12-30-2020, 02:10 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-02-2021, 07:35 AM by Asked Madden.)
Top 5 Countdown – Recap of the best last second finishes of the year...so far
I’ve gone through the season schedule and identified the most gut-wrenching losses and improbable victories, and compiled a top-5. This was no easy task as our dear friend the sim likes to make things interesting every week, with antics such as burning timeouts needlessly and incessantly forcing run-heavy game scripts while the clock tick tick ticks away. Also, it should be noted that I generally only watch my team play each week and stare relentlessly at the box score to catch a glimpse of the 4 tackles and an offsides penalty I’m locked into each week. So what I’m saying is I really have no idea what I’m talking about here. Ok well, with that disclaimer out of the way, let’s get to the countdown of our top last second finishes of the Season 26 campaign, through week 13. Let’s do this new year’s style and countdown from number 5.
5th Place Game
(Week 11) Yellow Knife Wraiths v Baltimore Hawks (25-22)
Wraiths escape with win on booming field goal
The Wraiths controlled the game through three quarters, holding a 22-14 lead going into the fourth. Quarterback Colby Jack had just thrown his 3rd TD pass of the game and were in the drivers’ seat, despite a missed extra point from kicker Blago Kokot. The first half of the fourth quarter was rather uneventful, as teams traded punts and stops. Eventually the Hawks found the end zone on a 36 yard hook up between Chika Fujikawa and Doug Howlett. The Hawks go for 2 and get it, tying the game at 22-all and making the missed XP a now glaring error. The defenses continued to grind hard, as both teams again traded punts. With 3 minutes left and starting from their 2-yard line, the Wraiths were down to their last opportunity to put away the Hawks. After two straight incompletions, Jack finds his 1-st half rhythm again and hits Jamison Vermillion out of the backfield for 24 yards on 3rd and 10. A 12 yard completion then brings the Wraiths to the Baltimore 44 yard line. Jack to Vermillion fell incomplete to seemingly bring up a huge 3rd and 11 but WAIT. Defensive Tackle Nuniq Annastesia is flagged at the line of scrimmage for unnecessary roughness at the line of scrimmage. The Baltimore sidelines is irate. The 15 yard penalty takes Yellow Knife down to the Hawks’ 30 yard line and towards chip-shot range with 60 seconds left. Annastesia seems dejected. However, on the very next play Annastesia bull-rushes his way right through the Wraiths’ interior and rocks Colby Jack for a 6 yard loss. The Wraiths have to burn their final timeout with 42 seconds left. The Hawks defense mobs Annastesia as the Wraiths are now backed up to the 36 yard line on this cold and windy night in Yellow Knife.
Out trots Blago Kokot. The Wraiths’ former DSFL Kicker of the year and current punter and kicker, extraordinaire. Kokot has kicked a 32 and 27 yard field goal in the game, and had hit one extra point, but the weather had really turned as the night went on. Kokot’s last kick try had hooked hard and missed right. Now he was lined up for a 53 yard gamer winner. No pressure.
Snap down.
Kick is up.
And it is…..GOOD! It’s good! Kokot’s kick sneaks in the upright with just enough leg! The Wraiths begin to run onto the field but there are still 22 seconds left. Kokot kicks off and sends it through the endzone. The Hawks are stopped at midfield on their only play. Kokot is mobbed by his teammates as the Wraiths escape the Hawks on a frigid night at home.
Top Performance in week 11 YKN v BAL matchup:
4th Place Game
(Week 1) Orange County Otters v Arizona Outlaws (45-42)
First game of Season 26 is an overtime thriller
The game that kicked off Season 26 was destined to be great, as from the opening play the game was an absolute must-watch barn burner. The Otters dropped a cool 24 points with 12-plus minutes to go in the second quarter! But the Outlaws pressed the Otters just as hard. By the time all was said and done at the half, the score was 32-31 Otters, and we could all collectively take a breath. The game had already delivered us a collective 5 touchdown passes between Outlaws QB Jay Cue and Otters QB Suleiman Ramza, 108 yards receiving for Taro Raimon, back to back sacks by Logan Noble Jr, and a safety from Goat Tank. The only blemish was a missed extra point from Otters kicker Alex Dasistwirklichseinnachname . The torrid pace established in the first half waned in the third quarter, as the teams began to tighten up defensively. Ramza threw his 3rd touchdown of the game and the Outlaws were able to tally 3 more points, to make the score 39-34. The 5 point lead soon grew to 8 as Ramza drove his team down to the 8 yard line to begin the fourth and settling for a field goal. The offenses struggled to find traction until the Outlaws took over after a punt with 7 minutes left put them at the 21 yard line. Outlaws QB Jay Cue dinked and dunked his way down the field, finding 5 different receivers en route to a five minute, 13 play, 79 yard drive, capped with a 3 yard rushing touchdown by Gunner Thorbjornsson and a successful 2-point conversion. An absolute offensive clinic from the Outlaws that tied the game at 42 and left only 2:07 on the clock. As much as the Outlaws looked like a well oiled machine on their drive, the beginning of the Otters’ 2-minute drill looked like something out of a Monty Python sketch. The Otters rushed 3 times for 16 yards, used all of their timeouts to do so, and followed up the timeout with an illegal motion penalty. 3rd and 14 at their own 29 yard line, 1:24 left and no timeouts. Not a lot of plays for this scenario in the playbook.
