+- International Simulation Football League (https://forums.sim-football.com)
+-- Forum: Community (https://forums.sim-football.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=5)
+--- Forum: Media (https://forums.sim-football.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=37)
+---- Forum: Graded Articles (https://forums.sim-football.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=38)
+---- Thread: Wraiths/Hawks Breakdown (Part Three) (/showthread.php?tid=1679)
Wraiths/Hawks Breakdown (Part Three) - SimmerDownBruhh - 07-02-2017
The tetralogy is now past us and the landscape at the top of the NSFC is now more visible than ever.
The Baltimore Hawks and the Yellowknife Wraiths just completed their four game series with the final playoff spot on the line. Both teams went into the battle with urgency and determination and it was something that I had pleasure in spectating.
In the previous two installments of this series, we've shown the storylines and players to watch in the Hawks/Wraiths series and the results and players of the the first two games between the two playoff hopefuls.
Both teams should be proud of their efforts these last four weeks. Although there was a fair share of mistakes made by both teams throughout the year, positioning yourself in a spot where you can make the playoffs and push towards the Ultimus is not an easy feat. It takes a lot of digging deep that goes into the game of football, both individually and as a team.
With that being said, here are the results and analysis of the final two games of the tetralogy:
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°[/div]
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]Week 11
Final Score:
Hawks: 10
Wraiths: 19[/div]
Yellowknife once again presses all of the right buttons to continue their exceptional record while playing on their home field. This victory now pushes their home record to a NSFL leading 6-1. (both the Arizona Outlaws and Orange County Otters have the chance to tie with the last two weeks of the season). The Hawks led at halftime 10-6 but when the offense started clicking for the Wraiths, the couldn't keep up. Yellowknife scores 13 second half points to secure the win in game #3.
Looking into the duel between Scrub Kyubee and Chris Orosz, it's apparent and fairly obvious that the winner of his battle is Orosz. He threw for more yards (293 to Kyubee's 99), was more accurate with more passes (65% on 26/40 in comparison to 63% on 14/22), and a better overall passer rating to go with it (95.1 for Orosz/70.1for Kyubee). Both threw one TD but Kyubee threw one interception to go with it.
The receiving trio of Garden, LeClair and Maddox does it again with another stellar all around effort to break away from their defenders and secure the catch. The three combined to rack up 19 catches (Maddox: 7/Garden and LeClair: 6 apiece) for 269 yards (LeClair leading the way with 122 of them, Garden with 103) and one TD (by Garden). Definitely one of the more well rounded performances by the three of them.
On the other side, receptions and YAC was hard to come by. The defense of the Wraiths only allowed 99 yards through the air in what was the best game for them as far as passing yards are concerned. West, Christmas and Tenzini could not move the chains on a consistent matter and it showed throughout the whole game. They combined for 89 yards on 12 catches and one TD (Damien West led the way with 6 catches for 51 yards and also scored that TD).
The running game between the two teams was a battle, to say the least. Both teams were able to run at will. Mostly on the Baltimore side, where they were able to make the most out of Levon Novel and Marcus Robinson. Both RBs rushed for a combined 42 times for 172 yards. On the Yellowknife side, Bubba Nuck is just adding onto a MVP caliber season, rushing for almost 5 yards a carry on 20 carries and adding up to 90 yards rushing.
With all of that rushing power, you'd think that the pancakes will be stacked pretty high. In this case, you would be somewhat incorrect with that statement when comparing that to the previous matchups. This time it is Yellowknife who wins the IHOP contest for week 10, with a final score of 15-12. D'Brickishaw Ferguson and Mat Akselsen both notched the highest pancake counts with four for the both of them.
On defense, Sinjin Flimjollywop wins the defensive player of the game in my opinion. He snags the only interception of either team, and led the Wraiths in tackles, notching 11 on his belt. Kendrick Hendrix led the Hawks, having a game high 13 tackles. There was only three sacks allowed between both teams and two of them went to what most of the players throughout the league are calling the "Most Feared DT Duo in the NSFL Today." Both Mark Ramrio and Trent Bender wrapped Kyubee up once and Orosz gets sacked by recently acquired Bert Metas.
