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May 31, 2008
Playoffs
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Eastern Conference ChampionshipJersies Cover ProjectsManhattan would make it painfully uneasy for their division rival, scoring off a blocked punt at the beginning of the second half to break a first half deadlock in a grueling defensive game. But for all the stinginess of the Projects' defense throughout the playoffs, refusing to yield a Hyperbowl opportunity to two other Eastern powers that had passed them in the regular season, the New Jersies had defense enough to outbid, and perhaps the trump card in QB Upton O'Good. O'Good and his Jersies got to eclipse Lance Boils and Manhattan for their first trip to the Hyperbowl, and how much sweeter it is. While most of O'Good's rushing yards came on one play, a 64-yard bolt that got the New Jersies away from their own goal line in the 2nd quarter but was for naught when the drive ended in a missed field goal, his first-quarter TD to cap a long drive opened scoring, his 3rd-quarter, eight-yard scamper set up a field goal, and then his 10-yard pass to TE Bud Ugly on 4th down in the 4th quarter set up the go-ahead TD toss of 2 yards to Ugly two plays later. The Projects were typically unfazed by Ugly and even the Jersies' more recent weapon, RB Juan Moorehead. The all-everything TE had only 6 catches for 55 yards and 1 TD, not the juggernaut he's been with just about everyone else, although he did lead all receivers in the game. With Moorehead held to 26 yards rushing, Manhattan RB Duane DeTubb led running backs with 33 yards. He also scored the Projects' go-ahead TD in the 3rd, to make the blocked punt pay off. O'Good, of course, dwarfed all the rushers. His passing yardage was three yards shy of Boils's 148, but the latter was intercepted once and had a worse completion percentage. Boils was atypically slight on offense in these playoffs, but Manhattan made up for it with ferocious defense. But the New Jersies came from behind in this game to take the conference title from Manhattan, even though it was there rally from behind in the division race that put Manhattan in the wildcard spot, and in their game that clinched it, the Jersies held on as the Projects' rally fell one point short. |
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Western Conference ChampionshipRats Slip BulletsAfter a second quarter in which almost everything went Baton Rouge's way, leading to two Noah Fence TDs and a 14-0 lead, the specter of the playoff upstart Bullets rose again. In the second half, Dodge frustrated the Swamp Rat offense, including with two interceptions of West MVP QB Nolan Void, scored early following one of those interceptions, and made it a nailbiter the rest of the way. Although Void threw for 189 yards and 2 TDs, to just 108 yards for Dodge QB Tyrone Essores, and although Baton Rouge RB Gunther Hell led all rushers with 48 yards, one more than the West's leading rusher, Dodge RB Hugo Faq-Yusef, and Baton Rouge star WR Stan Byer-Mann led all receivers, the Swamp Rats had to hold on to their one TD lead for most of the second half, giving the Bullets several chances to close it. Fence had been injured and missed Baton Rouge's first playoff game. They knew if they won that, they'd have him for the next step, and he paid off. The rookie from Kootsville Tech. got his first two playoff TDs as the entire output for his team. His first one was a 22-yarder from Void, working perfectly to catch Dodge too concerned with Byer-Mann and not taking Fence's return seriously enough. Baton Rouge will make its third Hyperbowl appearance. They won in 1980 and lost in 1995. |
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