for Raynor. Just when they dialed up a blitz, Brand Manlio had called up a quick pass. Just when they had the deep routes covered, Parks would sneak underneath for a chunk run. Just when they aimed to shut down the run, the play-action came out. Facing second and goal from the ten, the Skyhawks ran a play-action power run that they loved to run often. This time, they ran it to the opposite side of the field, which they hadn't done all season. Raynor's defense was caught on their heels, and it gave Parks enough time to fire a pass to Jay Gibson on a corner route to score the touchdown and take the lead.

Now facing a touchdown deficit and only four minutes to go, Raynor had to get into the end zone. A game this intense would have to go into overtime to be decided. Given the precedent, Raynor had a tough road ahead of them. The Gridiron Park crowd was now all on their feet and making huge noise for this decisive drive, and Rockets had to find a way to get back into form considering their last few drives had been less than stellar. It started off well enough, with Schau shooting the ball to Jelan on the outside for an immediate first down and more. Another first down pass to Sánchez in the middle of the field led to Raynor already nearing midfield. At this point, Magnusson decided to slow down the game just a tad. You didn't want to give Nick Parks the ball with another chance to score, after all. A couple more runs by Mondragón slowed the pace a little bit and started draining precious minutes from the clock.

A play-action pass to Iqbal put the Skyhawk defense on their heels and opened up the field again. Schau was feeling confident, and he could already feel his team hitting paydirt in a few plays. Now approaching the red zone, every play's importance was amplified. The crowd was nearly in hysterics, begging the defense to make a stop. Schau was cool under pressure though. Even as Sadeg State sent a light blitz his way, he felt his O-line pick it up to give him enough time. He just needed to fit the ball to Didrik Thu in the seam, a routine play they had done in practice dozens of times. Schau was confident, but he didn't realize his mistake until the ball was already in the air. Johnny McCray was lurking in the secondary, and he could read Schau's eyes all the way. He sprung on the route and snatched the ball from the air while Thu's back was still turned. With momentum on his side and no Raynor receivers near him, he turned on the afterburners and sped back the other way. The crowd reached cataclysmic levels as they realized what had just happened.

McCray strode all the way down the field and high-stepped into the end zone to cap off the pick six. The two touchdown deficit with less than two minutes remaining would simply be too much for Raynor to overcome. Sadeg State would pull off another improbable victory.

New Lakeland Preview

So here we are again, battling in the quarterfinals for a chance at a deep playoff run. Yet, in all our seasons, Sadeg State has never once made it to the semifinals. The consistency I talked about early goes both ways. Let's take a quick look at the final game played by Sadeg State in all of their NSCF seasons.

NSCF 17 QF: Universite St. Croix (QUE) 33-20 Sadeg State University (DRK)
NSCF 18 Ro16: Loyola University (BNJ) 23-17 Sadeg State University (DRK)
NSCF 19: we don't talk about NSCF 19 around here
NSCF 20 QF: Cold Hill University (RAN) 28-20 Sadeg State University (DRK)
NSCF 21 Play-In: Sadeg State University Skyhawks (DRK) 14–14 Salamantic Universities Professors (KOR) (17–21 OT)
NSCF 22 QF: Cold Hill University Buffalo (RAN) 45–28 Sadeg State University Skyhawks (DRK)

Alright, so it's not like Sadeg State is making the quarterfinals every cycle, but it's more of the rule than the exception at this point. It's worth noting that the only playoff game lost at home was in the first round of the NSCF 21 play-in round. The overtime loss to Salamantic was an upset that hasn't been experienced before or since. All the other Skyhawk playoff runs have ended away from home, usually in the quarterfinals. It's fair to say that we're essentially the opposite of road warriors.

On the other hand, look at our competition. All of these schools are blue bloods who were on their way to deep playoff runs and shots at the title. These were teams that had been around the block and were already used to the big stage. This year though, things are a little different. Instead of playing a monstrous juggernaut with years of international intercollegiate experience, we're facing the fresh and the untested.

