World Bowl 42 [rosters/RPs/results]

[Banija]

@AllBanijaSportsMagazine Big time loss against an energetic Bongo Johnson. They had two weeks to prepare and came out with an energy to down the Pot 1 team in the group after losing by an embarassing 55 last time out against Delaclava- they seemed ready to show the world that they were no pushovers. They bottled up Chineze, only allowing 1 TD pass and forcing 3 interceptions.

@BanijaSerpentEagles Final score of 27-14. A rough night, but two weeks to prep for a big rivalry game against the Sarzonians. #WeStayTogether #FlySerpentsFly

@BanijanGridironWeekly Some inconsistent trends for this national team. Is the team that took down Delaclava the real team? Or the team that played down to both Delaclava and BOngo Johnson, while losing thoroughly to the latter, the real team? Only time will tell, but this group remains wide open after three matchdays.

@BusukumaTourism In 2 weeks, the Sarzonia Stars will come into town. Buy your tickets now to witness the big game at the national stadium!

[HUElavia]

HUElavia National (Gridiron) Football Team

Style: +1.5
Uniforms
Endzones
Touchdown Song

Quarterbacks-
#7: Rodrigo Gomez
#13: Samuel Afonso
#16: Mateo Rodriguez

Running Backs-
#28: Marcos Perez
#30: Jaguar Silva
#35: Ken Tonegawa

Full Backs:
#31: Chadrick Moreno
#38: Norberto Teixeira

Wide Receivers:
#11: Diogo Fernandes
#12: Eric Martinez
#17: Luca Fernandez
#80: Rafael Gallegos
#88: Cornelio Correia

Tight Ends:
#81: Tomas Fonseca
#82: Gao Ling
#89: Eugenio Silva

Centers:
#60: Lenard Lambert
#65: Salvador Torres

Guards:
#62: Ajax Silva
#63: Amando Moreno
#71: Martin Sanchez
#72: Gabriel Rocha

Tackles:
#68: Didier Vincent
#69: Riel Oliver
#70: Benjamim Silva
#75: Rogelio Gomez

Nose Tackles:
#90: Eduardo Santos
#93: Lombardi Perez
#95: Artemiy Pavlov

Defensive Ends:
#78: Blas Torres
#79: Evren Smirnov
#98: Gabriel Teixeira
#99: Paulo Martinez

Linebackers:
#52: Raheem Roux
#53: Michele Marrero
#54: Julio Carvalho
#55: Dario Moreno
#56: Mikhail Sokolov
#57: Jax Lopez
#58: Pyotr Petrov

Cornerbacks:
#20: Kentaro Miyamoto
#21: Simao Amor
#24: Parker Bowman
#25: Umberto Fernandez

Free Safeties:
#22: Sergio Machado
#41: Tomas Aspas

Strong Safeties:
#23: Vincente Moretti
#42: Zhong Lao

Kicker:
#1: Francis Sanchez

Punter:
#5: Xavier Santos

Coaching Staff

Head Coach-
Fernando Ximenes Teixeira (44 Years Old)

Offensive Coordinator-
Ignacio Agramonte (40 Years Old)

Defensive Coordinator-
Robin Rousselle (45 Years Old)

Special Teams Coordinator-
Adrione Bottino (43 Years Old)

Starting Lineup:

Offense- #7 Rodrigo Gomez, #30 Jaguar Silva, #11 Diogo Fernandes, #80 Rafael Gallegos, #81 Tomas Fonseca, #60 Lenard Lambert, #62 Ajax Silva, #63 Amando Moreno, #69 Riel Oliver, #70 Benjamim Silva

Defense- #90 Eduardo Santos, #95 Artemiy Pavlov, #98 Gabriel Teixeira, #99 Paulo Martinez, #52 Raheem Roux, #54 Julio Carvalho, #56 Mikhail Sokolov, #20 Kentaro Miyamoto, #21 Simao Amor, #22 Sergio Machado, #23 Vincente Moretti

Special Teams: #1 Francis Sanchez (Kicker), #5 Xavier Santos (Punter), #88 Cornelio Correia (Kick Returner), #17 Luca Fernandez (Punt Returner)

RP Permissions
Choose my scorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: Yes.
RP injuries to my players: Yes, but nothing serious
Godmod Injuries to my players: No
Suspend my players: No
Godmod suspension events: No
Godmod other events: Yes.

[Ko-oren]

The NEW and IMPROVED Grand Slam - Ramifications

So, with the set of seven tournaments that now makes up our Grand Slam, where does that leave us and the other nations with multiple wins under their belt?

Cassadaigua, unsurprisingly, takes the five wins of the 'original' set and... is stuck on five, with no golds in rugby or handball. Now I wouldn't write this entire series of articles if I didn't believe that the Dragonfly Archipelago wouldn't look much better under a revised Grand Slam - and the Dragonfly Archipelago does look a lot better: we also get to wins in five different categories. Banija and their quick rise to fame in several sports sees them on three wins. Saintland (try not to remember the IBC final losses, or the World Bowl knockout losses, or the World Cup Round of 16 loss... you get the idea) also have three. And famous for having overzealous interns at all of their sports associations who sign up for every tournament under the sun, only to have senior management withdraw their teams for presumably boring reasons such as 'funding', 'we can't guarantee our safety in that host nation', and 'other reason; please specify', as per the withdraw forms: Sarzonia have completed three out of seven nonetheless. The Free Republics also show up with three notches, of course: much like Saintland, we've also enjoyed a fair few heartbreaking losses to them. So they've probably been good in the later stages of many tournaments.

Now, what do all five have in common? They have all won the IBC! The World Bowl has been won by all five except Banija (who are building a good talent system in the NSCF nonetheless, down with Northern Moravica and Loyola-Istria by the way). Saintland never won the World Baseball Classic.

This is the data set, by the way. Interesting how Qazox, decades since their last appearance, manages to burn our retinas again.

Now, it has to be said, we only used the modern tournaments for this. These include some rough and random cutoffs, such as losing World Cups 1-46 to time, as well as the first 11 WBCs, or the first six World Bowls.

Another interesting feature is that under the unofficial, old, and inferior version, the Handball World Cup wasn't given proper attention. It seems that our 17 nations with at least two tournament victories also failed to prioritise the sporting equivalent of trench warfare, as only two nations have ever won first place in that. With handball's rise to massive tournaments since that time, it's gotten much harder to win one if we just judge by competition size - so the golden age of signing up a few times and holding decent rank are gone. All seven of these tournaments require good talent development, some domestic system, a visionary at the national level who can prepare a haphazardly assembled group of divas for the global stage, and a coach who can get the group over the hump to the trophy.

Also note the absence of our Anaian friends. It seems that without any cricket event on the list, and lazer focus on soccer for the rest, none of the usual suspects of Starblaydia, Krytenia, Audioslavia, Osarius, or any other show up in the list. Thanks to our Anaian friends however, very few of the 17 on the list above have managed a World Cup win - it seems that those that don't diversify but put all their eggs in one basket (not basketball) can win the soccer World Cup making it very hard to balance that as a national priority with other sports.

Join us next time as we find out which nations are closest to completing the NEW and IMPROVED Grand Slam!

[South Newlandia]

South Newlandia somehow keeps the train going, blow out HUElavia

South Newlandia  17 10 21 10  58
HUElavia          3  0  7  0  10

In the first home game at Elephant Field, the South Newlandian team managed to easily beat the higher-ranked HUElavian team. By the end of the first half, they were already ahead by 24 points. Stein threw for 2 touchdowns, no interceptions, before backup Lovell took over and threw for two more. The 58-point-showing was rounded out by a pair of rushing touchdowns by Holland and Read as well as three successful field goals from Corbett. The defense managed to hold the team coached by Fernando Ximenes Teixeira to just 10 points in the biggest win in South Newlandian gridiron history, with the secondary forcing a trio of turnovers (two picks and a fumble).
All of that currently puts South Newlandia ahead of the pack, with the most points per game and the best point differential after three match days. It’s not going to last – those figures are inflated by the Elephants starting with the two easiest opponents in the group. Next, the Elephants will have to visit the Ironworkers in Indianeighpolis, Karditan. They may only be 1-1 right now, but that includes a good showing against the defending champion Dragonflies and a blowout win against South Americanastan. The Elephants are going to face serious opposition, and they’re gonna lose.


South Newlandia, college football, and the World Bowl

You may already be passingly familiar with the Elephant Valley University Red Elephants, playing college ball in Celestia, currently sitting at 2-2. Now, as you know, South Newlandian gridiron is trash, but South Newlandian college gridiron is slightly less trash. Why is that? As little South Newlandian gridiron in there as possible. A Banijan coach, and only three starting spots are filled with South Newlandians. That’s how you’re not trash despite being South Newlandian gridiron – minimize the South Newlandian in the gridiron.
Because EVU is less trash than South Newlandia is at gridiron, anyone who can make it with the Red Elephants is probably on a good path to making it with the regular Elephants as well. Violet Daniels, currently the sophomore starting ROLB for the Red Elephants, is a particularly interesting case – she could be the first female player for the Elephants one day.

[Buffalostan]

MD4 cutoff

Each MD I will be offering a small prompt. These prompts are not required and there is no extra bonus for doing them compared with doing a match report or any other type of RP; they’re simply there because, with a long group stage format and many tournaments competing for attention, inspiration may be running thin. Feel free to respond in whatever format you like – or ignore them entirely.

Today's cutoff is brought to you from the United World Capitol time bubble of 2116. In this time bubble, concerns over concussions and head trauma, as well as the globalization of soccer and other sports with a more international appeal, have led to handegg becoming virtually extinct. The UWC has supplied the Buffalostani team with a player, though, in the form of kicker Jaessa Kimimoto-Chávez, a former college soccer player. What is the relationship between different sports and your World Bowl team? Do you ever find kickers and punters from among the ranks of soccer players, or special teams players from the track team? Do players ever leave football for other sports? Do you have any famous multi-sport athletes?

