As most of you know, I missed the entirety of last season. Since I’d gained some functionality back in my hand, I wanted to see just how far I could push things before it began to give me issues. I figured to do that, I needed to come up with a decent media series where I could really pump out some words. Then I’d push it until my hand wouldn’t let me go anymore and then call it done. I had the perfect idea in mind. In an effort to catch up and refamiliarize myself with the league and our lovely players, I decided to take a dive into some of the games I missed last season. I wanted to see who had the best performances and really had breakout games. Figured I’d list two offensive performances and two defensive performances for each, but there is no guarantee that one team won’t own both slots in a game! Unfortunately I only made it to the end of week five, but still let’s dive in!
Week 5
Yeti 29 over Liberty 17
Offense
Colorado: Wolfie McDummy - QB - Another week, another top tier performance by McDummy. Seeing him string these together early in the season is a point of pride as it truly looks like McDummy has vaulted himself past mediocrity. He got to spend some time in the basement of the league, so now that he’s getting to see the light he isn’t willing to let it go. He completed 28 passes for 331 yards and three touchdowns. His 69 percent completion rating and his 106.9 quarterback rating were monuments to how smoothly this game went for Wolfie. He made a single mistake all game long with an interception, but it was well into the fourth quarter and well after the game was out of hand for Philadelphia. McDummy has become an absolute rock for this Colorado team and as long as he is putting together performances like this, there is no roof for how far the Yeti can go. It is pretty fun to see things finally working in the favor of a once believed to be cursed franchise.
Colorado: James Bishop - WR - You almost can’t have a solid quarterback game without a wide receiver on the field that is making you look good. The distribution of passes just doesn’t work out that way on the majority of occasions. This game was more of the same as Bishop hauled in six catches for 123 yards and a touchdown. He showed off both short range and long range ability as he converted two short third downs in this game as well as racking up most of his yards on two massive plays. He burned McMorris twice in this game, grabbing a 40 yard pass and a 45 yard pass over the head of his opposition. He showed some versatility in what he could do on the field and kept himself open as a reliable target for McDummy through this one. Both of these guys have been with the team for a long while and it's good to see they still have synergy between them.
Defense
Philadelphia: Julian McMorris - CB - While James Bishop had a pretty good game, it was a constant fight with McMorris. As a result, both had fairly solid games and it is hard to really put together who got the best of the match up. Yes, Bishop brought in six catches and beat McMorris deep twice. That said, Bishop was targeted 11 times on the day and more often than not, McMorris kept him from catching everything that came his way. He had a deflection that ended a drive for Colorado and also forced McDummy to make his one mistake of the game. He’d tried to force the ball to Bishop in the fourth quarter and McMorris was there to get his hands on it. He also stopped another third down conversion attempt with a key tackle, meaning he ended three Colorado drives in this game. Despite his successes though, the game was never really close.
Colorado: Bubba Thumper - DT - The point of attack was entirely dominated by Colorado’s defensive front. Philadelphia managed just 78 collective rushing yards in this game which was a true testament to how little push their offensive line was getting. The leader of this herculean effort from Colorado? None other than Bubba Thumper. Thumper has become one of the premier linemen in the league and it has almost become expected that he has overwhelmingly solid games. He is the best defensive tackle in the league and when you have a monster like this on your defensive line, you expect to control the trenches. That's just what Colorado got out of Thumper here. Five tackles, one for a loss, and a sack. His three plays that weren’t backwards were within two yards of the line of scrimmage. All in all, he pushed Philadelphia backwards more than he allowed them forwards. No one seemed to be able to block this man and he was a big reason why Philadelphia had to move away from the run all together. More than that, his sack came in the end zone, adding two points to the board for this team. On days like this when all of Colorado’s stars really show up, they become a pretty intimidating force on the field.
