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+---- Thread: *S29 Minnesota Grey Ducks Game Balls - Weeks 1 to 7 (and 14) (/showthread.php?tid=33175)
*S29 Minnesota Grey Ducks Game Balls - Weeks 1 to 7 (and 14) - Painted - 06-29-2021
S29 Minnesota Grey Ducks Game Balls - Weeks 1 to 7 (and 14) Anyway, without any more rambling, let me kick it off with week 1, with weeks 2 and 3 soon to follow!
WEEK 1 GAME BALL – Offensive Captain RB John Huntsman @Fronk
This season’s opener week started off with a BANG! The Grey Ducks took on the Royals at home and just straight dominated to say the least, ending the night with a 31-10 win! In such a lopsided game, the offense was led by none other than the newfound captain John Huntsman.
Huntsman was run into the ground this game! He ended the night with 32(!!) carries. That alone was impressive, but what was even better were his 2 TDs! His first score came late in the first quarter when he blew past every defender on the field after plowing through a big hole formed by the offensive line. Huntsman carried the ball for 35-yards into the endzone, which wasn’t even his longest carry of the night! That came on a 58-yard run on the very first play of the game!! Right away we knew he would shine.
His second touchdown came midway through the second quarter where he finished a short drive by the offense on 3rd and goal for a 2-yard score. This effectively sealed London’s fate as that drove the Grey Ducks lead to be 24-7, a lead they would not even come close to give up.
The rest of the game was relatively quiet on the scoring side, as the defense was shutting down the Royals in every facet of the game. But the final score of the game came on a big interception by Amy Wong! She nabbed the ball and zoomed to the other side of the field for a 53-yard pick-six midway through the fourth quarter! Had Hunstman not had such an outstanding performance, she would have easily secured this week’s game ball.
The offensive captain ended the night with a stat line of 32 rushes for 172 yards, averaging 5.4 yards a carry, in addition to his 2 rushing touchdowns. This guy’s not just a hunter, he is a gatherer of stats too!
WEEK 2 GAME BALL – CB Amy Wong @pazuzu
While week 1 was a thrilling offensive performance, in week 2 the grey ducks went back to their defensive roots and held the BBB to an impressive 14-0 shutout! This incredible defensive performance was helmed by none other than veteran cornerback Amy Wong!
Coming off a huge win in week 1 where she racked up a pick six, Wong had an even better night in week 2!! While racking up the second most tackles on the team, Wong’s first big play came in the late first quarter. The Buccaneers were threatening to score down in the red zone, but Wong jumped right in front of their receiver and not only prevented the touchdown but also took possession with the first interception of the night!
The second turnover came in the mid second quarter after a short punt by Tate to put them at midfield. But in just the second down of the drive, Wong yanked another one out of reach of the Buccaneers! This even effectively sealed the game as no other score happened until the clock struck 0:00 in the fourth.
Typically, a shutout means small stat sheets for individual performances, this was the exception as Wong ended the night with 7 tackles, 3 passes defended, and 2 interceptions! An awe-inspiring performance, especially at cornerback. With so many interceptions, Bondi Beach seemed to be throwing to the Wong team…
WEEK 3 GAME BALL – Defensive Captain LB David Frank @IceBear32
Unfortunately, week 3 brought the Grey Ducks their first loss of the season, but hopefully their only one with how good the team still is. The loss however came through no fault of the defense since they did their part holding the Pythons to only 16 points and causing 4 turnovers. Now if only the offense would not run the ball when we were down by 10 in the fourth quarter….
Nevertheless, we should recognize the great defensive effort, and, while there were a lot of good choices, the game ball inevitably goes to the newest defensive captain David Frank! On the first drive of the night, Frank made sure to lead his defense in the best way- by example. He wanted to set the stage for the rest of night for Portland and he did so by causing a big forced fumble and recovery at midfield! Nullifying any hopes the Pythons had about the opening drive, the Grey Ducks took possession. Unfortunately, however, the Grey Ducks could not capitalize on the turnover and failed to score, which seemed to be the theme for the rest of the night.
Regardless, Frank still stepped up after his turnover of the night. He ended the game leading Minnesota’s defense in recorded tackles and with 1 forced fumble and fumble recovery. Not to mention being able to lead the defense as captain now- he sure has climbed through the Franks.
