SCAB Report

Championship

Galactic Soup Bowl

Swallows Complete Improbable Playoff Sweep, Beat Pacifists in Overtime

Holy Grail topped a bizarre topsy-turvy season that saw all the principles knocked off at least once, then after losing themselves on the last week of the season to DeSade S&M to finish fourth in the 10 Pack, Holy Grail went through the tournament as a dark horse, beating Brimstone, Bigfoot, top-ranked and defending champion Kootsville Tech., and finally the Northwestsoutheastern team thought to have the most potential. Even more surprising was how Holy Grail won after the Fighting Pacifists exploded against Cretin in the semis, not to mention the Pacifists beat Holy Grail in the regular season 27-20. The Swallows were underdogs in every one of their tournament games. It's only their second playoff appearance, and in their other in 1980, they also went to the final, losing to Kootsville Tech.

The Swallows were able to turn the Pacifists back into their underachieving alter ego, a schizo tendency the extremely talented but young team showed all season. Holy Grail did it with a tremendous all-around defensive performance, shutting down both the dangerous Pacifist running game and the pass attack led by freshman quaterback Constantine Angst that accounted for 300+ yards against Cretin. Meanwhile, Holy Grail got big performances from their own superstar freshman, tight end Hans auf der Butt, and from the running back who had been quiet most of his career until this tournament: Wayne King. Auf der Butt dominated the field, with 10 catches for 123 yards and 2 TDs, far away best in the game. King rushed for 104 yards and a TD, thoroughly upstaging former number one recruit Elvis Eros of Northwestsoutheastern, and his veteran running mate, Philippe Floppe.

Holy Grail quarterback Christian Eaton-Lyon, himself a star recruit who'd been overshadowed in a conference with Cretin's E. Chitton Dye and this year Northwestsoutheastern's latest number-one recruit Angst, and who helped beat the Spitters with a huge TD run, threw for only 184 yards, but two TDs, and added 58 yards rushing. By contrast, Angst was held to 104 yards passing, though he also got two TDs.

Despite Holy Grail dominating statistically, the Pacifists still fought to a tie at the end of regulation, so the game became just the second championship to go into overtime. The Swallows scored first on a 40-yard run by King in the first quarter. The Pacifists tied it in the second on a nine-play 44-yard drive, capped by a three-yard pass from Angst to tight end Wei Fun.

Holy Grail took the lead again in the third on a 36-yard field goal by kicker Terry Bluh. The big play of the drive was a 21-yard run by Eaton-Lyon. The Pacifists again got a short field to answer with a four-yard pass to wide receiver Efren Defoe. On the following possession, the Swallows took 13 plays to drive 83 yards, spanning from the third well into the fourth quarter. But the Fighting Pacifists drove from their own 30-yard line to the Holy Grail 32, where kicker Jess Waydensey made a 49-yard field to tie the game with less than 30 seconds remaining.

But in overtime Holy Grail took charge. After Northwestsoutheastern won the toss and received the kickoff, and set up with decent field position on their own 30 after the return, Holy Grail held to a three-and-out: three straight incomplete Angst passes. The Pacifists punted and the Swallows were set up on their own 18-yard line.

After an incomplete pass, wide receiver Goedel Mighty gained 26 yards on a reverse. Eaton-Lyon hit running back Ray Arturo for a 14-yard gain on the next play, then two plays later scrambled for 16 yards himself. Three plays later, with a third down and six yards to go from the Northwestsoutheastern 21, Eaton-Lyon found Auf der Butt over the middle, and he took it the distance, rendering even a field goal attempt moot and ending the game. Holy Grail were SCAB champions.

10 Clan:
Bf 8 1 0 10 3 0
IO 7 2 0 11 3 0
LB 6 3 0 9 4 0
Ca 6 3 0 8 4 0
Bu 5 4 0 6 6 0
UF 4 4 1 5 6 1
HP 3 5 1 6 5 1
Gr 2 6 1 4 7 1
MV 2 7 0 3 9 0
Fl 1 7 1 3 8 1

Little 10:
KT 8 1 0 12 2 0
Br 8 1 0 10 3 0
MS 6 2 1 8 4 1
SS 6 3 0 7 5 0
Bd 5 4 0 5 7 0
SP 4 4 1 6 4 2
PU 3 6 0 6 6 0
CU 2 7 0 4 8 0
GJ 2 7 0 3 9 0
Wh 0 9 0 1 11 0

10 Pack:
Cr 8 1 0 11 3 0
Nw 8 1 0 13 3 0
DS 7 2 0 9 3 1
HG 6 3 0 13 3 0
Fm 4 5 0 6 6 0
AT 4 5 0 5 7 0
Pb 3 6 0 4 8 0
SB 2 7 0 4 8 0
DG 2 7 0 2 10 0
MO 1 8 0 2 10 0

Non-Conference:
BH 8 1 0 10 3 0
St 8 1 0 10 4 0
OL 7 2 0 7 5 0
So 6 3 0 6 6 0
Pk 5 4 0 5 7 0
UP 4 5 0 5 7 0
LW 4 5 0 4 8 0
Ox 2 7 0 2 10 0
Pe 1 8 0 1 11 0
OD 0 9 0 1 11 0