10-10-2023, 11:09 AM
(This post was last modified: 10-15-2023, 12:37 AM by dude_man. Edited 1 time in total.)
Pop quiz: which ISFL team has played in the most close games this season?
Well, first we need to define what a close game is. For this article I’m considering any margin of victory of 8 points or less as “close”, and 3 points or less as “very close”. 8 points is small enough that it can be erased with a touchdown and 2-point conversion, so the game can swing on a single play. Now, using just the final score can lead to false positives – a team with a 14-point lead giving up a garbage TD in the final seconds might not seem like a close game to you – but with a sample size of 35 games it should work well enough for our purposes.
Through week 5, just over half (18) of the ISFL regular season games meet the requirements to be considered close. And only one team has met that requirement every single week: the Sarasota Sailfish. With final margins of 3, 7, 2, 3, and 2 points, not only are the Sailfish the most dramatic team in the league: they’ve been involved in half of the “very close” games this season (4 out of 8). Partial credit if you guessed any of the following teams (number of close games / number of very close games):
Berlin Fire Salamanders (4 / 3)
San Jose Sabercats (4 / 2)
Yellow Knife Wraiths (4 / 2)
Orange County Otters (4 / 1)
Let’s break down each game of Sarasota’s thrilling start to the season.
Week 1: Yellowknife Wraiths 24, Sarasota Sailfish 21
The Sailfish started off strong, with 3 early scoring drives giving them a 13-0 lead. But the Wraiths stormed back over the next two and a half quarters, with Absolute Unit throwing touchdown passes to 3 different receivers. After a crucial field goal stretched the lead to 11, the Sailfish put together a last desperate drive ending in a touchdown pass from Willier Miller to Rockbot Rockbo. They even added a 2-point conversion to get within a field goal. But the Wraiths nabbed the kickoff and ran out the clock to preserve their close win.
Week 2: Orange County Otters 31, Sarasota Sailfish 24
Second verse, same as the first. A 3rd quarter collapse started with the Sailfish giving up a huge 68-yard touchdown pass from Lloyd Bannings to Forozka Duanei, and by the end their slim lead had turned into a 14-point deficit. They battled back with a Johnny Blaze Jr TD reception, but the defense then gave up a 4th touchdown pass to put the game out of reach. The Sailfish put together a final scoring drive to keep the game close (literally, for our purposes) but it was too little, too late.
Week 3: Berlin Fire Salamanders 22, Sarasota Sailfish 20
If you thought the Sailfish had already seen enough misery, think again. Berlin dominated for 40 minutes, putting together 5 scoring drives while their defense pitched a shutout. But Sarasota came alive near the end of the 3rd quarter, with another touchdown catch by Blaze Jr getting them on the board. They added an Ace Anderson 1-yard score to get within 8, and then scored on a final desperate drive in the last few minutes of the game. But the comeback fell just short when the ensuring 2-point conversion failed, leaving the final score at 22-20 in favor of the Fire Salamanders.
Week 4: Sarasota Sailfish 26, Baltimore Hawks 23
Once again the defense bent but didn’t break early, forcing Baltimore to settle for field goals on 3 of its 4 trips into the red zone. And once again Johnny Blaze Jr lit the spark late in the game, with the touchdown catch to bring the game within reach. Two more scores gave Sarasota a 20-16 advantage, but Baltimore seemed about to spoil it all when Kumquat Archipelago scored his second touchdown of the game with under a minute to play. But Swantavius King answered the prayers of the Sarasota faithful with a miracle 64-yard field goal to send the game into overtime. He hit a more mundane, but no less impactful, 29-yarder in the extra period to give the Sailfish their first win of the season.
Week 5: Sarasota Sailfish 22, Chicago Butchers 20
The Sarasota offense pulled themselves together a little earlier this day, with two 2nd quarter touchdown passes from Willier Miller giving the Sailfish the lead. But the defense gave it right back before halftime, allowing a monster 69-yard pass from Painted Penguin to Austin Morley. But they shut the Butchers out in the 2nd half, and even broke a tie in the 4th quarter with a safety that ultimately provided the final margin of victory. As a team they were credited with 6 sacks, 5 passes defended, 3 forced fumbles, an interception, and the crucial safety.
To be continued…
We’re less than a third of the way through the regular season, and Sarasota fans have already experienced a year’s worth of drama. They’ve gone from the depths of disappointment to the thrill of victory, and who knows what else could be in store. Their next two opponents haven’t had the same experience: the Cape Town Crash are 5-0 with a couple of close wins, and the Colorado Yeti have seen their last 4 games decided by double-digit margins (admittedly, after a single close win to open the season). Will Sarasota’s flair for the dramatic affect even these other franchises? Tune in to find out!
