NSCF 33 - Everything Thread

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

OOC: I am aware of Felswyr State's recent naming change to Mountain District. This was not reflected in the signup information, which was where I took info for OP, but is adjustable. Since I still have to use table generator for interdivisional section of the GS, those changes will be reflected to the table around MD4.

Horizon and Mineral Conference - Week 4

Cutoff.

Horizon Conference:

Sadeg State University (DRK) 39–35 Kobale University (GEX)
Staramara Tech University (CMT) 16–9 Islamic Madrasa of Pomena (JUE)
Cavsar University (DRK) 47–20 Lithrelir University (GEX)
Mountain District University (CMT) 49–10 Silver Coast State College (SAS)

#                                     Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD
1 Sadeg State University (DRK)          4    3   1   112  119   −7
2 Staramara Tech University (CMT)       4    3   1    97   52  +45
3 Mountain District University (CMT)    4    2   2    67   56  +11
4 Cavsar University (DRK)               4    2   2   104   76  +28

#                                     Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD
1 Lithrelir University (GEX)            4    2   2   132  111  +21
2 Silver Coast State College (SAS)      4    2   2    79  102  −23
3 Islamic Madrasa of Pomena (JUE)       4    2   2    81   90   −9
4 Kobale University (GEX)               4    0   4    60  126  −66

Mineral Conference:

St. Paulus College (ROT) 19–41 Université nationale de Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer (UNC)
Trent State University (TJU) 64–10 Elysium City University (EAG)
Prince Pieter's College (ROT) 17–9 Uniwersytet Nowa Kalanianska (UNC)
Green City University (TJU) 3–17 University of Columbus-Prairie (DHE)

#                                                           Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD 
1 Prince Pieter's College (ROT)                               4    4   0   104   57  +47
2 Trent State University (TJU)                                4    2   2   164  112  +52
3 Green City University (TJU)                                 4    1   3    73   97  −24
4 St. Paulus College (ROT)                                    4    1   3    67  116  −49

#                                                           Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD
1 University of Columbus-Prairie (DHE)                        4    4   0   103   68  +35
2 Université nationale de Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer (UNC)    4    3   1   128   79  +49
3 Uniwersytet Nowa Kalanianska (UNC)                          4    1   3   103   88  +15
4 Elysium City University (EAG)                               4    0   4    24  149 −125

[Sea Peoples League]

The inaugural tournament proves an odd duck, splitting the clubs entered- all multisport- into 5 groups of 17. Each group's top 6, and four 7th-place finishers determined by play-in, advance to the Sixteenthfinals. Next year will be slightly but not a lot more conventional, with at least 21 teams expected in League 1, with promotion/relegation, and no divisions or conferences as per the current announced plan. Many of those seats would be determined by the first playoff round this season. Next year SPL colleges and universities will form an academic gridiron league where schools with pro clubs will have to field a separate team made up of undergrads to compete for NSCF slots.

OOCly I'm too tired to do a preview thing or invent the SPL youth league (no high schools, lots of club academies and college prep squads) because I ran out of distilled water and was too fatigued to get some for my CPAP. Clean and refill your CPAP, millennials. So anyway let's just have some league results

1
House Lords Party 17–30 Midnight Auto Gremlins
Quick Wholesale Packers 3–20 Syndicalist PC
Nonalignment PC 7–18 FC Skyport Zone
Independent Students Union 57–17 Gimlen Rams
Midcity Dodgers 33–20 Sea Dome Navy
National Party Corporates 19–15 Hub City Eagles
Sea Dome University Stingrays 34–30 Corporate City 1
Orange Farms SC 29–10 Regional Industrial Union
.
   1                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD    Win % 
 1 Independent Students Union               1    1   0    57   17  +40    1.000
 2 Orange Farms SC                          1    1   0    29   10  +19    1.000
 3 Syndicalist PC                           1    1   0    20    3  +17    1.000
 4 Midcity Dodgers                          1    1   0    33   20  +13    1.000
   Midnight Auto Gremlins                   1    1   0    30   17  +13    1.000
 6 FC Skyport Zone                          1    1   0    18    7  +11    1.000
 7 National Party Corporates                1    1   0    19   15   +4    1.000
   Sea Dome University Stingrays            1    1   0    34   30   +4    1.000
 9 Corporate City 1                         1    0   1    30   34   −4    0.000
   Hub City Eagles                          1    0   1    15   19   −4    0.000
11 Nonalignment PC                          1    0   1     7   18  −11    0.000
12 House Lords Party                        1    0   1    17   30  −13    0.000
   Sea Dome Navy                            1    0   1    20   33  −13    0.000
14 Quick Wholesale Packers                  1    0   1     3   20  −17    0.000
15 Regional Industrial Union                1    0   1    10   29  −19    0.000
16 Gimlen Rams                              1    0   1    17   57  −40    0.000


2
Black Star PC 30–6 Maritime University Pirates
CC1DoC 30–26 Taikonauts HC
Chigul Stampede 19–23 Private Banking Group Royals
General Hospital Greens 22–33 Maroon Archipelago
Electrogrid Chargers 13–30 General Steel Sabers
UHC Bandits 13–3 Sunnyside FC
Liberal Conservative PC 9–6 Hub City Safety Patrol
Xuelei Technical University 37–40 Hotlamp Quarter Flames
.
   2                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD    Win % 
 1 Black Star PC                            1    1   0    30    6  +24    1.000
 2 General Steel Sabers                     1    1   0    30   13  +17    1.000
 3 Maroon Archipelago                       1    1   0    33   22  +11    1.000
 4 UHC Bandits                              1    1   0    13    3  +10    1.000
 5 CC1DoC                                   1    1   0    30   26   +4    1.000
   Private Banking Group Royals             1    1   0    23   19   +4    1.000
 7 Hotlamp Quarter Flames                   1    1   0    40   37   +3    1.000
   Liberal Conservative PC                  1    1   0     9    6   +3    1.000
 9 Hub City Safety Patrol                   1    0   1     6    9   −3    0.000
   Xuelei Technical University              1    0   1    37   40   −3    0.000
11 Chigul Stampede                          1    0   1    19   23   −4    0.000
   Taikonauts HC                            1    0   1    26   30   −4    0.000
13 Sunnyside FC                             1    0   1     3   13  −10    0.000
14 General Hospital Greens                  1    0   1    22   33  −11    0.000
15 Electrogrid Chargers                     1    0   1    13   30  −17    0.000
16 Maritime University Pirates              1    0   1     6   30  −24    0.000


3
Heaven's Remora 27–47 Riverside Speed Club
Radical Democracy PC 6–20 Sea Dome Coast Guard
University of the Arts 23–19 StreetSec Inc. Nightwatch
Agriculture & Terraforming College 57–22 Anchor City Clippers
High City College Snipers 38–0 Nwfila Harvest Mice
Autonomous University Wildcats 16–48 Normal School FC
Freedom School Athletics 41–7 Our Mother of the Wretched
Pentoia Massive 9–47 Federal Bank Panthers
.
   3                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD    Win % 
 1 Federal Bank Panthers                    1    1   0    47    9  +38    1.000
   High City College Snipers                1    1   0    38    0  +38    1.000
 3 Agriculture & Terraforming College       1    1   0    57   22  +35    1.000
 4 Freedom School Athletics                 1    1   0    41    7  +34    1.000
 5 Normal School FC                         1    1   0    48   16  +32    1.000
 6 Riverside Speed Club                     1    1   0    47   27  +20    1.000
 7 Sea Dome Coast Guard                     1    1   0    20    6  +14    1.000
 8 University of the Arts                   1    1   0    23   19   +4    1.000
 9 StreetSec Inc. Nightwatch                1    0   1    19   23   −4    0.000
10 Radical Democracy PC                     1    0   1     6   20  −14    0.000
11 Heaven's Remora                          1    0   1    27   47  −20    0.000
12 Autonomous University Wildcats           1    0   1    16   48  −32    0.000
13 Our Mother of the Wretched               1    0   1     7   41  −34    0.000
14 Anchor City Clippers                     1    0   1    22   57  −35    0.000
15 Nwfila Harvest Mice                      1    0   1     0   38  −38    0.000
   Pentoia Massive                          1    0   1     9   47  −38    0.000


4
Deep Country AC 9–13 Civil Defense Union
BPR Industries 23–10 Riverside Land Sciences University
North Xuelei Mongoose 23–16 Space Exploration PC
Revanchist Party Avengers 43–37 Solar Mart Rays
University of Liberation Theology 13–33 Mischief Society Wreckers
Corporate University Sharks 19–24 Naval Academy
Red Star PC 32–19 Hub City FC
Anti-Cartel PC 30–26 CC1 Sanitation
.
   4                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD    Win % 
 1 Mischief Society Wreckers                1    1   0    33   13  +20    1.000
 2 BPR Industries                           1    1   0    23   10  +13    1.000
   Red Star PC                              1    1   0    32   19  +13    1.000
 4 North Xuelei Mongoose                    1    1   0    23   16   +7    1.000
 5 Revanchist Party Avengers                1    1   0    43   37   +6    1.000
 6 Naval Academy                            1    1   0    24   19   +5    1.000
 7 Anti-Cartel PC                           1    1   0    30   26   +4    1.000
   Civil Defense Union                      1    1   0    13    9   +4    1.000
 9 CC1 Sanitation                           1    0   1    26   30   −4    0.000
   Deep Country AC                          1    0   1     9   13   −4    0.000
11 Corporate University Sharks              1    0   1    19   24   −5    0.000
12 Solar Mart Rays                          1    0   1    37   43   −6    0.000
13 Space Exploration PC                     1    0   1    16   23   −7    0.000
14 Hub City FC                              1    0   1    19   32  −13    0.000
   Riverside Land Sciences University       1    0   1    10   23  −13    0.000
16 University of Liberation Theology        1    0   1    13   33  −20    0.000


5
Socialist Liberation Party Reds 30–27 Lemo Dolphins
Corporate City Rangers 3–3 Olofsson Group Blues (12–9 OT)
AFC Reyalto 43–0 Abolition PC
Hub City Raiders 31–14 Metropolitans
Industry Zone Grinders 6–40 Floating Haven Gunnery
Free Trade PC 28–24 Sea Dome Marines
Language & Technical University 23–3 Iron Hill Ancients
CC1 Dept of Civil Defense 25–19 Jenoch Guerrillas
.
   5                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD    Win % 
 1 AFC Reyalto                              1    1   0    43    0  +43    1.000
 2 Floating Haven Gunnery                   1    1   0    40    6  +34    1.000
 3 Language & Technical University          1    1   0    23    3  +20    1.000
 4 Hub City Raiders                         1    1   0    31   14  +17    1.000
 5 CC1 Dept of Civil Defense                1    1   0    25   19   +6    1.000
 6 Free Trade PC                            1    1   0    28   24   +4    1.000
 7 Corporate City Rangers                   1    1   0    12    9   +3    1.000
   Socialist Liberation Party Reds          1    1   0    30   27   +3    1.000
 9 Lemo Dolphins                            1    0   1    27   30   −3    0.000
   Olofsson Group Blues                     1    0   1     9   12   −3    0.000
11 Sea Dome Marines                         1    0   1    24   28   −4    0.000
12 Jenoch Guerrillas                        1    0   1    19   25   −6    0.000
13 Metropolitans                            1    0   1    14   31  −17    0.000
14 Iron Hill Ancients                       1    0   1     3   23  −20    0.000
15 Industry Zone Grinders                   1    0   1     6   40  −34    0.000
16 Abolition PC                             1    0   1     0   43  −43    0.000


1
Corporate City 1 14–20 Orange Farms SC
Hub City Eagles 14–10 Sea Dome University Stingrays
Sea Dome Navy 15–21 National Party Corporates
Gimlen Rams 17–9 Midcity Dodgers
FC Skyport Zone 19–16 Independent Students Union
Syndicalist PC 33–24 Nonalignment PC
Midnight Auto Gremlins 21–20 Quick Wholesale Packers
Shiheda Electronics Bolts 10–15 House Lords Party
.
   1                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD    Win % 
 1 Syndicalist PC                           2    2   0    53   27  +26    1.000
 2 Orange Farms SC                          2    2   0    49   24  +25    1.000
 3 FC Skyport Zone                          2    2   0    37   23  +14    1.000
   Midnight Auto Gremlins                   2    2   0    51   37  +14    1.000
 5 National Party Corporates                2    2   0    40   30  +10    1.000
 6 Independent Students Union               2    1   1    73   36  +37    0.500
 7 Hub City Eagles                          2    1   1    29   29    0    0.500
 8 Gimlen Rams                              2    1   1    34   66  −32    0.500
 9 Midcity Dodgers                          2    1   1    42   37   +5    0.500
10 Sea Dome University Stingrays            2    1   1    44   44    0    0.500
11 House Lords Party                        2    1   1    32   40   −8    0.500
12 Shiheda Electronics Bolts                1    0   1    10   15   −5    0.000
13 Corporate City 1                         2    0   2    44   54  −10    0.000
14 Quick Wholesale Packers                  2    0   2    23   41  −18    0.000
15 Regional Industrial Union                1    0   1    10   29  −19    0.000
   Sea Dome Navy                            2    0   2    35   54  −19    0.000
17 Nonalignment PC                          2    0   2    31   51  −20    0.000


2
Hub City Safety Patrol 31–48 Xuelei Technical University
Sunnyside FC 38–37 Liberal Conservative PC
General Steel Sabers 48–30 UHC Bandits
Maroon Archipelago 23–3 Electrogrid Chargers
Private Banking Group Royals 37–20 General Hospital Greens
Taikonauts HC 20–33 Chigul Stampede
Maritime University Pirates 27–10 CC1DoC
Xuelei Highlanders 44–26 Black Star PC
.
   2                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD    Win % 
 1 General Steel Sabers                     2    2   0    78   43  +35    1.000
 2 Maroon Archipelago                       2    2   0    56   25  +31    1.000
 3 Private Banking Group Royals             2    2   0    60   39  +21    1.000
 4 Xuelei Highlanders                       1    1   0    44   26  +18    1.000
 5 Hotlamp Quarter Flames                   1    1   0    40   37   +3    1.000
 6 Black Star PC                            2    1   1    56   50   +6    0.500
 7 UHC Bandits                              2    1   1    43   51   −8    0.500
 8 Maritime University Pirates              2    1   1    33   40   −7    0.500
 9 Sunnyside FC                             2    1   1    41   50   −9    0.500
10 Xuelei Technical University              2    1   1    85   71  +14    0.500
11 Chigul Stampede                          2    1   1    52   43   +9    0.500
12 Liberal Conservative PC                  2    1   1    46   44   +2    0.500
13 CC1DoC                                   2    1   1    40   53  −13    0.500
14 Taikonauts HC                            2    0   2    46   63  −17    0.000
15 Hub City Safety Patrol                   2    0   2    37   57  −20    0.000
16 General Hospital Greens                  2    0   2    42   70  −28    0.000
17 Electrogrid Chargers                     2    0   2    16   53  −37    0.000


3
Our Mother of the Wretched 17–6 Pentoia Massive
Normal School FC 41–26 Freedom School Athletics
Nwfila Harvest Mice 10–14 Autonomous University Wildcats
Anchor City Clippers 9–7 High City College Snipers
StreetSec Inc. Nightwatch 17–16 Agriculture & Terraforming College
Sea Dome Coast Guard 19–16 University of the Arts
Riverside Speed Club 24–28 Radical Democracy PC
Internationalist PC 20–9 Heaven's Remora
.

