S26 Preseason Breakdown With the S26 preseason in the books, let's take a look at how everyone's favorite franchise, the New York Silverbacks, performed!
Game 1
Berlin Fire Salamanders 34
New York Silverbacks 24
BER Player of the Game: QB Nick Kaepercolin @Highhaschdi - 16/35, 282 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT
First Quarter
Bad news - our pass defense came out flat
Game 2
New York Silverbacks 32
Arizona Outlaws 31
NYS Player of the Game: QB Sam Howitzer 18/32, 216 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
First Quarter
Bad news - defense still has some work to do, despite the timely stops.
Game 3
New York Silverbacks 21
San Jose SaberCats 10
NYS Player of the Game: QB Sam Howitzer 17/29, 301 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
First Quarter
Bad news - Offense was too inconsistent.
New York Silverbacks 24
BER Player of the Game: QB Nick Kaepercolin @Highhaschdi - 16/35, 282 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT
- Kaepercolin was on target early and often for the Fire Salamanders in the preseason debut. No picks, no fumbles, and very few mistakes overall. Both Matthews and Cash had 100+ yard games as the Berlin passing game was firing on all cylinders against us.
- Snyder caught everything thrown his way and did his best to carry our offense. He finished with a pair of touchdowns and 106 yards, which led the team. Really great start for one of our bigtime playmakers on the outside.
First Quarter
- Berlin got the scoring started with a short field goal by Karmichael Hunt @"simo_393" after our defense came up with a nice redzone stop. We answered with our first touchdown of the season when Sam Howitzer @Trautner found Harley Fank @Beebob for a 26 yard score. Unfortunately, that was our only lead of the afternoon and it was short-lived. At the end of the first quarter, Berlin retook the lead for good thanks to a 7 yard Dre Matthews @Confictional touchdown reception.
- Less than two minutes later, the Fire Salamanders added on another touchdown. This time it was Susan Cash @2Burkeulosis who caught a perfect pass from Kaepercolin, which gave Berlin a 17-7 lead. Our offense struggled in the following drives, but our defense was able to force another short field goal attempt by Hunt following an impressive Berlin drive. Trailing 20-7, we needed a score before halftime and Sean Snyder answered the bell. With less than four minutes before half, Sam Howitzer threw an absolute laser to Snyder who beat his man on an inside slant. Snyder found paydirt and we entered the half trailing 20-14.
- After some timely defense got us the ball back, we drove all the way inside the Berlin 10 yard line, aiming to take the lead halfway through the third quarter. Unfortunately, the Fire Salamanders kept us out of the endzone and we had to settle for a 19 yard field goal from Dougie Smalls @iseedoug . We cut the lead to 20-17, but really needed six there. Just four minutes later, Berlin went to their do-everything playmaker Joseph Petrongolo @Jo3fish5 who hauled in a short touchdown pass to extend the Berlin lead back to 10. Not to be outdone, we quickly answered with a touchdown of our own, thanks to the Howitzer-Snyder connection. The pair combined for another touchdown and we entered the fourth quarter trailing just three points, 27-24.
- The story of the fourth quarter was offensive frustration. We had numerous opportunities to take the lead, but we just couldn't string enough plays together to come away with points. Our defense, however, did their job and held Berlin scoreless through the first 12 minutes of the final period. Unfortunately, the Fire Salamanders broke through with just 2:28 left in the game and iced it with a 28 yard touchdown pass from Nick Kaepercolin. That extended their lead to 34-24 and that's how the game ended.
Bad news - our pass defense came out flat
Game 2
New York Silverbacks 32
Arizona Outlaws 31
NYS Player of the Game: QB Sam Howitzer 18/32, 216 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
- Howitzer bounced back in a big way to lead us to a huge upset over the Arizona Outlaws. He was effective, mistake-free, and threw the game winning touchdown pass with just seven minutes left in the game. 5 TD and 2 picks for our signal caller through the first two preseason games.
- Cue was fantastic for the Outlaws in this one. He finished with 417 total yards, 3 combined touchdowns, and only one interception. He did everything he could to drag the lackluster defense to victory, but it just wasn't quite enough for Arizona.
First Quarter
- After some back and forth punting for the first eight minutes of the game, the fireworks started. Jay Cue put the Outlaws up 7-0 with a 24 yard touchdown pass to Taro Raimon @xTri. We answered just just two minutes later when Sean Snyder continued his endzone extravaganza when he caught a 17 yarder from Sam Howitzer. With the game tied, we turned to our defense to get us a stop and they did that and then some. Jayson Kearse @JaytheGreat sacked Jay Cue for a safety, giving us a 9-7 lead. This is unverified, but I believe this might've been the first Jay on Jay safety in league history.
- In the second quarter, new Silverback Captain Rogers @TeyonSchavari found paydirt for the first time, thanks to a three yard run. That gave us a 16-7 lead, but the Outlaws answered back with a short field goal by J.J. Jay-Jaymison @DGarrett32. We weren't able to tack on any more points after this field goal, but we did take a 16-10 lead into the break. Our defense was definitely the story of the first half, as we held the high-powered Outlaws to just 10 points in the first thirty minutes.
- Our defense again held the Outlaws out of the endzone to start the second half, but they moved the ball enough to get into field goal range for Jaymison. He nailed a 44 yarder which cut our lead to 16-13. Luckily, Dougie Smalls answered right back with a field goal of his own and we pushed the lead back out to 19-13 with just 49 seconds left in the third quarter. In a stunning turn of events, Arizona needed just 32 seconds to drive down the field following the field goal and find the endzone. Cue again found Raimon for a score from 17 yards out and the Outlaws took a 20-19 lead into the final 15 minutes.
