World Bowl 47 - Everything Thread

by **Saint Kanye** » Mon Oct 02, 2023 2:40 am

Only four games remain in the World Bowl 47 group stages, and for many of the participating sides, the competition is heating up as they try to prove that they deserve to stay alive when the 32-team field gets cut in half for the start of the playoffs.

Two such teams were the two "Saints" of Group A, the St. Kanye Surge and the Saint-Jean-Jacques et Burnham-on-Stove Tapirs, who were scheduled to face each other next at the former's home turf. The Surge started the tournament 1-2, but have since won seven straight; the Tapirs dropped all seven of their outings in the first leg of the double round robin eliminations before stringing together three victories, and by rather large margins at that. One of these streaks was bound to end during this "Battle of the Saints", and it turned out to be the Tapirs', the Surge proving way too much for them in a 61-10 obliteration. Quarterbacks R.J. Linetti and Tim Hunt threw for over 250 yards and two touchdowns apiece, James Rasputin once again attempted and made four field goals, and the defense and special teams also contributed to the huge margin of victory.

In order for the fans and officials to be able to follow the Tapirs more easily, stadium personnel provided them a day before the game with a new set of jerseys free of charge. The jerseys followed SJJeBOS' national color scheme, yellow with red names on the back, with the addition of red numbers on both the front and back, done sequentially based on position and roster depth. Injured and inactive players were not skipped over. Here is the list:

1Q STK Moore 28 pass from Linetti (Rasputin kick) STK 7-0
The Tapirs had the ball first, but the Yeezie defense prevented them from even reaching midfield on their first drive and forced them to punt. During the Surge's turn to try and score, R.J. Linetti's first three throws all went for first downs, and he eventually connected with Patrick Moore for the score.

1Q STK field goal Rasputin 44 STK 10-0
A few minutes later, Rasputin made it ten-nil in favor of the home team when he banged in this field goal from more than forty yards out.

1Q STK Fredericks 69 pass from Linetti (Rasputin kick) STK 17-0
It would only take the Surge two plays to score on this drive, the first being a fifteen-yard scramble by Linetti, and then the second being a short pass to Deshawn Fredericks which he ran in for a very nice gain (get it? Because it's 69 yards....)

2Q STK Bradman 51 interception return (Rasputin kick) STK 24-0
Down 17-nil after just one quarter of play, the Jean-Jacquois became desperate for points early. They moved the ball mainly through the air, which appeared to work well at first, but then one of Arielle Bellerose-Deslongchamps' passes was batted into the hands of Yeezie safety Gary Bradman, who took it all the way to the house, even as Tapir players pursued him. Rasputin made the point after, and now St. Kanye were ahead by two dozen.

2Q STK Carter 55 return of blocked field goal (Rasputin kick) STK 31-0
Tapirs kicker Ji-yoo Han showed during his team's 50-6 demolition of A Place Somewhere that he has a hell of a strong leg, making a 63-yard field goal. He would attempt another long kick against the Surge, to no avail. Not only was his kick blocked, it was returned by rookie cornerback Ishrael Carter all the way for the kick six, less than two minutes after Bradman recorded the pick six.

2Q SJJ F. Guirguis 10 run (Han kick) STK 31-7
The visitors finally found the end zone in the final minute of the second quarter on a ten-yard touchdown run by François-Pierre Guirguis, but the Surge were not done scoring yet...

2Q STK field goal Rasputin 65 STK 34-7
... as Rasputin capped off the first half with an incredible field goal from 65 yards out, two more than what Han did against APS.

3Q STK Johns 88 kick return (Rasputin kick) STK 41-7
Since they received the kickoff at the start of the first half, the Tapirs will be the ones kicking off to start the second. Taylor Johns caught the ball and started running, weaving through defenders, staying behind teammates who were clearing a path for him, and eventually leaping into the end zone to grow the Yeezie lead even more.

3Q SJJ field goal Han 35 STK 41-10
Han may have been blocked earlier, but this time he would succeed in getting the Jean-Jacquois into double digits with three more points.

3Q STK Laney-Seymour 32 pass from Hunt (Rasputin kick) STK 48-10
Given their large lead at halftime, head coach Jeff Delphine of the Surge made the decision to bench Linetti, Fredericks, Moore, and a few other starting players. Hunt took over under center, and he would continue the onslaught started by the first string, throwing a pass to RFL standout Josh Laney-Seymour for a TD and a 37-point lead (38 with the XP, of course).

4Q STK field goal Rasputin 29 STK 51-10
4Q STK field goal Rasputin 41 STK 54-10
The Surge continued to bury the Tapirs deeper, Rasputin adding two more FGs to his tally during the fourth quarter.

4Q STK Cooley 15 pass from Hunt (Rasputin kick) STK 61-10
And then, to wrap things up, Hunt found backup tight end Jonald Cooley for the former's second touchdown pass of the contest, and the latter's first receiving TD as part of the national team.

"Really great win for this team, I guess you could call it a statement win," spoke Coach Delphine during the post-game presser. "We made some great plays and scored points early, and that's when we got hot, and we were able to maintain that level of intensity throughout halftime and until the final whistle," he continued. "You couldn't blame us for throwing all we have at the Tapirs though - we were well aware of their three straight wins and how well they did on both sides of the ball, especially that fifty bomb they dropped on the Somewherians. So we figured, they'd be confident enough to aim for an upset against us, and of course we couldn't let that happen."

A few minutes after the end of the game, the Surge players and staff found out that the team from Cardenao had just upset the Ko-oren Dragonflies by a score of 20-7, effectively giving the boys in purple and lime the Group A lead on head to head. "That's nice to hear," Fredericks would be heard saying. "Thanks and congrats to our Cardenaoan brethren!" However, the team also understood that there are still three games left to play, and so if they want to get a favorable seeding during the playoff stages, they would need to protect that lead and ensure they match or surpass their Ko-orenite rivals in number of wins.

"First order of things, we shall need to zap those Dragonflies next week," Linetti said. The initial meeting between the purple and lime and the green and blue ended with the former prevailing in a 26-10 upset at Surge Field, something they will look to replicate when they fly to the Northern Arena in Aebanna (or Aevanna, whichever one prefers). "It was not enough that we showed we could pull it off. What we need the world to know is that we could do it again."

-------------------------------------------------------------
| MD | Opponent           | Rank | Score   | Record | Place |
-------------------------------------------------------------
|  1 | @Cassadaigua       |  15  | W 19-17 |  1-0   |  4th  |
|  2 | Gyatso-kai         |   8  | L 22-37 |  1-1   |  5th  |
|  3 | @Cardenao          |  UR  | L 27-35 |  1-2   |  5th  |
|  4 | @SJJeBOS           |  UR  | W 41-27 |  2-2   |  6th  |
|  5 | Ko-oren            |   3  | W 26-10 |  3-2   |  4th  |
|  6 | @Rouyoute          |  23  | W 16- 9 |  4-2   |  3rd  |
|  7 | A Place Somewhere  |  UR  | W 49-14 |  5-2   |  2nd  |
|    | BREAK              |      |         |        |       |
|  8 | Cassadaigua        |  15  | W 40-10 |  6-2   |  2nd  |
|  9 | @Gyatso-kai        |   8  | W 50-38 |  7-2   |  2nd  |
| 10 | Cardenao           |  UR  | W 33-20 |  8-2   |  2nd  |
| 11 | SJJeBOS            |  UR  | W 61-10 |  9-2   |  1st  |
| 12 | @Ko-oren           |   3  |         |        |       |
| 13 | Rouyoute           |  23  |         |        |       |
| 14 | @A Place Somewhere |  UR  |         |        |       |
-------------------------------------------------------------

by **Ko-oren** » Mon Oct 02, 2023 8:29 am

The arrival hall betrayed some illusions of grandeur, Alastair thought, with the space home to at least five car rental places, though there were maybe four or five customers combined looking to use their services. Well over a dozen other shops lined the sides of the long hall, with the middle of the hall full of more cabbies than recent arrivals - the small, sorry signs pointing tourists to cheaper and probably more reliable buses obscured by predatory cab drivers. The large overhead screens flipped from recent arrivals - three planes at best in the last hour - to Steenwyk County police warnings about illegal cabs charging ridiculous fares. Clearly the warnings weren't effective.

None of that mattered to Alastair and his teammates, who spotted their host in the far corner of the arrivals hall, holding up a list of their names and a small Ko-orenite flag, the latter drawing some weird looks from passers-by. "Welcome to the Ten Counties of Mercator! Yonatahbit Mercatoren!" the Gehrennan was well received even if broken. "I'm Max Lawson and I'm going to show you the best of what the Counties have to offer, and this is Vance Vandermeer, your driver for the week. Awesome to meet you guys! So right now I'm taking you to Barter Square, named after William Barter, one of the big names in how our city of Steenwyk came to be, after dropping your luggage off at the hotel. There we're taking a short walk across the city's main bridges, so you get an idea of four of our ten great counties. In each county, there's a short meet with the biggest stars of that county's team. Here's a list of teams and names, you can look through that while on the bus, and we'll get started." Max certainly didn't waste any time.

Reading through the list on the bus and trying to memorise some of the details was probably meant to distract the Ko-orenites from the views outside. Airport vicinities are rarely must-sees, but the decrepit neighbourhoods just off the highway into the city are hard to miss. It wasn't really like the presentations given before the visit, during the video call between the Mercatorenians in Steenwyk and the Ko-orenites in Willowbourne, which painted a much more modern picture of a concrete, steel, and glass city - which turned out to be just the blocks around Barter Square and the bridges.

The first stop was a photo op right in the middle of Barter Square, which was worthy of some of the praise it got. Still a little overblown, but the small square, surrounded on all sides by huge office blocks covered in logos of the biggest brands of the multiverse - whether the offices actually belonged to them or if they just paid for the ad space is unknown - was impressive. The first thing Alastair discovered was that these people loved their gridiron. Colourful jerseys everywhere, a healthy mix of - as Max told him - pro teams and college teams, as yes, collegiate sports were massive here. There was a lot of good-natured ribbing (and some less well-natured shoves and cutting-in-line) between fans of rival teams, especially the yellow-on-blue Steenwyk University Stars and the Kremer County University Knights' white-on-red. Despite some small incidents (police was already present for security anyway), the group made their way back in the van and they drove out to the slightly more historic Cortlandt County, a longer tour of urban Kremer County, through the various suburban centres of Stuyvesant County, and back to modern, metropolitan Steenwyk and Steenwyk County for the end of day one.

Part of Alastair hoped that politics would be brought into this - but it was certainly easier to play the part of foreign sports hero, having your picture taken and signing various items. He decided not to raise the issue to Max, who never really gave the impression of an official government tour guide, to state it nicely, and tried to sleep surrounded by city buzz late into the night. Day two would start early, with a three hour drive to the agricultural heartland of the territory.

by **Saint Kanye** » Mon Oct 02, 2023 8:59 am

Northern Arena, Aebanna, Ko-oren. Week 12 of the World Bowl 47 group stages. Fifteen seconds remain in the fourth quarter of the game between the Ko-oren Dragonflies and their visiting rivals, the St. Kanye Surge. The former are leading 16 to 14, but the latter have possession. It's fourth down and twelve to go at St. Kanye's own 47-yard line. No timeouts left for both sides. Surge center Gordon Ferguson snaps the ball to his quarterback R.J. Linetti, who drops back, surveying the field for an open receiver. Both his wideouts, Deshawn Fredericks and Patrick Moore, are covered. They could probably make the catch, but knowing Ko-oren, the chance of an interception is likely. The only one open was tight end Hussein Jeffers, but if he does make the catch, he'd still need to go past the first down marker, and then go out of bounds to stop the clock.

As Linetti let go of the ball, a couple of defenders in green and blue started to run in the direction of its trajectory, but so did Jeffers, using his leaping ability and long wingspan to reach it before any of the Ko-orenites could. Okay, step one accomplished: catch the pass. Now for step two, move the chains. Clutching the ball close to his body as if protecting a baby, Jeffers started to advance through the field, the defenders starting to close in on him and bring him down. He dodged them, reached the Dragonflies' 41 for the first down, but he didn't make his way to the sidelines. Surge head coach Jeff Delphine thought "What are you doing?" and started to blurt it out, until he realized what was going on: His tight end decided to go all the way for the score. Jeffers evaded another Dragonfly, and another, and another. Meanwhile, the other Yeezies started to block for him and provide him with a clear path to the end zone. Here's the call of the play from the SKYNET Sports commentators who were at the scene:

"Fourth and 12, there's the snap, Linetti fires.... and that's a catch by Jeffers! He's on the move now, past midfield, the forty, past the marker for the first, the thirty.... Dragonflies giving chase, but he accelerates!"

All the while, fans of both competing teams are looking on with anticipation as to what was going to happen. With the playoffs looming, this was a crucial matchup. The Surge entered Northern Arena with a 9-2 record, having won the previous eight after dropping two of their first three; the Dragonflies have an identical record, their two losses coming from the Cardenaoan team a week prior, and the Surge themselves back in Matchday 5. Whoever prevails becomes the solo leader of the group, and gets a better chance at a higher seed once the Round of Sixteen rolls around. You couldn't blame the crowd for making so much noise, practically shouting at each other, waving flags, banners and balloons of either purple and lime or green and blue... wait, where were we? Oh yeah, the broadcast.

"He's at the twenty, the ten, the five.... TOUCHDOWN, HUSSEIN JEFFERS! TOUCHDOWN, ST. KANYE! TOUCHDOWN, SURGE!!!"

From being down 16-14, the Yeezies are now up 20-16, with only two seconds left on the clock. They decided to go for two, or more accurately, take a knee during the point after. Chris Florence kicked off to the home team, but they couldn't advance the ball enough during those couple of seconds left. Thus, it would be the Surge escaping not only with the narrow four-point win, but also sweeping their higher ranked opponents (#3 vs. #11) and keeping themselves at the top spot in Group A. The Surge players on the field started shaking hands with their Dragonfly counterparts, followed by the bench players and the staff. Fans also poured out of the stands and onto the turf, although it was to dance in celebration of the victory.