---

Group A
Abanhfleft 23–29 Squidroidia
Equestria 6–30 New Gesem

                          Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Squidroidia               3    3   0    75   40  +35
2 Buffalostan               3    2   1    91   68  +23
3 Abanhfleft                3    2   1    72   61  +11
4 New Gesem                 4    1   3    73   90  −17
5 Equestria                 3    0   3    50  102  −52

Group B
Karditan 23–0 South Newlandia
Ko-oren 42–0 South Americanastan

  Group B                 Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Ko-oren                   3    3   0    61    3  +58
2 Karditan                  3    2   1    62   14  +48
3 South Newlandia           3    2   1    84   36  +48
4 HUElavia                  3    1   2    48  100  −52
5 South Americanastan       4    0   4    40  142 −102

Group C
Sarzonia 33–7 Bongo Johnson
Mertagne 20–32 Delaclava

  Group C                 Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Sarzonia                  3    3   0    86   54  +32
2 Banija                    3    2   1    73   69   +4
3 Delaclava                 4    2   2   147   96  +51
4 Bongo Johnson             3    1   2    44  112  −68
5 Mertagne                  3    0   3    59   78  −19

Group D
Saint Kanye 22–10 Lisander
Malandrin 6–48 Chromatika

  Group D                 Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Saint Kanye               3    3   0    72   27  +45
2 Chromatika                4    3   1    91   47  +44
3 Allamunnic States         3    2   1    82   82    0
4 Lisander                  3    0   3    33   61  −28
5 Malandrin                 3    0   3    54  115  −61

Group E
Arjunnagar 14–51 Ranoria
Tumbra 41–34 TJUN-ia

  Group E                 Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Ranoria                   3    3   0   100   34  +66
2 Tumbra                    3    3   0   118   62  +56
3 TJUN-ia                   4    2   2   124   78  +46
4 Xanneria                  3    0   3    26  104  −78
5 Arjunnagar                3    0   3    30  120  −90

Group F
Kriegiersien 17–28 Drawkland
Kohnhead 34–22 Newmanistan

  Group F                 Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Kohnhead                  3    3   0   107   35  +72
2 Newmanistan               4    3   1   127   90  +37
3 Drawkland                 3    2   1    71   54  +17
4 Kriegiersien              3    0   3    55   99  −44
5 Bollonich                 3    0   3    32  114  −82

                          Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Kohnhead                  3    3   0   107   35  +72
2 Ranoria                   3    3   0   100   34  +66
3 Ko-oren                   3    3   0    61    3  +58
4 Saint Kanye               3    3   0    72   27  +45
5 Squidroidia               3    3   0    75   40  +35
6 Sarzonia                  3    3   0    86   54  +32

1 Tumbra                    3    3   0   118   62  +56
2 Chromatika                4    3   1    91   47  +44
3 Newmanistan               4    3   1   127   90  +37
4 Karditan                  3    2   1    62   14  +48
5 Buffalostan               3    2   1    91   68  +23
6 Banija                    3    2   1    73   69   +4

1 Delaclava                 4    2   2   147   96  +51
2 South Newlandia           3    2   1    84   36  +48
------------------------------------------------------
3 TJUN-ia                   4    2   2   124   78  +46
4 Drawkland                 3    2   1    71   54  +17
5 Abanhfleft                3    2   1    72   61  +11
6 Allamunnic States         3    2   1    82   82    0

[New Gesem]

Equestria 0  3  0  3  6
New Gesem 7  7  7  9  30

World Bowl Update

I have to admit, as a sports columnist, it's still a novel experience to see those three words in conjunction with actual scores. For the past, I don't know, decade, New Gesem's hypothetical participation in the World Bowl has been the toast of the offseason, something to offset the intolerable months between the New Gesem Bowl in January and the GFL draft in April. Now it's late February and here we are discussing the World Bowl, right on schedule, but this time it's different; we have a team playing. No more hypotheticals, no more "X Says World Bowl Depends On Y" clickbait articles, just actual games of football being played by young men in New Gesem uniforms. Even the team name, the darling of many heated barroom debates, has been settled.

Anyway, enough chin-waggling, there's football to be talked. When the Rev. Lee Gibbs came on this network to recruit players from outside the GSCAA and GFL, it was a given that he was going to have to take what he could get. When the final roster was published, there was reason for optimism; some former blue-chip recruits, college standouts, and a few plain interesting players threatened to mix it up with the big dogs in the World Bowl. Unfortunately, our hype has regressed to the mean, as the Pilgrims lost their first three matches definitively, if not spectacularly, before managing a win against an Equestria side that has, to put it diplomatically, been underwhelming. Below are the summaries of the first four matches of our maiden World Bowl.

New Gesem 3-30 Squidroidia
Boy howdy. I don't know if there's something that happens on those planes that go off to these impossible places, but this team did not look like they had practiced even one time together. Though the defense put together some impressive stops, three scores in the first quarter is a tough deficit to overcome, and by the second quarter, Sota Miyamoto had found a rhythm against the secondary that saw him find the end zone three times in just over one and a half quarters of play, putting the game out of reach for the Pilgrims' limp offense. The fourth quarter saw some of the most boring football we've seen in a long time as the Pilgrims punted the ball back and forth with the Flyers' second- and third-stringers.

Buffalostan 27-17 New Gesem
Scoring touchdowns is a good way to win football games, and Shane Curry scored the PIlgrims' first following five quarters of World Bowl play, already down 14 points against the host. The team looked better than against Squidroidia, but that's a low bar to set; three touchdowns in the first half was once again too great a deficit to be overcome, even as the defense managed to keep Buffalostan from finding the end zone in the second half. A well-executed onside kick by Lindsay was squandered after Buffalostan's more-athletic kick return team managed to recover it.

Abanhfleft 27-24 New Gesem
The best game yet for the PIlgrims, but they once again fell short, marching to the end zone no fewer than three times in the fourth quarter and settling for a field goal each time. Regardless the result, this was the Pilgrims' best match to date, and demonstrated that they do in fact belong in this competition.

Equestria 6-30 New Gesem
When the two sides who have yet to win a game meet, one or the other is likely to break their streak. Through the first three matches, Equestria was the "at least we aren't them" side for New Gesem, a respectably-ranked team that has played like rank amateurs throughout the World Bowl. It isn't really a surprise that they fell to New Gesem in such decisive fashion, except that at this point we're surprised New Gesem can even win a game.

[Tumbra]

second chances
a documentary series

---

DAN WATERS
STARTING QUARTERBACK

"Pioneers. Were we, really? I suppose if you look at it from a certain point of view — yeah, we were pioneers. 4-4 in WB41, and all that. We sparked an interest in the sport, for sure. But how long did it last? After three months it seemed that everyone'd forgotten about us and gone back to watching people kick a ball around. Which, to be clear, I do enjoy from time to time — but it's not gridiron."

"But when we re-appeared on the world stage again, and went three-nil after three games? Yeah. People began sitting up, watching us again."

---

Tumbra welcomed the TJUN-ians to Gamaliel with a bit of apprehension on the side of the team. On one hand, they'd beaten Xanneria and Arjunnagar by handy margins — on the other, Xanneria and Arjunngar were hardly opponents which struck confidence in them. Xanneria would have been, but they hadn't been playing on the level of previous forays World Bowls.

Until they met Ranoria on the final day of the first half of qualifying, TJUN-ia would be the hardest opponent Tumbra would face.

But the Misfits were confident. If they were to make it to the playoffs in Buffalostan, this would be where the biggest gamechanger would be. A chance for them to break their duck, and to achieve something that had so cruelly evaded their grasp last time.

But it wouldn't be easy.

---

VINCENT KRAMER
STARTING RIGHT TACKLE

"No. We all knew the game would be hard."

"Not as hard as the Banija game, but still difficult nonetheless. At least with Banija we knew it was a lost cause. But here?"

"Here we had a chance."

---

Under the night sky, as the ball was laid carefully on the pitch for the game, John Soples and Francis Marr knew that the key to success lay through them. The Tumbran offense over the past two games had done well primarily through a passing game; now they had to play using the wings and their speed to outflank the TJUN-ians.

It worked.

---

FRANCIS MARR
STARTING WIDE RECEIVER

"Do I oil myself up before games? No. What kind of a question is that? Jesus. Thought this was meant to be a retrospective on our two World Bowl campaigns, not a session where we make unfounded accusations and make fu—"

---

JOHN SOPLES
STARTING WIDE RECEIVER

"Did Francis oil himself up before games? I guess since we're not participating in a World Bowl again, I can be honest."

"Uh, ah, no. He didn't. Francis was skillful. Slippery, yes, but a cheater? No."

---

The two wide receivers combined for a total of five touchdowns. The TJUN-ians struck back, of course — the offence scored five of their own. Going into the fourth quarter, Tumbra was trailing 32-34 to the visitors. With just four minutes left on the clock, and the team on their third down just thirty-six yards out, Tumbra knew this would be their last chance to have a chance this good.

---

FRANCIS MARR
STARTING WIDE RECEIVER

"So I began running."

---

JOHN SOPLES
STARTING WIDE RECEIVER

"Francis caught the ball — excellent pass by Dan, it must be said — and all hell broke loose as he broke past the TJUN-ian on the left. I mean, the man's skin was practically glistening through the amount of sweat he was generating. It made him, as usual, slippery as all hell."

---

FRANCIS MARR
STARTING WIDE RECEIVER

"Yeah, I was pretty sweaty at that point in time. If you watch the game footage, it's all sweat. To be fair, I'd participated in basically every down we had by that point. So of course I was sweating like hell. Think one of the TJUN-ians basically sank his fingernails into me to try and get me to stop, but I just kept running. And running. Thirty. Twenty. Ten. It was all a blur."

---

SEBASTIAN NEUMANN
STARTING CENTER

"And we all thought — foking hell, he's going to do this, isn't he?"

---

FRANCIS MARR
STARTING WIDE RECEIVER

"At that moment, the world was just me and the ball. I'd forgotten what it was like, really. Trance. But I saw the colour of the pitch change from green to blue, and I instinctively dived onto the ground. And we were there."

---

DAN WATERS
STARTING QUARTERBACK

"Somehow I'd done it, yeah. Everyone talks about the moment Francis dived into the end zone as the moment we knew we could perhaps go all the way, but without my pass? Impossible."

"..."

"I'm only joking. It was a fantastic run by Francis. Full credit goes to him, of course. But that was the moment we all began to dream."

---

The Misfits were now ahead, with three minutes left. A quick interception gave the Tumbrans another shot — but it would prove to be the last, defining kick of the game. Instead of a fourth down, the team opted for the field goal.

---

NICK EVANS & RUDOPLH STEWART
STARTING KICKER AND HOLDER

"That's where we come in."

"Nick, it's mostly you."

"Nonsense."

---

The Misfits rarely went for field goals, even though they had a stellar team on kicks. It was part of the Misfits' strategy.

---

NICK EVANS
STARTING KICKER

"Coach mostly believed that the team would always, always try for the six. He was just that kind of person, you know? Always try to go for the maximum. But he still kept us on hold, just in case. But we knew that if he put us on, no matter where, or how, we'd find a way to score."

"Mainly because I used to play goalie for Readale. Never professionally, mind, or I would never have gone to university."

"A blessing in disguise, perhaps."

---

Twenty yards (18 metres) out and faced with a tired squad, Charlie Baker chose to send Evans and Stewart on to take that final kick. Without wind, it was taken with considerably less fanfare than there would be. But the duo still held strong.

---

NICK EVANS
STARTING KICKER

"The day I don't bang in those twenty yard frees is the day I quit sports altogether. And this one? No different. It was simple, elementary, really. There's a goal. You kick this egg thing at the goal. It's different from kicking a regular football, but not really."

---

Tumbra had done it — they'd beaten TJUN-ia, and were on the cusp of potbusting once more. Another new, bigger, and improved threat, however, stood in the Misfits' way.

The Krauts of Ranoria.

[TJUN-ia]

Final: Tumbra 41-34 TJUN-ia
BOX
Q1
TUM TD - Waters 4yd to Soples (Conversion Missed)
TUM TD - Waters 23yd to Soples (Conversion Missed)
TUM TD - Waters 12yd to Soples (Conversion Missed)

Q2
TUM TD - Waters 33yd to Marr (Evans Conversion)
TUM TD - Waters 12yd to Marr (Evans Conversion)
TJU TD - Griffin 4yd run (Chi Conversion)
TJU TD - Griffin 14yd to Valois (Conversion Missed)

Q3
TJU TD - Griffin 12yd to Valois (Chi Conversion)
TJU TD - Griffin 8yd to J. Davidson (Chi Conversion)
TJU TD - Griffin 34yd to C. Davidson (Chi Conversion)

Q4
TUM TD - Waters 36yd to Marr (Evans Conversion)
TUM FG - Evans 20yd

Pain

It never ceases to leave us, doesn't it?

