CRYSTAL BOWL 51- GAME REVIEW

Crystal Bowl 51 | 28/02/21 | DIY Depot Arena, Adelphia

ADELPHIA	13	14	14	0	41
CALIGARA	0	3	0	7	10

Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter:
ADE McGuire 22 pass from Kelly (Hernandez XP); 7-0
ADE Hernandez FG 39; 10-0
ADE Hernandez FG 47; 13-0
2nd Quarter:
CAL Wright FG 49; 13-3
ADE Walters 60 pass from Kelly (Hernandez XP); 20-3
ADE Walters 20 pass from Kelly (Hernandez XP); 27-3
3rd Quarter:
ADE Floyd 4 run, (Hernandez Kick); 34-3
ADE Walters 85 pass from Kelly (Hernandez XP); 41-3
4th Quarter:
CAL Slater 18 pass from Slater (Wright XP); 41-10

The 51st Crystal Bowl was an uncomfortable affair for the defending champions, Caligara. The Adelphia Phoenix capitalised on playing in their home stadium, on their home turf, even though it was a 50-50 crowd.

Following the opening kickoff, the Bulldogs went three-and-out, paving the way for the Phoenix to march down the field and take the lead on Matt Kelly’ s 22 yard pass to Jayson McGuire. On the next possession, Zack Slater was tackled by Michael Keys, forcing a fumble. Charlie Clayton recovered for the Phoenix.

Keys forces the fumble

Adelphia scored two field goals on their next two possessions, whilst the Bulldogs flustered. Eventually, the Bulldogs gained some first downs and kept momentum but scoring with a Chester Wright field goal. it was 13-3.

What happened next possibly finished off the game. A good return from Jamarcus White got the Phoenix to the 30. Kylian Floyd ran twice for 10 yards, picking up the first down. Matt Kelly then threw a quick dart to Kyle Walters, who went 60 yards for the score, untouched. 20-3.

Kyle Walters celebrates in the endzone.

With the Bulldogs in disbelief, they tried to comeback. A good drive followed by then stalled, as Morales dropped a Slater dime. Chester Wright hooked the 51 yard field goal attempt wide.

Minutes late, Matt Kelly had taken the shortened field and finished off the game with a 20 yarder to Walters. 27-3 at half-time!

Any thoughts of a comeback, a miracle from the Bulldogs were dashed following the half-time show, featuring The Miracle Workers and SJ White. The Bulldogs marched down the field on the opening drive of the second half, ending with a four yard Kylian Floyd scoring run. 34-3.

It got worse near the end of the third. a good punt put the Phoenix on their own 15 yard line. Two plays later, Walters went 85 yards to the house on a short bubble screen pass. 41-3

In the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs got a consolidation score, when Zack Slater found Seth in the endzone from 19 yards. There wasn’t much celebrating there.

Matt Kelly and Kylian Floyd ran a well executed offence in the big game.

QF WEEKEND- TOP SEEDS FALL EARLY AT HOME

PFL Post-season | Play-off Quarter-finals

The Quarter-final weekend was a memorable one, with four interesting games. We ended the dreams of four teams, leaving us with the final four teams for next weekend.

QUARTER FINAL 1:

HALLAS STARS	32	AET
NEW CHESTER KNIGHTS	35

The Hallas Stars suffered another devastating home defeat as the Knights came from behind to win on the road. Chase Hand had a great first half with the Stars, but they faded, especially in the fourth quarter. The Knights came back from 32-17 and 29-24 to take the lead late on.

The Stars levelled things up at the death, so an additional period was called for. In ET, the Stars went three and out, leaving the Knights to march downfield and Potter kicked the game winning field goal from 24 yards out.

QUARTER FINAL 2:

LANDOR 96ERS	27	F
BRISTOW BEARS	29

The number 8 seeds pulled off a huge upset on Saturday night as the came from behind to beat the heavily favoured Landor 96ers in the capital.

Bears QB Brad Robinson was in tremendous form on Saturday.

