That Magic Moment (414 words)
The Ultimus. While some playoff games may be forgotten, every championship is written into the record books forever. And that means that the Philadelphia Liberty’s final drive, and final play, of the season 6 Ultimus will forever live in infamy.
The Liberty had gotten the ball back at their own 28 with 4:56 to go in the fourth quarter, down by 6. They needed a touchdown and extra point to win it. 2 consecutive passes to Garden got them quickly across midfield to the 48. After a few runs, a huge pass to North got the Liberty down to the 5 yard line. First and goal. Then, a perplexing call: quarterback Tyler Oles, with timeouts to spare, spiked the ball. Second and goal. A pass over the middle to legendary tight end Dimirio is batted away. Third and goal. Three receivers to the left side. The ball is snapped, and Oles passes it to Josh Garden behind the line on the wide receiver screen! Garden moves quickly - he fakes out a cornerback who got past his blockers and moves for the sideline; he dives towards the pylon! ...he doesn’t make it. He’s marked out at the half yard line. 4th and goal. One last chance to score.... that spike is really hurting now. The silence in the stadium is deafening. Liberty and Otters fans alike watch in stunned anticipation. The Philadelphia offense lines up one more time. The ball is snapped - it’s a blitz! Single man coverage on the two receivers! North is covered well but Garden pulls a devastating fake towards the outside and cuts in on the slant. He’s got several steps on the cornerback in coverage and Oles throws his way! The pigskin hits Garden’s hands and it!.......it passes through. The ball tumbles unceremoniously to the back of the endzone, where it comes to a stop. The stadium erupts with cheers as the Otters earn their third consecutive ring. Garden stands in the endzone, shoulders slumped, oblivious to the celebrating Otters players. Slowly, he turns and looks at Tyler Oles. His face shows no sadness, no anger. Only confusion. Disbelief.
Josh Garden is an elite wide receiver. That cannot be denied. But the magnitude of his drop will live with him, and Philly fans everywhere, for years to come. To come so far as the Ultimus is an unbelievable achievement. For it to end so trivially is equally unbelievable. Unforgettable. And for fans of the Orange County Otters: magical.
Playoff Review (263 words)
The DSFL post season was full of exciting games. Let’s talk about them! The first matchup was the Southern Football Conference championship: the Tijuana Luchadores at the San Antonio Marshals. The Luchadore defense really stepped up, scoring a safety and pick 6 in the second quarter! However, this would end up amounting to 8 of their 11 total points (they later got a field goal, and had missed the extra point after the interception return). The Marshals quarterbacks would combine for 229 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Meanwhile, the team racked up an impressive 211 yards on the ground (but no rushing touchdowns).
Over in the Northern Football Conference championship, the 8-6 Kansas City Coyotes upset the reigning NFC champs, the 10-4 Portland Pythons, winning 24-17. Although runningback Borro Gore’s team didn’t win, his performance should be noted: 97 yards on the ground and 105 yards through the air makes a huge 202 yards from scrimmage.
And then there was the Ultimini... San Antonio at Kansas City. Both offenses centered around mobile quarterbacks and the spread. The game was intense from the beginning. On the Marshals first drive, their punt was blocked and left the Coyotes with great field position that aided them to a touchdown. At the half, it was 13-6, Coyotes up. However, the Marshals were able to score 17 points in the second half (14 of which were in the 4th quarterback), while holding Kansas City to none. The victory was sealed with Willy Nyquist’s 80 yard touchdown sprint. The San Antonio Marshals are your Season 6 DSFL champions!