Even in a sport like Gridiron, a sport we are certainly good at, the pain will never go away for this team.

Tumbra played out of their minds and now, we must pay the price for our costly mistakes.

We fall to 2-2 at the halfway point and with Ranoria on the horizon after the bye, we must, MUST, bounce back from this on the road.

If we fall a 3rd time, I don't know if we can qualify after that.

We must be perfect from here on out...but is a nation like TJUN-ia even capable of that?

Maybe, maybe not. We've gotten out of worse in other sports...

GO JAGS!

---

SCHEDULE (Group 5)
MD1: vs Ranoria (3) - Field of Dreams in The Gardens, New Washington L 20-23 (0-1)
MD2: @Xanneria (21) W 31-7 (3rd/1-1)
MD3: vs Arjunnagar (UR) - Field of Dreams in The Gardens, New Washington W 39-7 (2nd/1-1)
MD4: @Tumbra (27) - Gamaliel State University Field, Gamaliel L 34-41 (0-1)
MD5: BYE
--------------------------BREAK--------------------------
MD6: @Ranoria (3) - The Karmin-Falce Superdome, Ranoria City
MD7: vs Xanneria (21) - Field of Dreams in The Gardens, New Washington
MD8: @Arjunnagar (UR)
MD9: vs Tumbra (27) - Field of Dreams in The Gardens, New Washington
MD10: BYE

[Saint Kanye]

The St. Kanye Surge national gridiron team continue their winning ways in the World Bowl XLII group stages, dispatching the Lisanderian team 22-10 at the Pencurve Electronics Field in Kardashia, St. Kanye. The win tied up the all-time series between the two countries at 2-2. "Many of our guys were around during the two losses to Lisander [back in World Bowls XXXVIII and XXIX], so they were understandably pumped and motivated for this matchup," said Jeff Delphine, the Kanyean head coach. "I had to stop them from celebrating too much at the end though, reminding them that we're still just in the group stages and still have to face Lisander one more time, and in Lisander at that."

---

1Q STK Johns 87 kickoff return (Rasputin kick) STK 7-0
Things started off with a quick Yeezie score, as Taylor Johns returned the opening kickoff for six. Highlights of him dodging two defenders and making them collide with each other (while stiff arming a third) quickly became viral.

1Q LIS field goal K 45 STK 7-3
The visitors were able to pick off a pass later in the quarter, but the Surge defense held them to just three points on the resulting possession.

2Q STK Sherman 16 run (Rasputin kick) STK 14-3
Surge running back Noah Sherman increased his team's advantage to eleven before the half, scoring on a counter play at the red zone.

3Q LIS WR2 21 pass from QB1 (K kick) STK 14-10
Lisander cut the deficit back to four on a difficult catch in the end zone by their number two receiver.

4Q STK Jeffers 12 pass from Linetti (Linetti run) STK 22-10
A short pass from R.J. Linetti to Hussein Jeffers sealed the deal for the boys in purple and lime. Just as they did in their previous game (against Chromatika), the Kanyeans went for a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter.

The Surge are now a perfect 3-0 atop Group D, but they still have to finish the first half of the elimination round with a road game against the mighty Allamunnic States (2-1). "We hope the momentum from these three wins will help carry us through against the most accomplished side in our group," said quarterback Linetti. "We recognize their toughness, but we won't let ourselves get intimidated." In the other Group D game, the Chromatika Iron Legion (3-1) prevailed against Malandrin (0-3), annihilating them 48-6.

Here's how other World Bowl squads did in this matchday:

- The Squidroida Flyers (3-0) also kept their record spotless as they won a close one, 29-23, against the Abanhfleft Armored Revolutionaries (2-1).
- The Ko-oren Dragonflies (3-0) figured in a rare high-scoring game (for them) as they hit South Americanastan (0-4) with a forty bomb, 42-nil.
- The Sarzonia Stars (3-0) won 33-7 against Bongo Johnson (1-2) to stay atop the "Group of Death" (which also includes defending bronze medalists Delaclava and powerhouses Banija).
- A Dan Waters touchdown pass to Francis Marr and a Nick Evans field goal helped the Tumbran Misfits (3-0) get past the TJUN-ia Jags (2-2) in a tight contest, 41-34.
- The Kohnhead Brains (3-0) joined the list of undefeated teams (all listed above, including St. Kanye, and plus the Ranoria Krauts). They won by a score of 34-22 against the Newmanistan Rockets (3-1).

---

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| MD | Opponent           | Rank | Uniform       | Score   | Record | Place |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 1  | BYE                |      |               |         |        |       |
| 2  | Malandrin          | UR   | Purple/Black  | W 28-10 | 1-0    | 2nd   |
| 3  | @Chromatika        | 18   | White/Purple  | W 22-7  | 2-0    | 1st   |
| 4  | Lisander           | 33   | Purple/Purple | W 22-10 | 3-0    | 1st   |
| 5  | @Allamunnic States | 4    | White/White   |         |        |       |
|    | BREAK              |      |               |         |        |       |
| 6  | BYE                |      |               |         |        |       |
| 7  | @Malandrin         | UR   | White/White   |         |        |       |
| 8  | Chromatika         | 18   | Purple/Black  |         |        |       |
| 9  | @Lisander          | 33   | White/Purple  |         |        |       |
| 10 | Allamunnic States  | 4    | Purple/Purple |         |        |       |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Sarzonia]

"Every match is a battle," Sarzonian national gridball team interim coach Gavin Davis said when he was asked if he warned his charges about the risk of the match against Bongo Johnson being a "trap match" with it being directly between Sarzonia's matches against its archrivals.

"There's no such thing as a trap match in this group," Davis said. "Kanyean media have described this as the Group of Death. I'm inclined to agree with them."

For a coach who expressed concerns about the group earning that moniker, the match against Bongo Johnson proved to be a rare breather for a team that had played two close contests to open its World Bowl XLII play. It easily defeated Bongo Johnson 33-7 in front of a sold out crowd of 75,900 at Joe Gibbs Stadium in Woodstock to improve to 3-0 ahead of its vital first half qualifying finale against Banija at The Stadium of the Restoration. The Serpent Eagles are 2-1 while Delaclava evened their record to 2-2 with a 32-20 win over Mertagne. Sam Rosen completed 14-of-21 passes for 287 yards and a touchdown before Davis sat him after the second series of the second half. Mike Barnett completed 3-of-4 passes for 81 yards in mop-up duty.

Running back Ty'Relle Clinton rushed for 187 yards on 32 carries and two scores, including an 87-yard romp on 2nd-and-25 following a chop block against Rosen that nullified a 46-yard strike to Steve Swain. Bongo Johnson defenders seemed surprised by Clinton's speed, as they packed eight men in the box and creeped a safety closer to the line expecting him to barrel forward to give the Stars some breathing room deep in their own territory.

"What can I say, man? The o-line gave me a lot of great holes and they and Swain were able to spring me to the outside with some great blocking," Clinton said.

Rosen for his part apologised for the block and apologised to Swain for taking a deep completion off the board, saying "I should have done better at that block."

As for the Group C dynamics, Sarzonia are 3-0, but a defeat in Busukuma would drop them behind Banija for first place in the group. The Stars are approaching the contest against the Serpent Eagles as underdogs.

"We have to," Davis said. "They're a perennial powerhouse and we're still working on building our programme back to where it was before the Long Isolation."

Even if the Stars don't win the group, two teams from each group still automatically qualify for the knockout rounds in Buffalostan, plus some third-placed sides. However, Rosen said he didn't want to take chances with the group tables.

"We'd rather make sure we're in, whether it's as group champs or as runners up. Then we don't have to sweat things out."

SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter:
BONGO JOHNSON: Wallace McWallace 18 pass from Jimbo Jangles (Roberto vas Deferens kick) 13:24 (BON 7-0)
SARZONIA: Ty'Relle Clinton 3 run (Matt Vargas kick 7:36 (7-7)

Second Quarter:
SARZONIA: Clinton 87 run (Vargas kick) 14:21 (SRZ 14-7)
SARZONIA: FG Vargas 43 11:09 (SRZ 17-7)
SARZONIA: Matt Largent 44 pass from Rosen (Vargas kick) 2:29 (SRZ 24-7)

Third Quarter
SARZONIA: FG Vargas 24 9:46 (SRZ 27-7)
SARZONIA: FG Vargas 38 5:21 (SRZ 30-7)
SARZONIA: FG Vargas 59 0:00 (SRX 33-7)

Fourth Quarter
NO SCORING

Statistics
First Downs: Bongo Johnson 11; Sarzonia 28
Rushing
Bongo Johnson: Phil Toast 10-38, 1 funble lost; Sarzonia: Clinton 32-187, 2 TD; Les Creighton 2-13; Paul Edgerton 2-4
Passing
Bongo Johnson: Jangles 11-29-2, 118 yards, 1 TD, 1 lost fumble; Sarzonia: Rosen 14-21-0, 187, 1 TD; Barnett 3-4-0, 81
Receiving
Bongo Johnson: McWallace 4-49, 1 TD; Cringle McBerry 3-58; Paul Grognarkski 4-11;
Sarzonia: Steve Swain: 5-86; Largent 4-73, 1 TD; Al Langston 3-33; Marquise Harris 3-76
Sacks: Bongo Johnson 1-8; Sarzonia 8-71
Fumbles-Lost: Bongo Johnson 3-2; Sarzonia 1-0

[Ranoria]

Krauts Offense and John Garrett Make History vs. Arjunnagar Heading Into Potential Trap Game

Krauts RB Vice Jackson III galloped for 111 yards and 2 touchdowns against Arjunnagar, with 302 yards on the season

We won't bore you too much with the details of this dominant showing. The Krauts throttled Arjunnagar on every front, with quarterback John Garrett finishing the day going 22/31 for 417 yards and 5 touchdown passes. His 155.58 passer rating was just shy of a perfect mark, and in the same fashion as a week before, he would sit during the fourth quarter. His beloved backup, Jeremiah Quill, would go 2/3 for 10 yards himself while rushing four times for another 17. Between the two, they'd lead Ranoria to put up the most points they've ever managed in a World Bowl, and kicker Barry Chlorid's hip seems to have healed up nicely, as he went 7/8 on PATs with a 39 yard field goal to chip in as well.

The whole, motley crew of skill guys feasted throughout, with Vice Jackson III, Johnny Farmer, and Khalil Hauptmann all exceeding the 100 yard mark and scoring two touchdowns. Farmer would lead the squad in receptions with 8, while Hauptmann had his best game as a Kraut, with 7 catches and more than 140 yards, including a beautiful over-the shoulder grab against double coverage that saw him drive through a tackle to put 6 on the board.

Most of Jackson's damage, of course, came on the ground. Javier Gilmore kicked the can of concerns regarding his play for another week with a pair of deep receptions and a touchdown of his own.

Defensively, it was ugly. Four sacks and a pair of interceptions in an effort led, once again, by Angelo Gordon. The playmaker had only one quarterback takedown, but notched a pair of tackles for a loss and soaked up plenty of extra attention to allow Zach Skinner to feast on the other side. Arjunnagar's offensive line just simply wasn't equipped to deal with Ranoria's bread and butter, being both physically and technically outmatched.

