08-20-2023, 06:57 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-22-2023, 06:41 AM by Aneeqs. Edited 1 time in total.)
We are 4 weeks into season 43, so let’s take a look back at everything this young Pythons squad has done in their first month of football.
The Pythons wasted no time in their first game of the season, marching 76 yards in only 5 plays for a touchdown on the opening drive against the Minnesota Grey Ducks. A 44-yard TD pass from quarterback Jay Cue III to wide receiver Huck Indarts began the scoring, and there was plenty more to come. The Grey Ducks managed a single first down before being forced to punt, and Cue III connected with Indarts again for a 68-yard catch-and-run two plays later to make it 14-0. Tight end Mike Gesicki had a rare off-ball highlight moment on the play, throwing a perfectly angled block to take out 3 pursuing defenders and spring Indarts for the score.
On the next Grey Ducks drive quarterback Tua TurnDaBallOva was true to his name, throwing an interception to Felix Waterman that was returned all the way to the 14 yard line. Five plays later Cue III had his third touchdown pass of the young season, this time finding Jordan Bamford on a 1-yard slant. The extra point was missed, but the Pythons still lead 20-0.
The Grey Ducks next drive was their best of the game so far, but after crossing midfield they were stopped in their tracks by a Hamburger Harmer sack on 3rd and 15. After a Pythons punt they got another try, but Thor Dangerson burst through the line for a 10-yard sack. On the next play he picked off TurnDaBallOva when he threw for Alexander Hamlin, and Portland was in business again. Four plays later Cue had his 4th touchdown pass, hitting Sam Mercury for 6 yards. In less than 20 minutes of game time, the Pythons had built a commanding 27-point lead.
Not satisfied, Waterman grabbed another interception two plays later and returned it all the way to the Minnesota 6. For once the team couldn’t punch it in, settling for a 20-yard field goal. Credit to the Grey Ducks for not simply packing it in at this point: they safely and methodically moved the ball down the field, avoiding any further mistakes and ultimately scoring their first points on a 13-yard touchdown pass from TurnDaBallOva to Thomas Sutha. Neither team did much on their final drive of the second quarter, so the Pythons entered the locker room at halftime leading 30-7.
The teams traded punts for most of the 3rd quarter, but eventually the Pythons defense came up with another big play. Linebacker Chris Bourassa stripped the ball from tight end Justin Time near midfield, and safety Jamie Orion fell on it for another Portland takeaway. A 25-yard run by Eldroh Kove got them into the red zone, and Sean Aldrich ultimately ran it in from 2 yards out to extend Portland’s lead. It held until the final minutes of the game, when TurnDaBallOva connected with Sutha again for a 6-yard touchdown and the game’s final points. The Grey Ducks actually recovered an onside kick, but couldn’t advance the ball and lost possession on downs.
Final score: Portland 37, Minnesota 14
Stats of the game: Portland’s defense recorded 15 PDs; Portland won the turnover battle 4-0
The team might have partied too hard after their introductory win, because they came out looking flat in their next game against the Kansas City Coyotes. The offense’s first possession ended in a bad sack, and the defense was penalized for having too many men on the field during the ensuing drive. The Coyotes capitalized three plays later, with Lenard McRobinson diving over the goal line from a yard out to give Kansas City the early lead.
The teams alternated three-and-out possessions, and then Portland finally strung some big plays together. Sean Aldritch ran for a 17-yard gain, and later Cue III hit Gesicki for a 39-yard completion down the middle. The drive stalled, but Portland got their first points from a 37-yard Jepthat field goal. After forcing a punt the team looked to be on track again after several long completions moved the ball into the red zone. But an offensive pass interference penalty on Mercury nullified a potential 3rd down conversion, and the Pythons settled for another field goal.
The offense continued shooting themselves in the foot on their next drive, when Indarts coughed up the football at the Kansas City 21 after a long completion. Antonion Croyotie fell on it to rob the Pythons of any points. Near the end of the first half, Thor Dangerson made a huge mistake by drawing an Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty after what would have been a stop on 3rd and 5. Luckily for him there wasn’t enough time left for the Coyotes to do anything but kick a (slightly easier) field goal, sending Portland into the locker room down 10-6.
The game changed completely in the second half, as the Pythons offense came to life. Their first drive went 85 yards for a touchdown in only 6 plays and featured long throws from Cue III to Bamford (for 29 yards) and Mattrim Cauthon (for 39 yards). Sean Aldrich did the honors from a yard out, and the Pythons earned a lead they would not relinquish.
