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Season five started with neither Belt nor Baton having gone through the playoffs at the end of season four. The Sabercats win over the Otters had kept the Championship Belt in California, while the Legion were unable to overcome playoff bound Arizona. Opening day of season five saw a rematch of the last title game, as the Otters travelled to San Jose again, but fell just two points short of wresting the belt out of the Sabercats' jaws. Elsewhere, the Liberty travelled to The Coliseum, where the Legion gave them a bit of a scare, but ultimately could not force the Philadelphians to take the Baton home with them.
The following week, the Sabercats welcomed the other ASFC playoff team from season four, but this time, there was a plundering. The Outlaws were able to steal the belt in a 30-22 win, setting up an interesting showdown with the NSFC Champion Wraiths in week three. The Legion travelled to The Aviary, where they attempted to leave the Baton with the Hawks... it did not fly. A 38-27 win for the Hawks in what many called a questionable defensive performance from the former NSFC Champions was perhaps encouraging for the Nevada-based team in a way, though. However, facing the Otters and their even more dangerous aerial attack next week did not bode well for the Legion.
In week three, the Championship Belt returned to the NSFC, as Yellowknife buried the Outlaws in a 46-29 result in Canada, while the Otters manhandled the Legion 45-21 to make sure they kept possession of the Baton. Interestingly, both winners would face off in week four for the Championship Belt in Santa Ana Stadium, while the Legion would travel to another desert to try and pass the Baton... neither holder was successful. The Otters emerged 26-20 victors at home against the Wraiths, while the Legion were on the wrong end of an entertaining 52-33 result. Both Belt and Baton were now in the ASFC, at least for a week.
...or two, in fact. Week five saw the Hawks hosted the NSFL Champion (in both senses of the word) Otters, and couldn't overcome their fearsome defensive front seven, succumbing to a 14-33 defeat in the first of what looked like it might be a lengthy run of successful defences for the Orange County side. The Legion's woes continued with a relatively low-scoring defeat at home against the Yeti, in what most would have earmarked as most likely their best opportunity for a successful Baton pass.
Week six! The Otters travelled to Outlaw Stadium in Phoenix, and re-affirmed their status as the dominant force in the ASFC with a 31-24 win over the Outlaws, just in case anyone still questioned it at this point (we're looking at you, San Jose). Meanwhile, the Legion travelled north to the icy Northwestern Territories for a 33-16 spanking. No Baton pass today, then. Not that there's any shame in losing to the NSFC Champions on their turf, of course.
At the halfway point of the season, the Otters had racked up their fourth consecutive title defense with a solid 24-15 win over the Liberty at home, increasing the feeling that they would be maintaining a vice grip on the Belt for a while. Elsewhere, the Legion had ended a ten game streak of unsuccessful Baton passes with a convincing 37-19 win over the Sabercats in The Coliseum. The result -- a shock to most observers, it must be said -- set up a potential "switch game" in week eight, when the Otters would host the Sabercats in Santa Ana, with both Belt and Baton on the line. A Sabercats win would see Belt and Baton both change hands in the same game for only the second time in NSFL history.
...it was not to be. The Otters brutalised the Sabercats in a 49-9 blowout, extending their reign to five games, while condemning the Sabercats to another tough pass attempt the following week against the Outlaws. That didn't come off, either. The Outlaws put down a feisty Sabercats attempt in Outlaw Stadium to the tune of a 35-30 scoreline, while the Otters went to Colorado and rolled the Yeti over with a boulder, coming away with a 29-10 victory to extend their title reign to six games.
Week ten saw the Otters extend to seven games undefeated with an expected win over the Legion in Santa Ana, while the Sabercats welcomed a Yeti side which had looked reasonable defensively against the monstrous Otters attack the previous week. The Sabercats disabused any notion of a Yeti resurgence in a 24-20 win, condemning the Denver-based team to return home Baton in hand. Things didn't improve for the Yeti in week eleven either, as they put up a goose egg in reply to the Liberty's 34 points in Taco Bell Stadium. Meanwhile, the Wraiths welcomed the Otters to the frozen north, and the Belt was the price paid for save return home, after Yellowknife's impressive 34-14 victory.
