(S14) Ultimus Week!

[Baron1898]

1) Playoff Review: San Antonio vs. Tijuana

The first conference championship to be played in this year’s DSFL playoffs was the Tijuana Luchadores traveling to the San Antonio Marshals, a 13-1 squad that broke records left and right and that had gone 4-0 against the Luchadores in the regular season. Of course, it had to be cursed, and the Luchadores won 30-21. After a slow moving first quarter, the visiting team responded to a San Antonio touchdown pass by scoring 17 points in 9 minutes and going up 20-7 at halftime. The Marshals got the ball to start off the third quarter and scored a touchdown, but were immediately demoralized by a 96 yard run touchdown from Luchadores running back Forrest Gump that brought the deficit right back to where it started. The Marshals again rallied to score a touchdown, but the comeback was not to be. Both offenses turned anemic, and in crunch time San Antonio failed to convert crucial drives to keep a comeback dream alive. Stephen Harris Jr.’s field goal in the 4th made it a 9 point and two possession lead for Tijuana, who escaped from San Antonio’s grasp and now travel to Portland for a chance at an Ultimini.

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7) Next Year

The San Antonio Marshals have a great shot to finally break their Ultimini drought next year. Many of the players that contributed to the 13-1 campaign will once again be back in the DSFL and have more training and experience. By pure luck, the Luchadores have managed to prevent the Marshals from going to the big game, but not for much longer. San Antonio will once again find themselves as regular season champions and welcome a division opponent into their home stadium, whether that’s Tijuana or Palm Beach, and break a bad streak to go and win an Ultimini. Some of the young core will have moved on to the big leagues, but those that get sent back down can elevate this team. The defense thrives on turnovers, the offense can pound the rock into an opponent’s throat, and the Marshal culture will again dominate the league with the commitment to win and an abundance of team pride. It’s only a matter of time before regular season success translates into post season season. The San Antonio Marshals will be back with a vengeance in season 15, and with TC at the helm to field another excellent rookie class, the Ultimini is within their grasp.

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9) Rivalries

The Tijuana Luchadores will be embarrassed in the Ultimini against a far superior team. Many may assume that the Luchadores have a chance because they knocked off the Marshals in the preseason, but those people would be wrong. Tijuana made it through the season with an 8-6 record, barely batting above .500, and made the playoffs by process of elimination because they were lucky enough to be in the same division as the expansion team Solar Bears. Only 8 of their players updated in the past week, which is blown out of the water by the opposing Pythons’ 10. What the heck is a Luchadore gonna do against a snake anyway? Try to wrestle it to death? Just because Forrest Gump outran the border authorities for 96 yards yesterday the Luchadores think that their offense is better than Portland. Corvo Havran’s just jealous that Franklin Armstrong’s having a better rookie season than he did. And that Tijuana passing offense is going nowhere against the killer Python secondary. Prepare for a 42-0 smack down in the Ultimini game, where the Pythons get tired of running up the score after the second quarter and just run the clock down instead. Tijuana is about to get exposed.

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11) Sit Down w/ Forrest Gump

1) How does it feel to go to an Ultimini championship game in your first season in the DSFL?
“I couldn’t be prouder of our team and what we have been able to do this season. We got off to a bit of a shaky start, but we really got goin’ in the middle of the season and kept movin’ forward. Goin’ into that game against the Marshalls after they had beaten us four times this season was tough, but we went into the game feelin’ real good and had a game plan that gave us the chance to succeed.”

2) The highlight of your game against San Antonio was obviously the big 96 yard touchdown. Can you give any insight into how you reacted to that?
“I don’t think a whole lot while I’m runnin’, I just really like to. We were backed way up, coach said to go out there and see if we could make a statement for the rest of the game. I got the ball, and our big men on the offensive line made all their blocks. There were just a few guys left on the field, and I got to runnin’. I just kept on runnin’ until I got in the end zone. Then I turned around, the fans that had travelled from Tijuana were screamin’ and cheerin’, and our team was goin’ crazy. I think that was the moment we knew we were gonna win the game.”

3) Have any NSFL teams reached out to you yet? What are your expectations for the draft?
“I’ve heard from a few GMs, people have been real nice and the scouting process has been great. I don’t like to brag too much about what I’ve done, but I reckon I turned a few heads this season, and I’ve heard some people talkin’ ‘bout where I might go and some people speculatin’ what round I’ll go, I’ve heard early first or even late second round. I’ll be happy wherever I go, so long as they have a spot for me. I’d like to be an early pick, but this is a talented group of runnin’ backs and I don’t really know where I’ll be drafted ‘cause of that.”

4) Do you think the Luchadores can knock off the Pythons?
“Of course I do. I got faith in my GMs, faith in my team, and faith in myself. Our offensive line is second to none, and we can run the ball as well as any team. Corvo’s a great QB, and we have a solid defense. We may be on the road, but we were last week too. The Ultimini’s gonna come back to Tijuana, you can mark my words on that.”