Ramza takes the snap and drops deep, clearly this is no sideline quick-hitter to set up fourth down. Immense pressure is applied immediately by left-end Sandro Ryeu, who forces Ramza to roll right. Ramza then fires left, across his body and into traffic. Somehow, miraculously, Heath Evans makes the grab and is able to turn up field at the 35 yard line. Evans stiff-arms the first defender, shakes the second, and is able to charge his way past, over, and through 3 defenders. Evans is tackled, but not before picking up 34 yards. Rather than spike the ball, the Otters bring out the kicking team. Where have you heard this before? Alex Dasistwirklichseinnachname lines us from 53 yards, with the clock running and just over 20 seconds left. And he bangs the kick through from 53 with only 20 seconds left! Unbelievable. All the Outlaws had to do was tackle Evans after his 6 yard catch…instead he is able to single—handedly get all the way into field goal position with enough time left to get the kick off. All with no timeouts on 3 and 14. What a way to start the season. Game of the year candidate and we’ve just gotten started.
Top Performances in week 1 OCO v AZ matchup:
3rd Place game
(Week 3) Chicago Butchers v Berlin Fire Salamanders (31-30)
O’Donnell takes hit, delivers killshot on last play
Ok enough with the game winning field goals. Sorry kickers, we’ve seen our share now. These last 3 moments belong to touchdowns. What’s even crazier – all three of these plays ended on the last play of the game. Talk about exciting finishes. It makes for a difficult ranking, these are all more like 1a/1b/1c. This game was all about taking big shots and then delivering back your own. The game started off real rough for Chicago. After an opening drive punt, its defense proceeded to get absolutely shredded by Nick Kaepercolin through the air and an eventual 5 yard Joseph Petrongolo touchdown run. After a Chicago 3-and-out and punt, Berlin put the heat right back on, picking up a first down and marching towards midfield. But Chicago’s defense comes up big with a pick at the 49 by rookie corner Damian Blackfyre. With good field position, Chicago looks to get its offense on track, but the very next play from scrimmage is a pick by S. Jones, who undercuts George O’Donnell’s dump off to the tight end and takes it 55 yards to the house! 14-0 Berlin! The defenses then trade stops. After Chicago punter Sam Sidekick’s fourth punt of the half, Kaepercolin is picked again by Blackfyre, who makes sure Chicago finds the endzone and cuts the lead to 14-7. What a quarter. The second and third quarters play out similarly, though with less scoring. Chicago enters the fourth up 24-17 despite 1 TD and 3 picks by O’Donnell. Berlin’s offense, which looked so deadly on its opening drive, has fallen apart, though they are able to scrap together a field goal to make it 24-20 after O’Donnell’s 3rd INT. However, O’Donnell isn’t done. O’Donnell throws another pick on the next possession, and Berlin is finally able to capitalize on it with an ensuing touchdown to make it 27-24 Berlin. After more stops by both defenses…uh no…not again. O’Donnell is picked for the FIFTH TIME by A. Schell, who returns it 40 yards. Chicago’s defense stands tall though, and holds Berlin to 3. 30-24.
Chicago receives the ball with 3:44 remaining. Still somehow, miraculously down by only 1 possession. O’Donnell takes the field again. Sitting at 326 yards passing but at the cost of a 44% completion percentage and 5 interceptions. In what will go down as one of the all time grit and gut performances, O’Donnell proceeds to drive Chicago down the field 40 yards, settling at the Berlin 33 yard line. Timeout with 47 seconds left. After a false start and two straight incompletions, the Butchers are staring down the Barrel. O’Donnell has been bruised and battered all game. 40 seconds left and 1 timeout. 3rd and fifteen.