But again - we won't bore you too much with the details in this one.

Next up we have Tumbra, a potential trap game if we ever saw one. After a lights out performance to beat TJUN-ia in a 41-34 shootout that may go down as one of the most exciting games of this tournament, they've shown that at their best, they can play with a team that took our Krauts to a 1 score contest. And coming off two absolutely dominant wins, it's possible the Ranorian National Team could get a little bit overconfident. With a combined score of 77-14 in their last two outings, we couldn't blame them. But that's what Tumbra wants.

For some reason, fans have been obsessed with the idea that Tumbra's misfit crew could upset the Krauts ever since we were drawn into their group, and frankly, they've made some good points. Going into niche internet forums or the darkest corners of twii.tur will reap a veritable cornucopia of potential gameplans that seem plausible, believe it or not. And we hate it. No doubt their diligent coaching staff will take note, and no doubt Dan Waters will be foaming at the mouth with his love of taking deep shots against our...err, yeah, we're not even going to call them questionable - bad secondary. And their own defense of course, is loaded with opportunistic players who could potentially ruin John Garrett's bid at a turnover-less season.

So, what'll it be, Krauts? The Trap Game, World Bowl 42, is upon us. Buckle in, because one way or another it's sure to be a wild ride.

Results:

Week 1: @ TJUN-ia: W 23-21
Week 2: vs Xanneria: W 26-0
Week 4: @ Arjunnagar: W 51-14

Player Stats

QB John Garrett: 59/81, 1,023 yards, 11 TD, 5 carries, 23 yards
QB Jeremiah Quill: 5/9, 29 yards, 7 carries, 30 yards
HB Vice Jackson III: 63 carries, 302 yards, 3 TD, 6 receptions, 56 yards
HB Emilio Annaise: 19 carries, 121 yards, 3 receptions, 24 yards
TE Johnny Farmer: 22 receptions, 326 yards, 4 TD
WR Khalil Hauptmann: 17 receptions, 283 yards, 4 TD
WR Calvin Hale: 9 receptions, 164 yards, 1 TD
WR Javier Gilmore: 3 receptions, 61 yards, 2 TD

ILB Ross Monarch: 28 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack
OLB Sean Morgan-Horne: 17 tackles, 1 PDef, 1 INT
DE Angelo Gordon: 16 tackles, 4 sacks, 2 TFL, 1 FF/1 FR
DE Zach Skinner: 12 tackles, 1 TFL, 3 sacks
DT Kevin Gerhart: 6 tackles, 1 sack
CB Cameron Barborosa: 9 tackles, 2 INT, 1 PDef

[Banija]

Capitol Cooking? Frustration in Banija grows over Serpent Eagles only playing in Busukuma


The overhead view of the Stadium of the Restoration, Banija's national stadium

BUSUKUMA, NATIONAL CAPITOL REGION- In many larger sporting countries, there exists a debate over where national teams play their home games. Does it make sense to play in a designated 'national stadium'? Or does it make more sense to take the team all over the country, so different parts of the country can see the national team come to their town? It's a debate that takes different forms in each country. How popular is the sport? Do they have a national stadium, usually easily accessible in a large city, that would make sense as a home? Does the national stadium hold a special place in the hearts of sports fans from that country?

It's hard to measure how this debate looks in other countries. But as we enter the third consecutive World Bowl after the Olympic Committee's decision to move all national team home games to the Stadium of the Restoration, we ask the important question- was this the right decision?

How does Banija handle this in other sports?

We're going to focus on what are called the 'grand slam' sports(although that definition is currently under heavy attack in Ko-oren), outside of hockey. That would mean baseball, gridiron, soccer, and basketball. The final 3 of which are all massively popular here at home, and the first of which is fairly popular here at home.

So, let's look at soccer. The Stadium of the Restoration, of course, is the national stadium for both soccer and gridiron. But in soccer, the Royal Banijan Soccer Association(RBSA) does not play all of the team's home games at the Stadium of the Restoration. They spread their World Cup Qualifiers and friendlies across the country. Of course, they usually play their biggest opponent on paper at the Stadium of the Restoration- and will occasionally play rivals there in friendlies. But the Kadongo Kamu, who are Banija's national soccer team, usually play at least one match in each region each cycle. They try to hit each region with a World Cup Qualifier, and they usually fall one short. When they do, that region will usually get a home friendly so we can hit everywhere. This is an arrangement generally everyone is happy with- the biggest games played at the mythical national stadium.

Also, for this sport, all sorts of finals are brought to this stadium. In recent years, the IFCF Champions League FInal has been played here, as well as the Shango-Fogoa Basin Cup Final, and it has hosted numerous international finals, the most recent of which being the AOCAF 62 Final. It has contributed to this sort of mythos in soccer for the national stadium- only big games are played here. And, by and large, that is true.

And then, let's look at basketball. There is no 'national stadium' in basketball- although Caribou Arena in Istria and the Kabaka's Court in Busukuma have both staked claims to this status, to no avail. Throughout the history of the national basketball team, the Olympic Committee has kept the Banijan national team travelling around the country. There is no real argument against this. Nobody really wants to decide between the Kabaka's Court and Caribou Arena, and there's no real reason to, as officials from either city have never really tried to make their stadium a 'national stadium'. Over the course of IBC 32, the Lions will play 8 home games in 7 different cities, only hitting Caribou Arena twice.

And then, for gridiron. The Olympic Committee has gone back and forth on this. Ever since our return to World Bowl play in World Bowl 34, we went six straight World Bowls with using the soccer strategy- taking the team around the country, ensuring everybody gets a home game. But after the outright disaster of World Bowl 38(where admittedly all games were played in the Free Republics, so national stadium choice didn't particularly matter) and the failure of us to make the knockouts in World Bowl 39, all sorts of things were looked at with this national team.

The Olympic Committee made a whole host of changes. One of them? Bringing the national team back to the Stadium of the Restoration full-time. And look, it's hard to argue with results. Ever since they made that move ahead of World Bowl XL, we haven't lost a home game in this tournament. That's a perfect 10-0 home record at the Stadium of the Restoration in World Bowls under Coach Thomas Hall. So it's hard to argue with the results on the field.

The other sport we do that with? Baseball. Baseball is quite a sport. But the stadium infrastructure across Banija is still getting built. They have played all their home games in Istria for forever, but now, with bigger stadia having finally been built across the country, many believe that WBC 52 will be the first time ever the OCB decides to take the team across the country. But that's it's own debate- but know, with the obvious best baseball field in the country in Istria, that there is really no controversy there.

So what's the problem?

One may think you could've read one line of the above- 10-0 at the Stadium of the Restoration since coach Thomas Hall was hired, and then put this article down. Why mess with what's working? If you are wondering this, then you clearly aren't into the insane fan culture we have surrounding our national gridiron team.

Everybody wants a piece of the team. The move was backed after World Bowl XL after not making the knockout stages for two tournaments in a row- everybody wanted to focus on winning. But now that the national team is winning again, those memories of World Bowls 38 and 39 are becoming more distant memories. And the wants are coming in- why can't I see the national team in my own region?

"We've played now 3 straight cycles where the Serpent Eagles have only played on Banija's south coast." Said one fan who only gave his first name, Tony. "I'm from Lwanga, we've got a nice stadium out there- why can't they come out to the middle of the country? The soccer team does it. The fans love gridiron, the fans are good fans. Why can't they be given the same respect that fans in the capitol are shown?"

People all across the country want to see the team. But the OCB"s argument is that the national stadium has served the team well since their full-time return. "Look at the raucous environments we've seen since we decided to return to the national stadium full-time. The fans love the Stadium of the Restoration, which holds mythological status among our fans. We of course are constantly trying to find ways to bring the team closer to the fans and country that loves them, and World Bowl XLIII arrangements have not been made. However, what we have now is working and we will maintain our stadium arrangements for World Bowl XLII. We hope to see another sellout crowd tonight as we take on our rivals, Sarzonia, in a battle for first place in our group."

[South Newlandia]

South Newlandia chancenlos gegen Karditan, Offense gerät völlig unter die Hufe

Karditan        10  7  6  0  23
South Newlandia  0  0  0  0   0

Die Elefanten sind zurück auf dem Level, das wir gewöhnt sind. Gegen eine starke defensive Leistung von Karditan blieb Stein und seine Offensive komplett ohne Punkte. Stein, der bereits zuletzt höchstens mittelmäßig spielte, fumblete zweimal und warf zwei Interceptions. Die Defense spielte einigermaßen gut, und erlaubte dem nach den Rankings neuntbesten Team der Welt nur 23 Punkte, aber das sind immerhin etwa 23 mehr als null. Durch die Niederlage fielen die Elefanten auf Platz drei mit zwei Siegen und einer Niederlage, und damit immer noch mitten im Kampf um die Playoffs in Buffalostan, allerdings sind als nächstes die Libellen zu Gast in South Newlandia. Die Sieger des letzten Turniers haben ihre drei Spiele gegen die anderen Teams der Gruppe gewonnen und dabei keinen einzigen Touchdown und nur drei Punkte erlaubt. Gegenüber einer schwachen Offensive von South Newlandia ist es nur schwer vollstellbar, dass die Elefanten auch nur den Hauch einer Chance haben. Trotzdem – mit den eigenen Fans im Rücken werden die Elefanten alles geben. Es wäre nicht der erste Überraschungserfolg eines Teams aus South Newlandia gegen eines aus Ko-oren – tatsächlich wäre es der dritte.

Wie kommt man eigentlich in die Playoffs? Ein Blick auf die Statistik

Im vergangenen Turnier, dem ersten in der Geschichte von South Newlandia, spielten die Teams ebenfalls in Fünfergruppen. Zwar gab es damals acht Gruppen anstatt, wie jetzt, sechs, aber man kann dennoch einiges aus den Gruppen von damals ablesen. Hier ist ein Diagramm, auf dem jeder Punkt eines der 40 WB41-Teams darstellt. Auf der x-Achse sind die Siege des Teams, auf der y-Achse das insgesamte Punkteverhältnis.

Direkt ist offensichtlich, dass Teams, die viele Punkte erzielen, auch viele Spiele gewinnen, und umgekehrt. Auch direkt sichtbar ist, dass es sehr schwer ist, alle 8 Spiele in einer Gruppe zu gewinnen. In WB41 gelang das keinem einzigen Team, und schon jetzt haben nur 7 Teams einen 3-0 Start hingelegt. Interessanter wird es, wenn wir uns ansehen, welche Teams die Playoffs erreicht haben. In grün sehen wir die Teams, die entweder erster oder zweiter in ihrer Gruppe waren und damit die Playoffs erreicht haben. In gelb sind die Teams, die als Gruppendritter die Playoffs verpassten, aber im aktuellen Format weiter wären. In rot sind die Teams zu sehen, die vierter oder fünfter wurden; in rosa sehen wir hierbei die Elefanten.
Vier Siege scheinen obligatorisch, um im aktuellen Format die Playoffs zu erreichen, und fünf sind mindestens nötig, um unter den besten zwei Teams einer Gruppe zu liegen, und auch das ist keine Garantie – wie wir an Geektopia sehen, die trotz 5-3 und über 100 Punkten mehr als ihre Gegner die Playoffs als Gruppendritter verpassten.

