A Deep Dive into Tijuana’s Game Plan through Two Weeks.
Hey all,
Rich Triplet here taking you all through a deep dive of Tijuana’s first two weeks of the season. Looking hot through the first two games Tijuana appeared to be the team to beat in the SFC. I want to take this time to dive in what made those first two games such a success for Tijuana. While I am a player for Tijuana, I will do my best to remain as unbiased as possible. This article covers in depth play by play breakdown and analysis
Week 1 Tijuana Luchadores at home against the Dallas Birddogs, 22-13 W
A home opener week 1 the Tijuana Luchadores came out big against The Dallas Birddogs, the first drive of the game would set the tone for most of it. Adam Schell came up big on a first down and sacked Mattathias Caliban for a six-yard loss. This sack resulted in the Birddogs drive stalling out and forcing a punt and leading to a Friedrich Vequain TD on the return. A huge play for the Tijuana Luchadores and would be the tone for the rest of the first half. Tijuana proceeded to shut down The Dallas Birddog’s offense for the next two drives, forcing incompletions for Caliban left and right. Until late in the first quarter when Caliban would connect with Taro Raimon for a 28-yard gain ending up deep in The Tijuana Luchadores territory. After another two incompletions forced by the Tijuana Luchadores defense, Vance Slattery came up with a huge third down sack for a six-yard loss. Knocking the Birddogs out of field goal range and forcing them to punt. A gigantic sack from a gigantic man keeping the shut out alive. As the Tijuana Luchadores’ took the ball they got some breathing room by running it up the gut Mills and Theeks combined for twenty rushing yards on the next four plays before a bullet from Mike Boss JR. to Doug Howlett lead to a 24 yard gain setting up a The Tijuana Luchadores field goal at the start of the second quarter.
The second quarter of the game was more of the same from the Tijuana Luchadores forcing another three and out for The Dallas Birddogs, just when it looked like The Dallas Birddogs could force a three and out of their own Sasha Medved hit Mike Boss Jr. Late and giving the Tijuana Luchadores another first down. This drive was plagued by penalties from The Dallas Birddogs with another personal foul on the safety Lionel Rumper grabbing the face mask of Theeks, this cane right after a holding penalty on the Tijuana Luchadores that could have stalled the drive. Instead the Tijuana Luchadores ran the ball down, leading to a fourteen-yard strike from Mike Boss Jr to Friedrich Vequain for the touchdown. The Dallas Birddog’s next drive started out pretty hot, a pass to Mark Callous lead to a huge 24 yard gain that had The Dallas Birddogs sitting right about midfield, that was until two plays later when linebacker Terry Tate came in for the Tijuana Luchadores third sack of the night for a loss of six. Leading to yet another punt. With a little over two minutes left the Tijuana Luchadores offense was surgical running the ball to keep the time moving but effectively enough that they were able to make it right to the goal line. However, with seven seconds left and no time outs remaining, the Tijuana Luchadores opted to kick the field goal as opposed to going for it.
Half Time Analysis Tijuana Luchadores: 19 Dallas Birddogs: 0
Tijuana frustrated The Dallas Birddogs in the first half of the game. The Dallas Birddogs has some solid offensive weapons, A capped quarterback, tight end, running back, and wide receiver are all on the field for them, the answer then for the Tijuana Luchadores’ was to send pressure. The Tijuana Luchadores got to the quarterback three times in the first half of this game. The defense let up some big plays but fired back with some big plays of their own, The Dallas also shot themselves in the foot with some key penalties on defense leading to the Tijuana Luchadores’ scoring on it. The Dallas Birddogs however was not out of the game.