We're taking on #1 ranked New Lakeland University. The Tycoons from Cassadaigua have never played in an NSCF postseason before, much less a playoff game, much less a quarterfinal. This is new ground that they've never had to tread before. That's something unique really, especially in a team coming from Cassadaigua. Normally when you're drawn against Dagans, you expect them to have some experience and poise about them. This is ground they've already been dozens of times before; their players are merely upholding a longstanding tradition that has long existed and continue to exist for years to come. New Lakeland, for the first time in a long time, have gone where no Dagan has gone before.

That's what's so exciting, yet terrifying, about this matchup. On paper, you could argue this is the best case scenario for Sadeg State. Picture for a moment all four teams that got a first-round bye and sit with home field advantage in these playoffs. First you've got the two Banijan schools. Both NMU and ULI were sitting at #1 and #2 via OSPI for multiple consecutive weeks, and they're both starving to get back to the final and (presumably) take another win over Cold Hill. Then of course there's Cold Hill, the only team more consistent than Sadeg State, except instead of consistently taking early playoff losses, they've made the Championship three straight seasons. Right now they're the opposite of what I'd want to face in the playoffs, and that's not just because we're like 1-3 against them all time.

New Lakeland University is the only team with any apparent weakness. The hardest opposition they've faced all season has come in the form of USC and Saguenay from Quebec, two schools who arguably underperformed in the conference stage. The rest of the Woodlands is mediocre at their very best. Even their out-of-conference slate consisted of three straight garbage bottom-feeder teams (Akers, Swisston City, Cavsar). NLU hasn't played a "real" team in over a month. If there's a way to beat the Tycoons, it's to overpower them with upper echelon NSCF talent that they simply haven't had to go against yet. For God's sake, they had to go to OVERTIME to beat Cavsar. If that's not the mark of a subpar squad masquerading as elite, I don't know what is.

Like many big playoff matches, this comes down to a battle of narratives. Will New Lakeland reinforce their "Second Coming of Felswyr State" narrative by making a crack run to the final in their debut? Will Sadeg State reinforce our "Unable To Win Real Playoff Games" narrative by losing in the quarterfinal again? This is either a narrative maker or breaker, and I'm really hoping that it's the latter, for once. Screech On, Skyhawks. You'll need it.

by **Cassadaigua** » Mon Apr 12, 2021 4:44 am

Cinderella Run Continues,
By Lauren Piscotty, New Lakeland University Student Press

Very soon, the Tycoons will be playing Sadeg State, from Drawkland, in the playoffs to determine the champion of NSCF. It is a place that none of us expected to be so early in our history, but here we are. In fact, there are many people that probably consider us the favorite due to our win-loss record up to this point. Looking at records and the seedings, it is fair for others to have high expectations for the team heading into this game, and I am guilty of having some myself. In reality, though, we have to realize that we are really on some kind of run and have built the foundation for bigger success in the NSCF in the future. Next year, we will be able to have Brat Tech in this too, so certainly there is plenty of room for excitement.

As the Tycoons have continued to play so well, we have begun to see scouts from the Cassadagan Football League move our seniors up their draft board as they become more and more impressed with the level of success that they are having in comparison to seniors that are playing for schools that are not in the NSCF. Taylor Oakes, our starting halfback, is now considered a top five pick in the CFL draft, after not even being placed in the top 20, at the beginning of the season and some of the draft pundits did not even see her as a first rounder. Alex Cardenas is now the #1 ranked guard in the draft. We have many key players, such as quarterback Erika Traynor, who are juniors, and for Traynor she is already considered to be a lock as the #1 pick two years from now. In fact, there are some people worrying that CFL teams might “tank” the season in order to get Traynor even with the CFL having a draft lottery system. I know that Erika is not concerned about the CFL right now, as she plans to return to New Lakeland for her senior year. For those who do not follow the CFL on a regular basis, it is not common for players to leave college after their junior year but they are permitted to, if they want. None of the juniors on our roster are rumored at this time to be leaving early for the draft.

