NSCF 34 - Everything Thread

by **Chromatika** » Mon Oct 20, 2025 10:50 pm

Chromatik Roundup: Perfect Week for Chromatik Schools Set Up Out of Conference Slate

Mountain District University (9-1)
Out-of-Conference Games: vs. Cold Hill (8-2), @ Loyola-Istria (8-2), @ Raynor (8-2)

Staramara Tech University (4-6)
Out-of-Conference Games: @ Mar Sara Tech (8-2), @ Northern Moravica (7-3), vs. Université du Saguenay (5-5)

Z'ai'ai Institute of Technology (7-3)
Out-of-Conference Games: @ University of Dietrich (7-3), vs. New Cardonia International State (4-6), vs. University of Aberstadt (6-4)

With Nicolas Berg throwing for four touchdowns and the defense forcing three turnovers, the Mountain District University Firehawks pitched a near-shutout at home on Senior Night to improve to 9-1 on the season while resting starters in the second half to set up a Conference Title Game rematch against Cavsar University. Cavsar, which blanked Bitternea International on the final matchday, remain the only team to have defeated the Firehawks dating back to last season's Semifinals, and the Firehawks will be looking for revenge when the two teams tangle at the White Fortress in Gladerial, Valanora. Berg played well but not perfectly in the first matchup against the Gladiators, and the Freshman will be called upon to play well again in the rematch. The game will hinge on third downs, as the Firehawks need long, sustained drives to score touchdowns.

After that, the Firehawks will face a tough Out-of-Conference slate once again. All three opponents are 8-2, and all of them are in their respective Conference Championship Games. Yes, they'd rather like to have qualified for the playoffs before they hit this stretch, but picking up a win of this bunch will likely lock the Firehawks into the playoffs, and two would mean that they get that coveted First-Round Bye. Freya Odinsdóttir is playing like the defensive lynchpin that she is, and the Firehawks look poised to make another deep playoff run.

The Lava staved off talk of firing everyone on their staff with a gutsy 29-6 win over Silver Coast State College. This time, Jair Lleyamana's 300 yards of offense by himself ended up being enough. Twenty-one carries for 171 yards and two scores and 11-of-17 for 141 yards was fantastic. The defense stopped almost anything that Silver Coast State College wanted to do, and it was just enough.

Staramara Tech faces Mar Sara Tech and Northern Moravica in their first two Out=of-Conference Games, and they will be the hardest games left for them - before playing the Fighting Irish. 4-6 is a lot better than 3-6, but they still need to win out if they want to qualify for a bowl game and save their jobs.

At least Jair is playing his heart out, as is the rest of the players.

Arguably the hottest team in Chromatika is the Z'ai'ai institute of Technology Hellcats. After falling to 1-3 after losing to Mountain District University, the Hellcats have rattled off six straight wins - including a sweep of the Drawkian schools, a feat that not even Mountain District could pull off. It was a tight affair against Drawk Corps, but with Saralynn Pomme catching another eleven catches for 181 yards and two scores, Darius Holliday and the Hellcats made it work.

They have the easiest Out-of-Conference slate. University of Dietrich won't be easy, but to round it out against New Cardonia International State and University of Aberstadt could be a lot harder. Win two out of three, and the Hellcats could see themselves making the playoffs in their inaugural season.

Electric, right?

One team continuing their pedigree, another fighting for their lives, and a third starting to really round into form. Gridiron is great in Chromatika.

by **Drawkland** » Tue Oct 21, 2025 10:37 am

"The Silver Series"

Social media was a storm following the Cavsar game against Sadeg State. The Skyhawks fanbase at large took a victory lap. Those fans were still divided on whether Brooklyn leaving was good or bad, but at least they could unite in enjoying the win over Cavsar. Football fans across Drawkland jokingly wondered if Scott Linhart was already feeling buyer’s remorse, or if Brooklyn had really been the problem at State all along. Cavsar fans would point out that multiple special teams and defensive breakdowns are what actually caused the loss, but such blatant cope fell on deaf ears.

In any case, Brooklyn knew she had to distance herself from all that talk for her own mental health. It was the first game of the NSCF season against one of the supposedly better teams in the conference. Nobody expected Cavsar to go 10-0. As long as Brooklyn and the Gladiators rebounded with a few wins, the debacle against State would be forgotten. Hopefully.

The difficulty level was only going to increase before it got easier for Brooklyn. Next on the schedule was a road game against Drawk Corps University, a squad filled with talent despite their inauspicious results in past and current NSCF seasons. After them, it’d be a home game against Silver Coast State College, who were notably 2-0 against Brooklyn at Sadeg State. No other multi-year Horizon Conference team was undefeated against Brooklyn’s Skyhawks.

The problem with ignoring the outside noise is that it left too much time in the day. Practice couldn’t take all day so as to not tire out the players. Brooklyn did have her two summer classes to worry about, but she was already doing the bare minimum in those and was hardly interested enough to spend more time on them. All of Brooklyn’s friends were in Sadeg. Even if they were willing to interact with her given the circumstances, there was a large logistical issue since she was stuck in Cavsar. After the first two days of the week, Brooklyn was bored out of her mind. She considered taking some batting practice at Cavsar’s facilities, but that wouldn’t really sate the desire for social interaction.

On the third day of practice the week of the Corps U game, Brooklyn decided enough was enough. There was awkwardness surrounding this entire dynamic, but she had to do something to keep herself from going crazy. The only other option was turning her notifications back on and getting hit with whatever shitstorm was swirling on the internet about her. After practice was over, Brooklyn sped through her changing routine in her locker room closet. She usually took her sweet time and came back out when most of the team had already left, but this time she wanted to ensure somebody in particular would still be there.

“Hey Jules,” Brooklyn approached her former high school teammate at his locker a few feet away. She tried to remain as casual as possible.

“What’s up, B?” Julian asked, slipping on a clean shirt.

“I don’t wanna impose or anything,” Brooklyn started, “but I was wondering if you were busy at all this week. I finally have some spare time and I’m interested to see what the town of Cavsar has to offer.”

“Okay, gotcha.” Julian hesitated for a moment, then smiled. “I’m sort of busy tonight. But, uh, later this week I’m going out to a karaoke place with some people. Mostly my girlfriend, and some of her friends. If you want to come to that we could show you around.”

“Ah, I see.” Brooklyn paused. She didn’t find that idea fun at all. She wasn’t much of a singer and had no interest in meeting Julian’s supposed girlfriend. Still, the idea of doing nothing for the rest of the week was somehow even worse. “Sounds fun! Um, I guess just text me once you have more solid details?”

“Will do.” Julian replied automatically. He finished packing his bag and slung it over his shoulder. “I gotta run. See you at practice tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see ya.” Brooklyn waved as Julian moved to the door without looking back. Yup, it was definitely weird. But it was better than nothing.

A day later Brooklyn was driving through the quaint streets of downtown Cavsar. Calling this “downtown” was really a bit of a stretch. The tallest structure was an old office building about a dozen stories tall, with a few apartments and a hotel nearby with a similar height. Most of this supposedly urban cluster consisted of mixed-use brick buildings three or four stories tall. Brooklyn eventually found the address she was looking for, a karaoke bar a few blocks away from the alleged main strip of downtown Cavsar. She was fortunate enough that someone was leaving right as she arrived, so she was able to grab a street parking spot right near the entrance.

She hoped she wasn’t too early. When she saw Julian in a cluster of people at a table in the back she was filled with relief. That feeling was quickly replaced with dread when half the heads at the table turned to look at her as she approached. Brooklyn had faced some of the most fearsome defenders in all of college football and stared down crowds who wanted nothing more than to see her crushed into the dirt. So why was this innocuous social event at a bar stressing her out?

Finally Julian turned his head and noticed Brooklyn. His expression was unreadable at first, then it slowly cracked into a smile. It was a weird smile, though, one that Brooklyn didn’t find familiar.

“Glad you could make it, B,” Julian said once Brooklyn reached the table. He turned to address the table which had about a half dozen people, none of which Brooklyn recognized. “Everybody, this is Brooklyn, I’m sure you’ve all heard of her before.”

“Hi,” Brooklyn raised her hand slightly in an awkward wave. She caught the gaze of a girl practically draped over Julian’s side. The girl was looking at Brooklyn with narrowed eyes and a scowl before she switched to the least genuine smile Brooklyn had ever seen.

“This is my girlfriend Amanda,” Julian put his arm around her and squeezed her shoulder.

“Mandy,” the girl interjected with a sickeningly sweet tone.

“Yup, and then her friends Lindsey and Breanna and …” Julian rattled off the rest of the assembled group, all girls except for one guy who was a boyfriend of one of them. Brooklyn didn’t pay attention, merely giving a polite nod to everyone as they were introduced.

“Nice to meet you all.” Brooklyn said automatically. The rounded table’s booth was already full, but there were a couple empty chairs on the non-booth side. Brooklyn picked the one closest to Julian, mostly because he was the only one she’d feel comfortable talking to. And based on the daggers she was receiving from Mandy’s eyes, she wasn’t quite sure she’d get that much talking in anyway.

Meanwhile, the bar’s main stage was occupied with various locals trying their best to sing along to some country tunes off the karaoke machine. Conversation continued as Brooklyn ordered a water. She discovered from the conversation that there were private karaoke rooms upstairs, but this group didn’t want to pay for one of those this time around. Brooklyn was thankful for that, because she really didn’t feel like singing and figured in the larger bar setting she couldn’t get pressured into going on stage.

“So …” Brooklyn finally spoke up after a lull in conversation at her half of the table. She turned to Julian and Mandy with a pleasant smile. “How long have you guys known each other?”

“We met last year I think?” Julian looked over at Mandy for confirmation. “The spring, right? Because we were in the same group for that one group project.”

“It was last fall. In ECON 312.” Mandy replied instantly, giving Julian a pinch at his waist. She settled in a little closer, giving another almost challenging look at Brooklyn.

“Gotcha, gotcha. So after you won the title and the MOP and all that.” Brooklyn pursed her lips as she went for a sip of water. She felt that something was off about this girl. If she was going to accomplish anything tonight, she was at least going to figure out what Mandy’s deal was. “Just a coincidence, I’m sure.”

“Uh, yeah.” Julian completely missed the meaning, answering earnestly. He rubbed his thumb against Mandy’s shoulderblade. “That’s just when we met.”

“Of course.” Brooklyn nodded. “I was just curious, Jules, since I hadn’t heard anything about this development.” Her usage of the name ‘Jules’ had an almost instantaneous reaction from Mandy, whose nearly plastic smile seemed to crack a bit. Brooklyn was almost surprised at how much satisfaction she got from that reaction.

“I don’t know if you noticed, Brooklyn, but the high school group chat hasn’t exactly been active recently, until you pulled the little stunt to come here.” Julian chuckled, oblivious to the silent battle starting to ramp up around him. “I’m not gonna post every random life event that happens.”

“Oh, just some random life event, huh?” Mandy spoke up again, giving a disapproving glare at Julian before melting into a smile as he stuck his tongue out at her.

“You know what I mean, babe.” Julian placated her without any worry. Brooklyn couldn’t help but wince at the use of the word ‘babe.’ That just felt wrong coming out of Julian’s mouth. “I’m gonna go grab us another drink,” he said as he excused himself from the table.

“My Jules has a life outside of you, you know.” Mandy turned to Brooklyn, speaking coolly once Julian was out of earshot. “He’s turned into quite the player by himself.”

“Trust me, I’m well aware.” Brooklyn turned to give Julian a sidelong glance as he was walking away, but there was no bitterness in her voice. “I’ve seen how he’s played. I thought he was good in high school but he’s entirely different now. Well, not really different. More like the same, but better than I ever thought.”

“Mhm.” Mandy twisted her lip. “And he did it with no help from you, who left him out here all by himself. Some friend you are.”

“You have to look out for number one, girlie.” Brooklyn folded her arms and smirked. “I had the pressure and expectations of a thousand people to worry about. When you’re dealing with high stakes sometimes you have to make a business decision. It comes with the territory when you’re involved in matters of a national interest.”

“A business decision,” Mandy echoed with a mocking smile. “You’re just a two-faced tramp. Going with whoever is offering you the best deal, no respect or loyalty. Julian saw that you valued the opinions of thousands of people you’ve never met over him when you chose Sadeg over Cavsar. And now you come crawling back to his side when it’s convenient for you. He’s not stupid. He can see right through you. Everybody can. Don’t think you can just jerk him around like you’re 19 again, honey. He’s over you. So don’t bother wasting your time.” With that last sentence, Mandy flicked her head, causing her short hair to wave back and forth. That motion caught Brooklyn’s eye, and suddenly it clicked.

“I don’t know what you think I’m here for, but you’re wrong. I’m here to play football. My life is far too busy to bother wasting time chasing guys. As for whether Jules is over me or not …” Brooklyn paused, pointedly looking Mandy up and down. Her hair was dark, some level of brunette, worn straight and mid neck length. It was the same hairstyle Brooklyn usually wore during the football season. Brooklyn couldn’t see below the table, but she could tell Mandy’s upper torso had a similar resemblance to her own build, minus the muscle. “I wouldn’t be so sure.”

Mandy gaped and grasped for a response, but it was too late. Julian returned with a beer for himself and another cocktail for Mandy. There was no way the girls could snipe at each other with Julian right next to them.

“Oh, sorry B. I forgot to ask if you wanted something.” Julian said as he sat down, noticing that Brooklyn’s water glass was almost empty.

“It’s alright. I’m not drinking tonight anyway.” Brooklyn grinned. “Plus, I’ve got legs that work.” To make the point, she stood up from her seat and sauntered to the bar herself to get another glass. She couldn’t see, but she could practically feel Mandy fuming behind her. Maybe it wasn’t the best use of her time, but Brooklyn still felt a weird satisfaction from the exchange. At the very least, it was enough to keep her mind off football drama for the rest of the week.

The weekend saw Brooklyn and the Gladiators taking a trip to Drawk City for the first time in NSCF play. Drawk City was, of course, the site of Brooklyn’s infamous blowup in the DOCA semifinal just months prior. It wasn’t the same venue, but it was pretty close. The semifinal was held at Corps Central Stadium, home of the Drawk Corps professional football team and part of the Corps Central Complex in suburban Drawk City. This match was held at Corps University Hub, a slightly smaller venue on the end of Drawk Corps University’s flagship campus a few miles away.

This matchup was interesting in multiple ways. Corps U hadn’t played in NSCF since before Sadeg State was entered, their final season being NSCF 16. This would be their first time playing a fellow Drawkian team in this tournament too, since DISC didn’t begin sending two teams to NSCF until Cavsar’s entry in NSCF 22. What people were mostly excited to see, though, was the QB matchup. Brooklyn Beck was the daughter of Grid Corps veteran and World Bowl champion Dustin Beck. On the other sideline was Dak Waterman Jr., son of Dustin’s precursor and teammate on the Grid Corps, Waterman Sr. Both kids were essentially the only chance of their respective fathers’ legacy being carried out on the gridiron.

At this point the book was mostly closed on Brooklyn. She hadn’t even been drafted in the GLD, just turned her back on her father’s school a few weeks prior, and looked to be a much more valuable prospect on the baseball diamond. Waterman Jr. still had half of his college career ahead of him, and already seemed to be climbing potential draft board ranks for his eventual senior season. Many pundits considered this a matchup of roughly equal potential. Beck vs Waterman only happened a handful of times in GLD play, and none of those matchups were considered prime vs prime (Dustin was either too young or Dak Sr. too old to be considered an even contest). Whether Brooklyn or Dak Jr. were in their ‘primes’ was very debatable even by college standards, but at least they were on relatively equal footing to each other.

The game itself was tight for the first half. Each defense did a pretty good job of holding their own, keeping each quarterback contained and forcing them to throw short, quick passes. That wasn’t a problem for either QB, especially Brooklyn who was used to getting the ball out quickly. Unfortunately neither were able to sustain long drives under these conditions. The only touchdowns in the first half came due to busted plays for big yardage. After kicking a field goal on their first drive, Corps U hit the end zone first thanks to a 67 yard run by senior halfback Marco Elwood. Brooklyn responded the next drive with a big throw to Rodrick Jones that went for over fifty yards, but Jones was pushed out of bounds inside the five. Brooklyn took the ball in herself for a rushing TD two plays later. Similarly, Brooklyn finally found Julian wide open on a corner route late in the half. Julian turned, shook off a Corps U safety, and won the footrace to the end zone. With Cavsar going 1-for-2 on their two-point conversions and Corps U adding another field goal before halftime, the score was 14-13 in Gladiator favor.

Things turned sour for the home Corps in the third quarter, however. Brooklyn led another touchdown drive to begin the second half, and suddenly the Corps U offense went silent. Cavsar’s defense may not have been as powerful as they were last NSCF season, but they showed Corps U what a championship-winning defensive front looked like. Gil Ahn snuck through the big Drawkian O-line multiple times for a pair of sacks and several more pressures on Dak Jr. Steve Gordon deflected an end zone pass into the arms of Hunter Driscoll for a pick to kill one of Corps U’s best chances at a TD in the second half. All the while, the Gladiator offense kept putting up points, even though most of them were field goals. By the time the fourth quarter got going, it was essentially garbage time. Corps U finally put up a touchdown, but Cavsar still held a two-score lead after the PAT.

All said and done, Cavsar picked up their first win of the NSCF 34 season to the tune of a 36-20 beatdown against their fellow Drawkians. To say the fans at Corps University Hub were disappointed would be an understatement, but at least Cavsar was a ‘good’ team at this point. Corps U knew better than anybody that the NSCF harbors no gimme games.

“Good game out there,” Brooklyn said to Dak Jr. in the postgame throng in the middle of the field. She leaned in for an innocuous half-hug and chuckled sardonically. “Go make your dad prouder than I made mine, alright?”

“Should be pretty easy.” Dak Jr. said as he pulled away and grinned. “You set the bar nice and low for me.”

“Yeah.” Brooklyn studied Dak Jr.’s face and realized he wasn’t trying to be rude. She grinned in response. “Glad I could help!”

The next weekend was similar to the last. Instead of taking on the silver & cobalt on the road, Cavsar would be taking on the Silver Coast at home. Every game was important in the Horizon Conference, especially against an outside contender like Silver Coast State, but this one Brooklyn had circled on her calendar as soon as she committed to Cavsar.

The Cadets had been a constant thorn in Sadeg State’s side ever since they debuted in NSCF 30. It would be an exaggeration to say that they ruined the Skyhawk’s season every year, as Sadeg State usually finished 2 or more games out from the Starlight Division title, but it was still bizarre how this relatively mediocre team had managed to escape defeat every year. Even though Silver Coast State was known for its ground-and-pound option-based offense, Sadeg State’s defense somehow managed to let them run rampant almost every time. Brooklyn herself was 0-2 against them as a starter and played some snaps in another loss that was originally started by Jimmy Chapman.

Even though she wasn’t a Skyhawk anymore, Brooklyn desperately wanted to finish on top against the Cadets. Doing it in a Cavsar uniform would be good enough for her. The main advantage was the defense. As aforementioned, the Skyhawk defense inexplicably shit the bed against the Cadets. Their aggressive man-and-blitz strategies always seemed to be dialed up at the wrong time or from the wrong side. Cavsar had at least managed to hold Silver Coast State to two touchdowns or less in each of their last three meetings. If they could do that one more time, Brooklyn felt confident she could find a way to win.

That gameplan simply worked to perfection. In an eerie similarity to the previous week against Corps U, the teams traded blows in the first half to the tune of 14-10 in Cavsar’s favor. Once again, Cavsar’s defense locked in for the second half and kept Silver Coast State at bay until Brooklyn had scored enough points to put the game out of reach. By the time the Cadets scored their second touchdown it was garbage time and the Gladiators were just a few minutes away from running out the clock and taking the win.

With a couple touchdowns on the day, Brooklyn was wholly satisfied with her performance. She kneed out the final seconds in the fourth quarter and jumped up in celebration. Her teammates found it a little odd, but she held on tight to that ball once the final whistles rang out. She got permission from the equipment crew to keep the ball, and when she brought it home, she wrote “Finally beat the shit out of SCSC” in silver pen and added it to her collection of game balls.

All of a sudden Cavsar was 2-1 with some of the easiest games on their schedule coming up. The failure of losing to Sadeg State was still on the minds of some, but Brooklyn took solace in sweeping the silver slate. The Skyhawks, meanwhile, had dropped a heartbreaker to Corps U and now stood at the same 2-1 record after their bye. Maybe switching to Cavsar wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

by **Valanora** » Tue Oct 21, 2025 10:39 am

Horizon Conference - Conference Championship Game

Cutoff.

