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Tier 1: Long Form Tasks (Must be 800+ words)
Choose ONE for 10 TPE.
1. This week will see the S31 Ultimus and Ultimini races begin in earnest. How did each team arrive at the playoffs? Were there any dark horse teams that went unexpectedly far, or any presumptive favorites that fell flat? Who do you think will win the final? If you’re writing this after the finals were decided, were you surprised by the outcome?
I would personally say the crowned champions, Honolulu Hahalua was the dark horse that went all the way. They had a strong start of the regular season with 2 wins against the New Orleans Secondline and the Orange County Otters. The good start was followed by a tough stretch of 4 losses where the score ran away from the Hahalua. An important game was winning against the New York Silverbacks by 1 point at the Silverback stadium, a game, together with their last game of the regular season against the same Silverbacks that showed to be deciding for the Hahalua to make the playoffs ahead of the very same Silverbacks. Prior to the end, they had a mixed season with 1 dominating win against the Baltimore Hawks where they annihilated the Hawks with 45-0. Really starting to get into form in game 11 where they started a 4 game winning streak, a streak where they scored over 30 points per game and had 2 dominating victorie. Against the Secondline again and the San Jose Sabercats. The Hahalua finished the regular season winning 5 out of the last 6 games, with their only loss being to the ASFC runner up, Arizona Outlaws. The playoff run was a tough one where they were ever the underdogs and beat both the ASFC favorites. First the Honolulu Hahalua Arizona beat the Outlaws in a good showing from the Hahalua where the Outlaws were never really close to winning the game. After the Hahalua took command early in the game the Outlaws never got close. Against the Austin Copperheads the Hahalua again took an early lead and kept it throughout the game. While the Copperheads came within a TouchDown of the Hahalua, our champions managed to keep the snakes at bay and pulled up another upset.
The Colorado Yeti had a different way to the title game, being one of the favorites for the season, everyone had high expectations for the team. While the Sarasota Sailfish also looked strong after our win last season, the NSFC is a tough division with many strong teams. The Yeti started of their regular season with a win against the Berlin Fire Salamanders in a tough game where the Yeti scored the final points with 5 minutes to spare and kept it tight behind to secure the victory. Unfortunately for the Yeti, they had a down the next game against the Chicago and had an embarrassing loss with 38-6. Following the loss, the Yeti bounce back and went on a dominating winning streak of 6 games! Only really being close to losing to the Yellowknife Wraiths. The game was close and the Wraiths took the lead in the 3rd quarter and it looked like they would go on to a victory, but the Yeti had other ideas and managed a Touchdown with 1:23 remaining.
After their 6 game winning streak, the team had lost its magic and went on to lose 3 games in a row, two of the games in a quite embarrassing fashion. Especially against the Philadelphia Liberty where our Yetis lost by almost 30 points! The Yeti found their form again and went on to win the next 3 games, 2 of them relatively close. First against the Baltimore Hawks, a Hawks team that long had the lead and looked in control, the Yeti came back with a Touchdown with 0:54 remaining to secure that win. Second game, against the Sailfish, where the Yeti scored the only points in the 4th quarter against the Sarasota Sailfish and secured that victory. The game against the Sailfish the Yeti had been in control and lost the lead, but as we know managed to rally together and secure the win.
Final 2 regular season games of the season the Yeti went 1-1, winning the last game of the season in a dominating fashion against San Jose SaberCats.
The Yeti playoff run started with the by as they won the NSFC and faced the Butchers in the NSFC title game. A game in which the Yeti were solidly in control and never really gave the Butchers a chance to the title.
In the final game both Honolulu Hahalua and the Colorado Yeti had a good showing. The Hahalua took the lead as they’ve done their entire playoff run. But this time the game was a lot more back and forth than what the Honolulu Hahalua were used to. The Yeti, who we know had come back from deficits during the season looked strong and both teams took the lead and kept on trading blows. With 5:30 remaining the Yeti took the lead and it looked bleak for the Hahalua, but they managed to score a TouchDown with only 1:44 left on the clock. Thereafter they held the Yeti at bay to secure the win and the title!
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