Playoff Series MVP (212 words)
The ASFC Conference championship was a very tight game, which is why this player’s statline and contributions to his team are even more significant than they appear on paper: Otters free safety Ian Bavitz racked up ten tackles, three sacks and a safety in the fourth quarter that put Orange County up by seven points. His tackles came in key situations: as most safeties often do, he was preventing big plays from going on the way for touchdowns on a day when the Otters elite defense was a bit shakier and more porous than normal. For example, he had tackles on San Jose runningback Darren Smallwood that kept long first down runs to just 8 or 9 yards (instead of much longer) multiple times in the game (mostly in the second quarter, for whatever reason). Furthermore, even if his stats don’t show exemplary pass defense, it’s because his pass defense was so good during the first quarter that Orosz’s volume to whoever Bavitz was covering decreased significantly. Long story short, Bavitz played spectacularly. His performance wasn’t always notable in the regular season, but in this game against the Sabercats, it was both notable, and crucial to their victory, and required for them to reach the Ultimus, where they’d go on to threepeat.
Unsung Hero (276 words)
You should already know I’m about to write about a kicker. Which kicker you ask? The one... the only... the GOATly.... Brian “Steal-yo-girl” Madlad. The thing about Madlad is that his punting kind of sucks. The other thing about Madlad is that his kicking is downright sensual. When other kickers kick extra points, you in the back of your mind know “they might fuckin miss it”. But with Brian Madlad you don’t even consider this possibility. AFC Championship game: Iyah Blewitt made 3 field goals and 2 extra points, but missed his first extra point attempt in the game, leaving the Cats at 9-10 instead of all tied up. Brian Madlad? He’s successful on all six of his kicks that night. Season 6 Ultimus: Stephen Harris is good on a 46 yarder early in the first quarter and his 2 extra point attempts, but isn’t given the chance to try several opportunities that’d be from 50 plus. Brian Madlad? He fuckin drains a 55 yarder. Right down the center, several yards to spare. If he missed that kick, they’d end up being up by just 3 at the end of the game, and Harris would’ve had a 20 yarder to head to overtime. But instead, that kick ended up giving Josh “The Bust” Garden a chance to drop it in the endzone. Brian Madlad is not just underrated, but possibly the most underrated player in the playoffs this past season. And that’s even if you think he was the league’s best kicker. That’s still not properly representative of his greatness. Brian Madlad. The MVP of the S6 playoffs - and possibly the regular season too.
The Ultimus. While some playoff games may be forgotten, every championship is written into the record books forever. And that means that the Philadelphia Liberty’s final drive, and final play, of the season 6 Ultimus will forever live in infamy.
The Liberty had gotten the ball back at their own 28 with 4:56 to go in the fourth quarter, down by 6. They needed a touchdown and extra point to win it. 2 consecutive passes to Garden got them quickly across midfield to the 48. After a few runs, a huge pass to North got the Liberty down to the 5 yard line. First and goal. Then, a perplexing call: quarterback Tyler Oles, with timeouts to spare, spiked the ball. Second and goal. A pass over the middle to legendary tight end Dimirio is batted away. Third and goal. Three receivers to the left side. The ball is snapped, and Oles passes it to Josh Garden behind the line on the wide receiver screen! Garden moves quickly - he fakes out a cornerback who got past his blockers and moves for the sideline; he dives towards the pylon! ...he doesn’t make it. He’s marked out at the half yard line. 4th and goal. One last chance to score.... that spike is really hurting now. The silence in the stadium is deafening. Liberty and Otters fans alike watch in stunned anticipation. The Philadelphia offense lines up one more time. The ball is snapped - it’s a blitz! Single man coverage on the two receivers! North is covered well but Garden pulls a devastating fake towards the outside and cuts in on the slant. He’s got several steps on the cornerback in coverage and Oles throws his way! The pigskin hits Garden’s hands and it!.......it passes through. The ball tumbles unceremoniously to the back of the endzone, where it comes to a stop. The stadium erupts with cheers as the Otters earn their third consecutive ring. Garden stands in the endzone, shoulders slumped, oblivious to the celebrating Otters players. Slowly, he turns and looks at Tyler Oles. His face shows no sadness, no anger. Only confusion. Disbelief.
Josh Garden is an elite wide receiver. That cannot be denied. But the magnitude of his drop will live with him, and Philly fans everywhere, for years to come. To come so far as the Ultimus is an unbelievable achievement. For it to end so trivially is equally unbelievable. Unforgettable. And for fans of the Orange County Otters: magical.
