*S19 NOLA Game Balls

[ddrector]

I had the privilege of writing some of the game balls for the New Orleans Second Line this year. I mostly did offensive game balls as Hippo took defense unless of course he was getting the game ball in which case we switched. I figured I would document them all and post them for your reading pleasure at the conclusion of the season. This was my first foray into writing game balls, so they aren’t up the level that Hippo does on the defensive side, but hopefully I’ll have another post like this next season and you can see how I’ve improved at writing these. While some teams might only give out game balls in winning performances, we like to give out a game ball regardless. Even in losses there are great performances worth highlighting.

:football: :football: Week 1 Offensive Game Ball :football: :football:

@pazuzu#4086 - Bender Rodriguez - 6 Rec, 73 yards

Bender Rodriguez was making plays in the receiving game all day long. He had a game high 6 receptions including a 34 yard reception that lead to a field goal in the first half. Bender starts off the season in the top 10 in both receptions and yards. An impressive accomplishment to achieve when facing one of the best defenses in the league. All that said, this futuristic robotic receiving weapon absolutely deserves a game ball in this hard fought battle against the defending champs. I can’t wait to see what he does against the SaberCats in a few weeks.

:football: :football: Week 2 Offensive Game Ball :football: :football:

@David#8780 - Vinny Valentine - 7 Rec, 113 yards, 1 TD

A huge win on the road against the division rival Austin Copperhead! This offensive game ball could go to so many of you out there for this performance. Brave Ulysses had 9 pancakes and gave up 0 sacks. Herbert Prohaska had an amazing day kicking the ball. He made both his field goals and all 3 of his extra points, and on top of that he was huge in the punting game averaging 45.5 yards per punt with a 59 yard long. Impressive numbers from the rookie kicker. Marcella Toriki also had a great game rushing for over 6 yards a carry and getting another rushing touchdown. All that said, I think you know who this game ball is going to. Vinny Valentine is one of the new members of this receiving corp and he really showed us what he can do in this game. On the first scoring drive of the game Valentine had a big 10 yard reception early in the drive that kept the drive alive. In the second quarter he had 2 receptions on a drive that ended with a 15 yard touchdown catch for Vinny. In the third quarter Valentine caught passes in both of the drives that ended in Prohaska field goals, including a 37 yard reception on 3rd and 6 that put us in scoring position. His last reception came on the crucial game winning drive. A 14 yard reception on 2nd and 10 that set us up with 1st and goal from the 4. I’m happy to give this game ball to Vinny after such an awesome performance in such an awesome win. Now let’s go home and show the Outlaws what we can do on our home turf!

:football: :football: Week 3 Defensive Game Ball :football: :football:

@terriblehippo#4928 - Quenton Bode - 7 tackes, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery

Before I get into specifics I just have to say huge props to everyone on this defense for putting in a complete game against a conference rival and holding them scoreless for almost the entire game. We collectively had 5 turnovers and 5 sacks in this game, both impressive numbers. All of those sacks and turnovers helped set our offense up with short fields, which allowed them to put up 57 points. This game ball could go to so many of you, but alas I only have one game ball to give. Slothface is absolutely deserving as he racked up 10 tackles and had both a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Jordan Andrews had 4 tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception that gave the offense an easy score. While many of you on this defense are extremely deserving of this game ball I’ve decided to give it to the bear himself, Quenton Bode. He had a huge impact on this game racking up 7 tackles as well as a sack, forced fumble, and fumble recovery. Bode set the tone early with a sack in the first quarter. With a mighty roar he proclaimed that this would not be the Outlaws day. Later on in the third quarter Bode made a big tackle on third down that forced the Outlaws to punt after they had reached the 50. Bode was all over Outlaws running back Ruff Ruff all game and in the fourth he was able to force a fumble from Ruff and also recovered that fumble. This lead to a Prohaska field goal. Bode was instrumental in only allowing 7 points in this game and is well deserving of this game ball. Now let’s go get a shut out in San Jose!

:football: :football: Week 4 Offensive Game Ball :football: :football:

@TomHanks#6824 - Forrest Gump - 100 rush yards, 1 PR TD

A big game from Forrest Gump really kept us in this game the entire time and that’s why he is getting this weeks offensive game ball. On our first scoring drive we had a crucial 3rd and 4 from the 37 that Gump broke open for a 12 yard gain. Two plays later we scored our first points of the game. After a few back and forth stalled drives Gump was back on the field to return a punt. Forrest caught it on the 20 yard line and made two guys miss as he ran 80 yards for the score. Gump had a big part in 14 of the 17 points the offense put up in this game. Not only can he tack on another 100 yard rushing game to his resume, but he had another stellar in the return game. Hopefully Forrest will be able to rally the troops and we can get back to those 50 point offensive performances soon!

