08-24-2017, 12:17 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-24-2017, 03:54 PM by ItsJustBarry.)
In week 14, we saw the Yellowknife Wraiths play host to the Orange County Otters. This game was a must win for the Wraiths to earn a playoff berth but had no implication to the Otters as they had already locked up the #2 seed in the ASFC. It was a very exciting game that saw seven lead changes and wasn’t fully decided until the final clock read zero.
The first quarter started with the Otters receiving the ball. After a quick 3 and out, Al Sims was on the field to punt. The Wraiths took advantage of good field position as QB Chris Orosz led his team on an 8 play, 39 yard drive that stalled out at the Otters 22 yard line. Archibald “Automatic” Booter had no trouble putting the 37 yard field goal between the uprights. Wraiths up 3-0. The Otters got the ball back after a booming kickoff and wasted no time responding. Mike Boss and Co. had not trouble driving the length of the field and capping off the 10 play drive with a touchdown to Bradley Westfield. Otters are up 7-3. The Wraiths’ Levon Novel bobbled the kickoff but managed to land on it to keep possession but the Wraiths were deep in their own territory at this point. Chris Orosz rose (see what I did there) to the challenge and drove his team 92 yards down the field, finding Josh Garden for 28 and 20 yard completions along the way. Josh Garden found the end zone and the Wraiths were back on top 10-7. The Otters received the next kickoff and Bradley Westfield ran out the end zone and was finally downed at his own 37 yard line. After two quick passing plays, the first quarter concluded.
The second quarter began with the Otters driving down the field. After five more plays and an unfortunate penalty by the Wraiths, Leroy Jenkins was able to run in an eight yard TD. The Otters regained the lead, 14-10. The Wraiths poor special teams play continued on the next kick off as well, as Chris Orosz had to begin his next drive from their own 12 yard line. This once again proved not too difficult for the QB as he went 5 for 6 and found Josh Garden again for another TD. As the lead changed yet again, the Wraiths were ahead 17-14. The next kickoff saw Robert Phelps field the ball deep in his own end zone and against the advice of his teammates, brought the ball out in the field of play. After some solid blocking and 15 seconds had passed, Phelps had reached pay dirt setting a new league record for longest kickoff return at 107 yards. It may be a long time before we see the recorded challenged. After the amazing kickoff return, the Otters led 21-17. Levon Novel had a much better return with the next kickoff running it out to the 35 yard line. The Wraiths drive started with a long pass to Garden but was unable to keep the momentum going and they settled for another Booter field goal. The Otters retained the lead 21-20. The rest of the second quarter was far less exciting as the Otters went 3 and out, forcing them to punt. The Wraiths followed up by Orosz getting sacked twice and being forced to punt the ball right back to the Otters. Mike Boss came out and quickly went 0 for3 and Sims was punting yet again. The Wraiths went out and executed a well called 2 minute drill that ended with a booming 48 yard field goal by Booter as time expired. The Wraiths were headed into the break ahead 23-21.
The 3rd quarter began with the Wraiths receiving the kickoff and starting on their own 29 yard line. Chris Orosz was only on the field one play as he was intercepted by Dominic Verns. The Otters were back on the offensive and in excellent field position as they were starting on the Wraiths’ 35 yard line. Scoring seemed imminent from this position but that was not the case. After 3 failed pass attempts and an offensive penalty, the Otters were forced to punt from the 40 yard line. In hindsight, it was probably this possession that shifted the momentum to the Wraiths favor and ultimately decide the game. The punt resulted in a touchback and the Wraiths were headed back to work. With a slight lead, the Wraiths objective was to score points and chew as much of the clock as possible. They were successful in both objectives as they scored a touchdown after a 13 play drive that lasted nearly 7 minutes. Erlich Burnsman was credited with the TD after a powerful 3 yard run. The Wraiths extended their lead 30-21. The following kickoff started with Bradley Westfield catching the ball in the end zone and seeing what his teammate had done earlier in the game, ran the ball out himself. This decision yielded far worse results as he only reached the 13 yard line. The drive was riddled with whistles and flags and after Boss was sacked by Bork Bjornsson, was forced to punt yet again. The Wraiths fielded the ball for no return. They used the rest of the 3rd quarter to to drive down the field and settle for another Booter field goal. For those keeping track, he is now 3/3 in FG and 1/ 1 in extra point attempts. The Wraiths are leading 33-21.
