Stars vs Wasps – Sunday Night Matchup

   HALLAS STARS  35
   CHAKOTA WASPS 14

	1	2	3	4	ET	FT
HALLAS	5	9	14	7	–	35
CHAKOTA	0	7	7	0	–	14

From the Wasps’ Nest, Chakota

Hallas scored two Rogues in the first half (safeties for US fans) and Kobe Carey returned the second half kickoff 96 yards for a TD as the Stars romped away to a 35-14 win over the Wasps in Chakota last night.

After 17 minutes play, the score was 7-0, but with two Rogues and a Field Goal, not the normal way of accumulating these points. it was 14-7 at the half, following an Amani Sanders catch and run. The second half began with a Carey TD return and then following a Chakota three and out- a Wilson 2 yard TD dive. At 28-7 it looked all over.

Drew Williams threw for 311 yards,two scores and one pick, whilst the defence racked up six QB Marks (Sacks for US fans), with three from monster DT Latavius Gill.

When not being pressured, Wasps’ QB Billy Humphrey managed only 171 yards, 1 TD and threw an INT. Humphrey left the game late in the second Quarter, but returned in the 4th Quarter.

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Week Ten Wrap-up

PFL | Season 2017-18 | Week Ten

Everyone has played nine games now, so, w’ere at the halfway point. Some teams will have to win out from here. Here’s what went down in the last round of matches.

Six-Appeal! The New Jorg 96ers improved to 6-3, with a 41-24 spanking of the St. George Sharks. DE Vin Marshall had three QB Marks (that’s sacks for U.S. fans) and the team forced four turnovers. On the attack, the ‘Sixers Kurt Sierra again went over 300 yards and three scores.

Slatered! The Caligara Bulldogs kept their place at the top of the PFL North, with a 21-17 win over the Eregon Eagles. This was an old rivalry game from their days together in the West. ‘Dogs QB Zack Slater found his namesake Seth Slater for a 20 yard TD with 1:19 left. JJ Peters nabbed his fifth interception of the season!

Stung! Chakota destroyed a Matt Kelly-less Adelphia Phoenix team on the road. At home in another dome, Billy Humphrey and co lasered up the scoreboard early, with five first half TD. The Wasps took their foot off the accelerator for the second half, still winning 42-17.

Stealers?! The Iomagh Steelers got caught out in the fourth quarter against the Landor Knights. The Steelers threw two late INTs, that were converted into scores as the team from the capital won out 24-10. Iomagh lead 10-7 at half-time.

Starlight! The Hallas Stars reigned supreme in the Stardome, winning 34-24 in a crucial divisional game with the San Angelo Miners. The Miners also lost their top QB, Brandon Mullen. Their season is in jeopardy.

Fired! The 1-8 Harteford Hawks didn’t play, but announced they fired OC Kurt Millen Monday morning. Head Coach Dick Jorgensen will take over as OC for the remainder of the season. If, he makes it that far…

Another QB out: Mullen goes down

San Angelo Miners | Brandon Mullen

San Angelo will be without their top passer for the remainder of the season, according to reports coming in from Hallas. With the game tied at 17-17, Mullen went down and has apparently broken his jaw. That is expected to be it the end of his season right there.

Brandon Gooden, who scored a third quarter fumble recovery td, also missed time in the first half. Gooden returned to the game and defended two passes and scored a touchdown.

Champs in trouble? (1-2)

By Ryan Solis, PFL Correspondent.

The defending Champion Landor Knights have lost two games in a row. Was the week one defeat of the Tigers a fluke? Are they in trouble, with perhaps a championship hangover?  I guess only time will tell and it may be a little early to suggest an empire is falling down, but it is telling on the field. If there isn’t change soon, the Knights may be looking at giving up those repeat plans.

Here are three reasons to panic right now:

1. The Forwards are not blocking, injuries and inexperience are showing up front. QB Elijah Brooks has little time to let a play develop. He’s making plays with his legs as the the pocket frequently breaks down. He’s gonna get killed out there!
2. The defence is leaking yards and plays. The Bulldogs attack stayed on the field for over 70 plays (47 running) on Sunday,  meaning the Knights ‘D’ were also on the field for 70 plays. They have been stretched and are to this point, beaten down.
3. Everyone knows how they play. The Knights have been somewhat predictable this season, if the defence knows what they do, they are going to try and shut that down.