Wraiths 27 over Hawks 14
Offense
Baltimore: Corvo Havran - QB - Despite being on the losing side in this game, Havran actually outperformed his opposition. He was more efficient, more accurate, and all in all put together a very solid showing. He simply didn’t have the run support that Bigsby was provided on the other side. Havran’s 65 percent completion rating, 232 yards, and two touchdowns was enough to give him a solid 104 quarterback rating. Any time you hit triple digits, you had a solid showing. That said, their run game struggled and as such they allowed the Wraiths to control the clock. More than that, they struggled in third and short situations as Bigby struggled to even make it past the line on most of these occasions. This limited the number of opportunities Havran had to make things happen and despite a nearly flawless day on his part, they fell well short of victory.
Yellowknife: Mathias Hanyadi - RB- It is becoming clear to me that Hanyadi is a pretty consistent highlight reel for these Wraiths. The quarterbacks in this game traded back and forth and overall ended with their numbers looking very similar. Ultimately, Havran edged out Bigsby by a small margin. Luckily for Bigsby, he had something Havran did not. The versatile play of Mathias Hanyadi. Hanyadi made his presence felt both on the ground and through the air as he put together a 114 yard and two touchdown campaign. He didn’t do anything big, he didn’t do anything flashy. He kept things short and consistent and did exactly what was asked of him. Outside of his two touchdowns, he also picked up six first downs. Two of those were on third and short and another was when the team decided to trust him on a fourth and one. When Hanyadi’s number was called, he produced. Ultimately that production ended up being the difference in this game for Yellowknife.
Defense
Yellowknife: Danny Grithead - S - The ageless wonder does it again. Grithead is still fully capable of having an impact in all phases of the game despite his regression and this was another performance to show that. While Havran’s mistakes were limited in this game, when he did mess up it was usually Grithead there causing it. He knocked three separate balls out of the air in this game and two of the three were on third downs that forced Baltimore to punt. He also imposed his will on the running game as he racked up six tackles, of which held Baltimore’s Bigby to less than three yards gained. He wasn’t beaten in coverage a single time and was able to quickly swap between locking up his receiver and punishing Bigby for daring to cross the line. Grithead continues to produce and when he produces, Yellowknife usually finds the win.
Yellowknife: Nero Alexander - DE - Another long time Wraith’s player filling this spot isn’t exactly an indication of the age of this defense, but instead is a testament to the reliability of Yellowknife’s veterans to continue coming up big. Much like Grithead, Alexander is here primarily for his efforts against the Baltimore run game. He had four tackles, one of which was for a loss and another was a sack. The other two tackles were at the line of scrimmage though, barely allowing an inch to Bigby. All four of his plays in this game forced punts out of Baltimore and he was a big reason why Havran was limited in opportunities in this game. If you can’t convert in short yardage situations, you can’t continue drives. Alexander made sure he spent some extra time on the bench by stopping them in their tracks time and time again.
Second Line 20 over Outlaws 19
Offense
Arizona: Jay Cue - QB - Cue put together a lights out performance for this game and did almost everything right. His 56 percent completion rating left a little bit to be desired, but he racked up 378 yards and two touchdowns without turning the ball over a single time. His 103.5 quarterback rating was a testament to just how well he played this game as he continuously took chunks of yards away from the Second Line defense. He led this offense in inspired fashion as they controlled the ball for 33 minutes despite not having much efficiency in their run game. They had 22 total first yards, they outgained New Orleans 479 yards to 350, they even won the turnover battle. All of this was thanks to Jay Cue and the incredible game he put together. All of that and somehow Arizona fell short. Fell short because of a missed extra point in the fourth quarter that came back to bite them when New Orleans began to rally.
