“Jonas look out at the pouring rain, feeling the ache as the dampness set in on his recently healed leg. The high elf team had already taken to the pitch, and were standing there proudly, indifferent to the weather. "We're going to have to take the fight directly to them," Jonas muttered, "and keep control of the ball. If we lose the ball, this match will surely follow."

"Don't call me Shrilly." quipped Collin.

And with a laugh, the Damned emerged from the dugout...

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Kicking off to the high elves, even in the pouring rain, we knew that it wasn't a question of "if" they were going to score, but "when." A high kick all the way into their endzone; maybe this would at least make it a little more difficult for them to score. But, in true elven fashion, by the end of their first turn, a catcher and a blitzer were deep into our side of the pitch, and ball was safely in the hands of an elf at the line of scrimmage, shielded by linemen. We set up so defense in front of the elves in scoring range, and then put some pressure on the ball carrier himself, and thanks to an elven misstep, the ball carrier never got the chance to roll out of the pocket. Both teams were making a great effort of knocking the other team into the mud, as a blitzer made his way closer to the goal line, and the ball carrier followed up behind him. Jonas decided that now was the proper time to enact his plan, and level a major hit on one of the elven catchers, knocking them out, just as Bo cam blitzing in on the ball carrier, knocking both the elf and himself down, but setting the ball free, as well as knocking that catcher unconscious in the fray. But that advance blitzer was able to turn around and pick-up the ball, and was now poised to score. Jonas saw this from where he stood at midfield, and knew that it was now or never. He threw a crippling block against a linemen, knocking the elf to the pitch, dead. The apothecary was able to save the life of the elf, but that lucky elf would not be returning to today's match. So as the crowd cheered for the elves' first touchdown, the Damned cheered for the fact that the ball was on the way to them, with plenty of time to score, and their were three less elves taking the field.

The human fans in the stands must have sensed the plan, because a rock thrown by the crowd helped by stunning one of the elves on the LOS, allowing for the Damned to flood the opposing side of the pitch, marking all of the elves, as Jonas passed the ball to Yesac, who began to make his way down the sideline. The elves came dodging in, as we knew they would, but they were unable to get a hand on Yesac, who continued down the sideline, guarded by Simon and Bo. Poised to score, the elves sent in a catcher to stop us, but the slippery footing made him fail a dodge roll, and the elf crashed to the pitch, knocking himself out. As a few more blocks were thrown behind him, Yesac passed the goal line, hearing the whistle blow, ending the first half, 1 all.

With the rain still falling, even outnumbering the elves 11 to 8,(which would quickly become 10-8, as the elven fans answered back for the thrown rock with one of their own) Jonas knew that the elves were still a dangerous threat. So, as the ball came down from the sky and hit the pitch, bouncing directly into his hands, he knew what he must do. I wasn't going to be pretty, but a slow grind forward, attempting to knock as may elves out of the match as possible, was the best method for securing a victory. The rest of the half was a muddy, bloody brawl, as the Damned pushed forward, and the elves threw everything but the kitchen sink in their way to stop them. One the final play of the drive, with Jonas lying unconscious in the dugout, Yesac dodged away from the crowd to score the go ahead goal. There was just enough time for one last elven play, but the rain finally came into play, and the catcher fumbled the pick-up. The whistle blew, and the Damned, soaked to the bone, left the pitch for a change of clothes, and to celebrate their victory.
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Yesac was still holding the game ball, the one with which he scored both of today's touchdowns, as he sat on the bench, still in his uniform; a sizable puddle was steadily growing beneath him. The footfalls of Jonas roused Yesac from his daze, as he looked up to see the captain of the Damned advancing towards him. "I know that it was a cheap, dirty way to win," Jonas begun, "but if we had scored early and given the ball back to those elves, they would have made it to the endzone, and we would at best be celebrating a tie. We all took the oath, 'Victory at any cost', even if that means stalling."

As Jonas began to walk away, he turned to Yesac once more, still seeing a look of guilt on the blitzer's face. With a heavy sigh, Jonas removed his helmet, looked into the eyes of the blitzer and said, "You'll remember this match the next time we are losing 3-0, and wish that every match could have been as simple a decision as this one was." And with that, Yesac understood. He and everyone else had taken the oath to follow Jonas' command, and it was with Jonas that the weight of every decision would truly lie. It with because of his leadership that today was a victory. Who knew what challenges tomorrow would bring?

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Wasn't a pretty win, but it was a victory. Well played, magikmoon.”