Prompt 1 - 854 words
Austin has had a bit of a reputation in the ISFL. True to our mascot, we've been snakebitten for a long time. The last time the Copperheads made an appearance in the Ultimus was S28, and our last win was S20. Now the team once again stands at the top of the ISFL, but how did we get here?
I think it would be best to start with the roster. Howard Coward and Delores Bickerman led the offense, with each getting a good amount of touches in a balanced offense. Them, along with supporting pieces Jeff Newman at RB, Zaphod Beeblebrox at WR, Penger Tolliver at TE, and Sean Aldrich at FB, gave plenty of options for rookie QB Jay Cue III. The S43 #2 pick would use these weapons to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. Heading up the protection of their new quarterback was Brandon Mason, and supporting was returning pieces Great Khali and Brock Lesnar.
On defense, the front seven was led by Carly Rae Jensen on the line and Mario Moloka'i at linebacker. Those two helped anchor an aging JR Frankenstero and Tank McGibbons alongside younger pieces like Crasher Wake and the true rookie Oops All-Pro. However as we'll see soon, a key addition was Waelter Gunther at LB. For the secondary, the veteran duo of Draft Steal and Zamir Kehla Jr at CB were aided further back by S Geralt and a young Robert Green. As part of the nickel package, rookie Trent Thigpen took over for Wake. This season was special for Draft Steal, as this would be his final season before retirement.
The offense was one of the best in the league, rushing and passing very well. However while the team defense was great against the pass, rushing was an issue due to some relative inexperience on the front seven. This gave Austin a flair for heart attack games that came down to a final fantastic drive led by Cue III, such as daring pass calls against San Jose and New Orleans in the final minute of the game. This would be good enough for a home playoff game, but no bye since the team was 2 games behind Honolulu. First, the Copperheads had a date with an old rival: the Arizona Outlaws.
The first half was slightly in favor of of Arizona, as they had the momentum to score 12 unanswered between a long TD run, a safety, and a field goal. Austin scored before the half, then commanded the entire rest of the game. The Outlaws couldn't find an answer for Cue III's passing attack, which allowed for some monster runs by Howard Coward to find paydirt not once, not twice, but three times. The fullback Aldrich even found his way into the endzone twice. In the end, the Copperheads dominated their former tormentors in a 41-19 game.
The ASFC championship game traveled to beautiful Hawai'i as the Copperheads took on the Hahalua. It was an offensive shootout as the teams traded blows through the first half. However, the Copperheads once again took control in the 3rd quarter thanks to Cue III. He would finish the day throwing 21/30, 358 yards, 4 TD, and 1 INT spreading the love to all of his receiving weapons. Coward had himself another 100+ yard day on the gorund and combined for 189 all-purpose yards. Although the defense allowed a lot of points, the pickup Gunther came up with two of the team's 5 sacks on the day, one of which led to great field position and a touchdown. The Copperheads booked their ticket to the Ultimus 42-35.
Neither Austin nor Sarasota seemed quite prepared for the icy conditions of Mount Everest, but play heated them up quickly enough. A tight first half didn't follow into third quarter domination this time around, as the Copperheads would be down by 7 heading into the 4th quarter. Jeff Newman tried to play hero in the 4th with an 18 yard TD run, but with 1:10 to go the Sailfish seemingly iced the game and secured the win. However, you'll remember that the Copperheads have a penchant for late game-winning drives. For 45 seconds of game time, Cue III kept finding Jeff Newman for gains, including a miscue by Sarasota allowing for a lot of YAC. Now finding themselves at the SAR 9 with 30 seconds left and no timeouts, the playbook was pretty open on 2nd & goal. Cue took the opportunity to find Delores Bickerman in the enzone, and Brown tied the game up. The Ultimus was headed to OT.
Austin received, with Cue's passing attack picking up right where it left off. Coward drew an unnecessary roughness call to put the Copperheads in Brown's range, but a FG would be what they had to settle for. A defensive stop was all the sneks needed to be world champions again. As it turned out, that wouldn't take long. On the first play from scrimmage, Walter Gunther laid out for an interception, ending a long drought that just a few minutes ago had looked to continue.
