1. The Season 36 Ultimus and Ultimini have officially come to an end. Congratulations to the the Tijuana Luchadores and Honolulu Hahalua for each winning their respective championships. How did each of the finalists in either the Ultimus or Ultimini arrive at the playoffs? Were there any teams that surprised or disappointed during the playoffs? Did the outcome of either championship game surprise you at all?
The Tijuana Luchadores are one of the most storied franchises in the DSFL. I do not know all their records off the top of my head, but I know they have been competitive virtually every season I have been in the league, and when they are having a down season, you just know they will find their way back to the top soon. This season, they finished the regular season an amazing 12-2 and were undefeated on their home field.
I would say they started the season strong, but that would be an incredible understatement. They were two games away from a perfect season. They started their season with an incredible 12 game winning streak! That goes to 13 consecutive wins if you count their win over Portland in the final week of the preseason, but I do not. So they get off to a 12-0 start beating Dallas, Norfolk, London, Portland, Minneosta, Bondi Beach, Kansas City, Dallas again, Norfolk again, London again, Portland again, and Minnesota again before dropping the final two games of the season to Bondi and Kansas City in one score games. It is kind of a shame that they fell just slightly short of the perfect season. And to lose both of those games by one score…oof.
Their first win was a tight game. They only beat Dallas by a field goal. The winning field goal was scored in the middle part of the third quarter. The Luchadores built up a 24-7 lead before giving up 14 straight points, including a touchdown with 1:30 left on the clock to keep things interesting. But they were able to hold on and secure the win. In both of their next two games, they went on to double up their opponents, including an impressive 40-20 win over London on the road. Then, they one upped it by beating Portland 41-14 for the palindrome dub. They lead 27-0 at the half in that dominant performance. Bickerman finished the game with 284 yards, 4 TDs, and 0 interceptions for an insane rating of 142.1. Breezy, the running back, added another 157 yards and a tuddie, averaging over 4 yards per carry on 35 touches. The crazy thing is that was not even their most impressive victory of the regular season.
Their most impressive win was a 47-3 demolishing of Minnesota in week 12, the last game they won before the playoffs. Bickerman was a tiny bit less impressive, throwing only three touchdowns and giving the ball away once. Breezy, however, had an outstanding game with 168 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Dobbler caught a pair of touchdowns and Hays, the rookie, added the third. Witchqueen was excellent all seasosn and went 5/5 on extra points and 4/4 from the field in that game. It was truly a dominant performance. Tijuana had 38:18 of possession and, despite turning the ball over four times, held Minnesota to only 3 points. That is an incredible performance on both offense and defense. You don’t see games like that every day.
The Luchadores, after losing the last two games of the season, had a tough first matchup in the playoffs. They faced off against Bondi Beach in a game that the final score makes look closer than it was. The Luchadores took a 17-10 lead into the half, thanks to a Breezy touchdown run with 53 seconds left in the second quarter. Bondi countered in the third quarter, but Tijuana opened the fourth by scoring and then made it 27-17 with 9:37 left in the game. Bondi made things look interesting with 14 seconds left, but they would have needed a miracle to pull of the win and they didn’t get it. The finals, however, were a lot less interesting.
The Tijuana defense dominated once again, holding the Pythons to only 3 points on a field goal in the fourth quarter. Bickerman once again had a dominant game, throwing for 274 yards and a trio of touchdowns. Breezy had another 100 yard game, but didn’t manage to punch the ball into he endzone. Each of the three touchdown passes were caught by different receivers. Hamilton, Dobbler, and Option were the three targets who found the endzone, with rookies Hays and Stevens each recording a single reception. Neither team turned the ball over, but Tijuana once again dominated time of possession and the defensive front. Portland just could not move the ball through the air and only attempted to run the ball 17 times, despite a solid 5.7 ypc average.