   3                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD    Win % 
 1 Normal School FC                         2    2   0    89   42  +47    1.000
 2 Federal Bank Panthers                    1    1   0    47    9  +38    1.000
 3 Sea Dome Coast Guard                     2    2   0    39   22  +17    1.000
 4 Internationalist PC                      1    1   0    20    9  +11    1.000
 5 University of the Arts                   2    1   1    39   38   +1    0.500
 6 StreetSec Inc. Nightwatch                2    1   1    36   39   −3    0.500
 7 Agriculture & Terraforming College       2    1   1    73   39  +34    0.500
 8 Freedom School Athletics                 2    1   1    67   48  +19    0.500
 9 Radical Democracy PC                     2    1   1    34   44  −10    0.500
10 Anchor City Clippers                     2    1   1    31   64  −33    0.500
11 High City College Snipers                2    1   1    45    9  +36    0.500
12 Riverside Speed Club                     2    1   1    71   55  +16    0.500
13 Our Mother of the Wretched               2    1   1    24   47  −23    0.500
14 Autonomous University Wildcats           2    1   1    30   58  −28    0.500
15 Heaven's Remora                          2    0   2    36   67  −31    0.000
16 Nwfila Harvest Mice                      2    0   2    10   52  −42    0.000
17 Pentoia Massive                          2    0   2    15   64  −49    0.000


4
Hub City FC 38–10 Anti-Cartel PC
Naval Academy 13–6 Red Star PC
Mischief Society Wreckers 13–17 Corporate University Sharks
Solar Mart Rays 26–30 University of Liberation Theology
Space Exploration PC 41–30 Revanchist Party Avengers
Riverside Land Sciences University 36–3 North Xuelei Mongoose
Civil Defense Union 23–34 BPR Industries
IST Conglomerate 16–6 Deep Country AC
.
   4                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD    Win % 
 1 BPR Industries                           2    2   0    57   33  +24    1.000
 2 Naval Academy                            2    2   0    37   25  +12    1.000
 3 IST Conglomerate                         1    1   0    16    6  +10    1.000
 4 Riverside Land Sciences University       2    1   1    46   26  +20    0.500
 5 Red Star PC                              2    1   1    38   32   +6    0.500
 6 Corporate University Sharks              2    1   1    36   37   −1    0.500
 7 North Xuelei Mongoose                    2    1   1    26   52  −26    0.500
 8 Mischief Society Wreckers                2    1   1    46   30  +16    0.500
 9 Hub City FC                              2    1   1    57   42  +15    0.500
10 Space Exploration PC                     2    1   1    57   53   +4    0.500
11 Revanchist Party Avengers                2    1   1    73   78   −5    0.500
12 Civil Defense Union                      2    1   1    36   43   −7    0.500
13 University of Liberation Theology        2    1   1    43   59  −16    0.500
14 Anti-Cartel PC                           2    1   1    40   64  −24    0.500
15 CC1 Sanitation                           1    0   1    26   30   −4    0.000
16 Solar Mart Rays                          2    0   2    63   73  −10    0.000
17 Deep Country AC                          2    0   2    15   29  −14    0.000


5
Iron Hill Ancients 20–54 CC1 Dept of Civil Defense
Sea Dome Marines 10–12 Language & Technical University
Floating Haven Gunnery 25–14 Free Trade PC
Metropolitans 12–12 Industry Zone Grinders (15–12 OT)
Abolition PC 19–30 Hub City Raiders
Olofsson Group Blues 50–19 AFC Reyalto
Lemo Dolphins 12–16 Corporate City Rangers
Thought Reform PC 23–14 Socialist Liberation Party Reds
.
   5                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD    Win % 
 1 Floating Haven Gunnery                   2    2   0    65   20  +45    1.000
 2 CC1 Dept of Civil Defense                2    2   0    79   39  +40    1.000
 3 Hub City Raiders                         2    2   0    61   33  +28    1.000
 4 Language & Technical University          2    2   0    35   13  +22    1.000
 5 Thought Reform PC                        1    1   0    23   14   +9    1.000
 6 Corporate City Rangers                   2    2   0    28   21   +7    1.000
 7 Olofsson Group Blues                     2    1   1    59   31  +28    0.500
 8 AFC Reyalto                              2    1   1    62   50  +12    0.500
 9 Socialist Liberation Party Reds          2    1   1    44   50   −6    0.500
10 Free Trade PC                            2    1   1    42   49   −7    0.500
11 Metropolitans                            2    1   1    29   43  −14    0.500
12 Jenoch Guerrillas                        1    0   1    19   25   −6    0.000
   Sea Dome Marines                         2    0   2    34   40   −6    0.000
14 Lemo Dolphins                            2    0   2    39   46   −7    0.000
15 Industry Zone Grinders                   2    0   2    18   55  −37    0.000
16 Abolition PC                             2    0   2    19   73  −54    0.000
   Iron Hill Ancients                       2    0   2    23   77  −54    0.000

[Banija]

NMU Athletic Director Horace Browning takes on various roles at the NSCF and in Banija upon his retirement as Athletic Director

HERZEGOVINA CITY, MORAVICA- Over the summer, some sad news came across the NMU Athletic community- Horace Browning, the school's longtime athletic director, was retiring. He was the longest standing athletic director in school history, as the Cosumarite took the role soon after his firing as the school's gridiron coach after NSCF 18. 14 full gridiron seasons and change, he has been a rod of stability and the cause of a lot of growth at NMU. His best move was seen as hiring Lance Kabuye, who immediately led Northern Moravica to their first (and only) NSCF title way back in NSCF 19. He spearheaded expansion of Banijan participation in the NSCAA, and while Northern Moravica has largely seen its rivals(Loyola and U of M), and neighbors(Aksum State, who really isn't anywhere close to NMU but is in the neighboring state) take advantage of this by winning titles that NMU has not won, none of those were likely possible without both his work and his tireless advocacy.

While a critical member of the Athletics establishment, He took strong stands as the athletic director, fighting for Northern Moravica athletics and the betterment of the University. He ensured the university firmly backed Henry Horton during his suspension, and backed Horton's challenges to eventually be reinstated. He also very famously gave a long leash to Lance Kabuye, not without controversy- allowing Kabuye to run up a water bill by running an entire week's worth of practices with the sprinklers on, to prepare for the Jungledrom, and of course, the infamous overnight practices. He was a strong supporter of the ball coach during the 3-10 nightmare season, when he was dealing with a cancer diagnosis.

While he said he will 'certainly' enjoy retirement, he is taking on a couple of part-time jobs to enjoy retirement. First, he is becoming the head of the NSCF Competition Committee, which deals with the laws of the game. He will also become the Executive Director of the Mugisha III Memorial Bowl, as well as a special advisor to the Banijan Collegiate Sports Group and the Commonwealth Games Council. He was also named an honorary member of the World Cup 99 Host Committee. Those jobs will keep him busy- all busy at separate times, enough to ensure that he's always working, yet, not enough to keep him away from the golf course. "I never expected that I would spend such a large portion of my adult life in Herzegovina City- but it has been the honor of a lifetime." He said, in a speech at a banquet in his honor, the night before NMU faced off against Saguenay in Week 4. "This university opened its arms, and took me in as one of their own- and we've seen success not just in gridiron, but in most sports- ensuring and enhancing the reputation of NMU as a world-class university."

His last day as AD, technically, was NMU's week 4 home game against Saguenay. And NMU put on a show at their home stadium- a 44-6 beatdown over their Quebecois rivals, a confidence inspiring win after a couple of rough losses to Loyola and IUB to kick off the season. Basically everything that could go right, did go right. Heavenworth, with Horton out injured, had a stunning 211 rushing yards, including two 50+ yard TD runs(55 and 53), as NMU simply dominated the visiting team. Ceora had his first multi-TD game as a passer, throwing for two himself to prop up what had been a struggling passing game so far this season. The offense finally showing signs of life against a good opponent- not scoring a single TD against either IUB or Loyola was a bad sign. But 6 TDs against Saguenay, allowing only 6 points... Browning was all smiles, and got a huge ovation at halftime when he came onto the field for the ceremony to honor him. Basically, a perfect homecoming game to honor him on his way out.

The Regents ran the search to find his successor as AD, ran largely by Iguru Kabuye, Lance Kabuye's nephew. The search committee was headed by Kabuye, but also consisted of Horace Browning, the school President, Lance Kabuye, and Xolile Lubabalo- the former Katikkiro who is a NMU alum, who currently serves as the head of the Lubabalo Fund in Chromatika. While many expected Iguru to get the job, it was yet another Kabuye who got hired- none other than Po Kabuye, the brother of QB coach Sebastian Kabuye, brother-in-law of NMU HC Hannah McKendry, and the son of Lance Kabuye. He has left his job as the COO of the Olympic Committee of Banija over 'fundamental differences in direction' with his boss, Patrick Zervos, who is the Executive Chair of the Olympic Committee(more on that in a future article). He is a former AD at Moravica International University, which is largely seen as Banija's most prestigious academic institution.

While some showed concerns that yet another Kabuye was entering power in athletics at Banija's flagship public university, the Regents unanimously supported him. "I look forward to starting this role as athletic director of Northern Moravica University. It has given so much to this city, to my family- and I want to be part of a long line of Kabuyes that give back to the country's first public university." He told reporters. "Horace Browning was an engine for growth at the University, and I strongly want to continue in the tradition that he has laid down. The goals, of course- national championship contenders in all 30+ sports that we sponsor. Beat Loyola in everything- especially in gridiron. Ensure that Hannah Kabuye has the ability to build a world-class gridiron program, one that includes winning the division, winning the Celestia, and competing for NSCF Championships."

Other News
- The Moravica Minister of Education resigned today after controversial comments to the state legislature complaining about a 'Kabuye takeover' at NMU. The legislators criticized him heavily, with many talking about how the Kabuye family, both including and especially Lance Kabuye, has given so much to the university. The Minister told reporters that he 'didn't expect so much blowblack' from his comments. The position has always been a hot potato, with U of Moravica, NMU, and Loyola alumni all highly represented in the body, and consistently at odds with one another over higher education issues.
- The Moravica legislature also passed legislation to establish a collegiate stadium fund, with ULI and NMU looking to build new basketball arenas by the next season of the NSCAAs, and the University of Moravica looking to build a new gridiron stadium.

[Chromatika]

Part 1: Preseason Top Fifteen
Part 2: Week 1
Part 3: Week 2
Part 4: Week 3

Chromatik High School Gridiron - Season Fifteen, Part Five: Matchday 4

Season 1 Champions: Central Heights High School (MVP: QB Harold Jieter)
Season 2 Champions: East Omnio High School (MVP: WR Alessandro Mio)
Season 3 Champions: Mt. Niar High School (MVP: QB Sarai Gwenderyn)
Season 4 Champions: Mt. Niar High School (MVP: QB Sarai Gwenderyn)
Season 5 Champions: Flames of the Revolution High School (MVP: RB Nyata Antonucci)
Season 6 Champions: Staramara Tech High School (MVP: Edge Nicole Manstrom)
Season 7 Champions: Franscesca Larriet-Cortes High School (MVP: QB Liara Anderson)
Season 8 Champions: Vitoron School of Charge (MVP: QB Anne-Maurice Vivayavich)
Season 9 Champions: Myana Northwestern High School (MVP: QB Nicole Estera)
Season 10 Champions: Myana Northwestern High School (MVP: CB Lisa Bonsoon)
Season 11 Champions: The Chromatik Institute (MVP: QB Raul Sébastien Santos)
Season 12 Champions: Mt. Niar High School (MVP: QB Dante Flowers)
Season 13 Champions: Staramara Tech High School (MVP: OLB Freya Odinsdóttir)
Season 14 Champions: Staramara Tech High School (MVP: QB Amy Skylar)

Black Conference
Lanar High School 9–0 Myana Northwestern High School
Mt. Niar High School 18–16 Staramara Tech High School
Urrhed High School 26–22 West Shantarr High School

Black Conference                         Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Mt. Niar High School                     4    4   0   117   79  +38
2 Lanar High School                        4    3   1    73   43  +30
3 Myana Northwestern High School           4    2   2    63   48  +15
4 Urrhed High School                       4    1   3    54  102  −48
5 West Shantarr High School                4    1   3    97  100   −3
6 Staramara Tech High School               4    1   3    44   76  −32

In a game that sets a national record for the fewest yards combined - 213 to be exact - the Rhinos outlast the Blue and White, converting two turnovers into field goals as they get the shutout. Maas van der Voorde leads six drives that result in field goals as the Battle Angels' defense did all they could to bend but not break, running out of energy by the end of it all; the Sand Vipers finally get their first win of the season behind a masterful performance from Izajasz Pierkarski, who goes thirteen-of-nineteen for 219 yards and two scores on the victory. The Anacondas establish themselves as early leaders in the toughest conference in the country.

Blue Conference
Pelar High School 22–13 North Sanar High School
Crix Technical School 26–30 Lhor Central High School
South Sanar High School 51–19 Wirr Tsi School for the Gifted

Blue Conference                          Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 South Sanar High School                  4    3   1   157   95  +62
2 Pelar High School                        4    3   1   123   90  +33
3 North Sanar High School                  4    2   2    86   62  +24
4 Wirr Tsi School for the Gifted           4    2   2    80  108  −28
5 Lhor Central High School                 4    1   3    56  123  −67
6 Crix Technical School                    4    1   3    97  121  −24

For the second game in a row, the Armadillos eclipse fifty points, Aina Wirtanen good for five touchdowns and 371 yards through the air as South Sanar is rolling on all cylinders now. The Flying Jellyfish get their first win of the season as Sophomore Quarterback Dorothea Hannon completes a truly dual-threat day by running for a 31 yard score with ten seconds remaining, also adding two scores through the air. The Hurons bounce back, maintaining their lead against the Riflemen, their defense holding firm in the second half.

Green Conference
East Omnio High School 38–20 Umbar Hills High School
Gurshan High School 20–26 West Omnio High School
J. H. Yadasky High School 34–16 Chromatik Army High School

Green Conference                         Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Gurshan High School                      4    3   1    64   35  +29
2 Umbar Hills High School                  4    3   1    94   82  +12
3 J. H. Yadasky High School                4    2   2    90   79  +11
4 West Omnio High School                   4    2   2    87   82   +5
5 East Omnio High School                   4    1   3    81  104  −23
6 Chromatik Army High School               4    1   3    65   99  −34

On a day of upsets, Carmen Maria Juárez catches her second score from Adara Cueva with a half minute remaining as the Spectral Monks hand the Drills their first loss of the season despite Canna Gorlen doing everything she can; the Heroes, led by Lottie Greenhorn's 318 yard day, win their second in a row. Umbar Hills's first loss is at the hands of the Geomancers, who win their first of the year in dominant fashion as Georgina Halls has two picks and Edward Warrington leads five touchdown drives, three coming in the second half.

Red Conference
Staramara Athletics Academy 26–0 Pùr Heights High School
Tihon Elite Academy 31–17 West Rhoni High School
East Shantarr High School 19–3 East Rhoni High School

Red Conference                           Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Tihon Elite Academy                      4    4   0   120   54  +66
2 East Shantarr High School                4    3   1    71   52  +19
3 Staramara Athletics Academy              4    2   2    78   76   +2
4 Pùr Heights High School                  4    2   2    76   70   +6
5 East Rhoni High School                   4    1   3    45   82  −37
6 West Rhoni High School                   4    0   4    68  124  −56

Putting together a complete game, the Rangers of Staramara Athletics Academy make short work of the Destroyers - Kent Jordyn frustrated into four turnovers, Ryin Nakt and Seth Gorello running for over 100 yards each, and the team never looking back. The Fog Wall continue their undefeated start, Émilienne Rochette continuing her MVP-level play with three sacks and another forced turnover; the Order's Bénédicte Spanghero has an efficient day of throwing for 217 yards and a score as their defense does the rest in controlling the Kayaks.

White Conference
City of Lorentine High School 24–27 Cheonju Korean Institute
The Chromatik Institute 24–27 Capital District Academy
Vitoron School of Charge 17–16 Franscesca Larriet-Cortes High School

White Conference                         Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Capital District Academy                 4    3   1   133  103  +30
2 Vitoron School of Charge                 4    3   1   103  101   +2
3 Franscesca Larriet-Cortes High School    4    2   2   102   97   +5
4 The Chromatik Institute                  4    2   2   134  100  +34
5 Cheonju Korean Institute                 4    2   2   135  141   −6
6 City of Lorentine High School            4    0   4    60  125  −65

Three nailbiters as the White Conference remains tightly contested. In Lorentine, the Wizards' bid for their first win of the year are dashed by Kirsi-Marja Sibelius, the Red Devils Quarterback leading her second touchdown drive of the Fourth Quarter, finding Helena Salonen in the left corner of the end zone for the game winning score. It's a rough end of a game where Ariana Sadow had actually had a decent day with three touchdowns through the air. Kingsley Dillard and Emmanuel de Silva have a classic Quarterbacks' duel at The Chromatik Institute, the home team falling just short after Dillard had taken the lead with two minutes to go. De Silva managed to get the team into a third-and-four at midfield with forty-five seconds remaining, but a last-second desperate heave fell short, Italo Fornaro deflecting it. The lack of playmakers around de Silva is starting to matter. In the only home win of the day, Nestore Filippo's thirty-three yard catch with ten seconds left off of a deep out route sets up Sandy Mamoa to kick the game-winner with three seconds remaining, the Martyrs clipped at the last second despite Vi Merrot having yet another efficient game.

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

Donnacona Daily: Your Local Newspaper of the Heungwhajin, Donnacona Townships

Awkwafina Lutombo announced as Moogoongwha nominee for Donnacona at this year's Federal Election

ISABELLE BOUDRIA

JOONGYEONG, JOONGYEONG - Some things run in the bloodlines, as they say. They even make movies about them. For the McKendry-Kabuyes it's football, while for the Lutombos it's the politics.

Sometimes two interests intersect and that's how we found out that 38-year-old Awkwafina Lutombo was the Moogoongwha candidate for the upcoming federal election in the suburban Joongyeong riding of Donnacona.

In a highly competitive race that saw three rounds of voting overnight, economist Lutombo won the party's nomination at the convention last night at the Donnacona Veterans' Memorial Arena over former campaign manager Isabelle Pinard and local businessman Kang Joo-Whi. While the vote count wasn't announced, words have come out of the convention that Lutombo had come down to a matter of a half-dozen votes and had required recounts.

