03-27-2019, 08:21 AM
(This post was last modified: 03-27-2019, 08:22 AM by Fordhammer.)
(Ready to be graded)
There was an air of nervous anticipation in the Solar Bear locker room prior to the Week 1 matchup with the Marshals. As a team full of rookies, it was obvious how nervous the players were prior to their first regular season action. Sources in the locker room say a rousing pre-game speech from Tight End Chase Jensen helped everyone get over some of the nerves and focus on the task at hand.
The San Antonio Marshals have several experienced players, led by 1st round draft pick Cooter Bigsby, in addition to a talented crop of rookies from this year's DSFL draft. The Marshals received the ball first, and came out of the gate slinging it, with 4 straight passes from Cooter. The Solar Bear secondary struggled on the opening drive, giving up some chunk plays that capped off with a 15 yard TD pass for Bigsby. Palm Beach, trying to match the Marshals, came out with three straight passes of their own on their opening possession. Unfortunately, it resulted in a three and out after they failed to pick up a first down. San Antonio scored fairly easily on their next possession, and several members of the media in the press box began writing articles on a blowout win for the Marshals.
However, a switch in the gameplan on the next drive for the Solar Bears proved to be the key for keeping this game close. While it ended in an Apollo Lange fumble, the speed of the dynamic duo of Ludicolo Bigby and Ben Bortboy would prove to be too much for the Marshals defense to handle. These two continued to carve up the defense for the rest of the game. Their speed allowed them to get to the edge on running plays, and Bortboy found success catching passes out of the backfield. Bortboy ended the game with 3 TDs, and Bigby finished up with 161 yards on 30 carries. The Solar Bears will need to rely on these two going forward in order to stay competitive.
Palm Beach came up short in their 4th quarter comeback. The Marshals kicked a field goal to go up 5 with 3:42 remaining in the 4th quarter. Apollo Lange took the field, looking for the 1st of what could be many game-winning drives in his future. The Solar Bears were able to move the ball up the field with passes to Jensen, Varga and Bortboy. With no timeouts remaining, 19 seconds on the clock, and the ball on the San Antonio 27, Apollo dropped back to pass. His downfield options were covered, he decided to check down to Chase Jensen for a 3 yard completion over the middle of the field. Unfortunately, the team was unable to get to the line in time to spike the ball as time expired.
The Solar Bears left the field dejected, but the coaches were optimistic as the team showed some positive signs even in a loss.
With very little rest (some members of Palm Beach swore it was only a few minutes), the team immediately prepared for their next matchup against the reigning DSFL champions, the Tijuana Luchadores. This game would prove to be more of a defensive battle than the prior game. Led by another 1st round QB in Corvo Havran, and the outspoken rookie Rod Tidwell (who could be heard shouting, "Show me the money!" after each of his nine receptions). The game was tied 3-3 after the first quarter, but after a second quarter field goal, the Solar Bears would be unable to score for the remainder of the game. The game ended with another stalled drive in the Luchadores side of the field as time expired. The team will no doubt be focused on their two-minute drill in practice this week.
Apollo was able to limit his mistakes in this game. He finished with no turnovers and a passer rating of 83.4 The Solar Bears receivers and tight ends were able to create quite a bit of separation against a slightly weaker secondary of the Luchadores. Bigby once again finished above 100 yards rushing, although neither he nor Bortboy could find the endzone.
The real standout of this game was rookie linebacker Guy Nikko. He was able to use his speed on the edge to notch 4 sacks, causing several of the Luchadores' drives to stall. He also proved invaluable in coverage, helping to blanket Tijuana's running backs and tight ends. He used a variety of sack celebrations, often incorporating food, but always ending with him screaming, "FLAVATOWN" in the opposing QB's face.
Experts predicted two blowout losses for the Solar Bears. Their GM Chet Tannen had the articles printed out and taped to the locker room walls for motivation. The Solar Bears were able to play two of the better teams extremely close, and the rest of the league will be watching to see how they rebound with two games on the road coming up.
We were able to catch rookie WR Nacho Varga for a quick interview after the loss to the Luchadores. When asked about his performance in the two losses, he emphasized his need to improve in many ways. He was pleased with the rapport developed with his rookie QB Apollo, but knows they'll both need to put in a lot of work this season to develop more chemistry. We asked him about his inability to finish off his long kick returns, he admitted that his endurance was not where it needed to be. "I'm hoping to be able to get in some extra time after practice this week. Gotta get in much better shape. I might also need to cut Los Pollos Hermanos chicken out of my diet when I visit Albuquerque."
He had nothing but praise for his fellow receivers: "Andre did a great job lining up on the opposite side of the field. We're going to give DBs fits this year. And a huge shoutout to our three TEs, Rood, Jensen and Wright. They were huge in the running and passing game. You can tell how hard they've worked this offseason, and it's really showing."
