3) The Baltimore Hawks visiting the Yellowknife Wraiths in the NSFC Championship Game, Cooter Bigsby versus Corvo Havran. An MVP candidate against Childish Gambino's replacement. Two amazing young quarterbacks. A dream matchup for any football fan. Both having loads of weapons to throw at. Sunnycursed, L'Alto, Maddox, Jimbo and Ahri for Corvo. Canton, Swift, Marshall, Helanen and Parker for Cooter. The stage was set at the Wraiths Stadium. The crowd was loud. But Corvo, along with some bad kicking luck, managed to silence the home crowd. Havran outperformed Bigsby by quite a bit. He threw THREE touchdown passes in a span of 10 minutes, putting Baltimore up by 18, 21-3. Havran finished the game with 21-36 completion rate, 301 yards, 3 touchdowns, no picks and a mindblowing 113.3 passer rating, while Bigsby had 24/44 completions, 355 yards, a single touchdown pass, no interceptions and a 88.7 passer rating, almost staging another massive 4th quarter comeback, but a doink on a 22-yard field goal deprived the "Comeback Kid" and Yellowknife a chance at winning their first playoff game since 8 seasons ago. Honestly, they both played well. Corvo Havran had a better stat line because of the balanced scheme of the Hawks, forcing teams to respect the Hawks' ground game, while the Wraiths are a more pass-oriented team. I am more than excited to see both of them in the future. Hopefully, the Wraiths will finally win a playoff game. Canada's team deserves it.
1) NSFL Wildcard round review
NSFC: Chicago Butchers at Baltimore Hawks
Both teams finished the season with a record of 8 wins and 5 losses. They split their regular season games, with each team getting a blowout win at home. If you thought it would be more of the same, you were right. The Hawks dismantled the Butchers, by a whooping 40-6, showing signs of the team that shut San Jose off in the Ultimus Trophy game a few seasons back. The Hawks' ground game helped them, with the RB duo of Jones and Jimbo punching 4 combined touchdowns, 3 from Jones and 1 from Jimbo. Jones, on top of his 3 TDs, had 100 rushing yards in 21 attempts.
ASFC: San Jose SaberCats at Orange County Otters
The perenial Ultimus contenders, Orange County Otters hosted the SaberCats in the other Wildcard game. The Otters finished the season 2nd in the ASFC with a 7-6 record, while San Jose were 3rd with a 6-7 record. The two teams split their regular season series. The Otters easily dispatched of the Cats, taking a commanding 17-0 lead, with 8 minutes till half time, and never looked back. The OCO quarterback, Armstrong, threw two touchdown passes, going 17-31, for 210 yards, with a 97.2 passer rating.
14) This season's playoffs magic moment was the doink in the NSFC Championship game between the Yellowknife Wraiths and the Baltimore Hawks. The Hawks stormed in, taking a commanding 21-3 lead, with 9 minutes until half time. Everyone thought that the famed Yellowknife defence, comprised of vets like Grithead, Selich and Snuggles, and young promising stars like Kroustis, Leafer, Storm, Uchiha and Nero Alexander, would get smashed, having the world dropped on them. But hell, these guys are tough. Cooter Bigsby also led the offence like a leader, staging a 4th quarter comeback like no other in his young career. But let's take it from the 21-3 point. TD in the ensuing drive for YKW. Big tackle from Kroustis on a 2nd & 15 and a swat from Gritty at the next play, Punt for the Hawks. Another big tackle from Kroustis, one yard shord of the first down, forcing a 43 yard FG in the next Hawks offence. Another FG for the Hawks, TD for the Wraiths. Turnover on downs for the Hawks, TD for the Wraiths. The score at 27-24, with the Hawks on the lead. The Wraiths are with possession. Cooter starts with the ball at his own 20. 38 yard bomb to Parker. Rush from Marshall. Another bomb to Helanen. Cooter is at the BAL 5 yard line. 2nd & 4. Incomplete. 3rd & 4. Incomplete again. The FG crew comes out. Aaand it happened. This playoffs' magic moment. Kicky Bobby's doink from 22 yards out. It's a magic moment just because of how easy it is to see a team's dreams and hopes get crushed because of a crossbar. Everyone on the YKW stadium were stunned. So close yet so far. Another devastating season end for the Wraiths. Who knows? Will the Wraiths be the best team ever assembled to never even win a playoff game? Let's hope not.