Kansas City went 15 yards backward on their first drive of the half (due to a penalty and a sack) and punted. With great field position Portland needed only 4 plays to get back into the end zone, on a 15-yard run from Kove. The Coyotes’ next drive featured 4 first downs but no points, and ended in a punt netting only 6 yards. Now it was Aldrich’s turn; he carried the ball 4 times for 44 yards on the drive, including the final 5 for another Python’s touchdown.
The defense again bent, but didn’t break. Kansas City drove to the Portland 40 yard line but came up short, and the Pythons took over after another punt into the end zone. One touch and Kove was off to the races, scampering 69 yards to set up a touchdown pass from Cue III to Mercury a couple plays later. Jepthat missed the extra point, but by that point it was a 33-10 lead. Kansas City would fail to convert 4th down tries on their next three possessions, one of which gave Portland a short enough field for them to pile on 3 more points even without advancing the ball much. Special teams got a final chance to show off, as their punt cover team downed the final kick at the Coyote’s 2-yard line.
Final score: Portland 36, Kansas City 10
Stats of the game: Aldrich and Kove combined for 197 yards on 25 carries, an average of 7.9 ypg; Portland outscored Kansas City 30-0 in the 2nd half
Defensive tackle Hurgie Burgie came up big on the next possession, blocking a punt to give the Pythons great field position. They covered the 19 yards in 5 plays, with Aldrich getting the score this time from a yard out (the team’s 5th rushing TD in just their last 3 quarters of play, going back to last week). Bondi Beach’s next drive would see them aided by two defensive penalties (unnecessary roughness and too many men on the field), and they advanced far enough to kick a 3-yard field goal and cut the lead to 4. But the Pythons put their full offensive arsenal on display: a 7-play, 75-yard drive in which 6 different skill players touched the ball. Cue III connected with Cauthon for the touchdown.
Bondi Beach seemed close to cutting into the lead before halftime, but Xavier Moreno made a diving interception in the red zone to nullify that scoring chance. A 16-yard run and a defensive tripping call moved Portland past midfield, and instead they were the ones scoring before the break on yet another rushing touchdown from Kove. And they didn’t grow complacent after reflecting on that 18-point lead in the locker room – a poor Buccaneer punt placed them at their own 40-yard line, and Cue III once again hit four different receivers on a drive that ended with a score (this one to pass to Gesicki).
The teams traded punts for the remainder of the 3rd quarter, but a long pass from Cue III to Cauthon put the Pythons in Buccaneer territory early in the 4th. They’d get inside the 10 before Sam Mercury was stopped just short of the sticks on 3rd down, and Portland settled for another Jepthat field goal. Bondi Beach’s final drive was their best of the game: a 17-play, 92-yard grind over the last 5 minutes of play time, in which they converted both a 3rd and 18 and a 4th and 1. Gausman hit Thomas Passarelli for a 3-yard touchdown just before the final seconds ticked away.
Final score: Portland 38, Bondi Beach 17
Stat of the game: The Buccaneers were penalized 10 times for 90 yards
The game started well enough; the defense forced a 3-and-out, and a big completion to Bamford put Jepthat in range for a 47-yard attempt that he nailed for the early lead. Tijuana responded with a long drive of their own but came away with no points when Logan Johnson missed his own attempt from 29 yards out. Cue III completed passes to Mercury and Bamford on the next drive, and a horse collar penalty added 15 more to the end of a Kove run. But this drive also fizzled out in the red zone, and Jepthat was good from 23 yards away to make it a 6-0 game.
The Luchadores scored the game’s first touchdown on the next drive as C.G. Breezy Jr hit Garrett Cheetahman for a 17-yard score down the sideline. Not to be outdone, Cue III led a 6-play drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Cauthon to immediately take the lead back. The teams alternated punts, and in the final two minutes the game’s critical sequence occurred.
Breezy Jr connected again with Cheetahman for a 45-yard strike, and Sem’ga Nah’sim pushed the pile for a 2-yard touchdown run on the next play. Trying to make something happen before halftime, Cue III threw a pick-six to Robert Green on the first play of the next drive. In seconds, the Python’s lead had turned into an 8-point deficit.
After a pair of punts to start the 3rd quarter, Portland put together a nice drive highlighted by a long Kove run. But once again they stalled in the red zone, and Jepthat’s field goal cut into the Luchadore’s lead. Breezy Jr immediately hit Nah’sim for a 26 yard pass, and Tijuana capped off the drive 7 plays later with a 1-yard QB sneak to bring the score to 28-16. The Pythons went 3-and-out, and the Luchadores put together another scoring drive as Johnson redeemed himself with a 23-yard field goal. Portland again had to punt without even making a first down, and it looked like the game might be over.