The third quarter opened with The Dallas Birddogs playing aggressive, getting into Mike Boss Jr.’s face leading to two straight incompletions and a third down from the Tijuana Luchadores’ own 19, until Mike Boss used this aggressiveness against them finding Howlett for a deep 28 yard gain, the Tijuana Luchadores’ then proceeded to run the ball until the drive stalled out on The Dallas Birddog’s thirty yard line, setting up another field goal. After an exchange of failed drives, the Birddogs get the ball back, this would begin The Dallas Birddog’s first scoring drive of the game. On third and five after a rush by Murphy, Zoe Watts took the rock 61 yards up the gut for a touchdown. Breaking tackles and weaving through the Tijuana Luchadores defense, they could only hope to bring Watts down, alas it was no use and the Birddogs scored their first touchdown. From this point on it would be up to the Tijuana Luchadores defense to hold The Dallas Birddogs in check. Getting pressure on the quarterback forcing a 6-yard loss on a designed run, unfortunately not a sack, a big play none the less. The Tijuana Luchadores offense would get the ball back after this and gain only one first down before giving the ball back to The Dallas Birddogs. On the punt Raimon had a huge return of 63 yards putting the Dallas Birddogs offense at the Tijuana 23-yard line, before a penalty moved them back five yards. This penalty came back to bite The Dallas Birddogs as they gained ten yards on the rest of the drive, which would have been a first down if not for the penalty. They still managed a field goal out of the drive though.
The final quarter of play would be a spicy one, The Dallas Birddogs trailed twelve points and had fifteen minutes to score them. This would be tough with the Tijuana Luchadores’ starting with the ball and draining a solid three minutes off the clock, but the Birddogs did not let that intimidate them. Starting with a huge 27-yard gain by Mark Callous, this put the Birddogs right at midfield, which was then followed up by another huge 22-yard gain to Raimon. A deadly duo struck twice very quickly; The Dallas Birddogs got all the way to the Tijuana Luchadores nine before Tex Wrecks came in for a huge sack leading to an eleven-yard loss. The Dallas Birddogs had a small gain of four before Tijuana came back with another sack from Adam Schell! A loss of six leading to fourth down, The Dallas Birddogs elects to kick the field goal instead of going for the fourth and twenty-two, a wise decision. The put away drive for Tijuana did not go as expected, up by eight with roughly six minutes left Tijuana decided to pass more than they ran on this drive. Not unexpected as you do not want to give up good field position, however the cyborg named Miller Lite had news for Mike Boss Jr. and sacked him for a six-yard loss. Leading to some incompletions assuming due to the shakeup of being hit by a metal man the Tijuana Luchadores’ were forced to punt. With the game on the line The Dallas Birddogs was in control of their own fate at this point, starting from their own 21 The Dallas Birddogs moved the ball well. Gaining 20 yards in one minute was huge for the Birddogs as they ended up around midfield with two minutes left to play. However, the Tijuana Luchadores defense was not done yet as Nat Wright secured a sack of his own, leading to second and sixteen on the Dallas Birddogs forty-one. After two straight incompletions The Dallas Birddogs had to settle for a dump off pass to Skiuuup due to pressure, turning the ball over on downs and having the Tijuana Luchadores walking away with their first victory at home and on the season.
Final Tijuana 22 – Dallas Birddogs 13
I think to summarize Tijuana came away with big plays in all three phases, not allowing The Dallas Birddogs to score a single point in the first half was a huge reason they were able to get the job done. That and six sacks coming at huge moments in the game really turned the tide in their favor. A punt return for a touchdown is always a nice addition and racking up almost two hundred yards on the ground secured a nice victory to Tijuana, a great game plan that has been used in the past for the seven time champions sending their division rivals home with a loss week one.
Things continued to look great heading into week two as they took on another division rival in the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. A game that despite the score could have gone either way in my opinion.
