Arena Bowl VIII (EVERYTHING THREAD)

[HUElavia]

Arena Bowl VIII

We've made it to the Round-of-16 today! Which 8 teams will stay in this colorful world that is named HUElavia? This is the official cutoff for the Round-of-16.

Round-of-16

A- Grey County 10-3 Northwest Kalactin
(HUGames Arena, Sega)

B- Yuvenkus 6-9 Bunkaiia
(HUETech Center, San Franco)

C- Golgothastan 17-7 Kohnhead
(Jaguar Center, Pamallu)

D- Sarzonia 26-10 Ranoria
(Hoon Electronics Arena, Goang)

E- Islands of Ventro 10-0 Quebec and Shingoryeo
(MetroHUE Centre, Lourdes)

F- Abanhfleft 17-3 Kriegiersien
(Arena Nacional, Curumba)

G- HUElavia 0-7 Silvedania
(Arena Santos, San Rafael)
(Scorinated by Mriin)

H-Hebitaka 3-20 Lisander
(Arena Acuatica, Bello Mar)

Quarter-Finals Matches

W- Grey County vs Bunkaiia
(HUElines Arena, Sao Salvador)

X- Golgothastan vs Sarzonia
(MetroHUE Centre, Lourdes)

Y- Islands of Ventro vs Abanhfleft
(Banco da HUElavia Arena, HUEsilia)

Z- Silvedania vs Lisander
(Arena Nacional, Curumba)

Friendly Reminder that Monday, March 8th, and Tuesday, March 9th, will be Off Days, so you have at least 48 hours to put in your RPs. Quarter-Finals will be scorinated on Wednesday, March 10th. Best of luck to the "Elite Eight" of Arena Bowl VIII!

[Grey County]

Grey County Wins!!!!! Grey County has defeated Northwest Kalactin 10-3 in an Overtime Dule. Grey County went down 3-0 with 2 minutes to Go but with 3 seconds from their own 7 yard Line the Kicker lined up for the kick,
He runs up,
It's GOOD, THE GAME IS TIED, GREY COUNTY STAYS ALIVE.
IN overtime 3 seconds to go, on their own 1-yard line Fitzgerald drops back,
Scans the field,
Over to the edge,
Sees Electra,
Goes Deep,
Electra Catches it,
At the 20,
At the 10
TOUCHDOWN Grey County GREY COUNTY WINS GREY COUNTY WINS They will take on Bunkaiia in Sao Salvador on the 10th.

Post Match Reaction,
Grey County's team showered each other in champagne and their coach walked out soaking wet, When asked how he was feeling he had this to say "Im so proud of the boys, No one thought we would win a game and we did, No one thought we would make round of 16 and we did and NO ONE thought we would make it to the quarter finals and WE DID. We aint done yet and On the 10th we gonna leave it all on the field again but tommorow back to practice and ready to Keep the miracle run going".

[Islands Of Ventro]

Island of Ventro is on to the QF!
The nation is speechless, how has this team of random gridiron football players make it this far. When asking the coach, “I just asked some professional football players I knew if they wanted to play indoor football for a tournament and they said yes, I did not expect we would get this far, much less getting the one seed in the qualifying rounds. Now that I know we stand a chance. We are going for gold!”. Many team members were practicing and we could not get a word with them.

[Sarzonia]

The matchup was one that was highly anticipated by both sides.

The two nations, Sarzonia and Ranoria, had done battle in multiple sports ever since Sarzonia returned from its third period of isolation, but this would mark the first meeting between the two nations in any of them. The Stars and the Krauts lined up with one person missing from the festivities. Kicker Joe Avant wasn't on the pitch at the start of the match to perform the opening kickoff. He didn't show up in uniform until after Sarzonia's first drive resulted in a turnover on downs at the Ranoria 14-yard line.

Avant had a sheepish grin when he explained why he wasn't available to start the match.

"I had a, um, bathroom emergency," he said.

He later left the game after booting his second field goal of the match, citing dehydration. The Stars would try two-point conversions after each touchdown and converted one en route to a 26-10 victory in the Round of 16 contest of Arena Bowl VIII that sent the Stars on to a rematch of the bronze medal in the previous Arena Bowl against Golgothastan.

