Broncs Broken, BowMen Burned
SUPER 16 – Week 4 was a thrill-fest in the Super 16 as the Game of the Week featured a special double-feature pair of SimulPlay divisional matches between all of the West Division teams. Coach Mac’s 1 Eye til I Die Raider squad came into Denver undefeated and ranked #2 in the league and #25 on the AF Top 25 to take on Shrimpy’s expansion Bucking Broncs, and they left still undefeated, ranked #1 in the league and , likely, will be much higher on the Week 4 Top 25, after beating the Denver Donkeys 215-177. With 41 points from the quarterback position, the rest of 1 Eye’s offense completely stalled out, including just 12 rushing yards and a single point from their star halfback Marshawn Lynch, but their defense stepped up in a huge way, three of their defenders alone accounting for almost a hundred points combined as Bobby Wagner (27.50), CJ Mosley (30.00), and their very own Khalil Mack (31.00) stepped up and took control of the game. The 1 Eye franchise advances to 4-0-0 including to important division wins, and will face their rivals across the bay, SF’s BowMen in Week 5.
SF’s BowMen might have been undefeated heading into that Week 5 game with 1 Eye except for one thing: a Week 4 trip to the desert to face the Arizona Firebirds in the other half of the Game of the Week double feature. The BowMen-Firebird game featured a 3-0 San Francisco squad, ranked #1 in the league and #11 on the AF Top 25 vs a 2-1 Arizona team ranked #3 in the league and #17 on the Top 25, whose only loss was to 1 Eye Til I Die in Week 1. This one was a nail biter all the way through to the final minutes of Monday night. Arizona’s Tyran Mathieu and his 33 points was the highest scoring hometeam player on either squad, compared to BowMan’s Navaorro Bowman’s 15 points, but SF’s draft linebacker, Myles Jack kept them in the game with his remarkable 44 point outing. Going into the MNF game, BowMen trailed 160-182 and needed a miracle from QB Alex Smith, their only remaining player. And they almost got it as Smith turned in a 48 point performance that fell just inches short of a victory – another 7 yards passing and 4 on the ground would’ve put them over the top, the final score, 212-208. The Firebirds swap dance partners for Week 5 and take their show to the Bucking Broncs while the Bay Rivals face off.
In the S16’s third SimulPlay game of Week 4, The defending Champion Northern Fins faced the Who Dat Saints in a rematch of last year’s Super Bowl 5. This one ended far differently than last year’s meeting did, with the Who Dats absolutely destroying the Fins’ squad 220-165 in a SimulPlay straight from London, England. It was 8 points more than the New Orleans franchise scored in last season’s Championship, but more importantly, the Fins produced 77 fewer points than they did last time around, their rookie halfback Fournette (20.0) the only player on their offense to produce significantly.
There were several other high scoring performances in Week 4, including Steel Curtain‘s dismantling of North Division leader Motor City Kitties, 218-157, and the Jaw Breaker’s 210-137 rout of Bob’s Eagle has landed. Steel Curtain moves to 3-1-0 and, and after the Fins’ loss, takes control of the East Division. Geno’s Jaw Breakers have their second 200 point game and second win in a row – including Week 3’s embarassing of the defending champs – and find themselves suddenly in 2nd place. The Eagle has landed in last place after 3 losses in a row.
WTF HOUSTON awoke from their three week slumber to capture their first win of the season with a flurry of points, scoring 199 to the still winless BEARMINATORS’ 144. Still last in the South Division, Houston has a long road to climb back into relevance, while the Birds of Prey have now taken a 1 game lead for the South over BIGDOGINTEX after beating the Dogs 186-122. In the North, meanwhile, Motor City’s loss opened the door for meigzoh’s Dawg Pound, who beat up on the Indy-structibles 177-89. With both the Cats and Dawgs sitting at 2-2, the Black and Blue North Division is looking like it’s going to be a slugfest between the Detroit and Cleveland franchises again this season.