Week 2 Tijuana Luchadores 22 – Myrtle Beach Buccaneers 6
The first quarter of this game really did speak volumes about how the rest of the game would play out, a turnover battle. Myrtle Beach started this game in a rough spot, the kickoff only being returned six yards the Buccaneers started at their own seven-yard line. This was then followed up by a penalty that had the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers looking at an easy safety for the hungry Tijuana Luchadores defense. Putting their trust in the cyborg named Playoff Ramos he proceeded to gain thirteen yards in the following two plays giving Myrtle beach some breathing room. A disappointment for the Tijuana Luchadores for certain not capitalizing on the safety opportunity, not discouraged Petra Sabor rushed the passer on the follow set of plays, knocking down Owen Holloway for a seven-yard loss on third down forcing a punt. Getting the ball at midfield Tijuana looked to score some points. Starting with a fourteen-yard run by Mills that then set up a huge 25-yard gain from Howlett on a dime from Mike Boss Jr. Theeks brought it up another three yards giving Tijuana a second and seven from the Myrtle Beach’s eight yard line. A daunting situation for the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers going down a touchdown early Teddy Utterstruzen came up with a big play at the goal line snagging an interception on a pass intended for Howlett. A demoralizing blow for Tijuana, Myrtle Beach began to march down the field with some big plays. A twenty-three-yard gain by Ne Mo kicked off the drive which then lead to a couple of runs before back to back big gains by McJimmerson and Ne Mo for nine and sixteen yards, respectively. A nine-yard gain by Playoff Ramos had the team looking well at the Tijuana thirty-four. Despite what happens the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers would score on this drive baring a turnover or series of sacks. Cornerback Rich Triplet thought the same thing and when Holloway went to Ne Mo Triplet jumped and got the ball back for Tijuana with a forty-nine-yard return to boot placing Tijuana at the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers twenty-six. The Tijuana Luchadores would not do much with this turnover and ended up not getting a first down after it. Although they did walk away with three points and kept any from being scored from the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. The Myrtle Beach Buccaneers got the football back and proceeded to run it at the Tijuana Luchadores starting with a huge gain from Playoff Ramos of thirty-four yards! The Myrtle Beach Buccaneers decided to keep it on the ground after that play until the second quarter, converting third downs and looking awfully spooky for this Tijuana defense to handle.
The second quarter picked up where the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers left off, a rush from Jeffrey for eight yards putting Myrtle Beach at first and goal from the nine-yard line. This is where I questioned play calling as the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers passed for an incompletion with Holloway, then put in Daytona who completed a pass for two yards followed by another incompletion. A strange occurrence but not unheard of in the developmental simulation football league. The drive sputtered out and Myrtle Beach decided to take the field goal. This next drive by Tijuana is very strange as they came out firing for a twenty-one-yard gain from Mike Boss Jr. to Howlett and then were sacked for a loss of six from GOAT TANK. Boss then completed a pass to Howlett for eight yards bringing up third and long for the Tijuana Luchadores. Boss found Vequain for twenty-seven yards and then again on the next play for twenty-five, fifty yards in two plays! This was then followed up with another sack for Arlington Heights for a loss of seven, then Boss makes another chunk play and finds Howlett for a twenty-yard touchdown strike. a crazy drive for Tijuana where they made huge plays on the outside, which is where they found their stride this game. They would continue making chunk gains on their next drive following a three and out for Myrtle Beach after the previous touchdown drive. Mike Boss Jr proceeded to find Howlett for a twenty-two-yard gain on the first play after taking over possession. Boss then found rookie receiver Mark Walker for another twenty-two-yard gain on the following play. To complete the sequence of big plays Boss found Vequain for a gain of thirteen yards. Theeks brought Tijuana into the red zone where the drive sputtered out, getting to the three yard line with less than two minutes left to play Tijuana elected to kick the field goal instead of attempting to punch it in, I can’t fault them too much when they are up to play conservatively. With 1:33 left in the half Myrtle Beach kicked it into high gear letting Holloway start with an eight-yard pass before giving Daytona a chance to close out the drive. Daytona ended up hitting Ne Mo for a nine-yard gain to give Myrtle Beach a first down before finding him again on third down for an eleven-yard gain. At Tijuana’s thirty nine with no timeouts to spare Myrtle Beach sent out Bloomfield for a big field goal kick of 56 yards to bring the score closer before the half, unfortunately Bloomfield did not have the distance and missed the field goal bringing the game into the second half.
Halftime Analysis - Tijuana Luchadores: 12 Myrtle Beach Buccaneers: 3
The first quarter of play featured a pair of turnovers and looked to be all defensive with the score ending up three to zero. However, Tijuana’s offense sure showed up in the second quarter. Mike Boss Jr. was connecting with all of his receivers for huge gains against a Myrtle Beach squad that looked flabbergasted, while the Tijuana Luchadores struggled on third downs their answer to it was to not get to third down at all. Mike Boss was not discouraged by his interception in the first half and the sacks brought onto him only meant he would have more passing yards. With Tijuana having six plays of more than twenty yards in the second quarter alone they looked poised to pop the lid off this game at any moment. Myrtle beach played some solid defense but had breakdowns in coverage that lead to these chunk plays. If they button down the game is still winnable at this point. The long field goal would have made this a one possession game and could have changed the narrative. I am not sure about the two QB system the team is playing as neither QB is performing spectacular up to this point.