"Winning in itself is sweet, yes, but there's so much more layers of sweetness to this, you know," said Taylor Johns, wide receiver and kick returner for St. Kanye. "Winning a close one. Against a rival. To sweep them, and overtake their record as well." Head coach Jeff Delphine shared in his team's joy, but also made an important reminder: "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad our hard work and preparation for today had paid off. But this is not the end yet - there's two more games in the group stages left to play, and of course the entire postseason. We must not lose sight of our goal, which is to bring even more glory to this Glorious Free Republic. I'm not saying we should stop celebrating until then, but we must remember not to let it get to our heads and be too over-confident and cocky."

Here's a short recap of this match that truly lived up to the hype, up to and including the moment that sent all of St. Kanye into a frenzy.

1Q KOR field goal Bennett ?? KOR 3-0
1Q KOR field goal Bennett ?? KOR 6-0
A couple of Abner Bennett field goals in the first quarter put the home team up six-nil; every other drive that happened during this period ended in either a punt or a turnover.

2Q KOR Welsh ?? pass from Masman (Bennett kick) KOR 13-0
St. Kanye found themselves in a deep hole early in the second quarter, going down by a baker's dozen to nothing after a Pier Masman touchdown pass to Bryan Welsh, and the Bennett extra point.

2Q STK Linetti 25 run (Rasputin kick) KOR 13-7
But Linetti saved his squad from being shut out in the first half, faking a deep pass but actually keeping the ball and running it up the middle and into the end zone.

3Q STK M. Jackson 18 pass from Linetti (Rasputin kick) STK 14-13
The Surge tied things up in the third quarter, the screen pass to fullback Marco Jackson working to perfection, after which the point after by Rasputin put them up by one.

4Q KOR field goal Bennett ?? KOR 16-14
The home team retook the lead during the middle of the fourth, Bennett once again providing three points. Both teams then exchanged three and outs, and it looked as if this would remain the score until the end.

4Q STK Jeffers 48 pass from Linetti (Two-point conversion failed) STK 20-16
A dropped pass by Fredericks, another pass meant for him that was batted away, and a sack on Linetti were the three plays that put the visitors in a desperate fourth down situation as the seconds ticked away. But all it took was the gutsy decision to go for it, the perfect throw, the perfect catch and an incredible run to steal a big win in the final seconds of a tight contest. Once again, the Surge showed that "Yeezie magic" is not only limited to stock car racing.

The Yeezies' opponents for next week are the Rouyouteans, 30-22 winners over the same Cardenao side that upset Ko-oren in their previous clash, and after that is a trip to A Place Somewhere (ONCE AGAIN, THAT IS THE COUNTRY'S NAME). "Despite these teams' rank [#23 for Rouyoute and unranked for APS], these two games against them will still be big, because we have a group lead to protect," Coach Delphine said. "We always take our opponents seriously, and these ones will be no exception."

-------------------------------------------------------------
| MD | Opponent           | Rank | Score   | Record | Place |
-------------------------------------------------------------
|  1 | @Cassadaigua       |  15  | W 19-17 |  1-0   |  4th  |
|  2 | Gyatso-kai         |   8  | L 22-37 |  1-1   |  5th  |
|  3 | @Cardenao          |  UR  | L 27-35 |  1-2   |  5th  |
|  4 | @SJJeBOS           |  UR  | W 41-27 |  2-2   |  6th  |
|  5 | Ko-oren            |   3  | W 26-10 |  3-2   |  4th  |
|  6 | @Rouyoute          |  23  | W 16- 9 |  4-2   |  3rd  |
|  7 | A Place Somewhere  |  UR  | W 49-14 |  5-2   |  2nd  |
|    | BREAK              |      |         |        |       |
|  8 | Cassadaigua        |  15  | W 40-10 |  6-2   |  2nd  |
|  9 | @Gyatso-kai        |   8  | W 50-38 |  7-2   |  2nd  |
| 10 | Cardenao           |  UR  | W 33-20 |  8-2   |  2nd  |
| 11 | SJJeBOS            |  UR  | W 61-10 |  9-2   |  1st  |
| 12 | @Ko-oren           |   3  | W 20-16 | 10-2   |  1st  |
| 13 | Rouyoute           |  23  |         |        |       |
| 14 | @A Place Somewhere |  UR  |         |        |       |
-------------------------------------------------------------

by **Sarzonia** » Mon Oct 02, 2023 9:01 am

If Sarzonian national gridball team manager Gavin Davis wanted adversity, he got it.

After Sarzonia began the World Bowl 47 qualifying campaign with a 5-0 record, the team faced the two highest ranked teams in Group B, beginning with No. 2 Chromatika, who are the highest ranked team in the competition with No. 1 Ranoria dropping out before qualifying began.

The match featured a sold out Joe Gibbs Stadium in Woodstock that was primed and ready. However, the Stars weren't as well prepared and lost 20-10. They had to travel to New Washington for a battle with No. 7 TJUN-ia that wasn't much of a battle. The Jaguars dumped Sarzonia 24-3.

The nadir to this point in the competition came with a 22-10 loss in Mar Sara against Valanora. Davis closed the locker room door and lit into his players. He refused to address the media after the match, drawing a fine from the Incorporated Gridball Federation.

"I was upset with the team," Davis said. "We played like shit out there." Davis said he was responsible for some of the lack of effort, but the players also didn't execute. Sarzonia committed 11 penalties, most of them the "stupid shit" variety, according to quarterback Cameron Stallworth.

"Stuff like false starts, neutral zone infractions and an unsportsmanlike conduct for taking my helmet off after a touchdown," Stallworth said when he was asked what "stupid shit" penalties were. "We can't execute like that and expect to do well."

After the three-match losing streak, one that saw Sarzonia held to 23 points in the stretch, the Stars rallied to drop 61 points against Lisander. They currently sit at 9-3 and face an away contest against Chromatika before their group stage finale at home against TJUN-ia. With a spot in the knockout rounds guaranteed, Davis was asked if he planned to rest his players.

"Absolutely not," he said. "We still have a chance at a better seed if we win either or both of these matches. And besides that, we're playing the two highest ranked teams in our group. I'd rather we get after them and fight hard."

Note: Woodstock city officials denied a request by the Joe Gibbs Stadium Authority to add temporary bleacher seats for the TJUN-ia match.

"It's a safety issue," said Hank Henderson, the deputy mayor responsible for the Dave Wilson Athletic Complex. "We don't want anyone, including foreign visitors to risk injury to put more butts in the seats." Woodstock University denied a request to move the finale to the larger Friedgen Stadium because the Climbers were scheduled for a home match the afternoon of the Stars-Jaguars contest.

(O.O) · by **TJUN-ia** » Mon Oct 02, 2023 9:47 am

After toppling the #2 team in a barnburner, the Jagaurs of TJUN-ia was a nice round 10-0...and boy, did that feel wonderful to say. This team had fought and fought and fought and in the end, they had more than assured their spot in the Playoffs to come. No matter what happens now, they were going to be OK...and that was something that Gus McKerrin was more than happy to accept. Sure, the drive was still there to win more games and try claim a higher position in the seeding ranks, but the main goal of qualification had been all but achieved. We will continue to fight, of course, but the survival need just wasn't there any more...but would that have an effect?

It certainly would at the Field of Dreams in The Gardens of New Washington when -Anthor- came to town...and for good reason. The last game played here was a barnburner, one with 105 combined points and only decided in Double Overtime, so you could understand if there were still some elements of fatigue following an intense battle like that. Even despite that, Gareth Baldwin did his magic and pulled out 4 TDs via his arm (2 each for Victor Que-et-Vous and Gilbert Nyamutsamba) and 1 via a QB sneak, with Clayton McGee going 5/5 on PATs. But the visitors had more fight left in them and they would take advantage of us tonight, with 6 TDs in all, and it would be Anthor, of all teams, that forced us to hold the L for the first time this World Bowl. It was sad...but at the same time, it was better to suffer this now than in the playoffs.

Then came a very important trip to the Lathalein Celestial Stadium in Mar Sara to face Valanora, a game everyone knew could be easily lost if we weren't careful. Andy Magnusson's Sabres have always been a decent team, despite their middling record in the standings, and Håkon Schau showed off that ability with 3 TDs today (1 each for Nikolas Isaksen, Emil Gundersen and Max Strömberg) while Fredrik Mundal made all 3 of his PATs. Unfortunately for the hosts, Baldwin didn't want to play ball and his 5 TDs on the day (2 each for Fremont Whitehorse and Nyamutsamba,1 for Que-et-Vous) while McGee was almost unrelenting with his 4/5 on PATs. It ended 34-21, a brilliant bounceback win on the road as the final doubleheader of this World Bowl came to a close.

It's just single games from here on out, thank goodness for that. Lisander comes to New Washington next for our final home game and what should be an emotional atmosphere. Two games remain. GO JAGS!

SCHEDULE (Group B)
MD1: @Tikariot (UR) W 36-3 (1st/1-0)
-------------------------Double Header------------------
MD2: vs The Kytler Peninsulae (UR) - Field of Dreams in The Gardens, New Washington W 27-17 (1st/2-0)
MD3: @Chromatika (2) - Henza Center, D'rea W 36-26 (1st/3-0)
-------------------------Double Header End------------------
MD4: @-Anthor- (16) W 26-20 (2nd/4-0)
-------------------------Double Header------------------
MD5: vs Valanora (23) - Field of Dreams in The Gardens, New Washington W 40-23 (2nd/5-0)
MD6: @Lisander (43) W 29-23 (1st/6-0)
-------------------------Double Header End------------------
MD7: vs Sarzonia (13) - Field of Dreams in The Gardens, New Washington W 24-3 (1st/7-0)
-------------------------Double Header------------------
MD8: vs Tikariot (UR) - Field of Dreams in The Gardens, New Washington W 52-17 (1st/8-0)
MD9: @The Kytler Peninsulae (UR) - Qardinal Field, Borlfield W 16-13 (1st/9-0)
-------------------------Double Header End------------------
MD10: vs Chromatika (2) - Field of Dreams in The Gardens, New Washington W 41-41 (54-51 2OT) (1st/10-0)
-------------------------Double Header------------------
MD11: vs -Anthor- (16) - Field of Dreams in The Gardens, New Washington L 35-49 (1st/10-1)
MD12: @Valanora (23) - Lathalein Celestial Stadium, Mar Sara W 34-21 (1st/11-1)
-------------------------Double Header End------------------
MD13: vs Lisander (43) - Field of Dreams in The Gardens, New Washington
MD14: @Sarzonia (13) - Joe Gibbs Stadium, Woodstock

by **Banija** » Mon Oct 02, 2023 10:10 am

"Put Some Respect on our Name"- Banijan defense quietly putting together excellent game, as keys to elite defensive performance are examined

BUSUKUMA, NATIONAL CAPITOL REGION- Over the years, this national team has been known for their high-flying, high-scoring offense. Led by a brilliant aerial attack led by Ice Chineze for 5 cycles, they confounded defenses all over the multiverse, putting up record amounts of points en route to reaching 3 straight World Bowl Finals, and winning two of them. Now that Chineze has retired, and Ebou Hairte is our bridge QB(in Odika we trust!), the offense has not missed a beat. There are studs everywhere on the offensive side of the football- the tackles, the WRs, the HBs... The only real Q was QB. And Hairte has answered the call, and then some.

They've got the #2 scoring offense in the World Bowl, putting up a video-game esque 37 points per game. The numbers at home are even crazier.

Banija WB 47 Home scores
Week 1- 43 points over South Newlandia(10-2)
Week 3- 51 points over Torisakia(3-9)
Week 5- 29 points over Terefuxe(7-5)
Week 6- 47 points over Abanhfleft(4-8)
Week 9- 57 points over Peru 2022 RP(3-9)
Week 12- 49 points over United Fruit Company(4-8)

Banija WB 47 Away scores
Week 2- 26 points over Peru 2022 RP(3-9)
Week 4- 26 points over the United Fruit Company(4-8)
Week 7- 28 points over Bongo Johnson(5-7)
Week 8- 29 points over South Newlandia(10-2)
Week 10- 36 points over Torisakia(3-9)
Week 12- 23 points over Terefuxe(7-5)

You see the numbers there- downright staggering. It's no wonder that teams simply cannot compete with Banija at the games that are in the country- they simply cannot keep up. When you are scoring 46 points per game at home, teams simply are not going to be able to keep up with you. It''s an outstanding credit to Ebou Hairte, and his ability to simply just pick teams apart when he is given a level of comfort. Not many NTs can survive an Ice Chineze level talent retiring- but then again, that's exactly what so many people said when Isaka Jawara retired all those years ago, after World Bowl 41. At some point, everybody's gotta realize- Banija is a QB factory.

The away scores are almost just as staggering. That's 28 points per game on the road. It sounds like a drastic dropoff- and it is. But obviously, it''s harder to play games on the road in any team sport, and particularly in football, it is harder to play offense on the road. So while we don't have everybody's exact numbers, let us use a comparison here. Only 10 of the 32 teams in this tournament are averaging 28 points per game at all- which, of course, is including their home games as well as their away games. It's clear that this offense is not only elite, but that it travels- which will be crucial during the neutral site knockout stages, when they are called upon heavily.

But the defense- they are the point of this article. In recent years, Banija's defense has not necessarily been elite. Solid to OK defense, plus a world-breaking offense, has equalled championships. But this year, they are trying something never before done- elite O with elite D? Let's take a selection of the most recent game Banija has played against each of their Group D opponents.

Banija Defense- Points allowed since Week 6
Week 6- Allowed 3 points to Abanhfleft at home. They are currently 4-8 and averaging 13.8 points per game.
Week 7- Shutout Bongo Johnson on the road. They are currently 5-7 and averaging 19.1 points per game.
Week 8- Allowed 20 points to South Newlandia on the road. They are currently 10-2 and averaging 33.7 points per game. 
Week 9- Allowed 14 points to Peru 2022 RP at home. They are currently 3-9 and averaging 20.5 points per game
Week 10- Allowed 12 points to Torisakia on the road. They are currently 3-9 and averaging 16.9 points per game.
Week 11- Shutout United Fruit Company at home. They are currently 4-8 and averaging 16.2 points per game. 
Week 12- Allowed 9 points to Terefuxe on the road. They are currently 7-5 and averaging 31.3 points per game.