But Hamburger Harmer made a huge play, stripping the ball from Dan Sevin for the team’s only takeaway of the game. Cue III hit Indarts for a 17-yard gain and Cauthon for a 32-yard touchdown, and suddenly it was a one-score game again. Tijuana couldn’t capitalize on a nice return by Nah’sim, but a great punt pinned Portland at their own 14 yard line. They couldn’t move the ball and had to punt themselves, but the Python’s defense came up with a critical stop to give the offense one more chance with 2:17 to go.
Working with what the defense was giving him, Cue III made 7 straight short completions, including 4 in a row to Gesicki, to move the ball to midfield. Then, with the defense in an aggressive cover-0 look, Cauthon used a double move to get behind the coverage and Cue III hit him for a 51-yard bomb to bring the Pythons within a 2-point conversion of tying. Sadly the try was unsuccessful, and the Luchadores smothered the ensuing onside kick to hold on for a narrow victory.
Final score: Tijuana 31, Portland 29
Stat of the game: The Luchadores outrushed the Pythons 152-45
Harmer and Dangerson lead the way on defense: both have 25+ tackles, 3 TFL, 3 sacks, and 4 PDs. Harmer also has 2 forced fumbles, and Dangerson has an interception. Waterman is one of only 3 DSFL players with a pair of picks, and is top-5 in passes defended with 7.
The Pythons host the 4-0 Dallas Birddogs in week 5, as the leaders clash on the field for the first time.
Week 1
The Pythons wasted no time in their first game of the season, marching 76 yards in only 5 plays for a touchdown on the opening drive against the Minnesota Grey Ducks. A 44-yard TD pass from quarterback Jay Cue III to wide receiver Huck Indarts began the scoring, and there was plenty more to come. The Grey Ducks managed a single first down before being forced to punt, and Cue III connected with Indarts again for a 68-yard catch-and-run two plays later to make it 14-0. Tight end Mike Gesicki had a rare off-ball highlight moment on the play, throwing a perfectly angled block to take out 3 pursuing defenders and spring Indarts for the score.
On the next Grey Ducks drive quarterback Tua TurnDaBallOva was true to his name, throwing an interception to Felix Waterman that was returned all the way to the 14 yard line. Five plays later Cue III had his third touchdown pass of the young season, this time finding Jordan Bamford on a 1-yard slant. The extra point was missed, but the Pythons still lead 20-0.
The Grey Ducks next drive was their best of the game so far, but after crossing midfield they were stopped in their tracks by a Hamburger Harmer sack on 3rd and 15. After a Pythons punt they got another try, but Thor Dangerson burst through the line for a 10-yard sack. On the next play he picked off TurnDaBallOva when he threw for Alexander Hamlin, and Portland was in business again. Four plays later Cue had his 4th touchdown pass, hitting Sam Mercury for 6 yards. In less than 20 minutes of game time, the Pythons had built a commanding 27-point lead.
Not satisfied, Waterman grabbed another interception two plays later and returned it all the way to the Minnesota 6. For once the team couldn’t punch it in, settling for a 20-yard field goal. Credit to the Grey Ducks for not simply packing it in at this point: they safely and methodically moved the ball down the field, avoiding any further mistakes and ultimately scoring their first points on a 13-yard touchdown pass from TurnDaBallOva to Thomas Sutha. Neither team did much on their final drive of the second quarter, so the Pythons entered the locker room at halftime leading 30-7.
The teams traded punts for most of the 3rd quarter, but eventually the Pythons defense came up with another big play. Linebacker Chris Bourassa stripped the ball from tight end Justin Time near midfield, and safety Jamie Orion fell on it for another Portland takeaway. A 25-yard run by Eldroh Kove got them into the red zone, and Sean Aldrich ultimately ran it in from 2 yards out to extend Portland’s lead. It held until the final minutes of the game, when TurnDaBallOva connected with Sutha again for a 6-yard touchdown and the game’s final points. The Grey Ducks actually recovered an onside kick, but couldn’t advance the ball and lost possession on downs.