"First of all, Joe's fine. He's resting comfortably in a local hospital," said Coach Chad Embry. "We had to make a few adjustments without him being available, like having to use [reserve defensive specialist Kevin] Lowery to do kickoffs. We were able to step up defensively and force Ranoria away from what they do well."

The trouble for Avant began after he kicked a field goal with 9:42 remaining in the first quarter to give Sarzonia a 3-0 lead. On the ensuing kickoff, he grimaced as he rubbed his hamstring following the kick. The ball bounced off the netting and into the arms of Kraut wide receiver/defensive back Quan Mullins, who was met almost immediately at the four-yard line by tight end/linebacker Lawrence Tyler. The Krauts then tried to throw a bomb on the first play on their second offensive possession when they recognised a blitz by Stars defensive coordinator Kristin Walters, calling back to the opening offensive series of the classic between Sarzonia and St. Kanye in the Arena Bowl VI semifinals. This time, defensive back Barry Tomlin picked off Astrid Verona's pass at his own four.

The Stars went three-and-out before Avant hit a 55-yard field goal, which saw him doubled over in pain rather than celebrating. He was taken to a local hospital, but was cleared to return midway through the fourth quarter. However, by then, the Stars already had their 26-10 lead and were simply doing their best to run out the clock.

The Stars will get an extra day off before the quarterfinal matchup against Golgothastan, and Avant expects to be fully hydrated and ready to go by then.

"I'll be ready," he said. "I've learned my lesson."

[Grey County]

Grey County has had two extremely good practices and looks ontop of their game. The Grey County media gives them a 40% chance of advancing but the team is shutting out the noise. Grey County wants to win and make it into the final four in their debut year. Grey Countys squad after an amazing debut will have a parade at home no matter how the do from now on

[Bunkaiia]

With Grey County beating Northwest Kalactin 10-3, Kahinu's ragtag team is feeling intense pressure to perform.
Despite a severely anti-climactic and rocky start, Bunkaiia has been able to surprise everyone by reaching the Quarter Finals with a narrow 6-9 win over Yuvenkus at the HUETech Center in San Franco.

Though Grey County media predicts 60% advantage for the Bunkaiians, this figure has been called into question by most news stations though, especially in light of their overwhelming win over Northwest Kalactin - a beloved team from a well-known and developed nation. A Jonathon "Grisiley" Beates - a legend in his nation's college football league couches their team as well, despite Kahinu believes that Huakuak tree chose him to do something great here - is this it?

Like Grey County, this thrilling adventure and the personal story of Kahinu has inspired countless of other Bunkaiians to search for their own unique niche interests, sports and hobbies.

Ps. Grey County's national animal is the wolf, while Bunkaiia's national carnivore is the Korbuna (a semi-arboreal crocodilian).

[Golgothastan]

AP- Authorities concerned about riots in the event of defeat, or victory, or tie

Municipal authorities across Golgothastan are bracing for a fresh round of riots as the national arena football team prepares to meet Sarzonia. Ever since Sarzonia thrashed Golgothastan 62 – 9 in the 3PPO of the home-hosted Arena Bowl VII, the repeat fixture has been a hotly anticipated affair by Golgothastani football fans, and hooligans.

The so-called Black Ultras have pledged to riot violently in the event of another defeat, but complicating matters is the presence of the White Ultras, who have pledged to riot violently in the event of a win. With the Green Ultras threatening rioting in the event of a tie, and the Red Ultras pledging to riot should the game be postponed or cancelled, there appear to be limited escapes from mass crowd action for city authorities already reeling from weeks of property damage, arson, and general mayhem.

For the players in HUElavia, such concerns are not paramount. “Right now, we’re just concerned with the action on the field,” said quarterback Bastían Bjarkansson. He and his team have promised not to engage in violence while on HUElavian soil. “We’re saving that for when we get back home.”

[Abanhfleft]

DISCLAIMER: Gaelic Gamers is an independent sports blogging website created by four cousins with a common liking and passion for sports of all kinds and is in no way or form affiliated with or organized by any official news organization in the Democratic Republic of Abanhfleft. All statements and opinions posted here are our own and not anyone else's.

---

Gaelic Gamers
Presents...

Gabbing on Gridiron
with Dara Keane

ARENA BOWL VIII: WELL, WE BEAT KRIEGIERSIEN... WHAT NOW?

Teams in Arena Bowl VIII trying to score at least 40 points, visualised.

