World Bowl IX Roster and RP Thread

[German Zerabithea]

This is the ZSN here after the first round of games have ended (GZ was on bye) and now the Pandas look for a victory against Chetssaland. Look for us after the game with a interview with the new head coach of the Pandas. Until then this is the ZSN!

[Qazox]

Qazox, would it be possible for you to change the format in which you post results?

For instance, it's quite confusing to see, for instance:

Voltronica vs. Arroza 23-13

where Arroza is listed last because it's the visiting team, but its score is the one listed first (since the bold means it won).

It seems like it'd be much easier for the rest of us to parse the results if the scores are listed in the same order as the teams are named--so you'd have

Voltronica vs. Arroza 13-23

.

Starting on MD2 I will, and speaking of which, MD2 RP CUTOFF.

MD2 Scores and standings up ASAP.

[Whittoria]

Mayors Win in OT Thriller

Defense dominates second half, OT

story by Jimmy LePage


The Mayors have gotten off to a good start in their first regular season matchup by defeating Albundania in overtime.

The Mayors struck first with a 14 yard touchdown pass to Buck Henry early in the first quarter, after Jeffrey Miller forced a fumble on the opening kickoff. But after two long drives that ate up most of the rest of the half, Albundia scored a touchdown on the ground and kicked a 27 yard FG to go into the half with the lead.

The second half would end up a defensive battle, with the only points being scored by the Mayors on a 37 yard Jeffrey Miller FG to tie the game with 7:28 in the 3rd quarter. The remainder of the regulation was dominated by both team's defenses.

Fortunes seemed to be going for Albundania though late in the fourth quarter. After a Davis punt that was downed inside the Albundania 5 with 1:53 to play, Albundania proceeded to march down the field into Mayor territory. But on 2nd down with 0:45 to play CB Chris Galloway intercepted the Albundania QB, swinging the momentum in Whittoria's favor. Unfortunately, Whittoria could not capitalize on the turnover and the game went into overtime.

Albundania won the toss and elected to go on offense first. After an outsdanding kickoff return into Mayor territory, Albundania marched down inside the30 yard line. But on 1st and ten the Albundanian QB's shot into the endzone was tipped by FS Patrick Thompson and intercepted by SS Cory Giles for a touchback.

The Mayors wasted no time in scoring; on the first play from scrimmage Cory Lawson threw to 6'7 speedster David Amos on the fade route for the game winning 80 yard touchdown. As Amos ran into the endzone Whittoria's fans in the visitor's section went wild as a stunned Albundanian crowd watched in bitter silence.

"I'm proud of the way we played tonight," said head coach Alex Whitt. "These kids played hard and never quit; they played all four quarters and then some. Our defense definitely stepped up tonight, they've had a sour taste in their mouths since the BoI playoffs, and they ended up winning the game for us. Our offense did a great job of scoring when we needed to...I'm not worried about much else, the only stat that really matters to me is if you've got more points than the other guy and tonight we did exactly what we needed to do to acheive that."

The Mayors are now 1-0 in regular season play. Coach (Zach) Whitt attributed the offense's production to a solid ground game:

"We committed to the run tonight, our line did a good job createing lanes and protecting the quarterback, and even though none of our backs got into the endzone they really helped this team pave the way for this victory."

D-Coordinator Joe Nave was pleased with defense:

"The kids played as one unit and swarmed to the ball. They really wanted to prove themselves and assert themselves early on. I think they sent a messege to the rest of the World Bowl on just how good they really are."

"The fact that we won our first World Bowl game on the road in a hostile environment, I think that's a testament to the character of this team. I'm excited for us, but now we've got to focus on Barnettsville and prepare for our game with them. It'll be another away game, so if we win again on the road I'll be real impressed."

The Mayors are off on the right foot; only time will tell if they can stay on it.

[Unified Beretania]

Albavona Capitol Sentinel

Argonauts blank Daschwich in only shutout of Week 1

Unified Beretania made an impressive statement in their World Bowl debut, as they attempt to step out of the rater large shadow of the Fujisawan Territories, the country they are a protectorate of. They did so in their first game of the season, by recording a shut out against hapless Daschwich, who couldn’t seem to get much of anything going throughout the day. Though winning 16-0, there was plenty of concern for the Argonauts as they were only able to find the end zone once, courtesy of an Anderson Brickman thirty yard catch and run for a score. Joseph Johnson was three of five on the day kicking field goals, with misses of forty two and thirty seven yards. Despite a few three and outs and two interceptions on the day for Troy Britton, the Argonauts never lost control of the tempo or momentum of the game thanks to a modest defensive effort by the Argonauts that kept Daschwich out of scoring range for the duration of the game.


SCORING RECAP
First Quarter
12:27 Unified Beretania- 33 yard FG by Joseph Johnson (3-0 UBT)

Second Quarter
4:37 Unified Beretania- 26 yard FG by Joseph Johnson (6-0 UBT)

Third Quarter
8:52 Unified Beretania- TD Troy Britton passed to Anderson Brickman to the right for a 30 yard gain (PAT good by Joseph Johnson) (13-0 UBT)
1:20 Unified Beretania- 39 yard FG by Joseph Johnson (16-0 UBT)

Fourth Quarter
no scoring

Argonauts Individual Stats
Troy Britton: 17/32, 184 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Ontario Brownlee: 34 carries, 138 yards
Anderson Brickman: 7 receptions, 73 yards, 1 TD
Sherwood Williams: 7 tackles, 2 sacks

[Qazox]

MD 2 Scores are now up!

Standings are forthcoming ASAP as well.

[Qazox]

Standings

[Qazox]

GridIronFanatics.qzx

<<<FINAL: QAZOX 21 @ Unified Beretania 11 (Courtney Cook Memorial Field, Red River)>>>
BOX SCORE

QAZOX
Total Yards: 246
Passing Yds: 27 (4/18; 4 Int)
Rushing Yds: 219 (41 att)
Penalties/Yds: 15/210
Turnovers: 4 (4 INT)
Possession: 28:45
Missed FG: 2- Harry Lomax (52-WL; 37-BL)
Punts/Avg: 7/37.8
KO Returns/Yds: 3/62
Punt Returns/Yds: 8/102
1st downs: 13
3rd Downs: 1-11
4th Downs: 0-1
Red zone scoring (att/TD/FG): 3-2-0

Unified Beretania
Total Yards: 307
Passing Yds: 203 (21-27; 1 TD, 2 Int)
Rushing Yds: 104 (22 att.)
Penalties/Yds: 5/67
Turnovers: 2 (2 INT)
Possession: 31:15
Missed FG: None
Punts/Avg: 8/45.3
KO Returns/Yds: 4/104
Punt Returns/Yds: 7/33
1st downs: 14
3rd Downs: 6-14
4th Downs: 0-1
Red zone scoring (att/TD/FG): 0-0-0

Qazox              0  7  7  7  21
Unified Beretania  0  0  3  8  11

SCORING SUMMARY Unified Beretania-Qazox
FIRST QUARTER
NONE
SECOND QUARTER
Qazox- 17 yd TD Run (Eric Thompson) PAT Good. 0-7
THIRD QUARTER
Unified Beretania- 42 yd FG (Joseph Johnson). 3-7
Qazox- 21 yd TD run (Craig Thomas) PAT Good. 3-14
FOURTH QUARTER
Unified Beretania- 40 yd TD pass (Troy Britton to Limon Blackwell) Troy Britton to Limon Blackwell for 2-pt conversion. 11-14
Qazox- 2 yard TD run (Peter Glenn) PAT Good. 11-21

[Fujisawan Territories]

Hoji Metropolitan Daily Record

Hurricane survive cardiac thriller, avoid upset during shootout in City of Hearts

Playing host to Oberour Ar Moro, the Hurricane had to battle back from a seventeen point deficit to avoid being upset in only the second week of the new season. In the end, it was a little patience, experience, and a touch of luck that won it for the World Bowl VIII runners-up. “We didn’t play today to lose. We played to win. We need every win we can get,” new head coach Koan Shirakawa told his players in the locker room after the game.

