Bulldogs and Tigers to meet in Crystal Bowl XLIX

The Caligara Bulldogs and Ballymore Tigers booked their tickets in the penultimate Football Sunday of the season. The two will square off on 3rd  March at the Crystal Bowl for the PFL Championship.

Caligara beat out the defending champion New Jorg 96ers 17-10 in a crazy snow-affected semi-final. The Tigers saw off the Rochester Trojans 16-7 in their semi-final.

Both teams are big on defence,so the game in two weeks could be a very dogged affair. The Bulldogs, who had a 15-3 overall record in the regular season are the bookmakers’ favourites- by one touchdown. The Tigers finished 12-6 and had to win both games on the road, so will not be worried about travelling for one more game.

Bulldogs’ Seth Slater makes a sensational one-handed TD catch in the win over the 96ers

Unloved, unnoticed and irreplaceable: The story of the Long Snapper

PFL features | The Long Snapper

Hands up who knows who is the Long Snapper for the Ballymore Tigers?  Anyone? No? Um, how about for the champion Landor Knights? Still no? Well, meet the position where fame is not sought, if you’re getting attention, you may be doing it wrong. Welcome to the world of the most unheralded position in Football. I give you the Long Snapper.

It wasn’t even considered a proper position, deserving of a specialist roster spot until the 1990s. Yep. The backups often got a roster spot on their ability to long snap. The teams started taking in more seriously after some key games, where missed field goals and extra points had been attributed to botched snaps. one by one they reserved a roster spot for someone who could specialise in getting the ball to the punter and to the holder on place kicks. Nowadays it is an accepted position, but is it respected?

Crystal Bowl XLVIII: The Game.

Crystal Bowl XLVIII: The PFL Championship 2017-18|

  ROCHESTER TROJANS 28
  NEW JORG 96ERS 41

	1	2	3	4	ET	FT
ROCHESTER	7	14	0	7	–	28
NEW JORG	14	7	3	17	–	41

From the Cherry Bowl Stadium, Granada.

1st Quarter:
NJ – Johnson 17 pass from Sierra (Gold XP); 0-7
NJ – Brown 25 pass from Sierra (Gold XP); 0-14
ROC- Shell 16 pass from Bruce (Turner XP); 7-14
2nd Quarter:
NJ – Jammer 29 interception return (Gold XP); 7-21
ROC- Shell 2 run (Turner XP); 14-21
ROC- Philips 27 pass from Bruce (Turner XP); 21-21
3rd Quarter:
NJ – Gold FG 37; 21-24
4th Quarter:
NJ – McKeown 89 fumble recovery return (Gold XP); 21-31
NJ – Brown 18 pass from Sierra (Gold XP); 21-38
ROC- Philips 60 pass from Bruce (Turner Kick);28-38
NJ – Gold FG 25; 28-41

The Rochester Trojans turned the ball over five times in a slightly one-sided second half performance at the Cherry Bowl stadium. QB Ryan Bruce threw four interceptions- all to POTG WB Edgar Jammer, one returned for a pick six.

The ‘Sixers started off at breakneck speed, being 14-0 after two Kurt Sierra touchdown tosses; to Johnson and Brown. The Trojans first three possessions ended with three and outs and an interception. They started off running away from DE Vin Marshall and his pass rushing prowess. They were playing in to the New Jorg Defence’s hand- who dared them to throw the other side to – Jammer.

Following Frank Bowman’s fumble, the Trojans got one back with a Ray Shell catch and run for sixteen yards. The Trojans then gave up the pick six, before rallying with a Shell running TD and Ryan Bruce’s pass to Philips. It was tied at 21 at the half.

After the halftime show featuring Ellie Winters and Monstersauce, the game restarted with defences on top. Vin Marshall and the ‘Sixers front seven locked down the Trojans.
It took a defensive play to open the game back up, and it happened following Ray Shell’s fumble. The ball popped up into the hands of Defensive End Marco McKeown, who returned it 89 yards for the score.

Kurt Sierra then topped the day off with a second scoring pass to Asante Brown. The Trojans pulled one back when Philips broke through for a 60 yard score.

The New Jorg 96ers were crowned the champions of the PFL for the third time. With that defence, how many more can they get?

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CB XLVIII Preview

Rochester Trojans vs Landor 96ers| Sunday March 4th 2018.

The  big game is almost upon us, here are the key matchups:

QB Ryan Bruce vs ‘Sixers Defence

Ryan Bruce has been calm and composed as he led the number 7 seed past number one and two seeds away from home. He has not faced a defence like this before. Rookie DE Vin Marshall has broken pass rushing records and been a revolution to this defence. ‘Can Bruce buy enough time to get the passes off?’ will be key question we look to on Sunday. WR Jason Galant is listed as probable for the game, after limping out of the semi-final.