O’Donnell takes the snap and faces immediate penetration from the blitzing Salamanders. Facing another big hit, O’Donnell bares down and gets crushed – but this time delivers a strike to his tight end Tree Gelbman in stride on a seam route. Gelbman fights of the linebacker in coverage and rumbles the rest of the way towards the goal line. He’s tripped up into the endzone where he falls for a 33 yard touchdown with no time left! The extra point is good! The Chicago Butchers with an improbable 31-30 win! Berlin snatches defeat from the jaws of Victory! From the outhouse to the penthouse, O’Donnell delivers the game winner despite 5 interceptions.
Top Performances in week 3 CHI v BER matchup:
2nd Place game
(Week 11) Chicago Butchers v Philadelphia Liberty
O’No! Liberty latest victim of O’Donnell magic
Its an article like this that makes me realize I need to start watching more games. When this game happened I couldn’t believe the ending. And now I’ve just realized this O’Donnell fella has a penchant for this type of thing.
This game started out a lot less interesting than the others listed here. Lots of punts, sacks, penalties, and few fireworks. Yet the Liberty saw themselves up 24-10 at the end of the third, a very unique position for this club who couldn’t seem to stop a nose bleed for most of the season. O’Donnell had NOT thrown a pick, but was a mediocre 12/22 for 132 yards. Meanwhile Brock Phoenix was sitting at 290 yards and had just thrown his third TD. The Liberty was rolling. But the Achilles heal of this team would rear its ugly head. After another Chicago punt, the Liberty got the ball up 14 with 13 minutes left in the game. A score now making a comeback seemingly improbable for Chicago, but on a third and 10, Brock Phoenix is picked off by Tyler Oles Jr. inside the Philly 30 yard line. The ensuing 3 minute drive saw Baby Yoda punch in a touchdown from 1 yard out on third and goal. 24-17. The interception seemed to completely destroy Philadelphia’s established momentum, as it punted on its next possession, surrendered a field goal, and punted again on its following possession. After being up two touchdowns heading into the 4th and its star quarterback rolling, the Liberty, in just 10 minutes, were now up only 4, with 29 total yards amassed in the quarter, and needing a stop to win the game.
In comes O’Donnell.
In a balanced attack between O’Donnell, Yoda, and Julio Tirtawidjaja, the Butchers got to about midfield with 1:52 remaining and needing a touchdown. A subsequent 15 yard dart from O’Donnell to Rodriguez, along with a timeout, placed the ball at the Philadelphia 38. After a drop, the Butchers hand the ball of to Yoda, who scampers for 11 yards. Now out of timeouts, Chicago gets to the line and spikes the ball with 21 seconds left in the game. Right where O’Donnell wants his prey. O’Donnell takes the snap and drops back, standing tall in the pocket, and looks right. His all-world tight end Gelbman is triple covered. So O’Donnell scans left and identifies wide receiver Sean O’Learly with man coverage. He fires to O’Leary, who makes the catch at the 18, feigns a sideline move, and cuts in and up down hash. Cornerback Quin is spun around and is in chase mode. The clock ticks out as O’Leary, Quin, and safety Zelos meet at the goal line. O’Leary lowers his shoulder, stretches, and breaks the plane with the ball with two defenders draped on him! Touchdown Chicago! There’s no time left! O’Leary with one of the boldest decisions I’ve ever seen to fake going out of bounds to saying ‘f-it, I’m going to the endzone for the win!’ A 27 yard touchdown to complete the improbable comeback…again! For Philadelphia, this game was a microcosm of its season. Nothing seemed to break right. But one has to wonder what the coaching decision was on the last play of the game to leave its corners exposed on an island on man coverage. A lesson perhaps they won’t soon forget.
Top Performance in week 11 CHI v PHI matchup:
And now…the moment you’ve all been waiting for…Season 26’s:
GAME OF THE YEAR
1st Place Game
(Week 6) Berlin Fire Salamanders v Colorado Yeti (20-17)
Blanco blasts Batista on the one-inch line, saves day for Berlin
Berlin was reeling. At one point, the Fire Salamanders were a tackle away from starting the season 1-2 and riding some momentum taken from a win versus Chicago. Instead, the Butchers pulled out an improbable victory and sent Berlin in a tail spin and on its way to an 0-5 record to start the year. In come the Yeti, sitting at 3-2 and looking to separate itself from mediocrity.
