Task 1: 615 words
Most people might not have expected the New Orleans Secondline to repeat the impressive 12-4 record from their previous season, or repeat the Ultimus victory at the end of the season, either. The members of the Secondline certainly seemed to have faith in themselves though. When the season opened, after three weeks, the Secondline were struggling, only mustering a 1-2 record. Certainly a big change from their 4-0 start last season. But those two losses were to future playoff teams, and after they were out of the way, something clicked in New Orleans. Maybe it was the motivation to improve on their rough start, maybe it was just shaking off the early season jitters. But the Secondline then went on a 7-1 run, part of an 11-2 remainder of the season, including a massive 45-9 rout of the Hahalua. The Secondline offense was remarkably consistent, only scoring less than 20 points twice throughout the entire season, and one of those instances, they scored 19, and still won the game. They only had really one "off" week, when they scored 10 against the Sailfish, which ended up being the 4th best defense in the league. Advancing to the playoffs with a first round bye, their status as an elite team was never in doubt against the Outlaws, an excellent team in their own right, going 9-7 this season, and upsetting the 11-5 Sabercats in the first round. The Secondline though, made the game against the Outlaws look easy, winning by almost 20 points. It did look at one point during the Ultimus that the team would ultimately fall a bit short, as the Hawks took a 20-9 lead, and held that until about three minutes were left in the third quarter, when the Secondline began the comeback, capping off with a touchdown with only a minute left on the clock, to take a 27-20 lead. This was an incredible final game for New Orleans, who were able to go back to back with Ultimus wins in subsequent seasons. They weren't the only team in the playoffs though, as other teams showed why they were there as well. The previously mentioned Outlaws managed to knock out the San Jose Sabercats in an upset that was probably not very expected among ISFL fans, especially considering that despite the Outlaws taking an early 13-0 lead, followed by a 20-7 lead, the Sabercats battled back with two touchdowns to make the score 21-20. But with 4 minutes left in the third quarter, the Outlaws nabbed a touchdown and converted for two points to require the Sabercats to get one more touchdown. They weren't able to, however, and the Outlaws advanced, surprising a lot of people. This was probably the biggest upset in the playoffs, though there was one more, that coming from the Secondline's opponent in the Ultimus, the Hawks. While their 41-7 annihilation of the Sailfish was impressive, it was their 34-13 win against Yellowknife that really impressed me. These two teams had similar numbers and offensive stats, making this projected to be a close matchup. However, the difference lied in the defense. The Wraiths' defense was the best in the league this year, only allowing 254 points, almost 40 points less than second place, but the Hawks ran rampant on the best defense in the league, scoring 20 points in the second quarter, helped in great part by running back Anakin Skywalker, who helped boost Baltimore to an early 27-3 lead, that they were able to hold onto the rest of the way, to defeat the Wraiths and advance to the Ultimus.
Most people might not have expected the New Orleans Secondline to repeat the impressive 12-4 record from their previous season, or repeat the Ultimus victory at the end of the season, either. The members of the Secondline certainly seemed to have faith in themselves though. When the season opened, after three weeks, the Secondline were struggling, only mustering a 1-2 record. Certainly a big change from their 4-0 start last season. But those two losses were to future playoff teams, and after they were out of the way, something clicked in New Orleans. Maybe it was the motivation to improve on their rough start, maybe it was just shaking off the early season jitters. But the Secondline then went on a 7-1 run, part of an 11-2 remainder of the season, including a massive 45-9 rout of the Hahalua. The Secondline offense was remarkably consistent, only scoring less than 20 points twice throughout the entire season, and one of those instances, they scored 19, and still won the game. They only had really one "off" week, when they scored 10 against the Sailfish, which ended up being the 4th best defense in the league. Advancing to the playoffs with a first round bye, their status as an elite team was never in doubt against the Outlaws, an excellent team in their own right, going 9-7 this season, and upsetting the 11-5 Sabercats in the first round. The Secondline though, made the game against the Outlaws look easy, winning by almost 20 points. It did look at one point during the Ultimus that the team would ultimately fall a bit short, as the Hawks took a 20-9 lead, and held that until about three minutes were left in the third quarter, when the Secondline began the comeback, capping off with a touchdown with only a minute left on the clock, to take a 27-20 lead. This was an incredible final game for New Orleans, who were able to go back to back with Ultimus wins in subsequent seasons. They weren't the only team in the playoffs though, as other teams showed why they were there as well. The previously mentioned Outlaws managed to knock out the San Jose Sabercats in an upset that was probably not very expected among ISFL fans, especially considering that despite the Outlaws taking an early 13-0 lead, followed by a 20-7 lead, the Sabercats battled back with two touchdowns to make the score 21-20. But with 4 minutes left in the third quarter, the Outlaws nabbed a touchdown and converted for two points to require the Sabercats to get one more touchdown. They weren't able to, however, and the Outlaws advanced, surprising a lot of people. This was probably the biggest upset in the playoffs, though there was one more, that coming from the Secondline's opponent in the Ultimus, the Hawks. While their 41-7 annihilation of the Sailfish was impressive, it was their 34-13 win against Yellowknife that really impressed me. These two teams had similar numbers and offensive stats, making this projected to be a close matchup. However, the difference lied in the defense. The Wraiths' defense was the best in the league this year, only allowing 254 points, almost 40 points less than second place, but the Hawks ran rampant on the best defense in the league, scoring 20 points in the second quarter, helped in great part by running back Anakin Skywalker, who helped boost Baltimore to an early 27-3 lead, that they were able to hold onto the rest of the way, to defeat the Wraiths and advance to the Ultimus.