For the upcoming game against Sadeg State, the team is not putting any undue pressure on themselves due to their seed in the playoffs. “We are still the underdogs with something to prove,” Traynor said in an interview conducted a couple days ago, “we have established ourselves as being a strong team, so we have proven that, but in the playoffs, there is still a lot more work to be done. I’m excited about the team, we have come a long way.” Yes, they have, and along this journey, we have begun to think about bigger and bigger things. As our mind wanders to bigger goals, let us not forget that we are still freshmen in status compared to what the others remaining are.

by **Valanora** » Mon Apr 12, 2021 4:28 pm

The Play-in Round is always tough in the NSCF, it usually favors the home team regardless of the quality of the opposition that they are up against, as there is nothing quite like the home field advantage, particularly if your home field is on another different planet entirely. It then comes as no major surprised despite its disappointing nature when the Rockets of Raynor University were not able to beat the Skyhawks of Sadeg State. It will be a season where the Rockets will be angry at themselves and at the pollsters and the NSCF as a whole for the completely shambolic mess that was the game against Salamantics that resulted in the major shift in the OSPI. It is a season of what ifs and what could have beens, as one of the best offenses in all of NSCF history was unable to get it done when it mattered most and thrice in four games their superstar wideout was completely taken out of the equation. It is bittersweet and disappointing, but it was expected the moment that the Rockets saw who they were having to face and where, not even the news of a late commitment from a Drawkland defensive lineman could take the sting out of the result and end of their season.

All of the Vanorians hopes then rest on Mar Sara Tech, as the Raiders were able to overcome the Governors of Richardson University and maintain their unbeaten record at home for the season, a record that they will get to sit on and be proud of as there will be no more games taking place in the Eternal Empire this season. The Lathalein Celestial Stadium has been an absolute fortress during the season, with the Raiders able to defeat the Rockets of Raynor University, the Skyhawks of Sadeg State University, Université St. Croix, and the Governors of Richardson University at their home stadium this year, as well as their usual slate of conference home games. It has been nothing short of masterful the sort of performances that the Raiders have been able to put in week in and week out at their home stadium and the atmosphere and home field advantage that the crowd brings to the table with every single home game for Mar Sara Tech being a sellout and not a single seat in the stadium is empty by the time for the opening kickoff. The Raiders would have loved to be able to have more home games, but OSPI decided it was not to be and so they will have to travel.

So how did the Raiders do it, what sort of performance did those sixty thousand loyal fans get to see in the final home game of the season for their beloved Raiders? The short answer, a steady diet of Kiggwe Chasima. The Banija running back does not get the same sort of press that his countryman Jelan gets from Raynor University, but he has been just as key in keeping the Raiders going this season and having them be in the Quarterfinals of the playoffs in a year where they were ultimately expected to rebuild and only make it to a bowl game thanks to the high amount of turnover on the offensive end. Chasima has been a steady force that gets working for the team, even when he is not the focal point of the team's gameplan for the week. A true team player with a nose to the grindstone work effort has made him a local hero, especially with the efforts that he was able to put in this season and now has the Raiders a few upsets away from a second appearance in the NSCF Championship game.

From the opening kickoff, it was run after run after run against the Richardson defensive line, moving the ball three yards at a time and grinding down the gears and will of Richardson as well as shortening the game. While the Raiders had to settle for a field goal in their opening drive, they had chewed up more than eight minutes off the clock. Richardson would respond in kind with a field goal of their own, but they only took two minutes to score and the Raiders were back grinding the ball on the ground and taking the game tied 3-3 to the second quarter before Chasima bullied his way past Carl Roman on a toss play and into the endzone. A three and out thanks to a pair of deflections from Amar Björk, as Richardson was trying to pick on the perceived weakest member of the secondary brought the ball back to the Raiders hands with ten minutes left in the quarter. Chasima added another forty-two yards on the next drive, surpassing over a hundred in the first half alone, before a playaction allowed Lukas Midtbø to get wide open beyond the secondary and haul in a twenty-four yard strike to extend the lead to fourteen with a minute and ten seconds remaining. It was ten seconds too long as Richardson moved in the hurry up and senior Saul Thomas Sr took an out route the distance after Björn Ek could not push the running back out of bounds, the score at the half seventeen to ten.