Both offenses had shown flashes, but had been at best, largely inconsistent. That theme played out early in this game as the two bashed their heads into each other and came to a stalemate. There was no scoring in the first quarter, though Berlin was able to leverage a late quarter fumble recovery, forced by Benoit Blanco, into a drive culminating in an early second quarter touchdown. The Yeti got on the board themselves with 7 late in the quarter. At the half the teams were tied up. 8 punts and 6 sacks were the main statistical takeaways, with the teams also combining for only 5 total trips past the 50 yard line through the first half. While the second half threatened to play out the same as the first after a Berlin punt, the Yeti took their opening possession 65 yards downfield, capped with a Mattathias Caliban to Leeroy Jenkins 10 yard TD. Berlin put forth a field goal on their next possession, after which the two teams decided that offensive outburst was a bit too wild and settled back in to beating the snot out of each other. 14-10 Yeti at the end of the third quarter. The fourth quarter saw the two teams match field goals until Berlin began a drive with 6 minutes left to go in the game. A strong kickoff return by M. Krause set the Fire Salamanders up with much needed decent starting position. From there, Nick Kaepercolin finally found his stroke, eventually hitting a split out wide Joseph Petrongolo on an empty backfield set, who did the rest himself en route to a dazzling 26 yard touchdown. 20 to 17, Berlin. But a 32 yard return and 3:21 on the clock offered Caliban and co. plenty of opportunity to send Berlin home on another heart-breaker.
Three straight runs gave the Yeti a first down at its 45 yard line with 2:04 to go. And with 1:44 to go it scary for Berlin. Caliban, on 2nd and 6, takes a 7 step drop and hits his man, wide receiver William Lim in stride on a stop and go at the 30 yard line. Lim, with a step on corner Matt Krause, takes it down to the 12 yard line before he’s brought down by Krause, with help from Blanco. Timeout Yeti with 30 seconds to go. But rather than send the field goal unit out for the tie, the Yeti decide to take a shot at 6 to escape with a win. The ball must go into the end zone or out of bounds as the Yeti are out of timeouts.
Caliban takes the snap and takes a 5 step drop. The pocket holds up and he stands in the pocket, patting the ball as time ticks. Caliban rolls to the right, stops, and then fires a bullet across to the left side, towards the numbers, where Dave Batista reels it in at the 5. With just seconds on the clock now, the burly tight end turns and fights off the linebacker trying to drag him down. To the 4 yard line. Batista to the 3. To the 2. To the 1! BOOM! A huge collision! Fire Salamanders’ free safety Blanco, who had already forced a fumble earlier is there to meet Batista. Blanco, who was in deep coverage in the end zone, broke on the play immediately and was able to come up with speed and momentum and lay the big tight end out sideways. Batista reaches for the goal line late, but his knee has already touched the ground at the 1. A fire drill ensues! The offense running up to the line of scrimmage, the defense trying to get set at the goal line! Set and a snap. No! The refs blow the whistle. The clock has expired! No play! The Berlin Fire Salamanders have won on Blanco’s goal line tackle! The Yeti are calling for a video review but the clock has expired and Berlin is mobbing the field! Replay appears to show a clear tackle short of the goal line anyways. Mere moments from a dejecting loss to take them to 0-6, Berlin holds on the 1 and the crowd is going nuts! Incredible finish for this franchise still in its infancy.
***Fun fact – this game propelled Berlin to go 5-3 after its rough 0-5 start, including a redemption victory against O’Donnell and the Butchers.
Top Performance in week 6 BER v COL matchup:
Thanks to everyone for a fun season thus far. And cheers to double media! Maybe for my next trick I'll do the 5 worst games of the season - certain to feature my Philadelphia Liberty quite heavily! Happy Holidays!
I’ve gone through the season schedule and identified the most gut-wrenching losses and improbable victories, and compiled a top-5. This was no easy task as our dear friend the sim likes to make things interesting every week, with antics such as burning timeouts needlessly and incessantly forcing run-heavy game scripts while the clock tick tick ticks away. Also, it should be noted that I generally only watch my team play each week and stare relentlessly at the box score to catch a glimpse of the 4 tackles and an offsides penalty I’m locked into each week. So what I’m saying is I really have no idea what I’m talking about here. Ok well, with that disclaimer out of the way, let’s get to the countdown of our top last second finishes of the Season 26 campaign, through week 13. Let’s do this new year’s style and countdown from number 5.