And here are three reasons to be optimistic:

1. They have time on their side. There are another fifteen games to go- and two rest weeks. Plenty of time to iron out any wrinkles and get players healthy.
2. Receiving core- there’s too many players to cover. Even when shutting down most of the Knights’ attack, Shyrone Rogers came up with 10 grabs for 243 yards!
3. They don’t have to play the Stars or Bulldogs again this season, barring the playoffs. Two losses on the road are not the end of the world. They can still win lots of games, especially the 8 remaining home games.

 

 

 

Week one wrap-up

PFL Week 1 | Roundup

The first week of the 2017-18 Season has been completed. Here is the rundown of the game played from Friday to last night.

In the opener, the Landor Knights started off with a 24-20 win over the Ballymore Tigers at Knights stadium. Elijah Brooks and Ryan McKenzie looked at home in the opener. The defences for both teams looked stacked.

The Oakland Ravens knocked off the Adelphia Phoenix in Adelphia, 17-14. The Ravens’ defence locked down the Phoenix attack, whilst a good ground game saw the visitors pull through in a low-scoring game.

The Melborg Giants lost 16-26 to the Caligara Bulldogs at Bulldogs Stadium in Caligara. The Bulldogs looked legit against a very balanced Giants team. Chase Hand was picked off twice in unusual fashion, he had three turnovers on the day.

Edjerious Jones took over the headlines in the Tallassea Oilers‘ 27-29 loss to the hosting St. George Sharks. The Tallassea rookie shone with 8 catches for 155 yards and three scores, including an opening 66 yard catch. Not a bad way to introduce yourself to the league!

Rochester Trojans destroyed the visiting Harteford Hawks 41-3 in their season opener. Ryan Bruce had three TD passes, Ray Shell had two on the ground. The Hawks looked ill-prepared from the kickoff.

The Eregon  Eagles defence picked off three passes in the first half in their loss to the Chakota Wasps 13-26. The Eagles had plenty of opportunities inside the 20, but the Wasps’ defence played very strongly in the red zone.  Wasps’ 41-year old QB Billy Humphrey said he was disgusted with himself, afterwards (re- the picks).

The Iomagh Steelers caused the shock of the weekend by beating the perennial contenders- San Angelo Miners at Steel City. The well-organised defence  shut-down the pass-happy Miners attack. Up front, the Steelers’ forwards gave time and space to run and pass through a clock-managing, efficient offence.

And last night, the New Jorg 96ers came into Hallas and pulled off an early coup over the Stars. Rookie DE Vin Marshall got his first QB Mark, whilst new 96er QB Kurt Sierra ran the passing game and the ‘Sixers pulled off the 34-24 win.

PFL West 2017 Preview

Season 2017-18 | PFL West

In the West, they will be happy to have lost the Bulldogs in the re-classification this off-season. They proved pesky in divisional ties all year round. With the Eagles still a little unknown (and maybe paying for trading away the prospect of Vin Marshall) we think it comes down to the other three this year. Hallas lost the Crystal Bowl in March, but have lost before and come back. Adversity is not always a speciality of Saint George or San Angelo- which is why we give the Stars the edge in here.

EREGON EAGLES

The Eagles traded the number one pick- the chance of having Vin Marshall to gain some players with experience. Will they come to rue that day? They have a decent attack now and with Play-making midfielder Jeff Holliday bouncing back from injury, should be much improved from their disastrous 2016 (2-16 record). The defence can be stout- i they all put their shifts in. Is this enough to make any waves in a pass-friendly division? Can they cover everybody? We don’t think they’ll do enough this year.
Predicted finish: 4th

HALLAS STARS

Hallas are Crystal Bowl contenders, so have to figure to be in the top two for 2017. With Drew Williams having more weapons than just Amani Sanders- it seems a little unfair on pass coverage defences this year. They keep tinkering with the defence to keep pass protection confused, with crazy blitzes or zones springing up from time to time. The Stars should play a starring role in 2017, getting back should not be too difficult. No CB losing hangover for them.
Predicted finish: 1st

SAINT GEORGE SHARKS

The Sharks are ready, coming off a mildly disappointing 2016- with Trent Harris behind Centre. This is time for this team to preach togetherness, no more arguing on the sidelines or too the media (or social media). If they can get behind one-another for 18+plus games, will be in the final four. There, we said it.
Predicted finish: 2nd