:football: :football: Week 5 Defensive Game Ball :football: :football:

@Parker#4253 - Deon Taylor - 3 tackes, 3 pass deflections, 2 Interceptions

There are many deserving candidates for this week 5 defensive game ball. Blake Faux had a 2 sack game. Bjorn Ironside had a sack and Mack Arianlacher had a tackle for loss and a sack. Quenton Bode was definitely considered for the game ball as he had some big impact plays with his 11 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 pass deflection. All that said, I’m happy to give this game ball to fellow member of the secondary Deon Taylor who had a huge impact forcing two turnovers. In the first quarter Taylor broke up a pass to Sunnycursed on 3rd and 9 that lead to a punt. Later he was able to hold Nate Swift to just a 5 yard gain on a reception on a 2nd and 15 that kept it at a 3rd and long for the defense. His first interception came in the second quarter deep in our own territory. The defense had just given up a 36 yard pass to Sunnycursed on the previous play to put Yellowknife in prime scoring position and Deon snagged an interception on a pass meant for Swift on our own 16 yard line. In the third quarter Taylor again picked off a pass meant for Swift that set the offense up with the ball in enemy territory. We would have definitely given up more points to the Wraiths if not for these big plays from Taylor, so I’m happy to give him this much deserved game ball! Now, let’s go to Arizona and kick some Outlaw ass!

:football: :football: Week 6 Offensive Game Ball :football: :football:

@David#8780 - Vinny Valentine - 4 Rec, 99 yards, 1 TD

It was a tough day for the Second Line offense as we were only able to put up 17 points from the offense (the defense contributed the other 7). The offense as a whole was able to put up 370 yards of offense, but weren’t able to turn those yards into points. Vinny Valentine gets his second game ball of the season as he lead the team in receiving yards by almost 40 yards and had one of only two offensive touchdowns in the game. All four of his catches resulted in first downs, and on his touchdown drive he caught two passes for over 30 yards.

:football: :football: Week 6 Defensive Game Ball :football: :football:

@AlexFaux#9473 - Blake Faux - 4 tackles, 1 sack

It was a rough day for the Second Line defense as we gave up 42 points and 434 yards. Despite not having a great performance team wise it is still worth pointing out a stellar defensive performance. Defensive linemen rarely get the flashy stats or the credit they deserve. Many times they are clogging up the rushing lanes and allowing a linebacker to make the tackle while they demand a double team. I’m happy to give this game ball to Blake Faux for a stellar performance on the defensive line with 4 tackles and a sack. Without his effort in this game we might have given up even more points. I also want to recognize some other great defensive performances. Slothface had 9 tackles a sack and a pass deflection. Deon Taylor had 7 tackles and a pass deflection. Rookie phenom Mack Arianlacher had 3 tackles, a tackle for loss, and a sack. Let’s go out and show the SaberCats what we’ve got next week!

:football: :football: Week 7 Offensive Game Ball :football: :football:

@bex#0592 - Marcella Toriki - 152 rush yards, 1 rush TD, 3 rec, 17 rec yards, 2 TDs

Before I take time to highlight a huge performance from our very own Marcella Toriki in this game I want to take time to give props to this entire offense in this game. Almost 500 yards of total offense in the game is huge. We were also 10 for 17 on 3rd downs and 2 for 2 on fourth down attempts. Bonaberi Jones had 91 receiving yards and 6 receptions, which were both tops for the game. Stan Francisco really spread the ball around as 8 different players caught at least one pass. With all that said I have to tell you a story about a fierce warrior that made a journey from the depths of San Jose and found her way to glory via the New Orleans Second Line. Marcella Toriki’s eyes were glowing red with rage as her heart desired nothing more than sweet revenge. It didn’t take long for that to come to fruition as she rushed in a 4 yard touchdown with 6 minutes remaining in the first quarter to open up the scoring. In the middle of the second she added a 9 yard receiving score to her stat sheet and early in the fourth she added another receiving touchdown to make three total touchdowns on the game. Of the 27 points we scored in this game Toriki scored 18 of them with the other 9 coming from our excellent rookie kicker Herbert Prohaska. Marcella Toriki was handed the ball 33 times and ran for 152 yards in this game. She was also directly responsible for 11 first downs in this game, which is huge! I’m pumped to give this game ball to Marcella today, and hope to give her many more this season!

