[div align=\\\"center\\\"]The Prospect Bowl took place earlier this week, pitting new draftees against each other and allowing DSFL teams to take a first look at their prospects. 6 teams were put together by the league office to compete for the title;
The full details for for team assignment is available here.
These 6 teams competed in 3 round, for 5 games total to decide the 1 champion. Below is a brief summary of each game, picking out notable performers (prospects, not bots) in each of the games, and finally an unofficial all-star team for the tournament.
Round 1
(BYES: Inverness Unicorns, Waiheke Eagles)
Rhode Island Roosters Vs Palmas Pigeons
We started with a game between the most intimidating of animals. Adding to the spice of this matchup; it’s the first time we get to see the Number 1 pick in the draft, Cal Lidous, in action. Taken by the Norfolk Seawolves to be their QB, he ran the offence for the Rhode Island Roosters here. Two interesting subplots took place in this game involving Lidous;
1. His performance compared to rival QB Zero Two, taken by another fledgling team, the Kansas City Coyotes, in the 2nd round.
2. Going up against the 2nd overall pick in the draft, Douglais Quaid, a linebacker also taken by Kansas City, and commanding the Pidgeons defence.
The Roosters started off with the ball in great field position thanks to a 40-yard kick return from Tequila Sunrise. They leaned heavily on their ground game to gain a couple of first downs but ultimately were unable to come up with a score. More 3 and outs followed, but an excellent punt started the Pigeons from their own 3-yard line. From this terrible field position, Zero Two conceded a safety sack to Roosters DT Trae Bacon Jr, giving the roosters an unusual 2-0 lead. A couple of 3 and outs followed before the Roosters marched down the field, with the drive being capped off with a 23-yard TD pass from Lidous to Justice Green. 9-0 Roosters. Entering the 2nd quarter, Zero Two turned the ball over within her own 20, a pass intended for TE Osiris Firestorm-Fjord being intercepted by safety JZ. Sunrise got them to within the 2-yard line before a short pass from Lidous to Jerome Davis gave the Roosters a 16-0 lead. For most of the rest of the 2nd quarter, there was a lot of punting, a lot of penalties and little of interest. That changed with a minute remaining in the half as Lidous threw an interception, returned by the Pigeons to the Roosters 4-yard line and eventually turned into a touchdown pass from Zero Two to Smoulder Bravestone. The score at the half was 16–7 to the Roosters.
Lidous started the 3rd quarter the way he ended the 2nd, throwing an interception in his own territory (this time to lineman Bubba Twatford). The Pigeons made short work again, Logan Noble Jr having an 11-yard carry for a touchdown, bringing the score to 16-14. After another failed series by the Roosters, the Pigeons again got good field position thanks to a blocked punt. For the 3rd time the capitalised on a short field, this time Zero Two completing a TD pass to Grand Salami, taking the lead 21-16.
10 minutes to go in the 4th quarter and both offences were struggling. Lidous threw his 3rd interception of the game, but Zero Two immediately turned the ball back over (that’s rookie QB’s for you) and a great interception return by Speedo Meter meant that in these 2 plays the Roosters actually gained 40 yards. Lidous couldn’t get a touchdown out of it but they escaped with a 32-yard field goal, 21-19 Pigeons. The Roosters got the ball back and again managed to go down the field, and Colbourne Frost converted a clutch 50 yard field goal to give them the lead with 2 minutes to go, which they managed to see out.
RIR 22 – 21 PAL – Rhode Island Roosters advance
Comments:
This was pretty scrappy, a lot of penalties. Neither QB really impressed. Lidous started off strong but after he threw his first interception at the end of the 2nd he fell off a cliff. Zero Two was underwhelming as well, only throwing for 85 yds total. This highlights how impressive the Roosters secondary was, they just took away the air game. Fantastic performance by those guys. The running game for both teams was also impressive. Tequila Sunrise in particular was very good.
Notable performances:
Rhode Island Roosters
Cal Lidous, QB: 20/38, 184 yds, 9.2 ypc, 2 TD, 3 INT, 50.8 QBR, 1 rush att, 14 yds
Tequila Sunrise, RB: 25 att, 101 yds, 4 ypc, 1 rec, 7 yds, 4 KR, 65 yds, 1 pancake
Justice Green, WR: 4 rec, 62 yds, 15.5 ypc, 1 TD
Jerome Davis, WR: 6 rec, 44 yds, 7.3 ypc, 1 TD
JZ, S: 5 tkl, 1 PD, 1 INT
Speedo Meter, CB: 2 tkl, 1 PD, 1 INT
Palmas Pigeons
Zero Two, QB: 12/31, 85 yds, 7.1 ypc, 2 TD, 2 INT, 41.5 QBR
Logan Noble Jr, RB: 17 att, 79 yds, 4.6 ypc, 1 TD, 1 pancake
Dylan Green, OL: 3 pancakes, 0 sacks allowed
Bubba Twatford, LB: 12 tkl, 1 PD, 1 INT
St Petersburg Polar Bears Vs Winnipeg Wolf Pack
Round 1 game 2 involved a few high draft picks. The Xekutioner (new QB for Tijuana, taken 8th OA), DE Immanuel Blackstone (also Tijuana, 9th OA), Herb Altee, S (13th OA by Norfolk) and HeHateMe PickSix (17th OA, Portland).
The first quarter was a back and forth, with a lot of punting but an eventual breakthrough for Winnipeg on 2 drives, one ending with a field goal and the other with a nice 24 yard TD pass from Xekutioner to WR Chris Kross, giving the pack a 10-0 lead at the end of the 1st.