Austin has had a bit of a reputation in the ISFL. True to our mascot, we've been snakebitten for a long time. The last time the Copperheads made an appearance in the Ultimus was S28, and our last win was S20. Now the team once again stands at the top of the ISFL, but how did we get here?
I think it would be best to start with the roster. Howard Coward and Delores Bickerman led the offense, with each getting a good amount of touches in a balanced offense. Them, along with supporting pieces Jeff Newman at RB, Zaphod Beeblebrox at WR, Penger Tolliver at TE, and Sean Aldrich at FB, gave plenty of options for rookie QB Jay Cue III. The S43 #2 pick would use these weapons to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. Heading up the protection of their new quarterback was Brandon Mason, and supporting was returning pieces Great Khali and Brock Lesnar.
On defense, the front seven was led by Carly Rae Jensen on the line and Mario Moloka'i at linebacker. Those two helped anchor an aging JR Frankenstero and Tank McGibbons alongside younger pieces like Crasher Wake and the true rookie Oops All-Pro. However as we'll see soon, a key addition was Waelter Gunther at LB. For the secondary, the veteran duo of Draft Steal and Zamir Kehla Jr at CB were aided further back by S Geralt and a young Robert Green. As part of the nickel package, rookie Trent Thigpen took over for Wake. This season was special for Draft Steal, as this would be his final season before retirement.
The offense was one of the best in the league, rushing and passing very well. However while the team defense was great against the pass, rushing was an issue due to some relative inexperience on the front seven. This gave Austin a flair for heart attack games that came down to a final fantastic drive led by Cue III, such as daring pass calls against San Jose and New Orleans in the final minute of the game. This would be good enough for a home playoff game, but no bye since the team was 2 games behind Honolulu. First, the Copperheads had a date with an old rival: the Arizona Outlaws.
The first half was slightly in favor of of Arizona, as they had the momentum to score 12 unanswered between a long TD run, a safety, and a field goal. Austin scored before the half, then commanded the entire rest of the game. The Outlaws couldn't find an answer for Cue III's passing attack, which allowed for some monster runs by Howard Coward to find paydirt not once, not twice, but three times. The fullback Aldrich even found his way into the endzone twice. In the end, the Copperheads dominated their former tormentors in a 41-19 game.
The ASFC championship game traveled to beautiful Hawai'i as the Copperheads took on the Hahalua. It was an offensive shootout as the teams traded blows through the first half. However, the Copperheads once again took control in the 3rd quarter thanks to Cue III. He would finish the day throwing 21/30, 358 yards, 4 TD, and 1 INT spreading the love to all of his receiving weapons. Coward had himself another 100+ yard day on the gorund and combined for 189 all-purpose yards. Although the defense allowed a lot of points, the pickup Gunther came up with two of the team's 5 sacks on the day, one of which led to great field position and a touchdown. The Copperheads booked their ticket to the Ultimus 42-35.
Neither Austin nor Sarasota seemed quite prepared for the icy conditions of Mount Everest, but play heated them up quickly enough. A tight first half didn't follow into third quarter domination this time around, as the Copperheads would be down by 7 heading into the 4th quarter. Jeff Newman tried to play hero in the 4th with an 18 yard TD run, but with 1:10 to go the Sailfish seemingly iced the game and secured the win. However, you'll remember that the Copperheads have a penchant for late game-winning drives. For 45 seconds of game time, Cue III kept finding Jeff Newman for gains, including a miscue by Sarasota allowing for a lot of YAC. Now finding themselves at the SAR 9 with 30 seconds left and no timeouts, the playbook was pretty open on 2nd & goal. Cue took the opportunity to find Delores Bickerman in the enzone, and Brown tied the game up. The Ultimus was headed to OT.
Austin received, with Cue's passing attack picking up right where it left off. Coward drew an unnecessary roughness call to put the Copperheads in Brown's range, but a FG would be what they had to settle for. A defensive stop was all the sneks needed to be world champions again. As it turned out, that wouldn't take long. On the first play from scrimmage, Walter Gunther laid out for an interception, ending a long drought that just a few minutes ago had looked to continue.