You see how this is an elite defensive performance. Banija are second in the tournament, with 141 total points allowed, or allowing 11.75 points per game. Sarzonia have the #1 scoring defense by just a lone point- 140 points allowed. But it goes beyond that. Even beyond the sticker shock of a Banijan defense being stingier than the Dragonflies. Look at the points scored against Banija, and compare that to these teams tournament averages. Everybody under their scoring averages for the 12 games played so far. Five of them scoring by double digits less against Banija than their overall average. The results show how this defense might be the best we've had since World Bowl 40- and how they make us early favorites to get that #1 overall seed, and win a world title. Now, of course, it helps the power of the Banijan O puts pressure on opposing offenses. But an elite O, by itself, would not explain the Banijans being the only team sitting at 12-0.

How did we get to this point for team Banija?

The Core 4- Banija's aging secondary defies Father Time to put on a spectacular performance

Thomas Hall might have a problem on his hands at World Bowl 48, with all these important dudes slated to retire. But who cares about World Bowl 48? We are at World Bowl 47, and the core of this secondary, once again, is driving this defense. There were questions with the ages of some of the key dudes- but they have put those to rest, and then some. The 'Core 4' of the secondary are Makang Secka, Koman Tabor (the two outside CBs), Ayax Kowtame(the nickel back), and Ozioma Mazzi(the free safety).

Secka is 33. Tabor is 31. Mazzi is 30. Kowtame is 32. The average GM, especially in the modern age, would tell you that a secondary that old, is crazy. But Thomas Hall, who was a superstar CB back in his day(a stunning 62 career interceptions, the RFL's all-time leader), has always had faith in his dudes. "There have been times when people have doubted this defense, have doubted the talent back here. Just because they are above 30, doesn't mean that these guys can't ball." He told reporters. "This cycle, we are seeing, in what might be the swan song for these guys, that they have not lost a beat. Building a defense around an elite secondary is something that should be done, and is clearly working."

Well, these guys aging like fine wine. But what about the previously much-maligned front 7? What changed there?

Banija Front 7- Dudes playing out of their minds

None of these guys you'd look at in the past, and generally say, superstar. But when the secondary is playing at the level this secondary is playing at... It allows the defensive playcaller, none other than the head coach himself, Thomas Hall, to get creative. Banija has one of the highest blitz rates in World Bowl 47- blitzing an astonishing 37% of the time. It makes sense, considering this team. They tend to be building big leads early, and trusting their CBs in one on one situations, bringing extra guys to the QB tends to go well for them.

Probably the biggest change here, though, is the rise of Sizo Ashenafi. A two-time NSCF champion as an EDGE rusher at Felswyr State, he can only now be classified as a bonafide superstar. We have not had a star like this on the EDGE in a LONG time. We have seen how the Krauts have done it for years- that Fairbanks & Krease combo was borderline unblockable at the last World Bowl, as they triumphed over us in the World Bowl 46 Final at the Elysium.

Two dudes on the EDGE who both demand double teams. Destroys your offense in the game planning ppart of the game. Now, Banija's EDGEs are certainly not that, but Ashenafi is becoming a force who must be doubled on every play. The dude just wreaks havoc and causes chaos, which allows the rest of the defense opportunities to get to the quarterback and be disrusptive. And then, of course, the run defense.

This is best exemplified in the road game in Terefuxe. They came in having given us a ton of trouble in Week 5, when we beat them 29-24 at home. Their run game had been dominant all day in that one, and we eked out a close one. But the rematch, on the road, proved far different. While we were on upset alert, we took them out of their comfort zone early, and owned the line of scrimmage.

They average 31 points per game, and scored 24 in Herzegovina City- yet, they scored just 9 at home, three field goals. How come? Because the front 7 was dominant. Dudes like Essa Marong, Demas Akech, etc... Improving over the course of the 7 weeks. Simply put, this read-option run offense is terribly difficult to defend, you do not know what is coming, and from where. But winning at the line of scrimmage was a great way to make them one dimensional. When you are punching through the gaps into the backfield, you can tackle all the potential runners.

Terefuxe had 133 team rushing yards in this game- they had 250+ in the matchup in Banija. Just a good showcase of how this defense continues to improve. Thomas Hall desperately wants to be the #1 scoring defense at the end of the group stages. "We did this at World Bowl 40- but not since." He told reporters. "We've got a great chance at getting that #1 overall seed, and two more wins will get us there. And to be the top scoring defense... It would showcase how crucial this defense has been. And launch us to the knockout stages- where it's four and won or one and done. We will be ready."

by **Cardenao** » Mon Oct 02, 2023 12:07 pm

As the Cardenao national gridiron team geared up in the locker room, Alabaster Res couldn’t help but notice a change in atmosphere. Usually the mood was relaxed, with some anxiety as one would expect, but generally the players were eager to get out on the field. Now though? Things felt different, the balance of hope and anxiety had shifted towards the later as they prepared for a potentially decisive match against A Place Somewhere. A win here was seen as somewhat expected; either way victory was crucial for the Blue and Golds slim hopes of advancing to the next round of the World Bowl. The moment was here and every player felt its weight.

Coming into the tournament, expectations were nonexistent, maybe two or three wins. Now though, the team played over the odds and found themselves on the brink of qualification. Wins against three of the top 12 teams in the world was bolstered by a historic 20-7 home win against Ko-oren the third best team playing the game. All of these surprise wins created a hope within both player and supporter, but it also brought with it a new set of nerves. As the players laced up their cleats and donned the Blue and Gold of Cardenao, everyone knew this was a now-or-potentially never situation.

In the midst of the quiet intensity settling on the locker room, who would it be but Bobby Dials, the rapidly developing leader, stood in front of his troop. His voice and classic punctuating hand gestures, always a source of inspiration to the team, now carried an additional unspoken weight. They had been on an incredible journey, he reminded them, one that wasn’t over just yet. What a voyage it had been, victories, losses, some of the best moments of their lives and some full of pain, but underneath all of it was the brotherhood they had forged out on the field, the brotherhood that brought them to this moment.

"The games changed guys, it’s not just us out there on the field, it’s not just about us. We're playing for Cardenao, for the man next to you, for all the fans who believe in us and the kids who want to be us," Bobby said, looking all around the room as he tried to pour his will into the other players. "Yeah, shits tough, I’m nervous man, it’s a big moment. There's pressure, everyone knows it. But we also know this is where champions are made, this is where a lifetime of hard work takes over. We've come too fucking far together to let a little bit of pressure knock us off our destiny."

Coach Steve Valentine, knowing the mental toll these high-stakes games took on players, emphasized the importance of staying mentally strong.

“Alright look, y’all are built for this okay? You’ve rained for this, we’ve built up to this minute alright? You've faced tougher challenges out there in the world, you’re going to face this challenge. It's not about eliminating nerves, we’re all nervous; it's about channeling that energy into focusing on the play in front of you and being determined not to let the man next to you down. Play the game the way we play it, trust your training the way you’ve done it, and leave everything you have on that field."

With these words and a healthy dose of yelling and chest pounding, the locker room became a center of shared resolve. The players were ready, bigging each other up with crazy words and gestures that spoke volumes of how these young men cared for each other. Each player, in their own way, dealt with the nervous energy that lingered in the air, packing it away as they put on a uniform woven from the determination to win.

As the final moments in the locker room counted down and the baying of the fans grew louder, the door swung open and the staff member called them to a field they could glimpse beyond his shoulder. The nerves remained, but seeing that field caused the team to draw a collective breath, settling their nerves as they had their eyes on the prize. The team ran onto the field with the fire of hope burning in them, ready to channel that anxiety into the big plays needed to keep their World Bowl dream alive.

by **South Newlandia** » Mon Oct 02, 2023 12:16 pm

Cutoff for Groups A and B

Group A

Ko-oren 12–7 Saint-Jean-Jacques et Burnham-on-Stove
Saint Kanye 16–3 Rouyoute
Cardenao 21–14 A Place Somewhere
Gyatso-kai 43–27 Cassadaigua

Group A                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD    Win % 
1 Saint Kanye                                 13   11   2   420  246 +174    0.846
2 Ko-oren                                     13   10   3   356  172 +184    0.769
3 Gyatso-kai                                  13    8   5   376  259 +117    0.615
4 Cardenao                                    13    7   6   352  385  −33    0.538
5 Cassadaigua                                 13    7   6   354  282  +72    0.538
6 Rouyoute                                    13    5   8   202  222  −20    0.385
7 Saint-Jean-Jacques et Burnham-on-Stove      13    3  10   277  471 −194    0.231
8 A Place Somewhere                           13    1  12   189  489 −300    0.077

Group B

Valanora 64–20 Anthor
TJUN-ia 41–3 Lisander
Chromatika 50–16 Sarzonia
The Kytler Peninsulae 27–17 Tikariot

Group B                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD    Win % 
1 TJUN-ia                                     13   12   1   450  272 +178    0.923
2 Sarzonia                                    13    9   4   352  190 +162    0.692
3 Chromatika                                  13    9   4   356  205 +151    0.692
4 The Kytler Peninsulae                       13    7   6   294  261  +33    0.538
5 Tikariot                                    13    5   8   219  320 −101    0.385
6 Valanora                                    13    5   8   365  381  −16    0.385
7 Anthor                                      13    3  10   223  379 −156    0.231
8 Lisander                                    13    2  11   149  400 −251    0.154

by **HUElavia** » Mon Oct 02, 2023 6:13 pm

No Room for Error

HUElavia enters the final Matchdays needing victories to assure knockout round qualification

No Room for Error. Just like the title of this article, this is the exact message that is swarming HUElavia coming into these final matches for the Group Stage. The team needed two wins in the last four matches to essentially clinch their place in the Last 16. Unfortunately, for the team, this would not be the case.

The first game saw an obliteration of South Americanastan, who had been having a horrific World Bowl tournament, where in front of a rabid HUElavian crowd, the team played to a 45-0 tune. A mix of touchdowns from passes, runs and a pick 6 from the defense that led to the blowout victory. There was a sense of confidence that the team could turn the page and really hit the momentum for the last three matches.

Unfortunately, reality hit the team once again. For the first time in many years, HUEavia was swept by their opponent, which in this case was Corporate City 1. Despite having a 14-0 lead at the half, Corporate City 1 staged a comeback and really had HUElavia on the ropes defending until a last minute touchdown essentially ended the game, 21-17. Once again, HUElavia took another loss, and it was one that they did not anticipate by any means.

With the team's 4th loss in the Group Stage, Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos continue to sit in 3rd Place, but can no longer finish in 1st Place for the Group. The most the team could aspire for is 2nd Place, where the team has to defeat Quebec and Shingoryeo and Sudilia to possibly get 2nd Place. Quebec and Shingoryeo is the next opponent for HUElavia, with it being the last Home Game of the Group Stage for HUElavia, as they will play in Estadio Nacional (100,000) in Curumba, a rare appearance for HUElavia's national stadium to host a Gridiron Football Match.

Looking at the matches, a victory in the last two games is enough for the team to Qualify. Although, Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos do not want to leave it to the last day to qualify and want to go out guns blazing at home with a rabid crowd behind them against a familiar ally and rival in Q&S. Here's to hoping it can be an entertaining match and a big momentum boost to get to the knockouts.

FORCA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!

by **Corporate City 1** » Mon Oct 02, 2023 6:36 pm

Catch all the SDGL action live on SPLC.tv!

L1 Inner
Syndicalist Policlub Sabots (MSD) 31–16 CCTZ Hardened Gems (CTZ)
Industry City Sharks (MSD) 30–3 SDC Guerrillas (SDC)
BPR-GFC Bulls (CCO) 28–14 Revanchist Policlub Avengers (MSD)
OMW Sinners (CCO) 51–27 Riverside Speeders (CCO)
Liberal Party GFC Capitalists (CCO) 27–18 Xuelei Bombers (MSD)
Dome City Highlanders (MSD) 6–14 Senti Strikers (MSD)
Reyalto Warriors (MSD) 0–3 Arsenal Gunners (CCO)
DoC Guardians (CCO) 24–34 Chigul Buffalo (MSD)
Social Revolution Party Purples (CCO) 24–21 Conservative Party AFC (CCO)

by **Quebec and Shingoryeo** » Mon Oct 02, 2023 8:10 pm

SOCIAL SEASONS OF SHIN-GORYEO: SYNOPSIS

For those wondering about the Social Seasons, an introductory article about it is available here.

Year Season Month City Function
1 Small Oct. Dongnae-Halifax Festival de Dongnae
Brief synopsis: Raoul-Christophe 'R.C.' Jang-Nolan meets his friend Louise and tells her that there will be a new film project of his that could be his 'finest work', but will likely require assistance from a specific studio.
With a set plan for the presentation of the project, R.C. heads to the premiere at the Festival de Dongnae, where he lightly drops the notes of Rico Sierra, the Quebeco-Krytenian chair of the Monte-Sierra studio, of 'Barbenheimer'.
Sierra finds it amusing, but informs R.C. to give about a month before deciding on the project.
Cutoffs to occur: July 1 (Louise) - July 3 (Raoul-Christophe) - July 5 (Festival Review)
1 Small Nov. Joongyeong Bal des Ballons
Cutoff to occur: July 7 - July 9
1 None Oct. Mlima Kijani Testiculos Ceremony
Cutoffs to occur: July 27 - July 31 - TBD (Likely in WCoH/DBC)
1 Large Dec. Montevicio Montevicio Emerald Ball
Cutoffs to occur (Likely in WCoH/DBC): TBD - TBD - TBD
1 Large July Joongyeong Grand Prix de Joongyeong
Cutoffs to occur: August 31 (Pierre) - September 3 (Dr. Heo) - Sept 6 (The Siblings)
---
2 Small Oct. Joongyeong Final Night of the QBC Proms
Cutoffs to occur: September 24 (Myeong-Shin) - September 26 (Ian) - September 27 (Raoul-Christophe)
2 Small Fall Various Background
Cutoffs to occur: September 29 - October 1 - October 2
2 Large April Joongyeong Jongmyo Jerye
2 Large May Songak Athlone Gala
2 Large July Adelphi Castle Adelphite Festival

The Social Seasons of Shin-goryeo

Part 19 - Tri-Provincials (Hibernation Period) - Arsene

Third Quarter

Since his retirement from the office, Arsene Pineau Kim found time to travel on more leisurely, casual pace. This was no different when he, as the Chair of Her Majesty's Privy Council, would have to make necessary visits to his former colleagues or friends, with whom he almost always had a business or two to address. This was of no exception when he had to visit a certain Dr. Heo, with whom they had enjoyed a rather cordial relation in the Christinian era, and this time it was his turn to pay him a visit, perhaps even more so when considering that his and Pierre V.E. Youngblood's visit to Dr. Heo's Joongyeong flat earlier was sudden in nature.