As the 2nd quarter rolled round, St Peresburg began finding a lot of success in the passing game led by their QB Dillon Cheer (or maybe Dillon Pickle, taken by Myrtle Beach 94th OA). In particular he had a lot of success going to Alyx Sabor (also Myrtle Beach, 22nd OA) going to him 3 times on one drive for 25, 17 and 2 yards. That drive was capped off by a TD pass to Raheem Okusi. After getting the ball back following stout defence by the Polar Bears, their next drive seemed to be going the same way, until Cheer threw the first interception of his career. Xekutioner put together a good drive but could only cap it with a 23-yard field goal, bringing the score to 13-7 Wolf Pack at the end of the 2nd.
At the start of the 3rd Winnipeg put another FG on the board (45 yards) to go up 16-7. St Petersburg responded with a FG drive of their own as Cheer got all his offensive weapons involved; TEs Rainier Wolfcastle and Rub A. Chikin, RBs Baby Yoda and Nick Nation, and the aforementioned wide receivers. The defence then got involved as Immanuel Blackstone for the Bears sacked Xekutioner and forced a quick 3 and out from deep Winnipeg territory. The end of the 3rd was brought up by more stalled drives and punting (including a marvellous 1-yard pin by Polar Bears punter Thellonius Junk.
The 4th quarter was mostly scrappy play, Winnipeg failing to score on any of their drives. St Petersburg had more success, but still were only able to end up with 2 field goals, relying on the leg of Junk to bring the game to 16-16 with a minute left. And then, overtime.
St Petersbug got the ball first in OT and absolutely marched down the field, both their RB’s Nick Nation and Baby Yoda making big plays. This took them to the WIN 32, where on 4th and 2, they ran a play rather than go for the long FG with Junk and turned the ball over on downs. Winnipeg then marched down to the other end before being forced to punt from Petersburg 34 (should’ve gone for it on 4th down, or at least tried the FG). Finally, Petersburg managed to put together a scoring drive, going a few times to Raheem Okusi before going to Sabor for the game winning touchdown.
PET 22 - 16 WIN (OT) - St Petersburg Polar Bears advance
Comments:
A good, but sometimes frustrating game. A lot fewer penalties compared to the earlier game. The defences were solid, but not many flashy plays. Both QB’s did much better than the earlier game and were pretty even, with equal QBR’s. The highlight of the game for me are definitely the receivers for St Petersburg, Alyx Sabor and Raheem Okusi. Both were excellent, and both so close to a 100 yard and TD game. The WR’s for the Wolf Pack were also excellent, Red Arrow netting 100 yards and Kross getting a TD.
Notable performances:
St Petersburg Polar Bears
Dillon Cheer, QB: 31/48, 340 yds, 11 ypc, 2 TD, 1 INT, 90.6 QBR
Baby Yoda, RB: 17 att, 87 yds, 5.1 ypc, 6 rec, 43 yds, 7.2 ypc
Raheem Okusi, WR: 8 rec, 93 yds, 11.6 ypc, 1 TD
Alyx Sabor, WR: 6 rec, 99 yds, 16.5 ypc, 1 TD, 1 KR, 17 yds, 1 PR, 5 yds
Trevor Mouseman, LB: 10 tkl, 1 FF, 1 PD
Winnipeg Wolf Pack
Xekutioner, QB: 28/42, 246 yds, 8.8 ypc, 1 TD, 90 QBR
Rando Cardrissian, RB: 19 att, 88 yds, 4.6 ypc, 1 FUM (recovered), 4 KR, 53 yds
Red Arrow, WR: 7 rec, 102 yds, 14.6 ypc
Chris Kross, WR: 6 rec, 70 yds, 11.7 ypc, 1 TD, 1 KR, 16 yds
Semi-finals
Waiheke Eagles Vs Rhode Island Roosters
The Eagles have a few high picks on their roster; Jeffrey LaVert, S (4th OA), Holden Summers, LB (7th OA), Dorfus Jimbo Jr, DE (11th OA), and were led by Leonard Jacobs at QB (taken 102nd OA by the Minnesota Grey Ducks to back up Zach Vega). So we have the first QB taken, Cal Lidous, against the last.
It didn’t start off great for the Roosters. After stalling on their first drive, the Eagles just slowly rammed the ball down the Roosters throat thanks mostly to the running of Juniped Catfish, before Jacobs finished off the drive with a 19-yard TD pass to WR Rusty Nails. The 1st Quarter ended 7-0 Eagles.
The Roosters showed glimpses of potency in the 2nd quarter as Lidous searched for ways to make plays happen. He brought them within FG range before being sacked and the roosters being forced to punt. The Eagles looked to close the 2nd quarter with another FG (46 yards) but this was missed, and the Roosters had one more go before the half. This came to nothing though as Dorfus Jimbo Jr sacked his future QB (both will be playing for Norfolk this year). The half ended with the score still 7-0 Eagles.
The 1st half of the 3rd quarter was more penalties, more punting, and then finally something something happened. Lidous threw another interception. Rotticus Scott intercepted a throw meant for Jerome Davis at the Rooster 38 but the Eagles couldn’t convert it. Nothing else of interest happened in the 3rd.
After 3 quarters of being shutout, the Roosters finally put some points on the board early in the 4th, with a 39-yard FG after a series of short passes and runs. This stoked Waiheke’s fires though, and they immediately hit the Roosters with back to back big pass plays, to Remon Kurisoto for 34 yards and Rusty Nails for 24 yards. The drive stalled after they switched to the run though, and on 4th and 4 from on the opponent 26 they tried to convert but turned over the ball on downs. Should’ve taken the field goal. It didn’t matter though. The Roosters had one more failed drive before the Eagles took control, killing the clock as they ran the ball down the field, and let Andrew Nova run in for a touchdown with no time remaining. It was over; 14-3 Waiheke.
WAI 14 – 3 RIR – Waiheke Eagles advance
Comments:
Eagles had a very balanced offence, so they could choose to pass or run as they liked whilst their defence just dominated the Roosters. A 2nd disappointing start from the class 1OA. The defence did a decent job of halting the Eagles to 14 points, they could’ve done with a couple of turnovers to give the offence a better starting field position. Lidous has a good completion percentage but wasn’t able to do any real damage.