'Let's go!' Lutombo said in a quick interview with the Donnacona Daily. 'I am beyond excited to confirm that I will be representing the Moogoongwha Party for Donnacona. It would be a massive honour and privilege for me, a longtime resident and supporter of the community, to represent those of Donnacona at the Jeongdeokgoong.'

The highly-publicised nomination process came by quickly, after the incumbent MP, Chief Whip Bruce Kirkendall, resigned after opting out against returning to the Parliament with the upcoming Federal Election set to be held later in the year. While on usual circumstances the byelections would be triggered, set to happen within the six months of the member's resignation date, here it falls firmly within the likely September or October election date meaning the seat will be empty until the Federal Election.

Kirkendall, who didn't endorse any of the three candidates that were on the final round of elections, said that the coming weeks will make the 38-year-old better prepared for what is to come, especially if she is elected into the parliament.

'I mean, she's done all of this before in her profession,' Kirkendall said. 'But the intensity truly begins only when you are out there canvassing and letting people know. We've already spoken over the phone, just this morning actually, to let him know that he has every ounce of support from me. We are going to do this together and win Donnacona.'

One of several people who were very excited about it, of course, was her mother-in-law, former St. Croix and current Northern Moravica head coach Hannah McKendry.

Speaking at the pregame conference for the Northern Moravica-St. Croix matchup at the Stadium of the Restoration in Herzegovina City, ahead of the match that would end in a 44-6 victory for her Cougars, McKendry was not shy from expressing her endorsement of Lutombo, whose husband happens to be her second out of three sons in 30-year-old Bernard McKendry.

'It's always a pleasure to watch someone very close to me, who has married into our family, to step up into a special role. An opportunity to change the world,' said McKendry with glee. 'I've known Awkwafina for a solid decade of my life, dating back to when she was at St. Croix no less, and have always found her to be model professional whose work ethics, vision and relatability to the ordinary Shingoryeoites will deliver the same way it did for her grandfather, great Muteesa Lutombo.'

While the name Muteesa Lutombo's relatively unfamiliar for average Quebecois, unless they are of Banijan heritage or students of foreign politics, the name carries significant weight in the minds of the Banijans as well. Having represented his hometown of Bolgatanga, a small sized city of 40,000 two hours northeast of Luguyala in rural Aksum, the 85-year-old People's Protection Movement MP is only the third generation of MPs to have come from the family.

Lutombo, himself a Northern Moravica alumnus and occasional advisor to the Cougars' AD Horace Browning, has stayed mostly away from the core of the power, choosing to stay mostly mostly at backbencher and Parliamentary Secretary roles during his time. His status as a fan of NMU football, where his lifelong friend Lance Kabuye has coached for many years, Herzegovina City Phoenix and CSKA Quebec have been well documented in social media.

But from time to time, he has made his name known, whether it be his Father of the House status after 48 years of service at the Lukikko, open roast of Xolile Lubabalo in a heavily memeified 'Economic St-Onge' comment, or his manouevring of the Confidence & Supply Agreement with the aforementioned Lubabalo government only two years later. The last part brings an interesting situation for her granddaughter, considering Lutombo's history as a security hawk, as well as the his son Isaac's candidacy as the centre-right UCN candidate for the Commonwealth Assembly of Nations that's scheduled to be held in July.

As for Lutombo herself, however, all the noise shouldn't be an issue as the Joongyeong native is expected to be comfortably elected into a safe Moogoongwha riding, even in the capitol region where Moogoongwha, under Prime Minister Lucien Azagury-Zovaco, has performed very well.

Lutombo, 38, is a consultant who had previously worked as an economist with the Bank of Shingoryeo, the Commonwealth Infrastructure Fund and the Quebec Foundation. She has made her mark elsewhere, however, having led and participated in dozens of fundraising campaigns involving her alma mater, Seonggyoongwan University College at Université St. Croix and the Lycée-Alexandre II, as well as various sporting divisions of Bleu et Blanc and CSKA Quebec.

Lutombo, who has two daughters with McKendry, is recently appointed to St. Croix athletics program's Board of Governors, and has served as an advisor to various committees of the NSCF, the RQOC and the Ministry of Sport. It is widely considered by many that Lutombo, if elected, will be serving a possible ministerial position, though the level of competition is expected to be no less stiff on the sport portfolio.

[New Tamarind]

TAMARINDIAN NEWS

University of Raukieff Chancellor Says Tumbran Protest Against Raukieff Participation in College Gridiron Tournament "Unjustified and Interventionist"

KALLIPOLIS: Representatives from Tumbra have allegedly filed a complaint against the participation of the University of Raukieff in the ongoing NS College Football tournament, which was met by a strong and forthright response from the Chancellor of the University of Raukieff, Bishop Angelo Petras. In a statement released through the University, Bishop Petras decried the complaint made by the Wisteria League — a group of eight Tumbran universities — against the University of Raukieff as "wholly unjustified and another example of the international Tumbran interventionist policy," which is "born out of a state-mandated policy of secularism and hate towards those who are of the Faith and search for God in all their actions."

The exact content of the complaint submitted by the Wisteria League has been kept confidential, but the Tamarindian News can confirm that the complaint chiefly surrounded New Tamarind's supposed human rights record, as well as the fact that the State is a confessional one — both allegations that His Excellency Bishop Petras have refuted in the strongest possible terms. "Nothing will stop the grace of God from helping the Pilgrims to success in their inaugural run in this tournament," his statement ended. "The Wisteria League should not even be making this complaint considering they have zero stakes in this competition. It is simply an effort of theirs and their godless State to tear down the beauty of the works of Tamarind, headed up the path of our Faith, guided by our Creator, as all secular states have tried to do to us."

[Valanora]

Celestia Conference - Week 5

Cutoff.

Northern Moravica University (BNJ) 58–23 University of Nordhammer (NKR)
Royal Nobility Academy (OFL) 14–37 Université St. Croix (QUE)
University of Loyola-Istria (BNJ) 48–7 Lakewood Plains University (NKR)
Islamic University of Busoga (BUS) 49–10 Université du Saguenay (QUE)

P Savannah Division                   Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD 
1 University of Loyola-Istria (BNJ)     5    5   0   174   60 +114
3 Islamic University of Busoga (BUS)    5    3   2   122  115   +7
4 Northern Moravica University (BNJ)    5    3   2   146   74  +72
8 Royal Nobility Academy (OFL)          5    0   5    82  161  −79

P Sequoia Division                    Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD 
2 Université St. Croix (QUE)            5    4   1   145   79  +66
5 Lakewood Plains University (NKR)      5    2   3    80  157  −77
6 University of Nordhammer (NKR)        5    2   3    83  158  −75
7 Université du Saguenay (QUE)          5    1   4    93  121  −286

[Chromatika]

The Introduction
The First Game
The Tackle
Battle for the Eternal Flame, Part 1

LLEYAMANA

5. The Fake

Anyone who said that games cross-division against the Equinox Division would be easy was a liar. The Islamic Madrasa of Pomena, sporting a 2-1 record in-division, showed why - their defense was stout, their offense was doing just enough, and the Lava was just not clicking. Having traded three field goals apiece midway through the Fourth Quarter, Jair Lleyamana took to the field with six minutes left, understanding the task at hand - break the defense, score a touchdown, and put it away.

Five straight runs between Dokken, Kun Wa Lee, and Lleyamana combined took them to midfield - the defense was starting to wear down. With less than four minutes remaining, they could play for the Field Goal, but Jair was not going to have it. Middle Linebacker Walid Rahmani had snuck closer and closer to the line of scrimmage as the game went along - something that most defenders usually did when it came to facing the Lava.

Staramara Tech went into their split-back set. Jair noticed Rahmani looking straight at him from behind the defensive line. He took the snap, faked the handoff to Kun Wa Lee, faked the toss to Dokken, and followed a pulling Evan Rheese, having faked out half of the linebacking corps.

He stiff-armed Hicham Oulhaj, outran the corners, and pranced fifty yards into the end zone. Ballgame.

"I knew he (Rahmani) was selling out to stop the middle run that we were running most of the game," Lleyamana commented afterwards, "I had the time to commit to two fakes, Evan took out the first defender, and the rest was history."

Staramara Tech improves to 3-1. They'll have a home game against the Kobale University Kobolds before a road trip to Silver Coast.

"We're starting to really establish our identity in the run," said Head Coach Laverna Getz, "Teams are starting to expect it, too, so it's now strength against strength."

For Jair, it was a moment to show that he could read the defense - and to step up in the biggest of moments.

[TJUN-ia]

The Earth Trophy. A prize that even in the darkest times can inspire and allow those in the shadows to thrive. The Trent State Feathercaps were the defending champions of this prize, but they were hosting this contest under pressure at 0-2. The Green City Royale Eagles were at least 1-1 entering this game, but they were looking to win on enemy territory in a rivalry series that has developed into chaos in recent seasons.

Everyone was expecting this game to be a hard-fought duel between two teams desperate to win this game and move into the non-conference with all the momentum they could muster...and what we got was an absolute war of QBs. Jessica Daniels and Ngimphiwe Cele went to WAR in this contest, throwing everything they had at each other across the entire 4 Quarters of football we played. 6 TDs for Daniels, 5 for Cele...and while Cele was aiming to match, she threw an interception with 10 seconds to go. Ball game. TSU retained the Earth Trophy 41-34 tas both teams moved to 1-2.

But what about afterwards? TSU stayed at the Horseshoe to host the Elysium City Giraffes from Epicly Amazing Giraffes in a game...that wasn't game at all. TSU blew the hell out of these guys in some style with a whopping nine touchdowns to secure a convincing 64-10 win that moved the Caps to 2-2.

As for GCU? They made it back to The Palace to face the might of the UC-Prairie Blue Jays in a home game many were hoping to win. It ended up being a defensive affair, one where turnovers became a loyal friend of many, but Larry Cunningham is a player on fire and his 2 TDs were enough to secure a tough 17-3 win here in the AU. GCU, who started 1-0, was now 1-3. Ouch.

---

SCHEDULE (MINERAL Conference, Heartland Division + 3 Non-Conf)
Week 1: @Prince Pieter's College (ROT) L 26-29 OT (0-1)
Week 2: @St. Paulus College (ROT) L 33-39 (0-2)
Week 3: vs Green City (TJU) - Earth Trophy XVII W 41-34 (1-2)
Week 4: vs Elysium City University (EAG) W 64-10 (2-2)
Week 5: vs UNSJJSM (UNC)
Week 6: @Columbus-Prairie (DHE)
Week 7: @Nowa Kalanianska (UNC)
---------------------Mineral Division Rematches---------------------
Week 8: vs Prince Pieter's College (ROT) - Homecoming
Week 9: vs St. Paulus College (ROT)
Week 10: @Green City (TJU) - Earth Trophy XVIII
Week 11: Conference Championship Week
---------------------Non-Conference---------------------
Week 12: TBC
Week 13: TBC
Week 14: TBC

SCHEDULE (MINERAL Conference, Heartland Division + 3 Non-Conf)
Week 1: vs St. Paulus College (ROT) W 23-0 (1-0)
Week 2: vs Prince Pieter's College (ROT) L 13-39 (1-1)
Week 3: @Trent State (TJU) - Earth Trophy XVII L 34-41 (1-2)
Week 4: vs Columbus-Prairie (DHE) L 3-17 (1-3)
Week 5: vs Nowa Kalanianska (UNC) - Homecoming
Week 6: @Elysium City University (EAG)
Week 7: @UNSJJSM (UNC)
---------------------Mineral Division Rematches---------------------
Week 8: @St. Paulus College (ROT)
Week 9: @Prince Pieter's College (ROT)
Week 10: vs Trent State (TJU) - Earth Trophy XVIII
Week 11: Conference Championship Week
---------------------Non-Conference---------------------
Week 12: TBC
Week 13: TBC
Week 14: TBC

[Valanora]

When Sidney Jones was recruited to the Rockets, Andy Magnusson and Justin Axelsson had a plan to slowly integrate her into the offense and that eventually at some point during the season she would see the field. The hope there would be in relief of Ella Solberg in blowouts where the team could afford to take the foot off the gas a little and give some of the underclassmen some reps. While Jones was a fairly highly rated recruit coming out of Chromatika, there was still the belief that she needed a bit of time to truly learn the Rockets playbook and get comfortable with it, with the Rockets playing a slightly different style of gridiron than what she was used to. Once she earned the starting job either towards the end of the season or more likely at the start of the NSCF 34 season, she was going to have to be a bit more mobile and also be able to make passes on the move and adjustments on the fly. Yet with the Rockets losing twice in their first two games, including what was a near no show in Poafmersia against the Mancodas, that ability to wait to let her come to grips with the Rockets offense schemes and designs has gone.

Ella Solberg has not been the answer behind center for the Rockets, despite the team going into Mar Sara and blowing out the Raiders in surprising fashion. She was never the most highly decorated recruit but she had been in the program for three seasons before this and knew the playbook better than Jones and so she was given the starting job. It is not all Solberg's fault however as the stingent defense that knew how to hold when it was required of them has simply fallen by the wayside and the team is giving up touchdowns when in previous years they would have forced field goals or found a way to force a turnover. While traveling to Poafmersia is a difficult ask, it was one that over the last two seasons both the Rockets and Raiders had managed to solve fairly well, the Raiders continuing that with a shootout victory over MRI while the Rockets were limping towards their loss against the undefeated Mancodas. The biggest miss seems to be at middle linebacker where the veteran leader of their Banijan talisman is now gone, leaving a void in both leadership and skill that has seemingly not been able to be replaced.

The team now travels to The Golden Harp to take on Halifax Provincial, a team who has a single victory on their record, coming last week in a one point shave against worst of the conference Tophat University. It is a game that on paper the Rockets should walk into and simply run amok regardless of who is lining up to take the snaps. Some would even argue that Ella Solberg should be given the start and use the game as a way to get her mind right again and get the offense and defense looking the best that they could be. The coaching staff though thinks it is the sort of opportunity that seems right to insert Sidney Jones in, allowing the freshman to take the reigns against a team that the Rockets should be heavily favored against and who should have a significant overall talent advantage over. The team will need to utilize Tobias Svendsen more, in both the passing and running game, as only a dozen touches in the loss against the Mancodas showed the team was trying to play hero ball rather than make the best use of their best skill player and slowly wear down the Mancodas defense. The running back should be that safety valve and the featured player as Jones takes her place and the Rockets look to bounce back in style.

For the Raiders, their own new Chromatik quarterback is delivering the goods, racking up five touchdown passes and over three hundred yards in their forty-six to thirty-one victory over MRI. Kirai Englefond height might just be the key, being able to get nice and clear views of the wideouts running their routes and a good passing motion that has a smaller probability of being batted down at the line by the onrushing defense linemen. Outside the rivalry game with the Rockets, the team has looked very much the team that rode their luck into the championship game last season and came away with a victory. While the defense could use with a bit of tightening up, the offense has looked sensational behind Englefond's playcalling and passing attack. Kjell Heimdal is leading the way for the wideouts with three hundred eighty-seven yards and four touchdown grabs already this season and the senior wide receiver is becoming a favorite target for the Chromatik signal caller. The Raiders stay in Arrosia for their next game, traveling to Sea People to take on High City, who like Halifax only have a single win on their record and look a bit out of their depth. If the offense continues to purr under Englefond's stewardship, the team should be returning to the Empire with only the lone blemish on their record before the gauntlet of the Poafmersia schools.

[Drawkland]

"The Gallagher Game"

“What’s wrong, Brooklyn?” Trace Hayes asked. The head coach eyed his quarterback’s apprehensive expression with curiosity. The Sadeg State football team was filing onto the charter plane for their flight to Cavsar. Brooklyn had stopped at one of the front rows of the plane, looking for somebody yet to board.

“I’m waiting for Max,” Brooklyn rolled her eyes, referring to the sophomore receiver. “I let him borrow my travel pillow on the flight to Felswyr and he said he was gonna give it back today. Gotta wait up front so he doesn’t conveniently ‘forget’ to hand it to me before sitting down. Of course his dumb ass is at the back of the line.”

“I’m not talking about that.” Hayes narrowed his eyes as Brooklyn finally looked over at him. “You look like you’re trying to solve a calculus equation.” That elicited a visible flinch from Brooklyn.

“Oh, yeah.” Brooklyn sighed and shook her head. “I dunno, Coach. I feel like the boys are a bit too loose. I get that Cavsar has looked terrible and we’ve been really solid but … this feels like a trap game waiting to happen.”

“I’ll be sure to get everybody acclimated before the game,” Hayes reassured. “I can feel that vibe a bit, too. We shouldn’t be taking any games for granted, especially against Cavsar.”

“Thanks Coa-HEY.” Brooklyn finally found her target, Max Pepper. She shoved him on the shoulder, forcing his attention which was oh-so-conveniently pointed on the other rows until that moment. “Where’s my pillow?”

