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249 wordsBy far the most interesting playoff race was in the National Simulation Football Conference. Going into Week 12 the Baltimore Hawks were top in the conference with a 7-4 record, 3 games clear of the 4-7 Philadelphia Liberty and 1 game ahead of the 6-5 Yellowknife Wraiths. Then the Liberty made one a playoff push for the ages starting by gaining a game on the Hawks with their win over the Yeti matched by the Hawks' loss to the Outlaws. Those results were pretty expected. Not to be left out, the Wraiths beat the Sabrecats to tie the Hawks for 1st.
The Liberty had to win their last two games and hope for one of the teams ahead of them to lose both of their last two and win the tiebreaker for a playoff berth. Luckily for them, their last two games were against the teams they needed to lose. The season would come down to those games, just as it should. If they won out all they'd need is for one of the other teams to lose one more game to have a chance. In Week 13, the Liberty bested the Wraiths and cheered on as the Orange County Otters cruised to a win over the Hawks. They Liberty were now a game behind the Wraiths and Hawks and had a loser-goes-home matchup against the Hawks. With the tiebreaker against the Wraiths secured, the Liberty could get home field advantage or miss the playoffs altogether.
In a back and forth battle for the ages, the Liberty found themselves up 8 with just minutes remaining on the clock. Facing 3rd and Goal from the 4, the Hawks found Wheat open in the end zone for the touchdown. A two point conversion was needed to tie the game and keep the Hawks' playoff hopes - which looked so secure mere weeks ago - alive.
Unfortunately it was not to be. The Liberty escaped with a 2 point victory and snuck into the playoffs on a 3 game winning streak while the Hawks lost their last three. The Wraiths, meanwhile, blanked the Yeti to secure the top seed.
![[Image: h5Ta7H1.png]](https://i.imgur.com/h5Ta7H1.png)