Notable performances:
Waiheke Eagles
Leonard Jacobs, QB: 16/37, 196 yds, 1 TD
Richard Gardner, OL: 3 pancakes
Rusty Nails, WR: 5 rec, 72 yds, 14.4 ypc, 1 TD
Dorfus Jimbo Jr, DE: 3 tkl, 1 sack
Gregor MacGregor, LB: 10 tkl, 1 FF, 1 PD
Rotticus Scott, CB: 4 tkl, 1 PD, 1 INT
Rhode Island Roosters
Cal Lidous, QB: 20/25, 190 yds, 1 INT
Ty Palmatier, LB: 11 tkl
Inverness Unicorns vs St Petersburg Polar Bears
The Inverness Unicorns were one of the most stacked teams coming into the tournament, with 3 1st round picks: George O’Donnell, QB (3rd OA Pythons), Ed Barker, RB (5th OA Luchadores), Matt Murphy, S (6th OA Grey Ducks) as well as Dax Frost, CB (10th OA Buccaneers). The Polar Bears come into this game after a close overtime victory against the Wolf Pack, buoyed by a strong passing game led by Dillon Cheer.
The Unicorns got off to a decent start with a 49-yard field goal from Dougie Smalls. They managed to restrict the Polar Bears to a punt on the possession, but it went downhill after that. Starting from their own 2-yard line, George O’Donnell stepped back to the rear of the endzone and was sacked for a safety by Polar Bears DE Matt Hole. The Unicorns responded with another field goal after marching down to the Polar Bears 10. The 1st quarter ended 6-2 Unicorns.
The first drive of the 2nd quarter the Polar Bears marched straight down the field, Alyx Sabor catching a TD pass from Cheer. The teams traded punts and penalties for most of the 2nd quarter, with the Polar Bears slowly winning the field territory battle as the Unicorn run game could just not get going. With a minute to go in the half, the Polar Bears eventually managed to run the ball in for another touchdown, thanks to Nick Nation, ending the half 16-6 Polar Bears.
The offence for the Unicorns still wasn’t clicking in the 2nd quarter. The passing game was the best element of it, but this was slowed down after a nice 10-yard sack by DE Immanuel Blackstone. The Unicorns were given a good chance to get their stalling offence going when CB Dax Frost intercepted a pass meant for Raheem Okusi in Polar Bear territory. This hope was short lived as first O’Donnell was sacked again by Matt Hole and then RB Matt Meagher fumbled the ball and the Polar Bears recovered, leading to a 39-yard field goal conversion by Thelonius Junk. The 3rd quarter couldn’t have ended any worse as O’Donnell threw an interception, returned for a defensive touchdown by Bears CB HeHateMe PickSix. The quarter ended 26-6 Polar Bears.
The 4th quarter saw the Polar Bears just run the clock down slowly, with no more scores occurring.
INV 6 – 26 PET St Petersburg Polar Bears advance
Comments:
Turnovers killed the Unicorns, and the run game was non-existent. The defence played decently but there’s not much they could have done. The Polar Bears passing game wasn’t quite as good this time round, but they were boosted by their RB, Nick Nation going for over 100 yards and grabbing a touchdown. Excellent plays by the defence gave the offence a great boost.
Notable performances:
Inverness Unicorns
George O’Donnell, QB: 23/40, 210 yds, 9.1 ypc, 1 INT, 61.5 QBR
Everett Woodward, WR: 7 rec, 80 yds, 11.4 ypc
Gronk Robertowski, TE: 5 rec, 29 yds, 5.8 ypc, 4 pancakes
Daniel Winkler, DE: 4 tkl, 2 TFL
Jay Palmer, DE: 2 tkl, 1 TFL, 1 sack
Dax Frost, CB: 5 tkl, 1 PD, 1 INT
St Petersburg Polar Bears
Dillon Cheer, QB: 18/31, 140 yds, 7.8 ypc, 1 TD, 1 INT, 66.6 QBR
Nick Nation, RB: 20 att, 106 yds, 5.3 ypc, 1 TD, 3 rec, 11 yds, 3.7 ypc
Alyx Sabor, WR: 4 rec, 38 yd, 9.5 ypc, 1 TD, 1 KR, 7 yds
Rub A. Chikin: 2 rec, 30 yds, 15 ypc, 4 pancakes
Trevor Mouseman, LB: 9 tkl, 1 PD
Matt Hole, DE: 2 tkl, 2 sacks, 1 safety
HeHateMe PickSix, CB: 5 tkl, 1 PD, 1 INT, 1 Def TD
Championship Final
St Petersburg Polar Bears Vs Waiheke Eagles
So, the championship game. No 1st round players involved, none of the top 4 QBs taken involved. Very few waiver wire pickups from last season here as well. A lot of top picked players haven’t lived up to the hype.
The Polar Bears have come the long way, squeaking through round 1 before demolishing the Inverness Unicorns in round 2. Waiheke had a bye in round 1 and a dominant defensive performance in round 2 saw them to the championship game.
The Polar Bear passing attack regressed even more in this game, QB Dillon Cheer throwing an interception on their 2nd possession to Eagles CB Rotticus Scott. A sack later in the quarter by DE Dorfus Jimbo Jr on Cheer had him running scared for the rest of the game. Towards the end of the 1st quarter Waiheke finally started moving the ball down the field, spreading it to their two wide receivers, Remon Kurisoto and Rusty Nails, and finishing the drive with a touchdown pass to RB Andrew Nova. 7-0 Waiheke.