:football: :football: Week 7 Defensive Game Ball :football: :football:

@slothfacekilla#7809 - 7 tackles, 1 sack, 1 FF, 1 PD

A monsterous game from the entire defense! We only gave up 6 points and 270 yards in this one. I could find a reason to give this game ball to any one of you on this defense. Bode had 5 tackles and a sack. Deon Taylor had 4 tackles, 2 pass deflections, and an interception. Rax had 3 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and a sack. Bjorn Ironside even joined the sack party with 1 of his own (should have been 2). Slothface was all over the field in this one racking up the tackles as well as getting a sack, a forced fumble, and a pass deflection. While I’m giving this game ball to Slothface I want everyone on this defense to know that they did a part in making this happen. It doesn’t matter who you are playing, only giving up 6 points is huge! Excellent game everyone! Let’s keep it up!

:football: :football: Week 8 Offensive Game Ball :football: :football:

@JuOSu#0130 - Stan Francisco - 273 passing yards, 3 TDs, 149.1 QB rating

Amazing job by everyone team! We were able to take down the undefeated Otters in one of the best games I’ve seen from our fearless leader Stan Francisco. Before I get into Stan’s excellent game there are a few other notable performances that I want to highlight. Rookie tight end Austin McCormick had a career day as he caught his first touchdown of what we hope to be many for the Second Line. He had 5 receptions for 53 yards including the 22 yard touchdown near the end of the second quarter to put us up 13 to 10. Bonaberi Jones broke the 100 yard mark for receiving yards in this game, which is tough to do against the very stout Otters defense. Also, Marcella Toriki continues to be an absolute touchdown machine as she caught another 2 touchdowns in this game. She’s had multiple multi-touchdown games already in her first season with the Second Line. None of this would have been possible without the amazing game that our quarterback Stan Francisco had. He was efficient in his passing, completing 70% of his passes. He had almost 300 passing yards including a 53 yard pass to Vinny Valentine and a 41 yard pass to Bonaberi Jones. Six different players caught at least one pass, and four of them caught three or more. His 149.1 passer rating is extremely close to a perfect passer rating. His ability to spread the ball around without throwing any interceptions is a big reason why we were able to win this game. I’m happy to give this game ball to Stan Francisco in this monumental win over the Otters!

:football: :football: Week 9 Offensive Game Ball :football: :football:

@bex#0592 - Marcella Toriki - 121 rush yards, 2 rush TD
@TomHanks#6824 - Forrest Gump - 130 rush yards, 4 Rec, 39 Rec Yards

A massive win on the road against a very good Yeti team has put us in position to hopefully make the playoffs this year! I couldn’t decide who to give this game ball to, so I decided to give it to our pair of running backs that took over this game offensively. For both of them to have over 100 yards rushing is incredible. Marcella Toriki continues to rack up the touchdowns as she is now tied for the lead in touchdowns scored this season with 11 through 9 games! Her second touchdown on the night came with only 1 minute left in the game, and put us ahead by 6 points. Meanwhile, Forrest Gump lead the team in rushing yards and receptions. He’s also our main return man, which just means he’s making plays all over the field. This dynamic duo has been a big reason we are in position to make the playoffs this year, and I’m so excited to see how we do! Let’s keep it up team!

:football: :football: Week 10 Offensive Game Ball :football: :football:

@David#8780 - Vinny Valentine - 4 Rec, 42 yards, 2 TD

It wasn’t always pretty as at one point we were down 21 to 3, but we were able to get a big win against the Copperheads in week 10 with great help on the offensive side from Vinny Valentine. With just over a minute remaining in the 3rd quarter Vinny caught a 17 yard touchdown pass that put us within 5 points of the Copperheads. We then took the lead at the end of the 3rd off a Bender Rodriguez touchdown. Only a few minutes later Vinny caught his second touchdown to put us up 9 points, which helped secure the victory. For the season Vinny ended up with 681 yards and 4 touchdowns, so he doubled his season touchdowns in this game. This is Vinny’s third gameball of the season.