The Hurricane kicked off the World Bowl IX season on a high note with a 36-7 crushing of United Gordontopia, making this week’s game a real head scratcher for Shirakawa, who left a cushy job as head coach of the gridiron football program at Midland Interisland University on the island of Sanawa to take over as head coach of the Hurricane following former coach Rai Lo’s retirement this season.

When asked how his team fell so far behind so early on, coach Shirakawa told reporters,“We made fundamental mistakes out there on the football field today, we didn’t execute well enough. Listen, if we’re going to win games, we can’t be trying to mount a seventeen point comeback every week, because eventually, we’re going to get beat, and it’s not going to be pretty.”

Oberour Ar Moro jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead by the end of the first quarter thanks to a thirty seven yard Jonas de Baubingne field goal followed by a twelve yard touchdown catch by Argantael Carpeaux. 3:37 into the second quarter, the Hurricane would finally manage to put points on the board, but alas, it’s only a field goal. Jordan des Estables would punch one in from fourteen yards out, and de Baubingne would put the first half on ice for Oberour Ar Moro with a twenty six yard field goal before halftime. Trailing Oberour Ar Moro 20-3 at the start of the second half (a situation the Hurricane have rarely found themselves in), Kasmo Jit led the Hurricane on an eighty two yard eleven play drive to open the second half, the end result being a Hurricane touchdown. Akemo Arunita hauled in an eight yard catch for the score, and the Hurricane now trailed 20-10. Oberour Ar Moro had an answer though, and they were quick to respond. Just 3:17 after Arunita’s touchdown catch, Oberour Ar Moro had added a second touchdown from des Estables to their tally, as they extended their lead over the Hurricane to 27-10. Heads hung low along the Hurricane sideline, and with the deficit now back up to seventeen once more, doubt began to spread contagiously into the minds of the Hurricane. Back to back Hurricane drives stalled, leaving only field goals as lasting marks of otherwise solid, well executed drives. Sandwiched in between Amy Minoko’s two field goals was a Oberour Ar Moro punt. Down 27-16 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Hurricane were ignited with a spark of life after a forty eight yard interception return for a touchdown courtesy of Iraki Jisei on the first play of the fourth to narrow the deficit to 27-23. Oberour Ar Moro had other plans however, and they were able to add another field goal from Jonas de Baubingne for a 30-23 lead. Energized by the defensive score at the top of the quarter and a critical stop by the defense on 3rd and 2 to hold Oberour Ar Moro to a field goal, the offense stepped onto the field with reckless abandon, needing only three plays to reach the end zone on an electrifying sixty two yard touchdown reception by Oribaha “Baja” Hini, who had been shut down for most of the day with excellent coverage. After the game tying touchdown, Jit gestured toward the sideline holding up two fingers as if to ask coach Shirakawa if the Hurricane should go for two, and the kicking team moved onto the field only to come marching back as Shirakawa himself seemed unsure. Ultimately, the miscommunication forced Shirakawa to burn a time out, and in the end, he did the right thing by kicking the extra point. Deadlocked in a 30-30 tie, the Hurricane defense would make a stand, keeping Oberour Ar Moro from scoring any further in the game, while Minoko added two more field goals on the Hurricane’s last two drives, the latter of which was set up in part thanks to a Bradon des Blans-Mantiax interception to seal Oberour Ar Moro’s fate.

Schedule
Week
1 @ United Gordontopia W 36-7
2 vs. Oberour Ar Moro W 36-30
3 BYE
4 vs. Free Austin
5 @ Sibirsky
6 @ Alpha-land
7 @ Rennidan
8 vs. Dancougar
9 vs. Scandavian States

[Kinstantia]

Kinstantia 17
Krytenia 31

Kinstantia Flash Drop Second Game

In a game that can only be described as a total disappointment for the Flash, they lost in a rout by Krytenia 31-17. This makes the second straight game where the Flash were unable to use their high-powered offense to score more than 17 points. Krytenia seemed like they knew the plays the Flash offense was calling.

Chad Graves was 21/35 for 271 yards 2TD 2INT in a losing effort. So far for the World Bowl, Graves is 42/73 605 yards 4TD 3INT. The problem isn't so much Graves ability to throw the ball, but the defense inability to stop the run. The Krytenian offense ran up over 200 yards of rushing offense alone against the Flash.

Graves, though, remains optimistic, "Well, against Osarius, it came down to the wire, here in Krytenia, it was a blow-out. I feel, however, that this is just first-time jitters and that we're over them. We just need to get into our rythym and everything will work out in the end. I have no doubts we'll overcome this 0-2 start to make the playoffs."

Sports analysts back in Dariopolis seem to disagree. Jon Davidson, sports columnist for the Kinstantian Herald said, "I think the Flash aren't clicking for some reason. It's like they have no chemistry out there. While it is still statistically possible for them to win it all, they have to win next week or else they are basically playing for pride."

[San Giorgio a Cremano]

Manifesto del Popolo - Supplemento Sportivo (english version - sorry for the poor lenguage)

This morning The Popular Repubblic of San Giorgio a Cremano is wake up with the great news of the 1th Fagianos winner in this World Bowl IX with a good 14-10 vs Accadianne on the friendly groumd of the Stadio del Popolo of Che Guevara City.
The more than 60000 supporters of Fagianos saw a very beautifull match the 1th played at home for our team in the story and all the flag of San Giorgio was weved by them.
this winner is the revenge after the match lose in BOI that kick out from the competition our heroes in the quarter of final.
MVP of the match is appointed our young quaterback Pasquale Fusco.
Thanks to 2 great passages of the 22y.o. our team signed the 2 touchdown with a great run of the 19y.o. SCHMUTZ (naturalized by Qazox) , the 1th in the 1th quart, and a spettacoular grabbed by Davide Urgo, the other 19y.o. in the last quart, when Fagianos was under of 3 points.
Both the touchdown was processed by the same Fusco.
We remember that this players are all young and they will play in the 1th championship othat will be organized in San Giorgio at the end of this competition and the team are looking for same expert players from other country.
The other results of our group in the 2nd day of match: Unified Beretania vs. Qazox 11-21
The Fanboyists vs. Daschwich 45-20
Secristan vs. Andrewboy 35-24

The tables after 2 match is:

GROUP E W-L .Pct PtF PtA PtD
Secristan 2-0 1.000 58 41 +17
Qazox 2-0 1.000 55 38 +17
Vephrall 1-0 1.000 26 21 +5
San Giorgio 1-0 1.000 14 11 +3
The Fanboyists 1-1 .500 62 47 +15
Unified Beretania 1-1 .500 27 21 +6
Acadianne 0-2 .000 48 37 -11
Andrewboy 0-2 .000 45 61 -16
Daschwich 0-2 .000 20 61 -41

The next match wiull be play by our boys today at Vephralla against a team realy strong that won the 1th match 26-21 against Andrewboy and bypassed the 2nd day match.
The direct of the match on 1th Tv Channel
Go go Fagianos!!!!