The Polar Bears immediately got back into it after a pick-six thrown by Eagles QB Leanard Jacobs. He redeemed himself through, being the architect for a brilliant drive starting at his own 12-yard line. He spread the ball round the team, with Kurisoto picking up a 25-yard pass and Andrew Nova getting a 19-yard rush. On the final play of the drive he danced around in the pocket, avoiding 2 Polar Bears and getting the ball to Nails for a 4-yard touchdown pass.The 2nd quarter ended in dramatic fashion as the Polar Bears moved the ball down the field. With 30 seconds left and no timeouts remaining they threw a 22yard pass to Alyx Sabor, which ended at the 1-yard line after a TD-saving tackle by Jeremy Quellers. The Polar Bears couldn’t get up in time to spike the ball and kick, so the half ended 14-7 Eagles.
The 3rd quarter began with the eagles coming out hot, buoyed by their defensive stop. They immediately went for a huge play, Kurisoto getting 43 yards on a busted coverage play, leading to another touchdown pass, this time to TE Shakir Ahmed for 9 yards. They remained without mercy, and shortly added to their score as RB Juniped Catfish took over a drive and ran in a touchdown. The 3rd quarter ended 28-7 Eagles.
They started the 3rth quarter the same way, Catfish running in another short yardage play for his 2nd touchdown of the game. A great run by Nick Nation, 43 yards, gave the Polar Bears a field goal, which the Eagles answered in kind as they ran out the clock.
WIE 38 – 10 PET Waiheke Eagles are Prospect Bowl Champions!
Comments:
Dominant from the Eagles. Crushed it on both sides of the ball. Everything clicked, passing game, running game, D-line, secondary. The most complete performance of any team and worthy of being crowned champions.
For the Polar Bears, Dillon Cheer regressed again, he’s got worse in each of his games, but he didn’t get a huge amount of help. They were thoroughly outplayed but did well to get to the final.
Notable performances:
St Petersburg Polar Bears
Dillon Cheer, QB: 14/29, 127 yds, 9.1 ypc, 1 INT, 46.2 QBR
Alyx Sabor, WR: 3 rec, 34 yds, 11.3 ypc, 2 KR, 41 yds
Trevor Mouseman, LB: 11 tkl, 1 TFL, 2 PD
Waiheke Eagles
Leanoard Jacobs, QB: 31/52, 332 yds, 10.7 ypc, 3 TD, 1 INT, 89.6 QBR
Andrew Nova, RB: 20 att, 82 yds, 4.1 ypc, 4 rec, 31 yds, 1 TD
Juniped Catfish, RB: 12 att, 52 yds, 4.3 ypc, 2 TD, 3 rec, 21 yds, 7 ypc, 1 KR, 6 yds
Remon Kurisoto, WR: 5 rec, 103 yds, 2 KR, 14 yds
Dorfus Jimbo Jr, DE: 5 tkl, 2 TFL, 1 Sack
Gregor MacGregor, LB: 4 tkl, 1 FF
Rotticus Scott, CB: 2 tkl, 2 PD, 1 INT
Jeremy Quellers, CB: 3 tkl, 2 PD
Congratulations to the Waiheke Eagles!
All-Star team
Disclaimer: In no way is this the official all-star team, this is purely an individual and subjective list made by me. Only prospects were eligible for this, despite a number of bots having better stats.
QB: LEANARD JACOBS, Waiheke Eagles
RB: ANDREW NOVA, Waiheke Eagles
RB: JUNIPED CATFISH, Waiheke Eagles
WR: ALYX SABOR, St Petersburg Polar Bears
WR: RUSTY NAILS, Waiheke Eagles
TE: RUB A. CHIKIN, St Petersburg Polar Bears
Flex: REMON KURISOTO (WR), Waiheke Eagles
OL Captain: RICHARD GARDNER, Waiheke Eagles
DE: MATT HOLE, St Petersburg Polar Bears
DT: PETE MILLER, Rhode Island Roosters
DT: RILES MCTACKLE, St Petersburg Polar Bears
DE: DORFUS JIMBO JR, Waiheke Eagles
LB: TREVOUR MOUSEMAN, St Petersburg Polar Bears
LB: GREGOR MACGREGOR, Waiheke Eagles
CB: ROTTICUS SCOTT, Waiheke Eagles
CB: HEHATEME PICKSIX, St Petersburg Polar Bears
S: JZ, Rhode Island Roosters
S: MATT MURPHY, Inverness Unicorns
LB3: BUBBA TWATFORD, Palmas Pigeons
Nickel DB: SPEEDO METER (CB), Rhode Island Roosters
K: COLBOURNE FROST, Rhode Island Roosters
P: THELONIUS JUNK, St Petersburg Polar Bears
K/P R: JON BOIS, St Peterburg Polar Bears
Honourable mentions:
Raheem Okusi, WR – St Petersburg Polar Bears
Gronk Robertowski, TE – Inverness Unicorns
Dax Frost, CB – Inverness Unicorns
Jeremy Quellers, CB – Waiheke Eagles
A few guys from the strongest position groups (WR,CB) miss out while a few average guys from weak position groups (DT,S) get in. The Eagles and the Polar Bears dominate, with 9 and 8 players respectively. Rhode Island have 4, and the Unicorns and Pigeons have only 1 each. The Winnipeg Wolf Pack are the only team without a player in the team.
Offence MVP: Leonard Jacobs, QB – Waiheke Eagles
Defence MVP: Dorfus Jimbo Jr, DE & Rotticus Scott, CB – Waiheke Eagles
Leonard Jacobs led the offence masterfully, throwing 4 TD’s and only 1 INT, and topping 500 yards across the 2 games. He ends with a QBR around 80 for the whole tournament.
The defensive award was split between 2 Eagles who both had big impacts on each game they played in. Rotticus Scott was a lockdown corner both games, allowing very few plays into his territory. He showed that when the ball was thrown his way, he was just as likely to come away with as a WR, with 1 INT in each game. And Dorfus Jimbo Jr was constantly in the backfield getting after the opponent QB. He had a sack in each of his games and multiple tackles. These 2 players contributed to each other’s success, and led their defence as they only let up 13 points in 2 games.