Richardson got the ball to start the second half and methodically moved down field as the Raiders defense was unable to get to the quarterback in time as they started hitting short passes to prevent the rush. Thomas Sr then had a five yard scamper on a halfback draw and was able to extend into the endzone to grab a second touchdown, thinking he had brought the game back to level terms. However freshman Paul Franks PAT was blocked by Tintin Åkesson and recovered by the Raiders, preserving a one point lead, and the Raiders' fifth blocked PAT on the season as the special teams has been spectacular for the team all year. Yet another drive that took eleven minutes and the teams into the fourth quarter, finished off with a Kawsu Gaye nine yard grab seemed to take the wind out of the sails from Richardson. Ezekiel Bantoba tried to recreate the magic he had to end the second quarter but Matias Amundsen jumped the slant route and ran it back to the seven before Bantoba tracked the corner down himself. Three kneel downs to rid RIchardson of their timeouts and a field goal to ice the game was all she wrote, the Raiders walking away twenty-seven to sixteen victors.

The Ranorian gauntlet now moves to Ranoria and the Raiders are up against it against the current holders of the NSCF crown in Cold Hill. A victory seems highly unlikely to come to the Raiders despite all the memorable things they have been able to do this season and in the circumstances that they have faced. With all the home teams winning the play-in game and the Raiders own home record for this season, that the game is played in Ranoria saps away most of the hope that Tech might have had for pulling off the upset. Perhaps pulling the same game chewing gameplan that worked so well against Richardson might give the team a shot, but it would be a long one at that. Yet they have their diva quarterback, Deondre Rhine, back from injury a lot sooner than most would have believed. There is no denying the talent but can all the talent in the world really make up for what looks to be a very toxic personality from the outside looking in? Last year the answer was yes, while the start of this season was a huge question mark. The team around Rhine is good however and it could be that they will win this game despite him and his antics all the same.

by **Chromatika** » Mon Apr 12, 2021 8:35 pm

How to Beat Felswyr State University
By: Liam Varr, Senior, Chromia Central College University

I've heard that Felswyr State is so good. Firehawks this, Firehawks that. Have you seen their Home Record? The offense is full of short passes and QB keepers, the defense has no backbone, and they over-rely on that diva of a kicker. No, let me show you exactly how you beat this joke of a team.

The Offense

Sarai Gwenderyn is a piñata. A little bit of pressure on her and she'll go down like a scarecrow. Otherwise, you just hipcheck Alessandra Mio to stop her - she's the only one player that is truly somebody on that squad. Bring the house - Gwenderyn can't beat the blitz on every play. Sure, she might burn you here and there, but it's worth it, I promise!

The Defense

Run at them. Felswyr State University has no size. Batter them down and you'll eventually be able to run through them like a sieve. Or be Drawkian and overpower them with size, like Sadeg State and Cavsar did this season. Honestly, any team that can hold the ball for more than those flamebirds and make the safeties and corners think twice before blitzing too often will make sure that you get in their heads. It'll work!

Special Teams

Break Sara McAllister. One player being ejected is worth it. Have you seen FSU's backup kicker? That's right, they don't have one. Nellie Katt can't kick worth anything and McAllister is such a stable presence for Felswyr State. Take her out of the game and you win a psychological battle. If there's one player that's worth removing from the game, it's McAllsiter. Who cares if it's "dirty"? Does clean win championships? Hell no!

Get Good

Honestly? The best, most surefooted way to beat those posers is to get good at the game and make sure that you're up to the mediocrity of a challenge that they'll provide. That'll help prove that those mountain grubbers don't belong, and then real schools like CCCU can enter the NSCF instead. It'll be much better for the competition, I promise!

Would a brother lie?

by **NSCF** » Mon Apr 12, 2021 9:29 pm

NSCF 23 PLAYOFFS - Quarterfinals

Ring Ring! Here's your Cutoff.