The number one seeds had beaten the Bears in both divisional matchups this season, so it was third time that was the charm for Bristow. The Sixers led 17-16 at the half and 20-19 after three, with Frank Bowman getting two scores on the ground, before Kurt Sierra found Asante Brown for a TD in the final period. The 96ers led 27-26 with 2:18 left to play.

QB Brad Robinson threw for 256 yards and 2 TDs. He was instrumental on the final drive, producing the field position for kicker Rick Bell to kick his fifth , and game winning field goal. The team from the Capital bowed out in a historic night for the Bears.

QUARTER FINAL 3:

CALIGARA BULLDOGS	35	F
OAKLAND RAVENS	20

The Ravens blew a 14 point first quarter lead to the number 2 seed Caligara Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon. Dante Fulcher scored on a 76 yard screen pass and then a 4 yard run as Oakland stormed out in front.

The Bulldogs comeback began in the second quarter with a 88 yard drive, capped off with a 2 yard Tony Franklin run. Zack Slater then threw TD passes to Mark Martinez and Dennis Morales. It was 21-14 at the break. Ravens QB Tayvon Coles was intercepted at the end of the half.

The Bulldogs attack is cool in the face of pressure.

In the second half , the Ravens could only muster up two field goals, whilst the Bulldogs scored two more touchdowns, via Franklin and a Seth Slater reception.

QUARTER FINAL 4:

ADELPHIA PHOENIX	31	F
BALLYMORE TIGERS	17

Ballymore got off to a great start in Adelphia , with Tito Hawkins busting out a 49 yard touchdown run in the first minute. The Phoenix equalised when Matt Kelly connected with Anchor (TE) Patrick Schwartz from 2 yards out. Both teams traded touchdowns and field goals, with it tied at 14-14 at the half, 17-17 after three.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Matt Kelly hit Kyle Walters to take their first lead of the game. On the subsequent drive, Tigers’ QB Cam Rogers threw a pick-six to Phoenix defender Adrian Sheppard (39 yards). That was it for the Tigers.

Matt Kelly threw for 323 yards and 3 Touchdowns in the win.

Semi-Finals
That means that, following rule changes for 2020-21 onwards, the re-seeding occurs as the no.1 team were eliminated. The revised bracket means home games for Adelphia and Caligara.

Caligara Bulldogs vs Bristow Bears
Adelphia Phoenix vs New Chester Knights.

The winners will face off in the Crystal Bowl at Adelphia’s DIY Depot Arena.

THE COACHING CAROUSEL BEGINS!

Head Coach – Personell | By Ryan Sollis |

The Professional Football League’s version of Black Monday began with three Head Coaching firings and one stepping down from their post with immediate effect.

HARTEFORD HAWKS HC Chris Zucker was sacked as his team deteriorated to a 2-15-1 season, with the number one overall draft pick. i.e. the worst team in the league, for the second time in three seasons. This was another disastrous season for the Hawkmen. They need to pick up soon.

ST. GEORGE SHARKS HC Gary Levicek was sacked following a 2-15-1 season, where the team regressed so badly. Both co-ordinators had been fired during the season. This wasn’t enough to the save him his job.

EREGON EAGLES HC Ali Mack was fired. They finished 4-14, lost the main QB early and never recovered. A slight raising of their game in midseason offered hope. It all flittered out into endless losses.

MELBORO GIANTS HC Neil Fagan resigned, following a very disappointing 5-13 season. He never got Tom Tomkowski comfortable in his offensive scheme and they paid for it all season. The defence regressed too.

We’ve yet to hear from the Rochester Trojans and Iomagh Steelers‘ camps. We gather that the Chakota Wasps will not be making a change, as this season is put down to being a ‘blip’. After all, they made it to the Crystal Bowl last year with pretty much the same squad of players.

REG SEASON ENDS- PLAYOFFS SET

2020-21 Regular Season | Week 20

That’s it! Eighteen games over twenty weeks. 144 games in total. This has now finalised the 8 play-off seedings and matchups.