Turk Turkleton from the Hawks was not heavily used this game and that can be seen by the lack of drives into scoring position. Besides the second quarter, where he capitalized on his one XP and one FG attempt (43 yards), it was a fairly quiet day for him. On the other side, they made sure Archibald Booter had ample chances to alter the score of the game, completing 4/5 field goals (longest of the day is a 40 yarder) and knocked the only extra point for the Wraiths through the uprights.
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°[/div]
The race for the top seed of the NSFC tightened up at the end of week 11 when the Colorado Yeti won their matchup earlier that day against the current ASFC leaders Arizona Outlaws 19-10. If that sounded familiar, that's the same score the Wraiths beat the Hawks by this week. Great teams play alike? Who knows?
As I mentioned earlier, the Wraiths has played stellar at home this year, but this will be the last time the Wraiths will play in the regular season in Yellowknife. With the Wraiths taking a 2-1 lead in the series, the trip goes back to Baltimore for the battleground of the finale.
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°[/div]
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]Week 12
Final Score:
Wraiths: 17
Hawks: 13[/div]
This game right here. This is the reason why I said that neither of these teams should be upset in the overall duel between them. It literally could have gone either way and the scoreboard for three of the games proved that fact. The Wraiths finessed a TD late in the fourth quarter to take the lead in the final minutes of the game. It started as a mini field goal battle to the death but it ended with back and forth touchdown jabs by both teams. It definitely was a sight to see for all fans of football.
We've talked about how great the Wraiths have been in Yellowknife, but its important to note that before this game, they were 0-4 at away games. By the looks of things, their first win away from home couldn't have come at a better time.
From the QB point of view, the winner of this contest has to be Chris Orosz again. Neither threw a TD this game but Kyubbe threw three interceptions. Two of which helped the Wraiths tip the scale in their favor with the Wraiths scoring 10 points immediately after those turnovers. Kyubee through 18 more passes than Orosz, which helped him lead both QBs in passing yards (272 to 146). The passer ratings could have been much better but Orosz didn't make any costly mistakes to make the game more difficult than it already was for the Wraiths.
In the rushing battle, it was a very competitive matchup. Bubba Nuck, Levon Novel, and Marcus Robinson all contributed a very high volume of game changing runs. Both teams brought in a rushing TD within the last 7 minutes of the game. Robinson and Novel combined for 95 yards on 27 carries. Levon then puts his team on top with a little less than seven minutes left in the fourth.
After Dermot Lavelle intercepts a pass to Damien West and takes it to the red zone and a catch and run that gets them to the 1 yard line, Bubba Nuck broke the plain and gave them the lead for the remainder of the game. Nuck finishes 1 yard shy of 100 yards for the game on 26 carries. He shouldn't be too mad about that yard because he made history. With this rushing performance in week 12, Bubba Nuck officially becomes the first RB in NSFL history to break 1,000 yards in a single season (CONGRATS BIG BUBBA!!).
On the receiving end, it was the Hawks that out performed the Wraiths. Damien West, Gabriel Tenzini and Cooper Christmas each had great moments against the defense, combining for a total of 186 yards on 16 catches (11.6 YPC). On the Yellowknife side, besides the few big gains they had, they couldn't get it going on a consistent basis as far as the number of catches goes. They did, however, made the most of what was given to them. Josh Garden, Ricky Maddox, and Alexandre LeClair earned a total of 139 yards on 9 receptions (15.4 YPC). LeClair was the aforementioned WR that got the Wraiths in great position so Nuck can score the 1 yard TD late in the fourth.
The offensive line battle ends with the Wraiths winning the last meeting with a final score of 21-17. Both teams had great contributions from the O-Line, with Mat Akselsen winning the individual pancake stacking contest this week, ending the game with five healthy pancakes on his plate. Vincent Sharpei and Jordan Weal led the Hawks with four and three well sized pancakes respectively.
On the other side of the field, the sack count team wise was tied at four. Bender and Ramrio does it again, bringing down Kyubee three times and Ramrio led all defensive players with two sacks. Tyler Varga takes the last sack for the Wraiths. As I mentioned before, the Wraiths intercepted Kyubee three times. Sinjin Flimjollywop does it again with an interception and takes this one ALL. THE. WAY.. back into the Hawks end zone for six. Alex Hansen also joins the interception party, snagging a pass intended for Marcus Robinson early in the fourth quarter. He also led the Wraiths in tackles for the game with eight of them.
