Playoff Predictions (14 May)
In the NSFC, the Liberty will travel to Yellowknife, which is good, because visiting teams account for 98% of their tourism revenue. The Wraiths offense will split its yards pretty evenly running and passing, both led with moderate success by Mat Akselsen, who would be the best QB in the league were it not for having to throw the damn ball all the time. On defense, Dermot Lavelle will have a very easy time covering either Josh Garden or Fox North, both of whom used to be big fucking deals. Yellowknife will win with a possession to spare.
In the AFSC, Orange County will host the Outlaws, making an appearance due to process of elimination. King Bronko will try to look like the QB of old, but Mackworthy will probably be the focal point of the offense. Either way, I am expecting 2 turnovers from the Outlaws. Once OC gets the ball, which will happen a lot, look for Robert Phelps and Bradley Westfield to take turns abusing the Arizona secondary. OC will win by a mile.
Finally, Yellowknife will host their first Ultimus game against the 3 time defending Otters. I am expecting a very close game, but Yellowknife, with their cold-ass stadium, should have the advantage. Expect a defensive battle with a few big plays accounting for all the points. Yellowknife will win.
That Magic Moment
The whole game, I was just waiting for it to happen. With 10:59 remaining in the second quarter, somehow the Liberty had gone up 21-3. The Liberty were the underdogs in the Ultimus game, yet somehow, they were 3 possessions ahead. Josh Garden had taken a kick return to the house. Fox North had found the end zone on a 19 yard pass, and Kendrick Hendrix, in his final season before prison, had smoked the defense over the middle for a 43 yard score. It was too good to be true, and I knew it would be that easy. The Otters soon proved me right, and scored 16 unanswered points on 4 possessions. The Liberty defense was gassed and demoralized, and all of the spark seemed to have long-since departed from Philadelphia’s offense, which hadn’t registered a single point in over 25 minutes. Up by only 2 points, the Liberty had punted once again, with the Otters ready to start a potential game winning drive. On the first play of that drive, Micah Hendrix, first round pick of the S2 draft, intercepted Mike Boss and returned it for 15 yards. Not only was the momentum stopped, but the Liberty were in position to put the game out of reach.
Playoff Series MVP
Playoff Paul. The name was a thing before this year, but now is forever cemented, as is his claim to the Hall of Fame. With the Liberty as the underdog in the conference championship against the 13-1 Wraiths, there was little hope. The Liberty hadn’t even been able to beat the Wraiths with home field advantage, and now had to do it on the road. As a strategy, they turned to Paul DiMirio, who had been with the team all 6 seasons of his career. With Dermot Lavelle locking down various receivers, it would be Paul DiMirio’s job to carry the offense through the middle of the field chaos, and QB Tyler Oles would be looking his way on every play. He did. Oles targeted DiMirio 19 times, even as the Wraiths mixed in double coverage. On the first drive of the game, DiMirio made his presence known by taking his first target 21 yards to the end zone. On the next target, just 2 minutes later, DiMirio caught an 8 yard pass to set up 2nd and 2 from the 6, which Kroetch scored a TD on. Yellowknife doubled up on him after that, with 6 consecutive incompletions and then an interception on his targets. However, DiMirio kept churning, resulting in 2 TDs and 114 yards in the upset win.
Playoff Review
We’ll start with the least watchable conference game I’ve ever seen. The Outlaws had no business in the postseason, and it showed. It took just over 20 minutes for the game to reach “blowout” status, which a touchdown pass to Westfield and a pair of short touchdown runs from Erlich Burnsman. Once, very briefly, the lead dropped to 14 points, but was immediately back up to 21, and finished an embarrassing 48-24. Next were the Wraiths and Liberty, which totaled 1 less point scored, but was a lot tougher. The Liberty got out to a 17 point lead early on, suggesting another blowout, but then Yellowknife went on a 17-3 scoring run that threatened to steal the game. The two teams went back and forth, the score 33-31 until the last minute of the game, when the Liberty found the end zone one final time to put the game out of reach. Finally, the Ultimus game was played in Orange County. As with their last game, the Liberty immediately built up an impressive three possession lead, only to see their opponent kick it in to gear and bring the game back to a 2 point margin before scoring a final touchdown to keep it out of reach. Final score: 28-19
In the NSFC, the Liberty will travel to Yellowknife, which is good, because visiting teams account for 98% of their tourism revenue. The Wraiths offense will split its yards pretty evenly running and passing, both led with moderate success by Mat Akselsen, who would be the best QB in the league were it not for having to throw the damn ball all the time. On defense, Dermot Lavelle will have a very easy time covering either Josh Garden or Fox North, both of whom used to be big fucking deals. Yellowknife will win with a possession to spare.