5th Place Game
(Week 11) Yellow Knife Wraiths v Baltimore Hawks (25-22)
Wraiths escape with win on booming field goal
The Wraiths controlled the game through three quarters, holding a 22-14 lead going into the fourth. Quarterback Colby Jack had just thrown his 3rd TD pass of the game and were in the drivers’ seat, despite a missed extra point from kicker Blago Kokot. The first half of the fourth quarter was rather uneventful, as teams traded punts and stops. Eventually the Hawks found the end zone on a 36 yard hook up between Chika Fujikawa and Doug Howlett. The Hawks go for 2 and get it, tying the game at 22-all and making the missed XP a now glaring error. The defenses continued to grind hard, as both teams again traded punts. With 3 minutes left and starting from their 2-yard line, the Wraiths were down to their last opportunity to put away the Hawks. After two straight incompletions, Jack finds his 1-st half rhythm again and hits Jamison Vermillion out of the backfield for 24 yards on 3rd and 10. A 12 yard completion then brings the Wraiths to the Baltimore 44 yard line. Jack to Vermillion fell incomplete to seemingly bring up a huge 3rd and 11 but WAIT. Defensive Tackle Nuniq Annastesia is flagged at the line of scrimmage for unnecessary roughness at the line of scrimmage. The Baltimore sidelines is irate. The 15 yard penalty takes Yellow Knife down to the Hawks’ 30 yard line and towards chip-shot range with 60 seconds left. Annastesia seems dejected. However, on the very next play Annastesia bull-rushes his way right through the Wraiths’ interior and rocks Colby Jack for a 6 yard loss. The Wraiths have to burn their final timeout with 42 seconds left. The Hawks defense mobs Annastesia as the Wraiths are now backed up to the 36 yard line on this cold and windy night in Yellow Knife.
Out trots Blago Kokot. The Wraiths’ former DSFL Kicker of the year and current punter and kicker, extraordinaire. Kokot has kicked a 32 and 27 yard field goal in the game, and had hit one extra point, but the weather had really turned as the night went on. Kokot’s last kick try had hooked hard and missed right. Now he was lined up for a 53 yard gamer winner. No pressure.
Snap down.
Kick is up.
And it is…..GOOD! It’s good! Kokot’s kick sneaks in the upright with just enough leg! The Wraiths begin to run onto the field but there are still 22 seconds left. Kokot kicks off and sends it through the endzone. The Hawks are stopped at midfield on their only play. Kokot is mobbed by his teammates as the Wraiths escape the Hawks on a frigid night at home.
Top Performance in week 11 YKN v BAL matchup:
- Colby Jack, QB, Yellow Knife Wraiths – 25 of 41, 378 yards passing, 2 TDs, 0 INTs
4th Place Game
(Week 1) Orange County Otters v Arizona Outlaws (45-42)
First game of Season 26 is an overtime thriller
The game that kicked off Season 26 was destined to be great, as from the opening play the game was an absolute must-watch barn burner. The Otters dropped a cool 24 points with 12-plus minutes to go in the second quarter! But the Outlaws pressed the Otters just as hard. By the time all was said and done at the half, the score was 32-31 Otters, and we could all collectively take a breath. The game had already delivered us a collective 5 touchdown passes between Outlaws QB Jay Cue and Otters QB Suleiman Ramza, 108 yards receiving for Taro Raimon, back to back sacks by Logan Noble Jr, and a safety from Goat Tank. The only blemish was a missed extra point from Otters kicker Alex Dasistwirklichseinnachname . The torrid pace established in the first half waned in the third quarter, as the teams began to tighten up defensively. Ramza threw his 3rd touchdown of the game and the Outlaws were able to tally 3 more points, to make the score 39-34. The 5 point lead soon grew to 8 as Ramza drove his team down to the 8 yard line to begin the fourth and settling for a field goal. The offenses struggled to find traction until the Outlaws took over after a punt with 7 minutes left put them at the 21 yard line. Outlaws QB Jay Cue dinked and dunked his way down the field, finding 5 different receivers en route to a five minute, 13 play, 79 yard drive, capped with a 3 yard rushing touchdown by Gunner Thorbjornsson and a successful 2-point conversion. An absolute offensive clinic from the Outlaws that tied the game at 42 and left only 2:07 on the clock. As much as the Outlaws looked like a well oiled machine on their drive, the beginning of the Otters’ 2-minute drill looked like something out of a Monty Python sketch. The Otters rushed 3 times for 16 yards, used all of their timeouts to do so, and followed up the timeout with an illegal motion penalty. 3rd and 14 at their own 29 yard line, 1:24 left and no timeouts. Not a lot of plays for this scenario in the playbook.
