(Not an official in-sim game obv, but another put players into Madden project to generate a big cash article. Some real effort went into this to make the roster, treat it well graders )
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The Portland Pythons kicked off their Season 27 assault on the Ultimini with their first exhibition game before the pre-season today, meant to serve as a final tune-up after a hard training camp. Oregon's finest sneks are regarded as favourites by some pundits to win the Ultimini that they fell short on in Season 26, with several key veterans returning from said team that fell to the Bondi Beach Buccaneers in the finals. Their first stop on the road to the Season 27 Ultimini was at home, against a cross-state semi-pro outfit called the Eugene Pioneers.
The Eugene Pioneers play in the Oregon Semi-Pro Football League, an outfit for former DSFL and ISFL bench players, longshots, no hopers, has-beens, and never-wases. the Pioneers agreed to play the game in exchange for a cut of the ticket sales to keep the club's revenues in the green, with the remainder of the ticket sale money going to local Oregon charities and the Save The Long Snappers foundation.
The Snake Pit stadium in Portland played host to the proceedings, on a rainy, rainy evening with occasional thundercals outside the city for effect. Despite the weather though, Portland fans came out with a strong attendance of around 12,000 to support their team, and the two-thirds full stadium was rewarded by seeing the Pythons come out to a flying start. Eugene won the opening coin toss and elected to receive, but Eugene Quarterback Terrell Sanders threw an interception on the first play of their opening drive to Portland defensive back Lawrence Miller on a deep sideline pass, who returned it inside the 30 to start Portland off on the right foot. A short drive was capped off with Portland Quarterback LeBron James III finding young veteran wideout Quavious McGrady on a 3 yard short out route for a touchdown, putting Portland up 7-0 early.
The Pioneers compounded their bad start with a three and out, but Portland's next drive stalled near the 33, forcing Kicker Cade York to come out and hit a 50 yard field goal into less than ideal conditions. York was successful and pushed the lead to 10-0. Eugene's offense continued its struggles in the first half, and Portland increased the lead to 17-0 in the 2nd quarter off a surgical drive capped off with a 4 yard run by Giovanni Bianchi into the endzone.
Portland pushed the lead to 20-0 just before the end of the 1st half, getting stalled by some rare incompletions James and a rarer sack by the Eugene pass rush, which was lifeless for most of the game. Cade York nonetheless was good with a 39 yard field goal and Portland had a commanding lead after the first, plus the ball in the second half.
Portland started the second half with a quickfire drive, covering 65 yards in 4 plays, the last of the sizeable chunk coming from a deep pass from James to McGrady for a 33 yard touchdown that electrified the home crowd and showed the difference in ability between the two teams. York was perfect again on the extra point and it was 27-0.
Eugene's offense had gained 71 total yards in the first quarter, but finally got itself together enough to push the ball downfield, doubling their yardage total on an 80 yard, well-balanced, coherent drive. Terrell Sanders capped it off on a 3 yard keeper to give Eugene a lifeline, down 27-7.
That lifeline was subsequently pulled away from Eugene, when Portland's rookie receiver Saleem Spence brought the home crowd to their feet with a great 67 yard return that was one well-placed block away from housing it. Portland kept going off that return, and then James found rookie tight end Phillip Weaver wide open in the endzone for a 5 yard touchdown, making it 34-7 Portland.
The Pioneers, to their credit, kept on plugging away, and at the start of the 4th quarter managed to put together another successful drive, although it stalled out in Portland territory after Sanders was racked up on a safety blitz by Evan Jones for a 10 yard loss. Eugene Kicker Jerry Johnson nailed a 31 yard field goal after a false start penalty nullified a missed 36 yarder taken by the wind, making the score 34-10 Portland.
Portland then chewed up the clock with their running game after their flood of passing, with the two-headed backfield monster of Giovanni Bianchi and converted safety Remus Roman doing fine work. Roman ended up punching it in on a counter play that fooled most of the Eugene defense, giving Roman a perfect wall to scamper for a 5 yard touchdown behind. Portland then extended their lead later in the 4th quarter from a 36 yard field goal by Cade York, and then ground out the clock to win 44-10 in a one-sided rout.