As the season drew to a close, the Yeti welcomed the Legion to Colorado, in what many saw as their last realistic chance to pass the Baton before the end of the season -- their remaining games a trip to playoff-chasing Baltimore, and a visit from the reigning NSFC Champion Wraiths -- and they seized their opportunity with a 22-10 win, ridding themselves of the Baton before a long summer. Elsewhere the Sabercats went north, and... came home with the Championship Belt. Their 27-17 win over the Wraiths raising questions over the parity between conferences to many, seeing as the Sabercats were potentially going to be on the outside looking in come playoff time, despite possibly having beaten both NSFC playoff teams (depending on whether the Hawks beat out the Liberty for the second playoff spot, and next week's results)
The penultimate week of season five saw the Liberty reclaim the Championship Belt for the NSFC however, as they absolutely slaughtered the Sabercats in a 49-14 result in Philadelphia. The playoff race in the NSFC was going to go to the wire, but this defeat meant the Sabercats were going to be sitting out the post-season, since they'd been swept by the Outlaws. The Baton game had far less important implications, as the Wraiths -- already favourites to win the NSFC at this point -- travelled to Las Vegas, and cemented their supremacy with a 31-17 win.
On the final day of the regular season, the Liberty hosted Orange County needing a win to have any shot at the playoffs, and perhaps more importantly, to keep hold of the Championship Belt. They pulled it off. A hard-fought 23-19 result over the Otters meant that the Liberty kept hold of the lineal NSFL Championship, but they would need to wait for the final say in Baltimore to know if they'd made the playoffs. Elsewhere, the Legion travelled to the HP Pavilion, where they had a shot at getting rid of the Baton before the agonising wait between seasons for a chance to pass it on again. Given the Sabercats erratic results in season five, and the knowledge that San Jose were likely not going to make the playoffs with Arizona holding the head-to-head tie-breaker over them, it wasn't entirely unfeasible that the Legion might get the upset they needed... however, the Sabercats perhaps took their frustrations out on the Las Vegas team with a 34-16 win to make sure the Baton stayed in Nevada. In Baltimore, the Hawks' convincing 41-27 win over the Outlaws meant that current NSFL Championship Belt holders the Philadelphia Liberty would not be taking part in the post-season, meaning the eventual NSFL champion Otters would have to wait until season six for a chance to get their hands on the Belt...
Season five started with neither Belt nor Baton having gone through the playoffs at the end of season four. The Sabercats win over the Otters had kept the Championship Belt in California, while the Legion were unable to overcome playoff bound Arizona. Opening day of season five saw a rematch of the last title game, as the Otters travelled to San Jose again, but fell just two points short of wresting the belt out of the Sabercats' jaws. Elsewhere, the Liberty travelled to The Coliseum, where the Legion gave them a bit of a scare, but ultimately could not force the Philadelphians to take the Baton home with them.
The following week, the Sabercats welcomed the other ASFC playoff team from season four, but this time, there was a plundering. The Outlaws were able to steal the belt in a 30-22 win, setting up an interesting showdown with the NSFC Champion Wraiths in week three. The Legion travelled to The Aviary, where they attempted to leave the Baton with the Hawks... it did not fly. A 38-27 win for the Hawks in what many called a questionable defensive performance from the former NSFC Champions was perhaps encouraging for the Nevada-based team in a way, though. However, facing the Otters and their even more dangerous aerial attack next week did not bode well for the Legion.
In week three, the Championship Belt returned to the NSFC, as Yellowknife buried the Outlaws in a 46-29 result in Canada, while the Otters manhandled the Legion 45-21 to make sure they kept possession of the Baton. Interestingly, both winners would face off in week four for the Championship Belt in Santa Ana Stadium, while the Legion would travel to another desert to try and pass the Baton... neither holder was successful. The Otters emerged 26-20 victors at home against the Wraiths, while the Legion were on the wrong end of an entertaining 52-33 result. Both Belt and Baton were now in the ASFC, at least for a week.
...or two, in fact. Week five saw the Hawks hosted the NSFL Champion (in both senses of the word) Otters, and couldn't overcome their fearsome defensive front seven, succumbing to a 14-33 defeat in the first of what looked like it might be a lengthy run of successful defences for the Orange County side. The Legion's woes continued with a relatively low-scoring defeat at home against the Yeti, in what most would have earmarked as most likely their best opportunity for a successful Baton pass.