The 4th quarter began with the Otters offense on the field at their own 13 yard line. After 3 quick run plays, they forced to punt. The Wriaths didn’t fare any better on their next possession as they end their own 3 play drive with a punt of their own. The Otters began their next drive from their own 9 yard line and were looking good. After some nice runs by Vincent Bwers Jr. and a couple completed passes, the Otters were in scoring range on Yellowknife’s 32 yard line. The next play, Boss was sacked by AC Hackett and were knocked out of field goal range. Al Sims was forced to come out and punt again which resulted in a touchback. The Wraiths came out looking good. They had a few short runs and Orosz was already 5 for 5 find 3 different receivers but everything changed when A Petrakis intercepted a pass intended for Damian West. With just a little over 3 minutes remaining in the game and down by 12, the Otters had their back against the wall and knew they needed to score fast. With a 31 yard pass to Phelps, a 27 yard pass to Westfield and some excellent clock management, the Otters’ Vick Bowers Jr. broke the plane and closed the gap but the Wraiths still maintained a 5 point lead with only 42 seconds remaining. Score 33-28 Yellowknife. Although everyone in the stadium was expecting it, the Wraiths could not recover the onside kick as LB Ian Bavitz slid under the pile to recover the ball. The Otters found themselves near mid field with possession of the ball and only 27 seconds left. With the first play of the drive, Mike Boss found Phelps open for a 14 yard gain but Phelps was unable to get out of bounds. The Otters scrambled to get to the line as the time expired. After fighting for the full 60 minutes, the Otters were in disbelief as they headed back into their locker room defeated.
The Wraiths played well and achieved what was absolutely necessary for them. They came away with the victory and the second playoff berth in the NSFC, concluding their season as they have an unusual bye week in week 15. My player of the game would have to be Archibald Booter as he was perfect on the night. Honorable mention goes out to Mike Boss as he attempted 37 passes and not 1 of them made into the hands of any defensive player.
The first quarter started with the Otters receiving the ball. After a quick 3 and out, Al Sims was on the field to punt. The Wraiths took advantage of good field position as QB Chris Orosz led his team on an 8 play, 39 yard drive that stalled out at the Otters 22 yard line. Archibald “Automatic” Booter had no trouble putting the 37 yard field goal between the uprights. Wraiths up 3-0. The Otters got the ball back after a booming kickoff and wasted no time responding. Mike Boss and Co. had not trouble driving the length of the field and capping off the 10 play drive with a touchdown to Bradley Westfield. Otters are up 7-3. The Wraiths’ Levon Novel bobbled the kickoff but managed to land on it to keep possession but the Wraiths were deep in their own territory at this point. Chris Orosz rose (see what I did there) to the challenge and drove his team 92 yards down the field, finding Josh Garden for 28 and 20 yard completions along the way. Josh Garden found the end zone and the Wraiths were back on top 10-7. The Otters received the next kickoff and Bradley Westfield ran out the end zone and was finally downed at his own 37 yard line. After two quick passing plays, the first quarter concluded.
The second quarter began with the Otters driving down the field. After five more plays and an unfortunate penalty by the Wraiths, Leroy Jenkins was able to run in an eight yard TD. The Otters regained the lead, 14-10. The Wraiths poor special teams play continued on the next kick off as well, as Chris Orosz had to begin his next drive from their own 12 yard line. This once again proved not too difficult for the QB as he went 5 for 6 and found Josh Garden again for another TD. As the lead changed yet again, the Wraiths were ahead 17-14. The next kickoff saw Robert Phelps field the ball deep in his own end zone and against the advice of his teammates, brought the ball out in the field of play. After some solid blocking and 15 seconds had passed, Phelps had reached pay dirt setting a new league record for longest kickoff return at 107 yards. It may be a long time before we see the recorded challenged. After the amazing kickoff return, the Otters led 21-17. Levon Novel had a much better return with the next kickoff running it out to the 35 yard line. The Wraiths drive started with a long pass to Garden but was unable to keep the momentum going and they settled for another Booter field goal. The Otters retained the lead 21-20. The rest of the second quarter was far less exciting as the Otters went 3 and out, forcing them to punt. The Wraiths followed up by Orosz getting sacked twice and being forced to punt the ball right back to the Otters. Mike Boss came out and quickly went 0 for3 and Sims was punting yet again. The Wraiths went out and executed a well called 2 minute drill that ended with a booming 48 yard field goal by Booter as time expired. The Wraiths were headed into the break ahead 23-21.