“Aw c’mon,” Max whined, pulling out the pillow from its concealed position under his arm. “I told you I forgot to bring mine.”

“You told me that two weeks ago. You had plenty of time to get your own.” Brooklyn snatched her pillow from Max’s grip. “Now get moving, you’re clogging the line.”

Brooklyn had her pillow, but now the plane was mostly full. Despite now being an upperclassman, Brooklyn never found a consistent seat partner. Her gender probably had something to do with that, but she still hadn’t built a friendly nucleus like she had in high school with Julian and the other guys. Usually there was enough space that she’d take a row by herself, but the charter plane was a smaller size than usual this time.

The only unoccupied seat next to an upperclassmen, somehow, was next to Jace Phoenix. Brooklyn took one more brief survey of the cabin before grumbling and coming up alongside Jace’s row.

“Mind if I sit here?” Brooklyn asked, hoping her disinterest was clear enough. She had interacted with Jace as much as she needed to through their first DOCA season together, but he still annoyed her most of the time.

“I don’t mind,” Jace replied, putting on a similarly aloof air as he leaned against the plane wall.

“Why aren’t you sitting next to Dan?” Brooklyn asked, referring to Jace’s fellow Raikennax transfer.

“He did this thing called ‘making friends with his teammates,’” Jace answered sarcastically. “Maybe you should try it if you’ve got a problem sitting here.”

“Maybe you should try it, and you wouldn’t be sitting solo to begin with,” Brooklyn shot back. She turned to look at Jace and saw some sickening smirk plastered on his face. “What are you smiling about?”

“Oh, nothing. I have no problems making friends.” Jace leaned forward off the wall. “Maybe I didn’t want to sit next to any of the other receivers?”

“Then I’ll find another place to sit,” Brooklyn started up from her seat, but felt Jace’s hand tug against her wrist.

“That’s not what I said.” Jace raised an eyebrow at Brooklyn, who whipped her head around in surprise.

“Fine.” Brooklyn plunked back into the seat. Jace didn’t prod any further as the plane began taxiing and taking off. Soon after the plane had liftoff, though, Jace turned back to look at Brooklyn.

“So …” Jace said, an obvious hint of mischief in his voice. “This must be a pretty tough game for you, right?”

“It’s an NSCF away game. They’re all tough.” Brooklyn didn’t return eye contact.

“Yeah, but … this is Cavsar.” Jace smacked his lips. “I heard it ended pretty rough here last year.”

“A loss is a loss. I don’t let that affect me, especially not a year after the fact.”

“It wasn’t just a loss, though. I saw the end of that game. I seem to remember Julian Gallagher catching the pass that got them into field goal range right in front of you. I bet that hurt more than usual, didn’t it? Especially from someone like him.”

“This is really what you want to talk about?” Brooklyn scowled at Jace. That only seemed to encourage him.

“What, would you rather just be silent for the whole plane ride?” Jace raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah.” Brooklyn huffed, turning back to stare at the seat in front of her. Jace didn’t say anything else, but his mere presence next to Brooklyn seemed to continually poke and prod at her head. It wasn’t any of his business to know. She knew he had some sort of ulterior motive to be bringing it up again, or was at least annoyingly nosy. And yet, Brooklyn already knew Jace well enough to know he was probably never going to let it go until she told him more.

After about a minute of tense silence, she gave up.

“Fine.” Brooklyn turned back to look at Jace, who looked back as casually as he could manage. “If you must know. Julian and I were friends in high school. Just friends. We had the same group of friends in our class at North Craggold, and didn’t really interact outside of that. Apparently he had a crush on me, but I didn’t even learn about that until college. I cannot think of a less interesting thing to fixate on. It was just a regular platonic friendship between teammates. There’s nothing special about what happened last season in Cavsar. Are you satisfied? Is that enough for you?”

“No need to get aggressive,” Jace shrugged. “Thanks for sharing, Brooklyn.” He looked back down at his phone, but he didn’t seem dejected. If anything, he was satisfied to get an answer. Brooklyn wasn’t sure if she found that more or less annoying.

Thankfully Jace seemed placated for the rest of the plane ride. The team got situated in their hotel just off Cavsar’s campus where they usually stayed and did their night-before preparations for the game. For all accounts, things seemed to be going well. Walkthroughs the morning of the game went smoothly. It was a bright and sunny day over Roy Memorial Stadium, but it wasn’t too hot. The team felt good going through their pregame warm-up routine.

Everything seemed to be going right prior to kickoff. That was until a certain conversation transpired.

A couple hours before kickoff, both teams were on the turf going through their pre-game warmups. The Skyhawks had one half of the field, while the Gladiators had the other. Even though there was a little gap between them, some of the position groups ended up in close proximity.

The receiver groups in particular backed onto each other as they did their catching drills. At one point they were less than five yards away from each other. Jace Phoenix turned around, saw Julian Gallagher on the other side, and cracked a devious grin.

“Aye, is that Brooklyn’s little boy toy over there?” Jace called to the clump of Cavsar receivers. Julian was the furthest to the outside, and he shot some vicious sideeye in Jace’s direction. That only seemed to encourage the Skyhawk receiver, though. “Ah, there he is! Julian Gallagher, golden boy of this talented Cavsar offense. It’s too bad his quarterback sucks, he’s gonna look terrible in front of his crush.”

“Do you have a problem?” Julian tried his hardest, but he couldn’t keep his cool. He stepped towards Jace, facing him head-on from a few years away.

“I heard you were talking shit about me.” Jace crossed his arms, jutting his chin out defiantly. “Word gets around, you know. I find that crazy, because if I was a nobody prospect that played for Cavsar, I certainly wouldn’t be bragging about anything.”

“I’ve done well for myself.” Julian narrowed his eyes, trying to straighten up and match Jace’s posture. “Rumors are just rumors sometimes. Not sure why a receiver of your caliber is even bothering.”

“That’s funny. Being the king of a landfill still means you’re sitting in garbage all day.” Jace sneered.

“We’re playing in this tournament too, y’know.”

“Right. And the reason you chose Cavsar certainly wasn’t because it was your only option, because no actually decent school would give you the time of day. No, surely you’re not that terrible of a player. Must’ve been the other thing, what was it? You were supposed to come here with Brooklyn Beck, right? It’s too bad that fell through. I guess you found out that you two didn’t really see eye-to-eye, huh?”

“You don’t know shit about her,” Julian growled.

“Sure I do.” Jace shrugged. “She’s my teammate after all, unlike a certain ‘featured receiver’ she used to throw to. And unlike that guy, I’m actually going to score. And I won’t have to spend six years trying!”

“You’re a punk.” Julian spat, and turned away. He wasn’t going to engage with any more of this trash talk. It was certainly because he was the better man, and not because he had nothing to respond with. Regardless, he joined back with the other Cavsar receivers in their drill.

Jace grinned savagely before turning back to his own teammates. The name of the game was psychological warfare, and Jace was always going to gun for the upper hand. He did the same against big-mouthed cornerbacks he often played against, and really anybody he could see as a weak link in his opponent.

Julian was the only real bright spot on the Cavsar offense the previous DOCA season, and their offense looked even worse in the first two games of the NSCF season. Two games, two field goals total. The Gladiators hadn’t found the end zone in eight quarters. If anybody was going to get them out of their funk, it was probably Julian against the Skyhawks. Jace couldn’t allow that, so he decided to help in demotivating Jules for this matchup.

The first drive of the game for Sadeg State had been scripted pretty well by Hayes and Halifax. Jace knew that they’d be setting up a deep shot a few plays into the drive if everything went according to plan. He could silence the crowd early and really drive home his mental drain on Julian, putting him out of commission long enough for Sadeg State to easily secure victory. This was entirely foolproof in Jace’s mind. All that remained was putting it together on the field.

Everything started according to plan. Sadeg State got the ball first and unleashed their plan for the opening drive. The first few plays were simple runs and short passes, evaluating the Cavsar defense and determining if their play-action shot play with Jace was going to get the desired result. After a couple first downs got the Skyhawks to their own 45 yard line, offensive coordinator Jack Halifax gave the thumbs-up. It was time.

Brooklyn looked at the defense and had to keep herself from grinning. It was exactly what they were hoping to attack, a Cover 2 look over top. State’s play was going to be play-action, with deep routes to pull the safeties while Jace ran a nasty stop-and-go. Brooklyn barked the cadence then got the snap. The play proceeded exactly like it did in practice. Jace Phoenix blew out the ankles of Marcel Kroon and got a huge step of separation. Brooklyn hit him in stride, and watched as he slid past and outpaced the safeties on the way to the end zone.

Just like that, Sadeg State had a 55-yard touchdown on the board and a lead a few minutes into the game. Jace did his signature griddy in the end zone, incensing the crowd and eliciting some boos from the Gladiator Faithful that could see him. It was exactly what Jace was hoping for. That should drive home the demotivation.

Except it didn’t. Cavsar put together an annoying drive with their first offensive possession. This offense which rarely crossed midfield in their first two games got past midfield in only five plays that afternoon. The Skyhawk defense tightened up a little bit against the Gladiator rushing attack, but Cavsar continued to move the chains. They reached the red zone, and finally found paydirt. Even more surprising, it was Julian Gallagher on a curl route right at the pylon scoring the touchdown. The reaction from the crowd was huge. However pathetic it was that their first touchdown came in Week 3, it was still a touchdown.

Whatever. Things were still fine on the Skyhawk sideline. They were bound to score eventually. Sadeg State still had momentum from their commanding first drive of the game. It was time to punch back, and punch just as hard. There was one problem. After getting torched against Jace on the first drive, Marcel Kroon was swapped to the other side of the field. Now Hunter Driscoll was facing off against Jace Phoenix, and though he had a tendency to overreach, he was much better in man coverage.

It turned out that Driscoll’s overreach served him well. After a few first downs to get the Skyhawks across midfield, Brooklyn went to Jace on an out route to get a big chunk of yards. Instead, Driscoll cut the pass off and ran the other way. There was nobody else underneath on that side, and Jace was taken by surprise and fell a step behind. Driscoll outraced everyone to the end zone, scoring a pick six to put Cavsar on top. It was barely halfway into the first quarter.

Things fell further out of reach quickly. The Skyhawks followed that pick with a punt. It didn’t look like Brooklyn was rattled necessarily, but she had no room to run and her receivers weren’t getting separation. Cavsar responded with another touchdown drive, once again punctuated with a connection from Kevin Sajak to Julian Gallagher in the end zone. At the beginning of the second quarter, Cavsar already led Sadeg State 22-7.

Brooklyn wasn’t going to go down quietly. A few key scrambles and a good third down toss to Dennis Barnabas got Sadeg State into field goal range, but the momentum surge ended there. A run for no gain and an incomplete pass left the Skyhawks looking at 3rd and long. Cavsar brought the heat on third down, and the State O-line completely failed to pick it up. Gilligan Ahn rushed up and slammed Brooklyn into the turf for a sack, bringing Sadeg State to 4th and 18. Nicky Wolfe booted the field goal cleanly, but it was a bit of a damper compared to what they needed from that drive.

Then Cavsar scored again. A touchdown, this time on the ground, from Lucas Utkin. The Cavsar crowd was now officially fired up, and Sadeg State looked up at the scoreboard with despair. 28-10, and it wasn’t even halftime.

A three score deficit isn’t impossible to overcome, especially starting in the first half, but it’s not easy. Mistakes have to be limited. You need big plays. Brooklyn and the rest of the Skyhawk offense knew this. Jace, still a bit annoyed how the game wasn’t going to his plan, knew it too. He was going to get his touch on this drive and make it count. Brooklyn ran eight yards to get a first down, and the pass play called in the next huddle had Jace as the primary target. Sure enough, Brooklyn called his number on the dig route, he caught it in stride, and had a step on his defender. Jace saw the safety Jules Krakon in front of him, shifted the ball in his grip, and prepared to put a move on him. What Jace didn’t see was Steve Gordon sneaking behind him. Gordon slapped the ball free from Jace’s hands as he was adjusting it, bouncing it off the turf and directly into the hands of Krakon rushing forward. Fumble, Cavsar ball, and Krakon managed to get a few extra yards before getting tackled.

If there was any fight left in the Skyhawks after that moment, it quickly withered away as the Cavsar offense once again rolled down the field. Julian Gallagher had yet another heroic moment, getting free on an out route and having enough space to tightrope the sideline and cruise in for a 30-yard touchdown pass. The score was 34-10, and the blowout was officially on. Cavsar would squeeze another field goal in before halftime.

Trace Hayes didn’t have much of a plan for being down 24 against Cavsar. Halifax and Hunt worked feverishly during the break to come up with some plays that might turn the tide, but it simply wasn’t on the cards. Now down big, Sadeg State was forced to go for it on fourth down more often, and as much as Brooklyn tried, Cavsar’s defense always had an answer. It was a bit of a nightmare game.

The nightmare was even worse for Jace when Julian went on and scored his fourth touchdown of the game, a fade route to cap a long drive that ate most of the third quarter. Once the touchdown was confirmed by the refs, Julian flicked the ball away and broke into a rendition of Jace’s griddy.

“That’s awful! His arms are all wrong!” Jace sneered lightheartedly to his teammates, trying a spot of humor to mask the fury in his gut. That was NOT how this game was supposed to go.

The second-stringers came in for both teams a bit after the fourth quarter started. There was no reason to risk the health of the starters in a 45-10 game. Evan Doyle, a novatim running back, scored the touchdown that officially put a fiftyburger on the scoreboard. Most fans, especially those of State, had already tuned out at this point.

It was hilarious, from an outsider’s perspective. Cavsar, on one of their worst starts to an NSCF season, blows Sadeg State right out of the water following one of their best starts in recent memory. In a way, this was the quintessential example of the Sadeg State vs Cavsar dynamic.

Nobody understood that as much as Brooklyn did, riding in an empty row on the flight back to Sadeg after the game. Would that have changed at all if she’d decided to play for Cavsar? Would she still have that same level of confidence with Julian on the field? Would she ever have that level of confidence with any of her Sadeg State teammates? She decided to stay in Sadeg because she thought it’d keep the same sort of feeling she had and loved in high school. Now, four years on from that decision, it still didn’t feel the way she thought it would. Was that choice back in high school actually a mistake?

[Ranoria]

And that's six for the sophomore! Dex Banka is surrounded by his teammates as his Governors take a commanding lead to close out the third quarter. Alexandria's sideline looks absolutely downtrodden - their defense has been able to do nothing but watch as Banka diced them up for a half dozen touchdown passes - and that will likely be it for Richardson's starting quarterback.

PAT is good, Richardson takes the lead, fifty to seventeen going into the fourth quarter. Banka's pulled his helmet off and on the bench, backup Sandra Jameson is warming up - his day is done.

Despite the blip on the radar against Cold Hill, Banka's racked up thirteen passing scores in just four games - Brad Manlio's offense is working, and Dex Banka's fearless aggression has given him the perfect weapon.

---

Cold Hill University Dorms

Benadet Manniweather was not supposed to be here, tapping her feet outside the communal men's bathroom. Her brother Gloyd may not have showered much, but thirty minutes? What could possibly be taking so long? "Gloyd!" She barked, "Hurry the hell up! It smells like man in this stupid dorm!"

"I have a process!" Came a shriek from inside, but she thanked God with a mutter when she heard the shower cut off.

She heard him fidgeting, and was shocked when he came out - she almost didn't want to barf at the sight of her brother. He was clad in sweats and a cutoff tank top, unveiling the patchy, long, thick hair across his arms. But hey, no crusted boogers on his forearms for once, she noticed. His nails were still yellow and jagged. But it was progress.

"Satisfied, Bennie?" He raised his chins with a look of indignance, and she nodded when she didn't see any accumulated grime between the two. "The sun kills any and all bacteria that would cling to our skin, but if I must satisfy you unenlightened ignoramai, then I shall." He brought a hand up to brush back his sopping wet-but-somehow-still-greasy hair. The first thing she noticed was the greenish-brown grime matted into his armpit hair, and Bennie dry heaved at the smell that hit her seconds later.

"Gloyd!" She gasped. She went to pull her shirt over her nose, realized it was too tight for that, and immedietely pinched it with her fingers. "Armpits, you fucking imbecile!"

"The hair traps the odo-"

"Shut up!" It was Bennie's turn to shriek, "You idiot! You blackmail me into getting my best friend to go to a stupid dance with you, she agreed on the condition that I get you to shower! I can see the crust caked into your armpits!"

---

Warm Meadow Apparel

"Your traditions are annoying, Bennie," Gloyd grumbled as the tailor took his measurements, "Honestly, the love between Giovanna and I is pure, we have no need for such frivolous-" the tailor yelped and dropped his tape, which had quickly become covered in Gloyd's sweat, "Outerwear."