New Lakeland University (CDG) 10–37 Sadeg State University (DRK)
University of Loyola at Istria (BNJ) 14–27 Felswyr State University (CMT)
Northern Moravica University (BNJ) 26–7 Université St. Croix (QUE)
Cold Hill University (RAN) 20–38 Mar Sara Tech (VAL)

Semifinals Fixture
#8 Sadeg Stage University (DRK) @ #5 Felswyr State University (CMT)
#6 Mar Sara Tech (VAL) @ #2 Northern Moravica University (BNJ)

by **Valanora** » Mon Apr 12, 2021 11:12 pm

Running the Ranorian Gauntlet

Overcoming the Governors of Richardson was already seen as a pretty mean feat for the Raiders, having made and executed a perfectly crafted gameplan to bring down one of the two Ranorian giants and a school that the Raiders were intimately familiar with having been in the same conference as Richardon for several years. Mar Sara Tech was never supposed to be competitive this season and being able to take down one of the esteemed Ranorian teams and from a conference that every single analyst across the footballing landscape was calling the deepest and most full of talent was something that was supposed to have been completely out of their reach. However they did exactly that, though there was a lot to say for doing it at home, as the Raiders had been completely unbeatable this season on their home turf thanks in large part to a dedicated fan base that was willing to cheer the team on even in the poorest of seasons, that they were on a sixteen game home sell out streak was a testament to that loyalty and devotion from their fans. It had been a fortress that the Raiders had guarded with expertise but now they were going to be asked to travel.

The task was now to take on the second part of the Ranorian powerhouse and duopoly that had been overrunning the NSCF for the last few seasons as they were traveling to Ranoria to take on the current title holders of Cold Hill at The Tundra. There were a few things that were in favor of the Raiders pulling off the upset against Cold Hill, the first of which that they had a winning record against the team with five wins and three losses heading into the game against them. Secondly, they had a versatile offense that could be tinkered with game in and game out in order to best capitalize on what their opponents did not match up well against on the defensive end, as the game against Richardson stood a testament to with a ground and pound game that completely shrunk it and wore on Richardson until they had nothing left to give in the fourth quarter and made mistakes on their comeback trail. Lastly, with so little belief that the Raiders would be able to walk into Ranoria and find a way to overpower the giants of Cold Hill, there was no expectations for them and they could play the game with absolutely no pressure on their shoulders at all, the same of which could not be said for the hosts who were wanting to retain their NSCF title.

The Raiders won the opening kickoff and elected to defer, giving superstar quarterback Deondre Rhine the ball to open up the game. The Raiders wanted to get to Rhine and make him have to make quick decisions and not allow him to survey the field, zone blitzes were going to be used often against the phenom. However showcasing his talent, Rhine went seven from nine on the opening drive for seventy-two yards, including the nine yard pass to Dorian Browne-Clarke for the score, the home side taking the early seven to nil lead. The Raiders knew that the game plan of last week with the running game was not going to work against the 3-4 of Cold Hill built to stop a running attack and instead they opted for the short passing game. Arquímedes Concepción went nine for nine for sixty-eight yards and Chasima finished off the drive with a three yard dive up the middle, tied ball game with five minutes left in the first quarter. The second drive for the home side saw Rhine get two first downs on his first two throws but followed by three consecutive incomplete passes as he tried to force the ball into the zone coverage of the Raiders, fortunate not to have been intercepted. The Raiders received the punt and a mix of passes and short runs had the side up to midfield as the whistle blew to end the quarter.