HOW WE GOT THERE

There were head-to-head title deciders matchups in the PFL East and Central. Landor 96ers took the East with a 30-24 victory over New Chester Knights. The Adelphia Phoenix clung on to a 27-24 win against the Oakland Ravens, ensuring at least one home play-off game as no.3 seed.

Caligara Bulldogs already had sewn up the North and needed a late touchdown to beat Iomagh Steelers 19-16. They rested most of their stars in that game. The Ballymore Tigers lost to Harteford Hawks 20-17 in a way that only they can! They always slip up to a losing team late in the season.

The Chakota Wasps restored some pride with a victory over Rochester. The Trojans led early, but Chandler threw two fourth quarter TD passes to bring them back to a 24-17 win.

Hallas wrapped up their regular season with tidy 37-24 win against the St. George Sharks. The Stars are the no.4 seed. At 2-15-1, the Sharks know they need to rebuild. Relocation is also a possibility.

This left two teams fighting over the number eight spot:

San Andreas, knowing they had to better the Bears’ score, stormed out to a 31-13 first half- lead against the Eregon Eagles. The Bears were losing at half-time to the Melboro Giants 21-14, even though the Giants had only three first downs at that stage.

In the second half, the Miners added two more TD’s – Ryan Bruce passed for 413 yards and 5 touchdowns… but it was to no avail.
The Bears rallied to lead 34-31 with a game-tying 45 yard field goal set up for the Giants with just one second left on the clock. Veteran kicker Billy Young hooked the kick wide right.

AND SO, THE BEARS GO THROUGH VIA HEAD-TO-HEAD.

NUMBER ONE DRAFT PICK

The race for the number one draft pick was nearly lost by the Hsrteford Hawks, who only went and beat the play-off bound Ballymore Tigers. The Sharks also finished 2-15-1, with the tie the game between the two.
Following confirmation of the tiebreakers in this case- The Hawks retained the worst record by virtue of conceding more points and worst points- difference.

They have the first pick in June’s draft.

NEXT WEEKS PLAYOFF MATCHUPS:

Hallas Stars	4	vs	5	New Chester Knights
Caligara Bulldogs	2	vs	7	Oakland Ravens
Landor 96ers	1	vs	8	Bristow Bears
Adelphia Phoenix	3	vs	6	Ballymore Tigers

Just seven games remain before we crown the 2020-21 champions. Who will it be standing in the podium at Crystal Bowl 51?

TwO WEEKS TO GO- THE PLAYOFF RUN-IN

There are just two weeks remaining now and the PFL regular-season. 9 teams remain in contention for the 8 play-off places, with Chakota Wasps being eliminated with their defeat against the Oakland Ravens.

In the PFL East, the New Chester Knights still remain one game behind the Landor 96ers, with the two facing each other in the final week of the season.The Bristow bears still hold the eighth slot, with a one-game lead over the San Angelo Miners who remained in contention following their win last night at home to the Hallas Stars.

Adelphia Phoenix’s lead in the PFL Central is back to one-game, following their loss and Oakland’s win. Again, these two teams go head-to-head on the final day. Adelphia will take on the Chakota Wasps this weekend, whilst the Ravens will be looking to do the double against the Rochester Trojans. Adelphia hold the tiebreaker, which will be neutralised with a Ravens win on final day.

The Caligara Bulldogs still hold the best record in the league with a 14-2 record and dibs on the first seed. Behind them, the Ballymore Tigers have gone past the .500 humdrum in the past few weeks and are now sitting pretty at the number six point with a head-to-head advantage over the Oakland Ravens. The less said about the Iomagh Steelers and the Harteford Hawks, the better. Disastrous campaigns for both teams.

Out in the West, the Hallas Stars remain in control of the division, but have slipped to a 10-6 record.Following three successive defeats, the Stars will need to get back into the winning ways before the play-offs start. It is possible for the Miners to win the division if they win out and the Stars lose out. The Miners would win on divisional record. The Eregon Eagles have fared better since Cameron Reed returned, but have still been shaky opponents. The (St. George) Sharks’ dismal season continued with a loss to the Eagles and their reputation has sunk this season.