- Arizona's lead didn't last long, thanks to Ashley Owens' @run_CMC 1 yard touchdown run. That gave us a 25-20 lead and we hoped to soon put the game out of reach for Arizona. The Outlaws had other plans, however, and matched our touchdown with one of their own. Jay Cue scrambled for a two yard touchdown and Arizona took a 28-25 lead, thanks to a successful two-point conversion. Trailing by three and needing a score, we turned to our offensive leader Sam Howitzer who was money all game. Howitzer connected with his favorite target this preseason, Sean Snyder, for yet another touchdown. That score gave us a 32-28 lead with just 6:45 left in the game as we turned the game over to our defense. Unlike the Berlin game, our defense got us the stops when we needed them and held the Outlaws to just a field goal in the final six minutes, sealing the 32-31 upset victory for us.
Bad news - defense still has some work to do, despite the timely stops.
Game 3
New York Silverbacks 21
San Jose SaberCats 10
NYS Player of the Game: QB Sam Howitzer 17/29, 301 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
- Howitzer came out on fire for the second straight game. 300+ yards, 2+ scores, and 0 turnovers is always a recipe for success, which was the story against the two-time defending Ultimus Champions. Nice to string together back to back wins for New York in the preseason.
- It was an ugly day for the San Jose offense, but Cardrissian managed to find the endzone. He finished with 57 total yards plus his touchdown.
First Quarter
- We got out to a hot start right off the bat and put this game to bed early. Jackson Kingston @Daybe caught his first touchdown of the preseason from seven yards out to start the scoring. After some nice defensive stops, our offense got the ball back and did not waste the opportunity. Following an impressive drive, Ashley Owens punched it in from two yards out, which pushed our lead out to 14-0. Little did we know, those 14 points would end up being enough to get the victory.
- As exciting as the first quarter was for offense, the second period was just as boring. No touchdowns, no big plays, only one field goal. The lone points came off the right foot of Matthew McDairmid @Matty7478 who booted a 22 yard field goal. That's all she wrote for the second quarter and we took a 14-3 lead into the halftime break.
- Our offense had another slow quarter, gaining yards but unable to convert any drives into points. San Jose made things interesting with a Rando Cardrissian four yard touchdown which gave them a nifty 10-0 run. They cut our lead to 14-10 and more than a few Silverbacks fans began to nervously pace in front of their television sets. That's how the third quarter ended as we try to hold on against the champs.
- Defense came up big time after time in the early part of the final quarter, consistently cutting San Jose's drives short. After some failed drives of our own, we finally put the game to bed thanks to an Ashley Owens receiving touchdown from QB Sam Howitzer. Owens made a twisting catch by the pylon and barely drug the second foot to seal the 21-10 victory over the SaberCats.
Bad news - Offense was too inconsistent.
Game 4
New Orleans Second Line 20
New York Silverbacks 14
NO Player of the Game: QB Ben Slothlisberger @slothfacekilla 24/44, 258 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
- Slothlisberger finished the day with a pair of touchdowns, no turnovers, and did just enough to get the victory over everyone's favorite ISFL franchise. With performances like this moving forward, New Orleans could be in for a long, postseason run this year.
- Owens flashed the all-around skillset that jumped off the screen last year with this 133 total yard performance. Between this week and the Week 3 victory, Owens has really started to get rolling. Peaking at the perfect time as we head into the opening week of the regular season.
First Quarter
- New Orleans got the scoring started, thanks to a two yard connection between Slothlisberger and elite WR Ed Barker @Wombat. They had that 7-0 lead for less than five minutes as our offense shook off a semi-slow start and got on the board. Jackson Kingston caught another touchdown, this time from 13 yards out to tie the game at 7-7. Our defense took care of the rest of the first quarter, stopping any chances of a quick New Orleans score. The 7-7 score held as we headed to the second quarter.
- Offense continued to play well and we found the endzone yet again. This time, Ashley Owens scored from four yards out, which gave us our first lead of the game at 14-7. The Second Line got the ball back with less than four minutes and it was paramount that our defense hold them out of the endzone until intermission. Despite a long drive, our defense forced a 32 yard field goal from Lefty Louis @lewislewes and the halftime score was 14-10.
- Our offense really struggled after halftime and we wasted numerous opportunities to extend the lead. New Orleans' offense, on the other hand, came out on a mission to end the preseason with a victory. The Second Line took a 17-14 lead late in the third quarter, thanks to an acrobatic catch and run by Marcella Toriki @bex from nine yards out. That TD was scored with just two minutes left in the third and we simply couldn't get anything going before the clocks hit zero.
- We trailed by just three points at the start of the fourth quarter, but just didn't play well enough in the final 15 minutes to win. Our defense only allowed a 27 yard field goal by Louis, but couldn't get off the field soon enough or force any big turnovers to give us a chance. The offense, maybe looking ahead to Week 1, didn't play well in the fourth quarter either, scoring a grand total of zero points. The game ended with a Second Line victory, 20-14.
Bad news: More inconsistent offense in the second half
Final record: 2-2
All in all it was a solid preseason campaign for us with a lot of positives to take into the regular season. We need to clean up some offensive inconsistencies, but I think we've got more than enough playmakers on O to have a very competitive season. Defense was good for the most part, but needs to do a better job forcing turnovers and giving our offense a short field.
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