@ The White Fortress (70,000), Gladerial, Valanora
Mountain District University (CMT) 30–3 Cavsar University (DRK)

by **Banija** » Tue Oct 21, 2025 11:27 am

NMU head coach Hannah McKendry, speaking to her players in the locker room following their victory over the University of Aberstadt

"COME ON!" Yelled the team's QB Coach, Sebastian Kabuye, as the team was cheering in the visitors locker room. "LET'S FREAKING GO- THIS IS NMU FOOTBALL!" They all yelled and cheered. Then, they started chanting. "HANNAH. HANNAH. HANNAH." And when the head coach walked through the door, they all started cheering and screaming. This lasted for a solid 10ish seconds, until she put her hands in the air and they stopped.

"Now THAT's what I'm talking about when I say Northern Moravica football." She started, breaking into a smile. She paused as the team started cheering and chanting again, and waited for the noise to die down. "I want to take a good, strong look at what we've done. A holistic view. Many outsiders thought this team was dead when we lost to Loyola and NMU to start the season. People then wrote us off again when we went to Batavia and lost to Holland Tech. We had a choice when we were 1-3. We could've packed it in, said screw it, and really spiraled into a disaster of a season. But we didn't. We looked inward. We came together. We refused to settle for less. If we wanted more, we needed to give more, and we did exactly that. Think of what we've done this season to get here- swept the Quebecois schools. Swept the Grand Exultia schools. Won this play-in game, in front of a motivated Aberstadt team, in front of their electric home crowd."

"It's hard to win on the road in the Celestia conference- and when the circumstances have demanded it this season, against good opposition, we have done so. Now we've won 6 in a row, and we are right where we belong- the Celestia Conference Championship Game. We all remember that game against Loyola." A few boos from the players. "All of you- my seniors especially- have been granted a chance at redemption. Those bastards think they're the best thing that's happened since sliced bread- yet, the last time they played for a NSCF Championship, our QB was in Kindergarten!" Everybody laughed. "They got an ass kicking coming their way- I can guarantee you that." They all cheered, with the team chanting 'Beat Loyola.'

"Let's talk about this game. We prepared all week like it would be a play-in game- and just 15 minutes before we kicked, we got word of the final score from Saguenay- this would be a play-in game. Now, we told you guys that Aberstadt was a good freaking time, and that they were going to throw haymakers. Rain Sams, first game back after injury, first play of the damn game- he's immediately going long, and boom- 71 yard touchdown. Picture-esque. Storybook. But every time we faced adversity- we responded. We didn't fear momentum from the hosts- we stepped into it, we embraced it, and thrived. Let's talk about a few moments. 2nd quarter, we've got a 3rd & 6 at the 50. We're down 10-3. The best players step up on the biggest plays- and Amy delivers a perfect ball to Horace Horton down the field, who leaps up for a catch in double coverage. A 36 yard completion, vindicating our decision to attack down the field. We're in the red zone- two plays later, Heavenworth is scoring standing up."

"Then, the third quarter- ALMOST a perfect quarter! What did we say at halftime? Be more physical, dominate the trenches- and we did that. Two basically perfect drives. We got the ball to start the quarter- a 4 and a half minute TD drive, ending with a Horton TD run. And then, after allowing a first down, we force them to punt- and we did the exact same thing. Another 4 and a half minute drive, another touchdown for Horace Horton. Up 9- hell of a pair of drives. And when Aberstadt punched back- a turnover to turn the game around, eventually turning our 9 point lead into a 1 point deficit, what did we do? RESPONDED AGAIN!" She yelled the last part. "How many teams respond to something like that with just a 2 play drive? But that's all we needed to do- 25 yard pass to Horace Horton, followed by a 56 yard BOMB to Mark Lutt."

"And the D stood tall the rest of the game. Forcing 2 fourth quarter punts, and have 2 more fourth quarter takeaways. But no need to describe a game we've already played in- but THAT'S the type of relentless that'll win us a conference title!" The team cheered again. "Now, game balls. I've got 3!"

"First- the stud, Horace Horton!" The team cheered. "His stats- 14 carries for 92 yards. But receiving- 13 catches for 154 yards, and 2 touchdowns! 246 total scrimmage yards- big game player made for big time moments!" He walked up and got his game ball from Coach McKendry. "Horace- I told you, when we were 1-3, that we'd need more from you if we wanted to accomplish our goals. You didn't pout. You didn't put down any of your teammates. Nope- you put your head down and went to work, brought your teammates with you, and now great things are possible. Let's do this in Busukuma!"

The team cheered, and then she stopped. "My second game ball- DeColdest Carey!" The team cheered. "Stats- targeted 7 times by Rain Sams in coverage. Allowed 2 catches for 15 yards. An interception that he returned 31 yards, inside the Aberstadt 10 yard line, with less than 2 minutes to go. And even on offense- a 27 yard run on a WR reverse on a 2nd & 1. Come here!" They all cheered again as she gave him his ball. "You'll have your hands full next week- you'll be at the center of the whupping we're about to give Loyola!" They all cheered again.

"And lastly- 21-29 passing, for 241 yards, and a pair of touchdown passes. Amy Skylar!" They all cheered for their Chromatik QB. "All I hear is Leslie Allin this, and Leslie Allin that. Amy's the most underrated QB in this conference. Most unselfish player on the team- how many stud QBs embrace a pound the rock philosophy? Loves the grind, not all about herself or her own stats. But when she needs to- she can sling it."

"Now, let's get on this plane, and get some sleep. Enjoy your Sunday off- as come Monday, we're moving heaven and earth to bury the Blue Thunder."

Biggest North v. South Showdown since NSCF 19 as NMU and Loyola-Istria meet in the Celestia Conference Championship Game

BUSUKUMA, NATIONAL CAPITOL REGION- While Loyola punched their ticket with a game remaining to the conference title game, for the second straight season, NMU still had to win their way there- and needed some assistance along the way. On Saturday afternoon, they got that assistance, with Saguenay rolling to a 47-20 victory over Holland Tech, the very team that held the H2H tiebreaker over NMU, and removing that tiebreaker from contention. So on Saturday night, in Week 11, it was NMU @ the University of Aberstadt- the winner would be 7-3 and feeling quite good about themselves on a trip to Busukuma, while the loser be 6-4, staring a daunting non-conference schedule straight in the face.

NMU garnered some controversy along the way- particularly by the way of Horace Horton's guarantee a few days ahead of the game- but they won anyways, winning a fantastic contest at Circle Park, 40-27, to set up a classic rivalry to fight for a conference title.

It's Loyola, at 8-2, against Northern Moravica, at 7-3. The winner wins the Celestia Conference, and gets the automatic playoff spot alongside it. The loser enters non-conference knowing that they need a couple of wins to make the playoffs as an at-large. The stakes could not be any higher. And things could not be tighter between these schools. These two schools have been in the NSCF forever- NMU joining in NSCF 12, and Loyola-Istria joining in NSCF 13. And things between the two schools... Have basically been dead even.

Let's show the record.

All-Time NSCF Record

Category	Loyola	Northern Moravica
All-Time NSCF wins	206	205
Head-To-Head Wins	20	21
Conference titles	8	8

Even in the playoffs, they are 1-1 against each other. And so, in the 42nd NSCF edition of the North v. South Showdown, let's talk about what this edition of this rivalry means to these schools- in terms of history, in terms of legacy, in terms of everything you can think of. And why, in the NSCF's most fierce domestic rivalry, this one will be one that neither school will be able to live down for a while.

Northern Moravica- A legacy definer

Northern Moravica have certainly had strong international rivalries over the years- but they've never been able to get one to truly stick. Staramara Tech is really the closest, but there is no real burning hate in the heart of Tech fans. A game both teams most certainly want to win, but no real hate. USC is a burgeoning rival- these two have been in the same conference for several years now, and of course, Hannah McKendry has coached at both schools- feeding the rivalry loop. But the Salamantics Universities were probably their best foreign rivalry- but it's currently consigned to the history books. Remember the former Vietussia Academy? That was good- but didn't quite hold either, and when they came back as Hankow State, it was one sided. Elephant Valley was a good rival, but also one-sided- and they are also no longer in the NSCF.

Nothing stuck like Loyola v. Richardson. So there's no doubts about who NMU's biggest rival is. But let's talk about this game. These two have met in the regular season many times, with huge stakes. But nothing with stakes like these. They've met in the playoffs twice- and both of those playoff games changed the direction of NMU forever. Let's first go to NSCF 18. Northern Moravica had developed a reputation, deservedly, in the teens, of being able to dominate the Celestia- but do nothing with that in the playoffs. Back to back conference titles in NSCF 12 and 13, lost in the first round of the playoffs both years. Loyola won the conference, beat Utica, and then won the entire damn tournament in NSCF 14- first strike for NMU.

You see, at NMU, there's no worse fate than being seen as worse than Loyola. So when the Banijan schools came back for NSCF 17, NMU winning the conference again was a good sign. But then- got smoked by Sadeg State in, you guessed it, a first round playoff game (down 45-0 after 3 quarters!) while Loyola rolled to yet another NSCF Championship. Three conference titles in four NSCF seasons- pretty good, eh? Not while your domestic rival is gathering up NSCF championships like a wolf in a pig's pen. NSCF 18 comes. Both teams, finish 9-1 in the Celestia. Northern Moravica, once again, wins the conference. Finally win their first ever playoff game- a 34-0 shutout over Stoneshore College- where their then HC, Horace Browning, was a former DC of. But then, playoff quarterfinals, at the Istria Lightning Yard- Loyola wins, 43-30.

Loyola was on a generational run at the time. But that didn't matter at NMU- an uproar of how far they were behind Loyola-Istria. They had no choice but to fire Horace Browning. Browning, still a popular figure at NMU, quickly became the Athletic Director, and hired Lance Kabuye. So the playoff rematch happened, in the NSCF 19 semifinals, also at the Lightning Yard- and Lance Kabuye, as a first year head coach, ended Isaka Jawara's collegiate career en route to NMU's first (and only) NSCF championship. So their first playoff matchup? Change the course of actions- bye bye Browning. Second non-scheduled matchup? Vaulting of Lance Kabuye from good coach to absolute legend. Get NMU over the hump in year 1, against their biggest rivals- can't beat that one.

So while this isn't a playoff game, it's a conference championship game- a game that NMU hasn't been to in years. Their first trip to Busukuma since NSCF 28. And NMU has been starving in this category in general over the years, as they've won just one conference title since NSCF 24. "Northern Moravica has a rich tradition, and it's time to remind people exactly what it is." Said Wagner-Young, an alumnus who QB'd the Cougars to the NSCF Championship game twice, in NSCF 23 and NSCF 25. "We've always been the dominant program in the Celestia- we just had a 10 season break to let everyone else feel good. But it's our time now- que those Loyola tears."

So this'll be super meaningful for fans. NMU hasn't played here at all in 6 seasons, so it's even more of a special trip- Loyola was here last year, and they'll be back in a few weeks for the Rebel's Cannon Bowl. But NMU has far fewer opportunities to play here, and so the fans will flock.

Whose legacy will this mean the most for? Let's start with Hannah McKendry, the head coach. "It's her fourth season as head coach, and the team is trending upward each year." Said Eric Moldin, a former RT at NMU. "Year 1, was a fix it year. Year 2, back to the playoffs. Year 3, no Horton- but made the playoffs anyways. This year, while they started poorly, they're firing on all cylinders now. Weapons everywhere, everybody's getting involved, offense is elite. Complementary football. 6 wins in a row is tough- and they've done it. She wins the conference this year, the hopes and expectations really explode for this team- can this really be the year for title #2? And for ego- too many fools think Loyola is a better program than ours. We beat them, in a neutral site, on this stage- not even the most delusional Loyola fan will be able to say they have a better program than us."

The other player, is the team's superstar- Horace Horton. "While NMU has had studs- Apollo Esther, Wagner-Young, etc... Considering his versatility, he might be the best player in school history." Moldin told reporters. "He can do it all. He's played with 3 different QBs, can always perform. But now, more than just a star- he needs to be known as a winner. As a champion. He's done everything possible individually in a NMU uniform, and has dragged us, just this season, from the darkest depths to the precipice of conference glory. He had the game of his life just to get us here. He's a big game player .But doing it against Loyola is a hard task. He laid an egg against Loyola earlier this season- but, as I've said, this is a different NMU team than the one who took the field in Week 2. He gets it done in Busukuma... you're really having some serious conversations about his legacy among that inner circle of all-time NMU players."

Loyola-Istria: Rivalry Hunting Season

While NMU have gotten all the headlines the past few weeks, Loyola has been the Celestia's most consistent team all season- just winning, and winning, and winning some more. When these two teams faced off earlier this season, at Mugisha II Memorial, 60 minutes wasn't enough to separate them- it was tied 13-13. They went into overtime- and Loyola not only held NMU to a field goal, but then came back out there on their possession and had their freshman QB throw the game-winning touchdown pass. Ice in the veins of Leslie Allin- and while he was a youngster with moxie who needed poise back then, he's dealing right now like he's a seasoned vet.

Offense scoring 31 points a game- top of the conference, 7th in the Celestia. But if you take out his first two games (which Loyola won), that average goes up to nearly 36 points per game- right up there for the top scoring offense in the NSCF. That's including the 10 point dud they laid at West Java. Week in and week out- he is dealing, and dealing with all oncomers. When Loyola lost to West Java, that didn't faze him- he just led his team to put up 70 at home against Saguenay one week later. This offense, especially through the air, is just moving the ball seemingly at will, at all important parts of the game. Now, he's still young- prone to the odd interception- but blazing.

Loyola might be in a different spot than NMU right now. NMU wants to get a conference title- and Loyola absolutely wants that. To have more than NMU, would be insane. To really drive it home that Loyola is Banija's dominant program, is another success. But for them, they have struggled in their rivalry games. They've lost six in a row to MDU. They lost twice last season to Richardson- once in a blowout in Week 13, and once in the quarterfinals by a singular possession.

"We have no qualms about it- we won't advance as a program until we're back to dominating our rivalries." Loyola's head coach, Dennis Zervos, said during media availability. "And that always starts with NMU." If they beat NMU for a second time, it'll really give them confidence going into their slate of international rivalry games- showing the conference, and the rest of the NSCF, that this Loyola team is different than many of its predecessors. They can win the big games. That they are the Celestia's premier program. And that they are on a path back towards being the NSCF's premier program, a status that MDU, the Ranorian schools, and the Vanorian schools have ever so rudely taken from them.

So in terms of legacy? Who are we looking at on Loyola's side. Dennis Zervos, the head coach, has to be looked at first. "Zervos is an elite HC who has won everywhere he's gone." Said Wemusa Nakato, who is an alumnus HB from Loyola, "But he almost got himself ran out of here, missing the playoffs three years in a row. But a stunning resurrection last year saw Loyola win the conference, and save his job. It is baby steps. First, become the best team in your conference- if he wins the conference for a second year in a row, that is indisputable. Second, start winning your rivalry games. Six Ls in a row to MDU is absolutely unacceptable. But if we are just totally owning NMU- winning both on the road and in a conference title game against them- it helps the sting. A little."

He also pointed to Damion Battles, the EDGE rusher. "Allin is a freshman, so there's plenty of time for him to help with his own legacy." Nakato told reporters. "Same for a lot of the skill players- McNair, Feliciano, etc... On offense. Nobody really talks about Loyola's D, and it might be a struggle generally on Saturday- it's going to be a much higher scoring game than it was in week 2. Both offfenses have grown tremendously over time. But it might comes down to which defense can make a play or two when it counts, and we look to Battles here. If he wants to be remembered like Abram Fairbanks, this is the exact type of game he needs to have a huge game. Critical sack. Force a turnover. Help against Horton. If he can do that... Well, the setup is looking quite nice for them."

Loyola. NMU. For a conference title and a spot in the playoffs. It rarely gets bigger than this- who will triumph in Busukuma?

by **Valanora** » Tue Oct 21, 2025 3:08 pm

Valanora Times
Truth And Reconciliation

As Sidney Jones was getting ready to take the last snap in front of a sold out Vahalla Falls to seal the win against Trent State, she knew that her team would have one more game in conference play to partake in. There would be the kneel down and the Rockets were going to improve to eight wins and two losses on their record, with only a very close loss at Mar Sara and then the surprise loss to the New Rotterdam side in Week 2 at the home opener. Given that both New Rotterdam schools finished seven and three and were in the mix for the conference championship game through the last week of the conference slate, it was not as terrible loss as it original looked for both the Rockets and Raiders losing those home openers to the respective sides, though it felt like it at the time. She felt like the team could have walked away from Mar Sara with a win as well, yet the Raiders have been able to drive down the length of the field in fifty-seven seconds to hit a thirty-two yard game winning field goal as time expired to win the Battle for the Royal Sabre, even after the Rockets had made their fifth field goal of the day to take the lead with just over a minute left. Neither loss was going to look bad but she knew that the only way to ensure the Rockets spot in the playoffs was to now take advantage of the opportunity before them.

That opportunity of course was to play in the conference championship game and to win for the second time over the University of Columbus-Prairie in that game, after having bested them in the middle of the conference slate in an over eighty point shootout in Raynor City. The conference title game was going to be at a neutral venue, there would be no home advantage for either side, an advantage that the Blue Jays had taken quite far in their dominance over the Mineral in the last two seasons and for this one as well. UCP had two losses as well, losing at Raynor and as well as at St. Paulus, who had if they had won at Université nationale de Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer in Nova Calania on the last day of the season would have been taking on the Rockets instead of the Blue Jays for the Mineral Crown. Instead we have a rematch of one of the most exciting games of the entire conference slate and a chance for Craig Kelly to make a statement or for the Rockets to show that without the benefit of playing at home that Columbus-Prarie is only a decent team and not an elite team as the fan base of the Blue Jays would have you believe them to be.

Sidney Jones has been the truth this season under center for the Rockets, she has shown a great level of improvement both on the field and off of it, showing a level of emotional maturity that you are not used to from individuals of a certain age. The performance on the field has been absolutely stellar, throwing for over thirty-five hundred yards with thirty-eight touchdown passes as she lead the Rockets to the top of the Mineral. Tobias Svendsen chipped in at the running back position with eight hundred forty-four yards and eight rushing touchdowns, as well as another four hundred twelve yards of receiving out of the backfield. Truly though she was helped out most by the plethora of talented wide outs and having improved in her mobility to be able to extend plays and allow the wide outs time to get open on their routes. While the right side of the offensive line has struggled at times during the season, the play-making ability of the quarterback as well as the rest of the skill players has for the most part been able to smooth over the lack of elite play in the trenches on the right side.

Heading into this rematch against the Blue Jays, there is a clear message being sent from Andy Magnusson to the defense, they need to be able to slow down the passing attack that the Blue Jays are going to try and utilize until they are blew in the face. Craig Kelly and the UCP coaching staff apparently do not understand the concept of rushing the ball or having complimentary football, as their entire team is focused on airing it out long as often as they are able to. Special teams, defense, and the rushing attack are not even afterthoughts for the Blue Jays, they are completely missing from the game plan that they create for any given game day and it shows. The way that they are able to keep other teams from getting a rhythm on offense is simply by going at such a fast pace that the opposition defense is unable to keep up and unable to make the substitutions they need to keep fresh players on the line and in the secondary. It is a game of attrition that wears down opposing defenses and keeps opposition offenses from getting into a groove by simply keeping them from having possession of the ball.

Given the brutal out of conference schedules that both the Rockets and Raiders have set up for themselves, securing the conference title and the automatic playoff berth that comes with it seems imperative to the Rockets. There is a very real chance that the Rockets finish with a second year in a row with a losing record in the out of conference with the quality of the opposition, the only game they will be favored for is Week 13 at home to Bitternea International University, a Kytler school who only finished with two wins in their conference record. More than that, it is a game that shows that the Vanorian schools add a quality to the Mineral that was missing since the competitive school from Baker Park went awry and allowed UCP to blossom into the school its fandom believes it to be today. While the Dhemexian media might look to discredit the Mineral in its current iteration in order to undercut the impressiveness of winning the conference for whoever does, this conference this season has risen above its station and been far more competitive than it or the Zephyr had been in two or three seasons. A win in the conference title game does add legitimacy to whoever takes it and the Rockets look to have the hunger in them to replicate the feat from a few years ago when they lost their first two conference games before winning the next eightteen. That run including a conference and NSCF title and that has to be the goal now with a talent as special as Sidney Jones appears to be and the supporting cast around her.

by **Drawkland** » Tue Oct 21, 2025 4:34 pm

Big Eight & Celestia
Conference Championships

Who's earning a playoff berth and extra bragging rights tonight?

