Tier 2x2
6. Everyone loves a good underdog story and in S23 the Austin Copperheads were that underdog. Love them or hate them you have to acknowledge the roller-coaster ride that was the Copperheads season. First of all, this team had really high hopes and expectations going into this season. If you did not have the Austin Copperheads making the playoffs in your season predictions, then odds are most people were questioning your choices. I mean seriously with a team full of playmakers on offense like Mako Mendonca, Easton Cole, and Net Gaines you had to think that the team was going to be putting up some good points all season long. Couple that with a defense led by Kyle Idlewyld, Honda Edmond, and Dermot Lavelle Jr and you have a team that is primed for Ultimus contention.
Austin started off the season on a good note with an expected 37-17 win over Honolulu, but the toughness of the road games really hit them hard the following week as they got crushed by New Orleans 45-16. This game was then followed up by a heartbreaking loss to league favorite Orange County at home where Austin gave up 15 unanswered points in the 4th quarter to lose 31-24. At this point Austin was probably feeling pretty uneasy about the direction their season was heading; especially with their star RB Mendonca only having 159 yards rushing at a dreadful 3.38 ypc. Despite the early red flags for Austin’s season they managed to bounce back and string together 3 wins in a row, which probably gave the team a false sense of security due to the fact that in those games they beat Arizona, San Jose, and Chicago who all ended the season with a combined W-L of 16-32.
This 3-game win streak was then followed by a series of 6 games where Austin went 1-5, which was capped off by a 40-3 stomping by Honolulu leaving Austin scrambling at 5-7. By most of the league’s opinion at this point, Austin was out of the running for the Ultimini and needed to start looking at next season but a strong finish to the season somehow allowed Austin to sneak into the playoffs at 8-8. Making the playoffs finally allowed Austin to show what they were made of as they upset New Orleans at home 20-15 thanks to an outstanding performance by their defense who managed to pick off the Secondline twice. As if this upset wasn’t enough, Austin then headed out to Orange County and put together and amazing performance against the Ultimus favorites, taking down OCO 31-22.
Sadly, the clock ultimately struck midnight on Austin’s Cinderella story as the well-deserving YK Wraiths took them down in the final 38-13; but Austin’s run goes to show that no matter how bleak a season may look, if a team sticks together they can still achieve great things.
8. The Tijuana Luchadores are historically the greatest DSFL franchise in the league…. full stop. Despite having a down season in S23 they were just coming off their 7th Ultimini this season, so success is never too far away. At a team like Tijuana you are always looking at challenging for the Ultimini every season so missing out on the playoffs this season was a tough pill to swallow. More than likely Tijuana is going to lose their star QB Ben Slothlisberger who will be getting called up to the ISFL for S24. Waiting in the wings though is promising young star Mike Boss Jr.; so hopefully he will be ready to fill the big shoes left by the Sloth moving on. Also on the offensive side of the ball their seems to be a good chance that Tijuana will be returning their two star WRs in Doug Howlett and Friedrich Vequain, which means that Boss will have plenty of dangerous targets to help him ease into the starting QB roles. Not only will he have dangerous WRs though, but he could also have the returning OPOY of the DSFL Crowbar Theeks to hand the ball off to.
Obviously, Tijuana’s holes are not really in the skill positions on the offensive side of the ball, but they could use some big guys on the OL to help make everyone better. Thankfully the S25 draft class is loaded full of OL talent so there are plenty of options to help the Luchadores strengthen in this area. The big areas of need for the Luchadores lie on the defensive side of the ball. Tijuana was very thin across the board this past season, especially on defense so their biggest focus has to be filling their holes at DB and DL in the upcoming draft. If Tijuana is also able to keep Maverick Bowie and Adam Schell to help be the heart of their defense next season that would put them in an even better place despite more than likely losing Bane Ka’ana’ana to the ISFL for next season.
The recipe for Tijuana to be successful next year is simple really. Get some bodies in! The Luchadores were so short across the board that the grind of a game really started to wear on them by the time the 4th quarter roll around in games. Having the ability to rotate really helps keep a team strong throughout the game. Tijuana has some super stars on offense that they need to protect, and they have some leaders on defense who need some more bodies around them. If they get all these pieces together, they are my early pick for S24 Ultimini champions.