I'd like to thank head office for organising the tournament and you for reading. Be sure to look out for the continuation of my S21 Draft Class Ranking series after preseason is over.
~~~MSombrero~~~
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The full details for for team assignment is available here.
These 6 teams competed in 3 round, for 5 games total to decide the 1 champion. Below is a brief summary of each game, picking out notable performers (prospects, not bots) in each of the games, and finally an unofficial all-star team for the tournament.
Round 1
(BYES: Inverness Unicorns, Waiheke Eagles)
Rhode Island Roosters Vs Palmas Pigeons
We started with a game between the most intimidating of animals. Adding to the spice of this matchup; it’s the first time we get to see the Number 1 pick in the draft, Cal Lidous, in action. Taken by the Norfolk Seawolves to be their QB, he ran the offence for the Rhode Island Roosters here. Two interesting subplots took place in this game involving Lidous;
1. His performance compared to rival QB Zero Two, taken by another fledgling team, the Kansas City Coyotes, in the 2nd round.
2. Going up against the 2nd overall pick in the draft, Douglais Quaid, a linebacker also taken by Kansas City, and commanding the Pidgeons defence.
The Roosters started off with the ball in great field position thanks to a 40-yard kick return from Tequila Sunrise. They leaned heavily on their ground game to gain a couple of first downs but ultimately were unable to come up with a score. More 3 and outs followed, but an excellent punt started the Pigeons from their own 3-yard line. From this terrible field position, Zero Two conceded a safety sack to Roosters DT Trae Bacon Jr, giving the roosters an unusual 2-0 lead. A couple of 3 and outs followed before the Roosters marched down the field, with the drive being capped off with a 23-yard TD pass from Lidous to Justice Green. 9-0 Roosters. Entering the 2nd quarter, Zero Two turned the ball over within her own 20, a pass intended for TE Osiris Firestorm-Fjord being intercepted by safety JZ. Sunrise got them to within the 2-yard line before a short pass from Lidous to Jerome Davis gave the Roosters a 16-0 lead. For most of the rest of the 2nd quarter, there was a lot of punting, a lot of penalties and little of interest. That changed with a minute remaining in the half as Lidous threw an interception, returned by the Pigeons to the Roosters 4-yard line and eventually turned into a touchdown pass from Zero Two to Smoulder Bravestone. The score at the half was 16–7 to the Roosters.
Lidous started the 3rd quarter the way he ended the 2nd, throwing an interception in his own territory (this time to lineman Bubba Twatford). The Pigeons made short work again, Logan Noble Jr having an 11-yard carry for a touchdown, bringing the score to 16-14. After another failed series by the Roosters, the Pigeons again got good field position thanks to a blocked punt. For the 3rd time the capitalised on a short field, this time Zero Two completing a TD pass to Grand Salami, taking the lead 21-16.
10 minutes to go in the 4th quarter and both offences were struggling. Lidous threw his 3rd interception of the game, but Zero Two immediately turned the ball back over (that’s rookie QB’s for you) and a great interception return by Speedo Meter meant that in these 2 plays the Roosters actually gained 40 yards. Lidous couldn’t get a touchdown out of it but they escaped with a 32-yard field goal, 21-19 Pigeons. The Roosters got the ball back and again managed to go down the field, and Colbourne Frost converted a clutch 50 yard field goal to give them the lead with 2 minutes to go, which they managed to see out.
RIR 22 – 21 PAL – Rhode Island Roosters advance
Comments:
This was pretty scrappy, a lot of penalties. Neither QB really impressed. Lidous started off strong but after he threw his first interception at the end of the 2nd he fell off a cliff. Zero Two was underwhelming as well, only throwing for 85 yds total. This highlights how impressive the Roosters secondary was, they just took away the air game. Fantastic performance by those guys. The running game for both teams was also impressive. Tequila Sunrise in particular was very good.
Notable performances:
Rhode Island Roosters
Cal Lidous, QB: 20/38, 184 yds, 9.2 ypc, 2 TD, 3 INT, 50.8 QBR, 1 rush att, 14 yds
Tequila Sunrise, RB: 25 att, 101 yds, 4 ypc, 1 rec, 7 yds, 4 KR, 65 yds, 1 pancake
Justice Green, WR: 4 rec, 62 yds, 15.5 ypc, 1 TD
Jerome Davis, WR: 6 rec, 44 yds, 7.3 ypc, 1 TD
JZ, S: 5 tkl, 1 PD, 1 INT
Speedo Meter, CB: 2 tkl, 1 PD, 1 INT
Palmas Pigeons
Zero Two, QB: 12/31, 85 yds, 7.1 ypc, 2 TD, 2 INT, 41.5 QBR
Logan Noble Jr, RB: 17 att, 79 yds, 4.6 ypc, 1 TD, 1 pancake
Dylan Green, OL: 3 pancakes, 0 sacks allowed
Bubba Twatford, LB: 12 tkl, 1 PD, 1 INT
St Petersburg Polar Bears Vs Winnipeg Wolf Pack
Round 1 game 2 involved a few high draft picks. The Xekutioner (new QB for Tijuana, taken 8th OA), DE Immanuel Blackstone (also Tijuana, 9th OA), Herb Altee, S (13th OA by Norfolk) and HeHateMe PickSix (17th OA, Portland).
The first quarter was a back and forth, with a lot of punting but an eventual breakthrough for Winnipeg on 2 drives, one ending with a field goal and the other with a nice 24 yard TD pass from Xekutioner to WR Chris Kross, giving the pack a 10-0 lead at the end of the 1st.
As the 2nd quarter rolled round, St Peresburg began finding a lot of success in the passing game led by their QB Dillon Cheer (or maybe Dillon Pickle, taken by Myrtle Beach 94th OA). In particular he had a lot of success going to Alyx Sabor (also Myrtle Beach, 22nd OA) going to him 3 times on one drive for 25, 17 and 2 yards. That drive was capped off by a TD pass to Raheem Okusi. After getting the ball back following stout defence by the Polar Bears, their next drive seemed to be going the same way, until Cheer threw the first interception of his career. Xekutioner put together a good drive but could only cap it with a 23-yard field goal, bringing the score to 13-7 Wolf Pack at the end of the 2nd.