BIG EIGHT

Richardson University (RAN) 20–37 Cold Hill University (RAN)

@ Metro Arena (150,000) Metropolon, Drawkland

CELESTIA

University of Loyola-Istria (BNJ) 13–27 Northern Moravica University (BNJ)

@ Stadium of the Restoration (101,835) Busukuma, Banija

by **Dhemixia** » Tue Oct 21, 2025 6:56 pm

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Columbus Dominion(Est.1873)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goodbye Power Vacuum

Schedule

*blue indicates home games
~~Week 1: @ Fusa College~~ W 30-29
~~Week 2: BYE~~
~~Week 3: vs. UNSJJ~~ W 39-16
~~Week 4: @ Nowa Kalanianska~~ W 20-9
~~Week 5: vs. Mar Sara Tech~~ W 51-17
~~Week 6: @ Raynor~~ L 37-50
~~Week 7: vs. Trent State~~ W 44-23
~~Week 8: @ GCU~~ W 27-16
~~Week 9: vs. Prince Pieter's~~ W 29-20
~~Week 10: @ St. Paulus~~ L 14-25
~~Week 11: vs. Delino State~~ W 67-20
------------
Non-conference play
Week 11: @ BYU (SPIT Bowl)
Week 12: vs. Fluff State
Week 13: @ Cavsar

It's not often UC-Prairie does not control their own destiny in the Mineral. Including this season, the Jays have been to the title game for five consecutive cycles, only ever missing it over their 6-year career so far in their first season, in which they went out and won the Pioneer Bowl anyways. Most of those seasons, they've claimed their spot in domineering fashion over the competition, successfully claiming the conference twice and most likely keeping it that way this time around. In each of the last four, they've clinched in week 8, 9, 10, and 10 respectively. It's not often that the Mineral's competitive either. A combination of these two factors led to UNSJJSM being the saviors of UC-Prairie in Mineral play this season.

Usually, when the Jays absolutely need something to happen in order for them to succeed, it just doesn't happen, by way of Craig Kelly being a D1 Possession Philanthropist or otherwise. In most cycles, that energy's expended either to get a win in the CCG, like in 30 and 33, and to get a playoff win, like in 32. Never before has Craig Kelly's deus ex machina plot armor been used in the regular season on another team, which is unprecedented territory for the Jays.

On one hand, a rational thinker should be at least a little confident in UC-Prairie. They won 8 games this season, their QB is a generational aura farmer, and they ended the season dropping 67 on Delino State to get into the championship game. With a more experienced Larry Cunningham, of whom in his freshman year had an undefeated regular season, this team looks very similar to the NSCF 33 Blue Jays. What's there to be unsure of?

On the other hand, every NSCF ball knower (UCP's own fans included) would tell you otherwise. We're only just now seeing the true potential of Craig Kelly's Possession Philanthropy, the limits of which are likely well beyond losing a title game as an underdog. The only other time they've done so was NSCF 30 with Nashville Sabercats legend Jerry Atkinson at the helm. The team they upset was UCBP, of whom went on to beat UCP in the first round of the playoffs in 3OT. They barely won that game too, with the regular season clash between the two teams a relatively low-scoring dogfight, Craig Kelly bumbling his way into having control of that in the CCG as per usual. When you take this formula, UCP's bread and butter for fraud success, and apply it to this season's Raynor, you're almost guaranteed a loss.

Let's start with all that UC-Prairie has going for them: Larry Cunningham. If they're going to win this game, the answer is going to be CunningHIM. He's really the only reason they're 8-2 in the first place, and Craig Kelly on the sideline did not help him with that in the slightest. Now for all that's against the Jays: They've never beaten Raynor, the regular season matchup was an absolute shootout away at Raynor, their head coach is still the guy literally nicknamed the Possession Philanthropist, and the Rockets have the second coming of RFL Lane Proudfoot catching snaps. Thanks for playing, Craig.

The real question that arises from all of this is how UC-Prairie picks up the pieces from the resulting loss incoming. Their OOC slate certainly isn't going to give them a break, and they absolutely have to take a game from one of Cavsar or the Viktor Rowles School of Handoff Mercantilism. Not to mention, they have to go away for the SPIT Bowl this cycle. The Jays have a sneaky dangerous BYU team in a rivalry game away, the reigning Beight champs at The Brig (of whom are undefeated all-time against UCP), finish it off away against the "I didn't hear no bell!" Brooklyn Beck/Cavsar amalgamation they've trotted out this season, and have to win two of these if they want a shot at the postseason. There have been lighter death sentences.

by **Quebec and Shingoryeo** » Tue Oct 21, 2025 8:14 pm

Mineral Conference - Championship Game

Cutoff.

University of Columbus-Prairie (DHE) 13–14 Raynor University (VAL)

by **Katzeburg** » Wed Oct 22, 2025 3:45 am

"You know, when I agreed to become Dean of this historic institution all those years ago, I never thought my life would become so ruled over by a simple game of football."

Dean Hal Williams leant back in his chair and exhaled loudly. It was the morning after the Celestia Championship Game, a game that the University of Aberstadt Ducks had been on the verge of reaching, had they not completely fallen apart in a second half collapse in their final home game of the season against Banijan side Northern Moravica University - who to be fair, would go on to claim the Celestia championship themselves with a 27-13 win over Loyola-Istria.

The Ducks performed quite admirably against a side which had stormed back to form and a spot in the playoffs, even having the lead as late as 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, but the pressure got to the first-year NSCF team, crumbling as senior quarterback Rain Sams rounded out his Circle Park career by throwing two interceptions in the final two minutes to all but seal the game up for NMU.

It was a performance which no-one could be really shocked by in the grand scheme of things - the Ducks had punched above their weight for a good chunk of the season and to even get a whiff of a championship game spot was well beyond expectations, but for the briefest moment, the fairytale looked to be possible - if only before Horace Horton came storming through to snuff out the flames of the Ducks' hopes.

"Well, you know what my momma always said - it's the hope that kills you." Ducks head coach Geraint Short sat opposite Hal in his office, lackadaisical in his approach. Short had seldom come onto campus in the week following the loss to NMU - instead preferring to let the simmering tension on campus work itself out in the immediate aftermath of the loss.

To be fair, the damage to campus could have been worse - the now-quickly-becoming-traditional drunken loss riot which took place after the loss was relatively contained, with most damage coming to the statue of Jerry 'Pool Ball' Billards which stood in the campus' main courtyard. All in all, it was less of a riot than the one which kicked off after the loss to Holland Tech, and certainly nowhere near the damage caused by the Great Riot of AK18 - which occurred when the main campus cafeteria ran out of hash browns one morning.

"No, Coach, it's not the hope which kills me - it's the headlines," Hal said as he chucked a newspaper across over to Geraint. "Did you not think to ensure no one was recording your little speech before the game against NMU?"

Geraint looked down at the copy of The Aberstadtian which sat before him, which proudly displayed on its back-page a large blown up image of Short and the headline 'LOCKER ROOM TALK: Inside's UoA's 'clueless' pre-game speech'. Geraint quickly scanned the article and put the paper back down on Hal's desk, seemingly unmoved by the article. "Well, you know what my momma always said - it doesn't matter what the world is doing, you gotta focus on your own game."

"Geraint - you rather openly slagged off many of the other schools not only in our conference, but also other programmes we've never played against. And then to top all that off, the team went out and lost by 13! Do you know how bad this has made us look?"

Short shrugged his shoulders. "Well, you know what my momma always said - "

"If you finish that sentence, I'm going to leap over this desk and attack you."

Silence filled the room for a moment. "It was actually that our biggest defeats become our greatest strengths," he said sheepishly. Hal stared angrily right back at the coach, his nostrils flaring in pure, unadulterated rage.

"Can you please. Stop." Hal said shakily, trying to resist the urge to use any number of instruments on his table as weapons of unapproved torture on the coach. "I could handle the collapse to end our season. I could handle the movement of our programme away from the centre of campus and to try and adopt a more commercial model. Hell, I could even handle the proposed plans to remove me from my position. But this?" he said, pointing to the paper. "Is a bridge too far for me."

"This is a bridge to far for you?" Short said confused. "Not the whole 'I'm about to get fired' bit?" Hal shook his head. "Fair enough," Short shrugged.

The door cracked open unannounced. Snapping his head up, Hal spotted the tall, slender figure of Ed Matthews slink through the door, seemingly untethered from the weight of expectations now being heaped on the programme.

"Ahh Dean! And Coach Short! Lovely to see both of you," he said as if he was on top of the world. "Just the people I wanted to come and have a chat with."

"Ed," Hal said, tension piling onto each and every word. "What brings you all the way down here?"

"You mean, from the office which literally sits opposite yours? The reason our good coach is here - football!" Ed casually rested himself against the desk, acting like the cool, relaxed cop to Hal's grizzled, angry at everything except himself veteran. "We've all had a bit of time to debrief from the game against NMU, how do you think the team went in the grand scheme of things?"

Short sat up a little and bounced his head from side to side in thought. "Well, you know what my mo- I thought it went alright, truth be told. Sure, it was no walk in the park to concede 40 points at home after we've been grand all season - but I think we matched it with a clear top team in NSCF for most of the game. We tidy up a couple of bits and bobs, and we're there."

"We're where?"

"I think we can make the playoffs."

Ed raised an eyebrow. "You do? That's quite an interesting claim considering we finished mid-table in the Celestia Conference."

"Well, look - non-con is going to be what makes or breaks us. We're lucky that our scheduling team booked us what we in the biz like to call us a couple of cupcakes."

"You're calling Z'ai'ai a cupcake?" Ed's eyes narrowed.

"Not them of course - combining the three teams, our opponents for the next few weeks have a record of 12-18 - we win two of those and we're looking at a 8-5 team, definitely good enough for a bowl game at the very least."

"But not the playoffs - we'd need to win all three to even be in with a chance."

"True," Geraint said, leaning back and pretending to chew some gum in thought. "We're not going to make it easy on ourselves with all three being away games..." Ed shot a look at Hal, who rather sheepishly looked down and muttered to himself "I got the team names the wrong way round, so sue me."

"...but if we give it our all, we might have enough about us to sneak in right on the bubble."

"Well good." Ed said, crossing his arms. "By the way, how is Rain feeling this week? Obviously had a blinding three quarters against NMU."

"Yeah," Geraint said with a slow drawl. "He's doin' alright. Maybe it was a bit of a mistake bringing him back for that final game as his injury wasn't fully back to normal, but that's the dice you gotta roll when you're in the corner, and he sure proved it was the right choice for most of that game."

"But not the final two minutes." Ed said rather harshly.

"No sir. He'll be fighting fit this week though for our clash against Sinyal, that's for sure."

"Good. Good. Because as I'm sure you know - the whole university and board are behind you and the team. Finishing with a winning record this season is the bare minimum and we're ever so close to achieving that. I'd hate for that to impact your future here at the university."

Ed pushed himself off the desk and walked to the door. "Have a good week, coach. Dean - I'll see you this afternoon for the board meeting." he said before slotting himself back through the door.

Silence filled the room once more as both Geraint and Hal exhaled as if they had been holding in air from the vacuum called Ed which sucked the air out of the room.

"Boy, what's gotten up his rear end?" Short enquired.

"He's talked a big game about this programme, bigger than we reasonably should have expected," Hal said, his pulse returning to normal after having avoiding the brunt of Ed's questioning. "Reality is starting to come and bite him, but the problem is the board has bought in fully to his nonsense."

"This about the stadium move?"

"It's more than that, as I'm sure you know. The university is changing, and I'm not sure it's for the better."

"You got that right. When I came up through the programme a few years ago - yes, we were expected to win, but if we didn't, life went on the day after. Since we've joined the NSCF level, it's felt more like a matter of life and death."

"I bet your momma had a lot to say about moments like this."

"Not really sir, she got hit by a truck when I was just a child so it was death doing most of the talking."

"What! That's horrible - why on earth did you let me try and stop you mentioning her earlier then?!"

"I'm just yanking your chain!" Geraint burst out in laughter. "She's fine - living it up in a nursing home in Abersee. Little troubles with her mobility, but as she always says, better to have no legs and crawl then have legs and stand still."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Honestly, I have no idea myself sometimes."

"I think it's time you get back to work, coach. It's time for both of us to get back to work - we've got a lot to do these next couple of weeks, otherwise it's probably both our heads on the chopping block."

"That's a good call there, Dean," Geraint said while standing. "I'll see you when I see ya."

Hal waved off the coach as he returned his gaze back to his computer. Before the coach had come in he had been working on a plan for the future of the university, something he would be fighting for later that afternoon at the board meeting where - as far as he could tell - Ed would be fighting to cut the Dean loose entirely.

His eyes narrowed in focus. He had little time left, and he needed to use it wisely.

by **Busoga Islands** » Thu Oct 23, 2025 7:41 am

OOC Note to hosts: collaborated with Quebec, Katzeburg, and Grand Exultia on the creation of these teams. The surrounding RP, however, is all me. Also, assume this was released before the Conference title game.

The Lakiska Daily

BUSUKUMA, NATIONAL CAPITOL REGION, BANIJA- For the first time ever, the Celestia Conference, in conjunction with its primary media partners, have announced conference awards for the NSCF 34 season. The Celestia, a longstanding NSCF conference, is taking after the example the Big 8 has given for the past few seasons- enarmored by the growth the conference has faced with the additions of the University of Aberstadt, as well as Holland Tech, and the Grand Exultian schools. "The Celestia conference is deeper than ever, and remains extremely competitive." Said the Islamic University's Athletic Director. "The players deserve to be acknowledged for all the hard work they put in this season, against elite competition."

It went about as one would expect- the better teams had more selections for the All-Conference teams, as logic follows. Ergo, a team like ours, the Islamic University, which went just 3-7, had only one member of the All Conference teams- safety David Reitan. A former #1 overall recruit out of Valanora, he was the one bright spot in what was mostly a dark year for the Caracals. He helped anchor a defense that was actually pretty solid, punching well above their weight. They allowed just 16.2 points per game- the 4th best defense in this 11 team conference, despite the Caracals finishing in sole possession of 9th place. While not quite an elite unit, it was certainly a good unit- not good enough to rescue this team from this poor of a season, good enough to earn an individual nod. And have a spectacular performance or two- they did hold NMU to just a field goal, all the way back in week 3.

Joining the Vanorian are all sorts of players from all sorts of schools. The University of Aberstadt had the league's strongest defense- only allowing 51 points through their first 8 games, basically allowing an average of 6.5 points per game en route to opening to a 6-2 record. Of course, teams seemed to have figured out how to crack the code at the end- Lithrelir scored 27, while NMU, behind a monster performance from Horace Horton, put up 40 in their conference title play-in game in Seecester. Thad Sadler and Maurie Troy both got recognized for all-conference honors- and Maurie Troy, being at the heart of the conference's best scoring defense, won the Abram Fairbanks Defensive Player of the Year.

"She showed grit, tenacity, and rare skill all season long- this was deserved." Said the award's namesake, the last Celestia player to win NSCF Defensive Player of the Year, Abram Fairbanks. He's a Loyola alumnus, and a World Bowl champion with Ranoria. "It's hard when you're adjusting to this level of this competition- it's already hard, considering the high flying offenses. But she proved herself to be a step above the rest, and that's why she's earned this award."

Loyola got a pair of players on the All-Defensive team, with Damion Battles, at DE, and Ryan Leichard at the other safety spot. Many Loyola fans are saying Chad Vauhgn was robbed of a spot, but that's just typical Loyola arrogance- nothing to see there. But their two members were deserving- they are part of why it's so hard to come back against Loyola- they take a lead against you and Battles can pin his ears back in the pass rush, and it's going to be a disaster. And who's there to clean up in the back end? Leichard. NMU had a pair of players on the All-Defensive team as well, taking 2 of the cornerback spots, with both Tidiane Wane and DeColdest Carey being recognized. Wane's steady consistency has been critical in the improvement of the defense over the past few months, despite the last couple of regular season games being tough. Carey's been a boom or bust corner- aggressively going after PBUs and INTs, but can be too aggressive- can bite. But those turnover plays happen more often than him getting burned- and ergo, he's on the team.

USC led the way, with three members of the all-defensive team- Renee-Anne Iffland, at corner, then Cauchy Outtara at nose tackle, and Yi Jong-Woo- one of two freshmen on the team.

And then, for the offensive team. We had the 9th best scoring offense in the Celestia- so naturally, no Islamic U players got anywhere close to the all-offensive team. If they had a 5th team, maybe we could've gotten a lineman on it. But again, not a ton of surprises. Loyola had the conference's best offense, and they were really high-flying to end the season- nearly 36 a game across the last 8 games, led by a stellar passing attack. So Leslie Allin, their (redshirt) freshman QB, got the nod, and brought along three of his teammates- two OL, his center Shsomari, and his OT Mnangagwa, as well as his WR1, Elishah McNair. Imagine if they had these awards in the days of Isaka Jawara, how many Loyola WRs would get on this list. It's the kind of honor that shows how high is ceiling is- while this isn't exactly a rebuilding year, Loyola's got a new QB, went 8-2, led the conference in scoring, and are playing for a second straight conference title. And their top WRs are all returning with their QB next year. Zervos has them built for long-term success, doesn't he?

Looking beyond the Blue Thunder, NMU had two players on here. Obviously, Horace Horton was the headliner. He was a unanimous selection at TE, and then also got votes for HB as well, finishing fourth in voting at that position. It does seem he was eligible for a double entry onto this list. The full-time HBs who got onto the list were Maurice Muganda (who finished second in offensive player of the year voting), and Khaine Bearclaw, from Lithrelir U. Elite players everywhere. Unsurprisingly, Muganda was joined by his teammate at tackle, Hwang Hyeon-Taek, as well as his national rival, Nihat Cokcu. Aberstadt has an interior OL on the list as well, to round it off.

And then, for the awards. There were four. We've talked about the Defensive Player of the Year award. Then, Offensive Player of the Year, the Jawara-Lautner award- co-named after potentially the greatest Banijan NSCF QB in history(Jawara), and the greatest Quebecois NSCF QB in history(Lautner). The choice was more obvious here- another unanimous vote for Horton. Horton was an unstoppable force. Coming off of a knee injury, too. Look what he did just last week- in a must win, on the road, against the conference's best defense? Oh, just 240 yards from scrimmage, and 3 TDs to boot. Four(!) separate occasions where he had over 200 scrimmage yards. He's got a ridiculous 1,635 scrimmage yards all season, and they are well balanced- 913 receiving, and 722 rushing yards. And not only that- he's at the heart of NMU's turnaround. From 1-3 to playing for a conference title- it's hard to do that.

Coach of the year was a tight race, decided by a singular vote- and Geraint Short, of Aberstadt, won the award, with Hannah McKendry in second place. Voters recognized he had a tough job- he's in a conference with six legacy programs, and up until the final quarter of the final game of conference play, he had the team on the brink of playing for a conference championship. Doing so when you're significantly less resourced than the conferences' other power programs- look at their 5,000 seater home stadium, compared to the 90,000+ and 100,000+ seaters in Banija, the 70,000+ and 80,000+ seaters in Quebec, and even outresourced by the Islamic U- we're a school with 2 conference titles, in recent seasons. "He repeatedly defied the odds all season, even if it didn't end how he wanted it to." Said a Busogan TV commentator. "While McKendry did a great job of fixing her team's issues midseason, Short putting up the conference's #1 defense in year 1 is an even more difficult feat."

They're building support at U of A for the gridiron program, and maybe with this award they can continue to support him- like by scheduling a non-conference home game in NSCF 35.

And lastly, freshman of the year. While others got votes, Leslie Allin, Loyola's QB, was the runaway winner. They almost didn't have a choice- 2,655 passing yards, 23 TDs, and 6 picks. An electric first year player, who's only going to get better at terrorizing the defenses of the Celestia Conference as time goes on.

And that's it for the awards this year. No formal ceremony, although awards were flown out and presented in person by conference officials. Maybe next year there will be a party in Busukuma for this?