Deciding to roll the dice a little, Sander Ivarsson called a playaction boot with three verticals and a crossing route, looking to confuse the Cold Hill defense to open up the quarter, and it worked, as Valfredo Beltrán had completely bolted past his defender and easily brought in the pass from Concepción, giving the Raiders their first lead of the game, fourteen to seven. The lead would last fourteen seconds, as Felix Hamilton showcased Cold Hill's own special teams prowess, as the speedy receiver got three key blocks on the left side and was able to make Ulrik Bakke miss as the last man between him and the end zone for a kickoff return touchdown, tied ball game and Hamilton's third return for a touchdown on the season. It did not seem to phase the Raiders who continued their steady diet of short passes and mixing in runs from Chasima to keep the Cold Hill defense honest, picking up five to ten yard chunks on every snap. Kawsu Gaye then pulled in a six yard score on a crossing route when the slot receiver got a step in front of his defender, brought in the catch, and then dove into the endzone to reestablish the lead twenty-one to fourteen with four minutes remaining. Rhine would try to rally the troops and got four quick first downs, but all the passes had to be inch perfect to be caught and the fifth one was not as Alessandro Ström made an acrobatic leap and catch on the heavily guarded Rai Swift, tapping his toes before falling out of bounds. The Raiders chewed up the remainder of the half before Bakke added a thirty-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, twenty-four to fourteen.

With a two score lead to defend, the Raiders started to give Chasima more of the ball as they began with possession in the second half. While the Raiders were driving, Rhine was seen yelling at his wide receivers on the Cold Hill sidelines, while head coach Chris Dale walked away, seemingly not wanting to try and calm his quarterback down. It would get worse as the Raiders added another score, Concepción diving forward from the half yard line on a second and goal, thirty-one to fourteen with nine and a half minutes left in the third, the game was starting to slip away from the home team. Rhine pushed his team to midfield again in three plays when Cold Hill got the ball back, but he tried to go for glory and was picked off again by Alessandro Ström, Rhine apparently having had a blind spot for the safety and having thrown it right where he was sitting in zone coverage. Six straight runs brought another five minutes off the clock but the drive stalled out and the Raiders were forced to punt, which the team mistakenly gave Hamilton a chance to return. The speedster returned it back to the Tech twelve yard line before he was caught from behind by Youssef Lindström. It took all four downs for Rhine to get Cold Hill into the endzone, the quarterback trying to continuously thread the needle, but Adam Rickiott hauled in the fourth down throw to save Cold Hill some face. Yet for a second straight game, Tintin Åkesson was able to dive in and block the PAT, the sixth one for the Raiders on the season, the score now thirty-one to twenty for the visitors.

It however would be Chasima's time to shine as he broke off five yard run after five yard run and the Raiders slowly began to kill off the game, at their own forty-five as the third quarter came to a close. The Cold Hill linebackers and secondary were completely worn out as the fourth quarter began, trying to keep up with the Vanorian wideouts and chasing Chasima as he broke into the second level. The back kept up his pressure and the Raiders were dominating the line and the spirit of Cold Hill as they seemed helpless to stop the run. Ten more runs and one pass, brought the Raiders to the three with eight minutes to go, the Raiders bringing out their rarely used big package. Redshirt senior fullback Aksel Olsen was then giving his moment to shine and he bulldozed his way through the line and into the endzone, thirty-eight to twenty for the visitors with seven and half minutes to go. The fans knew the game was over after the last two Mar Sara drives, but Rhine did not get the memo and the quarterback who had been living dangerously all game three his third pick on the first pass of the drive, this time Valentino Carlsson cutting in front of Swift on the vertical and snatching it from the receiver. Rhine was visibly upset as he walked off the field and the Raiders and Chasima milked away the rest of the game, kneeling three times inside the ten as the game came to an end with the Raiders having pulled off the massive upset.

Chasima was seen giving a handshake to Rhine as the teams exchanged pleasantries, with some words being said by the Raiders running back before the two parted and Chasima went to celebrate with the rest of his team. Apparently the running back wished the senior quarterback for Cold Hill good luck in the pros and told him that they had a good game and season, a big show of sportsmanship from the hard working back for Tech. The team now is back into the semifinals for the second time, the last time they were here they managed to win two straight game and won an unlikely NSCF title. The next trip for the Raiders will not be as far for the Raiders but it will be as difficult, as they travel to Banija and the number two seeds of Northern Moravica. It is an all southwestern showdown and one where the Cougars ought to be favored, but Cold Hill was supposed to be as well. The Raiders are an underdog but they came into the season that way and have not let it stop them, no reason to believe they will allow that to start now and against a local foe.

by **Ranoria** » Mon Apr 12, 2021 11:37 pm

"And with the number one overall pick in the draft," Deondre Rhine leaned back in his chair next to his mother, with Chewie the owlephant standing ready to celebrate himself, "The Mountaineers select: Quarterback, Ricky Cappa out of Ranoria State!"