[Buffalostan]

MD5 cutoff

Each MD I will be offering a small prompt. These prompts are not required and there is no extra bonus for doing them compared with doing a match report or any other type of RP; they’re simply there because, with a long group stage format and many tournaments competing for attention, inspiration may be running thin. Feel free to respond in whatever format you like – or ignore them entirely.

Today's cutoff is brought to you from the Sub-Aquan Florida time bubble of 3132 and the West Atlantic Ocean time bubble of 3141. Far in the future of Buffalostan, gridiron has become unknown because of a lack of dry land to play on, caused by global warming and climate change leading to rising sea levels. On the scattered islands that remain there’s not enough room for a proper gridiron field. What’s the future of gridiron in your country? (Or the future of your country, more generally? A thousand years from now, do you think the traditions, sporting or otherwise, and conditions will be the same as they are now, or vastly different?

---

Group A
Squidroidia 53–6 Equestria
Buffalostan 23–45 Abanhfleft (scorinated by South Newlandia)

                          Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Squidroidia               4    4   0   128   46  +82
2 Abanhfleft                4    3   1   117   84  +33
3 Buffalostan               4    2   2   114  113   +1
4 New Gesem                 4    1   3    73   90  −17
5 Equestria                 4    0   4    56  155  −99

Group B
South Newlandia 13–18 Ko-oren
HUElavia 17–28 Karditan

  Group B                 Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Ko-oren                   4    4   0    79   16  +63
2 Karditan                  4    3   1    90   31  +59
3 South Newlandia           4    2   2    97   54  +43
4 HUElavia                  4    1   3    65  128  −63
5 South Americanastan       4    0   4    40  142 −102

Group C
Bongo Johnson 40–25 Mertagne
Banija 34–20 Sarzonia

  Group C                 Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Banija                    4    3   1   107   89  +18
2 Sarzonia                  4    3   1   106   88  +18
3 Delaclava                 4    2   2   147   96  +51
4 Bongo Johnson             4    2   2    84  137  −53
5 Mertagne                  4    0   4    84  118  −34

Group D
Lisander 60–17 Malandrin
Allamunnic States 13–9 Saint Kanye

  Group D                 Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Saint Kanye               4    3   1    81   40  +41
2 Chromatika                4    3   1    91   47  +44
3 Allamunnic States         4    3   1    95   91   +4
4 Lisander                  4    1   3    93   78  +15
5 Malandrin                 4    0   4    71  175 −104

Group E
Ranoria 16–14 Tumbra
Xanneria 20–0 Arjunnagar

  Group E                 Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Ranoria                   4    4   0   116   48  +68
2 Tumbra                    4    3   1   132   78  +54
3 TJUN-ia                   4    2   2   124   78  +46
4 Xanneria                  4    1   3    46  104  −58
5 Arjunnagar                4    0   4    30  140 −110

Group F
Drawkland 23–10 Kohnhead
Bollonich 13–10 Kriegiersien

  Group F                 Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Newmanistan               4    3   1   127   90  +37
2 Kohnhead                  4    3   1   117   58  +59
3 Drawkland                 4    3   1    94   64  +30
4 Bollonich                 4    1   3    45  124  −79
5 Kriegiersien              4    0   4    65  112  −47

Teams are seeded by group position, then according to the tiebreakers (wins, then points difference). Group winners are seeded 1–6, runners-up 7–12, and the top two third-placed teams 13–14. The remaining four third-placed teams will each play a play-in game (#3 v #6, #4 v #5); the winners of those games will be seeded 15–16.

                           Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
 1 Squidroidia               4    4   0   128   46  +82
 2 Ranoria                   4    4   0   116   48  +68
 3 Ko-oren                   4    4   0    79   16  +63
 4 Saint Kanye               4    3   1    81   40  +41
 5 Newmanistan               4    3   1   127   90  +37
 6 Banija                    4    3   1   107   89  +18

=7 Karditan                  4    3   1    90   31  +59
=7 Kohnhead                  4    3   1   117   58  +59
 9 Tumbra                    4    3   1   132   78  +54
10 Chromatika                4    3   1    91   47  +44
11 Abanhfleft                4    3   1   117   84  +33
12 Sarzonia                  4    3   1   106   88  +18

13 Drawkland                 4    3   1    94   64  +30
14 Allamunnic States         4    3   1    95   91   +4
-------------------------------------------------------
15 Delaclava                 4    2   2   147   96  +51
16 TJUN-ia                   4    2   2   124   78  +46
17 South Newlandia           4    2   2    97   54  +43
18 Buffalostan               4    2   2   114  113   +1

[Bollonich]

Finally a win as struggles continue in unknown sport

Gridiron had been a niche sport in Bollonich for a few decades now as there had been no attempts to improve infrastructure or increase popularity of the sport in Bollonich. However this has changed over the last few weeks as Bollonich is currently taking part in the World Bowl with half of the group stage already concluded. The team that would be participating would very much be an amateur team as professional setup was lacking owing to disinterest in the sport however the tiny Gridiron department of the Bollonischian Sports Federation has managed put together a rag tag team to take part in the World Bowl too further interest and make a mark on the world that we also know how to play ball here.
The first three games of the World Bowl had hardly gone our way as coming up against Newmanistan, Konhead and Drawkland we had suffered defeats to each of them going 3 losses out of 3 games in our first three matchups. On the fourth match day we faced Kriegiersien the pot 4 team of our group. Playing the match at the Heinz Arena in Maihar meant that supporters had arrived to support our players and given the sporting culture of our nation, irrespective of the sport we would always see supporters arrive in large numbers for any international games at home. Starting the game well we took an early lead and held onto it for the rest of the game to seal our fist international victory in Gridiron thanks to heroics from all the players but specially Otto Easom and Vicki Botwright both of whom will be extremely happy with their respective performances. In the other game of Group F, Drawkland beat Konhead 23-10 while we beat Kriegiersien 13-10. With this win all three of Newmanistan, Drawkland and Konhead currently sit at 3 wins out of 4 making grabbing a playoff spot harder for us as we would need to be in the top 4 to get at least a playoff game in Buffalostan.

[Buffalostan]

MD3

      1   2   3   4   F
BUF   0   7   0   7  14
SQR   6   3   7   0  16
BOX                                                                                 BUF  SQR
  1 Flynn De Laurentis 38 yard field goal                                             0    3
    Flynn De Laurentis 41 yard field goal                                             0    6
  2 Flynn De Laurentis 34 yard field goal                                             0    9
    Zinc Strangegear 42 yard pass from Jack Anderson (Jaessa Kimimoto-Chávez kick)    7    9
  3 Alexandre Smedley 4 yard pass from Sota Miyamoto (Flynn De Laurentis kick)        7   16
  4 Zinc Strangegear 22 yard pass from Jack Anderson (Jaessa Kimimoto-Chávez kick)   14   16

MD4 – Bye

MD5

      1   2   3   4   F
AFT  17  14   7   7  45
BUF   0   6  10   7  23
BOX                                                                                 BUF  SQR
  1 Roland Bass 22 yard field goal                                                           0    3
    Palmer Morel 62 yard pass from Wes Soderlund (Roland Bass kick)                          0   10
    Palmer Morel 37 yard pass from Wes Soderlund (Roland Bass kick)                          0   17
  2 Jaessa Kimimoto-Chávez 45 yard field goal                                                3   17
    Ronnie Turgeon 1 yard run (Roland Bass kick)                                             3   24
    Jaessa Kimimoto-Chávez 37 yard field goal                                                6   24
    Ronnie Turgeon 2 yard run (Roland Bass kick)                                             6   31
  3 Luther Dunleavy 4 yard pass from Glenn Poore                                             6   38
    Zinc Strangegear 36 yard pass from Jack Anderson (Jaessa Kimimoto-Chávez kick)          13   38
    Jaessa Kimimoto-Chávez 34 yard field goal                                               16   38
  4 Eldon Warne 4 yard run (Roland Bass kick)                                               16   45
    Xococoehua Tlachihuani 71 yard pass from Jack Anderson (Jaessa Kimimoto-Chávez kick)    23   45

Halfway Review

Offensive Most and Least Valuable Players: Zinc Strangegear has been Jack Anderson’s most reliable target. Equipped with telescopic arms, augmented reality targeting scanners in his eyes, and afterburners in his 360° revolvable ankles, Strangegear’s slight build and lack of familiarity with gridiron routes have been the biggest hindrances to his having a bigger breakout. He’s still led the team in receptions, yards, and touchdowns.

Will North doesn’t have any such augmentations, but even if he had a suite of cybernetic implants, it’s difficult to believe the slow, under-sized guard – a D3 college player who never sniffed a BHL field, washed out of a pro-am league, and yet is the best the Millennial England time bubble was willing to offer. He’s spent more time on his back than in an upright stance.

Defensive Most and Least Valuable Players: Braedyn Barnett didn’t have a banner game against Abanhfleft as their powerful offensive line powered over them, but otherwise the enormous nose tackle has been the heart of the Buffalostani defensive line. His sack totals have not been outstanding but he absorbs so much attention and requires double teaming to prevent him just ploughing through any backs unwise enough to attempt to pick him up that the edge rushers around him have thrived.

“Spots” is a dinosaur of uncertain species who’s been fitted out with gridiron gear, with the hopes his (or her?? no one has dared check) predatory instincts would make them a valuable ball-hawk in the defensive backfield. Instead, they’ve been beaten on numerous big plays, wandering off their assignments to roam into the stands in search of leafy foliage. Turns out “Spots” is a peaceful herbivore, with no real instinct for the pigskin.

Special Teams Most and Least Valuable Players: Jaessa Kimimoto-Chávez has been contributing surprisingly well for someone from a time bubble where handegg no longer exists. In the United World Capitol from which she hails, Jaessa was a soccer player in college, and volunteered to play on the team as part of the temporal exchange program.

She has not been helped by Evan O’Lonergan. With the team comprising just 33 players there’s no room for a specialist punter, much less a specialist holder. O’Lonergan is clearly the very opposite of a specialist holder. He’s mishandled at least one snap in every game, leading to fumbles and turnovers, as well as being the main contributor to most of her missed field goal attempts. This isn’t a team that can afford to throw away points. Perhaps finding someone capable of catching a ball would be a winning start.

[Ko-oren]

The NEW and IMPROVED Grand Slam - NEW and IMPROVED Table!

As with every ambitious undertaking: the larger the project, the more mistakes there are. And there were some, and some of our readers sent us friendly reminders as to which mistakes there were. On top of that, there were some underpaid interns that still needed to put in some hours, and so we (by which I mean they) toiled for hours and hours to correct the mistakes and while they were busy checking tables of tournament finals anyway, we asked them to include a list of final losers as well.

And so, the NEW and IMPROVED table of winners and losers of the Official Grand Slam Big 7:

There's not much of a difference in the second-to-last column: the wins were pretty much all entered correctly - with the exception of a Sarzonian Handball victory, and somehow we (again, by which I mean the interns) missed Vilita (and often Turori)'s winning the World Cup and World Cup of Hockey. Fun fact: both nations won the soccer event separately, but the ice hockey tournament as a united force. Gregoryisgodistan's omission was also blatant: if you're old enough (which, again, our interns who are still in school definitely are not) you have seen countless knockout games between Ko-oren and them in too many sports.