Ramza takes the snap and drops deep, clearly this is no sideline quick-hitter to set up fourth down. Immense pressure is applied immediately by left-end Sandro Ryeu, who forces Ramza to roll right. Ramza then fires left, across his body and into traffic. Somehow, miraculously, Heath Evans makes the grab and is able to turn up field at the 35 yard line. Evans stiff-arms the first defender, shakes the second, and is able to charge his way past, over, and through 3 defenders. Evans is tackled, but not before picking up 34 yards. Rather than spike the ball, the Otters bring out the kicking team. Where have you heard this before? Alex Dasistwirklichseinnachname lines us from 53 yards, with the clock running and just over 20 seconds left. And he bangs the kick through from 53 with only 20 seconds left! Unbelievable. All the Outlaws had to do was tackle Evans after his 6 yard catch…instead he is able to single—handedly get all the way into field goal position with enough time left to get the kick off. All with no timeouts on 3 and 14. What a way to start the season. Game of the year candidate and we’ve just gotten started.
Top Performances in week 1 OCO v AZ matchup:
- Suleiman Ramza - QB (OCO): 19/28, 285 yds, 3 TD, 0 INT
- Jay Cue © - QB (AZ): 24/36, 383 yds, 3 TD, 0 INT
- Goat Tank - DT (OCO): 6 Tck, 1 Sck, 1 Sfty
3rd Place game
(Week 3) Chicago Butchers v Berlin Fire Salamanders (31-30)
O’Donnell takes hit, delivers killshot on last play
Ok enough with the game winning field goals. Sorry kickers, we’ve seen our share now. These last 3 moments belong to touchdowns. What’s even crazier – all three of these plays ended on the last play of the game. Talk about exciting finishes. It makes for a difficult ranking, these are all more like 1a/1b/1c. This game was all about taking big shots and then delivering back your own. The game started off real rough for Chicago. After an opening drive punt, its defense proceeded to get absolutely shredded by Nick Kaepercolin through the air and an eventual 5 yard Joseph Petrongolo touchdown run. After a Chicago 3-and-out and punt, Berlin put the heat right back on, picking up a first down and marching towards midfield. But Chicago’s defense comes up big with a pick at the 49 by rookie corner Damian Blackfyre. With good field position, Chicago looks to get its offense on track, but the very next play from scrimmage is a pick by S. Jones, who undercuts George O’Donnell’s dump off to the tight end and takes it 55 yards to the house! 14-0 Berlin! The defenses then trade stops. After Chicago punter Sam Sidekick’s fourth punt of the half, Kaepercolin is picked again by Blackfyre, who makes sure Chicago finds the endzone and cuts the lead to 14-7. What a quarter. The second and third quarters play out similarly, though with less scoring. Chicago enters the fourth up 24-17 despite 1 TD and 3 picks by O’Donnell. Berlin’s offense, which looked so deadly on its opening drive, has fallen apart, though they are able to scrap together a field goal to make it 24-20 after O’Donnell’s 3rd INT. However, O’Donnell isn’t done. O’Donnell throws another pick on the next possession, and Berlin is finally able to capitalize on it with an ensuing touchdown to make it 27-24 Berlin. After more stops by both defenses…uh no…not again. O’Donnell is picked for the FIFTH TIME by A. Schell, who returns it 40 yards. Chicago’s defense stands tall though, and holds Berlin to 3. 30-24.
Chicago receives the ball with 3:44 remaining. Still somehow, miraculously down by only 1 possession. O’Donnell takes the field again. Sitting at 326 yards passing but at the cost of a 44% completion percentage and 5 interceptions. In what will go down as one of the all time grit and gut performances, O’Donnell proceeds to drive Chicago down the field 40 yards, settling at the Berlin 33 yard line. Timeout with 47 seconds left. After a false start and two straight incompletions, the Butchers are staring down the Barrel. O’Donnell has been bruised and battered all game. 40 seconds left and 1 timeout. 3rd and fifteen.