He stuck a finger up in his nose, moaned, wriggled it a bit, and slid it out, his index finger nail dragging at what could only be described as a Cronenbergian horror from his nostril. The tailor scrambled backwards at the brown-and-red-and-black calcified kernel of mucus, and fainted at the viscous band that trailed in its wake.

Gloyd groaned as the strand followed the main, hardened booger, and observed as it finally came apart. Part of it flopped down onto his upper lip, the rest snapped down to wrap around his finger.

"So, Bennie," He asked, basking in his accomplishment and wiping the booger onto his arm, "How are we paying for this?" His tongue darted out and in a trained motion, curled up to collect the remaining mucous before it retreated.

Bennie was unphased, watching the tailor awaken. "I'll just tell dad my date needed a suit and put it on his card."

---

Cold Hill University
House Alpha Phi Pi

Gloyd pulled up to the party fashionably late, as he was instructed to by his lovely date. He strode up with a smirk, wiped a booger onto his sleeve, and opened the door to see Giovanna Lalas Berhalter, arms crossed and in a dress that was much less revealing than those he'd seen on her FotoGrid account. He grumbled, but spread his arms with a grin. "My dear, it's lovely to finally see you again." He stepped forward, and Giovanna recoiled as his arms started to close around her, planting a hand on his forehead and creating some distance.

"Ugh," she shuddered, "No."

Gloyd blinked, jaw slightly agape. "What do you mean, no?"

"Look, I don't want you here. My reputation is never going to recover from being seen with you," she pointed aggressively, eyes narrow, "You will not touch me. As a matter of fact, you won't stand any closer to me than you are now."

Gloyd smiled, and gently nodded his consent, "I understand. The circumstances may be difficult, but I'm sure I'll win you over by the end of the night."

---

Hours later...

Giovanna was a wreck. Explaining the situation with Gloyd without pissing him off was difficult - and she couldn't have him exploding and spilling Bennie's secret, whatever it was. He'd tried to hold her hand three times, touches it once, and she'd spent twenty minutes in the bathroom, looking up at the ceiling so her tears didn't ruin her makeup and scrubbing it with dish soap.

But overall, the night had proceeded without much incident. Enough alcohol was getting passed around that no one was too concerned about the ugly in the room.

And, two margaritas and a seltzer down, she finally broached the subject.

"So, what exactly do you have on Bennie?" Giovanna asked, giving Gloyd a sideye. "Ever since I met her last year I knew we'd be best friends, I'd do anything to protect her, so I've gotta know, what made her so desperate to convince her she needed to get me to let you come to this?"

"Gio," He sighed and leaned back, his sweat bleeding from the saturated suit into the fabric of the couch when he did, "I shouldn't it was...it was a dark day for our family."

"Come on," She leaned away from him, suppressing a shiver, "I think I'm owed an explanation."

"Maybe," Gloyd's face changed. His legs closed up, abdomen tensed, and his lips got tight. "When we were young, no older than than nine, Bennie made the darkest mistake of her life." He looked directly forward at the blank wall, voice a bit strained.

"Are you okay?"

"Yep," he said quickly, cheek twitching. "Anyway, Gio, Bennie and I had been playing tag, and she set her glass of apple juice down on my father's desk so that I wouldn't catch her. Well, hours later, it was still there."

He squeezed his eyes shit, "He discovered it, and realized it had left a moisture ring on his mahogany desk. He demanded we tell him. Bennie denied it," he gasped, "But she was the only one who drank apple juice. I preferred prune. So I had to cover for her. If our father ever found out...ughhhh."

Giovanna started when he groaned in relief, his tightened posture suddenly relaxing as he gave in. At first she didn't know what was going on. Then she heard it, like cool autumn breeze, and it only got louder. That was the first warning sign. And it got loud enough that everyone turned, seeing the young man's mouth turn up and open in bliss.

Then the smell hit.

The women screamed and left. Giovanna wasn't so lucky - her proximity made it too fast, too strong. She doubled over, trying in vain to cover her face with her hands, but it was too much. The audible onslaught ended with a few moist pops and Gloyd's final sigh, but the olfactory one was far from finished. Gio hacked, coughed, choked as some foul isotope of methane completely overwhelmed her senses.

She heard a couple snort-sniffs, and barely registered a "Nice" in her state of desperation.

Minutes passed, and she had managed to crawl away, sitting against the door sobbing. What had gone so wrong? She was supposed to enjoy this night with her dream man! Seven foot five Derek Boss! He was tall!

But as the haze of foul odor faded, it clicked in her brain.

All of this over a ring on a desk?

Her little fists clenched, and she stood to her feet slowly, shaking. Whether her body was still recovering from the toxins it had inhaled or she was enraged, the world would never know. But she heard his lumbering waddle-walk on the floorboards, and her eyes glanced up as she panted.

"Sorry my dear," Gloyd laughed, clapping a few times at his feat of valor, and Gio's eyes couldn't help but go to the brownsih-green remains of the enemies he'd pulled from his nostrils. "I just had to sit there and savor it for a moment. After all, everyone likes the smell of their own farts!"

One last clap.

A beat of silence.

Another.

Giovanna's jaw fell agape. Clenched. Fell open. Clenched.

Gloyd offered a close lipped smile, pulling one of his chins up with it.

GET OUT! GET! OUT!

---

Life sucked if you were Derek Boss. What was supposed to be his breakout season had seen him miss two games - first with a suspension and now because he was a wreck with the rounds of antibiotics he'd had to be put on after his incident in the woods. Oh right, and his arm was completely mangled - a stress fracture to go along with cuts that nearly got to the bone themselves.

Everyone thought he must have caught it on the rock, but rock didn't leave five distinct slashes around his forearm. He knew what he'd seen, and his supposed doom scrolling had led him down a rabbit hole.

It had been tough to find anything at first - there was a single disappearance in the area in the last year, btut that meant nothing.

That didn't make national news, people go missing in the woods all the time. But it was once he'd dug deeper that a pattern revealed itself. Stretches of times where people would disappear in Cold Hill, Ranoria. About thirty years ago was the most recent. A half dozen people had gone missing in the span of two and a half years. Another from almost a half century prior, and then the last, no, the first, was around when Cold Hill was founded.

And that was the worst. He'd had to go into the library (yuck) for this one, and he'd recruited fellow bookworm Chloe Dalla for the search. But the book on Cold Hill's founding talked about a lot of things. The struggle of founding a city in the snow. The struggle of founding a city on a hill. People dying of frostbite.

But one chapter - the first winters - was the one that almost made the settlers leave. They spoke of a wretched thing, something that claimed more lives than hunger, sickness, and frostbite put together. They had called it many things. Wretched thing, the voice in the hills, witch-tongue...but one seemed to stick.

"These hills have eyes, and the Cold Wretch sees through them," the author wrote.

This Cold Wretch had claimed nearly fifty lives across three years in its first appearance - and they wrote of no survivors, not of its attacks anyway. But a few had seen it, or so they believed. But the descriptions were vague, blurry even in words.

Derek closed the book and tossed it aside.

The police had already laughed him off. The doctors had sedated him when they were mending his arm - dozens of stitches, by the way. He winced when he sat up, accidently putting some pressure on the wrecked limb, and his head snapped around to see his a FotoGrid notification.

He leaned over and checked it.

Hey, you up?
- Giovanna Lelas Berhalter

[Drawkland]

Big Eight & Zephyr
Week 5

Halfway through the conference stage already?

---

BIG EIGHT
Richardson University (RAN) 31–16 Bingham Young University (UTA)
Mantabolo Tech (USN) 6–22 Alexandria University (CAD)
Cold Hill University (RAN) 34–29 Vikramdayu University (VAI)
Eastern Ye Dnad University (NSL) 7–34 LeBois Santura University (CAD)

# Everless Division                 Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
2 Cold Hill University (RAN)          5    4   1   140  102  +38
3 Richardson University (RAN)         5    4   1   191  105  +86
7 Mantabolo Tech (USN)                5    1   4    81  106  −25
8 Eastern Ye Dnad University (NSL)    5    0   5    60  182 −122


# Evermore Division                 Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 LeBois Santura University (CAD)     5    4   1   151   89  +62
4 Alexandria University (CAD)         5    3   2   163  135  +28
5 Bingham Young University (UTA)      5    2   3    92  129  −37
6 Vikramdayu University (VAI)         5    2   3    89  119  −30

ZEPHYR
University of Mancodas (PFA) 54–17 Tophat University (THW)
Halifax Provincial University (GHP) 3–56 Raynor University (VAL)
Maximus Rochester Institute (PFA) 29–19 University of Raukieff (TMN)
High City College (SEA) 26–27 Mar Sara Tech (VAL)

# Legends Division                     Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 University of Mancodas (PFA)           5    5   0   190   91  +99
3 Maximus Rochester Institute (PFA)      5    3   2   149  135  +14
6 High City College (SEA)                5    1   4   100  127  −27
7 Halifax Provincial University (GHP)    5    1   4    69  172 −103


# Celestial Division                   Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
2 Mar Sara Tech (VAL)                    5    4   1   157  101  +56
4 University of Raukieff (TMN)           5    3   2   154  115  +39
5 Raynor University (VAL)                5    3   2   187  115  +72
8 Tophat University (THW)                5    0   5    68  218 −150

[Dhemixia]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Columbus Dominion(Est.1873)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Craig Kelly is beating the allegations... so far

For what seems to be the first time in his career, at least, in a time that mattered, Craig Kelly has found a way to win four games in a row. In a complete reversal of NSCF 29, UCP's maiden NSCF cycle, the last time the Jays lost four in a row to coincidentally start the season, I think at this point it's safe to say that Larry Cunningham and Craig Kelly have something that he and Jerry Atkinson didn't. As much as it pains me to disrespect the Blue Jays' mustached, mullet-clad savior that is Jerry Atkinson, Larry Cunningham just seems to have that chemistry, or at least, a feel for where Craig Kelly's headspace is. I know, it's a wild concept to be able to grasp what Kelly is thinking sometimes, or the absence of thought in most other times, but Larry Cunningham somehow understands it, and works with Kelly's strategy instead of Atkinson going for broke against it.

Cunningham going with Kelly's schematics also happens to explain one of the main question marks concerning this team. We're in week four, the Jays are 4-0, and yet they haven't won by more than two scores yet. Usually, when the Blue Jays are winning, they're bound to win at least one by a large margin comparatively to the rest, but that's just not happening. Because of how Cunningham is going with Kelly's "strategies", he's a lot more consistent with production than Atkinson was, despite the low scores due to the unavoidable truth that is Craig Kelly being horrible at coaching football. For a team like this, with a defense like this, it's safe to say taking the consistency over the shootouts is the correct move. This exact coaching play was shown here against GCU, a combined total of 20 points being scored all game. Cunningham followed Kelly's plans for each drive, including only running Haliburton inside the 20, and he came out with a 14 point win through it all. Although maybe a tad unconventional when you open the hood, Craig Kelly's base schemes still find a way to give the ball to Kabe Heaton in the endzone and pound the rock again and again exclusively inside the 20. Nonetheless, this somehow led to a defensive clinic, which, no matter how unexplainable, is something you just take and never question.

This leads us to week 5, one of the toughest games on UCP's entire schedule, at least until they have to go away at UNSJJ in week 8. Entering week 5, UCP has to face off against Heartland-leading Prince Pieter's College at a similarly impressive 4-0. Holding off UNSJJ in your own division is one thing, but having to beat the opposing division's leader in the same week is an entirely new ballgame. This is why week 5 is a true test to see if Craig Kelly has beaten the allegations or not. His one "prove-it" game has come, and if it means 5-0 for UCP, we'll just have to see how far they'll take that momentum.

====Scoring Summary====
First Quarter
UCP TD - 9:21 - QB Larry Cunningham 7 yards to WR Kabe Heaton for a TOUCHDOWN. PAT is GOOD. 7-0

Second Quarter
GCU FG - 7:13 - K Wanati Khalihina kicks 49-yard FIELD GOAL. 7-3

Third Quarter
UCP TD - 2:49 - RB Darius Haliburton 13 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. PAT IS GOOD. 14-3

Fourth Quarter
UCP FG - 11:34 - K Sam Gustafsson kicks 56-yard FIELD GOAL. 17-3

End of Game
Final:
Blue Jays, 17
Royal Eagles, 3

Schedule

*blue indicates home games
Week 1: VS. UNSJJ W 32-31
Week 2: VS. Nowa Kalanianska W 41-34
Week 3: @ Elysium City W 13-0
Week 4: @ Green City W 17-3
Week 5: @ Prince Pieter's
Week 6: VS. Trent State
Week 7: VS. St. Paulus
Week 8: @ UNSJJ
Week 9: @ Nowa Kalanianska
Week 10: VS. Elysium City
------------
Non-conference play
Week 11: VS. Sadeg State
Week 12: @ Cold Hill
Week 13: @ BYU (SPIT Bowl)

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

Horizon and Mineral Conference - Week 5

Cutoff.

Horizon Conference:

Mountain District University (CMT) 40–26 Lithrelir University (GEX)
Cavsar University (DRK) 39–7 Silver Coast State College (SAS)
Staramara Tech University (CMT) 9–13 Kobale University (GEX)
Sadeg State University (DRK) 66–7 Islamic Madrasa of Pomena (JUE)

#                                     Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD
1 Sadeg State University (DRK)          5    4   1   178  126  +52
2 Staramara Tech University (CMT)       5    3   2   106   65  +41
3 Mountain District University (CMT)    5    3   2   107   82  +25
4 Cavsar University (DRK)               5    3   2   143   83  +60

#                                     Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD
1 Lithrelir University (GEX)            5    2   3   158  151   +7
2 Silver Coast State College (SAS)      5    2   3    86  141  −55
3 Islamic Madrasa of Pomena (JUE)       5    2   3    88  156  −68
4 Kobale University (GEX)               5    1   4    73  135  −62

Mineral Conference:

Green City University (TJU) 31–29 Uniwersytet Nowa Kalanianska (UNC)
Prince Pieter's College (ROT) 30–43 University of Columbus-Prairie (DHE)
Trent State University (TJU) 44–18 Université nationale de Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer (UNC)
St. Paulus College (ROT) 23–0 Elysium City University (EAG)

#                                                           Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD
1 Prince Pieter's College (ROT)                               5    4   1   134  100  +34
2 Trent State University (TJU)                                5    3   2   208  130  +78
3 Green City University (TJU)                                 5    2   3   104  126  −22
4 St. Paulus College (ROT)                                    5    2   3    90  116  −26
#                                                           Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD
1 University of Columbus-Prairie (DHE)                        5    5   0   146   98  +48
2 Université nationale de Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer (UNC)    5    3   2   146  123  +23
3 Uniwersytet Nowa Kalanianska (UNC)                          5    1   4   132  119  +13
4 Elysium City University (EAG)                               5    0   5    24  172 −148

[Chromatika]

Part 1: Preseason Top Fifteen
Part 2: Week 1
Part 3: Week 2
Part 4: Week 3
Part 5: Week 4

Chromatik High School Gridiron - Season Fifteen, Part Six: Matchday 5

Season 1 Champions: Central Heights High School (MVP: QB Harold Jieter)
Season 2 Champions: East Omnio High School (MVP: WR Alessandro Mio)
Season 3 Champions: Mt. Niar High School (MVP: QB Sarai Gwenderyn)
Season 4 Champions: Mt. Niar High School (MVP: QB Sarai Gwenderyn)
Season 5 Champions: Flames of the Revolution High School (MVP: RB Nyata Antonucci)
Season 6 Champions: Staramara Tech High School (MVP: Edge Nicole Manstrom)
Season 7 Champions: Franscesca Larriet-Cortes High School (MVP: QB Liara Anderson)
Season 8 Champions: Vitoron School of Charge (MVP: QB Anne-Maurice Vivayavich)
Season 9 Champions: Myana Northwestern High School (MVP: QB Nicole Estera)
Season 10 Champions: Myana Northwestern High School (MVP: CB Lisa Bonsoon)
Season 11 Champions: The Chromatik Institute (MVP: QB Raul Sébastien Santos)
Season 12 Champions: Mt. Niar High School (MVP: QB Dante Flowers)
Season 13 Champions: Staramara Tech High School (MVP: OLB Freya Odinsdóttir)
Season 14 Champions: Staramara Tech High School (MVP: QB Amy Skylar)

Black Conference
West Shantarr High School 22–20 Lanar High School
Staramara Tech High School 26–35 Urrhed High School
Myana Northwestern High School 41–33 Mt. Niar High School

Black Conference                         Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Mt. Niar High School                     5    4   1   150  120  +30
2 Lanar High School                        5    3   2    93   65  +28
3 Myana Northwestern High School           5    3   2   104   81  +23
4 Urrhed High School                       5    2   3    89  128  −39
5 West Shantarr High School                5    2   3   119  120   −1
6 Staramara Tech High School               5    1   4    70  111  −41

West Shantarr's Leena Kadian is growing up before our very eyes. Finding Arsenault and Dujardin in the second half and converting a two-point conversion, the Freshman Quarterback managed to hold off the finalists, who find themselves at two losses at the halfway point. Remember - only the top two automatically qualify for the National Quarterfinals. As for the actual defending champions, they got ambushed by the Sand Vipers who have totally recovered. Izajasz Piekarski has turned his game around, while the Battle Angels' defense is reeling. The only undefeated team finally falters as Myana Northwestern convert three turnovers from Maas van der Voorde to turn the game around in the second half - Kacper Grenda throwing for four touchdowns and running in one. It's going to be a tight race the rest of the way.