15) The Ultimus Most Valuable Player, Otters' QB, Franklin Armstrong did whatever a football player would do after winning the Ultimus. He got WASTED. Allegedly, he doesn't even remember the celebration parade. But let's mention his performance first. 17/27, 285 yards, 3 passing touchdowns, 1 rushing touchdown, no interceptions, 135.9 passer rating. Not bad mate, not bad at all. He really deserved it. One of his teammates claims to have seen Armstrong leave the stadium only wearing some boxers and socks, after the game. He was already tipsy during the trophy presentation, and close to blacking out while he was talking to the media before heading to the locker room for a shower and the celebrations, where he chugged down a whole bottle of champagne, on top of whatever he had consumed after the conclusion of the game. During the parade, he was seen sleeping at the top of the double decker the Otters' owner had rented. Nobody bothered to wake him up. They just let him sleep and enjoy his well deserved rest. A few days later, he was spotted in Florida, near the Disneyland park. He was sober this time around and was fully dressed. Nobody has seen him since. Let's hope he joins the Otters Training Camp, leading them to a repeat Ultimus win.
1) NSFL Wildcard round review
NSFC: Chicago Butchers at Baltimore Hawks
Both teams finished the season with a record of 8 wins and 5 losses. They split their regular season games, with each team getting a blowout win at home. If you thought it would be more of the same, you were right. The Hawks dismantled the Butchers, by a whooping 40-6, showing signs of the team that shut San Jose off in the Ultimus Trophy game a few seasons back. The Hawks' ground game helped them, with the RB duo of Jones and Jimbo punching 4 combined touchdowns, 3 from Jones and 1 from Jimbo. Jones, on top of his 3 TDs, had 100 rushing yards in 21 attempts.
ASFC: San Jose SaberCats at Orange County Otters
The perenial Ultimus contenders, Orange County Otters hosted the SaberCats in the other Wildcard game. The Otters finished the season 2nd in the ASFC with a 7-6 record, while San Jose were 3rd with a 6-7 record. The two teams split their regular season series. The Otters easily dispatched of the Cats, taking a commanding 17-0 lead, with 8 minutes till half time, and never looked back. The OCO quarterback, Armstrong, threw two touchdown passes, going 17-31, for 210 yards, with a 97.2 passer rating.
14) This season's playoffs magic moment was the doink in the NSFC Championship game between the Yellowknife Wraiths and the Baltimore Hawks. The Hawks stormed in, taking a commanding 21-3 lead, with 9 minutes until half time. Everyone thought that the famed Yellowknife defence, comprised of vets like Grithead, Selich and Snuggles, and young promising stars like Kroustis, Leafer, Storm, Uchiha and Nero Alexander, would get smashed, having the world dropped on them. But hell, these guys are tough. Cooter Bigsby also led the offence like a leader, staging a 4th quarter comeback like no other in his young career. But let's take it from the 21-3 point. TD in the ensuing drive for YKW. Big tackle from Kroustis on a 2nd & 15 and a swat from Gritty at the next play, Punt for the Hawks. Another big tackle from Kroustis, one yard shord of the first down, forcing a 43 yard FG in the next Hawks offence. Another FG for the Hawks, TD for the Wraiths. Turnover on downs for the Hawks, TD for the Wraiths. The score at 27-24, with the Hawks on the lead. The Wraiths are with possession. Cooter starts with the ball at his own 20. 38 yard bomb to Parker. Rush from Marshall. Another bomb to Helanen. Cooter is at the BAL 5 yard line. 2nd & 4. Incomplete. 3rd & 4. Incomplete again. The FG crew comes out. Aaand it happened. This playoffs' magic moment. Kicky Bobby's doink from 22 yards out. It's a magic moment just because of how easy it is to see a team's dreams and hopes get crushed because of a crossbar. Everyone on the YKW stadium were stunned. So close yet so far. Another devastating season end for the Wraiths. Who knows? Will the Wraiths be the best team ever assembled to never even win a playoff game? Let's hope not.
15) The Ultimus Most Valuable Player, Otters' QB, Franklin Armstrong did whatever a football player would do after winning the Ultimus. He got WASTED. Allegedly, he doesn't even remember the celebration parade. But let's mention his performance first. 17/27, 285 yards, 3 passing touchdowns, 1 rushing touchdown, no interceptions, 135.9 passer rating. Not bad mate, not bad at all. He really deserved it. One of his teammates claims to have seen Armstrong leave the stadium only wearing some boxers and socks, after the game. He was already tipsy during the trophy presentation, and close to blacking out while he was talking to the media before heading to the locker room for a shower and the celebrations, where he chugged down a whole bottle of champagne, on top of whatever he had consumed after the conclusion of the game. During the parade, he was seen sleeping at the top of the double decker the Otters' owner had rented. Nobody bothered to wake him up. They just let him sleep and enjoy his well deserved rest. A few days later, he was spotted in Florida, near the Disneyland park. He was sober this time around and was fully dressed. Nobody has seen him since. Let's hope he joins the Otters Training Camp, leading them to a repeat Ultimus win.
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