Final score: Portland 37, Minnesota 14
Stats of the game: Portland’s defense recorded 15 PDs; Portland won the turnover battle 4-0
Week 2
The team might have partied too hard after their introductory win, because they came out looking flat in their next game against the Kansas City Coyotes. The offense’s first possession ended in a bad sack, and the defense was penalized for having too many men on the field during the ensuing drive. The Coyotes capitalized three plays later, with Lenard McRobinson diving over the goal line from a yard out to give Kansas City the early lead.
The teams alternated three-and-out possessions, and then Portland finally strung some big plays together. Sean Aldritch ran for a 17-yard gain, and later Cue III hit Gesicki for a 39-yard completion down the middle. The drive stalled, but Portland got their first points from a 37-yard Jepthat field goal. After forcing a punt the team looked to be on track again after several long completions moved the ball into the red zone. But an offensive pass interference penalty on Mercury nullified a potential 3rd down conversion, and the Pythons settled for another field goal.
The offense continued shooting themselves in the foot on their next drive, when Indarts coughed up the football at the Kansas City 21 after a long completion. Antonion Croyotie fell on it to rob the Pythons of any points. Near the end of the first half, Thor Dangerson made a huge mistake by drawing an Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty after what would have been a stop on 3rd and 5. Luckily for him there wasn’t enough time left for the Coyotes to do anything but kick a (slightly easier) field goal, sending Portland into the locker room down 10-6.
The game changed completely in the second half, as the Pythons offense came to life. Their first drive went 85 yards for a touchdown in only 6 plays and featured long throws from Cue III to Bamford (for 29 yards) and Mattrim Cauthon (for 39 yards). Sean Aldrich did the honors from a yard out, and the Pythons earned a lead they would not relinquish.
Kansas City went 15 yards backward on their first drive of the half (due to a penalty and a sack) and punted. With great field position Portland needed only 4 plays to get back into the end zone, on a 15-yard run from Kove. The Coyotes’ next drive featured 4 first downs but no points, and ended in a punt netting only 6 yards. Now it was Aldrich’s turn; he carried the ball 4 times for 44 yards on the drive, including the final 5 for another Python’s touchdown.
The defense again bent, but didn’t break. Kansas City drove to the Portland 40 yard line but came up short, and the Pythons took over after another punt into the end zone. One touch and Kove was off to the races, scampering 69 yards to set up a touchdown pass from Cue III to Mercury a couple plays later. Jepthat missed the extra point, but by that point it was a 33-10 lead. Kansas City would fail to convert 4th down tries on their next three possessions, one of which gave Portland a short enough field for them to pile on 3 more points even without advancing the ball much. Special teams got a final chance to show off, as their punt cover team downed the final kick at the Coyote’s 2-yard line.
Final score: Portland 36, Kansas City 10
Stats of the game: Aldrich and Kove combined for 197 yards on 25 carries, an average of 7.9 ypg; Portland outscored Kansas City 30-0 in the 2nd half
Week 3
Cue III took sacks on both of the Python’s first two drives, the latter forcing the team to punt from their own 4-yard line. Jepthat’s kick only traveled 31 yards, and the Buccaneers drove for a touchdown in 4 plays, capped by a 6-yard pass from Austin Gausman to Ah-coo Steek. On Portland’s next possession Cue III converted key 3rd downs with completions to Bamford and Indarts, then found Kove with a 20-yard pass to the Bondi Beach 1-yard line. Kove broke into the end zone on the next play to tie the game. Defensive tackle Hurgie Burgie came up big on the next possession, blocking a punt to give the Pythons great field position. They covered the 19 yards in 5 plays, with Aldrich getting the score this time from a yard out (the team’s 5th rushing TD in just their last 3 quarters of play, going back to last week). Bondi Beach’s next drive would see them aided by two defensive penalties (unnecessary roughness and too many men on the field), and they advanced far enough to kick a 3-yard field goal and cut the lead to 4. But the Pythons put their full offensive arsenal on display: a 7-play, 75-yard drive in which 6 different skill players touched the ball. Cue III connected with Cauthon for the touchdown.
Bondi Beach seemed close to cutting into the lead before halftime, but Xavier Moreno made a diving interception in the red zone to nullify that scoring chance. A 16-yard run and a defensive tripping call moved Portland past midfield, and instead they were the ones scoring before the break on yet another rushing touchdown from Kove. And they didn’t grow complacent after reflecting on that 18-point lead in the locker room – a poor Buccaneer punt placed them at their own 40-yard line, and Cue III once again hit four different receivers on a drive that ended with a score (this one to pass to Gesicki).