Blue Conference
Wirr Tsi School for the Gifted 29–30 Pelar High School
Lhor Central High School 16–10 South Sanar High School
North Sanar High School 23–6 Crix Technical School

Blue Conference                          Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Pelar High School                        5    4   1   153  119  +34
2 South Sanar High School                  5    3   2   167  111  +56
3 North Sanar High School                  5    3   2   109   68  +41
4 Wirr Tsi School for the Gifted           5    2   3   109  138  −29
5 Lhor Central High School                 5    2   3    72  133  −61
6 Crix Technical School                    5    1   4   103  144  −41

The Hurons complete a ten-point turnaround in the final five minutes of the game, Cirino Vian managing to find Raphaela Rothman for the deciding score, as the Masterminds' defense falters late; the Flying Jellyfish upstet the Armadillos with Dorothea Hannon finding Marijntje Prijs in the flat, the running back taking it sixty-four yards, and the Riflemen's defense manages to keep Bryan Ewers down to improve to three wins.

Green Conference
Chromatik Army High School 12–3 East Omnio High School
West Omnio High School 30–51 J. H. Yadasky High School
Umbar Hills High School 26–33 Gurshan High School

Green Conference                         Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Gurshan High School                      5    4   1    97   61  +36
2 Umbar Hills High School                  5    3   2   120  115   +5
3 J. H. Yadasky High School                5    3   2   141  109  +32
4 Chromatik Army High School               5    2   3    77  102  −25
5 West Omnio High School                   5    2   3   117  133  −16
6 East Omnio High School                   5    1   4    84  116  −32

Gurshan keeps chugging along - the Grizzlies gave them a good run, but the defense - led by Park Do-Hwan, Marjoleine Reitema, and Elwira Dobkowska - is remaining solid. How were the predicted to be fifth? West Omnio, the preseason favorites, are the latest to fall to Lottie Greenhorn and a Heroes team that has surprised most, the Freshman Quarterback playing above her age. Chromatik Army plays East Omnio to a tune of five field goals - beating them in a battle of teams that are struggling.

Red Conference
East Rhoni High School 14–27 Staramara Athletics Academy
West Rhoni High School 36–20 East Shantarr High School
Pùr Heights High School 13–38 Tihon Elite Academy

Red Conference                           Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Tihon Elite Academy                      5    5   0   158   67  +91
2 East Shantarr High School                5    3   2    91   88   +3
3 Staramara Athletics Academy              5    3   2   105   90  +15
4 Pùr Heights High School                  5    2   3    89  108  −19
5 East Rhoni High School                   5    1   4    59  109  −50
6 West Rhoni High School                   5    1   4   104  144  −40

The Fog Wall are just not slowing down. Kimberly Decraene is playing better than expected, but it's the defense led by Émillienne Rochette that has been stifling. West Rhoni finall wins a game at the expense of East Shantarr, the Warhawks' defense coming in clutch with two defensive scores, while the Rangers outscore the Kayaks 13-0 in the second half to get over .500, Ryin Nakt running for 131 yards on the win.

White Conference
Franscesca Larriet-Cortes High School 13–14 City of Lorentine High School
Capital District Academy 36–24 Vitoron School of Charge
Cheonju Korean Institute 37–3 The Chromatik Institute

White Conference                         Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Capital District Academy                 5    4   1   169  127  +42
2 Vitoron School of Charge                 5    3   2   127  137  −10
3 Cheonju Korean Institute                 5    3   2   172  144  +28
4 Franscesca Larriet-Cortes High School    5    2   3   115  111   +4
5 The Chromatik Institute                  5    2   3   137  137    0
6 City of Lorentine High School            5    1   4    74  138  −64

City of Lorentine finally wins a game - as Arian Sadow leads a five-minute, game-winning drive, running in eight yards for the score. The Red Devils, led by Kirsi-Marja Sibelius, smash past the Dread as their star Quarterback finds four touchdowns, and the Regiment, led by Kingsley Dillard, put together yet another solid outing in taking the Robots down a peg. There is no denying the fact that the Black Conference looks better on paper than the White Conference - but the playoffs will decide that for sure.

[Chromatika]

Eighty-One Points in Two Games: Hudson Charles the Difference Maker

Imagine you're a Mountain District University fan. Your team just lost in the NSCF Championship, Nicole Estera falling on the final step of the journey to be the champion to Mar Sara Tech. You thought that Estera would return this season poised to make it a Senior season to remember - being the only Quarterback to start for multiple years for the Firehawks without winning a single title.

Then, in the first three games of the season, you lose two games, to Sadeg State and Staramara Tech. To make matters worse, you only manage six field goals to count for all the points scored - meaning that the only win was because of the defense and not because of Estera. Your esteemed Quarterback doesn't score a single touchdown despite the defense forcing four turnovers - leaving you in a rut.

Surprisingly, your Head Coach and your Offensive Coordinator decide to make the switch - benching Estera, who doesn't take the news well but acquiesces. You turn to Hudson Charles, the four-year backup, who is a bit taller than Nicole and rather outspoken in keeping the team together.

In his first game, the team scores forty-one points, and he throws for 276 yards and three scores. In his second, he throws for another four and the team scores forty points. Basically, in two games since replacing Estera, the Firehawks have scored eighty-one points - four times more than the three games before that. He's singlehandedly saved the season.

It's likely that the opposition will adjust to his way of play - he's a bit more pointed in his throws, he doesn't take risks, and he can see the field far better than Estera - but that's where the experience he has in being a career backup and watching film will come in. He's been waiting for this chance for more than three years, and he's not going to let it go to waste.

If he does falter, Estera will be waiting for another chance - that's just the nature of competition.

[Quebec and Shingoryeo]

The Mathletes - Scientific, Literary Venue of Sports Journalism

QIS, NSCF Players set to take field for upcoming Olympics' Flag Football Teams

Juri LeMoyne Gascon

SONGAK, SONGAK -- The Quebecois Gridiron Football Council has announced that the football players under the age of 23, or those playing under the eligibility rules of the NationStates College Football, will be eligible to compete in men or women's flag football events for the upcoming four Olympic cycles.

The decision, which was confirmed at the QGFC's annual congress meeting this morning, would mean that for the first time in official NationStates Olympic Games' history, football players from Quebec and Shingoryeo will be playing in the official, medalling sport under the official Olympic sports banner.

'There is no doubt that the upcoming opportunities, set to last for at least twenty four years to come, could mean so much for the sport,' said QGFC Chairperson Kweon Joon-Ho in the concluding statement of the meeting. 'It certainly charters the bright future for our athletes and coaches, both in the QIS and the NSCF level, as the presence of flag football in the Summer Olympics, making it an official sport no less, gives much more in terms of prestige, exposure and ultimately the competitiveness. We, meaning the sport and those of us present, will grow stronger thanks to this news.'

As for what and how the Olympic team rosters would look like, various proposals were discussed with no clear decision made. The strongest likelihood, one that's proposed by the QIS Commissioner Dexter Ahn, who himself had served as NSCF Commissioner, was that each collegiate team of either level will be permitted to send up to two players to the national team. Ahn's proposal, whose quota would exclude foreign athletes who would be subjected to their respective NOC's conditions, would mean that there would be modicum of diversity in the schools represented, while allowing for the programs to avoid magnified risk of injuries to star athletes.

The agreement would have to be made between the QIS, the QGFC and the RQOC, with the first two ratifying the quota that would then be approved under the RQOC requirement. But the NSCF is expected to be involved under advisory capacity, partly due to the biennial participation of perennial Tiger Bowl contenders Université St. Croix and Université du Saguenay, but also because the NSCF is expected to oversee several participating nations who are expected to be active in future NationStates Olympic Games such as Banija, Chromatika, Drawkland and Valanora.

Once the quota is approved by the RQOC, the official participation criteria would be met and arranged. The QGFC, consisting of figures from both QIS and NSCF, as well as the Quebecois Football League, holding selection process for coaching staff and then the players. Due to the QIS's regulations on offseason practice hours, and several national team calibre players being multi sport athletes in their own manner, it is likely the coaching staff's practice time be minimal before they would head to their respective Olympic city.

What was ruled out, however, was including overage quota spots that is usually reserved for the Olympic national teams that the other sports have incorporated. The QGFC and the QIS had agreed that the twelve-player roster for flag football did not have enough space to mix collegiate and professional athletes.

It was something that Arianna Ceciliani, the President of the Royal Quebecois Olympic Committee and former President of the Olympic Council, expressed her own delight in the QGFC's consideration of internal requirements. The two time Olympian in basketball, who had famously coached the women's basketball team to a first ever medal, a silver, in Bunjil 21 years ago, said that the RQOC is 'beyond delighted to see the most competitive team that could possibly be filed'.

'Under the RQOC requirements, we have long maintained the stance of providing the younger, more emerging athletes possible opportunity in representing Quebec and Shingoryeo through these national teams where the players of similar age groups grow and develop together into greater hights,' said Ceciliani, whose organisation's longstanding quota policy has held on for over three decades. 'The QGFC's decision was made in consultation with other bodies towards fielding the best team possible, and will continue to do so as we work into the future.'

As for the sport itself, the QGFC sees no particular need to introduce sanctioned flag football competitions past the youth level, where it is played by clubs with an Under-15 national championship. The status of flag football remains limited in Quebec and Shingoryeo with it being seen mostly as a foray for the younger athletes to develop agility and familiarity to gridion football, as well as lack of linemen presence that serves as a disadvantage in the Arrosian nation that's known for exporting top-class linemen. The expectation is that by age fourteen, athletes with serious ambitions would transition into tackle football, which is rarely played until the high school level due to medical advisories placed by both the Ministry of Sport, the RQOC and the QGFC, and that flag football is played mostly for recreational purposes.

'Let's be real here, that's out of question,' said QGFC Board Member Ludovic Carrie in a slightly controversial statement at the start of the session. 'Gridiron football is nothing without its linemen, and we are all ready to watch the art of protection and penetration. That's the P&P, or Power and Politics, we all love for. The sport itself is conducive for developing younger talent footwork and agility, and for our collegials to develop a sense of brotherhood, but the level of feasibility at the adult level of sport is out of question in this country because the calibres differ. What next - are we going to get some 5'4", 140 lb twink, a practical nobody, say that he's better than Benoit O'Malley Youngblood?'

[Banija]

"Which Jawara is he?" - Sebowa Jawara showing flashes of his uncle as Loyola blasts off to a 4-0 start

ISTRIA, MORAVICA- "Sebowa... He doesn't look like himself- and that's a compliment."
"THIS is the Jawara that we were promised."
"He's looking more and more like Isaka every day."

That's what the shows are saying about Sebowa Jawara. Let's rewind the clock on this guy a little bit. Nephew of Isaka Jawara, the greatest QB to ever grace Loyola-Istria. The expectations- through the roof. 4th year starter, 5th year senior. Well, let's start with those numbers. Sebowa wasn't even supposed to be here for 5 years. Everyone thought he'd be here the mininum number of years, in and out in a flash of glory after his RS sophomore year, with a MOP award in hand, hopefully a NSCF ring on his other hand, and the guaranteed #1 overall pick in the GFLB Draft. To say the fact that he hasn't achieved that is disappointing, well- that would be the understatement of the century.

He's had big games against nothingburger opponents- that much has pretty much been fairly consistent over the years. But consistently, in the big games, when the going gets tough- Sebowa went running. Consistently laying eggs in the biggest games, ensuring that somehow, he's never even made the NSCF Playoffs, even once, over the last 3 years as the starting QB. From sure fire #1 overall pick, to a day 2 pick in the GFLB Draft. He's been so bad, he's dragging the legacies of everyone around him. Dennis Zervos, who has three NSCF rings won at this school, 1 as a player and two as OC, and is even a Winter Bowl champion as a HC, for heaven's sake, started the season with the best odds to be the first coach fired in this young season.

The low point had been a 36-6 loss, at home, on senior day, against FSU last season. That meant some ugly stats were brought out against Sebowa. At that point, had one combined win against RU, The Islamic U, and FSU, in 3 seasons- or 1-7 against their three international rivals. Getting smacked around in the worst home loss in 50+ years, was not how Loyola wanted to see things. And things were dark entering the Rebel's Cannon Bowl. But then, out of nowhere- He saved Dennis Zervos' job at the Ruwani Motor Speedway. Or, at least, most fans thought it was a stay of execution. But hey- rivalry weekend is weird like that sometimes, right? How does one go from benched during the 3rd quarter, to 26/29, for 313 yards, and 2 TDs, while adding a 3rd on the ground?

Most, naturally, thought it was a flash in the pan performance. But with the coach's job on the line this season, his explosion has been completely out of character- and yet, life-saving here for Dennis Zervos...

Dominance in a 44-20 away win in Lakiska over the Islamic University

Jawara has developed a well-earned reputation for dominating against small-time opponents, but whenever a playoff team is across the field, he wilts. He has spoken all summer about how Loyola's win over RU he felt had changed that, but a lot of fans, and most commentators, figured that was a one off. And so went Loyola went to the Islamic U, in week 2, for their home opener, many expected this battle of 1-0 teams to end exactly how it had ended in NSCF 32, and NSCF 31- with a Busogan victory that moves them into first place, undisputed, within the Savannah Division. But that is the opposite of what happened. Sebowa Jawara told the world that last year's Rebel's Cannon Bowl was not a one off- it was a turning point in his career.

In their hostile takeover of the Celestia Conference over the last two seasons, the Caracals have been built both on running the football, and elite defenses- especially in the secondary. But Jawara silenced Bucak Field with a headturning performance. What exactly did he do statistically? Well, he was 22-29, for 322 yards, and 4 TDs- as well as adding 55 yards on the ground, and another score. Suddenly, the offense was looking eerily reminiscent of the Loyola offenses of old. The QB was hitting just above 75% accuracy, on 11+ YPA, against the two-time defending conference champions. The QB spreading the ball all over the field, and everybody was touching the rock. Somehow, all the WRs were eating. Elishah McNair had 144 of those receiving yards on 8 catches, leading the team in both categories. Saul Lautner, a walk-on, had only 1 catch- but the first TD of his career, a 71 yard bomb. Hitting the easy throws, getting big explosive plays, an offense that could do it all.

Years of frustration at Loyola was let out that day against the Islamic U. In what many deemed a classless move by Dennis Zervos, they weren't running the ball at the end. In a 37-20 game, with under 3 minutes left, Jawara threw a 33 yard TD Pass to Taylor Jones- prompting some to accuse him of intentionally trying to run up the score. And hey- he probably wouldn't deny it. That said, suddenly Loyola fans, who really didn't like this guy, were singing his praises. And on the final plays, when he took the final kneeldown, the Loyola fans remaining(for the IUB fans had basically dipped out) started chanting Sebowa's first name.

Comeback for the ages against Quebecois side Saguenay

His game against NMU, in the North v. South Showdown, wasn't anything special. In fact, he struggled. 171 passing yards, no scores, a pick and a lost fumble. Largely overshadowed by the fact that Loyola won anyways, mostly on the backs of a dominant defense, and a stud performance by Creed Jackson-Smith, the HB- who ran for 144 and two TDs. Still, Loyola's first 3-0 start since NSCF 23 had suddenly had fans dreaming. And week 4, facing off at home against Saguenay, the excitement was through the roof. You could tell the mood among fans was palpable- they were favorites against a struggling Saguenay side, and they had an opportunity to further their lead atop the division.

The first 3 quarters of the game went, well... Poorly.

Jawara was missing throws, and had a couple of picks. Sebastien Santos was having his way against the Blue Thunder defense. The capacity, spirited crowd- on checkerboard night, no less, was mostly silenced. And with 10 minutes left in the contest, and the Fighting Irish driving once again, well, it looked like the Blue Thunder were in line to suffering their first loss of the season.

Until, of course, they weren't.

Of course, gridiron is a team sport. Players can have their moments, but sometimes, they need an assist- and Jawara got one. 4th & 3 at the Loyola 36 yard line for the Fighting Irish, and up 10, they decided to go for it. Imminently reasonable- a 53 yard FG, on the road, is a pretty difficult kick in college. And 3 yards is gettable. But the Blue Thunder defense, seemingly for once, got a momentum shifting stop. Santos tried to throw a ball over the middle, but it was batted into the air by Loyola's massive Drawkian DT, Chad Vaughn- and into the arms of Blue Thunder EDGE rusher Damion Batles, for the first pick of his career. He had a decent return, as well, getting it to the Saguenay 45 yard line. But suddenly, signs of life- and it's like Jawara flipped a switch.