WEEK 4 GAME BALL – QB Kazimir Oles Jr @To12143
In week 4, the Grey Ducks returned to peak form and destroyed Tijuana in one of the most dominating performances I have ever seen in the DSFL. It is no question that tonight’s game ball should go to the quarterback who led the offense in such an amazing game, Kazimir Oles Jr!!
If I listed out every big play or scoring opportunity Oles put up in this game, I would hit the 2500-word bonus mark using just this week alone! Instead, I will breakdown his performance by the numbers. Oles had 397 passing yards on the night, this set a Grey Ducks record in the new sim. He also had 26 completions on 40 attempts, ALSO setting a Grey Ducks record. He had a passer rating of 126.8 and an average completion of 9.9 yards. But what was most impressive were his touchdowns, scoring 5 of them. A DSFL record!!
Oles was an unstoppable machine in week 4 and we need more performances like this one in the future! As for his targets, both rookie wide outs Sharpei Jr and Malone caught 2 touchdowns from him and caught for over 100 yards. He also spread the ball to Lux, who also caught for over 100 yards and a TD, and tight end Tarantino who caught for over 50 yards. Perhaps the most insane part of the stats was that Huntsman didn’t even have a bad night. He still ran for over 100 yards and scored a TD himself! Literally NO ONE on the Grey Ducks can complain about that win!! To sum up this game in one word: Olé-s!!
WEEK 5 GAME BALL – DT Daniel O’Leary @mango8154
Minnesota went down to Norfolk in week 5 for their annual curb stopping of the Seawolves, and they delivered! With a final score of 27-3, we had control for practically the entire game. What is even better is that this game set the rushing record by Huntsman at 200 yards! Normally, you would think such a performance would deserve the game ball, but we will hold off on that for now. Instead, we are going to reward our defense for never giving the Seawolves any glimpse of hope. This time it was veteran and former captain defensive tackle Daniel O’Leary who shined the brightest!
Did you know? O’Leary hates Norfolk. A lot. So much so, on the very first defensive snap he stuffed Norfolk’s rookie running back for a gain of just 1 yard. Then did it AGAIN on the next play against their lead back for only a gain of two! This led to a three-and-out which was only a sign of things to come for the night. He kept stuffing the line and was a destructive force with the rest of the front seven. But his biggest play of the game came on the Seawolves final saving grace in their last drive. The game was all but sealed as we waited for time to expire in the last minute of the fourth quarter. On second and 10, Clarke dropped back to pass but only saw grey feathers as O’Leary turned all his rage into an 11-yard sack, effectively ending the game!
After finishing out another therapeutic win over the Seawolves since the end of Season 27, the Big O’ finished the night with 7 tackles and 1 sack for a loss of 11 yards. Come week 13, Norfolk better be a little more Leary of our starting defensive tackle!
WEEK 6 GAME BALL – Offensive Captain RB John Huntsman @Fronk
In their double header, the Grey Ducks faced an even worse team than Norfolk in week 6 by facing off against the Bondi Beach Buccaneers on the road. Naturally, the offense had a field day, and who would have guessed? The captain John Huntsman feasted like he was at Outback Steakhouse ordering the Bloomin’ Onion™ against the Aussies!
If you thought last week was impressive from him, well this week he did you one better. Literally. He broke his own rushing record by ONE YARD. You know he had to do it to them just to flex even more. The icing on the cake was this time he also scored 4 touchdowns to boot making sure every carry counted!
Honestly, with so many scoring opportunities and rushes for the captain, if you want a summary of his game, it may be quicker for you to just watch the entire game again! He had 34 rushes and 4 TDs after all, so where do I even begin?? What I can tell you though was his best rush of the night had to have been his second touchdown. Just after the second quarter had begun, Huntsman took the ball from the Buccaneers 36-yard line and took it to the house for a devastating dagger to Bondi Beach which put them down 21-0. Huntsman’s longest rush of the night came right after this one! When Oles hand of that ball “good as f---“ from the Grey Ducks’ 48, Huntsman ran it back all the way until he just got tripped up at the 1-yard line!! So so so close to a 52-yard score. Worry not though! You know he punched it in the very next play lol.
Just to reiterate one more time, his final stat line was 201 yards on 34 attempts for an average of 5.9 yards a carry, 4 touchdowns, and had his longest rush for 51 yards! Australia may be native to the Huntsman Spider, but nothing could have prepared Bondi Beach for the wrath of John Huntsman!