The teams traded punts for the remainder of the 3rd quarter, but a long pass from Cue III to Cauthon put the Pythons in Buccaneer territory early in the 4th. They’d get inside the 10 before Sam Mercury was stopped just short of the sticks on 3rd down, and Portland settled for another Jepthat field goal. Bondi Beach’s final drive was their best of the game: a 17-play, 92-yard grind over the last 5 minutes of play time, in which they converted both a 3rd and 18 and a 4th and 1. Gausman hit Thomas Passarelli for a 3-yard touchdown just before the final seconds ticked away.
Final score: Portland 38, Bondi Beach 17
Stat of the game: The Buccaneers were penalized 10 times for 90 yards
Week 4
The Pythons were riding high coming into this game: they had the DFSL’s #1 scoring offense and #1 scoring defense, and their point differential was 4 times better than any other team (+70 vs +17). But this matchup would be far closer than anything they’d played yet.The game started well enough; the defense forced a 3-and-out, and a big completion to Bamford put Jepthat in range for a 47-yard attempt that he nailed for the early lead. Tijuana responded with a long drive of their own but came away with no points when Logan Johnson missed his own attempt from 29 yards out. Cue III completed passes to Mercury and Bamford on the next drive, and a horse collar penalty added 15 more to the end of a Kove run. But this drive also fizzled out in the red zone, and Jepthat was good from 23 yards away to make it a 6-0 game.
The Luchadores scored the game’s first touchdown on the next drive as C.G. Breezy Jr hit Garrett Cheetahman for a 17-yard score down the sideline. Not to be outdone, Cue III led a 6-play drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Cauthon to immediately take the lead back. The teams alternated punts, and in the final two minutes the game’s critical sequence occurred.
Breezy Jr connected again with Cheetahman for a 45-yard strike, and Sem’ga Nah’sim pushed the pile for a 2-yard touchdown run on the next play. Trying to make something happen before halftime, Cue III threw a pick-six to Robert Green on the first play of the next drive. In seconds, the Python’s lead had turned into an 8-point deficit.
After a pair of punts to start the 3rd quarter, Portland put together a nice drive highlighted by a long Kove run. But once again they stalled in the red zone, and Jepthat’s field goal cut into the Luchadore’s lead. Breezy Jr immediately hit Nah’sim for a 26 yard pass, and Tijuana capped off the drive 7 plays later with a 1-yard QB sneak to bring the score to 28-16. The Pythons went 3-and-out, and the Luchadores put together another scoring drive as Johnson redeemed himself with a 23-yard field goal. Portland again had to punt without even making a first down, and it looked like the game might be over.
But Hamburger Harmer made a huge play, stripping the ball from Dan Sevin for the team’s only takeaway of the game. Cue III hit Indarts for a 17-yard gain and Cauthon for a 32-yard touchdown, and suddenly it was a one-score game again. Tijuana couldn’t capitalize on a nice return by Nah’sim, but a great punt pinned Portland at their own 14 yard line. They couldn’t move the ball and had to punt themselves, but the Python’s defense came up with a critical stop to give the offense one more chance with 2:17 to go.
Working with what the defense was giving him, Cue III made 7 straight short completions, including 4 in a row to Gesicki, to move the ball to midfield. Then, with the defense in an aggressive cover-0 look, Cauthon used a double move to get behind the coverage and Cue III hit him for a 51-yard bomb to bring the Pythons within a 2-point conversion of tying. Sadly the try was unsuccessful, and the Luchadores smothered the ensuing onside kick to hold on for a narrow victory.
Final score: Tijuana 31, Portland 29
Stat of the game: The Luchadores outrushed the Pythons 152-45
Last Look
The Pythons currently lead the North with a 3-1 record. They still have the best scoring offense (35 ppg) and defense (18 ppg) in the DSFL, though the latter is much closer with Bondi Beach and Dallas only a few points away. Cue III leads all passers with a 111.4 rating, and both Kove and Aldrich are in the top 8 for rushing yards with 255 and 220 respectively. Cue III’s penchant for spreading the ball around can be seen in the league receiving numbers, where Portland’s wideouts rank 12th, 13th, 14th, and 16th in yards. Harmer and Dangerson lead the way on defense: both have 25+ tackles, 3 TFL, 3 sacks, and 4 PDs. Harmer also has 2 forced fumbles, and Dangerson has an interception. Waterman is one of only 3 DSFL players with a pair of picks, and is top-5 in passes defended with 7.
The Pythons host the 4-0 Dallas Birddogs in week 5, as the leaders clash on the field for the first time.