It's nowhere close to being any sort of vengeance for the 78-32 smackdown we received at their hands in the final of the previous Arena Bowl, but I guess a 17-3 victory over Kriegiersien will have to be enough now. Adequate chances for a more appropriate revenge will have to come later.

And the wait for another 40-point game since Sarzonia did it in Matchday 2 continues. Not one team was able to score even just 30 points in this first round of the playoffs, but it seems almost fitting that it should once again be Sarzonia who came closest with their 26-10 victory over the ragtag bunch that is the Ranoria national arena football team. But we're not focusing on that game, at least not yet. For now, our focus is on our own game against Kriegiersien. It's a replay of the final of Arena Bowl VII, in case I haven't already mentioned it, and for all the hype about this being our revenge for getting blown absolutely out of the water the last time around, the final result was a bit... underwhelming, shall we say. Sure, it was pretty clear that we had the upper hand over our opponents this time around, but once again the officials appear to be really determined to kill the mood just as it gets exciting. Just when you think we've got a nice long touchdown on hand, a flag goes up and turns out we have to go back half the field because of a personal foul or whatever. You would think that after almost a hundred games played of this particular format, the officials would finally get the hang of this arena football thing, but no. And that's why Aryabhata Patil only has six touchdowns to his name instead of the 16 we'd have been expecting him to have by now.

And I don't know if this has anything to do with the way this whole Arena Bowl has gone down, but some of the heavyweights of the sport have been knocked out at this early stage of the game. Hosts HUElavia have fallen 7-0 against World Bowl whipping boys Silvedania. Northwest Kalactin have been eliminated by newcomers Grey Country 10-3, while perennial competitors Quebec and Shingoryeo (the nation formerly known as the Royal KIngdom of Quebec, newly renamed after new government policies and somesuch) have been knocked out by another newcomer (as far as I'm aware of though) Islands of Ventro. Speaking of which, the Islands of Ventro are going to be our next opponents. I won't go so far as to say that this is going to be a walkover, but who knows? Maybe it will be a walkover. For the Islands of Ventro. It's a situation that just lends itself very well to the blue, orange and green crashing and burning at the hands of a newcomer. Argh. If we lose then we'll all have expected it. But it just feels like a complete letdown compared to how far we've come in this sport in the last few years. I just don't want to bow out in the quarterfinals. But if destiny decrees that this is where our journey should end, then so be it. But that doesn't mean I won't rail against it till the cows come home. DeeDee Soriano, DeeDee Soriano, DeeDee Soriano....

[HUElavia]

Arena Bowl VIII

Tonight, 4 teams will be conquerers over 4 teams, and head their way into the "Final Four" of Arena Bowl VIII. This is the official cutoff for the Quarter-Finals.

Quarter-Finals

W- Grey County 24-7 Bunkaiia
(HUElines Arena, Sao Salvador)

X- Golgothastan 7-35 Sarzonia
(MetroHUE Centre, Lourdes)

Y- Islands of Ventro 6-19 Abanhfleft
(Banco da HUElavia Arena, HUEsilia)

Z- Silvedania 0-20 Lisander
(Arena Nacional, Curumba)

Semi-Finals Matches

Grey County vs Sarzonia
(Arena Santos, San Rafael)

Abanhfleft vs Lisander
(HUElines Arena, Sao Salvador)

[Bunkaiia]

Curumba, HUElavia - Kahinu's Dream is over. The tiny little nation of Bunkaiia's run in their first ever international tournament in any sport is finally over. Their win over Northwest Kalactin was a notable event and probably will never be forgotten in Bunkaiia.

Vohuka Kahinu (seen in the image) is expected to return later this week with his team of amateurs, friends and family members to a flurry of excited new fans. In the eyes and hearts of Bunkaiians though, they are the real winners.

What's next for Bunkaiia?
-News brought to you by Faolà Siko - Your trusted Bunkaiian news station

[Grey County]

Grey County entree the tournament with what most considered an unlikely goal, Make the round of 16. They started off with a loss to HUElavia but in surprising fashion won the next match before losing the final round robin match. They did qualify for the Round of 16 but surprisingly won that match and beat Baniaa in the Quarter Finals in dominant fashion 24-7 and now They face a huge challLenge Sporting heavyweights Sarzonia ya the ArenaSantos. After the quarter final victory the coach had this to say “we have worked incredibly hard even though most thought we would fail, we have knocked out heavyweights along the way and Sarzonia is no different. Well we are happy to be here I would be lying if I said we weren’t eyeing the finals. We started this tournament at the Arena Nacional and that’s where we want to finish it. See you soon Sarzonia.”
Grey County’s little engine that could will refuel today before tommorow there biggest test of the tournament.