In the AFSC, Orange County will host the Outlaws, making an appearance due to process of elimination. King Bronko will try to look like the QB of old, but Mackworthy will probably be the focal point of the offense. Either way, I am expecting 2 turnovers from the Outlaws. Once OC gets the ball, which will happen a lot, look for Robert Phelps and Bradley Westfield to take turns abusing the Arizona secondary. OC will win by a mile.
Finally, Yellowknife will host their first Ultimus game against the 3 time defending Otters. I am expecting a very close game, but Yellowknife, with their cold-ass stadium, should have the advantage. Expect a defensive battle with a few big plays accounting for all the points. Yellowknife will win.
That Magic Moment
The whole game, I was just waiting for it to happen. With 10:59 remaining in the second quarter, somehow the Liberty had gone up 21-3. The Liberty were the underdogs in the Ultimus game, yet somehow, they were 3 possessions ahead. Josh Garden had taken a kick return to the house. Fox North had found the end zone on a 19 yard pass, and Kendrick Hendrix, in his final season before prison, had smoked the defense over the middle for a 43 yard score. It was too good to be true, and I knew it would be that easy. The Otters soon proved me right, and scored 16 unanswered points on 4 possessions. The Liberty defense was gassed and demoralized, and all of the spark seemed to have long-since departed from Philadelphia’s offense, which hadn’t registered a single point in over 25 minutes. Up by only 2 points, the Liberty had punted once again, with the Otters ready to start a potential game winning drive. On the first play of that drive, Micah Hendrix, first round pick of the S2 draft, intercepted Mike Boss and returned it for 15 yards. Not only was the momentum stopped, but the Liberty were in position to put the game out of reach.
Playoff Series MVP
Playoff Paul. The name was a thing before this year, but now is forever cemented, as is his claim to the Hall of Fame. With the Liberty as the underdog in the conference championship against the 13-1 Wraiths, there was little hope. The Liberty hadn’t even been able to beat the Wraiths with home field advantage, and now had to do it on the road. As a strategy, they turned to Paul DiMirio, who had been with the team all 6 seasons of his career. With Dermot Lavelle locking down various receivers, it would be Paul DiMirio’s job to carry the offense through the middle of the field chaos, and QB Tyler Oles would be looking his way on every play. He did. Oles targeted DiMirio 19 times, even as the Wraiths mixed in double coverage. On the first drive of the game, DiMirio made his presence known by taking his first target 21 yards to the end zone. On the next target, just 2 minutes later, DiMirio caught an 8 yard pass to set up 2nd and 2 from the 6, which Kroetch scored a TD on. Yellowknife doubled up on him after that, with 6 consecutive incompletions and then an interception on his targets. However, DiMirio kept churning, resulting in 2 TDs and 114 yards in the upset win.
Playoff Review
We’ll start with the least watchable conference game I’ve ever seen. The Outlaws had no business in the postseason, and it showed. It took just over 20 minutes for the game to reach “blowout” status, which a touchdown pass to Westfield and a pair of short touchdown runs from Erlich Burnsman. Once, very briefly, the lead dropped to 14 points, but was immediately back up to 21, and finished an embarrassing 48-24. Next were the Wraiths and Liberty, which totaled 1 less point scored, but was a lot tougher. The Liberty got out to a 17 point lead early on, suggesting another blowout, but then Yellowknife went on a 17-3 scoring run that threatened to steal the game. The two teams went back and forth, the score 33-31 until the last minute of the game, when the Liberty found the end zone one final time to put the game out of reach. Finally, the Ultimus game was played in Orange County. As with their last game, the Liberty immediately built up an impressive three possession lead, only to see their opponent kick it in to gear and bring the game back to a 2 point margin before scoring a final touchdown to keep it out of reach. Final score: 28-19
![[Image: BVsashy.png]](https://i.imgur.com/BVsashy.png)