Nacho said he's looking forward to their next two matchups, including a rematch against the Marshals, and a game against the red hot expansion team, the Seawolves.
There was an air of nervous anticipation in the Solar Bear locker room prior to the Week 1 matchup with the Marshals. As a team full of rookies, it was obvious how nervous the players were prior to their first regular season action. Sources in the locker room say a rousing pre-game speech from Tight End Chase Jensen helped everyone get over some of the nerves and focus on the task at hand.
The San Antonio Marshals have several experienced players, led by 1st round draft pick Cooter Bigsby, in addition to a talented crop of rookies from this year's DSFL draft. The Marshals received the ball first, and came out of the gate slinging it, with 4 straight passes from Cooter. The Solar Bear secondary struggled on the opening drive, giving up some chunk plays that capped off with a 15 yard TD pass for Bigsby. Palm Beach, trying to match the Marshals, came out with three straight passes of their own on their opening possession. Unfortunately, it resulted in a three and out after they failed to pick up a first down. San Antonio scored fairly easily on their next possession, and several members of the media in the press box began writing articles on a blowout win for the Marshals.
However, a switch in the gameplan on the next drive for the Solar Bears proved to be the key for keeping this game close. While it ended in an Apollo Lange fumble, the speed of the dynamic duo of Ludicolo Bigby and Ben Bortboy would prove to be too much for the Marshals defense to handle. These two continued to carve up the defense for the rest of the game. Their speed allowed them to get to the edge on running plays, and Bortboy found success catching passes out of the backfield. Bortboy ended the game with 3 TDs, and Bigby finished up with 161 yards on 30 carries. The Solar Bears will need to rely on these two going forward in order to stay competitive.
Palm Beach came up short in their 4th quarter comeback. The Marshals kicked a field goal to go up 5 with 3:42 remaining in the 4th quarter. Apollo Lange took the field, looking for the 1st of what could be many game-winning drives in his future. The Solar Bears were able to move the ball up the field with passes to Jensen, Varga and Bortboy. With no timeouts remaining, 19 seconds on the clock, and the ball on the San Antonio 27, Apollo dropped back to pass. His downfield options were covered, he decided to check down to Chase Jensen for a 3 yard completion over the middle of the field. Unfortunately, the team was unable to get to the line in time to spike the ball as time expired.
The Solar Bears left the field dejected, but the coaches were optimistic as the team showed some positive signs even in a loss.
With very little rest (some members of Palm Beach swore it was only a few minutes), the team immediately prepared for their next matchup against the reigning DSFL champions, the Tijuana Luchadores. This game would prove to be more of a defensive battle than the prior game. Led by another 1st round QB in Corvo Havran, and the outspoken rookie Rod Tidwell (who could be heard shouting, "Show me the money!" after each of his nine receptions). The game was tied 3-3 after the first quarter, but after a second quarter field goal, the Solar Bears would be unable to score for the remainder of the game. The game ended with another stalled drive in the Luchadores side of the field as time expired. The team will no doubt be focused on their two-minute drill in practice this week.
Apollo was able to limit his mistakes in this game. He finished with no turnovers and a passer rating of 83.4 The Solar Bears receivers and tight ends were able to create quite a bit of separation against a slightly weaker secondary of the Luchadores. Bigby once again finished above 100 yards rushing, although neither he nor Bortboy could find the endzone.
The real standout of this game was rookie linebacker Guy Nikko. He was able to use his speed on the edge to notch 4 sacks, causing several of the Luchadores' drives to stall. He also proved invaluable in coverage, helping to blanket Tijuana's running backs and tight ends. He used a variety of sack celebrations, often incorporating food, but always ending with him screaming, "FLAVATOWN" in the opposing QB's face.
Experts predicted two blowout losses for the Solar Bears. Their GM Chet Tannen had the articles printed out and taped to the locker room walls for motivation. The Solar Bears were able to play two of the better teams extremely close, and the rest of the league will be watching to see how they rebound with two games on the road coming up.
We were able to catch rookie WR Nacho Varga for a quick interview after the loss to the Luchadores. When asked about his performance in the two losses, he emphasized his need to improve in many ways. He was pleased with the rapport developed with his rookie QB Apollo, but knows they'll both need to put in a lot of work this season to develop more chemistry. We asked him about his inability to finish off his long kick returns, he admitted that his endurance was not where it needed to be. "I'm hoping to be able to get in some extra time after practice this week. Gotta get in much better shape. I might also need to cut Los Pollos Hermanos chicken out of my diet when I visit Albuquerque."
He had nothing but praise for his fellow receivers: "Andre did a great job lining up on the opposite side of the field. We're going to give DBs fits this year. And a huge shoutout to our three TEs, Rood, Jensen and Wright. They were huge in the running and passing game. You can tell how hard they've worked this offseason, and it's really showing."
Nacho said he's looking forward to their next two matchups, including a rematch against the Marshals, and a game against the red hot expansion team, the Seawolves.