O’Donnell takes the snap and faces immediate penetration from the blitzing Salamanders. Facing another big hit, O’Donnell bares down and gets crushed – but this time delivers a strike to his tight end Tree Gelbman in stride on a seam route. Gelbman fights of the linebacker in coverage and rumbles the rest of the way towards the goal line. He’s tripped up into the endzone where he falls for a 33 yard touchdown with no time left! The extra point is good! The Chicago Butchers with an improbable 31-30 win! Berlin snatches defeat from the jaws of Victory! From the outhouse to the penthouse, O’Donnell delivers the game winner despite 5 interceptions.
Top Performances in week 3 CHI v BER matchup:
- Damian Blackfyre ® - FS (CHI): 4 Tck, 1 Sck, 2 Int, 1 Def TD
- Swantavius Jones - CB (BER): 2 Tck, 1 Sck, 2 Int, 1 Def TD
- Hamish MacAndrew - FS (CHI): 5 Tck, 2 Sck
2nd Place game
(Week 11) Chicago Butchers v Philadelphia Liberty
O’No! Liberty latest victim of O’Donnell magic
Its an article like this that makes me realize I need to start watching more games. When this game happened I couldn’t believe the ending. And now I’ve just realized this O’Donnell fella has a penchant for this type of thing.
This game started out a lot less interesting than the others listed here. Lots of punts, sacks, penalties, and few fireworks. Yet the Liberty saw themselves up 24-10 at the end of the third, a very unique position for this club who couldn’t seem to stop a nose bleed for most of the season. O’Donnell had NOT thrown a pick, but was a mediocre 12/22 for 132 yards. Meanwhile Brock Phoenix was sitting at 290 yards and had just thrown his third TD. The Liberty was rolling. But the Achilles heal of this team would rear its ugly head. After another Chicago punt, the Liberty got the ball up 14 with 13 minutes left in the game. A score now making a comeback seemingly improbable for Chicago, but on a third and 10, Brock Phoenix is picked off by Tyler Oles Jr. inside the Philly 30 yard line. The ensuing 3 minute drive saw Baby Yoda punch in a touchdown from 1 yard out on third and goal. 24-17. The interception seemed to completely destroy Philadelphia’s established momentum, as it punted on its next possession, surrendered a field goal, and punted again on its following possession. After being up two touchdowns heading into the 4th and its star quarterback rolling, the Liberty, in just 10 minutes, were now up only 4, with 29 total yards amassed in the quarter, and needing a stop to win the game.
In comes O’Donnell.
In a balanced attack between O’Donnell, Yoda, and Julio Tirtawidjaja, the Butchers got to about midfield with 1:52 remaining and needing a touchdown. A subsequent 15 yard dart from O’Donnell to Rodriguez, along with a timeout, placed the ball at the Philadelphia 38. After a drop, the Butchers hand the ball of to Yoda, who scampers for 11 yards. Now out of timeouts, Chicago gets to the line and spikes the ball with 21 seconds left in the game. Right where O’Donnell wants his prey. O’Donnell takes the snap and drops back, standing tall in the pocket, and looks right. His all-world tight end Gelbman is triple covered. So O’Donnell scans left and identifies wide receiver Sean O’Learly with man coverage. He fires to O’Leary, who makes the catch at the 18, feigns a sideline move, and cuts in and up down hash. Cornerback Quin is spun around and is in chase mode. The clock ticks out as O’Leary, Quin, and safety Zelos meet at the goal line. O’Leary lowers his shoulder, stretches, and breaks the plane with the ball with two defenders draped on him! Touchdown Chicago! There’s no time left! O’Leary with one of the boldest decisions I’ve ever seen to fake going out of bounds to saying ‘f-it, I’m going to the endzone for the win!’ A 27 yard touchdown to complete the improbable comeback…again! For Philadelphia, this game was a microcosm of its season. Nothing seemed to break right. But one has to wonder what the coaching decision was on the last play of the game to leave its corners exposed on an island on man coverage. A lesson perhaps they won’t soon forget.
Top Performance in week 11 CHI v PHI matchup:
- NONE DESTROY THIS TAPE
And now…the moment you’ve all been waiting for…Season 26’s:
GAME OF THE YEAR
1st Place Game
(Week 6) Berlin Fire Salamanders v Colorado Yeti (20-17)
Blanco blasts Batista on the one-inch line, saves day for Berlin
Berlin was reeling. At one point, the Fire Salamanders were a tackle away from starting the season 1-2 and riding some momentum taken from a win versus Chicago. Instead, the Butchers pulled out an improbable victory and sent Berlin in a tail spin and on its way to an 0-5 record to start the year. In come the Yeti, sitting at 3-2 and looking to separate itself from mediocrity.