Inside the stadium's press box, where things looked a bit more like the Bird's Eye view, Arsene and the greater Heo family were watching the third quarter unfold. It was a mostly well-maintained, climate-controlled domain, though the slight downside were the presence of many family members, who were quite surprised to see the longtime former Prime Minister joining them for the audience. The Heos' main branch, whose sub-branches were divided per the brothers Dong-Soo and Dong-Chae, were half the NPD supporters and the other half PJLQ, and considered the Prime Minister to be a favourable figure.

Not that Arsene had minded - he had lived in the city's bustling down as an undergraduate at University of Kingston's Trinity College nonetheless - and he had watched multiple home games at the stadium when his beloved Joongyeong Voyageurs would come to visit every other year. It would still be another two decades to go before the Argonauts would really see their winning days - a half-decade of success with Dexter Ahn, who would set a couple of record breaking seasons en route to two titles before retiring for good. But in any case, he was happy to see that the family members were more or less occupied watching their star-boy having a good day - two touchdowns and 225 passing yards thrown on the first half would at least suggest that.

Now, neither Dr. Heo nor Arsene were particularly big people, and they still managed to find this an occasion to dress more loosely, but the level of nerves had more or less remained firm with them not being able to maintain a proper watch of the third quarter. It was fortunate that Erskine had already come out with a 27-13 lead, especially as their respective competitiveness (as any elderly family member would, dear reader) would prevent them from talking about the greater matter at concern.

'This kid's a good football player,' Arsene said, as he started to drink from his vial of scotch. 'He's not fast nor strong, but has good understanding of the game and has right fundamentals where needed.'

Dr. Heo agreed about the assessment. 'You would think so, too,' he simply nodded, as the Erskine would start at the Westvale 35 for their first defensive drive. 'He has a promising future, but likely not in football. He's rated higher in baseball - if you haven't kept up with high school baseball the past five years.'

'I am losing touch with time, ain't I?' asked Arsene. This part was true - at sixty years of age, Arsene was starting to get behind what it meant to be a grandfather, but with his first two children having kids late, and the last one, Raoul-Christophe whom you have met earlier, not even married yet, it was still some time away for him to really think about going back to that aspect of being a parent, or a grandparent. 'You know, there are some things with being a parent of athletic children that I have missed a lot in those days.' Of course, being the Mayor of Songak, and then the leader of opposition, would do that. 'Fortunately, Meghan (Arsene's wife -e.d.-) had done a lot of travels with the kids and helped scheduling clinics for the kids to go and whatnot.'

'I could relate to that, only because I did a lot of those since Maureen was a full-time barrister and a dance choreographer, and you know how the Mahan scene does that to anyone who dares to enter,' Dr. Heo agreed once again, remembering that much of his kids' growing days were split with one, and rarely both, parent attending to duties. 'Hae-Seung is lucky his mother did everything for him. Being a single parent ain't no easy on anybody.'

'But now, let's move on from that,' said Arsene, as he decided this would be the right time to turn around the topic. 'You have to tell me what the hell is going with the situation involving my son, and the file.'

'The Royal Archives files that were declassified?' asked Dong-Soo, as he suggested Arsene to stop the drinking. 'You know, we are still in a public property. Please behave like a married man you are, and have been for last twenty-five years.'

'Yes, precisely so,' Arsene answered. 'Raoul-Christophe suspects the Daemyeonggoong Palace wishes to maintain a hold of those files to provide a further diplomatic leverage in case they would have to deal with Cabo Azure, perhaps even more so since their Crown Princess has been out in the Quebecois society for the past year and the half.'

'That would be correct, or just an act of generosity as the woman known to have a kind heart to those who she wishes to be close,' Dr. Heo nodded, as he looked back at his friend. 'It is clear that the Queen favours her Diamond of the Last season over most of the prospective debutantes into the society, with sole exceptions being that of future Claire Lundrigan, or the Shelbourne sisters.' He then took a brief break, before resuming to speak. 'Whether I agree with her on this or not is not exactly up to me, but I am aware, mostly because the Portelo dynasty's just as much of our blood as half the dynastic lines who roam in the Joongyeongite society.'

'That being Henri VII's brother, His Royal Highness Alexandre.'

'Precisely so,' He then went back to what he was trying to explain. 'I have been loyal and more importantly self-preserving enough, not as a curious historian but as a head of the Royal Archives of Shingoryeo, to not read those declassified files. That said, Arsene my friend, I could at least tell from the rather complicated nature of the request, of which your son had gotten into trouble...that we are not in a position to deal with possible consequences just yet, even if the Queen wishes to. Perhaps the times will have to wait, with proper acclimation period needed.'

'Hmmm,' Arsene murmured, as the brief minute of silence had followed between them. Right as that had happened, they would hear a slight sigh as the Erskine Redmen had allowed a touchdown on a 35-yard pass. It was not a bad play from objective standpoint, but a couple of missed plays and a linebacker blowing his coverage was by no means an impressive act to follow up after a strong first quarter.

They would go back to skim the field, before resuming to speak. 'But do you think the Queen will be able to accept a no?' Arsene asked. The former Prime Minister, who had advised the Queen for most of her early years, knew the Queen was a reasonable woman with appropriate temper, but sometimes a bit of determination on her end would do miles in pushing for a specific agenda or proposal.

'I will have to give a try,' Dr. Heo answered. 'She still enjoys certain pomp and circumstance. Not the overtly displays her mother's known for out in the Capitol, she hates those, but the Queen is still an elegant woman, and a highly-calculative lady at that, so she would appreciate if I come up with a right compromise for her eyes to light up.'

'Call me sold, in that case,' Arsene answered, as the Redmen would enter into their first offensive drive of the second half.

Fourth Quarter/Fin

'Congratulations, dear Hae-Seung. I knew you would do it,' said Heo Dong-Chae, as the sixty-eight year old grandfather gave his son a light but firm congratulations with a quick hug. Mr, Heo was never the best when it comes to receiving and even more so giving proper physical embraces, and while he has given his two children and three grandchildren plenty as an adult, there still existed a semblance of awkwardness in which the former primary school principal behaved.

'Thank you, grandpa,' Hae-Seung smiled back at his grandfather, as he gave him another hug before looking to see where his mother was. Hae-Seung was glad his mother was right on the front row, with her staying in full motion the entire time the 39 year old was in the front row of the Erskine Redmen's stands. As a high school teacher she had a fairly routine life, but the workload that she would have in and out had meant that she was not always able to be there for her son.

'Mum!' He shouted, looking at her as she smiled back at him. It was apparent she was proud of Hae-Seung in what was likely his last match to be played on his football career. 'We made it! We made it! We are the Tri-Provincial Champions!'

And what a way to go out on top? Heo Hae-Seung and his friend, Keon Atkinson-McNair, may have had the game of their careers. In what would turn out to be a 48-21 win, they would register milestones. Hae-Seung would throw 34 out of 38 for 402 yards, and score 5 touchdowns (4 offensive, one defensive). He wasn't exactly the most impressive out there with arm strength, but the offensive line did more than enough and he kept his body aware and movements poised to avoid a sack and passed with accuracy where needed.

'Yo, Atkinson!' Hae-Seung would then shout back to his friend Keon, who was out celebrating in a huddle with his father Alton McNair, and his mother, Sonia Atkinson. Right next to them was great wideout Kieran Kweon-Atkinson, the now-retired wideout of the RFL and the Grim Reapers fame happily watching his nephew putting together a performance that had reminded him of his playing days. 'Come here!'

'No, you come here!' answered Keon, who himself was busy celebrating. Their families' huddle would have to join a bit later.

But the duo had done their best this game, and their friendship would hold firm. And three of the touchdowns would be to Keon, as well. Unlike Hae-Seung, whose work as quarterback would likely remain underrated due to the pre-historic existence of Guy Rimpel, Atkinson-McNair had his own names to list out as well. He had broken the OFSAA-4A class record for receiving yards this game, receiving for 279 yards and two touchdowns. Having had a couple of scares back in first quarter and then at the start of the third quarter, Erskine Redmen would go onto outrace the Westvale Secondary in a quite unusual manner, and won the first Tri-Provincial title in twenty-three years. Some high school finals would be remembered for quite unusual moments, and this was going to be one of them. After all, who would expect a future Grim Reapers' shortstop and a future All-time Tight End to just have the showcase they would need for the next stage of their careers? It's now done, and it's time to celebrate.

by **Ranoria** » Mon Oct 02, 2023 8:13 pm

ZYX

Cutoff!

Group C
Ardsk 20–12 Sudilia
Sea Dome 33–14 South Americanastan
Drawkland 57–16 Corporate City 1
HUElavia 13–17 Quebec and Shingoryeo

  Group C                   Pld    W   L    PF   PA 
1 Drawkland                  13   12   1   504  238
2 Quebec and Shingoryeo      13   11   2   450  233
3 HUElavia                   13    8   5   408  216
4 Sea Dome                   13    8   5   325  309
5 Corporate City 1           13    6   7   254  309
6 Sudilia                    13    3  10   199  381
7 Ardsk                      13    3  10   204  425
8 South Americanastan        13    1  12   133  366

Group D
Peru 2022 RP 22–67 Terefuxe
South Newlandia 20–0 Torisakia
Bongo Johnson 30–16 The United Fruit Company
Abanhfleft 12–33 Banija

  Group D                   Pld    W   L    PF   PA 
1 Banija                     13   13   0   477  153
2 South Newlandia            13   11   2   424  191
3 Terefuxe                   13    8   5   443  258
4 Bongo Johnson              13    6   7   259  354
5 Abanhfleft                 13    4   9   178  295
6 The United Fruit Company   13    4   9   210  371
7 Torisakia                  13    3  10   203  381
8 Peru 2022 RP               13    3  10   268  459

by **Saint Kanye** » Mon Oct 02, 2023 9:02 pm

"AND THAT'S GAME! SURGE WIN! THE GROUP IS OURS! THE GROUP IS OURS!"

The Ko-oren Dragonflies spent the majority of the World Bowl 47 group stages as the leaders of Group A, with their rivals, the St. Kanye Surge, in striking distance just a game behind. However, with only four games remaining, the turntables began... or whatever. The Dragonflies were upset 20-7 on the road by a Cardenao squad that was hungry and eager to get back on the winning track after a four-game losing streak, but during the same matchday, the Surge demolished the SJJeBOS Tapirs 61-10 at home. This gave St. Kanye and Ko-oren identical 9-2 records entering the game between themselves a week later; the former would win 20-16 on a last second Hussein Jeffers touchdown catch on fourth down, sweeping the latter and breaking the tie at the top of the standings.

For the Surge to clinch the group, they only need to avoid earning two fewer wins than the Dragonflies for the remainder of the schedule, and since there are only two games left, that means dropping both of them while Ko-oren wins both. All it takes is one win for St. Kanye to protect their position, and that's what they would get against Rouyoute. It was a low-scoring affair, ending only 16-3, but the implications were enough of a cause for the home crowd at Pencurve Electronics Stadium to go wild.

"This was a crucial game, and we weren't about to let Rouyoute play spoiler against us," Surge head coach Jeff Delphine said. "Well, to be honest, we weren't entirely certain that's what they wanted to do when they came here, but either way we weren't going to give them the pleasure." It was the Yeezie defense that lorded it over their Rouyoutean opponents, holding them to just a field goal while they themselves scored on a fumble return, a pick six, and a safety.

1Q STK Rockwell 27 fumble return (Rasputin kick) STK 7-0
Rouyoutean quarterback Julien Girard had nowhere to go as the blitz-happy Surge tore through his offensive line, took him down, and knocked the ball loose. Linebacker Davon Rockwell then picked it up and ran with it, all the way to the end zone.

3Q ROU field goal Gauthier 36 STK 7-3
The Surge D clamped down on the visitors so hard that they were unable to get past midfield until late in the third quarter, and even then they could only settle for three points courtesy of Pierre-Louis Gauthier.

3Q STK Safety, Edison tackled Girard in end zone STK 9-3
Once again Girard failed to withstand the blitz, running into his own end zone while trying to look for someone to pass the ball to, and being sacked by Robby Edison in the process.

4Q STK Schwartz 64 interception return (Rasputin kick) STK 16-3
It was still a close game in the final quarter, and Rouyoute knew that they still had a chance to steal the win away. But their hopes were dashed when cornerback Mason Schwartz seemingly appeared out of nowhere to intercept a pass by Girard meant for the half-Drawk Alexandre Dupont, and for the third time in this tournament, the Yeezies would end a game on a pick six.

Not only did St. Kanye (11-2) win Group A, they also knocked Rouyoute (5-8) out of playoff contention. The decision then became clear: R.J. Linetti, Deshawn Fredericks, and several other key players will be rested for the group stage finale next week against A Place Somewhere. "Our starting unit is a stout one, but we have many more capable players than just them, let's give them a chance to shine," Coach Delphine explained. "The bench players have trained just as hard as the starters did, I know they'll still do great things there on the field."

