“A violent game that pitted brute force against speed and skill. Cirmson received the kick off but confusion reigned over who was to pick up the ball! A hobgoblin got in the way of both Bull Centaurs and the ball bounced free. The Blood Raiders were already slipping around the wide zones, smelling a turnover! Crimson managed to get the ball in the hands of Bragus, but he had not had chance to carry it out of his own half before the Blood Raiders hired wizard dropped a fireball on the pitch that flattened half a dozen Crimson players! The ball skidded free and was quickly snapped up by the Blood Raiders, who ran in an easy turn 3 touchdown. Not a good start for Crimson – Coach Katana was kicking his hobgoblins in the dugout in frustration!

Crimson’s second drive got under way. This time Scuttz the hobgoblin was trusted to pick up and carry the ball. Crimson tried to drive through the middle of the pitch, but Blood Raiders defended with skill. Play swung out wide, with Blaux the bullcenter leading the cage forward. But then disaster – Blaux nailed a two dice block on Blood Raiders lineman Moloch, threw double skulls, and hit the crowd with a serious injury (-1 MA!). The Crimson apothecary put all his skills to good use and managed to improve the result to killed! Even worse, the breakdown of the pocket left Scuttz to eat a blitz and the ball bounced back into the Crimson half. A scramble for the ball followed, but a combination of hard hitting blocks from the Dwarfs and poor ball handling from the Dark Elves prevented Blood Raiders scoring again.

Crimson kicked to the Blood Raiders in the second half and the situation was desperate. A short range kick left the ball just behind the line of scrimmage. The Blood Raiders looked to create space, but the first block of the half ended with skulls, rereoll, skulls and a turnover! This allowed Bragus and a crew of dwarfs to bash their way over the line of scrimmage and cage the ball, while Scruffz the hobgob ran in for a pick up. It didn’t last long; the pocket was hastily formed and Scruffz ate a Dark Elf boot to the face that hurt him so badly he couldn’t continue. The ball bounced free, and this time Scuttz the hobgob laid his hands on it – not for long, as he was tackled down and the ball ended up in Blood Raider hands.

The Raiders looked to break quickly with a pass, but it was fumbled and ended up in the hands of Tantal the Blitzer, who was stood right next to Bragus! Tantal was clearly blessed by Nuffle, as he proceeded to absorb 5 2-dice blocks while remaining on his feet! Tantal made the break away and threw a pass for a sure fire touch down, but the pass was dropped!

But by now sheer attrition was starting to tell on the Blood Raiders. Five players were in the casualty box and the rest of the team was scattered. Crimson somehow managed to get hold of the ball, and a quick handoff to a hobgoblin saw it carried deep into the Blood Raider half. A succession of succesful Go For Its eventually carried Scuttz over the line for a last turn TD. The final result was a 1 – 1 draw – perhaps a fair end to an exciting game.

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