Arizona: Jammerson Irving - TE - In the previous weeks, Irving had shown off his abilities and his versatility. He’d shown he was capable of being both the big play threat as well as the reliable safety blanket for Cue. Whatever Jay Cue needed, Irving was more than willing to provide. That was on full display here in this game. Cue targeted Irving 13 times and he rewarded Cue by hauling in 12 of them. Second and one yard to go? Two yard screen. Third and nine? 13 yard catch. Second and eight? 27 yard catch! No matter what Cue needed, Irving was where he needed to be to convert. In fact, of Irving's 12 catches, 11 of them either went for a first down or a touchdown. Perhaps the only thing that Cue did wrong all game long is that he did not target this man more. He was a terror in the New Orleans secondary and he racked up 188 yards and a score. New Orleans had no answers for him and rarely have I seen a more dominant performance by one man. He was basically flawless al game long and his efforts should have been rewarded with a win. Sometimes life doesn’t play out that way though.
Defense
New Orleans: Johnny Slothface - LB - With Arizona’s offense firing on all cylinders and no one on New Orleans’ offense really able to match them in production, the question may be raised about how in the world did New Orleans manage to win this game? Big time players on defense making plays when they were needed. The run game of Arizona didn’t have much wiggle room at all, which left Cue being forced to throw the ball around to not only move down the field but to also burn time off the clock. With their running game stalled, it actually limited Arizona’s ability to waste more time than they already had. Slothface was the artist behind this chaos. He was playing all over the field. Run support, pass rush, and in coverage. He never managed to get a tackle for a loss, but he did have eight tackles that were within three yards of the line of scrimmage as he completely smothered Ruff through this entire game. You don’t see Ruff with low averages often, but he was only able to produce 3.2 yards a carry because every time he looked up, there was a Slothface. More than that, Slothface also produced two sacks that happened back to back to kill a drive at the end of the second quarter and he also knocked away three balls as the game progressed. In fact the one ball that Irving didn’t catch happened to be the only time Slothface was covering him in this whole game. Slothface has long been one of the best and most versatile players on this defense and it really all came together in this game.
New Orleans: Bjørn Ironside - DT - Once again we’re looking at big players having big impacts. Ironside was Slothface’s partner in crime for much of the game, solidifying the few holes that Slothface wasn’t able to cover. Ironside imposed his will on the opposing offensive line and completely plugged up the front. Not only did he not allow running lanes his direction, allowing less than a yard combined on his three tackles, he also managed to bulldoze his way to two sacks as well. He killed four separate drives in this game, many of them coming in the second half before New Orleans rallied back for the win. With this two sack game, it seemed like Ironside had reached a consistent stride as well. With this mark, five games into the season he was already nearing in on the best season he’d ever had. New Orleans had expected big things when they first drafted Ironside and it was great to see him finally start rounding into shape and having an impact on the field.
Copperheads 37 over Otters 27
Offense
Austin: Mako Mendonca - RB - At this point in the season it looked like Mendonca was determined to string one electric performance after another together. The more he settles in, the more typical seeing games like this out of him becomes. He once more made his mark in both the ground game and through the air as he combined for 125 yards and two touchdowns, giving him more impact offensively in this game than any other player. He picked up six of Austin’s first downs and five of them ended up with Austin putting points on the board. His impact was felt through all four quarters and it felt like something was going to happen almost every time he got his hands on the ball. Mendonca has become one of the most consistent players on the season and it is a real joy to see play out.
Austin: Rod Tidwell - WR - After watching this game, the only thing I could think of was how much Tidwell completely abused his opposite number. He managed to get himself open on 10 different occasions and it seemed like every single reception was bigger than the one before it. Five of his 10 catches moved the sticks in this game and four of those came on a single drive. On Austin’s first drive of the game, Tidwell decided to set the tone. The first offensive play of the game for the Copperheads saw him wrangle in an 11 yard toss. The then followed that up two plays later on second and six by collecting an incredible 28 yard dime from Cole that set Austin up on their opponent’s side of the field. Three plays later on third and six, Tidwell got open in the secondary for another 12 yards. Finally he capped it off on second and four and moved the sticks again with a 10 yard reception. This set up Austin at the three yard line and allowed them to score their first points of the game. It was this drive that made it clear Tidwell was going to be a game changer in this one.
