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Manhattan 14 |
Maniacs Fall Again; Jinx ContinuesFor the fourth straight year, the best team in the league, an Eastern Conference team, loses in the playoffs, and for the second straight year that team is Manhattan. Just as they did to the Amityville Horrors, the Mobile Homes shut down Manhattan's rush and rattled their quarterback, only this time the latter was All-East QB Lance Boils. While Mobile starters, RBs Sawyer Legov and Torpedo Lovecraft, and WRs Mel Fraud and Guy Nicologi, controlled the pace of the game, even Homes backups were productive. QB Evan Evnott and TE Bully Mofer came off the bench to replace Babe Nipple and Tank Sallot and hooked up for the first TD of the game, on a 5-yard pass. Nipple came back in and Mobile never missed a step. Legov rushed for 95 yards and a TD, Lovecraft for 54 and a score. Fraud got the second playoff TD of his professional career. Manhattan RB Duane DeTubb was held to 4 yards rushing, Boils to 14 completions of 24 attempts for 160 yards. The Homes return to the Easter Conference Championship for the first time since 1994, when they won the Hyperbowl. |
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Flint 34 |
Cliffs Crumble to StonesFlint, runner-up of last year's Hyperbowl, returns to the Eastern Conference Championship, and gets past Manhattan again, without having to play them this time. Montgomery WR Noah Mittens, Eastern MVP, and, somewhat surprisingly, RB Jack Soff were dangerous, but the Cliffs did not have enough to mount a serious threat. Twice the Cliffs turned the ball over on downs inside the Flint 10-yard line, which might have made some difference. But they could not stop the rolling Stones. Flint WR Jess Folks caught 7 passes for 133 yards and ran twice on reverses for 15 and 28 yards. QB Osborne Lucky completed 19 of 33 passes for 270 yards and 2 TDs, and rushed for 28 yards and a TD. Mittens caught 9 passes for 118 yards, but ends another incredible season without a Hyperbowl. |
Dodge 17 |
Sinners Follow Same PathLas Vegas went from the wildcard game to win the Hyperbowl a year ago, and they're using the same script, this time knocking off two division foes in a row. The Sinners fumbled around in the regular season while the Dodge Bullets built the best record in the conference and won their division. But in the playoffs, Sinner QB Andy Christ and company come alive. It didn't help the Bullets that starting QB Nicholson Dimes was injured on the first play of the second half. Backup QB Chip Block fumbled on his first play, and on the next play, Vegas RB Drew Blood scored from 19 yards. Block recovered to lead Dodge to a 17-17 tie in the fourth quarter, but the Sinners struck back on the next drive, a 34-yard pass to Blood setting up RB Buster Gutt's 5-yard TD. Blood finished with 80 yards and 2 TDs rushing and 53 yards receiving. WR Jason Rainbows had 5 catches for 89 yards, TE Morgan Mindy 4 for 77. Dodge rookie WR Nestor Vipers caught 6 passes for 96 yards. |
Flagstaff 20 |
Gila Monsters Top TypesThis was a match-up of the two best playoff teams in league history. The two teams share the record of playoff appearances, 13. Boulder this season tied Flagstaff's record of most consecutive division titles, with 5, and tied Lincoln's record for most consecutive playoff appearances, with 6. Flagstaff and Boulder had met twice previously in the playoffs, both times in conference championship games, most recently in 1998. Flagstaff won both. Once again, the Gila Monsters prevail. The unlikely hero of the game was Flagstaff QB Yves Ho, who completed 24 of 34 passes for 259 yards and 2 TDs, with 1 interception. Boulder QB Harold Tribune had rebounded this season from some of the worst games of his career to lead the league in passing and take West MVP honors again. The Gila Monsters allowed neither of those extremes -- Tribune completed 15 of 25 passes for 219 yards and a TD -- but limited the Types' scoring and let Tribune fall quietly out of the playoffs. Boulder WR Darren Dew caught 5 passes for 88 yards and a TD. Flagstaff WR Donahue Upset-Maugham had 8 catches for 88 yards. The Gila Monsters now face Las Vegas, and while the Sinners are trying for a repeat Hyperbowl, Flagstaff is trying for a record eighth Hyperbowl appearance. |