Long task #2
The season 23 International Simulation Football League playoffs will be remembered for ages. Especially in a small town in the Northern Territories, called Yellowknife. It was the season they won their second ever Ultimus, first after season 8 and four straight Ultimus losses from season 18 to season 21. There, they took revenge of their season 20 Ultimus loss, beating the Austin Copperheads 38-13, never even giving them a chance to believe they could pull the upset again. But let's rewind back to the start of the playoffs. How did each team get here? Yellowknife and the Colorado Yeti tied for the #1 seed in the National Conference, with a 10-6 record. They split the games between them, with each team winning the AWAY game. Both teams were +69 (nice) in point differential, with YKW finally edging the Yeti, by having the better offence, 406 points for to Colorado's 354. All that despite COL going on a 4 game winstreak to end the season and YKW dropping their last two. It seemed like luck was with YKW this time. The #3 seed of the NSFC were the 9-7 Philly Liberty, who beat YKW in w16 to punch their ticket to the playoffs and Colorado, for the wildcard game.
The NSFC wildcard game was a high scoring affair and very close. Philly jumped to an early 9-0 lead with 4:43 left on the 1st, after a Lefty Louis FG and a 15yd receiving touchdown by Randy Vuxta, with Louis missing the XP. Colorado finally responded, with 8:05 left in the 2nd quarter, when Wolfie McDummy found Richard GIlbert for a 2yd completion in the PHI endzone. Silver Banana made the kick, and the lead was cut down to 2, PHI up 9-7. Nothing changed until halftime. Early in the third, a Louis' FG put Philly up by 5, 12-7. Colorado were quick to respond, when William Lim caught a pass from McDummy, and got it in the house for a receiving TD. The kick was good and COL were up by 2, 14-12. Or so they thought. Richard D'Attoria V returned the ensuing kickoff to the house, 93 yards. Louis made the kick, and Philly were back up, 19-14. The game had picked up a frantic pace. With 4:22 left in the 3rd, McDummy took the ball in the endzone himself. XP was good and COL was up 21-19 after three. The 4th quarter was crazy. Colorado get a 5 point lead after a 45-yard FG from Banana, only for Philly's RB, Sam Torenson, to run it in, giving Philly a 1 point lead, with 6:48 left in the game. The two point conversion was no good, and Colorado had almost 7 minutes to score. And they did. With 3:16 on the clock, McDummy took it on himself. He scored on a 2yd rush. The 2pt conversion was good, and the Yeti were up by 7, 32-25. Philly needed a touchdown and the XP to win the game. Rush by Dodson for 12. Pass to Vuxta for 12. Pass to Varga for 30. With 2:02 on the clock, PHI was at COL's 26yd line, knocking on the door. 8 yard pass to Varga. 2nd and 2. Pass to Varga. Dropped. Then the Colorado magic happened. Blackstone sacked Phoenix for a loss of 11. 4th and 13. Phoenix tried to find Torenson. Berry had another idea. He slapped the ball so hard, it almost burst. Turnover on downs. Colorado would travel to YKW for the championship game.
The NSFCCG was wild as well. The third time YKW and COL faced each other with an Ultimus ticket at stake the last four seasons. YKW had won in S20, COL were the reigning champions. The game was a hot mess. COL had 10 first downs. YKW had 14. Both teams were 3/15 in third down conversions. But it started promising, after each team got a touchdown in the first quarter. Then, it was a kickers and punters' paradise. 2 punts for each team in the second, before Banana scored a 35yd field goal, to put COL up, 10-7. Punt by YKW. COL march down to end the half. Banana attempts a 55 yarder with 15 seconds on the half. Blocked by Alexander, and to halftime we go. YKW turned it around, behind two field goals from Dougie Smalls, a 47yd with 8:54 in the 3rd, and a 57yd right at the start of the 4th. Again, the game turned into a puntfest. Until Smalls missed a 42 yarder to ice the game, with 1:46 left. COL didn't capitalize. A penalty on a 2nd and 7 that made it a 2nd and 12, followed by a sack for a loss of 11, it was an uphill battle from there. COL turned the ball over on downs on their own 25. 13-10 final score, YKW are going to the Ultimus again.