1st team All-Celestia

OFFENSE 

QB Leslie Allin (RS Fr, Loyola-Istria)
HB Maurice Muganda (Sr, USC)
HB Khaine Bearclaw (Jr, Lithrelir University)
WR Elishah McNair (RS Jr, Loyola-Istria)
WR Nihat Cokcu (Fr, Saguenay)
TE Horace Horton (RS Sr, Northern Moravica)
OT Hwang Hyeon-Taek (Jr, USC)
OG Moussa Gambi (Sr, Northern Moravica)
C Usian Shomari (Sr, Loyola-Istria)
OG Royale Simons (Jr, Aberstadt)
OT Tofara Mnangagwa (Jr, Loyola-Istria)

DEFENSE 

DE Thad Sadler (Fr, Aberstadt)
DT Cauchy Outtara (Sr, USC)
DT Tyra Nightingale (RS Sr, Lithrelir University)
DE Damion Battles (Sr, Loyola-Istria)
LB Yi Jong-Woo (Fr, USC)
LB Maurie Troy (Sr, Aberstadt)
CB Tidiane Wane (Sr, Northern Moravica)
CB DeColdest Carey (Soph., Northern Moravica)
CB Renee-Anne Iffland (Sr, USC)
S Ryan Leichard (Jr, Loyola-Istria)
S David Reitan (Jr, Islamic University of Busoga)

SPECIAL TEAMS

K Vonian Duskblade (Sr, Lithrelir University)
KR/PR DeColdest Carey (Soph., Northern Moravica)

Jawara-Lautner Offensive Player of the Year Award: Horace Horton, TE/HB, Northern Moravica University
Abram Fairbanks Defensive Player of the Year Award: Maurie Troy, LB, University of Aberstadt
Alastair Jobs Coach of the Year Award: Geraint Short, HC, University of Aberstadt
Heo Myeong-Shin Freshman of the Year Award: Leslie Allin, QB, University of Loyola-Istria

by **Banija** » Thu Oct 23, 2025 12:57 pm

NMU CB Tidiane Wane, during a timeout ahead of a 4th & goal for Loyola early in the second quarter

"Come on, man!" Wane was yelling at his teammate, the nickel back, Kelan Turner. "You've gotta be quicker there! It's the conference freaking championship game- lock in!" Wane let him have it, and then calmed down. He was amped up. The senior had been a 4 year player at NMU (certainly not a four year starter), and had worked his way up the roster. He actually had the distinction of being the first commit of the Hannah McKendry era- most of his class had technically committed to Lance Kabuye during NSCF 30, which was his senior year of high school. But he didn't have any NSCF offers originally out of high school. But when she showed up, she took another look at the Banijan recruiting scene, and got him to flip his commitment from Hangaza A&M.

An easy decision, really- imagine being stuck at Hangaza A&M for four years? Terrible. Wane had to come here, and battle. He wasn't the most elite CB ever- but he was an insanely hard worker, and just an intense player generally. Worked his way up the depth chart, putting his head down and climbing each season. Never complaining. A three star starter, on a team full of blue chip recruits, holding it down in a position group full of future superstars. He was a vocal leader for the defense, especially in the secondary, and had earned the respect of all of his teammates. The legacy of this class mattered to him- he didn't want to graduate without winning anything. So this specific moment, he had been yelling at Turner because he Turner had the D wrong on fourth down- forcing McKendry to burn a timeout. Turner had thought they were in zone when they were supposed to be in man, so he didn't motion with Feliciano when he motioned across the LOS.

They were back on the sideline, drinking some water. A huge moment. Second play of the second quarter, Loyola already led 7-0, and with 4th & goal at the 2, had a chance to make it 14-0. Loyola had called a timeout before the play, and now NMU was using one of their own- showed how high leverage both coaches considered the play. "Come on guys, let's get the stop!" McKendry told them. "Now, they're going to use their second choice play anyways. But let's figure this out. Man to man." She looked around, eyes on Turner- and then continued talking. She didn't need to add anything more. She continued speaking for a bit. "Stick like glue." She talked about the importance of physicality, and then, they went back onto the field.

Loyola was in a formation they expected- the ball was on the left hash. 3 WRs bunched on the right, with the TE on the left side of the LOS, and Jackson-Smith as the HB, next to Allin in the gun. "Hey!" Wane yelled at the other CBs. "Watch the cross!" And then, he looked toward the sideline- got a signal from the coaches. A CB blitz? Wane smiled- he was rarely called upon to blitz, but why not in this situation? He yelled at the safety to come down, make sure that Mahto picked up his man, who was Elishah McNair. A perfect setup for some sort of rub route, they'd have to get physical. Wane was careful not to show that he was blitzing. He spoke to Feliciano, who was a few feet in front of him, as a Loyola WR. "You ain't doing shit here." Wane said. "It's gonna be our ball."

The ball was snapped- and just like the audible said, Wane made a beeline towards the QB. He saw Allin look right, and double clutch with the ball- that meant nobody was open. Jermaine Williams had broken through up the middle, as well- Allin was forced to roll right, straight into the arms of Tidiane Wane, who brought him down for a fourth down sack. "COME ON!!" Wane got up, yelling and pounding his chest. The fans in red were booming- a massive stop on fourth down for the Cougars, to keep them in the game. Wane walked straight over to Leslie Allin, and did the you can't see me celebration- earning him an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and nearly starting a fight- but he didn't care. "WE'RE N-M-FREAKING-U, BEST DAMN TEAM IN ALL THE LAND!" He yelled. A critical stop- and he felt as if the game was turning.

Rejuvenated Northern Moravica squad earn conference championship and playoff berth with 27-13 victory in rematch with Loyola-Istria

BUSUKUMA, NATIONAL CAPITOL REGION- A North v. South Showdown in Busukuma, with a conference championship- and an automatic playoff berth- on the line for both teams. "I mean, these are the type of games that you come to these two schools for." Said a Banijan TV commentator. "Can't beat the pagaeantry, the pure hatred in a game like this. The stakes are immeasurable- so much at stake, and with the auto playoff berth on the line, both teams will be highly motivated." And even to make things more fun, the teams decided to both wear their home jerseys- first time ever something like this has happened in the rivalry. So NMU, wearing all red, and Loyola, wearing a special edition electric blue as opposed to their regular dark navy, getting out there.

The first few drives for both teams were all about the defenses- four three and outs to start the game, two for each team. But on Loyola's third drive, they started to get something going. Not a long, methodical drive, mind you- they were big play fishing, and they got it. On 1st & 10, they looked deep down the field, and got the matchup they wanted. NMU's talented freshman nickelback, Kelan Turner, one on one with their WR1, Elishah McNair. Scheme up a deep route, and 47 yards later, you're inside the NMU 30 yard line. And then, the very next play, entrust Allin again, and they will be rewarded. Off the play-action, the NMU safeties bit hard, and Allin threw a strike to Feliciano, who broke a tackle and walked into the end zone for a 24 yard touchdown reception. Just like that- 7-0 to the Blue Thunder.

Loyola's defense held for the third straight drive, forcing another three and out. And then, we found a long, methodical drive. A 5+ minute drive, that went 70+ yards, that got the Blue Thunder all the way down to a 1st & goal at the NMU 4 yard line. Loyola's offense seemingly came ready to play- and they seemed to be on the verge of making a statement. But the NMU defense decided to stand tall. 1st & goal, Jackson-Smith had a 2 yard run, up the middle. 2nd & goal, they handed it off to their big, Chromatik back for a second time- and once again, he was stuffed up the middle, this time for no gain. On third down, they tried to run a fade route to Elishah McNair, but excellent coverage by DeColdest Carey forced an incompletion- McNair did come down with it, but didn't really come close to getting a foot down in bounds. Then, 4th & goal from the 2- Dennis was never kicking there.

A timeout from Loyola, and then, after they showed their look, a timeout from NMU. Fans kept waiting- but an exciting fourth & 2. NMU reached deep into their pocket- a CB blitz with Tidiane Wane, and NMU were not ready for it. Wane went, unblocked to the QB, and alongside interior pressure, the Celestia Freshman of the Year was sacked on 4th down. A turnover on downs that completely flipped the game. Wane did get an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for his celebration, but this was a rivalry game played in a conference championship setting- that kind of thing was bound to happen. But NMU had been struggling on offense. They had been trying to use the passing attack, and it had been unsuccessful. 9 first quarter offensive plays- 7 total yards of offense. Skylar was 3/6 passing, with 13 yards- she had taken a sack as well. Just two running plays all quarter. So backed up, they needed the O-Line to get it done.

And get it done, they did. Insane that Horton's first touch all game was in the second quarter, yes? But for a drive that started with a 1st & 14 at their own 4 yard line (thanks to the penalty), a handoff to Horton saw him run for 15 yards and a first down on the first play from scrimmage- changing things up. Rely on the run game, that launched a 6+ minute drive, over 80 yards in total length. While it ended in a field goal, NMU knew that they had something going for them- and when they forced a punt on Loyola's ensuing possession- they knew that they had found something. Another strong drive, but instead of kicking a field goal, a HB toss to Horace Horton saw a highlight reel spin move by him on a Loyola safety, en route to a 33 yard touchdown run. Game completely turned on its head- the Cougars went into the half with a 10-7, despite starting the quarter 2 yards away from being down 14-0.

"A low scoring, physical game, this is how we want it." McKendry told reporters at half. "Loyola's never been able to handle NMU in these physical games, and we're really ready to get after them." The third quarter started with back to back punts- NMU punting after a three & out, and then Loyola getting the ball, a singular first down, and having to punt. But DeColdest Carey, NMU's returner, had an excellent return- a 26 yard return that got NMU to the Loyola 46 yard line. A short field for NMU, and they took full advantage of it. Key plays on the drive? On a 3rd & 10, a 15 yard catch & run on a WR middle screen for Mark Lutt. And, of course, on a 4th & 1 at the Loyola 15 yard line, Horton running up the middle for a 6 yard gain, and a first down. But the critical part of this, was finishing the drive.

Banijan Radio Commentator wrote:It's second & goal here for NMU, from the Loyola 3 yard line. The Cougars lead by a score of 10-7, and desperately want to make this a 2 possession game. But nothing comes easy in the red zone. NMU breaks the huddle... And this is a curious formation. They've got Amy Skylar lined up at WR- with Horace Horton lined up in the shotgun, as the wildcat QB. Mark Lutt is in the slot, and both Heavenworth and Lancaster are lined up on each side of Horton, who's in the gun. The backup TE, Damarcus Koger, is in the game, on the line of scrimmage. What kind of trickeration do they have going on here? The ball is snapped to Horton, who is going to plow straight into the teeth of this defense- oh, but it's a jump pass! He reaches the LOS and jumps, and DaMarcus Koger is uncovered and WIDE open in the end zone for a TOUCHDOWN!

What a play! They had Loyola's defense all sorts of confused- a play they haven't ran all season! Talk about emptying the playbook- that's a touchdown pass for the former NSCF 32 Offensive Player of the Year! A perfectly executed jump pass, and the PAT is going to make the score 17-7, in favor of the Cougars!

A two possession lead for Northern Moravica- exactly where they want them. And for a lot of a big stretch of the remaining portion of the game, it was about field goal trading. A pair of three & outs led to a fairly decent drive for the Blue Thunder, that yielded a 54 yard field goal by Loyola kicker George Damien- a stunning kick. 17-10. Loyola's defense would stand tall, and then the Blue Thunder would go on another drive- but NMU defense was very much bend, but don't break. 2nd & 3 for Loyola from the NMU 25 yard line. Allin took an end zone shot on second down, McNair in single coverage against Tidiane Wane, but NMU's all-Celestia CB made a diving pass breakup. And on third down, NMU brought more than what Loyola could handle- 6 rushers against 5 blockers- and the NMU man to man defense held just long enough for NMU DT Jermaine Williams to get the sack. 4th & 8, Loyola was kicking again- and Damien sent it right down the middle. Over 11 and a half left in the fourth, Loyola had whittled NMU's lead down to four- from 17-7, to 17-13.

A spectacular ending we were prepared to see, right? NMU went back to its bread and butter- running the football. And a four minute drive, with heavy doses of Horton and Heavenworth both, yielded a field goal. 20-13 NMU, over 7 and a half minutes to play. Loyola getting the football. The type of scenario you dream about if you are Leslie Allin. But sometimes, it's all about the NMU defense. Although Allin had a 15 yard scramble on the drive's opening play, it was the NMU that would stand on its head. That next series, three straight incomplete passes for Allin- the NMU DBs blanketing the Loyola QB's options. Wane and Carey each recorded a pass deflection, while on 3rd down, Allin had to skip it to Feliciano because the coverage was so strong. Loyola punted, knowing they could be dooming themselves- but with 6 minutes left, what choice did they have?

"We knew that was our chance to bury the game, to win a freaking conference championship." Horton said after the game. "And we were gonna take it." Another methodical drive from NMU- mostly on the ground. Horton, especially, the star of the drive. Let's look at his play on the penultimate play of the drive. 3rd & 3 for NMU, at the Loyola 46 yard line. 2 and a half minutes left. Play-action to Heavenworth, and look for Horton over the middle- who had juked out Derder, the Loyola LB, and caught the ball. But that was only 10 yards up the field- Horton stiff-armed a safety, and was running down the sideline, dragging defenders. It took 4 defenders to finally take him down, but not until he had 20+ yards after the catch, getting to the Loyola 14 yard line. And then, Brianna Heavenworth called game- taking her off tackle run 14 yards into the end zone, untouched. 27-13, in favor of NMU.

Tidiane Wane did get an INT in the final minute to bring out victory formation for the Cougars, to ensure that Northern Moravica was the team celebrating. McKendry's first conference championship at NMU. Northern Moravica's first conference title in 6 seasons- and just their second since NSCF 24. Ninth overall. Tied for second all time, alongside Cold Hill, behind Utica who have 10. "What a win, what a team." McKendry said on stage, as the team celebrated. "This trophy is back where it belongs- in Herzegovina City. We're gonna have a hell of a time for the rest of the season, and we're going to savor this tonight. Let's celebrate!" A huge win, indeed.

A landmark moment for her tenure. Can she build on this? Here's to hoping. A tough non-con schedule is upcoming, with Raynor University, Mineral conference champions, scheduled to come to town for a night game in exactly one week's time. Both teams have clinched the postseason, but it's a game that'll go a long way in regards to seeding. And these are two teams that are becoming rapidly familiar with each other- this is the fourth year in a row where they play each other. In NSCF 31 & 33, they played regular season matchups in Valanora- Raynor won in NSCF 31, while NMU won last season. in NSCF 32, they faced each other in the Playoff Quarterfinals, and the Rockets triumphed over NMU.

Three years in a row in Valanora, and finally, Raynor U make the return trip to Herzegovina City. With that familiarity, it should make for an even more fascinating game. Which team will triumph? We will see, very, very soon.

NMU TE Horace Horton, sitting with the trophy in the locker room, smoking a victory cigar with DeColdest Carey

"Holy shit man, we won!" Horton exclaimed excitedly. It wasn't his best game. Not the games where he was just torching guys left and right. It was a much quieter game than usual- despite his 136 yards from scrimmage. Now, that was because Loyola was absolutely going all out to try and take him out of the game. Everybody knew, at this point, that the NMU offense ran through Horace Horton, although slowing him down was much easier said than done. 136 scrimmage yards was a decent return, all right, but not his best game by any means. 18 carries for 91 yards is a decent return- although take out the two big runs, for 33 yards and 15 yards, and he's just slogging at a 16 carries for 43 yards rate, less than 2 per carry.

And even receiving the ball- 10 targets, but just 3 receptions for 45 yards, including the 32 yard catch. But the best players in gridiron knew how to impact a game even when the gameplan was targeted on them, even when they weren't having their best game. Horton, every time they absolutely needed him to step up, did exactly that. In the second quarter, giving NMU a lead that they would never relinquish, with that 33 yard touchdown run. The blocking had all been there, he hit the hole with speed and purpose, and when he was one on one with the safety, he basically spun the safety out of his shoes. And then, even the 32 yard catch in the fourth quarter. Breaking tackles, dragging defenders- an absolute refusal to be brought down, in the biggest of moments, with a conference title on the line.

And then, of course, the jump pass. Loyola selling out to stop the run- a reasonable decision. The jump pass had been in the playbook all year- but McKendry had been saving it for a moment like this. The time came, and Horton was able to execute it perfectly. Nobody was ready for him to throw the ball, and Koger was just wide open. "This feels good, doesn't it." Carey told his star teammate. "We're the Celestia champs. We just stuffed Loyola into the mud. Forget about those bastards in blue- this is our year, it's all about us."

"Fortunately, we'll never have to hear their names again." Horton agreed. "And righting some wrongs. We've always been this conference's best team- hopefully this is just the start of re-gaining our dominance in the Celestia."

"Raynor next- a terrifying team." Carey said.

"No doubt." Horton said back. "But we might be the hottest team in this competition. Who wants to play us? We're in the playoffs, but seeding could be anywhere. If we beat Raynor, we've got the fast track to at least a top 8 seed- beat Tech as well, and a top 4 seed is possible."

"Hard to say." Carey started saying.

"Lock in man." Horton replied. "This is a legacy year for all of us. This trophy, is the start. But just the start- now that we've won it, we're dreaming way bigger than the conference."

by **Valanora** » Thu Oct 23, 2025 4:23 pm

Valanora Times
Turbulence

The Mineral Conference Championship Game was billed as a high scoring affair that would see two of the best offenses in all of the NSCF face off against each other for a second time, their first meeting in the middle of the season being an over eighty point shootout in the Empire's capital. Two teams that brought to the table quarterbacks that looked like they were the real deal and were about to be vying with one another for the right to claim the best up and coming signal caller in all of the NSCF. Each defense was supposed to be tested throughout the evening and likely be torn to shred by the pin point accuracy of the opposing gunslinger looking to drive their team up the field and into paydirt. However for all of the hype and hoopla made about these two explosive offenses who were lighting up the scoreboards all across the season as if it were going out of style, it seemed like no one shared with the respective defenses that they were supposed to roll over and play dead to allow for the coronation of these two highly touted and talented quarterbacks with their skilled offenses.

In Dhemixia, Craig Kelly is oft referred to by established media outlets as the possession philanthropist for the tendency that his teams have for turning the ball over, particularly in high intensity and pressure situations. There are few situations in the NSCF, outside of the playoffs of course, that are as much of a pressure cooker as playing in your conference championship game, especially as the underdog which UCP entered in as a three and a half point underdog as. Vanorians got to witness these manifestation come to life by the the Blue Jays in this highly pivotal game as Columbus-Prarie had eight drives during the game against the Rockets and three of those ended with points on the board, the other five ended up with UCP turning the ball over to the Rockets and ending their drive prematurely. It was truly something awestunning to witness how a team that had looked near on the level of the Rockets during the regular season, able to completely dominate the opposition when they were at home and execute just enough on the road to find a way to scrap their way to victories in three of the five away contests.

Larry Cunningham actually had alright stats at the final whistle, having gone twenty-seven of thirty-six for two hundred ninety-eight yards with a touchdown pass, which he connected with Michael Wallace for a seventeen yard score in the middle of the second quarter. However the three interceptions and one fumble lost from two fumbles forced by the Rockets defense and the negative thirty-five yards rushing with the four sacks by Raynor do tell a bit of the story. Kugonza Namungo had two sacks and one of those forced fumbles, with Noah Nur forcing the other fumble which was recovered by senior linebacker Luna Sommerseth. Isaiah Simmons IV, Donnie Hennessey, and Damba Kawumbi all had interceptions, with the latter sealing the game with thirty-seven seconds in the game when the Blue Jays were at midfield and attempting to drive for a game winning field goal. Cunningham apparently didn't see the corner lurking two steps behind the line and attempted a screen to Kabe Heaton which Kawumbi broke on and saw into his hands, falling to the ground after securing the catch to secure the Mineral Championship for the Rockets and a ticket to the postseason.

However for as good as the Rockets defense was, the offense was sputtering on the other side and Sidney Jones was having a difficult time escaping from the pressure as the Blue Jays were constantly pressuring the right side of the line, having either read the scouting report or having watched the tapes from the first game between the two sides. A shift in the game plan in the second half to fix what was not working, less trying to establish the run and less of the long developing pass plays, and the Rockets managed to get a bit of rhythm. Two ten plus play drives in the second half that both went over six minutes in possession and ended with scoring tosses, the first being a six yard toss to Storm Dybvik and the second a four yard fade to Kimberley Dread, the Chromatik wideout high pointing the ball and tapping both toes in the corner of the endzone to give the team a one point lead with a minute and five seconds left in the game. It had been a bit of a mess, with Jones finishing with only two hundred and five yards, along with the two touchdown scores, but the Rockets prevailed under the pressure to secure the victory nonetheless.

