The match did not get off to an auspicious start for the Sarzonian national gridball team.
On Sarzonia's first offensive play from scrimmage in the team's 23-0 victory over East Lithuania, quarterback Cameron Stallworth was hit in the helmet as he slid after a 23-yard run. He was taken to the blue medical tent to be evaluated for a concussion. Quarterback Cal Barkley then took over the signal-calling duties as Stallworth was ruled out of the match despite clearing concussion protocols.
"We felt like we needed to play it safe," manager Tyler Paige said of the decision to keep Barkley in the contest despite Stallworth passing concussion protocols. "Besides that, we wanted to see Barkley in match conditions."
Barkley played decently, completing 19-of-31 passes for 234 yards and a 66-yard touchdown to Matt Largent. However, Stars offensive coordinator Trent Beaucamp took out the design runs Stallworth typically got. Barkley ran just three times for eight yards, though two of those rushing attempts were kneel-downs in victory formation.
"I missed a couple of reads," Barkley said of his performance. "Just timing. I wasn't in there most of the time, so it takes a little getting used to the starters."
East Lithuania adopted eight-man defensive fronts and walked up a safety in order to contain running back Ty'Relle Clinton and seemingly dare Barkley to beat them. They contained Clinton, who ran 31 times for 86 yards, but the Stars defence held East Lithuania to just 174 yards of total offence and forced four turnovers.
"I was pleased with our defensive effort," Paige said. "We're not used to allowing 19 points against a team ranked as much lower than us as Natkr, so we had to step it up a bit."
Sarzonia will play a home match to unranked Quirhoshe before an important away match to 11th ranked Valanora. The Stars are level with the Sabres and TJUN-ia's Jaguars for top in the Gavin Davis Group table at 9-2. The top four teams in each group qualify for the knockout rounds, which the Stars have all but accomplished, but Paige said the team would first have to concentrate on their job against Quirhoshe.
"We can't afford to get ahead of ourselves or allow ourselves another letdown like we did after the TJUN-ia match," Paige said. "No matter what happens against Valanora when we play them, we still have to play Rouyoute at Joe Gibbs Stadium and we can't take that one for granted."
"We're running out of room for poor performances," Barkley said. "If I'm starting against Quirhoshe or if Cam gets back, we're still going to need to get after it."
[OOC: Stallworth will be cleared to start the Valanora match. Barkley starts against QUirhoshe.]
