I know I said I’d double up to make up for the Friday I missed, but that won’t happen for a while. But for now, please enjoy my 4th daily game review, which isn’t really daily.
Welcome back everyone to another game review, and for my 4th one, I thought I’d keep it semi-recent, we’re traveling to S16, which is almost 10 seasons ago. The Wraiths traveled to play the Liberty in an important conference matchup in week 11. This game would have big playoff implications, as both teams were well off playoff contenders, and the Liberty needed to win this game.
The opening kickoff the game was returned for only 11 yards, and an incompletion and a sack forces the Wraiths to punt. A terrible punt sets up Philly almost within FG range, and a penalty from Kroustis allows the Liberty to score a 49 yard FG, giving them the first points of the game at 3-0. A 39 yard return by Snuggles sets up the Wraiths well, and I’m starting to think special teams will play a very large role in this game. There were 6 straight passing attempts by Bigsby on that drive that ended with a clutch sack by D’Attoria to set them out of FG range and punt the ball back to the Liberty. Philly rushes it 7 straight times and ends up punting right back. As much as Philly is rushing, Yellowknife is throwing. Back to back drops by Helanen forces the Wraiths to punt back again. A clutch 3rd down conversion + back to back big plays to total 49 yards gives Liberty the first TD of the game, and they are up 10-0 as the 1st quarter comes to an end. Snuggles gets a great return for the Wraiths, but a 52 yard bomb by Bigsby sets them up in even better position, and one rush later they punch it into the endzone, making this game a bit closer, at 10-7. The Liberty go 3 and out after a costly penalty, and on a 3rd and 9 for the Wraiths next series, Bigsby throws an ill-advised slant pass that gets picked off. 6 straight rushes sets up the Liberty close to a TD and a 5 yard slant throw by Falconi gives them a TD off of Bigsby’s costly mistake, making their lead 17-7 with 9 minutes left in the 2nd quarter. Wraiths passing game can’t muster much on their next drive and they punt right back to Philly. Grithead makes a great tackle to force a Philly punt, and the Wraiths offense needs something with under 5 to go in the 2nd quarter. Back to back passes by Bigsby to total 31 yards is a great start, but 2 incompletions later, it’s a 3rd and 10 at the Philly 49. Bigsby throws a high slant again and it gets picked off, setting Philly up at their own 41 yard line. Philly goes on a long 10 play drive with lots of runs that ends up with a chip shot field goal to extend their lead at 20-0 at the half.
In the 2nd half, Falconi starts out on fire, with 3 straight completions totaling 73 yards and a TD. They extend their lead even more, 26-7, after the XP is no good. Wraiths then go on a drive with 11 passing attempts from Bigsby, with 5 of them going incomplete, but they still manage to get a FG with 7 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, Bringing the game closer, to 10-26. On the first play of Philly’s next drive, Boija coughs up the ball and the Wraiths recover it at the Philly 18 yard line. A couple plays later and the Wraiths score again, and just like that it’s 17-26. Wraiths are only down 2 scores and Philly needs to hang on to this game. A sack sets their next drive back and they punt after a couple of plays. The Wraiths get 4 1st downs on this very long drive that ends up spanning 13 plays in just 3 minutes. They get a 38 yard FG as the Philly defense bends but doesn’t break, and the score is now 26-20, and the Wraiths are one TD away from taking the lead. The Wraiths kick off, but Garnett has other ideas, and brings the kick all the way to the house for a 101 yard kick return score, making the score 33-20 with 14 minutes left in regulation. On the Wraiths next drive, Bigsby had 3 throws of 19+ yards, one of them coming on a 3rd and 10 en route to an easy TD. The Philly team seems to be falling apart as the Wraiths catch up, 33-27. A dropped pass by Hank on a key 3rd down forces the Liberty to punt on their next drive and they give the ball back to Bigsby when he’s down 6 and with 8 minutes left to go, he gets to work. Starting at his own 20 yard line, He completes 2 straight passes and just like that they’re at their own 41 yard line. 2 straight incompletions brings up a key 3rd and 10 with 6 minutes left to go. Bigsby sees his slot receiver standing open in the middle and Bigsby throws the easy checkdown and manages to get a first down. 2 plays later a screen pass opens up big for 27 yards, and they are already at the Philly 22 with 5 minutes to go. 2 plays later, it’s 3rd and 5 from the Philly 17 with 4 minutes left to go. Bigsby finds Swift open for the 11 yard pass, and a rush and catch by Canton in 2 plays lets them score the TD, and the XP is good, giving them their first lead of the game at 34-33 with less than 3 minutes to go. That missed XP by Philly isn’t looking so good now. A big return by Garnett means that Philly only has to get about 30 yards to get in FG range. A big delay of game penalty sets up a 3rd and 12 for Philly, but Falconi finds an open receiver for 17 yards. They call a timeout with just under 2 minutes left to play, and they are on the Wraiths 49 yard line. 2 rushes and an incomplete pass later, it’s 4th and 1 on the YKW 40. A slant pass to Varga gets broken up by Selich and it’s a turnover on downs, effectively sealing the game. The Wraiths chew up the clock and win, 34-33.
This was an amazing game with an amazing comeback led by Bigsby, and there were lots of big plays, and it was overall such a great game, probably my favorite to read the play by play, and I wished I could get the chance to watch it live. Bigsby had 62 passing attempts, and over 400 yards, which is absolutely crazy. Falconi played good too, but the Wraiths managed to score more points, and that’s all that matters at the end of the day.