[The Fanboyists]

Vols Run and Pass Past Dashwich, 45-20

Many people were worried about Maarkus Daalhulm's debut: would he flourish or fade in a high-stress scenario? Would he be accurate enough, or miss more often than not? Would he be useful?

Those fears proved baseless yesterday as Daalhulm led the Volunteers past Dashwich with an easy 45-20 win. In the process, Daalhulm passed for 247 yards and 3 touchdowns, and rushed for another 38 yards. Haanryk Stahlburg and Gaaruut Fulvshundlur also stepped up to fill the gap left by James McCallum and Eric Anderson easily, rushing for 142 yards and 128 yards respectively, and each earning two touchdowns (Stahlburg once on the ground and once on a screen, Fulvshundler on the ground twice). Even the defense got a score: Honorious Waalturs picked off a botched shovel pass and returned it for a touchdown, and Danny Rickenbacher and Theodur Laansur combined on a sack in the endzone, one of 12 sacks forced by the Volunteer's defense on the unwitting Dashwichians. Julie Marshal and Artie White tallied two and one interceptions respectively.

The only real weakpoint of the team was on Special Teams, where they allowed two kick-offs to be returned for touchdowns, after penalties were declined ("We'll just get the ball back, and we can beat 'em all over again. I mean really, its not like Qazox where it actually matters," Coach Vaalburger said about those potential call-backs on the special-teams scores).

The game started with Dashwich getting the ball (because they Vols tend to defer in these situations) and they got off to a quick start by returning the opening kick for a touchdown, after a block-in-the-back penalty was declined (Vaalburger, unfazed, noted that they "should just let 'em have their fun. We'll knock 'em out right quick"). Easy PAT. 7-0, Dashwich.

At the replying kick-off, Charlie Lee bungled the catch, and Dashwich was able to recover the ball at the Vols' 21-yard line. That set them up for a quick pass into the endzone, which was easily picked off by Julie Marshal as she skulked in the utter cluster-fuck of recievers, easily snatching it and taking a knee.

From there, the Volunteers ran the ball repeatedly until reaching their own 41-yard-line, at which point Haanryk Stahlburg broke one open, running 59 yards for the touchdown. Rather than simply take the PAT, the Vols went more aggressively, with Maarkus Daalhulm throwing his first pass as a professional, easily converting the 2-pointer. 8-7, Volunteers.

This time, it was Dashwich returned the ball again, taking it to the house, because clearly the Vols' special teams didn't get the message the first time. PAT made. 14-8, Dashwich.

This time, Lee returned the ball safely to the 24-yard line. Daalhulm took over from there.

And what a drive it was: in less than a minute, 76 yards were traversed in 5 plays. A 21-yarder to Willy Theodore. 24 yards to Eric Drake. 16 yards to Mikel Dunn. A 15-yarder to Theodore again for the touchdown. Demirici made the kick easily. 15-14, Vols. End of the first quarter.

The second quarter started with the kick off being returned to the Vols' 43-yard line. A three-and-out left Dashwich barely making a ridiculously long field-goal (which nearly bounced off the bottom of the post). 17-15, Dashwich. Dashwich had the lead, but had lost their momentum.

The ensuing kick-off was returned to the Vols' 48-yard line. 14- and 21- yard runs by Fulvshundlur. 17 yard screen to Stahlburg. Touchdown. Easy PAT. 22-17, Volunteers.

Dashwich managed to return the following kick no further than their 19. A quick three-and-out followed, allowing the Vols to run the clock out on the half, with the lead and getting the ball back after half-time.

Get the ball back they did, this time returning the kick to the 38-yard-line. Rushes by Stahlburg and Fulvshundlur for a total of 21 and 18 yards respectively, followed by an easy-over-the-shoulder touchdown reception by Theodore that resulted in a touchdown. Phillipa made another easy chip-shot PAT. 29-17, Vols.

This time, Demirici placed the kick very well, and the team prevented any type of return, leaving it downed at the 3-yard line. A quick sack by Danny Rickenbacker resulted in a safety. 31-17, Volunteers.

Getting the ball back, Julie Marshal downed the ball at the 32 with a fair catch. Fulvshundlur and Stahlburg ran most of the way down the field, with a few passes to Drake and Theodore. However, it was Fulvshundlur, now taking most of the handoffs, who found the endzone on a 22-yard run. Easy PAT once again. 38-17, Vols.

Kick-off downed at the 18-yard line. End of the third quarter.

This time, Dashwich made it all the way back to their own 45-yard line. Then, on what should have been an easy shovel pass, the reciever bungled the catch, and defensive end Honorious Waalturs simply ripped it from his grip, registering his first career interception. He then burst through the line, and, picking up a block, ran back all 45 yards to the endzone. Touchdown. Routine PAT. 45-17, Volunteers.

Dashwich tried again, on another drive, but stalled, kicking another field goal. On the ensuing kick-off, Marshal deliberately downed the ball at the 12 yard line with a fair catch. Fulvshundlur and Stahlburg, along with Rickenbacher and Quinn, ran out the clock. Final score: 45-20, Volunteers.

Ultimately, Haanryk Stahlburg gained 184 all-purpose yards and had two touchdowns (one rushing, one recieving), while Gaaruut Fulvshundlur tallied 132 rushing yards and a touchdown, and Willy Theodore caught 8 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns. First-time starter Maarkus Daalhulm passed for 247 yards and three touchdowns. Defensive end Honorious Waalturs had an interception returned for a touchdown, Julie Marshal had two interceptions, Artie White had one interception of his own, and Danny Rickenbacher recorded a safety. Dashwich went through three quarterbacks in one night, the first two (the starter and his backup) both leaving the field with injuries: the starter with an injury to his shoulder, the backup apparently with a concussion. Injuries also plagued Dashwich's defensive line as they were pulped by the running game.

Dashwich's starting left tackle was injured prior to the game by a hurled beer bottle. Apparently from a pre-game barfight. Fancy that.

The Volunteers' next game is against Qazox, this time in Thomasburg. This will be a big game, so be sure to tune in!

Go Vols!

[F1-Insanity]

Another poor performance, but Mulcaheys win again
Vistoria vs. F1-Insanity 14-17 OT

The F1-Insanity Mulcaheys are 2-0 in their debut World Bowl, but you wouldn't say that if you had seen them play in the first two games. Just like the first narrow victory against Bavin, today F1-Insanity's passing game was a complete shambles, with quarterback Damon Mable completing just 11 out of 34 passing attempts, with 2 interceptions. But fortunately, just like in the first game against Bavin, the Mulcaheys poor play was matched by that of their opponents, Vistoria. Just two touchdowns each in regular time, and the Mulcaheys got lucky and won the toss in overtime and scored a 45 yard field goal on the first drive.

Coach Massey's post game comments: "Well, what can I say, we played poorly again, so did our opponents today, and winning an overtime toss may well have made the difference. Before the start of our next game, both coordinators, myself, our quarterback and our receivers will discuss what is wrong with our passing game. Do we need to play a bit less agressively? Perhaps, stronger opponents are coming up so taking risk like we have so far might just backfire spectacularly. Rest assured we will leave no possibility undiscussed and unpractised in order to improve our passing game. Our running game is slighty better, and fortunately, our defense is holding up fine so far."

To suggestions that quarterback Damon Mable ought to be rested, Massey said: "Rubbish, just because a guy has two poor games don't mean you send him home in disgrace. The whole offense apart from our runners is misfiring, not just the offense leader.

