1. The ISFL playoffs were strange more for what went on in the games than for what each result was. They weren't completely without upsets, Arizona over San Jose was a result that had happened only a few weeks earlier but still required a team of comparable quality to go on the road and beat a peer, and Cape Town over Baltimore was a similar game on paper, except the prior result of the game that year was a game that was 34-7 at halftime for Baltimore and despite some scores in the 3rd to make it closer was never truly in doubt. The most interesting part of the playoffs this season was how great the games were on the whole. The Ultimus was a bit lesser, it only had 3 competitive quarters before Arizona completely shut Cape Town out in the 4th, Baltimore against Cape Town was a complete blowout basically from halftime on as Wolfie McDummy Jr channelled his father's playoff performances by throwing 3 pick sixes, a number I would not be surprised if it was a playoff record, but the other 3 were stellar. Cape Town at Chicago was more low key, but the game hung in the balance for basically the entire 4th quarter as the Crash could not put away the Butchers, but their defense hung firm any time the Butchers got close to overcoming them.
The big games were Arizona's run to the Ultimus, first NOLA, and then San Jose. San Jose, as expected coming from a game between the two best teams all season, was a high scoring, knock down, drag out fight in which neither team ever went ahead by more than one possession. Eventually, Donovan Winters, after a back half of the season plagued by untimely turnovers and unclutch moments that kept Arizona in the 2nd seed, put a cap on one of the greatest games of his life with back to back massive passes that took Arizona from inside their own 20 to the endzone, putting the Outlaws up 7 with less than a minute to go. San Jose could not complete their own version of one of the greatest drives in ISFL history, and Arizona went to the Ultimus.
But that wasn't the game of the playoffs. That undoubtedly was Arizona against NOLA, a game with clutch play after clutch play, a Nickel corner putting on the game of his life maybe against his own user's will in the last game of his career, that ended up going into Overtime in the end. Arizona got out to an exceedingly slow start, throwing a pick six and going down 17-0 before crossing midfield. When they crossed midfield they only got 3 points out of it. Then each team traded dumb special teams happenings on the other team's 30 yard line: NOLA missed a field goal, and Arizona just punted instead. Bamford made his first of many clutch plays over the course of the playoffs with a 58 yard catch to take Arizona into the red zone, and they punched it in a couple plays later. NOLA had just enough time to rush into exceedingly long field goal range and make a 56 yarder to keep it to a 10 point lead at halftime. Arizona cut it to a single possession on the first play of the 2nd half, an 88 yard Bamford bomb, and after trading touchdown drives and interceptions, NOLA had the ball entering the 4th quarter, kicking a field goal to take a 6 point lead. Arizona drove down to cut the lead to 3, then NOLA went 3 and out. Arizona started in long field goal range, got down to the 1, then Jor El, who earlier had gotten the pick six, sacked Winters, forced a fumble, and recovered it to save NOLA's season. NOLA couldn't do anything on offense, and despite multiple seemingly backbreaking offensive penalties Arizona took it to NOLA's 37 after which JJJJJ kicked a 54 yard field goal to basically send it to overtime. Overtime was much simpler, NOLA went 3 and out, then Benji Aguilera had a massive return to make it only a 5 yard net punt, basically ending the game without a turnover. Three Winters turnovers was enough on the day, though, and Arizona ended the game, and began their march to the 10th Ultimus in their existence, 5 plays later with a 4 yard touchdown rush by BMP.
The big games were Arizona's run to the Ultimus, first NOLA, and then San Jose. San Jose, as expected coming from a game between the two best teams all season, was a high scoring, knock down, drag out fight in which neither team ever went ahead by more than one possession. Eventually, Donovan Winters, after a back half of the season plagued by untimely turnovers and unclutch moments that kept Arizona in the 2nd seed, put a cap on one of the greatest games of his life with back to back massive passes that took Arizona from inside their own 20 to the endzone, putting the Outlaws up 7 with less than a minute to go. San Jose could not complete their own version of one of the greatest drives in ISFL history, and Arizona went to the Ultimus.
But that wasn't the game of the playoffs. That undoubtedly was Arizona against NOLA, a game with clutch play after clutch play, a Nickel corner putting on the game of his life maybe against his own user's will in the last game of his career, that ended up going into Overtime in the end. Arizona got out to an exceedingly slow start, throwing a pick six and going down 17-0 before crossing midfield. When they crossed midfield they only got 3 points out of it. Then each team traded dumb special teams happenings on the other team's 30 yard line: NOLA missed a field goal, and Arizona just punted instead. Bamford made his first of many clutch plays over the course of the playoffs with a 58 yard catch to take Arizona into the red zone, and they punched it in a couple plays later. NOLA had just enough time to rush into exceedingly long field goal range and make a 56 yarder to keep it to a 10 point lead at halftime. Arizona cut it to a single possession on the first play of the 2nd half, an 88 yard Bamford bomb, and after trading touchdown drives and interceptions, NOLA had the ball entering the 4th quarter, kicking a field goal to take a 6 point lead. Arizona drove down to cut the lead to 3, then NOLA went 3 and out. Arizona started in long field goal range, got down to the 1, then Jor El, who earlier had gotten the pick six, sacked Winters, forced a fumble, and recovered it to save NOLA's season. NOLA couldn't do anything on offense, and despite multiple seemingly backbreaking offensive penalties Arizona took it to NOLA's 37 after which JJJJJ kicked a 54 yard field goal to basically send it to overtime. Overtime was much simpler, NOLA went 3 and out, then Benji Aguilera had a massive return to make it only a 5 yard net punt, basically ending the game without a turnover. Three Winters turnovers was enough on the day, though, and Arizona ended the game, and began their march to the 10th Ultimus in their existence, 5 plays later with a 4 yard touchdown rush by BMP.