Entering the third quarter things began to look up for the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers, Tijuana started at their twenty-eight and following an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty from Mills they faced a 2nd and 17 and were unable to convert after two incompletions. Myrtle Beach took the ball and looked poised for a nice drive after Daytona and Reed hooked up for a twenty-yard gain early in the drive putting them into Tijuana territory. Unfortunately, things would sputter out for Myrtle Beach and they would punt the final nail into their own coffin. The Tijuana Luchadores were surgical in the following drive, getting held to third down only twice they took it from their own twenty down for a touchdown. No splashy plays aside from recovering their own fumble. This drive took it to the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers in the trenches rushing for 58 yards on this drive alone. Capping it off with a seven-yard pass from Mike Boss Jr. to Vequain for the touchdown and would look like it would seal this game. However, the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers still had a quarter and a half to play. A great kick would shatter those hopes as Burton pinned the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers down at their own five-yard line. After a three and out starting at the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers forty-three Mike Boss Jr. lead the Tijuana Luchadores down the field completing three of four passes for thirty one yards, due to a illegal substitution the drive stalled out at the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers 17 yard line leading to a Tijuana Luchadores field goal to make the lead 22 to three.
Leading into the fourth quarter of play, things were unremarkable for both teams. The Myrtle Beach Buccaneers had a drive that was going well after a Tijuana Luchadores three and out. The Myrtle Beach Buccaneers started by rushing for ten yards in two plays that was followed up by an unnecessary roughness call on NationalSimulation FootballLeague that brought them up to their forty-five. After converting another first down Myrtle Beach was forced to punt following a tackle for loss from Tex Wrecks. With nine minutes left the Tijuana Luchadores took over at their own two looking to burn some time and seal the game. After a huge gain by rookie wide receiver Mark Walker for twenty-six yards. Mike Boss Jr. Looked for him again only to find Zack Mouse who snagged the interception for the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. Owen Halloway then connected with Alex Reed for a gain of fifteen before the drive was once again stalled out. The Myrtle Beach Buccaneers settled for a field goal by Bloomfield. Down in score six to twenty-two, the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers needed a miracle to come back, the Tijuana Luchadores were not going to allow that miracle as they were able to convert two first downs on the drive. Burning about two minutes of time from the game clock before being forced to punt from their own twenty-two. The Myrtle Beach Buccaneers weren’t going to take this loss lying down however, a huge rush by 3’ Jeffery for twelve yards kicked off the drive following a huge completion to Ne Mo for twenty three had the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers at the Luchadores ten yard line. The Myrtle Beach Buccaneers decided to take out Owen Halloway and put in Jackie Daytona to finish off the drive. After an incomplete pass to Ne Mo, Jackie looked for his running back Playoff Ramos on the check down only to find NationalSimulation FootballLeague waiting who got the game sealing interception. Not much else happened, a three and out for the Tijuana Luchadores and a turnover on downs for the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers and that was the game.
Final Tijuana Luchadores – 22 Myrtle Beach Buccaneers – 6
This game the offense really took off for the Tijuana Luchadores, four hundred- and eleven-yards total for the offense allowed for the Tijuana Luchadores to get a good amount of points. The defense also stood up for the Tijuana Luchadores as they allowed less than one hundred and fifty yards passing. I think that the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers need to pick a QB and stick with him, the two QB system was not working with the Tijuana Luchadores defense as it suffocated both young quarterbacks. Both teams had big plays but, the Tijuana Luchadores were able to convert those big plays into touchdowns from both of their star receivers Howlett and Vequain. Mark Walker also had a breakout game with four catches for sixty-nine yards. Nice. The Tijuana Luchadores came out and dominated the first two games of their season, however the next two were heart crushing loses. I will be exploring those games after this article, and what went wrong for the Tijuana Luchadores in those games. Great games against two great teams as the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers are a tiebreaker behind the Tijuana Luchadores.