The pressure now turns up for the Rockets as they head into an out of conference schedule that is going to be nearly as challenging as simply heading into the playoffs right away, starting with the short trip across the sea to Banija to take on Northern Moravica. Both teams won their conference and already assured of making the playoffs and now they are simply jostling for seeding, something that by all accounts is going to be much more important for the Rockets compared to their Banijan counterparts. The Rockets (as well as the Raiders) seem to be quite reliant on the advantage of playing in front of their home crowd and this away trip to one of the elite teams in the NSCF and a fellow favorite for the NSCF crown this season will be a huge test. Will Sidney Jones and the rest of the offense be able to shake off the poor performance from the conference title game while the defense uses their dominant display to try and parley it into a championship level play. Both Rockets titles have come when the team has had the ability to come up big on the defense front and if this team can build off a suffocating performance against the Blue Jays into the out of conference and playoffs, a third might be on the call.

For their fellow Vanorians in the Raiders of Mar Sara Tech, they enter into the out of conference slate looking at a schedule that looks like it could hardly be more difficult if they tried and feeling that they have to have at least one win to have a chance at making the post season while a second one would go a long way towards ensuring that and might even put them on the edge of having a bye or home field advantage. They need those victories though they are entering into a three game stretch where they are only the favorite in one of those three game favorites, opening as a one and a half point favorite in their first game against the struggling Lava of Staramara Tech, though it is in Mar Sara. After that they travel to Ranoria to face off against an angry and motivated Richardson team, who just lost to Fluff State in their conference title game, before the rivalry game in the Battle of the Burning Sky against Sadeg State at home, though they are the underdogs there as well with the voodoo the Skyhawks seem to have over the team even when SSU is having an off season. The path ahead is difficult but nothing worth its rewards are not without its trials, of which this will definitely be one for the Raiders. Kirai Englefond will have to look a lot sharper than he has for most of the second half of the conference slate if the Raiders offense is to come out of second gear and give them the best opportunity to win in this gauntlet.

by **Chromatika** » Thu Oct 23, 2025 8:31 pm

Part 1: Predictions
Part 2: Blue Conference
Part 3: Green Conference
Part 4: Red Conference
Part 5: Elite Conferences

Chromatik High School Gridiron - Season Sixteen, Part 6: Conference Championship Games and Promotion/Relegation Round (Round of Sixteen)

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)
Season 15 Champions: Lanar High School (MVP: Kenneth Jordean-Johnson III

Conference Championship Games

Blue Conference
West Shantarr High School 65–17 Wirr Tsi School for the Gifted

Leena Kadian throws for 513 yards and five touchdowns, André Dujardin catching three of them, and the Scorpions made use of three Mastermind turnovers to dominate the Wirr Tsi School for the Gifted. It was a game for a single Quarter, but the Scorpions absolutely dominated the middle Quarters, scoring thirty-eight unanswered, to run away with the victory. The Scorpions look poised to make it back to the Elite Conferences.

Green Conference
City of Lorentine High School 37–24 Gurshan High School

Ariana Sadow led two Fourth Quarter drives to help the Wizards overcome the Drills' defense, Andrew Somme catching seven passes for 181 yards and both scores. Sadow, who has carried this team the entire season, was very precise in this matchup, and the defense held the Drills' rushing attack to just 191 yards and two scores. The Wizards will have to fight tooth and nail to qualify, but they might have the Quarterback to just pull that off.

Red Conference
Staramara Athletics Academy 34–12 Pùr Heights High School

Seth Gorello and Ryin Nakt combined for 314 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, the Rangers were held to four Field Goals, and Staramara Athletics Academy dominated time of possession 38 minutes to 22 to put away the Destroyers 34-12 to qualify for the Promotion/Relegation round. This vaunted rushing attack may be what finally catapults them to the Elite Conferences.

Black Conference
Lanar High School 37–20 Staramara Tech High School

Kenneth Jordean-Johnson III led four touchdown drives in the second half as the Rhinos overcame a ten point deficit to run away with the game in the second half, Anston Gainston being the target of eight of the catches for two touchdowns. The Battle Angels hung tough for a half - they were up 20-9 - but the Rhinos forced three turnovers, scored the four touchdowns, and absolutely took over. the defending champions have so many Seniors that they look rather primed for another run - and will have the top seeds to do that with.

White Conference
Cheonju Korean Institute 10–14 Vitoron School of Charge

Vivi Eliasen led the way with seventeen tackles in a spirited affair, Eyla Grotten found Maria Lura in the deep left corner of the end zone for the go-ahead score, and the Robots held Kirsi-Marja Sibelius to 219 yards and a lone score as Vitoron School of Charge won 14-10 to get the second seed in the Playoffs. It wasn't expected that the Robots' defense would be as stout, but they had a spirited effort. The Red Devils will have a chance to come back in the playoffs, but it was a reminder that they live and die by Sibelius.

# Conference                             Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 West Shantarr High School               11    9   2   366  180 +186 Conference Champions
2 Staramara Athletics Academy             11    8   3   229  147  +82 Conference Champions
3 City of Lorentine High School           11    8   3   267  214  +53 Conference Champions
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4 Wirr Tsi School for the Gifted          11    7   4   257  280  -23 Best Runner-Up
5 Pùr Heights High School                 11    6   5   269  275   -6
6 Gurshan High School                     11    6   5   187  199  -12

Playoff Seeding
1. Lanar High School (Black Conference Champions)
2. Vitoron School of Charge (White Conference Champions)
3. Cheonju Korean Institute (White Conference Runner-Up, Better Elite Conference Record)
4. Staramara Tech High School (Black Conference Runner-Up, Worse Elite Conference Record)
5. Mt. Niar High School (Black Conference Third Place, Better Elite Conference Record)
6. Capital District Academy (White Conference Third Place, Worse Elite Conference Record)
7. Urrhed High School (Black Conference Fourth Place, Better Elite Conference Record)
8. Franscesca Larriet-Cortes High School (White Conference Fourth Place, Worse Elite Conference Record)
9. West Omnio High School (White Conference Fifth Place, Better Elite Conference Record)
10. North Sanar High School (Black Conference Fifth Place, Worse Elite Conference Record)
11. Myana Northwestern High School (Black Conference Sixth Place, Better Elite Conference Record)
12. The Chromatik Institute (White Conference Sixth Place, Worse Elite Conference Record)
13. West Shantarr High School (Blue Conference Champion, Best Conference Champion)
14. Staramara Athletics Academy (Red Conference Champion, Second Best Conference Champion)
15. City of Lorentine High School (Green Conference Champion, Worst Conference Champion)
16. Wirr Tsi School for the Gifted (Best Conference Runner-Up)

Round of Sixteen (Promotion/Relegation Playoffs)

West Omnio High School 23–6 Wirr Tsi School for the Gifted
Coming off of that colossal defeat was too much for the Masterminds to handle. Adara Cueva was efficient, going 17-of-23 for 228 yards and two scores, and the defense forced two turnovers off of Jack Karline as the Spectral Monks held on to their spot in the Elite Conferences. The Masterminds folded after falling behind 10-0 in the First Quarter as West Omnio never had to struggle. They move on to the next round, being a dark horse.

North Sanar High School 18–6 City of Lorentine High School

For all the good that Ariana Sadow can do, it wasn't quite enough to overcome the Riflemen's defense. Leonard Crusenstolpe had two sacks and a forced fumble, Natanaël Chappuis had an interception, and North Sanar thoroughly dominated their opponents to maintain their spot in the Elite Conferences. The first step is over for North Sanar, and anything else that happens will just be gravy.

Myana Northwestern High School 23–14 Staramara Athletics Academy

In a classic matchup, Kacper Grenda had one of the best games of the year, finding Francine Brillard for 131 yards and a score as the Rangers' bid came to an end. Ryin Nakt and Seth Gorello had 171 yards on 31 carries, but held them to less than 100 yards of total offense in the second half. Surely this is the season that Myana Northwestern struggles to make a deep run, right?

The Chromatik Institute 15–34 West Shantarr High School

Every year, there's at least one of these upsets. West Shantarr had just hung sixty-five on Wirr Tsi School of the Gifted, so to see that offense continue to dominate was something else. Leena Kadian is playing some of her best football with four more touchdowns, and the defense was able to stymie Emmanuel de Silva to just two touchdowns. It's a tragic end for the Dread, but it was a long time coming.

Round of Twelve Draw

(5) Mt. Niar High School vs. (9) West Omnio High School
(6) Capital District Academy vs. (13) West Shantarr High School
(7) Urrhed High School vs. (10) North Sanar High School
(8) Franscesca Larriet-Cortes High School vs. (11) Myana Northwestern High School

Firehawks Dominate Gladiators to Win Horizon Conference

This was a "circle game" for the Firehawks. Cavsar had gotten the best of them in the last two matchups. Close, yes, but they had lost - both in the regular season matchup and in the playoffs last season. They had a game plan this time around - to move the pocket strategically to allow Nicolas Berg to have more time to throw, to have Freya Odinsdóttir line up wherever she wanted from the linebacking corps to confuse the opposition.

In front of a sold out crowd in Valanora, the Firehawks held the Gladiators to a total of 191 yards and a single Field Goal, Nicolas Berg went 21-of-30 for 317 yards and three touchdowns, and the Firehawks dominated the Gladiators 30-3 to return to being Horizon Conference Champions.

The tone was set early in the First Quarter as Freya sacked Brooklyn Beck on third down to force a punt on the initial drive. Berg immediately went to work, putting together an eleven-play, 79 yard drive with a pass to Pia Solem to take the lead. Though the Gladiators' defense clamped down after that, the Firehawks took a 13-3 lead into halftime.

Berg would find Colt Ateus and Nora Fauske for the other two scores as the Vanorian southpaw was ruthlessly efficient, but the true story was the Firehawks' defense. Freya was everywhere - two sacks and four tackles for loss, along with one interception - but it was the play of the secondary that was notable. Vera Éloit and Alexander Haugerud were tying up the Gladiator receivers, Jerome Hunter and Ash Wittemann patrolled the middle, and the Gladiators had to dink and dunk their way.

Four times, the Cavsar offense tried to go for it on Fourth Down - and it was stopped every time. By the end, some thought that Berg may be pulled - but Naia Curentino kept her Quarterback in. Muhoozi Kadindo had 76 of his 108 yards in the Fourth Quarter to run out the rest of the game, adding two more Field Goals.

"It was a complete effort that we've been looking for the entire season," explained Curentino, "To see them play this well before the most important part of our schedule proves that we are ready for it."

Mountain District is now qualified for the playoffs - but three ridiculous Out-of-Conference games await. First, they will play Big Eight Conference Champions Cold Hill before taking on Celestia Runner-Up Loyola-Istria, and finishing things off with Mineral Conference Champions Raynor.

What a win for this program - with so much more in front of them.

by **Dhemixia** » Thu Oct 23, 2025 8:34 pm

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Columbus Dominion(Est.1873)
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The Jigsaw Puzzle of Doom and Despair

Schedule

*blue indicates home games
~~Week 1: @ Fusa College~~ W 30-29
~~Week 2: BYE~~
~~Week 3: vs. UNSJJ~~ W 39-16
~~Week 4: @ Nowa Kalanianska~~ W 20-9
~~Week 5: vs. Mar Sara Tech~~ W 51-17
~~Week 6: @ Raynor~~ L 37-50
~~Week 7: vs. Trent State~~ W 44-23
~~Week 8: @ GCU~~ W 27-16
~~Week 9: vs. Prince Pieter's~~ W 29-20
~~Week 10: @ St. Paulus~~ L 14-25
~~Week 11: vs. Delino State~~ W 67-20
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~~CCG: vs. Raynor~~ L 13-14
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Non-conference play
Week 11: @ BYU (SPIT Bowl)
Week 12: vs. Fluff State
Week 13: @ Cavsar

That may have been the most whelming game in Blue Jays history. Wasn't particularly over- or under-, simply just a whelming game of football. This is very weird for the University of Columbus-Prairie to do.

If you have known Blue Jays football for more than five seconds, you'd know UC-Prairie doesn't exactly whelm the fans all the time. If you're a fan who isn't leaving the stadium either overwhelmed or underwhelmed, you're not truly experiencing the tragedy that is UCP. The Jays almost always either win as an underdog, win as the favorite, or lose as the favorite. It simply just doesn't feel right to walk into a stadium with everyone and their mothers expecting a loss and actually getting a loss.

Why is this, you may ask? Well, for the two possible scenarios (until this point), there's two answers to that question. If you're expecting a win or a loss and still get a win anyways, look no further than Larry "One time he shotgunned 8 consecutive beers in a Dhemmart parking lot at 2 in the morning and then made the team as a true freshman walk-on the next day anyways" Cunningham. The sophomore's played two seasons, and he's only ever lost to four teams including the playoffs, one of which just beat him for a second time in Raynor. Just two of those losses came in the regular season. Combine that with CunningHIM simply just being him at all waking hours and being a generational aura farmer, and yeah, no wonder he doesn't lose that often.

Then, there's the dark side. When you're expecting a win and get a loss, that's only the work of one man overpowering Larry.

You know his name by now.

Love him (nobody), hate him (everybody), Craig Kelly is behind the losses. As an unbelievably incompetent HC who it's a wonder has even stayed alive until now, he does an unbelievable amount of winning thanks to CunningHIM. Then again, it turns out when your head coach is nicknamed "The Possession Philanthropist", you're not really gonna be all too successful if Cunningham can't hold back the forces of braindead football.

And philanthropize possessions they did against the Rockets. In a game contesting the two highest-scoring offenses in the Mineral, Craig Kelly managed to give the ball away five times and still only lose the game by one point. Better yet, with an increasingly mid defense as the season goes on. Truly just remarkable stuff from the Possession Philanthropist.

The thing is though; Larry Cunningham just can't do any wrong. I mean, technically speaking he caused four turnovers on three interceptions, but we as a nation are going to ignore that because it's convenient to our collective narrative and instead file them under "team interceptions" and "team fumbles lost" on the stat sheet. There truly is nothing like statpadding is there.

The problem arises in the fact that Craig Kelly has to somehow reconstruct this team from nothingness. He's already used both of his get-out-of-jail-free cards on the earlier losses so as to not demoralize the entire team, and he's played himself into a situation where, when he absolutely needs his team to not fall apart, they do just that.

Here's the thing too: by "fall apart", this team practically disintegrates into dust mentally after a loss. With an OOC schedule like this, if the Jays want any shot at the playoffs, Craig Kelly absolutely has to pick up the pieces and rebuild this team (aside from Cunningham). Slight problem, the team's mentality just so happened to disintegrate into dust, and there are infinitely many dust-sized pieces for Craig Kelly to assemble in this jigsaw puzzle straight out of Balafre. The man doesn't even know what a jigsaw puzzle is and he has to metaphorically solve one to save his season. Welcome to the Craig Kelly Experience™.

by **Ranoria** » Thu Oct 23, 2025 9:14 pm

Metro Arena (150,000) Metropolon, Drawkland
Big 8 Championship

Derek Boss broke into a sprint just as the crowd's applause reached an apex, the same instant that Rio Good caught the ball over his shoulder on the sideline. Some guys he'd have laid off, avoid the unnecessary roughness after they went out of bounds. But Derek knew Good's game, knew the star tight end wouldn't give up on play until the whistle blew, or he stopped breathing.

He saw almost in slow motion as Rio Good cut inside and extended an arm to fend him off. But he was too high, the hand aimed for Derek's chest. And just before they collided, Derek changed levels like a wrestler and launched off his back foot, up into Good's ribs, and shot straight up to a standing position. If the impact itself wasn't enough, Good being carried all of eight feet into the air and launched higher for good measure did.

Good flailed in the air, trying to find the ground that wasn't there, and Derek got his bearings first, loaded up, and dove after him. He reached for the ball, but ended up just piledriving the tight end into the turf.

Flags flew, Derek pushed off the tight end's facemask to scramble to his feet and scream something incoherent as he pounded his own helmet.

Some boo'd, most cheered - be they Cold Hill fans or native Drawkians, they were ecstatic to see the superstar safety get his. Derek's brain shut out all of that on a dime though when someone pushed him from behind. He whipped around, swinging a closed fist at air, just barely missing the lineman, who was already being pulled back.

"You wanna let the devil out!?" Derek lunged, but was grabbed by his own teammates, who quickly realized that peeling him off was a taller order than they could handle as whistles cut through the frenzy, "You got it! Take a shot at the damn king, you better kill me!"

Derek finally stopped straining against the several arms that were holding him back here in the second quarter, up 14-20, and ripped off his helmet, steam drifting from his scalp as he panted and was guided towards the sideline with everyone else. He wasn't even sure what he was muttering as he took a knee, big ass hands gripping at rubber pellets of Metro Arena. His eyes tailed the ambulance as it backed onto the field, watched the stretcher get loaded on, and his heartbeat never slowed - its beat was literally visible in his exposed abs.

"I can't control it anymore," he practically snarled, standing to his feet and pulling his helmet on. "Monster."

When they took the field again, the safety trotted out, a relaxed pace, a slow clap, faintly registering several of the opposing linemen calling him out. His eyes stayed on Dex Banka. Stayed on him when he took his spot, stayed on him when the ball was snapped, and lit up when Giles Kansanoff forced him to roll out of the pocket. He was already moving by then of course, and for just a fraction of a second, their eyes locked.

Dex shifted back into some semblance of a pocket. Derek's neck lit up when a hand grabbed his facemask, but he kept running, even bringing one hand up to slam up into the helmet and knock it off his head. And in an instant, he knew that meant offsetting penalties at worst. No reason to peel back.

With a scream line a banshee, he launched himself at a Banka who'd thought he had more time, his hand smashing into the quarterback's facemask and diving through him, practically stiff arming the presumptive Big 8 MVP into the turf so hard that the two skidded a full two yards back, pellets spraying out of their trail. Derek didn't even try going after the ball. As feral as he was, even he knew the down would be repeated, and it didn't matter, because the Richardson sideline just feet to his side was storming the field. It wasn't long before the game devolved into a complete melee, the Richardson bench clearing out to go after Boss as his entire defense - even the semi-sentient ones - jumped to his defense, with Dex Banka's slow rising to his feet all but forgotten among the chaos.

Fluffication of the Eight:
Cold Hill Dominates Richardson In Messy Affair, Sees Three Players Leave Game

The Buffalo offense celebrates after pouring on a fourth quarter touchdown to put this thing to bed

Rivalries define college football, and these two teams have never liked each other, but what happened on Saturday Night in Metro Arena may have ignited a new generation's hatred. As Thomas Galstian continues his run as assistant head coach in preparation to take over next year, he has no doubts as to the importance of this rivalry...primarily thanks to the efforts of Derek Boss.

There's a very real conversation to be had that the best quarterback and the best player in the NSCF - in Banka and Boss - were on the field for this game. Well, at least half of it. After vicious, hit-of-the-year type plays on back to back snaps from Derek Boss, Banka left the game with a concussion, Boss was suspended, and tight end Rio Good left with a spinal injury for good measure. All just in the first half, a half that ended with the Governors down 14-20. With Banka having to be helped off the field, Derek having to be forced off, and Good being taken to the nearest hospital, the talent on both squads was immediately nuked in the second half, and it showed.

With Dhevon "The Answer" Thompson pressed into action, he was forced to burn his red shirt, and completed four of his first six passes, but after a big hit from linebacker Tom Zachariah, his efficiency tanked, and the Governors' pass-first offense with him. Thomas Romeijnsen and co, meanwhile, took delight in this, with the quarterback rolling out a career performance and four touchdown passes to take the field.

But really, that's not what anyone's talking about - the game? It was a blowout. Derek Boss is the one blowing up. Is he a dirty player? Should the NSCF suspend the practically feral safety for more than one game after his first half antics? And just what kind of impression did the presumptive future Grid Corps man make in his trip to Metropolon?

Regardless though - the Buffalo are now conference champions for the tenth time - tying Utica for the most ever, and in a much tougher Big 8 than anything Utica faced on that front. It's the second record they've tied - along with that for three NSCF titles - and, realistically, makes their case as the most successful program in NSCF history nearly indisputable.

Can they back it up with a record fourth title?

by **Drawkland** » Thu Oct 23, 2025 9:27 pm

"The Quebecois Guys"

The momentum only increased after the Drawk Corps U and Silver Coast State wins for Cavsar. The next two games would be some of the easiest on the schedule: Llangliff University and State University of Sinyal. It was the perfect opportunity for Scott Linhart to try and open up the offense with Brooklyn Beck. Back-to-back tuneup games seemed the perfect testing ground with the three Chromatik schools lurking afterwards. You can’t remain stagnant or one-dimensional against those squads.