The Harrison Bros (Stephen and Gilbert) put in high grade contributions for the Hawks, combining for 16 tackles and a sack on Orosz apiece. Erasmo Broadway also made sure there was pressure of the receivers, deflecting three passes by his lonesome. Devin Speed also registered a pass deflection and a sack during the game.
From the kicker perspective, it was fairly neck and neck. There was no missed field goals from either Turkleton or Booter. The edge will have to go to Archie for this one, as he barely posted more points on the scoreboard than Turk with a score of 5-4. The last TD put Booter ahead in that stat. Turkleton had the longest field goal made this game, with a 32 yard FG before the end of the first half.
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]
°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°[/div]
Just like that, the tetralogy has now ceased. It was a plenty of ups and downs but there was no doubt that everyone put it all on the line for their teams. I knew it was gonna be a battle to see which side will come up victorious and at the end of the series, Yellowknife comes out on top with a 3-1 victory.
With the conclusion of these four games, the outlook of the NSFC now shifts to the matchup at the end of the regular season between the Colorado Yeti and the Yellowknife Wraiths. The three losses in a row by Baltimore closes the door on Baltimore's chances of winning the Ultimus in Season 1.
At the end of week 12, the Yeti lost their grip of the top seed in the NSFL ever so slightly by losing to the SaberCats (in what most would say an upset) by the score of 17-13. That loss has the Wraiths and Yeti tied at the top of the conference with both teams earning a 7-5 record with the Yeti currently holding the tiebreaker between them.
The scenarios at hand are fairly straight forward. Regardless of what happens, these teams will meet in the playoffs, but who will host the game?
There's a number of scenarios that can play out to see who will be the team to have the best record in the NSFC's inaugural season. How it all plays out in the end remains to be seen.
This has been a pleasure to follow the first (and possibly only) tetralogy in NSFL history. It's funny seeing how the schedule came out and how there was only one matchup where a team played each other four straight times in a row. Honestly, I was glad that it was these two teams.
Thanks again for stopping by taking a close hand journey between two rivals. To wrap this all up, here's a list of my top three performers from each team during the series:
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]Baltimore Hawks
Damien West
Catches: 28
Receiving Yards: 290 Yards
Yards Per Catch: 10.4
Touch Downs: 2
Longest Reception: 39 (Game 1)
Bert Metas
Tackles: 14
Sacks: 5 (Two in Game 1)
Stephen Harrison
Tackles: 30
Pass Deflections: 1
Sacks: 3
Tackle For Loss: 1[/div]
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]Yellowknife Wraiths
Bubba Nuck
Rushing Attempts: 93
Rushing Yards: 370
Yards Per Carry: 3.97
Touch Downs: 2
Longest Rush: 16 (Game 2)
Josh Garden
Catches: 24
Receiving Yards: 407 Yards
Yards Per Catch: 16.95
Touch Downs: 1
Longest Reception: 40 (Game 1)
Sinjin Flimjollywop
Tackles: 27
Sacks: 1
Pass Deflections: 3
Interceptions: 3
Defensive Touchdowns: 1[/div]
- Samuel Harrison
Code:
2175 Words, ready to be graded!Players in article:
@`The_King`
@Muford
@DollarAndADream
@samee
@Raven
@GoodLeftUndone
@princekyle
@Ghostspeed
@Bertiswho
@`Dermot`
@Zoone16
@RavensFanFromOntario
@Dinklburger01
@BasedPooter
@Aenir
@CaptainCats
@Ballerstorm
@NUCK
@andybj
@.Broken
@mjdharder
@Bzerkap
@GilfredTheGreat
@Noppadet
#WRAITHSNATION
Wraiths/Hawks Breakdown (Part Three) - Anti-Hype - 07-02-2017
Thats how we do it baby!
Wraiths/Hawks Breakdown (Part Three) - Jiggly_333 - 07-11-2017
Graded
Word Count: 2,175
Bonus Tier: $800k
Total Payout: $2.975M