Massey further commented that he was proud of the 2-0 record, this combined with a 7-1 record in the Baptism of Iron puts the Mulcaheys' record in international gridiron at a fantastic 9-1, meaning that no matter what happens in the remaining World Bowl group games, the Mulcaheys will have a winning record.

After the next two away games, there are four home games coming up, the Mulcahey fans are looking forward to help the team intimidate the opposition by making lots of noise in the stand. An attempt will be made to break the noise record in the stadium. Will it help? If it doesn't, it won't hurt, said the president of the F1-Insanity Mulcaheys Fans Club.

But first our next game, against Whittoria, who have started 1-1. This is going to be our most difficult game so far, said head coach Massey, if our passing doesn't improve, it will be very difficult indeed to stand even a chance. Somewhat more conservative play may be called for. Though we will never give up on a bold play every now and then.

The game, like all others, will be broadcasted live by F1-Insanity Sports Network. A viewer record is expected tonight.

Let's go Mulcaheys! And let's go get some lasagna!

[Free Austin]

HandEggNews
The Most Popular Football/Wholesale Chicken Portion News Aggregator In Free Austin™

Match Report

Free Austin succumbed at home as the powerful Dancougar side engineered a great fourth quarter comeback. The Explosions had brought the fans at the packed out Christopher Cooper Stadium to their feet by half time, with a shock 14-0 lead, and kicker Paula Paolini added a 20 yard field goal on the first drive after the break to set up what looked like an insurmountable margin. But, rallied by the noisy Black Wing Brigade who'd made the journey to One Big Island, the favorites climbed back to crush Austinite hopes of an upset victory to start their World Bowl campaign.

Picking up ay 17-0, Dancougar spent over 8 minutes on the ball before being forced to kick for goal from the 33, only to see Joe Sumeragi's effort drift wide left. But they caught a break thereafter, when Eric Schoenman stripped the ball from Shaquil Schulz. The ball slid way back and was recovered by Lamarr Vincent, but he couldn't take the ball from the 3. After hurling a 45 yard bomb incomplete, Carlson Toth risked a swing pass to Washington Withrow, who was leveled in the endzone for a safety by teenage end Jeremy Kronenberg.

The first points on the board gave the Black Wings some life, and after Jack Miller buried the safety kick at the 8, Brady Abramovich put together the longest scoring drive of the night, a 92 yard sequence that culminated at the beginning of the fourth quarter with Stanley Jarnutowski rolling over from 1 yard out. They opted for the safe PAT option to leave an 8 point deficit, and nervous energy began to crackle through the Explosions supporters in the crowd.

Miller put his best kick return of the night from the kickoff, running it back 59 yards before being brought down by Sumeragi, who left the field clutching his chest in agony and played no further part in the game. Losing their firstline kicker made little odds to Dancougar, however, when they found themselves in field goal range on the next sequence after Johnny Sinatra picked off a Toth pass to Vincent and ran it back 20 yards: on fourth down, up stepped replacement Lewis Cachette, who kicked a game long field goal of 58 yards.

Now on the backfoot, Free Austin gave up 14 yards on their play from kickoff, one sack and one tackle for loss driving Toth back to the 6. Miklin ran zone blitz after zone blitz all night, and once again the Austinite offensive line folded: Charlie Stanislaw picked up the run play and hit Withrow with some force, the ball flying free and being recovered for a touchdown by Kevin DiAquino. Cachette kicked the extra point, and with a little over 9 minutes on the clock the home team found themselves behind for the first time, 19-17.

After exchanging punts - including a 79 yard wallop from Miller that proved conclusively his leg strength hasn't faded - the teams settled down for what turned out to the decisive series. Christian Waterman put 30 YAC on a 13 yard strike, van Linden ground out four more carries to finish on 120 yards from 15 for the night, and then, with both Abramovich and William Spriggins lined up in wildcat, the Dancougar offense found the game winning score, QB1 handing off to QB2 for an 18 yard pass to Strauss, who had no coverage by Jackson and dispatched Elliott with a simple hand-off to roll over for the score.

Third string quarterback Tom McConnell made two first downs but was held up on his own 32 to force a punt, and Dancougar got the crucial first down on a screen to Porter Caruthers that allowed them to kneel out the time on clock. After the game Austinipolis Mayor Ronald Urbano presented Kronenberg with the game MVP honors, including a bottle of champagne that he was too young to legally drink, for his safety, 2 sacks, and 4 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

The best news of the night for Free Austin was that Jack Miller decisively proved his fitness. He had 201 kick return yards (59 long), 83 punt return yards (including a 73 yard touchdown that opened the scoring for the night), 101 rushing yards on 16 carries, and 59 receiving yards on two receptions, including a 52 yard touchdown run from a William Buckland shovel pass. Even his punting - 386 yards (79 long) held up - leaving no doubt that, if the rest of the team can get behind him, he's ready to compete at the World Bowl level.

Sacked 5 times, William Buckland put 211 yards on the ball in the first half, half of them to Schulz, who had 6 receptions, but did not play in the second. Toth faded by comparison, and by the time McConnell was introduced Huhn must already have been mentally shuffling his depth chart. On defense, DeMarcus Esparza had two sacks, and Marqueece Martinez and Mufasa Williamson a pick each, but the defensive line looked desperately vulnerable given van Linden was not at the top of his game, and the secondary twice gave up 50+ YAC passes.

Sorry for the desperately boring match report. I'll try to think up something lighter for later.

[The Babbage Islands]

BAVIN (BPA) -- For the second straight road game, Bill Julian's "air-it-out" style paid dividends for The Babbage Islands. The Bumblebees grabbed an early lead and never looked back, beating Bavin 34-15 to move to 2-0 in World Bowl IX qualifying.

Four Babbage touchdowns came through the air, with three thrown by Kelly Flynn and one on a reverse option by Mary-Lynn Burns. Brady Manning caught two of the scoring tosses, including the Burns effort for 74 yards. Skip Montgomery and Burns herself caught the other two. Angela DiFilippo kicked two first-half field goals and four extra points.

With a 34-8 lead midway through the third quarter, Julian took the opportunity to get reserves some playing time. However, the coach sounded one note of caution. "Our defence against the run is a bit chippy. Max Hope took it to us in the opener, and both Bavin's touchdowns tonight came on the ground. If this keeps up we may need to realign." But he was smiling as he said it.

The Babbage eleven now move on to Vistoria, followed by Whittoria, before getting to their home opener. They lead their qualifying group after two of nine rounds (eight games).

Code: Select all

TBI Game 2
The Babbage Islands  10 17  7  0  -  34
Bavin                 0  8  7  0  -  15

[Bluth Corporation]

It looked like the team's renewed focus paid off, at least for its opening game, as the Bluth Corporation team crushed tournament newcomers Ceruleo 45-11. Ceruleo took an early lead, but that was due to a fluke on the first play of the game as cornerback Sean Slade tripped over his own shoelaces, allowing the Ceruleoese wide receiver to get all the way down to the Bluth 22 before Chaz Livermore was able to catch up and tackle him. The Bluth Corporation defense stiffened after that, holding Ceruleo to a field goal early before taking the lead--and never looking back--on a quick strike from Cain Wells to TE Kyler Hayes.

From then on, it was a display of aerial firepower from the Bluth Corporation offense, and aggressive attacking from the Bluth Corporation Defense. While the defense wasn't able to score, it did create turnovers that enabled the offense to put up 45 unanswered points, including three touchdowns in the second quarter and four touchdown passes from starting QB Cain Wells, as well as seven points after the second-string offense took the field, thanks to an 8-yard strike from Henry Weber to TE Cliff Rodgers.