The Dragonflies kept pace with the leaders, improving to 10-3 with a 12-7 win over the Saint-Jean-Jacques et Burnham-on-Stove Tapirs, who fell to 3-10. Cardenao (7-6) took down APS (1-2) by a close 21-14 margin, while the Gyatso-kai Boarcupines (8-5) turned back the Cassadaigua Fillies (7-6), winning by a score of 43-27. This means that next week's Cassadaigua-Cardenao matchup will be for the fourth and final playoff spot, with the winner joining the Surge, Dragonflies and Boarcupines in advancing to the Round of Sixteen, and the loser having to pack their bags already. "That'll be one to observe for sure," Linetti said. "They're both very good teams that deserve to make the playoffs, but unfortunately, only one can. Good luck to them."

-------------------------------------------------------------
| MD | Opponent           | Rank | Score   | Record | Place |
-------------------------------------------------------------
|  1 | @Cassadaigua       |  15  | W 19-17 |  1-0   |  4th  |
|  2 | Gyatso-kai         |   8  | L 22-37 |  1-1   |  5th  |
|  3 | @Cardenao          |  UR  | L 27-35 |  1-2   |  5th  |
|  4 | @SJJeBOS           |  UR  | W 41-27 |  2-2   |  6th  |
|  5 | Ko-oren            |   3  | W 26-10 |  3-2   |  4th  |
|  6 | @Rouyoute          |  23  | W 16- 9 |  4-2   |  3rd  |
|  7 | A Place Somewhere  |  UR  | W 49-14 |  5-2   |  2nd  |
|    | BREAK              |      |         |        |       |
|  8 | Cassadaigua        |  15  | W 40-10 |  6-2   |  2nd  |
|  9 | @Gyatso-kai        |   8  | W 50-38 |  7-2   |  2nd  |
| 10 | Cardenao           |  UR  | W 33-20 |  8-2   |  2nd  |
| 11 | SJJeBOS            |  UR  | W 61-10 |  9-2   |  1st  |
| 12 | @Ko-oren           |   3  | W 20-16 | 10-2   |  1st  |
| 13 | Rouyoute           |  23  | W 16- 3 | 11-2   |  1st  |
| 14 | @A Place Somewhere |  UR  |         |        |       |
-------------------------------------------------------------

by **Chromatika** » Mon Oct 02, 2023 9:46 pm

Gwenderyn, Iron Legion Hit Stride in Route of Sarzonia

HENZA CENTER, D'REA, CAPITAL DISTRICT - Through twelve games, the Iron Legion's offense hasn't really clicked. Gwenderyn's injury, some issues in protection, and the underutilization of the running backs had all led to this outcome. They'd not cracked forty, barely cracked thirty in a few occasions, and been mostly rushed.

With only two games left in the schedule and the playoffs looming, the Iron Legion turned in their best game of the Group Stage, dominating the Sarzonia Stars on all levels and scoring six touchdowns to a 50-16 victory. Sarai Gwenderyn was on fire throughout the game, going 31-of-38 for 319 yards and five touchdowns, while Lana Rhodes added 101 yards and a score in 21 carries. Gwenderyn was efficient in the medium passing game, finding her favorite target, Alessandra Mio, twelve times for 131 yards and two touchdowns, but she also spread the ball to eight other receivers.

"It was a tremendous game from our linemen," she commented afterwards, "They were able to buy me all the time that I needed, and guys were getting open. I know that they (Sarzonia) are one of the better teams in the world, but when we're clicking, we can beat anybody - and I mean anybody."

The Chromatik defense, on the other hand, only conceded one touchdown and three Field Goals - with all three Field Goals coming in the first two quarters. After that, Chromatika had a 27-9 lead at halftime, and never looked back. Park Mi-Hyeon led the way with fourteen tackles, while the vaunted secondary held the Sarzonian passing game to under two hundred yards of total offense. If it wasn't for a late score on the ground for the visitors, they wouldn't have cracked double digits.

"It's good to remind ourselves as well as our opponents just how good we can be," expressed Head Coach Misha Florentine about the huge win, "It was an identity-finding win, and hopefully it will just be a portent for the days to come. We still have some things we can improve on, and then it'll be all about finding consistency to make sure that we can approach every game with this level of execution and intensity."

"It was nice to give the fans something to really cheer about in the final home game of the group stage," expressed Park, "They've been there for us for all seven games of the homestand, and we've enjoyed home cooking. Now, it's time to go to the road to face Tikariot for one final tune-up, and then either to Rouyette or South Newlandia for the playoffs."

Chromatika will have one final chance to touch up any mistakes on a road trip to Tikariot before the playoffs. Should the Iron Legion win, they are guaranteed second place in the group behind TJUN-ia, virtue of the Head-to-Head sweep of the Stars.

"It's not exactly where we'd like to be," Offensive Coordinator Naia Curentino said of placing second in the group, "But we've turned the ship around, started to build some real momentum, and as long as we can keep the consistency up, we'll be in good shape to give it our best shot."

If they play like this every game? That World Bowl title will be theirs. Can they repeat it game after game, though?

by **Drawkland** » Mon Oct 02, 2023 9:47 pm

"The Emergency Maneuvers"

The rest of Brooklyn and Julian’s Cavsar visit went great. It turned out that Cavsar’s campus isn’t actually a dump, but a nicely-manicured and well-designed grounds with pretty red brick and white stone building styles. The campus being towards the edge of town meant that it was relatively peaceful and spacious, rather than the haphazard noise and bustle of Sadeg State’s downtown campus, which both Brooklyn and Julian had been around before.

They flew back home, Julian dropped Brooklyn off at her house, and it was time for the toughest part of this ordeal for Brooklyn.

“Hey! Welcome back!” Brooklyn’s mother, Elie exclaimed as her daughter came in the front door. She had recovered significantly from her sickness earlier that weekend, though her nose still looked a little raw.

“Hello!” Brooklyn replied happily. She set her bags down and gave her mom a tentative hug.

“Oh don’t worry, I’m not sick anymore,” Elie said. “So … how was the visit?”

“Am I allowed to speak my mind?” Brooklyn said, only half joking. She shot a quick glance behind her mom to see if her dad was nearby. Sure enough, Dustin Beck was sitting further back, in the living room.

“Of course,” Elie replied warmly.

“Honestly …” Brooklyn hesitated. “It wasn’t bad at all. The campus isn’t as horrible as I thought it would be, and everyone there was very welcoming. It felt like everybody there really cared.”

“I’m sure they did,” Dustin walked into the foyer to join the conversation. “But how did it stack up against Raikennax? I remember you said that visit went well too.”

“Hmmm,” Brooklyn pondered the question for a moment. Truthfully, she hadn’t consciously compared the two visits yet. Now that her dad had entered the conversation, it was going to be a little more awkward speaking her mind as well. “I have to say, Cavsar’s locker room was actually nicer than Raikennax’s. Coach Linhart said that they upgraded it after their semifinals run in the NSCF.”

“Still gives me the creeps that you were stuck with that nutjob,” Dustin grumbled. “Tell me you weren’t alone the whole time?”

“Actually, I wasn’t alone.” Brooklyn raised her eyebrows. “I had a friend with me. Julian, to be precise.”

“Julian Gallagher?” Dustin clarified, clearly astounded.

“Wasn’t he just giving you a ride to the airport?” Elie asked. “Why did he come on the visit with you?”

“It turns out that he was going to the airport because he was also visiting Cavsar. He doesn’t have an offer yet, but apparently Linhart sent him a letter and said he wanted to arrange a visit.”

“I see,” was all Dustin said.

“That’s great!” Elie exclaimed, drowning out her husband’s continued grumbling. “At least you were able to share that experience with somebody you knew. And who knows? Maybe you guys could keep your QB-receiver connection going in college too, right?”

“As if,” Dustin scoffed. “BB, you’re not seriously considering Cavsar still, right? I get it, you wanted to check out the campus, it’s not like you’re going to get many opportunities to tour for football offers. But this is Cavsar we’re talking about. I’m still in shock that it’s gone this far.”

“As far as I’m concerned, they’re the frontrunner.” Brooklyn replied coolly. “They have everything I need. They want me to play football. They have the opportunities for baseball, and even basketball. They have access to the tournaments I want to play in. They’ve got great facilities, great fans-”

“Oh come on,” Dustin groaned, screwing up his face in what looked like irritation. “How about their subpar academics? How about-”

“Let’s be real, you and I both know that the academics are not my priority.” Brooklyn spat. “Like, I’m not going to slack off in my studies, but I don’t care about where they land in the nerd rankings. I’m there to develop my game and get ready for the GLD, or PBL, or whoever wants to take me. I mean if it weren’t for football, I would’ve declared for the PBL draft already and skipped college entirely.”

“Mhm,” Dustin nodded, but he didn’t seem satisfied by Brooklyn’s response at all. Regardless, he could feel his wife glower from beside him and figured he had to cut this off before it devolved into another shouting match. “I understand. I still think you should put more consideration towards the quality of your education, regardless.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Brooklyn conceded. She was rapidly starting to feel bad for escalating the tension of the conversation. She just wanted to be honest about her feelings, but she didn’t mean to interrupt and be combative.

“I’m glad you had a good time though,” Dustin muttered. He turned to head for the coat closet next to the foyer, grabbing a pair of shoes.

“Where are you going?” Elie and Brooklyn asked at the same time.

“Just remembered I forgot something at work yesterday,” Dustin replied immediately. “I’ll be out for a bit. Love you.”

In less than a minute, Dustin was gone. Elie and Brooklyn were left confused at the quick exit but relieved that the situation had been defused. Hopefully things would stay civil whenever he came back.

Dustin Beck arrived on the campus of Sadeg State University about a half-hour later. No matter how many times he went, it still gave him a sense of nostalgia to walk along the buildings, both the ancient and modern ones. He didn’t just come for reminiscing, though, he was on a mission.

Minutes later he came up to the athletic department offices, on the edge of the complex hosting most of Sadeg State’s home fields for various sports. He had been here many times, so he knew the building plan by heart. He got in the elevator and punched the bottom for the top floor. Thankfully nobody had recognized him on the way in to slow his progress.

The top floor contained the offices of several big shots, one of them being Donnie Hollis, the Athletic Director for SSU. Dustin went straight to Hollis’s office, running into his secretary outside the door.

“Eh? Oh, hello Mr. Beck!” The secretary squeaked in recognition. “What a surprise! Is there anything I can do for you?”

“I need to speak with Donnie,” Dustin replied curtly. “Is he in?”

“Well, I believe so,” The secretary said hesitantly. “However, I think he’d want you to make an appointment first. He does have a lot of work on his plate-”

“I don’t care if he’s in a meeting with Iarocav himself right now,” Dustin replied as nicely as he could manage. “I’m going to talk to him.”

Ignoring the secretary’s timid protests, Dustin slid past her desk and opened the door without knocking.

“Huh?” Donnie Hollis jerked his head up at the noise, clearly alarmed by the sudden entry. When his eyes recognized Dustin, his expression changed to one of joy. “Ah, Dustin! What a surprise!”

“Hey, Donnie,” Dustin replied with a grin. “Good to see you again, as always.”

“Of course, of course,” Hollis stood up from his chair and offered his hand to shake, which Dustin obliged. “Come on, take a seat. What brings you back home this afternoon?” Clearly whatever ‘work’ Hollis had been doing was quickly forgotten.

“Well, I just have a few questions,” Dustin started. “Let me just cut to the chase. Why hasn’t my daughter received a football scholarship offer yet?”

“Wha-?” Hollis was visibly taken aback by the sudden interrogation. “Well, ah, you see, that’s more Manlio’s department, y’know, I’m sure he’s-”

“Don’t pull this with me,” Dustin groaned. “I’m sure if I go down and talk to Brand, he’ll say the opposite. Here, let’s make this simple.” Dustin reached across Hollis’s desk and grabbed the phone. He had used this building’s phones before, and he even remembered which number led to the office of Brand Manlio, Sadeg State’s head football coach.

“Dusty, I don’t think this is necessary-” Hollis tried to say, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

“Hello?” Dustin said into the phone. Manlio had picked up immediately. “Hey, yeah, it’s me. Listen, why don’t you come up to Donnie’s office real quick? I want to talk to you both. Yeah, definitely. See you in a few, thanks.”

Dustin paced around the office in silence as he waited for Manlio to arrive. Hollis nervously sat in his chair, watching as the former Skyhawk stepped back and forth, arms crossed.

“Is this really all about a scholarship for your daughter?” Hollis asked after a couple minutes of awkward silence. “She already has-”

“Save it!” Dustin put up his hand to stop Hollis. “Manlio should be here any moment, right?”

Brand Manlio knocked on the office door and opened it himself a second later.

“Dusty! Good to see you again.” Manlio raised his arms, and Dustin gave him a quick sidehug in greeting.

“Have a seat, Brand,” Dustin motioned his hand towards the chair across the desk from Hollis, who was folding his hands together. Manlio sat down as requested, but Dustin remained standing.

“What can we do for you?” Manlio asked innocently, completely missing the troubled demeanor of Hollis across from him.

“You could tell me why you haven’t offered my daughter a football scholarship yet,” Dustin replied quickly. “It’s ridiculous at this point.”

“Football scholarship? For Brooklyn?” Manlio raised his eyebrows curiously, almost like he was waiting for a punchline. When Dustin’s steely expression remained unchanged, the comprehension dawned on Manlio. “Oh, you’re being serious?”

“Yes, I’m being serious,” Dustin spat. “You think I’d drive down here and drag you up to Donnie’s office to tell a joke or something? Brooklyn is starting to narrow down her college choices, and she’s days away from cutting Sadeg State out of it.”

“Is that a fact?” Manlio asked, a little confused. This was news to him. “What, is she expecting a football offer or something?”

“She is.” Dustin answered curtly. His face showed he was clearly not joking.

“Wait … really?” Manlio turned to Hollis, who was tight-lipped and looking pale on the other side of the desk. “Why did you tell me otherwise?”