:football: :football: Week 11/12 Defensive Game Ball :football: :football:

@terriblehippo#4928 - Quenton Bode - 19 tackes, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 2 PD, 2 INT

Our own big bear on defense stepped up in weeks 11 and 12 and put up two excellent performances. Interceptions in back to back weeks as a linebacker is no small accomplishment. In week 11 Bode’s performance kept us in a close battle in Chicago. Without his efforts a few drives that ended in punts or turnovers might have ended in Chicago scoring. In week 12 Bode decided to step it up even further and added a sack and forced fumble to his stat sheet from week 11. His sack came at a crucial red zone opportunity. The Philadelphia Liberty ended up having to settle for a field goal because of that sack and they ended up missing it. Later in the 3rd quarter Bode was able to tackle Torensen on a 3rd down rush that forced the Liberty to punt. Late in the 3rd quarter Bode forced Torensen to fumble on a play, but unfortunately the Liberty recovered the fumble. However, Bode was thirsty for a turnover at that point and 2 plays later he picked off Falconi for his 2nd interception in as many games. Bode was instrumental in the Second Line defense holding the Liberty to 10 points all game and securing another win. Bode finishes the season with 3 game balls for his shelf.

:football: :football: Week 13 Offensive Game Ball :football: :football:

@JuOSu#0130 - Stan Francisco - 337 passing yards, 2 TDs, 102.2 QB rating

We closed out the regular season with a home game against the very good Baltimore Hawks of the NSFC. Despite the tough competition it didn’t stop Stan Francisco from having another great game. Seven different players caught at least one pass from Stan as he distributed the ball all over the field. In his final regular season game as a member of the Second Line Vladimir Fyodorovich caught 2 passes for 40 yards and a touchdown. He surpassed 10,000 career receiving yards, which is a huge accomplishment. Stan did most of his work in the first half as he threw 2 touchdowns in the first two quarters. He did a great job of not turning the ball over, which helped us win the turnover battle 2 to 0. This was Stan’s 2nd game ball of the season. I’m sure he’ll have many more next year.

:football: :football: Wildcard Round Offensive Game Ball :football: :football:

@majesiu#8256 - Vladimir Fyodorovich - 5 Rec, 53 yards, 2 TDs

In our first playoff game in too many seasons the old man himself Vlad Fyodo did not disappoint. He mustered up energy from deep inside his old man bones and was critical to the first playoff win for the Second Line that most of us have witnessed. The Copperheads gave us all they had and had a commanding lead for a large portion of the game. Late in the second quarter while we were down 14 to 0 Fyodo caught a 10 yard pass that kept the drive alive that ended up with a Herbert Prohaska field goal to finally put some points on the board. Vinny Valentine also had a long 40 yard catch on this drive that was a long for the game. Early in the 3rd quarter on a 2nd and 10 Vlad caught an 18 yard pass that got us to midfield. A few plays later Austin McCormick was catching a touchdown pass to make it a 4 point game. Midway through the 4th quarter we were down 1 point and we faced 3rd and 9 from the 10 yard line and Fyodo caught his first touchdown pass of the game that gave us the lead for the first time in the game. About 6 minutes later Fyodo sealed the victory with an 8 yard touchdown catch. A huge game from the old man as he grabbed 2 receiving touchdowns both in the fourth quarter. Now let’s bring this old man energy to OCO and take down the Badgers!

:football: :football: Semifinal Round Offensive Game Ball :football: :football:

@JuOSu#0130 - Stan Francisco - 281 passing yards, 1 TD, 119.5 QB rating

Our fearless leader ended the season in one of his best games of the year. Unfortunately, it was not enough as we fell to the galactic empire that is OCO. Stan was an impressive 20 for 27 on the day against an incredibly good defense. That’s some Drew Brees numbers if I’ve ever seen them. He was very generous with distributing the ball as six different players had multiple receptions. On our lone touchdown drive of the game Stan made a crucial pass on 3rd and long to Vinny Valentine for a first down that kept the drive alive. He also connected with rookie sensation Austin McCormick (no relation to the McCormick’s that make all the spices) for a 16 yard pass that set up a Forrest Gump 13 yard touchdown reception. Early in the fourth we had the ball and again Stan kept the drive alive with another 3rd down pass to Valentine. Unfortunately, that drive stalled in the red zone and we settled for a Prohaska field goal, but it got us within 1 point. The Otters found some holes in the NOLA defense after that and made it a 2 score game with under 2 minutes to go and that was the end of our season. It was a fun and wild ride and I can’t wait to do it with you all again next season when we finally take down the Otters in the playoffs!

[slothfacekilla]

Proud doots

[Jay_Doctor]

[bex]