Now, for the first time, you can also see who made finals but choked them away and never made it back. It's Ko-oren, Abanhfleft, the Polar Islandstates, Ethane, the Babbage Islands, Valladares, and Mapletish who all lost two finals and never managed to improve on that result.

And then the biggest improvement (and possible source of new mistakes!): including every nation to have made at least two different finals - in each sport's modern era. That makes the list about twice as long, with some names like the Various Quebecs (with or without Shingoryeo, as a Royal Kingdom or not, etc, etc), QoD (we can spell 'of Dust' but 'Quintile' is a difficult one), as well as more recognisable ones like Mapletish, Delaclava, Savojarna, Felix, Ethane, and Electrum - who have won a World Cup after all, our records say so.

We can also see which nations are closest to complete the NEW and IMPROVED Grand Slam - and it's Ko-oren. Honestly, did you think we'd set these articles up for a different outcome? Cassadaigua is close, obviously, but would have to start from scratch in two events. Sarzonia is a decent outsider, with experience in almost every sport on the list. Looking at the fast risers, Banija is an option as well, having won the most difficult one and stacking trophies since.

Oh, and if you wanted to know which nations to combine in order to complete the Grand Slam overnight: you could mix Ko-oren with Valanora or Vilita (& Turori) - the only nations other than Cassadaigua to have won a World Cup and a WCoH.

If there are any mistakes left after this point, one person will be fired. And you get to decide who they will be!
Lona from Llandy: she's been with us for a few months now and is so close to finishing her major! All that's left for her to finish media studies & journalism, in fact, is our internship. Without the money she makes from showing up here, she'll also have to move back in with her parents in Llandy, where new job opportunities are more sparse than here in Aminey, so a vote for Lona will end her hopes and dreams!

Viola from Abyss (yes, that's a real town, look it up! It's on the Surbourneshire bight): she's not too far from home, so firing her will make logistics a bit easier. Abyss is a town that's rightfully named: there's not much there but the town grew around the station that's halfway harbour big city Greencaster and the mining centres of Bruncester and Cirelbourne. With activity in the latter slowing down, Abyss also lost its main income - and Viola hates it there! She wanted to move to the big city with free thinkers rather than the conservative neighbourhood she's glad to have escaped. Will she have to crawl back with her proverbial tail between her legs if things don't work out in Aminey? Let us know!

Carola from Santa Teresa: she's been with us for half a decade now, starting as a high school intern in the office logistics side of things (and she can now make a mean cup of coffee) and coming back every now and again, whenever she was doing a new major, to the point where she has some creative freedom within our lovely office. Oof, and we were almost about to give her full time employment with us as well, once her studies were over... Such a shame! If she has to go, that's a massive pain for both parties involved!

[Banija]

Anything written only represents the character, not the user behind Banija nor the views of Banijans in general. Accordingly, this is the furthest thing from an unbiased source of information you'll find about the NSCF.

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

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

But right now, we have achieved peak greatness- the World Bowl and the NSCF happening at the same time! So I gotta write about the World Bowl. But how? What to say? Let's do it- more Bad Idea Time!

What's the idea here? Now, this bad idea isn't actually a bad idea, unlike some of our other ones- I think this proposal has all sorts of merit. It'd never happen, of course- suits have too much pride. But as a fan, would you say no? The NSCF fans wouldn't anyways.

Bad Idea Time- World Bowl All-Star Game- NSCF v. Non-NSCF Nations

Hear me out.

All-Star games are fun! The Banijan Soccer League used to have them annually with the Taeshani Premier League, although unfortunately we haven't heard from Taeshan in a while, and the BSL is obviously no more. It is not exactly common in the sporting world, and rarely ever happens at international tournaments. But we all understand the concept of how an all-star game works, right?

Now that we have that out of the way, you'd need some sort of parameters to establish who would go on which team. But what reasons are there to group players together? International tournaments are not conducive to creating effective all-star teams- there's no permanent conferences or divisions to have an 'us vs. them' kind of feel with your rivals.

But while a divide may be the wrong term, there is a sense of unity that NSCF nations feel with each other. Why wouldn't' they unify? And we're sure that the non-NSCF gridiron nations are sick of NSCF nations talking about all the glories of the NSCF. Wouldn't that have some real drama? Before we go ahead and pick the teams, let's establish a few ground rules.

1. We're going with nations that have schools participating in NSCF 24. So, for example, there are a few Delaclavs playing for Elephant Valley University in South Newlandia. But there is no Delaclav school(or like Ko-oren does, group of schools) in the NSCF. Therefore, they will not count as a NSCF nation.
2. We're only picking players who are on the rosters of World Bowl XLII. That should be obvious, but it needs to be said.
3. Players don't actually have to have played in the NSCF themselves to be picked. Some players on the Serpent Eagles, for example, played at other universities besides NMU and ULI. They are still eligible for NSCF selection.

Now that's out of the way- let's pick the skill positions! Sorry to our Offensive LInemen, but it's extremely difficult to evaluate individual O-Linemen.

Quarterback
Non-NSCF- Taurus Wright(Delaclava)
NSCF- John Garrett(Ranoria)

Taurus Wright is the obvious choice for the non-NSCF side, right? He's the do-it-all Quarterback who is leading the competition's most potent offense halfway through the group stage. He can run, he can throw, he can light up any defense. See what he did to Bongo Johnson on Matchday 1 when he led his offense to putting up 65 points in one game? Utter insanity. He's probably the best quarterback in this competition right now, full stop.

On the other side- we hate to say it. But how do you say no to John Garrett? The Ranorian Quarterback has just been ridiculously elite for such a long time. 1,000+ yards passing through just three World Bowl games, going to have all sorts of gaudy stats by the time this World Bowl is over. Basically the only thing he hasn't won at this point is the World Bowl(and the NSCF, as Loyola fans will remind you), and he'd be the perfect smack talking QB to lead such a NSCF team out.

Running Back
Non-NSCF- Ty'Relle Clinton(Sarzonia)
NSCF- Kuendo Sello(Banija)

Did you see Ty'Relle Clinton almost run for 200 yards against Bongo Johnson? Finishing with 187 yards, Clinton is an absolute bruiser of a back. He's got power and is deceptively fast- maybe lacking traditional lateral quickness, but he's got all sorts of burst. Clinton is one of those running backs who nobody ever wants to tackle, and simply wears on defenses late in games. He is the one delivering the punishment and pain to his opponents, and therefore would be a great add for a non-NSCF team.

As for the NSCF side, there was plenty of debate. Sello? Jackson III? It was a tough one- but ultimately, the decision had to be made. And Sello is the choice. Banija's running back hasn't gotten a ton of attention. But even quietly, he's been Banija's most consistent offensive performer of this tournament. He seems to be good for 100 yards and a score week in, week out. Sometimes Chineze will throw for 350 and 4 TDs, like he did to the stars on Matchday 5. Sometimes he'll throw for 115 and 3 INTs, like he did against Bongo Johnson. He's young, but so far inconsistent. It is Sello's involvement in all facets of the game- his willigness to block, his excellent running ability, his ability to be a factor in the passing game, that gets him the slight nod over Jackson III.

Wide Receivers

Subscribe to Coulibaly Corner PREMIUM if you want to continue reading the full-length All-Star Rosters that we've written up for this potential all-star game. Make it happen Buffalostan!

[Sarzonia]

BUSUKUMA (27 July) -- Gavin Davis was hoping against hope he would lead the Sarzonian national gridball team to a surprising upset of Banija at The Stadium of The Restoration, a place which was quickly becoming a house of horrors for Sarzonian teams.

Such an upset would answer a lot of questions and shut down a lot of the naysayers about the suitability of a position coach suddenly being elevated to the head job, especially bypassing an offensive coordinator who was hired to call plays.

However, it was not to be. Banija pulled away in the second half and rolled to a 34-20 victory over the Stars in front of a rapturous sold out crowd.

"We just weren't able to get the ground game going," Davis said, noting that the Serpent Eagles employed eight-man fronts and run blitzes, tactics also employed by Bongo Johnson in Sarzonia's previous outing, but the Serpent Eagles were far more effective at closing holes and blowing up plays. They held running back Ty'Relle Clinton to 49 yards on 23 carries and forced him to fumble twice. He lost a fumble on Sarzonia's first possession of the second half with the Stars trailing 20-17 on 2nd-and-5 from the Banija 36 yard line. The lost fumble killed a seven-play, 39-yard drive that saw quarterback Sam Rosen get involved in the running game with two carries for 14 yards.

Rosen hit Steve Swain with a 24-yard touchdown strike just before halftime to cut the deficit to a one-possession game and, Davis said at the time, hopefully seize momentum. However, Rosen faced pressure from the Serpent Eagles all match. He was sacked five times, had three passes batted down at the line of scrimmage, and was knocked down four times. He threw two interceptions, including one with the Stars trailing 27-20 on the third play of the fourth quarter trying to force the ball to wide receiver Matt Largent.

"I missed the read," Rosen said glumly in front of his locker after the match. "Al (tight end Al Langston) was wide open for a first down at the 20 and no telling what would've happened if I got the ball to him there."

The Serpent Eagles then drove 92 yards on 14 plays to seal the game with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Ifeatu Chineze to tight end Belonwu Akuchi with 3:14 left. Davis tried having offensive coordinator Khrys Taylor abandon the run game and throw the ball more, but Rosen was harassed on every play, leading to a turnover on downs and the Serpent Eagles running out the clock.

"We need to do a better job at protecting Sam and opening holes for Ty'Relle," said centre Rodney Tucker. "They're a great team over there, but we can play better than we did."

Rosen finished the day 18-for-39 for 234 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He credited the pressure by the Serpent Eagles and their getting their hands in the air to reduce his sightlines.

"They read the scouting reports," Rosen said. "It's on all of us to make adjustments."

Sarzonia (3-1) tried pressuring Chineze and defensive coordinator Kyle Hanley said he hoped he could force the young signal caller into making mistakes, but said Chineze picked up a lot of reads.

"He studied us well," Hanley said. "We're going to have to game plan for him differently in Woodstock."

SCORING SUMMARY
First quarter
BANIJA: Chinweuba Jelan 36 pass from Ifeatu Chineze (Komani Achaje kick) 12:49 (BAN 7-0)
SARZONIA: Matt Largent 12 pass from Sam Rosen (Matt Vargas kick), 8:23 (7-7)
SARZONIA: FG Vargas 39, 1:18 (SRZ 10-7)

Second quarter
BANIJA: Kuenda Sello 47 run (Achaje kick), 14:47 (BAN 14-10)
BANIJA: FG Achaje 31 (BAN 17-10), 10:32 (BAN 17-10)
BANIJA: FG Achaje 48, 7:16 (BAN 20-10)
SARZONIA: Steve Swain 24 pass from Rosen (Vargas kick), 0:12 (BAN 20-17)

Third quarter
BANIJA: Sello 28 run (Achaje kick), 9:48 (BAN 27-17)
SARZONIA: FG Vargas 41, 6:29 (BAN 27-20)

Fourth quarter
BANIJA: Belonwu Akuchi 14 pass from Chineze (Achaje kick), 3:14 (BAN 34-20)

First downs: Banija 21, Sarzonia 16
Rushing: Banija: 26-189, 2 TD; Sarzonia: 27-66, 2 lost fumbles
Passing: Banija: Chineze 24-31-1, 326 yards, 2 TD; Sarzonia: Rosen 18-31-2, 234 yards, 2 TD
Sacks: Banija: 5-39; Sarzonia: 1-9

[Delaclava]

DSGN.com Football

Phoenixes push for better second half
Players hope to get nerves, losses, trash talk out of system

It's been a wild and weird first half for the Delaclava football Phoenixes through four games. They put a historic beating on Bongo Johnson. They talked trash about Banijan legends and their new blood made sure to take revenge. They talked more trash about friendly rivals Sarzonia and got beaten by the Stars at home, a first in the modern era. They traveled to Mertagne and forgot how to play for about 20 minutes in the middle before eventually prevailing.