Chewie started to trumpet before the words processed in his massive ears, his trunk sagging as Deondre Rhine's mouth opened wide, watching as some joker - who couldn't even throw forty touchdowns - walked up to take his glory. The passer's jaw then set, his mother watching with concern while he pulled out a blunt, "So that's how these guys wanna play, is it?" Rhine, with national television rolling, lit his devil's lettuce and leaned back again, taking a drag of the entirely legal recreational drug, "Fine then. Game on."

NSCF Recruiting Class Rankings!
Based on current known commitments and offers

by **Banija** » Wed Apr 14, 2021 9:05 am

Northern Moravica quarterback Vallienté Wagner-Young, following NMU's 26-7 victory over USC in the NSCF 23 Quarterfinals

When USC Quarterback Jong-Yeon Han was intercepted by Zere Chirkos with a minute left, Wagner-Young threw his hands into the air like the rest of Northern's sideline. Northern had a strong performance in this victory, and although it wasn't world-building, they proved their billing as the #2 overall seed in the NSCF in the thorough win. They still had plenty to work on. Finishing drives was one of them, of course, as they kicked four field goals on the day, but winning by 19 at home in the playoffs was no small feat.

Wagner-Young got to the huddle. "You know the drill guys, let's finish it off." Wagner-Young said as the players clapped it out. One kneeldown, 40 seconds rolled off the clock, the second kneeldown, and that was game. The teams jogged onto the field, shaking hands and saying good game. Wagner-Young found his Quebecois counter-part, and wished Jong-Yeon luck on his upcoming domestic season. Just then, a reporter found him.

"Vallienté!" Said the female reporter. He had no idea what TV network she was from. "Congratulations on your quarterfinal victory. What were the keys to your performance? What were the keys to NMU's win on the day?"

Wagner-Young stood and pondered the question briefly, and then answered it. "Well, we had a game plan and perfected it. We knew what we wanted to do on offense- control the line of scrimmage, control the pace of the game and time of possession, and use that to gain a serious advantage. We got healthy over the course of our bye week in the competition, and now we find ourselves in the semifinals. It's gonna be a hell of a game against Mar Sara Tech, but Mugisha II Memorial is the most intimidating stadium to play in throughout the entire NSCF."

"Vallienté, how does it feel to be the first NMU QB since Chae-Heung Kim himself to win a playoff game for this school?" Said the female reporter.

"It's a great honor to follow in his footsteps. But I'm not focused on history- that's something I can look at after the season. I've spent the entire week focusing on USC. And now, I'm going to spend the next week focusing on how to defeat Mar Sara Tech." After he answered her questions, he went to the locker room with his coach and the rest of his team.

During the week, Coach Kabuye had pulled him aside, one on one, to talk about leadership. Coach Kabuye said that he knew that this could be a crucial year for this program. He saw the title potential in the squad. And even though Wagner-Young was just a sophomore- he needed to step up and be a leader. Kabuye said that every single championship team, in the modern age, has their quarterback as a vocal leader. Coach Kabuye said Wagner-Young should be more vocal in the locker room, especially in moments like these.

So Wagner-Young knew he had the implicit permission. With everyone standing, he started speaking loudly. "MEN!" He yelled. "THIS is what we came here to DO! Think about it like this." He was in the center of the room, and put his eyes around the locker room. "When we were in high school, we all decided to come to this school for different reasons. We come from different places- as far as Ranoria, some as close as down the street. And we decided to join the greatest f*@*!()@ brotherhood in the history of sport- Northern Moravica football!"

"YEA!" Many players yelled.