Defense
Orange County: Tyrone Biggums - S - Biggums is a young player for Orange County that is just beginning to break into his prime. He was one of the most touted prospects from the S18 class and he wasted no time in becoming a core part of this defense. He’s made quite a few key plays through his career and has always been consistent throughout his time with the Otters. As such, this game was just another day at the office for Biggums. He got to play a fair bit in run support with half of his six tackles being on Mendonca, got to join in the pass rush as he racked up a sack, and he even tried to help out Orange County’s struggling offense by returning an interception 45 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. In fact, that return was what gave the Otters their first half lead. Unfortunately, the team as a whole really seemed to freeze in the second half.
Austin: Kyle Idlewyld - DE - The young rookie Idlewyld found another huge game early in his career. After having one breakout game early on, this one cemented the youngster as a bonafide playmaker. He found another offensive line to make look silly as he completely manhandled his way into a six tackle game where all but one ended up in Orange County’s back field. Three tackles for a loss, two sacks, and a final takedown for less than a yard gain. It was a showing of the likes we rarely get to see in this league as Idlewyld could not be blocked by any man. Any run that came his way? It got dropped immediately. Armstrong dropped back to pass? Idlewyld was in his face before he could look down field. It looked as if this rookie was paving his way through the line on every single play as he pushed the Otters back 34 yards on the day. That was as many yards as either of Orange County’s running backs rushed for in this game. Quite the performance for the young guy.
SaberCats 48 over Butchers 27
Offense
San Jose: Dan Wright - QB - Since swapping to quarterback from tight end, Dan Wright has faced his fair share of criticism. He hasn’t exactly been having games that pop out and he has consistently struggled with his new role. With this game he’s getting recognized for his second solid showing of the season and it is starting to look like he may be finally turning the corner. His 64 percent completion rating, 270 yards, and three touchdown was enough to put together a 106.9 quarterback rating. It's one of the best marks of his career and it came on a day in which he only made one real mistake all day. He also churned out 91 yards on the ground as well in just 13 carries, bailing himself out any time he felt under pressure. The throws were mostly short to medium with most of his tosses coming under 15 yards. His efficiency and ability to drive the ball down the field worked perfectly in tandem with his running game as they methodically worked the Chicago defense. His management of this game plan led to 26 San Jose first downs and allowed them to control the clock for 36 minutes. Due to Wright, they felt in control of this game the whole time.
San Jose: Quindarius Tyerucker - RB - The effectiveness of the slow but steady approach by San Jose in this game was greatly aided by Tyerucker. On 26 carries he managed only one negative run the entire game as he simply went forward every time he touched the ball. 129 yards, and incredible five yards per carry, and two touchdowns mounted up methodically as Chicago struggled to bring him to the ground all day. In fact he only had six carries on the day where he rushed for less than four yards on a carry. His consistency in getting four or more guaranteed that as long as Tyerucker was getting the ball, they’d constantly convert. He had a monumental 11 runs that ended in either a first down or a touchdown as he pushed past the sticks again and again. This effort gave him a synergy with Wright that made San Jose borderline terrifying as they slowly sapped the life from Chicago.
Austin: Ahri Espeeyeeseetee - WR - I would normally move to defense at this point, but when you’re handling a 48 to 27 game there isn’t much defense to speak of. There is a ton of offense to discuss though and you can’t ignore what Ahri did in this game. His effort at receiver was plenty to earn him a mention. Five receptions, 148 yards, and a touchdown put this performance in one of the top efforts in the NSFL on the season. All five catches went for chunks of yardage as he hauled in passes of 11, 14, 31, 37 and 55 yards. He was determined to push Austin down the field at all costs. So much so that he also stepped up in the return game. Four returns, 190 yards, and a score bolstered his numbers in this game in a way few other things could. It was topped off with a massive 99 yard return score as he tried to narrow the gap in the second quarter and breathe some life into this team. Ultimately his efforts simply came up short and San Jose’s offense was on fire in this game.