W2WO4 -What to watch out for

So looking at this penultimate weekend, the Bears can guarantee a play-off spot with a victory and a Miners defeat. A Bears defeat and Miners victory would make the run for the final play-off spot interesting. If the Knights lose and the 96ers win, then Landor will win the PFL East. If the Phoenix win and the Ravens lose, the PFL Central will go to Adelphia.

The Stars win the PFL West with a win and a Miners defeat, which would seal up the fourth play-off spot.

Playoff standings right now:

	PFL	P	W	L	D	PF	PA	PCT	PD	DIV
1	Caligara Bulldogs	16	14	2	0	460	319	.875	141	4-0
2	Landor 96ers	16	13	3	0	452	353	.813	99	4-0
3	Adelphia Phoenix	16	12	4	0	496	344	.750	152	3-1
4	Hallas Stars	16	10	6	0	487	375	.625	112	2-2
5	N.C. Knights	16	12	4	0	420	356	.750	64	3-1
6	Ballymore Tigers	16	11	5	0	410	373	.688	37	3-1
7	Oakland Ravens	16	11	5	0	413	358	.688	55	3-1
8	Bristow Bears	16	9	7	0	359	369	.563	-10	1-3
–	San Angelo Miners	16	8	8	0	391	368	.500	23	4-0
x	Chakota Wasps	16	6	10	0	430	393	.375	37	0-4
x	Rochester Trojans	16	5	11	0	358	450	.313	-92	2-2
x	Melboro Giants	16	5	11	0	333	377	.313	-44	0-4
x	Eregon Eagles	16	4	12	0	298	398	.250	-100	1-3
x	Iomagh Steelers	16	4	12	0	262	438	.250	-176	1-3
x	St. George Sharks	16	2	13	1	298	408	.156	-110	1-3
x	Harteford Hawks	16	1	14	1	227	415	.094	-188	0-4

Week 19 fixtures:

Bristow Bears		vs		Landor 96ers (FRI)
Eregon Eagles		vs		Hallas Stars (SAT)
Chakota Wasps		vs		Adelphia Phoenix (SAT)
Oakland Ravens		vs		Rochester Trojans
St. George Sharks		vs		San Angelo Miners
Harteford Hawks		vs		Iomagh Steelers
Melboro Giants		vs		New Chester Knights
Ballymore Tigers		vs		Caligara Bulldogs (MON)

PFL WEST 2020-21 REVIEW

PFL West: Eregon Eagles | Hallas Stars | San Angelo Miners | St. George Sharks

EREGON EAGLES

What type of Eagles team will turn up for the 2020-21 season? It is not helped by QB Cameron Reed having to return to the US over family issues. Veteran QB Bo Mills has just been added in. The Eagles have a good balanced team, who on their day can compete. The problem for the past three seasons has been if the do in fact, show up.

HALLAS STARS

The Stars are looking to rebound from THAT defeat in the playoffs. Chase Hand had a terrific season under Centre, throwing for 5,000 yards and 39 TDs. The defence, for most part played excellently. If not for that second-half slump in a playoff game, we could have been looking at the new champions. They will have to shake off that loss to be stronger this time around.

SAN ANGELO MINERS

The Ryan Bruce era begins! The former Trojan QB is now heading up the Miners. San Angelo are stacked with talent as they have gone all in for the ‘now’. Last season, it didn’t work, but with Bruce’s relatively cap-friendly deal (for a starting QB), it allowed them to other key retain players. Allen and Higgins are hungry young runners, the receiving corps is great. Should be challenging for top of the PFL West- with the Stars.

ST. GEORGE SHARKS

The Sharks are another team that are hard to read, They often struggle against lesser teams, whilst bringing it on against the league’s finest. QB Dre Nalen is a top-tier passer, whilst the defence, lead by Finnish nationals Heikki Karppinen and Niku Laukkanen is good enough to challenge anyone. The hardest team to predict, as they could as easily win the division as sit at the bottom.