[Sarzonia]

Chad Embry usually doesn't get too anxious before matches.

After all, indoor gridball doesn't get nearly the attention in Sarzonia that the outdoor game commands. Unlike the outdoor Stars, Embry's teams have consistently qualified for the knockout rounds, and made two consecutive trips to the semifinals in the Arena Bowl. The outdoor Stars just qualified for the knockout rounds for the first time in three attempts after their return.

So the fact that Embry was anxious before a match against Golgothastan was unusual. His indoor Stars played a juggernaut from St. Kanye in a classic battle that was the closest that team got to a defeat. They also had a rivalry brewing with Abanhfleft. Embry only lost one group stage match, to multi-sport rivals Delaclava.

"They're itching for revenge," he said, noting Sarzonia's 62-9 demolition of Golgothastan during the third place playoff in Golgothastan. Embry also knew a quarterfinals defeat would be seen as a step backwards for the only team to have appeared in back to back semifinals, even if Arena Bowl organizers in HUElavia have been officiating offence far more tightly than any other Arena Bowl in history.

Following the team's 35-7 victory over Golgothastan, the Stars made their own case for being among the elite in this code of gridball. Their offence still hasn't resembled the high-scoring exploits of Arena Bowls past, but their just enough scoring combined with a suffocating defence and the return of kicker Joe Avant ensured their struggles were not fatal.

Sarzonia will next face Grey County in a semifinals clash with either group rivals Lisander or intergroup rivals Abanhfleft their next opponent. The only question will be if the next match the Stars play will be another so-called bronze bowl or a match for the Arena Bowl trophy itself.

"That's one thing we would love to win," quarterback Clark Weston said. "We helped bring this code of gridball to the multiverse and it feels strange that we don't have a title in our trophy case."

[Islands Of Ventro]

Sad Day For Island of Ventro

After the 6-19 loss we asked the team for some quotes,

"We had a good run, I mean I was not expecting us to get this far but we got some good boys right here" - Robert Kazak (Head Coach)

"I got my chance I, I played as much as I could, sadly what I could do was not enough to get the team out of the quarter-finals" Leanard Reque (Starting QB)

"We Should have won, our defense was able to hold them for 3 quarters before the final quarter when we just collapsed giving up 19 unanswered points." -Darrel Fjinsh (Defensive Coordinator)

" We'll get'em next year" - Ryan Frazier (Backup OL/DL turned Starter)

As custom with all our events, we named a player the best in the team or the BIT award. This year we are proud to award the BIT award to Ryan Frazier for coming off the bench and being the best player he could be. He will definitely be starting in Arena bowl VIX.


In all goodbye and this was a great year!

[Abanhfleft]

DISCLAIMER: Gaelic Gamers is an independent sports blogging website created by four cousins with a common liking and passion for sports of all kinds and is in no way or form affiliated with or organized by any official news organization in the Democratic Republic of Abanhfleft. All statements and opinions posted here are our own and not anyone else's.

---

Gaelic Gamers
Presents...

Gabbing on Gridiron
with Dara Keane

ARENA BOWL VIII: IT'S ALL OR NOTHING FROM HERE ON OUT

Nobody holds us scoreless for three quarters and gets away with it.

The struggle to score in Arena Bowl VIII continues. Some teams are getting better at it than others (looking at you, Sarzonia) but others... not so much. Case in point, our very own Arena Armored Revolutionaries. Our offense has been hit and miss for the whole campaign, and that's without interference from the zebras as well. I can't deny that the men in black and white have played a less than stellar role in the way this whole Arena Bowl has not lived up to the standards of its predecessors, but as we'll see later on in this recap, the officials managed to insert themselves into the game almost to the point of actually affecting it. As someone who witnessed those events live and in person, it almost makes you think that the zebras have money on a particular result coming to pass. Almost. I don't want to say anything, but just know that the thought has crossed my mind, as well as many others' minds.

