Code:
2) This week will see the S24 Ultimus and Ultimini races begin in earnest. In 800 words or more, recount any of the previous playoff cycles of either league. How did each team arrive at the playoffs? Were there any dark horse or Cinderella teams that went unexpectedly far, or any presumptive favorites that fell flat? How did the title game play out, and which players made their mark on the field? Tell the story of those playoffs as completely as you can. Do not simply recount your own experience in those playoffs or that of a singular team.
The Season 10 playoff cycle was one that produced three excellent, competitive playoff games, and also ultimately resulted in the showdown the entire league had been salivating over since the regular season ended. They wanted more, and they got more.
In the NSFC Championship Game, we had the 9-5 Colorado Yeti visiting the 13-1 Baltimore Hawks. Baltimore won both matchups in the regular season, and this one was not expected to go any different. The Yeti arrived at this stage in a tight playoff race against the Yellowknife Wraiths. They split the season series, though it was their second game in Week 13 that all but decided who would advance. Colorado edged out Yellowknife at home to go one game up with one to go, and all but seal the deal. Even if they had lost in Week 14, they had the superior point difference. Baltimore had run the table all season long, save for a 38-12 loss in New Orleans. There was never any doubt they would make it here.
Baltimore would open up the game with a touchdown drive that lasted 7 minutes once they took the ball from Colorado on a punt. The Yeti would only need three plays to respond, helped with a decently long kick return and ending on a long ball. After the Hawks punted, they took the ball right back on Yeti turf with an interception. They would methodically make their way to the end zone in seven plays to regain the lead 14-7. Colorado went three-and-out before stalling the Hawks' drive and watching Turk Turkleton miss a 41-yard field goal kick. The complete stop gave life to the Yeti offense, who tied the game a little over four and a half minutes later. Turkleton would answer by making from 39 on the next drive, and the half would end 17-14 in Baltimore's favor.
As an added advantage, the Hawks received the kickoff at the start of the second half. They wouldn't convert it, however, though Colorado would take their first lead of the game 21-17 on the ensuing possession. Heath Miller made up most of the ground on a 42-yard catch, leaving it to Fox North to finish the drive one play later. The Hawks would waste no time answering to take the lead back, scoring a touchdown on a pass from Avon Blocksdale to Trey Willie after a little more than four minutes and going back up 24-21. The Yeti couldn't get a first down, and the Hawks took their time to burn clock. This time, when the Hawks stalled, Turkleton converted from 41 for a 27-21 lead. On the next drive, as Colorado looked to answer, a pass intended for Mark Grau was snatched by Vikian Marmeladov and taken back the other way to extend the lead to 34-21. The Yeti would never recover, despite valiant final efforts. They charged down the field in a flash to pull up to a 34-28 deficit, though with Baltimore's possession, they executed on milking clock and sinking the dagger on a 26-yard chip shot field goal with just more than a minute to play. A team would have to pull off three massive plays to overcome a nine-point hole with 67 seconds to play. The Yeti didn't.
In the ASFC, we had the 7-7 Orange County Otters going to the Bayou against the 11-3 New Orleans Second Line. OCO had the benefit of the alignment working for them. At the time, the entire schedule was more or less a double round-robin with divisions. If it was a straightforward ranking, Yellowknife would have advanced to the postseason at 8-6. The Otters won the first meeting 24-10 in California before the Second Line nuked them in the reverse game in Louisiana 61-7. With the game back down in the South, it was shaping up to be more of the same. There was little doubt these would be the two teams who advanced, as the 4-10 Arizona Outlaws and 4-10 San Jose SaberCats just weren't ready to contend.
This game, unlike the NSFC Championship, was a long, low-scoring slog. There weren't even any turnovers. Just good fundamental defense on both parts. Sacks abounded in this game. Rookie OCO QB Gus T.T. Showbiz went down three times in the first quarter alone. Fifth-year NOLA playcaller Borkus Maximus III took two sacks. Both passers were getting somewhere at best, but not where they wanted to get. It was quite remarkable Maximus was held so low, the league leader in passing yards with 5036 that season. Bradley Madlad broke the deadlock with a 39-yarder early in the second quarter. Showbiz ate turf again before halftime, though it went into a back-and-forth punting contest. After the field goal, OCO would cross the 50 only for that sack and a penalty to back them out. No one would get off their own side with the ball the rest of the quarter.
The Second Line looked ready to break the game open when they stormed out in the third quarter. With the pass finally working, NOLA scored a touchdown on a six-yard pass to Darren Smallwood. 7-3, New Orleans with their first score and lead of the game. Throughout the third quarter and much of the fourth was more grinding, more punts, more of the same of the first half, however. Peg Leg notched a field goal to push the lead to 10-3 for NOLA. Two possessions later, the Otters were running out of time and on their last chance. Two and a half minutes remained, and they needed 58 yards to force overtime. They would begin to press, with a 15-yard pass giving them hope. Godfrey King wounded that hope on a sack, forcing the last timeout. Showbiz heaved it to King, though he wasn't quite fast enough. New Orleans survived a gruesome upset bid.