A guy who couldn't hit the broad side of the barn for the game's first 3 quarters, suddenly turned it on. This drive- 4/4 for 37 yards, and it ended in a 1 yard TD run by Jackson-Smith. Then, Loyola forced a 3 and out. The next drive, he went 8/8 for 71 yards- and ended the drive with a 4 yard TD run, where he called his own number on the read-option and took it in himself. It was certainly a legend-making moment- the image of him throwing the football as high as he could, into the stands, and then blowing kisses to the visiting Saguenay fans, will live on in the hearts of Blue Thunder fans forever. And then, up 27-23, he had to ice the game eventually- and on 3rd & 8, he threaded the needle to get the ball to a leaping Elishah McNair, who held on despite being hit to get the game-icing first down.

The numbers are just getting gaudier by the moment- In a 48-7 homecoming victory over Lakewood Plains in week 5, he threw for 350 passing yards in just 3 quarters, as he sat in the fourth. This season, he's done what he never could in the past. He's got the numbers- not just against small teams, but in big games as well(Week 2). He's got the moment- his go-ahead TD run against Saguenay. And, most importantly, he's got the wins- Loyola-Istria sit at 5-0, 2 games ahead of the field, on top of the Savannah Division. 5-0 for the first time since NSCF 23. They've got full faith in their 5th year senior- and the love between Loyola nation, and a Jawara QB, is once again alive and well.

[Valanora]

Celestia Conference - Week 6

Cutoff.

Lakewood Plains University (NKR) 16–13 Royal Nobility Academy (OFL)
Université du Saguenay (QUE) 51–23 Northern Moravica University (BNJ)
University of Nordhammer (NKR) 24–12 Islamic University of Busoga (BUS)
Université St. Croix (QUE) 61–36 University of Loyola-Istria (BNJ)

P Savannah Division                   Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD 
2 University of Loyola-Istria (BNJ)     6    5   1   210  121  +89
4 Northern Moravica University (BNJ)    6    3   3   169  125  +44
5 Islamic University of Busoga (BUS)    6    3   3   134  139   −5
8 Royal Nobility Academy (OFL)          6    0   6    95  177  −829

P Sequoia Division                    Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD 
1 Université St. Croix (QUE)            6    5   1   206  115  +91
3 Lakewood Plains University (NKR)      6    3   3    96  170  −74
6 University of Nordhammer (NKR)        6    3   3   107  170  −63
7 Université du Saguenay (QUE)          6    2   4   144  144    0

[Drawkland]

"The Quick Turnaround"

The Cavsar loss was brutal. There was no other way to describe it. An excellent start to the season marred by an almost inexplicable loss to their hated rivals – yes, it was safe to say that Sadeg State vs Cavsar was officially a rivalry. The season was far from over, though. If there was any solace, it was that the Equinox Division slate was set up for Sadeg State and the rest of the Starlight Division. The lesser division of the Horizon Conference truly was lesser, but that didn’t mean the schedule was easy. Though compared to the challenge of two Chromatik and two Drawkian schools, it was a welcome stretch to work on things and improve the team to midseason form in time for the second leg of the Starlight gauntlet. That’s exactly what Brooklyn and the Skyhawks needed to rebound from their stinker against Cavsar.

The offense just looked forward to business as usual. Study the opponent, assemble the right gameplan, and execute. The miscues against Cavsar were bad, but the offense still looked pretty strong outside of those gaffes in the first quarter. Of course, once the game descended into blowout territory, there was no way the Sadeg State offense was going to make anything happen. The secondary knew passes were coming, the famously stout Cavsaran D-line pinned their ears back, and Brooklyn was struggling just to stay afloat. If the game was close, Cavsar wouldn’t have been able to afford such aggression, and State likely would’ve had more success.

The defense had a little more to work on. You can’t do much against defensive touchdowns from the other side, but half the reason the Cavsar game got out of hand was the Sadeg State defense doing very little to stop the Cavsar attack. They slowed it down a little bit, but Julian Gallagher was embarrassing nearly every defensive back in the secondary all day. Defensive coordinator Michael Hunt knew he couldn’t just blame it on one receiver. The defense hadn’t looked convincing against Staramara Tech either. The opener against Mountain District was their only “good” performance thus far, and this was including their DOCA run the previous fall.

The defensive woes would continue into Sadeg State’s first game of the Equinox schedule. It was at home against the newcomer school Kobale University. While Brooklyn led the offense to five consecutive scoring drives in the first half, Kobale’s Kobolds answered back. Kriv Flintscale had two passing touchdowns for the Kobolds in the first half, interspersed with quick punting drives that didn’t get close to midfield. If it weren’t for the relief that Sadeg State was still in the lead, Brooklyn would’ve been frustrated with the close 23-21 score at halftime.

Frustration began to mount on the Sadeg State sideline deep into the second half. Sadeg State held the lead consistently through the third quarter, but every time the Skyhawk offense got to a two-score lead, the Kobolds immediately responded with a touchdown. The Skyhawk lead finally broke midway through the fourth quarter. Following a punt from Sadeg State (holding call nullified what would’ve been a 20-yard pass to move the chains on 3rd down), Kobale’s punt returner Zizzi Cobaltblink had a great return to set the Kobold offense up on State’s side of midfield. A few minutes later, Kobale took the lead on a Nizbin Sparkflame touchdown run from eight yards out. Sadeg State now trailed 33-35.

For the first time this NSCF season, Brooklyn had the task of Winning The Ballgame. Against Mountain District it wasn’t necessary, as the defense easily stifled Nicole Estera to where the game wasn’t close. Against Staramara Tech, Brooklyn had already built a large lead which the defense tried its best to not blow in the fourth quarter. Against Cavsar, there was no hope by halftime. Now, against Kobale, Brooklyn had to put points on the board or lose the game. Thankfully it was only a two-point game, so just a field goal would suffice. With five minutes left on the clock, Brooklyn hoped to score a bit more than that.

“They know we just need three!” Brooklyn said as she approached the huddle for the first snap of the drive. “They’re gonna be crowding the field goal target line. Let’s move the ball, hold onto it, and wait for the opportunity to take their heads off.”

That was the message Brooklyn brought from Coach Hayes to the Skyhawk offense before she gave the play call. This time, the words held true. Five minutes wasn’t a lot of game time, but only needing a few first downs to get into field goal range made it feel more like an eternity, especially for the Kobold defense. Those first downs came quickly. Kobale fell into a softer prevent-style defense, and Brooklyn was content to dump the ball down underneath to get the necessary yardage. Those were her favorite passes anyway: quick short-range crossers she could easily hit in stride. Brooklyn and Rolo Fishman even ran a couple read-option runs to keep the defense honest. The Skyhawks weren’t necessarily in the hurry-up offense, but they had a very obvious uptempo pace.

Brooklyn noticed that Jace Phoenix was getting antsy in the huddle. He only had a couple of catches in the game and no touchdowns. He was hankering for one more chance to put the game away, giving Brooklyn glaring eye contact every time she relayed a passing play call from Halifax. Whenever she met that gaze, Brooklyn did her best to return a look that said patience.

The Skyhawk offense had the ball past midfield, with the first down line being about as far as kicker Nicky Wolfe’s effective range. The increasingly anxious Sadeg crowd couldn’t help but get louder at the situation. A first down could end the game, especially now that the time ticked towards the 1-minute mark. Brooklyn recited the next play. This time it would be play-action, and Jace would be running a double move around the numbers. If the Kobold secondary was going to crowd the line to gain as they had, then Jace had a chance to blow it wide open. The main read on this play was actually the tight end, but when Jace gave Brooklyn the glare again, she responded with a look that said show me what you’ve got.

The snap came in. Brooklyn faked the handoff to Fishman, just enough to freeze the Kobale safeties up top. She glanced to her right to see Alex Moreno covered pretty well underneath, but brought her arm up a bit to sell the pass. She then flicked her head back to the left, seeing Jace Phoenix yank past his defender and raise his arm. Brooklyn already had her arm pulled back, and promptly launched the ball downfield once she saw the opening. It wasn’t a deep bomb, more of a laser an outfielder would throw to the cutoff man. It zipped right past the corner and safety, landing right in Jace’s outstretched arms. The crowd exploded in glee as soon as he hauled in the pass, with a second burst of cheers coming once he cleared the goal line for the go-ahead touchdown.

With a four-point lead and not much time left, Coach Hayes elected to go for two. The difference between a 4-point and 5-point lead was nothing, and at least a 6-point lead had some tiny chance of overtime if the Kobolds scored a last-second touchdown, rather than it being an instant game over. The two-pointer failed (the line closed up on Fishman before he could get across on the handoff), but it didn’t matter. The Sadeg State defense finally closed up, shutting down Kobale’s last-ditch chance at coming back. The 39-35 scoreline wasn’t pretty … but it kept Sadeg State atop the Starlight for one more week.

“You liked what you saw, didn’t you?” Jace Phoenix said slyly to Brooklyn a week later. They were in the Skyhawks Gridiron Park locker room, gearing up for the game against Islamic Madrasa of Pomena.

“Do you normally flirt with your teammates in the locker room, or is this a special thing just for me?” Brooklyn didn’t bother looking over at Jace while she strapped on her pads.

“Oh this isn’t flirting. If I was flirting it’d sound like this,” Jace turned and shouted across the locker room to the O-linemen. “Hey Dan, nice ass!”

“Thanks Jace.” Daniel Butler’s voice echoed from across the room.

“Sure,” Brooklyn rolled her eyes as she grabbed her jersey shirt. “What are you talking about, then?”

“Last week, of course. You needed someone, and I was there for you. I made the big play we needed.”

“Thanks again, I guess. Pretty sure we covered that during film study, though.”

“That’s not my point,” Jace replied. “If you really want this team to go all the way, you need to learn to trust me all the time.”

“Pretty sure I can’t trust you all the time.” Brooklyn cocked an eyebrow, finally returning eye contact. “You’re the one that coughed up the ball trying to do too much against Cavsar. Why should I give you special treatment if you’re gonna run around like a child once you get the ball?”

“Oh honey, you know that was just a tough situation. We were already down big, I had to do something. That’s just a tiny blip on the radar! I haven’t fumbled in years before that game.”

“Or, and this is just me spitballing here, we follow the gameplan our professional coaching staff developed? Maybe I’ll make reads based on what Coach Halifax says the play is designed to do? That sounds like a decent idea to me.”

“Ah, but I wasn’t the main read last week, was I?” Jace grinned toothily. “I was actually the third guy you should be looking at, but once Moreno was covered you looked to me and were rewarded. I’m telling you that you need to be doing that more often.”

“I have no problem doing that with receivers I trust.” Brooklyn narrowed her eyes. “I don’t think I can trust you like that yet.”

“What, a full DOCA season isn’t enough? Some good performances out here aren't enough?” Jace shook his head. “How about this? Trust me today. Look at me today. I’ll prove myself right.”

“You realize we’re tied for the division lead right now?” Brooklyn grunted, pulling her helmet out of her locker. “This is no time to be fucking around.”

“This isn’t fucking around, this is a guarantee.” Jace insisted. “Plus, we’re playing the Islamiwhatevers this week. I know our defense isn’t playing great but it’ll be close enough for us to make up any mistakes you might make.”

“You mean mistakes YOU might make.” Brooklyn countered. She looked around the locker room, hesitating for a moment. She weighed the options. On one hand, Jace was a major douche, but on the other hand, it was going to take some exceptional plays for Sadeg State to make a real run. She had to try it out at game speed eventually. Maybe Jace was right. Was Islamic Pomena going to be that big of a thorn? The schedule was only getting harder from this point onward.

“I resent that.” Jace replied, content to wait as he could see Brooklyn mull the thought over.

“Okay then.” Brooklyn looked back over at Jace reluctantly. “This is your only chance.”

“You will be impressed!” Jace proclaimed as he started out of the locker room.

Maybe it was just luck. Maybe it was actual skill. Maybe Jace just meticulously selected the team with the worst secondary in the conference and happened to present his challenge this week. Whatever the case may be, it was WORKING.

The first drive against a new opponent is filled with little tests. See what looks the defense gives you. See how they react to the looks you show them. See how quickly their players are reacting to your plays. Sadeg State’s opening offensive drive was simple. Brooklyn and Rolo Fishman did most of the running, with a few quick passes to keep things loose. Jace Phoenix had no real opportunities in this drive, but the Skyhawks kept rolling and scored a touchdown (Fishman from three yards out).

It may have felt unassuming at first, but it was just a taste of things to come. The Caliphs offense had no response, going three-and-out and punting the ball back to the Skyhawks. With the ground game pretty well established from the first drive, offensive coordinator Jack Halifax opened things up with more passing plays. Brooklyn had no trouble deciphering the Islamic defensive front, tossing passes with ease and adding a few yards on the ground whenever she had an opening. The first test for Jace came on 2nd and Goal; Brooklyn had a stick route as her primary read while Jace was set to run a sit-down route right at the pylon. Brooklyn did her due diligence and looked towards the stick underneath, but watched Jace in her peripheral vision. The moment he started turning, she fired, hitting him in the breadbasket as a Caliph corner smothered him a second too late. Touchdown Skyhawks.

From this point on, the game was never in doubt. Playing easy in front of the home crowd, the Skyhawk defense had no trouble clamping on Islamic Pomena’s conservative rushing attack. The Caliphs didn’t even get the ball past midfield in the first half of the game. Meanwhile, Brooklyn scored three more touchdowns in that time span: another pass to Jace Phoenix (post route for 45 yards), a read option keeper on 2nd and Goal from the 5, and an out route on the money to Dylan Copperfield in the red zone. Life is good when you’re leading 35-0 at halftime.

Islamic Pomena showed signs of life in their first drive of the second half. They had clearly made some adjustments during the break, passing the ball a little more, and finally driving into the edges of field goal range. It felt like they’d actually start fighting back on the scoreboard, until Zain Abou Rida didn’t get enough zip on a pass meant for Tariq Ziani. Xavier Lowell cut the pass off, and sped 71 yards for a pick six. The Caliphs got the ball back on their own side of the field, and proceeded to punt it away after three plays. Then Brooklyn drove the Skyhawks down the field in 5 minutes and scored another touchdown (Jace Phoenix on a fade, even though Brooklyn really wanted to throw to the underneath drag route instead). The 49-0 scoreline put this game firmly into laugher territory.

With such an enormous lead in hand, the starters were given until the end of the third quarter to stat pad. The defense laid down a couple more sacks on Abou Rida, and the starting Skyhawks offense came back out with one more chance to put points on the board. Brooklyn obliged, continuing her excellent day passing and running by getting the offense back to midfield in just five plays.

The next play called was one Jace really had a chance on. He was on a go route against a single-high safety, with the corner pressing near the line to try and jam him. There was a real chance of him springing wide open, and Brooklyn knew that. She was considering throwing to him, but a bit of pressure was picked up a second too late and forced Brooklyn to move in the pocket. With the timing thrown off, she decided to slide to her right instead. Jace looked to be open, but Brooklyn noticed the right side of the field was nearly wide open. Already on the edge of the pocket, she took off, outpacing the spying linebacker and leaving herself with one defender to beat. That corner was blocked by Copperfield, giving Brooklyn just enough space to squeeze around, stay in bounds, and set her nose to the end zone. For a moment, it looked like Caliph safety Bilal Shami was going to catch up to Brooklyn, but one more gold shirt was in the way. Like a heat seeking missile, Jace had crossed the field and blew up Shami with a vicious frontside block at the ten yard line. That cleared Brooklyn to trot into the end zone and celebrate wildly with the satisfied crowd.

The moment Brooklyn felt Jace take down Shami behind her and clear the run, a smile formed on her face. The crowd was hyped up, she was hyped up. Games like this only come a few times a career. That run brought Brooklyn to 6 touchdowns on the day, 4 passing and 2 rushing, and well over the 500 yard mark on the game. 400 passing and 150 rushing yards will do that. She was going to savor that last quarter she’d be able to sit on the bench.

The fourth quarter was true garbage time for both teams, Sadeg State leading 56-0 going into the final stanza. Reep Harper, the freshman QB, put together two scoring drives (one capped by a Justin Bradshaw rushing touchdown and the other a Nicky Wolfe field goal). The second-stringers on defense couldn’t preserve the shutout unfortunately. The Caliphs finally reached paydirt with a few minutes left in the game, but there’s no logical reason to complain about a 66-7 victory.

“Do you think Coach Hayes should’ve let off the gas a little sooner?” Daniel Butler asked Brooklyn after the game. He was concerned the team might be looked down upon for running up the score.

“This is a point differential league,” Brooklyn explained. “Every point matters, even if it’s racked up in garbage time. After what happened with Cavsar, we needed something like this.”

“Fair enough,” Dan conceded. He only asked because he wasn’t familiar with the NSCF culture yet.