When Islands of Ventro scored the first touchdown of the game in their first possession, which also happened to be the first possession in the whole game, it seemed almost inevitable. We here in Abanhfleft never make it easy for ourselves no matter if it's just the group stage or the playoffs. It's cost us many a game, but despite that we never seem to learn at all. The only positive that I can get out of this passage of play was that we were able to block the one-point conversion, but if we're blocking conversions then why can't we block touchdowns in the first place? Anyway, after Islands of Ventro scored that first touchdown, even though we were the ones that blinked first, I was strangely optimistic about the whole thing. Maybe this is the game where we finally get the old arena football back. Maybe this is the game where we finally see the return of games with 60 points or more scored by each team. But no. Once we got possession, the zebras got to work killing the mood once again. They were still trigger-happy with their flags, but now I noticed that they only started throwing flags as soon as we got close to scoring. The Islands of Ventro may say that they manage to hold us scoreless for three straight quarters, but the officials certainly helped them in that. We would get flagged for the most minor infractions and lost both yardage and downs at the same time. And if we were somehow able to break through for a potential or even actual touchdown, the score would eventually and inevitably be rolled back by virtue of a penalty. It always happened, without fail, for three quarters. And people wonder why we Fleftics think everyone is against us winning trophies.

But then the fourth quarter came around, and I don't know if the zebras forgot they were supposed to be against us or decided to cut it out before everyone got too suspicious, but the flags suddenly stopped coming in droves. Oh, the flags were still there, but not nearly as much as before. And that was the moment when the two Patils, Anuraag and Aryabhata, decided to strike back and strike hard. With no officials to throw a spanner in the works, the Arena Armored Revolutionaries were free to do as they pleased, and that was exactly what happened. Aryabhata scored Abanhfleft's first touchdown of the game and got an easy conversion, before Franco Bayot and Anuraag also got in the scoring action as well. The team decided to take 2-point conversions just because they could, but both times we got stuffed, for lack of a better word. So instead of scoring 23 points, we walked away from this contest with just 19. But it's still enough for a win, so there.

Now there's one more team to play before we (potentially) can get back into the final, and it's Lisander. Not gonna lie, Lisander have flown under the radar in this competition. It's fair to say nobody here in Abanhfleft fancied the men in green and gold, and yet here they are now, about to play against our team. If I said that we shouldn't sleep on the Islands of Ventro then we shouldn't even blink at Lisander. There's just many ways this run can fall apart right at the last moment. And I've seen it happen to us too many times to simply dismiss the possibility. Savvy Flefts like me know that the tournament isn't over until it's over. Dinggu Wang, Dinggu Wang, Dinggu Wang....

[HUElavia]

Arena Bowl VIII

We've made it to the Final Four, and it's now Do or Die for our four teams! Who will advance to the Grand Final of Arena Bowl VIII? This is the official cutoff for the Semi-Finals.

Semi-Finals

Grey County 13-10 Sarzonia

(Arena Santos, San Rafael)

Abanhfleft 20-7 Lisander

(HUElines Arena, Sao Salvador)

And so, the 3rd Place match will be as follows:

3rd Place Match

Sarzonia vs Lisander

(Jaguar Center, Pamallu)

And the Grand Final will be:

Arena Bowl VIII Final

Grey County vs Abanhfleft

(Arena Nacional, Curumba)

Commiserations to the Losing Semi-Finalists and Congratulations to the Finalists of Arena Bowl VIII. Sunday, March 14th, will be the day the Arena Bowl crowns a new champion in Arena Football.

[Grey County]

Grey County did what no one thought was possible today and upset world heavyweights Sarzonia and Now is one win away from shocking the world and in their debut event. Grey County started off horribly and was down 10-0 heading into the 4th quarter they Came back in an unexpected fashion including a last 3 second TD and they ran onto the field in celebration. The Grey County broadcast sounded like this " And 1 last shot for Grey County, Fitzgerald drops back, Sees Electra down the field, Launches it and he caught it. He's almost there on the 15. the 10, the 5 TOUCHDOWN GREY COUNTY WINS and is HEADING BACK for the first time since day 1 TO THE ARENA NACIONAL WITH GOLD ON THE LINE".

The coach had this to say after the game drenched in champagne "WERE 1 away baby, Ultimate underdog story bout to come full circle when we return to the place the campaign began and we Gone finish this off right Now RIght here. Sarzonia couldnt stop us and in the finals we gone get the job done, WOO GO GREY COUNTY"

[Lisander]

Is 8-a-side the perfect code for Lisander?
Still at a level below the big boys in the sport, Lisander could bolster support for the smaller game to evolve.

