“What do fans want? Can anybody tell me this? It obviously isn't winning, scoring a lot or causing a bunch of cas, as I've been doing this all (well, maybe not the winning part, but the other two) and have lost fans the last six games in a row, and 9 pts of ff in the last dozen games. WTF???

Ok, rant over, on to the game...

Both coaches entered this game in a funk--the Scions riding a 6 game losing streak, having been 8 games since our last victory; the Gypsies some 20 games since tasting success. One of these two teams would walk away from the game a winner...

Opening kickoff, BLITZ!! My throwers make life difficult in his backfield for a little bit, though he's eventually able to free up the ball and send it downfield. He'll score next turn, except some clever chainpushing allows me to free up enough guard support to tackle his blodger. Rather than try to pick up the ball in multiple tz's, I surround it and hope for the best. The best comes, as he fails a dodge to get the ball, giving me the opportunity I need to dodge away, grab the ball with a blitzer, and throw it back downfield to...my wide open catcher who had been "left behind" when everybody else started towards my endzone. In walks Will for the early score.

Second kickoff, he fails a pickup roll close to the los, and it's a simple matter to let Will return a second score the other way. Up 2-0 at the half, things are looking very bright indeed.

Second half, he blitzes! However, I'm able to dodge and pass and squirm my way with the ball out of his little trap, eventually to score (though it took more effort than I'd hoped, as his two linemen were causing no end of trouble). He gets the ball, and he finally has a chance to unleash the Sweetness. Dang, he's a fast human! We fail to knock him down using tacklers, and he dances his way into the endzone. Score 3-1, still 5 turns to go, game's not over yet...

...not until I get the ball and pound my way up the sidelines, leaving prone bodies in my wake. Will scores his third of the day for a hat trick, and now the game's out of reach for the Gypsies, yet they line up for another stab at it...gotta admire their spirit! However, they'll have to do something about their pickup drills in practice this week, as they could not pick the ball up all game long if their life depended on it! There's no time for me to do anything with the ball other than secure it, ending the game and the Scions losing streak.

Johnny is a superb coach who knows how to get the best out of his team, but it just wasn't in his cards tonight. I'm sure when (not IF, but WHEN) we meet again it could very well be different next time. But until then, the Scions are living large on the town tonight, and drinks are on us at the Shannara pub!”