Week 5
Yeti 29 over Liberty 17
Offense
Colorado: Wolfie McDummy - QB - Another week, another top tier performance by McDummy. Seeing him string these together early in the season is a point of pride as it truly looks like McDummy has vaulted himself past mediocrity. He got to spend some time in the basement of the league, so now that he’s getting to see the light he isn’t willing to let it go. He completed 28 passes for 331 yards and three touchdowns. His 69 percent completion rating and his 106.9 quarterback rating were monuments to how smoothly this game went for Wolfie. He made a single mistake all game long with an interception, but it was well into the fourth quarter and well after the game was out of hand for Philadelphia. McDummy has become an absolute rock for this Colorado team and as long as he is putting together performances like this, there is no roof for how far the Yeti can go. It is pretty fun to see things finally working in the favor of a once believed to be cursed franchise.
Colorado: James Bishop - WR - You almost can’t have a solid quarterback game without a wide receiver on the field that is making you look good. The distribution of passes just doesn’t work out that way on the majority of occasions. This game was more of the same as Bishop hauled in six catches for 123 yards and a touchdown. He showed off both short range and long range ability as he converted two short third downs in this game as well as racking up most of his yards on two massive plays. He burned McMorris twice in this game, grabbing a 40 yard pass and a 45 yard pass over the head of his opposition. He showed some versatility in what he could do on the field and kept himself open as a reliable target for McDummy through this one. Both of these guys have been with the team for a long while and it's good to see they still have synergy between them.
Defense
Philadelphia: Julian McMorris - CB - While James Bishop had a pretty good game, it was a constant fight with McMorris. As a result, both had fairly solid games and it is hard to really put together who got the best of the match up. Yes, Bishop brought in six catches and beat McMorris deep twice. That said, Bishop was targeted 11 times on the day and more often than not, McMorris kept him from catching everything that came his way. He had a deflection that ended a drive for Colorado and also forced McDummy to make his one mistake of the game. He’d tried to force the ball to Bishop in the fourth quarter and McMorris was there to get his hands on it. He also stopped another third down conversion attempt with a key tackle, meaning he ended three Colorado drives in this game. Despite his successes though, the game was never really close.
Colorado: Bubba Thumper - DT - The point of attack was entirely dominated by Colorado’s defensive front. Philadelphia managed just 78 collective rushing yards in this game which was a true testament to how little push their offensive line was getting. The leader of this herculean effort from Colorado? None other than Bubba Thumper. Thumper has become one of the premier linemen in the league and it has almost become expected that he has overwhelmingly solid games. He is the best defensive tackle in the league and when you have a monster like this on your defensive line, you expect to control the trenches. That's just what Colorado got out of Thumper here. Five tackles, one for a loss, and a sack. His three plays that weren’t backwards were within two yards of the line of scrimmage. All in all, he pushed Philadelphia backwards more than he allowed them forwards. No one seemed to be able to block this man and he was a big reason why Philadelphia had to move away from the run all together. More than that, his sack came in the end zone, adding two points to the board for this team. On days like this when all of Colorado’s stars really show up, they become a pretty intimidating force on the field.
Wraiths 27 over Hawks 14
Offense
Baltimore: Corvo Havran - QB - Despite being on the losing side in this game, Havran actually outperformed his opposition. He was more efficient, more accurate, and all in all put together a very solid showing. He simply didn’t have the run support that Bigsby was provided on the other side. Havran’s 65 percent completion rating, 232 yards, and two touchdowns was enough to give him a solid 104 quarterback rating. Any time you hit triple digits, you had a solid showing. That said, their run game struggled and as such they allowed the Wraiths to control the clock. More than that, they struggled in third and short situations as Bigby struggled to even make it past the line on most of these occasions. This limited the number of opportunities Havran had to make things happen and despite a nearly flawless day on his part, they fell well short of victory.