The American Conference battle cleared in the last two weeks. Until then, Orange County and New Orleans were tied for #1, with a 9-5 record. Austin and Honolulu were tied at #4, with a 6-8 record, and Arizona was #3, with 7-7. OCO won out, NOLA lost out, AUS won out, HON and ARI split their remaining two games, and OCO were #1 with 11-5, NOLA were #2 with 9-7, and AUS edged ARI on the 8-8 tie for #3. NOLA host Austin in the wildcard game. The game was back and forth. NOLA drew first blood after a Prohaska 45-yarder, 8 minutes in the first quarter. Austin responded early in the second with a Cole-to-Tidwell touchdown. Crisco was on point and Austin was in the lead. A lead that was evaporated after Prohaska's fifth field goal of the game, early in the 4th, putting NOLA up, 15-13. The math is easy here. Prohaska was NOLA's only scorer for the game. But Austin were the last ones to score and win the game, after a Mendonca 2yd rush, with 9:40 in the game. The kick was good, Austin was up 20-15. NOLA had to score. But rookie Colt Mendoza picked Stan Francisco at the 1-yd line. NOLA should have run it there. But the game wasn't over yet. Austin were forced to punt, with 79 seconds left in the game. Francisco couldn't complete a pass to save his life. Austin would now visit Santa Ana, home of the Otters of Orange County.
The ASFC championship game was a far easier work for the Copperheads. They were in the lead for the majority of the game, even by 11, 17-6, after a Mendonca 3yd rush, with 6:42 left in the 2nd. The game got spicy, when OCO took a 19-17 lead with 2:02 left in the third, after a Alex D. FG, for OCO's 13th unanswered point. It seemed like OCO would win the game now they were ahead. But Armstrong threw a pick-six, with 14:13 left in the game, giving the lead back to Austin, 24-19. With 7:19 left, OCO cut the lead down to 2, and needed a stop. Austin just had to not give the ball away. A smart 4-minute drive ended up with Kichwa Jones scoring on a 1yd rush. Crisco was on point, and Austin had taken the game away, being 31-22 up, with 3:05 left in the game. They had done it again. Second away win. Reminiscent of the YKW run in S21. They had one miracle left. In the ice cold Yellowknife.
The stage was set. Ultimus Bowl XXIII. Wraiths versus Copperheads. Or if you want, Ullimus Bowl XX, the rematch. The Wraiths were all business. The front seven were just terrifying, sacking Cole 7 times. Cole was limited to 144 passing yards, no touchdowns. Jones scored Austin's only touchdown, early in the first quarter. Afterwards, it was all Yellowknife. Cooter to Jackson for 8 yards. Then Skyline on the goaline punch. Then Smalls on the 34-yarder. Then Skyline again on the goaline. With 12 minutes left in the 3rd, YKW were up by 17, 24-7. Frisco cut the lead to 14, only for Skyline to get another goaline punch, increasing YKW's lead to 21 points at the end of the 3rd. It was over before it even began. The Wraiths were just too good for the Copperheads. Final score, Wraiths 38, Copperheads 13. The Wraiths were finally the champions.
The season 23 International Simulation Football League playoffs will be remembered for ages. Especially in a small town in the Northern Territories, called Yellowknife. It was the season they won their second ever Ultimus, first after season 8 and four straight Ultimus losses from season 18 to season 21. There, they took revenge of their season 20 Ultimus loss, beating the Austin Copperheads 38-13, never even giving them a chance to believe they could pull the upset again. But let's rewind back to the start of the playoffs. How did each team get here? Yellowknife and the Colorado Yeti tied for the #1 seed in the National Conference, with a 10-6 record. They split the games between them, with each team winning the AWAY game. Both teams were +69 (nice) in point differential, with YKW finally edging the Yeti, by having the better offence, 406 points for to Colorado's 354. All that despite COL going on a 4 game winstreak to end the season and YKW dropping their last two. It seemed like luck was with YKW this time. The #3 seed of the NSFC were the 9-7 Philly Liberty, who beat YKW in w16 to punch their ticket to the playoffs and Colorado, for the wildcard game.
The NSFC wildcard game was a high scoring affair and very close. Philly jumped to an early 9-0 lead with 4:43 left on the 1st, after a Lefty Louis FG and a 15yd receiving touchdown by Randy Vuxta, with Louis missing the XP. Colorado finally responded, with 8:05 left in the 2nd quarter, when Wolfie McDummy found Richard GIlbert for a 2yd completion in the PHI endzone. Silver Banana made the kick, and the lead was cut down to 2, PHI up 9-7. Nothing changed until halftime. Early in the third, a Louis' FG put Philly up by 5, 12-7. Colorado were quick to respond, when William Lim caught a pass from McDummy, and got it in the house for a receiving TD. The kick was good and COL were up by 2, 14-12. Or so they thought. Richard D'Attoria V returned the ensuing kickoff to the house, 93 yards. Louis made the kick, and Philly were back up, 19-14. The game had picked up a frantic pace. With 4:22 left in the 3rd, McDummy took the ball in the endzone himself. XP was good and COL was up 21-19 after three. The 4th quarter was crazy. Colorado get a 5 point lead after a 45-yard FG from Banana, only for Philly's RB, Sam Torenson, to run it in, giving Philly a 1 point lead, with 6:48 left in the game. The two point conversion was no good, and Colorado had almost 7 minutes to score. And they did. With 3:16 on the clock, McDummy took it on himself. He scored on a 2yd rush. The 2pt conversion was good, and the Yeti were up by 7, 32-25. Philly needed a touchdown and the XP to win the game. Rush by Dodson for 12. Pass to Vuxta for 12. Pass to Varga for 30. With 2:02 on the clock, PHI was at COL's 26yd line, knocking on the door. 8 yard pass to Varga. 2nd and 2. Pass to Varga. Dropped. Then the Colorado magic happened. Blackstone sacked Phoenix for a loss of 11. 4th and 13. Phoenix tried to find Torenson. Berry had another idea. He slapped the ball so hard, it almost burst. Turnover on downs. Colorado would travel to YKW for the championship game.