At the start of the 3rd Winnipeg put another FG on the board (45 yards) to go up 16-7. St Petersburg responded with a FG drive of their own as Cheer got all his offensive weapons involved; TEs Rainier Wolfcastle and Rub A. Chikin, RBs Baby Yoda and Nick Nation, and the aforementioned wide receivers. The defence then got involved as Immanuel Blackstone for the Bears sacked Xekutioner and forced a quick 3 and out from deep Winnipeg territory. The end of the 3rd was brought up by more stalled drives and punting (including a marvellous 1-yard pin by Polar Bears punter Thellonius Junk.
The 4th quarter was mostly scrappy play, Winnipeg failing to score on any of their drives. St Petersburg had more success, but still were only able to end up with 2 field goals, relying on the leg of Junk to bring the game to 16-16 with a minute left. And then, overtime.
St Petersbug got the ball first in OT and absolutely marched down the field, both their RB’s Nick Nation and Baby Yoda making big plays. This took them to the WIN 32, where on 4th and 2, they ran a play rather than go for the long FG with Junk and turned the ball over on downs. Winnipeg then marched down to the other end before being forced to punt from Petersburg 34 (should’ve gone for it on 4th down, or at least tried the FG). Finally, Petersburg managed to put together a scoring drive, going a few times to Raheem Okusi before going to Sabor for the game winning touchdown.
PET 22 - 16 WIN (OT) - St Petersburg Polar Bears advance
Comments:
A good, but sometimes frustrating game. A lot fewer penalties compared to the earlier game. The defences were solid, but not many flashy plays. Both QB’s did much better than the earlier game and were pretty even, with equal QBR’s. The highlight of the game for me are definitely the receivers for St Petersburg, Alyx Sabor and Raheem Okusi. Both were excellent, and both so close to a 100 yard and TD game. The WR’s for the Wolf Pack were also excellent, Red Arrow netting 100 yards and Kross getting a TD.
Notable performances:
St Petersburg Polar Bears
Dillon Cheer, QB: 31/48, 340 yds, 11 ypc, 2 TD, 1 INT, 90.6 QBR
Baby Yoda, RB: 17 att, 87 yds, 5.1 ypc, 6 rec, 43 yds, 7.2 ypc
Raheem Okusi, WR: 8 rec, 93 yds, 11.6 ypc, 1 TD
Alyx Sabor, WR: 6 rec, 99 yds, 16.5 ypc, 1 TD, 1 KR, 17 yds, 1 PR, 5 yds
Trevor Mouseman, LB: 10 tkl, 1 FF, 1 PD
Winnipeg Wolf Pack
Xekutioner, QB: 28/42, 246 yds, 8.8 ypc, 1 TD, 90 QBR
Rando Cardrissian, RB: 19 att, 88 yds, 4.6 ypc, 1 FUM (recovered), 4 KR, 53 yds
Red Arrow, WR: 7 rec, 102 yds, 14.6 ypc
Chris Kross, WR: 6 rec, 70 yds, 11.7 ypc, 1 TD, 1 KR, 16 yds
Semi-finals
Waiheke Eagles Vs Rhode Island Roosters
The Eagles have a few high picks on their roster; Jeffrey LaVert, S (4th OA), Holden Summers, LB (7th OA), Dorfus Jimbo Jr, DE (11th OA), and were led by Leonard Jacobs at QB (taken 102nd OA by the Minnesota Grey Ducks to back up Zach Vega). So we have the first QB taken, Cal Lidous, against the last.
It didn’t start off great for the Roosters. After stalling on their first drive, the Eagles just slowly rammed the ball down the Roosters throat thanks mostly to the running of Juniped Catfish, before Jacobs finished off the drive with a 19-yard TD pass to WR Rusty Nails. The 1st Quarter ended 7-0 Eagles.
The Roosters showed glimpses of potency in the 2nd quarter as Lidous searched for ways to make plays happen. He brought them within FG range before being sacked and the roosters being forced to punt. The Eagles looked to close the 2nd quarter with another FG (46 yards) but this was missed, and the Roosters had one more go before the half. This came to nothing though as Dorfus Jimbo Jr sacked his future QB (both will be playing for Norfolk this year). The half ended with the score still 7-0 Eagles.
The 1st half of the 3rd quarter was more penalties, more punting, and then finally something something happened. Lidous threw another interception. Rotticus Scott intercepted a throw meant for Jerome Davis at the Rooster 38 but the Eagles couldn’t convert it. Nothing else of interest happened in the 3rd.
After 3 quarters of being shutout, the Roosters finally put some points on the board early in the 4th, with a 39-yard FG after a series of short passes and runs. This stoked Waiheke’s fires though, and they immediately hit the Roosters with back to back big pass plays, to Remon Kurisoto for 34 yards and Rusty Nails for 24 yards. The drive stalled after they switched to the run though, and on 4th and 4 from on the opponent 26 they tried to convert but turned over the ball on downs. Should’ve taken the field goal. It didn’t matter though. The Roosters had one more failed drive before the Eagles took control, killing the clock as they ran the ball down the field, and let Andrew Nova run in for a touchdown with no time remaining. It was over; 14-3 Waiheke.
WAI 14 – 3 RIR – Waiheke Eagles advance
Comments:
Eagles had a very balanced offence, so they could choose to pass or run as they liked whilst their defence just dominated the Roosters. A 2nd disappointing start from the class 1OA. The defence did a decent job of halting the Eagles to 14 points, they could’ve done with a couple of turnovers to give the offence a better starting field position. Lidous has a good completion percentage but wasn’t able to do any real damage.