The 3rd quarter began with the Wraiths receiving the kickoff and starting on their own 29 yard line. Chris Orosz was only on the field one play as he was intercepted by Dominic Verns. The Otters were back on the offensive and in excellent field position as they were starting on the Wraiths’ 35 yard line. Scoring seemed imminent from this position but that was not the case. After 3 failed pass attempts and an offensive penalty, the Otters were forced to punt from the 40 yard line. In hindsight, it was probably this possession that shifted the momentum to the Wraiths favor and ultimately decide the game. The punt resulted in a touchback and the Wraiths were headed back to work. With a slight lead, the Wraiths objective was to score points and chew as much of the clock as possible. They were successful in both objectives as they scored a touchdown after a 13 play drive that lasted nearly 7 minutes. Erlich Burnsman was credited with the TD after a powerful 3 yard run. The Wraiths extended their lead 30-21. The following kickoff started with Bradley Westfield catching the ball in the end zone and seeing what his teammate had done earlier in the game, ran the ball out himself. This decision yielded far worse results as he only reached the 13 yard line. The drive was riddled with whistles and flags and after Boss was sacked by Bork Bjornsson, was forced to punt yet again. The Wraiths fielded the ball for no return. They used the rest of the 3rd quarter to to drive down the field and settle for another Booter field goal. For those keeping track, he is now 3/3 in FG and 1/ 1 in extra point attempts. The Wraiths are leading 33-21.
The 4th quarter began with the Otters offense on the field at their own 13 yard line. After 3 quick run plays, they forced to punt. The Wriaths didn’t fare any better on their next possession as they end their own 3 play drive with a punt of their own. The Otters began their next drive from their own 9 yard line and were looking good. After some nice runs by Vincent Bwers Jr. and a couple completed passes, the Otters were in scoring range on Yellowknife’s 32 yard line. The next play, Boss was sacked by AC Hackett and were knocked out of field goal range. Al Sims was forced to come out and punt again which resulted in a touchback. The Wraiths came out looking good. They had a few short runs and Orosz was already 5 for 5 find 3 different receivers but everything changed when A Petrakis intercepted a pass intended for Damian West. With just a little over 3 minutes remaining in the game and down by 12, the Otters had their back against the wall and knew they needed to score fast. With a 31 yard pass to Phelps, a 27 yard pass to Westfield and some excellent clock management, the Otters’ Vick Bowers Jr. broke the plane and closed the gap but the Wraiths still maintained a 5 point lead with only 42 seconds remaining. Score 33-28 Yellowknife. Although everyone in the stadium was expecting it, the Wraiths could not recover the onside kick as LB Ian Bavitz slid under the pile to recover the ball. The Otters found themselves near mid field with possession of the ball and only 27 seconds left. With the first play of the drive, Mike Boss found Phelps open for a 14 yard gain but Phelps was unable to get out of bounds. The Otters scrambled to get to the line as the time expired. After fighting for the full 60 minutes, the Otters were in disbelief as they headed back into their locker room defeated.
The Wraiths played well and achieved what was absolutely necessary for them. They came away with the victory and the second playoff berth in the NSFC, concluding their season as they have an unusual bye week in week 15. My player of the game would have to be Archibald Booter as he was perfect on the night. Honorable mention goes out to Mike Boss as he attempted 37 passes and not 1 of them made into the hands of any defensive player.
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