"We have to continue to leave it out there. One more game to earn a trip to the capitol. ONE! MORE! Leave it all on the field! Leave it all out there! All of us are in pain. Nobody's at 100% at this point in the season. But who f*$*@(! cares! This is our home field! This is our city! All we need are each other! This team is the best team in the damn world- let's go freaking prove it! Today, USC. Tomorrow- all eyes on Mar Sara Tech! Northern on 3! One! Two! Three!"

The whole team boomed Northern, as they cheered and Wagner-Young took his seat. Coach Kabuye gave his speech, spoke briefly about the schedule for the upcoming week, and implored his players to go home and go to bed. Wagner-Young smiled, he was gaining the confidence of a leader. Would it hold throughout the week and into the semifinal against the Vanorian school?

Loyola-Istria quarterback Amadi Ikenna, two hours following Loyola's season-ending 27-14 home playoff loss to Felswyr State

Amadi Ikenna was sitting in street clothes, on the bench, under the lights in an empty Istria Lightning Yard. It had been an emotional rollercoaster the past few weeks. Going from a 8-0 and 10-1 start as Loyola's quarterback, to losing his final three starts in the uniform, including to a massive rival(Richardson) and twice to a burgeoning rival(Felswyr State).

Ikenna was somebody who truly loved Loyola-Istria. It was in his blood. His mother was a national champion here in volleyball, he was from the city, hell- he was born at Loyola University Hospital. And after waiting for four years, on the pine, in year 5, he was finally able to earn the starting job, beating out Ebou Hairte in training camp to become the squad's starting quarterback.

And the game had started off fine as well. A close, back and forth game for three quarters between's Ikenna's team and Felswyr State. He himself had an electric 35 yard touchdown run in the first quarter to give Loyola an early lead. He had dropped back and saw nothing, which caused him to roll right. He saw a running lane, and ran untouched for about 15 yards. When Ozioma Mazzi came up to make the tackle, Ikenna spun and made him miss and ran into the end zone. 7-0 Loyola.

A second quarter touchdown pass to Felswyr Tight End Niles Gwivern was sandwiched by a pair of two field goals from FSU, which gave the visitors a 13-7 lead with just two minutes left. Fortunately for Loyola, Ikenna was up for the task, as he marched the Blue Thunder down the field, and threw a 7 yard touchdown pass to Khalil Hauptmann with just 11 seconds left in the half to give Loyola a 14-13 lead. No scores in the 3rd quarter. But the fourth quarter- two plays that Ikenna would rue for the rest of his life.

First. Loyola driving. 9 minutes left in the fourth. 1st & 5 at the Felswyr State 37, because Ikenna had drawn a down linemen offside on 1st and 10. Ikenna dropped back, looking for his main man, Hauptmann. But Jill Lia was in his face. Her pressure made Ikenna throw the ball a half second too early- and right into the hands of Ozioma Mazzi, who returned the ball to the FSU 30. It took Felswyr State all of one play to make Ikenna pay for his mistake. They call for deep crossing patterns, and although Sarai Gwenderyn was under pressure, she rolled right and, while on the run, threw the ball to Alessandra Mio on a rope. Mio then simply trucked Alexander Ackermann, and then outran everybody to the end zone. One play, 70 yards. That's how good Mio was. She only caught the ball three times all day, but could still bust a huge one late in the day.

And then, Ikenna regretted on Loyola's ensuing possesion what he did. 3rd and 9. He had an open Lafi Senghore. But... He overthrew him. Loyola had to punt, and six minutes later, Felswyr State buried the game with their third touchdown of the afternoon. Heartbreaking for the seniors, and especially for Amadi Ikenna- his career was over.

He soldiered through what he had to. Had said his goodbyes. As the quarterback, he was required to be at post-game press conferences, and he sat through those with professionalism. He asked to go back on the field and just soak in the memories. What a ride it had been for him at his dream school. A terribly sad memory, on this day. But he had plenty of great ones. Whatever happened from here on out, he sat on this bench, knowing that he had made the right decision to stick it out, through the thick and thin, right here at Loyola-Istria.

NSCF 23 - Everything Thread

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