8-a-side, Flag Football and Beach Football can be
a nice choice to increase the number of gridiron
football players in the nation.
Photo: LAN Female Flag Football League

Gridiron Football is a niche sport in Lisander. Played mostly by university students and alumni, also by rugby players bored of the routine of rucks, mauls and scrums. The country's top full-pad league has eight teams and plays on borrowed or rented pitches, but its teams still managed to perform well in the last Champions Bowl. The World Bowl is clearly an impossible dream for now. However, a group of amateurs, subsidised by the NAFL and its sponsors, have been performing well in the Arena Bowl. A previous generation has even won the tournament. With this information alone, we can already start to consider this a way forward. Just as Sevens reignited Lisanderians' passion for Rugby some years ago, 8-a-side football is a strong candidate to become the most popular Gridiron variant in the principality. And we can see it from the comments submitted to this blog.

I mean, our comments section has practically become a meeting place for fans of the sport of brown ball to meet other fans of the sport of brown ball. Our interns have been chatting with blog readers and in less than two weeks of Arena Bowl, three 8-a-side teams have already formed with just our readers. We spoke with Ariella Ford, one of our blog readers, the brainchild of two of these teams.

A fortnight ago, in the post about the Lynx's first Arena Bowl game, Ariella made the following comment:

"Hi people! I'm looking for girls from Veras, Port and all of northern Soria, so we can put together an 8-a-side/flag/beach football team. Interested, please get in touch."

Her comment had 64 responses, including women and men of all ages. Quickly, someone created a group on MyFace and in less than two weeks, what was just a girl trying to play has already formed two teams: Veras Valkyries (women's team) and Veras Vikings (men's team). The Valkyries already have 11 players, while the Vikings have 14, two of them with experience in the university Gridiron. The team's first meeting was last Sunday in Port Beach.

"I didn't expect it to grow so fast. I just wanted to get some girls together to have a bit of fun, that kind of thing.... But we have even received an invitation to play a Beach Football match against the Melusines, a team from Kasandora. We've even had jerseys made for the team, and we're trying to arrange a friendly match on one of the next Sundays, so all the girls can take part."

We wish the Valkyries the best of luck. We will definitely send someone to watch the game and write an article about it. We are very happy to know that the sport is growing, even if it's only in small steps.

[Grey County]

Grey County had a good practice this morning ahead of tomorrows Championship Game and they will practice again tonight. The coach had this to say about tommorows game "well obviously it will be a challenge and we have had a great run but we want to finish this off right with gold around our necks and the Trophy coming home "

Grey COunty Media gives themselves a 15% chance to win but most feel its a bit higher then that.

[Lisander]

So, how that was?
Recapping the matches of the Arena Bowl until this moment.

Well, we've already been eliminated. That wasn't the time we got our second Arena Bowl title. We will close our participation in the beautiful and tropical HUElavia tonight in a rematch against Sarzonia, worth the third place of the tournament.

That MD3 in Pamallu was the worst game that people in Fumblers United ever watched. Talk about an ugly game. It was really ugly. Tons of incomplete passes. Ok, we need to be fair and remember that Lynx used the reserves, after all, qualification was assured and the stronger players deserved rest, but it was still really awful. Not even me and my friends training on the beach would miss that many passes. In the end, only one touchdown. And unfortunately, from Alvin Pendry, for Sarzonia. I honestly hope the next meeting between the Lynxes and the Stars can end better. If not with a win, at least with a better result on the scoreboard and more accurate passing.

TD: Aramis Sauer, Christian Segard, Rodolfo Lyons (1x) Conversions: Mariano Hoffmann (1/1); Iago Hartins(1/2)

This match was a solid demonstration of football by the Lynxes. Hebitaka scored in their first position, a Field Goal, then gone nowhere to be seen. The rest of the match was at cruise speed. Solid advancing granted by the passing team. Three pass touchdowns by Venter, one to each of the native WRs. The game was so easy that coach Jones even gave some opportunity to Iago Hartins as Kicker. The running team was left to rest.