Playoff Review (263 words)
The DSFL post season was full of exciting games. Let’s talk about them! The first matchup was the Southern Football Conference championship: the Tijuana Luchadores at the San Antonio Marshals. The Luchadore defense really stepped up, scoring a safety and pick 6 in the second quarter! However, this would end up amounting to 8 of their 11 total points (they later got a field goal, and had missed the extra point after the interception return). The Marshals quarterbacks would combine for 229 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Meanwhile, the team racked up an impressive 211 yards on the ground (but no rushing touchdowns).
Over in the Northern Football Conference championship, the 8-6 Kansas City Coyotes upset the reigning NFC champs, the 10-4 Portland Pythons, winning 24-17. Although runningback Borro Gore’s team didn’t win, his performance should be noted: 97 yards on the ground and 105 yards through the air makes a huge 202 yards from scrimmage.
And then there was the Ultimini... San Antonio at Kansas City. Both offenses centered around mobile quarterbacks and the spread. The game was intense from the beginning. On the Marshals first drive, their punt was blocked and left the Coyotes with great field position that aided them to a touchdown. At the half, it was 13-6, Coyotes up. However, the Marshals were able to score 17 points in the second half (14 of which were in the 4th quarterback), while holding Kansas City to none. The victory was sealed with Willy Nyquist’s 80 yard touchdown sprint. The San Antonio Marshals are your Season 6 DSFL champions!
Playoff Series MVP (212 words)
The ASFC Conference championship was a very tight game, which is why this player’s statline and contributions to his team are even more significant than they appear on paper: Otters free safety Ian Bavitz racked up ten tackles, three sacks and a safety in the fourth quarter that put Orange County up by seven points. His tackles came in key situations: as most safeties often do, he was preventing big plays from going on the way for touchdowns on a day when the Otters elite defense was a bit shakier and more porous than normal. For example, he had tackles on San Jose runningback Darren Smallwood that kept long first down runs to just 8 or 9 yards (instead of much longer) multiple times in the game (mostly in the second quarter, for whatever reason). Furthermore, even if his stats don’t show exemplary pass defense, it’s because his pass defense was so good during the first quarter that Orosz’s volume to whoever Bavitz was covering decreased significantly. Long story short, Bavitz played spectacularly. His performance wasn’t always notable in the regular season, but in this game against the Sabercats, it was both notable, and crucial to their victory, and required for them to reach the Ultimus, where they’d go on to threepeat.
Unsung Hero (276 words)
You should already know I’m about to write about a kicker. Which kicker you ask? The one... the only... the GOATly.... Brian “Steal-yo-girl” Madlad. The thing about Madlad is that his punting kind of sucks. The other thing about Madlad is that his kicking is downright sensual. When other kickers kick extra points, you in the back of your mind know “they might fuckin miss it”. But with Brian Madlad you don’t even consider this possibility. AFC Championship game: Iyah Blewitt made 3 field goals and 2 extra points, but missed his first extra point attempt in the game, leaving the Cats at 9-10 instead of all tied up. Brian Madlad? He’s successful on all six of his kicks that night. Season 6 Ultimus: Stephen Harris is good on a 46 yarder early in the first quarter and his 2 extra point attempts, but isn’t given the chance to try several opportunities that’d be from 50 plus. Brian Madlad? He fuckin drains a 55 yarder. Right down the center, several yards to spare. If he missed that kick, they’d end up being up by just 3 at the end of the game, and Harris would’ve had a 20 yarder to head to overtime. But instead, that kick ended up giving Josh “The Bust” Garden a chance to drop it in the endzone. Brian Madlad is not just underrated, but possibly the most underrated player in the playoffs this past season. And that’s even if you think he was the league’s best kicker. That’s still not properly representative of his greatness. Brian Madlad. The MVP of the S6 playoffs - and possibly the regular season too.
![[Image: unknown.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/735279101711220767/761677188524277830/unknown.png)
![[Image: HtYhYYf.png]](https://i.imgur.com/HtYhYYf.png)
