Crystal Bowl XLIX – Tigers claim win in defensive showpiece

Crystal Bowl XLIX (49) | PFL Championship 2018-19

1st Quarter:

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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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.

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.

2017- Going out in style?

Bulldogs, Ravens, Trojans, Knights, Phoenix and Giants all win big on last day of the year

Week Fifteen | PFL | Season 2017-18

With five weeks to go, this is crunch time. The last game of the year normally sends out a statement as to how the regular season will end. Manifesting destiny, they call it.

Ballymore Tigers 21 – 34 Caligara Bulldogs

Ballymore were trounced early by Caligara’s ground and pound approach to the first half. This set up perfect play-action to Max Buchanon and Seth Slater in the third quarter and it was soon 34-14.

Chakota Wasps 25 – 27 Rochester Trojans

The Trojans got a key divisional victory in this game. Now there are three teams fixed at 9-4 in the PFL Central. Divisional wins could be key. Ryan Bruce threw for 317 yards and two scores, including the game winning drive for the winning Field Goal.

Eregon Eagles 28 – 19 Iomagh Steelers

Eregon kept themselves in the playoff race with a win over the increasingly hapless Iomagh Steelers side. At 6-7, the Eagles can still make a late push for the knockout phase.

Oakland Ravens 30 – 31 Landor Knights

The Ravens are kicking themselves after a missed field goal as time expired lost them this game. A game that they should never had a chance of winning! The Knights were leading 24-3 at halftime, dominating up front. A third quarter pick six and fumble recovery set up the fight back. Tomkowski snuck in to make it 30-24 in the fourth quarter. This allowed Elijah Brooks to march downfield and find Cooks in the endzone for the final score.

San Angelo Miners 20 – 34 Adelphia Phoenix

The Miners were without Brandon Mullen, and it showed. The Phoenix took control early and led 13-3 at the half. Adelphia QB Matt Kelly is coming back to fitness and form and he threw for 289 yards and three TD tosses.

Hallas Stars 26 – 31 Melborg Giants

The Giants are still in it! A mid-season comeback has helped the Giants continue to stay relevant. Their strong defence shit down Hallas for three Quarters and they led 17-10. Even though Hallas came back, the Melborg men had enough left in the tank to claim the victory.

UFB 1/4 Finals: Four down, four left!

UFB: The Semi-Finals loom | No major shocks in 1/4 finals, although holders go out.

So, after another round of matches, three of the four top seeds remain. Ohara and Olaskas convincingly took care of Gayle and NESU, respectively. Granada against Eregonia wasn’t that close, after the Bulldogs raced into a 17-0 lead. Only BSU got the away win, beating defending Champions O’Connell 31-24, that was not really a major shock, though.  BSU’s defence is legit badass!

PFL Week Four wrap up

PFL Week 4 Roundup

One team still undefeated? Many teams at 2-2? What went down this past weekend in the PFL:

Oakland Ravens remained undefeated following a Field Goal contest with the Iomagh Steelers. The game finished 9-6!

The Chakota Wasps shut out the visiting Harteford Hawks 20-0. Humphrey looks hot, the Harteford Hawks do not. Guess last week was a fluke, huh?

Eregon Eagles moved to 2-2 by beating the San Angelo Miners 28-14. Brandon Mullen struggled against the Eagles defence, taken down by Jeff Holliday three times.

New Jorg 96ers left it late to win at home to Caligara 23-17. The ‘sixers continue to look impressive, being a surprise team this season. It took no time for Kurt Sierra to settle in at QB and he has lit a flame under WR Asante Brown’s boots and gloves. The defence is stacked too.

The Trojans needed an extra-time field goal to win against the Tallassea Oilers in Rochester. QB Ryan Bruce led them to a late tying touchdown with 17 seconds left in regulation. The Oilers lost another close one, surely their luck will change soon?

St George’s defence capitulated at home to the Hallas Stars (41-17). The Sharks gave up 40 points for the second time in four weeks. Drew Williams returned to fine form in the onslaught.

Ballymore got revenge for the Crystal Bowl XLVI loss in Adelphia against the Phoenix. The Tigers won 20-14, following Slater’s late TD run. Bo Mills left the game early, with Cam Rogers filling in well. Adelphia’s defence showed signs of cracking against the run down the stretch.

On Monday Night, the Landor Knights won 22-9 against the visiting Melborg Giants in an all-PFL East clash. Elijah Brooks led their balanced attack, as the team improved to 2-2. At 1-3, The Giants need to start winning soon, before the get thrown out of the play-off picture.

Week three wrap up

PFL | Week 3 | 2017-18

Oakland remain as the only undefeated team after three rounds! The Ravens go into this Friday Night fixture hoping to go 4-0. What a league season this is turning out to be.

New Jorg 96ers rallied late to a 20 – 13 victory away to the Ballymore Tigers, Asante Brown caught 8 passes, Kurt Sierra gained 311 yards through the air.  Tigers QB Bo Mills struggled to run the offence, will he still be starting next week?

Rochester Trojans dispatched the hosting San Andreas Miners 45 – 35. Ryan Bruce returned to fine form this week, throwing for 389 yards and three TDs. San Andreas couldn’t keep up, their defence is leaking yardage and points. This was another weary display from that side of the board.

One of the PFL’s only undefeated teams, the Oakland Ravens, remained that way on Sunday. They beat St. George Sharks 21-14 at home. The Ravens have looked very solid and adaptable in all stages of the game so far this year.  An all round team.

The Melborg Giants got their first win, due to three missed kicks by the Chakota Wasps. Problems with the longsnapper-holder exchange caused Wall to miss two field goals and an extra point attempt. The Giants held on to open their win account for the season.

One of the PFL’s only undefeated teams, Iomagh Steelers lost 7 – 14 to the Tallassea Oilers– the Oilers first win of the year. In a low-scorer, the Oilers managed a late touchdown to break a 7-7 deadlock. Again, Edjerious Jones was held to just three catches.

In Hallas, the Adelphia Phoenix destroyed the Hallas Stars 37 – 13 with Matt Kelly throwing three touchdown tosses. The Stars committed four turnovers, meaning they couldn’t keep up.

In the late Sunday game, Landor Knights lost to the Caligara Bulldogs 20 – 26. We’ve already talked about that.

In the Monday evening slot, Harteford Hawks opened their account with a 20 – 10 win at Eregon. The Eagles showed no composure up front and the Hawks finally showed some football gumption. It was in front of the Monday Night audience too!

 

 

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.