Yellowknife: Mathias Hanyadi - RB- It is becoming clear to me that Hanyadi is a pretty consistent highlight reel for these Wraiths. The quarterbacks in this game traded back and forth and overall ended with their numbers looking very similar. Ultimately, Havran edged out Bigsby by a small margin. Luckily for Bigsby, he had something Havran did not. The versatile play of Mathias Hanyadi. Hanyadi made his presence felt both on the ground and through the air as he put together a 114 yard and two touchdown campaign. He didn’t do anything big, he didn’t do anything flashy. He kept things short and consistent and did exactly what was asked of him. Outside of his two touchdowns, he also picked up six first downs. Two of those were on third and short and another was when the team decided to trust him on a fourth and one. When Hanyadi’s number was called, he produced. Ultimately that production ended up being the difference in this game for Yellowknife.
Defense
Yellowknife: Danny Grithead - S - The ageless wonder does it again. Grithead is still fully capable of having an impact in all phases of the game despite his regression and this was another performance to show that. While Havran’s mistakes were limited in this game, when he did mess up it was usually Grithead there causing it. He knocked three separate balls out of the air in this game and two of the three were on third downs that forced Baltimore to punt. He also imposed his will on the running game as he racked up six tackles, of which held Baltimore’s Bigby to less than three yards gained. He wasn’t beaten in coverage a single time and was able to quickly swap between locking up his receiver and punishing Bigby for daring to cross the line. Grithead continues to produce and when he produces, Yellowknife usually finds the win.
Yellowknife: Nero Alexander - DE - Another long time Wraith’s player filling this spot isn’t exactly an indication of the age of this defense, but instead is a testament to the reliability of Yellowknife’s veterans to continue coming up big. Much like Grithead, Alexander is here primarily for his efforts against the Baltimore run game. He had four tackles, one of which was for a loss and another was a sack. The other two tackles were at the line of scrimmage though, barely allowing an inch to Bigby. All four of his plays in this game forced punts out of Baltimore and he was a big reason why Havran was limited in opportunities in this game. If you can’t convert in short yardage situations, you can’t continue drives. Alexander made sure he spent some extra time on the bench by stopping them in their tracks time and time again.
Second Line 20 over Outlaws 19
Offense
Arizona: Jay Cue - QB - Cue put together a lights out performance for this game and did almost everything right. His 56 percent completion rating left a little bit to be desired, but he racked up 378 yards and two touchdowns without turning the ball over a single time. His 103.5 quarterback rating was a testament to just how well he played this game as he continuously took chunks of yards away from the Second Line defense. He led this offense in inspired fashion as they controlled the ball for 33 minutes despite not having much efficiency in their run game. They had 22 total first yards, they outgained New Orleans 479 yards to 350, they even won the turnover battle. All of this was thanks to Jay Cue and the incredible game he put together. All of that and somehow Arizona fell short. Fell short because of a missed extra point in the fourth quarter that came back to bite them when New Orleans began to rally.
Arizona: Jammerson Irving - TE - In the previous weeks, Irving had shown off his abilities and his versatility. He’d shown he was capable of being both the big play threat as well as the reliable safety blanket for Cue. Whatever Jay Cue needed, Irving was more than willing to provide. That was on full display here in this game. Cue targeted Irving 13 times and he rewarded Cue by hauling in 12 of them. Second and one yard to go? Two yard screen. Third and nine? 13 yard catch. Second and eight? 27 yard catch! No matter what Cue needed, Irving was where he needed to be to convert. In fact, of Irving's 12 catches, 11 of them either went for a first down or a touchdown. Perhaps the only thing that Cue did wrong all game long is that he did not target this man more. He was a terror in the New Orleans secondary and he racked up 188 yards and a score. New Orleans had no answers for him and rarely have I seen a more dominant performance by one man. He was basically flawless al game long and his efforts should have been rewarded with a win. Sometimes life doesn’t play out that way though.