PFL NORTH 2020-21 PREVIEW

PFL North| Ballymore Tigers | Caligara Bulldogs | Harteford Hawks | Iomagh Steelers

The PFL North is a balanced division, in that there are two very strong teams and two very weak teams! Due to the new format, Ballymore and Caligara faced off for the championship in 2018-19. Harteford and Iomagh have been battling it out at the bottom, not what either fanbase would like.

BALLMORE TIGERS

The Tigers are still a strong team, with Cam Rogers at the helm, the Tigers are still the main team that took the title two years ago.

The defence is still the focus of the team, with a little bit of sprucing up, they could become elite in 2020. Drafted Alfred Foster to pick up from Sam Randall as the pass rusher. Patrick Harper left under FA, so Bob Taylor and Freddie Boyle will compete.

CALIGARA BULLDOGS

The defending champions are still stacked with talent, but do they have the hunger after successive Crystal Bowl appearances? Jon Palmer is a great young head coach, who let’s his experts do their jobs. If there’s no need to tinker with a winning formula, they could well be biting their foes in the playoffs. Zack Slater (QB) to Seth Slater (WR) is still an extremely good combination.

HARTEFORD HAWKS

Last season was a progression for the mean green flyin’ machine. The Hawks went from 2-16 to 6-12. This year they will look to build on that siccess (9-9?). They are a balanced team, they will need either rookie QB Aaron Murphy or Dexter Williams to come good. If the defence is stronger, it should help even out the scores too. Veteran RBs Marshall Knight and Donovan Kelly were massive upgrades for the run game.

IOMAGH STEELERS

Iomagh were a disaster last season, going 2-16, with a couple of horrendous blowouts. Off-season trades were aplenty, and they were very active in the free agent market. Brandon Mullen and Kelvin Stewart (remember when he was the golden boy?) will compete for the starting role at QB. Thomas Linderholm returns from injury to help what was a leaky front line last term. Will do well do double their victory count from last year, though.

PFL CENTRAL 2020-21 PREVIEW

PFL CENTRAL: Adelphia Phoenix | Chakota Wasps | Oakland Ravens | Rochester Trojans

The PFL Central lost the Tallassea Oilers but gained the two-time Crystal Bowl winners Adelphia Phoenix in 2020. This will be a great line-up for a strong, competitive, division.

ADELPHIA PHOENIX

The Phoenix picked up quite the coup, picking up RB Kylian Floyd in the draft. He, along with Jamal Davies (first round pick in 2018), should mean that they will have replaced Marshall Knight. QB Matt Kelly shows know sign of ageing yet, and a good receiver core means the attacking force is strong.

The defence is still a worry. The line is good, with Blake and Dez Williams being particularly strong. The midfield is mixed, whilst the back four have been suspect for the last two seasons. 50-50 to make the playoffs.

CHAKOTA WASPS

With Trent Harris or Eric Chandler at the helm, the Wasps look hot on the offensive. Neil James is a standard RB and the line is good holding off the defence just enough. Defensively, they are hit and miss, Like Adelphia, this could cost them when it counts.

OAKLAND RAVENS

With a young,dynamic QB in Tayvon Coles (from Ohara) running this team, they should pound their enemies into submission. A tough team from top to bottom. I fancy them to win the division as the most balanced team.

ROCHESTER TROJANS

The Trojans took a chance with QB Josh Hennigan, and that could easily prove to be a good move. The Trojans will need to keep everyone around him healthy. Moving on from Ryan Bruce was a good idea, now they need to be ruthless in other areas. They won’t have enough to challenge for the division this year, but should not exactly be walkovers either.

PFL EAST 2020-21 PREVIEW

PFL EAST: Bristow Bears | Landor 96ers | Melborg Giants | New Chester Knights

The 2020-21 starts on Friday 18th September, with the champion Bulldogs hosting the Tigers in the big kickoff. The PFL East doesn’t have long to wait though, as they start on Sunday September 20th. League newcomers Bristow, who replaced the outgoing Tallassea Oilers have a difficult placement.