The Ultimus pitted the two clear frontrunners against one another in Baltimore. Hawks vs Second Line. The number two offense and number one defense vs the number one offense and number two defense. There could have been no better game to decide the best. NOLA provided the opening salvo on their first two possessions, a field goal and a touchdown pass to quickly go up 10-0 within the first 10 minutes. Baltimore answered in five plays, finishing with a 33-yard bomb to pull up to within 10-7. The Second Line had found their offense after conference championship week, however, and went right back down for another touchdown, 17-7. The Hawks could only answer with a field goal, and needed a stop fast before the game spiraled out of hand. A quick three-and-out would do the trick, though did not take full advantage next drive. They would only manage a field goal with three minutes left after another stop, then another to end the half after the Hawks finally found their defensive rhythm again. The Second Line would enter the break ahead 17-16, though the Hawks would get the ball back.
The Hawks would take their first lead of the game on a 40-yard kick from Turkleton after stopping at the NOLA 23. The Second Line answered promptly when the challenge was put back to them, gaining yards in sizable chunks and capping off with an 18-yard pass to Alexandre LeClair, though Peg Leg missed the extra point thereafter. It would remain 23-19 Second Line...for about two minutes. Baltimore was much faster to retake the lead, however, when a 41-yard kick return was followed with a pass to Budda Browning that almost resulted in him winning a footrace to the end zone and Trey Willie finishing the job. 26-23 Hawks, with less than 5 to go in the 3rd. Another three-and-out, another drive that stalled just short, and Turkleton stretched it to a 29-23 lead.
New Orleans would get three more chances to answer and tie or take the lead. In drives of five, three, and seven plays, the Hawks stood firm. The Second Line turned the ball over on downs with 2:27 to go and never touched it again. The Baltimore Hawks, on a 13-1 regular-season record, secured their domination of Season 10 with an Ultimus win.
(1362)
[OPTION]S27: 16 GP | 164 Att, 675 Yds, 8 TD | 35 Rec, 234 Yds, | 22 PC, 3 SA
[OPTION]S28: 16 GP | 176 Att, 743 Yds, 6 TD | 38 Rec, 311 Yds, 1 TD | 34 PC, 1 SA
[OPTION]=======================================
[OPTION]ISFL Postseason Stats
[OPTION]S24: 2 GP | 28 Att, 103 Yds, 1 TD | 4 Rec, 16 Yds, 1 TD | 3 PC
[OPTION]=======================================
[OPTION]ISFL Postseason Stats
[OPTION]S24: 2 GP | 28 Att, 103 Yds, 1 TD | 4 Rec, 16 Yds, 1 TD | 3 PC
[OPTION]S25: 3 GP | 56 Att, 225 Yds, 1 TD | 3 Rec, 39 Yds | 3 PC
[OPTION]S28: 3 GP | 44 Att, 222 Yds, 3 TD | 9 Rec, 72 Yds | 6 PC
[OPTION]=======================================
[OPTION]DSFL Regular Season Stats
[OPTION]S20: 14 GP | 241 Att, 1176 Yds, 14 TD | 9 Rec, 62 Yds | 10 PC, 3 SA
[OPTION]=======================================
[OPTION]DSFL Postseason Stats
[OPTION]S20: 1 GP | 14 Att, 74 Yds, 1 TD
[OPTION]=======================================
[OPTION]Awards and Honors:
[OPTION]Ultimus Champion: S24, S25, S28
[OPTION]ASFC Champion: S24, S25
[OPTION]DSFL Regular Season Stats
[OPTION]S20: 14 GP | 241 Att, 1176 Yds, 14 TD | 9 Rec, 62 Yds | 10 PC, 3 SA
[OPTION]=======================================
[OPTION]DSFL Postseason Stats
[OPTION]S20: 1 GP | 14 Att, 74 Yds, 1 TD
[OPTION]=======================================
[OPTION]Awards and Honors:
[OPTION]Ultimus Champion: S24, S25, S28
[OPTION]ASFC Champion: S24, S25
[OPTION]Ultimus Offensive Player of the Game: S28
[OPTION]NSFC Champion: S28
[OPTION]DSFL Offensive Rookie of the Year: S20
[OPTION]DSFL Pro Bowl: S20
[OPTION]=======================================
[OPTION]Career Events
[OPTION]S20: Selected 38th overall by the Kansas City Coyotes
[OPTION]S21: Selected 32nd overall by the San Jose SaberCats
[OPTION]NSFC Champion: S28
[OPTION]DSFL Offensive Rookie of the Year: S20
[OPTION]DSFL Pro Bowl: S20
[OPTION]=======================================
[OPTION]Career Events
[OPTION]S20: Selected 38th overall by the Kansas City Coyotes
[OPTION]S21: Selected 32nd overall by the San Jose SaberCats
[OPTION]S28: Announced retirement, traded to Yellowknife Wraiths