Aside from the initial field goal, Ceruleo's only points came late in garbage time, on a 17-yard pass followed by a successful conversion attempt--well after the second-string defense had taken the field in prevent mode.

Head coach Arthur Miller, when asked after the game what his team had done to prepare for an unknown opponent, said, "We didn't prepare for our opponent. Like you said, they were unknown...we didn't know a thing about them, so we had no clue what to prepare for. So this week, we didn't worry about any fancy schemes or trick plays, nothing like that. We just worked on playing good, solid football, and come game time we just played better football than they did. Had nothing to do with strategy and everything to do with getting out on the field and making plays."

After taking advantage of an early bye--some might say too early--the Bluth Corporation team will prepare for a game against another newcomer, German Zerabithea. The Zerabitheans look to be a stronger challenge, though, having won their first international game in the tournament.

SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST QUARTER:
CE: 34-yard kick
BC: Wells 34-yard pass to Hayes (Shipley kick)

SECOND QUARTER:
BC: Wells 7-yard pass to Anthis (Shipley kick)
BC: Williams 2-yard run (Shipley kick)
BC: Wells 92-yard pass to Winters (Shipley kick)

THIRD QUARTER:
BC: Wells 14-yard pass to Shade (Shipley kick)
BC: Shipley 48-yard kick

FOURTH QUARTER:
BC: Weber 8-yard pass to Rodgers (Shipley kick)
CE: 17-yard pass (run GOOD)

[Cassadaigua]

Katie’s Space

We know that we were fortunate in that first game against Iglesian Archipelago. It was a nice little wake up call for us, and since them some readers have asked me if we were too busy thinking about what the ceremony would be like before the game that would honor us as champions then we were in preparing for the Archipelago’s side. After all, no one really seemed to want to respect them, even though they, like others in the group have gone ahead and told the world who their players are. I think for the top four teams in this group the media simply will not permit any of loss to one of the other teams. No one has really thought about the Archipelago might be thinking about all this. The team that we played in that first game was a team that was angry about all of this group draw talk, wondering why everyone just disregarded them and they want to make a statement against us here in Concord Heights. This all while we, I must admit, were pretty emotional about the pre-game festivities. As they began to match us stride for stride, 7-0 turning 7-7, then 10-10, then 17-17, we were maybe a little jittery while they were hungry. We never trailed in the game, but boy, did we sure keep in interesting. But when the game went to overtime, we did what we needed to do, and got the winning drive for three points. End of game statistics weren’t bad for us. Lauren was 21-for-33 for 271, and I had 6 receptions for 72 yards. Danielle rushed for 107. Still the final score makes people think we played bad. I disagree. I want you to tip your cap to Iglesian Archipelago. We weren’t bad. They were good.

We made sure that there would be no game preparation issues for the game against Mahaj, and we got ready for them immediately. We didn’t know their names, and since they had their bye on matchday one (like we usually do!) it was their first game, making our challenge a little greater. We jumped out to a 10-3 and then a 17-6 lead, which is what it was at halftime, and we got rather comfortable. The defense was better and Kaitlyn Rinaldi was up to her old bag of tricks, with two interceptions in the first half. I had my first touchdown reception, receiving a 27-yard pass from Lauren while executing a post pattern from the right hash marks. Their free safety had bit to cover Lindsay Privitt, so all I really had to worry about was the corner, and I had a step on him. I caught the ball at the 7 and pretty easily took it into the end zone. If I needed to run 70 yards for a touchdown after catching this pass, I would have been able to do that as well. The third quarter was strong as well as we extended the lead to 27-9, I had two more receptions here but Lauren was the story with her efficiency. We all knew she was on some kind of streak, and the stat freaks tell me that she had thrown 11 straight completions to start the second half. Lindsay Privitt caught the TD pass. In the fourth, we added another as Danielle Regan got one on the ground. A great effort all around. I caught 9 passes for 135 yards and a TD, and Lauren was 24-for-35 for 319 and 3 TD passes. That’s a little more like it!

Next up for us is Delaclava at home and it should be a great game. This will be the first meeting between “big four” teams within the group, and I know you will be out there to support us at full throat. We have not forgotten that it was them as the only team that defeated us in a game during World Bowl 8 and we know that they have not forgotten that either. I would expect that a lot of TV’s across the world will want to catch some of the game. They are 2-0 also, having beaten Iglesian Archipelago 28-24. In that match, Delaclava is probably accused of almost choking when deep down a good Archipelago team probably played their hearts out again.

[Sarzonia]

Sarzonia national gridball coach Gregg Williams wanted to send a message to his team after the locker room fracas the previous night. He wanted to make sure that the grumblings of sexual orientation-related intolerance were unacceptable in a country founded by an openly gay man and currently being led by one.

Consider that message sent.

Defensive end Ryan Clack was suspended indefinitely for "conduct detrimental to the team" prior to Sarzonia's 27-3 victory over Docky. Williams would not elaborate on the punishment, only saying "it's an internal matter."

However, information obtained as the result of a Sarzonian Open Records Act request revealed the nature of the offence. Clack was suspended for making several homophobic comments about Tocrowkian quarterback Markus Kash. He also got into a scuffle with quarterback Gavin Davis, who punched Clack after the defensive end made an anti-gay remark toward him.

Williams declined comment when he was informed of the Open Records Act request. However, quarterback Gavin Davis, who was not suspended for his role in the fracas.

"I spoke with coach Williams afterward," Davis said. "He told me he'd fine me a nominal amount, but that Clack would pay for his comments."

Clack declined comment on the matter, referring reporters to his attorney. His attorney simply said he would ask the Sarzonian Gridball Players Association to file an appeal with the Incorporated Gridball Alliance, the sport's governing body in Sarzonia.

"Mr. Clack deserves due process of law," Clack's attorney Ned Byrum said. "He does not deserve a heat of the moment penalty for his actions."

Reserve defensive lineman Vernon Singletary started in Clack's place and the team looked as if it didn't miss a beat. Singletary made five tackles, including two for a loss and consistently collapsed the Docky pocket. Docky could only muster a field goal with 8:46 remaining in the fourth quarter with their team down 20-0.

As for Davis, he completed 13 of 21 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown before giving way to backup quarterback Ryan Matthews. Running back LoQuan Willard had the biggest game for the Stars (2-0), rushing 21 times for 152 yards and two touchdowns.

"We definitely seem to be taking to this new offensive philosophy," Matthews said of the offense being called by new coordinator Mark Rypien. "Now, teams aren't going to know what we're going to do and when we're going to do it."

[Osarius]

Martin Connors was eating breakfast, reading his newspaper at home, as he did almost every morning. He was a very simple man, really. He ate breakfast, walked the dog, did typical things. Nothing special about him really, besides his job. Today he allowed his coffee to go cold. Something had surprised him in the sports pages, so he had read a bit more intently than normal. The news reports were surprisingly kind to Osarius. Reporting on their defeat at the hands of Tocrowkia, the media had actually complimented the team's potency on offense.

"Leon Saint didn't have a standout game but he finished 16 of 29 for 256 yards, and threw two touchdown passes against a strong Tocrowkian side. Not something to be sniffed at. There are still a few things that need tweaking with the Firebirds' offense, though. Poor blocking made it difficult for Simpson to make the most of his 23 carries, and Ashley Hart was spotted fluffing his routes a couple of times. Overall the performance was solid, though, giving their opponents a tough game, and one they will doubtless be thankful to have won."