SAN ANGELO MINERS

Poor San Angelo, after winning Crystal Bowl XLV it’s been tough for them. Brandon Mullen needs better protection from an ageing line. Will some new blood be enough to keep them battling for their QB? Defensive backfield is questionable, but otherwise is blessed with enough talent up front on defence. Just missing out on play-offs due to losing close divisional ties.
Predicted finish: 3rd

PFL North 2017 Preview

2017-18 Previews | PFL North

The PFL North is the home of smashmouth football in the PFL. The problem, sometimes is that they spend so much time beating up eachother that they don’t really make any moves in the post-season. It is a development year for both Harteford and Iomagh, so it is really between Ballymore and Caligara for the divisional title. This is the one division where we feel second place may not get you in the play-offs.

BALLYMORE TIGERS

The Tigers had a bad run last year, with a injury plague tearing apart the often stifling defence. When they had the ball, plays often broke down too quickly, meaning Bo Mills took a lot of unnecessary shots. Better forward play will make this team play-off bound. We think they might just make it.
Predicted finish: 2nd

CALIGARA BULLDOGS

The Bulldogs bounced back last season, following some dire performances since Sean Wallace retired in 2012. Zack Slater has arrived! The Slater-2-(Seth) Slater combo has opened up the attack nicely. The defence is a tough as always, perhaps even nastier than before. Should make enough early ground to win-out this division.
Predicted finish: 1st

HARTEFORD HAWKS

Harteford can always surprise you, but not this year. The new logo will look great, but don’t think it’ll bring any razzle-dazzle to this somewhat stagnant team.
Predicted finish: 3rd

IOMAGH STEELERS

Iomagh haven’t been that great for a few years now. The continued instability at the front office and at QB means we are not set for another dynasty , yet, or perhaps even for a while. Cam Rogers was let go, which was a chancey move. Read: Development year.
Predicted finish: 4th

UFB: Champions Bowl this Saturday!

RAMS vs ‘ROCKS | NUSA National Championship
Champions Bowl | Sat. January 7th 2017 | USN | 8pm ECT

The Number three ranked University of Stamford Rams go up against the (now favourites) Number five(!) ranked O’Connell Shamrocks. How those seedings appeared to deceive, when it came to playing the games in the NUSA Tournament.

Two seniors may have a big say in the contest, with the Rams’ QB Dre Nalen and enigmatic Shamrocks’ DE Vin Marshall both playing their last games at University. Both are expected to be early picks in the PFL Draft 2017.

Who wants it more? Not too long to find out now!

 

UFB: Boxing Day Bowls Rundown

First-Class Football Bowl Games | NUSA | University Football

The NUSA Uni-Ball season is almost over. Everyone played their eleven games by the beginning of December. Following the post-season tournament, the Bowl season began a in the days prior to Christmas. One of the highlights of the NUSA FCF Bowl Season is the set of three Boxing Day (26th December) Bowl games.

Next up is the New Year’s Eve Classics (Honey and Sweet Bowls) and then the New Year’s Three (Apple, Cherry and Champions Bowls)

The Boxing Day Classics:

   TOMATO BOWL-

Mannestrom Miners 20-24 Gayle Gryphons

The Gryphons got a well earned win against Mannestrom, thanks to a great performance by winger Terry Watson’s two second-half majors. Mannestrom RB Curtis Udebeye ran for 119 yards and one touchdown, but the anemic passing game was their undoing.

   CAPITAL BOWL-

Granada Bulldogs 34-21 Amorgan Irish

The Granada Bulldogs lit up the Capital Bowl with a great first-half performance that knocked the wind out of the Irish. RB Scott Givens scored twice and winger Ellis Jones also got two. The only blight on the copybook was a missed extra point. The Bulldogs won’t really care after this dominating performance.

   SAN ANDREAS BEACH BOWL

Eregonia Dragons 38-19 Ballymore Beavers

Ballymore’s return to a Boxing Day Bowl didn’t go very well. The Dragons dominated from the kick-off. The Dragons are scary-fast on defence and almost as quick on the attack.

Week 15 Talking Points

Fifteen weeks down, five to go! Everyone now has five games in five weeks to book their place in the play offs… unless, of course you are the Panthers, Blues, Hawks, Cardinals, Eagles and Oilers.

Here are the top notables from week 15: