Ready to be graded, approximately 850 words
People looking for a good football game on New Year's Eve were not disappointed with the S19 Ultimini. A battle between two teams, one with a storied, championship filled history, the other a recently rebranded team looking to find its way. This was definitely one of the better games in the S19 DSFL season and it's great that it was able to be the Ultimini itself. This article is going to be split into two small parts, where the game is reviewed itself and why Minnesota was able to pull off the upset in Tijuana.
Game Review
After a strong return on the opening kick and an unneccesary roughness call on Tijuana, Minnesota set up at the Tijuana 44 yard line. However, this drive actually went backwards after that and Minnesota was forced to punt. This started a chain of three more punts, and Minnesota was able to put up 3 points on the board. Following the first points of the game Tijuana's Barker began to run all over Minnesota, setting up a 45 yard field goal by Jordan Jackson. This kick was promptly missed and Darrel Williams was able to do what Barker couldn't; finish the drive with a score. Suddenly, Minnesota was up 10-0 in the Ultimini and the pressure was on Tijuana. Minnesota then expanded the league to 13-0 heading into the second half, and Tijuana was veering on panic mode.
Tijuana got the ball at the start of the second half and put together a solid drive, until once again Jordan Jackson missed a field goal. These missed points would bite Tijuana much later in the game, but Tijuana was not phased yet. After a quick three and out by Minnesota, Tijuana drove down the field and Jed Podolak scored a touchdown. Vega and the Grey Ducks drove down to the 38 yard line of the Luchadores, but Vega promptly threw a pick that was returned 72 yards and the Grey Ducks finally got the man down at 3 yard line. Podolak once again walked his way into the end zone and scored for the second time. Once again kicking cost Tijuana, as Jackson missed an extra point that would have given Tijuana the lead. The teams both punted, and Minnesota took advantage of some Tijuana penalties and good throws by Vega to take a 16-13 lead. Tijuana then had to punt and needed to force a huge stop to keep the game alive. While the Grey Ducks were able to get one first down, they ended up having to punt the ball again. Tijuana was only able to get down to their own 34 yard line before facing a crucial 4th and 9. Having no other option, the Luchadores went for it. Seemingly remembering their defeat one year and one week ago to the Marshals on a similar fourth down conversion chance, the Luchadores decided not to pass and tried to get the 9 yards on the ground. Instead of Podolak, Barker got the ball and was stopped by Kirkby four yards short of the line. Minnesota had done the impossible. They won the Ultimini.
Game Analysis
Wow, where do we begin? While the player of the game was given to Darrel Williams, this game was definitely won by the Minnesota defense. They only let up 9 first downs in the entirety of the game, and only gave up their second touchdown because they were given the ball on the Minnesota three yard line. The Tijuana rushing attack, which had been dominant all season, was completely shut down. The story of the game is really the disappearance of Podolak in his biggest moment. While he did score literally all of Tijuana's points in the game, his line excluding the touchdowns is extremely disappointing; 10 carries, 22 yards. While he was able to also add 27 yards on 4 receptions, Minnesota truly stifled his running game. He did score when it counted, but compared to the incredible runner we saw in the regular season, this was disappointing to Tijuana fans and former players everywhere. Tijuana only averaging 3.5 yards per rush and only being able to muster 98 rushing yards was truly the reason they lost the game. Looking over at the Minnesota offense, the combo of Darrel Williams and Logan Noble Jr. truly proved why the Minnesota rushing attack is the best in the league. Playing against the best running defense in the league(that's not their own) and being able to almost double the rushing yards of Tijuana showed who was able to utilize their run game best in this Ultimini. I said in my Ultimini preview that Tijuana had to stop the run game; it really is what makes the Minnesota offense the Minnesota offense. Vega actually had his worst game of the three against Tijuana, yet this was the one game Minnesota won because of a strong running game and an outstanding defense. Congratulations to Minnesota on playing complete DSFL football and finding a way to win against the best team in the DSFL.
I hope you enjoyed this little two part series on the S19 Ultimini! Obviously I was a bit biased towards Minnesota, but I respect the Luchadores and their players, and they played well against us. Just not well enough.
