Hyperbowl 36

Attractions Divert Linemen

Tussle Leads to Field Goals, Hard as Unlikely Hero

The Maine Attractions scored a field goal, recovered an onside kick, then drove 48 yards in four plays for a TD in the last three minutes to beat the Wichita Linemen. It may be the most amazing rally in Hyperbowl history, and despite some amazing finishes in recent history, last year's rally that fell short and two overtime wins by Monterey, you have to go back the 34-31 Flint win over Spokane in 1993 for as exciting a game.

Maine running back Xavier Breath finally made it to the Hyperbowl. He'll hardly begrudge his teammate, tight end Rock Hard, for taking the game's most valuable player award, since Hard helped Breath to the biggest prize, a Hyperbowl victory and league championship, with which Breath is now almost certain to retire. But Breath himself capped the victory and probably his career with a 20-yard run for the winning touchdown. Despite that dramatic blow, his eight rushes for 57 yards total for the game paled in comparison to Hard.

The contest of stars in this game led to bigger defensive plays than offensive ones, as the two teams scored seven field goals and only two TDs. While Wichita's marquis receiver Adolph DeFlore was big for them, quarterback Payne Indiass had 249 yards (compared to 300 in each of the last two playoff games) passing, just 17 more than Maine quarterback Jock Rash. Wichita WR Ringo Fire had 70 yards and the TD, and Maine's star WR Lou Screws 69 yards, but fellow WR Cole Esterhal only 28. Esterhal had taken up the slack in previous games, but this time it was Hard whom Rash found to beat the coverage.

The running backs were even more minimized, with Wichita's Milo Rider rushing for 56 and Maine's Juarez Hell for only 17.

It proved to be Maine's kind of game. Though they seemed to be hung in their own noose, the trap sprung back on the Linemen in the last minute.

The Attractions dominated at the start with two consecutive scoring drives, but those were only or Noam Sayn field goals, of 41 and 22 yards. The biggest play of those was a catch by Hard on a 29-yard pass play. Wichita answered the second with one of their own, a 31-yarder from Sirhan Rap, but the biggest play of the game to that point highlighted the drive: a 46-yard pass from Indiass to Fire.

Fire caught a 3-yard TD pass late in the second quarter to give Wichita the lead at 10-6. Indiass had six completions on the drive, including ones of 19 and 20 yards to DeFlore and a 25-yarder to TE Mark Cards.

The Lineman extended the lead to a touchdown in the third quarter with a 31-yard Rap field goal after a scrappy drive of only 34 yards following a bad punt by Maine. The Attractions took 13 plays and most of the rest of the quarter to get to the Wichita 6-yard line, where they had to settle again for a field goal to pull back within four.

Sayn missed from 56 yards at the start of the 4th, then in the middle of the quarter, after three and out, Maine punted from their own 8. Sayn shanked it badly and Wichita was set up on the 19, Indiass and company poised to strike a mortal blow. The Attractions forced two incompletion passes, then the Linemen tried a draw play to RB Yoshi Itami, since another field goal attempt was all to risk. Itami got only 2 yards and Rap made the 34-yard field goal. The lead was 7.

Maine got a 34-yard kickoff return and two big plays on the next drive. Rash hit Hell on an 18-yard pass to the Wichita 40 and two plays later, Rash ran 13 to the Wichita 28. Hell carried for 9 and 3 on the next two plays, to set up first down at the Wichita 16. But Rash through three straight incomplete passes from there. And instead of the chance to tie the game with a TD, Sayn came on for another field goal attempt. He hit it from 33 yards, but the score was 16-12, Maine not even within a field goal.

At this point, with just over 3 minutes remaining, anyone must have known that unless the Attractions were conceding victory, an onside kick was a better risk than putting the ball in the hands of Indiass. But even to recover an onside would mean Maine would have to score a TD. Both teams lined up for an onside kick, and incredibly the ball bounded away from Wichita's Cards, as he tried to smother it, into the path of Maine's Esterhal at the Wichita 48.

After Hell carried for 6 yards, Breath busted a 9-yard run for a first down at the Wichita 33. Rash then found Hard again for a 13-yard gain to the 20. And the next play was Xavier Breath's perfect way to end a career.