At the end of it all, Delaclava sits in an unenviable, but not irredeemable position, at 2-2. It's behind Banija and Sarzonia, each at 3-1, but it is qualifying position - for now.

They will get a second chance against the Serpent Eagles, this time at home, and they'll have to hope that Stars country isn't too hostile as they try to get a win there too. One win would be nice; two would be ideal; zero is not an option. Nor is losing an unexpected fixture to Bongo Johnson or Mertagne, the boogeymen of Group C.

"We've got to make things so much easier on ourselves," captain and wide receiver Kevin Alés said. "We were so stressed and felt so much pressure in the first half. It doesn't have to be so hard for us. We're completely in control of that." He admitted too, "We're too worried about our success making it back to the podium, all of that. It's been getting in the way of just playing the game as it comes to us. Fortunately, we know we need to win each game in front of us and nothing is guaranteed after that."

Regarding Banija, Alés insisted that his team hadn't overlooked the Serpent Eagles, but acknowledged that they had a newfound respect for them. "They had a reputation with all of their collegiate and senior-level success. Truth be told, we saw none of what people were talking about when we beat them in Chromatika. But they're a tough nut to crack, especially twice in a row. So now we reset and get back to it. We still believe we have the speed and tactical advantage - we just have to use that."

As for Sarzonia, Alés said he was taken by surprise at how the narrative of their matchup turned out. "No, I wasn't expecting Taurus (Wright) to say those things," he said. "But you can't be surprised at how it turned out after that. We'll see the reception that we get in Woodstock. We might stay away from any more of that though. I don't think it changed their mindset, but it messed with ours to be too dialed in to outside the game."

Alés did provide some sympathy for Wright in the situation. "You look at his career, and there hasn't been a time where he's been the man on campus. He's been such an underdog and has worked really hard to get to what he's doing. Now he has people looking to him to be the man... I think he feels a need to be brash and confident, and he was trying a bit too hard to be that. I've talked to him, told him, 'That's not who you are. Do what you're good at, and that's getting the ball in the end zone.'

"So I wouldn't have said what he said, but I think he just got wrapped up and said something stupid, and I think he's getting away from that now."

Such was the fury provoked on the other side of the border, that it was revealed after the Stars' 30-27 win that defensive tackle Colin Grassley had discussed a bounty on Wright - a revelation that saw Grassley booted from the team - and separately of the squad, there was a possible plot to place a hit on the quarterback. Both Sarzonian and Delaclav authorities concluded there was little substance in the latter threats, and it is worth noting that nothing appeared excessive about the style of play from Grassley or his teammates. Nevertheless, coming from a nation who has traditionally viewed their southern border as a formality, that level of backlash towards a Delaclav citizen is noteworthy, possibly unprecedented.

Wright himself was surprised by the punishment, later saying, "He just played hard. They all did." Coach Frank Newman commended the action taken by interim coach Gavin Davis: "They weren't dirty at all, but it shows you the standards they have in the program. They won't even entertain that kind of talk. I'm learning that Gavin's a coach who does things the right way."

But the first step for the Phoenixes is Bongo Johnson, who proved themselves to be a worthy adversary after rebounding from their 65-10 loss to defeat Banija 27-14. "They put a lot of pressure on (Ifeatu) Chineze," Ales said, "and I think they could do that to Taurus if we're not careful. We'll move fast, mind our blocking assignments, and make good decisions. If we can do that, the journey to Buffalostan begins."

Delaclava   10 -  0 - 15 - 7 -- 32
Mertagne     7 - 10 -  0 - 3 -- 20

1st Quarter
DEL, Kieran Conley 36 yard FG
DEL, Taurus Wright 15 yard run (Kieran Conley kick)
MRT, Justin Gowing 37 yard interception return (Apat Labeaga kick)
2nd Quarter
MRT, Apat Labeaga 28 yard FG
MRT, Ali Bengoechea 6 yard run (Labeaga kick)
3rd Quarter
DEL, Conley 30 yard FG
DEL, Conley 54 yard FG
DEL, Wright 8 yard pass to Robbie Hahn (pass failed)
DEL, Conley 42 yard FG
4th Quarter
MRT, Labeaga 39 yard FG
DEL, Wright 35 yard pass to Andre Michel (Conley kick)

[South Newlandia]

#NoTouchdownChallenge

South Newlandia  0  3  7  3   13
Ko-oren          9  3  6  0   18

What do you do when you are the best team in the multiverse? The Dragonflies, champions of the most recent World Bowl, had to find an answer for this question. Sitting at 3-0, having handily defeated their previous opponent, the Dragonflies had to travel to Elephant Valley to face South Newlandia, one of the worse teams out there. The defense of the Dragonflies had only allowed a measly three points leading up to this match, having not allowed a single touchdown. Meanwhile, the Offense had already exceeded 60 points in those three games in three easy victories. Against an opponent like the Elephants, the Ko-orenites seemingly invented a new challenge to impose on themselves – the no touchdown challenge. The rules are simple – you try to win a game of gridiron without recording a single touchdown for themselves. Here, the Ko-orenite team succeeded, with Boaventura Camba scoring 6 field goals; and even though the South Newlandians scored 13 points, about 13 more than expected, that was enough to go up 4-0. The Elephants, meanwhile, drop to 2-2; still a good position, but also 3rd place for now.


Keep up with the Politics in under 150 words!
The treaty of the Esportivan Union, which mostly discusses a bunch of boring treaty stuff, is about to get signed. Recently, information about the locations of headquarters have been made public, and South Newlandia has managed to get the Foreign Aid Commission for themselves. Very cool.
South Newlandian and Tumbran politicians are also looking to finally name the channel between the two countries. The body of water between Elephant Valley and Straton, has been remaining nameless for quite a while now. For ideas, politicians have turned to the public. Suggestions have included Gajah Strait, Channel of Friendship, Strele Channel, and Channely McChannelface.
There’s an election in South Newlandia soon, and parties are slowly starting to look for the attention of voters again. Experts and polls predict little change.

[Ranoria]

Krauts Survive Against Tumbra In Superdome

On the very first play from scrimmage, John Garrett dropped back and threw his first interception of World Bowl 42. That very second, twii.tur exploded.

The players may have been blind to it, but the hundreds - maybe thousands - of fans around the world declaring Tumbra’s imminent ascent as one of the few teams to defeat Ranoria in the group stage sure weren’t. Hell, the broadcast even pandered to them, and only continued to do so when Dan Waters got his first shot. A one step drop, one look, and he pulled the trigger.

All of a sudden, somehow, the Misfits were up 7-0 on Ranoria. And worse yet, the Krauts could only answer with a punt. Fortunately, with a little more room to work, Angelo Gordon & crew were able to stop the next drive after a couple of first downs, with Ross Monarch slamming down young runner Tyler Davis in commanding fashion on 3rd & 1. But for some reason or another, John Garrett couldn’t find a rhythm. After clearing the thousand yard mark in just three matches, he was legitimately struggling against this Misfit defense, and leaning on his own to get him home. Broadcasters noted - and film showed - that a lot of the Misfit plan was to almost totally ignore Javier Gilmore. With any defenders around him, John Garrett just couldn’t trust the veteran receiver to make a play and come down with the ball, and it allowed them to pay more attention to playmakers like Johnny Farmer, Khalil Hauptmann, and Calvin Hale.

Fortunately, Angelo Gordon and Ross Monarch are fantastic playmakers. They got their quarterback the ball with just under a minute left in the half, and it led to the most impressive drive of the day for the Krauts.

First play, deep out to Khalil Hauptmann. Garrett thanked Alonso Isa and Loyola-Istria for the first time in his life for the phenom’s precise route running. Second play, right down the seam to Johnny Farmer - a perfect pass just above the linebacker beneath him and short enough that the safety overtop couldn’t make a play on the ball. Timeout.

Deep post to Calvin Hale, and it looked like he’d make it in, but he was stopped at the 1 yard line.

They burned their third timeout and considered. If they ran the ball, they’d only get one shot. But with only four seconds on the clock, passing might not be much better - and Vice Jackson was just shy of 240 pounds.

You can probably guess what happened next. Not that the missed PAT helped matters much, but it got the team on the board.

Dan Waters wasn’t done yet though, taking his Misfits down on the opening drive of the second half to put some separation in this one with a second touchdown against the Krauts, roasting cornerback Cameron Barborosa on a deep vertical route. Ranoria answered again - but only with a 37 yard field goal from Barry Chlorid.

At 14-9, the defense really began to pin its ears back. Zach Skinner took over against the run game, the defensive end notching a pair of tackles for loss in the second half alone, while Angelo Gordon recorded a sack for himself. And after a good bit of punting back and forth, once again John Garrett had the ball at the end of the half.

As slow as his offense had been all day, he was nothing short of lethal on that game-winning drive. Garrett went 3/3, hitting his favorite target on each and every pass. And the third? An absolute bullet that zipped between two defenders into the only pair of hands he trusted to reel in something with that much heat on it.

Johnny Farmer spiked the ball with a roar when the team took their first lead with only 7 seconds left on the clock, and Barry Chlorid was good this time for the extra point.

Results:

Week 1: @ TJUN-ia: W 23-21
Week 2: vs Xanneria: W 26-0
Week 4: @ Arjunnagar: W 51-14
Week 5: vs Tumbra: W 16-14

Player Stats

QB John Garrett: 80/115, 1,268 yards, 12 TD, 1 INT, 7 carries, 33 yards
QB Jeremiah Quill: 5/9, 29 yards, 7 carries, 30 yards
HB Vice Jackson III: 63 carries, 302 yards, 3 TD, 11 receptions, 86 yards
HB Emilio Annaise: 19 carries, 121 yards, 5 receptions, 41 yards
TE Johnny Farmer: 27 receptions, 428 yards, 5 TD
WR Khalil Hauptmann: 20 receptions, 325 yards, 4 TD
WR Calvin Hale: 15 receptions, 236 yards, 1 TD
WR Javier Gilmore: 3 receptions, 61 yards, 2 TD

ILB Ross Monarch: 39 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack
OLB Sean Morgan-Horne: 21 tackles, 1 PDef, 1 INT
DE Angelo Gordon: 19 tackles, 5 sacks, 2 TFL, 1 FF/1 FR
DE Zach Skinner: 16 tackles, 3 TFL, 3 sacks
DT Kevin Gerhart: 7 tackles, 1 sack
CB Cameron Barborosa: 13 tackles, 2 INT, 1 PDef

[Buffalostan]

MD6 cutoff

Each MD I will be offering a small prompt. These prompts are not required and there is no extra bonus for doing them compared with doing a match report or any other type of RP; they’re simply there because, with a long group stage format and many tournaments competing for attention, inspiration may be running thin. Feel free to respond in whatever format you like – or ignore them entirely.