Hey all,
Rich Triplet here taking you all through a deep dive of Tijuana’s first two weeks of the season. Looking hot through the first two games Tijuana appeared to be the team to beat in the SFC. I want to take this time to dive in what made those first two games such a success for Tijuana. While I am a player for Tijuana, I will do my best to remain as unbiased as possible. This article covers in depth play by play breakdown and analysis
Week 1 Tijuana Luchadores at home against the Dallas Birddogs, 22-13 W
A home opener week 1 the Tijuana Luchadores came out big against The Dallas Birddogs, the first drive of the game would set the tone for most of it. Adam Schell came up big on a first down and sacked Mattathias Caliban for a six-yard loss. This sack resulted in the Birddogs drive stalling out and forcing a punt and leading to a Friedrich Vequain TD on the return. A huge play for the Tijuana Luchadores and would be the tone for the rest of the first half. Tijuana proceeded to shut down The Dallas Birddog’s offense for the next two drives, forcing incompletions for Caliban left and right. Until late in the first quarter when Caliban would connect with Taro Raimon for a 28-yard gain ending up deep in The Tijuana Luchadores territory. After another two incompletions forced by the Tijuana Luchadores defense, Vance Slattery came up with a huge third down sack for a six-yard loss. Knocking the Birddogs out of field goal range and forcing them to punt. A gigantic sack from a gigantic man keeping the shut out alive. As the Tijuana Luchadores’ took the ball they got some breathing room by running it up the gut Mills and Theeks combined for twenty rushing yards on the next four plays before a bullet from Mike Boss JR. to Doug Howlett lead to a 24 yard gain setting up a The Tijuana Luchadores field goal at the start of the second quarter.
The second quarter of the game was more of the same from the Tijuana Luchadores forcing another three and out for The Dallas Birddogs, just when it looked like The Dallas Birddogs could force a three and out of their own Sasha Medved hit Mike Boss Jr. Late and giving the Tijuana Luchadores another first down. This drive was plagued by penalties from The Dallas Birddogs with another personal foul on the safety Lionel Rumper grabbing the face mask of Theeks, this cane right after a holding penalty on the Tijuana Luchadores that could have stalled the drive. Instead the Tijuana Luchadores ran the ball down, leading to a fourteen-yard strike from Mike Boss Jr to Friedrich Vequain for the touchdown. The Dallas Birddog’s next drive started out pretty hot, a pass to Mark Callous lead to a huge 24 yard gain that had The Dallas Birddogs sitting right about midfield, that was until two plays later when linebacker Terry Tate came in for the Tijuana Luchadores third sack of the night for a loss of six. Leading to yet another punt. With a little over two minutes left the Tijuana Luchadores offense was surgical running the ball to keep the time moving but effectively enough that they were able to make it right to the goal line. However, with seven seconds left and no time outs remaining, the Tijuana Luchadores opted to kick the field goal as opposed to going for it.
Half Time Analysis Tijuana Luchadores: 19 Dallas Birddogs: 0
Tijuana frustrated The Dallas Birddogs in the first half of the game. The Dallas Birddogs has some solid offensive weapons, A capped quarterback, tight end, running back, and wide receiver are all on the field for them, the answer then for the Tijuana Luchadores’ was to send pressure. The Tijuana Luchadores got to the quarterback three times in the first half of this game. The defense let up some big plays but fired back with some big plays of their own, The Dallas also shot themselves in the foot with some key penalties on defense leading to the Tijuana Luchadores’ scoring on it. The Dallas Birddogs however was not out of the game.