Both offenses had shown flashes, but had been at best, largely inconsistent. That theme played out early in this game as the two bashed their heads into each other and came to a stalemate. There was no scoring in the first quarter, though Berlin was able to leverage a late quarter fumble recovery, forced by Benoit Blanco, into a drive culminating in an early second quarter touchdown. The Yeti got on the board themselves with 7 late in the quarter. At the half the teams were tied up. 8 punts and 6 sacks were the main statistical takeaways, with the teams also combining for only 5 total trips past the 50 yard line through the first half. While the second half threatened to play out the same as the first after a Berlin punt, the Yeti took their opening possession 65 yards downfield, capped with a Mattathias Caliban to Leeroy Jenkins 10 yard TD. Berlin put forth a field goal on their next possession, after which the two teams decided that offensive outburst was a bit too wild and settled back in to beating the snot out of each other. 14-10 Yeti at the end of the third quarter. The fourth quarter saw the two teams match field goals until Berlin began a drive with 6 minutes left to go in the game. A strong kickoff return by M. Krause set the Fire Salamanders up with much needed decent starting position. From there, Nick Kaepercolin finally found his stroke, eventually hitting a split out wide Joseph Petrongolo on an empty backfield set, who did the rest himself en route to a dazzling 26 yard touchdown. 20 to 17, Berlin. But a 32 yard return and 3:21 on the clock offered Caliban and co. plenty of opportunity to send Berlin home on another heart-breaker.
Three straight runs gave the Yeti a first down at its 45 yard line with 2:04 to go. And with 1:44 to go it scary for Berlin. Caliban, on 2nd and 6, takes a 7 step drop and hits his man, wide receiver William Lim in stride on a stop and go at the 30 yard line. Lim, with a step on corner Matt Krause, takes it down to the 12 yard line before he’s brought down by Krause, with help from Blanco. Timeout Yeti with 30 seconds to go. But rather than send the field goal unit out for the tie, the Yeti decide to take a shot at 6 to escape with a win. The ball must go into the end zone or out of bounds as the Yeti are out of timeouts.
Caliban takes the snap and takes a 5 step drop. The pocket holds up and he stands in the pocket, patting the ball as time ticks. Caliban rolls to the right, stops, and then fires a bullet across to the left side, towards the numbers, where Dave Batista reels it in at the 5. With just seconds on the clock now, the burly tight end turns and fights off the linebacker trying to drag him down. To the 4 yard line. Batista to the 3. To the 2. To the 1! BOOM! A huge collision! Fire Salamanders’ free safety Blanco, who had already forced a fumble earlier is there to meet Batista. Blanco, who was in deep coverage in the end zone, broke on the play immediately and was able to come up with speed and momentum and lay the big tight end out sideways. Batista reaches for the goal line late, but his knee has already touched the ground at the 1. A fire drill ensues! The offense running up to the line of scrimmage, the defense trying to get set at the goal line! Set and a snap. No! The refs blow the whistle. The clock has expired! No play! The Berlin Fire Salamanders have won on Blanco’s goal line tackle! The Yeti are calling for a video review but the clock has expired and Berlin is mobbing the field! Replay appears to show a clear tackle short of the goal line anyways. Mere moments from a dejecting loss to take them to 0-6, Berlin holds on the 1 and the crowd is going nuts! Incredible finish for this franchise still in its infancy.
***Fun fact – this game propelled Berlin to go 5-3 after its rough 0-5 start, including a redemption victory against O’Donnell and the Butchers.
Top Performance in week 6 BER v COL matchup:
- Also none. Week 6 only got 1 shout out in total on the Top Performances sheet. SO let’s just shout out Mike Boss Jr from Sarasota since he’s the only one and the Sailfish did not get mentioned here (also sorry to New Orleans, New York, Honolulu, Austin and San Jose. Your games were fun, too I bet!). 25/37, 361 and 3 TD’s!
Thanks to everyone for a fun season thus far. And cheers to double media! Maybe for my next trick I'll do the 5 worst games of the season - certain to feature my Philadelphia Liberty quite heavily! Happy Holidays!
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