Notable performances:
Waiheke Eagles
Leonard Jacobs, QB: 16/37, 196 yds, 1 TD
Richard Gardner, OL: 3 pancakes
Rusty Nails, WR: 5 rec, 72 yds, 14.4 ypc, 1 TD
Dorfus Jimbo Jr, DE: 3 tkl, 1 sack
Gregor MacGregor, LB: 10 tkl, 1 FF, 1 PD
Rotticus Scott, CB: 4 tkl, 1 PD, 1 INT
Rhode Island Roosters
Cal Lidous, QB: 20/25, 190 yds, 1 INT
Ty Palmatier, LB: 11 tkl
Inverness Unicorns vs St Petersburg Polar Bears
The Inverness Unicorns were one of the most stacked teams coming into the tournament, with 3 1st round picks: George O’Donnell, QB (3rd OA Pythons), Ed Barker, RB (5th OA Luchadores), Matt Murphy, S (6th OA Grey Ducks) as well as Dax Frost, CB (10th OA Buccaneers). The Polar Bears come into this game after a close overtime victory against the Wolf Pack, buoyed by a strong passing game led by Dillon Cheer.
The Unicorns got off to a decent start with a 49-yard field goal from Dougie Smalls. They managed to restrict the Polar Bears to a punt on the possession, but it went downhill after that. Starting from their own 2-yard line, George O’Donnell stepped back to the rear of the endzone and was sacked for a safety by Polar Bears DE Matt Hole. The Unicorns responded with another field goal after marching down to the Polar Bears 10. The 1st quarter ended 6-2 Unicorns.
The first drive of the 2nd quarter the Polar Bears marched straight down the field, Alyx Sabor catching a TD pass from Cheer. The teams traded punts and penalties for most of the 2nd quarter, with the Polar Bears slowly winning the field territory battle as the Unicorn run game could just not get going. With a minute to go in the half, the Polar Bears eventually managed to run the ball in for another touchdown, thanks to Nick Nation, ending the half 16-6 Polar Bears.
The offence for the Unicorns still wasn’t clicking in the 2nd quarter. The passing game was the best element of it, but this was slowed down after a nice 10-yard sack by DE Immanuel Blackstone. The Unicorns were given a good chance to get their stalling offence going when CB Dax Frost intercepted a pass meant for Raheem Okusi in Polar Bear territory. This hope was short lived as first O’Donnell was sacked again by Matt Hole and then RB Matt Meagher fumbled the ball and the Polar Bears recovered, leading to a 39-yard field goal conversion by Thelonius Junk. The 3rd quarter couldn’t have ended any worse as O’Donnell threw an interception, returned for a defensive touchdown by Bears CB HeHateMe PickSix. The quarter ended 26-6 Polar Bears.
The 4th quarter saw the Polar Bears just run the clock down slowly, with no more scores occurring.
INV 6 – 26 PET St Petersburg Polar Bears advance
Comments:
Turnovers killed the Unicorns, and the run game was non-existent. The defence played decently but there’s not much they could have done. The Polar Bears passing game wasn’t quite as good this time round, but they were boosted by their RB, Nick Nation going for over 100 yards and grabbing a touchdown. Excellent plays by the defence gave the offence a great boost.
Notable performances:
Inverness Unicorns
George O’Donnell, QB: 23/40, 210 yds, 9.1 ypc, 1 INT, 61.5 QBR
Everett Woodward, WR: 7 rec, 80 yds, 11.4 ypc
Gronk Robertowski, TE: 5 rec, 29 yds, 5.8 ypc, 4 pancakes
Daniel Winkler, DE: 4 tkl, 2 TFL
Jay Palmer, DE: 2 tkl, 1 TFL, 1 sack
Dax Frost, CB: 5 tkl, 1 PD, 1 INT
St Petersburg Polar Bears
Dillon Cheer, QB: 18/31, 140 yds, 7.8 ypc, 1 TD, 1 INT, 66.6 QBR
Nick Nation, RB: 20 att, 106 yds, 5.3 ypc, 1 TD, 3 rec, 11 yds, 3.7 ypc
Alyx Sabor, WR: 4 rec, 38 yd, 9.5 ypc, 1 TD, 1 KR, 7 yds
Rub A. Chikin: 2 rec, 30 yds, 15 ypc, 4 pancakes
Trevor Mouseman, LB: 9 tkl, 1 PD
Matt Hole, DE: 2 tkl, 2 sacks, 1 safety
HeHateMe PickSix, CB: 5 tkl, 1 PD, 1 INT, 1 Def TD
Championship Final
St Petersburg Polar Bears Vs Waiheke Eagles
So, the championship game. No 1st round players involved, none of the top 4 QBs taken involved. Very few waiver wire pickups from last season here as well. A lot of top picked players haven’t lived up to the hype.
The Polar Bears have come the long way, squeaking through round 1 before demolishing the Inverness Unicorns in round 2. Waiheke had a bye in round 1 and a dominant defensive performance in round 2 saw them to the championship game.
The Polar Bear passing attack regressed even more in this game, QB Dillon Cheer throwing an interception on their 2nd possession to Eagles CB Rotticus Scott. A sack later in the quarter by DE Dorfus Jimbo Jr on Cheer had him running scared for the rest of the game. Towards the end of the 1st quarter Waiheke finally started moving the ball down the field, spreading it to their two wide receivers, Remon Kurisoto and Rusty Nails, and finishing the drive with a touchdown pass to RB Andrew Nova. 7-0 Waiheke.
The Polar Bears immediately got back into it after a pick-six thrown by Eagles QB Leanard Jacobs. He redeemed himself through, being the architect for a brilliant drive starting at his own 12-yard line. He spread the ball round the team, with Kurisoto picking up a 25-yard pass and Andrew Nova getting a 19-yard rush. On the final play of the drive he danced around in the pocket, avoiding 2 Polar Bears and getting the ball to Nails for a 4-yard touchdown pass.The 2nd quarter ended in dramatic fashion as the Polar Bears moved the ball down the field. With 30 seconds left and no timeouts remaining they threw a 22yard pass to Alyx Sabor, which ended at the 1-yard line after a TD-saving tackle by Jeremy Quellers. The Polar Bears couldn’t get up in time to spike the ball and kick, so the half ended 14-7 Eagles.