BRISTOW BEARS

The Bears have on paper a decent squad, with some PFL journeymen and great young players. Will this be enough to get the team in the playoffs? It is unlikely, but QB Brad Robinson is accurate and they inherited deep-ball threat Edjerious Jones and RB Lamar Hall give the team more than hope. Coaching could be the key to that fine line between success and failure for the Bears.

LANDOR 96ERS

The ‘Sixers have a tremendous defence, that will play havoc with ANY team’s gameplan. The Attacking options are going to be the key. Veteran QB Kurt Sierra is injury-prone, whilst WRs Robert Johnson and Asante Brown are not getting any younger. If the ‘O’ play strong this team could very well go all the way to CB 51.

MELBORG GIANTS

The Giants are still in a bit of a rebuild mode. QB Tom Tomkowski has not been the steal that some thought he would be. His accuracy improved last year, as his running stats went down. Their vocal home support the ‘G-Fence’ will need to carry this team somewhat.

NEW CHESTER KNIGHTS

The Knights are going to be there or thereabouts once again this season, aren’t they? Elijah Brooks will always make time to find people, the plethora of receivers always keeps the passing game good and defence honest. Veteran RB Chauncey Smith will have help in 2020-21.

The Knights have a good, young defence, lead by AMF Stephen Cooks and CMF Cooper Riley. Will battle with the 96ers for the division title, now Adelphia are in the Central.

Crystal Bowl 50: Bulldogs leave it late to snatch victory

Crystal Bowl 50 | PFL Championship

CHAKOTA WASPS  24
  CALIGARA BULLDOGS  25

	1	2	3	4	ET	FT
CHAKOTA	7	3	7	7	–	24
CALIGARA	6	3	3	13	–	25

1st Quarter:
CAL   FG Wright 41; 3-0
CAL   FG Wright 44; 6-0
CHA  Harris 46 pass to Tucker (Wall kick); 6-7
2nd Quarter:
CAL   FG Wright 37; 9-7
CHA  FG Wall 39; 9-10
3rd Quarter:
CAL   FG Wright 31; 12-10
CHA  Harris 27 pass to Blackmon (Wall kick); 12-17
4th Quarter:
CAL   Slater 8 pass to Morales (Wright Kick); 19-17
CHA  Harris 12 pass to Rogers (Wall kick); 19-24
CAL   Slater 36 pass to Slater (Conver failed); 25-24

The Caligara Bulldogs required two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter from QB Zack Slater to come from behind to gian redemption from last year’s title game loss.
Slater had an uncomfortable first half, completing only six of thirteen passes. RB Jeremy Franklin had gained nearly 100 yards to keep the Bulldogs competitive.

The Wasps had a good performance from Trent Harris at the helm, gaining 274 yards through the air and three touchdowns. Harris overcame a second quarter interception, to lead the team to 10-9, 17-12 and 24-19 leads. His second interception effectively ended the game with 00:54 remaining.

Going into the fourth quarter, trailing 17-12, the Bulldogs regained the lead on an 8 yard pass from Slater to Morales. The lead didn’t last long, as Harris drove the Wasps downfield through the air, completing the drive with a 12 yarder to Shyrone Rogers.

The Bulldogs, with six minutes remaining needed another drive. Franklin gained two quick first downs on draw plays. Slater then found his namesake Seth on 9 and 11 yard gains. The Wasps were in their prevent defence and it was seeping gains (Ken Anderson limped off and Stephen Schmidt was playing hurt.

With 3:47 left on the clock, Zack found Seth- the Slater-to-Slater combination once more on a quick bubble screen. Seth evaded Schmidt and ran the remaining 36 yards for the score. The Bulldogs led by one point, so they attempted a two point conversion. Slater to Martinez didn’t work this time, so it remained a one point lead.

The Wasps final drive, needing just a field goal to win, ended when Kyle Neal intercepted a pass intended for Blackmon.

In just his second year as a Head Coach, Jon Palmer has topped the Mountain, an incredible achievement.

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