Defense
New Orleans: Johnny Slothface - LB - With Arizona’s offense firing on all cylinders and no one on New Orleans’ offense really able to match them in production, the question may be raised about how in the world did New Orleans manage to win this game? Big time players on defense making plays when they were needed. The run game of Arizona didn’t have much wiggle room at all, which left Cue being forced to throw the ball around to not only move down the field but to also burn time off the clock. With their running game stalled, it actually limited Arizona’s ability to waste more time than they already had. Slothface was the artist behind this chaos. He was playing all over the field. Run support, pass rush, and in coverage. He never managed to get a tackle for a loss, but he did have eight tackles that were within three yards of the line of scrimmage as he completely smothered Ruff through this entire game. You don’t see Ruff with low averages often, but he was only able to produce 3.2 yards a carry because every time he looked up, there was a Slothface. More than that, Slothface also produced two sacks that happened back to back to kill a drive at the end of the second quarter and he also knocked away three balls as the game progressed. In fact the one ball that Irving didn’t catch happened to be the only time Slothface was covering him in this whole game. Slothface has long been one of the best and most versatile players on this defense and it really all came together in this game.
New Orleans: Bjørn Ironside - DT - Once again we’re looking at big players having big impacts. Ironside was Slothface’s partner in crime for much of the game, solidifying the few holes that Slothface wasn’t able to cover. Ironside imposed his will on the opposing offensive line and completely plugged up the front. Not only did he not allow running lanes his direction, allowing less than a yard combined on his three tackles, he also managed to bulldoze his way to two sacks as well. He killed four separate drives in this game, many of them coming in the second half before New Orleans rallied back for the win. With this two sack game, it seemed like Ironside had reached a consistent stride as well. With this mark, five games into the season he was already nearing in on the best season he’d ever had. New Orleans had expected big things when they first drafted Ironside and it was great to see him finally start rounding into shape and having an impact on the field.
Copperheads 37 over Otters 27
Offense
Austin: Mako Mendonca - RB - At this point in the season it looked like Mendonca was determined to string one electric performance after another together. The more he settles in, the more typical seeing games like this out of him becomes. He once more made his mark in both the ground game and through the air as he combined for 125 yards and two touchdowns, giving him more impact offensively in this game than any other player. He picked up six of Austin’s first downs and five of them ended up with Austin putting points on the board. His impact was felt through all four quarters and it felt like something was going to happen almost every time he got his hands on the ball. Mendonca has become one of the most consistent players on the season and it is a real joy to see play out.
Austin: Rod Tidwell - WR - After watching this game, the only thing I could think of was how much Tidwell completely abused his opposite number. He managed to get himself open on 10 different occasions and it seemed like every single reception was bigger than the one before it. Five of his 10 catches moved the sticks in this game and four of those came on a single drive. On Austin’s first drive of the game, Tidwell decided to set the tone. The first offensive play of the game for the Copperheads saw him wrangle in an 11 yard toss. The then followed that up two plays later on second and six by collecting an incredible 28 yard dime from Cole that set Austin up on their opponent’s side of the field. Three plays later on third and six, Tidwell got open in the secondary for another 12 yards. Finally he capped it off on second and four and moved the sticks again with a 10 yard reception. This set up Austin at the three yard line and allowed them to score their first points of the game. It was this drive that made it clear Tidwell was going to be a game changer in this one.