Thus the Cavsar offense began experimenting over the next two weeks. Brooklyn got more designed read-options to increase her running chances, which had been netting a good amount of points already. Plus, after actively playing with the Cavsar offense for multiple games, Linhart and the OC Pascal Underwood now had a more accurate assessment of Brooklyn’s tendencies and favored targets in the passing game. Obviously Julian Gallagher was the primary target throughout, but Brooklyn was also finding the tight end Scotti Marlin pretty frequently.

The Gladiator offense proceeded to tear up the turf. Even on the road against Llangliff (the Grenadiers), Cavsar was not deterred. Brooklyn left no delusions of a trap game intact. If the three defensive turnovers (pick six by Steve Gordon, strip sack by Gil Ahn, and another pick from Karson House) weren’t enough to cement a big win for the Gladiators, Brooklyn’s 478 all-purpose yard performance and 5 TDs on the game would more than suffice. Julian got fed well for 2 scores and over a buck fifty receiving, and Brooklyn even scored on the ground with a read option run from 12 yards out.

It was a good old-fashioned asskicking. All said and done, Cavsar went 5-for-7 on two point conversions and Ted Carroll added 3 field goals for a final score of 61-26. That score was even less respectable going into the fourth quarter, but the Grenadiers added a few garbage time touchdowns to placate what was left of their home crowd. The Gladiators, meanwhile, headed home at a much more comfortable 3-1. One win ahead of both Sadeg State and Corps U at 2-2 each? You take those.

The next week against State University of Sinyal wasn’t as much of a ridiculous blowout, but it still turned out to be a comfortable win for Cavsar. The Coal Miners were another new addition to the expanded Horizon Conference, and they were going to have a tough time against the Gladiators regardless. Brooklyn’s offense wasn’t necessarily perfect in the first half, amounting to a couple of touchdowns with both two-pointers failed and another field goal right before halftime. But when your defense keeps the opponent out of the end zone for the entire first half, you can get away with starting a little slow.

Brooklyn woke up a bit more in the second half, leading four scoring drives (two of them touchdowns in the third quarter) to really put the game away. Ted Carroll also went for 3 field goals again over the course of the game, making this the third consecutive week and fourth overall kicking a trio of field goals through the uprights.

At this point the close loss to Sadeg State was starting to get buried. Yes, it was still a bit of an embarrassment and tough for Brooklyn’s legacy, or whatever. But a lot of the slander generated from the game – that Brooklyn wouldn’t be able to run the Cavsar offense on short notice, that the Gladiator defense was cooked, that Linhart had made a mistake bringing in Brooklyn – simply melted away over the past month. Cavsar wasn’t folding against inferior competition, and they beat a couple outside contenders rather convincingly.

That would all be put to the test over the next three weeks, however. Mountain District, Staramara Tech, and ZIT loomed in the Horizon, with two of those contests being on the road. If Cavsar had any notions of being as big a contender as last season, Brooklyn had to find a way to win this three-game series. With how she’d been playing the last few weeks, that wasn’t a total impossibility. She hadn’t faced a defense this good yet, though. How would this shake out?

Brooklyn had about a week to figure out the answer to that question herself. The game against State University of Sinyal had a noon kickoff, so her day was done early. She got a little antsy after she’d spent a few hours recovering at home after the game. A nap ate up part of the afternoon but left the evening with nothing to do. After some time watching a PBL game on TV, Brooklyn felt inadequate just sitting around for the rest of the night.

She decided to go look around the Cavsar student-athlete training facilities. So far she’d only been in the sections used by the football team, which were mostly isolated from the main training location. It was still a little soon after the game to be doing a workout or anything, but it’d be useful for future reference. Brooklyn was starting to feel like she was going to be rusty the next time she swung a bat, and with the PBL draft coming up, it’d be paramount for her to be locked back in by then. For a few minutes, she wondered how her initial rookieball assignment would handle her remaining NSCF commitments with Cavsar. That would be a battle for another day.

Eventually Brooklyn found the wing inhabited by the baseball team, which was mercifully empty by then. The pitching lanes and batting cages seemed functionally identical to the ones at Sadeg State, which was a plus. She was glad she remembered to bring her bat bags with her on the drive from Sadeg to Cavsar. It would be a good spot to continue working on her swing with a wood bat. The Eight Nations Shield went surprisingly well, but it would only be a matter of time until she was facing elite competition consistently. And if there’s anything Brooklyn didn’t want to do, it was spend too much time in the minors.

Once she felt appropriately oriented in the training facility, Brooklyn headed back to the house she was staying in. She’d walked, mostly because the walking path went past Roy Memorial Stadium. Even as a Skyhawk, Brooklyn secretly thought that the Cavsar football stadium looked nice from the outside. Of course, she convinced herself everybody inside were backwards morons to keep from appreciating it too much, but now she had no such limit. She’d always like Skyhawks Gridiron Park more, though.

Right before she was about to cross the road into the neighborhood, she heard a squeal of tires and some faint yelling on the other end of the stadium. Despite the fact that the sun had already gone down, Brooklyn was too curious to let that be. It was Cavsar, after all, there was rarely anything interesting happening there (including crime). When she heard another bout of a groaning car engine, she took off at a jog to inspect the commotion.

When she rounded the corner, Brooklyn stopped in her tracks. In front of her was a small two-door Drawkian pickup truck tied with a chain to a small military tank. Well, it was small by Drawkian standards. See, the Karmin-Falce Auto Bowl was a fixture in the NSCF postseason calendar which Cavsar had been invited to and won three separate times. The Ranorian company Karmin-Falce was famous for vehicle manufacturing, not just automobiles, but many war machines used by the Ranorian military. As a publicity stunt to increase bowl game viewership, Karmin-Falce started gifting decommissioned Karmin-Falce tanks to the champions of the Auto Bowl.

Over the years, Cavsar has procured three supposedly non-operational tanks thanks to their Auto Bowl wins. They weren’t terribly useful, especially because these tanks built for humans were untenably small for Drawkians. They became oversized trophies, with the first one going into the lobby of the athletic department, and the second going out front of the Cavsar ROTC building. When the Gladiators jetted home a third tank, university management had no idea what to do with it. That is, until some genius pointed out that it was undersized. Why not let the kids have fun with it?

Thus the playground in the park outside of Roy Memorial Stadium got a serious upgrade. The human-sized tank, stripped of most of its mechanical components and padded in certain areas, was rolled to the edge of the playground. It became an instant hit among the Drawkian grade schoolers coming to Gladiator games, as well as local families who lived near the stadium. Since then, other model versions of military surplus got added to the area, making quite a bizarre sight for the uninformed outsider.

None of that explained why the tank was currently chained to a pickup truck after sundown on a Saturday night. Brooklyn stepped closer, for some reason finding the voices familiar. Once she got to the edge of the playground proper it hit her.

“Gil? Steve?” Brooklyn called towards the tank and truck. “What are you guys doing out here?” It was the two Quebecois players on Cavsar’s defense, Gilligan Ahn and Steve Gordon.

“Whozat?” Steve’s head popped out of the tank hatch like a meerkat. “Oh! Ms. Beck! Just the woman I was hoping to see!”

“Me?” Brooklyn stepped into the pit of wood chips where the tank currently sat. She came up alongside the tank. At her full Drawkian height, she was almost eye level compared to the human Steve’s torso poking out of the ‘small’ tank.

“Eh? You said somethin’ about Brooklyn Beck?” Gil’s voice boomed from the front seat of the pickup truck. The hefty D-lineman shoved his head and shoulders out of the truck window, looking back to see Brooklyn standing there. “Now THAT’S a surprise!”

“What’s going on?” Brooklyn rapped her knuckles on the side of the tank. “Aren’t you all a little old to be playing in a kid’s playground?”

“This ain’t kid’s stuff to us, Ms. Beck!” Steve replied, tapping a finger on his temple. “Look at this beauty! A fine piece of machinery, sitting to rot in this little playground. We’re gonna give it new life! At least for the weekend.”

“Just the weekend?” Brooklyn cocked an eyebrow, turning her head when Gil spoke up.

“Yes ma’am!” Gil boomed from the truck. “We’ve got a rager planned tomorrow to celebrate our success so far in the season.”

“It’s a little early to be celebrating. Also what does that have to do with the tank?”

“It’s gonna be the perfect centerpiece.” Steve held his arms straight out, thumbs splayed to emulate a picture frame. “We got a bunch of room in our backyard. Can you say ‘conversation starter?’ We’ll be the talk of town!”

“And we’re gonna bring it back on Monday, right Steve?” Gil winked.

“Yeah, yeah, right. But we gotta GET it there first, y’know?”

“You’re just gonna tow it?” Brooklyn scoffed. “It’s a tank. Aren’t they stupidly heavy?”

“Of course they are. Do I look stupid to you?” Steve shook his head, smiling. “We crunched the numbers. Gil got one of these spacious Drawkian pickups. Looked up the towing capacity, and compared to this human machinery, it should be able to pull it. The weight difference isn’t that bad!”

“Then why isn’t it moving?!” Gil bellowed as his tires spun on another attempt. “We’ve been at it for a half hour already.”

“I told ya, buddy, I’m still looking to see if there’s an E-brake or somethin’ in here. If you’ll excuse me,” Steve said to Brooklyn before disappearing back into the tank.

“There really is nothing else to do in this town,” Brooklyn muttered to herself, but she did it with a chuckle forming in her chest. “Did you check to see if it was nailed down? I feel like they probably have it stuck to the ground somehow.”

“Now that’s an idea!” Steve popped out of the hatch again. “Hey Gil, get your toolbox out of the truck bed. You got a crowbar right?”

“Pretty sure I got it all.” Gil turned off the truck before jumping heavily to the grass and coming around to the truck’s toolbox. He grabbed several different implements and brought them over next to Brooklyn. He looked over at her expectantly.

“Do you need something?” Brooklyn asked with a quizzical look.

“Well, are ya gonna help or not?” Gil shoved his arms forward, presenting the tools to Brooklyn.

“Uh, I dunno about that.”

“Aw, c’mon!” Steve finally clambered out of the tank hatch. “Live a little!”

“Guys, if somebody catches you, you’re probably getting in big trouble. I already get ripped enough, I don’t need another incident-”

“You mean if somebody catches us,” Steve corrected, selecting a prybar and pressing it into Brooklyn’s hands. “And y’know we’ll be out of here way quicker if you help!”

Brooklyn saw that these idiots were clearly not giving it up anyway. She looked around. The park was deserted. The only lights were the faint city lights on the sidewalk, and the main road was around the bend so the area wasn’t easily seen. It was Cavsar’s campus on a weekend in the summer. It might as well have been a ghost town. After a moment’s hesitation, Brooklyn sighed and relented. “Okay, fine.”

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Gil said excitedly. “Now, what are we looking for?”

Eventually they found the bolts going through the treads which connected to the concrete pad below. After some digging in the wood chips and creative crowbar usage, the trio managed to pull the bolts free. Well, it was mostly Steve. Brooklyn was too tall and Gil too wide to fit underneath the tank with enough room to work the bars. Somehow they got all the bolts pulled out in less than a half hour.

Then came the moment of truth. Steve hopped back into the hatch, Gil turned his truck back on, and Brooklyn watched, bemused, from the figurative sideline. After a moment to hype himself (and his vehicle) back up, Gil let it rip. To everyone’s surprise, the tank budged. The truck’s tires started gaining traction instead of spinning freely. Slowly but surely, the tank rolled forward, its main gun hovering over the bed of Gil’s truck.

“No way!” Brooklyn couldn’t help but giggle. She hoped they wouldn’t get in trouble or anything, but she had to admit it was hilariously impressive. With some whoops and hollers, Gil navigated his truck and the trailing tank onto a service road, heading to a back road. Brooklyn could only hope he knew the way and wouldn’t cause a car wreck on the way. “Have fun at the party, guys!”

“Hey, you’ll be there!” Steve yelled from the hatch.

“Huh? I’m invited?” Brooklyn called back.

“Nah, you’re not invited. You’re coming. Big difference!” Steve replied, waving as the tank disappeared around the corner.

Brooklyn could just shake her head and smile, turning around to head back to her place. Maybe Cavsar wasn’t so boring after all.

by **NSCF** » Thu Oct 23, 2025 9:29 pm

Out of Conference - MD12

State University of Sinyal (SIN) 0–24 University of Aberstadt (KAT)

Université nationale de Saint-Jean-Jacques-sur-Mer (UNC) 19–0 Auraterran Naval Academy (EQA)

Trent State University (TJU) 24–13 University of Nordhammer (NKR)

Fusa College (AMN) 17–37 University of Loyola-Istria (BNJ)

New Cardonia International State (CAD) 47–27 Green City University (TJU)

LeBois Santura University (CAD) 29–12 Cavsar University (DRK)

Université du Saguenay (QUE) 54–37 Alexandria University (CAD)

Richardson University (RAN) 20–7 Islamic University of Busoga (BUS)

Mountain District University (CMT) 43–47 Cold Hill University (RAN)

University of Dietrich (RAN) 20–23 Z'ai'ai Institute of Technology (CMT)

Mar Sara Tech (VAL) 10–16 Staramara Tech University (CMT)

Northern Moravica University (BNJ) 38–17 Raynor University (VAL)

Sadeg State University (DRK) 48–20 Technical University of Holland (BAT)

Université St. Croix (QUE) 0–28 Drawk Corps University (DRK)

Bingham Young University (UTA) 16–33 University of Colombus-Prairie (DHE)

by **Banija** » Sat Oct 25, 2025 2:44 pm

NMU run riot as power running game leads the Cougars to a 38-17 victory over Raynor University

HERZEGOVINA CITY, MORAVICA- This is a team that has always, when it has been at its very best, used the run to set up the pass. They did this the best in the Apollo Esther/Wagner-Young days, when their stud HB and QB powered Northern Moravica to two NSCF Championship Game appearances in 3 years. And, of course, NMU's most recent title game appearance in NSCF 25. And this season, it has been a resurgence of the runing game, through Horace Horton and Brianna Heavenworth, that has brought them from the brink to a playoffs. This team, remember, started 1-3. But now, entering this first non-con game with a 7-3 record and a conference title in hand, they sit not only with a playoff berth all clinched- but they are chasing the ability to play a home playoff game.

Raynor University, naturally, are a tough opponent. Sidney Jones is one of, if not the singular, best QBs in the business. Most certainly, the best QB on NMU's schedule, conference or non-conference. They're the Mineral conference champions. They've got a top 3 scoring offense in the NSCF, averaging over 35 a game in conference play. And this is a very familiar opponent for NMU, as this is the fourth year in a row these two schools have played each other- although it is the first time the game has been played in Herzegovina City. "Look, it's two of just 4 conference champions playing each other here today in Herzegovina City." Said NMU's head coach, Hannah McKendry. "This has game of the week potential. This is a big game on our schedule- we want to measure ourselves, in out of conference play, against the best of the very best. This game... Is a measuring stick."

And well- this was a game that, while tight for a half, ended up exploding in the second half. And there is one reason why- it was the NMU running game, that simply blew up. Their two normal HBs, and even Linus Lancaster got in on the action. Let's take a look at the stats for each of them. Brianna Heavenworth- 23 carries for 138 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Horace Horton had 19 carries for 131 yards, and a touchdown himself. He also got a touchdown on his only reception of the day, a 7 yard touchdown catch on a key third & goal in the first half. Even Linus Lancaster got in on the fun- 8 carries for 55 yards, and a touchdown of his own- the 34 yarder in the 4th quarter that iced the contest. If you're doing the math, and got the other carries, that means...

Yes- this team ran for over 300 yards today in their contest against Raynor University. The time of possession was 38:14, and critically, no turnovers. Dominate time of possesion, your three HBs combine for over 300 yards on the ground, and 50 carries between them... It's gonna be a hell of a contest. "Look, our running game today was at its absolute peak- this is what we are capable of doing in our best games." Said Coach Hannah McKendry. "Wear down teams over the course of a game, keep Sidney Jones off the field, and just bury them. As a coach, I'm extremely happy with the win." Amy Skylar, the QB, had just 13 pass attempts, her fewest of the season. She completed 8 of them, for 76 yards and a score. Didn't do a lot, wasn't asked to do a lot, and it worked to perfection.

The first half was less about NMU, however, and all about how it was a back and forth game between two conference champions. The game couldn't have started any better for Raynor. NMU went three & out. Heavenworth had an 8 yard carry on first down, and then, Skylar threw two incomplete passes, on second & short, and third & short. Defense was ready for the early short yardage situation, and then Sidney Jones came out hot, ready to play. He marched his team down the field, getting those chunk yards, and keeping Raynor ahead of the sticks. The touchdown to cap the drive off was vintage- the play-action in the gun, rolling a few steps to the right- and then throwing a bomb towards the left front pylon. Jones is one of few college QBs to make that throw, and he delivered it perfectly. Carey was a step behind Kimberley Dread, who caught it inside the 5, and was tackled reaching into the end zone for a touchdown.

NMU went three & out again, and then Raynor got the ball back- really ready to drive a stake into NMU early. But, they went three & out as well, as heavy pressure from the right side of the O-Line really threw the Raynor QB off his game. But after that, it was the ground game for NMU that got going- and get going they did. A lot of Horton on the third drive, as he didn't get any touches on either of NMU's first two drives. 5 carries for 33 yards just on this possesion alone. But he wouldn't end it on the ground- on third & goal from the 7, Amy Skylar would take to the skies to look for him, and find him in the back of the end zone, as he brought in the slightly high throw, toe-tapping along the back sideline. He got both feet down, actually- could've been a catch on Sundays. But, 7-7, crowd getting into it.

Another defensive stop from NMU saw the team get going again, also reliant on the ground game. A lot of Heavenworth this time, as they churned across the 50 and into Raynor territory. A drive that stalled at the Raynor 30- and for nothing, too. No points, as they went wide on the field. But they had found something that was working. After forcing a punt, they had a long field, starting at their own 12. But a 12 play, 88 yard drive, that took over 6 minutes off the clock. was capped off by a HB toss to Horace Horton, who ran 13 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. Just like that, 14-7 NMU. Raynor did respond on the ensuing drive, getting the blocking fixed and letting Sidney Jones cook. Jones took it in on the ground, keeping it on the RPO, from 4 yards out, with just over 2 minutes left.

While NMU did kick a field goal to take the lead at halftime, it was a very tight game. NMU led, 17-14, but Raynor getting the ball back. What was looking like a potential shootout. But an adjustment, defensively, from NMU, turned the entire game in the second half. It was the right side of the Raynor O-Line that had struggled, in flashes, in the first half. Put all the pressure on them in half 2. Rostyslav Illich Kysil would basically live on a blitz, going straight at the Raynor RG- giving Kyle Turner, the star EDGE, many more one on one opportunities. And it was a plan that worked to perfection. Heavy pressure, the entire second half, throwing everything off for the Vanorians. As a team, they had 9 QB hits in the second half, including 3 sacks. Constant pressure threw off the timing, and basically ground one of the NSCF's most high-powered offenses down to a halt.

A nearly picture perfect second half on D- only allowing three points. Raynor did get the ball to start the half, and immediately went three & out- with Kysil getting that sack. But it was Raynor attempting to punt, that was the spark.

Banijan Radio Commentator wrote:Raynor is getting ready to punt, with a 4th & 9 from their own 48 yard line. Tough to punt here, especially since they had such great field position after the kick return- all the way to their own 46. But, it was the NMU D that stood tall. It's fourth down, DeColdest Carey is standing at his own 10 yard line- he, of course, is NMU's punt returner. The snap is good, we've got a push... AND IT'S BLOCKED! IT'S BLOCKED! COMPLETE CHAOS BACK THERE, AS IT LOCKED LIKE A DIVING KAGOCI NYOIKE GOT A HAND ON IT! There's a pileup, and it's not gonna matter, as Zawahir al-Tarabulus dives onto the football! A huge change- and the Cougars have completely flipped the field, what a play from their special teams!

A huge play, that gave them a short field- and potentially turned the game. It took the Cougars just four plays, and Brianna Heavenworth capped off the drive with a 15 yard touchdown run, to give Northern Moravica a 10 point lead. The momentum all on their side, crowd rocking, NMU had Raynor right where they wanted them. But, Raynor was always going to punch back- a little. Sidney Jones was still their QB. He led a solid drive, not allowing this game to get too out of hand, yet. He got them into FG range, and their kicker drilled one from 48, to make it a one score game again, 24-17. But NMU's offense was in a groove, and yet another long drive, powered by the run game. Keep pounding the ball, Raynor didn't have any answers- the O-Line just moved dudes off the football, getting huge holes for Horton & Heavenworth, as well as some for Linus Lancaster as well.