6. Everyone loves a good underdog story and in S23 the Austin Copperheads were that underdog. Love them or hate them you have to acknowledge the roller-coaster ride that was the Copperheads season. First of all, this team had really high hopes and expectations going into this season. If you did not have the Austin Copperheads making the playoffs in your season predictions, then odds are most people were questioning your choices. I mean seriously with a team full of playmakers on offense like Mako Mendonca, Easton Cole, and Net Gaines you had to think that the team was going to be putting up some good points all season long. Couple that with a defense led by Kyle Idlewyld, Honda Edmond, and Dermot Lavelle Jr and you have a team that is primed for Ultimus contention.
Austin started off the season on a good note with an expected 37-17 win over Honolulu, but the toughness of the road games really hit them hard the following week as they got crushed by New Orleans 45-16. This game was then followed up by a heartbreaking loss to league favorite Orange County at home where Austin gave up 15 unanswered points in the 4th quarter to lose 31-24. At this point Austin was probably feeling pretty uneasy about the direction their season was heading; especially with their star RB Mendonca only having 159 yards rushing at a dreadful 3.38 ypc. Despite the early red flags for Austin’s season they managed to bounce back and string together 3 wins in a row, which probably gave the team a false sense of security due to the fact that in those games they beat Arizona, San Jose, and Chicago who all ended the season with a combined W-L of 16-32.
This 3-game win streak was then followed by a series of 6 games where Austin went 1-5, which was capped off by a 40-3 stomping by Honolulu leaving Austin scrambling at 5-7. By most of the league’s opinion at this point, Austin was out of the running for the Ultimini and needed to start looking at next season but a strong finish to the season somehow allowed Austin to sneak into the playoffs at 8-8. Making the playoffs finally allowed Austin to show what they were made of as they upset New Orleans at home 20-15 thanks to an outstanding performance by their defense who managed to pick off the Secondline twice. As if this upset wasn’t enough, Austin then headed out to Orange County and put together and amazing performance against the Ultimus favorites, taking down OCO 31-22.
Sadly, the clock ultimately struck midnight on Austin’s Cinderella story as the well-deserving YK Wraiths took them down in the final 38-13; but Austin’s run goes to show that no matter how bleak a season may look, if a team sticks together they can still achieve great things.
8. The Tijuana Luchadores are historically the greatest DSFL franchise in the league…. full stop. Despite having a down season in S23 they were just coming off their 7th Ultimini this season, so success is never too far away. At a team like Tijuana you are always looking at challenging for the Ultimini every season so missing out on the playoffs this season was a tough pill to swallow. More than likely Tijuana is going to lose their star QB Ben Slothlisberger who will be getting called up to the ISFL for S24. Waiting in the wings though is promising young star Mike Boss Jr.; so hopefully he will be ready to fill the big shoes left by the Sloth moving on. Also on the offensive side of the ball their seems to be a good chance that Tijuana will be returning their two star WRs in Doug Howlett and Friedrich Vequain, which means that Boss will have plenty of dangerous targets to help him ease into the starting QB roles. Not only will he have dangerous WRs though, but he could also have the returning OPOY of the DSFL Crowbar Theeks to hand the ball off to.
Obviously, Tijuana’s holes are not really in the skill positions on the offensive side of the ball, but they could use some big guys on the OL to help make everyone better. Thankfully the S25 draft class is loaded full of OL talent so there are plenty of options to help the Luchadores strengthen in this area. The big areas of need for the Luchadores lie on the defensive side of the ball. Tijuana was very thin across the board this past season, especially on defense so their biggest focus has to be filling their holes at DB and DL in the upcoming draft. If Tijuana is also able to keep Maverick Bowie and Adam Schell to help be the heart of their defense next season that would put them in an even better place despite more than likely losing Bane Ka’ana’ana to the ISFL for next season.
The recipe for Tijuana to be successful next year is simple really. Get some bodies in! The Luchadores were so short across the board that the grind of a game really started to wear on them by the time the 4th quarter roll around in games. Having the ability to rotate really helps keep a team strong throughout the game. Tijuana has some super stars on offense that they need to protect, and they have some leaders on defense who need some more bodies around them. If they get all these pieces together, they are my early pick for S24 Ultimini champions.
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