The third quarter opened with The Dallas Birddogs playing aggressive, getting into Mike Boss Jr.’s face leading to two straight incompletions and a third down from the Tijuana Luchadores’ own 19, until Mike Boss used this aggressiveness against them finding Howlett for a deep 28 yard gain, the Tijuana Luchadores’ then proceeded to run the ball until the drive stalled out on The Dallas Birddog’s thirty yard line, setting up another field goal. After an exchange of failed drives, the Birddogs get the ball back, this would begin The Dallas Birddog’s first scoring drive of the game. On third and five after a rush by Murphy, Zoe Watts took the rock 61 yards up the gut for a touchdown. Breaking tackles and weaving through the Tijuana Luchadores defense, they could only hope to bring Watts down, alas it was no use and the Birddogs scored their first touchdown. From this point on it would be up to the Tijuana Luchadores defense to hold The Dallas Birddogs in check. Getting pressure on the quarterback forcing a 6-yard loss on a designed run, unfortunately not a sack, a big play none the less. The Tijuana Luchadores offense would get the ball back after this and gain only one first down before giving the ball back to The Dallas Birddogs. On the punt Raimon had a huge return of 63 yards putting the Dallas Birddogs offense at the Tijuana 23-yard line, before a penalty moved them back five yards. This penalty came back to bite The Dallas Birddogs as they gained ten yards on the rest of the drive, which would have been a first down if not for the penalty. They still managed a field goal out of the drive though.
The final quarter of play would be a spicy one, The Dallas Birddogs trailed twelve points and had fifteen minutes to score them. This would be tough with the Tijuana Luchadores’ starting with the ball and draining a solid three minutes off the clock, but the Birddogs did not let that intimidate them. Starting with a huge 27-yard gain by Mark Callous, this put the Birddogs right at midfield, which was then followed up by another huge 22-yard gain to Raimon. A deadly duo struck twice very quickly; The Dallas Birddogs got all the way to the Tijuana Luchadores nine before Tex Wrecks came in for a huge sack leading to an eleven-yard loss. The Dallas Birddogs had a small gain of four before Tijuana came back with another sack from Adam Schell! A loss of six leading to fourth down, The Dallas Birddogs elects to kick the field goal instead of going for the fourth and twenty-two, a wise decision. The put away drive for Tijuana did not go as expected, up by eight with roughly six minutes left Tijuana decided to pass more than they ran on this drive. Not unexpected as you do not want to give up good field position, however the cyborg named Miller Lite had news for Mike Boss Jr. and sacked him for a six-yard loss. Leading to some incompletions assuming due to the shakeup of being hit by a metal man the Tijuana Luchadores’ were forced to punt. With the game on the line The Dallas Birddogs was in control of their own fate at this point, starting from their own 21 The Dallas Birddogs moved the ball well. Gaining 20 yards in one minute was huge for the Birddogs as they ended up around midfield with two minutes left to play. However, the Tijuana Luchadores defense was not done yet as Nat Wright secured a sack of his own, leading to second and sixteen on the Dallas Birddogs forty-one. After two straight incompletions The Dallas Birddogs had to settle for a dump off pass to Skiuuup due to pressure, turning the ball over on downs and having the Tijuana Luchadores walking away with their first victory at home and on the season.
Final Tijuana 22 – Dallas Birddogs 13
I think to summarize Tijuana came away with big plays in all three phases, not allowing The Dallas Birddogs to score a single point in the first half was a huge reason they were able to get the job done. That and six sacks coming at huge moments in the game really turned the tide in their favor. A punt return for a touchdown is always a nice addition and racking up almost two hundred yards on the ground secured a nice victory to Tijuana, a great game plan that has been used in the past for the seven time champions sending their division rivals home with a loss week one.
Things continued to look great heading into week two as they took on another division rival in the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. A game that despite the score could have gone either way in my opinion.