They got all the way down to the 1, where they faced a 4th & goal. No way McKendry is going to kick an 18 yard FG, right? You would be correct. Running game had worked all day. Hand it off to the power back, and she went flying over the top, landing in the end zone. Another touchdown for the Cougars, and Heavenworth's second of the day- extending their lead to 31-17, and showing no signs of letting up. NMU's defense, as we said earlier, had completely taken over from this point. Raynor is already a pass-first team, and being down two scores, the running game is abandoned entirely- as the defense consistently attacked the right side of the O-Line of Raynor U. Consistently, they got a ton of pressure on the QB, and just completely dominated the Raynor offense in the second half.

Meanwhile, their running game saw them score once more- this time, Linus Lancaster, the true freshman, with a 34 yard touchdown run. And that, folks ,was the game- 38-17. "A strong win today, I'm ecstatic about it." Said Horace Horton. "We wanted that conference title, and we got it- but we've shown the NSCF that we want more than just the Celestia. Not only do we want it- we are capable of it, and this kind of performance is a perfect showcase of that."

Up next, is Staramara Tech- who are 5-6, but a highly talented team that is surely desperate, as they try and make a late push for the final playoff spot. They kept their hopes alive by going to Valanora and knocking off the Red Raiders, in an upset, by a score of 16-10. "A good win, yes- but we've got another rivalry game coming up, and Tech are going to be ready for us." Amy Skylar, NMU's QB, told reporters. "I don't care what their record is- they've got playoff level talent, and that's absolutely a game that can come down to whoever has the ball last. We're gonna have to strap in, and put in all the work this week, so that we can send our seniors off, in their last ever regular season home game, properly."

Loyola-Istria head coach, Dennis Zervos, in the locker room, immediately following the team's road win over Fusa College

"Ok men, ok men!" He was yelling over the celebration, trying to get them to quiet down. "Look- I'm glad we won today. We played well. But- the focus turns. Remember who was here last year. So much of the success and failure of this season, will come down to how we finish. Remember last year?" Nobody said anything. "Oh yea- we were 9-2, conference champs- and we got our asses handed to us by both MDU and Richardson. Richardson then beat us again in the playoffs, for good measure." Silence. "Look- this is a good win. It's hard to win on the road in this competition, and we know that better than anybody. We're proud of our 4-2 road record this season. But we didn't come here to beat Fusa College."

"We've got back to back rivalry games." He continued. "First- Mountain District. We all know about this rivalry. It's a whiteout. It's senior night. They're 9-2, just like us- although unlike us, they're the reigning Horizon Conference champions. They've beaten us 6 games in a row." The silence continued, as we continued talking. "The worst part? We're barely fucking competitive against these bastards. Our last four games against them. NSCF 29- we lost 42-27, in the playoff quarterfinals. NSCF 30, they shut us out- 27-0. NSCF 32, they beat us 36-6. Last year, we were 9-2, our best team in years, senior QB, everything pointing towards revenge... And they beat us 39-13."

"Is this a team that plays with no freaking backbone?!?!"

"NO SIR!"

"Then we need to get fucking revenge! I'm sick of reading about how MDU owns us. I'm sick of reading how MDU is better than us in every way. They have no magic spells! They aren't better than us, man for man. And yet, year over year, they're beating us. Did Hudson Charles even throw an incomplete pass last year? I don't even know. But what I do know, repeatedly losing to MDU- THAT STOPS HERE!" The team cheered. "Every action you do over the next week- helps us beat MDU. Get enough sleep, every single day. Study when you're supposed to study. Be on time to practice. Physicality. We have the intangibles on our side this year- we've just got to prove it on the damn field. WHO ARE WE?"

"LOYOLA!" The team responded.

"And we're gonna show those bastards exactly what's coming. They've had their fun, beat us 6 in a row- but the tide is turning. Right here, no further- that streak stops, and at the Istria Lightning Yard next week, we're celebrating win #10!" The team cheered again.

"Break it down!" He yelled at his captains. He was sick of his piss-poor record against MDU. He knew that this was a game that they absolutely had to win- not for playoff purposes, but if they wanted to be seen as a team that could seriously compete for a NSCF Championship Game- you absolutely had to win your rivalry games, and beat the best teams in front of you- especially at home. It was time to rebuild Fortress Istria, and that would start against the Firehawks.

by **Andso Mangis** » Sat Oct 25, 2025 2:45 pm

We lost once again maybe weel win again
our try to reinvent the wheel and it'll hurt the way we feel

by **Chromatika** » Sun Oct 26, 2025 8:18 pm

Part 1: Predictions
Part 2: Blue Conference
Part 3: Green Conference
Part 4: Red Conference
Part 5: Elite Conferences
Part 6: Conference Championship Games and Promotion/Relegation Round (Round of Sixteen)

Chromatik High School Gridiron - Season Sixteen, Part 7: Round of Twelve and Quarterfinals

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)
Season 15 Champions: Lanar High School (MVP: Kenneth Jordean-Johnson III

Round of Twelve

Mt. Niar High School 54–19 West Omnio High School

Maas van der Voorde is a Senior this season for the Anacondas, and he's going to make this season count. Completing 78% of his passes for 415 yards and six touchdowns, the Southpaw Sniper connected with Esther Pott eleven times for 213 yards and three of those touchdowns to utterly dominate the Spectral Monks. Adara Cueva couldn't keep up after the first Quarter, and the pass rush of India Madrid and Nadzieja Zaruba couldn't really get to van der Voorde. Scoring thirty-five points in the middle two Quarters, the Anacondas pulled away and never looked back. They may truly be in position to make another run.

Capital District Academy 17–24 West Shantarr High School

Some thought that the Regiment's breakthrough season would continue in the postseason, but the Scorpions showed that a dual-QB system just wasn't it. Arkan Dwyer and Robert Justhaven both had the equal number of drives, but it was Aksel Welhaven that led the Regiment for 151 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Leena Kadian is doing a lot to show everyone that she might be the real deal in her Sophomore season. Finding both Arsenault and Dujardin in regular increments, Kadian also added sixty yards on the ground as the Scorpions became a true anomaly in reaching the National Quarterfinals from a non-Elite Conference.

Urrhed High School 30–16 North Sanar High School

Shinsato Katsu ran for 171 yards and two touchdowns, Izajasz Piekarski didn't commit a turnover, and the Sand Vipers outscore the Riflemen 14-3 in the second half to run away from North Sanar. Fradhe Rosenqvist did everything he could - going 16-of-23 with 223 yards and a score - but the Riflemen were held to three Field Goals and the Sand Vipers capitalized in that second half. They are the most unlikely school to make a deep run of the final eight, but don't let Piekarski hear that - they're hungry and hell bent on proving people wrong.

Franscesca Larriet-Cortes High School 26–6 Myana Northwestern High School

Any and all plans of Myana Northwestern making a run was squashed early in this game when Kacper Grenda went down with a hamstring injury. Having to turn to a Freshman Quarterback instead, the Martyr's defense clamped down and Vi Merrot did just enough to run away with the game. They had a ten point lead at halftime, but it never looked that close. Myana Northwestern's defense hung as tough as they could, but the Blue and White bowed out before the Quarterfinals - their worst finish in ages.

Final Bracket
(1) Lanar High School vs. (7) Urrhed High School
(4) Staramara Tech High School (5) Mt. Niar High School
(2) Vitoron School of Charge vs. (8) Franscesca Larriet-Cortes High School
(3) Cheonju Korean Institute vs. (11) West Shantarr High School

Quarterfinals
Lanar High School 16–7 Urrhed High School

Lanar High School had their choice of picks, and decided to take on the Sand Vipers. Why? Familiarity and scheme fit. Lanar loves to play tough defense and run the ball, but so do the Sand Vipers; the only difference is that the Rhinos are simply better at it. Ewan McGregor ran for 141 yards and the lone touchdown, while Oliver Branch nailed all three Field Goals from beyond forty yards. The Sand Vipers gave it their all - Piekarski didn't turn the ball over once again, Katsu ran hard, and the defense played tough - but three fourth downs were thwarted, and the Sand Vipers could not match the physicality. Lanar moves on to try to defend their title.

Vitoron School of Charge 37–17 Franscesca Larriet-Cortes High School

Why did Vitoron pick the Martyrs instead of the Scorpions? Once again, familiarity. Eyla Grotten spread the ball around to all three Wide Receivers - for 319 yards and three touchdowns - and the defense, led by Vivi Eliasen, held the Martyrs to just seventeen points. Vi Merrot was solid with 210 yards and two touchdowns, but with three turnovers in the second half, it wasn't enough for the Martyrs. Eyla Grotten can throw with both arms - she's a little more accurate with the left - and with the stable of receivers that they have, they might actually be able to win it all this time.

Cheonju Korean Institute 23–10 West Shantarr High School

The two higher seeds passing up on the Scorpions meant that the Red Devils were the ones facing West Shantarr. Kirsi-Marja Sibelius knew that this was the time to lock in after losing in the Conference Championship Game. With the game tied at halftime, the Red Devils' defense woke up. Jurica Handover had seven tackles and an interception in that second half, while Sibelius was 14-of-19 for 219 yards and thirteen points in that half. Sisko Haavisto and Helena Salonen remained the dynamic duo, and the Red Devils made it to the Semifinals for the first time in school history. Can Sibelius bring the Red Devils the glory?

Staramara Tech High School 53–40 Mt. Niar High School

Of course, Staramara Tech was left with Mt. Niar. However, did anyone see ninety-three points being scored? Modrico Stalla and Maas van der Voorde combined for 900 yards and eight touchdowns passing, the Anacondas' Quarterback doing a little more but Stalla having more help. This game was 24-24 at halftime, with both teams absolutely leading long, sustained drives. Then, Defensive Coordinator Cherry Edmonton started to blitz Willard Doha from the middle linebacker slot, and that was that. They did still give up sixteen points in the second half - two two-point conversions, too - but after that, they had a turnover and a fourth down stop. It's not like the Battle Angels to win this way, but the fact that they can proves that they still remain an absolute threat to the championship.

Semifinal Draw

(1) Lanar High School vs. (4) Staramara Tech High School
(2) Vitoron School of Charge vs. (3) Cheonju Korean Institute

Chromatik Roundup: Mountain District Slips, Staramara Tech Survives, and Is Z'ai'ai Institute of Technology the Hottest Team?

Of the three Chromatik Universities, which University would be rated at the top at the moment? Staramara Tech, obviously, would be last. They did take down Mar Sara Tech in Valanora on the road with Jair Lleyamana accounting for another 250 yards of offense, and their defense really clamped down in the second half, but the record speaks for itself. The fact that they are 5-6 is a testament to their will to not quit, but with the fact that so much remains on the line for the Lava still, it makes sense to put them at the lowest rung of the Chromatik ladder.

Which would you place at the top, though? Mountain District had a 9-1 record before they faced Cold Hill. Then, they dropped a barnburner, 43-47, with the Buffalo scoring on a last-minute drive. Nicolas Berg had a banner day with 415 yards and five touchdowns, but the defense gave up 47. Not the best when they're heading into another rivalry game, this time against Loyola-Istria.

On the other hand, Z'ai'ai Institute of Technology has won their seventh game in a row, this time 23-20 against the University of Dietrich. Saralynn Pomme's 54-yard catch with fifteen seconds left set up a Victoria Anderson game winner, and the Hellcats continued on. Darius Holliday went 21-of-29 for 318 yards and two scores, being 90% of the team's offense.

The Hellcats also have the better chance to win out between the two, but for now, it's the Firehawks that would be favored. They play the schedule they do for a reason - to truly test themselves before the playoffs - but sometimes, it can bite them.

Chromatika vs. Banija week. Hellcats taking on the Titans. Out-of-Conference Week 2 beckons.

by **Valanora** » Sun Oct 26, 2025 9:03 pm

The mood in Mar Sara following the recent Raiders game was downright sour, the fans and the team feeling the complete bitter taste of defeat, the second time the home ground had not been protected this season. It was a sloppy game that left the fans feeling like any real hope of making the playoffs had now slipped away from their team, they were most likely going to have to be content with whatever bowl game they were going to be awarded. It was only tumble in the long fall from grace for the Raiders, who have seen themselves eclipsed domestically by Raynor in popularity and success and have not seen true success in the NSCF outside those miraculous runs in eighteenth and thirty-second editions. Every single season they are sold the hope that they are among the blue bloods of the sport, that they are in the same elite company as the Rockets and the schools from Ranoria, Chromatika, and Banija and yet for all but two seasons it has been a lie that they collectively believe and try to will it to be true. Every single season that bitter taste of defeat and disappointment is like a toxic venom that slowly drips down, waiting to hit a critical mass to finally finish the team off.

A loss at home to a Starmara Tech side that had only managed four wins during their Horizon conference schedule is a look that will not get better with time and will reflect poorly on the team. It is a cloud that now hangs over the team like a storm that will not relent, a specter that will last to haunt the Raiders through any potential success they have in their remaining two out of conference games. The offense continues to sputter, only scoring ten points and failing to get a first down conversion in the second half of the contest with the Lava. Kirai Englefond was supposed to have hit his stride during the offseason and have come into this season as the best quarterback in the conference and yet only in the game against the Rockets, which was at home, did the Chromatik signal caller ever look as good as advertised. Even with a plethora of weapons around him, he continues to make bad reads and not progress through his routes quick enough, leading to bad passes and sacks. Instead of being the best quarterback in the conference, he is third at best and sixth at worst, a far cry from what was expected for the junior.

That specter looms ever larger as the Raiders prepare for their biggest trip of the season, a trip back down memory lane and to the days when the Vanorian schools were in the Big Eight and having to duel with the Ranorians for supremacy. Richardson awaits the Raiders and will be licking their chops after watching the game film from the way the Lava were able to completely shut down any offensive thrust the team had. If there is any chance that the Raiders are going to walk into Ranoria and escape with a win that might just give them a week's reprieve of being properly eliminated from playoff contention, it is on the back of a defense who despite allowing the Lava to move the ball was able to make stops when it mattered. The Governors are going to attempt to do the same thing, to lean on the team and use their physical advantages to their fullest and attempt to bully and wear down the defense through a war of attrition. Quincy Brown in the middle of that defensive line and Ochen Bugeza on the edge are going to be pivotal in stepping up and causing stops, keeping runners contained and forcing three and outs. If they can do that, maybe the offense will be able to figure itself out long enough to put enough points on the board to secure a much needed away win against on the competition's best teams. A loss all but eliminates them from playoff contention before the rivalry game with the Skyhawks.

Sidney Jones was sitting in the ice bath in the training room, blue and purple splotches spotted across her back and shoulders even the skin that was submerged beneath the icy water. The Moravica defense had pressured her and knocked her down a lot during that trip to Banija and she had the bruises to show for the effort of staying in the pocket and trying to find the open receiver. The bruises were not very pretty too look at but what was worse was the final score and the way that the home side had been able to run all over the Rockets defense as well as the way they completely terrorized the right side of the offensive line. She was merely hoping that she would not have to sit out the home game next weekend against Bitternea International University, it was the sort of game that would be a good bounce back after the thrashing they had just taken in Banija. While it would do very little to impress the voters for seeding purposes if they did go out and blow out the Rushmoris, it would at least boost the morale of the team before that last pivotal out of conference game against the rivals of Mountain District.

Andy Magnusson came over to the tub and leaned against the metal cylinder, looking at the heavy bruises on his quarterback. It was not a pretty sight and he wondered if maybe he should have pulled her from the game in the fourth quarter when it was clear that the game had gotten away from the team and they were not going to be able to snatch a victory from the Celestia champions. They needed a healthy Sidney Jones if they were going to be able to attempt a championship run this season and the Moravica game showed they were not quite ready for the punches the other blue bloods were going to be throwing their way once the playoffs began in a few weeks.

"You alright Sid, those bruises look like you went twelve rounds with a demon and lost."

There was a small laugh followed by a grimace from Jones in the tub. "I feel like I slipped off the platform and got run over by the train to school to be honest with you. Those Banijans hit hard. I'll be alright though, will take more than a few bruises to keep me down, I will be in practice ready for Bitternea tomorrow coach."

Andy knew the Chromatik was probably underselling the pain she was feeling but the medical staff had said it was nothing worse than bruises after a post game exam. "Alright, you be there, but you are in the non contact shirt tomorrow. Going to need you for the playoffs, can't risk you getting injured in practice after a game like that. See you tomorrow Sid and remember, non contact shirt!"

by **Quebec and Shingoryeo** » Sun Oct 26, 2025 9:13 pm

'Well, a shitty game was a shitty game, yes,' said Rodri 'RM' Milner as he started to exit the solemn game recap segment of his show. Admittedly the exit, which had only happened within three minutes of hourlong 'Sunday Sport' programming in his daily sports and entertainment show 'Bonk Tuah', was to be expected.

Nobody liked talking about the the Bleu et Blanc's atrocious 0-28 home loss against Drawk Corps University, one where every fan and media professional were too happy to throw endless debris into the field towards the end of the halftime, and then the end of the match. Each time this had happened, it took about a half an hour of staff cleaning up and the Joongyeong Metropolitan Police, a division that's specifically attached within the Royal Quebecois Police, having to calm down the audience, who all seemed very annoyed about a terrible home game performance that only confirmed the Joongyeongite public's skepticism surrounding Austin Bahng-Mason, whose later-half collapse was all too evident after a 5-0 start to kick off the spring football season.

'But such is life, Bahng-Mason has to answer these calls coming his way, and everything else,' he said, feeling a bit more solemn. 'He has to answer them in next two QIS seasons, and then also the next season. We aren't no Saguenay in how you know that Shotbolt looks more like a 20-year-old twink seemingly out of depth after coaching what's a pretty underwhelming defence as DC in first place. This doesn't mean that we can't hold our teams to accountability.'

He then sipped a cup of coffee, to now really switch the topic. 'That doesn't mean that we can't hold others accountable either. I say this, as I've seen on the Twi.Tur the other day, that there is a new piece of Banijan propaganda that's been popping up,' he said, noting to how often the Banijan public, for some reason, were great fans of two teams: Saguenay A&M Aggies and Southern Manitoba Trojans. Latter he didn't care for, considering how the USM have become irrelevant, but the cultic reputation the ASM had held over the years have left him on a bit of bristle edge. 'Jen, can you show me the video clip please?'

Justice Greenspan, MUTV wrote:'You see, Bertrand, you know where the Banijan schools actually have the edge over others? It's on our Greeks! You know just as well as anyone here that the Quebecois schools don't have Greek societies. Saguenay doesn't, St. Croix doesn't, and I doubt Iqaluit even allows single-family housings with how old it gets up there. Whereas we do! Istria's sunny, Istria's sandy, Istria has everything, and Herzegovina City's surely hilly and hype as fuck. That's why we got it going on in Celestia this year!'

Crowd chuckled at the end, only for them to go silent right as Rodri looked back in a dramatic pose. 'Well, you see guys. I've always found Justice Greenspan, a no-good BCSG commentator who still lives off his money from his work sixty years ago, to be frankly ridiculous. Guy doesn't know how to critique, guy doesn't know how to view how the game changes, and guy doesn't know how to address the actual issues affecting the game of football at hand,' he said, ramping up his annoyances. 'But now that this 90-year old boomer is ready to retire, to fucking run for the Governor of Aksum, he's saying even stupider things!'

'Look, I don't care if those dirty northerners at South Bend have Greeks. They don't, not with the way they pray all to the Golden Dome and the Touchdown Jesus, that entire school is just a golden version of Dirty Aggies anyway. But we? We? We? We have fucking colleges guys. We have 25 of them serving twenty-thousand, not just hundreds! Can we get our guys out please?'

And with that, twenty-five representatives of St. Croix's individual colleges, from Agrippa-le-Grand to Frederck-Sullivan, have come out in their Greek gowns and into the guests' table. The representatives, who were of varied age, programs and personalities, were awkward in the execution, almost colliding a few times before making their way into their arranged seats.

'Yes! These are our Greeks, the finest of the nation, the pride of Joongyeong. There's Arlene from Joongyeong, Devin from Devonshire, and Noureddine from Noel-Piaget. How are you doing today, guys?' he asked.

'Fucking good!' they answered, almost in unison.

'See? They have the rigour needed to prove that Greenspan doesn't know ball. Anybody wanna tell him so?' Rodri said.

'Greenspan you suck! Harry Kabuye will Maguire your ass for the Governor!' he said, noting how his Greenspan's opponent, a man in his 40s who was younger than him by 45 years, was polling well ahead of Greenspan.