Brooklyn couldn’t tell if she was happy or annoyed that Jace Phoenix had been right. The connection was great. Even on plays Brooklyn wouldn’t have even glanced Jace’s way normally, she found him open far more often than not. It almost felt like her connection with Julian Gallagher back at North Craggold High. At least Jace had several really good breaks rather than just an out route move.

Jace thankfully didn’t say anything in the locker room after the game, though he did give Brooklyn an I-told-you-so look as he was leaving. Brooklyn sighed, chewing her lip in thought. Would giving Jace more attention this season burn her in the end?

[Ranoria]

Bingham Young Forces Fourth Quarter Action,
But Governors Secure Convincing Victory With Broncos Up Next


Chad McOxley continued to dominate as Richardson's featured wideout, and provided a massive 4th quarter reception to set up the game's final touchdown

For the second time this season, Dex Banka took snaps in the fourth quarter. And this time, he came away with a win.

Richardson's sophomore passer tallied a relatively modest game with just a pair of touchdown passes as Bingham Young and Jackson Zuercher managed to keep it close. Between Johnny Wall and Jackson Zuercher, the Governors defense had a hard time getting the Miners off of their field, with Wall routinely eating alive a young linebacker core.

"Cassius [North] and Vinnie [Hwang-Dalbel] had what was probably the best tight on our schedule to deal with today," Kasen Harrowitz said at the postgame presser when asked about Wall's 9 receptions, "Definitely a learning experience for those young men. That's a taste of competing professional talent, they're going to be better for it."

North is starting as a true freshman while Vincent Hwang-Dalbel is getting snaps at both linebacker and running back. After Kerron Nicholas and Lyn Dairon anchored the unit for upwards of six years, it's a shocker for Governors fans to see the second level of their defense not quite as sound - but fortunately, they're still great at other spots, particularly corner. Landon Rayne was dominant, completely erasing top Miners wideout Colton Fenroy, and freshman Levi McNair got his first snaps on defense this season. He only got in on a dozen plays, but he recorded two tackles and avoided any huge mistakes.

The play on the outside was huge in limiting a talented Jackson Zuercher's production, but Richardson had their own struggles. Dex Banka, for example, started the day 4/4 for -9 yards. After a nice slant to Chad McOxley to pick up an early first, back-to-back-to-back screen passes got blown up by Miner cornerbacks Aydin Gomoll (6'3", 302 lb, 3 TFL) and LeVan Caldwell (6'4", 310 lb, 2 TFL). Couple that with a few well-called cornerback blitzes involving those two, and the Governors offense hit a few bumps in the road on the way to victory in this one. And thanks to that, they went into the fourth quarter up just 21-16.

It's the first time the Governors have really had a close game in the fourth to this point - Cold Hill was a test they failed, sure, but that game was a complete blowout. These Miners? They were putting up a fight.

Jackson Zuercher nearly led a heroic drive to start the fourth quarter - but unfortunately, his offensive line could only hold up for so long. Sophomore defensive end Terrance Savage broke through on the first play in the red zone and ripped the ball from Zuercher's grasp and dove on the ball to get it back to the hero of this team - Dex Banka. But he wouldn't need to be the hero today. Richardson leaned heavily on their backs on the final drive. The Miners had dealt well with Richardson's physicality all game, but it was starting to take its toll. Malik Starcevich had the first explosive play of the drive, smashing through a would be tackler for a seventeen yard gain, and Jack Archer followed it up with a shifty hurdle - to - juke combo to pick up another first down. The backs got them to the fifty, and BYU's defensive line dug their heels in. Their three hundred pound cornerbacks cheated in. They thought Richardson was trying to play ball control - they were used to a run-heavy team after years of competition in this conference.

But not this year.

Dex Banka faked the handoff to Starcevich, flipped around, and found his read immedietely. He floated a ball over the head of the safety and looked down with a finger wagging in the air before it hit the top of its arc.

McOxley snagged it in stride just inside the ten yard line and damn near got it through, but he was stopped just four yards out of the end zone. The first handoff went to fullback Brady St. George, might as well give the big fella a chance. The second went to the second wonder of Bonneville. Vincent Hwang-Dalbel completely ignored the first aspiring tackler, who bounced off of him, and hit a nasty stutter step to change direction and dart through the gap in the line to score his second touchdown of the season.

The Quebcois star pounded his chest and, rather than be lifted up by one of his offensive linemen, grabbed big Brian-Willie Richardson in a bear hug and somewhat managed to get him off of the ground. It was certainly one of the attempted celebrations of all time.

The Miners offense didn't manage to get much going after that dagger, going three-and-out on the next drive before a field goal made it pretty obvious that this thing was over. The Governors move to 4-1 on the season with a visit to LeBois Santura looming. With Delvin Kasekende III having taken over at quarterback - that's a tough ask. The grandson of the president of the Busoga Islands might've been what many considered a nepo player. He didn't earn it, didn't belong in the NSCF, much less the Big 8.

Well boy did they have another thing coming.

DK3 has been ab absolute revelation for the Broncos - the freshman's confidence alone has made headlines outside of his highlights, willing to go after veteran wideouts and demand more of his teammates. With the way Richardson's been playing fearlessly aggressive offense with a loaded cast around their captain Dex Banka, no one should be shy about taking the over on the modest line of 64.5 points in this one. An MoP hopeful who's certainly the best quarterback the legendary Governors have fielded since Ice Chineze against the man who, in lieu of Brett Hannah's middenningly winning ways, is the one to take up the torch after Bobby Dials. Both Cass Tech grads, both Big 8 Champion hopefuls, both leading offenses that, under their direction, are pretty easily clearing 40 points per game.

If you're a fan of offensive football - this is as good as it gets at the collegiate level.

[Cardenao]

“Why you gotta go off talking about that sorta stuff, sweets? Mihaly this and Missy that. Can’t we talk about football a little?? We’re having a real good season and, I hate to say it, but that DK3 quarterback they have is fucking money!”

“Because–ugh don’t call me sweets you know I don’t like that!! Makes me feel like cheap stale candy,” and the college senior turned her back to her recently acquired boyfriend to score some extra pity points. “And of course we can talk about football, I just thought you might wanna talk about some real shit, not football!"

And of course, her boo thang couldn’t resist wrapping her up from behind and leaned his head down from its 6’3 height to rest on her 5’2 shoulder. Barely been half a semester and she already had this starboy wrapped around her fingers. She let out a sigh and, mistaking it for being additional ire, her boyfriend squeezed her even tighter, but the sigh wasn’t for him. No, she let herself have a fleeting thought, if she wasn’t committed to the mission, she could ride out a life of fortune and fame with this college quarterback living the WAG dream. Not for her though, nope this cute sophomore was just a means to an end.

It’d taken a lot of planning and coordination to get her into Alexandria University without actually officially enrolling her, or getting her name recorded anywhere. A fair few bribes to professors, staff, and gatekeepers meant there was always a way for her to be where she needed to. Really, that had been the easier part. The bigger debate amongst her group was what school to transfer to, as both the Cardenaoan schools had their advantages. Take LeBois for instance, they are massive, BSU is probably one of the most well known things from Cardenao in the modern era, that sort of publicity could help their message explode into the mainstream…but perhaps it was too early yet for that sort of splash. Alexandria was a little more under the radar, but that also meant less scrutiny from the college bureaucracy and agents of Mihaly they needed to avoid at all costs. Sure, they were probably over exaggerating how much attention was being paid to them, but after their stunt in the NSCAA playoffs, holding a demonstration at halftime that was broadcast live around Cardenao, at least for a few moments, it couldn’t hurt to emphasize their safety. Which brought her to the here and now, walking down Alexandria’s main quad with Peppi Klerkx, 2nd string quarterback, following her like a puppy.

She almost felt bad for him, butttt he was cute and what young lady wouldn’t want to be hanging on the arm of the star quarterback (in a season or two when Nick Singer graduates), plus, if things went perfectly, she would be his introduction to the role of the lifetime. Indeed, his puppylike qualities were what made Peppi their preferred target. The speech from Missy LeCrown, asking Cardenaoans to start questioning the direction of their country under the heavy hand of Mihaly, well that signaled to the group of students and activists that it was time to move out of the shadows and start recruiting more well known faces. There was an idea, a plan of sorts, that hinged around grassroots organization as there was no other way to counter Mihaly, it had to come from the people; the more notable people you can recruit to preach your cause, well you’d hope their followers would join your movement. Yup, Peppi Klerkx was getting honey trapped before taking his first college snap; welcome to the new Cardenao.

He really was the ideal target too. Smart but naive, charismatic without going too far, and he played a position that guaranteed him attention from both the media and public at large. A star offensive linemen wasn’t going to get much love and nobody cares about a sexy kicker, Nick Singer was all…Ranorian and Deacon St. John was way too big a star to try to get close to. Running backs couldn’t be trusted to open their mouths after any given tackle, tight ends are generally some odd fellows, and so the backup quarterback was the one they landed on. The operation had been going well so far, if slower than they would’ve liked, at least until Missy LeCrown gave them a boost.

As a young man in Cardenao, Peppi Klerkx was…obsessed with Missy. Shoot, it didn't even matter that he was a young man, everyone loved Missy, so when she called out the forced relocation of players, staff, and favored professors from New Cardonia State to Alexandria State in her speech, that had made him pay attention. So, now, the goal was to keep educating the quarterback, keep bringing him deeper into the fold before using him as a figurehead on Alexandria’s campus. Mihaly’s eyes wouldn’t be looking this deep, they were sure of it, and so a college campus seemed the perfect place to light a fire: young people with plenty of passion, a lot of free time, and minds that were ready for proper tuning.

But for now, she relented and paused her small goal of dismantling the dictatorship to talk football with a boy she was maybe starting to like a little too much.

“Tell me more about that Delbin guy, he’s Banijan right?”

“Ohoho that's a classic mixup but nah, he's Busogan, and get this…his grandad is the President of the actual Islands! I mean sure I’d put up some big yards against him but man, he’s legit. That reminds me, did I tell you what happened yesterday at the gym? So Nick and I were getting ready to………”

And with that, she started her internal white noise machine, only pausing to smile, laugh, or big him up as appropriate. This part of the mission was boring as hell.

---

High School Football Matchday 3 RAWWW RESULTS; Alameda Desperados Top the Standings

Obyedako High Blue Devils (1-2) 35–25 Skyview Mountain Academy Fliers (2-1)
OBY POTG: QB Steven Frey 335 PssYds, 2 PssTD, 1 RusTD
SKY POTG: QB Taylor Fisher 267 PssYds, 2 PssTD, 4 RusYds

Alexandria High School Red Raiders (0-2) 10–28 St. Bonaventura Gold and Blues (2-1)
ALX POTG: LB Devin Singleton 6 Solo, 2 TFL, 1 Sk
STB POTG: QB Thor Gundersson 252 PssYds, 58 RusYds, 1 RusTD

Treasure Valley Triceratops (1-2) 22–26 Riverstone International School Otters (2-1)
TVT POTG: WR Tyrell McClellan 161 RecYds, 2 RecTD
RIS POTG: RB Jake Meier 114 RusYds, 47 RecYds, 1 RusTD

Ficilian Point High School Seabirds (2-0) 33–22 Brøgby Preparatory Academy Miners (1-2)
FIC POTG: RB Kelton Hutson 116 RusYds, 2 RusTD, 1 RecTD
BRØ POTG: QB Justus Marshall 174 PssYds, 2 PssTD, 11 RusYds

Glenelg Athletic Academy Green Dragons (1-1) 31–34 Academia Cardonia Golden Knights (1-1)
GLN POTG: QB Anthony Simon 247 PssYds, 4 PssTD, 70 RusYd
ACA POTG: QB Charlie Slaughter 326 PssYds, 2 PssTD, 1 RusTD

J.C. Evermore Academy Titans (0-3) 10-20 Escuela Nacíonal DCPF Footballers (1-1)
JCE POTG: LB Kareem Baker 10 Solo, 1 PD
ESN POTG: QB Maxim Dolan 252 PssYds, 2 PssTD, 1 RusTD

Timberline High School Wolves (2-1) 29–17 Hatathia High School Pirates (1-1)
TMW POTG: RB Jayce Morales 100 RusYds, 3 RusTD, 1 Solo
HAT POTG: S Bradley Gardner 9 Solo, 5 Ast, 1 TFL

[Valanora]

It was the right change at the right moment for the Rockets, who enjoyed their biggest and most offensively dominant game of the season when they went and visited Halifax Provincial. It was a bit of a coming out party for Sidney Jones, as the Chromatik quarterback made their debut in the Rockets uniform and took to the gameplan like a fish to water. A fifty-six to three victory was already a blowout at halftime and allowed Ella Solberg to get a few series in the fourth quarter when the game was truly well and out of reach. If the Rockets are going to get back into the race for the Zephyr Conference crown, they are going to need the full depth of their depth chart and having both of their quarterbacks ready to go will be a huge part of that. While there is no doubt now that Jones is the starter and who the rest of the offense is rallying behind, Solberg has to be ready to go back into any game as she is one injury away from being called upon again. Gridiron is a game of momentum, not just from series to series but from game to game and the Rockets have now gained a nice bit of it but need to keep it rolling.

It starts with this next game against High City, the team from the Sea People's League who are going to be feeling quite good about themselves after they managed to smother the Raiders offense for large portions of the game in the previous gameweek. Tobias Svendsen was a huge part of the win over Halifax, ending the game with a hundred eighty-six all purpose yards and two touchdowns on the night. As expected, there seemed to be a concentrated effort from the coaching staff to try and let their best skill player to carry the load as Jones settled into their new position as the starter, with a lot of screens and toss plays that let the speed back get out in open space and use their elusiveness to their advantage. It was a big part of Jones finishing with three hundred and twenty-seven yards and four touchdowns on the game, exactly the sort of performance that the coaching staff must have been hoping for in making the drastic and very unlike Vanorian move in making a quarterback change during the season. Though it it was only a single game, it looks to be the correct decision by the coaching staff and with how in step the offense seemed to be, the rest of the team was ready for it as well.

Meanwhile the Raiders are breathing a small sigh of relief after going to the Sea People's League and having to escape with a single point victory thanks to a game winning field goal as time expired. It was a game where nothing seemed to setup right for the Raiders as their vaunted passing attack simply was not in sync for large parts of the game, resulting in a lot of drives ending after only a single first down or two. The team has built a reputation for being methodical but it was not to be against High City and Tech is probably fortunate to be coming back home without an additional blemish on their record. The defense and the offense are going to have to be a lot better as they get to come back home to host the undefeated University of Mancodas, the Poafmersia giant who already stunned the Rockets with an offensive explosion when Raynor visited them in Week 4. The coaching staff is preaching focus to their teach leading into this pivotal game and what could be a preview of the conference championship game, as the two would meet in the title game as things currently stand. The Raiders broke the Mancodas stranglehold over the Vanorian schools a few seasons ago, now they have the chance to reestablish Vanorian dominance over the conference during the regular season if they can play their game and have those long, sustained drives to keep the Mancodas talented offense on the sideline.

[Drawkland]

Big Eight & Zephyr
Week 6

Welcome to Week 6, aka almost as good as Week 7!

---

BIG EIGHT
Vikramdayu University (VAI) 49–12 Mantabolo Tech (USN)
LeBois Santura University (CAD) 23–6 Richardson University (RAN)
Bingham Young University (UTA) 43–10 Eastern Ye Dnad University (NSL)
Alexandria University (CAD) 10–23 Cold Hill University (RAN)

# Everless Division                 Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
2 Cold Hill University (RAN)          6    5   1   163  112  +51
3 Richardson University (RAN)         6    4   2   197  128  +69
7 Mantabolo Tech (USN)                6    1   5    93  155  −62
8 Eastern Ye Dnad University (NSL)    6    0   6    70  225 −155


# Evermore Division                 Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 LeBois Santura University (CAD)     6    5   1   174   95  +79
4 Alexandria University (CAD)         6    3   3   173  158  +15
5 Bingham Young University (UTA)      6    3   3   135  139   −4
6 Vikramdayu University (VAI)         6    3   3   138  131   +7

ZEPHYR
University of Raukieff (TMN) 18–0 Halifax Provincial University (GHP)
Mar Sara Tech (VAL) 40–10 University of Mancodas (PFA)
Tophat University (THW) 6–26 High City College (SEA)
Raynor University (VAL) 65–13 Maximus Rochester Institute (PFA)

# Legends Division                     Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
2 University of Mancodas (PFA)           6    5   1   200  131  +69
5 Maximus Rochester Institute (PFA)      6    3   3   162  200  −38
6 High City College (SEA)                6    2   4   126  133   −7
7 Halifax Provincial University (GHP)    6    1   5    69  190 −121


# Celestial Division                   Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Mar Sara Tech (VAL)                    6    5   1   197  111  +86
3 University of Raukieff (TMN)           6    4   2   172  115  +57
4 Raynor University (VAL)                6    4   2   252  128 +124
8 Tophat University (THW)                6    0   6    74  244 −170