First off, please let me apologize, as in the last edition of the Valanora Times where I was covering the Sabres, I incorrectly looked at the schedule and said that they were set to travel to TJUN-ia before then being at home against Fleftic opposition, when in fact the reverse is true. My dear readers were likely quite confused about this error in the publication and how both me as well as the editors managed to miss the it before it was sent to print and all this old elf can say is sorry and that I will strive to be more stringent in double checking and triple checking my work moving forward to hopefully avoid anymore of these publication disasters. Nonetheless all the blame should be left at my own feet, for it was I who misread the schedule that had been provided to me by a staff member of the VSC upon my request and failed to properly put forth the correct information for those games. Thankfully my error did not manage to fool those who managed to make it to the game between the Sabres and TJUN-ia nor cause confusion as to why the team was not in Mar Sara in the following week, for which I am quite grateful.
Unfortunately there was no such good tidings for the Sabres against TJUN-ia, as they were able to escape out of Mar Sara with a six point victory at the end of the game despite the teams being level at half time and the team playing in front of the home crowd. While the Celestial Stadium was not quite at full capacity, there was still a sizeable crowd in attendance that was hoping to push on the Sabres against the group's top team and team who was trying to rubber stamp the group from start to finish with a flawless record. As the third ranked team in the sport, TJUN-ia is expected to get out of the group and perhaps to even win all their games, with a perceived weak second seed and the relatively new to the competition of the Sabres as their third seed. For half the game though, the Sabres had put the fear into them that they were not as almighty and powerful as they had appeared in their previous few games, or in the three games since, but alas it would fall apart late as the side just lacked a little something to be able to keep up in the fourth quarter and saw them squander their home advantage and best chance of toppling the giants of the group.
Fortunately for the Sabres, their staff are some of the best staff in the game, at least as far as one might be able to find within the Empire, and know how to fix the mistakes that they see their squads making in relatively quick fashion and the team was then back to fighting form in the trip to Abahnfleft. It was a bit nervy at first with both teams failing to make the most of their early possessions but then the Sabres starting to string first downs together and then scores and eventually they would pull away for a thirteen point victory in quite hostile atmosphere, showing a resilience that belies their rank and perceived standing within the group as well as the game itself. Following it up with a solid if a bit of a pedestrian win over Devonta and then traveling to New Fernia this past week and having their best offensive output shows a lot of promise that the team is indeed growing into themselves and getting better week in and week out. Whether that is enough to defeat TJUN-ia in a few weeks time or hold the Fleftic attack in Valanora when they come seeking revenge is unknown, but they are in a prime place to make it out of the group and into their first playoff round since entering this tournament. If they do that, it will have been a long treck since initially sending a bunch of college kids to a regional tournament and running out a surprised winners to where they could potentially be contending in the World Bowl itself.