QB Kurt Sierra & Asante Brown vs Trojans Defence

Kurt Sierra has been a master of the aerial arts throughout his career, but has he played this mystery scheme of the Trojans. Coordinator Ian Rudolph has dreamed up some creative systems to confuse both the Wasps’ and Stars’ attacks. If Sierra and co can figure it out, they will be hard to beat. Asante ‘Downtown’ Brown is perhaps the best open field receiver.

Trojans Run Game

The Rochester run game has depth, both Ray Shell and DeAngelo Jenkins gained 1,000 yards, as they marched through the defences as the top running tandem. You don’t get a down off where you can be facing a top runner. The 96ers will need to rotate their line to keep fresh if the Trojan ground game gets going.

So how will it all play out next Sunday? Who are you picking?

Quarter-Finals: A legend bows out, Bulldogs best champs, semi-finals set.

PFL PLAYOFFS 2018 | Road to the Crystal Bowl

The quarter-finals are in the bag and we are down to the final four teams.  With one Sunday left to prove the teams worthy of the Crystal Bowl, it is time to step up!

Rochester Trojans 30- 27 Chakota Wasps

We may have seen the end of an era, with Billy Humphrey, 42, perhaps playing in his last PFL game. His opposite number, Ryan Bruce led a commanding performance in the Wasps’ Nest. Completing 20 of 30 for over 300 yards and three scores, Bruce showed the playoff poise that he has lacked in his previous attempts. If he can do this in Hallas, the Trojans will be going to the big one!

Two weeks to go, 12 teams in play!

The 2017-18 regular season has just two weeks left to play, but  there are an astonishing 12 teams vying for the eight playoff spots! In two weeks time four of these teams will be on the outside looking in. We may know more next weekend, as losses eliminate Ballymore and  Adelphia from contention.

The Outsiders;How do either Adelphia or Ballymore get in?

Both teams can get in with two wins, to get to 9-9 and they need other teams to lose both. The Phoenix’s extra-time win over the Melborg Giants was enough to keep them alive, so wins against the 96ers and Knights could let them sneak in.

The Tigers have to beat the Hawks and then the Bulldogs at home. Similar scenario.

Who is in already?

The Landor 96ers, Hallas Stars and Caligara Bulldogs have all guaranteed themselves top spots in their division and will be seeded. The Chakota Wasps are currently atop the PFL Central, however the Oakland Ravens and Rochester Trojans are both 10-6 and could end up topping the division with two wins. It is all to play for.
The defending champions, the New Chester Knights are almost secure in a spot.

On the Cusp

The Knights, Trojans and Ravens are all one win away from sealing their places, this means that the three 8-8 teams are vying for the latter spots- Eregon Eagles, Melborg Giants and St. George Sharks. Basically, keep winning to get in is the key!

Week 20 will see the Wasps play the Ravens and Eagles against the Sharks, so it looks to go right down to the wire.

Call it a draw! Stars and Dogs tie in extra-time game.

HALLAS 30-30 CHAKOTA

Last night’s game between the Hallas Stars and Chakota Bulldogs ended up all square at 30 apiece. They finished regulation tied at 27 all, with both teams only managing a field goal each in the extra time given, then time just ran out. No winner left on the field. This will not happen if the two meet in the postseason!

What use is a tie? It has raised the question for some about how we deal with draws in regular season games. Does sudden death help? One possession each?

Here at PFL dot com, we quite like a tied game, we don’t get them too often, so perhaps there is nothing to fix. In soccer you can have a draw and no one bats an eyelid. At the end of the day, it was a match that neither team deserved to lose, so perhaps a draw was a fair result.

UFB: Champions Bowl ’18 – A game for the ages

UFB_ NUSA Champions Bowl 2018 |

OHARA SCARLETS 34, OLASKAS MAROONS 31

	1	2	3	4	ET	FT
#2 OLASKAS	0	14	10	7	–	31
#1 OHARA	10	3	14	7	–	34

The 2018 Champions Bowl crowned the Ohara Scarlets as the top team in First Class Football (FCF). This game had everything for the neutral fan, including the heroic ending of the championship drive, ending when sophomore QB Tayvon Coles found Lonnie Charles with 1:19 left. 

UFB: Champs Bowl tonight!

UFB | Champions Bowl | 1 Ohara vs 2 Olaskas | USN

The grand final of the NUSA University Football (UFB) season in Eboria ends tonight with the Champions Bowl!

The Number one and number two ranked Universities in Eboria will meet as the #1 Ohara University Scarlets go up against the #2 Univeristy of Olaskas Maroons. The tournament provided little shocks this year, as the seedings proved mostly accurate.

Both teams play strong defences and have good mobile quarterback play. Olaskas junior QB Brad Carson is agile and accurate, Ohara’s sophmore sensation is Tayvon Coles, who is a scrambler with a big arm. Both teams have good blocking Forwards and  2-3 good backs too, so establishing the ground game could be key.

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2018

Welcome to 2018, here’s to a fabulous New Year from all of us here at the PFL.

Looking forward to the Champions Bowl on Saturday January 6th and Crystal Bowl XLVIII on 4th March.