LeBron James III was the clear MVP of the game for Portland, going 30 for 38 with 3 touchdowns, no picks, and 318 yards. Most of James passing was in the short and intermediate range, and was of surgical quality, carving through the Eugene secondary and making good use of every opion on the field, with seven different players getting catches. Rookie Saleem Spence had 7 catches for 65 yards in addition to his big kick return, while Quavious McGrady caught 6 passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Third reciever Alexander Vasiliev (4 receptions, 47 yards), and Tight End Shane Benjamin (6 receptions, 54 yards) also contributed to the Portland aerial show.
Portland's running game was more successful towards the end of the game, but the backfield duo of Giovanni Bianchi and Remus Roman showed promise. Bianchi got 15 carries for 91 yards and a score, while Roman got 11 carries for 77 yards and one touchdown. The Portland rookie offensive line did a great job mowing down their opposite numbers and winning the battle in the trenches to open holes for the backs and protect James from some pre-season abuse. Kicker Cade York also impressed for Portland, nailing three field goals and all his extra points in some miserable conditions.
The Portland defense had a tremendous day, being all over Eugene Quarterback Terrell Sanders, sacking him 6 times and picking him off once, with the secondary also putting a demolition job on Eugene in the first half with their coverages. Sanders for his part wasn't terrible, going 13-for-21 for 177 yards, but was plauged by pressure and made bad 3rd down decisions that stalled the Pioneer offensive attack. The Pioneers young running back Craig Stuart had a tough time getting anything going, with 19 carries for 58 yards, and over half of those yards coming on two runs in the third quarter for 16 yards apiece on Eugene's only touchdown drive.
Portland fans were clearly pleased with the outcome, as was Portland management. Portland remains an Ultimini favourite, and seem to be working out the kinks in their revamped offense. The rookies of Portland seem to be integrating into the team seamlessly after a hard training camp, and the veterans appear ready to lead the team beyond their impressive 13-1 mark from last season.
The preseason for the Pythons and the rest of the DSFL hopefuls will begin on Tuesday.
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The Portland Pythons kicked off their Season 27 assault on the Ultimini with their first exhibition game before the pre-season today, meant to serve as a final tune-up after a hard training camp. Oregon's finest sneks are regarded as favourites by some pundits to win the Ultimini that they fell short on in Season 26, with several key veterans returning from said team that fell to the Bondi Beach Buccaneers in the finals. Their first stop on the road to the Season 27 Ultimini was at home, against a cross-state semi-pro outfit called the Eugene Pioneers.
The Eugene Pioneers play in the Oregon Semi-Pro Football League, an outfit for former DSFL and ISFL bench players, longshots, no hopers, has-beens, and never-wases. the Pioneers agreed to play the game in exchange for a cut of the ticket sales to keep the club's revenues in the green, with the remainder of the ticket sale money going to local Oregon charities and the Save The Long Snappers foundation.
The Snake Pit stadium in Portland played host to the proceedings, on a rainy, rainy evening with occasional thundercals outside the city for effect. Despite the weather though, Portland fans came out with a strong attendance of around 12,000 to support their team, and the two-thirds full stadium was rewarded by seeing the Pythons come out to a flying start. Eugene won the opening coin toss and elected to receive, but Eugene Quarterback Terrell Sanders threw an interception on the first play of their opening drive to Portland defensive back Lawrence Miller on a deep sideline pass, who returned it inside the 30 to start Portland off on the right foot. A short drive was capped off with Portland Quarterback LeBron James III finding young veteran wideout Quavious McGrady on a 3 yard short out route for a touchdown, putting Portland up 7-0 early.
(Portland Pythons Quarterback LeBron James III had great touch and accurate passing all day.)
The Pioneers compounded their bad start with a three and out, but Portland's next drive stalled near the 33, forcing Kicker Cade York to come out and hit a 50 yard field goal into less than ideal conditions. York was successful and pushed the lead to 10-0. Eugene's offense continued its struggles in the first half, and Portland increased the lead to 17-0 in the 2nd quarter off a surgical drive capped off with a 4 yard run by Giovanni Bianchi into the endzone.
(Giovanni Bianchi barely gets into the endzone through the Pioneer defense.)
Portland pushed the lead to 20-0 just before the end of the 1st half, getting stalled by some rare incompletions James and a rarer sack by the Eugene pass rush, which was lifeless for most of the game. Cade York nonetheless was good with a 39 yard field goal and Portland had a commanding lead after the first, plus the ball in the second half.
