Score: An 11-11 tie.
Game Rating (out of 10): 8 - First game in a while, but solid football show.
Notable absentees: Danielle, Matthew Couto, Graham, Jordie, Kyle, Dylan.
Offensive Player of the Game: Patrick. He scored 4 touchdowns and was stellar as a clutch receiver. Highlight was a superb one handed grab in traffic that would make Alex D. proud.
Defensive Player of the Game: Jimmy. Was a defensive monster in his limited game time. Played some fine zone defense, an interception threat.
Special Teams Player of the Game: James. Seems to be his forte, this special teams area of the FFL. James not only scored 2 kickoff touchdowns but was mowing through tackles like it was nobody's business when playing on the defensive side of the kickoff. Great hustle and ability.
Pitch and Weather: Well, summer is over one can safely say. The weather required even the bravest of the brave (James and Tommy) to wear nay a thing but sweatshirts. The pitch itself wasn't covered with sprinkly water, so it made playing a lot easier. No wet patches meant few slips (unless you were Lenny of course).
Summary: The game started off beautifully, with the blues going up on an early 3-1 lead with a beautiful toss by Aaron to his buddy Jimmy. From there, the game escalated in terms of showcasing skills. Patrick schooled James and Robbie on the same play, whilst James managed to cut inside Maciej, making the formerly hairy fool look like a darned fool. Robbie got kicked square in the nuts by his brother on one play, and there was some shoving going on within the special team blocking. The game itself was fast, with a lot of superb catches (Patrick and Alex D. the leaders for both teams) and runs (Matthew Soegtrop and James the leaders in that category). The turning point came when Patrick and Maciej miscued on a handoff attempt, that fell sweetly to James who ran in the tying TD. A tie was about as fair a result as they come, and with the nonstop end to end action one can also safely say that the FFL is back in business!
Bogus Moment of the Day - So many. Although Robbie's collection of a foot with his nuts was both painful and funny to watch, and Tommy's decision to run back to own his quarterback off a catch was brilliant and ridiculous at the same time, the Bogus Moment of the Day was Alex D's incredible whirlwind toss of Gammorean Raider Cody, who met hip with ground in such a vibration that many a few stalks of grass lost their livelihood.
Player Ratings (out of 10, 4 being the lowest):
Robbie - 7.5; Seemed to re-energize when traded to the blues for pig guard Cody. Showed some great poise early on in the game by replacing Maciej at QB and leading the greens to a few touchdowns. Robo-brick was back, but seemed to have caught the dreaded grabby-itis.
Matthew Soegtrop - 9; Acted as if he actually wanted to play. And boy did he ever show the FFL his prowess, making incredible special teams runs and 4 great TD catches.
Patrick - 9; Was the go-to receiver for the greens down the stretch. Highlights of his day included an incredible one handed catch and a few solid sliding grabs in the endzone. Warlock factor fading.
Maciej - 6; Was ineffective near the beginning and end of the game. Awesome orange hat.
Tommy - 7; Was burned by relative Crystalgrowth, but was upbeat nevertheless. Remains a good source of information about the Clone Wars. Excellent blocker on special teams.
Jacob - 6; Came way too late to fairly grade, but there it is.
James - 10; You can't really ask for much more from James. 5 touchdowns in total, a demon on the ground in every position, and has executive box seats for a Leaf game. Woop woop.
Lenny- 4; Unable to catch a ball. Unable to keep his balance. Generally unable.
Owen - 5.5; Although he did manage a few passing touchdowns, some of his throws were painfully off the mark. Is a defensive liability, as he desires not a thing but to be the man of steamboats.
Cody - 4.5; I'm being generous with this mark only because I loved his role in Return of the Jedi.
Jimmy - 8; Formed an excellent partnership with QB Aaron. Is a dangerous combination of speed and football ability. Was limited by the fact that he had to leave early.
Aaron - 8; Has a great throwing arm, and an even better on field chemistry with Jimward.
Alex D. - 8.5; Was fortunate enough on defense, as Tommy was but a shade of his offensive self. However, was a demon on the offensive end with 4 TDs and numerous solid catches. Traffalex reapparance was at its finest on a catch over local Clone Wars expert Tomward.
Theo - 6.5; Had a nice interception, but was generally invisible. Maybe it was the camo gear?