WEEK 7 GAME BALL – FS Jacob Raske @CLG Rampage
Thursday night’s game was a thrilling one against the Dallas Birddogs, and the Grey Ducks came out with a huge win with a final score 33-22. While many could argue that Oles Jr. earned the game ball with his 3 touchdowns and near perfect passer rating of 121.4, I think everyone can agree that it deservingly should go to the better quarterback, Jacob Raske! (Okay, okay- converted quarterback to safety…)
Speaking from experience, it is a hard knock life for us safeties, as you can go weeks on end without any splash plays whatsoever. Well, the wait for Raske ended here since he had not just one turnover but two big ones!! His first came in the closing minutes of the first quarter and the start of another Birddogs drive. At midfield, Raske leaped into the air and brought down the ball to then run it back for a 14-yard interception! Unfortunately for him, however, the offense could not muster any points to take advantage of the turnover. So the defense marched on.
The second turnover though, he quoted Thanos and did it himself! Late into the fourth quarter, and still a one score game, Dallas was driving down past midfield. And at this moment, Raske saw an opportunity and took it! He leaped off the ground again for the interception and this time returned it 74 yards for a pick six!! Adding to the Grey Ducks lead and further sealing the game! Following the pick six, the entire defense rushed to midfield to pose for a grand group photo!
Raske finished the night with a sole tackle, 2 passes defended, 2 interceptions and a defensive touchdown! One thing I did not mention was how much pizazz he put into his turnovers with such cheeky catches and returns, he was certainly a Raske-l out there!
(I took a little bit of a break lol)
Hello to all my Game Ballers! I’m finally back to give all our deserving Grey Ducks the game breadcrumbs they rightfully deserve! How odd that the league banned my puns for weeks 8 to 13. And of course, it’s not a good game ball without a Painted Pun™, so it was only fair that I did not post any game balls during this time frame. Yeah, let’s go with that explanation.
But we’re back now! Just in time to give out the last game ball of the regular season and to hype us up for the post season! Don’t think I have forgotten about the other weeks though. Whether I finish all those write ups is up in the air, but I will at the very least announce the game ball winners and give them their much needed puns! Now onto week 14!
WEEK 14 GAME BALL – QB Kazimir Oles Jr @To12143
Duckies, we did it!! We made it to the playoffs and have homefield advantage throughout! And what an amazing performance it was in our final regular game season. While it started incredibly scary, it finished in an awe-inspiring performance built by the offense and secured by the defense. With so many incredible performances, it was hard to pick just one game ball winner, but I do not think anyone will disagree that the leader of the offense in Oles Jr earned the award!
Down 14-0, Oles and company rallied back scoring three straight unanswered touchdowns in the next 15 minutes of play! And once Minnesota took the lead, they never gave it back as the defense ensured that the Coyotes would never score another touchdown themselves. With a final score of 38-17, Oles threw for 4 touchdowns (nearly 5 if it weren’t for a last-minute tackle to prevent the pick six lol) and 372 yards. His favorite target of the night was potential OROY, wide out Mason Malone who caught 7 passes for 140 yards. What was more impressive, however, was to see veteran tight end Bobby Tarantino be a primary target and catch 2 touchdowns himself!
Sharpei Jr also had very good night putting up 95 yards and 1 touchdown. Lastly, it is not an offensive recap if we do not talk about our primary rusher John Huntsman! While his night was more modest, only netting 84 yards on 31 carries, he still helped out the team with a critical score in the endzone.
Oles Jr finished the night with a final statline of 22 completions on 32 attempts (69% (nice)), 372 total passing yards, 5 touchdowns, 2 early interceptions, and an overall passer rating of 121.4. Now we are on to KCC again in the playoffs! (O)LES’ DO IT!
Well, that's all of them, at least for now! I promise to come back and give Week 8-13 game ball winners the puns they deserve. Now it's time to QUACK in the playoffs! Words: 2666
RE: S29 Minnesota Grey Ducks Game Balls - Weeks 1 to 7 (and 14) - Fronk - 06-30-2021
Quack!
RE: *S29 Minnesota Grey Ducks Game Balls - Weeks 1 to 7 (and 14) - kmatt - 06-30-2021
slow down there mate, that's bit of a big article.