Portland started the second half with a quickfire drive, covering 65 yards in 4 plays, the last of the sizeable chunk coming from a deep pass from James to McGrady for a 33 yard touchdown that electrified the home crowd and showed the difference in ability between the two teams. York was perfect again on the extra point and it was 27-0.
(Quavious McGrady burns his man with ease for six points.)
Eugene's offense had gained 71 total yards in the first quarter, but finally got itself together enough to push the ball downfield, doubling their yardage total on an 80 yard, well-balanced, coherent drive. Terrell Sanders capped it off on a 3 yard keeper to give Eugene a lifeline, down 27-7.
That lifeline was subsequently pulled away from Eugene, when Portland's rookie receiver Saleem Spence brought the home crowd to their feet with a great 67 yard return that was one well-placed block away from housing it. Portland kept going off that return, and then James found rookie tight end Phillip Weaver wide open in the endzone for a 5 yard touchdown, making it 34-7 Portland.
The Pioneers, to their credit, kept on plugging away, and at the start of the 4th quarter managed to put together another successful drive, although it stalled out in Portland territory after Sanders was racked up on a safety blitz by Evan Jones for a 10 yard loss. Eugene Kicker Jerry Johnson nailed a 31 yard field goal after a false start penalty nullified a missed 36 yarder taken by the wind, making the score 34-10 Portland.
(Portland linebacker Kevin Morrison pops the helmet off Eugene Running Back Craig Stuart with a vicious hit.)
Portland then chewed up the clock with their running game after their flood of passing, with the two-headed backfield monster of Giovanni Bianchi and converted safety Remus Roman doing fine work. Roman ended up punching it in on a counter play that fooled most of the Eugene defense, giving Roman a perfect wall to scamper for a 5 yard touchdown behind. Portland then extended their lead later in the 4th quarter from a 36 yard field goal by Cade York, and then ground out the clock to win 44-10 in a one-sided rout.
(Portland fans look happy about their win, and hope to some day be rendered properly like real fans.)
LeBron James III was the clear MVP of the game for Portland, going 30 for 38 with 3 touchdowns, no picks, and 318 yards. Most of James passing was in the short and intermediate range, and was of surgical quality, carving through the Eugene secondary and making good use of every opion on the field, with seven different players getting catches. Rookie Saleem Spence had 7 catches for 65 yards in addition to his big kick return, while Quavious McGrady caught 6 passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Third reciever Alexander Vasiliev (4 receptions, 47 yards), and Tight End Shane Benjamin (6 receptions, 54 yards) also contributed to the Portland aerial show.
Portland's running game was more successful towards the end of the game, but the backfield duo of Giovanni Bianchi and Remus Roman showed promise. Bianchi got 15 carries for 91 yards and a score, while Roman got 11 carries for 77 yards and one touchdown. The Portland rookie offensive line did a great job mowing down their opposite numbers and winning the battle in the trenches to open holes for the backs and protect James from some pre-season abuse. Kicker Cade York also impressed for Portland, nailing three field goals and all his extra points in some miserable conditions.
(Sacks like this one from Ty Tyson happened a lot against the overmatched Eugene offense.)
The Portland defense had a tremendous day, being all over Eugene Quarterback Terrell Sanders, sacking him 6 times and picking him off once, with the secondary also putting a demolition job on Eugene in the first half with their coverages. Sanders for his part wasn't terrible, going 13-for-21 for 177 yards, but was plauged by pressure and made bad 3rd down decisions that stalled the Pioneer offensive attack. The Pioneers young running back Craig Stuart had a tough time getting anything going, with 19 carries for 58 yards, and over half of those yards coming on two runs in the third quarter for 16 yards apiece on Eugene's only touchdown drive.
Portland fans were clearly pleased with the outcome, as was Portland management. Portland remains an Ultimini favourite, and seem to be working out the kinks in their revamped offense. The rookies of Portland seem to be integrating into the team seamlessly after a hard training camp, and the veterans appear ready to lead the team beyond their impressive 13-1 mark from last season.
The preseason for the Pythons and the rest of the DSFL hopefuls will begin on Tuesday.
Player Agent of Wide Receiver Saleem Spence -
Saleem Spence Player Profile: https://forums.sim-football.com/showthre...?tid=28380
Saleem Spence Update Thread: https://forums.sim-football.com/showthre...?tid=28552