Okay, so it wasn't raving, but still. Of course they still had a long way to go before they would be challenging the likes of Dancougar and Cassadaigua, but this was progress. The media, at least, felt that his relatively inexperienced side had fared well against the highest ranked team in their World Bowl group. This was good progress, considering how early they had exited the last one. Leon had come on even more since then, and it was as if he had elevated the level of the rest of the offense in the process. The side took less risks now too, grinding more often. There was a sense of maturity that Connors had felt in the side already, and now the media seemed to agree with him.

Well... The offense anyway.

The defense were still suffering from the same problems they always did. The players simply didnt understand many of the plays properly. Too many. Reiss Ives was good at simplifying things but even he struggled to break it down for them. Sure, they got a couple sacks and even one pick, and a lot of tackles even... but at the end of the day they had yielded twenty-one points. In their first match against less experienced opposition they had yielded seventeen. That defensive issue was rearing its head again, but Connors didn't mind too much. He would leave it to Granath to instill a bit more discipline, maybe.

The phone rang.
"Honey, its Leroy!" His wife called to him from the lounge. He had refused to have a phone installed in the kitchen. 'Good timing...' he thought to himself, as he walked from the table to the phone.
"He said something about practice, are you going to miss Michael's recital?" Typical of the wife. He silenced her with his usual comment "Don't worry about it, I'll sort something out." He always did. She continued speaking as he picked up the phone, but he heard nothing.
"Leroy!" The 'phone voice' came into effect. "What can I do for you?"
"Marty, we have to sort out this defensive problem. If we continue our talk from last ni-"
Connors cut him off "Sorry, Leroy, let me stop you there. The guys played a game just yesterday. Give them a day's rest at least."
"Marty you know we can't let them relax! This is too important! The pride of the nation is at stake here!" Granath jabbered back excitedly. Connors kind of phased him out when he ranted about patriotism and national pride. It was ironic really, given that Granath wasn't even Osarian. Must be all that Navy experience.
"Marty?" Granath's voice jolted Connors back from his mental digressions.
"Yeah."
"So you agree that we should train again to-"
"Wait no. No no no. No." Martin Connors pressed his palm to his brow. 'Why so zealous?' He wondered. "No, Leroy, we can get them in early tomorrow but we can't have them train tonight. We can't risk over-exertion and injury."
There was a brief pause of silence. "Fine. We'll get them in early. I'll let the players know... Gloria has all their contact details, I assume?"
Gloria was Martin Connors' personal assistant and a close friend of his wife's - a pre-requisite for her hiring, funnily enough. She wasn't a fan of Granath. At all. She found him to be overbearing and aggressive, then again, so did Connors. That was why he requested he become defensive coach.

No sooner had he ended the call with Granath, did he receive another. "Can't a man eat breakfast in peace now?" He muttered as he picked up the receiver again.
"Coach?" It was Leon. Unexpected.
"Oh hey, kiddo. What's eatin' ya?" No phone voice this time.
"Have you seen the match report?" Leon asked him.
"Yeah sure, good news, huh?" He congratulated his quarterback... sort of. "The media are taking notice!"
"Yeah.. I guess." Leon's tone said everything. He still wasnt happy with his media standing. He'd had this problem before. Before the match against Connar Republic in the Baptism of Iron. A crisis of confidence, of sorts.
Coach Connors sighed heavily. "Kid... are we going back down that road again?"
"No, coach... its just... why are we always the underdog?"
"It suits us better. As Osarians." Leon's silence suggested confusion. "For a smart kid, you ain't too sharp sometimes, y'know?" The coach continued. "We do better when there is no pressure. This is why the millionaire is struggling lately." The millionaire being Maxi Killick. The current champion of the Osarius Combat Federation... long story short, he was a combat machine. But now everyone expected him to win with ease. His last fight had been pretty close run, and even the man himself admitted that he wasn't sure he would win. Victim of his own success.
"I guess. But still... It would be nice to be number one."
"Well.. to be the best..." He didn't need to finish his inspirational talk. Leon knew the rest. He had heard enough of these by now, surely?

Martin Connors sighed heavily as he put the phone down. 'It's like having kids all over again...'
"Honey, what time is that recital?" He called through to his wife in the kitchen. Just another day in the life, really.

[Secristan]

MILYONAIRS BEET ANDRUWBOI

Secristan improved to 2-0 in World Bowl 9 defeating the national team of Andrewboy by the score of 35-24 at Monopoly Field. Some people were a little worried about the condition of quarterback Matt Travis after he got knocked around quite a bit by The Fanboyists, but he claimed he was fine. The offensive line was worked harder then any other position over the past week because what happened last week, even though we won, could not happen again. Suffice to say, coach Scott Lampman became infuriated when on the third place from scrimmage, Travis was sacked, fumbled, and the turnover brought back for six. The crowd booed and the line got the message from the screaming coach. Travis would not be sacked again for the rest of the game. This didn’t mean he was effective early as Andrewboy rushed out to a 10-0 first quarter lead. As is always the case, wealth wins out, and in the second quarter, Secristan scored 21 unanswered points to take a comfortable lead into halftime and Travis’ efficiency played a big part in this. He threw touchdown passes to Steve Browning (13 yards) and Peter Chastain (32 yards) and Casey Stewart brought in the other on a dazzling 60-yard run. The defense smothered Andrewboy and did not allow them even a first down in the second quarter. This momentum carried into the third when Travis brought the team downfield again and threw his third touchdown pass of the game and second to Chastain (28 yards) to make it 28-10. The coin jars were rattling, and even though Andrewboy scored on their next possession, the lead seemed comfortable. Coach Lampman then moved into a ball control frame of mind, and Secristan consumed nine minutes of game clock before scoring with 8 minutes to go in the fourth quarter (a four yard run by Stewart) to go up 35-17. With most of the backups in, Andrewboy scored a meaningless touchdown with 22 seconds left to make the final be 35-24.

The Secristan Department of Sports is starting to become a little more open with us again. They were not to happy with the fact that we questioned them about the allegations that game from Newmanistan that they had bribed Qazox officials. Stephanie Madison, an SDOS bigwig, told us that, “Everyone out there knows that the SDOS is a high class organization of the utmost integrity. To have even wondered if we would do such a thing puts a stain on our reputation.” They told us that The Fanboyists game did draw great revenue, but the Andrewboy game was rather lethargic in comparison. The Millionaires have the next matchweek off, and will next be opposed by San Giorgio a Cremano.

[Kinstantia]

Battle Of The Unfeated

The Kinstantia Flash travel to Mount Kip for tonights must-win game. Starting 0-2 has put the Flash in a much disappointing position. Yet, our opponents tonight are also on the same rope. Mount Kip has also lost their first two games and are just as desperate as the Flash to regain their footing.

Flash Wide Receiver Pete Grainger spoke about tonights game to reporters at a press conference. "It's do or die time. We have to win tonight, or face the possibility of being eliminated from a chance at the playoffs early."

The Flash, who were dealt an unfortunate hand by playing their first 4 games on the road, are practicing new plays for tonights game. Chad Graves spoke to this earlier, "Sometimes you have to abandon your game plan and formulate another one when it seems to be falling apart."

[Taeshan]

"Hey coach i got to admit the new running style worked today. 44-16 victory, and Max Hope carried the ball 25 times for 209 yards, that was really good. Gabe Martin got 70 as well, and Jeremi Johnson 17. Hope had 4 touchdowns. 1 on the defensive side. And you got it done in the air as well with 210 yards from Martin. And ricky Zellefrow and Ocho cinco hauled in Td's, and both teams ended the game with defensive stalemates and evnetual Safeties. But you played Liberatarian Governance. You will need to do better if you hope to win the group."

