Projects line up Hyperbowls over Potatoheads

Anthony Kistmi takes MVP second time

The Manhattan Projects won a home Hyperbowl, the first repeat since 2005, and their third in six years, the best rate since the threepeats of Chattanooga and Flagstaff in the early 80s. And the three Hyperbowl victories were all over the Idaho Potatoheads. As Little Rock can't get by Idaho for the Western Conference Championship, Idaho can't get past Manhattan for the league title.

The teams played in the third week of the regular season and Manhattan won 24-11. This game was more a repeat of that than their two previous Hyperbowl meetings, which were remarkable similar. As in the regular season meeting, it was Manhattan's ability to shut down the Idaho offense that was most signficant.

The game began like a Manhattan rout, turned into a defensive scrap with turnovers -- there were four fumbles and two interceptions -- shifted to Idaho in the second quarter for a rally and their lead, then saw the Projects take the game back on one of their lightning drives at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and finished with another tussle and the suspense of the one-score difference. Idaho certainly made a game of it this time, as Mobile had done, at least in the sequence, despite anemic offensive numbers. West MVP TE Hans auf der Butt was held to just two catches for 16 yards. Each quarterback had less then 200 yards passing.

The Projects came right out punching up the middle. RB Anthony Kistmi, who was the MVP of their first Hyperbowl win over Idaho in 2015, rushed for 11 and 12 yards on the first two plays from scrimage. Running mate Avery Nastibooy ran for 11. Kistmi had another run of 15. From the Idaho four, QB Oliver Klozov threw to WR Jason Skurtz for the TD. They missed the extra point.

Manhattan held the Potatoheads to three and out. Idaho punted to the 50, Skurtz returned 13 yards to the 37, and the Projects had short field. They scored in five plays, including a 13-yard pass from Klozov to WR Orlando Difri, and a 14-yard scramble by Klozov. Klozov tossed to TE Yudong Hang from the two for the score. After making this extra point they led 13-0 .

In the previous Hyperbowl meetings, Idaho had scored early, only to have Manhattan take over the game progressively and finish them off late. Here, it looked like the Projects were doing away with any suspense, and were on their way to as impressive a rout as Idaho had put up in their last three games, wins of 59-0 over Boulder, and in the playoffs 45-3 over Lincoln and 34-10 over Little Rock.

But the Potatoheads figured out the Manhattan offense, and also turned around the field position game. Manhattan missed on a 57-yard Cappy Collarneck field goal attempt, and Kitmi fumbled at the 50 in the second quarter. Idaho forced three-and-outs, and after QB Dan Smother-Falker was picked off, Idaho got it back on an interception two plays later. Manhattan drove to the Idaho 21-yard line by the end of the half, but the clock expired on Kistmi's third-down run, so they didn't even get the chance for a field goal.

The first possession of the second half was the only sustained drive for Idaho, but they took control of the game at the time and seemed to finally solve the Mahattan defense. Smother-Falker threw to backup WR Drew Lotts for 11 yards, to WR Howie Wonder-Warr for 14. He had short passes to Auf der Butt, WR Alak Kittiporn and Wonder-War, and then got the score on a 15-yarder to Wonder-War.

Then Idaho got a three and out, and Manhattan muffed their punt, giving Idaho short field. After two incomplete passes, Smother-Falker covered the distance in two plays to Wonder-Warr, a 19-yard pass and the scoring pass of 18. Idaho took a 14-13 lead, and Manhattan's failed extra point was now significant. After trading punts again for the rest of the third quarter, the Projects, as they did against Mobile in the East final, got a short lightning drive to take the game back. It began with the last play of the third and started the fourth quarter. They went 53 yards in five plays. And again, as against Mobile, there were three straight passes to Skurtz, including one of 30 yards to the Idaho one. Instead of Skurtz running this one in, TE Hang did, a TE around from the one. And Kistmi took it in for the two-point conversion, so the Projects took care of that.

Still, it was a one-score game. But it went back to the scrappy, messy kind of suspense. Manhattan sacked Smother-Falker twice on Idaho's next drive, for -14 and -12 yards respectively. Smother-Falker, a dangerous runner, finished with 10 carries for -10 yards.