“You did what?” Dustin rounded on Hollis. “You told him not to bother recruiting Brooklyn?”

“Well, in a manner of speaking, perhaps,” Hollis weaseled. “Really, honestly, I thought Brooklyn was going to focus on baseball. For heaven’s sake, she was set to be drafted by a PBL team next summer. Everybody knows that baseball is her true passion. James sent her an offer and everything, along with Aldus. We did the right thing!”

“No, you didn’t.” Dustin grunted. “You think she was playing high school football just to appease me? She loves the game. She wants to keep playing it.”

“I was told she was just doing it for the points,” Manlio said quickly. “Sure she’s athletic, got a good arm, but she’s a big fish in a small pond. I didn’t realize-”

“If she just cared about getting the five points, she could’ve done fucking chess or something,” Dustin shot back. “She did football because she wanted to play football. And don’t bullshit me about the small pond thing. Yeah she’s at a public school, but that’s because I wasn’t going to send her to some stuffy private academy. You recruit locally all the damn time anyway, so I don’t want to hear it.”

“Right,” Manlio muttered.

“That being said, if you were fed bad info, I can’t blame it on you,” Dustin turned from Manlio back to Hollis, who was sweating on the other end. “What the hell is your problem?”

“Dusty, come on,” Hollis mumbled. “You know as well as I do that women haven’t succeeded in DOCA play in years. Decades, even. The last one was, what, Slater? Well over 50 years ago, and she wasn’t exactly a headliner.”

“Brooklyn is better than that,” Dustin insisted. “She has national team level potential. Trust me, I’ve been around the Corps long enough to know what that looks like.”

“Potential is one thing,” Hollis said. “Ability to draw it out is another. Our football team has extremely high expectations. We have to play in the NSCF! Not to mention we’re playoff contenders in DOCA every year. A player like Brooklyn … she would provide too much of a distraction. Too much time and energy, that could be better focused improving other players with a higher floor and just as high a ceiling.”

“Hold on, are you doubting my ability to develop my players?” Manlio interrupted. “I could easily turn Brooklyn into a player of NSCF caliber.”

“The risk-reward just isn’t worth it, right?” Hollis continued, unfazed. “She wants to be a quarterback, right? It’s such a valuable position. If she doesn’t pan out, that could harm the entire program. It’s not like a receiver or running back, where she could just be thrown down the depth chart and forgotten about. God knows we wouldn’t want to end up in a QB debacle like what Cavsar had to deal with for two years in a row.”

“I don’t think you understand the stakes here,” Dustin shook his head. “She doesn’t give a shit about roster politics. She wants to play football. Baseball and maybe basketball are still on her radar, but she’s prioritizing the schools that are giving her recruiting attention for football. You wanna take a guess as to who’s offering?”

“Surely it’s a bunch of backwater schools who have nothing to lose, right?” Manlio offered. “That sort of move would make sense to me.”

“Yes, and I’m sure Brooklyn would still prefer to take an excellent baseball or basketball program, rather than suffer in some terrible football program just to play football.” Hollis waved his hand dismissively. “I don’t think we have to worry about that.”

“Wrong,” Dustin leaned forward, a look of pure disgust on his face. “Cavsar.”

The word hung in the air for a moment. Hollis’s heart dropped into his stomach, and tried to press even deeper into his chair. Manlio’s jaw dropped, and he leaned forward in disbelief.

“Raikennax has offered her too, but she wants to play in the NSCF. Just like her daddy,” Dustin added. He couldn’t help but smirk with satisfaction. Finally these clowns understood what was going on.

“Linhart is out of his mind!” Manlio finally exclaimed. “He already has two young QBs to come up once Oakley graduates. Throwing Brooklyn in the mix, especially if she’s actually developed? It’s like he wanted those awful seasons of having no idea which QB to start!”

“He doesn’t give a damn about that. He wants Brooklyn to be a Gladiator.” Dustin took a deep breath. “He’s going far enough to try recruiting one of Brooklyn’s high school teammates, a wide receiver she has a good connection with. This kid hasn’t gotten a single offer from a top 50 program, and suddenly he’s got attention from Cavsar of all schools. This isn’t just an innocent move to improve the roster. This is targeted.”

“So what?” Hollis cried. “Let’s be honest. The chances of Brooklyn panning out as a professional level player are slim, no offense-”

“Offense taken.”

“-so why should we care? Let Linhart sink his program. Maybe this could be the final straw that gets those goons out of the NSCF slate for good.”

“You wish,” Dustin snarled. “Do you not see what he’s doing? It doesn’t matter if Brooklyn flames out. She won’t, but even if she does, it won’t matter. The moment she dons the Cavsar colors, you’ve lost. We’ve lost, all of us. It’s a PR move that would give the Gladiator fandom another entirely undeserved sense of superiority over us.”

“He’s right,” Manlio agreed, turning to look at Hollis.

“I mean, honestly!” Dustin continued, staring daggers at the athletic director. “You want to be the reason that Sadeg State legend Dustin Beck’s only child commits to our most disgusting rivals? Imagine the Beck name being on the back of a Cavsar jersey. I think I’m going to throw up.”

“How would anybody know?” Hollis sputtered. “Recruiting activities and offers are considered confidential. Brooklyn hasn’t posted anything on her social media, right?”

“Believe me.” Dustin put his hands on Hollis’s desk, leaning forward to be uncomfortably close to his face. “They would know. If she commits to Cavsar without a peep from you, I’ll tell the whole multiverse myself. They’ll know who was responsible for such a betrayal.”

“Are you threatening me?” Hollis asked incredulously, shying as far back as he could while remaining in his seat.

“It’s not a threat, it’s a promise. If you do the right thing, you have nothing to fear.” Dustin stood back up, shooting a look at Manlio. “What are you looking at?”

“Well …” Manlio hesitated, glancing over at Hollis, who was giving a warning look. Manlio kept going anyway. “To be frank, I did write an offer letter for Brooklyn. A couple months ago, during the NSCF season. Obviously I didn’t send it because I was, ah, led to believe it wasn’t necessary.”

“Oh please,” Hollis spoke up suddenly. “We had several discussions. The decision was mutual.”

“Mutual my ass,” Manlio barked back. “I wrote that offer for a reason. I intended to send it. The only reason I didn’t is because you’re my boss, and like hell I’m gonna directly defy your orders.”

“Go dust that letter off,” Dustin suggested. “Today, if you can. There’s no time to waste!”

“Excuse me?” Hollis turned back to Dustin. Apparently he’d gotten some confidence back. “That’s not your call to make. No matter how frustrated you are, my word around here is law.”

“You’re right,” Dustin conceded sarcastically. “Again, I’ll make sure everyone knows about ‘your word’ when Brooklyn’s putting on a Cavsar hat in a couple months. I’m sure that’ll do a lot to restore the fanbase’s faith in this administration, given the last few years of NSCF ‘success.’”

“Being involved in a decision like this is highly unprofessional,” Hollis twisted his lip. “You realize it wouldn’t look great for your reputation either?”

“Doesn’t matter much to me. I’ve made my money, I have my family, I don’t need much else.”

“How lucky for you,” Hollis grumbled. He fell silent, with the eyes of both Dustin and Manlio peering at him expectantly.

Hollis looked back and forth between the two men, thinking they were going to continue the conversation, but they said nothing. He slowly realized that they were merely waiting for his word to continue. Obviously Manlio wasn’t going to commit insubordination right in front of him, but Dustin wasn’t going to leave until he had assurance that Brooklyn was going to receive a scholarship. It seemed that, for better or worse, his hands were tied.

“Fine,” Hollis finally said after a long moment. “Go give precious Brooklyn her scholarship. But I’m warning you, Beck. Don’t ever mess with me again. You’re very fortunate to be in the position you’re in, but do not push your luck.”

“Ideally, I’ll never need to,” Dustin replied coolly.

“I suppose I should be going then,” Manlio said quickly, and he stood up to leave the room.

“I’ll tag along for a bit, if you don’t mind?” Dustin turned to follow.

“Sure.”

“Thanks for the meeting, Donnie,” Dustin called over his shoulder as he left Hollis’s office.

Donnie Hollis muttered some choice words, but he soon returned to his work. If Brooklyn didn’t pan out, Dustin would surely have hell to pay.

by **Sea Dome** » Mon Oct 02, 2023 10:29 pm

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BOX SCORE LOADING . .. ...

League 1 Outer DivisionArchipelago Destroyers (MSD) 17–13 SMSDA Captains (SDA)
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Cargo City Flames (MSD) 24–3 Biles County Bolts (MSD)

by **Ko-oren** » Tue Oct 03, 2023 1:55 am

The big event of the day was an agricultural show in Fairview-Urbania. Never confuse a Fairviewer for an Urbanian and the other way around, but the difference was visible to nobody, not even the Fairview-Urbania dwellers themselves. That is, there were a few subtle tells that came out for every game between their college teams, which Alastair was still getting used to. It was the same university, but they had two campuses, one on each side of the river, with significant overlap in courses and specialisations and even students, as any course that wasn't offered in Fairview could still be taken in Urbania for the normal amount of credit and vice versa. Either way, beyond the patchwork of collegiate allegiances, the two cities - still a pretty major conurbation for Mercatoren - were a bit 'hicky' though natives ensured Alastair that it got a lot more bumpkin the further up the plains you'd go.

Max explained that there were three counties in the area: Fairview in the middle, where they were now and where produce was collected and processed before getting sent to the other cities, Springfield County on one end, which had both a well-off upper class and a huge farmer class and absolutely nothing in between, and Lower Haven County, the one Alastair was already 'warned' about. "We don't have the time to take you through all three, but this is a pretty decent sampling of what it's like."

Whereas in Steenwyk and the cities around it, people seemed to actually know Alastair or at least watch the Ko-orenite national team in the World Bowl, that wasn't the case here. Either the Steenwykers wanted to seem polite - highly unlikely given that city's reputation - or they were a bit more connected to the world - slightly more plausible - but here in Fairview, even with Alastair and teammates in their Dragonflies jerseys, onlookers didn't really engage. There was a wave and there was some pointing, sure, but that was that.

The mood suddenly shifted when a tough-looking guy who can't have been much more than 21 came up from backstage. Now the people were crowding the stage, about half of them excitedly yelling, half of them booing and also yelling, but things of a very different nature ("YOU SUCK"). It wasn't hard to connect the dots - the quarterback for the Urbania Bears (the college team) had joined them and was looking to throw some passes over to Alastair and Philip. First the quarterback - never introduced himself or was introduced by Max - walked to the crowd to do some fistbumps and high fives, with the entire crowd eating out of his hand and nobody really looking over to the Ko-orenite trio at all. Dhauthenu, the safety, looked at the situation for a bit, decided it wasn't worth it to risk his ankles trying to cover either of his teammates on a wobbly stage as the unnamed quarterback walked back to them, and decided to play centre. Snap, semi-useless dropback, throw, catch. The first pass went to Philip. The second to Alastair. The third was a laser, not exactly on target, but Philip made it work. Loud cheers - for the quarterback, not for the receiver. Max looked on with a knowing grin - they were here to make the local QB prospect look good, not the other way around. Draft season wasn't far away.

Next was a short visit to the other campus, the Fairview one, nicknamed the Foxes, making their orange colour scheme do a lot of heavy lifting - every single hall, every single room, dominated by a pale-ish orange that wasn't visually hard on the eyes, necessarily, but the sheer amount of it was harsh. Videos and pictures of the three catching passes from the enemy's quarterback had reached campus, making the reception a bit cool, but the small ceremony in their basketball venue fixed the image quickly and made people warm up to them very fast. Un-Ko-orenitely fast. Fairview's quarterback at least introduced himself to them, but being a few years younger, wasn't as pressured to look as perfect.

The cafetaria served some class Mercatorenian grub, the Ko-orenites not really getting the impression that they changed up the menu for their foreign visitors, and instead whatever the food was was drenched in sauce - all different ones - that ran together when everything was lovingly smacked down onto the plate. There wasn't much rhyme or reason to the mix of flavours - it wasn't even bad, just indistinguishable and bland. Dhauthenu didn't seem to mind, being the same age as several students, and having been in university mess halls not that long ago. For Philip and Alastair, it was visibly a longer time ago.

The Mercatoren sports season

Oct-Feb: College Football: 14 teams, single round robin, but with an added home/away rivalry game to a single opponent. The three division winners and a single wild card team play February playoffs.

Sep-Dec and Feb-Apr: Pro Football: 4 teams, who play each other six times for eighteen games. Top of the standings after that are champions. The mid-season break is to wait for college football to end.

Apr-Sep: College and Pro Baseball. College: 8 teams in two divisions, Pro: 6 teams in a single division. Not a lot of postseason.

Sep-Mar: College and Pro Basketball. College: 10 teams in three divisions, but the divisions aren't used that much in scheduling. Pro: 4 teams in a single division, playing a double or even triple round robin tournament every weekend (including marketable evenings). A minor postseason.

Sep-Apr: College and Pro Ice hockey. College: 14 teams, Pro: 6 teams. Extensive playoffs.

by **Sarzonia** » Tue Oct 03, 2023 9:18 am

After the final whistle sounded in Sarzonia's 50-16 drubbing at the hands of Chromatika, Gavin Davis was thinking very carefully about his plans for the post-match speech.

The Sarzonian national gridabll team manager knew he couldn’t afford to give his team a second tongue-lashing even though he felt the team’s efforts on all sides of the ball were horrifically lacking. The team didn’t come ready to play against the second ranked team in the gridball-playing multiverse. He knew that was on him.

He thought about grilling into defensive coordinator Tyler Paige, but realised that wouldn’t do a damn bit of good. He felt as responsible for the team committing five false starts, three holding penalties, including one that easily could have been called in the end zone for a safety, and an unsportsmanlike conduct foul by quarterback Cameron Stallworth. That led to Davis benching his starting QB in favour of Mike Barnett. It was Barnett who tossed a nine-yard touchdown to Steve Swain that could only get the Stars within three possessions.