Today's cutoff is brought to you from the Northern Aztec Principality time bubble of 1487. This time bubble features the furthest northern incursion of the Aztec Empire into Buffalostan, shortly before the landing of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires would destroy them. For the second half of qualifying, the prompts move on from handegg to general world building. Does your nation have a colonial history, either as colony or metropole, as subject or as colonizer? If 1492 is the epochal moment in the history of the Americas, is there an equivalent grand moment in your national history?

---

Group A
Buffalostan 23–0 Equestria (scorinated by South Newlandia)
Squidroidia 43–22 New Gesem

                          Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Squidroidia               5    5   0   171   68 +103
2 Abanhfleft                4    3   1   117   84  +33
3 Buffalostan               5    3   2   137  113  +24
4 New Gesem                 5    1   4    95  133  −38
5 Equestria                 5    0   5    56  178 −122

Group B
HUElavia 0–10 Ko-oren
South Newlandia 13–0 South Americanastan

  Group B                 Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Ko-oren                   5    5   0    89   16  +73
2 Karditan                  4    3   1    90   31  +59
3 South Newlandia           5    3   2   110   54  +56
4 HUElavia                  5    1   4    65  138  −73
5 South Americanastan       5    0   5    40  155 −115

Group C
Banija 36–27 Mertagne
Bongo Johnson 10–43 Delaclava

  Group C                 Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Banija                    5    4   1   143  116  +27
2 Sarzonia                  4    3   1   106   88  +18
3 Delaclava                 5    3   2   190  106  +84
4 Bongo Johnson             5    2   3    94  180  −86
5 Mertagne                  5    0   5   111  154  −43

Group D
Allamunnic States 9–14 Malandrin
Lisander 31–35 Chromatika

  Group D                 Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Chromatika                5    4   1   126   78  +48
2 Allamunnic States         5    3   2   104  105   −1
3 Saint Kanye               4    3   1    81   40  +41
4 Lisander                  5    1   4   124  113  +11
5 Malandrin                 5    1   4    85  184  −99

Group E
Xanneria 3–21 Tumbra
Ranoria 33–17 TJUN-ia

  Group E                 Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Ranoria                   5    5   0   149   65  +84
2 Tumbra                    5    4   1   153   81  +72
3 TJUN-ia                   5    2   3   141  111  +30
4 Xanneria                  5    1   4    49  125  −76
5 Arjunnagar                4    0   4    30  140 −110

Group F
Bollonich 24–23 Kohnhead
Drawkland 23–21 Newmanistan

  Group F                 Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Drawkland                 5    4   1   117   85  +32
2 Kohnhead                  5    3   2   140   82  +58
3 Newmanistan               5    3   2   148  113  +35
4 Bollonich                 5    2   3    69  147  −78
5 Kriegiersien              4    0   4    65  112  −47

                           Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
 1 Squidroidia               5    5   0   171   68 +103
 2 Ranoria                   5    5   0   149   65  +84
 3 Ko-oren                   5    5   0    89   16  +73
 4 Chromatika                5    4   1   126   78  +48
 5 Drawkland                 5    4   1   117   85  +32
 6 Banija                    5    4   1   143  116  +27

 7 Tumbra                    5    4   1   153   81  +72
 8 Karditan                  4    3   1    90   31  +59
 9 Kohnhead                  5    3   2   140   82  +58
10 Abanhfleft                4    3   1   117   84  +33
11 Sarzonia                  4    3   1   106   88  +18
12 Allamunnic States         5    3   2   104  105   −1

13 Delaclava                 5    3   2   190  106  +84
14 South Newlandia           5    3   2   110   54  +56
-------------------------------------------------------
15 Saint Kanye               4    3   1    81   40  +41
16 Newmanistan               5    3   2   148  113  +35
17 Buffalostan               5    3   2   137  113  +24
18 TJUN-ia                   5    2   3   141  111  +30

[New Gesem]

New Gesem   15 7  0  0  22 
Squidroidia 14 8  7  14 43

Constantinople is the second-oldest, second-largest city in New Gesem, bested on both counts by its rival at the other end of the country, Alexandria. Like most cities in New Gesem, it is built around the Gesem River, and it represents the furthest point “upriver” in New Gesem. It is also the epicenter of New Gesem’s Roman Catholic minority, being the seat of the archbishop and the headquarters of the Knights of Constantine, the primary Catholic civic organization. The city was named for the Knights, and most of its leaders through the years have been Knights.

The Knights’ Grand Lodge is located at 9th and Vine in downtown Constantinople, an ornate building nestled among the high rises of the central business district. Like most fraternal organizations in New Gesem, the Knights employ a small full-time staff of mainly mid-level functionaries, while the decisions are made by a national executive, in their case the Supreme Knight, and a board of directors. Meetings of the board are closed-door, their minutes a closely-guarded secret, and actions taken are signed by every member, regardless of how he or she voted. Most votes are taken by a secret ballot, using a “black ball” or similar system.

This opacity is intentional; any dissension in the ranks is liable to be taken as weakness and probed by every other fraternity, guild, and other civic organization in New Gesem. As the only Catholic fraternity, representing a minority that would otherwise go unseen, the Knights are particularly interested in speaking with one voice. So when the Reverend Lee Gibbs, who is not a Knight, nor is he Catholic, asked his friend Father Jeremy Krieger, the Knights’ national chaplain, for the Knights’ endorsement to start his Pilgrims football team, he knew the matter would have to be put to the board.

The thing with the Gesemite government is it closely resembles the workings of the fraternal organizations in certain respects. Proposals sent to the central government for approval, such as for passports, which are approved on a case-by-case basis, can be “blackballed” by a simple phone call by someone with the right connections. The same scenario plays out locally as well; ranking members of local fraternal lodges form de facto school boards, zoning commissions, and other entities for local governments across New Gesem. So the simplest way to get something approved is to have a representative of an organization with sufficient clout get the acquiescence of each peer organization, so that when the action comes to pass, it has already been discussed by the relevant parties.

For instance, when the Reverend Lee Gibbs sought to build a team to compete in the World Bowl, he leveraged a friend, Father Jeremy Krieger of the Knights of Constantine, to run the idea through the Gesemite Department of State. It was necessary to start with a simple idea, something that could get a basic “yes” or “no” answer, in order to test the waters, so he pushed up a request to use the New Gesem flag and name (both of which are copyrighted in New Gesem) for his new team. When the paperwork came back approved, he started submitting passport applications for key staff as well as incorporating documents for Pilgrims Football, LLC, a new nonprofit that would serve as an umbrella for his dream.

The passports took longer, as expected, and he got a few phone calls at the number listed as a “point of contact”, also as expected. The only surprise was the call he got from a member of the Ancient Beneficent Order of Wapiti, where he seemed to be on speakerphone in a room full of people. The speaker asked him in measured tones what he intended to do, where he intended to go, and what was the point of it all, pausing after each answer as if looking around the room for approval. A week after that phone call, the passport applications came back stamped “approved.”

[Chromatika]

Team   1Q  2Q  3Q  4Q  |  Tot
MDR     3   3   0   0  |    6
CMT    10  14  10  14  |   48

1Q
13:01 MDR FG - Kicker 31 yard Field Goal
10:22 CMT TD - Sarai Gwenderyn 21 yard run (Sara McAllister Kick)
06:33 CMT FG - Sara McAllister 39 yard Field Goal

2Q
09:22 MDR FG - Kicker 41 yard Field Goal
03:41 CMT TD - Victoria Mio 37 yard interception return (Sara McAllister Kick)
00:01 CMT TD - Alessandra Mio 77 yard pass from Sarai Gwenderyn (Sara McAllister Kick)

3Q
13:28 CMT TD - Cara Setri 22 yard fumble return (Sara McAllister Kick)
05:20 CMT FG - Sara McAllister 51 yard Field Goal

4Q
09:28 CMT TD - Kimberly Fowler 61 yard run (Sara McAllister Kick)
02:33 CMT TD - Mi-Hyeon Park 21 yard interception return (Sara McAllister Kick)

---

Team   1Q  2Q  3Q  4Q  |  Tot
LIS     7  14  10   0  |   31
CMT     7  14   0  14  |   35

1Q
09:31 LIS TD - Running Back 31 yard run (Kicker Kick)
02:33 CMT TD - Sarai Gwenderyn 41 yard run (Sara McAllister Kick)

2Q
12:28 LIS TD - Wide Receiver 28 yard pass from Quarterback (Kicker Kick)
09:11 LIS TD - Linebacker 12 yard fumble return (Kicker Kick)
07:39 CMT TD - Alessandra Mio 52 yard pass from Sarai Gwenderyn (Sara McAllister Kick)
01:48 CMT TD - Kimberly Fowler 8 yard run (Sara McAllister Kick)

3Q
14:48 LIS TD - Returner 102 yard Kickoff Return (Kicker Kick)
04:22 LIS FG - Kicker 41 yard Field Goal

4Q
10:22 CMT TD - Kern Sayan 33 yard pass from Sarai Gwenderyn (Sara McAllister Kick)
01:31 CMT TD - Niles Gwivern 25 yard pass from Sarai Gwenderyn (Sara McAllister Kick)

---

Five Facts about the Iron Legion after Five Games

5. Kimberly Sayer is a Weapon.
Most international fans are mostly just aware of the fact that Feslwyr State doesn't use a running back. That doesn't mean that Chromatika doesn't have good running backs, and Kimberly Sayer is out to prove that. The veteran running back has run for more than 100 yards in both of the last two games, also adding a touchdown apiece. It's true that she's second fiddle to Sarai Gwenderyn in terms of the role she plays in winning the game, but the more multifaceted this team is, the better they'll fare.

4. The Defense is Struggling.
Allowing 78 points after five games isn't that bad for most teams, but this is Chromatika that you're talking about. For a country known for its defense, giving up 31 points to Lisander and 22 points to Saint Kanye isn't very palatable. There have been some lapses in judgment that has led to this. Thankfully, they're tops in scoring for the group, which has helped; with players like Mi-Hyeon Park and Victoria Mio on the squad, they'll have to bounce back if the team is to handle the likes of Saint Kanye and Allamunnic States.

3. Alessandra Mio is Very Good.
Not that anybody needed any more confirmation, but the recent FSU graduate is on fire. Mio has caught for more than 100 yards on every game against someone not named Saint Kanye, and her ability to be on the same page with Gwenderyn is better than with any other receiver on the squad. She'll need to continue to be that #1 threat for the Iron Legion going forward.

2. Sara McAllister is Fine.
The star, kicker, who struggles with recurring headaches, hasn't had much of an issue in the World Bowl. Michelle Breille is getting kicks here and there, but Sara's been perfectly healthy and perfectly present. Having such a reliable kicker is a good sign for the Iron Legion.

1. Sarai Gwenderyn is Up to the Challenge.
Some people thought she may not be up for the challenge. They've all been proven wrong. Besides struggling in the one match against Saint Kanye, Gwenderyn has been just fine, never being out of control. She'll be the signal caller for many more World Bowls to come.

The Iron Legion will have to face Allamunnic States and Saint Kanye before closing out the Group Stage with a game against Malandrin. It's mostly a battle to see who will win the group - can they prevail?