It's 12:30 and I'm very tired so please excuse any typos or grammatical mistakes, and thanks all for reading this.
Welcome back everyone to another game review, and for my 4th one, I thought I’d keep it semi-recent, we’re traveling to S16, which is almost 10 seasons ago. The Wraiths traveled to play the Liberty in an important conference matchup in week 11. This game would have big playoff implications, as both teams were well off playoff contenders, and the Liberty needed to win this game.
The opening kickoff the game was returned for only 11 yards, and an incompletion and a sack forces the Wraiths to punt. A terrible punt sets up Philly almost within FG range, and a penalty from Kroustis allows the Liberty to score a 49 yard FG, giving them the first points of the game at 3-0. A 39 yard return by Snuggles sets up the Wraiths well, and I’m starting to think special teams will play a very large role in this game. There were 6 straight passing attempts by Bigsby on that drive that ended with a clutch sack by D’Attoria to set them out of FG range and punt the ball back to the Liberty. Philly rushes it 7 straight times and ends up punting right back. As much as Philly is rushing, Yellowknife is throwing. Back to back drops by Helanen forces the Wraiths to punt back again. A clutch 3rd down conversion + back to back big plays to total 49 yards gives Liberty the first TD of the game, and they are up 10-0 as the 1st quarter comes to an end. Snuggles gets a great return for the Wraiths, but a 52 yard bomb by Bigsby sets them up in even better position, and one rush later they punch it into the endzone, making this game a bit closer, at 10-7. The Liberty go 3 and out after a costly penalty, and on a 3rd and 9 for the Wraiths next series, Bigsby throws an ill-advised slant pass that gets picked off. 6 straight rushes sets up the Liberty close to a TD and a 5 yard slant throw by Falconi gives them a TD off of Bigsby’s costly mistake, making their lead 17-7 with 9 minutes left in the 2nd quarter. Wraiths passing game can’t muster much on their next drive and they punt right back to Philly. Grithead makes a great tackle to force a Philly punt, and the Wraiths offense needs something with under 5 to go in the 2nd quarter. Back to back passes by Bigsby to total 31 yards is a great start, but 2 incompletions later, it’s a 3rd and 10 at the Philly 49. Bigsby throws a high slant again and it gets picked off, setting Philly up at their own 41 yard line. Philly goes on a long 10 play drive with lots of runs that ends up with a chip shot field goal to extend their lead at 20-0 at the half.
In the 2nd half, Falconi starts out on fire, with 3 straight completions totaling 73 yards and a TD. They extend their lead even more, 26-7, after the XP is no good. Wraiths then go on a drive with 11 passing attempts from Bigsby, with 5 of them going incomplete, but they still manage to get a FG with 7 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, Bringing the game closer, to 10-26. On the first play of Philly’s next drive, Boija coughs up the ball and the Wraiths recover it at the Philly 18 yard line. A couple plays later and the Wraiths score again, and just like that it’s 17-26. Wraiths are only down 2 scores and Philly needs to hang on to this game. A sack sets their next drive back and they punt after a couple of plays. The Wraiths get 4 1st downs on this very long drive that ends up spanning 13 plays in just 3 minutes. They get a 38 yard FG as the Philly defense bends but doesn’t break, and the score is now 26-20, and the Wraiths are one TD away from taking the lead. The Wraiths kick off, but Garnett has other ideas, and brings the kick all the way to the house for a 101 yard kick return score, making the score 33-20 with 14 minutes left in regulation. On the Wraiths next drive, Bigsby had 3 throws of 19+ yards, one of them coming on a 3rd and 10 en route to an easy TD. The Philly team seems to be falling apart as the Wraiths catch up, 33-27. A dropped pass by Hank on a key 3rd down forces the Liberty to punt on their next drive and they give the ball back to Bigsby when he’s down 6 and with 8 minutes left to go, he gets to work. Starting at his own 20 yard line, He completes 2 straight passes and just like that they’re at their own 41 yard line. 2 straight incompletions brings up a key 3rd and 10 with 6 minutes left to go. Bigsby sees his slot receiver standing open in the middle and Bigsby throws the easy checkdown and manages to get a first down. 2 plays later a screen pass opens up big for 27 yards, and they are already at the Philly 22 with 5 minutes to go. 2 plays later, it’s 3rd and 5 from the Philly 17 with 4 minutes left to go. Bigsby finds Swift open for the 11 yard pass, and a rush and catch by Canton in 2 plays lets them score the TD, and the XP is good, giving them their first lead of the game at 34-33 with less than 3 minutes to go. That missed XP by Philly isn’t looking so good now. A big return by Garnett means that Philly only has to get about 30 yards to get in FG range. A big delay of game penalty sets up a 3rd and 12 for Philly, but Falconi finds an open receiver for 17 yards. They call a timeout with just under 2 minutes left to play, and they are on the Wraiths 49 yard line. 2 rushes and an incomplete pass later, it’s 4th and 1 on the YKW 40. A slant pass to Varga gets broken up by Selich and it’s a turnover on downs, effectively sealing the game. The Wraiths chew up the clock and win, 34-33.
This was an amazing game with an amazing comeback led by Bigsby, and there were lots of big plays, and it was overall such a great game, probably my favorite to read the play by play, and I wished I could get the chance to watch it live. Bigsby had 62 passing attempts, and over 400 yards, which is absolutely crazy. Falconi played good too, but the Wraiths managed to score more points, and that’s all that matters at the end of the day.
It's 12:30 and I'm very tired so please excuse any typos or grammatical mistakes, and thanks all for reading this.