"I realise that, but even against the worst of teams you can only have the ball and score so much. We did good out there and the guys should be proud of their hard work. We should be able to win a lot more if we can run and pass."

[Dancougar]

Sidney Goldman's Gold Rush
A Woohoo! Sports Exclusive

Black Wing fans were expected to have a few close calls during qualifying for World Bowl IX, but few probably suspected that Free Austin would be among those providing one. A boisterous Austinite crowd saw their gridiron heroes hold the former champs scoreless for nearly three quarters before collapsing completely, losing 26-17 in heartbreaking fashion. At a time when they could have folded, Tom Miklin instead rallied his troops and the defense owned the second half, producing 16 points and multiple turnovers to revitalize the team.

It was a game in which Dancougar were lacking on special teams and, for most of the night, their bread-and-butter running game produced little to write home about. But now they've shown that they can stick around for an hour and produce their own luck. "We didn't quit," said defensive end Jeremy Kronenberg, who was tabbed as the player of the game for his merciless forays into the Austinite backfield. "Coach never gave up on us and we finally overpowered them."

It went all wrong from the start after the Wings punted to Jack Miller and he returned it 73 yards for a touchdown, whipping the home crowd into a frenzy. Miller, whose journey back to game-fitness is a story in itself, lived up to his billing by breaking an arm tackle attempted by Donny Gaucher and then outrunning everyone for the score. Dancougar's response was to drive to midfield and punt. The punt-fest began. Dancougar's defense remained at the top of its game, but Miller found ways to terrorize the team anyway, courtesy of his booming punts.

Miklin tried to play aggressively early by putting the ball in Brady Abramovich's hands as the defense focused on stopping William van Linden. Things looked good at first, with Abramovich putting the ball on the Free Austin 15-yard line after Christian Waterman turned a quick slant into a 63-yard gain. It was one of two massive plays on the day for Waterman, but he was unable to haul in a score. Abramovich targeted Waterman on the next play and it was sniffed out by LaDontaine May, who jumped the route.

"They're described as rejects, which makes me wonder how high the quality of football really is in Free Austin," said Abramovich, who threw two interceptions in the game.

The Wings still hammered away, and midway through the second quarter, they were threatening to tie the game after a 44-yard run by van Linden put them in the red zone. Abramovich was picked again, though, as he tried to find tight end Stan Perrota and ended up throwing it into the arms of linebacker LaBron Liberty. That led to Free Austin's second score of the night, a 52-yard catch-and-run by Miller. The two-point conversion failed to keep the score manageable at 14-0.

"When you miss opportunities like that, you make life difficult for yourself," said Miklin, who so far has shown an inescapable grasp of the obvious. "We needed to come up with an answer for Miller. We didn't have one in the first half."

Just before halftime, Dancougar had a chance to get on the board, but Joe Sumeragi missed a 45-yard field goal to maintain the two-touchdown deficit. Free Austin answered by converting a field goal to start the second half. It was at that point that the Wings started to put together one of their trademark long drives. With van Linden wearing down the offensive line and Abramovich keeping the defense honest with an array of short passes, the Wings ate eight minutes of the clock and once again entered the red zone. An untimely holding penalty helped kill the drive and Sumeragi missed another field goal.

Moments later, all was forgiven. Somewhat. A personal foul moved the ball back to the Free Austin 18, and on the next play, Eric Schoenman blasted Shaquil Schulz and jarred the ball loose. A mad scramble for the ball ended with Lamarr Vincent falling on it at the 3-yard line. Miklin, smelling blood, sent the house and nearly saw Carlson Toth burn them with a long pass which fell incomplete. On the next play, Kronenberg produced a safety that put the Wings on the board at last.

Toth's arrival in the game appeared to be an unfortunate effect of the Austinite scramble to assemble a team. Too many players weren't at full fitness and couldn't play the entire hour, and that helped the Wings reestablish some momentum. Abramovich put together a 92-yard touchdown drive on the ensuing possession to make it 17-9. The drive featured another huge pass, a 70-yarder to Waterman, as the Austinite secondary got burned playing too close to the line of scrimmage.

"We needed to flex some muscle in the air, and I think we were able to do that tonight," said Abramovich. "[Van Linden] set the table by drawing the defense up."

Miller, however, was not yet finished. He threatened to break another return for a touchdown, finding the edge on the ensuing kickoff and carrying it into Dancougar territory before being dragged down by Sumeragi. But Sumeragi was injured on the play as he tried to wrestle the powerful Miller to the ground and instead managed to pull the returner down on himself. Although the injury could have demoralized the Wings, the team continued its comeback without missing a step. Johnny Sinatra picked off Toth and backup kicker Lewis Cachette blasted a 58-yard field goal to pull the score to 17-12.

"We brought [Cachette] in for situations like these, and he's our kicker for the next few games," said Miklin. Sumeragi was diagnosed with a cracked rib by team doctors and is expected to be out until at least the Week 6 game with Rennidan.

The comeback was completed on the following drive, as runningback Washington Withrow fumbled after a hard hit by Charlie Stanislaw. Kevin DiAquino returned the ball a few yards for the score and the Wings had their first lead of the night, 19-17. The stadium had grown eerily silent throughout the fourth quarter save for the pack of Black Wing fans lustily twirling their Horrible Hand-Towels behind the Dancougar bench.

Now in a position to put the game away, the Wings went with a new look that has interesting implications for the future. Backup quarterback William Spriggins occasionally entered the game as a wide receiver throughout the night, and with a touchdown drive in the works, Spriggins motioned into the backfield to join Abramovich and van Linden. Dubbed the "Wild Wing" formation, Spriggins had the option to run or pass. He found Dwight Strauss wide open across the middle for an 18-yard strike to put the game out of each. The Dancougar defense continued its quarter-long dominance, and while Miller's foot once again pinned the Wings deep in their own end, a few plays and a first down put them in a position to run down the clock.

Although the Black Wing comeback was an incredible confidence-booster and helped Miklin earn some swagger, the fact remains that it only came after much of the Austinite first team had been pulled for various reasons. Miller remained a thorn in their side all night, and had his offensive line not played so poorly, he might have run circles around the Black Wing defense. William Buckland also threw for over 200 yards in the first half alone, with only a few timely incompletions keeping the Austinites from putting more points on the board.

Despite the result, the game serves an important purpose for both teams. For the Austinite team, it's a verification that their players are still capable of competing at the highest level, and a little conditioning will take them a long way. The Wings, meanwhile, have learned what they will need to do in order to produce results on the field, and it's a lesson they'll do well to build on against Sibirsky.

You're hot 'cause you're fly...

1. The Dagans rolled Maraj 34-9 as quarterback Lauren Hamilton hit a serious groove, throwing for 319 yards and three scores to bounce back from a tough early test against the Iglesian Archipelago. The Archies played another close game, too, losing 28-24 to Delaclava. We're only two weeks into qualification, but Group C is looking exactly how we expected it would, and the first team to blink may be the odd one out. Cassadaigua and Delaclava will have a chance to be that team, as their budding rivalry is merely one storyline as the two tackle each other next week.

2. Taeshan is racking up points and week 2 victims Libertarian Governance were crushed 44-16 behind Max Hope's 209 rushing yards and Gabe Martin's 210 passing. What did I say about balance? Although the media was at first aghast at the shirt towards the running game, they've come around thanks to the results, and the Falcons may very well have discovered a star that can push them to the next level. The quest to regain the glory won in World Bowl 0 has long plagued this bunch.