TD: Thomas Stavaux (2x), Ricardo Montanet (1x). Conversions: Mariano Hoffmann (1/1); Iago Hartins(2/3)

If in the Round of 16, the running team was not used, Eric Jones reverted the situation. Three touchdowns by running backs shown the flexibility of the system developed by Eric Jones. Taking advantage from the "alleys" (better say highways) left by Silverdania, whose players were as lost as a nun on a honeymoon, Lisander had another stellar presentation. 20-0 and Semifinals spot guaranteed.

TD: Aramis Sauer (1x). Conversions: Mariano Hoffmann (1/1)

The Lisanderian defense wasn't able to hold Anuraag Patil great passing. Aramis Sauer even scored once, granting Hoffmann a conversion. Yet, it was not enough, since the Fleftic team had a very strong background. 20-7 was a fair result, to be honest, since the team hadn't a real challenge before this match (That Allamunic States team was composed of High Schoolers, probably, and I'm not counting MD3 against Sarzonia just because that game should be erased from the existence).

[Abanhfleft]

DISCLAIMER: Gaelic Gamers is an independent sports blogging website created by four cousins with a common liking and passion for sports of all kinds and is in no way or form affiliated with or organized by any official news organization in the Democratic Republic of Abanhfleft. All statements and opinions posted here are our own and not anyone else's.

---

Gaelic Gamers
Presents...

Gabbing on Gridiron
with Dara Keane

ARENA BOWL VIII: AND IT'S THE END OF THE LINE OF THE FINAL JOURNEY

Enemies leaving the past...

Here we are, lads. Back in the most important game in the Arena Bowl. Last time around we had a less than good time, thanks to Kriegiersien and their 78 points. Of course, we've finally achieved a modicum of revenge against Kriegiersien this Arena Bowl, knocking them out in the first round of these playoffs, but like almost every other game in this particular Arena Bowl, it wasn't the crazy back-and-forth game we had come to expect from this sport. And there's no reason to think that the Final of Arena Bowl VIII is going to change all that. You all know the reasons that I think why this Arena Bowl's scoring standards hasn't been up to par, and it's a group of two-legged creatures with black-and-white clothes and carrying yellow bags of polystyrene beans.

The road to the Arena Bowl VIII Final may look easy on paper, but let me tell you that it's far from it. For one thing, nothing is assured in a sport such as arena football. The teams that made it into the final of the last tournament might not even get out of the group stage in the next. The group stage may have looked like a cakewalk for the Arena Armored Revolutionaries, but true fans know that every game played is always overshadowed by the fear of failure and loss. I'm pretty sure nowhere was that more evident than in our game against Ranoria, a rematch of our two meetings against the aforementioned nation in the World Bowl. Without the interference of the officials, I'm pretty sure this game would have gone down among the arena football classics, but because the zebras appear to have been recruited from the pool for big boy gridiron, they're quite trigger-happy with their flags, and you know what flags do to a game. But still, the fact that a bunch of college (at least I think most of these guys are from college) players, a high school-level D-line, and a rapper who makes more money in a single day than the whole Vikrant Vimanas roster earns in a whole season (bonuses included) was able to play their game and take it to a team of actual professional players, is a testament to the football culture of Ranoria.

The path to the Arena Bowl Final then took us through Kriegiersien and Islands of Ventro before we had to make one more stop against Lisander. Only one team between these two could take the other spot in the final, and both teams were very much determined to be that team. And right from the start, Anuraag Patil was a man on a mission. His slingshot of an arm may not have seen much use in this tournament, but today he was determined to make the most of it. Anuraag threw a lot of bombs, and for once the completion rate was somewhere in the forties instead of the thirties and twenties that it's been for much of the previous games. And the Patil connection was finally restored between Anuraag and Aryabhata, with the two combining for both of Abanhfleft's touchdowns in this game. Despite that though, those were the only touchdowns scored by our side in this game, and we're still looking for a way to bring old-school arena football to HUElavia. I already mentioned my concerns about the officials, but since you're all probably tired of hearing me rant on and on about the zebras then I'll just shut my trap now.