He had a lot to work on. Namely, a team that very clearly plays significantly worse away from Joe Gibbs Stadium. The Stars lost once in that venue, a more competitive 20-10 defeat to the Iron Legion. Meanwhile, the team lost three times away from home, a 24-3 drubbing by TJUN-ia, a 22-10 loss to Valanora, and now this disgrace. It didn’t matter that Sarzonia had already booked its trip to the knockout rounds with a 9-4 record if the team’s poor performance away from home didn’t vastly improve.

“Folks,” Davis said after he got the attention of the players. “I don’t see the point of even looking at the film. We coached like shit. We played like shit. We looked like we didn’t belong on the same pitch with the Iron Legion.

“I’m gonna tell you what I told the media. “It’s onto TJUN-ia.” The Stars will wrap up their group stage with their last match at Joe Gibbs Stadium against the seventh ranked Jaguars. It would be one final chance to show the team actually deserved their spot in the knockout rounds, no matter what the optics of an ugly loss to Chromatika were.

When a reporter asked Davis if Matt Vargas would be back after he was cleared by doctors, Davis shook his head.

“Vargas may be ready, but right now, Andersen is kicking as well as anybody I’ve seen. At least since [former place kicker Adam] Novak. I don’t want to risk a roster spot on a kicker when we have other areas of concern.”

(O.O) · by **TJUN-ia** » Tue Oct 03, 2023 10:44 am

After both taking an L and bouncing right back up), the Jaguars of TJUN-ia were now 11-1 and while no longer undefeated, they were certainly in the mix as one of the better teams in the group stage as things stood. Everyone knew that this team were more than likely going to win this group unless anything ridiculous was to happen in the final 2 games and while that certainly took away some of the pressure, Gus McKerrin wasn't going to tread without conviction. Things were still not set in stone and until they were, no one could really afford to relax.

That mood would lead into the Field of Dreams in The Gardens of New Washington for the final time this World Bowl as Lisander came to town. Considering the distinct gap between the two sides entering this one, there was only one team people thought would win this one...and considering we managed to hold Lisander to only 3 points for the entire game, their faith was well placed. All things considered, Gareth Baldwin did what he needed to do with 4 TDs (2 each for Gilbert Nyamutsamba and Fremont Whitehorse) while Clayton McGee went 4/4 on PATs. After that, e backups took over Leon Gallas would manage 2 TDs (1 each to Lucky Sithole-Sita and Pyrros Papanikolaou) while Xander Tiovannen would go 1/2 on PATs. That would ensure us the 41-3 win and with that, top spot in the group was secured...and it certainly felt good to do that in our final home game.

Just one more group game stands in our way before the playoffs start, a rematch with the 9-4 Sarzonia Stars at Joe Gibbs Stadium in Woodstock. We know they will be up for that one but with our place secured, we're battling for pride over anything else. GO JAGS!

SCHEDULE (Group B)
MD1: @Tikariot (UR) W 36-3 (1st/1-0)
-------------------------Double Header------------------
MD2: vs The Kytler Peninsulae (UR) - Field of Dreams in The Gardens, New Washington W 27-17 (1st/2-0)
MD3: @Chromatika (2) - Henza Center, D'rea W 36-26 (1st/3-0)
-------------------------Double Header End------------------
MD4: @-Anthor- (16) W 26-20 (2nd/4-0)
-------------------------Double Header------------------
MD5: vs Valanora (23) - Field of Dreams in The Gardens, New Washington W 40-23 (2nd/5-0)
MD6: @Lisander (43) W 29-23 (1st/6-0)
-------------------------Double Header End------------------
MD7: vs Sarzonia (13) - Field of Dreams in The Gardens, New Washington W 24-3 (1st/7-0)
-------------------------Double Header------------------
MD8: vs Tikariot (UR) - Field of Dreams in The Gardens, New Washington W 52-17 (1st/8-0)
MD9: @The Kytler Peninsulae (UR) - Qardinal Field, Borlfield W 16-13 (1st/9-0)
-------------------------Double Header End------------------
MD10: vs Chromatika (2) - Field of Dreams in The Gardens, New Washington W 41-41 (54-51 2OT) (1st/10-0)
-------------------------Double Header------------------
MD11: vs -Anthor- (16) - Field of Dreams in The Gardens, New Washington L 35-49 (1st/10-1)
MD12: @Valanora (23) - Lathalein Celestial Stadium, Mar Sara W 34-21 (1st/11-1)
-------------------------Double Header End------------------
MD13: vs Lisander (43) - Field of Dreams in The Gardens, New Washington W 41-3 (1st/12-1)
MD14: @Sarzonia (13) - Joe Gibbs Stadium, Woodstock

by **The Kytler Peninsulae** » Tue Oct 03, 2023 11:24 am

Not all the Kytlerian games in Zube Olympic Stadium sold out; the opener did, other games getting crowds of around 40,000 could hardly be called unimpressive, but the fact the two Borlfield games did sell out a stadium that seats more than that sparked a lot of arguments that all the Kytlerian games should be there. Then again, these people tend to specifically think of this as a Varnian sport, the "Kytlerian" team as a Varnian one, and Varn as not a willing part of Kytlerian territory. But they never did get their split; instead, the rest of the country became that bit more like them, until it didn't, and when they elected a government that really wasn't like them, it looked outwards to Græntfjall and TIkariot, something many Varnian separatists had looked towards in a bid to either look less insular than they are or to dilute Kytlerian identity.

It was the latter who came to Zube for the final Kytlerian home game of the group, and that one did sell out. Partly because there were a few thousand travelling fans, but mostly because this was the decisive game of the group. Win, and the revived Kytlerian team were in the octofinals at the first attempt. Lose, and their fate would go down to the final gameday. (Admittedly, the Kytlerians would be travelling to lowly Anthor and Tikariot would need to beat a Chromatika side now at full strength again, but Anthor had suddenly shown a pulse and the Iron Legion had generally not lived up to their billing, so...)

Needless to say, when Tikariot returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, the crowd - save those travelling fans - were getting nervous. Some reminded each other of the final-day fixtures to say this didn't matter. But it did matter, if only for confidence and seeding going into those octofinals, to say nothing of how the Kytlerians didn't want to have any reliance on others to make absolutely damn sure they were in said octofinals.

So when Wecoisus Mocks led the Kytlerians on a nine-play, 84-yard drive that squared this one up immediately at 7-7, the sense of relief was palpable. The triple-option attack was in full flow, Travis Taylor had broken two big runs already, and Tikariot's early confidence was dented. Their first actual offensive play of the game was a play-action pass that sailed right into the hands of Kytlerian star corner Martijn van der Sar, who ran in his third pick-six in five games. Tikariot's next drive would end in a field goal, but that 14-10 score at the end of a wild first quarter was as close as they got; the Kytlerians simply squeezed the life out of the game after that, with 13 unanswered points in a spell that covered the entire second and third quarters. Tikariot managed just three first downs in that entire run, and their late consolation score really wasn't much of one. Their thin playoff hopes were now officially over, and the Kytlerians had locked in their placa. In theory, they were four wins from a championship. Nobody remotely expects them to even get one of those, but nobody remotely expected them to hold the Iron Legion - even forced to make an early QB change - to six points en route to a staggering upset victory.

No matter what happens now, one thing is made clear by their presence in the bracket; the Kytlerians are well and truly back on the gridiron scene. Now the trick is to stay there, and to develop further.

by **Cardenao** » Tue Oct 03, 2023 11:30 am

It was the night before destiny in the team hotel, where the Blue and Golds found themselves, once again, holding their fate in their hands. Tomorrow was the clash against Cassadaigua, the 15th best team in the world was all that stood between Cardenao and World Bowl qualification. The weight of yet another decisive moment was settling upon each player, their thoughts a burning mix of nerves, determination, and the fundamental need to secure this challenging win and qualify for the Big Stage. To be at this point was a surprise, nothing was expected of the Cardenaoans coming into the tournament, but seven wins later has put them in 4th place in Group A with everything left to play for tomorrow.

The team drew strength from their earlier victory against Cassadaigua, a nail biting 45-43 result that came down to a walk off field goal. That win was a reminder of the surprising amount of skill that resided within the Cardenaoan squad, indeed the Blue and Golds were coming in a few match days removed from a strong win against Ko-oren, the third best team in the world. Despite those wins, the truth of the matter was that Cassadaigua had evolved since that initial encounter, putting together a strong run of form coming into this pivotal game. The challenge ahead was enormous, but then again this entire tournament has been enormous but here the Cardenaoans were with their fate in their hands, knowing that perfection was not just desired; it was imperative.

For Bobby Dials, this meant bearing the dual burden of both leadership and expectation. As the team's captain, the responsibility was on him to keep the team morale high and the fire to win lit. As the team’s quarterback, the responsibility was on him to keep the team winning. As he sat alone in his room, quietly contemplating what lay before them, his mind was buzzing as he strategized on how to win. The defense had to be better than ever, a fortress standing vigilant and sharp, denying Cassadaigua any opportunities in the air. Putting up tight pass coverage would be the key, forcing them to run the ball into the jaws of Cardenao's big boys on the defensive line.

The defensive unit, in their own quiet moments before the storm, were imagining how sweet it would be to smash the Cassadaiguan advances, what a thrill it would be when the crowd roared at a huge sack or a perfectly-timed pick six. Why not dream a little bit? That was part of the magic of football. The shared determination between the defensive players was their unspoken pact – shut that mf down and protect the end zone at all costs.

Offensively, things circle back around to the burden on Bobby Dials' shoulders. The 18 year old sophomore from LeBois Santura U was feeling the weight of every pass he had thrown, every touchdown, every interception, everything good and everything bad. He had more experience than he could’ve imagined at this point in his career, and it was time to put it all together. The game plan was clear – rely on Bobby's versatile arm to focus on short to mid-range passes, systematically pushing the ball up the field to get into the plus territory.

In each room housing the Cardenaoan team, there was a shared air of understanding that this game, this moment, was the defining one for Cardenaoan football. Win, and the glory would be eternal. An unranked team qualifying for the World Bowl, beating four of the top-15 teams, advancing to the next stage with heads held high? That was a great foundation to build a national gridiron program on. If they lost though, that dream could start to dissipate into thin air, leaving them to wonder what could have been.

The pressure was there, as it had been every moment of the tournament, but so was that determination and belief that had propelled them through their 7-6 run. Each player, in their solitude, was running their personal highlights in their heads, savoring those moments and wanting to relive them in a victory against Cassadaigua. Naturally, there was no conscious thinking of the bad things, of what could go wrong. Now was the time for positivity.

As night turned to morning, the Blue and Golds stood on the brink of this moment, walking the line between pressure and possibility. The sun of game day would bring with it the biggest 60 minutes of their lives– a chance to truly prove that they belonged among the world's best. Any respect earned so far didn’t matter, it would be undone with a loss.

This was their moment.

by **Banija** » Tue Oct 03, 2023 12:12 pm

Head Coach Thomas Hall, in the QB Meeting Room

It was rare that Thomas Hall attended the QB meetings. Obviously, he was more of a defensive coach, so he spent more time in the defensive player position meetings than the offensive ones. Not that he was never here, certainly not like that- the man was still the head coach, after all. But it was something that he had thought long and hard about, especially in the aftermath of Banija's 33-12 road win over Abanhfleft. They had one group stage game left- a home game against Bongo Johnson. The group was clinched, and a top 2 seed in the knockout stages had also been locked up.

And while they had not quite beat out Drawkland for the #1 overall seed, they were close to doing so. And, of course, the honor of being the only team to go undefeated through a long, greuling, 14 game group stage. This was something that was far easier said than done- and in this case, it was within reach. But the difficulty of blowing this lead to Drawkland was evident, even in a loss- the Banijans had a +60 point differential on Drawkland. So they would have to lose while Drawkland delivered a whupping to the Quebecois team.

Still possible? Certainly. So this game #14, the sendoff game, where another roaring crowd was expected at the Stadium of the Restoration, he was thinking of changing things up. Of course, coaching a national team was a bit different than coaching a regular, professional team. The management of egos and what not was much more difficult. You really had to work to try and empty the bench. You lost much less quality going to the bench on the NT level, and of course, if dudes are not feeling included, they get miserable much more quickly. Much easier to do down the depth chart- but nearly impossible to do at the QB position. Especially when the Banijans had a new QB to inauguarate, with the name of Ebou Hairte.

But with the circumstances, and the record, Thomas Hall had one of those rare opportunities to start his backup QB in a game that mattered. Jethro Adida had a couple of appearances in this tournament- but mostly in mop up duty, and not any snaps that really mattered. Same, of course, with Baka Webo, the team's young, up and coming QB3- but Webo had many more opportunities to play for the national team. Jethro Adida was 34, with the specter of Odika looming over the Quarterback room.

He had been a trusted, veteran backup for years- he knew the system, Hall had confidence. So the decision was made. He told the QB room- Adida would be the QB1 this week, and be the starter for Sunday's home game against Bongo Johnson. The room congratulated him. The QB meeting room shifted, of course- strategy would have to be changed a little to take advantage of Adida's strengths. But the Banijans would be ready. He kept this decision under lock and key- he would be the one to tell the team. And at the end of practice, he would.

"EAGLES!" He boomed, signalling the end of practice. "Come on boys, let's wrap it up." Everybody gathered around the head coach. "There is something that I have thought, long and hard about. Obviously, we all know the importance of the game this weekend. It is a true chance for something special. Going 14-0 at the group stages of the World Bowl is not an opportunity we will likely have again, so we must take advantage of it. But our main man, our QB1, Ebou Hairte- he has earned the day off." The players were confused. "JETHRO ADIDA has earned this opportunity! He is our QB1 this week!"

The players mobbed Adida, and the social media got the moment on camera, and posted it onto twii.tur. It would be Adida who would lead them into the battle against Bongo Johnson. Was victory #14 within reach for the Serpent Eagles?