3. Dancougar weren't the only comeback kids in Group B, as the Fujisawan Territories climbed back from a similar 17-point deficit against Oberour Ar Moro. Just as the Wings won their game with a massive momentum swing courtesy of the defense, an interception return paved the way for Kasmo Jit's 62-yard touchdown pass to Oribaha Hini which tied their game at 30-30, and from there they showed exactly what it takes to be a great team. A patient offense put two field goals on the board, and a disciplined defense made up for earlier miscues.

... and you ain't 'cause you're not!

1. Kinstantia have a player in quarterback Chad Graves, and while three interceptions in two games haven't helped the cause, that alone isn't going to bury any team. The inability to stop the run might. The Krytenias got over 200 rushing yards in their 31-17 victory, which drops the newcomers to 0-2. Although it's still too early to raise the white flag, another loss might put the playoffs out of reach.

2. Sarzonian defensive end Ryan Clack is heading home after two games, and it has nothing to do with his performance on the field. Rather, it has everything to do with what he's been saying off of it. Anti-gay remarks have landed him in hot water with coach Gregg Williams, who has suspended Clack for "conduct detrimental to the team" and has sparked a legal fracas. While Clack may have every right to his opinion, the resulting public relations firestorm could distract the team from taking care of business in the Group of Death, and that might be enough to justify Williams' actions.

3. Ceruleo were hammered 45-11 by Bluth Corporation to fall to 0-2 with a -42 point differential; only our group's Alpha-land has it worse. Ceruleo's only touchdown drive came in garbage time against the second-string Bluth defense, and an early field goal was made possible by a defensive blunder. Sean Slade tripped over himself to leave a receiver wide open for a long catch-and-run, but with Bluth rattling off 45 unanswered points, all was forgiven. The Ceruleo secondary, in particular, was victimized by Cain Wells and Henry Weber, which immediately suggests where the work starts this week in practice.

[German Zerabithea]

This is the ZSN here after the Pandas victory against Chetssaland 16-7! And now as we promised we have Nate Godfree with an interview with the new head coach of the team Robert Garbongo. Nate?

Nate: Thanks, so Robert are you happy about your first win with this team? Especially since last year the Pandas won not one game.

Robert: Well Nate, while im pleased (for the most part) with the teams performance, im not doing any celebrating until we go all the way and win this.

Nate: I see.... So what do you see as the main reason for this games victory?

Robert: Well, I think one of the reasons is the new QB Gonso Shoemaker, he is new, fresh, and he knows what he is doing out there and how to do it.

Nate What about your kicker Glate Miller who only made one field goal kick out of 3?

Robert: Well this was his first game so I can't get on him too much you know? Everyone has a bad night and that one was his.

Nate: And if this continues?

Robert: "Laughs" Then ill kick his lousy butt out and get a new kicker.

Nate: Indeed, and finally what do you think your chances are against Bluth Corporation?

Robert: Well knowing ill be wiped by the owner if I don't say it, id say that we will win without a doubt "both laugh". But really I think we have a good chance of wining.

Nate: how so?

Robert: Well I can tell you that this is a different team than from last year. See I think part of the reason for last years performance was that we got in on the wrong foot. We lost both the Baptism of iron by a touchdown, and Jerry Rogers (who is now being called one of the greatest coaches in Zerabithean history) so we really went in there with a lost of heart. But im not going any time soon so Bluth Corporation better watch out.

Nate: Indeed, and that all the time we have for today.

ZSN out.

[Whittoria]

Tough Break for Whittoria

Mayors come up short despite late surge

story by Kevin Hutcherson

It was a long ride home for Whittoria after suffering the team's first loss at Barnettsville.

The game was marked by critical errors on both sides of the ball, and Barnettsville managed to capitalize on Whittoria's mistakes. Barnettsville struck first with a 23 yard TD rush on their opening drive. On the ensuing Whittoria possession Cory Lawson threw an interception for a touchdown on the third play from scrimmage, and by the end of the half Barnettsville led 17-3.

The Mayors would not go down without a fight, how ever; on the opening kickoff of the second half Jonathan Kendrick outran the coverage team and managed to use his blocks on a 97 yard touchdown return. The following kickoff was muffed by Barnettsville, and even though they recovered the ball the return man was rendered unconscious on a Jeffrey Miller hit; play was stopped while the injured player was carted off the field to applause from both sides. With the ball on their own six yard line, Barnettsville tried to run a halfback screen. But CB Chris Galloway jumped the route and intercepted the pass for an easy touchdown. A three and out on Barnettsville's next possession gave the ball to Whittoria again, and the Mayors tacked on a 43 yard field goal (courtesy of Jeffrey Miller) to tie the game up 17-17 with 5:14 to play in the 3rd quarter.

As the fourth quarter began the Mayors were driving into Barnettsville territory when disaster struck: on a 2nd and 15 play Cory Lawson threw his second pick of the game, and Barnettsville scored 2 plays later on a 48 yard pass. Whittoria got the ball back with 11:36 to play and drove down to the opposing 34 yard line before having to settle for a 51 yard field goal with 7:49 to play. But Whittoria's offense would not step onto the field again as Barnettsville would chew up the remaining time on the clock on a 61 yard drive lasting 7:36 seconds.

"You can't win with turnovers," said Coach Alex Whitt. "We made some mistakes tonight and they managed to capitalize on them. We had a good effort from our kids, but we just couldn't pull it all together.

"Special teams played great, though. Unfortunately our offense and defense sputtered. Oh well, though. You can't win 'em all. We'll learn from this. Next week is going to be a big game against F1-Insanity."

When asked about how he felt about the game with F1-Insanity Coach Whitt responded, "Well they're a very good football team. They won the BoI, and they're undefeated so far if I remember correctly. Based on how we played tonight I'd say we've got some work to do. But we'll be playing at home in Williams-Brice Stadium with one of the loudest fanbases in the world; either way it should be a great game. We'll be ready."

This will be the first matchup between the Mayors and the Mulcaheys. While F1-Insanity won the Baptism of Iron it should be noted that Whittoria was only one score away from playing the Mulcaheys in that game. This will definitely be the first big test on Whittoria's schedule.

History is on the Mayor's side, however; in recent games at Williams-Brice Stadium, The USC Gamecocks (with whom the Mayors share the stadium with) defeated the Ole Miss Rebels in a huge upset on a Thursday night, defeated a favorited Clemson team 34-17, and managed to hold then #1 Florida to just 24 points; in addition to that, the home Dorman High Cavaliers upset a heavily favored Byrnes High Rebels away squad 28-17 in the SCHSL State Championship game.

Can the Mayors keep the winning tradition alive in Williams-Brice? You'll have your answer at the end of four quarters.

[Tocrowkia]

NordicNation.net

World Bowl IX coverage

BOX SCORE

Code: Select all

      1  2  3  4   Final
TOC   7  7  7  7   21
OSA   0  7  7  3   17


The Nordics scored touchdowns in each quarter of the game. Kash threw for three of them, one each to wide receivers Mikel Westin and Noah Peukert and Tight-end Lars Kreuter. The other touchdown came on a rushing attack by Vater to cap off the game in the 4th with five minutes left on the clock. Kash again had a big game obviously, passing for 356 yards and the above mentioned touchdown passes. He did have one pick, but the Nordics defense kept it in check and did not let it result in anything. The Nordics will finally get their home opened in next weeks game, and everyone is hoping that the defense shapes up a bit.

((OOC: Sorry, strapped for time. ))