The Luchadores finished the season with the league’s leading scoring offense and defense. They allowed the second fewest total yards per game in the league, the fewest rushing yards, and the fewest points allowed all while scoring the most. They say that defense wins championships, but for Tijuana this season it was truly an outstanding effort on both sides of the ball.
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The Tijuana Luchadores are one of the most storied franchises in the DSFL. I do not know all their records off the top of my head, but I know they have been competitive virtually every season I have been in the league, and when they are having a down season, you just know they will find their way back to the top soon. This season, they finished the regular season an amazing 12-2 and were undefeated on their home field.
I would say they started the season strong, but that would be an incredible understatement. They were two games away from a perfect season. They started their season with an incredible 12 game winning streak! That goes to 13 consecutive wins if you count their win over Portland in the final week of the preseason, but I do not. So they get off to a 12-0 start beating Dallas, Norfolk, London, Portland, Minneosta, Bondi Beach, Kansas City, Dallas again, Norfolk again, London again, Portland again, and Minnesota again before dropping the final two games of the season to Bondi and Kansas City in one score games. It is kind of a shame that they fell just slightly short of the perfect season. And to lose both of those games by one score…oof.
Their first win was a tight game. They only beat Dallas by a field goal. The winning field goal was scored in the middle part of the third quarter. The Luchadores built up a 24-7 lead before giving up 14 straight points, including a touchdown with 1:30 left on the clock to keep things interesting. But they were able to hold on and secure the win. In both of their next two games, they went on to double up their opponents, including an impressive 40-20 win over London on the road. Then, they one upped it by beating Portland 41-14 for the palindrome dub. They lead 27-0 at the half in that dominant performance. Bickerman finished the game with 284 yards, 4 TDs, and 0 interceptions for an insane rating of 142.1. Breezy, the running back, added another 157 yards and a tuddie, averaging over 4 yards per carry on 35 touches. The crazy thing is that was not even their most impressive victory of the regular season.
Their most impressive win was a 47-3 demolishing of Minnesota in week 12, the last game they won before the playoffs. Bickerman was a tiny bit less impressive, throwing only three touchdowns and giving the ball away once. Breezy, however, had an outstanding game with 168 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Dobbler caught a pair of touchdowns and Hays, the rookie, added the third. Witchqueen was excellent all seasosn and went 5/5 on extra points and 4/4 from the field in that game. It was truly a dominant performance. Tijuana had 38:18 of possession and, despite turning the ball over four times, held Minnesota to only 3 points. That is an incredible performance on both offense and defense. You don’t see games like that every day.
The Luchadores, after losing the last two games of the season, had a tough first matchup in the playoffs. They faced off against Bondi Beach in a game that the final score makes look closer than it was. The Luchadores took a 17-10 lead into the half, thanks to a Breezy touchdown run with 53 seconds left in the second quarter. Bondi countered in the third quarter, but Tijuana opened the fourth by scoring and then made it 27-17 with 9:37 left in the game. Bondi made things look interesting with 14 seconds left, but they would have needed a miracle to pull of the win and they didn’t get it. The finals, however, were a lot less interesting.
The Tijuana defense dominated once again, holding the Pythons to only 3 points on a field goal in the fourth quarter. Bickerman once again had a dominant game, throwing for 274 yards and a trio of touchdowns. Breezy had another 100 yard game, but didn’t manage to punch the ball into he endzone. Each of the three touchdown passes were caught by different receivers. Hamilton, Dobbler, and Option were the three targets who found the endzone, with rookies Hays and Stevens each recording a single reception. Neither team turned the ball over, but Tijuana once again dominated time of possession and the defensive front. Portland just could not move the ball through the air and only attempted to run the ball 17 times, despite a solid 5.7 ypc average.
The Luchadores finished the season with the league’s leading scoring offense and defense. They allowed the second fewest total yards per game in the league, the fewest rushing yards, and the fewest points allowed all while scoring the most. They say that defense wins championships, but for Tijuana this season it was truly an outstanding effort on both sides of the ball.
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