The 3rd quarter began with the eagles coming out hot, buoyed by their defensive stop. They immediately went for a huge play, Kurisoto getting 43 yards on a busted coverage play, leading to another touchdown pass, this time to TE Shakir Ahmed for 9 yards. They remained without mercy, and shortly added to their score as RB Juniped Catfish took over a drive and ran in a touchdown. The 3rd quarter ended 28-7 Eagles.
They started the 3rth quarter the same way, Catfish running in another short yardage play for his 2nd touchdown of the game. A great run by Nick Nation, 43 yards, gave the Polar Bears a field goal, which the Eagles answered in kind as they ran out the clock.
WIE 38 – 10 PET Waiheke Eagles are Prospect Bowl Champions!
Comments:
Dominant from the Eagles. Crushed it on both sides of the ball. Everything clicked, passing game, running game, D-line, secondary. The most complete performance of any team and worthy of being crowned champions.
For the Polar Bears, Dillon Cheer regressed again, he’s got worse in each of his games, but he didn’t get a huge amount of help. They were thoroughly outplayed but did well to get to the final.
Notable performances:
St Petersburg Polar Bears
Dillon Cheer, QB: 14/29, 127 yds, 9.1 ypc, 1 INT, 46.2 QBR
Alyx Sabor, WR: 3 rec, 34 yds, 11.3 ypc, 2 KR, 41 yds
Trevor Mouseman, LB: 11 tkl, 1 TFL, 2 PD
Waiheke Eagles
Leanoard Jacobs, QB: 31/52, 332 yds, 10.7 ypc, 3 TD, 1 INT, 89.6 QBR
Andrew Nova, RB: 20 att, 82 yds, 4.1 ypc, 4 rec, 31 yds, 1 TD
Juniped Catfish, RB: 12 att, 52 yds, 4.3 ypc, 2 TD, 3 rec, 21 yds, 7 ypc, 1 KR, 6 yds
Remon Kurisoto, WR: 5 rec, 103 yds, 2 KR, 14 yds
Dorfus Jimbo Jr, DE: 5 tkl, 2 TFL, 1 Sack
Gregor MacGregor, LB: 4 tkl, 1 FF
Rotticus Scott, CB: 2 tkl, 2 PD, 1 INT
Jeremy Quellers, CB: 3 tkl, 2 PD
Congratulations to the Waiheke Eagles!
All-Star team
Disclaimer: In no way is this the official all-star team, this is purely an individual and subjective list made by me. Only prospects were eligible for this, despite a number of bots having better stats.
QB: LEANARD JACOBS, Waiheke Eagles
RB: ANDREW NOVA, Waiheke Eagles
RB: JUNIPED CATFISH, Waiheke Eagles
WR: ALYX SABOR, St Petersburg Polar Bears
WR: RUSTY NAILS, Waiheke Eagles
TE: RUB A. CHIKIN, St Petersburg Polar Bears
Flex: REMON KURISOTO (WR), Waiheke Eagles
OL Captain: RICHARD GARDNER, Waiheke Eagles
DE: MATT HOLE, St Petersburg Polar Bears
DT: PETE MILLER, Rhode Island Roosters
DT: RILES MCTACKLE, St Petersburg Polar Bears
DE: DORFUS JIMBO JR, Waiheke Eagles
LB: TREVOUR MOUSEMAN, St Petersburg Polar Bears
LB: GREGOR MACGREGOR, Waiheke Eagles
CB: ROTTICUS SCOTT, Waiheke Eagles
CB: HEHATEME PICKSIX, St Petersburg Polar Bears
S: JZ, Rhode Island Roosters
S: MATT MURPHY, Inverness Unicorns
LB3: BUBBA TWATFORD, Palmas Pigeons
Nickel DB: SPEEDO METER (CB), Rhode Island Roosters
K: COLBOURNE FROST, Rhode Island Roosters
P: THELONIUS JUNK, St Petersburg Polar Bears
K/P R: JON BOIS, St Peterburg Polar Bears
Honourable mentions:
Raheem Okusi, WR – St Petersburg Polar Bears
Gronk Robertowski, TE – Inverness Unicorns
Dax Frost, CB – Inverness Unicorns
Jeremy Quellers, CB – Waiheke Eagles
A few guys from the strongest position groups (WR,CB) miss out while a few average guys from weak position groups (DT,S) get in. The Eagles and the Polar Bears dominate, with 9 and 8 players respectively. Rhode Island have 4, and the Unicorns and Pigeons have only 1 each. The Winnipeg Wolf Pack are the only team without a player in the team.
Offence MVP: Leonard Jacobs, QB – Waiheke Eagles
Defence MVP: Dorfus Jimbo Jr, DE & Rotticus Scott, CB – Waiheke Eagles
Leonard Jacobs led the offence masterfully, throwing 4 TD’s and only 1 INT, and topping 500 yards across the 2 games. He ends with a QBR around 80 for the whole tournament.
The defensive award was split between 2 Eagles who both had big impacts on each game they played in. Rotticus Scott was a lockdown corner both games, allowing very few plays into his territory. He showed that when the ball was thrown his way, he was just as likely to come away with as a WR, with 1 INT in each game. And Dorfus Jimbo Jr was constantly in the backfield getting after the opponent QB. He had a sack in each of his games and multiple tackles. These 2 players contributed to each other’s success, and led their defence as they only let up 13 points in 2 games.
I'd like to thank head office for organising the tournament and you for reading. Be sure to look out for the continuation of my S21 Draft Class Ranking series after preseason is over.
~~~MSombrero~~~
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