Week 2 Tijuana Luchadores 22 – Myrtle Beach Buccaneers 6
The first quarter of this game really did speak volumes about how the rest of the game would play out, a turnover battle. Myrtle Beach started this game in a rough spot, the kickoff only being returned six yards the Buccaneers started at their own seven-yard line. This was then followed up by a penalty that had the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers looking at an easy safety for the hungry Tijuana Luchadores defense. Putting their trust in the cyborg named Playoff Ramos he proceeded to gain thirteen yards in the following two plays giving Myrtle beach some breathing room. A disappointment for the Tijuana Luchadores for certain not capitalizing on the safety opportunity, not discouraged Petra Sabor rushed the passer on the follow set of plays, knocking down Owen Holloway for a seven-yard loss on third down forcing a punt. Getting the ball at midfield Tijuana looked to score some points. Starting with a fourteen-yard run by Mills that then set up a huge 25-yard gain from Howlett on a dime from Mike Boss Jr. Theeks brought it up another three yards giving Tijuana a second and seven from the Myrtle Beach’s eight yard line. A daunting situation for the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers going down a touchdown early Teddy Utterstruzen came up with a big play at the goal line snagging an interception on a pass intended for Howlett. A demoralizing blow for Tijuana, Myrtle Beach began to march down the field with some big plays. A twenty-three-yard gain by Ne Mo kicked off the drive which then lead to a couple of runs before back to back big gains by McJimmerson and Ne Mo for nine and sixteen yards, respectively. A nine-yard gain by Playoff Ramos had the team looking well at the Tijuana thirty-four. Despite what happens the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers would score on this drive baring a turnover or series of sacks. Cornerback Rich Triplet thought the same thing and when Holloway went to Ne Mo Triplet jumped and got the ball back for Tijuana with a forty-nine-yard return to boot placing Tijuana at the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers twenty-six. The Tijuana Luchadores would not do much with this turnover and ended up not getting a first down after it. Although they did walk away with three points and kept any from being scored from the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. The Myrtle Beach Buccaneers got the football back and proceeded to run it at the Tijuana Luchadores starting with a huge gain from Playoff Ramos of thirty-four yards! The Myrtle Beach Buccaneers decided to keep it on the ground after that play until the second quarter, converting third downs and looking awfully spooky for this Tijuana defense to handle.
The second quarter picked up where the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers left off, a rush from Jeffrey for eight yards putting Myrtle Beach at first and goal from the nine-yard line. This is where I questioned play calling as the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers passed for an incompletion with Holloway, then put in Daytona who completed a pass for two yards followed by another incompletion. A strange occurrence but not unheard of in the developmental simulation football league. The drive sputtered out and Myrtle Beach decided to take the field goal. This next drive by Tijuana is very strange as they came out firing for a twenty-one-yard gain from Mike Boss Jr. to Howlett and then were sacked for a loss of six from GOAT TANK. Boss then completed a pass to Howlett for eight yards bringing up third and long for the Tijuana Luchadores. Boss found Vequain for twenty-seven yards and then again on the next play for twenty-five, fifty yards in two plays! This was then followed up with another sack for Arlington Heights for a loss of seven, then Boss makes another chunk play and finds Howlett for a twenty-yard touchdown strike. a crazy drive for Tijuana where they made huge plays on the outside, which is where they found their stride this game. They would continue making chunk gains on their next drive following a three and out for Myrtle Beach after the previous touchdown drive. Mike Boss Jr proceeded to find Howlett for a twenty-two-yard gain on the first play after taking over possession. Boss then found rookie receiver Mark Walker for another twenty-two-yard gain on the following play. To complete the sequence of big plays Boss found Vequain for a gain of thirteen yards. Theeks brought Tijuana into the red zone where the drive sputtered out, getting to the three yard line with less than two minutes left to play Tijuana elected to kick the field goal instead of attempting to punch it in, I can’t fault them too much when they are up to play conservatively. With 1:33 left in the half Myrtle Beach kicked it into high gear letting Holloway start with an eight-yard pass before giving Daytona a chance to close out the drive. Daytona ended up hitting Ne Mo for a nine-yard gain to give Myrtle Beach a first down before finding him again on third down for an eleven-yard gain. At Tijuana’s thirty nine with no timeouts to spare Myrtle Beach sent out Bloomfield for a big field goal kick of 56 yards to bring the score closer before the half, unfortunately Bloomfield did not have the distance and missed the field goal bringing the game into the second half.
Halftime Analysis - Tijuana Luchadores: 12 Myrtle Beach Buccaneers: 3
The first quarter of play featured a pair of turnovers and looked to be all defensive with the score ending up three to zero. However, Tijuana’s offense sure showed up in the second quarter. Mike Boss Jr. was connecting with all of his receivers for huge gains against a Myrtle Beach squad that looked flabbergasted, while the Tijuana Luchadores struggled on third downs their answer to it was to not get to third down at all. Mike Boss was not discouraged by his interception in the first half and the sacks brought onto him only meant he would have more passing yards. With Tijuana having six plays of more than twenty yards in the second quarter alone they looked poised to pop the lid off this game at any moment. Myrtle beach played some solid defense but had breakdowns in coverage that lead to these chunk plays. If they button down the game is still winnable at this point. The long field goal would have made this a one possession game and could have changed the narrative. I am not sure about the two QB system the team is playing as neither QB is performing spectacular up to this point.