'See, guys? He knows ball. In this place, we don't welcome them dirty Loyolans to fool around, we hit them back even harder,' Rodri shrugged. 'So for this occasion, we have some fun individual colleges to answer some St. Croix specific quizzes and pieces of trivia. Are you ready, kids?'

'Aye, aye, captain!' a loud roar was followed.

'Alright, let's get to it...'

by **Dhemixia** » Sun Oct 26, 2025 9:20 pm

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The Columbus Dominion(Est.1873)
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The Honestly Kinda Disappointing Amount of Pride that comes before The Fall

Schedule

*blue indicates home games
~~Week 1: @ Fusa College~~ W 30-29
~~Week 2: BYE~~
~~Week 3: vs. UNSJJ~~ W 39-16
~~Week 4: @ Nowa Kalanianska~~ W 20-9
~~Week 5: vs. Mar Sara Tech~~ W 51-17
~~Week 6: @ Raynor~~ L 37-50
~~Week 7: vs. Trent State~~ W 44-23
~~Week 8: @ GCU~~ W 27-16
~~Week 9: vs. Prince Pieter's~~ W 29-20
~~Week 10: @ St. Paulus~~ L 14-25
~~Week 11: vs. Delino State~~ W 67-20
------------
~~CCG: vs. Raynor~~ L 13-14
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Non-conference play
~~Week 11: @ BYU (SPIT Bowl)~~ W 33-16
Week 12: vs. Fluff State
Week 13: @ Cavsar

Picture this: It's the second week of OOC in NSCF, UCP is 8-2, having just lost the Mineral CCG, and now they have to play Cold Hill University. Your immediate question (if you paid any attention to UCP before their undefeated conference run en route to a #1 seed in the playoffs) is probably "Which cycle?". That's honestly a pretty fair and valid question, considering that Craig Kelly has found his way into this situation twice before already and he's just done it again. Once in NSCF 31, with a prompt loss to CHU that week, another time in NSCF 32, with another quick and painless loss, another time in NSCF 33 (they weren't 8-2 but they still lost to CHU somehow), and most likely a fourth loss incoming in NSCF 34. It's sad, really, to know that the Ranorians are actively trying to purge the forward pass from existence, in doing so have removed cornerbacks from their roster, and you're still 0-3 against them running the Crairg Raid with two generationally alcoholic and aura-collecting QBs.

As such, UC-Prairie social media, officials, and even players are begging Jays fans to show up against the Fluffalo. Sure, they just absolutely creamed their rival away, but in the eyes of the fans, that doesn't matter. Craig can't win thrice against CHU, why would he start now after four tries? It's hard to argue with their collective logic, too, because as much as the populace loves Cunningham, there's more interesting games that include Dhemixian quarterbacks playing against a Ranorian team afoot. Don't be surprised if more people in Dhemixia are watching the RFL in Week 13, considering how UC-Prairie LEGEND Jerry Atkinson has made the playoffs a second straight year with the Nashville Sabercats and has a chance to be the only Dhemixian player to win a playoff game this cycle. That is, of course, if "The Answer" doesn't end up getting there with the known game-blowers over there under Brad Manlio.

In direct contrast to "The Answer", this cycle "The Problem" is the fact that Craig Kelly is unable to beat Cold Hill at any point in existence. They'll always play and lose in a cycle where the Jays have won the CCG or have already had a statement win, both in the case of NSCF 33, but never before with none of the above. In theory, that's fine, but in practice, that's probably going to be what keeps UC-Prairie out of the playoffs if the Jays do end up missing this cycle for the first time since their maiden voyage in NSCF 29. The BYU away win doesn't really mean anything this time around with the dominance UCP has displayed the last few cycles, and their defib game at Cavsar is about the furthest thing from a guaranteed win to save their season possible. Yell and scream cavsux all you want, Brooklyn Beck is the only flaw with that team. Thus, if the Jays want even a shot at the playoffs, they have to win one of the next two. With how Craig Kelly is allergic to winning games that matter, BB's probably gonna find a way to Ricky Rat a win out in week 14, which means the time is now to lock one down. Craig Kelly will have to do something he's never done before to get his Jays to the sweet embrace of a first-round exit in the playoffs this cycle: fight his demons. No matter how much the Ranorians want to tell you that CHU is 0-3 against UCP, both teams are going to leave Brigantine Park at 0-4 if Craig Kelly can't find a way to stop his philanthropy of possessions for one week.

by **Ranoria** » Sun Oct 26, 2025 9:29 pm

RFL Season 8, The Playoff Thing

Playoff Bracket:

Ranoria City Silver: 13-3
Edmunton Eagles: 11-5

Fermete Marauders: 10-6
New Quebec Fighters: 9-7

Pittsburgh Ironmen: 12-4
Rouyoute Aurora Knights: 10-6

Ranorian Conference:
Apollotown Sabers: 12-4
Sierraville Farmers: 12-4

Madison Gladiators: 11-5
Ranoria City Falcons: 10-6

Nashville Sabercats: 11-5
Memphis Steamers: 10-6

Last time the Sabercats came to Nashville, it was downright nightmare fuel. Sarai Gwenderyn put up one of the most dominant games in RFL history as the Nashville Sabercats could only watch in horror as it got run up 81-30. The Sabercats fired their head coach Raphael Rio after the game - something that shocked Jerry Atkinson, who reportedly wasn't aware that head coaches could be fired, which made him question many things.

Regardless, he and his squad came in ready to play this time. New staff, new look offense. The Falcons, all in on winning a title with an aging quarterback and head coach, took the ball first, only for Sabercats / Krauts CB Akhello Volson to bat away a third down attempt to force a three and out. And Jerry Atkinson took advantage, letting Chromatik runner Terrace Peterman take a few handoffs up the gut behind their strong offensive line before he dropped back, panicked under pressure, and ripped a touchdown pass on a wild throw to big wideout Tank Conner. The Sabercats were slaying their demons. Righting past wrongs. At least for a few minutes.

The Falcons answered with three straight scoring drives, taking a 13-7 lead, then former DPOY Victoria Mio picked off Jerry Atkinson in the end zone to get Gwenedryn the ball back with thirty seconds left in the half.

Gwenderyn proceeded to connect on four straight throws, two down the seam, one out the sideline, and one in the back of the end zone to Constantina Perrier. That made it 20-7, but Jerry Atkinson wasn't giving up without a fight, answering with a second touchdown pass, this time from deep, to open the third quarter. The kid looked like he found his rhythm, but he immedietely lost it.

The Sabercats wouldn't score again - and the Falcons added ten more for good measure to put this thing far out of reach. But on the plus side, the Sabercats can now go look for a real head coach - which would be the first time Jerry Atkinson has ever had one of those in his life.

by **Drawkland** » Sun Oct 26, 2025 9:36 pm

"The Chromatik Triad"

It would be a little dramatic to say that the Drawkian schools dreaded this part of the Horizon Conference schedule, but it wasn't wholly inaccurate. The now three schools from Chromatika were going to be the toughest games in the conference schedule for the Drawkians. This season the difficulty was amped up, with all three games going in a row for each of the Drawkian teams including Cavsar. To make matters worse for the Gladiators, two of those three games were set to be away games this season.

“This is ridiculous.” Brooklyn said in one of the quarterback meetings. “We gotta play the Firehawks on the road and the wildcard Hellcats who look pretty good. The one game we get at home is against Staramara Tech who’s sucking anyway.”

“Is that going to make a difference for you on the field?” Offensive coordinator Pascal Underwood asked.

“No.” Brooklyn scowled. “Just another example of my rotten luck.”

As if this needed any more difficulty, Cavsar was getting dumped into the deep end immediately. That road game against the currently undefeated Firehawks was between the #1 and #2 in the Horizon. There would be no mercy in Felswyr. The institution formerly known as Felswyr State almost always had a fearsome offense which was liable to put up big points before you’ve even settled into the game.

Though Cavsar was a heavily offensive team similar to Mountain District, this didn’t mean they were entirely married to the passing game. Kenneth Lobo wasn’t a full workhorse type running back, but he’d been upping his workload each week. Meanwhile, Scott Linhart and Pascal Underwood had found more ways to fully utilize Brooklyn’s running ability in their offense, adding more option plays into the playbook. Linhart decided they were going to prioritize the rushing attack to shorten the game and reduce potential drives for Mountain District University. If they could avoid turning over the ball, they’d have an excellent chance at pulling off the upset. Easier said than done.

Far too quickly, the Gladiators arrived in Felswyr with Brooklyn among them and the pivotal conference matchup imminent. The plan to push the rushing attack may work to keep Mountain District from putting up too many points, but it could also result in the Cavsar offense not scoring as much as they were used to over the last couple weeks. In any case, Brooklyn would only have a few chances downfield over the course of the game. She had to make them count. At least her chemistry with Julian was improving every week, in more ways than one.

At least the Cavsar offense was executing their plan to perfection. Kenneth Lobo was getting a lot of carries, as well as Brooklyn pulling some herself for positive gain and David Dannel also having plenty of touches. The Cavsar defense was also playing pretty well, limiting Mountain District to just a pair of scores in the first half. Unfortunately, Cavsar’s touchdown (failed two-pointer) and two field goals weren’t enough to compare. The Gladiators trailed for the entire first half, and with the Firehawks getting the ball first in the third quarter, they had some digging out to do.

Cavsar got a lucky break coming out of halftime, though it was hard to celebrate about it. The Firehawks drove past midfield with little resistance, their offense not really slowing down until they got to the red zone. The Gladiator defense finally locked in, getting a couple pressures on freshman QB Nicolas Berg to force the drive to end short of a touchdown. Kicker Sean Robinson came on to extend MDU’s lead, and while he made the kick to reach the 12-17 score, he injured his kicking foot on the follow-through and was unavailable for the rest of the game.

With their kicker now out of the game and having no suitable backup beyond the punter, Mountain District was forced to go for it on fourth down instead of settling for field goals on multiple occasions in the second half. Even when they scored another touchdown to extend their lead, they were forced to go for two as it was the only sensible option. Of course, Berg managed to convert to bring the Firehawk total to 25, but it still wasn’t great to be limited on options late in the game.

All the while, Cavsar was slowly chipping away. They scored another touchdown (with another failed conversion due to MDU’s tough defense) and a field goal. By the time the Firehawks scored their touchdown in the fourth quarter, the score was 21-25. It put Brooklyn and the Gladiator offense in a tough spot as they got the ball back with a little over six minutes remaining on the clock. A four point deficit necessitated a touchdown. A field goal wouldn’t be a death sentence, but unless it came very quickly, the chances of Cavsar getting the ball back with any meaningful time left on the clock was minimal.

This was the type of situation where Brooklyn would enter The Zone. Little time left on the clock, utmost concentration and focus would be necessary. The chains had to move. The ball had to get into the end zone. Yet, when Brooklyn came onto the field, she didn’t feel that familiar buzz. There was a definite buzz coming from the Felswyr crowd, but not the familiar mental confines of her Zone. There wasn’t really time for Brooklyn to ponder that, however. She’d led clutch drives without it before.

Despite the best efforts of the Firehawk defense, Brooklyn and Kenneth Lobo gashed a couple big runs up the Firehawk front with the read option. A few quick passes from Brooklyn kept the defense on their heels. A few incompletions didn’t even phase the Cavsar attack. In fact, a couple of them were Brooklyn intentionally throwing the ball out of reach of a contested catch just to stop the clock rather than taking a sack.

Throughout this drive, Julian Gallagher was left empty-handed. Some plays he was bracketed, but other plays Brooklyn just didn’t look his way. This was intentional, but it wasn’t malicious. Scott Linhart knew that the MDU defense would make sure that Jules wouldn’t have enough room to make the big play against them. The more attention Brooklyn gave him during that final drive, the more likely MDU was to continue covering him closely. However, with every positive play happening on the ground or in the quick passing game, it soon felt wasteful to put multiple defenders on one player who wasn’t even getting the ball. The Firehawks couldn’t just let the Gladiators beat them underneath all the way into the end zone.

Cavsar reached the red zone in the first play coming out of the two-minute warning. Brooklyn pulled the ball on a read option for four yards on 3rd and Short to move the chains to the 18 yard line. With the clock temporarily stopped for the chain movement, Linhart signaled the play to Brooklyn. This was The Play that he’d held in his pocket all drive. With the Firehawk defense in disarray trying desperately to stop the underneath action, he was wagering this down would give the Gladiators the opening they needed.

It was a run-pass option play. Brooklyn made the arm signal to the hurry-up offense, ensuring everybody was on the same page. Since this was a bookmarked play going into the week and highlighted on the sideline before this drive, they all knew what it meant. Brooklyn didn’t have time to look at Julian, but she knew he’d be locked into this. When she surveyed the defense, she gritted her teeth. It looked like the opening would be there, but she’d only have a second to decide.

Brooklyn got the snap from shotgun. Lobo came from her side, arms open to cradle the ball if needed. This was an option, though. Brooklyn looked in the direction of the left end as if she were deciding to give or keep the ball on a run. In reality, she was evaluating the coverage on the left end of the field. The safety was drawing in for run support. Brooklyn grinned, pulling the ball away from Lobo’s hands and tapping the ball once for timing before launching a loopy touch pass to the left corner of the end zone … where Julian was waiting a step behind Vera Éloit. Julian went up for the pass, catching the high-point well above Éloit’s swatting hand. Toes dropped in bounds, and the crowd in the Roost was hushed. Cavsar had just taken the lead for the first time all night, a 27-25 scoreline.

The Gladiator offense jumped in quick celebration, but then hurried towards the point-after conversion line ahead of the end zone. Brooklyn held her two fingers up mostly by muscle memory – the Gladiator offense was quite used to going for two every time, as it was the default behavior. Cavsar making their first successful two-pointer of the night would force MDU to try for a touchdown on their final drive rather than a field goal, though with their kicker supposedly out for the rest of the game, they would likely be forced into that scenario.

This time the Firehawks had Julian clamped, and Brooklyn’s second read on the two-point play was similarly covered by the time she switched reads. Archer Allen beat his block on the outside to wrap up Brooklyn, the one Drawkian on the Firehawk roster coming in with the sack to kill the conversion. As suspected, though, Mountain District’s offense came out with a sense of urgency. They were going to try for the end zone to take the lead, but with a mere 90 seconds to do so, it was going to be tough.

It was too tough for the freshman quarterback. In his closest game of the season, a drive almost entirely on his shoulders, Nicolas Berg couldn’t match the moment. Playing softer prevent defense to avoid being beaten over top, Cavsar gave up a few too many yards underneath. Berg and the Firehawks got to the doorstep of the red zone, but with time continuing to wane and timeouts at a premium, throwing or running underneath was no longer an option. The throws had to be on the perimeter or in the end zone. On 2nd and 10, Berg ended the ballgame. Unfortunately his end zone throw wasn’t landing in a Firehawk’s hands, but bouncing off the hand of Hunter Driscoll before being snatched out of the air by Steve Gordon. The Quebecois went to the ground, arms raised in celebration as the crowd groaned. That was an interception, a touchback, and not enough timeouts to force Cavsar to do anything other than knee the ball.

Knee the ball Brooklyn did, and the Gladiators left Chromatika with their heads held high. That game put Cavsar ahead in the Horizon Conference, with the Gladiators now tied 5-1 with the Firehawks and holding the head-to-head advantage. Of course, the #1 spot did nothing compared to #2 as both would be going to the neutral site conference championship game in Valanora, but it was still nice to have the inside track. Ignore the fact that Cavsar’s chances of finishing the season undefeated were definitely lower than Mountain District’s.

On the flight from Iarokannet Bay back to Cavsar, Brooklyn woke from a nap. After scrolling through the notifications on her phone from the in-flight wifi, she decided she needed a little more social interaction. It seemed that most of the Gladiators on the plane were also in the middle of naps. Brooklyn slowly stood up from her seat and stepped down the aisle, feigning a bathroom trip while searching for someone to talk to. This was more difficult than it had been at Sadeg State, but that’s the difference between four years of interaction versus two months.

There was one set of eyes that were open, and it was a pair that Brooklyn knew well. She saw the dark curly hair of Julian Gallagher in a row by himself next to the window, and a moment later she met his gaze. Brooklyn decided this option was worth a shot.

“Hey,” Brooklyn murmured, stopping to lean into Julian’s row of seats. “Thanks again for that catch yesterday.”

“No problem.” Julian said nonchalantly, looking briefly back at his phone.

“It’s nice to be able to count on you again. I kinda missed that connection.” Brooklyn clicked her tongue. “Mind if I sit here for a few minutes? Bored out of my mind with everyone napping.”

“Sure,” Julian motioned to one of the seats next to him, closing his phone. “Missed that connection, huh?”

“Well, I just haven’t been able to depend on anybody else like that since high school,” Brooklyn admitted.

“Not even the divine’s gift to quarterbacks, Jace Phoenix?” Julian scoffed. “He wasn’t doing it for you?”

“He was good,” Brooklyn shrugged. “He just didn’t have that extra it-factor, though. You know?”

“Right, right.” Julian rolled his eyes, looking out of the window for a few moments. Brooklyn didn’t know where to take the conversation next, but thankfully it seemed that Julian had something else on his mind. “Hey, sorry if this is a bit weird, but you didn’t say anything to my girlfriend, did you?”

“Mandy? No, I didn’t say anything to her. I only ever talked to her at the karaoke bar the first time I met her. I’m not exactly going out of my way to interact with her, if that’s what you mean. Why?”

“Oh, nothing, nothing.” Julian shook his head, sticking his bottom lip out in thought. “She’s been kinda weird the last couple weeks. And she mentioned you a few times. Just struck me as odd. I don’t think she’d ever talked about you even when I told her that we kinda had a thing.”

“We didn’t have a thing.” Brooklyn raised her eyebrow.

“Well, yeah, obviously not. But you know, the history and all that,” Julian replied hastily. “But she insisted at the time that it didn’t bother her. But now it clearly is bothering her. And I’m wondering what changed.”

“I dunno, maybe physically meeting made a difference,” Brooklyn suggested. She thought back to her conversation at the bar. She was a little nasty, but she felt like Mandy had given her the stink eye first. It was only fair!

“Maybe. I dunno, she’s still being annoying about it.” Julian hesitated, wondering if he should be revealing this much, but realizing it was a bit too late for that anyhow. “I even reiterated to her that we were never an official thing and that I have zero interest in you like that anymore. But she seemed to just ignore that. I dunno if she just doesn’t fully trust me yet or once. Is that just a girl thing?”

“Uh, maybe. I guess.” Brooklyn wasn’t really sure if she was the best source for that kind of info. She was generally too busy with everything else to get involved in girl drama. Also, the phrase zero interest had just lodged itself in her brain and started echoing. “Some girls are just really jealous of their partner’s past love interests. It’s just the way it is, even if it’s not rational.”

“Gotcha, gotcha.” Julian dropped the topic from there, and the pair engaged in polite conversation before Brooklyn left to go to the restroom and return to her seat from there. It was fine, but again, that phrase zero interest kept repeating. It’s not like she was legitimately looking for anything with Julian … but had he really stopped caring for her that intently?

The next two weeks weren’t optimal for the Gladiators. They naturally took care of business at home against the ailing Lava of Staramara Tech, though it was a closer game than anybody at Roy Memorial would’ve liked. Brooklyn herself had a pair of touchdowns in the air (another to Julian for his total) and led the game-winning field goal drive midway through the fourth quarter (with the Gladiator defense finishing things off in the end).

That was all well and good, but that second away game, this time in Z’ai’ai, saw Cavsar’s luck finally run out. You may ask why a freakishly tall human receiver (who is still shorter than the average Drawkian high schooler) managed to “outjump” a fully Drawkian defense for three touchdowns and well over a buck fifty receiving yards. How does a team used to facing full Drawkian offenses half the year fold so hard to a human like that? Well, any researchers studying this topic could use Cavsar’s defensive performance in Week 9 as a baseline to start with. The result made little sense to those watching, but with Brooklyn only putting up one touchdown (plus Lobo another rushing TD) and a glut of field goals, the Hellcat offense was able to outpace for the home win.

The idea of sweeping the Chromatik slate was almost ridiculous going in, but after the upset against Mountain District, it felt much more in reach. To go back home to Cavsar with only a 2-1 record against the Chromatiks on the season was more of a disappointment under these circumstances. The silver lining, of course, is that Brooklyn and Cavsar were still in line to play in the conference championship, if they could win out or get a little help elsewhere. It was time for the home stretch of the Horizon Conference campaign.

NSCF 34 - Everything Thread

Brooklyn Beck (S7:E4)

Big Eight, Celestia: Conference Championships

Brooklyn Beck (S7:E5)

Brooklyn Beck (S7:E6)

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