Defense
Orange County: Tyrone Biggums - S - Biggums is a young player for Orange County that is just beginning to break into his prime. He was one of the most touted prospects from the S18 class and he wasted no time in becoming a core part of this defense. He’s made quite a few key plays through his career and has always been consistent throughout his time with the Otters. As such, this game was just another day at the office for Biggums. He got to play a fair bit in run support with half of his six tackles being on Mendonca, got to join in the pass rush as he racked up a sack, and he even tried to help out Orange County’s struggling offense by returning an interception 45 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. In fact, that return was what gave the Otters their first half lead. Unfortunately, the team as a whole really seemed to freeze in the second half.
Austin: Kyle Idlewyld - DE - The young rookie Idlewyld found another huge game early in his career. After having one breakout game early on, this one cemented the youngster as a bonafide playmaker. He found another offensive line to make look silly as he completely manhandled his way into a six tackle game where all but one ended up in Orange County’s back field. Three tackles for a loss, two sacks, and a final takedown for less than a yard gain. It was a showing of the likes we rarely get to see in this league as Idlewyld could not be blocked by any man. Any run that came his way? It got dropped immediately. Armstrong dropped back to pass? Idlewyld was in his face before he could look down field. It looked as if this rookie was paving his way through the line on every single play as he pushed the Otters back 34 yards on the day. That was as many yards as either of Orange County’s running backs rushed for in this game. Quite the performance for the young guy.
SaberCats 48 over Butchers 27
Offense
San Jose: Dan Wright - QB - Since swapping to quarterback from tight end, Dan Wright has faced his fair share of criticism. He hasn’t exactly been having games that pop out and he has consistently struggled with his new role. With this game he’s getting recognized for his second solid showing of the season and it is starting to look like he may be finally turning the corner. His 64 percent completion rating, 270 yards, and three touchdown was enough to put together a 106.9 quarterback rating. It's one of the best marks of his career and it came on a day in which he only made one real mistake all day. He also churned out 91 yards on the ground as well in just 13 carries, bailing himself out any time he felt under pressure. The throws were mostly short to medium with most of his tosses coming under 15 yards. His efficiency and ability to drive the ball down the field worked perfectly in tandem with his running game as they methodically worked the Chicago defense. His management of this game plan led to 26 San Jose first downs and allowed them to control the clock for 36 minutes. Due to Wright, they felt in control of this game the whole time.
San Jose: Quindarius Tyerucker - RB - The effectiveness of the slow but steady approach by San Jose in this game was greatly aided by Tyerucker. On 26 carries he managed only one negative run the entire game as he simply went forward every time he touched the ball. 129 yards, and incredible five yards per carry, and two touchdowns mounted up methodically as Chicago struggled to bring him to the ground all day. In fact he only had six carries on the day where he rushed for less than four yards on a carry. His consistency in getting four or more guaranteed that as long as Tyerucker was getting the ball, they’d constantly convert. He had a monumental 11 runs that ended in either a first down or a touchdown as he pushed past the sticks again and again. This effort gave him a synergy with Wright that made San Jose borderline terrifying as they slowly sapped the life from Chicago.
Austin: Ahri Espeeyeeseetee - WR - I would normally move to defense at this point, but when you’re handling a 48 to 27 game there isn’t much defense to speak of. There is a ton of offense to discuss though and you can’t ignore what Ahri did in this game. His effort at receiver was plenty to earn him a mention. Five receptions, 148 yards, and a touchdown put this performance in one of the top efforts in the NSFL on the season. All five catches went for chunks of yardage as he hauled in passes of 11, 14, 31, 37 and 55 yards. He was determined to push Austin down the field at all costs. So much so that he also stepped up in the return game. Four returns, 190 yards, and a score bolstered his numbers in this game in a way few other things could. It was topped off with a massive 99 yard return score as he tried to narrow the gap in the second quarter and breathe some life into this team. Ultimately his efforts simply came up short and San Jose’s offense was on fire in this game.
![[Image: Untitled_Artwork.png]](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/732271706806419517/769550826225795102/Untitled_Artwork.png)
![[Image: sketch1596853902954.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/732271706806419517/741483802865696870/sketch1596853902954.png)