"A chance to go unbeaten"- The rarity of the opportunity to go undefeated fueling Banija in final group stage home game against Bongo Johnson

BUSUKUMA, NATIONAL CAPITOL REGION- There is only one team in Serpent Eagles history to go undefeated through the group stages at a World Bowl. Not either of our title winning teams, and certainly not last year''s team- which went 6-3 in group play. Nope, the only team to do it is... Thomas Hall's first team. Quarterbacked by Isaka Jawara at World Bowl 40. Led by a ferocious defense, a team that had been on the downslope in this competition turned things around in a hurry, reaching to 10-0. They eventually got to 13 consecutive wins, before falling in the Final, 6-3, to an even more fierce, more ferocious Cassadaigua side.

That, of course, was a long time ago. The only person remaining from that era? The ol' ball coach himself, Thomas Hall. We have had all sorts of success in World Bowls since then- obviously, we have been to the last three Finals, and won two of them. But this particular accomplishment? One of the rarest that you can possibly find in this sport. And it will be Jethro Adida, getting his first career start, who will look to lead them there. It is a surprising move in its own right- he will be the first QB with no NSCF connections to start a game at QB for Banija at a World Bowl since World Bowl 34, when Cyper Kasou was the starting quarterback ahead of Isaka Jawara, who was still in college at the time.

But, of course, a move that makes sense. Could be a career moment for Adida- getting what is likely his only chance to start at QB for the national team. Banija will open as heavy favorites against Bongo Johnson, with the line currently seeing them favored at -24.5 in favor of the home team, although it was originally set at -30.5 before the news of the QB change. Can the Banijans go undefeated? We shall see.

They will play in either Ranoria or South Newlandia for the playoffs. And they will play a 4th place team. Who will that be? That part is unclear. The most interesting, tantilizing matchup is probably Cassadaigua or Cardenao. But that is all in the future. All we can control, is the now. And the now? Achieving win #14!

by **South Newlandia** » Tue Oct 03, 2023 12:16 pm

Cutoff! The final one of the group stage! Note that in the knockouts, you may switch over to the Ranorian cutoff - see their later cutoff for the details!

Group A

Saint-Jean-Jacques et Burnham-on-Stove 7–38 Gyatso-kai
Cassadaigua 23–17 Cardenao
A Place Somewhere 20–43 Saint Kanye
Rouyoute 6–17 Ko-oren

Group A                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD    Win % 
1 Saint Kanye                                 14   12   2   463  266 +197    0.857
2 Ko-oren                                     14   11   3   373  178 +195    0.786
3 Gyatso-kai                                  14    9   5   414  266 +148    0.643
4 Cassadaigua                                 14    8   6   377  299  +78    0.571
5 Cardenao                                    14    7   7   369  408  −39    0.500
6 Rouyoute                                    14    5   9   208  239  −31    0.357
7 Saint-Jean-Jacques et Burnham-on-Stove      14    3  11   284  509 −225    0.214
8 A Place Somewhere                           14    1  13   209  532 −323    0.071

Group B

Anthor 13–45 The Kytler Peninsulae
Tikariot 23–26 Chromatika
Sarzonia 8–21 TJUN-ia
Lisander 39–39 Valanora (45–39 OT)

Group B                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD    Win % 
1 TJUN-ia                                     14   13   1   471  280 +191    0.929
2 Chromatika                                  14   10   4   382  228 +154    0.714
3 Sarzonia                                    14    9   5   360  211 +149    0.643
4 The Kytler Peninsulae                       14    8   6   339  274  +65    0.571
5 Valanora                                    14    5   9   404  426  −22    0.357 *Valanora ahead on H2H PD (36-13, 33-36 OT)
6 Tikariot                                    14    5   9   242  346 −104    0.357
7 Anthor                                      14    3  11   236  424 −188    0.214 *Anthor ahead on H2H PD (12-27, 29-3)
8 Lisander                                    14    3  11   194  439 −245    0.214

Knockout matchups will be confirmed after the Ranoria cutoff. Good to luck to the eight teams moving on!

by **Quebec and Shingoryeo** » Tue Oct 03, 2023 7:43 pm

The Mathletes - Scientific, Literary Venue of Sports Journalism

Post-NY6 Review: Possible Grim Reapers' prospects in the making for future World Bowl squads? Part 1 - Backs

Raymond Dehaney

JOONGYEONG, JOONGYEONG -

Hello all! The New Year's Six (NY6) Bowls have now been played in venues across the country, with a great number of surprises and also positive results being handed out. Now, with the Hector Kweon and other awards handed out, and only Keewatinook and Queen's College left standing, it would be a good time to address some of the questions you, dear readers, have asked about the future national team prospects for the Quebec and Shingoryeo national gridiron team, and look at the prospects in arguably two most important spots of the game of football - the Backs.

For those looking to see more, do not worry! More will be coming in the weeks' time as we review the team, with the Grim Reapers firmly within the course of clinching the second round qualification to Ranoria and South Newlandia for the World Bowl 47.

New Year 6 Bowls and Tiger Bowl Progressions:

Podo Bowl (RSECQ vs. B1G) -- Iqaluit Stadium (Cap. 100,000), Iqaluit

#7 University of Iqaluit 7–0 #11 Northwestern University

Apple Bowl (National Semifinals) -- Apple Bowl (Cap. 75,000), Chicoutimi

#1 Keewatinook University 24–21 #4 Université St. Croix

Heartland Bowl (OUA vs. At-Large) -- Barry Johnson's Field (Cap. 34,000), Hamilton

#6 Latilutakówa National University 10–3 #10 Mount Ester University

Moogoongwha Bowl (SAL-12 vs. RSECQ) -- Moogoongwha Bowl (Cap. 65,000), Montevicio

#9 University of Southern Manitoba 39–41 #12 Songwha State University

Camelia Bowl (National Semifinals) -- Sajik Park (Cap. 43,000), Dongnae-Halifax County

#2 Queen's College at Cornwall 7–3 #3 Université de Saint-Gabriel-Richard

Commonwealth Forces Bowl (At-Large/B1G vs. At-Large) -- Stade St. Croix, Joongyeong

#5 Université du Saguenay 47–34 #8 University of Hamilton

QUARTERBACK: If there is one positional group that the Quebecois do not have to worry about right now, that would be the man behind the huddle. Traditionally the position has seen some of the finest out in the competition - on one end you have the five-time Imperial Bowl champions and current Quebecois Intercollegiate Sports (QIS) commissioner Dexter Ahn, while on the other hand there's four-time Imperial Bowl winner and Good Morning Quebec host Ian Lautner - and they have never had the scoring on air even on more difficult editions anyway. The current trio of quarterbacks are of no exception, with Donovan O'Mara still the starter, but both Benoit O'Malley Youngblood and Octavien Seo-Brousseau have received three and two starts each so far into the campaign and O'Mara's inconsistency and continued aging would at least suggest that one can never lack from a future prospect or two who can air it out.

There are a couple of options right now on the QIS level who could do the task - Nahuel Arbeloa of Keewatinook and Seo Ye-Rahm of Mount Ester - and they may as well be ones to watch, though the chances of making both making the Grim Reapers' rosters remain difficult from this point on. Nahuel Arbeloa is a true gunslinger with traits that fit nicely with the national team. Coming from the Keewatinook program that has had solid offensive lines for the years, the defending Hector Kweon trophy winner is a tough, powerful passer who doesn't do much with his feet outside of necessary scrambles. His deep-ball accuracy could improve, but the arm strength is noticeable and accuracy has been improving with the graduating senior utility of his receivers Maurice van Berkel and Jeanette Ogoms, who both possess soft hands and decent reach to make up for their limited speed. His elements as a natural passer is what draws the coaches genuine interest, even more in the team setup where excessive use of feet is considered to be more of a fetish than a serious option.

The other option is to run it with Seo Ye-Rahm. The Mount Ester signal-caller, unlike Arbeloa, is still a relative project in the making but the time runs in his favour as a sophomore. He plays in the Mount Ester program that is better known for 1) Lotus League academics - he is an aerospace engineering major and Bathurst is just down the road from major aerospace manufacturers and the RQAF - and 2) basketball and other athletics program, but their football program isn't that bad. Just not in the level of other sports so to speak. Anyways, he is the centrepiece of the program that has reinvented themselves under current head coach and has achieved success it with back-to-back NY6 bowl appearance, including Camelia Bowl victory his freshman year. He is an all-arounded option with strong football intelligence, but for now primarily relies upon his versatility and athleticism to extend plays. And while he could refine his game a bit more, especially with his tendency to hold onto the ball a bit longer at times, Seo's intangibles and potential would suggest that he has what could be it to progress further into the QFL and possibly the national team level.

BACKS: While the quarterback position looks set for the next decade or longer, bigger questions grip the Grim Reapers' program as they struggle to address the inconsistent rushing attack that has more or less left the team an one-dimensional one at times. Manon Ellis has been the team's prime option as a halfback, but she has shown tendencies to slow down on the later stretches of the game this World Bowl, and while neither fullback have really dropped off from the last year, they should not be the ones carrying the burden from Ellis's issues.

Multiple reasons skew towards this inconsistency shown in the rushing game. One suggests this is relative, even more so with how many leagues abroad such as the RFL or the GFLB have been more rushing-oriented than the QFL itself, and some would also raise this to be the replacement value of a professional running back in Quebec with only sixteen teams playing in the nation of 94 million people. I don't exactly buy that theory, even with the rumours of a four-team expansion continuing to emerge, as the quality of Quebecois halfbacks have simply not been convincing enough in the recent cycles of international play post-CBA. You cannot compare Ellis, for example, to more proven examples abroad - that would be preposterous - or even to the past precedences when the likes of LeDallas de Jeruselem have roamed across the multiversal limelights.

Perhaps this may be the issue of the talent utilised, and one that may suggest the need to further incorporate the backs lot better than have been done in the past. Liam-Emerson Sauvageau, the penultimate year's Hector Kwon Winner, seems to have broken out of that trend when he had registered 1,800 yards of rushing and 18 touchdowns in 16 games as a rookie, after an outstanding four years at Queen's College, so he might be the one to future.

But for those not in the national team, the options do exist. For me, two names exist - Stefano Shin of St-Gabriel-Richard and Ryu Seong-Weon of St. Croix. Having been considered second-best halfback behind Sauvageau for some time, Stefano Shin's senior season with the Wolverines have looked no less impressive in their run to the national semifinals, where they would be stopped on a 3-7 heartbreak to Queen's College at the Camelia Bowl. He's a solid power back whose vision and ability to burst through the holes is one to notice, and has solid motors to sustain through the games. And while Shin has not drawn highlights the way Sauvageau or Ryu have, he was the primary workhorse of the Wolverines' offence that's more about grinding down the clock than anything else, and should be considered a top ten pick for the upcoming draft.

And then there's Ryu Seong-Weon. Coming straight out of Lycee-de-Levis, just about half an hour metro ride away from the St. Croix campus, the Bleu et Blanc sophomore back have looked quite impressive in his two years with the program. While he's considered to be not as durable as the upperclassmen examples that's been given, Ryu's much more of an explosive scat back. Possessing strong footwork and underrated speed that allows him to deke the opposing tacklers quite well, and he has solid enough of body build to make it further into the pros. Having come 20th and 8th on the Hector Kweon votes the first two years, as well as possessing more gametape available than most others, Ryu might be good enough to transition into a highly-fruitful professional career, whether at the QFL or abroad. Abroad might be a better option, but the competition may be stiff.

by **Ranoria** » Tue Oct 03, 2023 7:47 pm

Group C
Sudilia 16–26 HUElavia
Quebec and Shingoryeo 51–31 Drawkland
Corporate City 1 30–6 Sea Dome
South Americanastan 55–20 Ardsk

  Group C                   Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Quebec and Shingoryeo      14   12   2   501  264 +237 - *Q&S ahead of Drawkland via +10 H2H PD (Drawkland 30-20 here)
2 Drawkland                  14   12   2   535  289 +246
3 HUElavia                   14    9   5   434  232 +202
4 Sea Dome                   14    8   6   331  339   −8
5 Corporate City 1           14    7   7   284  315  −31
6 Sudilia                    14    3  11   215  407 −192
7 Ardsk                      14    3  11   224  480 −256
8 South Americanastan        14    2  12   188  386 −198

Group D
Terefuxe 51–7 Abanhfleft
Banija 34–12 Bongo Johnson
The United Fruit Company 14–22 South Newlandia
Torisakia 26–7 Peru 2022 RP

  Group D                   Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Banija                     14   14   0   511  165 +346
2 South Newlandia            14   12   2   446  205 +241
3 Terefuxe                   14    9   5   494  265 +229
4 Bongo Johnson              14    6   8   271  388 −117
5 Abanhfleft                 14    4  10   185  346 −161
6 Torisakia                  14    4  10   229  388 −159
7 The United Fruit Company   14    4  10   224  393 −169
8 Peru 2022 RP               14    3  11   275  485 −210

Overall Standings

1 Banija                     14   14   0   511  165 +346 (D)
1 TJUN-ia                    14   13   1   471  280 +191 (B)
1 Quebec and Shingoryeo      14   12   2   501  264 +237 (C)
1 Saint Kanye                14   12   2   463  266 +197  (A)
2 Drawkland                  14   12   2   535  289 +246 (C)
2 South Newlandia            14   12   2   446  205 +241 (D)
2 Ko-oren                    14   11   3   373  178 +195 (A)
2 Chromatika                 14   10   4   382  228 +154  (B)
3 Terefuxe                   14    9   5   494  265 +229 (D)
3 HUElavia                   14    9   5   434  232 +202 (C)
3 Sarzonia                   14    9   5   360  211 +149 (B)
3 Gyatso-kai                 14    9   5   414  266 +148 (A)
4 Cassadaigua                14    8   6   377  299  +78 (A)
4 The Kytler Peninsulae      14    8   6   339  274  +65 (B)
4 Sea Dome                   14    8   6   331  339   −8  (C)
4 Bongo Johnson              14    6   8   271  388 −117 (D)

Playoff matchups coming right up!

World Bowl 47 - Everything Thread

NSFB: Onwards No Matter What

Brooklyn Beck (S1:E11)

NSFB: This Group Is Ours

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