Entering the third quarter things began to look up for the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers, Tijuana started at their twenty-eight and following an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty from Mills they faced a 2nd and 17 and were unable to convert after two incompletions. Myrtle Beach took the ball and looked poised for a nice drive after Daytona and Reed hooked up for a twenty-yard gain early in the drive putting them into Tijuana territory. Unfortunately, things would sputter out for Myrtle Beach and they would punt the final nail into their own coffin. The Tijuana Luchadores were surgical in the following drive, getting held to third down only twice they took it from their own twenty down for a touchdown. No splashy plays aside from recovering their own fumble. This drive took it to the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers in the trenches rushing for 58 yards on this drive alone. Capping it off with a seven-yard pass from Mike Boss Jr. to Vequain for the touchdown and would look like it would seal this game. However, the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers still had a quarter and a half to play. A great kick would shatter those hopes as Burton pinned the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers down at their own five-yard line. After a three and out starting at the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers forty-three Mike Boss Jr. lead the Tijuana Luchadores down the field completing three of four passes for thirty one yards, due to a illegal substitution the drive stalled out at the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers 17 yard line leading to a Tijuana Luchadores field goal to make the lead 22 to three.
Leading into the fourth quarter of play, things were unremarkable for both teams. The Myrtle Beach Buccaneers had a drive that was going well after a Tijuana Luchadores three and out. The Myrtle Beach Buccaneers started by rushing for ten yards in two plays that was followed up by an unnecessary roughness call on NationalSimulation FootballLeague that brought them up to their forty-five. After converting another first down Myrtle Beach was forced to punt following a tackle for loss from Tex Wrecks. With nine minutes left the Tijuana Luchadores took over at their own two looking to burn some time and seal the game. After a huge gain by rookie wide receiver Mark Walker for twenty-six yards. Mike Boss Jr. Looked for him again only to find Zack Mouse who snagged the interception for the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. Owen Halloway then connected with Alex Reed for a gain of fifteen before the drive was once again stalled out. The Myrtle Beach Buccaneers settled for a field goal by Bloomfield. Down in score six to twenty-two, the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers needed a miracle to come back, the Tijuana Luchadores were not going to allow that miracle as they were able to convert two first downs on the drive. Burning about two minutes of time from the game clock before being forced to punt from their own twenty-two. The Myrtle Beach Buccaneers weren’t going to take this loss lying down however, a huge rush by 3’ Jeffery for twelve yards kicked off the drive following a huge completion to Ne Mo for twenty three had the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers at the Luchadores ten yard line. The Myrtle Beach Buccaneers decided to take out Owen Halloway and put in Jackie Daytona to finish off the drive. After an incomplete pass to Ne Mo, Jackie looked for his running back Playoff Ramos on the check down only to find NationalSimulation FootballLeague waiting who got the game sealing interception. Not much else happened, a three and out for the Tijuana Luchadores and a turnover on downs for the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers and that was the game.
Final Tijuana Luchadores – 22 Myrtle Beach Buccaneers – 6
This game the offense really took off for the Tijuana Luchadores, four hundred- and eleven-yards total for the offense allowed for the Tijuana Luchadores to get a good amount of points. The defense also stood up for the Tijuana Luchadores as they allowed less than one hundred and fifty yards passing. I think that the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers need to pick a QB and stick with him, the two QB system was not working with the Tijuana Luchadores defense as it suffocated both young quarterbacks. Both teams had big plays but, the Tijuana Luchadores were able to convert those big plays into touchdowns from both of their star receivers Howlett and Vequain. Mark Walker also had a breakout game with four catches for sixty-nine yards. Nice. The Tijuana Luchadores came out and dominated the first two games of their season, however the next two were heart crushing loses. I will be exploring those games after this article, and what went wrong for the Tijuana Luchadores in those games. Great games against two great teams as the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers are a tiebreaker behind the Tijuana Luchadores.
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