Week six! The Otters travelled to Outlaw Stadium in Phoenix, and re-affirmed their status as the dominant force in the ASFC with a 31-24 win over the Outlaws, just in case anyone still questioned it at this point (we're looking at you, San Jose). Meanwhile, the Legion travelled north to the icy Northwestern Territories for a 33-16 spanking. No Baton pass today, then. Not that there's any shame in losing to the NSFC Champions on their turf, of course.
At the halfway point of the season, the Otters had racked up their fourth consecutive title defense with a solid 24-15 win over the Liberty at home, increasing the feeling that they would be maintaining a vice grip on the Belt for a while. Elsewhere, the Legion had ended a ten game streak of unsuccessful Baton passes with a convincing 37-19 win over the Sabercats in The Coliseum. The result -- a shock to most observers, it must be said -- set up a potential "switch game" in week eight, when the Otters would host the Sabercats in Santa Ana, with both Belt and Baton on the line. A Sabercats win would see Belt and Baton both change hands in the same game for only the second time in NSFL history.
...it was not to be. The Otters brutalised the Sabercats in a 49-9 blowout, extending their reign to five games, while condemning the Sabercats to another tough pass attempt the following week against the Outlaws. That didn't come off, either. The Outlaws put down a feisty Sabercats attempt in Outlaw Stadium to the tune of a 35-30 scoreline, while the Otters went to Colorado and rolled the Yeti over with a boulder, coming away with a 29-10 victory to extend their title reign to six games.
Week ten saw the Otters extend to seven games undefeated with an expected win over the Legion in Santa Ana, while the Sabercats welcomed a Yeti side which had looked reasonable defensively against the monstrous Otters attack the previous week. The Sabercats disabused any notion of a Yeti resurgence in a 24-20 win, condemning the Denver-based team to return home Baton in hand. Things didn't improve for the Yeti in week eleven either, as they put up a goose egg in reply to the Liberty's 34 points in Taco Bell Stadium. Meanwhile, the Wraiths welcomed the Otters to the frozen north, and the Belt was the price paid for save return home, after Yellowknife's impressive 34-14 victory.
As the season drew to a close, the Yeti welcomed the Legion to Colorado, in what many saw as their last realistic chance to pass the Baton before the end of the season -- their remaining games a trip to playoff-chasing Baltimore, and a visit from the reigning NSFC Champion Wraiths -- and they seized their opportunity with a 22-10 win, ridding themselves of the Baton before a long summer. Elsewhere the Sabercats went north, and... came home with the Championship Belt. Their 27-17 win over the Wraiths raising questions over the parity between conferences to many, seeing as the Sabercats were potentially going to be on the outside looking in come playoff time, despite possibly having beaten both NSFC playoff teams (depending on whether the Hawks beat out the Liberty for the second playoff spot, and next week's results)
The penultimate week of season five saw the Liberty reclaim the Championship Belt for the NSFC however, as they absolutely slaughtered the Sabercats in a 49-14 result in Philadelphia. The playoff race in the NSFC was going to go to the wire, but this defeat meant the Sabercats were going to be sitting out the post-season, since they'd been swept by the Outlaws. The Baton game had far less important implications, as the Wraiths -- already favourites to win the NSFC at this point -- travelled to Las Vegas, and cemented their supremacy with a 31-17 win.
On the final day of the regular season, the Liberty hosted Orange County needing a win to have any shot at the playoffs, and perhaps more importantly, to keep hold of the Championship Belt. They pulled it off. A hard-fought 23-19 result over the Otters meant that the Liberty kept hold of the lineal NSFL Championship, but they would need to wait for the final say in Baltimore to know if they'd made the playoffs. Elsewhere, the Legion travelled to the HP Pavilion, where they had a shot at getting rid of the Baton before the agonising wait between seasons for a chance to pass it on again. Given the Sabercats erratic results in season five, and the knowledge that San Jose were likely not going to make the playoffs with Arizona holding the head-to-head tie-breaker over them, it wasn't entirely unfeasible that the Legion might get the upset they needed... however, the Sabercats perhaps took their frustrations out on the Las Vegas team with a 34-16 win to make sure the Baton stayed in Nevada. In Baltimore, the Hawks' convincing 41-27 win over the Outlaws meant that current NSFL Championship Belt holders the Philadelphia Liberty would not be taking part in the post-season, meaning the eventual NSFL champion Otters would have to wait until season six for a chance to get their hands on the Belt...
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