Now there's only one team standing in the way of Abanhfleft potentially winning their first ever Arena Bowl championship. But the other team, Grey County, is also on a mission to win their first ever Arena Bowl championship. They may not have had expectations of making it all the way to the final, but they made it here anyway. And we all know nobody makes their way to the final of a tournament without working hard and even fighting for the right to get there. And you know what? I have to admit to feeling concern about this game. I am honestly getting Abanhfleft versus Kriegiersien in Arena Bowl VII vibes here. We all thought Kriegiersien were this joke team, the team fueled by memes, but who's getting memed because of them now? Even now that we've beaten them, the sting still remains. And I have a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that history will repeat itself against Grey County. The only difference being that Grey County are actually a force to be reckoned with, not just a "meme team". And even if Abanhfleft prepare for Grey County like they're freaking Sarzonia or Saint Kanye, which I'm sure they will do now that they've learnt their lesson from before, I'm still afraid Grey County will beat us to grabbing that first Arena Bowl championship. That's the Fleftic way. Has been, is, and will always be. Desirae Katigbak, Desirae Katigbak, Desirae Katigbak....

[Sarzonia]

When the clock hit triple zero and the scoreboard showed Grey County 13, Sarzonia 10, Sarzonian national indoor gridball coach Chad Embry stood there stunned.

He felt a sharp tap on the shoulder from defensive coordinator Kristin Walters that snapped him from his doldrums long enough to go shake hands with his counterpart from Grey County Grisiley Beates. Afterward, however, Embry's next move was to jog back to his team dressing room.

He was in no mood to address the media and answer questions about his team's failure in the semifinals for the third consecutive Arena Bowl. A loss to a juggernaut from St. Kanye was one thing. That 36-32 defeat became one of the code's all time classic games. Losing to Abanhfleft in the previous semifinals hurt, but it was a rivalry in the making with a team that smarted from Sarzonia defeating them previously.

But Grey County? Embry didn't allow himself the thought, but he felt confident that his Stars could, nay, would dispatch Grey County with ease. After all, they didn't have the history in the Arena Bowl that any of the other teams competing in the semifinals did. No teams were scoring points the way teams would expect to, but everyone was victims of overzealous HUElavian officiating. Sarzonia's offence was about as strong as you were going to find in this edition.

And now? Embry's first instinct was to light into his team for being overconfident against Grey County. However, before he addressed the team, he realised glumly the Sam was true of him as well. He was as much to blame for Sarzonia preparing for yet another third place playoff as were any of the players.

And Embry knew the questions about whether he was the right coach to bring the Stars an Arena Bowl title would be asked. He knew he deserved to face the music, whether it was from reporters asking the questions or from his bosses who now had a few decisions to make.

He thought for a moment about resigning and letting Walters coach the third place playoff with Gavin Davis elevated to offensive play caller. He knew that wouldn't be a good look, so he decided he would take part in the preparation for the second matchup against Lisander.

"We still have work to do," he told the team during his address after the match. At least for now.

[HUElavia]

Arena Bowl VIII

After 13 days of matches in the largest-ever Arena Bowl, we've finally made it to the Final Day. Match 51 and 52 will be played, where two heavyweights will go for Bronze, and the two Finalists will seek their first ever Arena Bowl Title. Today, the Last Holy Lands of HUElavia, Pamallu and Curumba, will decide the Top 4 of Arena Bowl VIII. This is your official cutoff for the 3rd Place Match and the Arena Bowl VIII Final.

3rd Place Match

Sarzonia 10-19 Lisander

(Jaguar Center, Pamallu)

Arena Bowl VIII Final

Grey County 13-27 Abanhfleft

(Arena Nacional, Curumba)

Congratulations to the new Champion of the Arena Bowl and congratulations to the Bronze Medalist! Commiserations to the Runner-Up and the 4th Place Finisher for Arena Bowl VIII.

Thank you to all of you who participated in Arena Bowl VIII, especially those who took the time to post a roster and write RPs for this small tournament. It's been an honor being your host for this tournament, and I hope you all enjoyed it. I look forward to seeing many of you participating in Arena Bowl IX in the future.

Obrigado and Adios!

[Grey County]

Today Grey COuntys Miracel run came to an end when in their debut tournament they made it all the way to the final but sadly they would have to settle for Second place falling short to Abanhlfelt. Grey Countys team exceeded all expectations but they were still visibly distraught with the coach having this to say post match on the verge of tears "Well this was a hell of a debut huh, I wish we oculdve done it all but we fell just short, Congrats to the champs but next time We Will be back"


The team exceeded all expectations and they head home will silver medals and the second place trophy as Grey COuntys first medal at an international event