The NSFCCG was wild as well. The third time YKW and COL faced each other with an Ultimus ticket at stake the last four seasons. YKW had won in S20, COL were the reigning champions. The game was a hot mess. COL had 10 first downs. YKW had 14. Both teams were 3/15 in third down conversions. But it started promising, after each team got a touchdown in the first quarter. Then, it was a kickers and punters' paradise. 2 punts for each team in the second, before Banana scored a 35yd field goal, to put COL up, 10-7. Punt by YKW. COL march down to end the half. Banana attempts a 55 yarder with 15 seconds on the half. Blocked by Alexander, and to halftime we go. YKW turned it around, behind two field goals from Dougie Smalls, a 47yd with 8:54 in the 3rd, and a 57yd right at the start of the 4th. Again, the game turned into a puntfest. Until Smalls missed a 42 yarder to ice the game, with 1:46 left. COL didn't capitalize. A penalty on a 2nd and 7 that made it a 2nd and 12, followed by a sack for a loss of 11, it was an uphill battle from there. COL turned the ball over on downs on their own 25. 13-10 final score, YKW are going to the Ultimus again.
The American Conference battle cleared in the last two weeks. Until then, Orange County and New Orleans were tied for #1, with a 9-5 record. Austin and Honolulu were tied at #4, with a 6-8 record, and Arizona was #3, with 7-7. OCO won out, NOLA lost out, AUS won out, HON and ARI split their remaining two games, and OCO were #1 with 11-5, NOLA were #2 with 9-7, and AUS edged ARI on the 8-8 tie for #3. NOLA host Austin in the wildcard game. The game was back and forth. NOLA drew first blood after a Prohaska 45-yarder, 8 minutes in the first quarter. Austin responded early in the second with a Cole-to-Tidwell touchdown. Crisco was on point and Austin was in the lead. A lead that was evaporated after Prohaska's fifth field goal of the game, early in the 4th, putting NOLA up, 15-13. The math is easy here. Prohaska was NOLA's only scorer for the game. But Austin were the last ones to score and win the game, after a Mendonca 2yd rush, with 9:40 in the game. The kick was good, Austin was up 20-15. NOLA had to score. But rookie Colt Mendoza picked Stan Francisco at the 1-yd line. NOLA should have run it there. But the game wasn't over yet. Austin were forced to punt, with 79 seconds left in the game. Francisco couldn't complete a pass to save his life. Austin would now visit Santa Ana, home of the Otters of Orange County.
The ASFC championship game was a far easier work for the Copperheads. They were in the lead for the majority of the game, even by 11, 17-6, after a Mendonca 3yd rush, with 6:42 left in the 2nd. The game got spicy, when OCO took a 19-17 lead with 2:02 left in the third, after a Alex D. FG, for OCO's 13th unanswered point. It seemed like OCO would win the game now they were ahead. But Armstrong threw a pick-six, with 14:13 left in the game, giving the lead back to Austin, 24-19. With 7:19 left, OCO cut the lead down to 2, and needed a stop. Austin just had to not give the ball away. A smart 4-minute drive ended up with Kichwa Jones scoring on a 1yd rush. Crisco was on point, and Austin had taken the game away, being 31-22 up, with 3:05 left in the game. They had done it again. Second away win. Reminiscent of the YKW run in S21. They had one miracle left. In the ice cold Yellowknife.
The stage was set. Ultimus Bowl XXIII. Wraiths versus Copperheads. Or if you want, Ullimus Bowl XX, the rematch. The Wraiths were all business. The front seven were just terrifying, sacking Cole 7 times. Cole was limited to 144 passing yards, no touchdowns. Jones scored Austin's only touchdown, early in the first quarter. Afterwards, it was all Yellowknife. Cooter to Jackson for 8 yards. Then Skyline on the goaline punch. Then Smalls on the 34-yarder. Then Skyline again on the goaline. With 12 minutes left in the 3rd, YKW were up by 17, 24-7. Frisco cut the lead to 14, only for Skyline to get another goaline punch, increasing YKW's lead to 21 points at the end of the 3rd. It was over before it even began. The Wraiths were just too good for the Copperheads. Final score, Wraiths 38, Copperheads 13. The Wraiths were finally the champions.
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