Well, first we need to define what a close game is. For this article I’m considering any margin of victory of 8 points or less as “close”, and 3 points or less as “very close”. 8 points is small enough that it can be erased with a touchdown and 2-point conversion, so the game can swing on a single play. Now, using just the final score can lead to false positives – a team with a 14-point lead giving up a garbage TD in the final seconds might not seem like a close game to you – but with a sample size of 35 games it should work well enough for our purposes.
Through week 5, just over half (18) of the ISFL regular season games meet the requirements to be considered close. And only one team has met that requirement every single week: the Sarasota Sailfish. With final margins of 3, 7, 2, 3, and 2 points, not only are the Sailfish the most dramatic team in the league: they’ve been involved in half of the “very close” games this season (4 out of 8). Partial credit if you guessed any of the following teams (number of close games / number of very close games):
Berlin Fire Salamanders (4 / 3)
San Jose Sabercats (4 / 2)
Yellow Knife Wraiths (4 / 2)
Orange County Otters (4 / 1)
Let’s break down each game of Sarasota’s thrilling start to the season.
Week 1: Yellowknife Wraiths 24, Sarasota Sailfish 21
The Sailfish started off strong, with 3 early scoring drives giving them a 13-0 lead. But the Wraiths stormed back over the next two and a half quarters, with Absolute Unit throwing touchdown passes to 3 different receivers. After a crucial field goal stretched the lead to 11, the Sailfish put together a last desperate drive ending in a touchdown pass from Willier Miller to Rockbot Rockbo. They even added a 2-point conversion to get within a field goal. But the Wraiths nabbed the kickoff and ran out the clock to preserve their close win.
Week 2: Orange County Otters 31, Sarasota Sailfish 24
Second verse, same as the first. A 3rd quarter collapse started with the Sailfish giving up a huge 68-yard touchdown pass from Lloyd Bannings to Forozka Duanei, and by the end their slim lead had turned into a 14-point deficit. They battled back with a Johnny Blaze Jr TD reception, but the defense then gave up a 4th touchdown pass to put the game out of reach. The Sailfish put together a final scoring drive to keep the game close (literally, for our purposes) but it was too little, too late.
Week 3: Berlin Fire Salamanders 22, Sarasota Sailfish 20
If you thought the Sailfish had already seen enough misery, think again. Berlin dominated for 40 minutes, putting together 5 scoring drives while their defense pitched a shutout. But Sarasota came alive near the end of the 3rd quarter, with another touchdown catch by Blaze Jr getting them on the board. They added an Ace Anderson 1-yard score to get within 8, and then scored on a final desperate drive in the last few minutes of the game. But the comeback fell just short when the ensuring 2-point conversion failed, leaving the final score at 22-20 in favor of the Fire Salamanders.
Week 4: Sarasota Sailfish 26, Baltimore Hawks 23
Once again the defense bent but didn’t break early, forcing Baltimore to settle for field goals on 3 of its 4 trips into the red zone. And once again Johnny Blaze Jr lit the spark late in the game, with the touchdown catch to bring the game within reach. Two more scores gave Sarasota a 20-16 advantage, but Baltimore seemed about to spoil it all when Kumquat Archipelago scored his second touchdown of the game with under a minute to play. But Swantavius King answered the prayers of the Sarasota faithful with a miracle 64-yard field goal to send the game into overtime. He hit a more mundane, but no less impactful, 29-yarder in the extra period to give the Sailfish their first win of the season.
Week 5: Sarasota Sailfish 22, Chicago Butchers 20
The Sarasota offense pulled themselves together a little earlier this day, with two 2nd quarter touchdown passes from Willier Miller giving the Sailfish the lead. But the defense gave it right back before halftime, allowing a monster 69-yard pass from Painted Penguin to Austin Morley. But they shut the Butchers out in the 2nd half, and even broke a tie in the 4th quarter with a safety that ultimately provided the final margin of victory. As a team they were credited with 6 sacks, 5 passes defended, 3 forced fumbles, an interception, and the crucial safety.
To be continued…
We’re less than a third of the way through the regular season, and Sarasota fans have already experienced a year’s worth of drama. They’ve gone from the depths of disappointment to the thrill of victory, and who knows what else could be in store. Their next two opponents haven’t had the same experience: the Cape Town Crash are 5-0 with a couple of close wins, and the Colorado Yeti have seen their last 4 games decided by double-digit margins (admittedly, after a single close win to open the season). Will Sarasota’s flair for the dramatic affect even these other franchises? Tune in to find out!