People looking for a good football game on New Year's Eve were not disappointed with the S19 Ultimini. A battle between two teams, one with a storied, championship filled history, the other a recently rebranded team looking to find its way. This was definitely one of the better games in the S19 DSFL season and it's great that it was able to be the Ultimini itself. This article is going to be split into two small parts, where the game is reviewed itself and why Minnesota was able to pull off the upset in Tijuana.
Game Review
After a strong return on the opening kick and an unneccesary roughness call on Tijuana, Minnesota set up at the Tijuana 44 yard line. However, this drive actually went backwards after that and Minnesota was forced to punt. This started a chain of three more punts, and Minnesota was able to put up 3 points on the board. Following the first points of the game Tijuana's Barker began to run all over Minnesota, setting up a 45 yard field goal by Jordan Jackson. This kick was promptly missed and Darrel Williams was able to do what Barker couldn't; finish the drive with a score. Suddenly, Minnesota was up 10-0 in the Ultimini and the pressure was on Tijuana. Minnesota then expanded the league to 13-0 heading into the second half, and Tijuana was veering on panic mode.
Tijuana got the ball at the start of the second half and put together a solid drive, until once again Jordan Jackson missed a field goal. These missed points would bite Tijuana much later in the game, but Tijuana was not phased yet. After a quick three and out by Minnesota, Tijuana drove down the field and Jed Podolak scored a touchdown. Vega and the Grey Ducks drove down to the 38 yard line of the Luchadores, but Vega promptly threw a pick that was returned 72 yards and the Grey Ducks finally got the man down at 3 yard line. Podolak once again walked his way into the end zone and scored for the second time. Once again kicking cost Tijuana, as Jackson missed an extra point that would have given Tijuana the lead. The teams both punted, and Minnesota took advantage of some Tijuana penalties and good throws by Vega to take a 16-13 lead. Tijuana then had to punt and needed to force a huge stop to keep the game alive. While the Grey Ducks were able to get one first down, they ended up having to punt the ball again. Tijuana was only able to get down to their own 34 yard line before facing a crucial 4th and 9. Having no other option, the Luchadores went for it. Seemingly remembering their defeat one year and one week ago to the Marshals on a similar fourth down conversion chance, the Luchadores decided not to pass and tried to get the 9 yards on the ground. Instead of Podolak, Barker got the ball and was stopped by Kirkby four yards short of the line. Minnesota had done the impossible. They won the Ultimini.
Game Analysis
Wow, where do we begin? While the player of the game was given to Darrel Williams, this game was definitely won by the Minnesota defense. They only let up 9 first downs in the entirety of the game, and only gave up their second touchdown because they were given the ball on the Minnesota three yard line. The Tijuana rushing attack, which had been dominant all season, was completely shut down. The story of the game is really the disappearance of Podolak in his biggest moment. While he did score literally all of Tijuana's points in the game, his line excluding the touchdowns is extremely disappointing; 10 carries, 22 yards. While he was able to also add 27 yards on 4 receptions, Minnesota truly stifled his running game. He did score when it counted, but compared to the incredible runner we saw in the regular season, this was disappointing to Tijuana fans and former players everywhere. Tijuana only averaging 3.5 yards per rush and only being able to muster 98 rushing yards was truly the reason they lost the game. Looking over at the Minnesota offense, the combo of Darrel Williams and Logan Noble Jr. truly proved why the Minnesota rushing attack is the best in the league. Playing against the best running defense in the league(that's not their own) and being able to almost double the rushing yards of Tijuana showed who was able to utilize their run game best in this Ultimini. I said in my Ultimini preview that Tijuana had to stop the run game; it really is what makes the Minnesota offense the Minnesota offense. Vega actually had his worst game of the three against Tijuana, yet this was the one game Minnesota won because of a strong running game and an outstanding defense. Congratulations to Minnesota on playing complete DSFL football and finding a way to win against the best team in the DSFL.
I hope you enjoyed this little two part series on the S19 Ultimini! Obviously I was a bit biased towards Minnesota, but I respect the Luchadores and their players, and they played well against us. Just not well enough.